News of the World

[kyonides]

3 Injured in West Virginia Train Derailment That Sent Diesel Fuel, Oil Into River

Three people have been injured after an empty coal train operated by CSX Corp. derailed on March 8 after hitting a rock slide in a remote area of West Virginia.

All four of the train’s locomotives and nine empty coal cars derailed in a remote area just south of Sandstone, Summers County, inside the New River National Park and Preserve, CSX said in a statement. The incident happened just before 5 a.m. local time.

The lead locomotive was carrying three crew members—a conductor, an engineer, and an engineer trainee—and caught fire after striking the rock slide and derailing, CSX said.

Local fire departments arrived on the scene to put out the fire and all three crew members are safe and were evaluated and treated for “non-life threatening injuries,” according to the train operator.

Two of the crew members were airlifted and the third was taken to the hospital in an ambulance, a Summers County Office of Emergency Management dispatcher told CNN.

“An unknown quantity of diesel fuel and oil spilled from the derailed locomotives and environmental measures will be deployed in the New River for containment,” CSX said.

China Took Down Its Spy Balloon After It Flew Over Latin America

China brought down its balloon after it crossed Latin America around the time another one was flying through the United States, the commanders of U.S. Northern and Southern Command told lawmakers on March 8.

“What I understand is the PRC actually terminated that balloon in the Atlantic Ocean off the east coast of South America,” Gen. Glen VanHerck, who heads the U.S. Northern Command, told the House Armed Services Committee in a hearing...U.S. Southern Command’s head Gen. Laura Richardson confirmed that to be true.

Neither revealed the timing and location of the takedown and the whereabouts of balloon remnants.

The balloon was sighted over Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Venezuela. Beijing had claimed both that balloon and the one the United States shot down off the South Carolina coast on Feb. 4 were non-military assets that deviated from their original course.

U.S. officials have described the balloons as spying tools aiding the Chinese regime’s global surveillance program, which they said has spanned across five continents.
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“It was the first time in NORTHCOM’s history we conducted an engagement over the United States and it made clear that our competitors have the capability and intent to reach our homeland.”

Military Generals Issue Warning
About China Amassing ‘Power and Influence’ in South America

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “continues to expand its economic, diplomatic, technological, informational, and military influence in Latin America and the Caribbean. The PRC has the capability and intent to eschew international norms, advance its brand of authoritarianism, and amass power and influence at the expense of these democracies,” General Laura J. Richardson, Commander of the U.S. Southern Command, said during a House Armed Service committee hearing on March 8.
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The CCP has “expanded its ability to extract resources, establish ports, manipulate governments through predatory investment practices, and build potential dual use space facilities, the most space facilities in any combatant command region.”

Richardson pointed out that China has used the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to boost its influence in Latin America.
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Amidst this crisis, the CCP came in with investments in critical infrastructure like highways, electrical dams, deepwater ports, telecommunications, and so on, she said.

General Glen D. VanHerck, Commander of the U.S. Northern Command, noted that China has made significant investments in Mexico. Around 80 percent of Mexico’s telecommunications equipment is provided by Chinese companies like Huawei, he said.

In the Bahamas, the CCP is “aggressively pursuing their economic coercion,” he said. China has built its biggest embassy in the world in the Bahamas, with a “very aggressive ambassador who uses the information space to undermine us each and every day.”

You better check it out, guys. The whole article is truly alarming.

New WHO Chief Scientist Made Crucial Change to Paper
Claiming COVID-19 Didn’t Come From Lab

Jeremy Farrar, the [WHO] chief scientist, was credited in one message with helping guide the paper about the origin of COVID-19, according to an email released by the U.S. House select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic on March 5.

“Thanks for shepherding this paper. Rumors of bioweaponeering are now circulating in China,” Dr. Ian Lipkin, a Columbia University professor, wrote to Farrar in the message.

“Yes I know and in US – why so keen to get out ASAP. I will push nature,” Farrar responded.
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“Sorry to micro-manage/microedit! But would you be willing to change one sentence?” Farrar wrote to Kristian Andersen, who co-authored the paper, in an email just one day before publication.

Farrar asked to insert “improbable” in place of “unlikely,” the email showed.

“Sure,” Andersen responded.

The paper also stated that “SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct” and that the authors “do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible.”

“This evidence suggests that Dr. Farrar was more involved in the drafting and publication of Proximal Origin than previously known and possibly should have been credited or acknowledged for this involvement,” the panel said.
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The British scientist was, at the time of the messages, at the helm of the Wellcome Trust, which controls millions of dollars in funding for research in the UK.
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Farrar helped arrange a secret Feb. 1, 2020, teleconference with Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to discuss the origin of COVID-19, previously released emails show.

Some of the participants said details of SARS-CoV-2 indicated it didn’t originate from nature, though others favored the natural origin theory.

Anderson was among the former, writing that “some of the features (potentially) look engineered.”

Maryland, Virginia Officials Compete for Mammoth New FBI Headquarters

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and other officials are trying to convince government authorities to choose a site in their state for a mammoth new FBI headquarters, which is expected to cost more than $1 billion.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and other Maryland officials met with the FBI and General Services Administration (GSA) on March 8 to make their case. Kaine, Mark Warner (D-Va.), and other Virginia officials followed on Thursday.

“The new FBI headquarters belongs in the state of Maryland,” Moore, a Democrat, told reporters after the meeting.

The Virginia group said a location in Springfield would be best, in part because of its proximity to the FBI Academy in Quantico.
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The GSA and FBI must choose from one of three sites. One is in Landover, Maryland; one is in Greenbelt, Maryland; and the third is in Springfield.

The new facility will replace the J. Edgar Hoover building in Washington. At least 7,500 personnel will work in the building, which could cost billions of dollars.
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An FBI relocation study concluded the agency needed a 2.6 million-square-foot facility on a site of between 55 and 65 acres.

[kyonides]

Today I can guarantee for sure that I've come with  several scandalous news that might make you shiver like you haven't done it in quite some time.

Russia Working to Overthrow Moldovan Government, White House Says

“We believe Russia is pursuing options to weaken the Moldovan government, probably with the eventual goal of seeing a more Russian-friendly administration in the capital,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on a March 10 phone call.

Specifically, Russian actors—including some with ties to Russian intelligence—plan to stage protests in Moldova to “foment a manufactured insurrection against the Moldovan government,” Kirby said.

“Additionally, we expect another set of Russian actors to provide training, and help manufacture demonstrations in Moldova.”

He emphasized, however, that the United States was confident in Moldova’s ability to counter the threat—a view also shared by Kent Logsdon, the U.S. ambassador to Moldova.

WH Denies US Stepping Back From Middle East
After Iran, Saudi Arabia Restore Ties With China’s Help

National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication John Kirby told reporters on March 10 that he would “push back hard” against the idea the agreement, mediated with China’s help, showed that the United States was pulling away from the region.

