An Endless Wave Of U.S.-Led Sanctions Might Be The Greatest Gift China Has Ever Received

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The U.S.’ bid to isolate its foes on the global stage through crippling sanctions has cleared the way for a new shadowy global alliance headed by the West’s greatest adversary — China.

The U.S. and a host of Western nations have levied sanctions against Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela — some of whom have suffered further penalties in recent years given their military incursions on other nations and blatant violations of international law. Despite being largely cut off from Western markets, these countries have managed to find a key trading partner in China, which hasn’t hesitated in benefiting from the unintended consequences of the U.S.-led sanctions regime, according to recent data from China’s General Administration of Customs and The Wall Street Journal.

This has created record-level multilateral trade cooperation, bolstered security and military agreements and forged a new anti-Western axis with China at the head.

“China is the strategic competitor willing and able to reshape the current global order,” Dana Stroul, a former senior U.S. defense official and fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the WSJ.

The Biden administration and a majority of the Western bloc imposed harsh sanctions against Russia after the country invaded Ukraine in early 2022, prompting a full-scale war. The U.S. alone has imposed over 4,000 sanctions against Russian entities and individuals in a bid to “[disrupt] and [degrade] Russia’s economy and war machine,” according to the U.S. Department of Treasury. (Read more from “An Endless Wave Of U.S.-Led Sanctions Might Be The Greatest Gift China Has Ever Received” HERE)

Bar Offers Free Booze For ‘Heterosexual Awesomeness Month’

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An Idaho bar has ignited a heated debate after announcing the celebration of “Heterosexual Awesomeness Month” in place of LGBTQ Pride Month. Old State Saloon in Eagle, Idaho, made the announcement on Facebook, inviting patrons to join a month-long festivity with special promotions for heterosexual individuals.

“Come join us all month to celebrate heterosexuals, for without them, none of us would be here!” the bar posted. As part of the celebration, the bar introduced themed days with various incentives. On “Hetero Male Mondays,” any heterosexual male dressed in stereotypically heterosexual attire will receive a free beer. The bar is even seeking a “professional” judge to verify the attire, offering $15 per hour plus free beer.

Wednesdays will be “Heterosexual Couple’s Night,” with couples receiving a 15% discount on their bills. Thursdays are designated “Her Hetero Happy Hour,” where straight women can enjoy happy-hour prices all day.

However, some users supported the bar’s initiative. One person commented, “Thank you for taking a stand for the rest of the community who has been too scared to do the right thing.” Another supporter added, “I love that you have the balls to do a Hetero Male Monday party.”

In response to the backlash, Old State Saloon posted a follow-up message emphasizing their inclusive policy and defending their right to celebrate heterosexuality. The bar stated, “We love our LGBTQ+ patrons! We will not be changing our mind and give into the group of those who are responding with vitriol. We love our Black patrons too. We love our White patrons. We love our patrons who work for USPS. But we aren’t doing special nights for those people. Nor are we doing special nights for LGBTQ+.”

The post continued, “We are choosing to celebrate heterosexuals. We should be able to do that without so many people being so nasty to us, lying about us, canceling us, attacking our business, and/or trying to get us to make something about themselves. If you want us to change who we are celebrating, get over it. It’s not happening. Hooray for heterosexuals!”

Woke DOD Posts LGBTQ Pride Graphic for PTSD Awareness Month

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The Department of Defense (DOD) faced online backlash after mistakenly posting a graphic intended to celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month instead of recognizing PTSD Awareness Month.

Since 2014, June has been designated as PTSD Awareness Month by the federal government. The same month has also been recognized as Pride Month since 2015. The DOD’s post on X, acknowledging PTSD Awareness Month, read: “June is PTSD Awareness Month and the DoD is committed to supporting service members and veterans affected by PTSD. If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. You are not alone.”

The controversy arose from the image accompanying the post, which featured the “Progress Pride Flag” and the phrase “Celebrate Pride Month 2024,” instead of a graphic supporting veterans with PTSD.

The error did not go unnoticed by users on social media. “The internet is FOREVER,” one X user wrote, sharing a screenshot of the original post. Another commenter added, “I’ve got PTSD from having LGBTQ propaganda shoved in my face for the same month.”

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (DATSD) for Strategic Engagement, still had the original pride post visible on her page, which was also reposted by the official DOD account.

Photo credit: Flickr

City Sets Largest ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ Guinness World Record

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The city of Philadelphia has set a new Guinness World Record for having the “largest attendance at a drag queen story time reading” in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month, the organizers said.

The event was held Saturday at the National Constitution Center where “several hundred people helped establish” the record, WHYY reported.

Drag queens read children’s books to 263 people at the story time, which was hosted by Philadelphia Gay News and sponsored by Visit Philadelphia, the city’s official tourism program.

A representative from Guinness World Records came to formally adjudicate the record-setting.

“Philadelphia is where our country was founded, where the Declaration of Independence was debated and signed and where some of the most significant LGBTQIA+ moments in U.S. history took place,” said Mark Segal, publisher of Philadelphia Gay News in a statement obtained by NBC 10 Philadelphia. “Creating history-making moments like we’ve done today, hosted on land synonymous with our country’s fight for fundamental rights and freedom, serves as a powerful reminder of the resiliency, talent and culture that make up the fabric of our great American city.”

(Read more from “City Sets Largest ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ Guinness World Record” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Anti-Israel Protesters Block LGBTQ Pride Parade

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A cadre of anti-Israel protesters blocked an LGBTQ pride parade on the streets of Philadelphia on Sunday, halting the procession.

