4 May, 2025 08:59

Israeli airport hit by Houthi missile: Live Updates

The IDF has confirmed that it failed to intercept a projectile that landed in Ben Gurion near Tel Aviv1/2

Israel’s main airport was struck by a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Sunday morning. The missile hit a grove near an access road inside the perimeter of Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. Media reports suggest that at least six people were wounded.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that it failed to intercept the missile despite several attempts.

“An impact was identified in the area of Ben Gurion Airport,” the IDF said in a post on Telegram. The Israeli Air Force is investigating the failure.

The Houthis, who control western Yemen, including the capital and the port of Hodeidah, have launched a number of drones and missiles at commercial vessels passing through the Red Sea and at targets in Israel over the past year, aiming to pressure West Jerusalem over its military operation in Gaza. Israel launched the campaign following a deadly raid by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in October 2023. The Houthis said they would stop the attacks if Israel halts its operation in Gaza.

Israel has not launched strikes against Yemen in response to the Houthi attacks. The US, however, began air and naval strikes against Houthi targets in March, citing threats to Red Sea shipping. Last week, US President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to intensify strikes in Yemen and warned that the Houthis would be “completely annihilated” if they continued their attacks. The UK has also taken part in the strikes, with the Defense Ministry saying it targeted a Houthi-controlled facility.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused Iran of arming the Houthis and warned there would be consequences. Tehran denied the claims. The US, however, announced sweeping sanctions on countries buying Iranian oil or petrochemicals on Thursday, citing Tehran’s alleged role in fueling conflict in the Middle East, among other things.

Russia has urged Washington to halt its strikes on Yemen. In a phone call in March with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for an immediate end to the use of force and urged all sides to engage in political dialogue.

04 May 2025

10:14 GMT

Local journalist Nick Kolyohin has told RT that the missile struck near a plane preparing for takeoff as passengers were boarding, wounding several people.

“People didn’t have enough time to run for shelter,” he said, adding that while Israelis are accustomed to air raid sirens, “this time it was too close to them.”

Kolyohin said the strike shocked many, noting that Ben Gurion is Israel’s main international airport and a heavily protected facility. He said it was sheer luck the missile did not directly hit an aircraft, as it could have caused a tragedy with hundreds of casualties.

https://www.rt.com/news/616721-israel-houthi-missile-airport/

>>22989289

2/2

09:52 GMT

An Indian Airlines aircraft has been forced to return to India before landing at Ben Gurion Airport, immediately after the Yemeni missile strike.

09:35 GMT

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior official in the Houthi movement, has told the Qatari Al-Araby TV channel that the Houthis demonstrated their ability to strike sensitive targets in Israel with the attack on Ben Gurion.

He added that the group has “no red lines” in its fight against Israel.

09:35 GMT

A video filmed inside Ben Gurion Airport captured passengers’ reactions at the moment the missile struck. People can be heard screaming while running for cover.

09:34 GMT

Benny Gantz, head of the Israeli opposition Blue and White party, has accused Iran for the attack on Ben Gurion.

“This is not Yemen – this is Iran. It is Iran that is firing ballistic missiles at the State of Israel, and it must bear responsibility… The shooting at the State of Israel is bound to lead to a sharp response,” he stated in a post on X.

09:33 GMT

The Houthis have confirmed the group was behind the missile strike at Ben Gurion.

“We managed to hit Ben Gurion Airport with a hypersonic ballistic missile. The American and Israeli defense systems have failed. Aircraft traffic was stopped for an hour. We warn the airlines: Ben Gurion Airport is unsafe,” the group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, has said.

09:12 GMT

Six people have been wounded in the missile attack, Israeli media report, citing medical officials. The injured include a man in his 50s with limb trauma and two women affected by a shockwave. A man in his 60s was lightly hurt by flying debris, while two other women were injured while running for shelter. All were taken to hospitals in central Israel.

09:06 GMT

Lufthansa, Swiss, and Austrian airlines have suspended flights to Israel following the missile strike on Ben Gurion.

08:52 GMT

Commenting on the incident, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned, “Whoever harms us, we will strike them sevenfold.”

08:52 GMT

Flights were temporarily suspended for about an hour but were resumed later.

“An investigation is underway regarding the impact at the Ben Gurion Airport area,” the Israel Airport Authority said in a statement.

https://www.rt.com/news/616721-israel-houthi-missile-airport/

4 May, 2025 10:14

Vucic expected at Moscow parade despite illness – Serbian deputy PM

The country’s president, who pledged to attend despite pressure from the EU, was recently hospitalized with a heart condition

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is expected to attend Russia’s Victory Day celebrations, despite a recent health scare, Finance Minister and Deputy PM Sinisa Mali has said.

