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Today: 75 articles and 211 comments as of 3:45.
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Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion    Local News    Politix   
Gaza Corpse Count breaks 30K
Today's Headlines
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2 11:40 Grom the Reflective [23] 
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Page 4: Opinion
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2 13:57 NoMoreBS [25]
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Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
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Page 6: Politix
2 19:37 Beldar Uneter3543 [44]
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4 14:07 NoMoreBS [25]
10 19:18 swksvolFF [34]
5 21:12 Caesar Panda5736 [36]
5 14:42 swksvolFF [39]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Secret CDC Report: Covid Shots Killed Half Million Children & Young Adults
[Slay] The CDC report has revealed that almost 500,000 Americans aged between 0 and 44 years old died from the dangerous side effects of the Covid mRNA injections between the start of the public rollout of the shots in early 2021 and October 9, 2022.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 02/26/2024 08:46 || Comments || Link || [34 views] Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats

#1  A bit higher than the Gaza numbers. Where are the street demonstrations?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/26/2024 18:54 Comments || Top||


-Great Cultural Revolution
Ice Football
[NotTheBee] Alright guys, I just sat at my desk laughing out loud all by myself, like an idiot, because I just discovered American Ice Football.

What is American Ice Football? Well, it's a German sport that is American football played on ice. As differentiated from regular "Ice Football" which is soccer on ice.

Guys, you have to watch these highlights:

Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/26/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || [24 views] Top|| File under:

#1  “Das ist taunting!”
Posted by: Ululating Platypus || 02/26/2024 4:31 Comments || Top||

#2  Funny.
We also have Mike Ditka's Lingerie League.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/26/2024 4:47 Comments || Top||

#3  The TD celebration has turtle power.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/26/2024 14:33 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Pentagon says new high altitude balloon intercepted over US 'likely hobby' craft year after China controversy
"These are not the balloons you are looking for."
[FoxNews] NORAD says it 'monitored the likely hobby balloon via ground radars until it left US airspace'.

The Pentagon said the latest high altitude balloon detected over the United States is a "likely hobby" craft, about a year after a Chinese spy balloon traversed the continental U.S., sparking controversy.
Moved to Page 3: Non-WoT at 4:45 p.m. ET.
"After yesterday's fighter intercepts, and in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, the North American Aerospace Defense Command monitored the likely hobby balloon via ground radars until it left US airspace overnight," the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said Saturday in a statement, reported by ABC News and other outlets. No further information was immediately available.

Two defense officials told Fox News that the balloon detected flying over the U.S. has been identified as the property of an amateur balloonist and is not from China. The balloon was spotted over Utah and was heading east.

NORAD first announced the high altitude balloon on Friday, noting that it was observed at between roughly 43,000 and 45,000 feet.

"The balloon was intercepted by NORAD fighters over Utah, who determined it was not maneuverable and did not present a threat to national security. NORAD will continue to track and monitor the balloon," NORAD said. "The FAA also determined the balloon posed no hazard to flight safety. NORAD remains in close coordination with the FAA to ensure flight safety."
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/26/2024 05:23 || Comments || Link || [39 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Please return to your seats, nothing to see here.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/26/2024 5:36 Comments || Top||

#2 
HUMOR

Let's see... how to make a Youtube moment.

Go to the Dollar Store...
Purchase a handful of battery Powered LED's adhesive light strips. $25


GO TO AMAZON
Purchase the large Helium Tank (14.9 cu. Ft.) Disposable Helium Tank $80

Go to "www.scientificsales.com"
Order 8245-H Hwoyee Weather Balloon, 1600 Grams Natural $119.99 Weather Balloon .. which is good for an altitude of about 19.2 MILES.

Cut and add several 3 ft. strips of Aluminum foil with LED's attached

Total Cost to Under $250 to screw with Biden and Nation Security.

Also a person could add an AIR TAG and a cheap GO-Pro type camera for a great aerial Youtube Video of it being shot down.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 02/26/2024 7:51 Comments || Top||

#3  Just a Chinese New Year lantern, H8TR. Why don't you trust me!?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/26/2024 14:45 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Major Storm for CA coming 29 Feb - 3 Mar
[MSN] Over a four-day period from Thursday to Sunday, snow levels could drop to 1,000 feet and accumulate up to 10 feet in higher terrain, and six inches in lower elevation areas like Placerville and Grass Valley, said David Rowe, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service's Sacramento office.

