ECOCIDE

Oil leak in Peru tourist zone triggers ‘environmental emergency’


By AFP
December 26, 2024


A picture released by the NGO Coast 2 Coast Movement shows workers cleaning up Peru's Las Capullanas beach after an oil spill - Copyright Coast to Coast Movement/AFP Emi KOCH

Peru has declared an “environmental emergency” after an oil spill that triggered a clean-up operation on a stretch of northern coastline popular with tourists.

According to state-owned energy company Petroperu, the cleaning of half a dozen beaches in Talara province has almost finished and work was planned to mitigate the impact on birds, fauna and commerce in the area, whose population relies on fishing and tourism.

The emergency measure will be in effect for 90 days, during which time the authorities must carry out recovery and remediation work, according to an environment ministry resolution cited late Wednesday by state news agency Andina.

The leak was detected last Friday on Las Capullanas beach when the crude oil was about to be loaded onto a tanker, the company said at the weekend without specifying the cause or amount of oil spilled.

The government’s Environmental Assessment and Oversight Agency said the leaked oil extended over an area of 47 to 229 hectares (116 to 566 acres).

The public prosecutor’s office launched an investigation Sunday against Petroperu for the alleged crime of environmental contamination that it said had affected the sea and shore along the South American nation’s Pacific coastline.

“Birds and marine fauna were also found to be seriously affected,” it said.

UN official denies Israeli claim Yemen airport was military target


By AFP 

December 27, 2024


Thge control tower of Sanaa international airport was damaged by the strikes on December 26 - Copyright AFP Mohammed HUWAIS

The top UN official for humanitarian aid in Yemen, who narrowly dodged an aerial bombing raid by Israel on Sanaa’s airport, denied Friday that the facility had any military purpose.

Israel said that it was targeting “military infrastructure” in Thursday’s raids and that targets around the country were used by Huthis to “smuggle Iranian weapons” and bring in senior Iranian officials.

UN humanitarian coordinator Julien Harneis said the airport “is a civilian location that is used by the United Nations.”

“It’s used by the International Committee of the Red Cross, it is used for civilian flights –- that is its purpose,” he told reporters by video link from Yemen.

“Parties to the conflict have an obligation to ensure that they are not striking civilian targets,” he added. “The obligation is on them, not on us. We don’t need to prove we’re civilians.”

Harneis described how he, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and 18 other UN staff, were caught up in the attack, which he said also took place as a packed airliner was touching down nearby.

One UN staffer was seriously wounded in the strikes, which destroyed the air traffic control facility, Harneis said. The rest of the team was bundled into armored vehicles for safety.

“There was one air strike approximately 300 meters (985 feet) to the south of us and another air strike approximately 300 meters to the north of us,” he said.

“What was most frightening about that air strike wasn’t the effect on us -– it’s that the air strikes took place… as a civilian airliner from Yemenia Air, carrying hundreds of Yemenis, was about to land,” he said.

“In fact, that airliner from Yemenia Air was landing, taxiing in, when the air traffic control was destroyed.”

Although the plane “was able to land safely… it could have been far, far worse.”

The Israeli attack, he said came with “zero indication of any potential air strikes.”

Harneis said the airport is “absolutely vital” to continued humanitarian aid for Yemen. “If that airport is disabled, it will paralyze humanitarian operations.”

The United Nations has labeled Yemen “the largest humanitarian crisis in the world,” with 24.1 million people in need of humanitarian aid and protection.

Public institutions that provide healthcare, water, sanitation and education have collapsed in the wake of years of war.

The Huthis control large parts of Yemen after seizing Sanaa and ousting the internationally recognized government in September 2014.

Israel’s strikes come as the group has stepped up its own long-range attacks on Israel in the wake of a ceasefire between Israel and another Iran-backed group, Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

WHO Chief OK But Others Killed in Israeli Strike on Yemen Airport

State media reports at least four people were killed and 21 others injured.


World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a press briefing at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 10, 2024.
(Photo: Lian Yi/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Jessica Corbett
Dec 26, 2024
COMMON DREAMS

As part of Israel's assault on various countries across the Middle East, Israeli fighter jets on Thursday bombed multiple sites in Yemen, including Sanaa International Airport, killing multiple people and threatening the life of a leading United Nations official.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and colleagues were at the airport, wrapping up a trip "to negotiate the release of U.N. staff detainees and to assess the health and humanitarian situation in Yemen," when the attack occurred, the agency leader said on social media. "We continue to call for the detainees' immediate release."

"As we were about to board our flight from Sanaa, about two hours ago, the airport came under aerial bombardment. One of our plane's crew members was injured," Tedros explained, noting the reported deaths. "The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge—just a few meters from where we were—and the runway were damaged. We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave. My U.N. and WHO colleagues and I are safe. Our heartfelt condolences to the families whose loved ones lost their lives in the attack."

According toThe New York Times: "At least four people were killed and 21 others injured in the attack on Thursday after Israel struck the international airport in Sana and the city of al Hodeida, the Saba state news agency said, citing Yemen's Health Ministry. The report could not be independently verified."

