"Razor Blade Throat": China Reports COVID-19 Resurgence With Painful Symptoms

Zhong Nanshan, one of China’s leading pulmonologists and epidemiologists, said in an interview with China-based media on May 19 that the “razor blade throat” symptom is more pronounced in this wave of resurgence, accompanied by more frequent coughing.

“Razor blade throat” is a term used in China to describe severe throat pain, akin to swallowing shattered glass or razor blades.

Dr. Li Tongzeng, director of the Infectious Diseases Department at Beijing You’an Hospital, told Chinese media that the new wave of COVID-19, which began in March, is expected to peak in late May.

According to Zhong, the dominant strain in this wave is the Omicron XDV variant, which is highly transmissible but relatively less virulent. Early symptoms include fever, headaches, fatigue, a burning throat, and severe coughing.

He believes the epidemic is still in the “climbing phase” and is expected to last six to eight weeks and subside by the end of June.

Chinese netizens described their painful experiences with this new strain on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform closely monitored by the Chinese regime.

Netizens shared comments such as: “During lunch time a few days ago, a colleague was coughing so wildly I thought she choked on food. She said it was a lingering effect from this COVID wave. When I asked about her main symptom, she said ‘razor blade throat.’”

Other comments include, “I’ve been hit with razor blade throat and feel completely drained.”

“Post-COVID razor blade throat is brutal—swollen, painful, and I can barely speak. Any quick remedies?” another one read.

A female Beijing resident, infected for nearly 10 days, told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times: “I had a fever, sore throat, yellow phlegm with blood streaks, nosebleeds, cough, sneezing, a runny nose, dizziness, and no energy. It’s terrifying—I sneezed once and my nose started bleeding, which scared me to death. This round of COVID is too severe.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/razor-blade-throat-china-faces-covid-19-resurgence-painful-symptoms

"This Is War": Catherine Austin Fitts On Land Grabs, The Evils Of CBDC, And Fighting 'The Most Invasive Form Of Tyranny That's Ever Existed'

Investment banker Catherine Austin Fitts sat down for a wide-ranging interview, in which she warned about the future of food security, digital financial surveillance via Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), and fighting back against "the most invasive form of tyranny that's ever existed."

Sitting down with Breeauna Sagdal - Senior Policy Fellow at The Beef Initiative, Fitts paints a picture of modern society teetering between high-tech control and a rebirth of grounded living.

For starters, people need to take control of what they put into their bodies…

The Cost of Health in an Age of Wealth

Fitts recounted what we all know; just because you're rich doesn't mean you have two brain cells to rub together - noting that when she was an investment advisor, clients with $10–15 million brokerage accounts claimed they "couldn't afford" biodynamic or organic food.

"I would just be shocked," Fitts recalled. "You're financing the national security state through your brokerage account… and meantime you're eating food as… one ally said to me recently, 'Have you priced the cost of cancer lately?'".

In short, the wealthiest Americans often fail to connect financial decisions to physical well-being. "The health and wellbeing of my family is the basis of our family wealth," she said.

https://www.zerohedge.com/food/war-catherine-austin-fitts-land-grabs-evils-cbdc-and-fighting-most-invasive-form-tyranny-thats

Ukraine Tried To Attack Putin’s Helicopter Mid-Flight, Russia Alleges, Responds With Massive Strikes On Kiev

The Kremlin as well as Russian state media are alleging a huge, potentially conflict-altering incident which will surely escalate the war in Ukraine - an attempted attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin himself.

A high-ranking Russian military commander on Sunday described that last week, as Putin traveled to the Kursk region for the first time since is liberation after 6+ months of Ukrainian occupation, Ukraine tried to attack Putin's helicopter mid-flight, sending a wave of drones to swarm the flight path of the chopper.

The presidential helicopter was caught in the "epicenter" of a massive Ukrainian drone attack, commander of an air defense division in Kursk, Yury Dashkin, told Russian media. The headline is the top featured story of English-language RT on Sunday, something which suggests the allegations are largely aimed at grabbing the attention of the West.

The incident is said to have happened Tuesday as the helicopter transported Putin to tour Kursk - a southern oblast which has suffered much destruction since the initial Ukrainian cross-border incursion of last August.

Commander Yury Dashkin told Russia 1 in an interview which aired Sunday said that Putin’s helicopter had found itself "in the epicenter of an operation to repel a massive drone attack by the enemy" in Kursk Region.

He went on to describe that this "unprecedented" attack was successfully repelled by anti-air defenses in the region. Air defense units in the area had to "simultaneously conduct anti-aircraft combat and ensure the safety of the president’s helicopter in the air. The task was accomplished," Dashkin stated. "The attack of the enemy drones was repelled, with all aerial targets being hit."

