Tag: corruption

Western Media Accept Trump’s Plundering of Venezuelan Oil as Business as Usual

Since the January 3, 2026, military strikes and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration has imposed semi-colonial rule over Venezuela, forcing dramatic shifts in the country’s domestic and foreign policies.

The capstone of the new tutelary regime is an oil deal announced in late August that Trump called “the biggest in history.” The agreement turns over 17 prime oilfields, holding over 20% of the country’s reserves, to a Pentagon-controlled corporation tasked with supplying cheap fuel to the US war machine for decades to come.

After spending years manufacturing consent for US-sponsored regime change in Venezuela (e.g., FAIR.org, 6/4/21, 1/11/23, 2/12/25), having a government in Caracas subservient to Washington represented a new scenario for the corporate media. The novel conditions have raised few significant qualms for Western outlets. Tactical objections notwithstanding, there is no fundamental disagreement with the US running the affairs of a Global South country.

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“Democrats for Mike Rogers” PAC Is Funded by Republicans, Records Show

Democrats for Mike Rogers, a group that has spent millions of dollars to defeat Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, has received funds from Republican-aligned organizations, campaign finance records show.

Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, made public on October 16, revealed that TFM, a super PAC that has been running commercials against El-Sayed under the “Democrats for Mike Rogers” name, was funded by two other PACs that back Republican candidates.

GLCF, a pro-Rogers group, gave TFM $50,000, while American Unity PAC, whose stated mission is to promote “Republicans who support LGBT freedom,” transferred $25,000 to the Michigan group.

Other donors include three individuals in Tennessee and one Michigan resident.

The name and place of residence of the Michigan donor — Michael Sandler, of West Bloomfield — matches those of a doctor who was appointed to the Central Michigan University board of trustees in 2017 by then-Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican.

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US judge blocks Trump threat to jail Gaza justice advocates

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from imposing fines and prison sentences on US human rights advocates for sharing evidence with the International Criminal Court (ICC) or working with Palestinian human rights groups targeted by US sanctions.

In a 30-page ruling on 13 October, Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York granted a preliminary injunction protecting Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), the Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide (TAAG) and two TAAG members from penalties for their human rights advocacy.

The decision comes three months after the organizations sued the Trump administration, arguing that sanctions aimed at shielding US and Israeli officials from prosecution for war crimes and crimes against humanity violate Americans’ constitutional rights.

Under the sanctions, individuals could face up to 20 years in prison and $1 million in fines for providing prohibited services to sanctioned individuals or organizations.

Furman found that the sanctions likely violate the First Amendment because they restrict speech based on its content and cannot survive the demanding constitutional test applied to such restrictions.

DAWN called the ruling “a landmark victory for free speech.”

Omar Shakir, the Washington-based human rights group’s executive director, said the ruling had “put the brakes in a major way” on the administration’s “efforts to shield from justice the Israeli officials who have perpetrated a genocide and their US backers.”

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Democrats Continue to Attack the Second Amendment Even After Heroic Good Guy with a Gun Ends Bend Elementary School Shooting That Killed Three Children and a Teacher

A 16-year-old opened fire Thursday at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, killing three children and a teacher before an armed bystander followed him inside and shot him dead.

The brave “good guy with a gun” was reportedly the father of a student at the school.

Democrats in Congress responded by calling for gun control.

The attacker used a pump-action shotgun his mother had purchased. He first fired at a vehicle in the parking lot around 12:59 p.m., then shot through locked exterior doors to force his way in.

Inside, the shooter killed children ages 5, 8, and 11 and a teacher.

A 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were critically wounded.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said an armed bystander saw the teen entering with the long gun, pursued him, and engaged him.

The suspect was already dead when officers arrived.

Governor Tina Kotek called the bystander a hero.

The father, obviously, prevented more deaths.

That did not stop the usual response from the left.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren posted that her heart went out to the victims and that “there have been over 50 school shootings just this year. Congress must do much more to prevent gun violence.”

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How the CCP Lies About Living Standards to Promote the “Chinese Dream”

Xi Jinping has promised a “Chinese Dream” of national rejuvenation, greater prosperity and a powerful, modern China by midcentury. Yet the CCP’s presentation of living standards obscures how far ordinary Chinese remain from American prosperity.

Housing figures include shared building areas, headline unemployment statistics omit rural joblessness, and Beijing suspended youth unemployment reporting before introducing a revised measure that excludes students. These practices can make progress toward Xi’s promise appear greater than the underlying conditions justify.

