Houthi Hypersonic Missile Renders Iron Dome Useless, Slams Into Tel Aviv Area

Yemen's Houthi rebels launched its second hypersonic missile attack on Israel in just days, striking the Tel Aviv area early Saturday morning. The attack marked a rare instance where a hypersonic weapon overwhelmed Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, underscoring the challenges posed by these new ultra-fast missiles.

"Between the Yemeni Armed Forces regarding the implementation of a military operation targeting a military target of the Israeli enemy in the occupied Jaffa area with a hypersonic ballistic missile Palestine 2," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree announced on X.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/houthi-hypersonic-missile-renders-iron-dome-useless-slams-tel-aviv-area

Trump Reportedly Plans To Continue Aid To Ukraine But Will Raise NATO Spending To 5%

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to continue sending military aid to Ukraine, despite Trump earlier on the campaign trail mocking Zelensky for being the "greatest salesman on earth" for his getting tens of billions of US taxpayers' money with ease.

A new Financial Times report has cited European officials who say Trump's team told them he plans to continue military aid to Kiev after his inauguration. He's reportedly trying to calm fears of an immediate US withdrawal of support, and this is connected to an expected Trump policy for NATO member states to increase defense spending to 5% of their GDP.

"Donald Trump’s team has told European officials that the incoming US president will demand Nato member states increase defense spending to 5% of GDP, but plans to continue supplying military aid to Ukraine," FT writes.

NATO's existing target of 2% of GPD for defense spending certainly has not been met by all members… not even close. The 2% is being met by only 23 of the alliance's 32 members, and so a significantly higher bar set of more than double that is certainly going to rile Europe.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-reportedly-plans-continue-aid-ukraine-will-raise-nato-spending-5

Axios Chiefs: Citizen Journalism Controls Flow of Information

The establishment media face tremendous pressure to remain the preeminent voice in shaping culture and politics, Axios chiefs Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen said Friday.

VandeHei and Allen acknowledged citizen journalists on social media platforms have more power than ever to break through the establishment media complex and report what they see and hear.

The validity of citizen journalists seems to have grown in recent years after big media pushed numerous hoaxes on the American worker.

“We aren’t just the media here now,” Donald Trump Jr. posted on X Thursday about the congressional spending fight.

“We are also the government,” he continued, “we finally have the ability to asses information rapidly & pressure our representatives to act in a manner that actually represents what we want. They can’t hide and do the bidding of swamp oligarchs anymore.”

https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2024/12/20/axios-chiefs-citizen-journalism-controls-flow-information/

Government Watchdog: DHS Surveils Americans Without A Warrant Using More Than 20 Technologies

A federal watchdog has released a report detailing how federal law enforcement agencies are using more than 20 types of surveillance technologies without a warrant and with limited privacy protections.

Three federal law enforcement agencies under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could be doing more to ensure Americans’ privacy is protected from the federal government’s use of numerous surveillance technologies. Current efforts by the DHS are falling short of protecting Americans from biased technology and violations of civil liberties, according to a recently released report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The report examined technologies which the agencies own and/or have agreements to search or view databases operated by third parties. In fiscal year 2023, the DHS used more than 20 types of detection, observation, and monitoring technologies, such as drones, facial recognition, and automatic license plate readers. Each of these technologies currently operate without the need for a warrant approved by a judge.

The authors of the report make 5 specific recommendations for the DHS, such as encouraging the agency to develop policies and procedures to assess and address bias risks for the surveillance technologies.

The GAO report, titled DHS Could Better Address Bias Risk and Enhance Privacy Protections for Technologies Used in Public, focused on the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Secret Service. The GAO said they focused on these agencies because of the “the large number of law enforcement officers” within them.

The GAO was created to be an independent, nonpartisan government agency within the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government which provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the US Congress.

The GAO took up this investigation due to federal law enforcement agencies increasing use of technologies like automated license plate readers and drones. The authors acknowledge that “the use of these technologies in public spaces—where a warrant is not necessarily required prior to use—has led to concerns about how law enforcement is protecting civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy.”

The GAO inquiry focused on three main areas — the use of the technologies in public spaces without a warrant; the extent to which the agencies’ policies assess the use bias and privacy violations by the technologies; and whether or not DHS federal law enforcement agencies protect privacy by having policies and procedures in place that limit the collection and use of information from these technologies.

