All View News - Read the news from all Angles

Anti-war protesters arrested at Bernie Sanders’ office

The Democratic socialist senator’s staff were apparently uninterested in giving peace a chance in Ukraine

Eleven anti-war protesters were arrested during a sit-in at US Senator Bernie Sanders’ Washington DC office on Wednesday as they called for an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

About 50 demonstrators led by the founders of feminist anti-war group Code Pink packed into Sanders’ office, explaining in a statement on the group’s website that they were “showing up to remind Bernie of the values he espoused that made his name what it is” and urging the Democratic Socialist to “lead for peace.”

Most stood silently with signs urging a negotiated end to the conflict – including at least one emblazoned with Sanders’ own words from a 2022 op-ed in The Guardian.

“We must work hard to achieve a realistic and mutually agreeable resolution – one that is acceptable to Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and our European allies,” the sign read, demanding negotiation and “a diplomatic solution.”

Two Sanders policy advisers attempted to justify the senator’s support for arming Ukraine, arguing the country was the victim of “a war of aggression by [Russian President] Vladimir Putin” while denying any knowledge of Kiev using American weapons to strike Russian territory or evidence of US involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline explosions.

Police subsequently arrested 11 of the protesters, including the Code Pink member holding the Sanders quote and an 89-year-old woman.

Co-founder Medea Benjamin claimed to be “appalled” at the Democratic Party’s failure to support a negotiated peace. “This is not a MAGA issue or a Republican issue but an issue of human survival to stop World War Three and possibly a nuclear war,” she said in a statement following the sit-in, insisting, “we need Bernie to be with us on the side of peace.”

While Sanders famously voted against invading Iraq in 2002 and has campaigned against “forever wars,” his voting record defies easy categorization. In addition to supporting military intervention in Bosnia and Kosovo, he backed the infamous post-9/11 Authorization for the Use of Military Force used to justify US military action in dozens of countries said to harbor terror-linked groups, including drone strikes on Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, Libya, and Iraq.

After their rejection by Sanders, the activists were publicly embraced by Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, an outspoken opponent of the government’s Ukraine policy. The Georgia representative posted photos to X (formerly Twitter), acknowledging that while she and Code Pink disagreed on many issues, “we do agree Congress should STOP fueling the war in Ukraine!”

“Peace & free speech shouldn’t be a partisan issue,” Greene added. Code Pink leadership nevertheless retroactively disavowed her support, claiming she had “opportunistically approached” the activists with a photo request while suggesting her motives were ideologically impure.

Hillary Clinton calls for ‘deprogramming’ Donald Trump’s fans

The former US presidential candidate has argued that supporters of her Republican ex-rival are “cult members”

Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has suggested that supporters of the man who defeated her in the 2016 election, Donald Trump, need “formal deprogramming” so Washington politicians can be set free from their intimidating “extremism.”

“So many of those extremists – those MAGA extremists – take their marching orders from Donald Trump, who has no credibility left by any measure,” Clinton said in an interview aired by CNN on Thursday. “He’s only in it for himself . . ., and when do they break with him? At some point, you know, maybe there needs to be a formal deprogramming of the cult members, but something needs to happen.”

Clinton lamented that “sane” Republicans are too intimidated by Trump’s supporters to work with Democrats on solutions to America’s problems. “They oftentimes say and do things which they know better than to say or do,” she said of congressional Republicans. “And it will require us defeating those most extreme measures and the people who promote them in order to try to get to some common ground, where people can again work together.”

Clinton undermined her 2016 campaign when she disparaged much of the US electorate by telling political donors that half of Trump supporters belong in a “basket of deplorables” – for those who are “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic.” She apologized after her comments were publicly exposed the next day, saying she had been “grossly generalistic.” The previous year, she suggested that America needs to have “camps for adults,” a comment that critics used to suggest that she had totalitarian instincts.

The CNN interview featured echoes of those past gaffes, with Clinton suggesting that supporters of Trump – the leading 2024 Republican presidential candidate – are bigotry-driven cultists. “He and his very negative, nasty form of politics resonates with them,” she said. “Maybe they don’t like migrants. Maybe they don’t like gay people or black people or the woman who got the promotion at work they didn’t get.”

Clinton added that Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan invited nostalgic voters to “return to a place where people could be in charge of their lives, feel empowered, say what they want, insult whoever came in their way.” Ironically, Bill Clinton used the same slogan while campaigning for president in 1992, then criticized the phrase as racist when Trump used it in 2016.

After her husband’s two terms as president, Hillary Clinton served as a senator from 2001 to 2009 and was secretary of state under then-President Barack Obama. She said Washington politicians had partisan clashes in the past, “but there wasn’t this little tail of extremism wagging the dog of the Republican Party, as it is today.”

