.....

The Ukrainian Air Force admitted on Thursday evening that a drone destroyed over Kiev earlier in the day had been one of their own, which they somehow lost control of.

“Since the uncontrolled presence of the UAV in the sky over the capital could lead to undesirable consequences, it was decided to deploy the mobile [missile] teams. This is unfortunate, but that’s technology, these things happen,” said a statement the military released to Ukrainian media.

The admission came several hours after a video showing the drone being taken down by a shoulder-fired rocket made rounds on social media.

The 30-second clip shows the drone slowly flying over Kiev, while small-arms fire can be heard in the background, until it is hit by a missile and crashes to cheers from the onlookers.

Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said that the drone had crashed in the Pechersky district and started a fire, but that no one was injured.

Pro-Ukrainian “open source intel” accounts quickly declared the UAV had been a Russian ‘Corsair’. After several Western outlets – including the German tabloid Bild – reported otherwise, however, the Ukrainian military issued their admission.

Bayraktar TB2 is a design of the Turkish company Baykar Makina. It saw extensive service with Azerbaijan in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which reportedly convinced Kiev to order a dozen. Several more were bought last year, some with money collected from the US and EU as charitable donations. The drones quickly fell prey to Russian air defenses, however, and have been largely absent from the front lines.

Exactly how the Ukrainian Air Force “lost control” of a TB2 over Kiev remained unexplained.

.....

https://www.rt.com/russia/575811-ukraine-drone-downed-kiev/

.....

.....

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused his political rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, of being “LGBT,” ahead of next week’s elections. Erdogan’s government views LGBT ideology as an American and European “religion,” alien to Turkish morals.

“We know that Mr. Kemal is an LGBT person,” Erdogan told a rally in the city of Giresun on Thursday. “CHP is LGBT, IYI party is LGBT, HDP is LGBT,” he continued, listing off the political factions in Kilicdaroglu’s six-party National Alliance bloc.

“As the People’s Alliance, we are against this,” he declared, referring to his own political bloc. “Family is sacred to us. A strong family means a strong nation. No matter what they do, God is enough for us."

Erdogan has accused Kilicdaroglu and his allies of being pro-LGBT before, and made the same speech almost word-for-word at a rally in the town of Rize on Wednesday.

Kilicdaroglu is not an outspoken supporter of gay rights, but has promised to reinstate the Istanbul Convention if elected.

Signed by 45 countries plus the European Union in 2011, the convention aimed to strengthen legal penalties for violence against women, but Türkiye withdrew in 2021, stating that it had been “hijacked by a group of people attempting to normalize homosexuality.” This was likely a reference to the treaty’s listing of transgender women, who are biologically male, as women.

“They are trying to…ungender the whole of our society under the name of LGBT,” Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said of Kilicdaroglu and his allies in February. “If Kilicdaroglu wants to ungender himself and his colleagues, let him do so,” Soylu continued. “Family is important for us, woman is important for us, man is important for us.”

In a radio interview last month, Soylu claimed that the “LGBTQ” designation “includes the marriage of animals and humans.” He went on to describe LGBT ideology as a “religion,” and LGBT activists as “completely under the control of America and Europe.”

Kilicdaroglu has largely avoided personal attacks on Erdogan and Soylu, instead making heavy use of pro-Western rhetoric in his speeches. The 74-year-old former civil servant has promised to immediately restart EU accession talks if elected, and to implement reforms demanded by Brussels.

Opinion polls currently show Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu in a statistical dead heat.

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575809-erdogan-opposition-lgbt-gay/

.....

.....

Banking giant JP Morgan could be held liable to the victims of deceased predator Jeffrey Epstein if they show that Jes Staley, the bank’s former head of asset management, was personally aware Epstein was running a sex-trafficking ring, US District Judge Jed Rakoff revealed in court on Monday, explaining why he refused to dismiss the lawsuits against the bank.

“If the allegations in plaintiffs’ complaints are taken as true, Mr. Staley had actual firsthand knowledge that Epstein conducted a sex-trafficking venture,” Rakoff wrote. Ascribing Staley’s knowledge to his employer, given his high position, Epstein’s victims could show the bank either “actually knew” what the convicted sex offender was up to or “recklessly disregarded” the existence of his sordid dealings.

JP Morgan sued Staley in March, claiming “intentional and outrageous conduct” in concealing the malignant nature of Epstein’s character and activities from his employer. The financier not only swapped sexually suggestive emails with the well-heeled pervert but sexually assaulted one of the other lawsuit's plaintiffs, a former ballet dancer, the bank alleges, stating Staley “used aggressive force in his sexual assault of her” while telling her “he had Epstein’s permission to do what he wanted to her.”

Staley has denied the assault allegation, insisting that JP Morgan is merely using him as a “public relations shield” in its damage control efforts. The ex-CEO has said he regrets his friendship with Epstein, but denies knowledge of his crimes.

JP Morgan was “indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trafficking enterprise,” a revised legal complaint filed earlier this month by the US Virgin Islands states, alleging that “at least 20 individuals paid through JP Morgan accounts were victims of trafficking and sexual assault” at Epstein properties, including his private island. The bank supposedly turned a blind eye to the nature of these payments, describing a 14-year-old Epstein had purchased for $600,000 from Europe as the predator’s “assistant or young lady he brought over from Prague (or some place like that).”

