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Tue, 18 Mar 2025 08:15:00 +0000 Lithuania Says Russian Intelligence Behind IKEA Arson Attack
Lithuania Says Russian Intelligence Behind IKEA Arson Attack
On Monday Lithuanian prosecutors issued formal findings from a long-running arson investigation which goes back to May of last year.
The statement accused Russian
Read more.....
Lithuania Says Russian Intelligence Behind IKEA Arson Attack
On Monday Lithuanian prosecutors issued formal findings from a long-running arson investigation which goes back to May of last year.
The statement accused Russian intelligence of being behind an arson attack on an IKEA store in Vilnius last year , calling it "an act of terrorism." Prosecutor Arturas Urbelis told reporters, "This is connected with the military intelligence , with the security services."
"We regard this act as an act of terrorism with serious consequences," Urbelis continued. Amid a spate of mysterious arson attacks on European soil throughout last year, Lituanian authorities say they've found "reasonable grounds" to believe that unspecified Russian "military structures and security services" organized and financed the attack on the Ikea store.
The fire, which targeted the Swedish retailer store in the Lithuanian capital on the May 9, 2024, resulted in no casualties. Interestingly, the two prime suspects taken into custody are actually Ukrainian citizens.
"It has been established that through a series of intermediaries... the organizers of these crimes are in Russia and this is connected to military intelligence and security forces," the prosecutor's office continued, describing a 'destabilization' campaign in Europe.
According to more details in regional media :
The prosecutor’s office said one suspect entered Poland in early 2024 and, during a secret meeting in Warsaw, agreed to set fire to and bomb shopping centers in Lithuania and Latvia in exchange for 10,000 euros ($10,904).
"More than one supermarket has been set on fire, and not just supermarkets," Urbelis said when asked about possible links to similar arson attacks in Poland.
"It is obvious that the persons we have identified, the perpetrators and the intermediaries, are also linked to the criminal acts committed in Poland," he added.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk echoed the allegations, directly addressing allies on X...
Poland's Tusk appears to be actually trying to use this to derail Trump-backed peace talks: "Good to know before negotiations . Such is the nature of this state [Russia]," he said in the post.
There have also throughout the Ukraine war been 'mystery fires' inside Russia as well, particularly targeting defense and energy sector buildings. To some extent, both sides could be waging sabotage campaigns against the other at this point.
Tyler Durden Tue, 03/18/2025 - 04:15 Close Tue, 18 Mar 2025 07:30:00 +0000 The Shakespeare National Trust Determines That The Bard 'Is Not To Be'
The Shakespeare National Trust Determines That The Bard 'Is Not To Be'
The Shakespeare National Trust Determines That The Bard 'Is Not To Be'
Authored by Andrea Widburg via AmericanThinker.com,
William Shakespeare has long been considered one of England’s great men because of his extraordinary output of timeless plays and sonnets.
They that shaped the English language as well as exporting ideas about British culture...not because the Brits foisted his works on others, but because others recognized their beauty and universality.
Now, though, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, as part of the nation’s push for national suicide, which is the premier Shakespeare organization in England, has decided that Shakespeare is just too...English, and that’s bad.
In answer to Hamlet’s question (“to be or not to be”), the Trust has determined that Shakespeare is not to be .
Once, every educated person had seen or read at least some Shakespeare plays. His comedies made us laugh, his histories taught us about the nature of power and reminded us that those who are high can be brought low and vice versa, and his tragedies’ continued popularity revealed that the human condition is unchanging and that human folly brings disaster in its wake.
Yes, these plays were set in England (even the plays set in Italy or ancient Rome were still set in England), but they had a universality that saw them rise above time and place. Add in Shakespeare’s exquisite prose, which shaped the English language for centuries after he died, and you had something that made, and should still make, the British very proud.
However, as Shakespeare himself knew, human folly remains constant, and nothing reveals greater folly than the left’s march on Western culture.
Britain definitely did bad things over the centuries. After all, it kicked every Jew out of England for hundreds of years (so Shakespeare had never seen a Jew when he created Shylock) it was one of the major participants in the African slave trade, it was one of the world’s major colonizers, and it treated factory workers badly during the beginning of the industrial revolution. Bad Britain!