Trump’s grip on Republican voters will only be broken when President Joe Biden, the Democrat incumbent, defeats him in 2024, Clinton said. “It is like a cult, and somebody has to break that momentum,” she said, adding, “Hopefully, that will be the end, and the fever will break, and then Republicans can try to get back to fighting about issues among themselves and electing people who are at least responsible and accountable.”

Has Bashar al-Assad really won the war in Syria?

Government blames armed groups for attack on military academy in Homs.

Poland and Hungary clash with EU leaders over migration reform

Migration has become a flashpoint in the European continent’s politics and a central focus of far-right parties.

David Icke and Ickonic filmmaker Christianne Van Wijk talk to Dutch alternative media about breaking the spell of ‘normal’

Luister nu naar de recording van de DDS Space met @davidicke en @chrissyvanwijk! https://t.co/3MDN2aiFRd

— Dagelijkse Standaard (@DDStandaard) October 6, 2023

Biden plots stopgap funding for Ukraine aid – media

The US president has reportedly found a way to keep money flowing to Kiev while waiting for Congress to pass new spending

US President Joe Biden’s administration has reportedly set its sights on a State Department grant program to keep weapons and financial aid flowing to Ukraine, while waiting for divided Republican lawmakers to approve more spending to help Kiev fight Russian forces.

One of the stopgap-funding sources under consideration is a fund that provides grants or loans to US allies to buy weapons, Politico reported on Thursday, citing two unidentified government officials with knowledge of Biden’s plans. The president acknowledged on Wednesday that he was worried about a possible disruption to Ukraine aid amid congressional chaos, but he suggested that he might find another way to keep the funding going, at least temporarily, without getting a new spending bill passed.

Washington’s continued support for Ukraine was thrown into doubt last week, when Republicans stripped Biden’s $24 billion aid request out of a spending bill that averted a government shutdown for 45 days. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was voted out of his leadership position on Tuesday, the first such ouster in US history, reportedly after conservative Republicans heard that he had promised Biden a separate Ukraine funding bill.

The State Department, the Pentagon and Biden himself have warned this week that any disruption to aid could have devastating consequences for Ukraine on the battlefield. Republicans have become increasingly critical of Biden’s Ukraine strategy as public support for funding the bloody conflict wanes. Congress has already approved four rounds of Ukraine funding, totaling about $113 billion.

Biden administration officials have privately admitted that only weeks remain before a potential lapse in US funding to Kiev. The State Department grant program had about $650 million remaining as of September 21. Lawmakers originally allotted $4.6 billion for the program, which was designed to provide military grants and financing to Ukraine and other allies affected by the conflict with Russia.

However, even if the administration uses the financing authority to purchase weapons, it will still need approval from Congress to authorize additional funding for Ukraine, a US official told Politico. A Pentagon official said the White House also would need approval from lawmakers to redirect other defense spending to Kiev.

The Pentagon warned last week that it had exhausted “nearly all available security-assistance funding for Ukraine.” About $1.6 billion in funding remains to replace US weapons that were sent to the Ukrainians.

Trump accused of leaking submarine secrets – media

The former US president reportedly discussed sensitive information with an Australian billionaire at his Florida country club

Former US President Donald Trump has reportedly been accused of discussing sensitive information about the nation’s nuclear submarines while chatting with an Australian businessman at his Mar-a-Lago country club in Florida.

The conversation with billionaire Anthony Pratt occurred in April 2021, three months after Trump left office, and it allegedly included references to how many warheads US submarines carry and how close they can get to a Russian vessel without being detected, ABC News reported on Thursday. Pratt, who runs packaging company Pratt Industries, allegedly shared the information with more than a dozen Australian officials, as well as journalists and some of his employees, the outlet said, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

ABC conceded that it’s not clear whether Trump’s comments about US submarines were accurate; nor did the outlet’s anonymous sources specifically claim that the information was classified. However, US prosecutors and FBI agents have interviewed Pratt at least twice this year about his conversation with Trump, and investigators urged the businessman not to spread the information any further because it was potentially sensitive.

The allegations were reported to US special counsel Jack Smith’s team of investigators. Smith is prosecuting Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents and has filed a separate indictment against the ex-president for trying to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. The indictment on handling of classified documents didn’t include any allegations related to Trump’s conversation with Pratt.

Earlier this year, CNN aired a recording of Trump allegedly discussing US military secrets at his New Jersey country club. The outlet also reported in May that Trump had admitted to retaining a classified document detailing the US military’s plans for a potential attack on Iran.

Pratt, a Mar-a-Lago member, told investigators that he was trying to make conversation with Trump when he brought up US nuclear submarines. The billionaire suggested that Australia should start buying its submarines from the US. Trump responded by making claims about the capabilities of the US vessels. Pratt added that Trump didn’t show him any government documents.