The lawsuits accuse JP Morgan of ignoring numerous warnings from compliance and regulatory employees who had flagged the “sugar daddy”'s questionable transactions and asked if higher-ups were “still comfortable with this client who is now a registered sex offender” following his conviction for soliciting an underage prostitute. Only in 2013 when wealth management division head Mary Erdoes learned that her client's cash withdrawals of $40,000 to $80,000 several times per month were “actual cash” did the bank opt to part ways with its troublesome client - after 13 years.

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575813-jpmorgan-knew-epstein-trafficking-staley/

.....

.....

It is unclear if mandatory face masks had any positive effect on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, Germany’s Health Ministry admitted on Thursday. The measure could not be assessed independently from other steps taken by the government, including the lockdowns, the ministry told Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki in response to a request for comment.

“Overall, the effectiveness of individual measures (e.g. mask requirements) cannot be assessed in isolation,” the ministry’s statement read, as quoted by the tabloid Bild. Kubicki blasted the response on his Facebook page as an attempt by the ministry to avoid responsibility on the issue.

“The ministry’s claim that it is not possible to check the effectiveness of the mask requirements independently of other measures is wrong and [is] an attempt to avoid an effectiveness test required under the constitution,” the high-ranking MP representing the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP) wrote.

According to Bild, the Health Ministry insisted that the mask mandate’s effectiveness had been proven back in 2020, but only in connection with other far-reaching measures such as school closures and lockdowns.

The ministry is now led by a Social Democrat, Karl Lauterbach, who became known during the pandemic as a strong proponent of strict lockdowns and harsh restrictions.

The Bundestag’s vice president also criticized Germany’s health watchdog, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), saying it has not done its job properly. The agency has not studied the effects of the mask mandate, Kubicki wrote, adding that “after more than three years and … hundreds of studies paid for with tax money, we have to draw a conclusion: the result of the RKI work is disastrous.”

Masks were made compulsory for all Germans in April 2020, roughly about a month after Germany officially declared a Covid-19 epidemic within its borders. The regulation was dropped two years later, in April 2022. Two German states, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Hamburg, then made use of the so-called ‘hotspot regulation’ to extend the mask mandate in those areas.

According to Kubicki, the government’s entire Covid-19 policy should now be reviewed by the parliament. He also called for the RKI to be made “more independent” from the Health Ministry.

Germany has faced several scandals linked to the protective masks the government purchased as part of its strategy to fight Covid-19. The Health Ministry was first accused of overpaying for mask supplies that were provided by a company where the husband of then-Health Minister Jens Spahn worked.

Spahn also later landed in hot water for considering distributing faulty masks bought from China to the disabled and homeless.

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575793-germany-covid-mask-mandate-admission/

.....

.....

Serbian President Aleksandr Vucic has called for an unprecedented crackdown on guns and violent media content after a 14-year-old allegedly killed nine people at an elementary school in Belgrade on Wednesday.

Seventh-grade student K.K. (name protected) opened fire using his father’s gun inside Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School on Wednesday morning, leaving eight children and a school security guard dead. Six more students and a teacher were injured in the attack.

Vucic outlined a ten-point plan, starting with a two-year moratorium on new weapons licenses that would affect all weapons except those used for hunting. He demanded an audit of all existing firearms permits, arguing it was necessary to determine how the recipient had obtained their weapon and how they were storing it.

Severe punishment was proposed for those who allowed minors to get hold of their weapons, and worse for those who deliberately trained youths in how to use them. Shooting ranges should be closely watched, the president suggested, to keep away minors and people with criminal convictions.

Vucic also called for the age of criminal prosecution to be lowered from 14 to 12. Some fear the killer knew he would not be prosecuted because of his age, the president said.

Despite having all the proper permits, the father of the killer had stored his weapon incorrectly, Vucic explained, and took his son to the shooting range three times while the teen was said to be preparing for the attack. “By his own admission, he liked it and was a good shooter,” Vucic pointed out, adding that both parents have been arrested and their son will be placed in a neuropsychiatric clinic.

Revealing that the killer was an excellent student who was only bullied once, the president nevertheless called for close monitoring of students with special “peer violence” teams to address bullying and mandatory drug testing every eight months. Parents would be “grateful” to him for the latter intrusion, he insisted.

Finally, media content that “emphasizes violence,” specifically “scenes of brutal violence that can harm minors,” should be forbidden, the president said, and access to the darknet – the ‘hidden’ internet that requires a special browser to access – must be banned entirely, as children can go there to “learn how to commit murder, buy drugs, and so on.”

The killer had his act planned out, including notes in English, “like in a game,” Vucic explained, complaining that children were exposed to problematic content on the internet and that such content (and its removal) would have to be discussed “with the Europeans as well.”

Vucic acknowledged that, even if all of his rules had been adopted and followed to the letter, “this would not have been prevented today.” However, he said, “We have to do something.”

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575745-serbia-school-shooting-gun-control/

.....

.....

A seventh-grade student opened fire inside Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School in Serbia’s capital Belgrade on Wednesday morning, killing eight children and a security guard, the country’s Interior Ministry said.

A teacher and six students were injured in the attack.

A 14-year-old suspect has been detained. Police said the shooter used his father’s gun in his attack on the school.

According to Vecernje novosti, the assailant was armed with two handguns and had three Molotov cocktails in his backpack.

“I saw the security guard falling. At first, I thought someone was throwing firecrackers,” a student told Kurir newspaper. “I ran downstairs and told PE teachers about the shooting. As we all waited in safety, we heard more shots.”