Kirby clarified that while the United States was kept informed about talks between Saudi Arabia and other parties, they were not directly involved.

Tehran and Riyadh announced their agreement on Friday following four days of previously unreported negotiations between top security officials from the two opposing Middle Eastern giants in Beijing. The two nations agreed to resume diplomatic relations and re-open embassies within two months, according to a statement issued by Iran, Saudi Arabia, and China.

“The agreement includes their affirmation of the respect for the sovereignty of states and the non-interference in internal affairs,” the statement said.

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Friday touted the agreement as a “victory for dialogue,” according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout.

When asked about China’s role in brokering the agreement, Kirby said that, “This is not about China.”

“We support any effort to de-escalate tensions there in the region,” he continued.

Mexican President Threatens Republicans
Calling for US Military to Target Drug Cartels

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has threatened to start a public “information campaign” in the United States against Republican lawmakers after several have called on the U.S. military to target drug cartels south of the border.

“I would just like to tell them either they change their treatment of Mexico or from today we will start an information campaign in the United States so that all Mexicans, our fellow countrymen, know about this aggression by Republicans against Mexico,” López Obrador said Thursday during a news conference.

In the wake of the kidnapping of four Americans and the killing of two of them in the border city of Matamoros, Mexico several Republicans in Congress have demanded the United States step up its fight against Mexican drug cartels, even if that means crossing the border to do it.

“The kidnapping and murder of American citizens in Matamoros prove that Mexico is a narco-state,” Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) told The Epoch Times. “President Biden must make it clear that this horrible violence will not go unpunished. If Mexico can’t stop the cartels, then our nation must use any tool in our arsenal to solve it for them.”
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“Yesterday was the last straw. According to the report presented [to] me this morning, this man, [Crenshaw] dares to say that they are going to use the armed forces of the United States to enter our territory as in an invasion,” said López Obrador.

“We are not going to permit any foreign government to intervene in our territory much less that [foreign] governments armed forces intervene,” he said. “We could go to the U.N. “

Kidney Removal From Chinese Infants Rings Alarm
on CCP’s Organ ‘Production Machine,’ Expert Warns

In a recent international academic journal, Chinese doctors at Renji Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University reported two cases of transplantation using kidneys from infants for adult patients with end-stage renal failure. Two infants had their kidneys removed—one day and three days after birth—respectively.

Given it would take weeks to months for an infant’s kidney to be matched for transplant, doctors may be targeting babies before they are even born by using the amniotic fluid for tissue typing, medical experts said, fearing that the Communist authorities may select Chinese infants before birth as an organ production machine.

Doctors at Renji Hospital, an affiliated hospital of state-funded Shanghai Jiao Tong University, published in the American Journal of Transplantation in Jan, reporting two ‘successful’ en bloc kidney transplantations (EBKT)—both kidneys—from preterm infants weighing less than 1.2 kg (2.6 pounds) to adult recipients.

The medical paper said that both of the infants’ parents had agreed to the withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy (WLST) and kidney organ donation after circulatory death (DCD) on the second or third day of the baby’s birth. Thus, one, fifteen minutes; another, twenty-five minutes after withdrawing life support measures, the mechanical heartbeat stopped, and the doctor pronounced the baby dead.

Subsequently, within three or five days of the two newborns’ birth, their small organs were removed, testing for donor-recipient compatibility was completed, and two adult recipients received a dual kidney transplant.

According to public information from the New York Presbyterian Hospital, the maximum preservation time for a removed kidney would be 24-48 hours.

[kyonides]

Chinese Rocket that Delivered Military Spy Satellites Breaks Up Over Texas

The second stage of a Chinese rocket that delivered a trio of military surveillance satellites in June disintegrated over Texas on Wednesday.

The four-ton component of a Chang Zheng 2D ‘Long March’ rocket punched through the atmosphere on Wednesday over Texas at 17,000 miles per hour and disintegrated, two defense officials confirmed.
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According to NORAD satellite tracking data, the stage was a piece of space junk in low earth orbit.
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“This was an uncontrolled reentry, meaning it was not steered but rather its orbit decayed and lowered naturally. This type of behavior reinforces the need for better international norms regarding high-risk uncontrolled reentries.”
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Based on the NORAD tracking data, the stage belonged to a mission that delivered three military electronic signals surveillance satellites that were believed to be targeted over the South China Sea.
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According to the track, the rocket section entered the atmosphere over West Texas near Marathon before heading on a northeast track between Abilene and Austin.
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The 135-foot-long Chang Zheng 2D rocket is capable of carrying about 8,000 pounds of cargo into low earth orbit... The rocket, designated Y-64, successfully took off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on June 23 in central China and successfully deployed the spy satellites.

After dropping off its payload, the second stage becomes space junk.

Tom Cruise Buzzes USS George H.W. Bush,
Carrier Could Play Role in New ‘Mission Impossible’ Movie

If the Navy chooses to accept it, USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) could get its big screen debut in Tom Cruise’s next “Mission Impossible” movie.

Cruise, who starred in the Oscar-nominated “Top Gun: Maverick” spent three days aboard the aircraft carrier at the beginning of the month, MI franchise director Christopher McQuarrie said in an Instagram post.

“On behalf of the entire Mission team, I’d like to extend our deepest gratitude for what has been an extraordinary three days with the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group,” he wrote.
“The short time we spent with you left us all with a newfound appreciation of the sacrifices you make in the name of security and prosperity and we thank you for your service.”

Bush is currently in the Adriatic Sea as part of the U.S. response to the Russo-Ukraine War.

Cruise, along with British actress Hannah Waddingham, known for playing Rebecca Welton, the owner of the Richmond Football Club in “Ted Lasso” and McQuarrie were featured in photos released on Friday from the ship.

 So was he truly scouting his next movie's scenarios? Or was he simply learning all he could about the Navy and its lifestyle during its current Cold War trip?
Or should I better nickname it the current "Cool" War?

Kim supervises N. Korean troops simulating attack on South

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a live-fire artillery drill simulating an attack on a South Korean airfield and called for his troops to be ready to respond to the enemies’ “frantic war preparation moves” — apparently referring to the recent series of military drills between the United States and South Korea.

The North Korean state media report Friday came a day after South Korea’s military detected the North firing at least one short-range ballistic missile toward the sea from a site near the western coastal city of Nampo. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff was assessing whether more missiles may have been launched simultaneously.

The United States has recently sent long-range B-1B and B-52 bombers for several rounds of joint aerial drills with South Korean warplanes. The allies are also preparing this month for their biggest combined field training exercise in years to counter the growing threat of Kim’s growing nuclear arsenal. North Korea views regular U.S.-South Korean military exercises as invasion rehearsals.

Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim urged his troops to be prepared to “overwhelmingly respond to and contain” the military action of the North’s enemies, which he said were proceeding with “all sorts of more frantic war preparation moves.”