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, told the Times that Israel had no prior knowledge that the WHO leader would be at the airport during the attack. "We didn't know," he said. "We wish him well."




The IDF said in a statement posted on social media that "fighter jets conducted intelligence-based strikes" with approval from Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The targets that were struck by the IDF include military infrastructure used by the Houthi terrorist regime for its military activities in both the Sanaa International Airport and the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations," the military continued. "In addition, the IDF struck military infrastructure in the al Hodeida, Salif, and Ras Kanatib ports on the western coast. These military targets were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials."

Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, the U.S.-armed IDF has not only decimated the Gaza Strip and killed over 45,000 Palestinians there but also ramped up strikes on other groups tied to Iran, including the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Additionally, Israel has exploited the recent collapse of Syrian former President Bashar al-Assad's government, seizing more territory in that country.

"The targeting of Sanaa International Airport and other civilian infrastructure is a Zionist crime against the entire Yemeni people," a Houthi spokesperson, Mohammed Abdulsalam, said in a statement. "If the Zionist enemy thinks that its crimes will deter Yemen from supporting Gaza, it is delusional."

The strikes on Yemen came a day after Netanyahu said that "the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime, and others have learned, and even if it takes time, this lesson will be understood across the Middle East."

Israel's ongoing destruction of Gaza has led to a genocide case at the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, as well as a Hamas leader.

Huthis claim new attacks on Israel after strikes hit Yemen airport

By AFP
December 27, 2024


An image grab from a handout video provided by Yemen's Huthi rebels' Al-Masirah TV shows burning buildings following Israeli strikes on the Ras Kutaib power station in Hodeida - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File MARIO TAMA

Yemeni rebels claimed a strike against the airport in Israel’s commercial hub of Tel Aviv on Friday, after Israeli air strikes hit rebel-held Sanaa’s international airport and other targets in Yemen.

The Israeli strikes on Thursday landed as the head of the UN’s World Health Organization said he and his team were preparing to fly out from Yemen’s Huthi rebel-held capital.

Hours later on Friday, the Huthis said they fired a missile at Ben Gurion airport and launched drones at Tel Aviv as well as a ship in the Arabian Sea.

No other details were immediately available.

Yemen’s civil aviation authority said the airport planned to reopen on Friday after the strikes that it said occurred while the UN aircraft “was getting ready for its scheduled flight”.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they knew at the time that WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was there. Israel’s attack came a day after the Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed the firing of a missile and two drones at Israel.

Yemen’s Huthis have stepped up their attacks against Israel since late November when a ceasefire took effect between Israel and another Iran-backed group, Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

The Huthis Al-Masirah TV said the Israeli strikes killed six people, after earlier Huthi statements said two people died at the rebel-held capital’s airport, and another at Ras Issa port.

The strikes targeting the airport, military facilities and power stations in rebel areas marked the second time since December 19 that Israel has hit targets in Yemen after rebel missile fire towards Israel.

In his latest warning to the rebels, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would “continue until the job is done”.

“We are determined to cut this branch of terrorism from the Iranian axis of evil,” he said in a video statement.



– Yemenis depend on aid –



UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the “escalation” in hostilities between Israel and the Huthis and called the Sanaa airport strikes “especially alarming”.

He said bombing transportation infrastructure posed a threat to humanitarian operations in Yemen, where 80 percent of the population is dependent on aid.

Tedros was in Yemen to seek the release of UN staff detained for months by the Huthis, and to assess the humanitarian situation.

He said he and other UN staff were about to board their flight when “the airport came under aerial bombardment”.

“The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged,” Tedros said on X, adding that he and United Nations staff were safe.

A witness told AFP that “more than six” attacks struck the rebel-held capital’s airport, with raids also targeting the adjacent Al-Dailami air base.

A series of strikes also targeted a power station in Hodeida, on the rebel-held coast, a witness and Al-Masirah TV said.

Following rebel attacks against Israel, Israeli strikes had already twice this year hit Hodeida, a major entry point for humanitarian aid to impoverished Yemen, which has been ravaged for years by its own war.

On December 19, after the rebels fired a missile towards Israel and badly damaged a school, Israel for the first time struck targets in Sanaa. It said the strikes were against ports and energy infrastructure that “effectively contributed to” Huthi military actions.

Huthi media said those strikes killed nine people.

In the latest attacks, the Israeli military said its “fighter jets conducted intelligence-based strikes on military targets belonging to the Huthi terrorist regime”.



– ‘Iranian weapons’ –



The targets included “military infrastructure” at the airport and power stations in Sanaa and Hodeida, as well as other facilities at Hodeida, Salif and Ras Kanatib ports, an Israeli statement said.

The targets were used by Huthis “to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials,” the statement said.

Iran’s foreign ministry condemned Israel’s strikes as a “clear violation of international peace and security and an undeniable crime against the heroic and noble people of Yemen”.

Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose top leaders Israel has killed during the war in the Gaza Strip, condemned the attack as an “aggression” against its “brothers from Yemen”.

Almost a week ago, on December 21, Israel’s military and emergency services said a projectile fired from Yemen wounded 16 people in Israel’s commercial centre, Tel Aviv.

The Huthis have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel since the Gaza war began in October last year, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians.

