The long and colorful history of major media promotion of false, government-serving narratives has a new chapter. 

Last week, CNN aired a melodramatic report from reporter Clarissa Ward that was supposed to show a CNN crew amazingly rescuing a victim of the Assad regime from the bowels of a Damascus dungeon. After days of mounting skepticism and pointed questions ricocheting across social media, alternative new sites and here at ZeroHedge, CNN now says the “rescued” man was actually a regime intelligence officer, and there are reports that he himself perpetrated crimes against civilians.  

The man identified himself as Adel Ghurbai, and said he lived in the central Syrian city of Homs. However, over the weekend, the self-described Syrian fact-checking site Verify-Sy said he was actually Salama Mohammad Salama, aka “Abu Hamza”, an infamous and cruel first lieutenant in Syrian Air Force Intelligence: 

Abu Hamza reportedly managed several security checkpoints in Homs and was involved in theft, extortion, and coercing residents into becoming informants. According to locals, his recent incarceration—lasting less than a month—was due to a dispute over profit-sharing from extorted funds with a higher-ranking officer. This led to his detention in one of Damascus’s cells, as per neighborhood sources. 

…

Despite his seemingly innocent and composed demeanor in the CNN report, Salama has a grim history. He participated in military operations on several fronts in Homs in 2014, killed civilians, and was responsible for detaining and torturing numerous young men in the city without cause or on fabricated charges. Many were targeted simply for refusing to pay bribes, rejecting cooperation, or even for arbitrary reasons like their appearance. These details were corroborated by families of victims and former detainees who spoke with Verify-Sy.

On Monday, CNN posted a report — written by Tim Lister and Eyad Kourdi but not Ward — revealing the network had been duped. Unsurprisingly, the rolling ratings disaster that is CNN stopped short of taking responsibility for its failure. CNN did credit Verify-Sy for first reporting the man’s apparent real identity, which CNN corroborated with its own canvassing of residents in the Bayada neighborhood of Homs. Considering the crimes Salama is accused of, the CNN follow-up article ends on a darkly amusing note: “Salama’s current whereabouts are unknown.” Yes, Ward yearned to bask in the glory of saving a regime victim, only to be exposed as aiding and abetting the escape of an apparent regime criminal.  

This is so fake haha

To be expected from CNN

pic.twitter.com/UqeMeQoT8q

— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) December 14, 2024

The original report from CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward immediately struck many as far too dramatic to be genuine. Ward and a CNN cameraman are being escorted through a Damascus prison by “rebel fighters” when they spot a blanket inside a cell. After one of the fighters shoots the lock off — off camera — they venture inside and nervously gaze at the blanket, not daring to touch it. Suspense mounts. Someone thinks they see movement! Another dramatic pause, and a man emerges from beneath, appearing to be scared and claiming ignorance that the Assad regime fell days earlier. Ward calls for water, and attempts to calm the man — though she herself sounds as emotionally-overcome as he is. Framing the man as a victim of the Assad regime, Ward concludes the report by declaring, “It is the end of a very dark chapter for him and for all of Syria.”

Those who scrutinized the 9-minute report found many things out of kilter. The man appears to be clean, well-dressed, well-fed and well-groomed — right down to his fingernails. He walks outside into the bright daylight and gazes at the sky without any need to adjust his eyes. If he thought prison guards were entering the cell, why does he hide under the blanket and ignore them — something that would seemingly invite punishment? That’s to say nothing of the fact that the visitors are speaking English. When he finally emerges, he displays fear — in the face of what is obviously a TV news crew. He springs up rather quickly for someone who was supposedly without food or water for the four days since the regime fell.  

Then there’s Ward’s over-the-top theatrics — which the cameraman seemed excessively intent on capturing. Where the prisoner’s behavior prompted skeptical smirks, Ward’s repeated hand-to-heart gesturing and breathless, melodramatic dialogue with the man elicited outright laughter. 

pic.twitter.com/FUIWfpmeca

— eddie (@eddie_nyc1) December 16, 2024

That’s not to say the entire thing was rigged with Ward as an active participant. It’s highly possible if not probable that Ward was duped, as her prison tour guides exploited her enormous sympathy to the regime-change campaign alongside a narcissistic urge to make herself part of a dramatic story. It’s also possible her escorts were themselves fooled by an accused villain looking to make his escape — which he did. 

