Navy Fires the Head of Its Only South American Command

Konstantin Toropin

April 05, 2024 at 5:59pm ET

The Navy has relieved the commanding officer of its only command in South America, a statement released by the service announced Friday.

Capt. Abigail Yablonsky Marter, the commander of theNaval Medical Research Unit South, was relieved by Capt. Franca Jones, the commander of the Naval Medical Research Command, "due to a loss of confidence in her ability to command."

According to its website, NAMRU South operates at the Peruvian Navy's "flagship hospital base" in Callao, Peru, as well as a naval clinic in Iquitos, "at the invitation of the Peruvian Navy to address shared health science research interests."

The command also runs a small laboratory located at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras.

Marter is at least the sixth firing of a Navy commanding officer in 2024.

Navy officials have previously said the sea service relieved 15 commanding officers in 2023. There are currently around 1,600 commanding officers in the active-duty Navy across all communities. (Probably went against the Covid shot scam or/and Patriotic, Trump Supporters)

The Navy's statement did not offer any more information about why Marter was removed from leadership, outside of the boilerplate "loss of confidence" remark.

A Navy official told Military.com that the relief was "performance related" and not tied to her conduct or behavior – terms theNavy typically uses to describe commanders being relieved for behavior such as drunk driving. (They usually never give a reason, are they smearing her?)

According to a now-removed biography, Marter's Navy career began in 1996 as a labor and delivery nurse at Naval Medical Center San Diego. She also served at hospitals in Japan and Virginia. She went on to earn a master's degree in 2007 and a doctor of philosophy degree from the University of Virginia in 2015.

Prior to taking command of NAMRU South in July 2023, Marter was thedeputy commander of the Naval Medical Research Command, where she oversaw eight research commands and more than 1,300 staffers.

The biography says that she is a board-certified family nurse practitioner.Her awards include two Meritorious Service Medals, three Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals. (Lots os awards, why would they do this, there is devious reason to do this.)

The Navy's statement said that Cmdr. Michael Prouty will stand in as the acting commanding officer until a permanent replacement is named.Meanwhile, Marter will be temporarily reassigned to Naval Medical Research Command.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/04/05/navy-fires-head-of-its-only-south-american-command.html

Naval Medical Research Command

The Naval Medical Research Command(NMRC) is an agency that performs basic and applied biomedical research to meet the needs of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. Its areas of focus include study ofinfectious diseases, biodefense, military medicine, battlefield medicine, and bone marrowresearch.[1] NMRC is under the United States Department of the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.[2]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Medical_Research_Command

(Not Once do the mention Commander in Chief, why?)

Military Personnel Swear Allegiance to the Constitution and Serve the American People, Not One Leader or Party

By Lee Robinson and Joseph G. Amoroso

April 04, 2024 at 9:35 am

In general, Americans don't trust their government institutions as much as they used to – and that includes the military.

In part, that's because the military can be used as a tool to gain a partisan advantagerather than as a professional group that should be trusted by both parties. For instance, the day he was inaugurated as president, Donald Trump spoke at a luncheon and pointed to retired Marine four-star generals John Kelly and James Mattis, who were serving in his cabinet. "See my generals," he said. "Those generals are going to keep us so safe." This was the first of many times that he referred to top-ranking military officers, whether active-duty or retired, as "my generals" – rather than as military leaders who serve the nation as a whole.

The former president's actions, while perhaps gaining the most attention, reflect a trend among recent presidential candidates, both Democrats and Republicans, who emphasize their connections to the military.

President Joe Biden has claimed he had support from numerous four-star military officers and cited his years of interactions with retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin as justification for a congressional waiver for Austin to serve as secretary of defense.

We are active duty Army officers who teach at West Point and instruct a mandatory course for cadets on the Constitution and American politics. We are concerned about the implication that the military somehow owes allegiance to specific individuals. Military officers do take an oath upon commissioning – but not to a person. Our oath is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.

The Constitution as Curriculum

The foundation of what we teach at West Point is that the military's allegiance is to a system of government codified in the Constitution. Article I of the Constitution says that Congress declares war and funds the military. Article II of the Constitution makes clear that the military must follow the orders of the democratically elected civilian president. The Framers of the Constitution shared authority over the military among elected officials to ensure no one person has unchecked power to direct the military, and that the actions of the military are beholden to the public it serves.

