Politics & Stuff

[Fernando 6,585]

Hundreds join Gaza's largest anti-Hamas protest since war began

Hundreds of people have taken part in the largest anti-Hamas protest in Gaza since the war with Israel began, taking to the streets to demand the group step down from power.

Masked Hamas militants, some armed with guns and others carrying batons, intervened and forcibly dispersed the protesters, assaulting several of them.

Videos shared widely on social media by activists typically critical of Hamas showed young men marching in the streets of Beit Lahia, northern Gaza on Tuesday, chanting "out, out, out, Hamas out".

Hamas said it condemned those who it accused of pushing "suspicious political agendas" and shifting the blame from Israel.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g71lk09npo

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“Too Stupid for Words”: Trump pulls back 20 semi trucks of food from Cleveland’s food bank

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2025/03/too-stupid-for-words-trump-pulls-back-20-semi-trucks-of-food-from-clevelands-food-bank.html

The Greater Cleveland Food Bank faces a crisis that could leave thousands of Northeast Ohioans hungry as early as this week, bringing harsh criticism of the Donald Trump administration from “Today in Ohio” podcast hosts Chris Quinn and Lisa Garvin.

“The food bank is facing cancellation of 20 semi trucks full of food, and that could happen as early as this week,” explained Garvin. “This food is coming from the Federal Emergency Food Assistance Program. Each truck holds 100,000 pounds of food. So that’s $2 million worth of food.”

Garvin noted the truckloads represent about “a week’s worth of food for Northeast Ohio.” The cancellations appear to be part of broader federal spending cuts, but the hosts questioned whether this decision was deliberate policy or simply incompetence.

“I’ve got to think that Trump himself doesn’t know about this because this is too stupid for words,” Quinn said bluntly. “Nothing drives you more than hunger.”

The podcast highlighted how the cancellations would impact not just recipients but also local farmers. The food bank expects to lose “a million pounds of food from local... Food for Purchase Assistance,” which provides fresh food from area farmers to food banks. Garvin explained that “losing this program means that they can’t meet the demand for fresh food or protein, which is really expensive to replace and really hard to get donated to the food bank.”

The food bank is uncertain about when or if the issue will be resolved. According to Garvin, Food Bank CEO Kristin Warzocha is “worried that these trucks, this food is going to sit and spoil while things are getting worked out. And that would be the loss of 2 million, 3 million pounds of food.”

Quinn expressed particular frustration about the political shortsightedness of the move. “If you want to rally people to vote in the midterms, make them hungry, leave them without enough food. See how many show up to make their feelings known,” he said.

The podcasters noted that the federal cuts come as Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s budget proposal calls for “a $7.5 million decrease in food bank funding in Ohio,” creating a perfect storm for hunger relief organizations.

The hosts emphasized that this isn’t just about feeding hungry people—it’s also about supporting local agriculture. “It isn’t just about them. It’s about the small and medium sized farmers in Ohio that are supplying this fresh fruit and produce. It’s become a business for them. It’s a big client for a lot of these people. So they’re affected too,” Garvin noted.

As of the podcast recording, there had been no explanation from the Department of Agriculture about the cancellations, leaving the food bank and its clients in limbo.

The “Today in Ohio” team promised to follow up with the food bank to determine exactly how many people could be affected by these cuts if they go forward.

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Trump’s faith adviser selling seven Easter blessings for $1,000 gift

https://baptistnews.com/article/trumps-faith-adviser-selling-seven-easter-blessings-for-1000-gift/

President Donald Trump’s chief faith adviser is selling seven “supernatural blessings” for Easter season gifts of $1,000 or more.

On her website and social media, televangelist Paula White has a special offer for what she calls the “Passover season” when “your obedience to align yourself with the desires of God” can “release seven specific supernatural blessings for your body, your family, your finances and your future.”

White leads the White House Faith Office and recently assembled a group of 17 evangelical pastors to pray over Trump in the Oval Office.

She bases her promise of seven blessings (for the gift of $1,000) on Exodus 23, which ironically begins with these words: “You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with the wicked to act as a malicious witness. You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing; when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you shall not side with the majority so as to pervert justice.”

Televangelist and personal pastor to Donald Trump, Paula White, speaks during a Trump campaign event courting devout conservatives by combining praise, prayer and patriotism, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Alpharetta, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis)

And then states this in verse 9: “You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”

White and her team of spiritual advisers have endorsed and blessed Trump as he lies and seeks to have judges impeached if they cross him, and as he rounds up legal immigrants for deportation and imprisonment.

With a portion of Exodus 23, she takes God’s promise to the Children of Israel and applies it today to those who give her $1,000 or more.

