CLEAN THE FUCKING CATALOG
Zelensky Miffed Over NATO Inaction, Demands Membership & Security Guarantees 'Now'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is letting his frustration and impatience over the question of entering the NATO military alliance be known. "Our future is in the European Union. Ukraine is also ready to be part of NATO. We are waiting for NATO to be ready to accept Ukraine," he said Thursday to journalists just ahead of a summit of the European Political Community in Chisinau, Moldova.
At the summit, he demanded that Ukraine receive security guarantees "now" and emphasized the best way to ensure this is acceptance into NATO. But the idea of 'security guarantees' has also long been under discussion, with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday having explained that the country could be given "something between the security provided to Israel and full-fledged membership."
Zelensky continued in his address to the Moldova summit, "In Vilnius, a clear invitation to Ukraine is needed" - which is a reference to NATO's annual summit in Lithuania, set for July.
"Doubts must vanish. Positive decisions for Ukraine will be positive for everyone," Zelensky stressed. "There should be no hot war or frozen conflict on our continent," he added, telling European leaders: "When there are no security guarantees, there are only war guarantees."
But behind the scenes the Ukrainian leader is reportedly miffed at NATO and European inaction and waffling, and his rhetoric has been more aggressive outside of public addresses.
The Financial Times wrote Wednesday, "Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has made clear to Nato leaders that he will not attend the Vilnius summit without concrete security guarantees and a road map for accession, according to people briefed on those conversations."
This has dialed up the pressure on the West and leaders of the most powerful NATO countries, The Wall Street Journal emphasized in follow-up reporting on Wednesday.
Macron seems the first among these leaders to be responding positively, despite the fact that NATO Article 5 could trigger certain war between Western powers and Russia if Ukraine were to be formally admitted to the alliance. According to more from the FT:
French president Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called for Ukraine to be granted a Nato membership “path” next month. While he did not commit to endorsing full membership for Ukraine, it represented a potentially influential shift in Paris’ stance. Intense discussions are now under way among Ukraine’s western backers about what form security guarantees could take and how much money would be pledged towards them, said a French official.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/zelensky-miffed-over-nato-inaction-demands-membership-security-guarantees-now
Meet the New Twitter, Same as the Old Twitter?
Matt Walsh's "What is a Woman?" is the kind of content most thought would be safe under new Twitter ownership. A new battle over the film feels like an attack of nanny-Twitter déjà vu
At roughly 8:30 a.m. ET this morning, Jeremy Boreing, co-founder and co-CEO of the Daily Wire, posted a lengthy thread on Twitter outlining what appeared to be a major reversal on speech issues on the Elon Musk-owned platform. “Twitter canceled a deal with @realdailywire to premiere What is a Woman? for free on the platform because of two instances of ‘misgendering,’” Boreing wrote, adding, “I’m not kidding.”
Noting the film would be labeled “hateful conduct,” the thread detailed a months-longer roller-coaster dispute between the producers of What is a Woman?, a controversial documentary by Matt Walsh released a year ago today, and the current incarnation of the bird site.
In celebration of the release anniversary Walsh, Boreing, and the Daily Wire began making plans to partner with Twitter for a 24-hour livestream today, June 1, 2023. Twitter at first responded with enthusiasm, offering the chance to buy “a package to host the movie on a dedicated event page” and “a chance for us to promote the event to every Twitter user over the first 10 hours.” The initial exchange came roughly a month ago, and the Wire team planned a significant ad buy and other promotions.
Weeks later, Twitter ominously asked the Daily Wire for a review copy of Walsh’s movie. Boreing said the firm then found out Twitter would not only “no longer provide us with support,” but bluntly told them they would “limit the reach” of the film if the Daily Wire went ahead with the event on its own. In one of many odd twists to this story, the problem involved two alleged instances of “misgendering,” a category of offense Twitter controversially removed from hate speech guidelines in April.
“They gave us the opportunity to edit the film to comply. We declined,” wrote Boreing.
