Top officials in EU state charged with corruption – media

The case against the ex-Maltese premier, deputy PM, and others stems from a probe into a privatization scandal

The charges against former premier Joseph Muscat, current Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne, and the governor of the EU nation’s central bank, Edward Scicluna, were filed on Monday, AFP said, citing documents it had obtained.

Muscat, who was Malta’s prime minister between 2013 and 2020, has reportedly been charged with accepting bribes, corruption in public office, and money laundering.

Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who published extensive investigations into the Muscat administration’s privatization deals, was assassinated in 2017. The political fallout from the murder forced Muscat to resign in late 2019.

Fearne and Scicluna were charged with fraud, misappropriation, and fraudulent gain, AFP reported.

The charges are the result of a probe dating back to a 2015 decision by Muscat’s Labour government to pass the management of three public hospitals in the Mediterranean island nation to a private company. The firm later sold the concession to the Steward US hospital network. The privately-owned chain filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, putting all 31 of its US hospitals up for sale.

Last year, a Maltese court annulled the privatization after the deal had been challenged by the opposition. The court said it had found evidence of fraudulent behavior. An appeals court later upheld the ruling due to “collusion” between the companies and senior government officials.

Muscat’s health minister and chief of staff at the time have also been charged with bribery and money laundering, according to AFP.

Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela cast doubt on the integrity of the inquiry on Monday. Local media quoted him as claiming that the probe’s findings were timed to damage his Labour Party’s prospects ahead of the June elections for the European Parliament.

Muscat took to Facebook on Tuesday to claim that the authorities “decided to smear” him “without even questioning” him. Fearne also claimed on Wednesday that he had “never strayed towards breaking the law.”

Malta ranks as a ‘Flawed Democracy’ on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index. It scored 51 points out of 100 for 2023 on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

The EU is no stranger to corruption scandals. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is currently being investigated for corruption in connection with the purchase of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic. Elsewhere, Slovak National Bank governor and member the EU Central Bank Governing Council, Peter Kazimir, is defending bribery charges. Former Latvian central bank Governor Ilmars Rimsevics was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption in December.

https://www.rt.com/news/597225-malta-top-officials-charged-corruption/

Private US Firm With Special Forces Veterans To Take Control Of Rafah Border Crossing

Despite the Biden administration repeatedly warning Israeli leadership in public against a full-scale Rafah invasion, President Biden actually greenlighted the IDF's takeover of the Rafah border crossing, Axios has revealed. The report comes amid questions over whether Netanyahu has crossed Biden's "red line" on Rafah.

The report insists that Israel hasn't crossed that line, so long as the scope of the operation remains limited and does not result in mass civilian displacement and humanitarian catastrophe. Speaking of the Biden-Netanyahu phone call on Monday, a senor Israeli official told Axios, "Biden didn't pull the hand break on the capture of the Rafah crossing during the call." So far the IDF has focused on airstrikes and limited ground incursions in the city's east, after dropping thousands of leaflets telling civilians to exit the area.

However, the US administration has taken the unprecedented step of withholding ammo and bomb shipments to Israel in order to send a 'message'.

An Israeli Haaretz report issued Tuesday has further revealed that there was actually some level of cooperation and coordination with Washington on an IDF tank unit's takeover of Rafah crossing. This was reportedly to ensure no weapons for Hamas can pass into the Strip via the large crossing.

The US, Israel, and Egypt have agreed that a private American security firm will take control of Rafah Crossing and oversee it. As of Wednesday, the IDF has announced it reopened the crossing, and it is retaining full control for now.

"The parties agreed that a private American security company will assume management of the crossing after the IDF concludes its operation. Israel has also pledged not to damage the crossing's facilities to ensure its continuous operation," wrote Haaretz. However, "State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday that he is not aware of Israel agreeing to transfer control of the crossing."

This is also to exert leverage in negotiations. "Israel believes that Hamas' loss of control over the Rafah crossing would be a significant setback for the group," Haaretz noted. "It will not be able to collect taxes imposed on trucks and goods and will no longer be able to bring in weapons and other items banned from entering Gaza."

