Monday, July 31, 2023
SHOOTING AT JEWISH SCHOOL AVERTED
Memphis cops thwart mass shooting at Jewish school by taking down 'former student' armed with a gun as he fired shots and tried to force his way inside
By Harriet Alexander
Daily Mail
July 31, 2023
Surveillance camera footage shows the man armed with a hand gun, attempting to get into the school on Monday. The interior doors were closed
Staff at a Memphis Jewish school have been praised for their quick thinking after they blocked an armed man from entering and then called the police, leading to him being stopped shortly after.
Workers at Margolin Hebrew Academy/Feinstone Yeshiva of the South called police at 12:20pm on Monday to report that a man with a handgun had tried to get into the school, and fired his gun outside.
Michael Masters, CEO of the Secure Community Network, told Jewish Telegraphic Agency the suspect was a male in his 40s who tried to enter the school but was prevented from doing so due to a security system.
Congressman Steve Cohen told The Daily Memphian the suspect was Jewish, and a former student.
Police are seen outside the Hebrew Academy in Memphis on Monday afternoon
Memphis police said it was too soon to determine whether the attempted attack was a hate crime
On finding the entrance blocked, he fled, but the school shared security camera footage of the suspect and told police he was driving a maroon Ram pickup truck with California tags.
The man was pulled over around three miles from the school.
When he got out, he confronted police with his handgun, and was shot.
He has been taken to hospital, and remains in a critical condition.
'Today is a great example of very alert, vigilant officers trying to protect the city,' said Assistant Police Chief Don Crowe.
'I personally truly believe that we have avoided a tragedy. I think the suspect was going to harm somebody before the day was over.'
Don Crowe, the assistant chief of Memphis police, praised the officers and staff involved
Cohen also praised the security systems at the school.
'We have recently learned that the shooter at the Margolin Hebrew Academy was himself Jewish and a former student at the school,' the congressman said.
'I am pleased the academy had effective security and that the police acted quickly to protect students.'
The shooting is the second outside a Memphis school in less than a week.
A security guard at Freedom Preparatory Academy was shot on July 25.
Senate minority leader Raumesh Akbari, a Democrat representing Memphis, demanded tougher gun control.
'With the new school year approaching, this is the second shooting at a school campus in Memphis in less than a week,' he said.
'No family and no community should have to live in constant fear that gun violence may claim the lives of their children or loved ones.
'We are not helpless against this epidemic of gun violence. We can enact reforms that stop future gun violence.
'Now, it's more urgent than ever that lawmakers come together during our special session to give police the tools they need prevent shootings from happening in the first place.'
Police said they cannot yet say if the shooting at the Hebrew academy was a hate crime.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into the attempted attack.
DID THE 'BIG GUY' GET A 10% STAKE IN HUNTER'S CHINESE BUSINESS DEAL?
Devon Archer, Hunter Biden's business partner, gives testimony to Congress that then-VP Joe Biden was on more than 20 business calls with his son
Republicans claim Archer's testimony added to evidence Joe was involved in Hunter's overseas deals that raked in millions from Ukraine, China and Romania.
By Morgan Phillips, Kelly Laco and Harriet Alexander
Daily Mail
July 31, 2023
Hunter's Biden's former friend and business partner Devon Archer arrived on Capitol Hill Monday to give bombshell testimony before the House Oversight Committee
Hunter Biden's business partner Devon Archer told Congress in bombshell testimony the 'Biden brand' helped keep Ukrainian firm Burisma from going bankrupt and revealed Joe was on the phone or present in-person at least 20 times while his son who called him 'my guy' was talking with foreign associates.
Republicans claim Archer's testimony added to mounting evidence that the then-Vice President was involved in Hunter's overseas deals that raked in millions from nations including China and Romania. Democrats claimed the phone calls were innocent and did not involve business.
Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., confirmed Archer told the House Oversight Committee that Joe had been on speakerphone multiple times while his son was talking with business partners - but insisted they were talking about 'niceties' like talking about 'the weather, "what's going on?"'
Republican Rep. Andy Biggs then said that, according to Archer, Hunter was on the Ukrainian energy firm board because of his family 'brand' - and Joe added 'value' and may have helped take down a Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the company.
In addition, Archer revealed that Hunter referred to Joe as 'my guy,' according to a statement put out by Oversight Republicans.
