Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Ban them from America immediatelyA
Chinese Drone Firm DJI Eliminates Automatic No-Fly Zones One Week Before Trump's Inauguration
DJI, the world's largest civilian drone manufacturer and a Chinese-owned company, has reportedly announced it will replace its geofencing systemwith official Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data for all flight operations in the US. The changes, which took effect on Monday, come just one week before President Trump's inauguration in Washington, D.C, as well as concerns about drones across US cities and hovering near US military installations.
The official DJI blog, "ViewPoints," provided more color on the geofencing policy change, which will now allow drone operators to fly in previously restricted 'No-Fly Zones':
With this update, DJI's Fly and Pilot flight app operators will see prior DJI geofencing datasets replaced to display official Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data. Areas previously defined as Restricted Zones (also known as No-Fly Zones) will be displayed as Enhanced Warning Zones, aligning with the FAA's designated areas. In these zones, in-app alerts will notify operators flying near FAA designated controlled airspace, placing control back in the hands of the drone operators, in line with regulatory principles of the operator bearing final responsibility.
Another drone blog has reported the policy change...
American Airlines Mismanaged Employees' Retirement Funds By Investing In ESG, Court Rules
American Airlines Mismanaged Employees' Retirement Funds By Investing In ESG, Court Rules
Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
A district court has ruled that American Airlines failed to prioritize the financial interests of its employees’ retirement funds by enabling fund managers to pursue environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investments.
The judgment came as part of a 2023 lawsuit filed against American Airlines and the company’s Employee Benefits Committee. The class action alleges that the defendants violated their duty of loyalty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which requires that fiduciaries managing retirement investments must act in the best financial interest of the participants.
Defendants are alleged to have mismanaged their employee’s retirement assets—401(k) plans—when they hired investment managers pursuing ESG policies to handle the funds, especially BlackRock.
ESG looks at nonmonetary factors while making investment decisions. This includes a company’s carbon footprint and chemical emissions, how a business addresses LGBT interests and other political initiatives, and whether a company adopts such programs in its hiring practices.
The plaintiffs said that BlackRock pursued an agenda to convert their retirement plans’ core index portfolios into ESG funds and that BlackRock’s actions harm retirement plan participants because such investments pursued socio-political outcomes rather than financial returns.
On Friday, Judge Reed O’Connor from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas agreed with the plaintiffs, saying “the facts compellingly demonstrated that Defendants breached their fiduciary duty by failing to loyally act solely in the retirement plan’s best financial interests.”
The defendants allowed “their corporate interests, as well as BlackRock’s ESG interests, to influence management of the plan,” the court said.
BlackRock had managed roughly $11 billion worth of assets under American Airlines’ employee retirement plan by the end of 2022, according to the court document.
The case was filed by Bryan P. Spence, an American Airlines pilot who is a participant in the company’s retirement plan.
The judge said that ESG investments often underperform traditional investments by roughly 10 percent.
“For instance, when compared to the S&P 500 and the Russell 1000 indices in 2023, ESG funds dramatically underperformed non-ESG funds, with ESG-related funds returning about 8 percent compared to about 14 percent for both indices,” the court said.
“BlackRock managed billions of dollars in plan assets at the same time it owned 5 percent of American stock,” making it one of the largest shareholders in the company, it said. In addition, BlackRock had also funded roughly $400 million in the airline’s corporate debt when the company was going through financial challenges, the court document said.
According to Yahoo Finance, Blackrock currently owns 8.31 percent of American Airlines, with more than 54 million shares. The largest institutional shareholder was Vanguard, with 9.44 percent.
The court observed that BlackRock is known to have pursued ESG criteria as a policy and that the defendants pursued such a course of action because of the “outsized influence” BlackRock had on the company.
“For example, as a large company who consumes copious amount of fossil fuels, American was potentially susceptible to a proxy fight of its own by failing to comply with BlackRock’s climate-related demands,” the court said
Defendants endorsed ESG goals of those tasked with overseeing employees’ retirement funds, had conflicts of interest with BlackRock, and also upheld a “corporate commitment” to ESG, the judge wrote, while finding that American Airlines breached its obligatory duties toward retirement plan participants.
The Epoch Times reached out to American Airlines for comment but received no reply by publication time.
BlackRock and ESG
While BlackRock has aggressively promoted ESG in recent years, it began to publicly pivot away from it in 2023 after widespread backlash.
In June 2023, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said during a speech that he was “not going to use the word ESG because it’s been misused by the far left and the far right,” noting that he was “ashamed of being part of this conversation.”
At the time, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis told The Epoch Times that Fink seemed to have “caught some heat from some folks.”
