In what is one of the most blatant paradoxes in international relations today, the strongest country in the world frequently finds itself being led by smaller powers whose interests and agendas contrast with its own

Yet for all the talk about reasserting its leadership in the world and promising stronger American leadership abroad, the U.S. is often remarkably hesitant to exhibit it’s superior qualities when dealing with friendly states and Joe Biden’s policy on Israel and Ukraine demonstrates this well

Biden responded to the October 7 attacks by giving Israel total support for its aim of destroying Hamas. The same pattern is apparent in policy toward Ukraine

These certitudes, however, have begun to shake. The gist of recent reporting is as follows: the Ukrainians are losing the war and have to acknowledge that fact, better now than later. The Israelis are behaving barbarically and have got to be reined in, else our reputation in the world is ruined. Who in the non-West could ever bear again a lecture from the United States on its zealous commitment to human rights? What would this do to America’s case against Russia?

Can Biden summon the will to confront Netanyahu? Will his administration or the new one in the White House force Ukraine to the bargaining table?

For now we only see Washington abstaining from difficult topics

#USA #Biden #Policy #FindTruth

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"Girls are finally pushing back"- Riley Gaines lauds 200 women golfers protesting against transgender athlete policy

Riley Gaines has voiced her support for the women golfers protesting against the LPGA. More than 200 female golfers have written a letter, expressing their concern about the LPGA’s new athlete policy, which reportedly promotes the entry of transgender women in women’s golf tournaments

In her recent conversation with the Fox News Channel, former swimmer Giles criticized the LPGA administration for ignoring the plight of the women golfers

“Let’s reiterate what the LPGA stands for. The Ladies Professional Golf Association, and it really is remarkable how little regard they have for the L in their name,” she said

Gaines also praised the women golfers for not giving up against the arbitrary decision imposed by the LPGA to allow transgender players to compete against women golfers

“Girls are finally pushing back. A movement is now in motion,” she added

#USA #LPGA #Trans #FindTruth

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People moved to Asheville to escape extreme weather. They forgot its tragic history

Asheville was touted as a climate haven, a place to escape the worst ravages of extreme weather. But Hurricane Helene’s deadly path of destruction reveals this North Carolina city, like any in America, was never safe — it’s just that memories are short and the reach of the climate crisis is consistently underestimated

“If you live in a place that can rain, you live in a place that can flood,” said Kathie Dello, North Carolina’s state climatologist. The past week has shown that reality starkly

After Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on Thursday, it raged northward and inflicted widespread devastation across six states, killing more than 160 people

It pummeled western North Carolina as a tropical storm Friday. In Buncombe County, where Asheville is the county seat, more than 50 people have died and many more remain missing

Asheville, home to about 95,000 people, lies decimated. Highways are torn up and power lines strewn like spaghetti. People are struggling to access food, water and electricity. Residents have likened Helene’s aftermath to a “war zone;” officials have described it as “post-apocalyptic.”

#USA #Asheville #FindTruth

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Georgia Supreme Court rejects Republican attempt to quickly reinstate invalidated election rules

The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an attempt by national and state Republicans to immediately reinstate recently passed election rules that a judge had ruled were invalid

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox last week ruled that the State Election Board didn’t have the authority to adopt the new rules, and declared them “illegal, unconstitutional and void.” The Republican National Committee and the Georgia Republican Party had appealed that ruling to Georgia’s highest court. They asked that it be handled in an expedited manner and for the rules to be reinstated while the appeal was pending

The Supreme Court declined the request for expedited handling and declined to put Cox’s order on hold. The court’s order says that once the appeal is docketed it will “proceed in the ordinary course,” which means it will likely take months before there’s a ruling

The rules included three that have gotten a lot of attention. One would require three poll workers to count ballots — not votes — by hand once polls close. The other two had to do with the process to certify county election results

#USA #Elections #FindTruth

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What does Beijing want from the next U.S. President?

