Another day, another Israel bashing at commencement. This time it was at MIT. It’s just so easy to elevate oneself on the backs of Jewish people. Just as in the USA, the Indian elite kids are progressive wokesters. It’s very disrespectful of the Jewish kids, who have been ostracized and attacked on campus. The graduate […] The post Graduate MIT Commencement Speaker Bashes Israel appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Bono, Rogan, Rubio and Musk on USAID Funding

Dr. Jamal Bryant, a liberal black preacher at a Baptist megachurch in Georgia, is angry that Target stores have dropped the secular left’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative. And so, along with Al Sharpton, he has urged black people to boycott Target.Bryant is leading a deceitful political scam while insisting he is a man who seeks to help black people. DEI has never been about that. Instead, proponents of DEI play the race card, using black Americans to advance what amounts to a godless agenda. Worse, in pressuring Target to restore DEI, this man of the cloth is undermining the gains Christians have made in getting the retailer to remove homosexual-themed children’s clothing from their stores.Should Bryant’s boycott grow enough to overwhelm complacent Christians, it could possibly provide Target a new political lifeline (and excuse) to reverse course on DEI. As many will recall, back in 2023, Target made national news when conservative influencers and media outlets reported how the national retailer was using customer profits to target children with a marketing campaign promoting pro-homosexual-themed apparel. This was bad enough by itself. You boycotted, Target listenedWhat added insult to injury was the way Target seemed to be riding a wave of some organized propaganda campaign pushing drag-queen story hours — where perverse men dressed in women’s clothing would read books to children — often while behaving in lewd and suggestive ways.As a result, a tsunami of public outrage ensued, and an untold number of Americans immediately decided to boycott Target stores.It made a difference: Target got the message that the bulk of its consumers reject the woke agenda. In June 2024, the retailer announced that it would no longer sell children’s apparel as part of its “Pride Collection.” Even though Target still sells merchandise that promotes the homosexual lifestyle, the removal of this apparel from the children’s departments is nonetheless a victory for morality. This victory was followed by President Donald Trump’s executive order against DEI in January, which prompted Target to join other major companies — including Walmart, McDonald’s, and Ford — in announcing it would end several corporate DEI initiatives.A counter-boycottThis is when the left-wing preacher Bryant stepped into the breach to stage a counter-boycott that attempted to mimic what conservatives had done. Protesting against the corporate practices that include selling homosexual-themed paraphernalia to children is an odd move for a man with the title of preacher — one would hope he is in agreement with biblical values. RELATED: Pastor compares Kamala to Esther from the Bible — then the sermon gets even crazier: ‘This is an idea that cannot be stopped’ Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesIn fact, Bryant has never publicly denounced Target’s previous practices. Yet, he’s chosen now to speak up and fight for Target to restore DEI. And so has Twin Cities Pride, a homosexual activist group, which also lashed out at Target for ending its DEI initiatives.Seeing that Bryant is taking the same side as Twin Cities Pride, it’s hard not to conclude that Bryant’s passionate drive to pressure Target to reinstate DEI is motivated by his full-throated agreement with the far left’s secular agenda.There’s more proof of this.Woke, not ChristianNot long ago, Bryant appeared on a podcast and engaged in a heated exchange about political and spiritual matters with Pastor Mark Burns, a black conservative pastor who has gained fame for his support of President Trump. The takeaway from some online viewers was that Bryant did not align with the standard scriptural interpretation that the Bible supports only traditional marriage and opposes abortion. To make matters worse, Bryant seems to be making inroads with Target CEO Brian Cornell. In a symbolic gesture of agreement, Cornell reached out and met with Al Sharpton because of Bryant’s boycott.It’s important to note that Cornell was also CEO of Target back in 2023 and had initially refused to back down from selling rainbow-colored onesies for infants and T-shirts that say, “Pride Adult Drag Queen ‘Katya,’” “Trans people will always exist!” and “Girls Gays Theys.” He was so adamant about pushing the homosexual agenda on kids that, in response to conservative backlash, he told the press that he thought it was “the right thing for society.” Cornell also admitted that this agenda is directly linked to Target’s DEI initiatives: “The things we’ve done from a DEI standpoint, it’s adding value,” Cornell said.Hold the lineBased on these comments, can there be any doubt that Target would love to restore DEI, including its children’s “Pride Collection”? Of course not. But the social pressure against it is finally having an effect. That is, it was until Bryant and others began to get louder.Let there be no doubt: Should Bryant’s boycott grow enough to overwhelm complacent Christians and conservatives, it could possibly provide Cornell a new political lifeline (and excuse) to reverse course on DEI. If that happens, you can bet that all perverse children’s merchandise will return to store shelves.Editor’s note: A version of this article appeared originally at Chronicles Magazine.