But, because events must be understood within the times in which they occur, the entire medieval world was antisemitic, every nation in the history of humankind relied on slavery, every powerful nation in the history of world practiced colonialism, and all Western nations allowed workers to be abused in the early days of industrialism. In other words, Britain was no worse than the nations around her.
When Britain was good, though, she was very, very good. It was Britain’s Great Awakening, a religious crisis of conscience, that led to the abolition of slavery, the end of child labor, and the general improvement of working conditions.
And while Britain was a colonialist, Niall Ferguson has pointed out something fascinating : Former British colonies, wherever they are in the world, have thrived, exceeding nations in their regions that others had colonized (and everyone was colonizing everyone, whether Western, Asian, or Muslim). In other words, while we moderns can rant against the evils of colonization, everyone was doing it, and the lucky nations got England as their rulers.
Here in America, a former British colony that rose to be the most successful nation in the world, we thrived because the British gave us their ideas about individual liberty. Thank you, Britain! We parted ways with you when you abandoned your own principles, but we kept the principles.
In other words, England’s history is a mixed bag but it was better than most—and the British, while they shouldn’t deny the bad, should mostly be proud of the good.
But now, having drowned itself in a sea of leftism, and imported millions of people who believe that their culture (Islam) is infinitely superior to that of their new home, Britain has determined that Shakespeare, who was practically the avatar of the best of Britain, must be jettisoned. To that end, his birthplace will be cleansed of Britain’s “colonialist” stain:
William Shakespeare’s birthplace is being “decolonised” following concerns about the playwright being used to promote “white supremacy ”.
[snip]
It is now “decolonising” its vast collection to “create a more inclusive museum experience”.
This process includes exploring “the continued impact of Empire” on the collection, the “impact of colonialism” on world history, and how “Shakespeare’s work has played a part in this”.
[snip]
The process of “decolonising”, which typically means moving away from Western perspectives , comes after concerns were raised that Shakespeare’s genius was used to advance ideas about “white supremacy”.
The claims were made in a 2022 collaborative research project between the trust and Dr Helen Hopkins, an academic at the University of Birmingham.
The problem was that the Trust dared present Shakespeare’s ideas as genius universal ruminations about power, folly, love, and tragedy. Nothing, it seems, could be more evil:
“This idea of Shakespeare’s universal genius ‘benefits the ideology of white European supremacy ’, it was claimed.”
The audacity! What this means is that those who dare admire Shakespeare are guilty of “white Anglo-centric, Eurocentric, and increasingly ‘West-centric’ worldviews that continue to do harm in the world today.” This admiration causes “epistemic violence” (a nonsense phrase meaning it makes leftists sad).
In an interview with Laura Ingraham, JD Vance warned that “Europe is at risk of engaging in civilizational suicide.”
And so, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which once existed to celebrate Britain’s greatest man of letters, must now go out of its way to expose the evil inherent in his work.
What’s happening at Shakespeare’s birthplace is another reason America really needs to pull out of NATO, because there’s nothing left in Europe to defend. We are simply giving money to people who hate the West and America, and who are dedicating themselves to the downfall of both.
Tyler Durden Tue, 03/18/2025 - 03:30 Close Tue, 18 Mar 2025 06:45:00 +0000 Germany Pledges Hundreds Of Millions To Syrian Regime Despite Sectarian Massacres
Germany Pledges Hundreds Of Millions To Syrian Regime Despite Sectarian Massacres
Sectarian mass killings in Syria have been going on for over a week at this point. Armed men affiliated with self-declared President Ahmed al-Sharaa'
Read more.....
Germany Pledges Hundreds Of Millions To Syrian Regime Despite Sectarian Massacres
Sectarian mass killings in Syria have been going on for over a week at this point. Armed men affiliated with self-declared President Ahmed al-Sharaa's security forces (Jolani's HTS/AQ-linked militants) have killed thousands of Alawites and in some cases Christians.
Reports from last week also said Jolani's radical Sunni gangs are burning fields and forests in order to smoke out Alawite families in hiding , literally hunting down the Alawite minorities. Thousands are still taking shelter at a Russian airbase on the coast, afraid to return to their homes.
Apparently this genocide doesn't matter to Germany's leaders, who on Monday declared they are pledging an additional €300 million ($326 million) in aid , much of which will go to the government - though not all.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said at a press conference ahead of an EU-led donor conference in Brussels that over half of it will bypass the interim government of Jolani , to be distributed through NGOs and UN agencies.