Either way, it’s fair to say Ward’s utter humiliation sprang in no small part from her lack of objectivity. Her advocacy for regime change is well-documented, and she’d previously admitted to crossing the line that separates sober journalism from impassioned advocacy of US intervention against the Assad regime. In a 2021 appearance on former acting CIA director Michael Morrell’s podcast, Ward said: 

“I will cop to the fact that I think I crossed the line in Syria. I became so emotionally involved, and I was crushed by the US response and the US policy…I felt that there really wasn’t a strong US policy, that we had said ‘Assad must go’ and then we had done nothing to make him go.”  

Ward further revealed that she was so eager to see a more muscular US intervention that she bitterly contacted then-Obama adviser Ben Rhodes at his White House email address, writing, “Dear Ben, I hope you’re sleeping soundly as Aleppo burns. At least we have the Russians to sort it out.” 

This isn’t the first time that Ward looked like a high school drama queen. This October 2023 performance also struck many people as exaggerated if not staged outright for the camera: 

Stunned by CNN Clarissa Ward’s Oscar-worthy performance in ‘freeing’ a Syrian prisoner in a building that had been captured days earlier?

Here’s a reminder of when she faked being shot at by Hamas to manufacture consent for the Gaza genocide pic.twitter.com/kyh6GGiKoN

— Going Underground (@GUnderground_TV) December 12, 2024

Ward posted CNN’s confirmation of the “rescued” prisoner’s real identity…and received plenty of feedback:

This is a lousy retraction by all journalistic standards.

Not providing more context on the previously – very obviously – staged video, nor admitting any wrongdoing on the part of you and @CNN

— Youssef Kobo (@Youssef_Kobo) December 16, 2024

The crazy thing is that you’re the last one to realize that whole thing was staged. We all knew it was obviously fake.

— Scott Liewehr 🐻⬇️ (@sliewehr) December 17, 2024

When 2 fake propagandists meet each other pic.twitter.com/mjuqyLw31t

— Arya – آریا (@AryJeay) December 17, 2024

Way to go. You weren’t the least bit curious as to why he was well groomed and not dirty?

— Burt Macklin (@BurtMaclin_FBI) December 16, 2024

.@clarissaward you and your CNN colleagues have promoted numerous deceptions in Syria, the region, and all over the world, from sniffing a “sarin” backpack to the 40 beheaded babies hoax to the viagra-fueled mass rape lie in Libya, to name a few.

Shut down CNN!… pic.twitter.com/oFkI4iVnuW

— Dan Cohen (@dancohen3000) December 16, 2024

pic.twitter.com/q7yTRhMHAQ

— ALooterContinua™ (@ALooterContinua) December 17, 2024

Authored by Clay Routledge via RealClearPolitics,

In the middle of a Trump transition, the “Resistance 2.0,” and the inevitable partisan mud-slinging, it is easy to lose faith in humanity’s future. Polls show growing pessimism about everything from democracy to economic mobility to climate change.

Yet the major challenges we face demand something different from us: a progress mindset. 

Our team at Archbridge Institute’s Human Flourishing Lab recently launched Progress Pulse, a new research initiative to study the attitudes, knowledge, motives, and goals that individuals hold regarding progress. In our first Progress Pulse survey, the results from over 2,000 U.S. adults reveal a stark divide: 52% believe we will make significant progress and create a better world for future generations, while 48% expect failure and decline.

Particularly concerning is our finding that young Americans are the most cynical about the future. Among adults aged 18 to 34, only 47% believe life will be better for future generations, while 53% expect decline. This drops to 42% when looking specifically at Gen Z (adults under 28). In other words, nearly 60% of Gen Z believes we will fail to improve the world and that life will be worse in the future. This stands in stark contrast to older Americans: Among those 65 and older, 60% believe in a better future, with only 40% expecting decline. 

This generational divide should worry us all, given that young adults will be at the forefront of solving tomorrow’s challenges. We cannot afford for them to have a negative outlook.

Some might argue that negativity is actually needed to drive progress. I frequently come across the view that positive feelings – from happiness to hope – are signs of people putting their heads in the sand or living blissfully unaware. The slogan, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention,” captures the sentiment that negative feelings are necessary for driving change.