While this could just be a mid-level officer's attempt to toot his own horn, given the world is just hearing about what's tantamount to an 'assassination attempt' on one of the world's most powerful leaders being alleged - and coming belatedly a number of days after the incident in question - this seems part of Moscow's ongoing messaging that the UAV incursions are an attempt to derail the US-brokered peace talks between Moscow and Kiev.

The drones are being launched on Russia in record numbers, with literally multiple hundreds sent over the past week, in some cases halting inbound and outbound flights at major airports, including in the Moscow area. Ukrainian officials have boasted that the operations is trying to disrupt and destabilize daily life in Russia, in hopes that the government could lose control.

A major new allegation coming from Russia's military:

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-tried-attack-putins-helicopter-mid-flight-russia-alleges-responds-massive

US de facto financing persecution of Christians in Ukraine – Tucker Carlson

Very few Americans understand the degree to which Kiev oppresses the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, according to the journalist

The US is essentially facilitating the persecution of Christians in Ukraine by supporting the Kiev government, which has been waging a purge campaign against the nation’s canonical Orthodox church, American journalist Tucker Carlson has said.

Carlson made the statement during an interview with a former Ukrainian MP, Vadim Novinsky, released on Friday.

“Every day, churches and temples are seized by soldiers with machine guns who come in, throw out priests, beat believers, children, old people, women…” the former lawmaker stated, adding that “it is happening all over Ukraine.”

“I think very few Americans understand the degree to which the Ukrainian government under [Vladimir] Zelensky has persecuted the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” Carlson said.

The former Fox News host then asked Novinsky what he would like to say to the American lawmakers who have nevertheless approved financial aid to Kiev. “The Speaker of the House of the United States Congress is a man who describes himself as a Christian and he has been paying for this,” the journalist said, referring to Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican.

The former Ukrainian MP replied that he would like to see the US aid going directly to ordinary Ukrainians and not the authorities, who “live in parallel realities.”

US government agencies appropriated a total of $182.8 billion on various forms of assistance to Kiev between 2022 and the end of 2024, according to Ukraine Oversight, an official portal that tracks such expenditures.

Last week, US President Donald Trump stated he was concerned that billions of dollars were being wasted on aid to Ukraine. He said Congress was “very upset about it” and that lawmakers were asking where all the money was going.

Kiev has accused the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of maintaining ties to Russia even though it declared independence from the Moscow Patriarchate in May 2022. The crackdown has included numerous arrests of clergymen and church raids, one of the most notorious of which took place in the catacombs of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, where holy relics are kept.

Last year, Zelensky signed legislation allowing the state to ban religious organizations affiliated with governments that Kiev deems “aggressors,” effectively targeting the UOC.

Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow would not abandon the Orthodox believers in Ukraine and vowed to make sure that “their lawful rights are respected.”

https://www.rt.com/news/618106-us-pay-persecution-christians-ukraine/

New York Governor Kathy Hochul Complains Republican Spending Bill Could Cut Services to ‘Members of the Undocumented Community’

New York’s Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul recently gave an interview to Telemundo in which she complained about the new Republican spending bill, claiming that it could adversely effect ‘members of the undocumented community.’ That’s Democrat speak for illegal aliens.

In voicing this concern, Hochul is ignoring the fact that millions of Americans voted for this. People watched for years under Biden as New York put illegal aliens up in luxury hotels and fed them three meals a day, spending untold billions of dollars on these people as American citizens suffered under the inflation of the Biden economy.

Perhaps New York wouldn’t find itself in this position if the state hadn’t spent a fortune month after month, catering to people who were in the country illegally.

Breitbart News has details:

Hochul: We’ll Lose Money Under GOP Bill, ‘Don’t Want to Go’ to Cutting Services for Migrants

During an interview with Telemundo 47 on Friday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) argued that the state is going to lose money under the Republican tax and spending bill and people will lose health care and responded to if she’ll have to cut services to some immigrants by saying, “I don’t want to go there.” And “This is something we have to look at very seriously for how we can not leave these people without essential care.”…

Host Alejandro Mendoza then asked, “Could we see something like we have seen in California where the governor had to cut services to some immigrants?”

Hochul responded, “I don’t want to go there. This is money that’s now been lost by the federal government — they used to help us pay for this. This is something we have to look at very seriously for how we can not leave these people without essential care.

