Mamdani Wanted to Defund Police Until His Wife Wanted NYPD Protection

The dispute began when City Hall spokesperson Dora Pekec said Duwaji’s security detail would join her on a family trip to Syria and Lebanon, “upon the strong recommendation of the NYPD.” That statement gave the impression that an internal protective decision had already been made and that the trip was moving forward with police coverage attached. Hours later, the NYPD publicly undercut that account, saying it does not send officers to countries with Level 4 travel advisories for discretionary reasons and that this was not an investigative trip, so NYPD personnel would not be traveling there for it.

That is the heart of the matter. The two statements do not merely differ in tone; they conflict on the basic operational question of whether officers were actually expected to accompany the mayor’s wife. In coverage of the dispute, reporters described it as a clash between City Hall and the department over whether taxpayer-funded protection would be provided for a private overseas trip. The travel itself was described as beginning in mid-September, and the destinations were Syria and Lebanon, both of which are under U.S. State Department Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisories.

In practical terms, this kind of episode usually emerges from the gap between a preliminary protective conversation and a formal deployment order. A mayoral office may speak as if an arrangement is settled once a recommendation is received; a police department may still regard the matter as unresolved until assignment and authorization are complete. The public, meanwhile, sees only the announcement and the denial. That is why these episodes so often become fights over credibility rather than administrative sequence.

Mamdani’s later explanation was that the clash stemmed from a miscommunication. He said the trip would proceed without any NYPD detail. That clarification narrows the issue but does not fully reconstruct the chain of events. The public record, as reported, does not show a signed approval, a formal assignment, or a memo indicating exactly who recommended what and when. What it does show is enough to establish that City Hall initially spoke as though protection was in place, and the NYPD then rejected that implication in public.

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AOC’s student debt unpaid as she embarks on costly egg-freezing journey

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has made at least $174,000 annually for nearly eight years as a member of Congress, but like many of her “Squad” colleagues, she has yet to put a substantial dent in her student loan debt, according to House financial disclosures.

The Bronx and Queens Democrat has owed between $15,001 and $50,000 in federal student loan debt since her election to the House in 2018. That’s the same amount she owes now, according to her August disclosure, where lawmakers report ranges for debt and income.

The “Tax the Rich!” pol reported less than $81,000 in total assets.

Recently, Ocasio-Cortez has suggested that she’d been saving up for some time instead to freeze her eggs, a process that can cost between $10,000 and $20,000 per cycle.

“I got sworn into the House of Representatives when I was 29 years old,” she said in an Instagram video. “There’s this flip side where you have to then grow up in the public eye in a time that most people usually get to grow more privately.”

Ocasio-Cortez amassed the loans while attending Boston University as an international relations and economics major between August 2007 and May 2011 — and went on to tend bar in Manhattan before her successful run for Congress.

The “Squad” Democrat has consistently backed student debt cancellation. During former President Joe Biden’s term, she even pushed the 46th commander-in-chief to cancel as much as $50,000 in debt per student borrower. But she’s not the only US lawmaker who’s still holding student loans.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has held up to $50,000 over the past eight years in student debt — despite her net worth ballooning for a time to as much as $30 million due to her husband’s winery and venture capital businesses.

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The Two Terrorists: Britain Jails Tweets While the West Crowns al-Qaeda’s Man in Damascus

Two men, one word. Next Monday, at Kingston Crown Court in London, a 72-year-old grandfather goes on trial for terrorism; the evidence is a tweet of seven words, and the maximum sentence is 14 years. Nine months ago, a man who founded al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch and carried a $10 million American bounty on his head became the first Syrian head of state ever received at the White House. Tony Greenstein and Ahmed al-Sharaa have never met. Between them they define what the word “terrorist” now means – and for American readers there is a further twist: the seven words that may cost the pensioner his freedom are fully protected speech in the United States, which is why Washington has developed other methods for its own dissidents.