“Maybe he’s needed to try to find some way to camouflage his messaging because there’s definitely been some criticism,” Patronis said.
In his 2023 annual letter to investors, Fink called oil and gas “vital” to global energy demand, shifting from his earlier attempts to promote a climate agenda and denounce fossil fuels.
Prior to the October 2022 letter, BlackRock was downgraded by Swiss multinational investment bank UBS, with an analyst saying there was “environmental pressure to earnings and risk from the firm’s ESG positioning.”
Last year, BlackRock pulled out of the U.N. Climate Action 100+ coalition.
In March 2024, Mississippi issued an administrative order charging BlackRock with misleading investors about its support for ESG investments, thus violating the state’s securities laws.
“Investment companies will not push their political agenda on Mississippians, especially through fraudulent and deceptive means,” Michael Watson, Mississippi’s secretary of state, said in a statement at the time.
“All citizens should have the opportunity to make informed and educated decisions when investing their hard-earned money.”
Earlier this month, a BlackRock spokesperson told The Epoch Times that it was pulling out of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative (NZAM), a U.N.-backed project with more than 325 signatories that, combined, manage more than $57.5 trillion in assets. The pact aims to achieve “net-zero” greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.
According to the spokesperson, being part of the pact led to confusion regarding the company’s practices, with public officials making legal inquiries into the business. Despite its exit from NZAM, BlackRock continues to back what it calls sustainable investing.
Kevin Stocklin and Tom Ozimek contributed to the report.
The American Marxist left would gladly recreate a US version
Stasi secret police, 35 years on: 'My file is mine'
Too costly? The US is tired of protecting you!
Germany: Trump's 5% NATO demand too costly, Scholz says
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has dismissed demands from US President-elect Donald Trump that Germany and other NATO allies increase defense spending to at least 5% of gross domestic product (GDP).
"Five percent would be over €200 billion ($204 billion) per year — the federal budget is not even €500 billion," Scholz said at a campaign event in the western German city of Bielefeld on Monday.
"That would only be possible with massive tax increases or massive cuts to many things that are important to us," he said, insisting that he would not countenance cuts to pensions, local government or transport infrastructure.
Germany only reached the current NATO target of 2% of GDP last year, the first time it had done so since the end of the Cold War, and Scholz promised that the country would maintain that level.
"I guarantee that we will continue to spend 2% of our economic output on defense," he said. "Anyone who says that's not the way to go must also say where the [extra] money will come from."
The DEI scam..do you for a moment believe this man cares about women?o
Internet sleuths tracked down repulsive Eagles fan — and his life at DEI-focused company might be ruined
Al-Jazeera fomenter of violence against Jews
Qatar's Al-Jazeera, Bullhorn for the Muslim Brotherhood, Promotes Jihad, Radical Islam, Terrorism. Even Israelis and Palestinians Agree!
"The Al-Jazeera TV network is an arm of the Qatari regime. It is owned by the government and carries out its foreign policy by means of indoctrination of the Arabic-speaking masses worldwide. Al-Jazeera, therefore, should not be discussed as a means of telecommunications, but instead as an unyielding and forceful political tool of Qatari foreign policy under the guise of a mass media network." — MEMRI, May 6, 2024.
"Al-Jazeera was the prime power for toppling the secular authoritarian regime in Egypt, when Qatar, by means of Al-Jazeera, supported the Muslim Brotherhood in ousting then Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Al-Jazeera, the single most significant platform for mainstreaming jihadi and Muslim Brotherhood ideology, was the power that accorded [Muslim Brotherhood member] Mohamed Morsi his victory [in Egypt's 2012 presidential election]." — MEMRI, May 6, 2024.
Al-Jazeera's role in providing a platform for promoting extremist Islamist ideologies goes back decades: "The case of promoting Al-Qaeda is of particular interest.... Al-Jazeera's official role in the current Israel-Hamas war is nowhere more evident that its exclusive broadcast of Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif... at the very time that Hamas terrorists were carrying out their mega-terror attack in Israel... Deif declared the launch of 'Operation Al-Aqsa Flood' and incited all Palestinians to join the war, using all means in their possession – guns, knives, Molotov cocktails, and vehicles." — MEMRI, May 6, 2024.
They [Israelis and Palestinians] have both come to the conclusion that Al-Jazeera's goal is to promote radical Islam and terrorism. It now remains to be seen whether the US and other countries will follow suit and stop the Qatari-owned TV station from supporting terrorism, poisoning the hearts and minds of millions worldwide, and ravaging global security.