Goldman - lead counsel on the first Trump impeachment and the only Democrat present in the room of the testimony - told reporters that Archer 'indicated that Hunter spoke to his father every day, and approximately 20 times over the course of a 10 year relationship, Hunter may have put his father on the phone with any number of different people, and they never once spoke about any business dealings.'
'Remember, this is when Beau got ill,' Goldman said, noting that Hunter and Joe spoke on the phone frequently before Beau's death in 2015.
But Republicans had a different retelling of Archer's account.
Biggs said as he left the room that Archer had testified 'Burisma would have gone out of business sooner if the Biden brand had not been invoked. People would be intimidated to really mess with Burisma because of the Biden family brand.'
He added that Archer had told the committee he did not know anything about the specific bribery claims made in the FBI's FD-1023 document.
The internal document, which detailed a conversation with a confidential source who had spoken with Burisma CFO Vadim Pojarski in 2015, said that Pojarski had claimed Joe and Hunter had been paid $5 million each when Joe was vice president in exchange for policy outcomes favorable to the company.
A Democratic source familiar told DailyMail.com that Archer told the committee 'Hunter Biden was selling the illusion of access to his father.'
Archer testified Monday that Pozharskyi and CEO Nikola Zlochevsky put 'constant pressure' on Hunter in 2015 to get his father to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Burisma.
Hunter Biden, along with Zlochevsky and Pozharski, reportedly 'called D.C.' to discuss Shokin. In March 2016, Joe Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in aid to Ukraine if Shokin was not fired for corruption.
Separately, in a 2017 email to Hunter, his uncle Jim and other business partners regarding a deal with Chinese energy conglomerate CEFC, business partner James Gilliar made a reference to the 'big guy' getting a 10 percent stake in the lucrative deal.
Another former associate of the first son, U.S. Navy veteran Tony Bobulinski, publicly claimed in October 2020 that 'big guy' was a reference to President Biden.
Oversight member Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told DailyMail.com in an interview Archer testified that 'the Bidens were in the actual business of influence peddling.'
'It's extremely damning,' she said, claiming that the 20 phone conversations Archer referred to were directly about business deals.
'We have Devon Archer coming out and telling the truth that Hunter Biden and Joe Biden spoke over 20 times about his business deals, not about the weather, not about what was for lunch, about his business deals,' she said.
Goldman explained Archer's testimony of the phone calls as such: sometimes Hunter would be at dinner with business partners and take a call from his dad who didn't know who else was at the table and put it on speaker phone.
'There was no indication that he had any idea who was at dinner with them. It was just to say, "Hello I’m at dinner" and there was nothing related to his business dealings.'
Judiciary Chairman and Oversight member Jim Jordan, who was in the room for the deposition, told reporters that Archer had provided the committee with new information and called the meeting 'very productive.'
Archer's attorney Matthew Schwartz said after his client's testimony: 'We are aware that all sides are claiming victory following Mr. Archer’s voluntary interview today. But all Devon Archer did was exactly what we said he would: show up and answer the questions put to him honestly and completely.'
On Monday, Jordan along with committee chairs James Comer and Jason Smith launched an investigation into Hunter's 'sweetheart' plea deal, which fell apart in federal court last week.
Greene, who communicates regularly with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, said she believed Archer's testimony could be what 'moves the needle' on the potential Biden impeachment inquiry.
She said that at last week's weekly meeting of the Republican conference, McCarthy told his members: 'when it's time to vote for this, I want you to be with me on this one.'
'We have to have 218 Republicans to vote for it,' Greene said. 'And there's been some that just aren't there yet, but in my opinion, the information that's coming out today could really push many of them to get to "yes."'
Archer was on Burisma's board with Hunter, who was paid $50,000 a month for his role. He is facing a lengthy prison sentence for defrauding Native Americans out of millions.
Donning a devil-may-care grin, Archer sauntered in 15 minutes late to his 10 a.m. deposition and declined to comment on reporters' shouted questions.
Archer arrived to speak to investigators as unearthed a laundry list of foreign influence violations Hunter could be charged with after his plea deal dramatically fell apart last week.
Archer's testimony also comes after a back-and-forth with the Department of Justice claiming it was not trying to have Archer jailed before his deposition over an unrelated fraud conviction.
The DOJ had sent a letter on July 29th to a New York judge calling for Archer's sentencing to be expedited.
Republicans claim the move by DOJ was an attempt to 'intimidate' Archer, who they view as being central to providing information that is critical to their ongoing investigation into whether Joe Biden was involved in his son's foreign business deals.