Canada could soon be booted from NORAD, the binational aerospace defense system it has shared with the U.S. since 1958. The reason? Once again backing away from its commitment to replace its decrepit F-18s with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the jet that is used by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and Marines. Canada has a long history of ... putting off the acquisition of military aircraft until they are nearing obsolescence when finally delivered. Canada needs to buy the F-35 to be compatible with the U.S., as well as with the other principal allies that Canada also flies with: the U.K. and Australia. East Alaska? But President Donald Trump hinted at a way his penny-pinching neighbors to the north could get around the costly upgrade: Join the U.S. as its 51st state. Who needs NORAD when you can enjoy the benefits of Trump's ambitious Golden Dome missile defense shield — free of charge? “I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State,” Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday. “They are considering the offer!” the president couldn't resist adding. Straight man Canada was quick to play the straight man to Trump's trolling. A spokesperson for Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney said: “The prime minister has been clear at every opportunity, including in his conversations with president Trump, that Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and it will remain one,” according to the Financial Times. Carney ordered a review of the F-35 purchase in March, insisting that Canada could be better served with fighter jets produced by Sweden, France, or the U.K. Although Britain remains a primary military partner, Canada does virtually no military training or operations with Sweden or France. That suggestion has prompted U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra to note that any cancellation of the F-35 contract would have serious consequences for Canada — including threatening NORAD, over which the two countries have maintained joint command of operations for almost 60 years. Plane speaking “I think that's worked pretty well for the U.S., and it's worked well for Canada. It's, I think, one of the only, if not the only, bilateral military relationship in the world. So I think it would, but, I mean, there's criteria, OK, and some of those criteria are being questioned right now,” Hoekstra told CTV News. Hoekstra continued: One of the criteria for NORAD is interchangeability and interoperability. So that would mean that, you know, we're flying the same kinds of planes, we're using the parts, and, you know, it's all interchangeable. It's one system. You know, Canada is challenging that; they've made a decision to buy F-35s; that's now up for review. If Canadians are flying one airplane, we're flying another airplane, it's no longer interchangeable. And so that might even threaten NORAD, without talking about new alliances that promise even more security and safety to our people. It’s not clear whether Hoekstra’s comments were designed for Trump to open the door on Golden Dome negotiations, but he has nonetheless exposed one of the more absurd and potentially tragic exercises in Canadian military procurement. Jet set Canada has a long history of either sabotaging its own aerospace industry — as with the cancellation of the famed Avro Arrow in 1958 — or by putting off the acquisition of military aircraft until they are nearing obsolescence when finally delivered. The F-35 is another case in point. Canada has dithered so long on its decision to buy or not to buy that sixth-generation fighter jet technology is now on the horizon. Incredibly, the government of Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien first signed on to the F-35 program in 2002. Even though that was almost 25 years ago, Canada has managed through successive governments never to see the delivery of one aircraft. Chretien refused to make a decision on the F-35, as did his successor, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who toyed with Canada’s air force for nine years over the deal. Meanwhile, the military continued to fly the F-18/A, as it had since 1982. Today, those jets are over 45 years old. Justin Trudeau campaigned in 2015 on a pledge never to buy the F-35, but after eight years of reviewing other aircraft, he flip-flopped on that promise in January 2023 and agreed to buy 88 of the jets at a cost of $85 million (USD) each. Hoekstra's comments sent a clear message: fish or cut bait. Enough with using military spending as a political poker chip; upgrade to the F-35 or leave NORAD. In response, Carney offered more dithering. "The review of the F-35 contract is ongoing," he said at a news conference last week. "There's many factors that come into that interoperability that would relate to the NORAD element. There’s value for money, broader Canadian industrial impacts. All of those are factors that are under consideration."