"As Europeans, we stand together for the people of Syria, for a free and peaceful Syria," she declared. But noticeably absent was a full-throated condemnation of the Jolani regime for these massacres .
Estimates of the dead have ranged from over 1,000 to several thousand to as many as ten or fifteen thousand , according to some independent sources. The London based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has documented that at least 1,557 Alawite civilians were killed and executed by members of Syria's Ministries of Interior and Defense and allied groups.
Bodies have been photographed and filmed strewn about streets in locales around Latakia, near the coast, and Syrian authorities are digging mass graves before UN teams can arrive .
A new short documentary film by well-known independent journalist Lindsey Snell has documented Syria's new killing fields ...
VIDEO
Former Congressman Dennis Kucinich has asked , "Why would America champion policies that lead to the killing of Christians, the destruction of churches, the massacre of Alawites and the rise of radical jihadists? Why did our leaders knowingly aid those who murdered the very people America claimed to want to protect?"
"The answer lies in a corrupt, immoral foreign policy dictated not by ethics, human rights, or even national security, but by the interests of the military-industrial complex and strategists who view human lives as pawns in a geopolitical chess game," he wrote.
Tyler Durden Tue, 03/18/2025 - 02:45 Close Tue, 18 Mar 2025 06:00:00 +0000 Does The US Have A Secret 'Kill Switch' To Deactivate European Weapons?
Does The US Have A Secret 'Kill Switch' To Deactivate European Weapons?
Does The US Have A Secret 'Kill Switch' To Deactivate European Weapons?
Via Remix News,
It may sound like merely a conspiracy theory, but European governments today are seriously concerned that the weapons in their arsenals – many of which were designed, built, and are often still maintained by defense companies in the United States. The fear is that they may have secret “kill switches” that will deactivate them if attempts are made to use them in a way that Washington opposes.
Such rumors have circulated since the days of the Cold War, but they have taken on new urgency given the Trump administration’s condemnation of Western Europe as well as its peace overtures to Russia and China. This was especially highlighted in Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference last month, where he stated that Europe’s real danger is “the threat from within” rather than Russia or China.
Some European governments were also alarmed when President Donald Trump temporarily withdrew military aid from Kyiv after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky argued with him during a meeting in the Oval Office last month.
“If they see how Trump is dealing with Zelensky, they should be worried,” Financial Times . “He is throwing him under the bus. The Nordic and Baltic states need to think: will he do the same to us?”
The existence of secret “kill switches” has never been proven, but is definitely possible. Richard Aboulafia of Ann Arbor, Michigan-based aviation consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory said that given that weapons could theoretically be deactivated “with a little bit of software code,” such a possibility “exists.”
The real danger to Europe may not be secret codes, however, but rather the fact that European militaries are heavily dependent on the U.S. for parts and maintenance. Some 55 percent of imported military equipment that was purchased in Europe between 2019 and 2023 came from the U.S., an increase of 35 percent compared to the previous five years. To cite just one example, more than half of the fifth-generation fighter aircraft – those that are state-of-the-art – currently in service across Europe were made in the U.S.
All of these American-made weapons depend on an uninterrupted supply of spare parts, ammunition, and software updates from the U.S. in order to continue functioning. Some more sophisticated equipment is also routinely sent back to the U.S. for maintenance.
Besides this, Europe’s armed forces are totally reliant on US support in terms of communications and electronic warfare, as well as for intelligence, surveillance, software, and reconnaissance.
A split in the Europe-U.S. military alliance, which has been the bedrock of global security for the past 80 years, seemed unthinkable until only a few months ago. Given the new geopolitical realities that Europe is now facing from both a renewed threat in Moscow and uncertainty over Washington’s commitments, European politicians are likely to begin reevaluating this dependency.
Just one example of the new problems confronting Europe as a result of this shift is the threat Trump has made to annex the Danish territory of Greenland – by force, if necessary. Denmark has said that it will prepare the island to defend itself from a possible U.S. attack by strengthening the Danish air force’s presence there.