But this view fundamentally misunderstands human psychology. Negative feelings such as anxiety often make us more psychologically defensive. While this can be useful when we need to protect ourselves from immediate physical, social, or financial threats, it also orients us away from the creative, innovative thinking and action that progress requires. For instance, research finds that the more anxious people are, the less likely they are to engage in entrepreneurial activities. Whether we are building businesses, families, friendships, or the broader institutions that advance civilization, negative thoughts and feelings are barriers to success.

Positive mental states, not negative ones, tend to push us outward toward solving problems and improving the world. This is because positive emotions promote a more expansive mindset, leading to greater willingness to take risks and explore new possibilities, which is crucial for addressing complex societal challenges. 

Take hope, for example. Hope is a positive and action-oriented mental state. Behavioral sciences research shows that when people are hopeful, they have a firm confidence in themselves and an unwavering belief that they will attain positive change in their lives. This allows them to persist through adversity. Hopeful people are flexible in finding effective paths toward their goals and can quickly adjust their approach when they encounter obstacles. Hopeful individuals are also more motivated to want to improve the world and they show greater creativity and tolerance for different perspectives – essential qualities for addressing the major challenges of our time.

The good news? Hope is contagious. Hopeful individuals inspire others to adopt more positive and action-oriented mindsets. They create ripple effects of positive change in their communities and organizations.

Right now, we need hope to spread. Our public discourse is saturated with negativity. Research finds that a growing proportion of news headlines convey anger, fear, disgust, and sadness. And we are part of the problem: Research also shows that when individuals engage with news online, they give more clicks to negative headlines. All of this is taking a toll on our nation’s psyche. 

As we confront the challenges of our time, we face a choice: Succumb to negativity or embrace a progress mindset. The evidence is clear – if we want to solve big problems and create a better future, we need to adopt a positive outlook.

The future remains unwritten. The challenges we face are real, but so is our capacity to overcome them. The first step is believing we can.

Clay Routledge is vice president of Research and director of the Human Flourishing Lab at the Archbridge Institute.

China has transformed itself from a minor player in the auto industry two decades ago to the world leader in car production and exports, particularly in electric vehicles (EVs), the New York Times reported late last month.

But the trend of China’s impact on the global auto market has been best characterized by this chart, published over the weekend, showing how Chinese car production has gone from 1% to 39% of global production in 20 years.

The rapid ascent was fueled by significant government investment, advancements in automation, and the growth of its domestic market, which is now the largest globally.

The NYT piece said that as domestic sales have slowed due to economic headwinds, China has increasingly turned to international markets to sell its cars, especially EVs.

Chinese brands like BYD have gained global recognition for offering advanced electric cars at highly competitive prices, exporting more EVs than any other country. Major markets include Europe, where compact models are popular, and Southeast Asia, where affordability drives demand.

We wrote back in November that China was even dethroning many of its long-rivaled Japanese competitors. Between 2019 and 2024, Japanese automakers experienced the steepest market share declines in China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, according to Bloomberg’s analysis of sales and registration data.

Japanese automakers aren’t just losing ground across Asian countries, with all six tracked by Bloomberg experiencing declines in China – but also globally as shown in the above chart.

Even Toyota, the global leader in car volume, has seen its sales stagnate. In Southeast Asia, a traditional stronghold for Japanese brands, market share has dropped sharply.

In Thailand and Singapore, Japanese carmakers now control just 35% of the market, down from over 50% in 2019, while streets once dominated by Nissan and Mazda are increasingly filled with Chinese brands.

China’s leadership in EVs is the result of over a decade of focused government support, including subsidies, tax breaks, low-interest loans, and heavy investment in battery technology.

Since 2009, over $230 billion has been funneled into the EV and battery sectors, the New York Times reported.

Chinese automakers also maintain a significant cost advantage over their global competitors. Cars made by Chinese companies cost roughly 30% less to assemble, largely due to control over the battery supply chain, lower labor costs, and more efficient production processes.

However, China’s dominance has raised concerns globally. Countries like the U.S. and the European Union have imposed tariffs on Chinese EVs, citing unfair subsidies and the potential threat to local industries. Despite these trade barriers, Chinese vehicles remain competitive because of their lower prices and comparable quality.

