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June 2025

NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE Comments turned off

Strategic U.S. Real Estate Acquired by Aggressor Nations Needs Urgent Review by Lawrence Kadish

By on June 6th, 2025

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21671/us-military-bases-farms-china

When Chinese entities began to buy up farmland near remote but strategic American military installations here in the United States, there were some of us who raised the question, Why?

Those who did so were criticized, described as paranoid, Sinophobic, and hostile to Chinese investment in America.

We might want to revisit that criticism.

Pentagon experts are looking with deep concern at the extraordinary damage done to Russia’s strategic bomber force in the wake of Ukraine’s recent surprise drone attack. Engaging in what is called asymmetric warfare, Ukraine used flatbed trucks, carrying shipping containers filled with cheap attack drones, driving thousands of miles to get close enough to distant Russian airbases before launching the drones and destroying as much as a third of Russia’s strategic bombers.

Think David versus Goliath. But in this instance, David just had to sit outside of Goliath’s yard to get the kill.

Now let us go back to those Chinese-owned farms near our American military bases.

Who actually own those properties? Are they working farms? Are they speculative investments in valuable American soil? What is in those barns? Is there a repeated pattern of foreign ownership adjacent to our military installations here in the United States? What about our overseas bases in the Pacific and Europe? Who owns what in the vicinity of our military bases, power stations, and port facilities?

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ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

Can Anyone Save New York From Its Coming Self-Inflicted Climate and Energy Disaster? Francis Menton

By on June 6th, 2025

https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2025-6-4-can-anyone-save-new-york-from-its-coming-self-inflicted-climate-and-energy-disaster

New York State has officially ordained the destruction of its electricity system and its economy with a mad dash to energy utopia, as prescribed by a 2019 statute called the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act). The Climate Act mandates a completely unachievable 70% of electricity generation from “renewables” by 2030, with even more draconian mandates following in quick succession thereafter. New York City has piled on with its own fantasy energy statute called Local Law 97, mandating, among other things, forced conversion to electric heat by 2030 of most residential buildings over 25,000 square feet. A so-called “Scoping Plan” on how to do all this, issued by the State in 2022, contains no bona fide feasibility analysis, and equally no bona fide cost analysis. Everybody with over a sixth-grade education who has taken any time to look at this knows that it can’t possibly work. The only question is how much destruction will befall us before the whole thing crashes to the ground.

Can anyone save New York from the coming self-inflicted climate and energy disaster?

In the category of people making futile efforts to try to save New York from its own folly, or at least from some portion of it, we have none other than yours truly, the Manhattan Contrarian. As reported here back on February 23, I had just filed, along with co-counsel Cameron Macdonald, an amicus curiae brief at the New York Court of Appeals in support of the plaintiffs in a case called Glen Oaks Village Owners, Inc. v. City of New York. In this case, owners of a large group of co-op buildings in Queens had sued seeking to have the City’s Local Law 97 declared invalid as pre-empted by the State’s Climate Act. Note that victory by these plaintiffs would not have ended the folly of the State’s Climate Act and its associated destruction of our electricity system; but their victory would have eliminated the mandate to convert to electric heat without sufficient electricity, and therefore would at least have made it possible for residents of large buildings to avoid freezing in the winter when they have converted to electric heat and there is no electricity.

In the Glen Oaks case, the trial court had dismissed the plaintiffs’ complaint, finding that it had no basis in law. But an interim appellate court, known as the Appellate Division, had reversed, and said the the plaintiffs should have a chance to prove their case. New York City appealed that ruling to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, asking to have the trial court’s dismissal re-instated.

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ISRAEL, MEDIA Comments turned off

Statement on Media Misinformation on Gaza Ambassador Mike Huckabee

By on June 6th, 2025

https://il.usembassy.gov/statement-on-media-misinformation-on-gaza/

Reckless and irresponsible reporting by major U.S. news outlets are contributing to the antisemitic climate that has resulted in the murder of two young people at an Israeli Embassy event in Washington last month and the attempted murder and terror attack on a group of pro-Israel demonstrators in Colorado on Sunday.