The course we teach provides context and depth for cadets to understand their oath. On their first day at West Point, cadets take an oath to the Constitution. When they graduate, they take a similar oath, also to the Constitution, as they transition from cadet to military officer. Graduations, promotions, reenlistments and other major milestones are commemorated by service members reaffirming their commitment to the Constitution…

More than 80% of the military is comprised of noncommissioned officers and enlisted service members. Most of them do not receive the same sort of instruction on the oath and the importance of a nonpartisan military.

They also take a slightly different oath that has changed over the years as the relationship between the military and society evolved. While both officers and enlisted service members swear first to support and defend the Constitution,enlisted service members also commit to obeying the orders of the president and the officers appointed over them. This added provision could be construed as a weakness, or as a justification for soldiers to prioritize obedience to a person over principles. (What???)

We believe concerns about enlisted personnel's oath to obey the president are overstated, for two reasons. First, in terms of both demographics and political preferences, enlisted soldiers are more representative of the wider society they serve than are the officers who lead them….

https://www.military.com/daily-news/opinions/2024/04/04/military-personnel-swear-allegiance-constitution-and-serve-american-people-not-one-leader-or-party.html

>>20695611 DJT TS w/CAP: (meme - we will save America)PB

Video that goes with meme

THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENT IN HUMAN HISTORY! Wait til the end!Kek

1:25

https://rumble.com/embed/v4ljp5h/?pub=4

Citizen Free Press

@CitizenFreePres

University of Arkansas police officer cuts down a student's Trump flag at the baseball game vs Ole Miss last night.

2:36 AM · Apr 8, 2024

·

85.8K

Views

https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1777223904613781717

>>20696141

WTF?

If you like your car, good luck keeping it. Biden's EV mandate drives change people don't want.

Ingrid Jacques, USA TODAY1/2

Updated Mon, April 8, 2024 at 9:09 AM

11k

In 2013, then-President Barack Obama earned himself the “lie of the year” after he had repeatedly assured Americans,"If you like your health care plan, you can keep it."That simply wasn’t true, and the rollout of Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) caused millions of people to receive cancellation notices.

More than 10 years later, President Joe Biden is driving major disruptions in another major U.S. industry: automobiles.

Unlike his former boss, Biden’s not even bothering to promise the American people that if they like their car, they can keep it.

Biden, however, also is not being upfrontwith the public about what his new Environmental Protection Agency rule actually means.

The headline announcing the EPA mandate last month proclaims: “Biden-Harris Administration finalizes strongest-ever pollution standards for cars that position U.S. companies and workers to lead the clean vehicle future, protect public health, address the climate crisis, save drivers money.”

As with most bureaucraticmumbo jumbo, the meaning is less than clear. I’ll translate: If you like your current gas-powered car, SUV or truck, too bad.

What people want doesn't play into Biden's rules

The timing ofthis rule isn’t a coincidence. It allows Biden to claim a “win” on his promises to the climate change crowd months ahead of the presidential election. And Biden needs all the help he can get.

Yet, the broader implications – if drivers fully understood them –aren’t likely to win the president a lot of fans.

The final rule, which begins in earnest in2027, demands that automakers quickly amp up production of electric vehicles. By 2032, the emissions standards dictate that roughly 70% of new vehicle sales be battery-powered electric or hybrids.

For comparison,EVs made up just under 8% of new car sales last year.If automakers don’t fall in line,they risk hefty fines.

While the EPA doesn’t specifically call for EVs, the only way automakers could reach the new targets is with a major uptick in that technology. It’s worth noting, too, that a =switch to electric batteries is not a panacea for the climate==. Mining and processing those materials take a toll ‒ something Biden ignores.

“There’s a huge amount of environmental impact of mining the lithium and copper and all the materials that go into it,” James Meigs, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and the former editor of Popular Mechanics, told me. “So by the time that battery gets to your car it’s already responsible for a huge amount of carbon emissions.”

This mandate also comes at an awkward moment. People in the car market are not flocking to EVs, and sales are not meeting expectations.