DOJ seemingly walked back their request in a fresh Sunday filing, telling District Judge Abrams that they do not wish to see Archer imprisoned before he testifies before Congress on Monday on the Biden's business schemes.
'To be clear, the Government does not request (and has never requested) that the defendant [Archer] surrender before his Congressional testimony,' the letter read.
For the avoidance of all doubt, the Government requests that any surrender date, should the Court order one, be scheduled to occur after the defendant's Congressional testimony is completed.'
Oversight Chairman James Comer said Sunday that the DOJ's July 29 letter to Abrams was an attempt to 'intimidate' the witness he says is key to getting to the bottom of the president's son's shady overseas business deals.
Smiling and seemingly relaxed, Archer arrived 15 minutes late to his 10 a.m. deposition and remained silent to reporters' shouted questions
Archer is expected to give his account of the Biden family business dealings for four to five hours behind closed doors
Judiciary Chair and Oversight member Jim Jordan arrives on Capitol Hill for Archer's testimony
Hunter Biden, 53, is seen with his father on June 25, as the two continue to be the target of House investigations
US First lady Jill Biden and US President Joe Biden ride bikes through Gordon's Pond State Park in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on July 31, 2022 - as Devon Archer testifies on the Biden family business deals
DailyMail.com reported exclusively this week that Archer was 'in hiding' after receiving 'threats' leading up to his bombshell testimony.
Archer, 48, was subpoenaed on June 12 by the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating Hunter's businesses and whether he and other members of the Biden family improperly traded on their connections.
It is unclear the motivation behind Archer's decision to testify on Monday. He previously cancelled on the committee at least three times in recent weeks.
Chairman Comer told Fox News' Larry Kudlow that Archer is appearing before his committee now because after he was subpoenaed, he 'doesn't have a whole lot of options.'
He said Republicans planned to hold him in contempt if he did not comply with the subpoena, which doesn't 'look good on your resume.'
'At the end of the day, I think that Archer wants to do the right thing,' he said. 'I think he wants to set the record straight and he is going to have an opportunity to do that.'
But Archer is facing legal troubles of his own and is expected to go to prison shortly.
He was sentenced to one year and a day in prison in February 2022 for defrauding a Native American tribal entity and various investment advisory clients of tens of millions of dollars, in connection with the issuance of $60 million in bonds.
He is on the hook with his co-conspirators for $43.4 million in restitution over the fraud.
Archer's lawyer confirmed his upcoming meeting with Congress, adding that Archer had previously testified to a federal grand jury about his dealings with the Biden family – likely referring to Delaware prosecutor David Weiss' criminal investigation into the First Son.
Archer is facing legal troubles of his own and is expected to go to prison shortly
Hunter Biden's friend and business partner Devon Archer, 49, is expected to testify Monday before the House Oversight Committee about their businesses. Devon Archer (far left) is seen playing golf in the Hamptons with Hunter (far right) and Joe (next to Hunter)
Hunter and Archer both graduated from Yale and were friends for decades. They founded their consultancy together, and Hunter reportedly described Devon as his 'best friend in business.' The friends are pictured in an undated photo
'Devon Archer believes strongly in the rule of law and the democratic system, and is prepared to answer the Committee's questions just as he has already answered similar questions from a federal grand jury, the Department of Justice, and several other government agencies in their investigations concerning the Biden family,' said attorney Matthew Schwartz of Boies Schiller Flexner.
'There have been many leaks and much speculation about Mr. Archer's potential statement to the Oversight Committee, but next week, Mr. Archer will get to speak for himself.'
The White House has maintained the president was never 'in business' with his son, but the GOP have ramped up their investigation with testimonies from whistleblowers and a slew of other evidence.
Archer, 48, and Hunter both graduated from Yale and were friends for decades. Hunter has reportedly described Devon as his 'best friend in business.'
Together they formed Rosemont Seneca Partners back in 2009, along with Christopher Heinz, the son-in-law of former Sen. John Kerry, kicking off a period of international business deals and jet-setting.
Archer and Hunter Biden each landed lucrative seats on the board of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, despite Hunter not having particular expertise in the field. The firm brought in a reported $11 million through the arrangement, based on information gleaned from Hunter's infamous laptop.
They were photographed golfing with then-Vice President Biden back in 2014.