If you listen to the audio below, Hochul brings up the ‘undocumented community’ at the 2:25 mark.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/05/new-york-governor-kathy-hochul-complains-republican-spending/

♦️Must Watch♦️

The EFF President and Commander in Chief @Julius_S_Malema ending his address with a revolutionary song at Ward 16, Koppies in Free State.

Shoot to kill, Nyamazana!

Kill the Boer, the farmer!

#VoteEFF

https://twitter.com/i/status/1926602917022228890

30 Big Retailers Closing Down Stores All Over America

Here’s a fact that will stop you in your tracks: Sears, which once employed more Americans than the US military, now has fewer stores than Starbucks locations in Manhattan. The company that built the American middle class is down to just 11 stores nationwide. Eleven. That’s the death of an empire.

In just the past 12 months, major retailers have announced over 3,200 permanent store closures. CVS is shutting down 900 locations. Walgreens is closing 1,200 stores. Even Dollar Tree is liquidating hundreds of Family Dollar locations.

These aren’t pandemic casualties. These are permanent shutdowns of profitable stores in busy shopping centers. The entire business model of physical retail is collapsing. High rents that made sense when foot traffic was guaranteed now feel like death sentences. Organized theft rings are stealing stores out of business. An entire generation has simply stopped shopping in stores.

What you’re witnessing is the systematic dismantling of America’s massively over-built retail infrastructure.

https://youtu.be/LGkusQEo1R8

Former Kennedy Center Execs Fabricated Financials To Hide Deficit Spending, Internal Docs Show

Internal documents obtained by The Daily Wire reveal the extent of the deficit spending that occurred at The Kennedy Center under the Biden administration — a scheme that left the performing arts center deep in debt and could open leaders up to potential legal action.

Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell this week told the organization’s board of directors that, under the direction of recently departed president Debra Rutter, the group “found $26 million in phantom revenue, fake revenue.”

“It’s criminal,” Grenell said, adding that “We’re going to refer this to the U.S. attorney’s office.”

Rutter denied the allegations, telling the Washington Post that she and her leadership team prepared a budget each year that was approved by the board of directors. But in a letter to Grenell obtained by The Daily Wire, Kennedy Center Chief Financial Officer Donna Arduin says that Rutter’s budget claim is irrelevant.

“Budgets and audits are on vastly different timetables and audits do not review the budgeting process,” Arduin wrote. “Audits are released up to a half year after the conclusion of the fiscal year, whereas budgets are approved well in advance of the fiscal year.”

Arduin, known as one of the nation’s leading budget experts, came to the Kennedy Center after stints in top roles across the country. She’s been brought in to right the budgets of California under Arnold Schwarzenegger, New York under George Pataki, and Florida under Jeb Bush.

In her months at the Kennedy Center, she determined that Kennedy Center leadership “veiled the fiscal year 2025 budget with $26 million in fictitious revenue and did not properly disclose such to the Board,” according to a letter to Grenell. In short, Arduin writes in the letter, “the Board believed that they were in good faith passing a balanced budget.”

Additionally, Arduin notes in her letter to Grenell that “under Rutter’s watch, the Center’s leadership team changed the name of the debt reserve fund that held $54 million of donor contributions for the retirement of our bank loan to the ‘sustainability fund,’ apparently to appear that new funds had been raised for budget sustainability, and spent it to mask deficits.”

This is the latest revelation of trouble at the Kennedy Center, which has become a flashpoint in the second Trump administration. Trump has pledged to make serious improvements to the performing arts center, repairing its outdated facilities and purging its repertoire of drag shows and other “woke” programming.

Program offerings under former Kennedy Center leadership may have contributed to its dire financial straits. Sources with knowledge of the Center’s financial situation tell The Daily Wire that its programming has a net margin of negative $72 million. Under Grenell, The Kennedy Center is focusing on shows that will sell tickets and appeal to a wider audience.

The Kennedy Center operates on a $230 million annual budget. A portion of its revenue, allocated by Congress, is earmarked for capital costs and facilities maintenance. The remainder of the Center’s money comes from donors.

https://www.domigood.com/2025/05/former-kennedy-center-execs-fabricated.html

Israeli's smear UK after being called out for genocide - Yawn same playbook

Report Says British Government Knowingly Funding Hamas With Millions

A bombshell new report states that the British government is knowingly sending millions of pounds to the terrorist group Hamas.

NGO Monitor obtained a British Consulate-General in Jerusalem (BCGJ) document dated November 2022 with a plan for “UK Humanitarian Support in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

The document notes distribution of “multi-purpose cash” assistance in Gaza. The document states, “The cash assistance component will be implemented in coordination with the Ministry of Social Development MoSD. … The MoSD in Gaza is affiliated with the de facto authorities and thus UK Aid can be linked directly or indirectly with supporting the de factor [sic] authority (Hamas) in Gaza which is part of a proscribed group.”

