<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/communist-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Communist China</a> is beginning to rapidly increase its footprint in the Caribbean as it seeks to dethrone the United States as the world&#8217;s leading superpower.
Newsweek <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/2024/05/03/china-caribbean-united-states-antigua-belt-road-diplomacy-debt-chinese-xi-jinping-rivalry-1891668.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that just a couple hundred miles away from the U.S. Virgin Islands, China has started to take over the paradise island of Antigua.
China is constructing a Chinese-run special economic zone on the island that &#8220;will have its own customs and immigration formalities, a shipping port and a dedicated airline and will be able to issue passports,&#8221; the report said. &#8220;It will establish businesses offering everything from logistics to cryptocurrencies, facial surgery to &#8216;virology.'&#8221;
China&#8217;s encroachment on what is known as &#8220;America&#8217;s third border&#8221; has U.S. officials alarmed because China uses these developments and upgrades to a country&#8217;s infrastructure as a way to bring their own military into a new region.
&#8220;We are aware that China may use its commercial and diplomatic presence for military purposes,&#8221; a spokesperson for the Florida-based Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) told Newsweek. &#8220;In Asia, Africa and the Middle East, China has already abused commercial agreements at host-country ports for military aims; our concern is they may do the same in this region.&#8221;
The report said that Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne is a huge supporter of Chinese dictator Xi Jinping and the communist nation has become Antigua&#8217;s favorite country to borrow money from. Members of Antigua&#8217;s government refused to tell the publication how much the country owed China.
He said that even the insinuation that China could be doing anything nefarious was &#8220;utter rubbish.&#8221;
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&#8220;Given the breadth of investment into logistics infrastructure China has made in the Caribbean, we are concerned that China could task its state-owned enterprises and diaspora to conduct intelligence or influence operations against the U.S. and our partners in the region for military purposes,&#8221; SOUTHCOM said. &#8220;Those concerns are further heightened when you consider the Chinese Communist Party&#8217;s practice of targeting, recruiting and bribing officials.&#8221;
Gisele Isaac, chairwoman of the United Progressive Party in Antigua, warned that Browne had sold out the country to the Chinese.
&#8220;Antigua has traded its sovereignty, I think most of us believe, to China,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I think China wants a foothold in more strategic places, as a superpower. I think that this administration has become, and that&#8217;s our concern, overly reliant on one partner, that partner being China.&#8221;
&#8220;Everybody feels like their testicles are in a vise; that if you say the wrong thing, if you align yourself the wrong way, you&#8217;re putting yourself in danger,&#8221; Isaac said. &#8220;At night, I switch on my alarm and say my prayers.&#8221;
China&#8217;s new embassy on the island is such an intimidating compound that locals often stop and take photos of it, the report said.
Antigua sold China the five acres of land for its embassy for the equivalent of 40 U.S. cents.
Multiple regional officials said that they believe the &#8220;embassy&#8221; was really &#8220;an intelligence base, or a listening post,&#8221; the report said.
&#8220;We assess that any intelligence activities conducted by the People&#8217;s Republic of China in the Caribbean will almost certainly be targeted at U.S. and regional commercial and military movements in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean,&#8221; SOUTHCOM added.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-forced-to-pull-u-s-forces-out-of-key-african-nation-thats-turning-to-russia-iran-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden Forced To Pull U.S. Forces Out Of Key African Nation That’s Turning To Russia, Iran, China</a>

Chinese navy Type 052C Luyang II class destroyer “Jinan” (front, 152) and Type 052D Luyang III class destroyer “Yinchuan”(175, back) prepare to leave the Victoria Harbour. 11JUL17 SCMP/ Dickson Lee