________________
'My six-year-old daughter does better paintings than him!' Ron DeSantis mocks Hunter's art an asks why the FBI went after Trump and have ignored the president's son after Devon Archer's damning testimony
This artwork by Hunter Biden is untitled but measures 24in x 48in and was created on sheet metal. His art dealer has priced Biden's artworks between $75,000 and $500,000
Florida's first daughter Madison DeSantis, 6, drew a vase filled with yellow flowers that her father said he should auction off like President Joe Biden's son Hunter did with his amateur art
Ron DeSantis mocked Hunter Biden, 53, for his pricey artwork and said if he were a Republican he would already be in jail for his shady foreign business and criminal tax fraud.
The Florida governor told Fox News that Republican focus has not only unveiled these shady and illegal practices by the President's son – but has also thrown into the spotlight the uneven treatment of justice between people on the left and people on the right.
Putting even more prominently on display this unequal treatment was Hunter's one-time Burisma associate Devon Archer, who testified behind closed doors with House Republicans on Monday.
He reportedly told Oversight Republicans that there were a few dozen instances where he heard President Biden on speakerphone talking business with his son while associates were around.
'Well, this is why we say there's two standards of justice,' DeSantis told Fox News host Bret Baier. 'If Hunter were a Republican, he'd be in jail by now.'
You look at all this smoke. And yet the FBI – Where's the search warrants? Where's the grand jury? Where's the aggressiveness that they've shown going after some Republicans?' he questioned.
DeSantis added: 'You just don't see [it].'
Part of that corruption, the Florida governor and 2024 hopeful noted, is the prices paid for Hunter's amateur paintings.
Reports note that Hunter earned $1.3 million for his first-ever art show – another reason why Republicans claim he is using President Biden's influence to enrich himself, his father and his family.
DeSantis said his children could produce better paintings than the President's 53-year-old recovering addict son.
'I mean, Hunter, he's selling picked paintings for over $1,000,000,' DeSantis lamented. 'You know, my six-year-old daughter does better paintings than him. Maybe we'll put ours up and see what kind of thing she confesses.'
He conceded: 'I don't think we're going to get $1,000,000 on it.'
MCCAIN: 'USELESS WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY KARINE JEAN-PIERRE CAN NOW REFUSE TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE, CLAIM IT HAS BEEN SETTLED AND CALL IT OLD NEWS'
Blink and you missed it. The President FINALLY recognized his grandkid in a slimy statement snuck out Friday just as America started the weekend. Well, I noticed... and I won't let cynical old Joe get away with it
By Meghan McCain
Daily Mail
July 31, 2023
Joe will be insulated from the media and follow-up questions, like: Why has it taken so long to recognize Hunter's four-year-old daughter? Or will you ever meet the little girl?
Joe Biden has apparently decided that its become a political liability to be a bad granddad.
So, in an exclusive statement to People Magazine on Friday, the President conceded, for the first-time, that he has seven grandkids, not six.
Did you miss that news?
In fact, that's exactly what the cynical old man in the White House and his campaign team wanted.
Why else would they make the announcement to a celebrity news website at 5:02 PM ET on a summer Friday, when the thoughts of most Americans have mercifully wandered from politics to barbecues, pools and family.
'Our son Hunter and Navy's mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward,' read the bloodless bulletin.
Make no mistake. This announcement was yet another gross adjudication of responsibility in a runaway scandal fueled by a scathing op-ed written by famed New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd in early July.
'It's seven grandchildren, Mr. President, not six,' Dowd's headline screamed.
Since then, more liberals have miraculously found that they too have a backbone and have stopped ignoring the national disgrace.
If you've missed the first few seasons of this sordid saga, here's the CliffsNotes on Hunter's Sickening Life and Times to catch you up.
The president's son had a fling with Lunden Roberts, a Washington DC exotic dancer, who was apparently employed by Hunter's investment firm.
Nine months later, Lunden gave birth to Navy Joan Roberts. Hunter denied paternity, but tests showed he's the daddy. Then in June, Hunter went to court to successfully reduce his child support payments to Navy's mom.
Joe Biden has apparently decided that its become a political liability to be a bad granddad.
The president's son had a fling with Lunden Roberts (above), a Washington DC exotic dancer, who was apparently employed by Hunter's investment firm.
Nine months later, Lunden gave birth to Navy Joan Roberts (above). Hunter denied paternity, but tests showed he's the daddy. Then in June, Hunter went to court to successfully reduce his child support payments to Navy's mom.