“As we read in Exodus 23, when you honor God during this Passover,” she claims, God will “assign an angel to you,” “be an enemy to your enemies,” “give you prosperity,” “take sickness away from you,” “give you a long life, “bring increase and inheritance” and “give a special year of blessing.”

All this can be yours, she says, if you bring a “Passover offering to the house of the Lord.”

Then she relates this testimony from one of her followers named Alfred: “I sowed a seed as a result of the teaching of giving during the Passover season. As a result, my unemployment benefits were restored and increased this past week. My family and I are being provided for, and spiritual blessings are evident. I believe the 7 Blessings are being manifested in me, and believe full restoration will take place in my life, career, child, and service to the Lord.”

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is seeking to cut benefits for the poorest Americans such as Alfred.

But wait, there’s more!

With your gift of $1,000 or more, White will send you a 10-inch-high Waterford cross, plus some devotionals and an “olive wood communion set from the Holy Land.”

That special set “contains unleavened bread and grape juice from the Holy Land, two beautiful olive wood communion cups” and a booklet, her advertisement says. With these items in hand, “you can join Paula in taking communion during our special Good Friday online GLOBAL communion service at noon eastern on April 18.”

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The SAVE Act Would Disenfranchise Millions of Citizens

The SAVE Act would require all Americans to prove their citizenship with documentation unavailable to millions and upend the way every American citizen registers to vote.

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-save-act-would-disenfranchise-millions-of-citizens/

This article contains an update.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation would require all Americans to prove their citizenship status by presenting documentation—in person—when registering to vote or updating their voter registration information. Specifically, the legislation would require the vast majority of Americans to rely on a passport or birth certificate to prove their citizenship. While this may sound easy for many Americans, the reality is that more than 140 million American citizens do not possess a passport and as many as 69 million women who have taken their spouse’s name do not have a birth certificate matching their legal name.

Because documentation would need to be presented in person, the legislation would, in practice, prevent Americans from being able to register to vote by mail; end voter registration drives nationwide; and eliminate online voter registration overnight—a service 42 states rely on. Americans would need to appear in person, with original documentation, to even simply update their voter registration information for a change of address or change in party affiliation. These impacts alone would set voter registration sophistication and technology back by decades and would be unworkable for millions of Americans, including more than 60 million people who live in rural areas. Additionally, driver’s licenses—including REAL IDs—as well military or tribal IDs would not be sufficient forms of documentation to prove citizenship under the legislation.*

In short, the SAVE Act is disastrous legislation that would drastically alter the way every American citizen registers to vote. The legislation completely disregards the resources available to most Americans as well as the reality of American women’s lives. Despite these overwhelming facts and the real possibility that millions of Americans—Republicans, Democrats, and independents—could be disenfranchised, leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives has declared that passing the legislation is one of their top priorities for the 119th Congress.

Existing election integrity measures

Federal law already clearly states that it is illegal for non-U.S. citizens to register to vote or cast a ballot in federal elections. It’s an existing crime that is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Election officials also already use state and federal data—including citizenship data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration—to verify an individual’s eligibility to cast a ballot. What the SAVE Act would do is invert the responsibility to verify a person’s eligibility and citizenship status from election officials and the government onto American citizens.

It’s also critical to note that there are already documentation requirements to be able to register to vote. As required by federal law, Americans must provide either the last four digits of their Social Security number or their driver’s license number on a voter registration application in order to provide election officials with the necessary information to verify their identity and voting eligibility. The SAVE Act seeks to upend this process and turn a relatively well-oiled system—where officials are tasked with the work of verification—and, instead, make every single American citizen put in the work, time, and resources to exercise their constitutional right to vote and convince the government that they’re eligible.

Half of American citizens do not have a valid passport

In addition to setting voter registration back to the preinternet era, the SAVE Act threatens the constitutional rights of American citizens, as tens of millions of citizens do not possess the documentation required under the bill.

According to statements and data released by the U.S. Department of State, approximately only half of American citizens possess a passport. This means that half of all American citizens would not be able to provide one of the primary acceptable forms of documentation that would be required to register to vote under the SAVE Act.

Nationwide, approximately 146 million American citizens do not possess a passport. To put that number into perspective, 153 million Americans cast a ballot in the 2024 presidential general election.