China Begins Rapidly Expanding On Small Island Near America’s Doorstep

Communist China

Global Politics

National Security

United States

World

A secret plan to undermine the U.S. and The West with an “offensive information campaign” was drawn up by Russia’s Foreign Ministry and now has been revealed.
The April 11, 2023 document uses much more harsh language regarding Russia’s relations with the West than the <a href="https://www.mid.ru/ru/detail-material-page/1860586/?lang=ru" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation</a>, approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin only 12 days before. The March document calls for “the democratization of international relations,” “sovereign equality” and states that “Russia does not consider itself an enemy of the West … and has no ill intentions toward it,” adding that Russia hoped the West would “realize the lack of any future in its confrontational policy and hegemonistic ambitions, and will accept the complicated realities of the multipolar world,”
But the April 2023 secret document utilizes harsher rhetoric, as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/17/russia-foreign-policy-us-weaken/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a> reports, writing, “We need to continue adjusting our approach to relations with unfriendly states. It’s important to create a mechanism for finding the vulnerable points of their external and internal policies with the aim of developing practical steps to weaken Russia’s opponents.”
The Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/08/russia-propaganda-us-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> last week, “In an ongoing campaign that seeks to influence congressional and other political debates to stoke anti-Ukraine sentiment, Kremlin-linked political strategists and trolls have written thousands of fabricated news articles, social media posts and comments that promote American isolationism, stir fear over the United States’ border security and attempt to amplify U.S. economic and racial tensions &#8230;”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) said that a portion of the Republican Party&#8217;s base has bought into Russian propaganda thanks to what they described as &#8220;conspiracy theory outlets&#8221; and &#8220;nighttime entertainment shows.&#8221;
In an interview with Puck News, McCaul said, &#8220;I think Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it’s infected a good chunk of my party’s base.&#8221;
McCaul said that the source of a lot of the propaganda has been &#8220;some more nighttime entertainment shows that seem to spin, like, I see the Russian propaganda in some of it — and it’s almost identical [to what they’re saying on Russian state television] — on our airwaves.&#8221;
&#8220;They have the same problem in Europe. I mean, Russia’s been very effective at that,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;These people that read various conspiracy theory outlets that are just not accurate, and they actually model Russian propaganda. And I have to explain to them, &#8216;You’re actually a victim of Russian propaganda, and what you’re saying, you’re spreading Russian [propaganda].&#8217; [And they respond,] &#8216;Oh, no I’m not.'&#8221;
Turner was asked about McCaul&#8217;s comments during a Sunday interview on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union&#8221; with Jake Tapper, specifically if he thought McCaul was correct and if it was a big problem.
&#8220;Oh, it is absolutely true,&#8221; Turner responded. &#8220;We see directly coming from Russia attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages, some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor.&#8221;
&#8220;I mean, there are members of Congress today who still incorrectly say that this conflict between Russia and Ukraine is over NATO, which, of course, it is not, Vladimir Putin having made it very clear, both publicly and to his own population, that his view is that this is a conflict of a much broader claim of Russia to Eastern Europe, including claiming all of Ukraine territory as Russia&#8217;s,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;To the extent that this propaganda takes hold, it makes it more difficult for us to really see this as an authoritarian-versus-democracy battle, which is what it is. President Xi of China, Vladimir Putin himself have identified it as such. We need to stand up for democracy. We need to make certain that we know that authoritarian regimes never stop when they start an aggression.&#8221;
<div>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-republican-committee-chair-russian-propaganda-has-infiltrated-chunk-of-gop-base">House Republican Committee Chair: &#8216;Russian Propaganda&#8217; Has Infiltrated Chunk Of GOP Base</a>
</div>

Kremlin

Secret Russian Document Reveals Plan To Target U.S. With ‘Offensive Information Campaign’

