Protesters Remove American Flag, Raise Palestinian Flag in Harvard Yard

 Protesters at an anti-Israel “encampment” in Harvard Yard removed an American flag from University Hall, the central administration building, and flew a Palestinian flag in its place Saturday before university staff intervened.

The Harvard Crimson reported:

Pro-Palestine student protesters at the Harvard Yard encampment flew three Palestinian flags from University Hall on Saturday evening.

A group of three protesters hoisted the flags over the John Harvard statue in the Yard, where the University sometimes flies the American flag or flags of the countries of visiting foreign dignitaries. As of 6:34 p.m., Harvard University Police officers were calling Harvard Yard Operations to remove the flag.

As the staff removed the flags, protesters yelled “Shame!” and chanted “Free, free Palestine” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

“From the river to the sea” is considered by many critics to be an antisemitic chant, since it implies the destruction of Israel and the removal or murder of its Jewish inhabitants.

Ironically, it was a pro-Israel, Jewish professor, Alan Dershowitz, who once advocated for Palestinian students to have the right to fly the Palestinian flag on campus — with permission — despite the fact that Palestine is not a state.

As Dershowitz recalled in 2007:

I, and many other genuine civil libertarians, have long histories of defending the free speech rights of those we most despise. I supported the right of Nazis to march in Skokie, Ill forty years ago. I opposed the cancellation of a speech by Tom Paulin, who advocated the murder of Israelis. I defended, pro bono, a virulently anti-Israel Stanford professor who was fired for inciting violence. I opposed Harvard’s attempt to prevent students from flying the Palestinian flag to commemorate the death of mass-murderer Yasser Arafat.

Don’t expect the defense of those with whom they disagree from the Israel-bashers at Columbia, Harvard, and MIT. For them, it is “free speech for me, but not for thee!”

Many pro-Palestinian “encampments” — at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, UCLA, and elsewhere — have used starkly anti-American imagery, including the removal of the American flag and the condemnation of the United States.

Brazile: Supreme Court Close to Election Interference, ‘Justice Delayed Is Democracy Denied’

 Democratic strategist Donna Brazile said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that after listening to oral arguments, the Supreme Court was close to “election interference” with their consideration of former President Donald Trump’s immunity claim.

Brazile said, “I’ve never been here before, and I never thought in the years, almost 30 years that i worked in presidential politics and campaigns that I would ever have to figure out some talking points when your opponent in the case of Donald Trump is sitting in court all day and not on the campaign trail.”

She continued, “I have to make a statement, because I remember Bush v. Gore as if it were yesterday. I do believe that the Supreme Court is dangling into election interference by slowing it down. I’m not a lawyer, but I had to listen to the oral arguments the other day. What I heard again was, they weren’t talking about the facts of the case. They were coming up with all these hypotheticals. They should go ahead and allow this trial on January 6th to go forward in the district court, and we should know the results before the election.”

She added, “You can still argue the timing. I mean the district court of appeal rendered this decision in February. Jack Smith said all along, the special counsel, said back in December, go ahead. make the decision and they are dragging their feet.”

She concluded, “Justice delayed is democracy denied. That’s what’s at stake.”

Dozens of British Muslims Sentenced in Rape Gang Trial, Facing Combined Total of 346 Years in Prison

 

Dozens of predominantly Muslim men have been sentenced to a combined total of 346 years for sexually abusing girls in Yorkshire, England.

In a press release on Saturday, West Yorkshire Police confirmed that 25 men had been sentenced for various sexual related crimes:

Dozens of men who sexually abused young girls in Kirklees have been jailed for a combined 346 years following a major police investigation. Sentencing took place at Leeds Crown Court yesterday ( April 26 ) for the latest men convicted as part of Operation Tourway, a multi-year investigation into the non-recent sexual exploitation of young girls in North Kirklees.

Asif Ali (53) from Batley, Mohammed Tausif Hanif (39) from Dewsbury, Ali Shah (38) from Dewsbury, Moshin Nadat (38) from Heckmondwike, Sarfraz Miraf (38) from Dewsbury, Mohammed Nazam Nasser (38) from Batley and Amir Ali Hussain (45) from Batley were all sentenced for multiple offences.

…

An eighth man was also made subject of a hospital order following a finding of the facts at court.   Their conviction means 25 men have so far been sentenced for their roles in the rape, sexual abuse and trafficking of eight then young girls in North Kirklees between 1999 and 2012.

One of the men convicted received a sentence in excess of 30 years during the trials, most of which were protected by reporting restrictions to ensure those involved could be tried fairly.  Now, with the lifting of restrictions, 24 men brought to court so far can be named and full details of their sentences disclosed.

Operation Tourway is merely the latest case of predominantly Muslim men found guilty of heinous sex crimes against young girls, often on an endemic scale.

The most notorious of these cases was Rotherham grooming gangs scandal, where around 1,400 children were abused by gangs of British-Pakistani men, between 1997 and 2013.

 

Although some of the culprits were eventually convicted, many also evaded justice after police refused to act on reports of sexual abuse over fears they would be labelled as racist.

Russia Set to Confiscate $439 Million from JP Morgan After US Passes Bill to Transfer Seized Russian Assets to Ukraine

 he US House of Representatives passed legislation to allow the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine.

According to CNN – The measure approved by the House on April 20 will enable the executive branch to seize immobilized Russian assets and use them to help Ukraine’s defense and recovery efforts.

In response to the move by US lawmakers Russia confiscated $439 million from JPMorgan, the largest US Bank.

