US Attacks PMF Base in Iraq, 'Unidentified Aircrafts' Carry Out Strikes in Syria

The reports come following an attack against Iraq's Taji military base, which hosts US-led coalition troops. A coalition spokesperson confirmed that three personnel were killed during the attack, with "approximately 12 additional personnel" being wounded.

US forces conducted airstrikes against an Iraqi militia base located in the Anbar province on the border with Syria, local media reported.

Sky News Arabia specified that the attack on Iraqi soil was against a Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) base.

"US aircraft conduct airstrikes against the al-Hashd al-Shaabi militia base in the area of al-Khuray village of Anbar province," the channel reported.

Along with reports from Iraq, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported that airstrikes were being carried out near a Syrian checkpoint on the border with Iraq in Deir ez-Zor's town of Abu Kamal. According to SANA, some material damage was caused by the attacks.

Syria's state Ikhbariya broadcaster noted that the strikes on Syrian soil were conducted by "unidentified aircrafts".

It is unknown whether media outlets were reporting the same airstrikes.

Earlier in the day, the US-led coalition fighting the Daesh* terrorist group said that more than 15 small rockets hit Iraq's Taji military base, which hosts its troops.

Following the coalition statement, multiple reports appeared, citing unnamed US officials, that at least two US citizens and one British citizen had been killed in the rocket attack on the base. The reports added that multiple others were also wounded during the attack. Initial reports were confirmed by the coalition spokesperson, who said that three coalition personnel were killed and "approximately" 12 others being wounded during the attack.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202003111078541865-us-attacks-iraqi-popular-mobilization-forces-base-in-anbar-province—reports/

‘Buy American’ — White House Confirms Executive Order That Will End Medical Supply Chain Reliance On China

White House Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro confirmed Wednesday the administration is working on an executive order to eliminate the government’s reliance on foreign-made medical supplies.

The “Buy American” order comes on the heels of concerns expressed by senators during their Tuesday meeting with President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill.

Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said that during the meeting on easing coronavirus-related financial pressures on Americans, he asked Trump to support the Senate’s “efforts to invest in diversifying our supply chain, especially in pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.”

The order would prevent federal agencies from purchasing medical supplies, including face masks, gloves and ventilators, from China.

As the United States has battled the domestic spread of coronavirus, consumers were alerted to the fact that China manufactures an overwhelming percentage of the federal government’s medical equipment. 90 percent of all U.S. antibiotics were manufactured in China.

China has prevented the export of surgical face masks, severely limiting supplies in the U.S. and countries around the world.

“China has managed to dominate all aspects of the supply chain using the same unfair trade practices that it has used to dominate other sectors — cheap sweatshop labor, lax environmental regulations and massive government subsidies,” Navarro told New York Times. “As President Trump has said, what we need to do is bring those jobs home so that we can protect the public health and the economic and national security of the country.”

https://dailycaller.com/2020/03/11/white-house-executive-order-buy-american-coronavirus-medical-supply-chain-china/

Another Little Kid, Cuffed, Arrested, Kidnapped for Throwing Tantrum in Florida School

Clearwater, FL — If you are a parent of a child within the Florida school system, you would do well to scroll through our archives to see the potential danger your children face every day. The police state in Florida has become notorious over the years for beating children, cowering as children are killed, and using heavy handed tactics on little girls as young as 6-years-old. Just last month, TFTP reported on the video of a 6-year-old Florida girl being dragged from school in zip ties and loaded into a police cruiser. Now, it has happened again — this time, with a 7-year-old boy.

Tyeisha Harmon is demanding answers this week after her 7-year-old special needs child was handcuffed, arrested, kidnapped and thrown in a mental health facility without her consent. He had reportedly thrown a temper tantrum in class at Belcher Elementary. Harmon says her little boy has been diagnosed with ADHD and a mental health disorder.

