NBA Launches Investigation Into Josh Giddey for Alleged Relationship With Minor

Rising NBA star Josh Giddey is reportedly under investigation by the NBA after rumors broke out that the 21-year-old is in a relationship with a girl who is believed to be 15 years old.

According to reports, the NBA got involved after a picture of Giddey and the girl surfaced online.

During a recent press conference, a reporter asked Giddey about the allegations, to which Giddey responded, “I understand the question obviously, but there’s no further comment right now.”

A reporter also questioned Thunder Head Coach Mark Daigneault regarding the allegations. Still, Daigneault offered no further details but shared, “It’s a personal matter, and I have no comment on it. And that’ll be my comment on anything related.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/11/nba-launches-investigation-josh-giddey-alleged-relationship-minor/

Mitt Romney stating that he would support "anybody" running in the Republican primary except for Donald Trump or

@VivekGRamaswamy

, and would turn to support "a number of Democrats" if either were to get the Republican nomination…is just the endorsement Vivek needs. #RebelScum👇

https://twitter.com/GoViRaLFG/status/1728335734266822671

Israeli-Owned Ship Comes Under Iranian Suicide Drone Attack In Indian Ocean

Another Israeli-linked shipping vessel has been targeted by Iran-backed forces against the backdrop of the Gaza war. A US defense official was cited in the Associated Press as describing that a container ship owned by an Israeli businessman came under attack by an Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone on Friday.

Separately, the pan-Arab satellite channel Al Mayadeen said an Israeli ship was targeted. The Malta-flagged, French-operated CMA CGM Symi vessel was in international waters when the suicide drone armed with a bomb exploded into the ship, causing damage but not resulting in injury to crew members.

The US official cited in AP said "we continue to monitor the situation closely" but did not cite any specific evidence showing Iran to be behind the attack.

Maritime security company Ambrey said the vessel had departed a port in the UAE, and soon the ship's tracking signal went offline. "The vessel was managed by an Israeli-affiliated company, which was assessed to be the reason why it was targeted," a statement from the security company said.

As for Israeli ties, The Times of Israel has learned that "The ship, its cargo, its operating company and its points of departure and destination did not appear to have any clear ties to Israel. Rather, the Symi is leased to CMA CGM by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is a company ultimately controlled by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer."

According to further emerging details:

CMA CGM, a major shipper based in Marseille, France, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, the vessel’s crew had been behaving as though they believed the ship faced a threat.

…The ship had its Automatic Identification System tracker switched off since Tuesday when it left Dubai’s Jebel Ali port, according to data from MarineTraffic.com analyzed by the AP.

Thus it's likely the crew switched off the tracker as it suspected a drone was overhead seeking to target the ship. In the attack aftermath, a statement from the operator indicated that as of Saturday, "The vessel in question is currently sailing as planned" and that "all crew are safe and well."

The following unverified photograph is widely circulating on Saturday…

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israeli-owned-ship-comes-under-iranian-suicide-drone-attack-indian-ocean

China issues nuclear warning over AUKUS pact

Officials say the Western nuclear tech-sharing deal could kick off a new arms race

The international community must address nuclear “proliferation risks” posed by the three-way AUKUS agreement between the US, UK and Australia, Beijing’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said.

Speaking before the IAEA board of governors on Friday, Chinese envoy Li Song argued that the AUKUS deal “runs counter to the purpose and objectives” of the landmark Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and threatens the Asia-Pacific region.

Li went on to call for formal “intergovernmental discussions” on the matter between IAEA member states, saying they “have enough wisdom, patience and determination to properly respond to the AUKUS-related proliferation risks.”

AUKUS was established in 2021 between Washington, Canberra and London in part to facilitate the transfer of military technology among the three allies, with the US military pledging to help Australia obtain nuclear-powered submarines.

Though officials from each country have maintained that the bloc is not a formal military alliance and is solely focused on technology-sharing, Beijing has condemned the project, claiming it would only kick off an arms race in Asia and help to spread nuclear weapons around the globe.