Methodology

Source: U.S. Department of State, "Passport Issuance by State or Territory by Fiscal Year (2020-2024)" (last accessed January 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, “Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2022,” Press release, April 2023; U.S. Department of State, “Return to Pre-Pandemic Passport Processing Times,” December 18, 2023; KFF, "Population Distribution by Citizenship Status, 2023" (last accessed January 2025).Map: Center for American Progress

 

In seven states, less than one-third of citizens have a valid passport: West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. And only in four states do more than two-thirds of the citizens have a valid passport: New York, Massachusetts, California, and New Jersey. In West Virginia, the state with the lowest rate of citizen passport possession, only about 1 in 5 citizens—or 20.7 percent—possess this documentation. Conversely, New Jersey has the highest rate of citizen passport possession, with 4 in 5 citizens—or 80 percent—possessing a valid passport.

Overall, data shows that high rates of passport ownership are predominantly concentrated in blue states, while low rates of passport ownership are overwhelmingly concentrated in red states. This means that, under the SAVE Act, it would be disproportionately more difficult for American citizens in red states to present one of the primary forms of documentation required to register to vote—and they would be disproportionately disenfranchised if the bill became law.

Additionally, Americans who have completed less education as well as Americans with lower incomes are far less likely to have a passport than Americans with higher levels of education or higher income levels. Among Americans whose highest level of education is a high school degree or less, approximately 1 in 4 have a valid passport. Among Americans with a household income below $50,000, only 1 in 5 have a valid passport. The policies in the SAVE Act are a serious socioeconomic issue that would disproportionately impact the voting rights of working-class and lower-income Americans.

The vast majority of married women cannot present a valid birth certificate

While the vast majority of Americans have a birth certificate, tens of millions of married women could not present their birth certificate as proof of citizenship under the SAVE Act, as it does not display their current legal name.

A survey from the Pew Research Center found that 79 percent of American women married to men have taken their spouse’s name. When women who have hyphenated their surname are also accounted for, 84 percent of American women have changed their surname.

Nationwide, approximately 69 million women could not use their birth certificate to prove their identity or citizenship status under the SAVE Act. Additionally, 5 percent of married men have also changed their surname, accounting for approximately 4 million men nationwide who could also not present an acceptable birth certificate under the SAVE Act. The legislation does not mention the potential option for these Americans to present change-of-name documentation or a marriage certificate in combination with a birth certificate to prove their citizenship. This shows yet another area in which the legislation makes no attempts to ensure that citizens’ voting rights are protected. Seemingly, the SAVE Act would rather err on the side of disenfranchisement.

Methodology

Source: Luona Lin, "About 8 in 10 women in opposite-sex marriages say they took their husband’s last name," Pew Research Center, September 7, 2023; U.S. Census Bureau, "S0501: Selected Characteristics of the Native and Foreign-Born Populations, 2023: ACS 5-Year Estimates Subject Tables" (last accessed January 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, "Number of Same-Sex Couple Households Exceeded 1 Million in 2021," November 22, 2022; Unchained At Last, "United States' Child Marriage Problem," April 2021.

 

The same Pew survey found that the two groups of women most likely to take their spouse’s name were conservative Republican women and Republican/Republican-leaning women, while the two least-likely groups were liberal Democratic women and Democratic/Democratic-leaning women. In fact, Democratic and Democratic-leaning women are twice as likely as Republican and Republican-leaning women to have kept their maiden name, with only 7 percent of conservative Republican women reporting that they kept their last name. So while the legislation would unfairly disenfranchise women as a whole, the requirement to present a birth certificate would disproportionately disenfranchise conservative and Republican women.

While the SAVE Act does not directly aim to deny millions of American women the right to vote, it certainly does not treat their right vote as sacred and remains ignorant to the fact that requirements of the legislation threaten to infringe on the voting rights of millions of Republican, Democratic, and independent women across the country. As with numerous pieces of federal legislation and policy, the impacts on women are an afterthought and their rights are viewed as inconsequential.

Read the accompanying fact sheet

The SAVE Act: Overview and Facts

The SAVE Act: Overview and Facts

 

Conclusion

Congress has a pivotal constitutional responsibility in ensuring that all citizens can exercise their right to vote in a secure and accessible manner. Many Americans have continued to voice concerns regarding election integrity, and elected representatives should be responsive to these concerns in a manner that ensures the ballot box remains accessible for the citizens they represent. As written, the SAVE Act is irresponsible and dangerous legislation that threatens to disenfranchise millions of American citizens—Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike.

The only Americans who stand to benefit from the SAVE Act are out-of-touch politicians willing to trample on the rights of millions of citizens, including their own constituents, in order to score a few political points with the media and the administration.

For detailed tables including the data depicted above, please see here.

*Update, February 3, 2025: The legislation states that “a form of identification issued consistent with the requirements of the Real ID Act of 2005 that indicates the applicant is a citizen of the United States” can be used to prove citizenship. However, the Real ID Act of 2005 does not include a federal requirement for Real IDs to indicate citizenship status, and no state’s Real ID indicates citizenship status on the card. Legally residing noncitizens can also get a Real ID. As it stands, this is an unworkable provision of the legislation, unless the standard for Real IDs is federally changed. Similarly, as tribal and military IDs do not indicate citizenship status, they need to be shown in conjunction with other documentation that does, meaning that alone, they do not satisfy the bill’s requirements. 