The May 9 parade on Moscow’s Red Square will mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The Kremlin has invited a number of leaders from countries including Serbia, Slovakia, China, India, and Brazil. EU officials have warned member and candidate states against attending.

On Friday, Vucic abruptly ended a trip to the US after experiencing chest pain during a meeting in Florida, reportedly caused by high blood pressure. He had planned to meet with the Serbian diaspora and US President Donald Trump, but returned to Belgrade and was admitted to the Military Medical Academy, according to local broadcaster RTS. Doctors said the president “cannot be expected to return to his regular activities for several days.”

Speaking on Saturday, Mali said Vucic will likely follow through with the visit. “One thing I can say is, knowing him, considering that he is a man of his word, he gave his word that he would be there, I assume that he will keep his word. But I cannot tell you that at this moment.” Vucic was discharged from the hospital on Saturday.

The Military Medical Academy confirmed that the president underwent cardiovascular and hematological diagnostics and is now in stable condition. Doctors ordered him to rest, and he has canceled all activities and obligations for the next few days.

Among the EU leaders invited to the event were Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Slovak counterpart, Robert Fico. Hungary declined the invitation, stating that the end of World War II represented “a bitter defeat” due to the country’s alliance with Nazi Germany. Fico has confirmed his attendance.

During a meeting with Vucic last month, EC Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos reportedly cautioned that his attendance would be held against Serbia’s EU bid. Despite the pressure, Vucic said he had not changed his decision to attend the event, where a unit of the Serbian Armed Forces will also take part. Russian President Vladimir Putin praised those who accepted the invitation, calling them courageous for attending despite pressure from Brussels.

https://www.rt.com/news/616716-vucic-expected-at-moscow-parade/

4 May, 2025 09:47

Romanian presidential election rerun kicks off

The previous vote was annulled on grounds of alleged “Russian interference,” with the leading candidate barred from running again

Romania is holding a rerun of its presidential election on Sunday after the previous vote was annulled on grounds of alleged Russian interference and electoral violations. Moscow has denied all claims of interference.

The annulled election in late Novembersaw independent right-wing candidate Calin Georgescu, known for his NATO-sceptic stance, unexpectedly prevail in the first round with 23% of the vote. However, the Constitutional Court later invalidated the results, citing electoral “irregularities.” The country’s officials claimed that the candidate’s campaign had utilized undeclared funds, and that Russia was behind “hybrid” attacks, including in the cyber realm.

In March, Georgescu was barred by the Central Electoral Bureau from running again, citing his alleged “anti-democratic” and “extremist” stanceas well as a failure to comply with electoral procedures.

In the current election, a total of 11 candidates are competing for the presidential post. The keycontenders include George Simion, the leader of the far-rightAlliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), who is known for his opposition to the EU, and criticism of military support to Ukraine.He is leading the polls with approximately 30% support.

Other prominent candidates include Crin Antonescu, representing the governing Social-Democrat and National Liberal coalition, and Nicusor Dan, the mayor of Bucharest,both of whom support pro-EU agendas.

If no candidate wins an absolute majority, a run-off between the two leading candidates will be held on May 18.

Ahead of the rerun, meanwhile, Romanian detained RT journalist Chay Bowes, who had traveled to Bucharest from Dublin, Ireland, to cover the election. According to the reporter, he was presented with a paper – of which he was not given a copy – alleging that he was “a threat to the security of the state” and therefore should be deported. Bowes, a EU citizen, has insisted that he entered Romania “completely legally… to do [his] job.”

Commenting on the detention,Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Romanian election had turned into a “meme.” She added that “the situation around the election in Romania is so scandalous. It’s so dead-ended and it discredits the level of that pseudo democracy in Romania.”

https://www.rt.com/news/616726-romania-presidential-election-rerun/

4 May, 2025 03:40

Zelensky claims Trump ‘sees things differently’ after Vatican meeting

The face-to-face conversation last month was “the most substantive,” the Ukrainian leader has said

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has claimed that US President Donald Trump adjusted his view of the Russia-Ukraine conflict following their brief, impromptu meeting at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican last week. According to him, the discussion stood in sharp contrast to the heated argument the two had in the White House in February.

On April 26, Zelensky and Trump met on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral and spoke for 15 minutes without aides or interpreters. “I think the conversation I had with Trump was the best we’ve had so far. It was possibly the shortest, but also the most substantive. With all due respect to our teams, I believe the tête-à-tête format worked well. The discussion had the right atmosphere,” Zelensky told reporters on Saturday.

