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A Kiss in Indonesia and Its Aftermath Reveal the Heart and Soul of Islam

A kiss is still a kiss, as the old song goes, but in Indonesia’s Aceh province, it’s going to cost you. Not in terms of money, but in terms of the skin off your back. A young couple in Aceh just found that out after they shared a kiss on a TikTok stream, and found themselves hauled before a Sharia court and charged with violating the rules of modesty and the proper decorum that is to be maintained between an unmarried man and woman.

For that, they were each sentenced to 21 lashes, and the sentence was recently carried out before a gaping crowd of righteously indignant Sharia-adherent Muslims who know now never, ever to livestream a kiss. And so once again we see the true heart and soul of Islam: terror. While Muslim and non-Muslim Islamic apologists in the West continue to insist that the true Islam is benign and cuddly, and that terrorism is only a tiny minority of extremists’ “hijacking” of the religion, in reality, terror is at the very center of Islam. This latest caning in Aceh shows that anew.

The South China Morning Post reported Friday that “as each blow landed on their backs, the unnamed man, 22, and woman, 25, visibly grimaced. The woman later burst into tears, wailing in pain as the public punishment continued.” The Post noted that video of the canings had kicked up the usual firestorm: “It was far from the first such case to gain international attention and the response has become familiar: footage spreads online, rights groups condemn the punishment as inhumane and Aceh’s status as the Muslim-majority country’s sole sharia-enforcing province is thrust back into the spotlight.”

Yes indeed: “In a statement issued the same day as the flogging, Amnesty International said all forms of corporal punishment constituted torture or other ‘cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment,’ while its co-regional director, Montse Ferrer, called the caning of the couple ‘a horrifying act of discrimination.’”

In Aceh, however, they simply don’t care: “Nurjani, a 62-year-old housewife in Banda Aceh, said she supported caning because it ‘was about religion’ and in line with sharia law.” She explained: “If you do not do anything wrong, then there is nothing to fear. I support caning and I believe that if you lead your life in the right way and walk the right path, no one will question you.” Another Aceh resident, Muhammad Nasir, agreed, saying: “If someone is caned, it will be a lesson for them so that they do not do the same thing again. It has a physical element to it, but it is mostly social and designed to make the person ashamed of their crimes.”

Yes, and more than just ashamed: terrified. The caning is designed to make people afraid to violate Allah’s law again. People who have been caned in Indonesia have ended up collapsing and being hospitalized. If you don’t want to end up permanently injured, or at very least to suffer agonizing pain in front of a crowd that has gathered to watch you suffer, then don’t kiss a girl on TikTok.

This has nothing to do with virtue, the idea of choosing to do what is good because it is good. This is all about fear from the beginning to the end. The Qur’an tells Muslims to “strike terror in the enemies of Allah” (8:60), and lest any of Allah’s obedient slaves are tempted to violate his law and thus become his enemies as well, they get terrorized, too.

Muslim women live in terror of Muslim men, who have Allah’s standing permission to beat them if they “fear disobedience” from them (Qur’an 4:34). In an Islamic state, Non-Muslims, both women and men, live in fear of Muslims, for their lives could be taken in an instant simply for a false charge of blasphemy, and even in the best of times, they have to live in subjugation and degradation, always subjected to discrimination and harassment at the hands of the Muslims.

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The West Won’t Punish the Settlements. Its Two-State Solution Was Always a Sham

If I asked you to cut off your arm, would you do it?

What if I pointed out that that your arm regularly punched a neighbor in the face so violently that it broke their nose and teeth, and left them unconscious? Would you cut your arm off then?

I’m guessing the answer to both questions is a firm, “No.”

Which is exactly why the European Union, Britain and the United States have precisely no intention of severing their support for Israel’s illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, however violent the Jewish colonizers who live on stolen Palestinian land prove to be.

