Alberto Giacometti Tête Noire 1957
Alex Jones
Breaking! New Joe Biden toy takes America by storm! This is simply amazing! GO JOE! pic.twitter.com/CPYwmObeKs
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) April 26, 2024
Maher RFK
RFK Jr: “If you look at the clinical trial studies of the Pfizer vaccine … the people who got the vaccine had a 23% higher death rate from all causes”
Bill Maher: “But could that not be the disease itself?”
RFK: “If it is, then the vaccine doesn’t work, does it?”
“I’m not… pic.twitter.com/qmyvPCYJoR
— Holden Culotta (@Holden_Culotta) April 27, 2024
Joe heli
https://twitter.com/i/status/1783925342790468027
Larry Johnson
https://twitter.com/i/status/1784003860400353778
“We’re writing a rule for the ages,” Justice Neil Gorsuch told Mr. Dreeben. The opinion would presumably ripple through multiple levels of the justice system as well..”
• The Supreme Court’s Immunity Decision Could Limit the Cases Against Trump (ET)
The Supreme Court indicated on April 25 that it would issue a narrow ruling refining the scope of presidential immunity while leaving the details of former President Donald Trump’s other legal battles up to lower courts. The most immediate effect of their decision on President Trump’s legal battles would be to delay his Washington case, where his immunity appeal originated. That trial was scheduled to start on March 4 but, more recently, observers have been questioning whether it will even start before the election. Sending the case back to D.C. District Judge Tanya Chutkan would presumably force her to continue pre-trial proceedings with an added layer: Determining how to square Special Counsel Jack Smith’s indictment with the Supreme Court’s new definition of immunity.
Based on their April 25 questions, the justices are expected to distinguish between official and unofficial acts while ruling that presidents enjoy some immunity for the official ones. But it’s unclear how specific they will be in their description and whether they’ll provide enough instructions for the lower court to avoid yet another appeal that could once again reach the Supreme Court. “The Supreme Court could remand the immunity case with very little, if any, instruction, let the district court come up with its opinion, and then let the appellate court deal with it again,” John Shu, a constitutional law expert who served in both Bush administrations, told The Epoch Times. He added, “I certainly hope that doesn’t happen, because we’d end up right where we are today.”
Even if the case does proceed to trial, it’s questionable how effective it will be without some of the indicted actions that President Trump’s attorney, D. John Sauer, said were private and therefore outside the scope of immunity. Michael Dreeben, who argued for Mr. Smith, said the Justice Department was willing to proceed with a weakened indictment. Perhaps previewing the court’s opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts worried that without official acts, the trial court may be proceeding with a “one-legged stool.” Mr. Sauer responded that he didn’t think the case “would be able to go forward.” Mark Miller, senior counsel at the Pacific Legal Foundation, told The Epoch Times that Justice Roberts could require a special interrogatory verdict form in which the jury is asked to distinguish between official and nonofficial conduct in weighing President Trump’s case.
It’s difficult to predict how the court’s decision would impact President Trump’s other ongoing criminal cases. Their future may hinge on the justices’ particular phrasing rather than merely distinguishing between official and non-official acts. The Georgia election case is the most likely to be impacted by the decision since the accusations are most similar to the Washington trial, which will likely loom large in the justices’ deliberations.But as the court indicated, their eventual opinion will have long-lasting impacts on other cases. “We’re writing a rule for the ages,” Justice Neil Gorsuch told Mr. Dreeben. The opinion would presumably ripple through multiple levels of the justice system as well. In an exchange with Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Mr. Dreeben acknowledged that immunity would apply to both state and federal prosecutions.
On the day of the oral argument, President Trump was facing state charges related to his purported attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election with a “hush money” payment to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford. In that case, he tried raising presidential immunity as a reason to exclude certain evidence since it came from his official communications channels as president. New York Judge Juan Merchan said the motion was filed too late but it nevertheless highlighted the complicated nature of President Trump’s cases as they relate to immunity. While the alleged payment to Ms. Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, was made before the election, the purported falsification of documents didn’t occur until after he took office.