They have similarly attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, waters vital to world trade.

Scores of drone and missile attacks on cargo ships have prompted reprisal strikes against Huthi targets by US and sometimes British forces.

In July, a Huthi drone attack on Tel Aviv killed an Israeli civilian, prompting the first Israeli retaliation on Hodeida.

The Huthis control large parts of Yemen after seizing the capital and ousting the internationally recognised government in September 2014.

A Saudi-led coalition in March 2015 began a military campaign to dislodge them that was unsuccessful, despite what the Yemen Data Project, an independent tracker, said were more than 25,000 coalition air raids.

strs-th-it/dcp

 CRIMINAL CRYPTO CAPITALI$M

Montenegro to extradite crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon to U.S.

Agence France-Presse
December 27, 2024 


Do Kwon's 'stable coin' cryptocurrency TerraUSD was not stable in the end, wiping out about $40 billion of investors' money and shaking global crypto markets (SAVO PRELEVIC/AFP)

Montenegro said Friday it will extradite to the United States the South Korean cryptocurrency specialist Do Kwon, who is also wanted by Seoul for the multi-billion-dollar bankruptcy of his company, Terraform Labs.

His lawyers denounced the decision as illegal and contrary to European conventions on extradition.

For months, Seoul and Washington have been seeking the South Korean's extradition for his suspected role in a fraud linked to his company's failure, which wiped out about $40 billion of investors' money and shook global crypto markets.

Justice Minister Bojan Bozovic "issued a decision approving the extradition of the accused, Kwon Do Hyung, to the United States of America," the justice ministry said, referring to him by his full name.

The decision followed a year and a half of court rulings and subsequent reversals regarding his extradition.

"It was concluded that the majority of the criteria prescribed by law favour the extradition request" from the United States, the ministry added in a statement.

The crypto tycoon was arrested in March 2023 at the airport in Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, while preparing to board a flight to Dubai, in possession of a fake Costa Rican passport.

Before his arrest, he had been on the run for months, fleeing South Korea and later Singapore, before his company went bankrupt in 2022.

- 'Stablecoin' collapse -

After a series of rulings by the Montenegrin courts, approving and then cancelling extradition requests, the country's Constitutional Court lifted the final hurdle on Tuesday.

It said in a ruling that previous proceedings "ensured the appellant's right to a fair trial and did not raise concerns about a possible violation of the right to family life".

The court also said that Kwon, during the hearing, "personally consented to expedited extradition to both the Republic of South Korea and the United States".


Kwon's Montenegrin lawyers, Marija Radulovic and Goran Rodic, said in a statement to AFP that they had not been provided with the ministry's full decision.

They called that "a drastic violation of Do Kwon's fundamental human rights, namely the right to defence and the right to appeal".

Montenegro had already deported Kwon's business partner -- identified only by his initials J.C.H. -- to South Korea in early February.

Terraform Labs created a cryptocurrency called TerraUSD that was marketed as a "stablecoin", a token that is pegged to stable assets such as the US dollar to prevent drastic fluctuations.

Do Kwon successfully marketed them as the next big thing in crypto, attracting billions in investments and global hype.

Media reports in South Korea described him as a "genius".


But despite billions in investments, TerraUSD and its sister token Luna went into a death spiral in May 2022.

Experts said Kwon had set up a glorified Ponzi scheme, in which many investors lost their life savings.

He left South Korea before the crash and spent months on the run.


In January, Terraform Labs officially sought bankruptcy protection in the United States.

The bankruptcy filing would allow Terraform "to execute on its business plan while navigating ongoing legal proceedings, including representative litigation pending in Singapore and US litigation involving the Securities and Exchange Commission", the company said in a statement.

It said it also intended to "meet all financial obligations to employees and vendors".

Cryptocurrencies have come under increasing scrutiny from regulators after a string of controversies in recent years, including the high-profile collapse of the exchange FTX.

Shark Tank Star Pushes EU-Like Deal With U.S. and Canada, despite Trump backing Brexit

IT IS CALLED NAFTA AND TRUMP HATES IT

O'LEARY LOVES CANADA'S MEDICARE

Matt Keeley, The New Civil Rights Movement
December 27, 2024 

U.S and Canada flags (Shutterstock)

Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary realizes not everyone is a fan of President-elect Donald Trump's idea of making Canada the 51st state—so he proposed an "economic union" similar to the European Union. But that might be a hard sell for a president who once called himself "Mr. Brexit."

O'Leary appeared on Fox News Friday morning to discuss Trump's talk about absorbing Canada into the United States. O'Leary, who is Canadian, endorsed the plan, according to The Independent, calling it "something great."

"If you figured out a way to put these two countries together, it would be the most powerful country on earth. The most powerful military on earth, the most powerful resources and no adversary anywhere would mess with it. That’s the prize,” O'Leary said.


READ MORE: ‘Morality Police’: Fox News Hosts Freak Out After Canada Warns LGBTQ Travelers About Dangers of Visiting US

It's not clear if Trump is joking about annexing Canada. People initially thought he was joking about buying Greenland during his first term, but it's become clear that he is serious. On Thursday, Trump called for hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to lead Canada.