For decades, settler militias – backed by Israeli soldiers – have beaten up Palestinians, shot them, poisoned their wells, chopped down their olive groves, torched their homes, all in an attempt to ethnically cleanse them from their historic homeland.

The relentless expansion of these illegal settlements has left any hope of a two-state solution in tatters. The West Bank is now an archipelago of Palestinian villages and towns isolated from one another by marauding violent settlers, apartheid roads only for Jews, steel and concrete barriers, and army checkpoints.

All of this has happened in full view of western states over many decades. The International Court of Justice, the world’s highest court, ruled back in 2004 – nearly a quarter of a century ago – that these Jewish settlements violated international law and needed to be dismantled.

It reiterated that demand in a decision two years ago in which it identified Israel as an apartheid state ruling over Palestinians. It warned states to “take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assists in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory”.

And yet the West has done nothing meaningful year after year as the settlements have stolen more land from Palestinians, made their lives there ever more miserable, and trashed any chance of the West’s supposed ambition of two states living alongside each other.

Remember this when Israel’s apologists tell you to wait for the same court’s definitive ruling – in a year or two, or maybe three – on what it deemed in early 2024 to be a “plausible” genocide in Gaza, just three months into Israel’s mass slaughter there.

Not only will any such ruling be far too late to make any difference to the victims of the genocide, but the US, Britain and Europe will do precisely no more to punish Israel for this crime of crimes – one we can see for ourselves without an ICJ ruling – than they have done in punishing Israel for the settlements.

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Federal Judge Makes Unprecedented Move In Maduro Torture Case

Well, here’s something that doesn’t happen too often.  

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles in Miami awarded $314 million in damages to three U.S. citizens who were imprisoned and tortured by Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela before being freed in a 2023 prisoner swap.

The three men were Jerrel Kenemore, a Texas computer scientist who’d moved to neighboring Colombia to be with a woman he met. He was kidnapped by paramilitaries in 2022 while visiting a grocery store near the Venezuela-Colombia border and held for over 600 days before being charged with “espionage” and “counterintelligence activities.” He claims he was beaten, held in harsh conditions, and degraded constantly. 

Edgar Jose Marval was detained for just over 120 days, but allegedly suffered the most abuse. He was beaten repeatedly until his back was broken, had his genitals electrocuted, and was tortured psychologically with made-up threats to his children. Jason Saad, the third hostage, was detained for 560 days and was subjected to similar treatment, but we don’t have quite as many details on him.   

If you’ll remember, Joe Biden handed Alex Saab — Maduro’s bagman — over in exchange for these Americans. While I’m glad they did make it back to the United States safely, I’d like to remind everyone that Donald Trump brought every single remaining U.S. hostage back home from Venezuela about a year ago, with the help of El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, and made no concessions to Maduro. As a matter of fact, six months later, he scooped him up and put him in jail. But I digress. 

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Texas Teens Charged with Tossing High School Swimmer’s Clothes and Phone After Fatal Jump from Railway Bridge

Two teenagers in Texas have been arrested and charged with tossing the clothes and deleting cell phone evidence after the accidental drowning death of their friend and swim team member.

18-year-old Daniel Erving and two of his friends jumped from a railway bridge into Lake Ray Hubbard in the eastern suburbs of Dallas.

Only Erving did not survive the jump. His body was discovered three days later and ruled an accidental death by the coroner.

Erving’s two friends, 19-year-old Lucas Roper and a 17-year-old juvenile suspect, have been charged with tampering with physical evidence after failing to report Erving’s death and disposing of his clothes and cell phone.

Tampering with physical evidence is a third-degree felony in Texas.

An arrest affidavit reviewed by ABC News claims that after Erving drowned, Roper and the juvenile fled the scene. In addition, Roper is accused of throwing Erving’s clothing into some trees near the bridge.

At Roper’s insistence, the juvenile threw Erving’s cellphone from their vehicle.

The affidavit states that Roper deleted messages from his deceased friend’s phone because he “was aware that there would be an investigation into Daniel Erving’s death and he did not want to get into trouble.”