“I’m sure that after our meeting at the Vatican, President Trump will see things a bit differently… I believe we conducted ourselves constructively and with decency, which is important,” he added.

“I see him as calmer. I think he understands the picture. And I think he wants to make a deal,”Trump said of Zelensky last Sunday. “It was a beautiful meeting, I tell you, it was the nicest office I’ve ever seen. It was a beautiful scene.”

Zelensky’s trip to the US in February was cut short after Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance accused him of being ungrateful for US military aid and acting disrespectfully during their meeting in the Oval Office.Zelensky later said he regretted the incident but refused to issue a formal apology.

Trump has since toned down his criticism of Kiev, as his team continues efforts to broker a truce between Ukraine and Russia.Zelensky, however, has accused Trump’s top negotiator, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, of “spreading Russian narratives.”

Ukraine has rejected Russia’s proposal for a 72-hour truce starting on May 8, instead pushing for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire. Russia has insisted that for any comprehensive ceasefire to succeed, Ukraine must halt its mobilization drive and stop receiving weapons from abroad. Moscow also demanded that Kiev withdraw troops from territories it claims are under “illegal occupation.”

(Extremely doubtful Trump sees things differently.)

https://www.rt.com/russia/616715-zelensky-reflecting-trump-meeting/

Jobs Within Spy Agency – Director Ratcliffe Shifts Focus to “Human Intelligence” 1/2== May 3, 2025

The Washington Post (but of course, CIA outlet) is reporting on a downsizing effort within the CIA to eliminate approximately 1,200 jobs. The number represents approximately 5% of the workforcealthough the actual number of CIA employees is classified (national security, dontchaknow).

Within the report, Director John Ratcliffe is noted as shifting the focus of America’s leading spy agency to use more “human intelligence.”That phrase, “human intelligence,” is IC silo code speak for shifting away from “analysts” (political operatives) and engaging in more ¹factual intelligence information.

According to the report,DNITulsi Gabbard hasalso reduced the employment levelwithin the Director of National Intelligence office byapproximately 25%(current payroll estimate of 2,000 employees). The general narrative within theWaPoreporting is that “national security” is being compromised by large downsizing of spy agency employment.

Additionally, to bolster the positions of the current political operatives within the CIA, the WaPo waxes concerningly about China and othermysterious foreign adversaries recruiting the CIA employeeswho are now becoming increasingly concerned about their paychecks.

WASHINGTON POST – “The Trump administration is planning significant personnel cuts at the Central Intelligence Agency and other major U.S. spy units, downsizing the government’s most sensitive national security agencies, according to people familiar with the plans.

The administration recently informed lawmakers on Capitol Hill that it intends to reduce theCIA’s workforce by about 1,200 personnel over several yearsand cut thousands more from other parts of the U.S. intelligence community, including at the National Security Agency, a highly secretive service that specializes in cryptology and global electronic espionage, a person familiar with the matter said. The person, like others interviewed, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

[…] The staff reductions would take place over several years and would be accomplishedin part through reduced hiring. No outright firings are envisioned. The goal of a roughly 1,200-person staff reduction includes several hundred individuals who already have opted for early retirement, the person familiar with the matter said.

The downsizing is taking place separately from efforts by the U.S. DOGE Service, led by billionaire Elon Musk, to radically restructure the federal government. Musk met with Ratcliffe in late March for a discussion that included government efficiency measures,but no DOGE teams have been working at the agency’s Langley, Virginia, campus. (more)

[¹Obviously, I can certainly appreciate the “human intelligence” shift noted by Director Ratcliffe for all the factual reasons that necessitate his concern. It is part of the reason why I ended up frustrated with “western reports” and determined the only way to really understand what is going on inside Russia during the sanctions was to travel there myself and review.

It was quite an experience to sitin a renamed Starbucks coffee shop at the crowded Galleria Mall in downtown St Petersburg,Russia and read the Wall Street Journal reporting on the devastation to the Russian economy, while looking around at the packed stores and purchases being made on an ordinary weekday. Then to readthe New York Times reportsof shortages of steel in Russia, while driving past many miles of apartment and condominium construction.Everything cited in western corporate media, “according to sources familiar with the situation”,was/is the complete opposite of everything factually visible.]…

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/05/03/cia-to-cut-1200-5-jobs-within-spy-agency-director-ratcliffe-shifts-focus-to-human-intelligence/

>>22989427

2/2

♦Imagine a world, our world, where all the scary threat protection systems are removed. What does that world look like?