"I just left Wayne Gretzky, 'The Great One' as he is known in Ice Hockey circles. I said, 'Wayne, why don’t you run for Prime Minister of Canada, soon to be known as the Governor of Canada - You would win easily, you wouldn’t even have to campaign.' He had no interest, but I think the people of Canada should start a DRAFT WAYNE GRETZKY Movement. It would be so much fun to watch!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Earlier this month, he complained about "[subsidizing] Canada to the tune of over $100,000,000 a year" on Truth Social, and claimed "many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State." Trump's claim, however, is not accurate. 

In her interview with O'Leary, Fox News host Aishah Hasnie cited a poll result that only 13% of Canadians want their country to become a new state.

O'Leary dismissed the poll and said that Canada didn't necessarily need to become one of the United States.

"You don’t have to sell or merge the country but create a union where you put together the things that matter: a common currency, a common passport, free-flowing trade across the border, particularly in energy,” O'Leary said.

What he's describing here is basically the European Union. Though the countries in the EU are independent, they share a currency—the euro—and citizens can travel freely throughout member countries. Trade is also open—but regulated by the EU, which attempts to balance individual countries' concerns.

It's this last bit that proved problematic for the Brexiteers in the United Kingdom. Countries in the EU have a principle called "primacy of European Union laws," meaning EU regulations trump local countries'. EU law, though, is primarily concerned with trade and product regulations. And that's one of the reasons Trump, in 2016, backed Brexit, even going as far as to call himself "Mr. Brexit."

“Come November, the American people will have the chance to re-declare their independence. Americans will have a chance to vote for trade, immigration and foreign policies that put our citizens first,” Trump said at the time, according to CNN. “They will have the chance to reject today’s rule by the global elite, and to embrace real change that delivers a government of, by and for the people.”

Would "Mr. Brexit" be on board for his own North American Union? It seems unlikely.

Two killed in wild weather on Sydney-Hobart yacht race

Agence France-Presse
December 27, 2024 

New South Wales police said the boat crews had notified them of the two deaths during the night (SAEED KHAN/AFP)

Two sailors have been killed in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney to Hobart yacht race, officials said on Friday, as a string of yachts retired in powerful winds and high seas.

One of the crew members, 55-year-old Roy Quaden on Flying Fish Arctos, was hit on the head by a boom as the fleet raced down the New South Wales coast, race organizers said.

The other man, 65-year-old Nick Smith, was struck by the main sheet aboard Bowline and thrown across the boat, said David Jacobs, vice commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.

"Unfortunately, he hit his head on the winch, and that's what killed him," Jacobs said, revising earlier official reports that both sailors had been hit by booms.

Other crew tried to revive the two Australians but were unsuccessful. They were the first fatalities in the 628-nautical mile bluewater classic since 1998.

Weather conditions played a part in the deaths, Jacobs told reporters, with one of the boats facing 30-38 knot winds and seas of two-to-three metres (six-10 feet).


"They're challenging conditions. You only need to be hit broadside by a wave and it will knock you across," Jacobs said, adding however that the weather was not "extreme" for ocean racers.

- 'Shaken' -

In a night of drama, one man was also swept overboard from the yacht Porco Rosso and carried far out before being rescued by his crew, Jacobs said.


He promised an investigation by the yacht club to help improve safety in the event but said the race would go on.

Crews on the two yachts that lost men had been hard hit, said New South Wales marine area command superintendent Joseph McNulty.

"Both those crews are doing it pretty tough at the moment. They are shaken up by what they've seen and what they've had to do," he told reporters.


Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was "heartbreaking that two lives have been lost at what should have been a time of joy".

So far 21 yachts -- including race record holder Comanche -- have pulled out from the fleet of 104 that left Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day bound for the Tasmanian capital, organizers said.

Many were dismasted or suffered damage to mainsails and other equipment.

- 1998 storm deaths -

Weather is a critical factor in the race, first held in 1945, with wind and sea conditions often changing rapidly as yachts head south and then tackle the notorious Bass Strait.

The fatalities were the first in the race since 1998 when six men died, five boats sank and 55 sailors were rescued after a deep depression exploded over the fleet in Bass Strait.


Comanche's retirement with a damaged mainsail overnight left the door open for supermaxi rival LawConnect to win line honours for the second straight year.

Comanche, which surged over the finish line in one day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds to set a new mark in 2017, was leading when she pulled out.

LawConnect held a lead of more than 14 nautical miles by early Friday evening over nearest rival Celestial.

Alive, last year's overall winner of the Tattersall Cup, which takes into account boat size and other factors, was the first to drop out this year, retiring with engine issues.

Other former Tattersall Cup winners forced out included Wild Oats, Centennial (formerly Celestial), and Porco Rosso (formerly Victoire). Three-time overall winner Love & War remains in the race.

'They deserve to be eaten': Ex-GOP GOV has no sympathy for MAGA billionaires

Matthew Chapman
December 27, 2024 

Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy (Photos via Reuters)

Former Illinois GOP Rep. Joe Walsh has no sympathy for billionaires who fell in with MAGA only to realize the movement adamantly opposes the workforce policies needed for their businesses to thrive.