And through it all, President Biden, the First Lady and the White House pretended that Navy Joan didn't exist. They wouldn't speak her name.
That was, I presume, until Joe decided this was starting to become a problem. Not a moral problem. A political one.
'This is not a political issue, it's a family matter. Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy,' blathered the statement to People in a desperate attempt to hide the obvious.
Joe, if this was a 'family matter,' then why release a public statement at all?
Why do it for a glossy magazine that the parent's of Navy's classmates could read in a grocery store aisle?
I'll tell you why.
Useless White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre can now refuse to address the issue, claim it has been settled and call it old news.
It's also notable that this pronouncement went out as President Biden bolted for a 10-day vacation to his multi-million dollar compound in Rehoboth, Delaware.
There Joe will be insulated from the media and follow-up questions, like:
Why has it taken so long to recognize Hunter's four-year-old daughter? Will you ever meet the little girl?
How awfully convenient.
The men and women running Biden's 2024 campaign may be bumbling fools, but they're not completely oblivious.
They know that a president, who has made his role as a father and grandfather a central plank of his political appeal, could not keep up this charade.
The polling on this must have been awful.
It's also notable that this pronouncement went out as President Biden bolted for a 10-day vacation to his multi-million dollar compound in Rehoboth, Delaware.
But the most nauseating aspect of this slick and slimy public relations maneuver is that it was completely devoid of any human emotion. There wasn't any acknowledgement of the harm done to a child.
As Dowd noted, the President has condemned this girl to a childhood of vicious schoolyard bullying.
Now it must be a sad consolation for little Navy to be reduced to a Friday news dump by the presidential grandfather she's never met.
Who would do that to their own flesh and blood?
'You have to remember there were some fairly contentious legal proceedings between Navy's parents happening until just a few weeks ago,' a source told People. 'As grandparents, the Bidens are following Hunter's lead.'
Oh yes, by all means, continue to infantilize poor Hunter. The man's 53-year-old, but he must be treated very delicately. If only he had a multi-million-dollar art career to fall back on when the influence-peddling work dries up.
The truth is that the Bidens could have done the right thing. They certainly don't get credit for weaseling out of it now.
Oh yes, by all means, continue to infantilize poor Hunter. The man's 53-year-old, but he must be treated very delicately. If only he had a multi-million-dollar art career to fall back on when the influence peddling work dries up.
Imagine if the President, First Lady and Hunter spoke openly and honestly, saying, 'children are often born out of complicated circumstances, and their lives are a great blessing. We are proud to welcome Navy into our family and we are forever grateful to the American people for their understanding and compassion.'
There is no honest person in America who would have heard that and not thought, 'Fine, it's time to move on.'
This should have been called out on that very first Christmas in the Biden White House when they hung six stockings with the names of their grandkids over the fireplace in the State Dining Room.
Six, not seven.
One granddaughter is given a White House wedding featured in Vogue magazine and another can't get a lousy sock.
Be certain of one thing - try as they might - this flimsy, Friday night news dump will not close this subject.
America cannot allow a child to be swept under the rug. We won't be hoodwinked.
In 2020, Joe Biden vowed to restore 'basic decency and honor' to the White House.
He's done the opposite.
NIKKI HALEY: 'MAKE NO BONES ABOUT IT, KAMALA HARRIS IS GOING TO END UP BEING PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IF JOE BIDEN WINS THIS ELECTION'
Kamala Harris embraces new attack role, draws fresh Republican fire
July 30, 2023
Vice President Kamala Harris greets the audience as moderator and
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell applauds at the 114th
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's national
convention, Saturday, July 29, 2023, in Boston
BOSTON - Vice President Kamala Harris has shown a punchy side during a tour of nearly a dozen U.S. states in recent weeks, attacking Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for backing "revisionist history" about slavery, telling Iowa healthcare workers to rebel against the state's new restrictive abortion laws and rallying Latinos in Chicago to fight "extremist" Republicans.
On Saturday, Harris, the first woman and first woman of color to serve as vice president, opened the NAACP's annual conference in Boston, a key political event for Black Americans that will help define the issues Democrats focus on in the 2024 election.
"“We are in a moment where there is a full-on attempt to attack hard-fought and hard-won rights and freedoms and liberty. And what I know about the leaders here is that the members of NAACP are up to the challenge to fight," Harris, a lifetime member of the civil rights organization, told several thousand people inside the city's convention center.