CCTV cameras removed. Body scans at airports removed. X-Ray machines removed. Shoes stay on. You carry a bottle of water onto an airplane without issue. You return to the 1980’s world of transit.

Your metadata is no longer being captured for review. Your conversations are no longer being recorded by your devices. Your data profile is no longer being sold and monetized.

No one is tracking you, or anyone else.It’s a scary world with all kinds of perceived ‘risks’ and potential ‘threats’ existing, that never surface.

It’s a world where all these terrible ‘what if’ dark imaginings still happen in the psyche, but nothing ever comes from them.

Stop being scared, and suddenly you no longer need the ‘global counterterrorism conference’ and all the looming rules and regulations they can put into place to protect you,ultimately control you, from the scary imagined stuff that has existed for generations….

Australia used quarantine camps for a fictitious threat. New Zealand set up regional roadblocks for a fictitious threat. The EU made you carry documents to ensure your compliance with a fictitious threat. In the USA, the paint in WalMart was blockaded to protect you from a fictitious threat. You could not stand at a bar to drink, but if you sat down at a table the virus wouldn’t get you. In Canada they shut down the bank accounts of those who did not comply with the rules of the fictitious threat.

Do we realize the same IC people at Dan Bongino’s ‘global security conference‘ are the same IC people who stimulated the threat response noted above?

Do we realize the same industry professionals now control the election outcomes in Brazil, France, Romania, Germany and 2020 USA?

Those who benefit from fear, claim it is a scary world out there. However, be careful about hiring some entity to protect you from it; and ask yourself quiet questions about the rules they show up with.

What exactly is this global security network protecting us from? And why do we need to be protected from it?

Ask Jair Bolsonaro. Ask Marine LePen. Ask Donald Trump. Ask Romania. Ask the AfD party in Germany. As we are witnessing in real time, the western global security network is protecting us from all of these ‘threats.’

Some nervous people say, “trust the plan.” I ask the simple question, “why do we need a plan“?

Think about it.

(And they never seem to catch Muslim terrorists running down people in Europe around Christmas time and when the youth are at an invent, those are terrorist events, but they are never stopped.)

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/05/03/cia-to-cut-1200-5-jobs-within-spy-agency-director-ratcliffe-shifts-focus-to-human-intelligence/

German Intelligence Agencies Label AfD, the Largest Political Group in the Country, as an “Extremist Organization”

May 2, 2025 | Sundance1/2

In the USA we have the example of “Russiagate” where the FBI, CIA and DOJ-NSD intel community weaponized against candidate Donald Trump.

In Romania, we have the example of the EU intel community nullifying –through the court– the election win of Călin Georgescu; and disqualifying the winning candidate.

Now, in Germany, the intelligence communityproduces a report labeling the largest political party as an “extremist” group, taking new power to conduct political surveillance and control the election outcome.

…. What is the common denominator?

X post Rubio

[SOURCE]

Hope is not a strategy. That said, I hope Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the former Chair of the SSCI, has awakened to the reality of the intelligence services controlling western govt.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned a decision Friday from Germany’s domestic intelligence agency to classify the political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a “proven right-wing extremist organization,” calling the move “tyranny in disguise” and advising the country to “reverse course.”

“What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD—which took second in the recent election—but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes,” Rubio wrote in a post on X in the hours following the decision.

The decision, announced Friday by Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, gives German authorities increased oversight and surveillance over AfD. While some AfD branches at the state level have received the label — such as in Saxony and Thuringia —this is the first time in modern German history that a party with nationwide representation on the federal level has been classified as extremist.

The party won a record 152 parliament seats in the February federal elections and now holds 20.8 percent of the vote.

After conducting a three-year-long investigation into the party, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution released a 1,000 page report, citing violations of core constitutional principles including human dignity and the rule of law. (read more)

If you want to understand what is happening in Germany, WATCH THIS:

https://youtu.be/zSaSioAnhcA

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/05/02/german-intelligence-agencies-label-afd-the-largest-political-group-in-the-country-as-an-extremist-organization/

>>22989472

2/2

We cannot look at the splinter in the eye of the EU, without considering the plank in our own….

The modern iteration of this IC power originated during the ‘Arab Spring’ and was triggered by President Obama. That is over a decade ago and we have tracked and documented every step of the growth therein.The research is the core of our series on The Fourth Branch of Government.

Washington DC created the modern national security apparatus immediately and hurriedly after 9/11/01. DHS came along in 2002, and within the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 the ODNI was formed. When Barack Obama and Eric Holder arrived a few years later, those newly formed institutions were viewed as opportunities to create a very specific national security apparatus thatwould focus almost exclusively against their political opposition.