He reacted to the commentary on X Friday of AQR Capital Management managing principal Clifford Asness, who wrote of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's civil war with Trump influencers over H1-B work visas: "TFW you realize the mob you created may not be all yours... Btw, Musk and Ramaswamy are clearly right."

"Musk and Ramaswamy are right — when it comes to immigration," agreed Walsh, who abandoned the GOP over what he saw as their unwavering loyalty to Trump over the Constitution. "And you are right — Musk & Ramaswamy are being eaten right now by an intolerant, nationalistic mob that they played a large role in helping to create. They both deserve to be eaten by their mob."

H1-B visas are used to grant work authorization to foreign workers, usually to highly skilled white-collar jobs like software engineering.

In recent days, Trump supporters have been whipped into a xenophobic frenzy against this program, and in particular Indian tech workers, accusing them of stealing job opportunities from Americans.

Far-right Trump ally and failed Florida congressional candidate Laura Loomer has been a highly visible presence in the debate, picking public fights with Musk and accusing him of hijacking the MAGA movement for the benefit of billionaires. She and some others who have criticized Musk are reportedly finding themselves being stripped of premium features on X, which they believe to be retaliation for their criticism.

'Has MAGA been duped?' Trump fans freak out over new plan from unelected 'DOGE twins'

Tom Boggioni
December 27, 2024 
RAW STORY

An online civil war between hardcore Donald Trump "America First" partisans and the men whom the president-elect chose to head up his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has spilled onto Trump's Truth Social media platform.

The war began with a spat when longtime Trump supporter Laura Loomer lashed out at Trump's choice of tech entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan, who was born in India and is an avid supporter of removing caps on H-1B visas, as his senior policy adviser on artificial intelligence.

That, in turn, set off a battle on X with both Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who pushed back at Loomer which in turn led to ugly attacks about the two leeching onto Trump for their own tech industry purposes and Musk firing back at Loomer for "trolling" for clicks.

Over on Truth Social under the #DOGE hashtag, supporters of Trump sided with Loomer and have begun questioning the motives of what some are calling the "DOGE twins."

ALSO READ: Trump is already walking back on his promises

AmericanGal_69, whose bio claims she lives in Tennessee and boasts, "The Constitution cause those are my God given rights," leveled accusations that the MAGA movement may have been defrauded.


In a post where she tagged the president-elect, she wrote, "Some dumb a-- comments from folks that are blinded by false prophets.

"Do your research. I knew all this crap was coming from him and CONSWAMY. Did @realDonaldTrump know?" she asked. "Is he in on it? Has #MAGA been duped? Let's see how the Boss @realDonaldTrump @TeamTrump reacts to all the negative feedback on the #DOGE twins."

USMC Veteran BlackBeardsFlag chimed in, "#Doge and #ElonMusk want to outsource our jobs instead of America first. They love H1B visas for cheap labor."

"How about a complete moratorium on immigration? That sounds about my speed, but then I'm #AmericaFirst #MAGA #Doge needs to hush #Truth #MAHA #Trump #elonmusk," wrote AnneOfTheWest whose bio states, "Pro-West, anti immigration. Christian, conservative, and a Patriot. Men are men, women are women. Return this country to what it was."

"Deport ALL illegal aliens with a lifetime ban from re-entering the US. NO EXCEPTIONS," is the bio for TruthSayer who also joined the pile-on by warning, "@realDonaldTrump, we didn't support you so you could bring and keep more foreign nationals here to further drain our resources. #AmericansFirst! Student visas in the US are hideously abused by foreign agitators, activists, fake-student criminals, and visa overstayers. We should NOT offer green cards to ANY US college graduate to encourage more to come or stay. Student grants, scholarships, school resources, and student housing, should be for AMERICANS FIRST. We should stop the importation of legions of student visas and focus on offering better opportunities for AMERICAN students instead! #RestrictStudentVisas"

Another Truth Social user raised red flags that Musk is impacting Loomer's reach.

"Kiss #Doge goodbye after the last 24 hours. Elon, aka Jack Dorsey 2.0 just took blue ✅ s from @LauraLoomer 💩 new rules w/ update seems to be deboosting the #MAGA Conservatives voices," wrote "pro-life scientist" Michael Szumega.

"There are at least 1.5 million illegal aliens living in the U.S. awaiting deportation that are not in custody. Perhaps we should pause immigration, with few exceptions, until they are removed. Then we can have a conversation about changes to legal immigration," contributed Alx who has a pinned picture of himself with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on his Truth Social page.

'Scam by the oligarchs!' Steve Bannon piles on Elon Musk in MAGA civil war

Matthew Chapman
December 27, 2024 

RAW STORY

Steve Bannon. (Gage Skidmore)

Former Donald Trump adviser turned far-right pundit Steve Bannon came down hard against tech billionaire Elon Musk in the battle that flared up this week between right-wing businessmen and the MAGA activist class, The New Republic reported on Friday.