"We are looking at potential for significant travel delays and road closures for extended periods if we get the magnitude of snow we're forecasting, particularly on Interstate 80 and Highway 50," Rowe said. "It's possible we"ll see blizzard conditions at times late Friday into Saturday. If you're thinking about heading up to Tahoe or Reno, reevaluate your plans and stay up to date with the forecast."
-----------
Snow is likely to be fluffy: more easily plowed but also more subject to drifting.
In Cincinnati we had about an inch of snow the other night. Today it’s supposed to reach 65F. *shrug* So does this count as warming, cooling, or just changeable weather?
Posted by: lord garth || 02/26/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || [52 views] Top|| File under:

#1  We have not had snow in Alpine Ca since 1967....
Elevation 2000 FT... stuck for a couple days...
Posted by: crazyhorse || 02/26/2024 1:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Projected high of 90 today. High of 52, Wed.
There's a tornado in there somewhere.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/26/2024 4:35 Comments || Top||


#4  Going to college in the mid-70’s near Cincy (Miami U.), I remember the snows of 1976. Talk about Snowmaggedon! Back then we called it “Winter”
Posted by: Warthog || 02/26/2024 7:57 Comments || Top||

#5  I was a freshman at CWRU in Cleveland in 1977 when the "Blizzard of '77" shut down the school for the first time since 1952.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 02/26/2024 8:00 Comments || Top||

#6 
So does this count as warming, cooling, or just changeable weather?

You're in the Midwest, so the answer is "Yes"
Posted by: Elmaper McGurque1612 || 02/26/2024 9:36 Comments || Top||

#7  Water, water everywhere - be nice if we had some resevoirs.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 02/26/2024 10:36 Comments || Top||

#8  Saturday dawned sunny and 45. Got up to 53 then wind picked up, clouds moved in, sleet and then pea-sized frozen rain covered the ground. I got up yesterday to 23. Temperature went to 56. 45 and cloudy now.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 02/26/2024 11:08 Comments || Top||

#9  Ref #1, to be fair, Alpine California is in San Diego County, near the US/Mexico border. Alpine County California, County Seat Markleeville, elevation 5,500, is much farther North in the Sierra's.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 02/26/2024 13:35 Comments || Top||

#10  You're in the Midwest, so the answer is "Yes"

:-) The windows are open to air the house today, and I sat with my mother on the deck after lunch, enjoying the sunshine and the overexcited birds.

During the Winters of ‘76/77 and ‘78 I was in high school in Buffalo, NY. That was when we were being instructed to panic about the coming ice age, remember? Pace the first act of Thornton Wilder’s 1942 play The Skin of Our Teeth.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/26/2024 17:20 Comments || Top||

#11  So does this count as warming, cooling, or just changeable weather?

In GA that’s called Tuesday
Posted by: Beavis || 02/26/2024 17:33 Comments || Top||

#12  Welp, tornado season eh?
Time to start thinking emergency kit re-pack.

Great thing about kids growing up, all my old work boots with the reinforced boot soles now fit well enough for emergency kit.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/26/2024 19:15 Comments || Top||

#13  lol OK, speaking emergency kits

Was exposed to an ad, because can't get away from ads, was a new fire starter. They had a demo during the ad which the fire starter was used to penetrate a can.

The can, at a glance, looked like a WD-40 can. It isn't, but for a half second I went, "Don't do that firfukssake!"
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/26/2024 19:37 Comments || Top||


An earthquake was registered near the Turkish resort of Kusadasi
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] An earthquake of magnitude 3.9 was recorded by seismologists in the Turkish province of Izmir near the resort of Kusadasi. This was announced by the National Disaster Management Authority (AFAD) on February 25.
They get those a lot in Turkey, but they still haven’t adopted Japanese or California building codes.
An earthquake of magnitude 3.9 was registered at 20:09 Moscow time. The source of the earthquake was located in the Aegean Sea near the resort of Kusadasi at a depth of about 7.7 kilometers.