Take the pensioner first, and take his record in full, because the prosecution will. Greenstein was expelled from the Labour Party in 2018; he lost a libel action against the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which had called him a “notorious antisemite,” the court finding the phrase protected as honest opinion; he accepted a suspended sentence over a Palestine Action attack on an Elbit arms factory. He is abrasive, litigious and unrepentant – a Jewish socialist from Brighton, a carer, the son of an Orthodox rabbi who marched against Mosley’s Blackshirts. None of that is the charge. The charge is that in November 2023, goaded by an anonymous account demanding he declare himself, he posted: “I support Hamas against the Israeli army.” Five weeks later, at 6:30 in the morning, counter-terrorism officers took his computers and phones, held him for nine hours, and released him under conditions that banned him from posting about the war at all. “This is Orwellian,” he told the arresting officers. He undersold it.

Now the other man, whose record requires no libel lawyer to establish, because the United States government wrote it down. Ahmed al-Sharaa – then Abu Mohammad al-Jolani – joined al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2003, was captured by American forces and imprisoned for five years, then crossed into Syria to found al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch, pledging allegiance on video to Ayman al-Zawahiri. The State Department’s own wanted notice recorded that under his leadership the group “carried out multiple terrorist attacks throughout Syria, often targeting civilians” – and itemized them: roughly 300 Kurdish civilians abducted from a checkpoint; 20 residents of the Druze village of Qalb Lawzeh massacred in Idlib; suicide bombings claimed in Damascus, Homs and Quneitra. In 2014 he called for retaliatory attacks on the American-led coalition itself. For this the UN froze his assets and banned his travel, and the $10 million bounty placed him among the five most wanted jihadist leaders on earth, on the same short list as Baghdadi and Zawahiri. That is the conduct the word “terrorist” was coined for: emptied villages, detonated city centers, a decade of American soldiers and Syrian civilians in the ground.

While the state prepared its case against the tweeter, it laid siege to the man. Eleven months to charge him; a trial date pushed back the better part of a year; thirty-two months, in the end, between the dawn raid and the jury. And one by one, his banks left him. In a statement published two weeks before trial, Greenstein described being cut off by five institutions since his arrest: Nationwide after a quarter-century, HSBC and First Direct – closing, among others, the account kept for the care of his autistic son – then Santander, which froze his personal accounts and those of a registered charity he serves as treasurer, then a savings bank that shut out his family entirely. None gave a reason; none has to, since banks warned about a customer are forbidden by law to tip him off. Nor is his suspicion of state involvement far-fetched: the government’s own Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation warned in 2023 that proscription enforcement would push banks toward jettisoning clients – “de-risking,” the trade calls it. When Coutts closed one account belonging to Nigel Farage, the affair drew condemnation from the prime minister and toppled a chief executive. A pensioner debanked six times en route to a terror trial has drawn silence. A defendant is presumed innocent; his accounts are not.

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The tactic of AOC and her allies to giggle away the ‘craziness’ of Woke-era abuses should not be tolerated

Many Democratic Party candidates emerging on what one might call the populist left are finding success in primaries across the country. But most of them have a shared liability: they were fully on board with the worst excesses and abuses of the “peak wokeness” that emerged in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 killing, enduring and contaminating most of our institutions for several years after.

Most of these successful candidates are quite young for elected officials: they are now in their 30s or even late 20s. That means that most of them were indoctrinated and — since they were on the left — essentially forced to spout all the new “woke” jargon and convictions that were manufactured overnight by frenzied mobs.

One such candidate is Francesca Hong, a Democrat with a significant polling lead in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race. It is hard to overstate how much of a woke fanatic she was. Not even the most cringe and manifestly deranged views from that era evaded her advocacy. They are all there.

The one the national media has latched onto was various tweets and Zoom meetings where she seems to have expressed opposition to the beloved American holiday Thanksgiving, because it “makes some folks very uncomfortable.” (Just as a side note, one of the most abominable linguistic aberrations imposed by woke warriors is the seemingly amiable but in fact grating and aggressively ideological use of the word “folks” or “folx” to replace “people.”) That most of these movements were driven by legitimate or at least reasonable policy concerns does not excuse the resulting fanaticism, excesses, and authoritarian posture used to punish those who questioned them.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shrugs off past ‘defund the police’ comments, joking ‘Woke 1 was crazy’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., dismissed her and other socialist politicians’ past extreme controversial comments on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, joking that the “Woke 1” era was “crazy.”