“Since taking control of Gaza in 2007, Hamas has employed a number of methods to divert international aid,” NGO Monitor wrote. “By exploiting monies and material intended for humanitarian purposes, the terrorist organization expanded its military infrastructure, paid salaries, and cemented its rule. More disturbingly, this aid diversion was central in Hamas’ preparations for the October 7 massacre, including the construction of tunnels and other military installations, and stockpiling supplies and resources.”

“Hamas has exercised effective control over the MoSD in Gaza for several years. In April 2019, Hamas appointed a politburo member, Ghazi Hamad, to lead the Ministry,” NGO Monitor notes. “As of July 2024, Hamas leader and politburo member, Ghazi Hamad, heads the Gaza branch of the MoSd. … In November 2024, the US Treasury Department designated Hamad, labeling him a “senior Hamas official. … In an October 24, 2023 interview on Lebanese television, Hamad hailed the October 7th massacre.”

“A Hamas-controlled entity was an integral partner in determining how cash assistance provided by the UK government to UNICEF would be distributed in Gaza,” NGO Monitor’s Anne Herzberg explained.

Israeli journalist Amit Segal noted after reading the report that the funding appears to have continued after the Hamas terrorist offensive.

“But maybe London changed its policy after October 7?“ Segal asked rhetorically. “Well, in March 2024, UNICEF wrote that it ‘maintained and strengthened the partnership with the MoSD,’ adding in November that ‘this humanitarian cash transfer program in the Gaza Strip is supported by the European Union, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).’”

“Citing the UN Financial Tracking System, NGO Monitor wrote that ‘in 2024, the UK provided UNICEF with approximately $23.1 million for West Bank and Gaza operations,’” Segal pointed out, adding, “And yet, at the same time that Britain is knowingly sending millions of pounds to Hamas, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is busy condemning Israel for the war in Gaza.”

https://www.domigood.com/2025/05/bombshell-report-says-british.html

US-registered Gaza aid group is ‘brainchild’ of Israelis, its funding is unclear

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation formed by businessmen, reservists with links to government; Haaretz: Key Israeli defense bodies bypassed in selection of security firm as contractor

A Gaza aid delivery project described as neutral and run by American contractors was conceived by several Israelis, including businessmen with close links to the government, raising concerns over transparency and neutrality, The New York Times reported Saturday.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is a US- and Israel-backed aid organization that was established to manage a new model for distributing humanitarian aid in the Strip in a manner that does not allow its diversion by Hamas.

It was built in close coordination with Israel amid mounting mistrust between Jerusalem and UN-backed aid groups that have been operating in the Strip to date, but the organization and US officials have maintained that it is an independent and neutral body.

However, the NYT report revealed that the project wasn’t simply built in coordination with Israel, but is “an Israeli brainchild.”

The idea was first proposed in late 2023 at “private meetings of like-minded officials, military officers and business people with close ties to the Israeli government” who believed the government lacked a long-term Gaza strategy, the report said.

The report posited that the “project’s genesis” occurred when “hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians rejoined the military as reservists, many of them reaching positions of influence,” following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks.

This created “a huge cohort of Israelis with one foot in the military and another in civilian life, blurring the boundary between the two worlds.”

The group’s central idea was to bypass traditional aid channels like the UN by hiring private contractors to distribute aid in pockets of Gaza under Israeli control, thus weakening Hamas’s grip without formally assuming responsibility for Gaza’s civilian population.

Key players in the new plan included venture capitalist Michael Eisenberg, who was not in the military, Yotam HaCohen, a strategic consultant who joined the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and later became an aide to the prime minister’s military secretary Brig. Gen. Roman Gofman, and Liran Tancman, a tech investor also affiliated with COGAT.

By early 2024, Israeli officials had begun promoting Philip F. Reilly, a former senior CIA officer who trained Contra fighters in Nicaragua and served as CIA station chief in Kabul, as their preferred contractor.

Reilly confirmed to the newspaper that he met with Eisenberg and Tancman and began discussing Gaza aid with Israeli civilians that year.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/nyt-us-registered-gaza-aid-group-of-unclear-funding-the-brainchild-of-israelis/

It's settled then

MIGA

Outrage: WA Governor Signs Permit-To-Purchase Bill, Lawsuits Certain

Washington Democrat Gov. Bob Ferguson on Tuesday signed House Bill 1163, which will require all future gun buyers to obtain a permit to purchase firearms after it takes effect in May 2027, but the announcement already has Evergreen State gun owners furious as the gun prohibition lobby cheers.

