Thomas Massie Introduces Bill To Finally Force AIPAC To Register As A Foreign Agent Under FARA

Ahead of a monumental primary on Tuesday, May 19th, which will determine whether or not the dying embers of America’s democratic process will be completely extinguished by the pro-Israel lobby, Kentucky representative Thomas Massie has introduced a bill into Congress that could deter future politicians actually willing to put America before Israel from suffering his same fate. On May 14th, Massie introduced the Americans Insist on Political Agent Clarity Act (”AIPAC Act”) in an effort to finally force the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (”AIPAC”) to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (”FARA”). The proposed legislation is the apotheosis of a crusade fought by Massie that has opened the eyes of the American people to see how the pro-Israel lobby has taken control over the country’s electoral process. Yet, despite widespread public support to force AIPAC to register as a foreign agent under FARA, the pro-Israel lobby’s stranglehold over Congress stands as a seemingly insurmountable obstacle keeping Massie’s proposed legislation from turning that into a reality.

The express aim of the AIPAC Act is to “amend the Foreign Registration Act of 1938….to clarify the definition of ‘foreign principal’ and ensure transparency in lobbying on behalf of foreign interests.” Under FARA, a foreign principal is defined as:

(1) a government of a foreign country and a foreign political party;

(2) a person outside of the United States, unless it is established that such person is an individual and a citizen of and domiciled within the United States, or that such person is not an individual and is organized under or created by the laws of the United States or of any State or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and has its principal place of business within the United States; and

(3) a partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination of persons organized under the laws of or having its principal place of business in a foreign country.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2026-05-18/thomas-massie-introduces-bill-finally-force-aipac-register-foreign-agent-under-fara

Summary

US denies earlier Tasnim report of agreeing to lift oil sanctions during talks; Trump tells NYP 'not open' to Iran concessions.

Trump calls for Iran's total military surrender in Monday morning Truth Social post.

Oil rebounds on Tasnim reporting Iranian denial: Tehran "under no circumstances" will negotiate nuclear issue as part of an end to the war.

A flurry of (the somewhat typically-timed) Monday opener headlines have pushed oil prices lower, erasing weekend gains, including Al Arabia reporting that Iran is ready to accept a long-term nuclear freeze, instead of full dismantling.

Iran has submitted its latest proposal comprising 14-points through Pakistan, amid reports that the US has offered to lift sanctions on Iranian oil during the interim negotiating period.

Reports further add that Russia's offer to take and hold Iran's enriched uranium stockpile on its territory is being taken seriously.

>>24619489

Trump Intensifies Effort To Unseat “Weak and Pathetic RINO” Thomas Massie After Cassidy’s Humiliating Primary Defeat – Backs Navy Seal Hero Ed Gallrein In Tight Kentucky Showdown

Trump wrote the following statements during the weekend:

“Tom Massie of Kentucky, the worst and most unreliable Republican Congressman in the history of our Country, is an even bigger insult to our Nation than Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who suffered an unprecedented loss tonight by not even being allowed to run in the Republican Primary. This is the first time such a thing has ever happened to a sitting U.S. Senator! That’s what you get by voting to Impeach an innocent man, especially one who made it possible for Cassidy’s Senate win. Very disloyal, but Tom Massie, a major Sleazebag, is even worse! Kentucky, get this LOSER out of politics in Tuesday’s Election. He is nicknamed Rand Paul Jr., another real “beauty,” because of his absolutely terrible voting habits. Vote for Ed Gallrein, a successful Kentucky farmer, and American War Hero, who only ran because he thought that Massie was so disloyal and disrespectful to your President, ME! This is a great man, Central Casting, in fact, who truly deserves to represent the fantastic people of Kentucky, a Commonwealth that I am proud to have won all three times, in record fashion! ED WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP..”

[…]

“Bad Congressman Tom Massie voted against Tax Cuts, the Border Wall, our Military and Law Enforcement. Actually, he voted against almost everything that is good. The Worst Republican Congressman in History. Kentucky, vote the bum out on Tuesday. We can’t live with this troublemaker for another two years. He is a true negative force!!! President DJT”

[…]

“Third Rate Congressman Thomas Massie, a Weak and Pathetic RINO from the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky, a place I love, and won big SIX TIMES, including all Primaries, must be thrown out of office, ASAP! He is the Worst “Republican” Congressman in History, voting against Tax Cuts, the Wall, Law Enforcement, and in favor of the Transgender Mutilization of our Children, Men playing in Women’s Sports, and so many more horrible things. The incredible people of Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District gave us a mandate to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and the person that will help us do that is Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Fifth Generation Kentucky Farmer, Captain Ed Gallrein, a true America First Patriot.