[kyonides]

Navy Renames Two Ships to Erase Ties to Confederate History

The U.S. guided-missile cruiser Chancellorsville, which was homeported in San Diego for many years, has been renamed Robert Smalls, honoring a Civil War-era maritime pilot who commandeered a Confederate ship in 1862 and turned it over to the Union forces.

Smalls was born a slave and went on to become a mariner, a businessman, a publisher and a congressman who represented South Carolina, the state where he was born.

The decision to make the change was due to its former name, which was in honor of the Battle of Chancellorsville, an event that resulted in heavy casualties, according to the American Battlefield Trust.

Per the website, it was considered “Gen. Robert E. Lee’s greatest military victory.  It was the last battle for Confederate Lt. Gen. Thomas J. ‘Stonewall’ Jackson, who was mortally wounded by friendly fire.”
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Right now, the vessel is forward deployed in Japan.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced the renaming of the USNS Maury, an ocean survey ship that will be called the USNS Marie Tharp, per Military.com.

“This renaming honors Marie Tharp, a pioneering geologist and oceanographic cartographer who created the first scientific maps of the Atlantic Ocean floor and shaped our understanding of plate tectonics and continental drift,” Del Toro stated.
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The ship’s former name was after Confederate naval officer Matthew Maury, “who is considered the father of the science of oceanography,” the outlet continued.

SVB International Fallout: UK and EU Lenders Lose
£30 Billion Overnight as ‘Panic’ Spreads

...the Bank of England stepping in to take over the insolvency process for the British arm of SVB to protect the deposits of British firms tied to the bank.

Since Friday, the Stoxx Europe 600 banks index, which also includes leading British lenders, saw a mass sell-off in the wake of the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank, the largest American bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. In total, the European-UK banking index saw a one-day decline of 3.8 per cent, with €33.5 billion (£29.6/$35.6 billion) being wiped off their balance sheets.

Some of the United Kingdom’s largest banks saw their shares fall significantly, with HSBC declining by 4.6 per cent, Lloyds Banking Group falling by 3.3 per cent, and shares in NatWest going down by 2.5 per cent, The Times of London reports.
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“We have been engaging with the UK government including Treasury and No 10 [British Government] about the potential impact and I know that work has been going on overnight on policy options,” he added.

...the Bank of England... announced in a late-night statement on Friday evening that it is planning to use its bank insolvency scheme to put the British branch of SVB into resolution, which would allow for depositors to receive up to £85,000 in the coming days from the government’s deposit insurance programme.
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The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation had described SVB as being in “sound financial condition” before the run on the bank, which saw customers withdraw some $42 billion, resulting in the bank having a negative cash balance of $958 million.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer Urged Viewers to Buy Shares of Silicon Valley Bank Last Month

“The ninth-best performer to date has been SVB Financial. Don’t yawn,” [Mad Money's host Jim] Cramer told viewers during a February 8 episode of Mad Money about Silicon Valley Bank’s parent company.

Cramer, touting that the bank was “less dependent upon private equity and venture capital offerings,” listed it in ninth place among his “biggest winners of 2023 … so far,” along with other stocks such as Meta, Tesla, Warner Bros., Norwegian Cruise Line, and NVIDIA.

“This company is a merchant bank with a deposit base that Wall Street has mistakenly been concerned by,” Cramer said on-air.

The CNBC host noted that the stock was the “fourth-worst performer of 2022,” but it was worth buying because “the stock is so cheap” and “being a banker to these immense pools of capital has always been a very good business.”
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When Cramer made the remarks on-air, SVB Financial was trading at $320.40 a share.

Roughly one month after Carmer’s remarks, trading in shares of the parent company was halted for pending news on Friday after premarket price indicators plunged by 63 percent.

Stringent Gun Control Failed to Prevent
Alleged Attacker Shooting, Killing Six in Germany

According to Reuters, Germany’s “anonymous tip-off” law was triggered in January, when authorities received a call warning the 35-year-old would-be attacker was showing “suspicious behavior.”

Police officers visited the individual’s home on February 7, 2023, but were not persuaded that he posed a threat to himself or anyone, nor that he was suffering from mental illness.
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The University of Sidney’s GunPolicy.org observed that Germany’s gun controls are categorized as “restrictive.” In addition to license requirements for gun ownership, would-be gun owners must pass a background check that looks at “extremist affiliations, criminal, mental health, and addiction records.”

Reuters noted that the alleged 35-year-old attacker “had no criminal record or any links to terrorism prior to the attack that would have automatically prevented him from owning a gun.”
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Six innocents were shot and killed at a Hamburg Jehovah’s Witness Hall Thursday around 9 p.m.

UK Govt Considering Wuhan Lab Leak
After Previously Claiming Proximity to Outbreak ‘Entirely Coincidental’

Earlier this week it was revealed that pandemic-era health secretary Matt Hancock’s memoirs were stripped of mentions of his belief that COVID-19 may well have emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology by the Cabinet Office of the British government, which has the right to review books from top-level government officials prior to publication to prevent potentially sensitive information from being released.

“It’s just too much of a coincidence that the pandemic started in the same city as the lab, which – by the way, is a full 40 minutes drive from the wet market originally linked to the outbreak,” Hancock had written in one of his references to a possible lab leak in the original version of his book.

Justifying removing the ex-health secretary’s lab leak commentary, the Cabinet Office said it was the governmnet’s position that the proximity of the Wuhan lab to the initial outbreak was “entirely coincidental” — despite prominent figures such as former MI6 director Sir Richard Dearlove having long supported the idea, and warning the government should “rethink how it treats its relationship with China”.

[JayRay]

Japan marks 12 years since tsunami and nuclear disaster

TOKYO (AP) — Japan on Saturday marked the 12th anniversary of the massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster with a minute of silence, as concerns grew ahead of the planned release of the treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant and the government’s return to nuclear energy.

The 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that ravaged large parts of Japan’s northeastern coast on March 11, 2011, left more than 22,000 people dead, including about 3,700 whose subsequent deaths were linked to the disaster.

A moment of silence was observed nationwide at 2:46 p.m., the moment the earthquake struck.

Some residents in the tsunami-hit northern prefectures of Iwate and Miyagi walked down to the coast to pray for their loved ones and the 2,519 whose remains were never found.

In Tomioka, one of the Fukushima towns where initial searches had to be abandoned due to radiation, firefighters and police use sticks and a hoe to rake through the coastline looking for the possible remains of the victims or their belongings.

At an elementary school in Sendai, in Miyagi prefecture north of Fukushima, participants released hundreds of colorful balloons in memory of the lives lost.

In Tokyo, dozens of people gathered at an anniversary event in a downtown park, and anti-nuclear activists staged a rally.

The earthquake and tsunami that slammed into the coastal Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant destroyed its power and cooling functions, triggering meltdowns in three of its six reactors. They spewed massive amounts of radiation that caused tens of thousands of residents to evacuate.