Methodology

The U.S. State Department has published state-by-state data on passport issuance for fiscal years (FY) since 2020 and the overall number of passports issued nationwide for FYs since 1996. For FYs 2020-2024, the authors found how many passports were issued in sum for every state over that five-year period. Utilizing the same data, the authors found the average percentage of passports issued nationwide for each state over that same five-year period. For example, from FYs 2020-2024, West Virginia issued a total of 175,000 passports compared to the total 79,830,000 passports issued across all 50 states over that five-year period. This means that, on average, West Virginia issued 0.22 percent of passports nationwide over five years. Using the calculation of average share of total passports issued, the authors estimated the number of passports each state issued between FYs 2015–2019, years for which data was not reported on a state-by-state basis by the State Department. This was necessary in order to estimate the total number of valid passports in circulation, given that an adult citizen’s passport is valid for 10 years. This methodology is based on the assumption that, while volumes of passport issuance vary due to various factors (such as the decline in passport issuances during coronavirus pandemic, which still needs to be accounted for in the number of valid passports in circulation), each states’ individual shares of nationwide passport issuances should remain relatively consistent across a five-year period.

In order to estimate the number of passports issued in FYs 2015–2019, the authors applied the average nationwide share for each state to the total nationwide number of passports issued as reported by the State Department for those years. For example, in FY 2019, the State Department reported that 17,794,977 passports were issued nationwide. The authors calculated that if West Virginia issued 0.22 percent of those, it would have issued 39,023 passports that FY. Data for FYs 2015–2019 was calculated using this methodology for each state in each FY.

Once the total number of passports issued in each state over the last decade was calculated, the total was divided by the total reported citizen population of each state to estimate the percentage of that state’s citizen population that have a valid passport. Data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) was used to calculate each state’s total citizenship population based on the number of U.S. born citizens and the number of naturalized citizens reported for each state.

As children who are citizens can get passports but there is no data publicly available to filter out the number passports issued by states to those under 18, passports issued to children are included in the data and the number of citizens also includes minors. Therefore, it is accurate based on this data to say for example, that “only 20.7 percent of West Virginia citizens possess a valid passport.” Additionally, passports issued for those under 16 years of age are valid for five years. This means that a 13-year-old with a passport could use that to register to vote for the first time at 18. Likewise, 14-, 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds issued a passport could also use that document to register to vote upon turning 18. Therefore, it is important to consider children in this passport possession data for voting purposes under the SAVE Act to some extent.

To estimate the number of female citizens in each state that do not possess a birth certificate that displays their current legal name due to a marital name change, the authors needed to determine how many female citizens are currently married or have been married at some point in each state. It was important to not only account for currently married women but also separated, divorced, and widowed female citizens, as many in the later three groups do not change back their surname to their maiden name as would be displayed on their birth certificate. The authors were not able to find reliable data for how many female citizens change their surname back to their maiden name following separation, divorce, or death of their spouse.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s “American Community Survey 5-Year Estimate table on the Selected Characteristics of the Native and Foreign-Born Populations” breaks down the rate of each marital categorization (never married, now married, divorced or separated, widowed) for all citizens 15 years and older by citizenship status (native-born citizens and naturalized citizens) for each state. Based on the survey, the authors calculated (1) how many currently married, divorced or separated, and widowed native-born citizens there are in each state, and (2) how many currently married, divorced or separated, and widowed naturalized citizens there are in each state. The total number of currently and previously married citizens in a state was determined by multiplying the combined percentages of married, separated, divorced and widowed populations by the total citizen population for native and for naturalized citizens separately. These were then added up.

For example, in Alabama, the ACS survey reported 3,943,617 native-born citizens over the age of 15. It reported that 46.8 percent of them are married, 14.2 percent are divorced or separated, and 7 percent are widowed. This means that there are a total of 2,681,660 native-born Alabama citizens 15 years and older who are married, divorced or separated, or widowed. Similarly, the process was repeated for the 77,953 Alabama naturalized citizens using the reported percentages for each marital status category for that population. In total, this means that there are currently 2,747,062 married, divorced or separated, and widowed 15 years and older citizens in Alabama.