Alan Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said, “Our legal team is already working on potential challenges.”

“Fortunately,” Gottlieb noted, “the law doesn’t take effect until May 2027, which gives us plenty of time.”

Between now and then, the statute will undoubtedly be carefully dissected to determine the best legal strategy. Nothing needs to happen overnight.

https://americanliberty.news/government/outrage-wa-governor-signs-permit-to-purchase-bill-lawsuits-certain/jc/2025/05/

Trump family profits surge, Vietnam golf deal raises corruption concerns, West Point graduates stunned by bizarre commencement speech

The Trump Organization has secured approval for a $1.5 billion luxury golf resort in Vietnam, a project that has raised questions about political influence and ethical conflicts. The deal was fast-tracked by Vietnamese authorities, despite concerns over land use laws and transparency.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh personally attended the groundbreaking ceremony alongside Eric Trump, signaling strong government support for the project. Officials have justified the expedited approval by citing economic benefits, but critics argue that the arrangement reflects deeper political maneuvering

The timing of the deal is notable. Vietnam is currently negotiating trade agreements with Washington, and the Trump administration has postponed planned tariffs on Vietnamese imports. Some analysts suggest that the golf resort approval may be linked to broader diplomatic efforts, with Vietnam seeking favor from the U.S. government.

Meanwhile, controversy erupted at West Point after President Trump delivered a commencement speech that left graduates bewildered. His remarks included an extended rant about “trophy wives,” prompting criticism from military officials and alumni. The speech, intended to inspire future officers, instead fueled concerns about the president’s mental state and leadership.

The Trump family’s business dealings continue to draw scrutiny. While supporters argue that the organization is simply expanding its global footprint, opponents warn that these ventures blur the lines between personal profit and political influence. The Vietnam golf project is the latest example of how business and governance remain deeply intertwined.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/fox-news-world/vietnams-pm-eric-trump-break-ground-1-5b-luxury-golf-resort-amid-us-tariff-talks

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-05-21/trump-organization-to-break-ground-on-golf-club-in-vietnam-amid-trade-talks

https://news.tuoitre.vn/work-begins-on-15bn-trump-branded-golf-complex-in-vietnam-103250522150336791.htm

US Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem lands in Israel following Israeli embassy staffers murder

Noem is expected to meet the prime minister and foreign minister, as well as visit the Western Wall

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem landed in Israel on Sunday following the murder of Israeli embassy employees in Washington, per the instructions of US President Donald Trump.

Noem is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, and will arrive at the Western Wall on Sunday.

Noem responded to the attack, writing on X/Twitter on Thursday, "Two Israeli Embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington DC. We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share. Please pray for the families of the victims. "

"We will bring this depraved perpetrator to justice," she wrote.

The two embassy staffers were killed in an antisemitic shooting

The two Israeli embassy staff members were shot and killed in front of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington on Wednesday night.

https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-855374

Pfizer Vaccine Study Shows Over 470,000 American Deaths: Joe Rogan [WATCH]

Rogan introduced the topic by referencing a study he had sent to his producer.

“Sent Jamie this study. VAERS adjusted data and other derived from the MIT, Florida Department of Health study findings that yield a conservative range of 470,000 to 670,000 American deaths from the COVID-19 mRNA shots,” Rogan said.

Rodgers reacted to the numbers with disbelief. “That’s it? Just that alone, that’s a lot of people, man.”

https://www.lifezette.com/2025/05/pfizer-vaccine-study-shows-over-470000-american-deaths-joe-rogan-watch/

Lobby pushes for criminalization of Israels critics

The Israeli government has incriminated itself once again in the last few days.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, has stated that Israel intends to take control of Gaza. His coalition partner, Bezalel Smotrich, is promising further destruction on a massive scale and “cleansing” – code for displacing and potentially expelling Palestinians.

Everything they are doing and have threatened to do is illegal under international law. For a network of professional lobbyists, however, the bad guys aren’t those carrying out a genocide but those who oppose it.

The European Leadership Network (Elnet), a pro-Israel advocacy group, held a conference in Paris this week, which suggested that a “global intifada” was responsible for “the surge of anti-Semitism” since 7 October 2023.

https://israelpalestinenews.org/lobby-pushes-criminalization-of-israel-critics/

Hunter Biden Had TWO Laptops—And Federal Agents Helped Bury the Second One

Not only did the media ignore Hunter’s first laptop—most people missed that he left ANOTHER one with his psychiatrist.