A Brave Combat Veteran, Ed knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Defend our Country, Support our Military/Veterans, and Ensure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH. Additionally, as a very successful Businessman, Ed knows how to Create GREAT Jobs, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Support our Amazing Farmers and American Agriculture, Unleash American Energy Dominance, and Champion our Nation’s Golden Age. In Congress, he will fight tirelessly to Keep our now very Secure Border, SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.

The Great People of Kentucky are wise to Massie — He only votes against the Republican Party, making life very easy for the Radical Left. Unlike “lightweight” Massie, a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly, CAPTAIN ED GALLREIN IS A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN. Election Day is Tuesday, May 19th. VOTE FOR ED GALLREIN — HE HAS MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/05/trump-intensifies-effort-unseat-weak-pathetic-rino-thomas/

Trump posts AI slop featuring shackled alien

The US president has ordered the Pentagon to declassify its UFO files, with the last batch published just over a week ago

US President Donald Trump has posted a glitchy AI-generated image of himself alongside a shackled alien in his latest flurry of space-themed Truth Social posts on Sunday.

The post came just over a week after the US War Department declassified a batch of government files on unidentified flying objects (UFOs), spanning more than a hundred historic documents, reports, photographs and videos of various unexplained phenomena.

In Trump’s post, the alien – portrayed as a tall grey-skinned humanoid with a bald head and large black eyes – is flanked by the president, several Secret Service agents and a US soldier. The restraints on its wrists appear to be only partially generated. Trump did not explain or caption the image.

In another set of AI-generated images, Trump is portrayed at a console in a space station, with images of satellites and missiles being shot down in the background. One post shows the US president five to six times larger than the officers that surround him as he holds his fingers on a big red button.

The images are labelled “Space Force.”

Since returning to office in 2025, Trump has pushed to establish the Golden Dome program, proposing a massive investment in US ground- and space-based interception capabilities – potentially topping a trillion dollars over the next two decades.

The Pentagon has characterized the program as urgently needed.

The US has “very limited capability” against ballistic missiles and “no defense against hypersonic weapons or cruise missiles today,” Assistant Secretary of War for Space Policy Marc Berkowitz told lawmakers in the Senate last month. Russia, China, India and some other nations have developed and deployed hypersonic missiles in recent years.

https://www.rt.com/news/640144-trump-ai-slop-alien/

Israel to build IDF compound on site of demolished UN office in Jerusalem

Defense Minister Katz has said the project symbolizes “sovereignty, Zionism and security” for the Jewish state

Israel has approved plans to establish a new military complex on the site of the former UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) headquarters in East Jerusalem, Defense Minister Israel Katz has announced.

Israeli authorities have accused the agency of colluding with Hamas during the October 7, 2023 attack.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) seized and partially demolished the UNRWA compound in 2024 after lawmakers passed legislation banning the organization’s activities in areas under Israeli control.

In December, the Defense Ministry signed an agreement with the Jerusalem municipality to establish a new defense headquarters in the city and relocate several military colleges there.

According to Israeli media reports, the new compound will cover around nine acres near Ammunition Hill and include an IDF museum, recruitment offices, and facilities for the defense minister.

Katz said on Sunday that the move represented “a decision of sovereignty, Zionism and security,” arguing that there was “nothing more symbolic or just” than establishing defense institutions “on the ruins of the UNRWA compound,” which was originally created to support Palestinians displaced during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini condemned the destruction of the office as “a new level of open and deliberate defiance of international law.”

While the UN denied any institutional support for Hamas, UNRWA said following an internal probe in 2024 that available evidence indicated that nine of its employees “may have been involved in the attacks of October 7.”

The agency operates schools, clinics, and aid programs for Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. More than 2.3 million people have been displaced by Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, and over one million are sheltering in UNRWA facilities. More than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since 2023, according to the UN.

UN agencies and humanitarian groups have repeatedly warned of catastrophic conditions in the enclave, including widespread hunger and overcrowded refugee camps. Israel has denied accusations of deliberately targeting civilians and argued that Hamas has stolen food aid and obstructed humanitarian deliveries to Gaza.

https://www.rt.com/news/640110-israel-defense-complex-unrwa-headquarters/

Iran to sue US and Israel over attacks on cultural sites

More than 149 historical landmarks and museums have been damaged in the strikes, Tehran has said

Tehran will take the US and Israel to court over attacks on Iranian cultural sites, the Islamic Republic’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, has said.

A fragile ceasefire, which was established between the sides in early April after a month of intense hostilities initiated by the Americans and the Israelis, currently holds. However, there has been no progress in indirect peace talks, with both Washington and Tehran rejecting each other’s demands as unacceptable.