Misinformation

Russia

An Israeli defense official told local media that more than 100 drones launched by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Islamic Republic of Iran</a> have been shot down before ever reaching Israeli airspace.
The official credited the United States and the United Kingdom with shooting down the suicide drones, The Times of Israel <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/more-than-100-iranian-drones-have-been-intercepted-by-us-uk-outside-israel-says-defense-official/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
A senior U.S. official <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas-war/us-officials-think-there-will-be-400-to-500-drones-missiles-launched-109207939?id=108860743" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> ABC News that the U.S. believes there could be up to 500 drones and missiles fired at Israel from Iraq, Syria, southern Lebanon, and Yemen — where the Iranians have terrorist proxy groups — but that the majority will come directly from Iran.
Israel&#8217;s Iron Dome also shot down numerous incoming projectiles, according to various videos posted to social media.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Comienza el ataque iraní, desde mi casa <a href="https://t.co/V1lOqwtrCJ">pic.twitter.com/V1lOqwtrCJ</a>
&mdash; Gabriel Colodro🟠 (@Gabrielcolodro) <a href="https://twitter.com/Gabrielcolodro/status/1779281371820654766?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Surreal footage of the Iranian attack over Jerusalem&#39;s Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif <a href="https://t.co/NuSvF25HLX">pic.twitter.com/NuSvF25HLX</a>
&mdash; Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) <a href="https://twitter.com/manniefabian/status/1779292077886460213?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨🚨🚨 BREAKING:
A video from Damascus showing how the Iranian suicide drones are being intercepted after being engaged by the Israeli air defense system. <a href="https://t.co/eV4Ys4Pum6">pic.twitter.com/eV4Ys4Pum6</a>
&mdash; Omar Abu Layla (@OALD24) <a href="https://twitter.com/OALD24/status/1779283616339472565?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Air defenses active over Israel <a href="https://t.co/ecwGxl1dIQ">pic.twitter.com/ecwGxl1dIQ</a>
&mdash; Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) <a href="https://twitter.com/manniefabian/status/1779280817459495008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Amazing footage of the israeli skies. Dozens of ballistic missiles were intercepted. <a href="https://t.co/szSVUtt8m2">pic.twitter.com/szSVUtt8m2</a>
&mdash; Elad Simchayoff (@Elad_Si) <a href="https://twitter.com/Elad_Si/status/1779281997698867482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Air defenses active over Jerusalem <a href="https://t.co/UUmVsFupcR">pic.twitter.com/UUmVsFupcR</a>
&mdash; Seth Frantzman (@sfrantzman) <a href="https://twitter.com/sfrantzman/status/1779280211307102464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thank god for the Iron Dome <a href="https://t.co/fK3w3HA4cs">pic.twitter.com/fK3w3HA4cs</a>
&mdash; Israel ישראל 🇮🇱 (@Israel) <a href="https://twitter.com/Israel/status/1779282380211077599?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Iranian drones are being intercepted. <a href="https://t.co/ODPyaOiTZr">pic.twitter.com/ODPyaOiTZr</a>
&mdash; Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) <a href="https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1779289322312863936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
תיעוד היירוטים מעל הר חברון <a href="https://t.co/POAqeJQbse">pic.twitter.com/POAqeJQbse</a>
&mdash; החדשות &#8211; N12 (@N12News) <a href="https://twitter.com/N12News/status/1779286692467179712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
White House NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson released a statement on Iran&#8217;s &#8220;airborne attack against Israel&#8221; on Saturday evening
&#8220;President Biden is being regularly updated on the situation by his national security team and will meet with them this afternoon at the White House,&#8221; she said. &#8220;His team is in constant communication with Israeli officials as well as other partners and allies. This attack is likely to unfold over a number of hours.&#8221;
&#8220;President Biden has been clear: our support for Israel’s security is ironclad,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran.&#8221;
This is a breaking news story; refresh the page for updates.

F-16 Fighting Falcon Fires Missle

U.S., U.K. Shoot Down 100+ Iranian Drones Fired At Israel: Report

Drones

Iran

Israel

Terrorism

U.K.

The last total solar eclipse to pass over the United States until August 23, 2044, will occur on Monday.
Beginning over the South Pacific Ocean, the total eclipse will be seen near Mazatlán, Mexico, then cross over Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas before heading toward Cleveland, Ohio. It will then pass over Buffalo, New York, northwestern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine before it vanishes from the United States.
The last previous total solar eclipse that Americans saw occurred on August 21, 2017. Monday’s eclipse differs from the previous eclipse in various ways; the path of totality — in which Americans can see the total eclipse rather than a partial eclipse, is much wider as its range extends between 108 and 122 miles wide, rather than from roughly about 62 to 71 miles wide, as it was in 2017. The path is wider because the Moon, whose distance from the Earth varies as it orbits our planet, is closer to the Earth today than in 2017.
Additionally, as NASA <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1712664565562000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3inJBAzhWgCiUv_PicA5K0">explains</a>:
<blockquote>
In 2017, the Sun was nearing solar minimum. Viewers of the total eclipse could see the breathtaking corona – but since the Sun was quiet, streamers flowing into the solar atmosphere were restricted to just the equatorial regions of the star. The Sun is more magnetically symmetrical during solar minimum, causing this simpler appearance. During the 2024 eclipse, the Sun will be in or near solar maximum, when the magnetic field is more like a tangled hairball. Streamers will likely be visible throughout the corona. In addition to that, viewers will have a better chance to see prominences – which appear as bright, pink curls or loops coming off the Sun.
</blockquote>
Because the sun is nearing solar maximum during Monday’s eclipse, viewers may be able to see sunspots more clearly if they use eclipse glasses.
“When watching the partial phases of the solar eclipse directly with your eyes, which happens before and after totality, you must look through safe solar viewing glasses (“eclipse glasses”) or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times. You can also use an indirect viewing method, such as a pinhole projector,” NASA warns.
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The last total eclipse Americans could see before 2017 occurred in 1979. The 2044 eclipse will start over Greenland and be seen only by Americans in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Total eclipse of the Sun. The moon covers the sun in a solar eclipse

