Voters in Ireland rejected two proposed changes to the country’s Constitution that would have removed language about women’s duties being in the home and broadened the definition of family beyond marriage‚ dealing a blow to the government that analysts said suggested the weakness of their campaign to pass the proposals. While the decisions will have no practical implications for the law‚ the results‚ announced on Saturday‚ saw the proposals defeated by a wide majority‚ an...

Donald Trump and Joe Biden have both held campaign rallies in the US state of Georgia‚ as their general election showdown comes into greater focus. The former president‚ 77‚ slammed Thursday's State of the Union speech as an "angry‚ dark and hate-filled rant". An hour later‚ President Biden‚ 81‚ unveiled new endorsements as he went on the offence against his rival. Both men are now within striking distance of clinching their respective party nominations for president. Mr Trump has...

Andrew Moseman goes into some detail in Friday's Atlantic magazine as to why electric vehicle sales have slowed down recently to the extent that he is now calling 2024 a lost year for EVs as reflected in the title‚ "America’s Lost Year for Electric Cars." Despite Moseman providing us with a myriad of obvious reasons why consumers appear to be rejecting EVs‚ he falls back on the easy all-purpose explanation for liberals to blame for whatever the woes: Trump's fault! First...

No Joe! He Was Illegal!

Cupcakes are always tasty‚ but since half of their appeal is visual‚ why not make them as colorful as possible? Multicolored frosting is the way to go.

Burgers are a staple in fast food restaurants across the world‚ but every now and again‚ one will come along that truly pushes the limits.

The US president‚ however‚ insists that he will continue supporting the Jewish state no matter what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing Israel more harm than good by ignoring civilian casualties in Gaza amid the ongoing war with Hamas‚ but that doesn’t mean that Washington will stop backing the Jewish state‚ US President Joe Biden has said. According to Gaza’s health ministry‚ at least 30‚960 people have been killed and 72‚524 others wounded since October 7‚ when the IDF began its attacks on the Palestinian enclave in response to the Hamas surprise attack on Israel‚ in which more than 1‚100 people lost their lives and 240 others were taken hostage. Biden again criticized the Israeli PM during an interview with MSNBC on Saturday over the way the Israel Defense Forces conducts the operation in Gaza. 🇺🇸🇮🇱BIDEN: NETANYAHU IS HURTING ISRAELBiden: “He must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken.”Reporter: "Would you return to Israel… and address the Knesset?"Biden: "Yes… I don't want to discuss it further."Source:… https://t.co/QoXiMV2GPc pic.twitter.com/NLCW0r7awB— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 10‚ 2024 “He has a right to defend Israel‚ a right to continue to pursue Hamas‚ but he must…pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken‚” the US president stressed.Our fan-favorite Turbo Force Plus is now 40% off! See for yourself the delicious one-of-a-kind energy boost infowarriors CRAVE! By not doing so‚ Netanyahu is “hurting Israel more than he’s helping Israel… It’s contrary to what Israel stands for. I think it’s a big mistake‚ so I want to see a ceasefire‚” he said. Biden says "it's a big mistake" for Israel to press for the total elimination of Hamas in Gaza pic.twitter.com/9Fz8n7x1PI— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 10‚ 2024 The truce between Israel and Hamas should last six weeks and see a “major” exchange of prisoners‚ Biden said‚ adding that “there should be nothing happening” in terms of fighting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan‚ which starts on Sunday. Netanyahu reiterated earlier this week that mounting international pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza won’t make Israel give up on its goal of fighting Hamas until “total victory in war” is achieved. The president was asked to clarify a comment‚ which was caught on a hot mic on Thursday after he delivered his State of the Union address‚ that he’s going to have a “come-to-Jesus” talk with Netanyahu over his handling of the conflict. “It’s an expression used in the southern part of my state‚ meaning a serious meeting‚” he explained. Netanyahu “cannot have 30‚000 more Palestinians dead‚” but “the defense of Israel is still critical [for the US]‚ so there’s no red line [where] I’m going to cut off all weapons so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them‚” Biden said‚ referring to the Israeli missile defense system. “I am never going to leave Israel‚” he assured. Earlier this week‚ the Washington Post reported that US officials had told the Congress in a classified briefing that Washington had approved and delivered on more than 100 arms sales to Israel since October 7. The shipments included thousands of precision-guided munitions‚ small-diameter bombs and other weapons‚ the paper said.