Gharibabadi wrote in a post on X on Sunday that at least 149 historical landmarks and museums in 20 Iranian provinces, including five UNESCO-registered sites, have been damaged by the US and Israeli bombardment.

The authorities in Tehran “will register, document, and pursue this assault on its cultural heritage within the framework of international responsibility; for it will allow no power to sacrifice the history of the great Iranian nation to its military and political objectives of today,” he wrote.

Cultural sites must be protected during conflicts in line with the 1954 Hague Convention and the fundamental rules of humanitarian law, the diplomat added.

“Iran’s cultural heritage is not merely a national asset of the Iranian people; it is part of humanity’s shared memory,” Gharibabadi said.

The Persian civilization, centered in modern-day Iran, is one of the world’s most historically influential and oldest cultures, stemming from the Achaemenid Empire founded in 550 BC.

The attacks on historic landmarks by Washington and West Jerusalem constitute “a clear manifestation of the lawless behavior of the American regime and the Zionist regime,” the deputy minister insisted.

The Iranian Ministry of Culture previously estimated that repairing the heritage sites damaged during the conflict would cost some 70 trillion rials (nearly $39 million).

The American wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and elsewhere have led to damage or destruction of multiple cultural heritage sites since the 1950s, but Washington had never been held liable. It’s increasingly difficult for foreign governments to sue the US in domestic or international courts due to the doctrine of sovereign immunity and its refusal to recognize compulsory jurisdiction of global legal bodies.

In early April, US President Donald Trump warned that Iran’s “whole civilization will die” if it fails to accept American demands and faced instant international backlash, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres saying that he was “deeply troubled” by the statement and Pope Leo XIV calling it “truly unacceptable.”

https://www.rt.com/news/640119-iran-us-israel-heritage/

Ukraine's Odesa Heavily Attacked In 'Retaliation' For Deadly Drone Raids On Moscow

The Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) announced Monday that its forces executed a massive missile and drone barrage across Ukraine, which is clearly the expected big retaliatory response following Ukraine's large-scale drone wave attack on Moscow over the weekend.

Kremlin officials specifically described the new assault as indeed direct retaliation for "terrorist attacks" carried out by Kiev, which killed at least three in the Russian capital, injured dozens, hit a refinery, and unleashed havoc and fear among the population. The MoD said it targeted military and defense industrial sites, but Ukraine's account differed.

Ukrainian forces had deployed at least 130 UAVs during the capital-bound raid, and damaged a major regional airport. Large fires were spotted near major roadways, sometimes in the heart of busy city areas.

Russia's nighttime into early Monday retaliation has been expectedly fierce, as overnight it specifically targeted Odesa and Dnipro, leaving at least one person dead and over 30 injured. In the port city of Odesa, the drone strikes damaged residential buildings, a school, and a kindergarten, according to Ukrainian officials.

Ukrainian media chronicled some of the following:

On Sunday, Russia carried out a combined overnight attack on the city of Dnipro, striking a residential area, sparking multiple fires, and causing casualties.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian forces began launching drones toward Dnipro at approximately 8 p.m.

On Monday, May 18, at 2:32 a.m., Ukraine was under threat of ballistic missile strikes. Shortly afterward, missiles were detected heading toward Dnipro, including both ballistic and cruise missiles.

According to local authorities, Russian drones struck three residential buildings in Odesa’s Kyivskyi and Prymorskyi districts.

One of the buildings, a single-story house in the Prymorskyi district, was completely destroyed. Other buildings sustained damage to facades, roofs, and windows. Several fires broke out but were quickly extinguished.

But Ukraine's cross-border drones have also continued unabated, as two people were killed and two more were injured following a a Monday UAV attack on Russia's southern Belgorod region, local authorities said. Belgorod has come under regular attack since near the start of the war, given its southern-most location, close to the front-lines to the south in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Kremlin announced Monday that Moscow anticipates an eventual resumption of the Russia-Ukraine peace process, though it noted that negotiations are currently paused.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraines-odesa-heavily-attacked-russian-retaliation-deadly-drone-raids-moscow

Russian Drone Hits Chinese Ship In Black Sea, Less Than 24-Hours Before Xi-Putin Summit

Just 24 hours before Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are set to meet for their planned summit in Beijing, soon on the heels of Trump's visit, and a geopolitical wrench may have just been thrown into the works.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russian forces have attacked a Chinese ship heading toward a Ukrainian port - a provocative move that threatens to seriously anger Beijing at the worst possible diplomatic moment.