Over 160,000 people had left at one point, and about 30,000 are still unable to return due to long-term radiation effects or health concerns. Many of the evacuees have already resettled elsewhere, and most affected towns have seen significant population declines over the past decade.

At a ceremony, Fukushima Gov. Masao Uchibori said decontamination and reconstruction had made progress, but “we still face many difficult problems.” He said many people were still leaving and the prefecture was burdened with the plant cleanup and rumors about the effects of the upcoming release of the treated water.

The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, and the government are making final preparations to release into the sea more than 1.3 million tons of treated radioactive water, beginning in coming months.

The government says the controlled release of the water after treatment to safe levels over several decades is safe, but many residents as well as neighbors China and South Korea and Pacific island nations are opposed to it. Fishing communities are particularly concerned about the reputation of local fish and their still recovering business.

In his speech last week, Uchibori urged the government to do utmost to prevent negative rumors about the water release from further damaging Fukushima’s image.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida renewed his pledge to support the ongoing reconstruction efforts.

“The discharge of the treated water is a step that cannot be delayed,” Kishida told reporters after the ceremony. He repeated an earlier pledge that “a release will not be carried out without understanding of the stakeholders.”

Kishida’s government has reversed a nuclear phase-out policy that was adopted following the 2011 disaster, and instead is pushing a plan to maximize the use of nuclear energy to address energy supply concerns triggered by Russia’s war on Ukraine while meeting decarbonization requirements.

Uchibori’s goal is to bolster the renewable energy supply to 100% of the Fukushima prefectural needs by 2040. He said last week that while the energy policy is the central government’s mandate, he wants it to remember that Fukushima continues to suffer from the nuclear disaster.

[kyonides]

Marjorie Taylor Greene says she will report Jane Fonda
over ‘murder’ comment on abortion rights

US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed Jane Fonda after the actress supposedly joked on ABC’s “The View” that she’s “thought about murder” when fighting for abortion rights.

Speaking on “The View” on Friday, Fonda said the country would not “go back” on abortion despite the reversal of Roe v. Wade, and when asked what people can do aside from marching and protesting, she quipped: “I’ve thought about murder.”

The comment turned heads on the talk show, with the hosts playing it off as a joke as the crowd laughed when Fonda, 85, fired back with a serious look.

In a series of tweets over the weekend, Greene, a Georgia Republican, said she would be reporting Fonda for allegedly threatening her and other anti-abortion advocates.

“I routinely get death threats because of the nasty women on The View and the things they say about me,” Greene tweeted as she dubbed herself an “unapologetic pro-life politician.”

She added: “But calling for us to be assassinated makes The View, the hosts, the producers, the network, the advertisers, and everyone involved responsible for death threats, attacks, and potential murders of Pro-Life politicians and activists. I am reporting this.”

Seriously, Jane Fonda gotta be totally deranged.
 Killing your opponents over a disagreement? Are we quickly going back to the times of the ancient Roman Empire?  Keep in mind it was well known for their caesars who loved being extremely brutal.

Regulators close Signature Bank, second shuttered by feds after SVB disaster

Manhattan-based Signature Bank — a key financial institution for the cryptocurrency industry — was shut down over a “similar systemic risk exception,” according to a joint statement from the heads of the US Treasury, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Silicon and Signature depositors will be made whole, but the banks’ shareholders and unsecured debtors will not be protected, officials said.

The Federal Reserve said it will create a new Bank Term Funding Program to offer depository institutions loans of up to one year, backed by US Treasury securities and other assets, to help the banks.

Shaq allegedly in hiding as lawyers fail to serve him over FTX lawsuit

NBA Hall of Famer and TV personality Shaquille O’Neal has been accused of avoiding being served a class-action lawsuit filed against celebrities who endorsed failed cryptocurrency giant FTX.

The former Los Angeles Lakers star was one of several high-profile celebrities — including Steph Curry, Tom Brady, Giselle Bundchen and Larry David — listed in the lawsuit filed by FTX retail investor Edwin Garrison, who claimed his crypto account went bankrupt after “being exposed to” the celebrity endorsements.

Garrison’s lawyers revealed that out of all the celebrities named in the suit, O’Neal was the sole person avoiding the lawyers and noted that the allegations against him were among the most damning.
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O’Neal was among the biggest celebrities touted FTX’s services last year, with the former basketball star hosting a Super Bowl Party at “Shaq’s Fun House” in Los Angeles as part of his partnership with the company.
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[In December] O’Neal tried to distance himself from the company, alleging that he was just a “paid spokesperson.”

Silicon Valley Bank customers will have access to funds Monday, feds say

The U.S. government took emergency steps Sunday in an attempt to prevent more instability among banks after the historic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, and assured clients of the failed financial institution that they would be able to recover all of their money quickly.
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Regulators had worked all weekend to try and come up with a buyer for the bank or broker another intervention, and as another bank, Signature Bank, was shuttered.

The Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and FDIC said Sunday that all Silicon Valley Bank clients will be protected and have access to their funds and announced steps designed to protect the bank’s customers and prevent more bank runs.
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It is the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, behind only the 2008 failure of Washington Mutual.
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Among the bank’s customers are a range of companies from California’s wine industry, where many wineries rely on Silicon Valley Bank for loans, and technology startups devoted to combating climate change.

Yet, Biden (or Yellen) already confessed that SVB won't be bailed out.

Government won’t bail out Silicon Valley Bank,
which paid workers bonuses hours before collapse

The federal government won’t bail out the failed Silicon Valley Bank, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday — after it emerged that the bank’s workers landed bonuses just hours before Friday’s collapse.

Depositors could now get back as little as 30% of their money during an anticipated run on the bank Monday morning, a report said Sunday.
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“During the financial crisis, there were investors and owners of systemic large banks that were bailed out,” Yellen said. “And the reforms that have been put in place means that we’re not going to do that again.”

Yellen still insisted that officials are “concerned about depositors and are focused on trying to meet their needs.”
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“I’ve been working all weekend with our banking regulators to design appropriate policies to address this situation,” Yellen said Sunday.
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Silicon Valley Bank employees received their annual bonuses shortly before the bank was seized Friday, NBC News reported late Saturday.

The bank traditionally hands out bonuses for the prior year’s work on the second Friday in March, and the payments had been in the works for days, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC.

It’s unclear how much cash was distributed, but NBC said the bonuses likely ranged from $14,000 each for associates to $140,000 apiece for managing directors, based on figures posted on the Glassdoor website.

 Yeah, give away tons of bonuses to those people that can't keep the bank running even for another week. What a great performance!  Or is this another way they planned to hide the money stolen by people like Bankman-Fried?