This year, U.S. nominal GDP per capita is projected to reach $94,430, more than six times China’s projected $14,870. Assuming annual growth in nominal dollar GDP per capita of 5% in China and 2% in the United States, China would need about 64 years to catch up, let alone surpass the United States.

In the meantime, the Chinese Communist Party needs people to believe they are becoming rich. Housing statistics help create that impression: official figures suggest the average American home is only 54% larger than its Chinese counterpart, at 1,845 square feet versus 1,197 square feet.

But these figures seem counterintuitive when the vast majority of people in China live in one- or two-bedroom apartments, while about 62% of U.S. households live in freestanding, single-family houses, which might be four or more times the size of the average Chinese home.

The CCP creates this impression by measuring homes differently than the United States does. China reports housing size in gross building area, which includes each unit’s share of hallways, stairwells, elevator shafts, and lobbies, while U.S. figures count only the space inside the home. Shared areas typically account for 15% to 25% of a Chinese apartment’s listed size and can reach 30% or more.

According to People’s Daily, urban residents had 36.6 m² of building area per person in 2017 but only 25.7 m² of indoor space, meaning about 30% of the reported area was not living space.

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Florida Democrat Angie Nixon Denies Wanting to Abolish Prisons Because She Wants Opponent Sen. Ashley Moody ‘Locked Up and Punished’

Democrat Angie Nixon, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member running for Florida Sen. Ashley Moody’s (R) seat, is denying that she wants to abolish prisons, using her desire for her opponent to be “locked up and punished” as proof of this position.

“The fact remains that Ashley Moody is a lying, cheating, thieving, scamming person who basically took $10 million from sick kids for the Medicaid program,” Nixon said, referring to the Hope Florida Foundation controversy during an appearance on CNN with host Kasie Hunt.

“And she rerouted that into two political slush funds for Ron DeSantis to defeat two citizen-led ballot initiatives,” Nixon continued. “She also voted to end healthcare for over 440,000 people here in the state of Florida. And they are spreading, like, a lot of disinformation and lies on commercials about me, of saying things like, I want to abolish prisons and I want to defund the police.”

She added, “Why would I want to do that when I want her locked up and punished in jail for what she has done?”

When pressed by Hunt, who asked, “You want your Republican opponent locked up?” Nixon affirmed her answer.

“Basically, yes. Because of what she did, yes. I absolutely would want that to happen. Yes,” Nixon concluded.

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Former Hollywood Executive Added to FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters List

Former Hollywood executive Mary Carole McDonnell has been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list.

McDonnell, who was also the CEO of Bellum Entertainment — which suddenly shut down in 2017 after its payroll collapsed — is accused of fraudulently obtaining nearly $30 million from California banks, according to multiple reports.

The 75-year-old, who has been facing a federal arrest warrant since 2018, is believed to currently be living in Dubai. She also falsely claimed to be an heiress to the McDonnell aircraft family, faking her inheritance and background.

McDonnell is wanted on charges of bank fraud involving millions of dollars and aggravated identity theft in connection with an alleged scheme in Los Angeles and Orange Counties that defrauded banks of millions of dollars.

A former Bellum Entertainment employee told NBC News, “There would be a mad dash out the door to get them to the banks before the banks would close so you could cash them, because they would move money around.”

“I had a lot of bounced checks,” he added.

Another ex-employee told the outlet, “It was always some issue with the bank or the money that they were supposed to be getting wasn’t released to them yet, or they had to change banks, or they were getting a loan.”

The FBI is offering a reward of $150,000 for information leading to her arrest and conviction.

“It’s just a matter of time before McDonnell is caught as we work with our international partners to locate her,” Patrick Grandy, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said, according to a report by KTLA.

“A generous reward is being offered in exchange for information leading to her apprehension and conviction, and a tip from the public might break the case,” Grandy added.

Authorities say that between July 2017 and May 2018, McDonnell obtained $14.7 million from the bank despite knowing she was not entitled to the funds, and she has not repaid the money. She is also accused of defrauding other financial institutions in a similar manner.

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Report: Feds Seize Ilhan Omar’s Cellphone in Immigration Fraud Investigation

Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) cellphone has been seized by federal investigators as part of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) immigration fraud investigation into the Somali-born congresswoman.

This week, agents with the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit raided Omar’s Washington, DC, residence after a federal judge approved a search warrant.