The specific technologies examined include facial recognition, fixed and mobile automatic license plate readers, audio recording devices in light poles and other infrastructure, concealed and visible body cameras, cell site simulators also known as Stingrays, drones, radio frequency collection, surveillance towers, and traffic cameras.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/government-surveillance/government-watchdog-dhs-surveils-americans-without-a-warrant-using-more-than-20-technologies

French Police Arrest 95 in Major International Child Pornography Ring Bust

French authorities have arrested nearly a hundred people in connection to an immense international child pornography ring following an investigation launched last year by the National Gendarmerie.

Gendarmes, the police force responsible for fighting cyber crimes in France, revealed Thursday that they have seized some 122 computers, 152 smartphones, and 330 other digital media devices containing 375,000 photos and 156,000 videos totaling 217 terabytes of data as it dismantled a large-scale international child pornography operation.

So far, 95 people have been arrested in France in connection to the case, notably including the director of a youth organisation, a sports instructor, and even a deputy mayor, Le Figaro reports. According to the paper, the majority of suspects have already admitted to their guilt in the case.

Of those arrested, 36 were already known to police for having previously committed sexual offences against children or having visited websites featuring child pornography. All of the suspects were men between the ages of 18 and 74, except for one 16-year-old minor.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/12/21/french-police-arrest-95-in-major-child-pornography-ring-bust/

Guatemalan authorities rescue 160 children from Jewish Lev Tahor cult

Guatemalan authorities determined that the Lev Tahor cult engaged in human trafficking against minors.

Guatemalan authorities rescued 160 children and adolescents from the fundamentalist Jewish cult Lev Tahor in southeastern Guatemala on Friday following allegations of child abuse, including rape, prosecutors said.

"Based on the statements of the complainants, the evidence obtained, and the medical examinations, it was possible to establish that there are forms of human trafficking against these minors, such as forced marriage, abuse, and related crimes," Nancy Paiz, a prosecutor at Guatemala's Prosecutor's Office Against Human Trafficking, said at a press conference.

Lev Tahor ("Pure Heart" in Hebrew) has faced multiple allegations of kidnapping, child marriage, and physical abuse since it was founded in the 1980s.

https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-834307

Doctor Who Got High Schools To Send Him Students For ‘Scholarship’ Indicted For Sexual Exploitation

Philip Taylor Sobash was arrested last Friday in Austin, Texas, according to an indictment unsealed by the Middle District of Tennessee federal court December 13. The FBI concluded this year that Sobash was a notorious child pornographer called “DiscreetGent,” who was responsible for a “collection of sexually explicit images and videos of about 70 young women and girls.”

https://www.stationgossip.com/2024/12/doctor-who-got-high-schools-to-send-him.html

ALERT: Potential cancer risks as elevated levels of ‘forever chemicals’ found in several smartwatch wrist bands!

Smartwatches and fitness trackers are everywhere, but recent research has raised some red flags about their potential health risks. A study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters found that some smartwatch wristbands contain high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.”

The study found that wristbands made from fluorinated synthetic rubber had particularly high levels of PFHxA, a type of PFAS. This chemical is known to stick around in the environment and resist things like water, sweat, and oil. Of the 22 wristbands tested, nine had PFHxA, with some containing more than 16,000 parts per billion (ppb). Interestingly, pricier wristbands (over $30) had higher levels of PFHxA than cheaper ones.

https://citizenwatchreport.com/alert-potential-cancer-risks-as-elevated-levels-of-forever-chemicals-found-in-several-smartwatch-wrist-bands/

MAUREEN CALLAHAN: The terrifying scandal is that Biden was NEVER president. The full truth about the cover-up, Bad Doctor Jill and all the enemies within must be exposed

The knives have come out — and so has the truth.

Having been lied to for years by the Democratic Party machine and most of the mainstream media — who insisted Joe Biden was not diminished by his age but energized by it — well, it turns out we skeptics were right all along.

And what we're learning is terrifying. Infuriating. An unacceptable abuse of power, a usurpation of the presidency itself by a nameless, faceless cohort.

Will we ever know who these conspirators are?