Given that the Royal Danish Air Force flies American-made F-35 fighters, however, it may be difficult for Denmark to deploy them against U.S. forces in the event of a conflict. Even if there are no “kill switches” in them, if U.S. defense contractors stopped providing maintenance and software updates, the aircraft wouldn’t keep flying for long.
Even those advanced fighter aircraft that were designed and built domestically in Europe depend on secure communications systems and GPS navigation provided by the U.S.
Perhaps the most critical question facing a Europe contemplating a world without American support is that of the United Kingdom’s nuclear weapons. Since the early days of the Cold War, all European countries that are members of NATO have been under the U.S.’ “nuclear umbrella,” meaning that Washington has pledged to defend them from attack by every means, up to and including the use of nuclear weapons.
It has always been believed that this threat of “mutually assured destruction” has deterred Europe’s adversaries, and Russia in particular, from contemplating attacks on Europe. While this has not happened yet, if the U.S. were to withdraw its nuclear protection, Europe would suddenly find itself more vulnerable to foreign attack than it has been at any time since World War II.
The only two European countries with their own nuclear arsenals are the U.K. and France. France has already offered to extend its own “nuclear umbrella” to Germany, although Berlin has yet to make a decision regarding this proposal. France’s arsenal is relatively small, however: It is believed to possess only about 300 nuclear warheads, far fewer than the nearly 6,000 that Russia is estimated to have.
The U.K. could bolster this capability by offering to extend its own “nuclear umbrella” over continental Europe. The problem is that all of the country’s nuclear missiles, which are deployed aboard submarines, were designed and built in the U.S. Apart from the possibility of existing “kill switches,” the missiles are routinely sent back to a facility in King’s Bay, Georgia, for maintenance – and thus could not continue operating indefinitely without U.S. support.
Although European politicians are beginning to contemplate the possibility of a world where they can no longer count on America as a result of the statements coming from American politicians, nothing has changed in their relationship as of yet. This was confirmed by Joachim Finkielman, who is the director of DI Danish Defence and Security Industries, an association that represents the interests of those Danish companies that work in the defense sector.
“There is a lot of uneasiness about what’s going to happen,” “but up until now we haven’t felt any changes in the relationship with the US.”
Finkielman also pointed out that while European militaries are heavily reliant on U.S. support, it is also the case that U.S. defense companies in some cases rely on parts made in Denmark, including for the F-35 fighter. Thus, this dependency isn’t entirely one-sided.
It remains to be seen if this apparent political parting of ways between the U.S. and Europe will end up being seen as only a bump in the road or a lasting break. The real loser may end up being the American defense industry, given that it has been Europe’s trust in unwavering U.S. support that brought about its willing reliance on American-made weaponry in the first place.
It may already be too late to stop this from happening, however, given that sales of American weapons have dropped while those of European-made armaments have soared since Trump took office in January.
Read more here...
Tyler Durden Tue, 03/18/2025 - 02:00 Close Tue, 18 Mar 2025 03:25:00 +0000 Predicting The Shape Of Future Military Conflicts
Predicting The Shape Of Future Military Conflicts
Predicting The Shape Of Future Military Conflicts
Authored by Christian Milord via The Epoch Times,
It’s difficult to forecast how military conflicts will unfold once they are initiated, but military realists can identify likely scenarios based upon precedent as well as current ongoing conflicts. What might future conflicts look like and what types of platforms would be utilized in these kinetic and non-kinetic environments?
In a highly informative and thought-provoking book, “Unit X—How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley are Transforming the Future of War, 2024,” authors Christopher Kirchhoff and Raj Shah attempt to map out what might occur in both defensive and offensive scenarios. Unit X refers to the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), which was the brainchild of Raj Shah, a former F-16 pilot with the Air National Guard.
Shah came up with the idea of an experimental innovation unit after experiencing as a pilot the almost obsolete mapping and navigation capabilities of his fighter aircraft. He had a difficult time knowing for sure whether or not he had crossed a particular prohibited Middle East national border.
Moreover, there were outmoded methods of aircraft scheduling during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Middle East aviation command center that scheduled air operations was still using markers and whiteboards instead of computers for data analysis and the scheduling of hundreds of inbound and outbound aerial missions.
After Shah left the Guard, he had a desire to find solutions to these problems by seeking answers from the Pentagon and venture capital innovators who were forward thinkers. This is where Christopher Kirchhoff entered the picture as a specialist in disruptive and emerging technologies.