The preexisting Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Dept of Justice (DOJ) were then repurposed to become two of the four pillars of the domestic national security apparatus. However,this new construct would have a targeting mechanism based on political ideology. The DHS, ODNI, DOJ and FBI became the four pillars of this new institution. Atop these pillars is where you will find the Fourth Branch of Government.

We were not sleeping when this happened, we were wide awake. However, we were stunningly distracted by the economic collapse thatwas taking place in 2006 and 2007 when the engineers behind Obama started to assemble the design. By the time Obama took office in 2009, we sensed something profound was shifting, but we can only see exactly what shifted in the aftermath. The four pillars were put into place,and a new Fourth Branch of Government was quietly created.

As time passed, and the system operators became familiar with their new tools, technology allowed the tentacles of the system to reach out and touch us. That is when we first started to notice that something very disconcerting was happening. Those four pillars are the root of it, andif we take the time to understand how the Fourth Branch originated, questions about this current state of perpetual angst will start to make sense. (read more)

3 May, 2025 15:46

Moscow responds to Zelensky’s Victory Day threats

The Ukrainian leader has hit a new low and is now threatening WW2 veterans, Maria Zakharova says

Vladimir Zelensky’s refusal to join Russia in observing a 72-hour ceasefire to mark the Victory Day celebrationsexposes Kiev’s “neo-Nazi essence” and amounts to a threat by an “international-level terrorist,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian leader reiterated his refusal to accept Moscow’s proposal for a three-day ceasefire starting May 8 and continuing through the World War II Victory Day celebrations, dismissing it as a “theatrical production.” Zelensky also appeared to threaten the world leaders expected to take part in the May 9 events in Moscow, stating that Kiev cannot guarantee their safety.

Zelensky’s remarks “once again prove the neo-Nazi nature of the Kiev regime, which has turned into a terrorist cell,” Zakharova said in a statement.

“Today [Zelensky] hit a new low: now he is threatening the physical safety of veterans who will come to parades and ceremonial events on that sacred day,” she said.

“After every terrorist attack on Russian territory, the Kiev regime, its security services, and Zelensky personally boast that it was their doing and that it will continue to be like this. Therefore, the phrase that he ‘does not guarantee security on May 9 on Russian territory,’ since this is not his area of responsibility, is, of course, a direct threat,” Zakharova stressed.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered a similar take on Zelensky’s remarks, stating the proposed ceasefire is a “test” for Kiev, and the apparent refusal to join it “clearly shows that neo-Nazism is the ideological basis of the contemporary Kiev regime.”

The 72-hour ceasefire was announced unilaterally by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. The president ordered the suspension of all military action against Ukraine’s forces from midnight on May 7 to midnight on May 10 and urged Kiev to join the truce. Zelensky and other top Ukrainian officials, however, dismissed the proposal as a “manipulation attempt,” demanding an immediate 30-day ceasefire instead.

In March, Russia and Ukraine both agreed to a US-brokered 30-day partial ceasefire focused on halting strikes on energy infrastructure. Kiev, however, violated the truce on numerous occasions, according to the Russian military.

The Victory Day truce follows a similar unilaterally announced pause during Easter weekend in April that ended up being only partially successful. While a certain lull in the hostilities was observed,Kiev violated the truce more than 3,900 times, according to estimates by the Russian Defense Ministry.

https://www.rt.com/russia/616695-victory-day-truce-threats/

4 May, 2025 12:24

Slovak PM pledges to defy ‘unacceptable’ Zelensky threats

Robert Fico has called Ukraine’s warnings “ridiculous” and reiterated his decision to visit Moscow for the Victory Day events

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has confirmed he will attend Russia’s Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 9, dismissing warnings by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky of potential security risks as “ridiculous.”

The May 9 parade in Moscow will mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. The Kremlin has extended invitations to the event to the leaders of Serbia, Slovakia, China, India, and Brazil, among others.

In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict to coincide with the Victory Day celebrations. Zelensky rejected the offer, labeling it a “theatrical performance” and advocated for a more substantial, unconditional 30-day ceasefire. Russian officials argue that a new temporary truce would simply allow Kiev to regroup and rearm.

Earlier this week Zelensky urged foreign leaders to avoid visiting Moscow, citing potential security risks. Russian officials accused Zelensky of endangering the safety of civilians attending the May 9 events. Fico, however, stated that the threats issued by Kiev would not deter him from participation in the commemoration.