Two bombshell reports out this week, in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, depict a president thoroughly out to lunch for his entire term: Top cabinet members unable reach him. Staff regularly taking his place at official events. Biden refusing to hold morning meetings but clocking out at 4pm — even though he naps every day and, in July, announced that he'd no longer hold events after 8pm.

How many hours has Joe Biden actually spent working? How was the 25th amendment not invoked? Was the danger of a President Kamala Harris — who the liberal media also tried to sell as viable — truly that unthinkable?

'Drain the swamp' resonates for a reason.

Meanwhile, Biden's campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz sought to deflect his boss's dereliction by, you guessed it, going after Trump.

'Normal presidents strike a balance, and so does Joe Biden. Hardly the same rigor as Donald Trump, who spends half of his day ranting on Truth Social […] and the other half golfing,' Munoz said in July, days after that catastrophic TV debate, and days before the Times reported that a Parkinson's expert had visited the White House eight times over as many months.

The gaslighting has failed to catch fire. If only legacy media had pursued this new line of reportage, I don't know, back in 2019. When it mattered.

Now that these outlets are shedding eyeballs and subscribers, we're getting some actual investigative reporting — albeit on the obvious.

BREAKING NEWS: Joe Biden has no idea what's going on.

Top national security officials told the Journal that meetings with Biden could suddenly, no matter the urgency, be 'scrapped'. One security adviser had a scheduled meeting cancelled because the President was having 'a bad day' — those bad days a common occurrence.

This, while Russia invaded Ukraine, Hamas attacked Israel, and China floated spy balloons over the United States. Syria has fallen.

Against this incendiary geopolitical backdrop, the Dems, knowing full well how incapacitated Biden was, plotted to install him again.

Such is Trump Derangement Syndrome. Such was their fear that VP Harris, the ultimate DEI hire, didn't have what it takes.

So now, the rage. Now the truth. Biden is a dead man walking, and they're going to throw his desiccated political corpse on the funeral pyre — if Joe doesn't 'burn it all down' first, as his vengeful wife Jill is reportedly urging him to do.

Truly: Is there a greater metaphor for the Biden presidency's death rattle than the dismissal of SUV-sized drones swarming over the Northeast? Any greater example of a president asleep on Rehoboth Beach?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14211289/Joe-Biden-health-Jill-exposed-MAUREEN-CALLAHAN.html

European Parliament Approves “European Democracy Shield” Committee to Tackle Online “Disinformation”

The European Democracy Shield will blur the line between combating disinformation and policing free speech.

The European Parliament has taken another step in its ongoing efforts to control the flow of information online, approving the creation of a new committee tasked with combating what it describes as foreign interference and disinformation.

Dubbed the European Democracy Shield, the initiative is framed as a safeguard for democratic processes but raises significant concerns about censorship and overreach. The committee’s establishment aligns with the European Commission’s policy agenda for 2024-2029 and is expected to begin operations next year.

At a plenary session in Strasbourg, the decision received strong support, with 441 members voting in favor, 178 opposing, and 34 abstaining.

While presented as a measure to protect democracy, critics have long questioned whether such sweeping powers risk stifling dissenting views under the guise of fighting disinformation.

The committee’s mandate extends to scrutinizing online platforms, AI-generated content, and so-called “hybrid” threats—broad categories that could potentially encompass legitimate political speech or alternative narratives.

Comprising 33 members, the Ad Hoc Committee on the European Democracy Shield will serve a 12-month term. Its composition, to be determined by political groups, will be announced in late January. The scope of its responsibilities includes reviewing existing laws for potential weaknesses that could be exploited and recommending reforms. However, skeptics may argue that this approach could lead to increased regulatory burdens on digital platforms, raising questions about freedom of expression and transparency in decision-making.

https://reclaimthenet.org/european-parliament-democracy-shield-committee-foreign-interference-disinformation

Biden administration rushing to hire 1,200 DEI staff with six-figure salaries before Donald Trump takes office.

– These jobs have 6 figure salaries

– Some pay as high as $310,000 PER YEAR

– 303 of these roles were posted within 10 days of Trump’s election victory (not a coincidence)

– Roughly $160 million in new salaries per year for these new DEI hires paid for by taxpayers

– Roles include equity directors, diversity data analysts, and affirmative employment specialists

– Once these people are hired, they are virtually untouchable

– They are not just political appointees who leave with the next administration. They are federal employees who are permanent

New Social Media Specialists to make 6 figures from tax payers for ONE POST PER DAY

“The article quotes that the Pentagon’s Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute is seeking a social media specialist telework for $113,800 a year. 6 figures to post one thing a day?”