The heart of the issue is the H1-B visa system, which is used to give work permits to high-skilled white collar workers, like software engineers, who want to immigrate to the U.S. Musk, who was born in South Africa and ironically has been reported as once having worked illegally in the U.S. himself, relies on these programs at many of his companies, which puts him at odds with much of the MAGA community that not only wants to crack down on illegal immigration, but restrict legal immigration as well.

A growing xenophobic backlash in the far-right against Indian tech workers in particular, triggered by Trump's nomination of Sriram Krishnan as an AI policy adviser, has added fuel to the fire

Bannon, who lauded Musk for helping Trump win the election but just a year prior was blasting him as selling "snake oil," made it clear which side he is on in a new tirade in his "War Room" show on Friday.

“H-1B visas? That’s not what it’s about. It’s about taking American jobs and bringing over essentially what have become indentured servants at lower wages,” said Bannon. “This thing’s a scam by the oligarchs in Silicon Valley to basically take jobs from American citizens, give them to what become indentured servants from foreign countries, and then pay ‘em less. Simple. To let them in through the golden door.”

Bannon's commentary comes shortly after Laura Loomer, a self-described "Proud Islamophobe," Trump confidante, and multiple-time failed congressional candidate in Florida, blew up at Musk on his own X platform for the same reason. "The elephant in the room is that Elon Musk, who is not MAGA and never has been, is a total f------ drag on the Trump transition," she raged. "He's a stage 5 clinger who over stayed his welcome at Mar-a-Lago in an effort to... be the point man for all his accomplices in big Tech to slither in."

According to Loomer, her premium subscription and monetization on Musk's platform were summarily revoked shortly after she fired off her criticisms.

'There are rules on X?': Trump ally mocked for social media ban while MAGA rages

Sarah K. Burris
December 27, 2024 
RAW STORY

Elon Musk. (Photo credit: Frederic Legrand - COMEO / Shutterstock )

Far-right Donald Trump ally Laura Loomer was suspended from Elon Musk's social media site X after spending hours attacking him for not being a true MAGA fan.

Musk began by telling the world to ignore her, but it didn't take long for Loomer to be suspended for 12 hours, claiming she broke the X terms of service.

Furious MAGA allies demanded to know what rule she broke.

The behavioral science and politics podcast "The Shallow State" posted, "THIS is a megalomaniac. We'll discuss this as part of our next edition of Banters, a little later today. In a tweet at midnight, Musk referred to the people he slammed as 'subtards.' Here's the message from Loomer's newly derailed account."

All legal analyst Aaron Parnas could do was burst out laughing via text.

It became part of commentator and legal analyst Jennifer Taub's morning rundown as well. "Love your news served with an extra helping of crazy town?"

"There are rules on X?" asked MSNBC host Katie Phang.

Others mocked Musk for his "free speech" promises while suspending someone's free speech on his platform.

Ultimately, even Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) stepped in to defend Musk's opinions on immigration.

"Good gracious, I came out of Christmas bliss to see arguments about American labor vs H1-B imported labor and MAGA split over this issue. Good, that means everyone is engaged in saving this country. Here is some tough reality for some of you: There are some big MAGA voices," she wrote.

One of the debates was over a new hire of pro-immigration advocate, Sriram Krishnan.

Tom Wellborn of "The Political Mix" explained that the hire "ignited backlash from extremists like Laura Loomer, exposing the fault lines between anti-immigrant zealots and corporate elites who depend on foreign talent to stay competitive. MAGA’s contradictions are imploding."

Musk moved to the U.S. in 1995 under the guise that he was going to attend Stanford University. However, Musk never enrolled in his graduate studies program there. The Washington Post reported in October that the move meant Musk was working illegally in the U.S. for a time. Investors in his first company were concerned that he would be deported at any moment.

Woman accused of setting apartment on fire in 'satanic ritual' to stop 'witchcraft traps'

Sarah K. Burris
December 27, 2024

RAW STORY

A Wisconsin woman has been arrested and now faces an arson charge after authorities said she lit her apartment on fire during what she called a "satanic ritual."

Charmilia Jeffries, 36, of Milwaukee, asked her son to take out the smoke detectors in the apartment, calling them suspicious, Law&Crime and local ABC affiliate WISN reported.

"They been sitting me up, putting witchcraft traps around my house," she told police, according to the criminal complaint.

Jeffries was arrested on Dec. 21 and was held at the Milwaukee County Jail on a $7,5000 bond.

The case will likely involve questions about whether a religious ceremony that causes a fire can be considered arson, which requires intentionality. There could also be legal questions about Jeffries' competency to stand trial.

Arson charges in Wisconsin are classified as a felony, and penalties depend on the type of property that was set aflame.

'They don't understand': US Lawmaker smacks down TikTok defenders as Trump fights looming ban

Daniel Hampton
December 27, 2024 

RAW STORY

TikTok's logo. (Shutterstock)

A Michigan Democrat took a shot at supporters of TikTok as President-elect Donald Trump tries to block a looming ban set to take effect next month.

Trump on Friday asked the Supreme Court to hit the brakes on a law that could ban the popular social media site nationwide starting Jan. 19 if its owner, who is Chinese, doesn’t sell it to an American company.

Rep. Debbie Dingell on Friday evening called the issue "difficult" — but said lawmakers in both chambers passed the bill for the good of the country.