That total figure for each state was divided by two to account for the likely number of women in that population accounting for them as one half of all marital status couples since the vast majority of U.S marriages are opposite-sex marriages. According to the Census Bureau, there were only approximately 710,000 same-sex marriages nationwide as of 2021 compared to approximately 62 million married couples nation-wide, meaning that same-sex married couples account for only 1.1 percent of married couples nationwide. For the accuracy of these estimations, therefore, all couples were assumed to be opposite-sex marriages. For the ultimate purposes of calculating the number of women who have changed their surname upon marriage, it is also accurate to account for some same-sex couples as many of them also change or hyphenate their surname.

The authors then relied on findings by the Pew Research Center that found that 84 percent of women in opposite-sex marriages changed their surname after getting married (79 percent took their husband’s name and 5 percent hyphenated). The authors applied this rate to the estimated number of female citizens who are or have been married at one point in each state. For example, if there are 2,747,062 citizens 15 years and older in Alabama and half of those are female and 84 percent of those women changed their surname upon marriage, it means that there are 1,153,766 female citizens in Alabama 15 years and older who have changed their surname.

This also means that there are 1,153,766 female citizens in Alabama 15 years and older who do not possess a birth certificate that displays their current legal name and could therefore not use that documentation to prove their citizenship status under the SAVE Act. While only Americans 18 years or older are able to cast a ballot, since marriages under the age of 18 make up such a small number of marriages nationwide they should be deemed statistically insignificant. As of 2021, there were approximately 300,000 married minors in the U.S. accounting for approximately just 150,000 or (0.18 percent) of the 81,772,763 married female citizens 15 years and older.

Therefore, this population is a good representation of the voting-age citizen population that would not be able to use a birth certificate for voter registration purposes under the SAVE Act. Similarly, the Pew survey found that 5 percent of men took their spouse’s last name.

Using the total number of estimated currently or previously married male citizens above, the authors calculated that 5 percent of that total estimated population would be approximately 4 million men.

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this is NOT a good sign

Massive U.S. bomber buildup continues at Diego Garcia

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/massive-u-s-bomber-buildup-continues-at-diego-garcia/

The United States has now moved at least seven B-2A Spirit stealth bombers to Diego Garcia, significantly expanding its military presence at the remote British-controlled island in the Indian Ocean.

This marks a further escalation in the ongoing preparations for large-scale military action, potentially targeting Houthi forces in Yemen and, as some analysts suggest, Iranian military infrastructure.

This continued buildup follows last week’s airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen—described as the largest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025. The Houthis claim at least 53 people were killed in the latest round of strikes, while the U.S. has reiterated its intent to continue operations until Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea cease.

The activity was first reported by open-source intelligence (OSINT) specialist “IntelFrog” on X (formerly Twitter), who has been using publicly available aircraft tracking data to monitor movements of military assets. IntelFrog initially reported that 18 U.S. Air Force KC-135 tankers were staged at key locations across the Pacific—including Travis AFB in California, Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Hawaii, and Andersen AFB in Guam.

These tankers, operating under sequential RCH0## call signs, were followed by flights to Diego Garcia, where multiple C-17A Globemaster III aircraft have also been tracked arriving in recent days. The arrival of these cargo planes indicates a substantial logistics effort—likely involving the delivery of personnel, munitions, and support equipment required for long-range bomber operations.

IntelFrog’s verified flight data now shows at least seven B-2 stealth bombers on or en route to the island, a highly unusual concentration of the platform in one location. These aircraft, which are capable of penetrating sophisticated air defences, are typically reserved for high-value strategic missions and are rarely deployed in such numbers.

The increased military presence comes amid warnings from U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has made clear that airstrikes will continue for as long as Houthi aggression disrupts global shipping lanes. A U.S. official speaking to Reuters stated the operation may continue “for weeks,” suggesting the buildup is part of a sustained campaign rather than a short-term show of force.

Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea have caused serious disruption to global trade, prompting multiple shipping companies to divert vessels around the Cape of Good Hope. The U.S. sees freedom of navigation in the Red Sea as a strategic imperative, and recent movements suggest an effort to neutralise Houthi launch capabilities and, potentially, to deter Iranian interference in the wider region.

The arrival of the seventh B-2A bomber raises the stakes considerably.

Diego Garcia has long played a crucial role in U.S. strategic bomber operations, having hosted B-52 and B-1 missions during the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Its remote location and long runway make it a key forward operating base for long-range operations, especially when regional basing options are constrained by diplomatic or security concerns.

The deployment of at least seven B-2s, combined with a logistics tail of tankers and transports, represents a highly flexible and potent strike capability. It also signals a return to Diego Garcia’s historic role as a launchpad for power projection across the Middle East and South Asia.

As of now, the U.S. Department of Defense has not formally confirmed the purpose of the deployment. However, the scale, timing, and composition of forces all suggest a significant new phase in the campaign against the Houthis, and possibly beyond.