A student told news website Danas that the attacker fired over 20 rounds and reloaded his weapon during the shooting.

Speaking to the news outlet, classmates described the suspect as “quiet and withdrawn” and said he had good grades.

Vecernje novosti reported that it is believed the suspect decided to target the school after receiving a bad grade in history class. However, officials have not commented on the attacker’s possible motives.

Serbia will observe three days of mourning between Friday and Sunday, Education Minister Branko Ruzic told reporters after attending an emergency government meeting. “Unfortunately, Serbia is also a part of the world where these things happen,” he said, adding that “the harmful influence of the internet and video games is evident.”

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575697-belgrade-school-shooting-serbia/

.....

.....

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/new-york-becomes-first-state-to-pass-legislation-banning-use-of-natural-gas-for-heating-and-cooking/

.....

.....

Kevin McCarthy gave his full support to funding the Ukraine War during his trip to Israel.

Via Bloomberg.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave his most full-throated support for aiding Ukraine in its war against the Russian invasion, in a heated exchange with a Russian news agency reporter in Jerusalem.

McCarthy has in the past called for further scrutiny of aid to Ukraine, responding in part to far-right members of the GOP who have been critical of US aiding Kyiv. Former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner to be the Republican nominee again in 2024, has also made critical comments about the US effort to defend Ukraine.

The speaker, on a trip to Israel was asked by a reporter from a Russian news agency if the US will curtail aid to Ukraine.

“I vote for aid for Ukraine, I support aid for Ukraine,” McCarthy said. “I do not support what your country has done to Ukraine, I do not support your killing of the children either.”

“You should pull out and I don’t think it’s right,” the speaker said. “We will continue to support. And I think the rest of the world sees it just as it is.”

.....

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/i-vote-for-aid-for-ukraine-i-support-aid-for-ukraine-kevin-mccarthy-folds-will-fund-ukraine-nato-war-on-russia/

.....

.....

The US military has said it will deploy 1,500 soldiers to the border with Mexico in order to fill “critical capability gaps,” saying additional manpower is needed due to personnel shortfalls at the Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP).

The Pentagon announced the decision on Tuesday, after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved a “temporary” deployment to assist CBP efforts at the southwestern border, at the request of the Department of Homeland Security.

“For 90 days, these 1,500 military personnel will fill critical capability gaps, such as ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support, until CBP can address these needs through contracted support,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement, adding that “Military personnel will not directly participate in law enforcement activities.”

During a press briefing on Tuesday, Ryder claimed that the soldiers would arrive at the border by May 10, and that they would be active-duty troops from the Army and Marine Corps. However, he said the military is looking for ways to “replace these deploying forces” with reservists or National Guard personnel after the 90 days are up, in order to “return those active duty forces back to their home stations.”

There are currently around 2,500 troops deployed at the border, most from the National Guard, who are assisting CBP with “detection and monitoring and aviation support,” the Pentagon spokesman continued.

Asked whether the increased militarization at the border was in line with President Joe Biden’s vows to overhaul US immigration policy, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre argued the deployment was “a common practice” and stressed that military personnel will not be “interacting with immigrants or migrants.” Instead, by serving in other roles, she said the troops will “free up Border Patrol agents to perform their critical law enforcement duties.”

Over the weekend, Biden issued an executive order authorizing Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to use active-duty ‘ready reserve’ troops at the US-Mexico border to fight the illegal drug trade, which he deemed an “extraordinary threat” to US national security. The order came after the White House declared a national emergency in relation to international drug trafficking in 2021, handing the president additional powers to address the issue.

A number of Biden’s Republican rivals, including 2024 hopeful and former President Donald Trump, have also proposed military solutions to problems at the border. In March, a group of 20 GOP lawmakers put forward a bill that would designate various drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations,” while the Senate has proposed similar legislation, as well as a dedicated task force to take on drug gangs.

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575682-us-deploys-troops-border/

.....

.....

The US and its allies are seeking to preserve their power by dismantling Russia, with Western think tanks busy formulating plans to that effect, the secretary of Moscow’s Security Council has claimed.

In an interview published by the Izvestia newspaper on Wednesday, Nikolay Patrushev said the West was attempting to influence the global order through “the destruction of Russia or its weakening to the level of a third-rate country under foreign management.”

He cited a book published last year and titled ‘Failed State: A Guide to Russia’s Rupture’ as an example of academic work which suggests ways of achieving that goal for the elites in Washington.

The purported plan is to “support instability in nations neighboring Russia” and to conduct information warfare to “fan internal separatism,” Patrushev added.

The book was written by Janusz Bugajski, a senior fellow at conservative Washington-based think tank The Jamestown Foundation. The author made the case for the dissolution of Russia, claiming it had failed to become “a nation state, a civic state or a stable imperial state.”

Bugajski cited a range of factors that supposedly work against Russia, including a lack of economic growth, inequality, distrust in government institutions, the alienation of the population from the ruling elites, and “disbelief in official propaganda.”

The academic is a veteran critic of Moscow who has consulted the Pentagon and the US Agency for International Development, and according to his bio taught a course at the Foreign Service Institute at the State Department.

Patrushev claimed that the West is seeking to weaken Russian sovereignty to gain access to its natural resources and exploit them. However, Moscow’s adversaries underestimate “the strength of our nation and the will of the Russian people to be independent,” the security official insisted.