The protesters were heard chanting a variety of anti-Israel slogans that have been said at protests around the country. They could be heard shouting, “Palestine will live forever! From the sea to the river!” and “No pride in genocide.” Video captured the moment:

According to the New York Post, the blockade happened “at the intersection of 11th Street and Locust Street after the Philly Pride March and Festival kicked off around 10:30 a.m. at Washington Square and headed to the city’s Gayborhood section.” (Read more from “Anti-Israel Protesters Block LGBTQ Pride Parade” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

World Leaders Rush to Trump’s Defense After Guilty Verdict

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News of former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict on 34 counts of falsifying business records has reverberated across the world — and now global leaders are weighing in.

Some, like pro-Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage called the verdict a “disgrace,” which was in marked contrast to leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party Keir Starmer, who said his party “respects” the court’s decision.

The Kremlin said on Friday that the verdict demonstrated the Biden administration’s efforts to eliminate political opponents for personal gain.

“If we speak about Trump, the fact that there is simply the elimination, in effect, of political rivals by all possible means, legal and illegal, is obvious,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “That is evident to everyone, to the whole world, with the naked eye.” . . .

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has publicly endorsed Trump in the 2024 election, also rushed to his side, describing him as a “man of honour’ on social media.

“As President, he always put America first, he commanded respect around the world and used this respect to build peace,” he said. (Read more from “World Leaders Rush to Trump’s Defense After Guilty Verdict” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

CNN: Trump’s Conviction Will Be Overturned Due to ‘Number of Significant Issues’

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CNN legal analyst Mark O’Mara predicted that former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict will be appealed due to a “number of significant issues.”

O’Mara said that the odds are in Trump’s favor after 12 jurors found the former president guilty in a sham case regarding 34 charges brought against him in the New York hush money trial.

He suggested that the trial was handled unprofessionally and therefore will grant Trump a successful appeal. O’Mara put aside the fact that the case involved Trump and claimed that Judge Juan Merchan did not deliver a fair and honest trial.

“We don’t talk about Donald Trump anymore. We talk about the defensibility case and whether or not the judge did everything the judge was supposed to do to ensure a fair trial, unaffected by the outside world,” O’Mara said. “And I’ve complained… that the idea that this jury wasn’t sequestered, not even during their deliberations, not to mention for that week before between trial and closings, I think that’s a massive mistake.” . . .

“The defense is going to follow the trail of every one of these jurors when they find out who they are and how they are, where they drove, what they did, every billboard that they saw, all of that, and that’s going to be the fodder for appeals that this jury was infected by negativity that this judge didn’t protect their client from,” he continued. (Read more from “CNN: Trump’s Conviction Will Be Overturned Due to ‘Number of Significant Issues’” HERE)

Elon Musk to Host Town Hall on X for Trump After Slamming Guilty Verdict

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Elon Musk is set to host a town hall on X for former President Donald Trump, following Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. A similar event is planned for independent presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

On Thursday, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty in relation to payments made to adult entertainment star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election. Musk reacted strongly to the verdict, stating, “great damage was done.”

“If a former President can be criminally convicted over such a trivial matter — motivated by politics, rather than justice — then anyone is at risk of a similar fate,” Musk wrote in a post on X.

Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July 11, just days before the Republican Party’s national convention on July 15. Following the jury’s decision, Trump blamed President Joe Biden, calling the verdict a “rigged decision.”

“This was done by the Biden administration in order to hurt an opponent, a political opponent, and I think it’s just a disgrace,” Trump said.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Fauci Admits Social Distancing Guidelines Were Fabricated

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Dr. Anthony Fauci said in congressional testimony that he reviewed no scientific evidence behind the specific recommendations for masking children or maintaining 6-foot social distancing before advocating these policies during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The revelations come from the full transcript, released Friday, of Fauci’s closed-door transcribed interview session in January before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. The publication comes days before the former director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is slated to testify in his first public hearing since his retirement in December 2022.

When asked about social distancing recommendations that were implemented in businesses and schools during the early stages of the pandemic, Fauci said he did not recall where the precise number of 6 feet came from.

“It just sort of appeared,” Fauci said in his interview. “I don’t recall, like, a discussion of whether it should be 5 or 6 or whatever.”

Fauci also said that he had not seen any scientific study supporting the measurement, noting that such a study would be “very difficult” to do with accuracy and scientific rigor.

The former NIAID chief also said the science behind masking recommendations for children is “still up in the air.” (Read more from “Fauci Admits Social Distancing Guidelines Were Fabricated” HERE)

Trump’s ‘Banana Republic’ Conviction Won’t Be Democrats’ Last — Unless There Is ‘Retaliation in Kind’: UC Berkeley Law Prof

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UC Berkeley law professor John Yoo made clear this week that President Donald Trump’s conviction before a Democratic judge in a Democratic enclave on charges brought by a Democratic prosecutor effectively obliterates any remaining pretense that the justice system is a means for resolution and restitution. The courtroom is now instead apparently a vehicle for seeking retribution and political advantage.

With this transformation, Yoo says its high time for “retaliation in kind” by Republican district attorneys.

Ahead of President Donald Trump’s conviction, Yoo noted in National Review that it was abundantly clear the hush-money case was built around “farcical charges” and aimed not at delivering justice but at protecting a decrepit Democratic president from facing his top competitor in November.

“The superficiality of the facts and the vagueness of the crimes magnify the harm that Democrats have inflicted on our political norms,” wrote the former deputy assistant attorney general. “Make no mistake, Democrats have crossed a constitutional Rubicon.”

Yoo issued a note of caution: The “weakness of the case against Trump lowers the bar for prosecuting future presidents below that for prosecuting garden-variety criminals in New York City.” (Read more from “Trump’s ‘Banana Republic’ Conviction Won’t Be Democrats’ Last — Unless There Is ‘Retaliation in Kind’: UC Berkeley Law Prof” HERE3)