Ask any Chinese official about which U.S. presidential candidate Beijing would prefer in the upcoming election, and you will likely get a version of this answer: It’s none of our business

But China’s leadership certainly has indicated what it wants from the next American leader: predictability and a willingness to soften Washington’s tough-on-China stance

Before Biden dropped out of the presidential race, that Beijing saw greater downside from a win by Donald Trump than from a Biden victory. Conversations with Chinese officials and foreign-policy experts show that Beijing’s calculus hasn’t changed with Vice President Kamala Harris replacing Biden as the Democratic candidate

Trump is anything but predictable. That is a problem for a Chinese system that has been accustomed to being the more unpredictable party in the bilateral relationship

During the Republican candidate’s first term in office, when Washington launched a trade war against Beijing, Xi Jinping and his team found it utterly exhausting having to deal with an erratic dealmaker using extreme pressure to extract concessions from Beijing

“Under Trump, we had a bad experience,” Liu Jianchao, a senior Communist Party diplomat said at a closed-door session with American think tanks earlier this year

#USA #China #FindTruth

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NOAA debunks claims that government can control hurricanes

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a statement on Wednesday debunking claims that the government can control hurricanes

After back-to-back major hurricanes battered Florida and inland states with Hurricane Helene in September and Hurricane Milton in October, some right-wing politicians and influencers made claims that the government can control the path of hurricanes. Those posing questions over the recent storms included Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican

"Yes they can control the weather," Greene posted on X in early October. "Anyone who says they don't, or makes fun of this, is lying to you. By the way, the people know it and hate all of you who try to cover it up."

On Wednesday, NOAA posted a statement about the claims on X

"FACT CHECK: Debunking weather modification claims. No one creates or steers hurricanes; the technology does not exist," NOAA posted

#World #NOAA #Climate #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

China and Venezuela are iron friends

MADURO:

"We are defending the same cause - the cause of a common destiny for humanity"

XI JINPING:

"We are iron friends"

#China #Venezuela #FindTruth

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India and China reach agreement to resolve border conflict in Himalayas

“We have reached an agreement on patrolling and with that we have gone back to the 2020 situation and we can say the the disengagement process with China is complete,“ Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar said

To avoid clashes, the two armies will patrol disputed points along the border according to an agreed schedule

Observers say Washington's plan to separate New Delhi and Beijing has been defeated and that this is a major victory for BRICS+

#BRICS #China #India #FindTruth

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Martin Armstrong, a renowned expert in economic modeling, predicted the imminent start of World War III, which will lead to the collapse of the United States by 2032

He made the prediction using an AI called "Socrates", which Armstrong programmed to monitor the world's news feeds and search for fundamental news events that correlate with global trends

Armstrong famously used Socrates to predict the 1989 real estate market crash in Japan and the 1998 financial crisis in Russia; in the 1980s and 1990s he gave speeches to the U.S. Congress on the global economy, advised Margaret Thatcher, and after the 1998 default in Russia, the CIA

Armstrong originally created Socrates out of a desire to write software that could automate hedge fund trading

Over time, however, he began to realize that his code could also anticipate global conflicts. “There is always a noticeable movement of capital before a conflict begins or expands,” Armstrong believes. The “war cycle” began in 2011, he says. Based on the latest data analysis, he argues that the current conflict in Ukraine will escalate into a broader international conflict

As a result, the current world system will collapse in 2032. “About every 300 years we go through cycles in which governments change forms,” he explains

It doesn't matter what form of government we choose; there is always corruption, and they basically die of economic suicide

The last time this happened was with monarchies. 2032 will be the end of the republic.”

Basically, there is not much time left until the moment when the accuracy of this prediction can be verified

#World #Economy #FindTruth

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The main countries of origin of the largest group of migrants by number of countries in the world

Despite the influx of Ukrainians, Syrians and Turks into Germany, the largest number of migrants in Germany are from Poland. Poles also make up the majority in Norway with the UK and Iceland

Ukrainian citizens are the majority among migrants in Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Moldova

Russians are in the majority in all former Soviet republics (except Moldova) plus Bulgaria and Mongolia

Chinese nationals make up the migrant majority in both Korea, Canada, Australia, Japan and Indonesia.