China’s heavy investment and technological edge position it to continue dominating the global auto market. Even with intensifying international pushback, its production capacity, cost advantages, and leadership in EV technology suggest that its influence will persist for years to come.

Recall just days ago we wrote that GM was taking a more than $5 billion charge and closing plants to address its declining business in China.

Back in August, many were surprised by the accuracy of our forecast, when we predicted that in its annual revision, the Biden Bureau of Labor Statistics would revise jobs for the April 2023-March 2024 period by “up to 1 million”, something which we said would mean that all job report “beats” recorded in the past year will have been misses and the US labor market is in far worse shape than the admin would admit.

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will downward revise jobs for the April 2023-March 2024 period by up to 1 million. This means that all “beats” recorded in the past year will have been misses and the US job market is in far worse shape than the admin would admit.

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 18, 2024

The final results, as everyone knows by now, was a shocking 818K revision lower, just as the Philadelphia Fed had predicted 6 months prior, in March, when it calculated correctly that the Biden Department of Goalseeking Propaganda had overstated payrolls by “at least 800,000.”

Philadelphia Fed Admits US Payrolls Overstated By At Least 800,000 https://t.co/JZZxweddh9

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 28, 2024

The answer ended up 818,000 for the 12 month period ended March 31 (or about 68,000 per month) and the implied sharp deterioration to the job market was the main scapegoat used by the Fed to launch its easing cycle with a jumbo 50bps rate cut (now that “suddenly” the economic golden age pushed by the Biden propaganda regime, and trillions in debt, had just collapsed).

We mention all of this up because on Friday, the Philly Fed served up its latest shocker: not only did the Biden admin lie again, but the collapse in the labor market that had been covered up for much of the past year and was only exposed with the annual benchmark revision, extended into the second quarter.

“Estimates by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia indicate that the employment changes from March through June 2024 were significantly different” – read lower – “in 27 states compared with preliminary state estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Current Employment Statistics (CES)”, the Philly Fed said on December 12.

“According to the early benchmark (EB) estimates conducted by the Phily Fed, employment was lower in 25 states, higher in two states, and lesser changes in the remaining 23 states and the District of Columbia.”

Translation: 23 states unchanged, 1 revised higher…  and 25 lower. The breakdown is shown below.

Maybe someone can calculate what the odds of that distribution occurring naturally are, but here is our guess: virtually nil. Which is why would make such a loud stink every month after the Biden BLS revised jobs data lower month after month after month. The whole point was to make the labor market appear stronger than it was, then to gradually revised it all away. And now the Philadelphia Fed confirms – again – that we were right all along.

And so, after it first revised the 12 months ending March 31 by 818K, the downgrads extended into the second quarter of 2024, when the Philadelphia Fed early benchmark estimates showed that instead of the 1.1% gain shown initially by the BLS, payroll jobs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia were actually down 0.1%!

By state, the regional Fed bank estimates that largest revision of employment for the nine-month period ended in June will come from California, where it sees a downward revision of 172,700 jobs. Payrolls in Texas may be revised down by 112,100. An extended forecast by the BLS to the third quarter show further declines as well.

And while we don’t yet know the specifics of the revisions – those will be revealed on Feb 7, 2025 when the final numbers are published – at the national level, we do know that all the jobs reportedly “created” in the second quarter, were actually fake, there were no net jobs created at all, and in fact, the US lost jobs in Q2!

Translation: in his latest attempt to create an impression of economic growth, Biden lied about everything, again.

Source: Philly Fed

Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigations,

Topline: The federal government has recently spent $267 million on grants meant to suppress supposed “misinformation,” according to a new report from OpenTheBooks.com. 

Of course, federal bureaucrats themselves get to decide what is and isn’t misinformation.

Key facts: Misinformation spending soared in 2021 as the government worked with social media companies to restrict the views of those questioning federal Covid-19 policies online. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has since admitted it was “wrong” to censor varying opinions on vaccines, mask-wearing and social distancing. 

The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government later accused the National Science Foundation of creating “AI-powered censorship and propaganda tools” at a cost of $13 million.

Another $200,000 was awarded to George Washington University to study how populist leaders spread misinformation. Researchers used government funds to analyze politicians who allegedly divided society during the pandemic, focusing on Donald Trump and three other world leaders.