Haaretz revealed limited details on the US defense firm in question and has not named it. It employs elite former US military personnel such as ex-special forces operators:

As part of Israel's efforts to win agreement for a Rafah operation, negotiations have been underway with a private company in the U.S. that specializes in assisting armies and governments around the world engaged in military conflicts. The company has operated in several African and Middle Eastern countries, guarding strategic sites like oil fields, airports, army bases and sensitive border crossings. It employs veterans of elite U.S. Army units.

Under the understandings between the three countries, when Israel has completed its limited operation in the border crossing area, the U.S. company will take responsibility for operating the facility. That includes monitoring goods arriving in the Gaza Strip from Egypt and preventing Hamas from re-establishing control of the crossing. According to the agreement, Israel and the U.S. will assist the company as necessary.

It the report is accurate, it would mean American military contractors would be put in harm's way, and that US elite veterans could eventually enter a firefight with Palestinian militants.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/private-us-firm-special-forces-veterans-take-control-rafah-border-crossing

House COVID Committee Slaps Fauci Lieutenant With Subpoena After ‘Intentional’ Delays

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic will send a subpoena Wednesday to compel Dr. Anthony Fauci’s senior advisor at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. David Morens, to testify in a public hearing on May 22, the Daily Caller has first learned.

Republican Ohio Rep. Brad Wenstrup, the chairman of the select subcommittee, will send the subpoena to Morens after the subcommittee recently uncovered evidence that suggests Morens intentionally obstructed their investigations into the origins of COVID-19 to protect Fauci.

In June 2023, Morens attempted to avoid potential Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by using his personal email instead of his work email, a letter from Wenstrup reads. Lawmakers have also questioned if he destroyed federal records, according to the letter.

After receiving a letter from the Select Subcommittee detailing Morens’ potential federal records violation, the NIH placed him on administrative leave.

In October 2023, Wenstrup announced a subpoena for NIH records related to Morens’ potential federal records violation. NIH conducted an internal investigation into Morens’ actions but did not share the findings with the American people or Congress.

In November 2023, EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak appeared for a transcribed interview, where he called Morens a “mentor.”

In December 2023, Morens was scheduled to appear for a transcribed interview. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ended up prohibiting Morens from answering any questions about the origins of COVID-19.

https://dailycaller.com/2024/05/08/house-select-subcommittee-coronavirus-pandemic-david-morens-anthony-fauci-subpoena/

Live Streamers Allegedly Bust Prominent Hollywood Producer Herschel Alan Weingrod During Interaction With A Minor

Live streamers Vitaly and Bradley Martin allegedly caught “Space Jam” and “Kindergarten Cop” producer, Herschel Alan Weingrod, on a date with a 15-year-old girl.

Their latest livestream to “Catching Predators” on Kick.com, appeared to show the American screenwriter and producer at a restaurant with a minor, and the questionable scene played out on camera. The footage appeared to show Weingrod and a young girl sitting at a table, talking and ordering food, then Vitaly and Martin stormed in and confronted him about what he was doing with her. Weingrod eventually admitted in the video that the girl confessed to being 15 years old during their conversation, and confessed that he had met her on a dating site.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1788045156022628585

The First Amendment must be scrapped to “protect Israel,” says ADL

Israel and its supporters are frightened by the public outpouring of support for and solidarity towards the Palestinian people living in Gaza at American college and university campuses – so much so that they just sent a letter to the United States Congress demanding the passage of a new censorship law.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in coordination with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations is demanding that Congress renew special provisions in the controversial FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) to allow for the silencing of anyone who in any way criticizes Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Infamously described as “the biggest expansion of domestic surveillance since the Patriot Act,” the new FISA bill being pushed by the Jewish lobby contains added language that would basically criminalize free speech that upsets Zionists. It also compels “an enormous range” of U.S. businesses to start acting as NSA (National Security Agency) spies on behalf of Israel.