At the same time, according to seismologists from the Kandilli Observatory, the magnitude of the earthquake was 3.7, its source lay at a depth of seven kilometers.

There was no information about possible casualties or damage to infrastructure.

Earlier, Regnum news agency reported about an earthquake with a magnitude of up to 5.9, which occurred near the borders of China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The earthquake was recorded at 04:15 UTC (07:15 Moscow time). The epicenter was located 158 kilometers west of the Chinese city of Aksu, home to 535 thousand people.

There was no information about casualties or destruction.

More from regnum.ru
An earthquake with a magnitude of up to 5.9 occurred near the borders of China and Kyrgyzstan

An earthquake with a magnitude of up to 5.9 was recorded by Chinese seismologists near the borders of China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The Chinese Seismological Center reported this on February 25.

According to seismologists, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 was recorded at 12:15 local time (07:15 Moscow time) in the north-west of China. The epicenter was located near Akchi County, Kyzylsu-Kyrgyzstan Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC), an earthquake of magnitude 5.7 occurred in China near the border with Kyrgyzstan. European seismologists recorded the earthquake at 04:15 UTC (07:15 Moscow time). The epicenter was located 158 kilometers west of the Chinese city of Aksu, home to 535 thousand people, and 272 kilometers southeast of the Kazakh city of Almaty, home to more than two million people.

The source of the earthquake was located at a depth of seven kilometers. According to preliminary data, there was no information about casualties or destruction.

Earlier, Regnum news agency reported about an earthquake of magnitude 4.6 that occurred on the territory of Dagestan in the Agul region. No data on damage or casualties was received by rescue services.

On the night of January 25, two earthquakes occurred in Almatymagnitude 5.1 and 5.9. The epicenters of both seismic events were located in China. According to the local akimat (mayor's office), at least 44 people were injured in the earthquake.
Posted by: badanov || 02/26/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || [33 views] Top|| File under:


-Land of the Free
Schweizer-‘Blood Money': The Secret Chinese Military ‘Disintegration Warfare' Manifesto to Rip America Apart Using Drugs, Social Chaos, and More
[Breitbart] Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans, a new book by Breitbart News Senior Contributor Peter Schweizer, reveals how the Chinese government is using drugs, social chaos, and other means to tear apart the social fabric of the United States and wage war against America without firing a shot, as part of a “Disintegration Warfare” strategy outlined in an obscure manifesto.

The book exposes this strategy, which the Chinese military outlined in a 2010 book entitled Disintegration Warfare. The strategy is based on ancient Chinese strategist and general Sun Tzu’s Art of War, a guide on how to subdue an enemy without fighting. Schweizer writes:

In keeping with this approach, China’s official military strategy focuses on—in the Chinese leaders’ words—going after the United States’ “‘soft underbelly’ in terms of politics, economics, and the spirit and psychology of [its] people.” Chinese leaders have coined new terms such as “unrestricted warfare” and “disintegration warfare” to describe Sun Tzu’s old strategy of winning without fighting.

Schweizer, who is also president of the Government Accountability Institute, notes the lethal consequences the strategy has already taken in the U.S. in the form of hundreds of thousands of American deaths in the past five years alone — a greater amount than casualties from any war in the past 50 years and “mounting daily.”

“It is a complex strategy, a hydra of drugs, disease, propaganda, and illicit pistol parts, each contributing to social chaos and killing Americans,” he writes.

Schweizer reveals that in the 1990s, two senior Chinese military officers analyzed the power of the U.S. military extensively and concluded that it was futile for Beijing to try to match it, so they instead recommended deploying a “series of nonmilitary weapons” that would “reimagine the tools of warfare and redefine the battlefield” with “out of the box” strategies.

One of those strategies, Schweizer writes, was using illegal drugs as “drug warfare.”

Drug warfare had “special resonance” among Chinese leaders, due to the nineteenth-century Opium Wars inflicted on Imperial China by British merchants, he writes. Communist Chinese officials today believe the opium trade was an attack on its economy, which went from the largest in the world to being “on its last legs,” as Schweizer details.

“Even today, military officials express outrage about the way Great Britain’s Opium Wars reduced China to a minor power,” he writes. “From the perspective of President Xi and the Communist Party, what better means of rising to power and avenging the Opium Wars than by turning the tables against the Western world that it blames?”