Boreing’s tweet-storm today provoked a quick backlash on the platform, with personalities like Tim Pool promising to terminate his “enterprise Blue subscription” if the decision wasn’t reversed. As if by magic, Musk at 1:33 p.m. tweeted that it was a “mistake by many people at Twitter”:
However, as of this moment (at 2:27 p.m., an hour after Elon’s tweet), the movie is still labeled “limited,” because it “may violate Twitter’s rules against hateful conduct:
https://www.racket.news/p/meet-the-new-twitter-same-as-the
http://bidenlaptopmedia.com/
Link is coming back to life
Kirk Cameron's children's book about humility releases just in time for Pride Month
Kirk Cameron's new children's book, which is meant to teach kids about humility, was scheduled for release on June 1, the day that marks the beginning of the annual month-long celebration of the LGBT movement known as Pride Month.
Cameron's aptly titled "Pride Comes Before the Fall" marks his second kids' book with Brave Books.
"BRAVE Books has partnered with Kirk Cameron to write a second book, Pride Comes Before the Fall. Officially releasing June 1, Pride Comes Before the Fall is a Christian, children's book that teaches kids the dangers of being prideful and the importance of having a humble spirit instead," the Brave Books website states.
During an interview with Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, Cameron, who is widely known for his time acting on the television show "Growing Pains," said that he "had a personal problem with pride" and "struggled with pride growing up."
"It was the value … of the kindness and grace of God that humbled me," Cameron explained. He said that he learned "it is better … to focus on God and loving your neighbor than to focus on self-exaltation and self-expression."
Each year of his presidency so far, President Joe Biden has proclaimed June as Pride Month and urged Americans "to wave their flags of pride high."
The White House currently has a Pride Month graphic posted on social media, as does the U.S. Navy.
"June 1 marks the start of 'ME MONTH,' also known as 'Pride Month.' Pride is the deadliest of the seven deadly sins, so rather than glorify it, I'm calling on all God-fearing Americans to shift their focus to the life-giving virtue of humility. That's what my brand-new book is about!" Cameron tweeted. "This book teaches children the importance of humility and serving others through a story they will love."
https://www.theblaze.com/news/kirk-cameron-kids-book-humility
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream ends paid advertising on Twitter over 'proliferation of hate speech'
Famously liberal ice cream company Ben & Jerry's released a statement on Thursday ending its paid advertising on Twitter and calling on other companies to do the same.
Elon Musk has been under fire from those on the left who claim that hate speech has increased on the popular platform since he acquired Twitter for $44 billion. Musk has said that he has merely made the platform safe for free speech.
The statement from Ben & Jerry's cited its "progressive values" as the reason for the policy change.
"We’ve watched with great concern the developments at Twitter following Elon Musk’s purchase of the social media platform. Hate speech is up dramatically while content moderation has become all but non-existent. In addition to the changes on the platform that have led to an increase in hate speech, Musk himself has doubled down on dangerous anti-democratic lies and white nationalist hate speech," read the statement.
"The platform has become a threatening and even dangerous space for people from so many backgrounds, including people who are Black, Brown, trans, gay, women, people with disabilities, Jewish, Muslim and the list goes on," the statement continued. "This is unconscionable in addition to being plain bad business."
The company went on to demand that Musk and Twitter take a stand against "toxicity" on the platform and called on other companies to boycott advertising until they do.
"For the time being, we will continue to maintain a presence on the platform to connect with our community, but will revisit that presence as needed pending developments in this space," the company concluded.
The company has also refused to do business in Israel as a form of protest in support of the Palestinian cause.
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream has nearly half a million followers on Twitter.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/ben-jerrys-twitter-ad-ban
IDF: Returning fire at Palestinian gunmen, troops critically wound Palestinian child
Military ‘regrets’ harm to civilians, says troops near settlement responded to gunfire, mistakenly hitting father, child; separately, soldier lightly hurt in shooting near Nablus
A Palestinian father and child who were seriously wounded in an exchange of gunfire between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli troops near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank were apparently hit by Israeli fire, the military said late Thursday.
An earlier report said the father and child were likely hit by Palestinian fire when the gunmen shot at an Israeli military post near the settlement.