Kirchhoff had advised a number of tech companies and the government on national security matters. In the beginning of the DIU venture in 2016, it was tough sledding to create an innovation unit at the Pentagon for two reasons.
First, the Pentagon already had the entrenched Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which was formed in 1958 as a response to the Soviet Union’s Sputnik moment. DARPA had developed the ARPANET, a predecessor of the internet, as well as aerial drones, GPS, night vision goggles, and more. However, DARPA’s failure rate from design to prototype, to testing to production was more than 80 percent.
Next, according to the authors, tense relations existed between the Dept. of Defense (DOD) and California’s Silicon Valley incubator startups. Private sector innovators were impatient with the bureaucratic obstacles encountered when interacting with the Pentagon, while the Pentagon was dissatisfied with some of the innovative technologies coming out of Silicon Valley.
In the first year of the DIU, there were intense discussions, and funding was difficult to garner. However, with some assistance from former Defense Secretaries Ash Carter, Mark Esper and James Mattis, some of the bureaucratic hurdles were overcome and the DIU got off the ground. Relations with Silicon Valley gradually improved in the second and third year. Retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who is a Middle East combat veteran currently at the Hoover Institution, also played a role as an adviser to the DIU.
By the second and third year, the DIU was operational and gaining speed. It would solicit future military concepts from tech firms, ideas were exchanged, and innovative experts would strive to transform realistic concepts into next-generation platforms. Funding and the staff grew in size, and the DIU was no longer merely an experimental unit. DIU staff labored to reduce the time frame from concept to testing to 12–24 months through a nimbler acquisition process that bypassed excessive red tape.
Although the authors are aware that conventional warfighting will continue to be utilized in future warfare, a mixture of conventional and unconventional hybrid warfare is already occurring in the battlespaces of the Middle East and Ukraine. Cyberattacks, drones, artificial intelligence such as machine learning and quantum computing are being applied in surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting operations.
Moreover, robotics, as well as unmanned aerial, subsurface, and surface vehicles are working their way into the arsenals of both adversaries and allies. Elon Musk’s Starlink communication system is an example of dual-use commercial and military technology.
The DIU is the sole DOD organization that streamlines the pace of design, prototype, and testing of emerging dual use technologies, then scales successful upgrades that can be applied to modern platforms, as well as in current aircraft and naval vessels. It now has branch offices around the country and at the DOD. Some of the companies that contract with the Pentagon include Coherent Logix, Kodiak, Nova Spark, Shield AI, Skydio, Zepher Flight, among others.
This DOD and tech company ecosystem is an urgent national security necessity in light of the threats posed by America’s near-peer and peer competitors, as well as non-state actors. Indeed, China (PRC) is intensifying its unrestricted (cyber, economic, informational, political, military) warfare activities around the globe. The West must get ahead of the curve in research and development to maintain readiness at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels.
Kirchhoff and Shah conclude by stating, “The ultimate goal is not to win wars but to deter them. Innovation is our asymmetric means to achieve and maintain peace. The question now is whether the Pentagon will develop at scale the battlefield innovations it has incubated. Advocates of innovation must keep pressing despite the seemingly Sisyphean task of reform. Leadership must back them to the hilt.” Sage advice indeed.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.
Tyler Durden Mon, 03/17/2025 - 23:25 Close Tue, 18 Mar 2025 03:00:00 +0000 California Bill To Restrict Self Defense Withdrawn By Sponsor
California Bill To Restrict Self Defense Withdrawn By Sponsor
A proposed law in California intended to limit the conditions under which lethal force could be used in self-defense has been withdrawn by its sponsor. Assemblymember Ric
Read more.....
California Bill To Restrict Self Defense Withdrawn By Sponsor
A proposed law in California intended to limit the conditions under which lethal force could be used in self-defense has been withdrawn by its sponsor. Assemblymember Rich Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood) announced on Wednesday that Assembly Bill 1333 was pulled due what he claims was "misleading information" causing widespread confusion and fear among the public.
AB 1333 aimed to clarify scenarios where the use of lethal force in self-defense would be considered unjustified, particularly emphasizing situations where excessive force was employed beyond what was reasonably necessary.