BRICS: Russia to Seize $440 Million From United States Largest Bankhttps://t.co/MTKJ3SGYIx

— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) April 24, 2024

 

Amidst the geopolitical chess game following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a Russian court has decisively ruled in favor of state-owned VTB Bank, sanctioning the seizure of a staggering $439.5 million from JPMorgan Chase.

This action targets the funds previously frozen by the American financial giant under U.S. sanctions, highlighting a severe clash between international legal actions and national banking operations.

The directive issued by a St. Petersburg arbitration court not only captures JPMorgan’s cash reserves in Russia but also extends its grip to both movable and immovable assets of the bank, including significant shares in its Russian subsidiaries.

The court’s decision emerges from a lawsuit initiated by VTB aiming to recover the frozen funds, alleging that JPMorgan’s planned exit from Russia exacerbates the financial strife. The next discussion in this legal tangle is scheduled for July 17, promising further developments in this high-stakes financial drama.

AOC Praises Columbia Protest Encampment After ‘Student Leader’ Said ‘Zionists Don’t Deserve To Live’

 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) visited the anti-Semitic protest encampment at Columbia University this week and praised its leadership, which comes after video went viral of one of the most vocal students in the protest saying earlier this year that “Zionists don’t deserve to live.”

Ocasio-Cortez traveled to the school on Friday where the demonstrations have generated national headlines for over a week.

“The leadership you have is so excellent,” Ocasio-Cortez told one of the activists. “It’s really special. It’s really amazing.”

WATCH:

The Daily Wire unearthed earlier this week that Khymani James, who CNN described as a “student protest leader,” openly stated in a live-stream of an official university inquiry in January that “Zionists don’t deserve to live.”

James, who was reportedly barred from campus late this week, had claimed in a statement posted to social media on Friday that he was the victim of “far right agitators” who he said posted his remarks on social media “without context.”

In a video stream from January, he made the case for Zionists to die several times and stated “Zionists don’t deserve to live.”

James said he made the comment because he was feeling “unusually upset after an online mob targeted me because I am visibly queer and Black.”

 

The full meeting with Columbia University and his comments afterward on the livestream are below.

James, who goes by “he/she/they” pronouns, is the spokesperson of the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) group and has been the visible face of the protests that have garnered national attention, including holding a press conference on Wednesday.

Chinese Nationals Accused Of Conspiracy To Smuggle American Technology Into China

 Two Chinese nationals have been accused by the Justice Department of attempting to illegally export American technology to China.

The two, 44-year-old Han Li and 64-year-old Lin Chen, are charged with crimes related to an alleged conspiracy to smuggle American-made technology related to semiconductor production to restricted Chinese companies. If convicted, the two could face decades in prison and millions of dollars in fines. 

“As alleged, the defendants sought to evade export controls to obtain U.S. semiconductor manufacturing technology for a prohibited Chinese company,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department is committed to enforcing export controls and holding accountable those who seek to illicitly procure U.S.-developed technologies that puts our national security at risk.”

Chen was arrested in Chicago on Thursday while Li is believed to be in China. 

According to the DOJ, the two used a series of intermediary companies to evade Commerce Department restrictions from May 2015 to August 2018. The indictment says that they were attempting to illegally export a machine used to cut thin semiconductors, known as silicon wafers, which are used in a variety of electronic devices. 

The two allegedly set up a company called Jiangsu Hantang International to purchase the machines from the California based Dynatex International. Instead of using the technology, they then attempted to illegally export the machines to restricted companies in China, the indictment says. 

The restrictions were imposed to prevent certain American technology from falling into the hands of China’s military. 

 

“The export restrictions at issue in this case were put in place to prevent the illicit procurement of commodities and technologies for unauthorized military end use in the People’s Republic of China,” said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Ismail Ramsey. 

Investigators from the FBI, Homeland Security, and the Commerce Department all worked on the case. 

“Stopping the illegal export of U.S. technology to China is one of the FBI’s highest priorities. We will aggressively pursue anyone who violates export control laws designed to protect our national and economic security,” said FBI Agent Robert Tripp.

The United States’s national security agencies have warned for years about Chinese theft of American technology and intellectual property.

Ford Reports Staggering Loss On Every Electric Vehicle It Sold

 Ford Motor Company revealed this week that it lost more than a hundred thousand dollars for every electric vehicle that it sold during the first quarter.

Ford’s electric vehicle unit reported a $1.3 billion loss, amounting to a $132,000 loss per electric vehicle sold during the first three months of the year, CNN reported.

The company saw a 20% decrease in sales volume and, because of low demand for electric vehicles across the industry, was forced to slash the prices of its electric vehicle offerings.

Ford said that it expects its electric vehicle division to lose $5 billion this year, an increase of $300 million from the $4.7 billion loss that it suffered last year.

“Americans don’t want EVs at levels Biden’s climate hysteria require,” businessman Andrew Puzder posted on X. “Ford’s EV Q1 losses soared to $1.3 billion — a ridiculous $132,000 per EV sold. All Ford’s profits came from combustion engine vehicle sales. Collectivist policies destroy prosperity.”

The company announced earlier this month that it was delaying the production of two new electric vehicles and that it will instead focus on making more hybrid vehicles as consumer demand for electric vehicles continues to plummet.

“Many companies rushed in too fast with E.V.s that were too expensive and there was not as much of a market for them as they thought,” Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst for transportation and mobility at the research firm Guidehouse Insights, told the The New York Times. “That’s made it a lot tougher to sell those vehicles.”

Numerous companies have been forced to scrap their plans to build electric cars, cancel their plans to go all electric, or in some cases are struggling just to stay in business.

Consumers regularly have complained about the high prices of electric vehicles, their quality and reliability, the lack of charging stations, the time it takes to charge them, how inconvenient they can be, and their significantly decreased performance during cold weather conditions.