Consumerinterest in EVs has declined for four consecutive months, and the public remains concerned about a lack of charging infrastructure, the price and confusing tax credits. Even comparatively popular Teslas are in a slump.

Negative headlines don’t help, either.When drivers in Chicago couldn’t keep their EV batteries charged during a deep freeze earlier this year, it didn't instill confidence for those of us who live and drive in the Midwest….

https://www.yahoo.com/news/car-good-luck-keeping-bidens-091209528.html

>>20696216

2/2

Expect Trump to hammer Biden on EV mandate

Because we’re in a presidential campaign, expect to hear former President Donald Trump harp on potential consequences of Biden’s EPA rule. In fact, Trump has vowed to overturn it.

"Joe Biden's extreme electric vehicle mandate will force Americans to buy ultra-expensive cars they do not want and cannot afford while destroying the U.S. auto industry in the process," the Trump campaign told Fox News last month. "This radical policy is anti-jobs, anti-consumer and anti-American.

I have to agree with Trump on this one.

However, automakers are already gearing up to meet the stricter standards, spending billions in the process. Constantly retooling to meet government-imposed targets presents its own challenges to the industry.

No question, the impact on car companies will be huge.But what bothers me most about this regulation is that Biden, through regulatory decree, is trying to force a dramatic change that most Americansdon’t fully understand yet and very well may not want.

Rather than go through Congress, where a robust public debate could take place,Biden quietlydid it through therule-making process.

“It’s politically deceptive in a way that is all too typical of the Biden administration in a lot of different areas,” says Meigs of the Manhattan Institute. “They have opted to make major policy changes out of sight of the average voter.”

If Biden doesn’t want us to keep our beloved gas-powered cars, then he should just say so.The American people deserve to know what a future with Biden at the wheel really looks like.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/car-good-luck-keeping-bidens-091209528.html

Challenger to Hungary's Orbán announces new political alternative to tens of thousands of supporters

(Samantha Power is (secretly) leading color revolution in Hungary.)

JUSTIN SPIKE

Sat, April 6, 2024 at 11:55 AM EDT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán mobilized tens of thousands of supporters in Hungary's capital on Saturday, outlining a plan to unite the country and bring an end to the populist leader's 14-year hold on power.

At the center of the demonstration, the latest in a recent series of protests against Orbán's right-wing nationalist government, was political newcomer Peter Magyar, a former insider within Hungary's ruling Fidesz party who has shot to prominence in recent weeks through his allegations of entrenched corruption and cronyism among the country's leaders.

Magyar addressed a crowd that filled the sprawling square near the parliament building in Budapest, announcing his creation of a new political community aimed at uniting both conservative and liberal Hungarians disillusioned by Orbán's governance and the fragmented, ineffectual political opposition.

“Step by step, brick by brick, we are taking back our homeland and building a new country, a sovereign, modern, European Hungary,” Magyar said, adding that the protest was “the biggest political demonstration in years.”

Magyar, 43, was once a member of Orbán's political circle and is the ex-husband of former justice minister and Orbán ally Judit Varga. But he broke ranks in February in the wake of a political scandal that led to the resignation of his ex-wife and the president, and has amassed a large following with frequent media appearances where he portrays Hungary's political life as having been taken over by a privileged group of oligarchs and anti-democratic elites.

He has argued that Orbán’s government operates as a “mafia,” and advocated for a moral, political and economic transformation of the country that would rein in corruption and create a more pluralistic political system.

“More than twenty years have passed as our elected leaders have incited the Hungarian people against each other. Whether the fate of our country went well or we were close to bankruptcy, we were pitted against each other instead of allowing us to band together,” Magyar said. “We will put an end to this now.”

Hungary's government has dismissed Magyar as an opportunist seeking to forge a new career after his divorce with Varga and his loss of positions in several state companies. But his rise has compounded political headaches for Orbán that have included the resignation of members of his government and a painful economic crisis.

Last month, Magyar released an audio recording of a conversation between him and his ex-wife Varga that he said proved that top officials had conspired to manipulate court records in order to cover up their involvement in a corruption case. He has called on Orbán's government to resign and for a restoration of fair elections.