Michelle Yeoh wins Best Actress at Oscars 2023: ‘Beacon of hope’

Michelle Yeoh is taking home the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”

Yeoh, 60, is the first Asian woman to win in the “lead actress” category, making history.
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In her speech on stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, she tearfully thanked her cast and crew in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and her family.
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She also honored her mom during her speech.
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She added: “Also to my extended family in Hong Kong, where I started my career, thank you for letting me stand on your shoulders, giving me a leg up so that I can be here today. And to my god children to my sisters, all of them to my brothers, to my family, thank you, thank you.”

She should have also told the audience how fun it is to win the Oscar even after she had broken the rules concerning not criticizing your opponents before the event.  So it seems that the Academy doesn't apply the same rules to all infractors because they're not Will Smith.

Hugh Grant slammed for rude responses during Oscars interview

“Notting Hill” star Hugh Grant has been blasted for giving a “rude” red carpet interview at Sunday night’s Academy Awards.

The British actor was interviewed by model and ABC Oscars red carpet host Ashley Graham, 35, whose attempts to ask him a series of stock-standard questions were met with seeming contempt.

Grant was seen rolling his eyes at the end of the awkward interview.
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The awkward interview began with Graham asking Grant what his favorite thing about the Academy Awards was.

The “Four Weddings and a Funeral” star appeared frosty and offered up a lengthy pause, before responding: “It’s fascinating. The whole of humanity is here. It’s a vanity fair.”
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Graham asked the star if there were any nominees that he was hoping to take home an award, to which he replied: “No one in particular.”
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Clearly feeling uncomfortable, the model attempted to keep the conversation afloat by asking him how it felt to star in “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.”

“I’m barely in it, I’m in it for like three seconds,” Grant cantankerously clapped back.

Man, if Yeoh had not won the Oscar, I'd definitely understand her reaction. Why did Grant behave like an idiot? Could it be possible that he suspected it'd be a terrible night for him?

[kyonides]

US Banking System Outlook Downgraded to ‘Negative’

Credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service downgraded its outlook for the U.S. banking system on Tuesday after the rapid declines and collapses of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Silvergate Bank in recent days.

The prominent ratings agency said it “changed to negative from stable our outlook on the U.S. banking system to reflect the rapid deterioration in the operating environment following deposit runs at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Silvergate Bank, and Signature Bank (SNY) and the failures of SVB and SNY,” Moody’s said in a Monday afternoon report. “Operating conditions have sharply deteriorated,” it also said in a note, according to multiple news outlets.
...
Bank runs at Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate, and Signature led to a crisis of confidence, both from investors and depositors, the ratings agency said. Lenders that had “substantial” unrealized securities losses and uninsured deposits may be hurt more as customers look for safer alternatives to park their funds, it added.

Moody’s wrote it expects more banks will be pressured after SVB’s failure, namely those with large amounts of deposits that aren’t insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Reports indicated that upwards of 90 percent of deposits at SVB were uninsured as the bank was heavily used by tech companies and startups.

SVB Crash Will Slam California State and Local Budgets

But what’s different this time is what was advanced by Shark Tank judge Kevin O’Leary and in a New York Times column. O’Leary on March 13 said on CNN:

“But what effectively happened over the weekend is that [President Biden] nationalized the American banking system. It’s no longer a risk. It’s no longer private in any sense. It is now backstopped by the government and ultimately the taxpayer. So it doesn’t matter how bad you are as a bank manager. A good example is what happened to Silicon Valley Bank. That was a combination of a negligent board of directors and idiot management. That’s a very powerful cocktail when put together, and it completely wiped out that bank. And that’s what should have happened.

“And we knew before the weekend started that every account with $250,000 or less was insured. And anything beyond that, which is generally business accounts, or sophisticated investors, was not. But that’s all changed. Now you have no risk in any bank, any time, and you as the taxpayer bear that going forward …

“[Biden] is effectively saying, ‘Look, I can’t take this risk anymore. I’m just going to nationalize the whole thing.’ And that’s the way we should look at banking going forward. Nothing more than highly regulated utilities. And that has profound impacts for you as an investor. If you thought putting money into bank stocks was a good idea, you should change your mind this morning forever. And should you own bank bonds? Never. You were taught that lesson over the weekend.”

Biden Signs Executive Order to Ramp Up Gun Control

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on March 14 to advance gun-control measures, including a step toward universal background checks, as much as current law will allow without requiring new legislation.

Biden announced the order in a speech at the site of a Jan. 21, 2023 mass shooting that killed 11 and wounded nine.

The order increases the number of background checks before firearm sales to get as close to universal background checks as possible without additional legislation.

The executive order promotes the expanded use of “red flag” laws, scrutiny of the gun industry, and the ability to identify and apprehend shooters. Biden will also ask the Federal Trade Commission to issue a report on the marketing of firearms to children.

According to Biden, this would be accomplished by increased enforcement of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (Act). The Act will be especially instrumental in implementing at least two of Biden’s most controversial plans.

Russian Fighter Jet Hits American Drone Over Black Sea

A Russian fighter jet hit a U.S. drone over the Black Sea on March 14, U.S. officials said.

A Russian Su-27 aircraft “struck the propeller” of the drone, the U.S. European Command said in a statement.

The impact forced U.S. personnel to bring the drone, an unmanned MQ-9 model, down in international waters.

The drone was “conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9,” U.S. Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, said in a statement.

Before the collision, two Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the drone in a “reckless environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner,” the statement said, adding that the incident “demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional.”

They suddenly forgot how many times Russia has said NATO started World War 3 already.
 Yes, they're already treating you like secondary targets, US Military, Air Force and .

FBI, State Department Miss Deadline to Produce
COVID Origin Information to House Panel

The information was requested on Feb. 27 by Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and by Rep. Brad R. Wenstrup (R-Ohio), chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. The deadline for providing the documents was March 13.

“We have not received documents at this time, but we are in communication with the agencies about the chairman’s request, and we expect compliance,” a spokesperson for the subcommittee told The Epoch Times on March 13.

A spokesperson for the State Department told The Epoch Times: “President Biden has directed every element of our intelligence community to put the effort and resources behind getting to the bottom of the origins of COVID-19. We will continue to use every tool to figure out what happened here. And if we gain further insight, the President has directed the Administration to share that with Congress and the American people.”

The FBI declined to comment.
...
Wenstrup pledged “to leave no stone unturned to try to find the truth” about the origins of the virus in his opening statement to the subcommittee.

Pentagon’s $842 Billion Budget Focuses on China Threat

President Joe Biden’s $886.3 billion Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) defense budget request includes $842 billion for the Pentagon, a $26 billion, or 3.2 percent, increase over this year’s military spending plan with the “growing multi-domain threat posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC)” again named the nation’s most pressing “pacing challenge.”

Both Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III used the same phrase in describing the proposed military budget’s emphasis on China, each calling it “the most strategy aligned military budget” in the nation’s history.

“Nowhere is that alignment more pronounced than in the seriousness with which this budget treats strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China,” Hicks told reporters in Washington on March 13. “Our greatest measure of success—and the one we use around here most often—is to make sure the [Chinese] leadership wakes up every day, considers the risks of aggression and concludes, ‘Today is not the day.’”