That second laptop was seized during a DEA raid—then quietly shipped back to Hunter’s attorneys.

Garrett Ziegler says the DEA covered up Hunter Biden’s second laptop after the raid:

“… the FBI covered for the laptop that was dropped off at JP Mac Isaac shop. Yes, everybody knows that, but what they don't talk about often is that the DEA also covered for Hunter because they took another one of his laptops, which was inside Keith Ablow safe when Keith Ablow was raided by the DEA. Now, why Hunter left it there?… that's something that only Keith can answer.”

Two laptops. Two federal agencies. One massive coverup.

–

@GarrettZxcvi

https://twitter.com/i/status/1926125690446852522

Nova festival founder outed as Israeli intel collaborator involved in Gaza genocide

As Fox News seethes over pro-Palestine slogans at a California music festival, founders of the Israeli rave attacked on Oct 7 claim to be “deeply hurt” by the display. Yet one of the founders has openly bragged of serving as a top Israeli military intelligence asset involved in the Gaza genocide.

Amid a full-blown corporate media freakout over Irish hip hop trio Kneecap projecting “Fuck Israel – Free Palestine” during their set at the Southern California music festival Coachella, the founders of the Israeli Supernova Music festival issued a statement demanding the rappers make amends for having “deeply hurt many in our community” with their alleged “affront” against the Israeli rave community.

“The Nova community was built on the ideals of peace, freedom, and unity through music,” reads a solemn message from the Tribe of Nova Foundation, which was immediately re-broadcast on social media by at least one former official Israeli propagandist. “Our festival was a space where people came together – across cultures and beliefs – to celebrate life. That’s why we believe that even in the face of ignorance or provocation, our response must be rooted in empathy, not hate.”

A review of one of the group’s cofounder’s online activities, however, reveals that rather than the peace-loving hippie he purports to be, he’s taken an active and ambitious role in Israeli intelligence operations in the time since October 7.

As independent researcher “12 Ball” noted on Twitter/X, the day after concertgoers died amid Israel’s response to armed Hamas incursions, Nimrod Arnin – who helped organize the rave and is listed as a Tribe of Nova foundation co-founder – leapt into action to help Israel’s military unleash fire and fury on Gaza.

On Oct 8, Arnin co-founded “Cobalt Complex, an autonomous OSINT & civilian web intelligence (WEBINT) operations center that operated independently to support Israel’s intelligence apparatus at the outset of the Iron Swords War,” he wrote on his LinkedIn profile, using the official Israeli euphemism for its genocidal siege of Gaza.

https://thegrayzone.com/2025/04/22/nova-founder-israeli-intel/

Jared Kushner May Profit From Expanded Israeli Settlements

On Wednesday, Jared Kushner doubled his stake in a financial firm that stands to gain from turbocharging illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory — just before the announcement of a cease-fire deal that Kushner may have helped advise on.

ared Kushner, President-elect Donald Trump’s son-in-law and close confidant, on Wednesday doubled his stake in an Israeli financial firm that stands to gain from turbocharging Israeli settlements in Palestine — just before the announcement of a cease-fire deal that Kushner may have helped advise on.

Now, amid the potential wind-down of Israel’s war in Gaza, Trump’s former top Middle East adviser and family member is poised to benefit from expanding settlement efforts in Palestinian territories under Israeli occupation, which are illegal under international law and are driving mounting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Already, in the hours following the cease-fire announcement, Trump announced his administration would lift sanctions brought by the Biden administration against violent Israeli settlers. According to the United Nations, settlers were responsible for more than one thousand attacks on Palestinians last year — the highest level of Israeli settler violence ever recorded.

On Wednesday, hours before the cease-fire deal was formally announced, Israeli regulators approved a deal that gave Kushner nearly 10 percent ownership in Phoenix Financial Ltd, a major Israeli finance and insurance firm, making him the company’s largest shareholder.

Affinity Partners, Kushner’s private equity firm that is backed by a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and the source of several Senate investigations, first invested in Phoenix Financial back in July, acquiring a 4.95 percent stake in the company. At the time, Affinity proposed to double that share if regulators gave the green light. This week, they did.

“Investing in Phoenix in July 2024 was a decision rooted in my belief in Israel’s resiliency and the fundamentals of Phoenix’s business,” Kushner told Bloomberg News. “Six months later, the increased value of our shares reaffirms my conviction — both in Israel’s strength and the growing promise of Phoenix.”

Ending violence in the region could benefit Phoenix Financial’s bottom line.