Without verification of any source other than Hamas and its collaborators, the New York Times, CNN, and Associated Press reported that a number of people seeking to receive humanitarian food boxes from the Gaza Humanitarian Fund were shot or killed by the Israeli Defense Forces.  These reports were FALSE.  Drone video and first-hand accounts clearly showed that there were no injuries, no fatalities, no shooting, no chaos.  It is Hamas that continues to terrorize and intimidate those who seek food aid.  The only source for these misleading, exaggerated, and utterly fabricated stories came from Hamas sources, which are designed to fan the flames of antisemitic hate that is arguably contributing to violence against Jews in the United States.  Media sources who willingly parrot these libelous allegations should recant their fake news stories, apologize, and pledge to practice actual reporting of fact instead of engaging in dangerous propaganda that assists the terror group Hamas as they continue to hold innocent hostages for over 600 days after butchering over 1,200 people on October 7th.

The efforts of GHF have resulted in over 5 million meals to civilians without incident.  For the New York Times, AP, and CNN to be part of a Hamas-fed false narrative is reprehensible.  It represents more than mere sloppy journalism.  It’s feeding and inciting violence against innocent people in the United States.

We are demanding an immediate retraction of the lies and are appealing to all media sources to act with objective professionalism to cover actual events instead of being a partner of terrorism by blindly following Hamas news releases.

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ANTI-SEMITISM, MEDIA Comments turned off

Where Are the Dot Connectors? Noah Rothman

By on June 6th, 2025

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/where-are-the-dot-connectors/

You never have to wait long before an act of right-wing political terrorism or even vandalism stirs a cottage industry devoted to “connecting the dots.” Whether the connections are valid or spurious, sleuths emerge from the woodwork to eagerly draw crisscrossing threads across the paranoiac’s corkboard, linking the violence to the figures they imagine might benefit from violence. White supremacy and white nationalism, limited-government conservatism, support for the right to life, or even just taking a special interest in your child’s education — these are ideals with the capacity to radicalize. Only the keenest of observers with the requisite educational background and insight can see it.

Given this reliable tic, the degree to which the professional dot-connectors have abdicated their role in the last several weeks is quite conspicuous.

The FBI is treating the deployment of Molotov cocktails against a variety of elderly and middle-aged supporters of Israel, one of them reportedly a Holocaust refugee, as a “targeted terror attack.” As they should. The attacker came armed not just with firebombs but with the shibboleths that so often accompany pro-Palestinian violence.

It’s the third act of terroristic violence in service to this cause in as many months. The arson attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s home by an anti-Israel activist in April and the gunning down of two young people outside an Israeli embassy event in Washington, D.C., in May establish the trend. But the trendsetters are rarely treated to the tortured effort to establish nefarious associations that so often follows acts of right-wing violence.

It’s not like that exercise would be difficult. It wouldn’t take much enterprise to establish a through-line between the murderous violence targeting Jews and their supporters to the antisocial behavior that has typified this movement for decades — a condition that the 10/7 massacre only kicked into overdrive. Intrepid researchers might see the unheeded warning signs in the glorification of terrorism apparent among the college students who brandish Hamas and Hezbollah flags and headbands. They might identify ominous portents in the demonstrators’ efforts to block highways, bridges, and airport tarmacs — activities designed to endanger their neighbors.

The violent pro-Palestinian attack on the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters from which lawmakers were forced to flee in terror might have been treated as a sign of things to come. The menacing rhetoric accompanying this sort of activism should also have been a wake-up call. “There is only one solution: Intifada. Revolution.” “Death to America.” “Globalize the intifada.” “By any means necessary.” The network of activists who chant these and other slogans could not be more explicit about the actions they prescribe. “The slave who murders the slave master, who torches the master’s house and perhaps kills the ‘civilian’ slavers’ family and servants is wholly justified in their act,” the Australian far-left website Solidarity observes. “We do not condemn the Indigenous resistance against the violence of colonization.” That sort of candor is hardly uncommon on the fringes of society from which violent activists are drawn.

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

Can civilisation survive? Douglas Murray on 7 October, anti-Semitism and the self-loathing West.

By on June 6th, 2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt76mKUxDI0

https://www.spiked-online.com/podcast-episode/can-civilisation-survive/

Douglas Murray – bestselling author of On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel, Hamas and the Future of the West – is the latest guest on The Brendan O’Neill Show. Douglas and Brendan discuss how rising anti-Semitism speaks to our decaying civilisation, what the West can learn from Israel, and the pro-Hamas hysteria infecting the left, the right and the mainstream media.

