Blog

Germany ‘forming secret alliance of nations that will turn away migrants at their borders’

Germany is secretly forming an alliance of European countries that will turn away asylum seekers at their borders, it has been reported. 

Friedrich Merz, the country’s next chancellor, has begun informal talks with neighbours France, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland, according to The Telegraph.

While precise details of the plan remain unclear, Merz is under pressure to cut the number of refugee arrivals into Germany. 

Concerns about immigration have been pushed to the forefront of German politics, heightened by a series of attacks carried out by Islamists and the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

The AfD polled 20.8 per cent in the February elections, making them the second largest party in German. 

Ahead of the elections in February, Merz, 69, the leader of the victorious Christian Democratic Union (CDU), promised to stop all illegal migration at Germany’s land borders. 

While the new policy is still being worked out, he is said to have been strongly influenced by an initiative presented by Polish prime minister Donald Tusk in January.

In a speech upon taking the reins of the EU council, Tusk called illegal immigration ‘a threat to the security and territorial integrity of the entire union’ and suggested the need to use ‘all available leverage’ to force nations external to the US to take back their citizens.

Keep reading

New York Movie Theaters Could Sell Marijuana And Allow Consumption During Films Under Forthcoming Licenses, Official Says

A New York official says there are plans in the works to expand permitting and licensing rules that could allow adults to buy and consume marijuana at movie theaters.

While many theaters across the country currently let moviegoers purchase and drink alcohol, that’s not the case for cannabis—even in states where marijuana has been legalized.

“At this time, cannabis can only be sold at legal, licensed adult-use dispensaries or legal, licensed adult-use microbusinesses,” New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) Press Secretary Taylor Randi Lee told Variety.

“For theaters to serve recreational marijuana at their establishments, they would need either an events permit or consumption lounge license,” she was quoted as saying in a story the trade publication ran about ways that theaters can appeal to audiences to buy tickets. “New York State does not have either yet but plans to in the future.”

The idea of potentially expanding permitting to authorize sales of cannabis products at movie theaters would set New York apart as it continues to build upon the state’s legalization law.

OCM’s comments come days after Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed a pair of companion bills into law that are meant to expand New York’s marijuana farmers market program, allowing for more partnerships between licensed cannabis businesses and standalone “pop-up” events.

Keep reading

After Rejecting Peace, Ukraine Loses Security Guarantees & Revenue From Trump’s Mineral Deal Offer

President Donald Trump’s administration revised the previous mineral deal it had offered Ukraine, which the country’s Dictator Vladimir Zelensky rejected after disrespecting the United States in the White House. The new version of the mineral deal, which Reuters claimed to have attained a draft of on Friday, provides less to Ukraine than the old version did. Interestingly, the revised deal comes directly after Kiev failed to agree to a ceasefire and Moscow announced it will no longer deal with Ukraine’s current government due to trust issues.

“The U.S. has revised its original proposal, said the sources, and it gives Ukraine no future security guarantees but requires it to contribute to a joint investment fund all income from the use of natural resources managed by state and private enterprises across Ukrainian territory,” Reuters said Friday.

Security guarantees have been a key goal for the Dictator, who in October based his ill-fated ‘victory plan‘ around them.

The original mineral deal only required Kiev contribute 50 percent of its income from state-owned, and just state-owned natural resources.

The new requirement for Kiev to contribute 100 percent of its income from the public, and chiefly, private use of its natural resources to a joint fund is likely another critical blow to the war-torn nation, as it has relied on foreign gifts to maintain its war, going so far as to have its Dictator travel the globe begging for money.

Trump sees a mineral deal as a method of recouping costs associated with funding Ukraine’s war. He has also said that the sheer fact American businesses would be engaged in commerce in Ukraine is a type of security guarantee in and of itself.

On Wednesday Trump said that Washington is making progress toward a ceasefire via a strategy of commerce and trade. The mineral deal appears central to Trump’s operations in this space.

While negotiations between Moscow and Kiev have taken place as recently as this week, no ceasefire deal had been reached.

Keep reading

Trump White House might flip the script on tax cuts for the rich

The Trump administration is discussing a surprising option to help fulfill his campaign-trail promises: Allowing the richest Americans’ tax rates to rise in return for cutting taxes on tips, a senior White House official tells Axios.

The big picture: Some White House officials believe letting income taxes on the very highest earners rise would buy breathing room on other priorities, and help blunt Democrats’ attacks as they seek to extend President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts.

  • Officials say all discussions are preliminary and nothing is set in stone.

By the numbers: Currently the top income tax rate is 37%, charged on income above $609,351 for an individual or $731,201 for a married couple.

  • If the 2017 law were allowed to expire, that would jump to the pre-2018 rate of 39.6%, and lower the threshold above which the top rate applies.
  • Around 1% of taxpayers are in that top bracket, though they pay a disproportionate share of income taxes.
  • Under the budget reconciliation rules that Republicans seek to use to extend the tax cuts, that would free up more revenue that could be used to fulfill some of Trump’s populist promises, such as eliminating taxes on tips.