In total, $127 million of the misinformation grants were related to Covid-19.

Other spending included $300,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services to create Innov8AI, which can “capture medical misinformation in social media for targeted interdiction using an advanced AI solution set.”

Trump’s administration spent $7 million on combating misinformation during his first term.

Background: Suppressing speech of any kind brings up potential First Amendment issues, and it runs the risk of erasing narratives that are actually true.

In October, reports emerged that Federal Emergency Management Agency workers were intentionally withholding financial aid from hurricane victims in Florida that had “Trump for President” signs on their lawns. Many news networks gave the story a “misinformation” label — until it turned out to be true and a Congressional investigation was launched.

Even the prediction that President Joe Biden would drop out of the presidential race was deemed a “conspiracy theory” from the “GOP fantasy crowd” by Politico in February. Months later, Biden stepped down from the ticket.

Summary: Americans can make up their own minds, they don’t need the government to do that for them. The best solution for bad speech isn’t censorship, it’s more speech.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com

Institutional investors are increasing bullish bets on live cattle futures, pushing them to their highest levels in five years, as America’s herd size dwindles to its lowest point in more than six decades.

The latest CFTC data via Bloomberg shows money managers boosted bullish live cattle bets by 3,908 net-long positions to 126,308 last week, the most bullish in over five years. 

Additional CFTC data (courtesy of Bloomberg): 

• Long-only positions rose 5,781 lots to 140,036 in the week ending Dec. 10

• The long-only total was the highest in more than five years

• Short-only positions rose 1,873 lots to 13,728

• The short-only total was the highest in three weeks

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures are reaching new highs, driven by technical trading, anticipation of strong consumer demand heading into holidays, and the alarming decline in overall herd size.

The shrinking beef supply has pushed the nation’s herd size to its smallest level since 1961. With severe droughts, high interest rates, costly feed prices, sliding farm income, surging farm debt, and a shifting consumer preference toward cheaper chicken, struggling ranchers have been culling heifers, preventing any meaningful recovery in the number of calves necessary to expand the nation’s herds.

On top of all this, the nation’s cattle crisis is set to worsen with new pressures: first, President-elect Trump’s anticipated tariff war 2.0, which is expected to tighten domestic beef supplies, and second, immigration reform.

“All of the things he is talking about have potentially negative consequences more so than anything positive,” Derrell Peel, a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University, told Bloomberg, adding, “Our fate’s pretty well determined in the cattle industry in the US for the next two to four years – and it’s not looking good.”

In February, the United States Department of Agriculture projected that the cattle herd could begin rebuilding by 2025. However, that timeline has since shifted to 2027. The reason is primarily because of high interest rates and poor pasture conditions in the Midwest. 

“Even as the beef industry has experienced periods of growth over the past decades, the animal count has dropped almost 40% since a peak in 1975. During the current downcycle, which started in 2020, the herd has been shrinking at the fastest pace since the big farm crisis of the 1980s,” Bloomberg noted.

If Trump introduces new tariffs, it could disrupt the flow of imported beef, further tightening domestic supplies, which will mean supermarket prices of ground beef are set to rise even higher in 2025. 

All things point to higher beef prices in 2025.

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

The British government has approved the £3.6 billion (€4.34 billion) sale of International Distribution Services (IDS), the parent company of Royal Mail, to EP Group, owned by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský.

The decision, announced on Monday by IDS on the London Stock Exchange, makes Křetínský the new owner of the historic Royal Mail after 500 years of British ownership.

The government will retain a “golden share” in the company, ensuring its control over key decisions, such as changes to ownership, tax residency, or the headquarters location.

Royal Mail, which employs over 150,000 people, will continue operating under strict conditions agreed upon by EP Group.

These include maintaining its Universal Service Obligation (USO), which guarantees letter delivery six days a week and parcel delivery Monday to Friday across the U.K. at a standard price.

Additionally, the agreement ensures that Royal Mail’s brand, headquarters, and tax residency will remain in the U.K. for at least five years. Workers will also benefit, with a commitment to allocate 10 percent of dividends paid to Křetínský to employees, alongside the establishment of a worker’s council to provide staff with a stronger voice in the company’s operations.