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NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE Comments turned off

Important Questions Raised by Ukraine’s “Badass” Drone Attack Against Russian Bombers Ukraine’s drones may have destroyed billions in Russian bombers—exposing Moscow’s vulnerabilities, straining Trump’s peace push, and shaking U.S. defense complacency. By Fred Fleitz

By on June 6th, 2025

https://amgreatness.com/2025/06/06/important-questions-raised-by-ukraines-badass-drone-attack-against-russian-bombers/

On Sunday, Ukraine carried out a bold covert operation in Russia that destroyed or damaged about a dozen Russian heavy bombers and possibly an AWACS plane. These attacks may have destroyed irreplaceable Russian military planes worth billions of dollars using drones that cost under $50,000.

Earlier in the week, President Trump reportedly described the surprise Ukrainian attack to his aides as “badass” and “strong.” However, yesterday, the president expressed his unhappiness about the operation and raised concerns about Putin’s statement to him that he plans to retaliate.

On June 1, Ukraine deployed 117 drones to attack Russian bombers at four airbases. Two bases were within 500 miles of the Russia-Ukraine border. The other two bases were distant: the Olenya airbase on the Kola Peninsula, near Murmansk (1,120 miles from the Ukrainian border), and Belaya airbase in Siberia (approximately 2,760 miles from the Ukrainian border).

Parts for the drones were smuggled into Russia, where they were assembled. The drones were driven by truck to locations near the Russian airbases and launched from the trucks. Ukraine claims to have damaged 41 Russian bombers in the drone attack, though press reports confirm that between 10 and 20 were destroyed or damaged—primarily Tu-95 and Tu-22M bombers.

The Ukrainian drone operation underscores the rapid evolution of modern warfare and its impact on the Russia-Ukraine peace process.

1. How vulnerable is the U.S. to similar drone attacks?

The Ukrainian drone attack was a wake-up call for the United States and another sign of significant advances in warfare technologies from the Ukraine-Russia War. Like Russia, American military aircraft sit in the open on U.S. airbases and are vulnerable to attack by inexpensive explosive drones. Experts believe the Pentagon has not done enough to defend against this threat. There is a similar drone threat to other U.S. government facilities and U.S. officials. The drone threat is sure to grow with the arrival of new attack drone technologies, such as difficult-to-jam drones controlled by fiber optic cables and drones navigated to their targets by AI.

U.S. officials must take action to defend against increasing threats from drone attacks against U.S. military aircraft and other government targets. These attacks could be conducted by hostile forces or by launching drones from small boats or “drone carriers” against U.S. bases, especially in the Arabian Gulf and the Pacific.

2. How will the drone attack affect President Trump’s efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in the Ukraine War?

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ANTI-SEMITISM, BOOKS Comments turned off

The Wake Up Call Israel Ellis reveals the global Jihad and the rise of anti-Semitism in a world gone mad. by Dave Gordon

By on June 6th, 2025

https://www.frontpagemag.com/the-wake-up-call/

Israel Ellis’s most recent book, The Wake Up Call: Global Jihad and the Rise of Antisemitism in a World Gone Mad, provides an examination of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, highlighting its implications for global jihad and the sharp rise of antisemitism.

For Ellis, this attack is the culmination of decades of rising jihadist sentiment, a movement dangerously creeping its way into virtually every part of the world, including Western liberal democracies.

Ellis shares his personal reaction, especially as his son, Eitan, an IDF reservist, was called to duty that fateful morning. This connection intensifies his examination of the attack’s causes and consequences. During his visit to Israel in the aftermath, Ellis engages with those affected, listening to their stories and grappling with the broader questions of how and why October 7 could happen.

The book outlines seven critical observations that Ellis believes contributed to the attack: the East-West power struggle, the rise of non-state terror proxies backed by Iran, the misuse of international aid by Hamas, the perpetuation of the Palestinian refugee crisis by UNRWA, the spread of anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric in the West, the flaws in Israel’s political system, and the disunity among Jews. He argues that these factors, combined with hostility towards Israel, created a perfect storm leading to the October 7 attack.

To protect justice and peace, society must do all it can to push back against Jihadism, he believes, to protect the values of life, justice, freedom and peace for all peoples.

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ANTI-SEMITISM, RELIGION Comments turned off

“Free Palestine” + Burned Jews = Motive Unknown An Ex-Muslim’s map of motive. by Aynaz Anni Cyrus Leave a C

By on June 6th, 2025

https://www.frontpagemag.com/free-palestine-burned-jews-motive-unknown/

A man screams “Free Palestine” and firebombs Jews—yet Boulder’s Police Chief still has no clue why. So I made a cheat sheet—complete with jihadi footnotes.

