On Tuesday, December 4, at about 6:45 a.m., UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot outside the Hilton Midtown hotel in New York City in what authorities assume is a targeted attack. According to reports and video footage, the gunman was “lying in wait” for Thompson.
Currently, the assailant — described as a 6’1” skinny man wearing a mask and dark clothing and carrying a gray backpack — remains at large.
While many are speculating he could be a professional hitman, Stu Burguiere doesn’t think so.
Not only did he “take [his] mask off in front of cameras,” but he also “touched things inside a Starbucks,” that might allow authorities to pinpoint his DNA.
The latest outrage in the Daniel Penny saga, as a jury deliberates his fate, is Jordan Neely's deadbeat father suing Penny for restraining his late son, who spent his last day on earth menacing Subway riders.
But something even more outrageous was brought to light recently, by the same pseudonymous X poster who brought national attention to plight of Springfield Ohio a few months ago.
Meet Daniel Penny's Prosecutor, ADA Dafna Yoran
Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran is the leftist lesbian who has been prosecuting Daniel Penny for protecting his fellow subway riders from repeat offender Jordan Neely.
It would be one thing if she were simply a tough prosecutor who threw the book at everyone, but she's not. In the video below, she brags about a particular case of "restorative justice": going easy on a black felony murderer who killed an elderly Asian man while robbing him.
Why would Yoran go easy on a black felony murderer while throwing the book at a defendant she refers to as "the white man"? To ask the question is to answer it. Hopefully, she will soon face justice herself.
Because of its war in Ukraine, Russia can't easily boost its intervention on behalf of dictator Bashar Assad, who is fighting rebels in Syria. But the Kremlin cannot abandon its strategic Middle Eastern ally either.
Aleppo has long been considered a symbol of Russia's strength.
After government troops spent four years fighting rebels for control of the city, it was the Russian military that helped Syrian President Bashar Assad lock down control at the end of 2016.
Now, as part of the current offensive by the pro-Turkish Islamist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Aleppo has fallen to the rebels in less than four days.
"Russia is no longer in the position to support the Assad regime as it did ten years ago," Ruslan Suleimanov, a Russian researcher at the ADA University in Azerbaijan's capital Baku, told DW.
Although Russia is once more carrying out airstrikes in a bid to support Syria's governmental forces under President Assad, it is not enough to stop the HTS, according to Suleimanov.
The main difference to the previous battle of Aleppo is that Russia has been much more preoccupied with its war in Ukraine since February 2022.
"Obviously, the Russian presence in Syria began to shrink afterwards," Suleimanov told DW
Russia's strength lies in airstrikes
However, the Russian troop contingent in Syria has always been relatively small.
In 2015, when Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to militarily strengthen Bashar Assad four years into the civil war, he mainly deployed his air force in Syria.
According to estimates, as official figures have never been released, only between 2,000 and 4,000 soldiers were additionally deployed.
This number is likely to have remained the same.
In addition, almost the same number of mercenaries, such as those of the Wagner Group, were added at the time.
The latter were involved in ground battles in Syria more often than regular soldiers.
However, nowadays these fighters are based in Ukraine.
"The Russian strategy was about Syrian, Iranian, and Shia militias doing the fighting and Russian forces providing support, not the other way around," US analysts Michael Kofman and Matthew Rojansky wrotein a study for the US Army University Press in 2018.
Meanwhile, Iran and its allied militias such as Hezbollah have been weakened by the conflict with Israel. The Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebels have seized the opportunity to advance.
Forces likely withdrawn from Syria
It remains to be seen if Russia can fill this gap in ground forces.
"It will be very difficult to increase aid to Assad without weakening its own troops in Ukraine," Pavel Luzin, an expert on the Russian armed forces, told DW.
Following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia had denied plans to withdraw troops from Syria. However, it reportedly moved a number of fighter jets back to their home ports. And the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system was shipped to a Russian port near Crimea.
Soldiers in Syria were regrouped and moved from smaller posts to larger bases. Furthermore, the transfer of combat-experienced mercenaries to Ukraine has weakened Russia's position.
Although other Kremlin mercenaries are currently in Syria, "they are not specialized in combat missions, but in monitoring oil production facilities, for example," according to Ruslan Suleimanov.