The bill quickly became controversial, attracting fierce opposition from conservative critics who portrayed it as another lenient, crime-friendly initiative by California Democrats. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is also running for governor, publicly opposed the bill , asserting that it would effectively criminalize self-defense actions against offenders.
"Sacramento Democrats have spent the last 15 years tying the hands of law enforcement and coddling criminals , using and abusing ordinary Californians in their attempt to make criminals the real victims," Bianco declared. "Now, they're actively trying to tie the hands of our residents , who have had to defend themselves against re-released career criminals far too often."
As the NRA wrote in response to the withdrawal:
AB 1333, if passed, would have restricted the self-defense rights of crime victims by eliminating California’s “no duty to retreat” protection for individuals that are forced to defend themselves. This would make it easier to prosecute victims of crime who use self-defense if they did not first attempt to retreat before protecting themselves. AB 1333 would force victims to accede to the demands of violent criminals or potentially face legal charges themselves. This only revictimizes the victim of a crime while doing nothing to deter criminals.
Republican Assembly Leader James Gallagher credited public and institutional pressure for the bill's withdrawal, citing vocal opposition from the public and district attorneys.
Assemblyman Tom Lackey, representing Southern California’s high desert communities, called the bill a “complete assault on self-defense. ”
“Imagine this: A violent criminal breaks into your home, and you have to second-guess whether defending your family is ‘justifiable,’” Lackey wrote on social media.
“The misguided energy behind this proposal is beyond comprehension. ”
Zbur, however, maintains his commitment to public safety and the principles behind AB 1333.
"Protecting public safety has always been my top priority," Zbur said in his statement. "AB 1333 sought to close a dangerous legal loophole that could allow armed aggressors to initiate confrontations in public, kill their victims, and then exploit self-defense laws to escape accountability."
Which is of course, bullshit.
For those who need to brush up on home defense, Massad Ayoob is the man...
VIDEO
Tyler Durden Mon, 03/17/2025 - 23:00 Close Tue, 18 Mar 2025 02:59:00 +0000 Gaza Authorities Say Death Toll Already Surpasses 200 After Ceasefire Collapsed
Gaza Authorities Say Death Toll Already Surpasses 200 After Ceasefire Collapsed
Update(2200) : Read more.....
Gaza Authorities Say Death Toll Already Surpasses 200 After Ceasefire Collapsed
Update(2200) : surpassed 200 people killed .
"The Gaza Government Media Office reports that more than 200 people have been killed in the Israeli bombing of multiple areas across the Strip in the early hours of the morning," and some more of the latest via Al Jazeera :
Children are among the many killed and many wounded in Israeli air attacks across the Gaza Strip, the largest strikes since the ceasefire with Hamas started on January 19. United States Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich says US strikes on Yemen have killed dozens of Houthi fighters. The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, says at least two children, aged six and eight, are among the dead. Thousands of people have rallied in Yemen’s Sanaa in support of the Houthis who have vowed to respond to the US attacks as US President Donald Trump says Iran will “suffer the consequences ” if they do. The Houthis say their attacks on US and Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea are in solidarity with the people of Gaza, where Israel’s blockade has now reached a sixteenth day. Meanwhile, Israeli attacks have killed three people in Syria and two people in southern Lebanon. * * *
After two months of performative efforts at peace, the latest Israel-Gaza ceasefire ended with a literal bang moments ago when Israel launched "extensive strikes" strikes against on terror targets belonging to Hamas and promised ‘increasing military force’ after talks on on further hostage releases stalled.
Early Friday morning, Israel’s Prime Minister’s office said it instructed the army to strike Hamas across Gaza, with dozens reportedly killed and injured.
The statement said it was because of Hamas’ repeated refusals to release its hostages and its rejection of all offers it received from the U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and mediators.
The news was so unexpected it took even Polymarket by surprise where odds of a ceasefire lasting into April were in the low 30s just earlier this evening before hitting 100%.
Israel's military said Home Command has ordered restrictions on civilian activity near the Gaza Strip following the Hamas strikes.
According to the Israeli PM's office, the PM and Defense Minister directed the military to take strong actions against Hamas and Gaza following the group's persistent refusal to release hostages and rejections of proposals it had received.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said that Israel had conducted at least 35 airtriles on Gaza.