Many Americans have no idea that the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations even sent the letter, nor are they aware of the legislation being pushed. Once word gets out, there is likely to be a major outpouring of opposition to it – so do your part to spread the word in defense of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which is under attack by the Jewish lobby.

According to reports, many Americans have been speaking out against the legislation, but to no avail as both chambers of Congress passed it with flying colors in a show of bipartisan support.

Republicans rarely agree with Democrats, and vice versa, except when it comes to matters relating to Israel. Both major political parties have been bought by Israel, which is why they are mostly all Israel first as opposed to America first.

In order to protect “the safety and security of Israel,” as well as “to protect Jews in the U.S.,” the Jewish lobby wants Section 702 of FISA to be renewed immediately, thus prohibiting “antisemitism” at college and university campuses.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly passed anti-antisemitism legislation in the Sunshine State while Americans were distracted by the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). One can only imagine what that Wailing Wall-kisser has planned for Floridians who are caught opposing Israel’s genocide.

“In the U.S., indications of foreign involvement in domestic antisemitic events in the wake of October 7 highlight the need for the Executive Branch to retain this vital tool,” the Jewish lobby argues, using October 7 in the same way as 9/11 before it to trample Americans’ constitutional rights.

Furthermore, the Jewish lobby says it is “deeply concerned” by all the free speech happening in support of the Palestinian people, and that “information previously obtained through the use of Section 702,” which is currently expired, is once again needed to protect Jews from having their feelings hurt.

To not renew Section 702 will “hobble vital intelligence and law enforcement authorities,” the Jewish lobby maintains.

According to ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, protesting in solidarity with the people of Gaza means you are an “accomplice” in the Hamas false flag attack. This is how the entire Jewish lobby thinks of you if you do not support Israel’s genocide, by the way.

Greenblatt is leading the charge to create an entire legal framework that will allow for pro-Palestine protesters to be charged with providing material support to “terrorists,” allowing them to be jailed despite the existence of the First Amendment – watch below:

https://citizenwatchreport.com/the-first-amendment-must-be-scrapped-to-protect-israel-says-adl/

Trump says DEATH PENALTY a proper punishment for “antisemitism” in America

Many people, including his supporters, missed it, but about five years ago Donald Trump spoke at a rally about how he believes the punishment for "antisemitism" in America should be the death penalty.

To a crowd of cheering supporters, Trump appears to have been referring to a deadly shooting at a local kosher grocery store in New Jersey that he described as an "evil antisemitic attack" that he called "an assault on all of us" – or it could have been about the synagogue shooting that happened around the same time.

"It's an assault on humanity," Trump continued – watch the video below.

"It will require all of us working together to extract the hateful poison of antisemitism from our world. This was an antisemitic attack at its worst. The scourge of antisemitism cannot be ignored, cannot be tolerated, and it cannot be allowed to continue – we cannot allow it to continue."

Whenever antisemitism is detected, Trump wants it to be "condemned." Not only that, Trump also wants all Americans to "stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters to defeat antisemitism and vanquish the forces of hate – that's what it is," which to him means killing all offenders.

"Through the centuries, the Jews have endured terrible persecution, and you know that – we've all read it, we've studied it, (and) they've gone through a lot. And those seeking their destruction, we will seek theirdestruction," Trump said to loud roars of applause.

"Now when you have crimes like this, whether it's this one or another one or another group, we have to bring back the death penalty. They have to pay the ultimate price. They can't do this. They can't do this to our country. We must draw a line in the sand and say very strongly: never again."

https://twitter.com/i/status/1786898907798147092

https://www.stationgossip.com/2024/05/trump-says-death-penalty-proper.html

House GOP Preparing Bill To Sanction ICC If It Targets Israel: Report

House Republicans, standing with their Senate GOP colleagues in their support of Israel, are reportedly preparing a bill similar to the Senate bill authored by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) that would sanction the International Criminal Court if it issues arrest warrants against Israel officials over Israel’s war effort against Hamas.