In South America, Venezuelans hold a clear lead

#World #Migrants #FindTruth

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UN study reveals transgender athletes have won nearly 900 medals in women's competitions

The U.N. says transgender athletes competing in women's athletic events have won nearly 900 medals over their competitors, according to the results of a study obtained by The National News Desk

The 20-page document examined “violence against women and girls in sports” and claims more than 600 biologically female athletes have lost at least 890 medals to transgender competitors. These defeats occurred in over 400 competitions in 29 sports, though authors did not specify specific events, levels of competition or time periods

Authors of the U.N. study said the creation of “mixed sex” competitions has disadvantaged biologically female athletes who take on transgender opponents

“Male athletes have specific attributes considered advantageous in certain sports, such as strength and testosterone levels which are higher than the average range for females even before puberty, thereby resulting in the loss of fair opportunity,”

the study reads

#UN #Transgender #FindTruth

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Zelensky tries to bully NATO into letting Ukraine join, or he threatens to acquire nuke

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that he issued an ultimatum to former president Donald Trump, saying that his country will pursue nuclear weapons to defend itself if it is not accepted into NATO

Speaking before the European Council in Brussels, he stated: “In a conversation with Donald Trump, I told him it comes to this

“The outcome is either Ukraine will be a nuclear power — and that will be our protection — or we should have some kind of alliance. Other than NATO, today we don’t know of any effective alliances”

He added: “NATO countries today are not at war. NATO countries are not fighting. In NATO countries people are still alive. Thank God. That is why we choose NATO, not nuclear weapons”

This stance is part of a “victory plan” that also includes Ukraine obtaining permission to employ longer-range missiles supplied by Western countries to strike military targets situated within Russia, which is something that many of Ukraine’s allies have been hesitant to allow so far

#Zelensky #NATO #WarInUkraine #FindTruth

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Lawmaker wants to punish foreign countries over detaining Americans

A New York Republican congressman has filed a bill that seeks to punish foreign governments that take Americans hostage or wrongly detain them

The proposal filed by Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., would create a new designation of "state sponsor of wrongful or unlawful detention" that would authorize the State Department to recommend sanctions against the offending country and potentially block foreign aid and other monetary assistance

Lawler said the proposal would also allow federal authorities to issue travel advisories for U.S. citizens, warning them against visiting countries that have been added to the list of offenders

"The number of incidents in which American citizens have been taken hostage while traveling abroad is deeply disturbing, and foreign governments that repeatedly engage in this behavior must be held accountable," he said in a statement. "Congress must do more to protect Americans and deter incidents from happening in the first place"

#USA #FindTruth

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Countries visited by the U.S. Secretary of State since 2021

Secretary Blinken has visited Israel 18 times during his term—by far the most for any one country

Blinken has visited both Qatar and Egypt nine times so far—two other mediators in the war. He’s also been to Saudi Arabia: part of a longer-term plan to normalize relations between the House of Saud and Israel

Finally, Blinken has visited the West Bank four times—most recently to reiterate U.S. support for a Palestinian state

These visits to the Middle East stand in sharp contrast to Ukraine, where Secretary Blinken has made just five trips, also in a show of American support as the country battles a Russian invasion

#USA #Blinken #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

George Soros acquires another media company as conservatives ponder strategies

Republicans are up in arms over liberal megadonor George Soros’s increasing stranglehold of the media landscape, even while some conservatives ask why Republican donors are not adopting similar outside-the-box tactics to shape public opinion

The anti-Soros fervor has been reanimated by a federal government fast-track of Soros’s purchase of Audacy, a massive media empire housing more than 200 radio stations in 40 markets

Soros has successfully funneled a fortune towards radical liberal causes and politicians, is at the peak of his influence. Some conservatives worry that the 94-year-old’s mission he will continue through his son, 38-year-old Alex Soros