“This case has huge implications for the presidency, for the future of the presidency, for the future of the country..”
• Justice Kavanaugh Warns of Vicious Cycle of Malicious Prosecutions (ET)
During Thursday’s deliberations at the U.S. Supreme Court on former President Donald Trump’s immunity claim, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh warned that a decision in the case has future implications for whether future presidents are shielded from vicious cycles of malicious prosecution that could effectively end the presidency as we know it. In the course of two-and-a-half hours of oral arguments on April 25, justices on the Supreme Court appeared skeptical of a ruling by a federal appeals court that rejected President Trump’s claim that he has absolute immunity from criminal charges based on his official acts as president. President Trump was indicted by special counsel Jack Smith in August 2023 on charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Pleading not guilty, the former president has argued that he should receive absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for acts that fell within the scope of his official duties.
The exception to this immunity, he has argued, is if Congress impeaches and convicts him on charges. A federal appeals court rejected that argument, claiming that presidents must face prosecution for alleged criminal wrongdoing. The question that is now before the Supreme Court is: “Whether and if so to what extent does a former president enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office?” During Thursday’s deliberations, the justices weighed the claim of absolute immunity that, if adopted, would stop Mr. Smith’s prosecution of the former president dead in its tracks. Several conservative justices suggested they favor imposing limits on the prosecution of former presidents, while highlighting the importance of the case for the future. Justice Kavanaugh said that when presidents are subject to prosecution, history shows that it’s not going to stop. “It’s going to cycle back and be used against the current president or the next president … and the next president and the next president after that.”
Justice Neil Gorsuch, who said that the court is “writing a rule for the ages,” along with Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Kavanaugh all said that their concern was not so much the case against President Trump, but rather the effect of the ruling on future presidencies. “This case has huge implications for the presidency, for the future of the presidency, for the future of the country,” Justice Kavanaugh said. Former Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben, who argued for Mr. Smith, said that the framers of the U.S. Constitution never intended for presidents to be above the law. Mr. Dreeben also said that the crimes President Trump is charged with—including allegedly participating in a scheme to enlist dueling electors in battleground states won by President Joe Biden to cast alternate slates of electoral votes for him—weren’t a part of the president’s official duties.
Attorney D. John Sauer, who argued for President Trump, told the justices that without presidential immunity from criminal charges, the “presidency as we know it” will be changed, contending that the looming threat is that a decision to deny immunity would “destroy” presidential decisionmaking at a time in the nation’s history when it needs to be bold. Mr. Sauer argued that the impact of the case would have implications far beyond the question at hand, raising the hypothetical prospect of President Biden facing charges of encouraging illegal immigration with his border policies. Justice Kavanaugh expressed concern about the future implications of the case, warning of the prospect of a vicious cycle of malicious prosecutions that could hamper presidents for years to come.
Mr. Drebeen contended that the laws currently on the books have not shown they are prone to abuse, telling the high court that “we’ve lived from Watergate through the present, through the independent counsel era with all of its flaws, without these prosecutions having gone off on a runaway train.” Justice Kavanaugh argued that the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton presidencies were all “hampered” by investigations, while suggesting that holding a president accountable is less important than protecting the functioning of the presidency. He raised the question of the “risk” of a “creative prosecutor” using “vague” statutes against a commander-in-chief, telling Mr. Dreeben that this case has “huge implications” for the presidency, and that he was “very concerned about the future.”
“Kiev effectively discarded the deal under “direct pressure by London,” Peskov stressed. “The rest is speculation. I suggest we learn from the source.”
• UK Blocked Ukraine Peace Deal – Moscow (RT)
Ukraine abandoned a draft peace treaty with Russia in 2022 under British pressure, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. The deal, which could have ended the Ukraine conflict weeks after it started, was approved by negotiators in Istanbul, but Kiev later pulled out of the talks. The German newspaper Welt reported on Friday that Moscow had issued additional demands after a deal had already been outlined, such as making Russian the second official language in Ukraine, implying that this had ended any hopes of an agreement. Peskov denied those claims on Saturday, citing remarks made by Ukrainian MP David Arakhamia, who led Kiev’s delegation at the talks. In an interview to domestic media last November, Arakhamia said then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had intervened in the peace process and had urged the Ukrainians to “just fight” Russia.