He further alleged that Russia’s opponents are aiming to undermine the foundations of its national identity by promoting harmful ideas such as gender diversity and by attempting to revise history.

Patrushev argued that this policy actually alienates those in the West who value tradition and are not susceptible to anti-Russian propaganda. He suggested that these people are welcome to move to Russia and become citizens, as long as they respect local laws and culture.

.....

https://www.rt.com/russia/575699-patrushev-western-elites-plan/

.....

.....

There is an old saying that liberals think everyday is tax day while conservatives think every day is the Fourth of July.

Today’s woke leftists loathe the very foundations of America.. A Gallup poll from last year shows only 26% of Democrats are “extremely proud” to be American.

America’s enemies have sought to amplify the left’s hatred of America in various ways. One example is Chinese-run TikTok.

Fox News reported Tuesday that liberals on the platform erupted in a seething rage at the sight of a dozen Americans standing for the national anthem at Rainbow Oaks Restaurant, a Fallbrook, California eatery.

The Tiktok user who originally posted the video of the Americans standing called it “the most dangerous situation she had ever been in.”

Imagine how sick of person you have to be to get upset over people expressing pride in the greatest nation on Earth.

Another Tiktoker who was at the establishment expressed pure, unbridled hatred. “I hated it there so much,” she said.

Fox News has more on the deranged responses:

One person said the scene looked like one out of a horror movie.

“Serious question. Is this real? Like people actually do this in real everyday life?” another user responded.

Some from other countries found the tradition bizarre.

“As someone from the uk [sic] this feels so dystopian,” one person wrote.

“In Spain we dont even hear the national anthem that much, so this would 100% freak me out so much,” another user responded.

Several others called the video, “wild” “scary” and “terrifying.”

According to Fox News, Rainbow Oaks plays the anthem every day at noon. This is a tradition that has been in place for six years.

Conservatives responded to the liberal meltdown.

.....

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/leftists-on-tiktok-whine-over-americans-standing-for-the-national-anthem-at-restaurant-conservatives-respond-video/

.....

.....

If a trip to the lake with your fishing pole just isn’t an option, an Israeli company has created a method of 3D bioprinting your very own ‘fresh’ fish – which, it says, will be ready for cooking immediately.

Stakeholder Foods has developed a 3D printed grouper fish fillet from stem cells, which are then processed via bioprinting technology into a fish-like shape. The product, which was created in conjunction with Umami Meats, mimics the taste and texture of natural fish, and it could be on supermarket shelves later this year.

“In the coming months, we intend to announce our plans for bringing this world-class cultivated fish to the market,” said Mihir Pershad, CEO of Umami Meats at a tasting event in Israel last week, via The Telegraph. “In the first tasting, we showcased a cultivated product that flakes, tastes and melts in your mouth exactly like excellent fish should,” he explained.

The development of the technology could have myriad benefits, particularly as it pertains to food scarcity – but also to the global issue of overfishing. Marine experts have estimated that around one third of global fish stocks are currently being overexploited. Grouper fish, in particular, are considered at risk of extinction.

Additionally, biologically engineered fish is free from pollutants such as microplastics, which might affect traditionally harvested seafood stocks.

The grouper fish fillets are created by combining fish stem cells with various nutrients, which are subsequently processed into bio-inks and then into a printer. The process of printing takes just a few minutes, and the product can then be immediately cooked and eaten.

Stakeholders are also working to create entire cuts of 3D-printed meat, including steaks and other seafood like eel. In 2020, the fast-food giant KFC partnered with a Russian bioprinting company to produce artificial chicken nuggets.

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575623-3d-bioprinted-fish-market/

.....

.....

Could it be?

Could it all be planned?

Make trans popular.

Make the masses believe it is all happening organically.

Make it the next big thing to march and protest for.

Make it commonly accepted, even admired.

Then...

Michelle comes out as a man living as a woman.

"She's so brave."

Barry loves her!

He's a hero!

No longer scandalous, just super woke.

Way ahead of the curve.

Now it's time to enter the race...

Run Mikey, Run.

Could it be?

~{°¡°}~

.....

.....

Russian gold miners boosted output by 26.5% year-on-year in March, according to the latest data from the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat).

Compared to February, gold production jumped by more than 30%. The first quarter figure was 9.1% higher than in the same period of last year.

Meanwhile, the production of the key metals silver, platinum, and palladium in Russia rose by 14.1% in March in annual terms, Rosstat data showed.

The country’s bullion stockpile has also continued to grow over the past year, according to the Bank of Russia. Gold reserves jumped by 1 million ounces over the last year to 74.9 million ounces as of March 1, the CBR reported last month.

Demand for gold has been growing among the population as well, with Russians having bought more than 75 tons of investment gold bullion in 2022, according to the Finance Ministry.

Last March, the Russian government scrapped the 20% value-added tax on gold for individuals as people rushed to park their savings amid the sweeping Western sanctions. Several months later, the 13% income tax on profits from the sale of gold bars was rescinded as well. Since then, demand for the precious metal in the country has skyrocketed.

.....

https://www.rt.com/business/575419-russia-gold-production-western-sanctions/

.....

.....

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has bragged about keeping illegal immigrants away from the polling places during his 1993 campaign, explaining the technically-legal but “dirty” voter-suppression trick to fellow Trump backers on Tuesday’s broadcast of his YouTube show America’s Mayor Live.