The more clearly Ukraine forces are losing‚ the more unhinged and bellicose some Western officials become. Last week we detailed that during Ukrainian President Zelensky’s visit to Albania where he appealed for more weapons from Balkan countries‚ he pushed the idea that all Western-friendly Balkan states should have a pathway to the EU and NATO. And at the same time French President Emmanuel Macron has been busy floating the possibility of Western troops deploying to Ukraine. Albania is of course a chief regional rival to Moscow’s close ally and friend Serbia. Jahja Muhasilovic‚ a political analyst on the Balkans‚ had commented of Zelensky’s rare Balkan trip that “Albania is known to be one of the staunchest supporters of limiting Russia’s influence here in the region.” “In a way‚ Zelensky’s visit in Albania is having that geopolitical connotation. He is probably counting on the Western Balkan countries not to help them militarily because they are limited‚ but through their lobbying part that they can play in continuing the armament of the Ukrainian troops‚” he explained. In fresh comments this weekend‚ Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has weighed in and responded to ongoing calls from Western officials to urgently send more weapons to Kiev. Vucic has accused the West of pursuing a policy of “total militarization” toward defeating Russian‚ which puts the region and the world on the brink of disaster and stumbling to WW3. “What is happening now is madness‚” he was cited in regional media as saying. “They all thought that Putin would be easily defeated. Now they see that this is not so.”Winter Sun Plus is NOW 40% off! Boost your natural defenses with this powerful vitamin D3 and K formula! “The current trend is toward total militarization and a five-fold build-up in all respects‚” the Serbian president said further during a visit to the Belgrade Military Technical Institute. Vucic has also warned against European countries sending their troops to Ukraine to confront Russian forces‚ saying this would immediately and unpredictably escalate the war. According to Politico on Friday‚ France is behind a new push for a serious ‘option’ of Western boots on the ground in Ukraine: France is building an alliance of countries open to potentially sending Western troops to Ukraine — and in the process deepening its clash with a more cautious Berlin.French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné was in Lithuania on Friday‚ where he met his Baltic and Ukrainian counterparts to buttress the idea that foreign troops could end up helping Ukraine in areas like demining.“It is not for Russia to tell us how we should help Ukraine in the coming months or years‚” Séjourné said at a meeting chaired by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis and attended by his Ukrainian counterpart‚ Dmytro Kuleba. “It is not for Russia to organize how we deploy our actions‚ or to set red lines. So we decide it among us.” Coming off Macron first raising the issue at an international security conference last month in Paris‚ French FM Séjourné said further‚ “Ukraine did not ask us to send troops. Ukraine is asking us to send ammunition at the moment.” But then he emphasized‚ “We do not exclude anything for the coming months.” It is these kinds of ultra-provocative statements which Serbia’s Vucic is precisely calling “madness” which sets the stage for nuclear-armed confrontation between Russia and NATO. The trend also seems to be that the more clearly Ukraine forces are losing‚ the more unhinged and bellicose some Western officials become. Journalists who lied about this war have contributed to the growing possibility of nuclear war:– Instead of seeking the truth‚ there has been relentless pressure for conformity to a Manichean narrative of good vs evil in which war is the path to peace and diplomacy is treasonous pic.twitter.com/6iKZl9rinP— Glenn Diesen (@Glenn_Diesen) March 1‚ 2024 All of this comes as Ukraine is in retreat‚ following Russia’s capture of the eastern city of Avdiivka last month. Several other smaller towns and cities have also fallen‚ with Ukraine’s front lines in disarray. This has resulted in what might be called empty threats being issued from the West‚ as it sits helplessly while watching Russian forces advance.