The strikes come after nearly two months of a ceasefire to pause the 17-month long war where dozens of hostages were released for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Developing
Tyler Durden Mon, 03/17/2025 - 22:59 Close Tue, 18 Mar 2025 02:35:00 +0000 US Nuclear Submarine Begins Scouting Around Australia As AUKUS Takes Shape
US Nuclear Submarine Begins Scouting Around Australia As AUKUS Takes Shape
US Nuclear Submarine Begins Scouting Around Australia As AUKUS Takes Shape
Authored by Crystal-Rose Jones via The Epoch Times,
As the very first tactile steps are taken in Australia’s nuclear submarine deal with the United States, an Australian defence expert has reiterated the importance of defending the Indian Ocean against Beijing’s burgeoning might.
The U.S. submarine presence in association with the AUKUS agreement is starting to come to fruition off the coast of Western Australia (WA).
The Virginia-class USS Minnesota has been scouting out new territory during training exercise while based at WA’s naval base off the coast of Perth, where four Virginia Class submarines will be stationed from 2027 under the AUKUS trilateral defence pact.
By the middle of the year, up to 80 U.S. navy personnel will be stationed at the multi-billion-dollar HMAS Stirling base—they'll be the first of hundreds who will eventually arrive on—or off—Australia’s shores.
Under AUKUS, Australia will be armed with nuclear-powered submarines—amid a swathe of other defence collaborations with the UK and United States—a move aimed at creating a counterweight against Beijing’s aggression in the region.
Peter Dean, the director of Foreign Policy at the U.S. Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, said the latest move was vital to the partnership.
“Defending the Indian Ocean against rising Chinese capabilities and power is important,”
The comments also come after the Chinese Communist Party dispatched three naval vessels to circumnavigate Australia over a three week period from February and March.
The move drew national attention when the ships engaged in a supposed live fire exercise in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, causing 49 commercial planes to reroute.
US Reaffirms Support of AUKUS
Earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with his Australian counterpart Richard Marles in Washington, where he spoke of President Donald’s Trump’s support for the AUKUS alliance and a presence in the Indian Ocean.
The $368 billion (US$233 billion) nuclear submarine deal—that includes the purchase of up to three to five Virginia-class vessels—is Australia’s largest capital purchase in history.
“The president is very aware, supportive of AUKUS,” Hegseth said following the meeting.
“[The president] recognises the importance of the defence industrial base.”
Australia’s military budget is expected to rise to 2.3 percent of GDP by 2034, putting it in line with current spending by the UK and ahead of France, and China.
But Elbridge Colby, Trump’s choice to be undersecretary of policy at the U.S. Defence Department, told a U.S. Senate Committee earlier this month that the “core ally” against Beijing needed to up spending to at least 3 percent of GDP.
“The main concern the U.S. should press with Australia, consistent with the president’s approach, is higher defence spending,”
“Australia is currently well below the 3 percent level advocated for NATO, by NATO Secretary General Rutte, and Canberra faces a far more powerful challenge in China [compared to the Europeans against Russia].”
Australia’s Defence Minister Marles has pledged to increase spending by $50 million over 10 years.
Tyler Durden Mon, 03/17/2025 - 22:35 Close Tue, 18 Mar 2025 02:10:00 +0000 State Farm Gets 'Provisional' Approval For 22% Rate Hike In California
State Farm Gets 'Provisional' Approval For 22% Rate Hike In California
State Farm Gets 'Provisional' Approval For 22% Rate Hike In California
While Gavin Newsom gallavants around the pod-o-sphere trying to reinvent himself as a moderate Democrat, residents of his woefully mismanaged state have 'enjoyed' watching their home insurance rates skyrocket, or have it dropped altogether - as companies are abandoning the state left and right over financial struggles stemming from wildfires and other peril.
To that end, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced on Friday that he has "provisionally" allowed State Farm to hike rates by 22%, CBS New s
Lara described the not-yet-final emergency rate increase as a necessary measure given "unprecedented times" in a statement, saying the insurance company will have to justify the rate hike with data proving it's needed at a public hearing on April 8. During a Feb. 26 meeting at the Department of Insurance's Oakland office, State Farm told the commissioner it would be able to cover thousands of claims from the deadly wildfires in January which damaged and destroyed thousands of homes and other structures — but would need to raise homeowners' rates to cover the costs.