“They went through East Harlem, which is all Hispanic, and they gave out little cards, and the card said: ‘if you come to vote, make sure you have your green card because [Immigration and Naturalization Services] are picking up illegals.’ So they spread it all over the Hispanic [area],” the Republican lawyer explained.

Illegal immigrants apparently stayed home, not wanting to get picked up by immigration authorities, and Giuliani beat out incumbent David Dinkins by 53,000 votes. “And that’s the way we kept down the Hispanic vote!” he exclaimed. Prompted by Arizona Governor Kari Lake, he clarified he meant “the Hispanic illegal vote.”

The mayor’s dodgy campaign tactic attracted the attention of then-attorney general Janet Reno, who launched an investigation into Giuliani’s campaign in 1993, claiming it had “violated civil rights.”

“What civil rights did we violate? They don’t have civil rights!” Giuliani exclaimed in the course of relating the story, pointing out, “All we did was prevent people who can’t vote from voting. Maybe we tricked them, but tricking is not a crime.”

The Justice Department at the time issued a statement warning voters the Giuliani campaign’s posters about INS lurking at the polls were bogus. The statement reassured New Yorkers that federal observers were present to “protect the rights of minority voters,” not to check their papers.

Dinkins, who had previously narrowly edged out Giuliani to win by two percentage points in 1989, accused the victorious Republican of waging “an outrageous campaign of voter intimidation and dirty tricks” after conceding, but was unable to prove any wrongdoing.

Approximately 800,000 non-citizen residents of New York City were briefly given the right to vote in local elections last year for the first time, though the state Supreme Court struck down that law in June. Democrats and Republicans continue to battle over voter ID requirements, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul passed a law in June prohibiting local officials from unilaterally adopting voting restrictions.

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575548-giuliani-vote-rigging-immigrants-mayor/

.....

.....

The administration of US President Joe Biden is “morally responsible” for the fate of an estimated 85,000 migrant children who have allegedly gone missing in the US after arriving at the southern border as unaccompanied minors, US Senator Josh Hawley has claimed in a letter demanding an FBI probe of the matter.

“The FBI must mount a full-scale effort to locate these missing children and to bring to justice the criminals who are holding them in modern-day slavery,” Hawley said on Thursday in a letter to the agency.

He added that the FBI also must investigate the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “for their role in facilitating the exploitation of these children, in violation of the law.”

Illegal border crossings and apprehensions of unaccompanied minors have surged to all-time highs since Biden took office in January 2021 and quickly pledged not to expel children who arrive at the border without their families. Instead, the children are sent to live with adult sponsors in the US interior, regardless of whether they have a legitimate asylum claim.

Republican lawmakers have blamed Biden’s policies for encouraging the trafficking of migrant children into the US, creating a humanitarian crisis.

Hawley, a Missouri Republican, said an estimated 345,000 unaccompanied minors have come across the border since early 2021. The HHS has apparently lost touch with as many as 85,000 of those children. “Thousands of these children are now the prey of child labor criminals,” he said. “The Biden administration is morally responsible for their fate.”

In addition to letting migrant children enter the US, rather than requiring them to wait out their immigration proceedings on the other side of the border, the administration loosened the vetting process for the sponsors with whom the minors are placed, Hawley claimed. At the same time, whistleblowers who raise concerns over the policies have faced retaliation.

“As a result, thousands of children have been handed over to modern-day slave traders,” Hawley said. “They are forced into factory work under punishing conditions. They are forced to make auto parts, process meat in slaughterhouses, and reroof houses.”

They are denied food, education, and sometimes fear for their lives. They suffer sexual violence. In a country that claims to value the rule of law and the protection of children, this is unconscionable.

The FBI must make the missing children a top priority, the senator said. He demanded that the agency report back to him by May 25 on the whereabouts of the migrant minors and on the prosecutions that are initiated as a result of the investigation.

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575519-us-missing-migrant-children/

.....

.....

US House and Senate lawmakers have raised alarm bells about the potential use of artificial intelligence in America’s nuclear arsenal, arguing that the technology must not be put in a position to fire off warheads on its own.

A group of three Democrats and one Republican introduced a bill that calls for banning AI from being used in a way that could lead to it launching nuclear weapons. If enacted, the legislation would codify a current Pentagon policy that requires a human to be “in the loop” on any launch decisions.

“We want to make sure there’s a human in the process of launching a nuclear weapon if, at any point time, we need to launch a nuclear weapon,” US Representative Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican, said on Friday in a Fox News interview. “So you see sci-fi movies, and the world is out of control because AI has taken over – we’re going to have humans in this process.”

Buck alluded to Hollywood’s portrayal of a nightmare scenario in which AI systems gain control of nuclear weapons, as depicted in such films as ‘WarGames’ and ‘Colossus: The Forbidden Project.’ He warned that the use of AI without a human chain of command would be “reckless” and “dangerous.”

Representative Ted Lieu agreed, saying, “AI is amazing. It’s going to help society in many different ways. It can also kill us.” Lieu, a California Democrat, is a lead backer of the AI legislation, along with two other Democrats – Representative Don Beyer of Virginia and Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts.

Although the idea of an AI-instigated nuclear war might have been dismissed in the past as science fiction, many scientists believe that it’s no longer a far-fetched risk. A poll released earlier this month by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence found that 36% of AI researchers agreed that the technology could cause a “nuclear-level catastrophe.”