According to House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-TX), the House is preparing a companion bill. The Biden administration revoked a Trump administration executive order that would have held the ICC accountable for such behavior.

On April 29, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) released a statementin which he said:

It is disgraceful that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is reportedly planning to issue baseless and illegitimate arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials. Such a lawless action by the ICC would directly undermine U.S. national security interests. If unchallenged by the Biden administration, the ICC could create and assume unprecedented power to issue arrest warrants against American political leaders, American diplomats, and American military personnel, thereby endangering our country’s sovereign authority. Instead of wrongly targeting Israel, the ICC should pursue charges against Iran and its terror proxies, including Hamas, for engaging in horrific war crimes. The Biden Administration must immediately and unequivocally demand that the ICC stand down and the U.S. should use every available tool to prevent such an abomination.

In early February, Cotton introduced a bill with Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) to sanction officials and associates of the International Criminal Court (ICC) who investigate or prosecute U.S. troops and officials and allies who do not recognize the authority of the ICC, such as Israel.

On April 24, Cotton and 10 other GOP senators sent a letter to the ICC warning them that if they issued international arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, “We will move to end all American support for the ICC, sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States.”

The letter noted, “Issuing arrest warrants for the leaders of Israel would not only be unjustified, it would expose your organization’s hypocrisy and double standards. Your office has not issued arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or any other Iranian official, Syrian President Bashar al Assad or any other Syrian official, or Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh or any other Hamas official. Nor have you issued an arrest warrant for the genocidal General Secretary of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, or any other Chinese official.”

https://www.womensystems.com/2024/05/house-gop-preparing-bill-to-sanction.html

The IDF posts it’s own videos of targeting tents in Rafah…

https://citizenwatchreport.com/the-idf-posts-its-own-videos-of-targeting-tents-in-rafah/

HUGE crowd of Israelis is blocking a Tel Aviv highway and demanding the Netanyahu regime accept the ceasefire.

Families of the hostages set fires and close Begin Road in Tel Aviv in both directions, demanding Netanyahu to accept the exchange deal.

https://citizenwatchreport.com/huge-crowd-of-israelis-is-blocking-a-tel-aviv-highway-and-demanding-the-netanyahu-regime-accept-the-ceasefire/

AIPAC-Funded Congressmen Push for 'October 7th Remembrance Curriculum' to be Taught in Schools

A bipartisan pair of AIPAC-funded congressmen are pushing a new bill to create an "October 7th remembrance curriculum" to be taught in high schools across America.

"I am proud to introduce new bipartisan legislation with @RepSteel to create an October 7th remembrance curriculum," Rep Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), who is funded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, said.

"10/7 was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust," he added. "By teaching about that awful day and the hate that followed, we can combat surging antisemitism."

The bill is co-sponsored by Michelle Steel (R-CA), who is also funded by AIPAC.

The bill directs the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum "to create a curriculum to teach about the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel," Jewish Insider reports:

The USHMM already produces Holocaust education materials for use by schools across the country. The Oct. 7 curriculum would be targeted toward secondary schools.

The bill requests that the new curriculum include information on the Oct. 7 attack; how the history of antisemitism contributed to the attack; the spread of antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric on campuses; the spread of anti-Israel rhetoric on social media; and “denial and distortion as a form of antisemitism in the wake of such attacks.”

The bill defines antisemitism based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and its contemporary examples, which have become controversial on portions of the left and right especially in the wake of a House vote last week on a separate antisemitism bill.

It also asks the Department of Education to report to the Congress on the curriculum.

“Hamas’s barbaric October 7th terrorist attack on Israel and the resulting tsunami of antisemitic incidents have transformed Jewish lives around the world,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “In an era when ADL data is showing a historic rise in antisemitism, education is more critical than ever to understand and curb this perennial hate.”

This was clearly written to overlap with the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which Gottheimer helped write.

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=64442

FCC involved in cellphone radiation coverup.