Today, Beijing’s hand can be found in every stage of the deadly spread of fentanyl in North America, Schweizer finds.

China is not only exporting the precursor chemicals for fentanyl, but it is also producing those chemicals, creating fentanyl and counterfeit pills in Mexico and the U.S., distributing the drug within the U.S., facilitating drug cartel financial transactions and money laundering, and facilitating the communication networks used by the cartels to operate in the U.S. without detection, he writes.

“And consistent with military escalation, there are plans to deploy even more potent drugs as weapons,” he adds.

Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death of Americans under the age of 45, Schweizer writes, adding that it has killed more Americans in a single year than were killed in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

But drug warfare is only one part of the strategy to take down America.

Another part is fueling social chaos using radical proxy groups within the U.S., Schweizer writes.

A 2020 Chinese military report obtained by the author reveals that Beijing sees the U.S.’s mounting social chaos and division as a national weakness, noting that “the intensifying political rivalry is depleting the energy of the U.S.”

Schweizer reveals that in order to stoke further social and division in America, China utilizes, supports, and funds multiple far-left groups within the U.S. who stoke violence and racial tensions.

These groups, which Schweizer delves into in the book, meet with Chinese Communist Party officials, are tracked by Chinese Communist intelligence, promoted by Chinese state media, and receive funding from China.

Schweizer notes that as drug warfare, social chaos, and other weapons are being deployed against the U.S., leaders in Washington are largely standing by.

Schweizer names some of those who are aware of China’s illicit activities, but do nothing — including President Joe Biden, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), former President Barack Obama, and California Governor Gavin Newsom (D)..”
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 02/26/2024 13:48 || Comments || Link || [31 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Europe
Hungary has officially ratified Sweden's accession to NATO
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/26/2024 11:07 || Comments || Link || [34 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Great, we added another freeloader.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/26/2024 14:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, that's two new NATO members on Russia's northern flank. Good work there Putie. Given Sweden has historical claims too.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/26/2024 15:04 Comments || Top||

#3  and their north ay;antic is ... wjere?
Posted by: irish rage boy || 02/26/2024 20:54 Comments || Top||

#4  "Repellent?" The Russophiles stare.
"For that bear lightly sleeping right there?
Unless he feels slighted
Or gets, well, excited,
You've nothing to fear from a bear!"

But seriously, you can't get more NATO than Norway, and aren't there places in Sweden and Finland where Joe's duckie, dropped in a creek, is bobbing in a fjord a couple of hours later? And won't we want all the lovely Scandinavian infrastructure to be in good shape when we have to rescue Russia again?
Posted by: Caesar Panda5736 || 02/26/2024 22:01 Comments || Top||


Restructuring the Pool in 2022 - DGSE Reorganization
The opening thesis of the report:
[GreyDynamics] 1.0 THE DGSE: A LONELY CROWD
The DGSE, formally known as La Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure and to others ‘La Piscine’ (The Pool) is the nation’s secret front line of defence. Every year, the DGSE produces over several thousand pieces of intelligence to the French state in protection of her national interests. (Source)

For context, the DGSE serves a similar role in function to that of the US’s CIA and Britain’s SIS. However, it is perhaps the lesser known agency within the realm of Anglo dominated intelligence literature and media attention. In reality, France and their external intelligence services outreach dominates on a global scale, influencing states and thwarting those who wish harm to La Francophonie.

1.1 A UNIQUE SERVICE
If one were to look deep into the history of the DGSE, you would find an agency shrouded in controversy. Renseignement (intelligence) is a concept favoured by the media in France for its association with scandal and political sensitivity. In 2022, former DGSE director Bernard Bajolet was indicted over extortion charges on individuals by the DGSE. An affair French media outlet Le Monde divulged into at no expense. Regarding operations, the memory of the 1982 sinking of the Rainbow Warrior still weighs the burden of clandestine activity gone wrong. More recently however, the invasion of Ukraine led to France’s military intelligence chief (DRM) to resign, failing to predict the invasion unlike other western intelligence agencies. (Source) (Source)