Moscow unwilling to give up Syria
While the war in Ukraine remains a top priority for Russia, "Putin will certainly not abandon Assad," Suleimanov said.
After all, Moscow has two important locations at stake: the naval base in Tartus secures access to the Mediterranean, and the Hmeimim air base makes it possible to be operational in the entire region.
Syria also plays an important role for the Kremlin in maintaining its image as a superpower. After the failed Western interventions in Iraq and Libya, Russia wanted to present itself as a stabilizing factor in the region and was able to successfully establish itself as a player in the Middle East.
Syria's Tartus port is a key hub for Russian missile cruisersImage: Zhang Jiye/Xinhua/IMAGO
Negotiations instead of new troops
Russia's initial reactions to the rebel offensive indicate that it would prefer not to deploy additional military resources to Syria.
However, air strikes are still being stepped up.
According to the Russian telegram channel 'Rybar', General Alexander Chaiko, who has previously led Russian troops in Syria, arrived in the country.
In parallel, Moscow is also seeking contact with other powers involved, above all Turkey, which is benefiting the most from the rebels' advance.
Putin has spoken to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the phone, and representatives of Russia, Iran and Turkey are due to meet next weekend.
"These are very difficult and exhausting negotiations for the Kremlin, which is already devoting so much nerve, energy and resources to Ukraine," states orientalist Ruslan Suleimanov.
In his view, it is a given that the Kremlin will have to divert some of these resources to Syria.
Will Russia tip the scales for Syria's Assad again?
FBI special agents in Boston arrested City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson on Friday morning on public corruption charges.
Fernandes Anderson was under investigation by federal authorities and FBI agents were seen outside her home in Dorchester on Friday morning as she was taken into custody, according to WCVB.
She is facing five counts of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, a court filing by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts says.
Federal prosecutors allege that in late 2022, Fernandes Anderson hired a staff member who was related to her and then defrauded the city by proposing an arrangement in which the person would receive “additional compensation but would kickback most of this bonus pay.”
“From in or about early to mid-2023, Fernandes Anderson was facing personal financial difficulty, which included missing monthly rent and car payments, an impending $5,000 civil penalty from the Ethics Commission, and incurring bank overdraft fees, which resulted in Fernandes Anderson maintaining low daily bank balances,” read the filing, which was obtained by the Boston Globe.
“On or about June 9, 2023, at approximately 4:11 p.m., Staff Member A texted Fernandes Anderson, ‘Bathroom’ to let Fernandes Anderson know that Staff Member A was waiting in the bathroom to hand the $7,000 cash to Fernandes Anderson,” the court document continued. “Within seconds, Fernandes Anderson texted Staff Member A, ‘Ready’ to confirm that Fernandes Anderson was ready to accept the $7,000 cash kickback from Staff Member A.
FBI special agents in Boston arrested City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson on Friday morning on public corruption charges. AP
“Shortly following these texts, Staff Member A handed Fernandes Anderson approximately $7,000 in cash at a bathroom in City Hall.”
The filing also says Boston city councilors were not allowed to hire immediate family members to their paid staff, yet in 2022, Fernandes Anderson hired two such individuals.
Prosecutors say Fernandes Anderson later fired those two employees and was informed by the Ethics Commission of a $5,000 fine relating to that incident.
Then last month, Massachusetts’ Office of Campaign and Political Finance informed her campaign that it took contributions over the legal limit and failed to file deposit information in a timely manner, WCVB reported.
“Her behavior, as alleged in today’s indictment, is a slap in the face to the hardworking taxpayers in the city of Boston who have every right to expect that the city’s funds are in good and honest hands,” Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen said in a statement. “This case illustrates how the FBI, and our partners, are working hard every day to battle public corruption and the corrosive damage it does to people’s faith in government.”
Federal prosecutors allege that in late 2022, Fernandes Anderson hired a staff member who was a relative and then defrauded the city by proposing an arrangement in which the person would receive “additional compensation but would kickback most of this bonus pay.” AP
Anderson represents District 7, which includes the Boston neighborhoods of Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway, and a portion of the South End.
“Councilor Anderson was elected to the Boston City Council on November 2, 2021, becoming the first African immigrant and Muslim-American elected to the Boston City Council,” reads a bio on the City of Boston’s website.