In a shocking revelation, the FCC joins the ranks of government agencies accused of withholding critical health information, further fueling concerns over the impact of cell phone radiation on public health.

Key Points:

The FCC concealed test results revealing smartphones exceeded federal radiation limits when in close proximity to the human body, sparking outrage over the agency’s actions.

Despite testing smartphones in 2019 and finding radiation levels exceeding safety limits at 2mm separation distance, the FCC delayed releasing this information until 2023, raising questions about transparency.

The FCC’s failure to disclose crucial data comes amid ongoing lawsuits regarding the health effects of cell phone radiation, casting doubt on the agency’s integrity and motives.

Advocates emphasize the need for transparency in regulatory agencies and call for comprehensive oversight to protect public health and ensure accountability.

The FCC’s actions have significant implications for public health, as individuals unknowingly face potential risks from prolonged exposure to cell phone radiation.

Critics denounce the FCC’s prioritization of industry interests over public health concerns, highlighting the agency’s failure to fulfill its regulatory obligations.

Calls for reform and stricter testing protocols echo concerns over the long-term health impacts of wireless technology, urging policymakers to prioritize public safety.

The FCC’s history of concealing vital information underscores the urgent need for greater transparency and accountability in government agencies tasked with safeguarding public health.

thehighwire.com/editorial/take-control-like-other-govt-agencies-the-fcc-manipulates-and-conceals-data-affecting-our-health/

World Bank launches first global framework for agri-food emissions today

The World Bank has today (Tuesday, May 7) launched ‘Recipe for a Livable Planet’ – the first comprehensive global strategic framework for mitigating agri-food system emissions.

According to the World Bank, these actions will also have three key benefits – they will make food supplies more secure; help our food system better withstand climate change; and ensure that vulnerable people are not harmed by this transition.

Agri-food emissions

The report outlines that agri-food is a bigger contributor to climate change than many think. It generates almost one third of GHG emissions, averaging around 16Gt (gigatons) annually.

This is about one-sixth more than all of the world’s heat and electricity emissions. Three quarters of agri-food emissions come from developing countries, including two-thirds from middle-income countries.

www.agriland.ie/farming-news/world-bank-launches-first-global-framework-for-agri-food-emissions/

Ex-Israeli special forces agent says he went 'undercover' at UCLA protest encampment

Aaron Cohen's 'quiet infiltration operation' highlights ties between US law enforcement and Israeli intelligence

On 2 May, while Los Angeles police were cracking down on a Gaza solidarity encampment set up by students at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), an Israeli special operations veteran was boasting online about running a "quiet infiltration operation" into the camp.

"Ran a quiet infiltration operation into the UCLA encampment and now down here with LASD who’s staging now and preparing to make entry onto the to begin taking down the pro terror antisemitic encampment," Aaron Cohen posted on X.

It wasn't clear whether Cohen had conducted his operation in coordination with the Los Angeles Police Department or the Los Angeles Sherrif's Department, as mentioned in his social media post.

Middle East Eye reached out to the LAPD, LASD, and Cohen for comment.

The LASD and Cohen didn't respond to the request for comment, and the LAPD referred MEE to UCLA for comment. MEE reached out to UCLA, which also didn't respond by the time of publication.

But the post from Cohen, which has since gone viral with five million views, has shined a light on the ties between former and current Israeli intelligence officials and US police departments.

"We have seen over the years what some might describe as the Israelisation of our law enforcement, which is the phenomena of American law enforcement agents being trained by Israeli trainers, who are either former military or police officers," Hussam Ayloush, director of the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair-LA), told Middle East Eye.