“The three countries have gone further down the wrong and dangerous path for their own geopolitical self-interest, completely ignoring the concerns of the international community,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said earlier this year, adding that the AUKUS pact is based on a “Cold War mentality which will only motivate an arms race, damage the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, and harm regional stability and peace.”

https://www.rt.com/news/587954-china-nuclear-proliferation-aukus/

Has America Been Set Up As History's Ultimate "Bumbling Villain"?

The high priests of academic and “official” history love a good villain for two reasons: First, because good official villains make the struggles and accomplishments of good official heroes even more awe-inspiring. And, second, because nothing teaches (or propagandizes) the masses more thoroughly than the social or political lessons inherent in the documented rise and fall of the world’s most despicable inhabitants.

We get shivers of fear and excitement when we discuss the evils and the follies of ancient monsters like Nero, Attila the Hun, Caligula, etc, or more modern monsters, like Mussolini, Stalin, Hitler, Goebbels, Mao, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, and so on. We take solace in the idea that “we are nothing like them”, and our nation has “moved beyond” such animalistic behavior.

But even more fascinating popcorn-style history is found not in the destruction of tyrants, but the destruction of empires.

When an entire culture steps off the edge of the abyss into the realm of societal psychosis, the world often changes forever and in ways that, at least on the surface, seem to bring humanity a little closer together. The fall of Rome led to the eventual rise of a dominant Catholic theocracy and the rulership of royal blood lineage that lasted for centuries in Europe.

The flames of World War I and the destabilization of the Kaiser’s Germany led to the formation of the League Of Nations; a first attempt at a global governing authority designed to “maintain world peace”. World War II and the fall of the Third Reich resulted in considerable horrors, which the establishment of the United Nations was supposedly meant to prevent from ever occurring again.

The decline of the British Empire saw the implosion of cultural colonialism, and the rise of corporate colonialism, which centralized immense power into the hands of the banking class as the new official oligarchs of our modern era. The collapse of the Berlin Wall and the abandonment of the Soviet Union was lauded by then U.S. President George Bush as the beginnings of a “New World Order” – an ideological concept which heralds the final deterioration of the idea of economic and political sovereignty as a mainstay of human civilization.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/has-america-been-set-historys-ultimate-bumbling-villain

Troops Discharged Over COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal Sue US Government For Billions In Lost Wages

Nicholas Bassen, an Army sergeant who was discharged in 2022 for not getting a vaccine, wants compensation of at least $120,000.

The suits, filed in recent months, argue that when Congress compelled the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to rescind its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, lawmakers carefully chose their wording.

"Congress expressly chose the term 'rescind', rather than more customary language such as 'repeal', 'amend', or 'clarify', to direct the DoD and the courts that the rescission should be applied retroactively," one states.

To support their argument, lawyers pointed to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's Jan. 10 memorandum, in which the retired general rescinded the mandate and ordered military leaders to remove adverse actions pertaining to vaccine refusal from the records of members still serving.

Mr. Austin also said that former members could lodge petitions to request corrections to their records.

"Secretary Austin acknowledged the Congressional directive to apply the Rescission retroactively by, among other things, committing to correct all of the paperwork and adverse personnel actions resulting from non-compliance with the now voided mandate and orders issued pursuant to it," one of the suits states.

"We think there's some pretty strong precedent in in our favor, because when Congress repealed 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' they use the word 'repeal'. When they did this, they use the word 'rescind'," Dale Saran, one of the attorneys representing the former members, told The Epoch Times in an email.

"Everybody should be made whole again," Mr. Saran added later. "They should be right back in the position they were before."

Mr. Saran estimated that, if the suits are successful, then billions of dollars would go to former members.

He noted that the money was already appropriated by Congress for pay and other compensation before the military discharged more than 8,000 personnel for refusing to receive a vaccine.