“This means that Trump’s team is gonna have to work around a web of entrenched activists pushing DEI initiatives, even if they don’t really correlate with his agenda”

https://citizenwatchreport.com/biden-administration-rushing-to-hire-1200-dei-staff-with-six-figure-salaries-before-donald-trump-takes-office/

Biden Administration Admits that Global War on Terrorism is Total B.S.

What a difference two years makes! I guess the following US policy to, “defeat ISIS,” is no longer in effect. Here is an explanation of that policy:

In 2022, under this new framework, the United States and its partners continued to succeed

against terrorist organizations, bolstering diplomatic and multilateral engagements and

partner capacity building efforts. Through U.S. leadership, the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS (Defeat-ISIS) raised more than $440 million in stabilization pledges – including a U.S. pledge of $107 million – to support infrastructure and other critical projects in Iraq and northeastern Syria. In November the United States and the United Kingdom co-hosted a donors’ conference with 14 governments, and with numerous UN and humanitarian organizations, to discuss steps to improve the security and humanitarian conditions at the al-Hol displaced persons camp in northeast Syria.

The Department of State led Defeat-ISIS’s renewed focus on countering ISIS branches across Africa. In 2022 the Coalition welcomed Benin as its 85th member and 13th member from sub-Saharan Africa. In March, Defeat-ISIS’s Africa Focus Group (AFFG), established in 2021 to address the growing ISIS threat in sub-Saharan Africa, convened its first working-level meeting in Rome and met again in May on the margins of the Defeat-ISIS ministerial. In October the AFFG co-chairs of Morocco, Niger, Italy, and the United States met in Niamey to identify programmatic gaps and deconflict existing partner efforts in the region. The AFFG will continue to utilize existing coordination mechanisms and enhance African members’ counterterrorism capacities.

Let me be clear about who al-Jawlani is. He is not some new guy who was duped into terrorism by some Jedi-mind trick. He’s been a leader in the Al Qa’ida / ISIS organizations for more than 10 years:

Description: Al-Nusrah Front (ANF) was designated as an FTO on May 15, 2014, and is al-

Qa’ida’s affiliate in Syria. It is led by Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani. The group was formed in

2011 when then-al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI) — now ISIS — leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi sent al-

Jawlani to Syria to organize terrorist cells.

In 2013 the group split from AQI and became an independent entity. ANF’s stated goal is to oust Syria’s Assad regime and replace it with a Sunni Islamic state. The group is concentrated in and controls a portion of territory in northwest Syria, where it is active as an opposition force, and exerts varying degrees of influence over local governance and external plotting.

In 2017, ANF joined with four smaller Syrian factions and created Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as a vehicle to advance its position in the Syrian insurgency and further its own goals as al-Qa’ida’s affiliate in Syria.

Activities: ANF has been active in operations against other factions in the Syrian conflict. In

2016 the group carried out attacks in Aleppo and other parts of Syria controlled by the Syrian Army, killing both military officials and civilians.

Since 2017, ANF has continued to operate through HTS in pursuit of its objectives. In October 2017, ANF launched an attack near the Turkish border against the Syrian Army, killing several soldiers. Also that year, the group carried out multiple suicide bombings in Damascus, including suicide attacks using VBIEDs. ANF took control of significant portions of Idlib from 2017 to 2019, exerting severe military pressure over other local groups such as Ahrar al-Sham and Nur ad-Din al-Zinki as it fought against the regime and continued plotting against U.S. and allied interests.

According to the 2023 Annex of Statistical Information — prepared as part of the US State Department’s legally mandated Country Reports on Terrorism 2023 (released in April 2024) — Al-Qa’ida affiliated groups accounted for the majority of terrorism in the world in 2023. Among these groups, Jawlani’s Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham ranked as the third most active and lethal:

Al-Qa’ida networks continue to operate primarily in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa.

Some of the major al-Qa’ida affiliate groups in 2023 were

https://sonar21.com/biden-administration-admits-that-global-war-on-terrorism-is-total-b-s/