In July, the Phoenix Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Phoenix Financial, received an A- rating from S&P Global, an independent credit rating company. The grade is the same as the company’s previous rating from December 2023. However, S&P noted in its latest rating that although Phoenix Insurance will not likely be financially impacted by conflict in the region, there could be negative economic consequences “if the conflict were to spread more widely.”

“A widening of the scope of the conflict beyond Gaza could also prompt a negative action,” the ratings company noted.

Phoenix Financial, one of Israel’s largest financial and insurance firms, has financed and insured construction projects throughout Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights. Phoenix owns an 80 percent stake in a large shopping mall in an East Jerusalem settlement and stakes in various companies operating throughout other settlements, according to Who Profits, a research center that investigates companies profiting from Israeli occupation.

Phoenix Financial, previously known as Phoenix Holdings, has helped finance wind and solar projects in Israeli settlements and provided financial services to the local councils of settlements, including the Beitar Illit and Oranit settlements in the West Bank.

The Israeli government approved a plan in December to expand settlements in the Golan Heights by investing more than $11 million to “encourage demographic growth” in the region, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. The new expansion plan was announced a week after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled the country as rebels seized control of the capital.

https://jacobin.com/2025/01/kushner-cease-fire-israel-settlements

Free Speech vs. Israel: GOP CIVIL WAR!

A bipartisan bill to criminalize boycotts of Israel has collapsed after MAGA lawmakers revolted, turning a foreign policy measure into a free speech flashpoint.

At a Glance

House cancels vote on IGO Anti-Boycott Act amid GOP backlash

Bill proposed up to $1M fines and 20 years in prison for boycotting Israel

MAGA lawmakers cite First Amendment in opposing legislation

AIPAC-backed bill faces unexpected resistance from right-wing Republicans

Pew poll shows rising unfavorable views of Israel among younger Republicans

MAGA Lawmakers Derail Israel Boycott Bill

A bipartisan bill to punish Americans who participate in boycotts against Israel has been abruptly pulled from the House floor following a revolt from within the Republican Party’s MAGA faction. The IGO Anti-Boycott Act, introduced by Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Mike Lawler (R-NY), aimed to amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018. It would have criminalized compliance with boycott requests from international organizations like the United Nations.

The bill’s penalties were severe: up to $1 million in fines and 20 years in prison for those found in violation, according to Middle East Eye. Critics called it an extreme overreach that risked punishing Americans for their political beliefs.

https://independencejournal.com/free-speech-vs-israel-gop-civil-war/

IBM lays off 8,000 for AI, then reverses course and rehires after automation struggles

IBM’s ambitious push to replace thousands of employees with artificial intelligence has taken an unexpected turn. After laying off 8,000 workers, primarily in human resources, the company has been forced to rehire many of them due to AI’s limitations.

The company introduced AskHR, an AI-powered system designed to automate routine HR tasks such as payroll processing, vacation approvals, and employee documentation. The platform successfully handled 94 percent of these functions, generating an estimated $3.5 billion in productivity gains. However, IBM quickly realized that automation alone could not replace human judgment, creativity, and problem-solving.

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna admitted that despite aggressive AI adoption, total employment at the company has actually increased. The company has shifted its hiring focus toward software engineers, marketers, and sales professionals—roles that require human interaction and strategic thinking.

The failure of full automation highlights the limits of AI in the workplace. While machines excel at repetitive tasks, they struggle with complex decision-making and nuanced problem-solving. IBM’s experience serves as a cautionary tale for companies rushing to replace workers with AI without fully understanding its constraints.

https://tech-ish.com/2025/05/22/ibm-ai-gamble-backfires-forced-to-rehire-after-8000-job-cuts/

https://farmingdale-observer.com/2025/05/22/ibm-laid-off-8000-employees-to-replace-them-with-ai-but-what-they-didnt-expect-was-having-to-rehire-as-many-due-to-ai/

https://www.konsyse.com/articles/ibm-fired-8000-individuals-due-to-ai-then-hired-as-many-due-to-ai/

IDF: 75% of Gaza to Be Occupied in Two Months; 2 Million Civilians to Be Concentrated in Three Zones

The Israeli military estimates that within two months, the IDF will have taken control of 75 percent of the Gaza Strip, concentrating around two million Palestinians into three main areas: Gaza City, the central refugee camps, and the al-Mawasi zone.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-05-25/ty-article/.premium/idf-75-of-gaza-to-be-seized-in-two-months-2-million-civilians-to-be-put-in-three-zones/00000197-0875-dc94-ab97-0e7dc5f00000

The Pentagon’s “Salvador Option”, Al Qaeda Government in Damascus. The History of U.S. Sponsored Terrorism in Iraq and Syria