Kiev effectively discarded the deal under “direct pressure by London,” Peskov stressed. “The rest is speculation. I suggest we learn from the source.” Asked whether the draft treaty could serve as a basis for further peace talks, Peskov said Kiev’s public position was to reject talks with Russia. The idea of reviving the failed agreement was floated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko when he met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin earlier this month. Johnson has denied derailing the peace talks, but has also bragged on multiple occasions about his policy of nudging Kiev into continuing hostilities with Russia, which the British politician claims to be a fight for global democracy.
“There could be no more effective way of investing in Western security than investing in Ukraine, because those guys without a single pair of American boots on the ground are fighting for the West,” Johnson told students at Georgetown University during a visit to the US this month. The Ukrainians “are effectively fighting our own fight, fighting for our own interests,” he added. Russian officials have described the Ukraine conflict as a Western proxy war against Moscow, which the US and its allies allegedly intend to wage “to the last Ukrainian.” Their goal, according to Moscow, is to contain Russia and stall its development, rather than protect the interests of the Ukrainian people.
“That was the best deal we could have had,” arguing that Kiev was in a stronger negotiating position in 2022 than it is now..”
• Details Emerge Of Failed Russia-Ukraine Peace Treaty – Welt (RT)
Russia and Ukraine were close to reaching a peace deal in the spring of 2022, under which Kiev was ready to commit to neutrality, Welt reported on Friday, citing a draft treaty. Moscow’s insistence that Ukraine make Russian its second official language was reportedly among the stumbling blocks. Citing a 17-page document dated April 15, 2022, the German newspaper claimed that an agreement had largely been hammered out by Moscow and Kiev, and that any remaining differences would have been discussed at a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Vladimir Zelensky. According to Welt, Ukraine would have committed to “permanent neutrality,” would have agreed not to allow foreign weapons and troops into the country, and would have pledged not to “receive, produce or acquire” nuclear weapons.
Kiev would also reportedly have guaranteed not to hold military drills with other countries. In return, Russia would have pledged not to attack Ukraine again, while agreeing that Kiev could receive security guarantees from the US, UK, France, and China. If Ukraine came under attack, its guarantors would support its right to self-defense within three days, with the relevant agreements being ratified by each participating state, making them legally binding. Welt also claimed that the treaty had excluded Russia’s Crimean Peninsula, as well as parts of Donbass, from any security guarantees granted to Ukraine. However, it is unclear which parts of Donbass were covered by the clause. The outlet noted that while Russia had wanted the exact borders to be determined at a Putin-Zelensky summit, Kiev had refused, insisting that they be based on the Ukrainian interpretation.
At the same time, Moscow had reportedly signaled it was ready to withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory, but not from Crimea and Donbass. The details were said to have been slated for discussion by Putin and Zelensky. The two sides also reportedly had major disagreements over the size of the Ukrainian military, as Kiev wanted to maintain far more troops than Moscow was prepared to allow. Welt reported that while the belligerents were close to an agreement, Moscow subsequently demanded that Russian be made the second official language in Ukraine. It also purportedly wanted all mutual sanctions to be lifted and lawsuits dropped in international courts, while insisting that Kiev ban Nazism and “aggressive nationalism.” Those demands were rejected by Ukraine, the paper claims.
Commenting on the potential agreement, one Ukrainian negotiator told Welt: “That was the best deal we could have had,” arguing that Kiev was in a stronger negotiating position in 2022 than it is now. Russian officials earlier confirmed that Ukraine and Russia had been close to a peace deal, but claimed that progress had been derailed by then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who allegedly advised Kiev to keep fighting. Johnson has denied the accusation.
Zero evidence.