The high-profile appearances are part of an expanded role for U.S. President Joe Biden's much-scrutinized governing partner ahead of the election, senior Democrats say. She'll engage in many more campaign-style events in months to come, designed to reacquaint Harris with supporters, burnish her image with independents and reach out to Democrats' who haven't been hearing the Biden administration's message.
It's a move that couldn't happen too soon, some influential Democrats say.
"We have constantly said to the White House that they need to send her out more because we need the base – that is Black voters and others - to understand what you are doing," Reverend Al Sharpton, a veteran civil rights activist and head of the National Action Network, told Reuters.
Biden credits Black voters for his 2020 victory, with exit polls showing he carried 87% of the vote. But recent polls and turnout in the 2022 midterms reveal erosion in enthusiasm among the bloc that needs to be shored up before next November.
Harris also made a surprise visit to a congressional black caucus event at Roxbury Community College, where she reminded the crowd of the role Black voters played in capturing the White House for Biden. She said as a result the administration capped insulin prices, increased removal of lead pipes and secured broadband for under served communities.
“Let’s start registering folks now to vote,” she said. “Remind your friends and your neighbors to do that.”
The White House is also hoping to improve Harris' public image and historically low approval ratings. A recent NBC News poll showed 49% of registered voters hold a negative view of Harris, compared to 32% with a positive view, a net-negative rating of 17 that is the lowest for a vice president in the history of its poll.
While it's too early to say whether her polls are improving, Harris's remarks are drawing new Republican fire, and highlighting divisions in the opposition.
DeSantis on Friday accused U.S. Senator Tim Scott, the most high-profile Black candidate in the 2024 Republican presidential race, of accepting Harris's "lie" about Florida's new slavery curriculum requirements. His campaign accused another Black Republican who criticized the changes, which include teaching that slavery had possible benefits to the enslaved, of being a Harris supporter.
Voters wary of the president's advanced age of 80 are expected to take a much harder look at the vice president. Some Republicans are already suggesting Harris could run the country if Biden wins in 2024.
"We are running against Kamala Harris. Make no bones about it...[it's] Kamala Harris that's going to end up being president of the United States if Joe Biden wins this election," Republican candidate Nikki Haley told Fox News in June.
Harris, who was more popular than Biden with women, young voters and even some Republicans when he picked her as his vice presidential running mate, has seen her ratings sag in office under a firehose of criticism from conservative media outlets and a portfolio that included the intractable U.S. issue of immigration.
Some Democrats say she hasn't stepping up forcefully enough, or taken burdens off the President's shoulders. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade last year, though Harris has become increasingly vocal.
“She does better on subject matters and audiences she is comfortable with. Given the portfolio she was handed early on – and the challenges it represented – it’s simple campaign management to get her out front of friendly audiences where she can get some of her mojo back,” said an adviser at the Democratic National Committee.
90 MINUTES IN A CROC'S JAW ..... MIRACLES DO HAPPEN
Woman is dragged into a swamp by a crocodile and survives 90 MINUTES in its jaws before being saved
Falmira De Jesus, 38, was attacked by the reptile and sustained serious injuries
By Olivia Jones
Daily Mail
July 31, 2023
Falmira De Jesus, 38, was attacked by a crocodile in an Indonesian swamp for an hour and a half
A woman has miraculously survived a crocodile attack that lasted 90 minutes before she was hauled to safety.
Palm oil plantation worker Falmira De Jesus, 38, was collecting water from a weed-covered stream in the Ketapang Regency of West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia, on July 27, unaware that the beast was lurking beneath the foliage.
As she approached to scoop up some water, the reptile leaped up and dragged her into the creek.
The mother-of-two then bravely fought off the beast, and screamed for help, with the other employees rushing to her aid.
Footage shows the hapless woman floating in the pool with only her head visible. She was seen slowly sinking as the reptile tried to pull her away while frantic workers used a pole to prod the waters.
The palm oil plantation worker was swept under the foliage as the reptile pulled at her body. Pictured is her head above the water and weeds
Workers scrambled to help Falmira by using sticks to poke at the beast
Locals said the crocodile had hold of terrified Falmira for around 90 minutes as it toyed with her. Her colleagues were too afraid to venture into the water in case the beast attacked them.