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MAGA Still Wants To Ban Chemtrails

Not only does MAGA not believe in science, but they also think they can change the laws of science with a law.

 

https://crooksandliars.com/2025/03/maga-still-wants-ban-chemtrails

 

 

I don't want to say that the MAGA/MAHA gang is stupid as hell, but that's only because it's so self-evident.

The old but still favorite conspiracy theory about chemtrails is on the rise again, and this time they mean business:

In reality, he explained, people are seeing jet contrails, which is just "water vapor condensing around that airline exhaust in certain clouds, cloudless, very cold days. And you see that from some planes and not others, depending on the conditions."

Nonetheless, he said, the conspiracy theory persists — and it's driving real-world policy now, including legislation introduced in Alabama and Florida, who are "talking about language to ban any kind of chemical spraying overhead, either for geoengineering or any other purposes."

"This is really amplified by RFK Jr., the Health and Human Services Secretary, who put out on X that 'These efforts to ban geoengineering our climate by dousing our citizens, our waterways and landscapes with toxins. This is a movement every MAGA — Make America Healthy Again — person needs to support. HHS will do its part.' This doesn't exist. There is no spraying of any chemicals to control the weather in any way."

To be honest, I kind of hope this plays out a little bit, just to see how they propose to enforce a chemtrail ban. Are they going to send cops up in helicopters to cuff the chemtrails? Will ICE grab them and deport them back to wherever they came from? At least the ridiculousness of this should provide a few laughs to distract from the rest of the shitshow going on around us.

[KEVINAA 129]

KING CHARLES WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON AS PASSED AWAY.

PRINCE WILLIAM IS SOON TO THE KING.

 

 

 

Edited March 27 by KEVINAA

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18 hours ago, KEVINAA said:

KING CHARLES WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON AS PASSED AWAY.

PRINCE WILLIAM IS SOON TO THE KING.

 

 

 

King seen for first time after short hospital visit

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyeyezj8nwo

King Charles has been seen in public for the first time since he went to hospital after experiencing temporary side effects from his cancer treatment.

He cancelled a trip to Birmingham on Friday on medical advice after spending a short period of time in hospital on Thursday, Buckingham Palace said.

The monarch, 76, left his London residence Clarence House on Friday morning to spend the weekend privately at his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire.

His diagnosis was announced in February last year but it has not been said what type of cancer he has. The Palace has not provided details on what the recent side effects were.

• King feeling better but will be frustrated at visit having to be cancelled

"Tomorrow, he was due to undertake four public engagements in Birmingham and is greatly disappointed to be missing them on this occasion," the Palace said in a statement on Thursday.

"He very much hopes that they can be rescheduled in due course and offers his deepest apologies to all those who had worked so hard to make the planned visit possible."

Meetings with three ambassadors were also affected, it added.

A Palace source described the most recent health development as a "most minor bump in a road that is very much heading in the right direction".

The King was taken to the London Clinic hospital in central London by car and was not joined by Queen Camilla during the brief hospital stay.

He was said to have been "feeling good" on Thursday evening, carried out some work and shared dinner with the Queen at Clarence House.

Leaving the London residence on Friday morning, he waved at crowds that had gathered nearby as he drove away in a black car.

The Palace said the King's schedule of public duties - which restarted last April after a period of treatment and recuperation following his diagnosis - is expected to resume next week.

Although his cancer treatment is ongoing, the King has continued to make regular appearances in public, including overseas.

In recent weeks, he assumed a visible role in global diplomacy. He invited US President Donald Trump for a second state visit to the UK and met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Norfolk residence, Sandringham.

He also welcomed Mark Carney, Canada's new prime minister, to Buckingham Palace.

Lat week, the King visited Northern Ireland and he also recently attended the Commonwealth Day service, which he missed last year after his diagnosis.

Earlier this month, he launched a playlist of his favourite music.

He is set to take part in a state visit to Italy in April. A previously planned meeting with Pope Francis has been cancelled due to the pontiff's ill-health.

Details of the King's cancer and the type of treatment he is receiving remain private.

The diagnosis was made after a separate issue of concern was noted during treatment for benign prostate enlargement, a Palace statement said when his illness was made public last year.

The King chose to share the news to prevent speculation and "assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer".

[KEVINAA 129]

CONFIRMED BY ELON MUSK AND BLOOMBERG

XAI HAS PURCHASED AND ACQUIRED X / TWITTER FOR 33 BILLION.

MUSK PAID 44 BILLION AND IT WAS VALUED AT 15 BILLION WHEN HE PURCHASED IT.