The United States Capitol Police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt during the events at the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, reportedly received preferential treatment from the law enforcement agency after Democrat lawmakers applied pressure.
Internal emails reveal that House Democrats leaned on U.S. Capitol Police to provide extraordinary financial and professional support to Lt. Michael Byrd, the officer who fatally shot unarmed protester Ashli Babbitt, according to Just the News.
House Democrats pressured U.S. Capitol Police to provide special financial assistance and even a promotion to the officer who fatally shot unarmed protester Ashli Babbitt during the Jan. 6 riot, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer and charitable assistance not provided to other officers, according to internal emails reviewed by Just the News.
“He is very upset about how he is being treated. He wants us to figure this out and now,” a top congressional aide to then-House Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, wrote to Capitol Police in November 2021 pressing for more assistance to Lt. Michael Byrd after he killed Babbitt.
The records show that pressure also came from then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s staff and from then-Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, causing Capitol Police to find any solution they could to make Byrd and Democrats happy. Despite the extraordinary assistance, Byrd expressed dissatisfaction and continued to insist he deserved more, to the chagrin of Capitol Police officials, according to records assembled by Congress.
“We play the game as you request and then once we’re in compliance You guys change the rules on us,” Byrd wrote to U.S. Capitol Police General Counsel Thomas DiBiase in November 2021 after being informed he wouldn’t be able to immediately access charitable funds from a memorial fund for fallen or wounded officers.
The benefits for Byrd included a $37,000 retention bonus, security upgrades, and assistance in raising over $164,000 through a GoFundMe campaign. This is far more than any other officer who was present at the protests received from the agency. Nevertheless, Byrd was not satisfied.
These revelations come from a House Administration Oversight Subcommittee probe spearheaded by Chairman Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), who criticized the USCP’s actions.
“In addition to USCP’s decision to promote Byrd despite his disciplinary history, I also have concerns about the decisions USCP made with respect to Byrd after January 6, 2021,” Loudermilk wrote in a letter to Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger.
The chairman pointed out that the Capitol Police “went to extremes, to where they gave bonuses to officers who are on the front line of the battle, that was a few thousand dollars—Byrd gets one of $37,000 okay, it’s not equally played.”
Just the News reviewed emails revealing extensive efforts to provide Byrd with various benefits, including security upgrades for his Maryland home that cost $21,899 and an offer to promote him to captain despite the fact that he was not eligible.
In his correspondence with Byrd, DiBiase noted that the officers who were injured in the 2017 attempt to assassinate Republican lawmakers at a baseball game received similar amounts.
“David Bailey and Crystal Griner were paid out $52,000 and $63,000, respectively, from the [Memorial Fund],” he wrote.
Byrd responded, taking issue with the pace at which the financial assistance came, saying it was “blatantly wrong to treat us like this” and complained that he was “being grouped in with everyone else.”
Byrd was eventually promoted to captain in 2023 despite having a lengthy disciplinary record. “I think people should really be considering the earlier question, which is whether he should have been on the force,” Loudermilk noted.
None of this is surprising when you are familiar with the brand of hypocrisy practiced by those on the left – especially when it comes to law enforcement. When the news of Babbitt’s murder was reported, Democrats immediately began Backing the Blue, celebrating Byrd’s unnecessary decision to open fire on her even though she was unarmed. Some leftists even mocked her for getting killed during the protests.
The reaction was a far cry from what typically happens when an officer unjustly shoots an unarmed Black man. Apparently, when the victim is a White Trump supporter, it’s good for officers to use deadly force even when it is not necessary.But in this case, Democrats went even further, bending over backward to accommodate the corrupt officer who took Babbitt’s life. The fact that he got preferential treatment over officers who were wounded during the incident shows just how political this entire situation was.
Keep these in mind as you contemplate the direction of the American government over the past 50 years and especially since the Obama election.
The Goals of Communism
(as read into the congressional record January 10, 1963, from "The Naked Communist" by Cleon Skousen)
1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.
2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.
3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.
4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.
7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.
9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.
10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)
12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.
13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.
14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.
15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
18. Gain control of all student newspapers.
19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.
20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.
21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."
29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.
30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."
31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.
32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.
33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.
34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.
36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.
37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.
38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.
39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.
42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.
43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.
45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
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