Orbán’s critics at home and in the European Union have long accused him of eroding Hungary’s democratic institutions, taking over large swaths of the media and altering the country’s election system to give his party an advantage. The EU has withheld billions in funding to Budapest over alleged democratic backsliding, misuse of EU funds and failure to guarantee minority rights.

(EU has been doing this for years because Hungary doesn’t Gay Trans BS, they won’t allow illegals and he doesn’t agree with EU and their progressive agenda to destroy religions. They are a Catholic Christian Country)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/challenger-hungarys-orb-n-announces-155531897.html

8 Apr, 2024 12:39

Support for ‘authoritarian’ Zelensky falling – German media

The Ukrainian president’s failure to keep his election promises has contributed to public disenchantment, Tagesspiegel claims

Public support for Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is declining as he is increasingly perceived as an authoritarian ruler, German newspaper Tagesspiegel has claimed.

In an article on Saturday, Tagesspiegel reported thatapproval ratings for Zelensky “have recently sunk to 61%,” citing fresh opinion pollsby the Kiev International Institute of Sociology. The Ukrainian leader had enjoyed the support of more than 80% of citizens in the initial months after the conflict with Russia broke out in 2022, the German outlet noted.

In January, the New York Times reported that Ukrainians were growing weary of government narratives being pushed on TV, accusing them of painting an unrealistic picture of frontline developments.

In early March, Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko openly criticized Zelensky’s decision to fire the country’s top military commander, Valery Zaluzhny, in the previous month. Klitschko has also repeatedly accused the Ukrainian president of authoritarian tendencies.

Tagesspiegel quoted Stefan Meister, an Eastern Europe expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations research institute, as saying thatUkrainian society has become increasingly critical of authoritarian tendencies within Zelensky’s government.

According to Meister, Ukrainians aredisillusioned with the president’s failure to fulfill the promiseshe made on the campaign trail five years ago, includingbringing peace to the country and eradicating corruption.

Vladimir Paniotto, the head of the Kiev International Institute of Sociology, told German reporters that public trust in Zelensky’s team as a whole has also declined markedly.

Zelensky’s first five-year term is due to end on May 20, although he has ruled out holding presidential elections, citing martial law. He has nonetheless been busy reshuffling his administration, seeking to remove figures who enjoy any significant public support and replacing them with those “loyal to the president [and] without political ambitions,”Tagesspiegel reported.

The newspaper cited the sacking of Zaluzhny as a prime example, adding that the general remains more popular among Ukrainians than Zelensky.

The Ukrainian president “is trying to shunt possible rivals so that they won’t become politically dangerous for him,” Meister alleged.

(The world is sick of him!)

https://www.rt.com/news/595580-tagesspiegel-ukraine-zelensky-popularity-dwindling/

>>20696342

Guaranteed there will be a “pile on” negative news in EU and US soon, this how it starts. Bidan probably gave the word after the Crocus Terrorism

8 Apr, 2024 07:47

Insiders describe Trump’s Ukraine plan to Washington Post

The US presidential candidatereportedlywants Kiev to cede territory to Moscow as part of a peace deal

(If insiders are leaking to WAPO, they’ll be out, but Trump did say he “knows who to leak to in the news”, or this could be a scheme to get Bidan admin to attack Trump for interfering)

Ukraine will have to relinquish its claims to Russian territory as part of a peace deal envisioned by former US President Donald Trump, TheWashington Postreported on Sunday, citinganonymous insiders.

The Republican nominee for the November election has boasted on numerous occasions that he would be able to end the Ukraine conflict in 24 hours, should he win the presidency. However, Trump has declined to provide details on his plan.

The terms that Trump wants to push through involve Kiev recognising Crimea and Donbass as parts of Russia, the newspaper said, citing people who have discussed the issue with the former president or his advisers. However, =his campaign downplayed those accounts as mere “speculation” by “uninformed sources== who have no idea what is going on or what will happen”.

Crimea has been a part of Russia since 2014, when residents rejected a US-backed armed coup in Kiev and voted in a referendum to seek Russian protection from the new government.

