The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. – Benjamin Franklin
Tucked away in the $95 billion military aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan is a $3.5 billion slush fund to open new processing centers for Muslim migrants, in what Sen. Eric Schmitt described as a bid to “supercharge mass migration from the Middle East.“
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One can listen to, and believe, the government’s lies about the miraculous growth of the economy and the stellar job that Bidenomics is doing… or one can listen to the truth straight from the countless small companies that make up the economy. We prefer the latter, which is why we love the monthly responses to the Dallas Fed survey, where unlike the other regional Feds, the respondents actually get a fair forum.
So without further ado, here are all the comments in the April Dallas Fed Service Sector Outlook Survey presented unedited and without commentary. Trust us, none is needed (but the highlights are ours).
Truck transportation
Support activities for transportation
Read moreWant To Know What Is Really Going On In Biden’s Economy, Read This
It’s not just US and Western defense contractors and arms makers that have been raking in the billions as a result of Washington’s mammoth defense aid handed over to Ukraine, but Ukrainian defense companies are also enjoying the largesse at US taxpayers’ expense.
“A total of $1.6 billion of the recent US aid to Ukraine would go to the purchase of Ukraine-made weapons, said a senior Kyiv official,” Defense Post reports of the $61 billion in US aid just approved.
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Despite immense pressure coming from the Biden administration for Israel to secure the hostage deal that’s on the table with Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged that an invasion of Rafah will go on with or without a deal.
He issued the words Tuesday while speaking to an audience sympathetic to his hardline coalition. “The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all its aims is not an option,” Netanyahu said. “We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there — whether or not there is a deal — in order to achieve total victory.”
In reference to the hawkish Gvura and Tikva forums a statement from by the Prime Minister’s Office indicated that “the groups urged Netanyahu and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi to continue the war and to resist international pressure.”
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New HUD energy rules will raise the cost of home construction by imposing stricter building codes. Payback time is 90 years…
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Russia will soon showcase a parade of NATO vehicles captured from the battlefield in Ukraine. Or rather, we might say that Putin is about to show off his ‘trophy vehicles’.
A month-long exhibit displaying the Western military equipment will run starting May 1st at Moscow’s Victory Park, and which will be featured alongside the capital’s annual Red Square Victory Day Parade on May 9 which commemorates the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.
The display will feature an array of armored fighting vehicles, including an American Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, a Swedish CV90 and a French-made AMX-10RC.
It will also include destroyed American tanks, per state media:
For the first time Russian troops have hauled a disabled US-made M1 Abrams tank away from the front line of the Ukraine conflict, the beginning of a journey that will eventually see the vehicle displayed at a trophy show in Moscow, officials have said.
German-made Leopard main battle tanks are also being transferred to the Russian capital to be put on display.
Russia’s defense ministry has listed that it additionally has examples of military equipment made in Australia, Austria, France, Finland, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden and South Africa – as cited in Newsweek.
Russian media sources have already begun releasing images and footage of the vehicles being staged ahead of the official event kick-off.
According to reports, some of the vehicles will even display American and British flags, highlighting that they were captured on the frontlines in Ukraine, in what appears to also be a PR effort to embarrass the Western military alliance.
Last year the Russian military released several videos and images of burning French-supplied main battle tanks from the Ukrainian battlefield. At that time Russian officials began to talk of taking “our trophies” – that is, captured and/or destroyed Western equipment that had previously been supplied to Kiev.
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The news about Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEP Maximilian Krah’s assistant and his arrest for suspected espionage on behalf of China continues to make national headlines, but as more information comes out, the more German intelligence and the political establishment continue to look worse and worse.
Now, news reports have revealed that Krah’s employee, Chinese-German national Jian G., worked for the German domestic intelligence service for years before joining the AfD politician.
Krah has since commented on the new bombshell information, writing on X:
“Remarkable turn of events!”
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And it’s only a matter of time before Gen-Zers have to make the difficult decision to trade down from Walmart to Dollar General as the inflation storm heats up (read here). What comes next? Well, it’s dumpster diving.
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Over 1,000 peaceful protesters gathered in Hamburg, Germany, over the weekend, with the leader of the group demanding the establishment of am Islamic caliphate in the European country.
A caliphate is a political-religious form of government under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of the caliph or “successor of the prophet of God,” who is considered a high-ranking leader in the Muslim world.
According to local German media reports and German authorities, the protest was organized by a young man who leads a populist extremist group, Muslim Interaktiv. In several videos of the protest posted online, a speaker addressing a crowd can be heard describing the caliphate as a “system that provides security” that has been “demonized” by politicians and media in Germany. The crowd responded with cheer, and some with chants of “Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest).”
Read moreOver 1,000 Protestors Demand Establishment Of Islamic State In Germany
Home prices in America’s 20 largest cities rose for the 13th straight month in February (the latest data released by S&P Global Case-Shiller today), up a massive 0.61% MoM (massively more than the 0.1% exp).
That pushed the YoY price up a stunning 7.29% (far otter than the 6.70% exp). That is the fastest price rise since Oct 2022.
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Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan has held Donald Trump in contempt of court for ‘repeatedly violating’ a gag order in his so-called hush money trial in New York.
According to Merchan, Trump violated the gag order nine times in online posts which targeted jurors or likely witnesses in the trial. The former president was fined the maximum of $1,000 per violation, or $9,000 – and was ordered to remove all of the offending posts by 2:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
What’s more, Merchan threatened to toss Trump in jail if he willfully violates court orders again.
“Defendant is hereby warned that the Court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment,” wrote Merchan in his ruling, CNBC reports.
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