Fox News Digital now reports that HSI agents have seized Omar’s phone, in addition to the DOJ issuing subpoenas to the congresswoman’s relatives.

“Federal authorities seized a cellphone belonging to Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., during a Monday raid on her Washington, D.C., home as part of a criminal fraud investigation into her immigration paperwork,” Fox News Digital reports.

The raid on Omar’s home is related to an immigration fraud investigation, with rumors circulating that the probe centers on whether the congresswoman lied about her age when immigrating to the United States in 1995.

Omar became a naturalized American citizen in the year 2000.

Along with the immigration probe into Omar, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro revealed this week that her office has opened a financial investigation into the congresswoman, perhaps picking up an investigation that the Biden administration had started into her reported multimillion-dollar net worth.

“There are several investigations going on, and I don’t think there’s any question, but if there was a crime that was committed, it will be prosecuted,” Pirro told Fox News in an interview.

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They Bought a Warehouse to Shelter the Homeless—Then Paid Security to Keep Them Out

Sacramento County’s $64.7 million project raises questions about pandemic spending, years of delay and the decisions that left people waiting.

In California’s capital county, taxpayers financed a troubling contradiction: Sacramento County purchased a warehouse to shelter homeless people, then paid private security while homeless people were kept outside.

I visited and photographed the Watt Avenue property in April 2023. What I witnessed was private security keeping homeless people out of the property the county had purchased to shelter them.

The county’s federal spending records identify Patrol Solutions providing security at the North Highlands Safe Stay site during 2023 and 2024. The county did not announce its groundbreaking until January 23, 2025, more than two years after purchasing the property. [1,2]

The county’s publicized acquisition and construction figure is now $64.7 million. Its website still describes active construction and anticipates residents moving in during late 2026. [3,4]

How did an emergency response become a project that took years to deliver shelter?

“We had to spend it or lose it.”

I questioned former Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost about the purchase. Frost had worked in real estate. I asked her why the county would buy a warehouse for human occupancy when, in my assessment, its ingress and egress would never be approved by the fire department for that use.

Ingress means the way into a building. Egress means the way out, including the escape routes people need during a fire or other emergency. A warehouse’s suitability for storage does not establish its suitability for sleeping accommodations.

Frost’s response was: “We had to spend it or lose it.”

That was the explanation I received for a decision involving millions of taxpayer dollars.

A spending deadline does not establish that a property is suitable, reasonably priced or capable of providing help when people need it. The county’s inspection and feasibility records should show what officials knew before committing public money.

A premium purchase, followed by a different plan

The property at 4837 Watt Avenue in North Highlands, an unincorporated Sacramento County community, sold for $12.45 million in September 2021. About fourteen months later, the county purchased it for $22.8 million. An independent appraisal reportedly valued it at $16.9 million. [5]

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SURPRISE! Final Cost of Obama’s Hideous Presidential Center Now Projected at THREE TIMES the Original Estimate

Obama’s eyesore of a presidential center in Chicago opened barely three months ago and is now projected to cost three times more than originally estimated. How fitting!

Just weeks ago it was reported that employees at the center are already complaining about the working conditions and now this. Not to mention the contractors who were allegedly jilted out of money owed for work done.

At least Obama doesn’t have to worry about the extra costs. His party and all of their rich friends would never leave him hanging.

FOX News reports:

Obama’s billion-dollar baby: Chicago center’s price tag hits monumental milestone, tripling original estimate

The price tag for the beleaguered Obama Presidential Center is now projected to top $1 billion, nearly triple its original estimate, the foundation overseeing construction of the Chicago facility told Fox News Digital.

Confirmation of the 10-figure cost marks another chapter in the troubled history of the much-delayed project, which opened five years behind schedule amid controversy over its use of public parkland and claims that subcontractors were stiffed out of millions of dollars. It comes as newly released financial records reviewed by Fox News Digital offer a fresh look at the finances of the Obama Foundation, the former president’s private nonprofit that oversaw construction of the billion-dollar project.

The sprawling campus on the Windy City’s south side was originally expected to open in 2021, with construction costs estimated at $300 million to $350 million. But years of federal reviews, legal challenges and construction delays preceded its eventual opening in June 2026, by which time projected costs had skyrocketed to approximately $850 million.

Hailed by Democrats and supporters as a historic investment in the community and a tribute to the former president’s legacy, the center was promoted as a catalyst for jobs, economic growth and new opportunities for underserved communities.

Anyone want to take bets on how much this eventually ends up costing Chicago taxpayers?

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