America Awaits Total Solar Eclipse, The Next One Over U.S. Won’t Be Until 2044

General

Moon

Science

Late-night host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jimmy-kimmel">Jimmy Kimmel</a> said he’s looking at America in a new light after a recent visit to Japan.
The 56-year-old said his trip abroad made him realize that the U.S. is unsanitary compared to the land of the rising sun.
“After traveling to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/japan">Japan</a>, I realize that this place, this USA we’re always chanting about, is a filthy and disgusting country,” he said during his monologue on Monday night’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
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Kimmel went on to describe how he used to believe that while the U.S. had “areas for improvement,” it was mostly ahead in terms of cleanliness compared to most of the rest of the world.
“I go to Europe, and there are dirt holes where plumbing is supposed to be. I hold my breath, and I go, ‘I’m glad I’m not one of these people,’ and then I go back home,” he continued. Kimmel went on to praise the cleanliness of the bathrooms in Japan.
“The bathrooms in Tokyo and Kyoto are cleaner than our operating rooms here. Everywhere you go the bathrooms are clean, they don’t smell bad, they have those toilets that wash you from the inside out,” he marveled. Kimmel also joked that even truck stop restrooms were “cleaner than Jennifer Garner’s teeth — the cleanest. Beautiful.”
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“And it’s not just the bathrooms,” the host added. “People carry their own trash. There are no garbage cans,” Kimmel said, mentioning the 1995 terrorist incident when a man put poisonous sarin gas in trash cans. This resulted in the country removing public trash receptacles and Japanese citizens adapting to dispose of their own garbage.
“They’re like OK, no more trash cans, everybody clean up after yourselves. And guess what — they clean up after themselves! They bring their garbage to their houses,” he added.
“It’s like the whole country is Disneyland, and we’re living at Six Flags,” Kimmel said. “I’ve been home 36 hours, I have never felt dirtier. We are like hogs compared to the Japanese. I can’t imagine what they must think of us. ‘Oh, the garbage people. Yes, the Americans. Garbage.&#8217;”

JIMMY KIMMEL

Jimmy Kimmel Calls USA ‘Filthy And Disgusting’ After Traveling To Japan: ‘We Are Like Hogs Compared To The Japanese’

Jimmy Kimmel Calls USA 'Filthy And Disgusting' After Traveling To Japan: 'We Are Like Hogs Compared To The Japanese'

Celebrities

Entertainment

Japan

Jimmy Kimmel

Television

U.S.

China is the main driver behind fentanyl being smuggled into the United States by Mexican drug cartels, according to investigative journalist and author Peter Schweizer.
Schweizer, author of “Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans,” discussed the crisis on “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/fentanyl-america-s-silent-epidemic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fentanyl: America’s Silent Epidemic</a>,” part of a DailyWire+ series by Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro on The Divided States of Biden. The author said the fentanyl trade that contributes to tens of thousands of American deaths every year begins in China. 
“They’re the senior partner. The drug cartels are really the junior partner in the fentanyl trade,” Schweizer told Shapiro, speaking of the Chinese regime led by President Xi Jinping.
Ninety percent of fentanyl precursor chemicals shipped from China to Mexico arrive via Mexico’s Port of Manzanillo. The port is run by a Chinese company, according to Schweizer. From the port, the chemicals are taken to a town in northern Mexico close to the U.S. border. About 2,000 Chinese workers work in cartel labs to craft the precursor chemicals into fentanyl and then the fentanyl into pills resembling common drugs such as Vicodin or Adderall.
“Now the drug cartels want to distribute their product in the United States. What do they do? They use Chinese apps. They use Chinese communications devices because they know that China will not share that information with U.S. law enforcement,” Schweizer said.
Money from the drug trade is then laundered through the Chinese financial system.
“The Mexican drug cartels now launder their money in Chinese state-owned banks, and, according to our government, they use Chinese students in the United States on education visas to do this,” Schweizer said.
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China will continue to fuel the fentanyl trade in the United States until U.S. political leadership decides to make China feel real consequences from participating in it, according to Schweizer.
“We need to start looking at punitive actions we can take to damage them. I’m generally a free trade guy, but do you want to have free trade with somebody who is poisoning your citizens in such a systematic way? I don’t think so,” he said. “We’ve got to get tough and we’ve got to make clear: you are going to suffer consequences and real damage until you stop doing this to our people.”