Tens of thousands of National Guard personnel, meanwhile, were denied pay for being deemed out of compliance with the mandate.

All three class-action suits were filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/troops-discharged-over-covid-19-vaccine-refusal-sue-us-government-billions-lost-wages

IDF Knew Real Hamas HQ While Lying About al-Shifa

While telling the world that Hamas HQ was under al-Shifa Hospital, the IDF had already found the actual command center 8.5km away

Although corporate news media have made it clear they don’t buy the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claim that al-Shifa Hospital has been a cover for a Hamas command and control center and weapons armory, Western media have failed to report a much bigger story.

The IDF and the Israeli government already knew when they launched their propaganda campaign about al-Shifa that Hamas had no military command and control facility hidden there because it had already found the complex kilometers away.

As Consortium News reported last week, for 15 years the Israelis claimed Hamas was operating its primary command and control base from a tunnel underneath al-Shifa. After the Israeli bombing campaign against Gaza began in October, the Israeli military amplified that message to press its contention that by hiding the Hamas high command, al-Shifa Hospital had lost its immunity from military operations under the law of war, and could now legitimately be taken over by force.

On Nov. 11, IDF spokesman Richard Hecht declared that al-Shifa was the “main hub of Hamas activity;” Newsweek reported the IDF regarded al-Shifa Hospital as “Hamas’s main command post” and the Times of Israel headlined “Hamas leaders again hiding under hospital”.

The crescendo of Israeli propaganda about al-Shifa being a “human shield” for Hamas came with a long report published by The New York Times on Nov. 14. It was based on interviews with eight present and former intelligence and defense officials, describing a vast military command complex under al-Shifa with multiple levels.

But something quite unexpected had happened during this new round of press stories on al-Shifa that completely demolished the entire IDF story line: the IDF had gained control of the real Hamas command and control center in an area where the Hamas leadership had previously had their above-ground offices in the Al Atatra neighborhood, in the extreme northwest of Beit Lahiya city, 8.5km away from al-Shifa.

After that office building was demolished, the IDF discovered a major tunnel facility that was quite certain had been the central headquarters for the Hamas high command – the command and control center for the entire war.

As the IDF leaked to The Jerusalem Post in a story published Nov. 14, the discovery was made “several days ago” of a tunnel with an elevator that reached thirty meters underground, compared with only five meters underground in other tunnels. Furthermore it had been equipped with oxygen, air conditioning and more advanced communications than seen anywhere else.

Discovery of Real Hamas High Command Bunker

https://original.antiwar.com/porter/2023/11/23/idf-knew-real-hamas-hq-while-lying-about-al-shifa/

Hundreds of German police raid properties of Hamas supporters in Berlin and across the country

Hundreds of police officers searched the properties of Hamas members and followers in Germany on Thursday morning following a formal ban on any activity by or in support of the militant group.

The German government implemented the ban on Nov. 2 and dissolved Samidoun, a group that was behind a celebration in Berlin of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Germany’s domestic intelligence service estimates that Hamas has around 450 members in the country. Their activities range from expressions of sympathy and propaganda activities to financing and fundraising activities to strengthen the organization abroad.

The raids, which mostly took place in Berlin, were meant to enforce the bans and to further investigate the groups, the German interior ministry said in a statement.

A total of 16 properties were searched by 500 police officers in Berlin and the states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein.

In Berlin alone, more than 300 police officers carried out searches at 11 locations in order to seize evidence and assets. Seven searches were related to Hamas and four to Samidoun. The searches mainly took place at the homes of supporters and the premises of a Palestinian association, German news agency dpa reported.

Germany has been clamping down on groups supporting antisemitism in the wake of the latest Israel-Hamas war.

On Tuesday, police raided the homes of 17 people in the southern German state of Bavaria who were accused of spreading antisemitic hate speech and threats targeting Jews online. On Nov. 16, German police raided 54 locations across the country in an investigation of a Hamburg-based organization suspected of promoting the Iranian leadership’s ideology and possibly supporting activities of Hezbollah in Germany.