Just under 31‚000 Palestinian lives have been lost amidst Israel's "self defense"‚ with another 300‚000 as risk of dying within days. “The use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare is prohibited‚” according to rule 53 of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s Humanitarian Law Database. After unprecedented criticism‚ The New York Times was forced to admit last week an article parroting Israeli atrocity propaganda of mass rape on October 7 lacked evidence. Now‚ amidst claims of a racist witchhunt targeting Arab writers‚ the controversial newspaper has inched closer towards acknowledging Israel’s use of mass starvation against the residents of Gaza. One Palestinian family’s story appeared Saturday on the Times’ website. “It is all too easy to trace the skull beneath the Gazan boy’s face‚” began the article‚ written with the assistance of Bilal Shbair‚ a Gaza resident the newspaper has worked with over the last few days after months of criticism of its coverage. “In one of a series of news photographs of the boy‚ Yazan Kafarneh‚ taken with his family’s permission as he struggled for his life‚ his long-lashed eyes stare out‚ unfocused.” “By Monday‚ Yazan was dead.”Winter Sun Plus is NOW 40% off! Boost your natural defenses with this powerful vitamin D3 and K formula! “The pictures of Yazan circulating on social media have quickly made him the face of starvation in Gaza‚” acknowledged the Times‚ recognizing a phenomenon that’s gradually forced major news outlets to respond to the inadequacy of their reporting. A similar dynamic occurred when US Airman Aaron Bushnell self-immolated in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington last month in a dramatic act of political protest. Video of the shocking incident went viral‚ forcing mainstream media to pick up the story even though a similar protest last year in Atlanta drew little attention. State broadcaster NPR spent a little over a minute covering the incident before pivoting to generalized discussion of political protest by US veterans‚ invoking the liberal hobgoblin of the January 6 riots and clarifying “the Jewish state… claims self-defense.” Just under 31‚000 Palestinian lives have been lost amidst Israel’s “self defense” according to the most recent estimates. At least 300‚000 are at risk of dying within days like Yazan did. Widespread knowledge of that‚ too‚ is made possible in part by the existence of the Internet. In 1977‚ journalist Carl Bernstein shocked the world with revelations of large-scale efforts by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to shape journalism in the United States. More than 400 reporters had secretly worked with the agency‚ according to Bernstein‚ as part of an effort that secured the cooperation of “America’s most powerful news media.” Chief executives at newspapers like the Miami Herald‚ broadcast outlets like CBS and ABC‚ and wire services like AP‚ UPI‚ and Scripps‑Howard all lent their support. “By far the most valuable of these associations‚ according to CIA officials‚ have been with The New York Times‚ CBS and Time Inc‚” wrote Bernstein. The efforts were part of a program known as Operation Mockingbird. US allies presided over their own attempts to bend global media to their will. Perhaps one of the most significant only came to light in 2020‚ when declassified documents revealed that for decades Reuters had been funded by an anti-Soviet propaganda unit linked to British intelligence. The existence of social media makes certain stories more difficult to ignore‚ as much as Western countries try to mold public opinion there‚ too. When all else fails‚ the blunt instrument of legislative action remains a final option. The full extent of intelligence agencies’ infiltration of the media now‚ as then‚ remains unknown. But unlike the Soviet Union‚ the United States makes no effort to challenge the prevailing economic and social system. Arthur Sulzberger was never asked to do anything that conflicted with his own self-interest‚ nor are any of the other sons and daughters of privilege who fill most important positions within an industry that’s more insular and consolidated than ever. The Times’ article includes the obligatory statement from Israel on the matter. “On Friday‚ the Israeli agency known as COGAT‚ which regulates aid to Palestinians‚ said‚ ‘Israel is also exerting a constant and significant effort to find solutions that will bring aid more smoothly into the Gaza Strip‚ and into its northern area in particular‚” the story reads. It’s an obvious lie. But one can’t expect The New York Times to hold Israeli officials accountable. “Like all Times journalists‚ I am committed to upholding the standards of integrity outlined in our Ethical Journalism Handbook‚” the article’s co-author Vivian Yee helpfully explains in her online bio. “Because I often report in authoritarian countries‚ I work hard to scrutinize government statements for spin‚ propaganda and misinformation.” The failure to probe the Israeli statement suggests Yee doesn’t apply such standards to Israel. Only US adversaries are “authoritarian‚” after all. Being the global hegemon means never having your war crimes acknowledged.