The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics also defied the post-coup authorities and took up arms, when Kiev sent in the army to quash them. Ukraine’s refusal to implement a roadmap for reconciliation with Donbass, the so-called Minsk Agreements, and preparation for renewed hostilities, were cited by Moscow as the key triggers of the current conflict.

Western officials have pledged military support for Kiev for “as long as it takes” to resist Russia. However a string of battlefield setbacks for Ukrainian forces and the Western failure to provide sufficient aid have put a dent in the strategy.

NATO Secretary GeneralJens Stoltenberglast week urged foreign donors to ramp up support, with the aim of giving Kiev a stronger position during hypothetical peace talks.

“The way to convince Russia that they have to sit down and accept a solution where Ukraine prevails as a sovereignindependent democratic nation in Europe is to give military support to Ukraine,” he told the BBC on Sunday. “Of course, at the end of the day it has to be Ukraine that decides what kind of compromises they are willing to [make].”

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has declared full the capture of lost territories, including Crimea, as the only outcome of the conflict that his government will accept. Moscow has said it is willing to negotiate, if Kiev acknowledges the “reality on the ground”.

https://www.rt.com/news/595570-trump-ukraine-plan-wapo/

8 Apr, 2024 12:04

West could punish Slovakia for electing Ukraine-skeptic president – PM

Robert Fico said he wouldn’t be surprised if the EU cuts funding to the country after the victory of Social Democrat Peter Pellegrini

The EU may look for ways to punish Slovakia following the victory of Ukraine-skeptic Peter Pellegrini in the country’s presidential elections, Prime Minister Robert Fico has warned.

The Social Democrat politician is set to become president after defeating pro-Western liberal candidate Ivan Korczok, who had called for more military and financial support for Kiev.

Pellegrini officially won 53% of the vote while Korczok, a former minister for foreign affairs, trailed on 46%. In his victory speech,Pellegrini called for hostilities in Ukraine to be stopped as soon as possible.

“It is an absolute tragedy to support… a conflict that has not brought any results in two years,” while leaving tens of thousands dead, the president-elect said.

While congratulating the new president on his victory, Fico warned that Slovakia must now take into account “the possible punishment of the West for electing Peter Pellegrini, and not Ivan Korczok, who would not have hesitated to send Slovak battalions to Ukraine.”

The prime minister recalled that, following thevictory of his Social Democrat party in the parliamentary elections in Slovakialast year,instead of receiving congratulations from the EU, the group was expelled from the Party of European Socialistsdue to its position on Ukraine.

“I would not be surprised if the European Commission, purely for political reasons and because of the results of the presidential elections, suspended payments to us from [EU] funds,” Fico said.

During his election campaign, Pellegrini repeatedly stated that the Ukraine conflict must be resolved through peaceful means. He has opposed sending any further military aid to Kiev, arguing that Ukraine would not be able to defeat Russia on the battlefield, and that further weapon shipments would only lead to the unnecessary deaths of thousands of soldiers and civilians.

The incoming president has alsodescribed the West’s sanctions on Russia as ineffectiveand against the interests of Slovakia. Pellegrini has opposed Ukraine’s membership in NATO but is open to Kiev becoming part of the EU. He has said, however, that the country must first meet all the necessary requirements to join the bloc.

He has indicated that Slovakia would remain aligned with the EU and NATOunder his leadership, but the country must also take a more independent position on the global stage.

(Better to be in than out, like Hungary. More countries elective more conservative candidates. EU is freaking out about June EU elections big time.Pray for support of the countries breaking away from dictates of EU)

https://www.rt.com/news/595588-eu-punish-slovakia-fico/

8 Apr, 2024 08:38

Musk defies Supreme Court judge’s order to block X accounts in Brazil

The tech billionaire slammed the ruling as “the most draconian demands of any country on Earth”

Elon Musk has demanded the resignation of a Brazilian Supreme Court justice. Judge Alexandre de Moraes had ordered an investigation of Elon Musk on Sunday,after the tech mogul defied an order to suspend social media accounts, claiming that they were spreading disinformation.

Musk wasaccused of the “criminal instrumentalization of the platform” and was threatened with a fine equivalent to $20,000 for each reactivated account that the judge ordered to be blocked.