Fentanyl

China Is The ‘Senior Partner’ Directing The Fentanyl Crisis Killing Americans, Author Peter Schweizer Says

Cartels

China

Crime

DailyWire+

Drug Cartels

Mexico

Peter Schweizer

According to <a href="https://tass.ru/politika/20348589" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TASS,</a> the Russian state-owned news agency, Russia is objecting to what it calls the United States’ &#8220;illegal attempts to unilaterally change the external boundaries of the continental shelf&#8221; in regions of the oceans around the world.
In advance of the council of the International Seabed Authority meetings between March 18 and March 29, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement accusing the U.S. of moving its boundaries.
“During the session, the Russian delegation announced its non-recognition of the outer boundaries of the continental shelf declared unilaterally by the United States in December 2023 beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the width of the territorial sea is measured in seven regions of the World Ocean,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “Earlier, the American side was sent a corresponding demarche via a bilateral line.”
But it was Russia that claimed in December it wanted an extended continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean. During the 13th International Arctic Forum, Russian Navy chief Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov stated, &#8220;There is need for a full-scale expansion into the continental shelf beyond the borders of the 200-mile exclusive economic zone.”
As far back as 2001, Russia asked the U.N. to let them expand the  Arctic Seabed; the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) rejected the submission. &#8220;In 2015, Moscow re-submitted an updated claim&#8221; and did so again in March 2021. “In all, Russia’s continental shelf as proposed would encompass almost 70 percent of the Arctic Ocean, overlapping EEZ’s of other Arctic countries such as Denmark and Canada,” The Maritime Executive <a href="https://maritime-executive.com/article/russia-insists-on-an-expanded-boundary-in-the-arctic-ocean" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>.
The 1982 Law of the Sea Convention issued a legal framework for the use and protection of the sea, stating guidelines with respect to states&#8217; navigational rights, maritime zones and boundaries, and economic jurisdiction. The United States has never ratified the convention. In 2012, when 34 senators opposed ratification, Sen. Rob Portman, (R-OH), <a href="https://www.heritage.org/global-politics/commentary/7-reasons-us-should-not-ratify-un-convention-the-law-the-sea" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-external="yes">stated</a>:
<blockquote>
We simply are not persuaded that decisions by the International Seabed Authority and international tribunals empowered by this treaty will be more favorable to U.S. interests than bilateral negotiations, voluntary arbitration, and other traditional means of resolving maritime issues. No international the seas, and we are confident that our nation will continue to protect its navigational freedom, valid territorial claims, and other maritime rights. On balance, we believe that the treaty’s litigation exposure and impositions on U.S. sovereignty outweigh its potential benefits.
</blockquote>
The Heritage Foundation <a href="https://www.heritage.org/global-politics/commentary/7-reasons-us-should-not-ratify-un-convention-the-law-the-sea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outlined its opposition</a> to ratification by noting “U.S. membership in the convention would not confer any maritime right or freedom that the U.S. does not already enjoy. &#8230; U.S. accession would penalize U.S. companies by subjecting them to the whims of an unelected and unaccountable bureaucracy and would force them to pay excessive fees to the International Seabed Authority for redistribution to developing countries. &#8230; it will be required to transfer a large portion of royalties generated on the U.S. extended continental shelf to the International Seabed Authority, and, through the authority, to corrupt and undemocratic nations. &#8230; it will be exposed to climate change lawsuits and other environmental actions brought against it by other members of the convention.&#8221;
Former President Barack Obama wanted the U.S. to join the convention, <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/law-of-sea-convention#:~:text=The%201982%20Law%20of%20the,both%20natural%20and%20cultural%20resources." target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> in 2013, “Only by joining the convention can we maximize legal certainty and best secure international recognition of our sovereign rights with respect to the U.S. extended continental shelf in the Arctic and elsewhere.”