Detectives report that when interviewed, Roper admitted to panicking after Erving’s death.

In addition to being a member of the swim team, Erving was also an honor roll student.

The case remains under investigation.

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Brian Hooker’s paper showing vaccines increase mortality was REMOVED from preprints.org

They censored this paper as a danger to public safety. This means they know the paper is incorrect and can explain the observed data. But they are keeping their analysis a secret. From everyone, including the authors.

So Karl wrote the entire advisory board. Only ONE member bothered to respond with the reasoning. The rest ghosted him.

But the BIG problem is that the “reasoning” does not EXPLAIN what the study observed. At all. We are left clueless. If the vaccines didn’t increase the mortality, then what did? All we have is COMPLETE SILENCE.

In this article I’ll post what the Advisory Board member wrote and what I wrote back.

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Study: This Ancient Remedy May Outperform Modern Eye Drops

Long before artificial tears filled pharmacy shelves, people used honey to treat wounds, burns, and infections because of its strong antimicrobial and tissue-repair properties. Now, researchers in Madrid have brought that ancient remedy into modern ophthalmology, testing whether Manuka honey eye drops could outperform the standard treatment given to patients recovering from cataract surgery.1

Dry eye disease affects a large share of adults worldwide and an even greater proportion of older populations. Cataract surgery, despite its reputation for restoring crisp vision, frequently leaves patients with burning, gritty, watery eyes that struggle with reading, screens, and bright light. For a meaningful portion of patients, that discomfort lingers for months.

Standard care typically relies on lubricating drops, steroids, and anti-inflammatory medications. These add moisture but do little to repair the damaged ocular surface driving the irritation in the first place. That’s where Manuka honey appears to behave differently.

Rather than simply wetting the eye, it seems to address the underlying problem, calming inflammation, supporting tissue repair, and protecting vulnerable tissue from microbial stress all at once. The Spanish trial put that idea to a direct test, and the results were notable enough to help explain why this old folk remedy is suddenly drawing serious scientific attention.

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Transgender DSA Member and Former AZ Democratic Party Vice Chair Arrested After Allegedly Breaking into Home Wielding Knife and Duct Tape – Claims He Was Roleplaying

A former Arizona congressional candidate and ex-Democratic Party leader was arrested last week on charges of felony burglary at an ex-partner’s home. 

The suspect, Brianna Westbrook, has run for federal and state offices, including a failed 2018 bid for US Congress and losses in Democratic primaries for the Arizona State Senate and Arizona House of Representatives in 2018 and 2022.

According to ballotready.org, Westbrook’s professional experience includes serving as the Southwest Regional Co-Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America Immigrant Rights National Working Group from 2019 to the present, and a past stint as Arizona Democratic Party Vice Chair from 2019 to 2021.

Westbrook was reportedly arrested after a former partner told the police that Westbrook allegedly “pushed her way” into the victim’s home, while carrying a knife and duct tape, according to 12 News Phoenix.

Following a struggle inside the home, Westbrook reportedly threatened the victim and another individual inside the home before Westbrook reportedly “took off running,” according to records.

According to court documents, officers found “a knife, tape, and gloves” after conducting a search.

Westbrook, however, told police it was a “big misunderstanding” and that they were acting out a role-playing scene, which the victim has denied.

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REPORT: Russia Intercepts Western AI Drones Smuggled for Deep Strikes on Military Bases

Russian security forces have seized a cache of Western-manufactured, artificial intelligence-guided drones that were allegedly smuggled into the country for planned attacks on remote military aviation bases in the Ural Mountains and the Far East.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) announced Monday that operatives intercepted the hardware before it could reach the Shagol air base in the Chelyabinsk region and the Ukrainka air base in the Amur region. Several individuals involved in the transit operation have been detained.