“In my opinion, it’s ridiculous. I reject such threats,” Fico said at a press conference on Sunday. “I will go to the celebrations of the 80th anniversary [of Victory Day in Moscow].”

Fico claimed Zelensky was effectively warning invited leaders not to attend, with the veiled threat that Ukraine might retaliate in some way. “Well, celebrate, we might throw you a drone or something like that. These are unacceptable things for me,” he said.

Referring to Zelensky’s claim that Kiev could not guarantee the security of attending leaders, Fico responded: “If Zelensky thinks that his cries will prevent foreign delegations from coming there, it is a huge mistake. Ensuring the security of participants [in the celebrations] is the responsibility of the Russian Federation,” said the Slovak prime minister.

The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, warned in April that the bloc does not want any member or candidate states attending. During a meeting last month with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who earlier pledged to attend, EC Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos reportedly cautioned that his attendance would be held against Serbia in its bid to join the EU.

Fico recommended “Kallas and others to deal with more serious problems than whether I will go or not to the celebration of the 80th anniversary.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/616744-slovak-pm-pledges-to-defy-zelensky-threat/

4 May, 2025 12:17

Musk reacts to VIDEO of forced mobilization in Ukraine

Recruiters in the city of Lutsk violently detained a deliveryman, according to a clip on social media

Elon Musk has drawn attention to a viral video showing Ukrainian military recruiters forcibly detaining a deliveryman in Lutsk, in the western part of the country. Kiev has pursued a violent mobilization campaign for months, often resulting in clashes between reluctant civilians and military personnel.

On Saturday, a media user on X shared avideo showing three Ukrainian soldiers approaching a man on a bicycle carrying a large yellow bag and wearing a vest, who appears to be a delivery worker.

After a brief conversation, the soldiers attempt to drag him into a white van parked nearby, but he resists. Following a struggle, the recruitment officers manage to shove the man into the vehicle, which then drives off. The fate of the detainee is unknown.

Reacting to the video,Musk posted “!!”on his social media platform. The X owner and close ally of US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on the Ukrainian leadership to sign a ceasefire with Russia to avoid further casualties.Last November, he also criticized reported calls by the US government for Ukraine to lower the minimum conscription age to 18, writing: “How many more need to die?”

On Friday, another mobilization video from Lutsk surfaced on social media, with recruitment officers –potentially driving the same van as in the first clip – forcibly detaining a man riding a scooter.

Ukraine announced a general mobilization following the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, barring most men 18 to 60 years old from leaving the country. In 2024, faced with manpower shortages and mounting losses, Kiev lowered the conscription age from 27 to 25, while introducing stricter penalties for draft evasion and tightening other mobilization rules.

As the mobilization drive continues, numerous videos have emerged on social media showing Ukrainian officials trying to forcibly recruit reluctant civilians, often leading to violent clashes.

https://www.rt.com/news/616739-musk-ukraine-mobilization-video/

How can the U.S. support this evil regime!

UN Could Run Out Of Cash Within Months

John OyewaleMay 03, 2025 6:26 PM

The United Nations could become unable to pay its staff and suppliers by September and its peacekeepers by mid-2025, following an outsized projected deficit anda leaked White House proposal to end funding for the intergovernmental body, according to reports.

The U.N.’s $200 million deficit in 2024 is measlycompared to the $1.1 billion deficit the organization is projected to incur at the end of 2025, barring any budget cuts, according to The Economist. The deficit reportedly will hobble the organization’s ability to pay salaries and suppliers by September.

The U.N. is billed to inform its member states Saturday that its $3.7 billion budget intended to help it avoid default had already been slashed by 17%, according to the outlet.The U.N. reportedly will pause hiring new staff because of the cuts. U.N. peacekeepers risk becoming unpaid by mid-2025, Secretary-General António Guterresreportedly warned in February.

Stringent budget rules and defaulting member states have left the U.N. cash strapped. A leaked Trump administrationmemo proposing to stop the U.S. from making mandatory contributions to the U.N. could bankrupt the body, according to the outlet.

The leaked April memo proposed an end toU.S. funding of the U.N. and its peacekeeping missions, as well as NATO and 20 other organizations. Also proposed were a 54% cut in U.S. humanitarian aid and a 55% cut in global health funding, according to the Washington Post. Congressional approval over the proposal reportedly remains to be seen.

President DonaldTrump also signed an executive orderFeb. 4 to withdraw U.S. membership of the U.N.and review the nation’s involvement in various international organizations.

U.N. mandatory dues — apportioned to member states based on the relative sizes of their economies — sustain the U.N.’s core functions, including General Assembly meetings, peacekeeping and human-rights monitoring, The Economist reported.