King Crab Fishing In Kirkenes

Russia Accuses U.S. Of Illegally Expanding Sea Boundaries. But Russia Has Been Trying To Push Boundaries For Decades.

Arctic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Thursday called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down and his government to be dissolved.
Schumer took the extraordinary step in a speech on the Senate floor. The New York Democrat said that Netanyahu “has lost his way” and “has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza.” Israel’s standing in the international community is suffering under the prime minister’s leadership, Schumer <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1768289177110446177" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
“Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah. Prime Minister Netanyahu has also weakened Israel’s political and moral fabric through his attempts to co-opt the judiciary, and he has shown zero interest in doing the courageous and visionary work required to pave the way for peace – even before this present conflict,” Schumer said.
No reliable count of Palestinian deaths since the Israel-Hamas war began exists. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claims that over 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict so far, though that number does not separate out militants from civilians. American data analysts have also <a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/how-gaza-health-ministry-fakes-casualty-numbers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised</a> doubts about the number after analyzing the health ministry’s reports, finding a number of unlikely anomalies that suggest the data has been falsified.
Schumer <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1768289417947431297" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the will of the Israeli people has been “stifled” by “the Netanyahu coalition.” Israelis would choose a different policy toward bringing an end to the war if Netanyahu stepped aside, Schumer suggested.
“Five months into this conflict, it is clear that Israelis need to take stock of the situation and ask, ‘Must we change course?’ At this critical juncture, I believe a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel at a time when so many Israelis have lost their confidence in the vision and direction of their government,” the Senate Majority Leader said.
Israel is currently run by a war cabinet that includes Netanyahu’s main political rival and leader of the opposition, Benny Gantz. Though Schumer, following the White House, focused his attacks on Netanyahu, the Israeli war goal of eliminating Hamas has wide support across the political spectrum. In a December poll by the Israel Democracy Institute, over 80 percent of the Israeli public <a href="https://en.idi.org.il/articles/51872" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that consideration for Palestinians should have a fairly small or very small impact on the decision to continue the war.
It’s unclear how Netanyahu’s departure from the government would change Israeli war strategy. Gantz visited the White House earlier this month and reportedly <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/03/05/israel-gaza-aid-benny-gantz-white-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">faced</a> hostility during a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan over Israel’s prosecution of the war, though administration officials have not attacked Gantz publicly as they have Netanyahu. The Israeli war cabinet was formed at the beginning of the war in part to show unity in Israel in its war against Palestinian terrorists.
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Schumer <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1768290875153551484" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened</a> to leverage U.S. aid to Israel in order to get changes in policy out of the government.
“If Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition remains in power after the war begins to wind down and continues to pursue dangerous and inflammatory policies that test existing U.S. standards for assistance, then the United States will have no choice but to play a more active role in changing Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course,” Schumer said.

Chuck Schumer

Schumer Calls For Netanyahu’s Ouster, New Elections In Israel Amid War With Hamas

Benjamin Netanyahu

Congress

Hamas

Politics

Outdoor outfitter The North Face is offering customers a 20% discount if they complete and pass a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) course.
The company launched the <a href="https://allyship.openinguptheoutdoors.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">course,</a> titled “Allyship in the Outdoors,” to teach customers about racial disparities in outdoor activities. It is roughly an hour long and is intended for people who work in the outdoor industry. Those who take the course from North America are ineligible for the discount, however.
“At The North Face, we believe in the power of exploration. As individuals, professionals and companies who share a love for the outdoors and exploration, we also have a responsibility to support spaces where everyone feels like they belong,” the course description says. “This 1-hour digital course is designed to foster a deeper understanding of the unique challenges that people of colour face when accessing the outdoors.”
“The course focuses on perspective of race and racism in Europe, and we acknowledge that the experiences of people of colour around the globe differs. It will also provide training and resources, through 4 interactive modules, to help you be a better ally and to make the outdoors a safer and more welcoming place for everyone,” the website adds.
The course walks through four modules on various aspects of racial diversity in outdoor activities, including lessons on “privilege” and how to handle accusations of being “woke.” The modules also include portions on what events, such as the death of George Floyd, can mean.
“Privilege can give us access to the outdoors – that means some people can enjoy advantages that they inherit from birth and/or accumulate over time,” the course <a href="https://fortune.com/2024/03/05/the-north-face-offer-20-off-racial-inclusion-course/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a>. “In this particular context, we refer to ‘white privilege’ meaning that your race and skin colour can give you access to the outdoors when others can be excluded because of historic, enduring racism and biases.”
The course <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/2901270/north-face-offers-20-discount-completion-racial-inclusion-allyship-course/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a> inequality in the racial makeup of those who participate in outdoor activities proves that barriers exist for minorities.
“There is no explicit policy that excludes people from the outdoors yet there are few people of colour. While there is no intent to exclude, the system in itself creates those barriers to participation,” the training says.
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Those who want to get the 20%-off voucher must answer a series of multiple-choice questions on “allyship,” “privilege,” and other DEI topics correctly.
“To thank you for being an ally and completing the full course, The North Face is pleased to offer you a one-off 20% discount, to be used on The North Face website,” the discount reads. “Please enter the unique code at the checkout to activate this discount. Please note that this is not applicable to those accessing the course from North America.”