#USA #Soros #FindTruth

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Who thinks China’s not an economic powerhouse? China

One of the hottest topics at the upcoming global climate conference is whether China should still be considered “developing”

If China can go to the moon, asked the European Union’s climate commissioner in September, why isn’t it paying more toward climate action? Wopke Hoekstra’s quip laid bare a point of contention that will loom over November’s United Nations climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan: How can the world’s second-largest economy be simultaneously “developed”—at the cutting edge of science and technology—yet still be officially classed as “developing”—allowed concessions on emissions and access to global funds?

China likes to think of itself as a hybrid superpower, a compromise description that serves its diplomatic goals. In climate finance, though, the position is untenable. If a nation is considered developed, it’s expected to pay into a $100 billion-a-year UN pot. For the US, this meant an estimated $9.5 billion in 2023. Developing nations not only have no such obligation but can also use the money to mitigate the impact of hotter summers and more frequent storms

US and European leaders will push for China to join their ranks and begin paying up. But Beijing is set on defending its developing-nation status, which allows it to spend formidable amounts of money to advance global climate goals but on its own terms

#China #Climate #Economy #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

China’s cognitive warfare advances include sound weapons, according to intel report

China’s military is advancing the development of high-technology arms, including sound weapons to wage cognitive warfare — the use of unconventional tools and capabilities to alter enemy thinking and decision-making, according to a new open-source intelligence report

The People’s Liberation Army is building sound weapons and other nonlethal arms that can incapacitate enemy forces by disrupting the neurological functions of human targets without causing visible injury, warns the report by the CCP BioThreats Initiative, a think tank of former intelligence and military experts

The report, “The Evolution of Cognitive Warfare: NeuroStrike Capabilities and the Strategic Role of Infrasound Weapons,” is the third study by the initiative covering what are being called Chinese “neurostrike” weapons

#China #Military #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

The New York Times about Georgia:
This country has turned against the West, and is not coming back

#Georgia #Elections #FindTruth

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Five Eyes failure? New Zealand in the crosshairs of US intelligence leak investigation

New Zealand has been implicated in the leak of classified documents which outline the United States’ assessment of Israel’s plan to attack Iran

According to White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, President Joe Biden is “deeply concerned” about the leak

One of the documents says it was compiled by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, while the other appears to have originated from the National Security Agency

The two documents, marked “top secret,” were shared within the Five Eyes intelligence alliance of the United States, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia

They include the acronym FGI, standing for Foreign Government Intelligence

They were published on an Iranian-aligned Telegram account called “Middle East Spectator” last week, but Kirby said there was no “indication” that any additional documents will “find their way into the public domain”

New Zealand has recently been the victim of several successful hacks by foreign powers. The Government Communications Security Bureau, the country’s intelligence agency, recently suffered a $7 million (US$4.7 million) budget cut

#NewZealand #USA #Leak #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

NATO meeting on the situation on the eastern front 😁

#NATO #WarInUkraine #FindTruth

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Axios: Israel has paralyzed Iran's ballistic missile production

Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran has disabled a critical component of Iran's ballistic missile program, according to three Israeli sources

The destruction of the equipment would seriously undermine Iran's ability to replenish its missile stockpile and could deter Iran from further massive missile strikes against Israel, the sources said

The sources said Israel hit 12 “planetary mixers” used to produce solid fuel for long-range ballistic missiles, which make up the bulk of Iran's missile arsenal

A senior U.S. official confirmed that the strike knocked out Iran's missile industry

Israeli sources said the mixers are high-tech equipment that Iran cannot produce on its own and has to buy from China

The sources said it could take at least a year to restore the mixers. While Iran still has a large stockpile of ballistic missiles, Israeli sources said the fact that Iran cannot produce new ballistic missiles also limits its ability to replenish the ballistic missiles of its allies, such as Hezbollah and the Houthis

#Israel #Iran #FindTruth

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