As ABC Action News reports:

She showed ABC Action News paperwork filed with the district. His Individual Education Program notes he needs a “structured environment with clear routines and expectations.” Harmon says the school moved her son into a new classroom. She says he’s been in transition into the new classroom and teachers let him spend some time in the old classroom. But Wednesday was his first full day in the new classroom. The change, she claims, caused him to have anxiety and act out.

The school called Harmon but by the time she arrived she says learned her son was Baker Acted. The Baker Act is a Florida law that allows designated professionals including law enforcement, judges, doctors or mental health professional to initiate an involuntary mental health examination on a person or child who exemplifies a mental illness by displaying behavior that poses a threat to themselves or others. When it comes to children, most Baker Acts are initiated at school.

In Florida, the Baker Act is supposed to confine truly mentally ill people who are dangerous — a 7-year-old boy throwing a temper tantrum is hardly a danger to anyone. School officials, however, apparently thought otherwise.

Harmon said her son was held for hours in a mental health facility as he was examined by doctors. When he finally got home, he showed her the marks on his wrists from the handcuffs. It was utterly heart wrenching.

“He’s like ‘mommy, I was handcuffed and look what they did to my wrists” she recounted.

Harmon explained to ABC Action News that it should have never gotten to the point of handcuffs and kidnapping.

“To handcuff him and put him in the backseat — not only did you handcuff him but you did it so tightly that it left marks on his hands and he’s seven. What’s he going to do? He’s seven and in the backseat,” said Harmon, who is calling for school cops to be better trained. “It’s very serious because nobody’s kids should have to go through that.”

Exactly what her son did to land himself in handcuffs and in the back of a police cruiser remains unclear. When asked, school officials released a vague statement claiming that he was a danger to himself and others. He is 7.

To keep you informed of important matters, on Wednesday afternoon a student had to be restrained for their own safety and the safety of others. The student was engaging in dangerous activity that could have hurt the student or others. Please know that restraint of students is only used as a last resort when other interventions have not resolved the issue. The safety, health and well-being of our students and staff is our highest priority.

https://governmentslaves.news/2020/03/11/another-little-kid-cuffed-arrested-kidnapped-for-throwing-tantrum-in-florida-school/

Italy Suspends Mortgage Payments, Businesses Dying As Panicked Residents Hoard Food

Italy has suspended payments on mortgages due to the coronavirus outbreak as more than 9,000 people have been infected and over 460 have died, the government announced on Tuesday.

When asked about halting mortgage payments on Radio Anch’io, deputy economic minister Laura Castelli said “Yes, that will be the case, for individuals and households,” according to The Independent.

Meanwhile, panicked residents crammed into supermarkets to stock up as the entire country entered a lockdown on Tuesday morning, while Italian streets were virtually empty after the government ordered people to avoid travel except for “urgent, verifiable work situations and emergencies or health reasons,” according to the Daily Mail.

Tourist favourites including Milan’s shopping galleries, Rome’s Spanish Steps and Vatican’s St Peter’s Square were all but deserted today after the drastic coronavirus measures were extended to the entire country last night.

Panic-buyers were packing into supermarkets this morning with queues stretching outside because of a rule that demands a 3ft gap between shoppers – meaning only a limited number can go inside at once.

In Naples, police were roaming the streets with a loudhailer last night to warn people to ‘stay indoors, avoid unnecessary outings and avoid crowded places’ because of the ‘coronavirus emergency’.

Prime minister Giuseppe Conte declared last night that ‘everyone must give up something to protect the health of citizens.’ –Daily Mail

Businesses are obviously suffering from the impact of the lockdown, as the empty streets of Rome have turned quiet. Bars and restaurants are only allowed to be open between 6am and 6pm, and must keep customers a minimum distance of 1 meter (3.2 feet) apart, according to SBS. Moreover, museums and cultural venues are closed, along with nightclubs, cinemas, theaters and casinos. Department stores must close on public holidays and the day before public holidays.

The flow-on effect has been immediate.

Raffaello Sasson’s family has owned a clothing shop in Rome since 1970 but he says conditions have never been so dire.