The North Face

The North Face Tells Customers To Pass DEI Course For Discount

Business

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Social Issues

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was murdered after negotiations reached final stages on a prisoner swap that would have secured his release, the chair of his Anti-Corruption Foundation said.
Foundation chair Maria Pevchikh said in a video released Monday that she and other Navalny allies worked for two years to negotiate a prisoner swap in which Navalny and two Americans were to be released from Russia. In exchange, Germany would release Vadim Krasikov, a former KGB officer who became leader of the agency after it became the Federal Security Service, or FSB.
“In early February, Putin was offered to swap the FSB killer, Vadim Krasikov, who is serving time for murder in Berlin, for two American citizens and Alexei Navalny. I received confirmation that negotiations were at the final stage on the evening of February 15th. On February 16th, Alexei was killed,” Pevchikh said.
Pevchikh did not say which Americans were supposed to be part of the prisoner swap. Reports have <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/putin-wants-his-hit-man-back-5bd759f8">indicated</a> that imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan, two of Russia’s most high-profile American prisoners, were to be included in the swap.
Krasikov is currently serving a life sentence in a Berlin jail for the murder of Zemlikhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen insurgent who is alleged by Moscow to have led an attack against Russia in 2004. Krasikov fatally shot Khangoshvili in 2019 in the middle of a children&#8217;s playground at lunchtime.
Pevchikh said that efforts to free Navalny began after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
“After the start of the war, it became obvious that Navalny had to be gotten out of prison at any cost, urgently. We, as his team, could not but work on this, and we did,” she said. “The task initially seemed impossible. Alexei is a Russian citizen, a Russian politician, he is not entitled to any exchange, foreign states are not obliged to protect his rights. But two years ago, a solution was devised that could work. A humanitarian exchange. Russian spies in exchange for political prisoners.”
The effort to free Navalny ran into headwinds dealing with foreign officials and misunderstandings, lengthening a process that should have taken “months” to two years, according to Pevchikh.
Eventually, an agreement was reached, but then Navalny died in the Serbian prison where he was being held. Pevchikh said that Putin had Navalny killed because the Russian dictator did not want to free Navalny, and calculated he could free Krasikov through other means now that Western leaders had shown a willingness to hand the former FSB head back to Russia.
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“Putin was clearly told that the only way to get Krasikov is to exchange him for Navalny. ‘Hold on,’ thought Putin. ‘I can’t tolerate Navalny being free. And since they were willing to exchange Krasikov on principle, then I just need to get rid of the bargaining chip. Then offer someone else when the time comes,’” Pevchikh said.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Почему Путин убил Навального сейчас?" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jqevNxQ2T8Y?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Alexei Navalny

Ally Says Navalny Was Murdered As Prisoner Swap Including Americans Was Finalized

Aide Says Navalny Was Murdered As Prisoner Swap Including Americans Was Finalized