“As our national defense strategy makes clear, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is our pacing challenge,” Austin said in a March 13 statement. “As the PRC races to modernize its military, this budget will sharpen our edge by making critical investments across all timeframes, theaters, and domains. Among numerous important actions that bolster our combat credibility in the short term, this budget makes the department’s largest-ever investments in readiness and procurement–and our largest investment in research and development.”

[kyonides]

Russia 'sorry to see Canada support Ukrainian Neo-Nazis' after new sanctions

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday released a statement on Twitter expressing disappointment in Canada's recent round of sanctions, as well as Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly's voicing a desire for a regime change.

"We're able to see how much we're isolating the Russian regime right now — because we need to do so economically, politically and diplomatically — and what are the impacts also on society and how much we're seeing potential regime change in Russia," said Joly, according to Friday report from the Canadian Broadcasting Company.
...
"Canadian FM @melaniejoly declared regime change in Russia foreign policy goal of Canada...officially," wrote the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Twitter. "Sorry to see the ruling liberal clique having subdued Canada with decadent anti-family, pro-drug & support for Ukrainian Neo-Nazis agenda."

Islamic State claims responsibility for east Congo attack that killed 19

Islamic State claimed responsibility for an east Congo village attack that killed 19 people on Sunday, according to the group's Amaq news agency.

Officials said on Sunday that suspected Islamist militants killed at least 19 people and burned a medical facility in a raid on Kirindera village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ohio Files Lawsuit Against Norfolk Southern Over Toxic Train Derailment

Citing his concern that Norfolk Southern Railway’s accident rate has increased 80 percent over the past 10 years, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced that his office has filed a 58-count civil lawsuit in federal court over the company’s Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine.

Norfolk Southern violated numerous state and federal laws, caused the release of “over 1 million gallons of hazardous chemicals” and created “hidden dangers” for the health of residents and Ohio’s natural resources, Yost said during an online press conference on March 14.

“Ohio shouldn’t have to bear the tremendous financial burden of Norfolk Southern’s glaring negligence,” Yost said. “The fallout from this highly preventable incident may continue for years to come, and there’s still so much we don’t know about the long-term effects on our air, water, and soil.

“This was an epic disaster,” Yost added. “The cleanup is going to be expensive, and it is going to take some significant dollars to put the people of East Palestine back as close as possible in the position they were on Feb. 3.”
...
Vinyl chloride is a chemical used to make PVC pipes and other products.

The National Cancer Institute notes that vinyl chloride has been linked to cancers of the brain, lungs, blood, lymphatic system, and liver.
...
On March 13, DeWine’s office reported that around 6 million gallons of toxic water and 3,000 tons of contaminated soil have been removed from the derailment area.

National Sheriffs’ Association Urges Congress
to Take Action Against Mexican Drug Cartels

American sheriffs are calling for Congress to take action against Mexican drug cartels behind the ongoing fentanyl crisis—including providing additional manpower and tools for law enforcement—in the aftermath of the deaths of two Americans in an attack by gang members.

The National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) said it supports recent attempts in Congress to undercut and dismantle drug cartels, which have caused havoc at the border and are responsible for the smuggling of illegal immigrants and narcotics such as fentanyl into the United States, and is pushing for more action.
...
“New initiatives in Congress are calling on the U.S. Government to use more determined tools to degrade, undermine and eliminate the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico.

“NSA applauds these efforts and asks Congress to use its broad legislative authorities to build a comprehensive system of manpower and other tools to prevent illicit drugs from being produced, smuggled, and sold on American streets.”
...
The proposed bill would include the following cartels in the FTO designation: Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas, Northeast Cartel, Juarez Cartel, Tijuana Cartel, Beltran-Leyva Cartel, La Familia Michoacana.

Graham noted that law enforcement could bring Chinese chemical companies with known ties to the cartels into court in the United States to stand trial.

Special Prosecutor Recuses Herself From Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ Case

Andrea Reeb recused herself as special prosecutor in the “Rust” case against actor Alec Baldwin over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a New Mexico movie set.
...
Reeb’s statement also addressed concerns about her dual roles as a legislator and prosecutor, stating that she would not allow questions about her serving as a legislator and prosecutor “to cloud the real issue at hand.”

Reeb was elected last year to the New Mexico House of Representatives as a Republican. She assumed office on Jan. 1, months after the First Judicial District put her in charge of Baldwin’s case.
...
In February, Baldwin’s lawyers argued in a motion that Reeb should be disqualified because, under New Mexico’s constitution, one cannot serve as a lawmaker and a prosecuting attorney at the same time.
...
The First Judicial District Attorney’s Office first dismissed the motion as a distraction tactic.
...
The decision to drop that charge came after Baldwin’s legal team argued in a Feb. 10 motion that Reeb committed “a basic legal error” by charging Baldwin under a version of the firearm-enhancement statute that “did not exist on the date of the accident.” The current version of the law went into effect in May 2022.
...
Alec Baldwin was charged on Jan. 31 [2022]. Hutchins was fatally shot on Oct. 21, 2021, during the rehearsal of a gunfight scene.

And here's a long read, guys.

ATF Gains Financial Information on Potential Gun Buyers for Warrantless Tracking

The federal government has been using Americans’ income and gun purchases to conduct warrantless tracking and deny Second Amendment rights. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) gave salary estimates to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as the reason to have people’s firearms purchases monitored.

Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America (GOA), told The Epoch Times that the ATF’s activities “monitoring innocent people” is a serious problem. “Congress needs to rein in this rogue agency by either exercising oversight over it or abolishing the unconstitutional agency altogether,” said Pratt.

These revelations come from new documents, viewed by The Epoch Times which it received from its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. The latest production from the FOIA has hundreds of pages—many redacted—showing ATF agents requesting warrantless surveillance by the FBI for lawful reasons such as low salaries, past firearm purchases, and sending “bizarre” messages.
...
According to the documents, a man in Arizona was put into the NICS’s daily monitoring because he has a “reported income” of only $2,839. The ATF agent wrote, “In my experience, someone with this amount of income would not be able to afford 20 firearms.”

An Asian man in Texas was put on the manual background check because the ATF said he has “no work history” which “could possibly indicate” that he is “straw purchasing.”

A special agent in Kansas emailed ATF’s liaison at the NICS to flag two purchasers for “potential trafficking.” The agent wrote: “My targets are purchasing an abundance of firearms without a license or known financial means to obtain the product.”