"This was a very difficult decision for me, Wolf," said Dingell on "The Situation Room" with host Wolf Blitzer. "It is national security versus the millions and millions of users that we have in this country. But the fact of the matter is, is that a significant majority in both the House and the Senate, in a very bipartisan way, voted for this because of the reasons that we got."

Dingell acknowledged that while young people — who are largely the main users of the app — voted for Trump, she and her colleagues have a "responsibility" to protect national security.

"They also don't understand how much of their information is being tracked, how it will be used in the future, etc. The Supreme Court needs to make its findings on a Constitutional basis. The president has the right to express his opinion. And I hope the Supreme Court makes its findings based on the law that was passed and the Constitution."

Dingell also weighed in on a massive split in MAGA land over H1B visas, and pointed out Republicans — much like her party — are finding immigration reform a "difficult issue.

"While Musk is concerned about Silicon Valley and technology, we have a lot of farmers, we have a lot of small businesses that also are looking at these kinds of issues," she said.

Dingell called for ensuring the government is investing in American workers, including training them.

"We need engineers in this country, we need those skilled trades," she said.

The recent schism further shows "there's a reason" comprehensive immigration reform has been so tough for both parties, she said.


Dingell also called on her party to improve how it talks to workers about issues that matter to them, including the cost of eggs.

"We as Democrats do a lousy job at times just talking to the working men and women of this country," she said.

She added: "We did a bad job of that" — and while Trump didn't, he faces a steep challenge in addressing those problems.

Watch the clip below or at this link.

Trump asks US Supreme Court to pause law threatening TikTok ban


By AFP
December 27, 2024


Trump was fiercely opposed to TikTok during his 2017-21 first term, but has since changed his tune - Copyright AFP Patrick T. Fallon

US President-elect Donald Trump filed a brief Friday urging the Supreme Court to pause a law that would ban TikTok the day before his January 20 inauguration if it is not sold by its Chinese owner ByteDance.

“In light of the novelty and difficulty of this case, the court should consider staying the statutory deadline to grant more breathing space to address these issues,” Trump’s legal team wrote, to give him “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution.”

Trump was fiercely opposed to TikTok during his 2017-21 first term, and tried in vain to ban the video app on national security grounds.

The Republican voiced concerns — echoed by political rivals — that the Chinese government might tap into US TikTok users’ data or manipulate what they see on the platform.

US officials had also voiced alarm over the popularity of the video-sharing app with young people, alleging that its parent company is subservient to Beijing and that the app is used to spread propaganda, claims denied by the company and the Chinese government.

Trump called for a US company to buy TikTok, with the government sharing in the sale price, and his successor Joe Biden went one stage further — signing a law to ban the app for the same reasons.

Trump has now, however, reversed course.

“Now (that) I’m thinking about it, I’m for TikTok, because you need competition,” he recently told Bloomberg.

“If you don’t have TikTok, you have Facebook and Instagram — and that’s, you know, that’s Zuckerberg.”

Facebook, founded by Mark Zuckerberg and part of his Meta tech empire, was among the social media networks that banned Trump after attacks by his supporters on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

The ban was driven by concerns that he would use the platform to promote more violence.

Those bans on major social media platforms were later lifted.

In the brief filed on Friday, Trump’s lawyer made it clear the president-elect did not take a position on the legal merits of the current case.

“President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute,” John Sauer wrote in the amicus curiae — or “friend of the court” — brief.

“Instead, he respectfully requests that the court consider staying the act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case, thus permitting President Trump’s incoming Administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”

DEI

Costco hits back at right-wing think tank push to cripple its diversity program

Matthew Chapman
December 27, 2024 6
RAW STORY

Shopping carts are seen at the Costco store ahead of Black Friday in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

An activist group of shareholders backed by a right-wing think tank are trying to pressure the bulk wholesaler club store Costco into dropping its diversity, equity and inclusion policies — but the company is pushing back — hard, reported CNN on Friday.

According to the report, Costco's board of directors "unanimously recommended that its shareholders vote against a proposal brought by a conservative think tank, the National Center for Public Policy Research, that would require Costco to evaluate and issue a report on the financial risks of maintaining its diversity and inclusion goals. The group criticized Costco for possible 'illegal discrimination' against employees who are 'white, Asian, male or straight.'"

However, Costco's board noted that its diversity policies improved sales — and accused the think tank of disguising a culture war battle as a risk management policy.

“Among other things, a diverse group of employees helps bring originality and creativity to our merchandise offerings, promoting the ‘treasure hunt’ that our customers value,” said Costco. “We believe (and member feedback shows) that many of our members like to see themselves reflected in the people in our warehouses with whom they interact.”

Furthermore, the statement continued, “The supporting statement demonstrates that it is the proponent and others that are responsible for inflicting burdens on companies with their challenges to longstanding diversity programs. The proponent’s broader agenda is not reducing risk for the company but abolition of diversity initiatives.”

DEI is a broad range of policies around training, employee resources, and hiring intended to both boost representation of overlooked races, ethnicities, and disabilities, and make employees in those groups more comfortable contributing. Costco's DEI program includes a "diversity officer" and "a supplier program that focuses on expanding with small and diverse businesses," according to the report.