The Israel Defense Forces said that following an initial investigation, it appeared two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on the West Bank settlement of Neve Tzuf (also known as Halamish), near the Palestinian town of Nabi Saleh on Thursday night and that troops stationed at the adjacent army post on Route 465 returned fire.
Following the exchange, a Palestinian man and his child, a two-year-old boy, appeared at the entrance to Neve Tzuf with serious injuries to seek medical help.
It appears that “as a result of the gunfire by the [Israeli] forces, two Palestinians were hurt,” the military said in a statement, adding that it “regrets the harm” to civilians. A probe into the incident was underway, it said.
Tzuf, June 1, 2023. (Medabrim Tikshoret)
A Palestinian father and child who were seriously wounded in an exchange of gunfire between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli troops near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank were apparently hit by Israeli fire, the military said late Thursday.
An earlier report said the father and child were likely hit by Palestinian fire when the gunmen shot at an Israeli military post near the settlement.
The Israel Defense Forces said that following an initial investigation, it appeared two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on the West Bank settlement of Neve Tzuf (also known as Halamish), near the Palestinian town of Nabi Saleh on Thursday night and that troops stationed at the adjacent army post on Route 465 returned fire.
Sponsored by Sheba: The Stem Cell Revolution at Sheba Medical Center
Following the exchange, a Palestinian man and his child, a two-year-old boy, appeared at the entrance to Neve Tzuf with serious injuries to seek medical help.
It appears that “as a result of the gunfire by the [Israeli] forces, two Palestinians were hurt,” the military said in a statement, adding that it “regrets the harm” to civilians. A probe into the incident was underway, it said.
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The military was searching for the suspected shooters, it further said.
Earlier, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said its medics treated two Palestinians who were hurt by gunfire in the area — a young boy in critical condition and a man in his forties in serious condition. MDA said a military helicopter was dispatched and took the child to the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan. The man was taken by the Palestinian Red Crescent to a hospital in the West Bank.
The Rescuers Without Borders emergency service said earlier that the two Palestinians had arrived near the IDF post when it came under fire, and were likely hit by the gunshots.
In addition, Israeli troops at a post near the West Bank village of Dayr Sharaf came under Palestinian fire from “deep within the city of Nablus” nearby, and one soldier was lightly wounded, the military said early Thursday. The soldier was taken to hospital for treatment.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-father-and-child-seriously-hurt-as-gunmen-fire-on-idf-west-bank-post/
"mistakenly"
US occupation loots more quantities of Syrian oil
US occupation forces looted on Thursday new quantities of Syrian oil, brining out 49 tankers during the past few hours from the fields of Syrian al-Jazeera and the eastern region into the northern region of Iraq through illegal crossings.
Local sources in al-Yarubiya countryside told SANA reporter that the US occupation forces took out, through the illegal al-Mahmoudiya crossing on the border with Iraq, 40 tankers loaded with stolen Syrian oil towards their bases in Iraqi territory.
The sources added that hours later, the occupation forces brought out 31 vehicles, including 9 tankers and 9 carriers loaded with damaged military armored vehicles, accompanied by 6 US military armored vehicles for protection.
https://sana.sy/en/?p=309947
>>18937947 this
>>>18937882 US occupation loots more quantities of Syrian oil?? not sure about this source
Kohl’s Stock Sinks 12% After Promoting Trans Theme Clothes for 3 Month Old Babies
Clothing retail store Kohl’s has joined Target and Bud Light as the latest company to be boycotted by Conservatives.
As reported by The Gateway Pundit last week, the clothing retail giant Kohl’s received major backlash after it was discovered the company was selling transgender-themed clothing for 3-month-year-old babies.
Per Market Watch:
Department-store chain Kohl’s Corp. appeared to be the latest retailer to face at least some online calls for a boycott over its sale of Pride-themed merchandise, following similar anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns against Bud Light and Target Corp.
The scope and impact of the sentiment against Kohl’s was not yet clear. Kohl’s did not immediately respond to a request for more information. LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have described the recent boycott push against retailers and other brands as a coordinated effort.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/kohls-stock-sinks-12-after-promoting-trans-theme/