Daniel Křetínský, who has held a 27.5 percent stake in IDS since 2022, emphasized EP Group’s long-term commitment to preserving Royal Mail’s legacy while modernizing its operations.

“EP Group is a long-term and committed investor with a mission to make Royal Mail a successful modern postal operator with high-quality service and products for its customers,” Křetínský said.

He also acknowledged the historical significance of Royal Mail, stating he holds “maximum respect” for its tradition.

The acquisition was reviewed under national security laws due to Royal Mail’s status as critical national infrastructure due to Křetínský’s involvement in a gas transmission service that continues to transport reduced volumes of Russian gas to Europe under EU-approved terms.

The acquisition adds to Křetínský’s growing portfolio in the U.K., which includes a 27 percent stake in West Ham United Football Club and a 10 percent share in Sainsbury’s.

Read more here…

Israel is closing its embassy in Ireland in protest of what it claims are “extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government.” While this doesn’t amount to a full severing of diplomatic relations, it does represent a dramatic display of Israel’s defensiveness in the face of growing international condemnation of its bloody and destructive 14-month-long war in Gaza. 

“The actions and antisemitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state, along with double standards,” said Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar.  

Last week, Ireland announced that it would file an “intervention” supporting South Africa’s request for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to declare that Israel has violated the Genocide Convention — through the manner in which it’s waged war on Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

In that intervention, Ireland is asking the ICJ to “broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide…We are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized,” said the Irish government in a statement.

The Palestinian death toll in Gaza is now approaching 45,000, per health authorities in the territory. Aside from Israeli military action, Palestinians are also menaced by malnourishment and disease as Israel thwarts the flow of food and supplies into the strip. Meanwhile, using satellite analysis, the UN in August estimated that nearly two-thirds of all buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed — with the toll on housing unlike anything the world has seen since World War II. 

Is This Ethnic Cleansing or “Self Defense”?

Footage of the Israeli Army Demolishing a Residential Block in Northern Gaza is brutal to watch pic.twitter.com/rvbB7cfBPE

— Ryan Rozbiani (@RyanRozbiani) December 9, 2024

Simon Harris, who is Ireland’s taoiseach — a position equivalent to prime minister — took to X to express his dismay over Israel’s move: 

“This is a deeply regrettable decision from the Netanyahu government. I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law. Ireland wants a two-state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security. Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract from that.”

Last month, Harris said Ireland was ready and willing to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to come to the country — in accordance with a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. The court declared that Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant had been credibly accused of “intentionally and knowingly depriv[ing] the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival…” and “intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.” 

The Israeli closure of the embassy in Dublin is among the first major diplomatic moves since the conservative Saar was appointed foreign minister last month. “Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel,” said Saar. “Israel will invest its resources in advancing bilateral relations with countries worldwide according to priorities that also take into account the attitudes and actions of these states toward Israel.” 

Jabalia in Northern Gaza

They claim they were ‘looking for hostages.’ pic.twitter.com/P4abZm2PGx

— Khalissee (@Kahlissee) December 8, 2024

The embassy closure is just the latest deterioration of Israeli-Irish relations: In May, Israel recalled its ambassadors to Ireland, Spain and Norway to retaliate for those countries’ recognition of Palestine as an independent state. Despite the closure of the embassy in Dublin, Israel will still maintain diplomatic relations with Ireland, and the Irish embassy in Tel Aviv will remain open.

In his interview with Time magazine last week, President-Elect Donald Trump said “[Netanyahu] knows I want [the war in Gaza] to end.” Asked if he trusted Netanyahu, Trump replied, “I don’t trust anyone.” 

Via Remix News,

Germany’s Christian Democrat Union (CDU) candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz says that Germany cannot accept more Syrians from Syria and that those Syrians who are not integrated should return to Syria.

Notably, Merz is pointing to the sky-high levels of unemployment among many of the country’s Syrian population. The chancellor candidate, during an appearance on ARD, said the “one-third” who “work and are integrated” in Germany can stay, “but the two-thirds do not work, they are overwhelmingly young men, many of them can go back, and many must go back.”

He said that a push to return many of these migrants must occur, saying:

 “We must now speak very openly with them and say: You have no place in Germany in the long term… We have long been of the opinion that at least people could have returned to the north a long time ago, and now to other parts of the country as well.”