Zoom out: It would aim to flip the script on Democrats, whose messaging focuses on Republicans potentially slashing Medicaid and enlarging the deficit in order to fund tax cuts for the super-rich.

Keep reading

Judge Who Upheld Block Of Trump’s Deportation Flights Is A Major Dem Donor

The federal judge who upheld the injunction blocking the Trump administration’s expedited removal of alleged Tren de Aragua gang members has a history of partisan political activity, both donating to and volunteering for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

United States Circuit Judge Patricia Millett has maintained the injunction against President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, preventing the president from using the law to expedite the deportation of alleged criminal Venezuelan illegal aliens connected to Tren de Aragua, a foreign terror organization. The Trump administration is now asking the Supreme Court to decide on the case.

Federal Election Commission filings indicate that Millett was a prolific donor to Democrats, including Obama, from 2008 to 2012. Millett gave more than $31,000 to Democrat politicians and the party itself, supporting Obama’s presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton’s run in 2008, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, the Democratic National Committee, and the Fairfax County Democratic Committee, among others.

Millett — who charged that “Nazis got better treatment” than deported illegal aliens — also volunteered for Obama’s 2008 campaign, noting in a Judiciary Committee questionnaire that she provided the campaign with “legal assistance to the Voter Protection Teams for Ohio and New Hampshire, including preparing for potential election challenges.”

Millett’s appointment was supported by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a left-wing organization that supports amnesty for illegal aliens, called America’s public safety system, “at odds with our shared values of fairness, equity, and justice,” and advocates in favor of the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement.

Millett’s ruling upholds the injunction issued by United States District Court Judge James Boasberg, another Obama appointee. Boasberg has a history of stonewalling Trump’s efforts while his wife has engaged in overtly partisan activity, The Daily Wire reported.

Boasberg issued a ruling in 2018 that limited the administration’s ability to detain migrant families who had entered the country, hindering Trump’s attempt to disincentivize illegal immigration by limiting the issuance of parole.

Keep reading

Israel Leveled Gaza — Then Killed the Drone Journalists Who Showed it to the World

Four years ago, Mahmoud Isleem al-Basos began messaging Shadi al-Tabatiby on social media, again and again, asking to join him on shoots. Al-Tabatiby, one of Gaza’s best-known drone journalists, didn’t pay much attention at first.

“But Mahmoud was persistent,” al-Tabatiby said. “So I told him, ‘Fine, I’ll meet you.’”

Twice, al-Tabatiby told al-Basos where he’d be filming; both times, al-Basos showed up and waited.

“There’s an age gap between us, but I love people who work hard and want to learn,” al-Tabatiby said. “I found that in Mahmoud.”

The two grew close, and al-Basos began joining al-Tabatiby on shoots.

Then came Israel’s war on Gaza. Al-Tabatiby, who was freelancing for The Associated Press, relocated to the south. Al-Basos stayed in the north. With movement between the two areas cut off by the Israeli military, they kept in touch.

Al-Tabatiby started assigning al-Basos shoots from afar, and the young journalist picked up work with international outlets, including Reuters and the Turkish news agency Anadolu.

Even after al-Tabatiby evacuated to Egypt a year ago, they stayed in close contact.

Two weeks ago, on March 15, al-Basos was filming preparations for a Ramadan iftar in the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahia. The backdrop was a new expansion of a displacement camp opened by the London-based Al-Khair Foundation, which was paying al-Basos to film the event. Then two Israeli airstrikes hit the area. At least seven people were killed, including al-Basos.

“I was in shock,” Al-Tabatiby said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

He added, with incredulity, “We were in a ceasefire.”

Al-Basos became the fifth drone journalist to be killed by Israel since the start of the war in Gaza.

Keep reading

Trump White House Says Marijuana Decriminalization ‘Opened The Door To Disorder’ In Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump’s White House says the move to decriminalize marijuana in Washington, D.C. is an example of a “failed” policy that “opened the door to disorder.”

In a fact sheet about an executive order that Trump signed on Friday—which is broadly aimed at beautifying the District and making it more safe—the White House listed several local policies in the nation’s capital that it takes issue with, including cannabis reform. That’s despite the president’s previously stated support for a states’ rights approach to marijuana laws.

“D.C.’s failed policies opened the door to disorder—and criminals noticed,” it says, citing “marijuana decriminalization,” as well as the District’s decision to end pre-trial detentions and enforcement practices around rioters, as examples of such policies.

The executive order itself doesn’t mention marijuana specifically. But it says the directive will involve “deploying a more robust Federal law enforcement presence and coordinating with local law enforcement to facilitate the deployment of a more robust local law enforcement presence as appropriate in areas in or about” D.C., and that includes addressing “drug possession, sale, and use.”

With respect to the fact sheet circulated by the White House, cannabis possession and personal cultivation is legalized in D.C. under a voter-approved ballot initiative, though commercial sales of non-medical marijuana remain illegal (a policy referred to by some as “decriminalization”).

Because of a long-standing congressional rider that’s been annually renewed since that vote, the District hasn’t been able to use local funds to implement a system of regulated recreational cannabis sales, so officials have taken steps to expand the city’s existing medical marijuana program as a workaround.