Early Monday morning, a Russian drone reportedly struck the KSL Deyang, a vessel flying under the Marshall Islands flag, just off the coast of Ukraine, Reuters also confirms.

The ship was reportedly empty at the time while en route to Ukraine's Pivdennyi port in the Odesa region to load up on iron ore concentrate.

A fire was observed on board, but it was quickly brought under control and extinguished, with the vessel escaping severe damage.

The Ukrainian government is alleging this wasn't some kind of accidental fog-of-war blunder, with President Zelensky immediately calling out Moscow:

“Drones struck Odesa … and one of the UAVs hit a vessel owned by China. The Russians could not have been unaware of what vessel was at sea,” Zelensky said.

A Ukrainian navy spokesman told AFP that none of the crew members, all Chinese nationals, were injured. He added that the vessel continued on its journey.

“The ship was entering for loading. After it was hit at night by a Shahed, the crew coped with the consequences on their own. Fortunately, no one was injured, and the vessel continued on its way to its port of destination,” navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said.

The incident went down just after on Sunday Xi and Putin had just exchanged "congratulatory letters" to set the stage for Putin's upcoming arrival in Beijing.

The China-owned vessel wasn't the only ship attacked within that span of time. According to The Independent:

Russia attacked a Panama-flagged civilian vessel heading to Ukraine's Chornomorsk port in the southern Odesa region on the Black Sea early on Monday, the regional governor said.

It is one of several ships destined for Ukrainian ports that have been struck by Russian forces in the past day.

The vessel was damaged in the attack, which caused a fire, Governor Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that no one had been injured in the incident and that the crew had extinguished the fire. The vessel has continued on its way, the governor added.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russian-drone-hits-chinese-ship-black-sea-less-24-hours-xi-putin-summit

Remember the ADL bragged they captured TIKTOK

‘Political Interference’ – TikTok Took Down Video on Immigration by Nigel Farage’s Reform Party.

TikTok’s removal of a video on immigration by Nigel Farage’s Reform Party has sparked accusations of political interference and misuse of Britain’s Online Safety Act, which is increasingly being used to stifle speech online.

TikTok removed a video posted by Zia Yusuf of Nigel Farage’s Reform Party on the party’s immigration policy, citing alleged “hate speech” violations. The video, which criticized mass migration and proposed firmer deportation policies, was flagged under Britain’s Online Safety Act—framed by supporters as a means to combat child pornography, terrorism-related material, and other illegal content, but denounced by critics as a mass censorship tool hiding behind a veneer of national security and child protection measures. Reform has accused TikTok of political interference, saying the removal of its video silences dissenting voices.

The video argues that Britain has been overwhelmed by mass migration. TikTok reportedly took it down under rules tied to harmful or hateful content moderation. Reform has branded the move as “unacceptable political interference” and linked the decision to broader concerns over the erosion of free speech in Britain.

TikTok is engaging in direct political interference in the midst of the most pivotal elections in our country’s history.” – Zia Yusuf

🎯 IMPACT: The incident highlights concerns about the abuse of the Online Safety Act for the purpose of political censorship. Nigel Farage called out TikTok on X (formerly Twitter), demanding, “Does [TikTok] believe in free speech or not?”

📺 FLASHBACK: The Online Safety Act was introduced by the former Conservative government in 2023 and enacted under the incumbent Labour Party government in 2025.

https://thenationalpulse.com/2026/05/18/political-interference-tiktok-took-down-video-on-immigration-by-nigel-farages-reform-party/

Revealed: USAID, NED & Open Society Quietly Bankroll Cuba’s “independent” Media In Push For Regime Change

From musicians and academics, to civil society, educational, and religious groups, to think tanks, charities and NGOs, there exists a vast nexus of organizations receiving vast sums of money from the U.S. government.

Amid escalating U.S. aggression towards the Cuban island through a maximum pressure campaign and the threat of military intervention, the United States government has been covertly funding a huge network of Cuban media outlets that claim to be independent in a push for regime change against the independent socialist government.

These outlets present themselves as unbiased investigative journalism, but are quietly being financed by Washington through USAID, the National Endowment for Democracy and the Open Society Foundation in order to sow discontent across the Caribbean nation, softening it up for a potentially “imminent” invasion by the Trump administration.

Cuba faces some of its worst energy blackouts in its history, thanks to the U.S. blockade, which is attempting to strange the island into submission. As a Communist state defying U.S. orders, Cuba has, since 1959, been in the crosshairs of Washington, who are attempting to overthrow the government. MintPress sheds light on this shady regime change nexus.