”The social network X must refrain from disobeying judicial orders, including by reactivating an account that the Supreme Court ordered blocked,” Judge Alexandre de Moraes wrote in the order reviewed by AFP agency. “Social networks are not lands without laws,” the judge added in capital letters.

It has not been revealed which accounts were affected.

Following the development, the billionaire, who is known for his free speech advocacy, took to his platform, calling the ruling the “the most draconian demands of any country on Earth”and accusingMoraes of “brazenly and repeatedly” betraying the constitution and people of Brazil.

“This judge has applied massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to X in Brazil,” he said in a post on his network on Sunday, calling on Moraes to resign.

“As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there.But principles matter more than profit,”he added.

Moraes hasordered the suspension of multiple accountsbelonging to influential peoplesupporting former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently being investigated amid allegations that he attempted to launch a coup in 2022. So-called “digital militias” have been accused of spreading defamatory claims and threats against members of Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Those who approve of the crackdown say supporters of the right-wing former president threaten Brazil’s democracy. They cite mass protests against his election loss, which culminated in January 2023 with the storming of the Supreme Court building, the national parliament and the presidential palace. Online agitation allegedly served as a key trigger of the violence.

Following Musk’s retort, Brazil’s Attorney General Jorge Messias called for the urgent regulation of social networks, saying “we cannot live in a society where billionaires who live abroad control social networks and show themselves willing to violate the rule of law, disobeying judicial orders and threatening our authorities.”

(Weird statement by Musk as a billionaire, maybe he should stop doing it for American IC agencies too. All this proves is Brazil citizens know Lula and the SC stole the 2023 election.It won’t go away, it will get bigger in Brazil. Lula is destroying the country.)

https://www.rt.com/news/595567-musk-defies-x-accounts-brazil/

8 Apr, 2024 02:20

France rejecting antiterrorism cooperation – Moscow

Paris has suspended all communication in the field, despite receiving help in the past, the Russian ambassador said

Paris hascut off counterterrorism collaboration with Moscow just months before the Olympic Games, Russian Ambassador Aleksey Meshkov said on Sunday in an interview with the French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche.

His remarks came two weeks after more than 140 people were killed during a terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue outside Moscow. France, which will host the summer Olympics in July and August, raised the terrorism alert and ramped up security in Paris following the massacre.

Meshkov saidthe two countries have historically worked together to fight terrorism, but “recently France has cut off all communication in this field. The facts are undeniable: today, France offers significant support to Ukraine in terms of information exchange, while Ukraine carries out terrorist activities in Russia.”

Ukraine has been engaged in assassinations and sabotage on Russian soil since Moscow launched its military operation in February 2022. Although the jihadist group Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) claimed responsibility for the attack on Crocus City Hall, Russian investigators say they found evidence pointing to Kiev’s possible involvement.

“A few years ago, Russia shared its expertise on security during the [2014] Sochi Olympics with France. Today, however, the French authorities have set up a special mechanism to work with all accredited foreign embassies in Paris on security matters, but the Russian embassy has not been invited or informed about this initiative,” Meshkov said.

The diplomat pledged that Russia will notify Paris if it receives information about a security threat during the Games. Communication will be difficult, however, because the embassy has been “completely cut off from any exchange of information on the preparations for the Olympic Games,” Meshkov stressed. “There is no dialogue with us.”

On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron claimed that Russia was running a disinformation campaign aimed at undermining the upcoming Games. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the accusation as “absolutely unfounded.”

Relations between the countries have remain strained as France continues to be one of the main supporters of Ukraine in Europe. Moscow has repeatedly criticized Paris for sending SCALP-EG cruise missiles and other weapons to Ukraine, and has accused it of allowing French “mercenaries” to fight for Kiev.

(Macron was offered a lot of money by Zelensky, he will do anything they say. I wonder what the French think of Macron’s actions. This will probably backfire on Macron.)

https://www.rt.com/news/595564-france-refuses-antiterrorism-cooperation/

Tap water fees for homes to be seasonal in Toulouse

The ‘innovative’ measure will see prices rise 42% in summer; critics say it is unfair

Monday 08 April 2024 - 11:44

The cost of tap water is to change seasonally in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne, Occitanie) in a bid to help save water, with prices in summer up to 42% more expensive than in winter.