The FBI’s NICS expert instructed the agent in Kansas on what to include to ensure approval for tracking the suspects. “I would suggest covering the lack of income versus expenditures and also if there is substantial make/model duplication,” wrote the FBI. The ATF agent emailed back with the incomes for each man, acquired by the Kansas Department of Labor.
...
“The poor usually live in areas with the most crime and thus have a strong need to arm themselves heavily,” Pratt said. “So targeting the indigent is simply another avenue for gun grabbers to implement a backdoor gun ban.”
...
Longnecker referred The Epoch Times to the National Tracing Center website for information about “several overt programs such as multiple sales and demand letters that can be helpful in identifying illegal firearms trafficking.”
...
Licensed firearms dealers must report to ATF the sale of two or more handguns to the same purchaser within five consecutive business days. However, there is no federal law limiting the number of guns a person can buy.

“Some agent just decided that is enough Second Amendment for you this year,” Robert Olson, the attorney who filed the FOIA lawsuit for the GOA, told The Epoch Times.
...
The ATF has an online guide that explains: “If you only make occasional sales of firearms from your personal collection, you do not need to be licensed.” It also says you “will need a license if you repetitively buy and sell firearms with the principal motive of making a profit.”
...
Documents show a Hispanic woman in Texas was put into the NICS because an agent got an “iTip provided by an anonymous person” who related that she had “purchased 10 firearms in the last two weeks.”

The agent wrote that the investigation was incomplete because it did not have the background check forms from the dealer (“4473s”) nor video footage from the store.
...
Moreover, there are no documents showing the monitoring periods ended. As we previously reported, the FBI told the ATF that it will renew the NICS flags of 30 to 120 days and limitless times if requested.

[kyonides]

Just in case you thought that everything was OK or that Russian drills in Nicaragua were no serious issue, then you gotta read the following article published about 2 weeks ago.

Iranian Warships Finally Dock in Rio de Janeiro
After U.S. Issues Sanction Threat

A pair of Iranian warships pulled into Rio de Janeiro on Sunday after a month of waiting in the southern Atlantic Ocean, USNI News has learned.

According to photos from ship spotters, the Iranian surface group passed the Fortress of Santa Cruz on Sunday. Photos from Reuters show Dena docked at the Wharf of Gamboa general cargo terminal on Tuesday.

The government of newly-elected Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gave permission for IRIS Makran and IRIS Dena to dock in the country shortly after returning from a state visit to Washington, D.C.

Brazil had initially given permission for the two ships, which deployed from Iran last year, to make a port visit in January, but that was delayed after U.S. pressure. Brazil and Iran have had an ongoing trade relationship.

On Feb. 3, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control targeted Makran and Dena as Iranian property for sanctions related to a wider effort to punish the Iranian lethal drone industry.
...
“Given that the Makran and another vessel were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury earlier in February, their docking in Brazil, particularly after President Lula da Silva’s U.S. visit, will paint Washington as falling flat in its face when it comes to using sanctions to deter precisely this sort of activity,” he said.
...
Iranian officials said in January that they plan to send the ships through the Panama Canal later this year.

Congress Notified of Potential $895M Tomahawk Sale to Australia

The deal is for as many as 20 Block IV Tomahawks and 200 Block V Tomahawks for $895 million.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States. Australia is one of our most important allies in the Western Pacific,” DSCA said in a news release. “The strategic location of this political and economic power contributes significantly to ensuring peace and economic stability in the region. It is vital to the U.S. national interest to assist our ally in developing and maintaining a strong and ready self-defense capability.”

DSCA informed lawmakers about the potential Foreign Military Sale on Thursday.

Australia first said it would buy Tomahawk missiles during the September 2021 unveiling of the trilateral security and technology sharing agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, – known as AUKUS. The missiles, built by Raytheon, will get fielded on the Royal Australian Navy’s Hobart-class destroyers.

Makin Island, America ARGs Wrap Up Exercises with Thai, Japanese Forces

The Makin Island and America amphibious ready groups wrapped up their participation in exercises in Thailand and Japan this week.

The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) – which includes amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD-8), amphibious transport docks USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26) and USS Anchorage (LPD-23), and the embarked 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) – participated in multinational exercise Cobra Gold 23, which began Feb. 23 in Thailand and ended on Friday. Although 20 countries took part in the exercise, the bulk of the approximately 7,400 personnel came from host nation Thailand, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States.

In addition to the ARG and the embarked MEU, the U.S. Navy also dispatched a P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) from the “Red Landers” of Patrol Squadron (VP), currently operating from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, for the exercise with Combat Aircrew (CAC) 3 and a maintenance support team deployed to U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy (RTN) Airfield, according to a service release.

The P-8 was assigned to provide support to the 13th MEU as part of an amphibious assault exercise, during which the P-8A used its MX-20 EO/IR system to collect aerial imagery of the coalition forces.

First Republic Gets $30 Billion Rescue From Top US Banks

First Republic Bank will receive $30 billion from some of the top U.S. banks in a bid to stabilize the troubled firm, the banks confirmed in a March 16 joint statement.

Eleven of the largest U.S. financial institutions will provide an infusion to the bank following a volatile week that saw the lender’s shares plunge following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) last week, the institutions stated, confirming anonymously sourced reports that there were discussions to shore up First Republic.

“The actions of America’s largest banks reflect their confidence in the country’s banking system. Together, we are deploying our financial strength and liquidity into the larger system, where it is needed the most,” the banks said in the March 16 statement. “Smaller- and medium-sized banks support their local customers and businesses, create millions of jobs and help uplift communities. America’s larger banks stand united with all banks to support our economy and all of those around us.”

The banks that will provide deposits include Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BNY-Mellon, PNC Bank, State Street, Truist, and U.S. Bank. Those deposits will be uninsured, the statement said.

Yellen Confirms Chinese, Other Foreign SVB Depositors Will Be Protected

The rescue package will be partly funded through special assessments levied on U.S. banks to recoup these losses and make customers whole.

Since the collapse of the Santa Clara-based financial institution, it has been reported that the bank had many Chinese funds and startups, including companies with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“Will my banks in Oklahoma pay a special assessment to be able to make Chinese investors whole from Silicon Valley Bank?” asked Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday.

Yellen noted that uninsured depositors would be made whole at SVB, adding, “I suppose that could include foreign depositors.”

“I don’t believe there’s any legal basis to discriminate among uninsured,” she said.

Other Republicans have expressed concern about handing payouts to Chinese investors and companies.

Yes guys, you read it. They're gonna give the money back to  CCP controlled companies as well.

[kyonides]

Hunter Biden Admits to Biden Family’s China Deals for $Millions After Years of Denial

Hunter Biden on Thursday admitted and then justified the Biden family’s multi-million dollar business with Chinese entities close to the Chinese Communist Party after years of denial.

Hunter Biden, a private citizen with every right to pursue his own business endeavors, joined several business partners in seeking a joint venture with a privately-owned, legitimate energy company in China. As part of that joint venture, Hunter received his portion of good faith seed funds which he shared with his uncle, James Biden, and Hallie Biden, with whom he was involved with at the time, and sharing expenses.

Hunter’s spokesman continued, “Rep. Comer takes something old and tries to make it new by wrapping it in a wild and baseless right-wing conspiracy … The accounts so dramatically listed by Rep. Comer belonged to Hunter, his uncle and Hallie – nobody else.”