Independent Journalism, Brought To You By The State Department

CubaNet is one of the most influential and well-established news outlets covering affairs on the Caribbean island. Founded by anti-government activists in 1994, the site has become the go-to source of information for corporate media, who regularly cite it, and present it as an objective and unbiased independent media (e.g., The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and The Los Angeles Times). CubaNet reporters have written op-eds in major U.S. newspapers such as USA Today, calling for an immediate change in government on the island.

But CubaNet is not as independent as it seems. The outlet is bankrolled by the U.S. national security state. CubaNet has received millions of dollars in funding from USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy, as well as the Open Society Foundation.

One currently active $500,000 USAID grant, for instance, was awarded to CubaNet to “engage on-island young Cubans through objective and uncensored multimedia journalism.” While ostensibly a laudable goal, even the grant’s own one-sentence description hints that its purpose is to undermine and attack the Cuban government. It states that it will (emphasis added) “increase the free flow of information to and from Cuba in order to offset the regime’s disinformation campaigns.”

Another news organization receiving huge sums of money from Washington is ADN Cuba. Literally meaning “Cuba’s DNA,” the outlet has amassed a significant following online, boasting over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, over 200,000 on Instagram, and over 1.3 million on Facebook. It describes itself as “an independent media outlet committed to freedom and democracy in Cuba.” Yet it is actually based in Spain. And it does not seem particularly committed to transparency about its funding.

What is clear, however, is that ADN Cuba has received millions of dollars from the U.S. national security state. In September 2024, USAID approved a $1.1 million grant to ADN Cuba – a gigantic amount of money for an organization that publishes barely one story per day on its website. This was on top of a $1.5 million allocation for the 2022-2024 period. Indeed, since 2020, ADN Cuba has received in excess of $3 million from USAID alone. This relationship is not disclosed to readers– even in stories directly covering USAID funding Cuban media– and is relegated to the footnotes of obscure U.S. government funding databases.

More

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/foreign-affairs/revealed-usaid-ned-open-society-quietly-bankroll-cubas-independent-media-in-push-for-regime-change

https://www.antiwar.com/

🚨This short film exposes the true story of Israel's creation, entirely through the words of its own founders

For decades, Israel’s lies have been carefully designed to demonize its victims. To ensure that no matter the crimes it commits, the children it slaughters, the world remains incapable of empathy for Palestinians, or at best, treats it with the same apathy that has allowed this to go on for as long as it has

On the 78th anniversary of its creation, it's time the world knew that Israel's past is not different from the brutal present the world is finally seeing

https://x.com/i/status/2055330663608295794

The head of Palantir promised to make the summer strikes on Moscow the "diamond in the crown" of AI systems

The head of Palantir promised to make the summer strikes on Moscow the "diamond in the crown" of AI systems.

This was stated by Alex Karp, the head of the American company, at a meeting in Kiev. His words, with reference to Ukrainian insiders, are quoted by the Military Times.

The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine confirmed that the Palantir software has become an "operating system of war" for planning deep strikes against the Russian Federation. According to Karp, the only real metric of the platform is the number of Russian soldiers killed per square kilometer.

Why are there few people killed that didn't work?

— He said cynically.

Since January, Ukraine has donated 2.5 million hours of front-line video to Palantir for AI training. Karp also said he was on the Kremlin's "extermination list." He called Russia and China archaic opponents relying on armor and "soldier's meat." Karp sees the main front in a future war with Beijing, which he considers inevitable.

#USA #Palantir #Carp #Ukraine

Telegram "lomovkaa"

IDF struggles to throttle endless feed of soldiers posting misdeeds on social media

Troops keep recording their own misconduct, including smashing a statue of Jesus in Lebanon, but the army claims progress in curbing posts that fuel international criticism and risk operational security

In mid-April, a picture showing an Israeli soldier taking a sledgehammer to a statue of Jesus in the southern Lebanese town of Debel found its way online, rapidly zooming across social media and leaping into mainstream news as it ignited a firestorm of anger directed at Israel.

Most versions of the picture being circulated included a prominent watermark near the center of the image bearing the X handle of Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi.

Tirawi did not take the photo, however. Rather, it was another soldier who snapped the offending image and proceeded to post it on social media, where Tirawi, one of a cadre of online sleuths trawling troops’ online feeds to collect evidence of wrongdoing, could find it and show it to the world.

The incident, which drew a swift apology, underscored what critics claim is the Israel Defense Forces’ widespread maltreatment of civilians and disregard for Christians. But it also underscored the military’s lack of success in cracking down on soldiers posting a steady stream of photos, videos and other content to social media, exposing themselves and others to charges of misconduct, often justified, and offering fuel to the country’s many detractors.