The conversation came at a time when Australia was negotiating with President Joe Biden’s administration to buy US nuclear-powered submarines. The deal was completed earlier this year, with Australia agreeing to purchase three of the subs. Pratt said he told others about the conversation with Trump to show how he was advocating for Australia’s interests in the US.

A Trump spokesperson denied any wrongdoing on the former president’s part, ABC reported. The accusations concerning the conversation with Pratt lack “proper context and relevant information,” the spokesperson said.

American goes on rampage in Israeli museum

US tourist’s lawyer claims “Jerusalem syndrome” made him wreck two ancient Roman statues

An American visiting Jerusalem has been arrested after smashing two ancient Roman statues at the Israel Museum on Thursday evening. Police said the suspect had called the damaged pieces “idolatrous and contrary to the Torah,” the first five books of the Hebrew Bible.

“This is a shocking case of destruction of cultural heritage. We view with great concern the fact that religious extremists take such action,” said Eli Escusido, head of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

According to Escusido, one of the damaged statues is a marble depiction of Minerva from the second century, discovered in 1978 at Tel Naharon near Beit She’an. The second statue is a griffin holding a wheel of fate, representing the Roman-Egyptian deity Nemesis, which was found in 1957 in the northern Negev desert.

Police have identified the perpetrator as a 40-year-old “radical Jewish American tourist,” according to AP, but have not provided his name. The defendant has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Attorney Nick Kaufman denied that his client had acted out of religious fanaticism, however. He blamed the “Jerusalem syndrome.” According to the Times of Israel, the condition involves “religiously-themed delusions or psychosis triggered by a visit to Jerusalem,” affects visitors to the city considered holy by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, and “usually resolves upon departure from Israel.”

The museum reopened at the regularly scheduled time on Friday morning. Museum officials declined to offer an estimate of the damages or the value of the statues, saying only that they have been sent to be restored.

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced “derogatory conduct” towards any religion, after a video surfaced online showing ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting at Christians in Jerusalem’s Old City. Five people were arrested in relation to the incident.

In February this year, another Jewish-American tourist pulled down and damaged a statue of Jesus inside the Church of the Flagellation, on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem’s Old City. A month prior, several Christian tombstones at the Mount Zion cemetery were vandalized by two Jewish youths.

EU ‘raped’ Hungary and Poland – Orban

Budapest and Warsaw cannot agree to a deal that will force them to accept migrants, the Hungarian leader declared

The EU legally “raped” Hungary and Poland by forcing through a deal that will compel member states to accept quotas of illegal immigrants, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday. He added that Hungary will not compromise with Brussels on such an arrangement.

“There is no chance to have any kind of compromise and agreement on migration,” Orban told reporters ahead of a meeting on EU leaders in Spain. “Politically, it is impossible.”

“Because legally we are, how to say it, we are raped. So if you are raped legally, forced to accept something you don’t like, how would you like to have a compromise? It’s impossible!”

EU ambassadors agreed on a landmark migration pact on Wednesday. The deal will see illegal immigrants – most of whom land in Italy and Greece after crossing the Mediterranean – transported to other EU countries on a quota basis. While it allows for migrants to be held longer in processing centers at the EU’s external borders, it also allows asylum applications to be fast-tracked in times of “crisis.”

Hungary and Poland voted against the pact, while Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic abstained.

Previous attempts by Brussels to impose migrant quotas have also been met with resistance in Budapest and Warsaw. The European Court of Justice ruled in 2020 that both broke EU law by refusing to take a single migrant out of 160,000 relocated during the 2015 migration crisis.

The new deal is likely to be enforced harder, with EU ministers voting in June to fine member states €20,000 ($21,170) for each migrant they refuse to take in under the relocation scheme. This provision made it into the deal signed on Wednesday.

“They want to relocate migrants to Hungary by force,” Orban said in June. “This is unacceptable, they want to forcefully turn Hungary into a migrant country.”

Poland “squarely rejects” the migration pact, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters ahead of Friday’s meeting, stating that his government’s opposition to non-EU immigration is “first and foremost about the security of our country.”

European Commissioner Ylva Johansson announced last week that 250,000 people illegally entered the EU in 2023, around half of them arriving in Italy by sea. This is the highest number of illegal entries in a year since the peak of the 2015 crisis.

With individual states clashing over the influx – most recently when Italy condemned Germany for funding ‘rescue’ ships that transport migrants to its shores – EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned last month that the issue of immigration “could be a dissolving force for the European Union.”

Iowa risks millions of dollars as it faces losing first-vote status

Democrats moving from Iowa to South Carolina for first vote in primary cycle means less money for Midwestern state.