Late payments by some member states and shirking by others contributed to the funding crisis.Only 49 out of the U.N.’s 193 member states paid their mandatory dues on time in 2025.

The world’s two largest economies — the U.S. and China — are also the U.N.’s two largest contributors,with each contributing about 20% of the organization’s overall funding.

China, however, has begun to fall behind on payments, The Economist reported.

https://dailycaller.com/2025/05/03/united-nations-funding-crisis/

It’s known the UN wastes or steals 50% of the budget. Shut it down.

CHARLIE KIRK: The Democrats’ Hearts Are Broken Because America Hasn’t Failed Yet

Charlie KirkMay 03, 2025 11:05 AM ET OPINION

It was a tough week for the Democrats. They started off April with all kinds of hope. But by the end of the month, those hopes had mostly crumbled into ash.

Why? Because, infuriatingly, the U.S. economy was still intact.

I won’t lie: Even I found the initial response to President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs disorienting. Anybody who says they didn’t is either lying or keeps all their wealth as gold coins stashed in a safe. The S&P 500 had its worst week since the Covid lockdowns and then dropped even more the following Monday.The screaming from Wall Street was apocalyptic.

But then … no apocalypse happened. The president adjusted his tariff strategy on the fly, focused his ire on China, and signaled to the rest of America’s trading partners that he was ready to make deals. Foreign partners showed interest in negotiating in hopes of securing access to the greatest market in the world. Companies started to adapt instead of just crying out in terror. Cooler heads prevailed as capital and creativity began following Trump’s incentives.

And so, April ended and May began with the stock market above where it was a month ago and with as job report far better than Wall Street expected. The sky wasn’t falling.

=And the left didn’t take it well.

Just days ago, Politico ran the headline “Democrats look to Trump’s poor economic numbers with anxious optimism.”The Washington Post recently reported on “glimmers of hope” among Iowa Democrats premised on a crashing economy from Trump’s tariffs.

The Democrats right now don’t have a compelling alternative vision for America. What they have is hope that America crashes and burns, and they can smoothly reclaim control over the ashes.

For Democrats, this is all well and good. If you need proof, just look at the party’s hopelessly dysfunctional cities and states. For Democrats, economic disaster is a good thing as long as it is a vehicle to get and keep power. While conservatives cite Florida and Texas as their crown jewels, for being states that build and attract new residents, Democrats see California as theirs: A state so dysfunctional that huge swaths of middle-classresidents have fled, letting the state become a perpetual Democrat fiefdom.

For conservatives, economic success is a goal, because it enriches the populace. For the left, economic success or failure is beside the point. The goal is power. And if failure will bring power better than success, then so be it.

There is another factor driving the left’s hope for a crash.The great animating force of left-wing politics, dating back close to two and a half centuries at this point, is resentment. It’s the zero-sum view that if one person has something, it can only be because they stole it or otherwise exploited somebody to get it.This is why, from the French Revolution to the Bolsheviks to the socialists of today, every left-wing regime has cared more about tearing down those at the top than lifting those at the bottom.

The left never sees wealth as the product of value creation, but as a choice rooted in who society picks as winners and losers — and they are perpetually angry that the “wrong” winners are being picked. Just as they see American history as tainted by racism and Jim Crow, they see present-day America as tainted by its failure to elect Democrats. Poverty and misery seem to the leftist mind as just deserts for a society deserving of condemnation.

But for most leftists, the real problem with Trump’s success, which is really justAmerica’s success, is that it’s a nagging, incessant proof point that their unending hate for the president and his supporters might ultimately be misplaced. To admit he’s right about the economy or any other issue is to bring their entire worldview into question, which brings into question their entire identity as progressives.And to question one’s identity is simply too consequential, inconvenient, and weighty for most human beings to consider.

America’s success under President Trump is salt in the wounds of every Trump-hating progressivewho’s staked their last decade of existence upon defeating him.Hating Trump is far more comforting a drug than loving the country he was elected to lead.

(https://dailycaller.com/2025/05/03/charlie-kirk-democrats-america-trump-economy/

(Part of the truth is the progressives ran out of money for their ridiculous protests)

Dershowitz Says Trump Won’t Be a Convicted Felon for Long – Courts ARE ‘Going to Reverse’ It

Kipp JonesMay 3rd, 2025, 2:37 pm

Alan Dershowitz said Friday he’s certain that the conviction of President Donald Trump in the New York hush money case will be overturned on appeal.