Ayloush visited the student encampment several times over the past few weeks, including when he was invited by students to give a Friday sermon for Muslim students holding an on-site Friday prayer.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/ex-israeli-special-agent-says-he-went-undercover-ucla-student-encampment

White Genocide Is in the Cards That Are Being Played

Paul Craig Roberts

Three decades ago in my book, The New Color Line, I pointed out that Alfred W. Blumrosen, compliance chief of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, turned the statutory language of the 1964 Civil Rights Act on its head and used the EEOC to create race-based legal privileges for blacks, thereby reducing white Americans to second-class citizenship. In place of equal employment opportunity Blumrosen and the liberals of the time used “affirmative action” to create and enforce privileges for blacks in university admissions, hiring and promotion. These privileges created in defiance of Congress by a regulatory authority were the opening wedge against our then merit-based system and created the acceptability of racial discrimination against white Americans. At the time the liberals admitted that it amounted to privileged treatment of a race, but said it was to be temporary in order to give blacks a leg up. It has now been 60 years, a time period that is not temporary. As I pointed out, once privilege is set in law, it becomes a property right of the privileged supported by the passage of time and precedent after precedent. Even though the racial privilege is unconstitutional, those privileged by it have squatters’ rights in the privilege.

My book was favorably reviewed by Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, by Irving Kristol, editor of The Public Interest, by Judge Robert H. Bork, by the New York Times Book Review, by The Wall Street Journal, by the Washington Post, by California Governor Pete Wilson, and many others. Henry Regnery said that my book was the most important work his firm had ever published. Yet my book had zero effect. Three decades after its publication American corporations, universities, and the US military have institutionalized racial discrimination against white Americans.

60 years too late Tucker Carlson has raised this issue with Jeremy Carl who has just published The Unprotected Class: How Anti-White Racism is Tearing America Apart. As a large percentage of the white population has been indoctrinated into seeing themselves as guilty and undeserving, the white majority is incapable of rectifying its second-class legal status. As the white American majority is rapidly disappearing under the Democrats’ policy of open borders and recruitment of immigrant-invaders into the United States, within a few years time not even the theoretical possibility of restoring American whites to equality under the law will be possible.

If you want to see your future, read Jean Raspail’s The Camp of the Saints. The Camp of the Saints is an accurate description of the fate of the Western World. We are experiencing that fate now. If you dare to know your future and that of your children and grandchildren, you can read this novel that correctly predicted our future in 1973. The book was a best seller, but the rot had already set in. Today the book is suppressed. You can read it here:

https://www.jrbooksonline.com/PDFs/Camp_of_the_Saints.pdf

https://www.unz.com/proberts/white-genocide-is-in-the-cards-that-are-being-played/

US report on Israel’s wartime conduct in Gaza delayed, aides say

The State Department was expected to issue a report on Wednesday.

The Biden administration’s report on whether Israel has violated U.S. and international humanitarian law during the war in Gaza has been delayed and will no longer be released Wednesday as planned, three Senate aides and a House aide told POLITICO.

The State Department has been working for months on the report, which will issue a determination on whether Israel has violated international humanitarian law since the war in Gaza began. If so, the U.S. would be expected to stop sending Israel military assistance.

But the report won’t be finished by an initial Wednesday deadline, said the aides, granted anonymity to discuss internal communications. In an email, the Biden administration notified the Hill that it will miss the date — without providing a clear reason why.

The email said the report is “briefly delayed,” but doesn’t provide a specific timeline.

That’s more definitive than the message from State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller to reporters on Tuesday afternoon. He said that the report wasn’t yet finished, but added: “We are trying very hard to meet that deadline … It’s possible it slips just a little bit, but we are trying to get it done by tomorrow.” Miller noted that the deadline was a self-imposed one rather than a requirement.

A senior administration official, granted anonymity to discuss the internal process, said they expect it will “be delayed by less than a week.”

Asked why the report is taking longer, the National Security Council deferred to State. The State Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The report’s delay comes as Israel attacks the southern city of Rafah in Gaza, where some 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering. Aid groups have warned that any invasion would put the civilians at risk and devastate humanitarian operations. President Joe Biden has warned Israel against conducting a major operation in the city without a plan to protect civilians.

“We have no ground to stand on anymore,” said Hala Rharrit, a former career foreign service officer who worked for State for more than 18 years and resigned last month. The U.S. efforts to bring the war in Gaza to an end are “a failed policy.”