Weeks later, on May 6, a new photo emerged from the same town, this one showing soldiers placing a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary. Like others, it had been found on a soldier’s Instagram feed.

Following the initial incident, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said that soldiers, both in the standing army and reserves, “must not use social media as a tool to spread controversial messages or for self-promotion.”

“This is a red line that must not be crossed, and those who do so will be dealt with disciplinarily,” he said.

The message is one that the army has been repeating since early in the war in Gaza. As thousands of troops invaded the enclave following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel, many took their phones with them.

What ensued was a surge of photos and videos uploaded by soldiers to social media platforms, offering a constant stream of material to critics of Israel. While the acts caught on photo or video largely fell below the threshold of war crimes, they still provided evidence of soldiers defying the army’s ethical code and acting with callous disregard toward civilians and their property, blackening the reputation of a military already perceived poorly by much of the world.

In addition, material showing soldiers’ faces has been used by those looking to expose individual troops and seek their prosecutions when they travel abroad.

Among the actions captured and shared by troops in Gaza were soldiers burning a Quran and other books, crushing an “I love Gaza” sign with a tank, vandalizing property, firing indiscriminately and multiple photos uncovered by Tirawi of service members posing with lingerie found in Palestinians’ homes.

“What we’ve seen in the current conflict is it’s not just the volume [of the posts], but it’s also the fact that soldiers don’t shy away from uploading videos, sometimes with their face,” or other identifying features, said Eran Shamir-Borer, director of the Center for Security and Democracy at the Israel Democracy Institute. “They’re not even ashamed of what they’re doing.”

More

https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-struggles-to-throttle-endless-feed-of-soldiers-posting-misdeeds-on-social-media/

Ed Gallrein's scripted 13-minute speech today was entirely about war and demanding everyone get behind Trump's wildly unpopular war with Iran.

There was nothing about healthcare, inflation, immigration, or anything else. He didn't take a single question from the media.

Gallrein's entirely funded by Israel First billionaires and his only "mission" is to support America fighting Israel's wars.

The only other notable part of his speech was the fact he falsely identified Pete Hegseth as an Army Ranger. Hegseth embarrassingly had to correct him and note he was just an infantry officer.

(It was also funny how insanely overmodulated the mic was.)

https://x.com/i/status/2056436486518493562

Rabbi Meir Yaakov Soloveichik to Rededicate 250 event: "Anti-Semitism is utterly un-American."

https://x.com/i/status/2056237242931093738

Pakistan Sent 8,000 Troops, Jets And Air Defenses To Saudi Arabia

Pakistan has deployed 8,000 troops, a squadron of fighter jets and an air defense system to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defense pact, ramping up military cooperation with the kingdom, all while playing the lead role in mediating talks between the United States and Iran.

The deployment was first announced by Saudi Arabia last month, specifically on April 11 — three days after the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran came into effect.

At the time, the Saudi Ministry of Defense said that the deployment came “as part of the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement signed between the two brotherly countries.”

It added in a statement that the presence of Pakistani forces in the kingdom came with the purpose of “enhancing joint military coordination and raising the level of operational readiness between the armed forces of the two countries,” but didn’t elaborate on the scale of the deployment.

Iran attacked Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones on a near-daily basis right after the start of the American-Israeli war. Most attacks targeted Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts American troops and aircraft, but the kingdom also accused the Islamic Republic of hitting infrastructure, including energy facilities.

The new details on the Pakistani military deployment in Saudi Arabia came in a report published by Reuters on May 18. The report cited three security officials and two government sources, all of whom described it as a substantial, combat-capable force intended to support the kingdom’s military if it comes under further attack.

The full terms of the defense agreement, signed last year, are confidential, but both sides have said it requires Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to come to each other’s defense in the event of an attack. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has previously implied that it places the kingdom under Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella.

According to the sources, Pakistan has deployed a full squadron of around 16 aircraft, mostly JF-17 fighter jets. Meanwhile, two of the security officials revealed that Pakistan had also sent two squadrons of drones.

All five sources said that the deployment includes around 8,000 troops, with a pledge to send more if needed, as well as a Chinese HQ-9 long-range air defense system.

The report came just a day after Saudi Arabia reported that three drones were intercepted and destroyed after entering the Kingdom’s airspace from Iraq, where several armed factions allied to Iran are active. The incident highlighted growing tensions amid the ceasefire.

The forces sent by Pakistan to Saudi Arabia are very capable. However, it is clear that the deployment is purely defensive in nature.