US Central Command (CENTCOM) last week announced the hiring of a former Google executive as its first-ever AI adviser. The Pentagon has asked Congress for $1.8 billion in funding for AI research in its next fiscal year.

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575522-ai-nuclear-strike-ban/

.....

.....

A British intelligence report on the global threat of right-wing terrorism includes a completely redacted section on ‘returning foreign fighters’ from an unnamed European country, highly likely to be Ukraine.

Published last July, the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament’s report on ‘Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism’ gave British lawmakers an overview of the threat posed by right-wing radicals at home and abroad. Drawn from material provided by Britain’s multiple intelligence agencies, including MI5 and MI6, the 130-page report includes detailed sections on right-wing violence in northern Europe and North America.

However, one section that follows those on northern Europe and the US and Canada is entirely redacted, its six paragraphs replaced by asterisks.

A semi-redacted paragraph offers some further context. It states that British intelligence officers are concerned that “There is no process in place to monitor those ‘G***’ individuals who have travelled overseas for Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism-related purposes and have returned to the UK.”

It notes that “there is a strong possibility that these returning foreign fighters, some of whom may have fought ***, will have been further radicalised” in the unnamed country, and will have “developed connections with others who share their Extreme Right-Wing ideology.”

“There is little doubt that for *** we are talking about interesting details of the situation in one of the countries of Eastern Europe,” Russian journalist and Kremlin critic Max Solopov wrote on Telegram on Thursday. “Especially considering that the UK is the most involved country in the Ukrainian conflict after Russia.”

Extremist ideology in Ukraine was covered extensively by the Western media before the start of Russia’s military operation last February. White supremacists from Germany, the US, UK, Scandinavia, and elsewhere traveled to Ukraine from 2014 onwards to join the neo-Nazi Azov militia, which would go on to be formally integrated into the Ukrainian military.

When the numbers of foreign fighters entering Ukraine multiplied last year, the US Customs and Border Patrol warned in a memo that “Ukrainian nationalist groups including the Azo[v] Movement are actively recruiting racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist-white supremacists to join various neo-Nazi volunteer battalions.”

“What kind of training are foreign fighters receiving in Ukraine that they could possibly proliferate in US based militia and white nationalist groups?” the document asked, noting an “intelligence gap” in US law enforcement at the time.

Shortly before Russia’s military operation began, UK counterterrorism police were deployed to British airports to question people traveling to Ukraine. According to The Guardian, officers were looking to identify “far-right extremists” seeking weapons training and military experience.

Such reports have since vanished from the Western media, replaced by stories sympathetic to foreign volunteers and articles downplaying the Azov Regiment’s neo-Nazi roots.

.....

https://www.rt.com/russia/575503-uk-neo-nazis-ukraine/

.....

.....

Ukrainian intelligence has partnered with the FBI and other US government agencies to remove “Russian” content on Silicon Valley platforms, a senior official told independent journalist Lee Fang earlier this week, at the RSA Convention in San Francisco.

“Once we have a trace or evidence of disinformation campaigns via Facebook or other resources that are from the US, we pass this information to the FBI, along with writing directly to Facebook,” Ilya Vitiuk, head of the Department of Cyber Information Security in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told Fang.

Vitiuk spoke at the cyber security conference, sitting on a panel alongside FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran, Special Agent Alex Kobzanets from the San Francisco field office, and Laura Galante from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Fang noted that the Ukrainian official thanked many “private sector allies” in the US, including Google, Amazon, Starlink, and CrowdStrike – the DNC contractor that claimed ‘Russian hacking’ in 2016 but later testified it had no evidence for it.

“I don't know how many times we’ve called the CEOs here in San Francisco to drive to their office on a Sunday afternoon and really engage with our Ukrainian partners,” Kobzanets said during the panel.

According to Vitiuk, the SBU tells the FBI that a certain person or account is “probably Russia’s influence” in order to get them censored. He described the FBI as his agency’s “top partner” and US cyber support as a “psychological game changer” for Ukraine.

“Everything that is against our country, consider it a fake, even if it's not,” Vitiuk told Fang, when asked how the SBU determines what might be disinformation. “Right now, for our victory, it is important to have that kind of understanding, not to be fooled.”

By way of example, Vitiuk cited reports of tensions between President Vladimir Zelensky and Ukraine’s top general, Valery Zaluzhny, saying they were completely fabricated by Russia. In early March, the openly pro-Ukraine German tabloid Bild reported on their disagreements about military tactics.

Fang has previously documented US government plans to work with social media platforms on censoring “disinformation” related to “the nature of US support to Ukraine.” In December, he also revealed that the Pentagon had teamed up with Twitter to “amplify certain messages” for the US military.

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575515-ukraine-fbi-online-censorship/

.....

.....

ABC News has censored its interview with US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -- Joe Biden’s top challenger for the Democratic Party’s 2024 nomination -- by removing his allegedly false assertions about Covid-19 vaccines and other inoculations.

“We should note that during our conversation, Kennedy made false claims about the Covid-19 vaccines,” ABC anchor Linsey Davis said on Thursday after airing her interview with the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy Jr. She added that Kennedy also made “misleading claims,” contrary to research findings, about a link between certain vaccinations and autism. “We’ve used our editorial judgment in not including portions of that exchange in our interview.”

Davis sparred with Kennedy during the interview, saying his past claims about vaccines causing autism had totally been “debunked.” As the candidate began to explain why he believes major public health agencies, such as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are “captive,” his comments were cut off. The clip then shifts roughly to Davis pointing out that some of Kennedy’s family members disagree with his views on vaccines.