Vladimir Putin

State Armor, a group dedicated to fighting national security threats on the state level, announced its launch on Wednesday.
The <a href="https://statearmor.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">group</a>, founded and run by Michael Lucci, seeks to educate state lawmakers and push legislation designed to combat Chinese Communist influence operations and threats from other hostile governments.
“States are now on the front lines against foreign adversaries. In fact, for years states have been targeted by well-resourced, technologically sophisticated foreign adversaries, particularly communist China,” Lucci said in a <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/state-armor-announces-launch-302049381.html">statement</a>. “The Chinese Communist Party is engaged in a broad effort to supplant the United States so it can rewrite global norms according to its authoritarian model. To achieve its goals, the CCP aggressively pursues a strategy to gain economic leverage over state and local governments, to make states dependent on their technologies, and to suppress the First Amendment-protected speech of Chinese dissidents within America.”
“China’s communist government is already succeeding in targeting U.S. critical infrastructure and is insinuating itself in the fabric of American society — our economy, even our children’s schools — for leverage it may one day use. They harass and intimidate Chinese dissidents and Chinese Americans in our own free country. It must end,” he said.
State Armor has broken combatting the threat from China into four parts: protecting critical infrastructure, creating and protecting supply chains, stopping influence operations, and preparing for armed conflict in the Pacific – a growing possibility as China threatens Taiwan.
China has made recent aggressive overtures toward Taiwan, which Beijing claims is part of China. The threats against Taiwan, the world’s leading producer of semiconductors, have complicated China’s relationship with the United States, which uses advanced Taiwanese semiconductors in many of its military weaponry.
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Lucci’s initiative has found support among top lawmakers and national security experts. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), the chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, praised State Armor in a statement.
“From CCP-affiliated purchases of agricultural land to efforts by the party to influence state and local politics, states are on the front lines of our New Cold War with the Chinese Communist Party. We may call this a ‘strategic competition,’ but this is not a polite tennis match. The most fundamental human rights and freedoms are at stake. I commend State Armor for acting with a sense of urgency to expose the CCP’s nefarious networks across our states and equip local lawmakers with the tools to fight this New Cold War,” Gallagher said.

Chinese flag

New Group Seeks To Recruit States To Fight Chinese Communist Influence: ‘It Must End’

Chinese Communist Party

The U.S. secretly warned the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Islamic Republic of Iran</a> earlier this month that ISIS was planning to carry out a terrorist attack inside of the country, a plan that Iran failed to stop, which resulted in the deaths of 84 Iranians with hundreds more being injured.
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-secretly-alerted-iran-ahead-of-islamic-state-terrorist-attack-af77a19a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that U.S. intelligence discovered the plot from one of ISIS&#8217; affiliates, ISIS-K, to conduct suicide bombings in the southeastern town of Kerman.
The information that was relayed to Iran was specific enough that Iran could have stopped the attack or at least significantly reduced its effectiveness.
“Prior to ISIS’s terrorist attack on January 3, 2024, in Kerman, Iran, the U.S. government provided Iran with a private warning that there was a terrorist threat within Iranian borders,” a U.S. official said. “The U.S. government followed a longstanding ‘duty to warn’ policy that has been implemented across administrations to warn governments against potential lethal threats. We provide these warnings in part because we do not want to see innocent lives lost in terror attacks.”
The suicide bombings targeted a large crowd that was commemorating the anniversary of the death of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) Qassem Soleiman, who U.S. forces killed in January 2020.
Iran appears to have ignored the warning from the U.S., the report said, as it failed to stop the attack and instead falsely suggested that the U.S. and Israel were linked to the ISIS terrorists. In an attempt to save face and avoid the wrath of the Iranian people, the top IRGC commander, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, claimed at a funeral for the victims that ISIS “has disappeared nowadays” and that Islamic terrorists “only act as mercenaries” for the U.S. and Israeli, the report said.
ISIS-K has grown significantly stronger in the region thanks to President Joe Biden&#8217;s disastrous pullout from Afghanistan in 2021 and is now stronger than Al-Qaeda, the report said.
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The report said that America&#8217;s longstanding policy is to notify everyone, including adversaries, if they are being targeted by a terrorist group. The exceptions to that rule include &#8220;if the intended victims are themselves terrorists or criminals, or if issuing a warning would endanger U.S. or allied government personnel, or intelligence or military operations.&#8221;
Iran is the world&#8217;s leading state sponsor of terrorism as it funds Islamic terrorist groups throughout the region that have launched hundreds of attacks against U.S. forces since mid-October.

Iranian Leader Vows ‘Harsh Response’ After Scores Killed In Bomb Blasts

U.S. Secretly Warned Iran That ISIS Was Plotting Terror Attack; Iran Didn’t Listen And Dozens Were Murdered: Report

U.S. Secretly Warned Iran That ISIS Was Plotting Terror Attack; Iran Didn't Listen And Dozens Were Murdered: Report

ISIS-K

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