While Islamabad seems committed to its defense pact with Saudi Arabia, its main focus remains on brokering lasting peace between the U.S. and Iran. Tehran does not likely view the Pakistani military deployment in the kingdom as a threat, but rather as an acceptable alternative to the American military deployment. Communications between the two countries continue on the highest of levels.

https://southfront.press/pakistan-sent-8000-troops-jets-and-air-defenses-to-saudi-arabia/

Former CEO Of Cosmetic Company Charged With Defrauding Public Company And Its Shareholders

Jaime Castle Orchestrated a Scheme to Fraudulently Inflate the Reported Revenue of Obagi Cosmeceuticals to Induce Acquisition by Publicly Traded Company Waldencast

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and the Inspector in Charge of the New York Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), Ketty Larco-Ward, announced today the unsealing of an indictment charging JAIME CASTLE, former Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of Obagi Cosmeceuticals LLC (“Obagi”) with conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, and false statements to auditors and improperly influencing an audit. CASTLE led a scheme to fraudulently inflate Obagi’s purported sales of cosmetic products to give the false impression that Obagi was a growing company. CASTLE used that fraudulently inflated revenue to deceive a public company that acquired Obagi, called Waldencast Plc (“Waldencast”), and its shareholders, obtaining a $2 million cash bonus for arranging the acquisition. Once her scheme was uncovered, Waldencast had to restate its revenue by more than $50 million as a result of Castle’s fraud.

CASTLE was presented Monday before Judge Lehrburger. The case has been assigned to the Honorable John G. Koeltl.

“Jaime Castle allegedly defrauded a public company and its shareholders by ginning up fake revenue to suggest growth that did not exist,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Castle then lied to auditors to try to keep her scheme from being uncovered. Today’s indictment is a reminder that this Office and our law enforcement partners will not hesitate to go to the C-suite to root out fraud and false statements in our business community.”

“Ms. Castle allegedly used the U.S. Mail to facilitate her criminal activity, swindling her unsuspecting investors by providing them false information about her company,” said USPIS Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will work tirelessly to expose these investment scams and protect the public from individuals, who use deceptive tactics to make a profit.”

According to the allegations in the Indictment unsealed on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court:[1]

From at least in or about 2021 through at least in or about 2023, CASTLE orchestrated a scheme to enrich herself by fraudulently inflating Obagi’s revenue and financial performance in order to defraud Waldencast and its shareholders. CASTLE, the CEO of Obagi, created the illusion that Obagi was a growing company by artificially inflating purported sales of cosmetic products to a Vietnamese distributor (“Distributor-1”), even though CASTLE knew that Distributor-1 could not pay for and, in many cases, had no need for those products. This illusion of growth made Obagi appear to be an attractive acquisition target for Waldencast and for Waldencast’s shareholders, who voted to approve a merger with Obagi in July 2022. CASTLE received a bonus of over $2 million for the successful completion of that merger. She then continued to lie to Waldencast’s management, shareholders, and auditors about Obagi’s sales and revenue, in the hopes of receiving additional bonuses and to conceal her scheme. When Waldencast discovered CASTLE’s scheme, it restated Obagi’s revenue for 2021 and 2022, showing that more than $50 million in revenue had been fraudulently reported based on CASTLE’s lies.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-ceo-cosmetic-company-charged-defrauding-public-company-and-its-shareholders

Eighteen Charged in Multi-State Drug and Money Laundering Conspiracy

Defendants from across the country arrested

BOSTON – Eighteen individuals in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, California and Hawaii have been arrested in connection with an alleged drug trafficking and money laundering scheme centered in Gardner, Mass.

The following defendants have been charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. They appeared in federal courts in Worcester as well as Trenton, NJ, Orlando, FL, Dallas, Texas, Tulsa, Okla., Riverside, Calif. and Honolulu, Hawaii last week:

1. Hai Son Pham, 39, of Gardner, Mass.

2. Kelly Breault, 41, of Leominster, Mass.

3. Boonphet Sysoumang, 42, of Gardner, Mass.

4. Rafael Moreno, 38, of Leominster, Mass.

5. Andres Montemayor, 42, of Arlington, Texas

6. James Jah, 37, of South River, N.J.

7. Cesar Gonzalez, age 42, of Rancho Mirage, Calif.

8. Courtney Spaulding, 42, of Leominster, Mass.

9. Abdeem Griffin, 31, of Vallejo, Calif.

10. Rhonda Reed, of Winchendon, Mass.

11. Fong Yang, 43, of Claremore, Okla.

12. Kenneth Godfrey, 59, of Phillipston, Mass.

13. Scorpio Ramos, 41, of Fitchburg, Mass.

14. Giovan Colon, 36, of Kissimmee, Fla.

15. Gary Boucher, 46, of Shirley, Mass.

16. David Vega, 37, of Fitchburg, Mass.

17. Frederick Hrdy, 38, of Honolulu, Hawaii

18. Jose, Garcia, 36, of Chicopee, Mass.

According to the charging documents, Pham headed a drug trafficking organization in North Worcester County, Mass. From there, Pham and his co-conspirators allegedly conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute large quantities of cocaine, marijuana, counterfeit pills and other controlled substances throughout the United States, to include Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida, Oklahoma, California, Texas, Washington and Hawaii.