“I’m just curious, if you’re not able to get your own sisters to vote for you for president, how would you make that appeal to American voters?” the host asked. Kennedy replied that he has a large family with a tradition of openly discussing issues on which they disagree. “That’s something that I think is a lesson we ought to learn for this country. We can disagree with each other without hating each other, without marginalizing each other.” Davis shot back, “I’m just using your family’s words to call you dangerous, rather than saying that’s not like the typical family that might have disagreements around the kitchen table.”

The unusual exchange – essentially blocking a candidate’s views from being heard by voters – might be an early indication of how Kennedy’s campaign will be covered by legacy media outlets. Kennedy noted on Friday that federal law prohibits broadcasters from censoring presidential candidates.

“Instead of journalism, the public saw a hatchet job,” he said. “Instead of information, they got defamation and unsheathed pharma propaganda. Americans deserve to hear the full interview so they can make up their own minds. How can democracy function without a free and unbiased press?”

A Fox News poll released on Thursday showed that although President Biden’s rivals for the Democratic Party’s nomination are longshot candidates, Kennedy is gaining ground. While 62% of Democrat voters want the party to nominate Biden for re-election, 19% favor Kennedy. A previous poll indicated that Kennedy was supported by 14% of Democrats after entering the race earlier this month.

Kennedy is not only the nephew of a president, JFK, who was assassinated in 1963, but also the son of a presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy, who was shot dead on the campaign trail in 1968. He has pledged to end the “corrupt merger between state and corporate power” and has spoken out against Washington’s policy of using military power to enforce global hegemony. “The Ukraine war is the final collapse of the neocon’s short-lived ‘American Century’,” he said earlier this month.

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575514-abc-censors-presidential-candidate-kennedy-vaccines/

.....

.....

President Joe Biden’s administration is preparing for a possible nuclear attack in Ukraine by wiring the country with a network of sensors that can identify the origin of any atomic strike, the New York Times has reported.

The sensors would be able to detect the radiation from either a dirty bomb or a nuclear weapon, the outlet said on Friday, citing Washington’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

“In part, the goal is to make sure that if Russia detonates a radioactive weapon on Ukrainian soil, its atomic signature and Moscow’s culpability could be verified,” the newspaper said.

The network of radiation sensors is being deployed “throughout the region” and would be able to “characterize the size, location and effects of any nuclear explosion,” according to a NNSA unit called the Nuclear Energy Support Team (NEST). The unit is reportedly working with Ukraine to install the sensors, train workers, monitor data and warn of dangerous levels of radiation.

NEST added that data from the sensors would deny Russia “any opportunity to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine without attribution.” The Times said that this “goes to the fog of nuclear war and how the United States could use the new system to pierce it.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last month that tactical nuclear weapons would be placed in Belarus as early as this summer, in response to the UK’s decision to provide Ukraine with depleted uranium munitions. He has denied having any intention of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but he also has pledged to use “all means available to protect Russia.”

Responding to accusations of using “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric,” Russian officials have pointed to hypocrisy on the part of the US and NATO, noting that Western leaders ignore the fact that the US has long had nuclear weapons stationed in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Türkiye. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pointed out that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken recently lamented the suffering of the Japanese people from atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, while failing to mention that Washington carried them out – the only such strikes in world history.

The Times claimed that US radiation sensors could help prevent Moscow from carrying out a “false-flag” nuclear attack, such as claiming that Kiev detonated a bomb on the battlefield to provoke more direct Western intervention in the conflict. The US Energy Department is spending around $160 million this year on nuclear precautions in Ukraine and has requested a similar amount of funding for the purpose in 2024.

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575516-us-nuclear-sensors-ukraine-evidence/

.....

.....

BBC chairman Richard Sharp has announced his resignation after a report found him in breach of the governance code for public appointments. The probe uncovered that the head of the UK’s national broadcaster had withheld information over his involvement with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s finances before getting the top job at the BBC.

The claim first appeared in the Sunday Times back in January. The commissioner of public appointments subsequently tasked barrister Adam Heppinstall with investigating its veracity.

In a statement published on the BBC’s website on Friday, Sharp insisted that while he “did breach the governance code for public appointments,” the lapse was “inadvertent and not material.” The public broadcaster’s head claimed that the inquiry had confirmed this, concluding that a “breach does not necessarily invalidate an appointment.”

Sharp went on to explain that he had decided to vacate his post regardless to “prioritise the interests of the BBC.”

He will, however, remain in office until June when a successor is appointed.

According to the BBC boss, he acted “in good faith” and “with the best of intentions,” when he introduced Canadian multi-millionaire Sam Blyth to the then-prime minister back in December 2020.

The former ended up acting as a loan guarantor for Johnson, with reportedly up to £800,000 ($997,440) provided to the politician. The Times reported that Sharp had facilitated the meeting between the two just weeks before Johnson recommended him for the top job at the BBC.

In his Friday statement, Sharp described his failure to disclose information about his involvement as an “oversight.”

The allegations against Sharp made by The Times saw multiple Labour lawmakers call for an investigation into the case and for the BBC’s chair resignation.

Sharp eventually spoke in favor of such a review himself, insisting that it would prove there was no conflict of interest in his appointment.

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575479-bbc-chair-resigns-breach/

.....