However, you would too find an agency unlike any other, specifically engineered to the modern needs of the French state. It is expansive, diverse, and at the centre of influencing government decision making. French intelligence and the DGSE have a soured history. However, one worthy of discussion which will be explored in this article.
Posted by: Slenter Panda4300 || 02/26/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || [23 views] Top|| File under:


#2  Bailing out a sinking ship with a teaspoon?
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 02/26/2024 11:40 Comments || Top||


'Anti-Semites' and 'agent of the Kremlin' are preparing to stir up the German parliament
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Kamran Hasanov

[REGNUM] Germany, suffering from an economic crisis, is also experiencing a political crisis. Its beginnings were observed back in 2017, when the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party burst into the Bundestag, taking away points from the ruling SPD and CDU. Then Chancellor Angela Merkel needed five months to put together a coalition. This was the longest government formation in the history of Germany.

Now the crisis has become even more pronounced. Society is becoming increasingly polarized; traditional parties do not fully reflect the opinions and interests of voters. Some echoes of this crisis can be seen in local elections.

For example, Olaf Scholz’s “traffic light coalition” lost the elections in Hesse and Bavaria miserably last year. The stakes are higher now because parliamentary elections are approaching. Moreover, the majority of citizens (59%), according to Bild polls, want them to be held ahead of schedule - this year.

Oddly enough, it would even be beneficial for Scholz, with his record low rating, to agree to early elections. After all, every day he loses, perhaps, the only trump card of any politician in Germany - success in the economy. Finance Minister Christian Lindner said bluntly: “We are becoming poorer and less competitive.”

His skepticism is confirmed by statistics. The OECD cut its forecast for GDP growth this year by half - from 0.6% to 0.3%, and the IMF - from 0.9% to 0.5%. German media are hinting at an imminent recession; of the major economies, only Argentina, with its crazy inflation, is doing worse.

In 2025, Scholz may lose his second trump card - Ukraine. The counteroffensive has failed, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are surrendering territories, and the EU is having problems with the allocation of funding and weapons. The Chancellor is trying to get other member countries to increase spending, but no one is in a hurry to do this. Scholz had difficulty accepting the responsibility of arming Ukraine, starting with helmets and ending with tanks. Now he was left virtually alone. Further support for Kyiv may turn out to be not only pointless, but also dangerous.

Recently, the Bundestag out of harm's way blocked the CDU/CSU proposal to transfer Taurus missiles capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 500 km. Everyone understands that strikes deep into Russia could lead Germany to war.

In the wake of the economic crisis and the failure of the Ukrainian “case,” new parties began to form in Germany. In the past three months, it became known about the emergence of at least three major players. The pioneer was Sarah Wagenknecht : having split off with ten politicians from the Left faction, she formed the party “For Sanity and Justice”.

Its supporters could be millions of Germans who oppose the transfer of weapons to Ukraine, anti-Russian sanctions and the “green concentration camp” where Scholz wants to drive the energy sector. Immediately after the creation of the party, its rating was 7% - this is enough to enter parliament.

Wagenknecht was a consistent supporter of normal relations with Russia and criticized sanctions. And now she warns against dragging Germany into a direct war, which, in her opinion, is inevitable in the case of Taurus deliveries.

At the beginning of the year, the former head of the Federal Service for the Protection of the Constitution, Hans-Georg Maasen, made his presence felt by creating his own “Union for Values.” Maasen is a former head of counterintelligence who was fired from his post in scandal in 2018. Then, in the city of Chemnitz, a refugee killed a German citizen, and Maasen was dismissed for his sympathy for right-wing extremists. Now he has gathered in his new party the dissatisfied from among the “Merkel” faction of the CDU/CSU, who are haunted by the same economic crisis and the war in Ukraine.

Although Maasen condemns the SVO, he also wants peace through negotiations, and considers Vladimir Putin a “skillful politician.” The former head of counterintelligence has long been among the most active critics of the transfer of German weapons and missiles to Ukraine.

“If we deliver weapons rather than first aid kits, we obviously risk becoming participants in the war. You have to imagine this: we are now a warring party against Russia... Because of the supply of weapons, we can now become the target of Russian attacks. This means that Germany will be drawn into the war, and we will not have our own military goals,” he warned a year ago.