Covert Smuggling Operation

According to the FSB, the drones first entered Russian territory using balloons and larger fixed-wing unmanned aircraft, landing in the Bryansk border region. Smugglers then concealed the devices inside specially modified trailers equipped with false bottoms, transporting them across the country disguised as shipments of household appliances, reported Sputnik.

AI-Guided Strike Capabilities

Russian authorities stated that the confiscated drones originated from the United States, Britain, Canada, and Sweden. Each unit was armed with more than one kilogram of explosives and featured advanced AI navigation systems engineered to evade Russian electronic warfare and signal-jamming networks.

Parallel to Ukrainian Tactics

The intercepted plot bears similarities to a 2025 Ukrainian operation known as “Spider’s Web,” in which trucks with retractable wooden roofs were used to transport and launch drones. That campaign reportedly damaged around 20 aircraft and successfully struck the Ukrainka base.

In recent months, Kyiv has intensified long-range strikes on Russian defense enterprises and energy infrastructure located deep inside the country. These attacks have taken major oil refineries offline, contributing to widespread fuel shortages.

Kremlin Accuses West of EscalationI

n response to the expanding reach of Ukrainian deep-strike operations, Moscow has sharpened its accusations against Western nations, claiming they are directly enabling the attacks.

Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared that Western support for Ukraine had transformed Russia’s “special military operation” into a full-scale war.

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Cannibal killer who claimed he was possessed by occultist Aleister Crowley ate victim’s finger during savage murder

A cannibal killer who murdered a man then torched his flat is facing a life sentence.

Gabriel Brown stabbed Joseph Johnston 22 times during a ‘punishment’ attack at the 58 year-old’s home in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway in November 2024.

Sick Brown, 35, also chopped off the victim’s ring finger, cooked and ate it.

The body of Mr Johnston – known as Ernie – was later discovered in the burned out flat.

Such was the graphic nature of the details jurors had to endure, that the judge in the case excused them from ever having to take part in a jury again.

Although Brown had never met Mr Johnston until the night of the attack, the victim had previously been in a relationship with his step-mother.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that ex-bouncer Brown decided to target Mr Johnston amid claims of what he had been told about their time together.

Brown – a convicted sex offender – had denied murder and had lodged a special defence that he had been suffering from a mental disorder at the time.

The killer told the court he had been possessed by the spirit of 19th-century born occultist Aleister Crowley, who apparently told him to ‘take Ernie’s soul’.

However, jurors rejected his claims and today found him guilty of murder following the near two-week trial.

Brown will learn the minimum time he will spend behind bars when he is sentenced next month.

The trial was told how Mr Johnston and Brown’s step-mother had previously been together.

She had at one stage pointed out to the killer where Mr Johnston lived. She had also referred to Mr Johnston using a derogatory name.

Brown – who had been diagnosed with mental health issues when he was a teenager – had downed alcohol and smoked cannabis before he went to the victim’s home late at night.

Mr Johnston allowed him in and the pair appeared initially to be getting on – even opting to take a photo together.

However, later that night Brown launched what was described as a ‘savage’ attack on his defenceless victim.

As well as the multiple stab wounds and cutting off a finger, the killer also carved letters onto Mr Johnston’s face.

To try and cover up what he had done, Brown started fires in four different areas of the property including torching furniture, turning on cooker hobs and putting metal cutlery in a microwave.

He also ripped out smoke alarms to prevent them going off before fleeing the scene and returning to his step-mother’s home.

He also texted another person that night making an accusation about Mr Johnston and adding ‘he sleeps forever’.

The body of Mr Johnston was later discovered in his charred kitchen.

During the trial, Brown claimed to remember taking a knife out of the victim, but said he had ‘no recollection’ of putting the blade there.

Asked by his KC Thomas Ross how the weapon would have got there, Brown stated: ‘I attribute it to Aleister Crowley. I put it down to possession. I have previous incidents which my friends have told me about.’

Questioned whose hand the knife was in, the killer added ‘Aleister Crowley’s. We share a body. When removing the knife it was my hand.’