On Monday night, 185 lawyers, including 27 currently in the administration, sent a letter first to top U.S. officials saying that sending weapons to Israel is illegal, according to a copy of the letter obtained by POLITICO.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/07/israel-gaza-state-report-00156619

Gretchen Whitmer admin issues emergency executive order over avian influenza

Previous use of unilateral power resulted in lockdowns, business closures, mandated masks

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration has declared an “extraordinary animal health emergency” and imposed “the most comprehensive measures in the country” to combat highly pathogenic avian influenza.

“Producers must immediately implement robust biosecurity practices and create emergency preparedness plans and this order starts to address these on-farm risks,” Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Director Tim Boring said statement last week.

“Implementing these measures must be the highest priority for every farm and agriculture worker,” he said. “Working together, we can combat HPAI and reduce the long-term impacts on our dynamic food and agriculture industry.”

The “Determination of Extraordinary Emergency, HPAI Risk Reduction Response Order” signed by Boring on Wednesday imposes a series of biosecurity practices on all Michigan dairy farms and commercial poultry operations.

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2024/05/here-we-go-again-gretchen-whitmer-admin-issues-emergency-executive-order-over-avian-influenza/

Republican candidate loses US House primary in victory for pro-Israel lobbyists

John Hostettler of Indiana, whom pro-Israel groups deemed ‘antisemitic’, loses to Mark Messmer, who led opponents with 40% of vote

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/07/indiana-republican-john-hostettler-race-pro-israel-lobby

Remember kids

Russia's bad

US is exceptional

Israel didn't do it

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MTG Pulls the Trigger, Forces the House to Vote to Expel Speaker Johnson

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has filed a privileged motion to vacate the chair, forcing the House to vote within two legislative days to eject Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).

Johnson is expected to immediately move to table – and effectively kill – the motion, a vote which requires a simple majority. Yet House rules do not prohibit Greene, or any other lawmaker, from forcing additional votes, and she and her allies have not tipped their hand as to what they’ll do should the motion be killed.

Further, Johnson’s immediate future, despite assurances from Johnson-friendly media outlets, is far from certain. Some Republicans, including those who will vote against ejecting Johnson, may vote against the tabling motion out of principle. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) has announced he would do so, although he has not said how he will vote on the motion to vacate itself.

Greene pulled the trigger Wednesday after almost two months of warnings for Johnson to end his coalition government with Democrats, during which the endangered Speaker unleashed a torrent of President Joe Biden’s priorities into law.

While long anticipated, the motion’s inevitability seemed to wane this week as Greene and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) met Monday and Tuesday with Johnson for a combined three hours to discuss a path forward. The pair proposed four accountability measures to ensure the Speaker would not advance an agenda opposed by a majority of Republicans, including preventing further American funding of Ukraine’s faraway war.

Johnson had continued to state he was hearing the duo out and considering their proposals, yet insisting it was “not a negotiation.”

But Tuesday evening, after complaining (yet again) he had not been getting enough sleep, Johnson appeared to let the veil drop, sneering and rolling his eyes when asked if he would give Greene an answer soon.

Johnson bit his lip and fought back a giggle as off-camera laughter – presumably from reporters – echoed throughout the Capitol’s Statuary Hall.

Before Johnson’s insulting outburst, the two conservatives insisted they had offered a path for Johnson to “come home” to the Republican Party that had elevated him to the speakership.

But they insisted they were tired of talk and wanted action from the Speaker.

Greene and Massie reportedly pushed this week for Johnson to fight for inclusion of some conservative priorities – namely defunding the special counsel “lawfare” plaguing Trump – into the must-pass Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) reauthorization bill. Johnson had surrendered initiative on the FAA bill to the Senate, while the House spent the week considering legislation like the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/05/08/mtg-pulls-the-trigger-forces-the-house-to-vote-to-expel-speaker-johnson/

>>20839358

>>20839379

yep, marching orders