By Feb. 1, State Farm received over 8,700 claims related to the LA wildfires totaling over $1 billion , resulting in State Farm General - the company's California-only subsidiary, to warn that rate hikes are needed to pay out future claims, as it expects to cover an estimated $7.6 billion from the LA wildfire losses alone. The company added that payout out the claims has already depleted its capital - requiring them to raise rates by 22% for homeowners and 15% for renters.
State Farm, one of California's largest home insurers, covers more than 1 million state homeowners. In a Friday statement, they called the provisional rate increase a "step in the right direction" as they work to rebuild capital.
"It's time for certainty in the California insurance market for our customers ," reads the statement. "The provisional nature of today's decision does not improve that certainty but it's a step in the right direction. We are moving forward with implementing this provisionally approved rate and will continue to work with the California Department of Insurance for a sustainable future for the California insurance market."
Some Los Angeles County residents who lost homes in the Palisades and Eaton Fires have reported not having enough coverage to cover the destruction and rebuild while others had their coverage dropped before the disasters. In the Pacific Palisades, 1,600 policies were dropped by State Farm in July, and an analysis by CBS News San Francisco last year found that State Farm also dropped more than 2,000 policies in other parts of LA including another neighborhood threatened by the Palisades Fire. -CBS News
The move reflects an overall trend of private insurers, including State Farm, Allstate, and Farmers Insurance, dropping policies in the state or halting underwriting - causing California homeowners to forego insurance, or use the state-backed insurer of last resort: the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan (FAIR), which offers free basic insurance to cover homes in high-risk areas where private insurers won't provide coverage (or will provide a 'wrap' policy on top of the FAIR plan).
"Many are already anxious about losing their coverage and being forced onto the Fair Plan, " Lara said at a meeting with State Farm last month, adding "And in terms of what certainty can consumers expect from State Farm if granted an interim rate, I do appreciate State Farm was the first insurer to voluntarily suspend pending non-renewals and cancellations in areas affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires."
Tyler Durden Mon, 03/17/2025 - 22:10 Close Tue, 18 Mar 2025 01:45:00 +0000 FBI Secretly Obtained Trump's Cellphone In 'Sweeping' Plot
FBI Secretly Obtained Trump's Cellphone In 'Sweeping' Plot
FBI Secretly Obtained Trump's Cellphone In 'Sweeping' Plot
Authored by Luis Cornelio via Headline USA ,
New whistleblower disclosures revealed this week that the Justice Department and FBI pulled out all stops to throw President Donald Trump in jail after the 2020 election. The FBI made the Trump case its top priority starting in April 2022, searching Trump’s government-issued cellphone and spending $16,000 to conduct a blitz of witness interviews days later as part of a sweeping probe.
Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., affirmed on Friday that the federal investigation into Trump—dubbed Operation Arctic Frost—intensified after Biden officials handed Trump’s cellphone, along with former Vice President Mike Pence’s, in 2022.
The FBI used these cellphones to launch a probe of “alarming scope” and speed that ultimately led to what a federal judge condemned as an unconstitutional appointment of Jack Smith as special prosecutor.
Within weeks of opening the probe, FBI agents “began taking aggressive action to build out their case,” including scheduling over a dozen interviews with 13 FBI field offices, analyzing communications between Trump officials and Republican electors and discussing search warrants for the cellphones.
The new revelations directly point to former FBI agent Timothy Thibault , a controversial figure in the bureau who was accused of sharing a nude photo of his girlfriend on a taxpayer-funded device, and shielding Hunter Biden until he quit in 2022.
Grassley and Johnson shared these revelations in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, urging them to investigate the origins of Biden-tied lawfare against Trump.
“Sunshine is the best disinfectant,”
“The American people deserve to know the complete extent of the corruption within the DOJ and FBI that led to the investigation into President Trump.”
The GOP senators added, “We are making this information public for purposes of public accountability and to provide specific examples of past behavior at your institutions that must not be repeated.”
The efforts to prosecute Trump stem from Biden’s long-held wishes to jail him before the 2024 presidential election. However, these efforts unraveled in November 2024 when most Americans voted to return Trump to the White House. The Republican leader took office on Jan. 10, 2025.
Read Grassley and Johnson’s letter below:
Tyler Durden Mon, 03/17/2025 - 21:45 Close
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