There are currently 1 million Syrians in the country, and those not working have become a major burden for German taxpayers. According to government data, 210,000 are employed, while 250,000 are currently “looking for work.” Another 150,000 are unemployed.

Following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government, there is a European-wide push to return Syrians to their country; however, the ruling German government has expressed caution about the security situation in the country.

🇩🇪🚨 Germany’s far-left Interior Minister Nancy Faeser says that no “repatriations” will happen yet to Syria.

However, this “wait-and-see” approach could stretch into years. Meanwhile, more and more Syrians are obtaining German citizenship.

Ireland’s taking the same approach. pic.twitter.com/aLtB6npesR

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) December 13, 2024

Merz himself said there should be a halt to accepting new refugees from Syria and that “those who come could also have been members of Assad’s militias and we have no use for them in Germany.”

The CDU under Merkel is responsible for most of the Syrians in Germany after Merkel gave the greenlight to allow them to settle in the country. Many of the Syrians in Germany have shown no interest in returning home.

This Syrian migrant famously took a selfie with Merkel back in 2016.

Now, he says he has no plans to return to Syria.

The same applies for hundreds of thousands of Syrians. Even if conditions improve in Syria, many receive benefits in Germany they’ll never willingly give up. pic.twitter.com/wkXGhacFDV

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) December 13, 2024

Both the CDU and their sister party, the Christian Socialists (CSU), are pushing for rapid deportation of criminals. The head of the CSU in the Bundestag, Alexander Dobrindt, told the Rheinische Post that “if reasons for protection no longer apply and the right of residence expires in many cases, then repatriation to Syria must also be possible.” He said he is pushing for the quick deportation of criminals first and foremost and financial support for voluntary departures.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has also called for Syrians to return to their country, and the CDU may have trouble implementing its agenda on this issue. It has already signaled it will refuse to work with the AfD following February elections and will instead join a coalition with the Green Party. The Greens, in turn, have already rejected calls to return Syrians.

2.54 million recipients of welfare benefits in Germany have a foreign background, making up 63% of the overall total. https://t.co/09crBq8Xls

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) November 20, 2024

“By demanding immediate return and combining this with incentives, the Union (CDU) shows once again that it is using migration policy for its election campaign and disregarding the reality in the Middle East,” said Lamya Kaddor, the Greens’ domestic policy spokeswoman in the Bundestag,

She said she hopes that every Syrian who wishes to return voluntarily will be able to do so safely.

“At the same time, many Syrians have been naturalized and have become native here. Many are making a valuable contribution to our society, their children are German and they are building a life for themselves in Germany,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Social Democrats are attacking what they say is the un-Christian stance of the Christian Democrats.

🇩🇪 Germans say they’re “shocked” about the mass stabbing by a Syrian national at the “Festival of Diversity” in Solingen.

But there is nothing to be shocked about. Knife crime in Germany is soaring, predominately due to mass immigration.

That is a statistical fact. pic.twitter.com/NWAxJp2gBe

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) August 28, 2024

“The fact that the CDU and CSU are talking about deportations first after the fall of the dictator Assad and against the backdrop of a still unclear situation in Syria is shabby and cynical,” SPD parliamentary group vice-chairman Dirk Wiese told the Rheinische Post .

“The Union would be consistent in its stance if it were to remove the C from its name,” said Wiese. “Our support should clearly go to the Syrians who have had to live under a terrible regime for years – towards a free and safe Syria.”

Read more here…

Authored by Kenin Spivak via RealClearPolitics,

It’s time to defrock the word police.

The election, polls, and anecdotal evidence confirm that Americans want to end the obnoxious recitation of pronouns – “Latinx,” “birthing persons,” and other entries in the radical left lexicon – except in eulogies for progressive virtue signaling.

In a March Gallup poll of more than 12 million adults, 4.4% identified as bisexual, 0.9% as transgender, and 0.1% as pansexual. In exit polls this year of more than 110,000 voters conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, just 1% identified as “nonbinary,” a subset of the Gallup categories. Some of these individuals, most often nonbinaries, dominate use of non-standard pronouns such as “they,” “zir” and “hir.”