“We are keeping a close eye on the Islamist scene,” Faeser said. “Islamists and antisemites cannot and must not feel safe anywhere here.” She said the members and supporters of Hamas in Germany are also committed to influencing the political and social discourse in the country.

Hamas has vowed to annihilate Israel and has been responsible for many suicide bombings and other deadly attacks on civilians and Israeli soldiers. After the group’s incursion into Israel in October, Israel vowed to wipe out Hamas.

The U.S. State Department designated Hamas a terrorist group in 1997. The European Union and other Western countries also consider it a terrorist organization.

https://apnews.com/article/germany-hamas-raids-berlin-67068b14d7b138af6df93647d0e856eb

‘This is NOT Ireland’s Future!’: Conor McGregor Denounces Riots, Promises Political Action to ‘Ensure Ireland’s Safety’

“I do not condone last nights riots. I do not condone any attacks on our first responders in their line of duty. I do not condone looting and the damaging of shops,” he wrote in a November 24 X post. “Last nights scenes achieved nothing toward fixing the issues we face. I do understand frustrations however, and I do understand a move must be made to ensure the change we need is ushered in. And fast!

“I am in the process of arranging. Believe me I am way more tactical and I have backing. There will be change in Ireland, mark my words. The change needed. In the last month, innocent children stabbed leaving school. Ashling Murphy murdered. Two Sligo men decapitated. This is NOT Ireland’s future! If they do not act soon with their plan of action to ensure Ireland’s safety, I will,” he concluded.

https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2023/11/24/this-is-not-irelands-future-conor-mcgregor-denounces-riots-promises-political-action-ensure-irelands-safety/

Israeli Official Admits Not Even Trying to Get American Hostages Released

The Israeli state and Hamas appear to have reached a tentative hostage exchange deal.

Via NBC News:

“Israel and Hamas have agreed to a breakthrough deal to release 50 women and children who were kidnapped and held in Gaza, a potential landmark deal that will also involve a four-day pause in fighting, the delivery of hundreds of aid trucks, and the release of 150 Palestinian women and children* held in Israeli jails.”

*Note that when Israeli civilians are held in Gaza, they were “kidnapped” and are termed “hostages,” but when Israeli jails Palestinian women and children with no charges or judicial process of any kind, they do not receive the benefit of the same designation in Western corporate state media. That’s how subtle propaganda can get, and it’s easy to miss it if you’re not attuned to the pettiness with which these organizations play semantical games.

Curiously, though, Israel is not making any effort to get non-Israeli hostages released — only Israeli.

Via NBC News:

“Israel will not exchange Palestinian prisoners in exchange for non-Israeli hostages, a senior Israeli official who gave NBC News details on a tentative agreement with Hamas that is awaiting a vote from Israel’s government

According to the official, Israel is currently only negotiating for its citizens and that other countries will have to negotiate for their own terms with Hamas. Dual nationals, those who hold Israel citizenship along with another country, are included in Israel’s deals, the official said.”

So, the U.S. government hands Israel no-strings-attached billions of dollars every single year, to the tune of hundreds of billions in the aggregate, in exchange for zero effort to get American hostages freed when they’re captured within the territorial bounds of the Israeli state. When it is finally presented with one opportunity to repay in infinitesimally small part all of that generosity, it offers only its middle finger to its American patrons.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/israeli-official-admits-not-even-trying-get-american-hostages-released/5840995

Estonia notifies WHO that it rejects the Pandemic Treaty and amendments to International Health Regulations

https://expose-news.com/2023/11/25/estonia-notifies-who-that-it-rejects-pandemic-treaty/

Slovakia will not be entering into any international pandemic agreements with WHO, Prime Minister says

https://expose-news.com/2023/11/25/slovakia-will-not-be-entering-into/