Keep reading

Iowa Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Bill To Create Psilocybin Program That Would Treat Up To 5,000 Patients With PTSD

An Iowa House committee has unanimously approved a Republican-led proposal to create a state-regulated therapeutic psilocybin program for adults with PTSD.

The bill, HF 620, from Rep. John Wills (R), passed the House Ways and Means Committee on a 23–0 vote at a hearing Thursday.

If enacted into law, it would allow up to 5,000 patients in the state to legally access psilocybin produced in-state by licensed entities. Administration sessions would need to be supervised by registered facilitators—mostly medical professionals—who would need to complete state-specified psilocybin education.

Psilocybin providers would need to be doctors, advanced nurse practitioners, advanced practice nurses, psychologists or social workers who complete psilocybin continuing education requirements, register with the state and pay a registration fee.

Administration sessions themselves would need to be at registered clinical locations and would need to be video recorded. Those records would need to be available for inspection by state officials upon request.

The psilocybin itself would be produced by state-licensed establishments. Local governments could not outright ban those facilities, nor could they deny them appropriate licenses based merely on the fact that psilocybin violates federal law.

Notably, a licensed psilocybin production facility could be co-located with one of the state’s few licensed medical cannabis producers—known in Iowa as medical cannabidiol producers—and the bill says regulators may grant psilocybin licensing preferences to those existing cannabis producers. Facilities couldn’t be located within 1,000 feet of a community location or 500 feet of a residential area.

Only people 21 and older and without “a misdemeanor for drug distribution or any felony” could work at psilocybin producers, and licensees themselves would face background checks.

Up to four independent testing labs could be licensed under the bill, and the state could also establish its own lab.

License applications would be accepted beginning July 1, 2026.

To oversee the system, the legislation would create a state Psilocybin Production Establishment Licensing Board under the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Appointed by the director of that department, the board would include a member of the public with knowledge of psilocybin, a member with knowledge and experience in the pharmaceutical or nutraceutical manufacturing industry, a law enforcement member, a university chemist or researcher with experience in manufacturing, a member who has a background in fungus or mushroom cultivation and processing.

Keep reading

“I Have Contempt for Such People. I Want to Make That Clear” – Elon Musk Stuns Bret Baier as He Eviscerates Unhinged Warmonger Sen. Mark Kelly

Earlier this month Democrat warmonger Senator Mark Kelly posted a long thread on X on how he supported Ukraine and its losing war against Russia.

Kelly should have kept these unbelievably ignorant comments to himself.

Elon Musk quickly jumped in and called Kelly a traitor.

The left and devoted RINOs were absolutely appalled for Musk to call this far left senator a “traitor” for putting Ukrainians before Americans.

Bret Baier was clearly taken back by the comments and brought it up during his interview with Musk on Thursday night.

Musk unloaded.

Bret Baier: You posted that he was a traitor. Why do that?

Elon Musk: Well, I think somebody should care about the interests of the United States above the interests of another country. If they don’t, they’re a traitor.

Bret Baier: Yeah, but he’s a decorated veteran, a former astronaut, a sitting US Senator.

Elon Musk: That doesn’t mean it’s okay for him to put the interests of another country above America.

Bret Baier: Obviously, there are Republicans who think supporting Ukraine is the right thing still, but there is a battle back and forth about how do you think it comes to an end?

Elon Musk: Well, I think there will be a negotiated peace. The thing that we should be concerned about is we should have empathy for the thousands of people that are dying every day in trenches for no movement in the lines. So the borders remain the same. For the past two For years, thousands of people have died every week for nothing. For what?

Keep reading

Publisher’s Firing Shows Double Standard in Israel/Palestine Cartooning

“Watch your step,” says the soldier as he and a medic lead a hostage over a mound of corpses labeled “Over 40,000 Palestinians killed…” The caption reads, “Some Israeli Hostages Are Home After Years of Merciless War.” This cartoon by Jeff Danzinger (Rutland Herald, 1/20/25) was selected by editorial page editor Tony Doris to run in the Palm Beach Post (1/26/25).

After the cartoon ran last month, a local Jewish activist group took offense at the perceived antisemitic nature of the anti-war cartoon. The Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County was so upset it purchased a full-page ad condemning the cartoon to run in the Sunday edition (2/9/25).

That Doris and Danzinger are both of Jewish descent did not deter the complainers. Neither did their politics. Doris (Stet News, 3/2/25) describes himself as pro-Israel, as well as the Post‘s “only Jewish editor.” Danzinger told comics scholar Kent Worcester (Comics Journal, 11/05) that he agreed “with a great many things that the Republicans have been traditionally for,” and that he voted for George H.W. Bush twice.

For his temerity to run an anti-war cartoon acknowledging the Palestinian dead, Doris was fired by Gannett, the conglomerate that owns hundreds of newspapers across the country, including the Post. Gannett issued a statement that the cartoon “did not meet our standards” and “would not have been published if the proper protocols were followed.” “We sincerely regret the error,” said the spokesperson for the Post, “and have taken appropriate action to prevent this from happening again.” Doris (New York Times, 3/2/25) remarked that Gannet executives are “afraid of their shadow.”

Keep reading