For themonths of June to October, the city and 36 surrounding communes will be charged 42% more for water usage per metre cubed, compared to the current average annual tariff. In contrast, prices in the winter period (November to May) will be 30% lower.

The changes will affect around 850,000 residents.

The new measure is intended to encourage residents to save water after several summers of drought led to a severe lack of water. Drought has become a more pressing problem across most of France, especially in the hottest months.

"We are pioneers, we are innovative,” said the mayor of Toulouse and chairman of Toulouse Métropole, Jean-Luc Moudenc. “That is what we are about: we are a metropolis of innovation, and we should be innovative on the issue of water resources.”

Unfair for lower-income homes?

But critics have said that the measure will disproportionately affect lower-income homes.

Sophie Boubidi, local councillor for Colomiers and member of the Metropolitan Council, said that opposition groups had argued for the pricing measure to be introduced alongside a “progressive, social and environmental pricing system” that would change according to household incomes.

“It included free access to the first few cubic metres of water,” she said. “But [the idea] was not retained.”

Summer 2023 was particularly worrying in Toulouse, because the Garonne river - which runs through the city - hit a record low level. Encouragingly so far this year the river has managed to recover and stay at almost-normal levels, reports France Bleu.

As early as February, however, around 40 communes nationwide were already under surveillance due to low water levels threatening the availability of tap water. The Pyrénées-Orientales department is under particular strain.

https://www.connexionfrance.com/news/tap-water-fees-for-homes-to-be-seasonal-in-toulouse/652005

>>20696654

Bitch!

'BIDEN AIN'T DOING S***!': Black voters eviscerate Biden. Blacks sounding off on Bidan again

6:46

https://youtu.be/PNynxcjhsbA?si=OYpAwlB1XAwXAa6l

>>20696760

Blacks start of 3:05

Georgia Students Shut Down Congressman in Latest “Deplatforming”

We have another successful “deplatforming” of a speaker at a university this week after Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) had to be removed from an event at the University of Georgia. This follows incidents discussed this week involving student protests at Tulane and Maryland.

Rep. Collins was invited to speak on campus by the University of Georgia Turning Point USA chapter and College Republicans.His remarks, however, were drowned out by protesters screaming profanities and insults.

Collins attempted to discuss the recent death of Laken Riley, who was allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant while jogging at the University of Georgia.

One student yelled “How dare you come on this campus and exploit Laken Riley’s death to push your xenophobic, fascist, racist, agenda…people are in this country legally and your f–king cops are gonna get them arrested and deported.”

Others just shouted profanities like “Fk you, you’re a b*h” or told the congressman to “take your white supremacist rhetoric elsewhere, your neo-nationalist rhetoric elsewhere.” Others attacked him for his support of Israel.

Some were led out of the event by police, but the coordinated interruptions succeeded and the congressman was reportedly escorted off campus.

Some groups like the College Democrats had called for protests but it is not clear whether these groups participated in the disruptions during the events.

Once again, this was done by students who were shown on videotape preventing opposing views from being spoken or heard on campus.The question is whether the University of Georgia will take steps to discipline the students and any groups who coordinated this effort. As discussed in a column this morning in the Hill,preventing free speech is not an act of free speech.

The argument that stopping free speech is free speech isnothing more than a twisted rationalization. Protesting outside of an event is an act of free speech. Entering an event to shout down or “deplatform” speakers is the denial of free speech.It is also the death knell for higher education in the United States.

The mottoof the University of Georgia is Et docere et rerum exquirere causas, or“To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.” That inquiry cannot occur through a filter of screaming profanities and abuse.It is good that the university had security to remove disrupters but that is not enough. These coordinated efforts often involve students who stand up in succession to keep an event from being held.

If these “deplatformings” are to end, the university has to suspend or expel those responsible for such actions.Georgia must choose whether it will stand with free inquiry and free speech or whether it will yield to this entitled mob of speech-phobic students.

https://jonathanturley.org/2024/04/06/georgia-students-shut-down-congressman-in-latest-deplatforming/