• Blinken Accuses China Of Election Interference (RT)
There is evidence that China has attempted to manipulate US elections, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN on Friday, as he wrapped up his three-day visit to the Asian nation. Host Kylie Atwood asked the senior diplomat about a pledge not to interfere in American democratic processes which Chinese President Xi Jinping gave to his US counterpart Joe Biden during their meeting in San Francisco last November. Recent reports have suggested that Beijing has failed to honor this promise, she claimed. Blinken refused to discuss any specifics. In general, Washington would consider any election interference “unacceptable,” he stressed, and that is what he reiterated during talks with top Chinese officials this week. “We have seen, generally speaking, evidence of attempts to influence and arguably interfere. And we want to make sure that’s cut off as quickly as possible,” the secretary of state added.
Atwood’s conclusion from Blinken’s remarks was that China is “not heeding” US warnings. A threat assessment issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in February stated that Beijing “aims to sow doubts about US leadership, undermine democracy, and extend Beijing’s influence” through information operations and possible election meddling. “Even if Beijing sets limits on these activities, individuals not under its direct supervision may attempt election influence activities they perceive are in line with Beijing’s goals,” the document stated. Claims that Chinese accounts online are trying to influence politics in the US came recently from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a London-based think tank, and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington DC-based lobbying organization.
Both reports focused on ‘Spamouflage’, a purported Chinese online influence operation. FDD claimed its research demonstrates “that social media takedowns are necessary, but not sufficient, to combat foreign malign influence operations.” Earlier this week, Biden signed into law a bill which gives the owner of TikTok nine months to divest or face a ban in the US market. Proponents claim that ByteDance, which owns the popular social media outlet, is beholden to the Chinese government. Polls indicate that TikTok is a major news source for younger American voters, while older citizens prefer more traditional outlets, such as cable television and newspapers. Its management intends to challenge the law on First Amendment grounds.
“..doesn’t dispute Putin’s culpability for Navalny’s death, but rather finds he probably didn’t order it at that moment.”
• US Spies Believe Putin Didn’t Order Navalny’s Death – WSJ (RT)
The CIA and other US intelligence agencies have determined that the Russian authorities weren’t involved in the death of opposition figure Alexey Navalny, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Navalny, who had been serving a lengthy prison sentence stemming from his violations of the terms of a previous fraud conviction and his “extremist activities,” died at a penal colony in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region in northern Russia on February 16. The Russian prison authorities insist that there was no foul play in the passing of the anti-corruption activist. They said that the 47-year-old suddenly fell ill after a walk and collapsed, and that efforts to resuscitate him were in vain. According to the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which Navalny used to head, the death certificate provided to his mother stated he had died of natural causes.
However, some Western leaders and the FBK insisted that Russian authorities were behind the activist’s passing. “Make no mistake. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” US President Joe Biden said at the time, without providing any proof of his claim. Now, however, the US intelligence agencies have come to the conclusion that Putin “likely didn’t order Navalny to be killed,” the WSJ said in an article on Saturday. This assessment is based on a range of data such as classified intelligence and the analysis of public facts, including “the timing of his death and how it overshadowed Putin’s re-election,” the sources explained. Navalny died a month before the Russian presidential election, in which Putin won 87.28% of the ballot.
The finding is broadly accepted by several agencies, including the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the State Department’s intelligence unit, the article read. The sources clarified that the assessment by the US intelligence “doesn’t dispute Putin’s culpability for Navalny’s death, but rather finds he probably didn’t order it at that moment.” Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that he saw the article in the Wall Street Journal, but stressed that he “would not call it a high-quality piece that deserves any attention.” The publication contained “some empty reflections” and was apparently planned as “a Saturday reading for a global audience,” he stressed.
The guy’s lawyers smell dollars. Lots.
• Tesla Attorneys Target Shareholder Trying To Stop Move To Texas (ZH)
Richard Tornetta, who was at the center of Tesla shareholders’ claim that Elon Musk was taking an excessive pay package, is now at the center of claims that Tesla should not be reincorporating to Texas to approve Musk’s voided pay plan. But Tesla is firing back at Tornetta. John Reed, one of Tesla’s attorneys, said in a Delaware Chancery Court filing this week that Tornetta “is raising false alarms”, according to Bloomberg. Musk has considered relocating Tesla’s headquarters from Delaware to Texas after a judge revoked his substantial pay package due to conflicts among directors and inadequate disclosure of plan details. In response, Tornetta is urging the judge to prevent Musk from addressing the pay dispute outside of Delaware. Despite this, no legal actions are currently threatened or pending in Texas, and Musk has not obstructed the issuance of a final judgment in the case, according to Reed’s letter to the judge.