Ambassadors John Negroponte and Robert S. Ford

Author’s Note

In mid-2024, the Western media was portraying former US Ambassador to Syria Robert Stephen Ford as a “moderate”, committed to supporting so-called “moderate mainstream opposition rebels”. R. S. Ford was upheld as a outspoken critic of US foreign policy, tacitly blaming the US State Department for gross mismanagement:

“I was no longer in a position where I felt I could defend the American policy… We have been unable to address either the root causes of the conflict in terms of the fighting on the ground and the balance on the ground, and we have a growing extremism threat.”… (quoted in Slate, June 3, 2014, emphasis added)

R. S. Ford called upon Washington to support the moderates:

“We need – and we have long needed – to help moderates in the Syrian opposition with both weapons and other non-lethal assistance. … Had we done that a couple of years ago, had we ramped it up, frankly the al Qaeda groups that have been winning adherents would have been unable to compete with the moderates who frankly we have much in common with,” (Reuters, June 3, 2014, emphasis added)

Responding to Ford’s comments, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said, “He’s a private citizen. He’s entitled to his views.”(Reuters, June 3, 2014)

Who is Robert Stephen Ford?

In a bitter irony, Robert Stephen Ford is no “Moderate” as portrayed by the media. He was from the very outset in January 2011, involved in carrying out the “extremism threat” scenario including the channeling of military aid to the Al Qaeda affiliated rebels. including Al Nusra.

I was in Damascus in mid-January 2011 when Robert Ford presented his credentials to President Bashar Al Assad. I was familiar with his role as “number two official” at the Embassy in Iraq under Ambassador John Negroponte.

Negroponte’s mandate as US ambassador to Iraq (together with Robert S. Ford) was to coordinate out of the US embassy, the covert recruitment and support to death squads and paramilitary groups in Iraq with a view to fomenting sectarian violence and weakening the resistance movement. Robert S. Ford as “Number Two” (Minister Counsellor for Political Affairs) at the US Embassy in Baghdad played a central role in this endeavor.

My hunch –which I conveyed to my friend, Ali, Prof, at Singapore’s NUS Middle East Institute– was that “something was to going to happen in the next few months”

To understand Robert S. Ford’s mandate in both Baghdad and subsequently in Damascus, it is important to reflect briefly on the history of US covert operations and the central role played by John D. Negroponte. (See text below).

In the months leading up to the March 2011 insurrection, Robert Stephen Ford was among the key architects involved in the formulation of a US “Terrorist Option” for Syria including the recruitment and training of death squads in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. (See details below)

https://www.globalresearch.ca/who-is-ambassador-robert-stephen-ford-the-architect-of-us-sponsored-terrorism-in-syria/5385973

High profile arrests 0

Declassification of pedo networks 0

GOP Senator Calls For Investigation Into $4.7 Trillion In 'Untraceable' Treasury Payments

In February, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uncovered $4.7 trillion in payments made by the US Treasury that are "almost impossible" to trace - as Treasury Account Symbol (TAS) identification codes were optional in the system. This left billions in payments blank and unable to be traced.

"Of the 1.5 billion payments that we send out every year, they are required to have a TAS, a Treasury Account Symbol. We discovered that more than one third of those payments did not have a TAS number," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services earlier this month.

"In the Federal Government, the TAS field was optional for ~$4.7 Trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost impossible," DOGE announced via its X account. Thanks to DOGE, those "optional" days are over. “…this is now a required field, increasing insight into where money is actually going," DOGE added.

So while the TAS field is now mandatory, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) has called for an investigation into where the untraceable payments have been going.

"There's so much waste. There's so much fraud, There's so much abuse in our government," Schmitt told Fox News. "I'm glad there was a laser-like focus on it. We ought to make many of those reforms permanent, but there probably ought to be some investigations here about where this money actually went. I mean this is taxpayer money. People work hard."

In March. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced a bill - the LEDGER Act - requiring the Treasury Department to track all payments.

"When you hear about this story that they didn't know where the money was going, it makes you mad because this is somebody's money, this is taxpayers' money when we have almost $37 trillion in debt, so this makes no sense at all," said Scott.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) noted that the United States "paid out more last year on our debt, $36 trillion in debt, with $950 billion in interest going to bondholders all over the world, including in China. That $950 billion didn't go to build a bridge or an F-35. We paid more on the interest on debt than we did to fund our military."

"That is an inflection point that when most countries hit, you look at history, that's when great powers start to decline. So we have to get those savings."

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/gop-senator-calls-investigation-47-trillion-untraceable-treasury-payments