These programs have generated backlash from right-wing activists, legal challengers, and some consumers, fueled in part by a recent study suggesting some DEI programs increase workplace hostility. Companies such as Walmart, John Deere, and Tractor Supply have modified or reversed their programs in response to the tension.

H5N1

New bird flu mutation discovered in US as cat infections cause alarm

RAW FOOD AND MILK INFECTED

By AFP
December 27, 2024


A colorized transmission electron micrograph of avian influenza A H5N1 virus particles (blue), grown in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells - Copyright National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/AFP/File HANDOUT
Issam AHMED

The ongoing spread of bird flu in the United States has alarmed experts — not just because of human cases causing severe illness, but also due to troubling new instances of infections in cats.

A sample of the virus found in a critically ill patient in the United States has shown signs of mutating to better suit human airways, although there is no indication it has spread beyond that individual, authorities report.

Earlier this month, officials announced that an elderly Louisiana patient was in “critical condition” with a severe H5N1 infection.

An analysis posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Thursday revealed that a small percentage of the virus in the patient’s throat carried genetic changes that could increase the virus’s ability to bind to certain cell receptors found in the human upper respiratory tract.

Importantly, the CDC noted that these changes have not been detected in birds — including in the backyard poultry flock believed to have been the source of the patient’s initial infection.

Instead, the agency said the mutations were “likely generated by replication of this virus in the patient with advanced disease,” emphasizing that no transmission of the mutated strain to other humans had been identified.

Several experts contacted by AFP cautioned that it was too early to determine whether these changes would make the virus more transmissible or more severe in people.

Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, explained that while the mutation might help the virus enter cells more easily, additional evidence — such as animal testing — would be needed to confirm any effect on transmissibility.

Moreover, similar mutations have occurred in previous critically ill patients without leading to broader outbreaks.

“It’s good to know we should be looking out for this,” Rasmussen said, “but it doesn’t actually tell us, ‘Oh, we’re this much closer to a pandemic now.'”

Thijs Kuiken of Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands agreed.

“Efficient attachment to human upper respiratory tract cells is necessary, but not sufficient, for more efficient transmissibility between people,” he said, adding that the process is just one among several steps required for successful viral replication.

Rather than intensifying disease, Kuiken pointed out, such adaptations might actually result in milder infections by favoring cells in the upper respiratory tract — causing symptoms like a runny nose or sore throat — rather than affecting the lower respiratory tract, which leads to more severe pneumonia.


– ‘Rapid evolutionary leaps’ possible –


Rasmussen expressed bigger concerns about the sheer volume of bird flu currently circulating.

The CDC has reported 65 confirmed human cases in 2024, and many more may go undetected among dairy and poultry workers.

This widespread circulation, Rasmussen warned, increases the likelihood of the virus mixing with seasonal influenza, potentially triggering “rapid evolutionary leaps,” similar to events that caused the 1918 and 2009 flu pandemics.

Researchers are also keeping a close eye on the mounting cases of bird flu infections in cats.

A cat in Oregon died after consuming raw pet food confirmed to be contaminated with H5N1, prompting a recall of Northwest Naturals’ Feline Turkey Recipe raw and frozen pet food.

“This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not exposed to the virus in its environment,” said state veterinarian Ryan Scholz in a statement. Genome sequencing showed that the virus in the pet food matched exactly the strain found in the cat.

In Washington State, twenty big cats at a sanctuary also died recently after contracting bird flu, the Wild Felid Advocacy Center of Washington wrote on Facebook.

Rasmussen warns that infected outdoor cats could return home and expose people to the virus through close contact.

“If you have an outdoor cat that gets H5 from eating a dead bird,” she explained, “and that cat comes back into your house and you’re snuggling with it, you’re sleeping with it… that creates additional exposure risk.”

'We are screwed': Virologists warn about disease they say could become the next pandemic

Brad Reed
December 27, 2024 
RAW STORY


Cows (Shutterstock)

A new report from PBS highlights the potential danger of bird flu turning into a full-blown pandemic in the United States.

In particular, PBS spoke with several experts who said the United States has been behind the ball when it comes to keeping a handle on the pandemic and they point to the fact that the United States Department of Agriculture has only recently started testing milk nationwide for bird flu contamination.

"It's disheartening to see so many of the same failures that emerged during the COVID-19 crisis reemerge," explained Tom Bollyky, the director of the Council on Foreign Relations' Global Health Program.

Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, expressed a similar dismay at the American government's slow response to bird flu so far.

“We are in a terrible situation and going into a worse situation,” she said. “I don’t know if the bird flu will become a pandemic, but if it does, we are screwed.”

Tom Peacock, a bird flu researcher at the Pirbright Institute in the United Kingdom, said that the real danger could come if the bird flu virus mutates in a way that makes it easily transmissible between humans.

“Even if there’s only a 5 percent chance of a bird flu pandemic happening, we’re talking about a pandemic that probably looks like 2020 or worse,” he told PBS. “The U.S. knows the risk but hasn’t done anything to slow this down."