McCormick’s decision on retaining the dispute in Delaware remains uncertain and could affect the case’s outcome. If Tesla relocates to Texas and adjusts Musk’s compensation there, it might trigger a new legal battle under Texas law. A hearing is scheduled for July 8 to address Tornetta’s lawyers’ request for attorney fees and finalize the case. They aim to secure a ruling on their injunction plea before Tesla’s June 13 annual meeting, where a critical proxy vote will occur, Bloomberg writes. Reed, in a letter, suggests that Tornetta’s legal moves could sway Tesla shareholders’ decisions on relocating to Texas and reinstating Musk’s record-breaking compensation package. He advises McCormick against publicly addressing Tornetta’s injunction request to prevent influencing shareholder votes unfairly.
Tornetta’s legal team fears that a Texas move could enable Musk and Tesla’s directors to obstruct the judge’s decision on Musk’s pay. They also seek an escrow account creation for 29 million Tesla shares, valued at around $5 billion, as payment. Recall, Tornetta’s lawyers asked for $6 billion worth of legal fees for their services. “The lawyers who did nothing but damage Tesla want $6 billion. Criminal,” Elon Musk fired back last month. The reasoning for the excessive fee rests on the fact that the victory to void Musk’s pay plan results in 266 million shares being returned to the company. On January 31, we wrote that the compensation case, which was launched by Tornetta, argued that Tesla’s board lacked independence in crafting Musk’s pay, a view the judge supported.
Delaware Chancery Court Chief Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick cited inadequate disclosures and board conflicts of interest in her ruling. Musk, whose wealth largely comes from Tesla, the top auto company globally, has seen stock options from this plan vest as performance goals were met, though he hasn’t exercised them yet. The judge wrote earlier this year: “In the final analysis, Musk launched a self-driving process, recalibrating the speed and direction along the way as he saw fit. The process arrived at an unfair price. And through this litigation, the plaintiff requests a recall.” “The most striking omission from the process is the absence of any evidence of adversarial negotiations between the Board and Musk concerning the size of the grant,” she said in her ruling.
Just till the election.
• US TikTok Ban Unconstitutional – RFK Jr (RT)
US independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. intends to file a lawsuit against the American government over its threat to ban the TikTok social media platform, which has 170 million users in the country. President Joe Biden this week signed into law a bill which gives TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, 270 days to divest from it. Should it fail to comply, TikTok will be banned from app stores serving American customers. Kennedy believes the threat to be unconstitutional and that the justification for it – namely that the Chinese government could be using TikoTok to collect American citizens’ personal data – is a “smokescreen.” “Intelligence agencies from lots of countries, especially ours, are harvesting your data from everywhere all the time,” he said on Friday in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
US officials “don’t understand that TikTok is an entrepreneurial platform for thousands of American young people,” the politician added. “They want to screw them over just so they can pretend to be tough on China.” Kennedy’s campaign is touted as antithetical to both Biden and his presumed Republican challenger, Donald Trump. He has urged American voters to reject both leading national parties, which he claims are barely distinguishable and represent big business rather than common people. Meanwhile, TikTok also intends to challenge the potential ban on First Amendment grounds. “The facts and the constitution are on our side and we expect to prevail again,” the CEO of the multibillion-dollar platform, Shou Zi Chew, said in a video statement posted moments after Biden signed the bill on Wednesday.
He was referring to Trump’s attempt in 2020 to ban TikTok and fellow Chinese-owned app WeChat, which was overturned in US courts. The Republican candidate has also criticized the White House over the latest campaign against TikTok. On Monday, Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that Biden “is the one pushing it to close, and doing it to help his friends over at Facebook become richer and more dominant.” The deadline given to TikTok is set to expire shortly after the presidential election in November. Among other things, the platform is a primary source of news for many young American voters, according to multiple surveys. Officials from both parties have been pressuring social media platforms to introduce stricter content moderation policies to supposedly combat misinformation.