Maasen considers his former colleagues insufficiently right-wing and conservative and hopes to win elections in the eastern states, where the AfD’s position is traditionally strong. Sarah Wagenknecht, who, by the way, like Maasen, opposes uncontrolled migration, also wants to achieve victory in the Landtags (local parliaments) of the three East German states in the near future.

The third challenge to the German political mainstream was Dava.
…we call it dawa, literally outreach. But jihadis and other traditionalists mean it as an offer to peaceably convert rather than be conquered.
In Arabic, the word means "converting non-Muslims to Islam." But the party’s leaders do not pursue such a goal, and its electoral base is Muslims and Germans with a migration background, mainly Turks. The group's leaders, ethnic Turks Mustafa Yoldas, Fatih Zingal and Ihsan Unlu, are well-known representatives of the Turkish-Muslim community in Germany.
It sounds like Dava is, or wants to be, the Muslim Brotherhood of Germany.
Most German media accuse Dava and their leaders of having ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, calling the party the German wing of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party.
…which considers itself the Muslim Brotherhood of Turkey, even though they aren’t Arabs.
The heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Brandenburg and Bavaria want to ban it altogether.
That would be prudent, yes.
Besides “Erdogan’s party,” Dava’s second “nickname” is “Turkish AfD.” Like the Alternative for Germany, it is accused of extremist methods and views, anti-Semitism and a desire to “undermine democracy.” The alarm in the media and among legislators of traditional parties says a lot about Dava's prospects. For now, she aims to get into the European Parliament after the 2024 elections, but in the future, participation in voting in the elections to the Bundestag cannot be ruled out.

The three new parties differ in their ideology and programs, but they are united by the degree of hatred that “traditional” political forces feel towards them. The Maas party is accused of right-wing extremism, Wagenknecht of working for the Kremlin, and Dava of anti-Semitism.
Don’t be silly. I’m sure Dava is anti-Christian and anti-atheist as well.
But each of these newcomers has a chance to enter the Bundestag next year.

In certain cases, we can talk about the prospects for a coalition of new forces. It is difficult to imagine an alliance between the “migration” Dava and the anti-migration Wagenknecht and Maasen. However, a coalition of the latter two is quite possible precisely on the basis of control over migration and unity of views on freezing the Ukrainian conflict.

Theoretically, AfD could also join them. It will be easy for them to find a common language with the former head of counterintelligence Maasen, and with the Wagenknecht party, according to AfD co-chairman Tino Hrupalla, they are also ready for coordination and cooperation.
Posted by: badanov || 02/26/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || [24 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Politix
RNC Chair Ronald McDonald to resign after Super Tuesday
[FoxNews] Trump pushed for McDaniel to resign earlier in February

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel will formally resign her position after the March 5 Super Tuesday primaries, weeks after former President Trump asked her to step down.

The announcement comes weeks after Trump revealed his recommendations for changes within the RNC earlier this month. He proposed that North Carolina GOP chair Michael Whatley take over as chairman, while his daughter-in-law Lara Trump and campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita also receive leadership positions.

"It has been the honor and privilege of my life to serve the Republican National Committee for seven years as Chairwoman to elect Republicans and grow our Party," McDaniel said in a statement. "I have decided to step aside at our Spring Training on March 8 in Houston to allow our nominee to select a Chair of their choosing. The RNC has historically undergone change once we have a nominee and it has always been my intention to honor that tradition."

"I remain committed to winning back the White House and electing Republicans up and down the ballot in November," she added, before thanking her husband, family and aaaRNC staff.

As he has moved closer to securing the Republican presidential nomination, Trump has been ramping up his calls for changes and new leadership at the GOP's national party committee.

The former president met with McDaniel at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida in early February.

Trump wrote in his Truth Social platform following the meeting that McDaniel was a "friend" but that he would be urging changes at the RNC after the Feb. 24 South Carolina GOP presidential primary.

McDaniel was nominated by Trump soon after his presidential election victory in 2016, and she won re-election in 2019, 2021, and January of last year.