Hunter’s statement is a public relations attempt to push back on House Oversight Committee James Comer’s (R-KY) confirmation that the Biden family business received a $3 million wire transfer from a Chinese energy company and subsequent payments after President Joe Biden left the vice presidency in 2017.

Comer has also found evidence that shows the Biden family business received $179,836.86 while Joe Biden was in the White House. Although the sum appears to be insignificant compared to the $31 million received by the business during Joe Biden’s time as vice president, the new amount builds upon the previous reporting in 2022 by Breitbart News senior contributor Peter Schweizer.

Hunter’s statement is notable because it represents the first time he has ever acknowledged his family made millions from Chinese business deals.

Bashar Assad Tells Moscow He Wants More Russian Bases in Syria

Syrian dictator Bashar Assad during a visit to Moscow this week wholeheartedly supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, offering his government’s official recognition of the phony “independent republics” Russia carved out of eastern Ukraine, and said he would like more Russian forces stationed permanently in Syria.

Assad met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday to give thanks for his military support during the Syrian Civil War. He also thanked Putin for help after the massive February earthquakes in Turkey caused extensive damage and loss of life in Syria.
...
“I say that these are Russian territories, and even if the war had not happened, these are historically Russian territories,” Assad said of the ersatz “republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk Putin declared at the outset of the war.
...
“We think that expanding the Russian presence in Syria is a good thing. Russia’s military presence in any country should not be based on anything temporary,” he said.

Ersatz would normally mean replacement in German but here they could also stand for  dummy or substitute or imitation.

Argentina Wants to Buy Chinese Fighter Jets

Argentina’s embassy to China said on Tuesday that President Alberto Fernandez is considering the purchase of JF-17 “Thunder” fighter jets from China — three months after a deal for JF-17s fell apart and Fernandez said his government would not buy any military aircraft in the near future.

“Argentina has to allocate its resources to more important things than the purchase of military aircraft,” Fernandez said in December after scrapping a plan to buy JF-17s, which can sell for up to $25 million apiece, depending on the exact model and its accessories.

The Argentinian president noted at the time that his country had no adversaries that would require advanced warplanes to fight, and his regional agenda was for peace and cooperation, not war.
...
Competitors for Argentina’s business included fighters from India and Russia, along with secondhand American-made F-16s offered by Denmark. Some other options were ruled out because they contained British-made parts, a sticking point because Argentina has been under a U.K. military embargo ever since the Falkland Islands war in 1982.

 Let me see...  What about the United Kingdom?

Paris Burns: Hundreds Arrested as Rioters Set Trash Fires,
Clash with Cops After Macron Tries to Pass Pension Reform Without a Vote

Hundreds of people were arrested in Paris on Thursday evening as spontaneous protests and riots sprung up after President Emmanuel Macron’s government invoked a constitutional loophole to pass its controversial legislation to raise the retirement age without a vote in the National Assembly.

As of midnight Paris time, some 217 people were arrested in the French capital after the city erupted in rage after the National Assembly was bypassed by the globalist Macron government which used article 49.3 of the constitution to pass through its controversial plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64-years-old by the year 2030 in order to keep the programme from going under.

The ‘city of light’ was set ablaze by radicals who set fires across Paris, enabled, in part by the fact that tonnes of trash littered the streets as a result of a garbage workers strike also in response to the pension reform plans, Le Parisien reported.

Rioters also set fire to barricades and clashed with police, who deployed water cannons and tear gas canisters in response.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin also asked for police to give extra protection to senators and MPs amid the growing anger among the populace. This was said to be a precaution.

Venezuela’s Maduro Commits to Building
‘Alternative to Savage Capitalism’ with China

Chinese dictator Xi Jinping personally presided over the online event titled “High-Level Dialogue with the Communist Party of China and Political Parties of the World.” Maduro joined Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Le Hoai Trung, head of the Foreign Relations Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, among others, in the virtual meeting.

#EnVivo ? | Presidente @NicolasMaduro participa en el Diálogo de Alto Nivel entre el Partido Comunista de China y Partidos Politicos del Mundo, cuyo tema principal es "El Camino hacia la Modernización: Responsabilidad de los Partidos Politicos"

#Live | President @Nicolas Maduro partakes in the High Level Dialogue with the Communist Party of China and Political Parties of the World, its main point is "The Road to Modernization: Responsibility of Political Parties"

“I send you all our commitment in the work and in the daily struggle to build, as we are building, an alternative to savage capitalism, to neoliberal capitalism, to imperialist hegemonism. An independent, sovereign alternative,” Maduro asserted.

The socialist dictator continued by claiming that Venezuela will support the Chinese Communist Party calls for a “community of a shared future,” insisting on the need for dialogue and coordination among the countries of the world to “make diversity shine.”
...
Maduro also made calls “to create alternative models to hegemony, to economic blackmail, to the attempt to impose through coercion, the blackmail of aggression, to impose their domination on our people,” in reference to sanctions imposed by the United States, Canada, the European Union, and other countries on Maduro, his socialist regime, and its high-ranking members.

Maduro assured Xi that the “times of empires are over” — apparently not in reference to China’s own imperialist activities in Tibet, East Turkistan, Africa, and the South China Sea — and that the time has come for a new world based on the integration of peoples opposed to the United States.
...
“The multipolar and multicentric world deserves a lot of effort, perseverance on the right path to build a civilization, as comrade Xi Jinping has raised, which allows the beautiful diversity of the culture and strength of the peoples to shine,” he continued.

 Yeah, it's so diverse that they arrest dissenters or political opponents just because.
Plus, a multipolar world is nothing but a (communist) global government disguised as a blessing.

Leftist Politician Fined for Faking Neo-Nazi Hate Crimes Against Himself

A politician for Germany’s left-wing Green party has been fined $3,800 for faking neo-nazi hate crimes against himself.

Manoj Jansen, a former councillor for the German Greens, was handed a €3,600 (~$3,814) fine by a court in Germany on Wednesday after it was found that he had faked a number of neo-nazi hate crimes against himself.

Jansen had claimed that he was the victim of repeated far-right attacks and hate crimes, with the politician reportedly having his property vandalised and emblazoned with swastikas and SS runes by suspected neo-nazis.

However, authorities came to the conclusion that the immigration-heritage leftist politician had likely faked the alleged hate incidents last September, with some local publications have since reported that at least one of the swastikas said to have been painted onto Jansen’s car were the wrong way around.
...
During a court hearing on Wednesday however, Bild reports that this fine has now been upheld, with Jansen reportedly dropping their objection to the punishment after a private conversation between his lawyer and the presiding judge.

Jansen is said to have made a “big show” during the hearing, however, breaking down crying during the hearing while shielding his face with printed-out newspaper articles.

 This reminds me of a black guy that did something similar in the US some time ago.