“This is right now much worse than 11th of September and Chernobyl put together. This is the worst we have seen, right now.” –SBS

“The last two weeks have been tragic, in the historic centre here, not even a single tourist.We have been here for 15 years and it’s never happened,” said restaurant owner Francesco Massotte, whose high-end eatery typically books people months in advance.

Outside Trevi Fountain, tourists saw signs warning of interactions with others.

“I was eating lunch today and in the restaurant, there was a sign saying ‘stay away from people, sit a metre away from other people’,” one man told SBS.

At least they won’t have to pay their mortgages for a while.

https://governmentslaves.news/2020/03/11/italy-suspends-mortgage-payments-businesses-dying-as-panicked-residents-hoard-food/

The IRS's History Of Attacking Political Dissenters and Opponents

The US purports to be the land of free speech, but you can always expect politicians to carve out exceptions. Just look at how government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service can slither their way into the political affairs of individuals and organizations.

Americans generally associate the Internal Revenue Service with the hassle of filing income taxes every April. Of course, this is an annual ritual that Americans have been accustomed to for over a century, and it represents one of the numerous ways the federal government violates Americans’ economic freedoms. Income taxation is also one of the main enablers of government growth thanks to its ability to extract hundreds of billions of dollars from hardworking taxpayers annually. In 2019 alone, the IRS collected nearly $3.5 trillion in tax revenue.

The IRS’s misdeeds aren’t just limited to economic activity, though. Most would be surprised to find that the IRS is a violator of free speech rights. When IRS agents aren’t finding ways to squeeze as much revenue as humanly possible from taxpayers, they try to make the lives of America’s most civically engaged miserable.

The IRS as a Political Tool

Former congressman Ron Paul shed light on the IRS’s anti–free speech activity last year in a piece voicing concerns about income tax privacy. In 2019, House Democrats tried to pull every legislative stunt possible to get President Trump to hand over his tax returns. Although these efforts did not materialize into anything substantial, the New York Times published some of Trump’s tax returns from the 1980s and 1990s. The Times’s publication of the returns raised speculation about a potential leaker in the IRS handing this information over to the news outlet.

Right off the bat, Paul understood the bigger picture. As the history of government expansion has shown, government agencies such as the IRS have a nasty way of sneaking into other parts of our lives. What originally started out as an agency solely focused on taxes has morphed into an omnipresent government body that can control political behavior. Paul cited several examples of IRS politicization, including Franklin Roosevelt’s auditing of New Deal opponents, John F. Kennedy’s use of audits against political opponents, and the agency’s investigation of a church hosting an antiwar sermon during the Bush era. One of the more recent cases of IRS harassment of political opponents occurred when it placed Tea Party groups under increased scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.

The IRS’s history shows that its abuses go beyond partisan politics, seeing how the agency has been used as a cudgel to smash opponents from across the political continuum. From a big-picture perspective, political advocacy in America is excessively regulated. Thanks to so-called campaign finance reform, now political organizations have to worry about complying with a whole set of new regulations—as if the IRS breathing down their necks wasn’t enough.

Just a minor slipup could have IRS or other regulatory agents storming an organization’s office. This is typical of the administrative state era we live in, in which filing the wrong paperwork could land someone behind bars. Because we all know that those dastardly political rabble-rousers not hitting the right bureaucratic checkboxes present a clear and present danger to the rest of society.

State Governments Have Followed the Federal Government’s Lead on Political Harassment

Even after the Supreme Court case Citizens United v. FEC—which ruled that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting the ability of political organizations to use independent expenditures for political communications—government entities still find creative ways to stifle political speech. At the state level, governments have taken advantage of regulatory functions to poke and prod organizations that cause too much trouble. Politicians launch “ethics reform” campaigns, where they use ethics commissions and similar bodies to muzzle speech. Politicians will construct narratives saying that they’re fighting against corruption, when all they’re really doing is curtailing the efforts of dissident groups to expose the political class’s dirty laundry.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/irss-history-attacking-political-dissenters-and-opponents