Host Jon Karl asked Ocasio-Cortez to comment on Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong and her controversial comments, such as calling for Thanksgiving to be canceled or for prisons to be abolished. Hong has sought to backtrack on some of her past views as she seeks the Democratic nomination in her state.

“I have a local city councilman that has this saying, ‘Woke 1 was crazy,'” Ocasio-Cortez said laughing, adding, “And I think that what’s important is that we have to assess what a candidate is saying now.”

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Ilhan Omar Agrees With Bernie Sanders’ Lie that No “Serious” Democrat Running for Office Really “Believes in Defunding the Police”

As Democratic Socialists run on defunding the police and abolishing prisons, socialist backers who are already in office, Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ilhan Omar, are now trying to distance themselves and deny that their radical platforms are “serious.” 

Sanders claimed during a recent interview that “no serious person” running for office actually believes in defunding the police. Omar went on to agree with Sanders in a CNN interview last night.

However, Socialist Wisconsin State Rep. Francesca Hong, who is endorsed by Ilhan Omar and is the clear frontrunner in her state’s gubernatorial primary, has openly called to “defund the police,” calling law enforcement “state-sanctioned violence.” She is the Democrats’ most serious contender for governor of Wisconsin.

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Climate Doomer Adam McKay Dismisses Questions About His 2nd Home in Ireland While Warning ‘Billions Will Die’ Because of Oil

Filmmaker Adam McKay, a DSA member and hardcore climate doomsayer, has finally addressed — indirectly, at least — the issue of his hypocritical campaign to kill the oil industry while jetting between homes in Los Angeles and Ireland.

Four years ago, Breitbart became the first news outlet to connect the dots between McKay’s frenzied climate warnings (e.g. the satirical Netflix film Don’t Look Up) and a flattering profile in Architectural Digest about his “quiet and relaxing” getaway home on 12 acres in Ireland. In the time since, the Anchorman director has ignored questions about why he won’t sacrifice the luxurious estate — and the 10,000-mile round trip that requires a considerable amount of jet fuel — while screaming at the world to “just stop oil.”

This week, however, McKay appears to have vented some of his frustrations about these “queries,” while massively downplaying the scale of his own carbon sins, in an essay for Current Affairs. The editorial, titled “The Gargantuan Lie That is Collapsing The World’s Climate,” presents a grim thesis: “Thinking we have time left to address climate change… is driving us toward full social collapse.”

And his rage is not directed at fascist chuds who stubbornly believe there isn’t enough evidence to demonstrate that human industry is the one and only determinative variable in global climate variations. The filmmaker is shaming liberal social climbers — “the ruling class, mainstream news media, and corporations” — for believing that the government must only take action that’s palatable to voters, setting far-off targets like “Net Zero by 2050.”

McKay’s warning does highlight an inconsistency in these left-wing, respectability-politics yuppies: if they really think global warming is an existential threat, they’d better act like it:

[I]f our institutions, news and elected officials continue to feed and water the oil company-conceived mega-falsehood that climate breakdown is something just “our great-grandkids need to worry about,” human civilization as we know it will collapse and billions could die. And we’re not talking about the far distant future. We are talking about collapse within years, not centuries. For real. [emphasis added]

On this point, credit the man for consistency. It’s been 20 years since Al Gore’s 10-year countdown to an irreversible “tipping point” for the fate of the planet. It’s been seven since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 12-year countdown to the world’s end. The climate “crisis” looks more and more like a grift when the deadline for urgent action keeps getting pushed back.

Oh wait, never mind; McKay did the same thing.

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Dimwit Kamala Harris Warns that SAVE Act Will Force People to Prove Who They Are to Vote — How Are Democrats Supposed to Win?

How are dead Democrats supposed to produce an ID to vote?

Dimwit Kamala Harris, likely the densest candidate to ever run for president, a woman who struggled to complete full sentences without some nonsensical rambling diatribe, spoke out against the SAVE Act on Friday.

Unfortunately, she thought it was a good idea to post her thoughts on social media.
Big mistake.

She obviously is unaware of her limitations.

On Friday, Kamala Harris warned Americans that the SAVE America Act will force people to prove who they are to vote!
The horror!