Eco nannies are a danger to your life
How California eco-bureaucrats halted a Pacific Palisades fire safety project to save an endangered shrub
When anti Semitism and ignorance go hand in hand in the Muslim world
Nearly 1,000 sign petition calling on Brooklyn cinema to ban ‘Zionist propaganda’ film about 1972 Munich massacre
The petition complains that Black September murderers are shown as ‘antisemitic terrorists’
Monday, January 13, 2025
"At this rate we won't be voting anymore, they will impose a leader like in the old days."
In Huge Protest, Romanians Rail Against Do-Over Election Targeting Populist NATO Skeptic
Upwards of 100,000 Romanians of various political stripes took to the streets on Sunday to express outrage over the voiding of a presidential election that seemed poised to put a NATO and Ukraine War skeptic in power. George Simion, leader of the right-wing Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, summed up the intent of the demonstrations his party organized:
"We are protesting against the coup d’état that took place on Dec. 6. We are sorry to discover so late that we were living in a lie and that we were led by people who claimed to be democrats, but are not at all. We demand a return to democracy through the resumption of elections, starting with the second round.”
In November, Romania held the first balloting in its two-round election. It resulted in Europe's latest instance in which a populist, nationalist, right-wing candidate posted a result that far exceeded what polls indicated he was capable of. In a 13-contender field, that candidate, Calin Georgescu, led the pack with 23%, setting him up to advance to the second and final round against reformist Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party.
However, just two days before that second round was to take place on Dec. 8, Romania's constitutional court annulled the election, and ordered a complete do-over of both rounds. Their justification: Supposed Russian meddling manifested in manipulated votes, campaign irregularities and secret spending. The ruling came after incumbent President Klaus Iohannis reportedly shared intelligence claiming Russia organized thousands of social media accounts to boost Georgescu's campaign.
"You petty politicians, with your ungrateful and immature games, you won't even know what hit you in this global storm," said Georgescue in a social media post in which he promoted the protest and compared Romanian leaders and judges with former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who's on trial on corruption charges. "You are so small that you aren't even able to understand anything. Nothing you do will make a difference anymore. The inevitable, is inevitable."
On Sunday, crowds -- estimated in size from tens of thousands to more than 100,000 -- marched through the streets of Bucharest, with Reuters reporting that many left-wingers joined the protest. The slogans on their signsincluded "We Want Free Elections," "Bring Back The Second Round," "Freedom," and "Democracy Is Not Optional." In a country that is among the most religiously observant in Europe, many carried Christian Orthodox icons. According to video posted to social media, protesters also vented their aggravation with establishment media:
Social media was the principal catalyst of 62-year-old Georgescu's success. He didn't run as a member of any political party, but his TikTok account racked up 1.6 million likes for content showing him going to church, running, practicing judo, and being interviewed by podcasters.
Iohannis' term was supposed to end on Dec. 21, but he's now slated to remain in power until the do-over election is complete. The dates are not yet official, but, last week, leaders of the ruling coalition government said they'd agreed on holding the two rounds on May 4 and May 18.
Georgescu's views are anathema to the European establishment. He's pledged to restore Romanian sovereignty and put an end to what he characterizes as subservience to NATO and the EU. He has taken a hard line against the presence of NATO's missile defense system that's based in Deveselu, southern Romania, calling it a "shame of diplomacy" that is more confrontational than peace-promoting.
He's also pushed for Romania to pursue a non-interventionist policy in the Ukraine war, and said US arms-makers were manipulating the conflict. Since Russia's invasion, Romania has facilitated Ukrainian grain exports and furnished military assistance including the donation of a Patriot missile battery. In addition to his broad theme of restoring Romanian sovereignty, Georgescu also ran on countering price inflation, addressing Romania's worst-in-EU poverty rate, supporting farmers and decreasing the country's reliance on imports.
However, now it is the sovereignty of the Romanian people themselves that is in peril. As a flag-wrapped economist named Cornelia told Reuters on Sunday: "At this rate we won't be voting anymore, they will impose a leader like in the old days."
The insane next door
Accused killer in horrific random stabbing of boy, 14, booted from court over ‘crazy’ rant — as footage surfaces of him terrorizing neighbors
The disturbing outburst came as video surfaced of the suspect wildly stabbing one of his neighbor’s Ring doorbell cameras with a huge blade in November.
Waldo Mejia, 29, had been hauled before the judge for allegedly killing teen Caleb Rios by sticking a knife into the boy’s chest on East 138th Street on Friday morning. The suspect was also being arraigned on an unrelated stabbing Mejia allegedly committed about a week ago.
But the hearing turned into chaos when the alleged killer at one point screamed he was “with Satan.
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