On Sunday, June 1, 2025, a man named Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old Egyptian national, reportedly screamed “Free Palestine” and hurled Molotov cocktails and used a makeshift flamethrower on a peaceful, pro-Israel gathering in Boulder, Colorado.

The event, organized by “Run For Their Lives,” was a weekly walk to raise awareness for Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Soliman’s attack injured eight individuals, aged between 52 and 88, including an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor. At least one victim remains in critical condition.

Despite the clear indications of intent, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn told reporters:

“We are not calling it a terror attack at this point. It is way too early to speculate a motive.”

Right. Because “Free Palestine” is just a common battle cry for, say, tax reform. And Molotov cocktails? Probably a misunderstood cultural offering.

This isn’t just cowardice. It’s willful betrayal.

We live in a country where the ideology behind jihad is protected more aggressively than the people it targets. Where law enforcement agents, funded by your tax dollars, can watch an attempted arson against Jews unfold—and still pretend to be baffled by the intent.

Let me be clear: I was born and raised under the Islamic system. I lived the indoctrination. I memorized the texts.

So I’ll do the job Boulder PD won’t.

Forget the Motive. Read the Manual—Published 1,400 Years Ago

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

“Tit for Tat – Not a Good Strategy” Sydney Williams

By on June 6th, 2025

https://swtotd.blogspot.com/

“Tit for Tat: The infliction of an injury or insult in return for one that one has suffered,” Oxford English Dictionary. Wikipedia: “It is an alteration of tip for tap ‘blow for blow,’ first recorded in 1558.”

When Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States on January 20, 2017 I suspect he was as surprised to be there as anyone. He had been a successful real estate developer, and for thirteen years he hosted “The Apprentice,” a successful reality TV series. But he had never run for political office. As a businessman, he donated to both Jimmy Carter’s and Ronald Reagan’s campaigns in 1980. His political affiliations have changed: a Manhattan Republican in the 1980s; member of the Reform Party in 1999; a Democrat in 2001; and back to a Republican in 2009. By some, he will always be criticized for his changing political affiliations and his out-spoken manner. But he was democratically elected President.

For those who make their living in politics, Donald Trump’s success was a threat. His victory was incredulous to Republicans in the primaries and to Democrats in the general election. How could this “orange-haired” man who garbles the English language have won? How could an interloper beat them at their own game?

America is a different place than it was a generation or two ago. Civility has declined; anti-social and unethical behavior have increased; and violence has become more common and, worse, acceptable. Scam phone calls have risen by over 20% in each of the last five years. In 2023, the United States Capital Police (USCP) investigated 8,008 threats against members of Congress. A disturbing number of young Leftists cheered on the two attempts on Donald Trump’s life, as well as the attacks on Tesla dealerships. Anti-Semitism has increased, On May 21 a young Jewish couple, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum. Four days later, in Boulder, Colorado, a man shouted, “Free Palestine,” as he threw Molotov cocktails at demonstrators, injuring fifteen men and women, as they marched in support of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Will Trump Weaken Washington’s Power To Tax?

By on June 6th, 2025

https://issuesinsights.com/2025/06/06/will-trump-weaken-washingtons-power-to-tax/

It’s obvious that Donald Trump is a different president. His divergence from the norm manifests itself in various ways. He’s even broached the possibility of eliminating the Internal Revenue Service. Count us among the tens if not hundreds of millions of Americans who wish him godspeed if he chooses dissolve this truly abusive agency.

Trump’s IRS commissioner nominee Billy Long, whose appointment passed another hurdle Tuesday, might give us a little more insight into Trump’s plans for the IRS. Long, a former Republican House member from Missouri, cosponsored more than a decade ago a bill that would abolish the IRS and enact a national sales tax administered primarily by the states.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed in February that Trump wants “to abolish the Internal Revenue Service.” The president also ordered halted the hiring of 87,000 new IRS employees the Biden administration wanted to sic on Americans.

During the second Obama term, ABC News noted that the “IRS has long history of political dirty tricks,” with presidents using “the agency as a weapon against political enemies.” The story ever-so-lightly touched on the administration’s targeting of conservative groups that opposed Barack Obama’s policies. In this particular instance of corruption, “the former president used the Exempt Organizations division of the IRS to delay or deny the approval of tax-exempt status for more than 100 new organizations between 2010 and 2012,” explains taxpayer advocate Dan Pilla

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