Bono is more than just a rich and famous rock star. He's also a rich and famous activist.The U2 front man has never been afraid to take bold stands — sometimes right in the middle of a song. AIDS? Poverty? He's against them — and he doesn't care who knows it.Former Paramount CEO and Hollywood legend Barry Diller called 'Popeye' the most 'coked-up film set' he ever saw.Now he's risking it all to oppose an even bigger scourge of humanity: Donald Trump.This week the Irish warbler stopped by "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to swap anti-Orange Man barbs with late night's saddest clown.Now, Bono isn't one to meddle in American politics. He never said a peep about the Biden administration’s rampant censorship arm, the loss of personal freedoms during COVID-19, or his own homeland’s rising levels of anti-Semitism.But the 47th president? Drastic times call for drastic measures. Or maybe he's got his eye on a late-night show all his own?He also sided with Bruce Springsteen in the aging rocker’s war on Trump.“I think there’s only one Boss in America,” Bono said, the equivalent of a comic saying he’s glad to be back in (insert city) for cheap applause.Anti-Hamas celebs a class actIt’s not very hard to speak out against anti-Semitism, is it? Bigotry bad.See?Tell that to Hollywood A-listers. They’ve been mostly silent over the past year-plus following the October 7 attacks and the shocking rise of anti-Semitism on college campuses. Yes, some signed open letters in the days following October 7 condemning Hamas, but that’s been mostly it.The exceptions? Patricia Heaton, Debra Messing, singer John Ondrasik, Julianna Margulies, and Mayim Bialik. Those celebrities, along with Dean Cain, signed a new letter decrying the anti-Israel rhetoric which helped fuel the recent slaying of two Jewish people in Washington, D.C.“Hamas, Iran, and their allies and ideological sympathizers in the West have flooded the world with their hateful lies and anti-Semitic incitement since October 7 — lies designed to demonize Israel, the Jewish people, and their supporters,” the letter reads.Never forget that the media helped peddle many of said lies.That wasn't spinach ...The 1980 film “Popeye” seemed like a can‘t-miss adaptation. Rising star Robin Williams played the sailor man, Shelley Duvall looked like the spitting image of Olive Oyl, and famed director Robert Altman worked behind the camera. Yet it missed by a country mile. Many critics trashed it, and longtime Popeye fans were likely stunned by what they saw. The movie made back its budget, but it wasn’t the blockbuster many anticipated.Yeah, it was weird.Now we’re learning one reason why the film didn’t live up to its potential. Former Paramount CEO and Hollywood legend Barry Diller called "Popeye" the most "coked-up film set" he ever saw.Film cans were used to sneak cocaine onto the set, for starters. It only got crazier from there, apparently.As Diller recounts, “If you watch 'Popeye,' you’re watching a movie that ... runs at 78 rpm and 33 speed. ... Everyone was stoned.”Broadway diva's latest 'bomb'Madonna famously dreamed of blowing up the White House after Donald Trump’s stunning 2016 electoral victory. She made that shocking statement during a Women’s March rally at the dawn of Trump 1.0.She quickly backpedaled, suggesting she didn’t actually mean it. The press took the comments “out of context.”Sure, Jan. Still, back in 2017, the left still had a dollop of common sense and a sense of shame. Boy, have the times changed since then.Broadway legend Patti LuPone just doubled down on Madonna’s line of thinking. And, chances are, she won’t apologize — or be asked to do anything of the kind.LuPone spoke to the New Yorker magazine for a fawning profile, and this part of the feature seemed to sneak past the editors as something cute, not horrifying."She’s even angrier at the rest of the country. She told me, more than once, that the Trumpified Kennedy Center 'should get blown up,'" the profile reads.When they go low, we Google detonation devices.Sweeney, take me away!We don’t deserve Sydney Sweeney.Not only is the comely star eager to flaunt her curves sans apology, but she’s also come up with a product that speaks to her tongue-wagging admirers.Introducing Sydney's Bathwater Bliss. The new soap product, according to manufacturer Dr. Squatch, features a “touch” of the starlet’s bathwater.“When your fans start asking for your bathwater, you can either ignore it or turn it into a bar of Dr. Squatch soap,” Sweeney said in a release. “It’s weird in the best way, and I love that we created something that’s not just unforgettable; it actually smells incredible and delivers like every other Dr. Squatch product I love.”Not too long ago, Sweeney's fellow starlet Rachel Zegler told half the country they should “never know peace.”This feels like a slight improvement on Hollywood’s PR front, no?

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