Not for Biden.
• US To Build New ‘Doomsday Plane’ (RT)
The US will develop a new ‘doomsday plane,’ intended to allow the president to continue leading the country in case of a nuclear war or other major disaster that destroys command and control centers on the ground, the Air Force has announced. A $13-billion contract for the Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) project has been awarded to Sierra Nevada Corp, a US Air Force spokesperson announced in a statement on Friday. Work on the new strategic command and control military aircraft will be conducted at the company’s facilities in Colorado, Nevada and Ohio, the statement read. The deadline for the project is 2036, it added. According to the spokesman, the SAOC will be based on a commercial derivative jet, which would be hardened and modified to meet the standards of the Pentagon.
“The development of this critical national security weapon system ensures the department’s nuclear command, control, and communications capability is operationally relevant and secure for decades to come,” the statement read. The SAOC is intended to become a replacement for the aging E-4B Nightwatch aircraft or the National Airborne Operations Center that the US Air Force is using at the moment. The E-4Bs, which are based on a Boeing 747 jet, have been around since the mid-1970s. The planes are expected to be retired in the early 2030s. According to Reuters, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain the aircraft as parts for them become obsolete.
The US Air Force currently operates four ‘doomsday planes,’ with at least one of them being constantly on alert. The E-4Bs carry advanced communications gear, are capable of refueling in the air, and can withstand nuclear blasts and various electromagnetic effects. Russia also has four ‘doomsday planes,’ which are based on the Ilyushin Il-80 jet. The aircraft first took to the skies in 1985, but their communication equipment has been upgraded in recent years. A source told RIA-Novosti in 2022 that the planes can now exchange data with Russian nuclear submarines.
“..he claimed that Israel had already looked into the report and found no evidence of wrongdoing..”
• Israel Rejects Calls for Independent Investigation Into Mass Graves (Manley)
According to reports, some of the bodies found in the mass graves were handcuffed, shot in the head, or were buried without clothes. Leaders from the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) have called for an independent investigation into the mass graves that were discovered in Palestine. Volker Türk, the UN Human Rights Chief, said on Tuesday that an independent investigation into the mass graves – not an Israeli one – is needed “given the prevailing climate of impunity.” “We feel the need to raise the alarm because clearly there have been multiple bodies discovered,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for Türk. When asked by reporters about the mass graves, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Nadav Shoshani disregarded the reports as “fake news.” He also asked, “investigate what?” When asked if Israel will investigate the mass grave reports, he claimed that Israel had already looked into the report and found no evidence of wrongdoing.
“We gave answers. We don’t bury people in mass graves. Not something we do,” said Shoshani, without providing details of the investigation. However, a US official who requested anonymity said the US is not “in a position” to validate Israel’s claims. “The Israelis have told us privately what they’ve said publicly, that they totally reject the allegations,” said the US official. “We aren’t in a position to validate that, and would like a thorough and transparent investigation into the reports.” Palestinian Civil Defense said over the weekend that it had found a mass grave containing 283 bodies on the grounds of the Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. That discovery follows an incident two weeks ago when another mass grave was found at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Some of the bodies that were found in the mass grave over the weekend had been handcuffed, shot in the head or were found wearing detainee uniforms, according to Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for Palestinian Civil Defense. Further reports added that some of the bodies found had been stripped of their clothes, or they had been buried in hospital gowns with tubes or needles still in them. Meanwhile, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) refused to comment on the findings, but acknowledged exhuming bodies that they claim had already been buried prior to their search for Israeli hostages. According to one report, at least two of the three burial sites were created prior to the arrival of IDF troops, but the Palestinian Civil Defense said only 100 bodies were in the graves prior to the arrival of IDF troops, and a total of 392 bodies were recovered.