According to court documents Pham registered and controlled Infinite Painting, a local commercial and residential painting company. Pham and his co-conspirators allegedly used Infinite Painting to launder drug proceeds through multiple financial institutions by concealing the illegal source of these funds.

The drug conspiracy charge provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years up to lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. The money laundering conspiracy charge provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the amount involved in the transaction, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/eighteen-charged-multi-state-drug-and-money-laundering-conspiracy

Revealed: An Anti-left Influence Op in France Leads to Tel Aviv

A smear campaign distributed phony AI-generated nudes of a left-wing French candidate. A Haaretz-Libération investigation has uncovered systems for building an army of avatars – developed in Israel

A foreign influence operation aimed at France's hard-left party is being investigated by the country's security services, which seek to thwart a scheme run by a network of avatars and bogus websites.

The operation was designed to smear two candidates for mayor, of Marseille and Toulouse in the south, depicting them as pro-Palestinian and pro-Muslim – and as rapists. The French authorities suspect that the entity behind the operation is a previously unknown firm called BlackCore.

BlackCore's website, now offline, described the company as a cyber outfit with 15 years of experience, specializing in influence operations and information warfare for government and political clients. It boasted a "100 percent" success rate, but no real entity seems to stand behind that name.

A joint investigation by the French daily Libération and Haaretz, which analyzed BlackCore's digital footprint, uncovered a toolkit of influence-operation systems routed through servers in Britain, Germany, Finland and Lithuania. BlackCore's systems appear to have shared web infrastructure with websites that housed the internal systems of two Israeli companies – Galacticos and SNI.

Galacticos developed a technology for producing and managing avatars – digital personas deployed on social media as if they were real people – that, among other uses, can make it possible to run influence operations. However, no direct connection was found between Galacticos and the operation being investigated by the French.

Galacticos and SNI are owned by Guy Geyor – a tech entrepreneur and former contestant on the Israeli versions of "Survivor" and "The Bachelor" – and by the commercial lawyer Doron Afik. Both told Haaretz they never heard of BlackCore and had no political activity in France. Less than two hours after they were asked for comment, the remaining digital infrastructure of both BlackCore and Galacticos was pulled offline.

The French operation was first exposed by Le Monde on March 9, a week before the country's local elections. The target was France Unbowed, the party of left-wing presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The first to be hit was Sébastien Delogu, the party's mayoral candidate in Marseille; "Sophie," a woman calling herself a blogger, accused him of rape and violence.

A separate site published phony AI-generated photos that purported to be nude pictures of Delogu, presented as part of an alleged Gaza fundraising campaign. A third site went after the party's mayoral candidate in Toulouse, François Piquemal. Another claimed to "help Muslim voters choose well" and steered them toward Mélenchon's hard-left slate. The whole package was amplified by a small army of fake accounts on social media.

After Le Monde's report, the operators behind the campaign tried to scrub their tracks, deleting avatars and websites, but digital traces remained online. A special investigative team from France's General Secretariat for Defense and National Security, the Interior Ministry, the election commission and Viginum, the agency tasked with detecting foreign manipulation and disinformation on social media, picked up the trail and identified BlackCore as the main suspect. BlackCore's name was first reported this weekend by Reuters.

Haaretz and Libération conducted an extensive analysis of BlackCore's online digital footprint, including its website and other sites that seem to be part of the wider effort. For example, there is the company's marketing website – a mini-site in Hebrew and English showcasing BlackCore's alleged flagship product, "political campaign management." It is built around the deployment of 1,600 avatars and fake social media accounts for the purposes of "infiltrating Facebook groups, manipulating trends, and skewing polls on TikTok and Instagram."

The investigation also turned up a "training program" for the Angolan government. It, too, detailed what seemed like an influence effort and was designed as a training program to teach content creation and the management of paid social media campaigns.

https://archive.md/fK5Cr

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/security-aviation/2026-05-18/ty-article-magazine/.premium/revealed-an-anti-left-influence-op-in-france-leads-to-tel-aviv/0000019e-3686-d4f9-a7bf-feaecb1b0000