While she ended up easily winning her latest election, she faced a vocal faction of far-right detractors who viewed her as too close to the party’s establishment wing.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/26/2024 10:57 || Comments || Link || [30 views] Top|| File under:


'Make Argentina Great Again': Trump and Milei Embrace at CPAC
[PJ] It was a historic embrace. The former American President Donald Trump hugging it out with Argentina's populist President Javier Milei backstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Trump leaned into the camera, saying: "Make Argentina Great Again." Milei then uttered his famous phrase, "Long live freedom, damn it!" Milei fashioned his victorious presidential campaign after Trump's populist movement.

"You were a very great president and I hope you will be again," Milei — who met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken a day earlier — told Trump as they smiled and laughed.

"President of Argentina, who’s gotten a lot of publicity, he’s a great gentleman," Trump told the audience. "You know, he’s MAGA, he’s MAGA — Make Argentina Great Again — he said, ’I am MAGA’ and then I realized he’s one of the few can really do it well, Make Argentina Great Again.

Bloomberg:
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/26/2024 06:22 || Comments || Link || [32 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yes, I too noticed a lack of media coverage of the Trump-Milei embrace.

Posted by: Besoeker || 02/26/2024 6:29 Comments || Top||

#2  its Summer in Argentina and the steaks and red wine are not going to consume themselves!
Posted by: 746 || 02/26/2024 11:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Does he bring the chainsaw in carryon or does he check it?
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/26/2024 14:39 Comments || Top||


RFK Jr. campaign offers ‘afternoon of sailing' contest for supporter
[Washington Examiner] Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 2024 presidential campaign has a new opportunity for one lucky supporter: sailing with the long-shot independent in California.

"Ahoy adventure enthusiasts!" Team Kennedy says on its website. "Get ready for the chance of a lifetime!"

"This sweepstakes offers one lucky winner and your guest the opportunity to spend an unforgettable afternoon sailing with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.," according to the campaign, which gives a deadline of Thursday for entry. "Imagine the wind in your hair, the sun kissing your face and the rhythmic sound of waves beneath you as you sail together from Marina del Rey, California on the afternoon of Saturday, May 11, 2024."

The latest attempt to gather support comes as Kennedy continues to try to court both Republican and Democratic voters who would otherwise back President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is still vying for the GOP nomination, though she continues to rack up primary losses — the most recent in South Carolina on Saturday.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/26/2024 05:50 || Comments || Link || [31 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If americans can stop being tribal for one election and vote this man in, it will go a long wayto fixing what is wrong
He is the only anti-corruption candidate
Posted by: Anon1 || 02/26/2024 6:08 Comments || Top||

#2  No Sale
Posted by: M. Murcek || 02/26/2024 7:05 Comments || Top||

#3  If the other choices are Haley and Biden, I would probably vote for him to see him take on the CIA.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/26/2024 14:42 Comments || Top||

#4  He is the only anti-corruption candidate

The man is nuts about many subjects, Anon1. He is right about the Covid vaccine and about the Democratic party, but he has tyrannical ideas as well. He is very useful as a gadfly, but I would not want him in the White House.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/26/2024 20:34 Comments || Top||


Olde Tyme Religion
Attacks against churches doubled in 2023, report warns: 'Growing disdain for Christianity'
[FoxNews] There were 436 hostile acts against Christians in US in 2023, per new report

Anti-Christian hatred is accelerating in the United States, according to a Christian nonprofit that has tracked violence against U.S. churches since 2018.

The Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council (FRC) released its annual Hostility Against Churches report last week, finding there were 436 hostile incidents against churches in 2023. This is more than double the number tracked in 2022 and more than eight times as many as the group found in 2018.

The group said it used publicly available data to track 915 acts of hostility against churches over the past six years. Most of the incidents were acts of vandalism. The report also found gun-related incidents, arson and bomb threats used against churches.

"From January 2018 to November 2023, there were at least 709 occurrences of vandalism, 135 arson attacks or attempts, 22 gun-related incidents, 32 bomb threats, and 61 other incidents (assault, threats, interruption of worship services, etc.). In 39 cases, multiple types of hostility occurred (e.g., vandalism and arson)," the report states.

Vandalism against churches may be a sign of the culture's increasing irreverence for places of worship and the Christian religion in general, the report said.