John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council said on Thursday that the reports about the mass graves is “deeply disturbing,” and added “we’d like to see this investigated.” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan echoed those sentiments, telling reporters, “We want answers,” adding, “we want to see this thoroughly and transparently investigated.” Since the founding of Israel, it has been the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign aid and has received about $300 billion in total for economic and military support. The Biden administration’s new aid request for $14.3 billion has been the highest aid support approved by Congress thus far, since 1979 when $13.2 billion (adjusted for inflation) was given to Israel by the US.
$4,000 a week.
• Israel Uses Foreign Mercenaries In Gaza (Sahiounie)
The international community is not only silent about Israel’s genocide but also sends foreign mercenaries to fight alongside Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza. The IDF summoned hundreds of reserve soldiers to reinforce its ranks in preparation for its ground attack on the Gaza Strip. To bolster their Israeli ranks the IDF promoted an influx of people holding Israeli passports and living in foreign countries. However, the Spanish newspaper, El Mundo, reported that Tel Aviv contacted international security contractors to provide fighters to perform military tasks during its ongoing war in Gaza. Pedro Diaz Flores Corrales, aged 27 years, is a former soldier in the Spanish army and had previously fought as a mercenary in both Ukraine and Iraq.
In addition to this, he is known for belonging to a fascist political group, the so-called Neo-Nazi movement, according to the Middle East website ‘Monitor’. The group is involved in illicit arms trafficking, as well as mercenary exploitation. Corrales justified his decision to fight alongside the IDF, and said that each participant in the fighting receives about 3,900 euros ($4,187) a weekly salary, and perks associated with the tasks they perform. El Mundo reported that it had seen pictures of Corrales surrounded by mercenaries of different nationalities, including French, Germans, and Albanians, and even American Marines or members of the Special Forces who fought in Iraq, Afghanistan, Mali, or Kosovo. Last October, French media circulated news about a large number of French fighters joining the fight alongside the IDF.
A report by the Euro-Mediterranean Observatory revealed in the past the presence of hundreds of European mercenaries who volunteer for military service in the ranks of the IDF, as part of special forces, especially in the Gaza Strip. Organizations directly linked to right-wing Jewish and Christian groups within Europe are organizing projects and campaigns to invite Europeans to join the IDF, as well as to join campaigns to support illegal settler operations against Palestinians in the West Bank. Intending to use them in tunnels of Hamas, Israel offers Kurdish PKK terrorists $ 2,200 to join the frontlines in its genocidal war against Palestinians with thousands of terrorists and mercenaries already transported to Israel.
“I think they’re just sending a message to politicians: ‘Get this under control..'”
• Worst In 70 Years: Biden Approval Rating Absolutely Dismal (ZH)
President Joe Biden has the worst job approval rating since Eisenhower during his recently completed 13th quarter in office, according to a new poll by Gallup. While Biden clocks in at 38.7%, the previous low was set by George H.W. Bush at 41.8% in 1992. Donald Trump and Barack Obama averaged 46.8% and 45.9% respectively during the same point in their presidencies. Prior to Bush, Jimmy Carter is the only other president with a sub-50% average in his 13th quarter. Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush averaged between 51% and 55% approval in their 13th quarters, while Dwight Eisenhower had the highest average for a president during his 13th month at 73.2%. What’s more, Biden’s most recent approval rating places him 277 out of 314 presidential quarters in Gallup history dating back to 1945, placing him in the bottom 12% of all presidential quarters.
Biden’s score is technically the lowest of his presidency, which has been dragging in the low 40% range since Q4 of his term. Put another way: By political affiliation, Gallup’s poll found that 2% of Republicans approve of Biden’s job in office, while independents have him at 33%. The vast majority of Democrats, 83%, think Biden’s doing an awesome job. Meanwhile an Axios ‘vibes survey’ / Harris poll found that most Americans want mass deportations, including 42% of Democrats. The poll also found that 30% of Democrats and 46% of Republicans say they’d end birthright citizenship guaranteed under the 14th Amendment.