Speaking on Newsmax’s The Record with Greta Van Susteren, Dershowitz said Trump’s legal team is preparing to appeal the Manhattan case, even though a formal sentence has not been issued.

“The case is going to be appealed,” Dershowitz said. “Trump has hired Sullivan and Cromwell to be his lawyers to appeal the case.”

Trump was convicted in January. The US Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case, and Judge Juan Merchan issued an unconditional discharge with no jail time, fines, or probation.

Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, acknowledged the unusual nature of the sentencing but said the door to appeal remains open.

“[Merchan] gave a sentence that was a non-sentence,” Dershowitz told Van Susteren. “But it’s enough to end the case and allow him to appeal.”

Dershowitz said Trump’s legal team would first take the case to the appellate division in New York, then to the state’s Court of Appeals, and potentially to the Supreme Court.

He said there may be an initial dispute over whether an appeal is permitted without a finalized sentence.

“Now, the Court may say, wait a minute, there was no sentence, so we have no jurisdiction,” Dershowitz said. “But I think there is a schedule now. And there will be an appeal.”

The former Trump legal adviser also cast doubt on the strength of the prosecution’s case.

“This is the weakest case in my 60 years of practicing law I have ever seen,” he said.

Dershowitz said he believes Trump’s conviction will ultimately not stand.

“I think they’re going to handle the appeal. I think they’re going to reverse the conviction, and if they don’t reverse the conviction, a higher court will,” he said.

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/dershowitz-says-trump-wont-be-a-convicted-felon-for-long-courts-are-going-to-reverse-it/?cfp

Appeals court backs VOA overhaul Kari Lake says will 'modernize' agency: ‘Huge victory for President Trump’

The decision allows the Trump admin to proceed with its efforts to restructure USAGM and its affiliated broadcasters

May 4, 2025 5:00am EDT

In a significant legal victory for the Trump administration, theU.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has granted a stay on a lower court's orderthat had mandated the reinstatement of over 1,000 Voice of America (VOA) employees and the resumption of full broadcasting operations.

"This is a huge victory for President Trump and his Article II powers granted in the United States Constitution.It's also a victory for US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and VOA," Kari Lake, a USAGM senior advisor to the Trump administration, told Fox News Digital following the court's decision Saturday.

The decision allows the administration to proceed with its efforts to restructure USAGM and its affiliated broadcasters.

"We are eager to accomplish President Trump's America First agenda which has always been to modernize and make our government efficient while cutting waste, fraud, and abuse," Lake said.

"Now that we have a favorable ruling in the appeals court, we look forward to accomplishing the plan we've always had; to bring VOA into the 21st century."

The appeals court's 2-1 ruling Saturday emphasized the judiciary's deference to executive authority in matters concerning federal employment and contractual decisions.

The court noted that thedistrict court likely lacked jurisdiction to interfere with the administration's personnel actionsand funding decisions, particularly regarding grant agreements with non-federal entities like Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

This follows Trump's March 14 executive order (EO), which aimed to dismantle USAGM operations.

"Voice of America has been out of step with America for years. It serves as the Voice for Radical America and has pushed divisive propaganda for years now," a senior White House official told Fox News Digital at the time.

The order led to the administrative leave of approximately 1,300 VOA employees and the termination of numerous contracts, effectively pausing the broadcaster's activities for the first time in its 83-year history.

"Unfortunately, the frivolous litigation actually stalled the ability to streamline archaic practices and redundant programs at VOA," Lake said. "The use of lawfare hurt the agency and its employees more than it helped."

Fox News contributor, legal analyst and constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley also shared news of the ruling on X, posting, "The D.C. Circuit just issued a major ruling in favor of the Trump Administration that lifted a stay on the Administration's decision to terminate contracts and positions at Voice of America."

Saturday's decision came as VOA employees reportedly had access restored to their computers on Friday after federal Judge Royce Lamberth's April 22 ruling in favor of the plaintiff's request for a preliminary injunction against Trump's EO, which the administration promptly appealed.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/appeals-court-backs-voa-overhaul-kari-lake-modernize-agency-huge-victory-president-trump

The embedded CIA didn’t win

NO FRONT-RUNNER: Democrats struggle to find a leader

‘The Big Weekend Show’ investigates the public’s perception of the Democratic Party and its leadership

7:20

https://youtu.be/39I53lUqglA

Elon Musk shares what he hopes is his legacy: ‘Helped move civilization forward’

DOGE leader Elon Musk details the future of Tesla, Grok and Neuralink as he works to continue advancements in his technological pursuits on 'My View with Lara Trump.' New clip

6:17

https://youtu.be/1HcTXA951Mw