Brown recalled hearing a ‘death rattle’ and Mr Johnston bleeding heavily.

He went on to graphically describe what he did to the man’s left ring finger.

He told the trial: ‘Later on I did something I would describe as a favour to him.’

Mr Ross: ‘What was that?’

Brown: ‘I removed and consumed his finger.’

The sick murderer admitted he ‘cooked’ the digit, but that ‘Aleister was going to take his soul’.

The court heard Brown was arrested after being found sleeping in his step-mother’s attic.

In cross examination, Brown refuted the accusation by prosecutor Eric Robertson that he had gone to ‘square up’ to Mr Johnston that night.

After the verdict, it emerged Brown had previous been jailed for offences involving young girls.

Lord Mulholland deferred sentencing for reports, but warned Brown he may never be released.

He told him: ‘This was sustained, vicious and merciless attack on a defenceless man on his own home.

‘It was motivated, in your own words, by a desire to punish the victim for what you believed had happened to your step-mum during her relationship with him.’

‘You brutally assaulted him with a knife, stabbing him at least 22 times, inflicting blunt force injuries and severing his finger.

‘The fact that it was his ring finger is evident of your motivation that it was a punishment attack.

‘Carving initials on his face is redolent of the extent of your savage attack.’

After Brown was taken back to the cells, Lord Mulholland said he was excusing jurors from further jury service for life due to the ‘harrowing and graphic’ evidence they had heard.

Following the verdict, Police Scotland Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Graeme Robertson, said Brown will now ‘face the consequences of his despicable actions’.

He added: ‘While this verdict does not change the outcome, I hope it brings Joseph’s family some form of comfort.’

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Mamdani Is Wrong: Italians Contributed More to New York Culture Than Palestinians or Tibetans

Has anyone ever heard of Little Palestine or eaten at a Tibetan restaurant in New York? When visiting New York, what is your favorite Guyanese festival?

In a recent map of New York City’s immigrant neighborhoods produced in association with the World Cup, New York’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, excluded Italian neighborhoods despite the fact that Italians were one of the city’s largest immigrant groups and among its greatest contributors to its culture. Mamdani lives in New York, yet somehow does not know what the city is famous for or which ethnicity has become an institution known around the world: the New York Italian.

Instead, the map included much newer and smaller communities that, in some cases, number only a few hundred people, have had little or no impact on the city’s culture, and that most New Yorkers have never heard of. These include Little Tibet, Little Palestine, Little Africa, Little Guyana, Little Bangladesh, and Little Egypt.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion means not only excluding whites and Europeans but also rewriting history to eliminate or vilify the contributions of whites and Europeans while exaggerating the contributions of minorities. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal recently claimed that immigrants from Somalia built the United States of America. As Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said, “This country was built by Somalis, Indians, Latinos, Africans.”

Italians have shaped New York since the era of mass immigration to the United States. Between the 1880s and 1920, more than 4 million Italians arrived in the United States, making them the single largest immigrant group and accounting for more than 10 percent of the nation’s foreign-born population at the time. Most entered through New York, first via Castle Garden and, after 1892, through Ellis Island, although other major U.S. ports, including Boston, Philadelphia, Providence, and New Orleans, also received large numbers of Italian immigrants directly.

Roughly a third of Italian immigrants settled in New York City, building neighborhoods from Little Italy and Arthur Avenue to Astoria, Bensonhurst, and Staten Island’s South Shore, now the most Italian-American county in the country. Their labor built the subway system, the Brooklyn Bridge, and much of the city’s early infrastructure.

Today, New York State holds the largest Italian-American population of any state, about 2.2 million residents, or 11.1 percent of the state’s population. That heritage is marked every October with the Columbus Day Parade, organized by the Columbus Citizens Foundation since 1929, drawing 35,000 marchers and roughly a million spectators to Fifth Avenue and broadcast to more than 7.4 million television households, also carried live on RAI International.

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