As Axios notes further: Americans are open to former President Trump’s harshest immigration plans, spurred on by a record surge of illegal border crossings and a relentless messaging war waged by Republicans. President Biden is keenly aware the crisis threatens his re-election. He’s sought to flip the script by accusing Trump of sabotaging Congress’ most conservative bipartisan immigration bill in decades. But when it comes to blame, Biden so far has failed to shift the narrative: 32% of respondents say his administration is “most responsible” for the crisis, outranking any other political or structural factor. “I was surprised at the public support for large-scale deportations,” said Mark Penn, chairman of The Harris Poll and a former pollster for President Clinton, adding “I think they’re just sending a message to politicians: ‘Get this under control,'” suggesting that this is a clear warning to Biden that “efforts to shift responsibility for the issue to Trump are not going to work.”
Drilling down, when asked to identify their greatest concern surrounding illegal immigration, Americans most frequently cited: • Increased crime rates, drugs, and violence (21%). • The additional costs to taxpayers (18%). • Risk of terrorism and national security (17%). The survey also found that 64% of those polled believe immigrants receive more in welfare and benefits than they pay in taxes, and 54% believe that immigration is linked to spiking US crime rates, which Axios refutes. Bottom line: “The tradeoff here in the poll is, people would take expanded legal immigration if they saw there’s a crackdown on the border,” according to Penn.
What a job.
• White House Uses “Walkers” To Conceal Biden’s Old-Man Shuffle (ZH)
With the presidential election still more than six months away, President Biden’s handlers are under increasing pressure to divert Americans’ eyes from his obvious and accelerating mental and physical decline. Where his deteriorating mental abilities are concerned, we’ve already seen them using tactics like drastically minimizing his spontaneous interactions with reporters and excessively stage-managing his rare press conferences — down to furnishing him with answers to questions submitted in advance. Now comes news that Team Biden’s latest stage-management innovation is focused on obscuring his frailty: Uncomfortable with the way Biden looks as he unsteadily shuffles across the White House lawn, one or more staffers now walk at his side, helping to prevent close scrutiny of his gait.
Biden advisors have told Axios they’re uneasy about how he looks when walking and shuffling by himself, particularly across the White House lawn. The outlet analyzed video of Biden’s navigation to Marine One helicopters and pegged when the new hide-the-invalid routine started: In March, Biden’s five
walksshuffles to Marine One were by himself or family members only. After April 16, nine of his 10 treacherous traverses of the lawn had him obscured by accompanying staffers or legislators In addition to acting as visual screeners, the aides might also be beneficial in grabbing him if he starts falling to the ground. Biden’s advisors and doctors have had him embrace other tools and techniques to minimize physical disasters like his falls on the Air Force One stairs……and this wipeout at last spring’s Air Force Academy graduation: The extra measures include wearing black sneakers instead of business shoes, and now walking up a shorter set of stairs to board Air Force One. The mental side of the ledger is constantly being filled with new debit entries. The latest came this week, when — not for the first time — Biden read his stage directions off the teleprompter. In a Wednesday speech to North America’s Building Trades Unions, he weakly delivered a line meant to draw applause, then read the word “PAUSE” off the prompter. As we detailed Friday, Biden’s latest approval rating is the worst for any president at this point in a term in 70 years. Just 38.7% of Americans approve of his performance, according to Gallup. A February poll found 76% of Americans have moderate or major concerns about Biden’s mental and physical fitness to advance to a second term.
Mood
https://twitter.com/i/status/1784146158228582813
Last night was a movie
Last night was a movie. pic.twitter.com/jYGVWLuJig
— The Best (@ThebestFigen) April 26, 2024
Baby giraffe
https://twitter.com/i/status/1784003433143427547
How clean does this feel?
Polar Bear having fun alone in the water. pic.twitter.com/8K5JeDCY7Z
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) April 27, 2024
Wabbit
Two Rabbits are filmed fighting in the middle of the night. pic.twitter.com/JoAr3bg1y6
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) April 27, 2024
White calf
Holy Calf!
When a white buffalo calf is born, it is a sign that their prayers are being heard and that the promises of the prophecy are being fulfilled. To American Indians, a White Buffalo Calf is the most sacred living thing on earth.
April 25th a White Buffalo was born pic.twitter.com/1mdfCwvUZN
— JB Slear (@JB_Slear) April 27, 2024
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