.....

The US is setting up two new “processing centers” in Colombia and Guatemala as part of its efforts to manage the record-high number of immigrants entering the country, officials announced on Thursday.

The centers, operated by international aid NGOs, will screen new arrivals for asylum eligibility before they reach the US border, and if they aren’t eligible, refer them to other legal routes. Migrants might be granted passage into the US for family reunification, or under labor or parole programs. Those not accepted could be redirected to third countries, including Canada and Spain, a senior administration official told reporters.

“We expect to be able to pretty dramatically increase the number of refugees we admit from the Western Hemisphere here through the regional processing centers,” a US official said. The US is already working with other Latin American countries to open more processing centers and is said to be streamlining the admission of migrants’ families.

The policy shift coincides with the repeal of Title 42, a Covid-19-era emergency order left over from the administration of former President Donald Trump that allowed some migrants to be turned away at the border. When that measure expires on May 11, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) expects between 10,000 and 13,000 migrants to attempt the border crossing every day. Such a figure would swamp not only the CBP but the Department of Homeland Security and every agency and NGO tasked with processing and sheltering the new arrivals.

The processing centers are an attempt to avoid such a scenario, officials explained, and should not be mistaken for an embrace of illegal immigration. Migrants approaching the southern border without having sought asylum in a country they passed through on the way or not having signed up for one of the difficult-to-get appointments in the CBP’s smartphone app will be quickly removed, the administration has promised.

“Migrants who cross the US border without authorization and who fail to qualify for protection should expect to be swiftly returned with at least a five-year bar to returning,” the State Department said in a statement. The new plan is intended to help migrants “safely enter the United States lawfully rather than paying for dubious help from migrant smugglers and criminal organizations,” an official added.

Illegal border crossings surged to a record 2.76 million last year, and last month saw nearly 25% more migrants caught attempting the crossing than usual.

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575450-migrant-processing-centers-border-asylum/

.....

.....

The UK government has already started shipments of depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine, Armed Forces Minister James Heappey has told parliament. He added that the British military would not attempt to track where the weapons are used.

In response to questions from Scottish MP Kenny MacAskill, Heappey confirmed on Tuesday that DU munitions for the UK-made Challenger 2 tank had already arrived in Ukraine, though declined to comment on Kiev’s “usage rates for the rounds provided.”

“We have sent thousands of rounds of Challenger 2 ammunition to Ukraine, including depleted uranium armour-piercing rounds,” he said, adding the weapons “are now under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU)” and that the Defence Ministry “does not monitor the locations from where DU rounds are fired by the AFU in Ukraine.”

Asked whether the government has a responsibility to “help clear up depleted uranium rounds” used in Ukraine after the conflict, the minister stated it has “no obligation” to do so, instead stressing “Ukraine's immediate needs.”

While Heappey has claimed that the health and environmental risks posed by depleted uranium are “low,” citing the “monitoring of UK military veterans” performed for a government study in 2007, more recent research suggests the munitions could carry health hazards after all. The US used DU ammunition heavily during its two wars in Iraq, with some researchers claiming the weapons could be linked to a spate of birth defects later observed in the country.

According to Doug Weir, an expert with the Conflict and Environment Observatory, when DU penetrators strike a target, “they fragment and burn, generating chemically toxic and radioactive DU particulate that poses an inhalational risk to people.” Both the US and UK governments have long disputed the alleged dangers, however.

In March, British and American advisers oversaw special training for Ukrainian troops for how to handle DU rounds, which will primarily be used for the Challenger 2 tank. London previously vowed to send a total of 14 of the tanks to Ukraine, though it is unclear whether any have reached the battlefield.

Moscow has repeatedly urged against foreign arms shipments to Kiev, especially the British DU munitions, with the Foreign Ministry condemning London for “absolute recklessness, irresponsibility and impunity.” Last month, the Russian military also warned that the use of uranium shells is likely to “cause irreparable harm” to the health of Ukrainians and inflict “tremendous economic damage to the agro-industrial complex” in the region, citing the weapon’s impact in Iraq.

.....

https://www.rt.com/news/575339-uk-depleted-uranium-ukraine/

.....

.....

The British government will be held accountable for the environmental and public health damage caused by its decision to supply depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine, as will the troops who use the munitions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned.

Peskov reiterated that there is abundant data on the long-term effects of depleted uranium, based on medical information gathered in former Yugoslavia. NATO forces extensively used munitions containing DU during their campaigns in the Balkans in the 1990s.

“The data is quite sad. The British must realize that they will be held accountable” for the supply of this type of ammunition to Ukraine, Peskov told journalists on Wednesday.

“And certainly the people who will be personally deploying the munitions must realize that they will not only be irrevocably hurting themselves and their compatriots, but will also be held responsible for it,” he said.

The comments came after the UK confirmed the delivery to Ukraine, as promised, of armor-piercing shells for Challenger 2 tanks. Their cores are made of the dense byproduct of uranium enrichment.

The Russian Embassy in London stated that it “has by now become self-evident” that the US and its allies are willing to turn Ukraine into “not only an anti-Russian military ‘shooting range,’ but also a radioactive landfill.”

The planned shipment of the shells was first announced by the UK last month. The government said at the time that its military assessed the potential hazards of depleted uranium use on the battlefield as “low,” contrary to Russian warnings.

.....

https://www.rt.com/russia/575382-warning-depleted-uranium-ammunition/

.....