Edited March 28 by KEVINAA

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10 hours ago, KEVINAA said:

CONFIRMED BY ELON MUSK AND BLOOMBERG

XAI HAS PURCHASED AND ACQUIRED X / TWITTER FOR 33 BILLION.

MUSK PAID 44 BILLION AND IT WAS VALUED AT 15 BILLION WHEN HE PURCHASED IT.

Musk's social media firm X bought by his AI company, valued at $33 billion

https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/musks-xai-buys-social-media-platform-x-45-billion-2025-03-28/

• Transaction is an all-stock deal
• Deal's $45 billion price tag includes $12 billion in debt
• xAI valued at $80 billion, integration could make training Grok easier

March 28 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's xAI has acquired X in a deal that values the social media platform at $33 billion and allows the value of his artificial intelligence firm to be shared with his co-investors in the company formerly known as Twitter.

 

The deal could also help xAI's ability to train its chatbot known as Grok. "xAI and X's futures are intertwined," Musk, who also heads automaker Tesla and SpaceX, wrote in a post on X, opens new tab: "Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent."

 

He said the combination values "xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45B less $12B debt)".

Representatives for X and xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Much of the deal's specifics remain unclear, such as how X's leaders would be integrated in the new firm or whether there would be regulatory scrutiny.

Musk, the world's wealthiest man, is also a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump and heads the Department of Government Efficiency.

Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns the investment company Kingdom Holding, said he had requested the development.

 

He noted his companies are the second-largest investors in X and xAI. "After this deal, the value of our investments is expected to reach between $4-$5 billion... and the meter is running," he said in a post on X.

D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said the price tag for X of $45 billion when debt was included was not a coincidence. "It is $1 billion higher than the take-private transaction for Twitter in 2022."

An investor in xAI who declined to be identified said they were not surprised by the deal, viewing it as Musk consolidating his leadership and management at his own companies.

Musk did not ask investors for approval but told them that the two companies had been collaborating closely and the deal would drive deeper integration with Grok, the investor said.

OPENAI RIVALRY

Musk's xAI startup was launched less than two years ago and recently raised $10 billion in a funding round that valued the company at $75 billion, according to a media report.

It competes with the likes of Microsoft-backed OpenAI as well as with Chinese startup DeepSeek.

In February, Musk, 53, made a $97.4 billion bid with a consortium for OpenAI, which was rejected and he has sued to prevent the ChatGPT maker from converting from a non-profit to a for-profit business. A judge this month denied Musk's request for a preliminary injunction that would prevent the changeover.

As competition in AI intensifies, xAI has been ramping up its data center capacity to train more advanced models, and its supercomputer cluster in Memphis, Tennessee, called "Colossus," is touted as the largest in the world.

 

xAI introduced Grok-3, the latest iteration of its chatbot, in February.

The X platform could serve to further distribute xAI products, while also providing a real-time feed of users' musings, screenshots and other data.

After buying Twitter, Musk gutted the company's workforce, prompting advertisers to flee the platform and a rapid decline in revenue. Recently, brands have been returning to X as Musk's influence in the Trump administration grows.

 

The seven banks that extended $13 billion in loans to Musk to buy X kept the debt on their books for two years until they were able to sell it all at once last month, according to a source familiar with the transactions.

This was made possible after a surge in investor interest for exposure to AI companies along with X's improved operating performance over the previous two quarters, among other factors, according to two people familiar with the matter.

After the merger, investors who bought the debt from the banks will profit, said Espen Robak, founder of Pluris Valuation Advisors, which specializes in illiquid assets. "For sure the debt is worth more now, if not fully paid off."

Separately, a U.S. judge on Friday rejected a bid by Musk to dismiss a lawsuit claiming he had defrauded former Twitter shareholders by waiting too long to disclose his initial investment in the company.

Edited March 29 by Vesper

[Vesper 30,100]

Trump now thinks he is king of the world.... utter madness inbound

 

US tells French companies to comply with Donald Trump’s anti-diversity order

Move signals push by the American president to widen his ideological campaign abroad

 

https://archive.ph/GIae3

 

The Trump administration has sent a letter to some large French companies warning them to comply with an executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.

 

The letter, sent by the American embassy in Paris, stated that Trump’s executive order applied to companies outside the US if they were a supplier or service provider to the American government, according to a person familiar with the matter.

 

The embassy also sent a questionnaire that ordered the companies to attest to their compliance. The document, which the Financial Times has seen, is titled “certification regarding compliance with applicable federal anti-discrimination law”.

 

The document says “Department of State contractors must certify that they do not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable anti-discrimination laws and agree that such certification is material for purposes of the government’s payment decision and therefore subject to the False Claims Act.”