If 100% of bisexuals, transgenders, and pansexuals used non-standard pronouns (they do not) and all are offended if the remaining 94.6% of us do not publicly proclaim our pronouns in our signature cards and profiles (also untrue), then the pronoun kerfuffle risks offending 5.4% of Americans. From 10 to 20 times more Americans are offended by this babble. According to a Pew study published in June, nearly 56% of registered voters are uncomfortable with someone using the pronouns “they” or “them,” rather than “he” or “she.” Most of the 53% of Americans who consider religion to be “very important” in their lives likely agree.

Even in Canada, where polls show greater support for gender fluidity, a survey of 3,016 adults from the Angus-Reid Institute found that 66% opposed (36% strongly) and just 22% supported (6% strongly) that “everyone should put their pronouns in their social media profiles/emails.” Media savvy squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deleted her pronouns from her X profile.

The core question is not whether those who choose non-standard pronouns, other than “they,” should be dissuaded from doing so, but whether we must all subjugate ourselves to pronoun activists by beclowning our signature cards and profiles to confirm that we are adhering to at least 2,000 years of gender identification, and whether we must adopt idiosyncratic pronouns when describing others.

At the least, no one should use the pronoun “they.” The use of “they” to describe an individual is grammatically incorrect in nearly all circumstances. It is narcissistic and pompous. When discussing multiple people and also using “they” as a pronoun for one or more of them, the result is indecipherable. (Try to understand the sentence I just wrote if the word “them” could mean both more than one individual, and one or more specific individuals.)

More than a few times I have had the following conversation with a professional whose firm uses pronouns in its signature cards. Me: Does anyone in the firm use pronouns other than him or her? Partner: “No” (or, rarely, “a few”). Me: Why then do you do this, since it must be off-putting to many more people than the number who like it? Partner: Some variation of, “We only care about the feelings of the few.”

This goes even further when people are penalized for refusing to participate in this farce. Being LGBTQ may be protected by law or common decency, but the Constitution unambiguously protects free speech and the exercise of religion. It does not protect an individual’s right to force others to refer to him or her as a “they.” At least 10 states have passed legislation to ensure that teachers, staff, and students aren’t required to use students’ pronouns or names if they don’t align with the student’s sex at birth.

Nothing, of course, is more absurd that the misogynistic “birthing person,” or that a nominee for the Supreme Court can’t define “woman.”

U.S. passport applicants now may select any gender, or an “X” gender, as may residents of 16 states on birth certificates, and at least 25 states and the District of Columbia on drivers’ licenses and other identification, defeating the purpose of identification.

French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish assign gender to most nouns. Hence, Americans from South America refer to themselves as “Latino,” “Latina,” or just “Hispanic.” The same misogynistic pathology that causes progressives to insist there are more than two immutable sexes, erase women, and put biological males in girls’ sports, drives them to the despised slur “Latinx.”

A 2021 poll of 800 registered voters of Latin American descent for Bendixen and Amandi International, a Democratic firm, found that only 2% described themselves as Latinx, and 40% found the term offensive. A Pew survey in September found that only 4% of Hispanics use it, 51% have never heard of it, and 75% of those who have, oppose it. In October, a study conducted by professors from Georgetown and Harvard found that the use of Latinx by Democrats was increasing Hispanic support for Donald Trump and other Republicans.

The progressive lexicon is based on tenuous connections (“grandfathered” is racist), wordy (“people experiencing homelessness” for “homeless”), kooky (“assigned female at birth” for “girl”) and offends vast number of Americans, including women and members of minority groups whom the progressives claim to be supporting.

According to Future Forward, Kamala Harris’ lead PAC, variants of Trump’s campaign advertisement about her support for taxpayer-funded sex reassignment surgery for transgenders with the tagline “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.” shifted the race 2.7% in Trump’s favor.

Trump’s success among most demographic groups, and exit and post-election polling (see here, here, here, and here) tell us that Americans don’t want to be told by the radical left what to think or how to speak about social issues. It is time to put pronouns, Latinx, and other progressive terminology in the waste basket.

Kenin M. Spivak is founder and chairman of SMI Group LLC, an international consulting firm and investment bank. He is the author of fiction and non-fiction books and a frequent speaker and contributor to media, including The American Mind, National Review, the National Association of Scholars, television, radio, and podcasts.