Kamala Harris:  This president is trying to push this SAVE Act, which basically would require that for people to register to vote, you’re gonna have to have proof of who you are through a passport, which a lot of Americans don’t have, or a birth certificate. Same point, obstacles to make it difficult for you to register to vote.

And then you got the states. 19 states have already passed laws to make it more difficult to vote, and the ones that that haven’t passed a law are doing it in practice in many places around our country. Why? ‘Cause they’re scared of you. They are scared of your power, the power you have, the power of your voice through your vote.

So the work we have to do right now, let’s make sure everybody, one, check your voter registration status ’cause you know they’ve been purging the rolls. Make sure you register to vote. Even if you thought you are, just make sure. Next, let’s make sure that everybody we know is registered to vote if they’ve not registered before. And then let’s encourage everyone, vote early where they can, vote by mail where they can, and vote.

It’s gonna make a difference.

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Coca-Cola Faces Boycott Calls Over Claims Custom Cans Allegedly BANS “Jesus is King” But Allows “Allah is King” and “Satan is King”

Here we go again.

Coca-Cola is facing a new wave of backlash after viral videos appeared to show the company’s online personalization tool immediately rejecting positive Christian messages, while references to Allah, Satan, and even degrading attacks on Jesus advanced to the preview stage.

Conservative commentator Isabel Brown tested the customizer on camera after receiving a tip from a friend. In the video, phrases including “Allah is good,” “Muhammad is good,” and “Satan is good” appeared to generate can previews. But when Brown entered “Jesus is good,” the site returned a rejection message: “The name or phrase you’ve submitted is not permitted.”

The same immediate rejection appeared for “Virgin Mary,” “Jesus Christ,” “Holy Trinity,” “Holy Spirit,” “Jesus is God,” and “Christ is King,” according to the recording.

Then the test became even more disturbing.

  • “Jesus is King” → blocked.
  • “The devil is king” → allowed.
  • Swap back to Jesus → “The name or phrase you’ve submitted is not permitted.”
  • “Allah is good” → allowed.
  • “Jesus is good” → blocked.
  • “Muhammad is good” → allowed.
  • “Satan is good” → allowed.
  • “Virgin Mary” → blocked.
  • “Jesus Christ” → blocked.
  • “Holy Trinity” → blocked.
  • “Holy Spirit” → blocked.
  • “Yahweh is good” → allowed.
  • “Jesus is bad” / “Jesus is evil” → allowed.
  • “Jesus is God” → blocked.
  • “Christ is King” → blocked.
  • “Jesus is the devil” → allowed.

“What are we doing?” the creator asks after watching “Jesus is the devil” sail through while basic Christian declarations are censored.

The full message from Coca-Cola reads:

“The name or phrase you’ve submitted is not permitted. Names and phrases may not be permitted if they belong to a business, organization, celebrity, public figure, school, team or other trademark, are religious or political in nature, or could be considered inappropriate or unsuitable for other reasons.

We worked hard to get this right but if you think we should reconsider your suggestion, please contact us at shareacoke.support@coca-cola.com and we will review this system decision further.”

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Reality Bites: Socialist NYC Mayor Mamdani Turns To Capitalist Bankers For Help

After socialist New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani went after Citadel’s Ken Griffin, created a property database of wealthy homeowners that makes the list easily accessible to “Luigi-worshipping leftist thugs,” and endlessly bashed America and capitalism, all while his friend, Democratic Socialists of America’s unofficial spokesperson Hasan Piker, called on his followers to “kill capitalists in the streets” and other DSA members called for the destruction of America from within, the far-left NYC mayor, who is running into roadblocks, has called on capitalist bankers for help.

Piker in his own words: “KiII those motherf**kers and murder those motherf**kers in the streets. Let the streets soak in their f**king red capitalist blood.” 

Bloomberg reports that Mamdani is seeking top capitalist bankers for a new business advisory council as he attempts to mend relations with Wall Street after spewing dangerous rhetoric against the very people who make the city go ’round.

Those invited include former UBS Americas Chief Executive Officer Robert Wolf, former Lazard investment-banking chief Antonio Weiss, and Bank of America’s New York City President Jose Tavarez, according to people familiar with the discussions.

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