"Americans appear increasingly comfortable lashing out against church buildings, pointing to a larger societal problem of marginalizing core Christian beliefs, including those that touch on hotbutton political issues related to human dignity and sexuality. Attacks on houses of worship may also signal a discomfort with religion in general," the report continues.

FRC President Tony Perkins said the hostility toward Christians displayed by the Biden administration is mirrored by the growing persecution against Christians worldwide.

"There is a common connection between the growing religious persecution abroad and the rapidly increasing hostility toward churches here at home: our government's policies," Perkins said in a statement. "The indifference abroad to the fundamental freedom of religion is rivaled only by the increasing antagonism toward the moral absolutes taught by Bible-believing churches here in the U.S., which is fomenting this environment of hostility toward churches."

Some of President Biden's critics have accused his administration of waging a war on Christians after several pro-life activists were charged with violating federal law for protesting at an abortion clinic in 2021. The activists could face up to 11 years in prison.

FRC report author Arielle Del Turco said the documented incidents show there is a "growing disdain for Christianity and core Christian beliefs" in the United States.

"Although the motivations for many of these acts of hostility remain unknown, the effect is unmistakable: religious intimidation. They send the message that churches are not wanted in the community or respected in general. Our culture is demonstrating a growing disdain for Christianity and core Christian beliefs, and acts of hostility against churches could be a physical manifestation of that. Regardless of the motivations of these crimes, everyone should treat churches and all houses of worship with respect and affirm the importance of religious freedom for all Americans."

The White House didn't respond to a request for comment.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/26/2024 04:49 || Comments || Link || [24 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Not 'disdain' but 'hatred'
Posted by: Elmaper McGurque1612 || 02/26/2024 9:35 Comments || Top||

#2  The state is the most jealous god of all.
Posted by: no mo uro || 02/26/2024 13:05 Comments || Top||

#3  misspelled intolerance
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/26/2024 13:29 Comments || Top||

#4  There can be only one!
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 02/26/2024 13:33 Comments || Top||

#5  Canada is worse.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/26/2024 14:48 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Teledriving company Vay brings new transportation option to streets of Las Vegas
[FoxBusinessNews] The German-owned company debuted its fully driverless fleet in Sin City this year.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/26/2024 05:16 || Comments || Link || [24 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A solution looking for a problem to solve.
Traffic drones. Maybe good for the tunnels.
Somali taxi driver union protest in 5...
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/26/2024 5:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Better to establish in municipalities with large retirement communities to allow seniors to get around.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/26/2024 8:06 Comments || Top||

#3  Really strange subheading in the cited article:
MOST DRIVERS FEAR AUTOHOMOUS CARS, AAA STUDY SAYS
Posted by: Elmaper McGurque1612 || 02/26/2024 9:34 Comments || Top||

#4  20 Best Golf Cart Communities & Cities in the US [2023]
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/26/2024 10:38 Comments || Top||

#5  Good way to beat drunk driving charges for Uber folks.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/26/2024 14:47 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2024-02-26
  Gaza Corpse Count breaks 30K
Sun 2024-02-25
  Hezbollah attacks Israeli headquarters in Kiryat Shmona
Sat 2024-02-24
  Gaza ceasefire talks underway in Paris as Israeli air strikes continue
Fri 2024-02-23
  Iran won't play role in south Lebanon reconstruction
Thu 2024-02-22
  Troops kill 3 gunmen, detain 14 terror suspects in overnight Jenin raid – IDF
Wed 2024-02-21
  14 people injured in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon
Tue 2024-02-20
  Israel threatens invasion of Rafah before Ramadan if hostages not released
Mon 2024-02-19
  Hamas scrambles to replace flailing, radio-silent Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar, Israel says
Sun 2024-02-18
  Special forces searching Khan Younis hospital detain over 100 terror suspects, IDF says
Sat 2024-02-17
  Navalny dies in prison
Fri 2024-02-16
  Senior Hezbollah commander and deputy killed in targeted IDF strike in south Lebanon
Thu 2024-02-15
  UNRWA has 'absolutely zero say' in how Israel responds: official
Wed 2024-02-14
  Senior Hamas official involved in West Bank attacks nabbed in Jenin raid
Tue 2024-02-13
  Lazzarini: UNRWA did not know what is under its headquarters in Gaza
Mon 2024-02-12
  


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