 

The documents appear to signal that the Trump administration is widening its campaign against DEI to foreign companies after launching a crackdown against US media groups such as Disney. 

 

A senior banker in Paris said he was shocked by the letter. “It’s crazy . . . but everything is now possible. The rule of the strongest now prevails.”

 

The French finance ministry expressed concerns after some of the companies involved notified it about the move.

 

“This practice reflects the values of the new US government. They are not the same as ours,” said a person close to France’s economy minister Eric Lombard. “The ministry will remind his counterparts in the US government of that.”

 

The existence of the letter was first reported by Les Échos newspaper.

 

The extraterritorial move by the US comes amid heightening tensions between the Trump administration and Europe over economic and security policy as nation pivots away from its traditional allies, especially on trade and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

 

Trump this week imposed an additional 25 per cent levy on auto sector imports into the US and has increased tariffs on European steel and aluminium imports. The EU is working on reciprocal tariffs in response, but has not yet decided which products to target.

 

Top Trump officials’ attitude towards Europe was cast into stark relief this week when messages about US attack plans in Yemen were leaked to American media. “I just hate bailing Europe out again,” vice-president JD Vance wrote in a Signal chat group. “It’s PATHETIC,” responded defence secretary Pete Hegseth.

 

France has not traditionally been a place where DEI programmes have taken root because of legal limitations on the collection of racial and ethnic data. Employers are not allowed to factor people’s origins into hiring or promotion decisions. 

 

But French companies that are potentially exposed to the US demands include aviation and defence groups, consulting providers and infrastructure companies. The FT could not immediately determine which companies had received the letter.

 

According to Les Échos, the letter concluded: “If you do not agree to sign this document, we would be grateful if you could kindly provide us with detailed reasons, which we will forward to our legal department.”

 

 

[Fulham Broadway 17,306]

23 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Trump now thinks he is king of the world.... utter madness inbound

 

US tells French companies to comply with Donald Trump’s anti-diversity order

Move signals push by the American president to widen his ideological campaign abroad

 

https://archive.ph/GIae3

 

The Trump administration has sent a letter to some large French companies warning them to comply with an executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.

 

The letter, sent by the American embassy in Paris, stated that Trump’s executive order applied to companies outside the US if they were a supplier or service provider to the American government, according to a person familiar with the matter.

 

The embassy also sent a questionnaire that ordered the companies to attest to their compliance. The document, which the Financial Times has seen, is titled “certification regarding compliance with applicable federal anti-discrimination law”.

 

The document says “Department of State contractors must certify that they do not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable anti-discrimination laws and agree that such certification is material for purposes of the government’s payment decision and therefore subject to the False Claims Act.”

 

The documents appear to signal that the Trump administration is widening its campaign against DEI to foreign companies after launching a crackdown against US media groups such as Disney. 

 

A senior banker in Paris said he was shocked by the letter. “It’s crazy . . . but everything is now possible. The rule of the strongest now prevails.”

 

The French finance ministry expressed concerns after some of the companies involved notified it about the move.

 

“This practice reflects the values of the new US government. They are not the same as ours,” said a person close to France’s economy minister Eric Lombard. “The ministry will remind his counterparts in the US government of that.”

 

The existence of the letter was first reported by Les Échos newspaper.

 

The extraterritorial move by the US comes amid heightening tensions between the Trump administration and Europe over economic and security policy as nation pivots away from its traditional allies, especially on trade and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

 

Trump this week imposed an additional 25 per cent levy on auto sector imports into the US and has increased tariffs on European steel and aluminium imports. The EU is working on reciprocal tariffs in response, but has not yet decided which products to target.

 

Top Trump officials’ attitude towards Europe was cast into stark relief this week when messages about US attack plans in Yemen were leaked to American media. “I just hate bailing Europe out again,” vice-president JD Vance wrote in a Signal chat group. “It’s PATHETIC,” responded defence secretary Pete Hegseth.

 

France has not traditionally been a place where DEI programmes have taken root because of legal limitations on the collection of racial and ethnic data. Employers are not allowed to factor people’s origins into hiring or promotion decisions. 

 

But French companies that are potentially exposed to the US demands include aviation and defence groups, consulting providers and infrastructure companies. The FT could not immediately determine which companies had received the letter.

 

According to Les Échos, the letter concluded: “If you do not agree to sign this document, we would be grateful if you could kindly provide us with detailed reasons, which we will forward to our legal department.”

 

 

hes probably more gaga than Biden now

 

[Fulham Broadway 17,306]

Tens of thousands of unexploded US bombs in Gaza

80 million unexploded US bombs in Laos - over 300 mainly farmers and children killed by them every year. Laos women clear them by hand when found