Help arrived at the remote location and they eventually managed to grab Falmira and haul her out of the swamp. She was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on her limbs.
Falmira said: 'I was in pain from where the crocodile was holding me. I couldn't break free. Then I started to feel like I was becoming weaker. I just thought I was going to die, because I was falling below the water.
'I lie in the hospital and can still see the crocodile in my mind, and feel it on my body. I am very grateful for people that helped me to escape. They saved my life.'
Police said that Falmira is recovering at hospital having suffered deep puncture wounds on her right arm, thigh and lower leg.
Ketapang Resort Police, AKBP Tommy Ferdian, said: 'At that time, the victim was about to fill the water tank. Suddenly, a crocodile attacked her.
'Other workers immediately approached the victim and tried to help her.
'The victim survived and was immediately evacuated to the hospital for emergency treatment. We urge workers and residents around the plantation to be more vigilant about the existence of these wild animals.'
Falmira is recovering at hospital having suffered deep puncture wounds on her right arm, thigh and lower leg
Workers immediately came to Falmira's rescue but were too afraid to enter the water to haul her out
Pictured are rescuers who eventually arrived at the remote location and pulled Falmira out of the swamp
Local media reported that Falmira was recovering in intensive care at the Imanudin Hospital. Doctors were monitoring her condition, fearing the severe bites might lead to infections.
The Indonesian archipelago is home to 14 types of crocodiles - with a large population of extremely large and violent estuarine crocodiles that flourish in the region's climate.
Conservationists believe that crocodiles have been driven further inland closer to villages due to overfishing reducing the crocodiles' natural food supplies combined with habitat loss from the development of coastal areas into farms.
With uneducated locals in the developing country still using rivers for bathing and primitive fishing, the deadly combination of factors has led to rising numbers of crocodile attacks.
MOVING AWAY BY MOVING CHRISTMAS
By bob Walsh
Volodymry Zelenskyy just signed legislation moving
Christmas in Ukraine from January 7, which is the Russian Orthodox
Christmas, to December 25. He stated this move was being done to
further distance Ukraine and her people from Russia.
Both the Russian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox churches still use the old (Julian) calendar.
LOTSA LUCK
U.S. House Republicans from Texas target federal funding unless Homeland Security chief is removed
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7de095009fb31dba39796325ddb684d9/Mayorkas%20Presser%20REUTERS.jpg)
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas during a press conference on Jan. 5 in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON — A group of Texas Republicans in Congress vowed Thursday to halt federal funding for the Department of Homeland Security until Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is removed from office.
“Under no circumstances am I going to support any appropriation to the Department of Homeland Security, any continuing resolution at all,” U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, said at a news conference at the Capitol. “I will use every tool at my disposal to thwart giving another dollar to this secretary to leave Texas exposed.”
It’s an amplified threat as Congress works through the funding process to keep the government operating into the next fiscal year. Failure to approve funding could lead to a federal shutdown — an outcome some far-right members have said they are prepared to precipitate.
Mayorkas has long been a target of Republican ire, fielding calls for impeachment over his handling of an increase in migrants arriving at the southern border.
“Any serious person in our country knows this administration doesn’t have operational control of the border,” U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock, said Thursday. “They have failed.”
Roy and Arrington spoke at the news conference with several other Texas Republicans, including Keith Self of McKinney, Jake Ellzey of Waxahachie, Michael Cloud of Victoria, Lance Gooden of Terrell, Nathaniel Moran of Tyler and Brian Babin of Woodville. Arrington organized the news conference.
Gooden echoed Roy’s commitment to block appropriations for Homeland Security. Cloud is a member of the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees Homeland Security funding.
Congress goes into a monthlong recess after Friday, leaving only September to pass appropriations legislation before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. Congress has failed to pass appropriations legislation for the past 27 years, opting instead to approve continuing resolutions to extend funding and omnibus packages that lump funding together.
Roy’s threat to halt any funding vehicles for Mayorkas’ Homeland Security Department could jeopardize all discretionary federal funding if an omnibus package is offered, potentially positioning the country for a federal shutdown.
The last federal shutdown was in 2018 over then-President Donald Trump’s demand for border wall funding. Extending 35 days, it was the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
The ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus — which includes Roy, Self and Cloud as members — said it will not shy away from another shutdown to rein in federal spending. Far-right members were angered after House Republican leadership negotiated an agreement with the White House to limit future funding to current levels, as opposed to the lower 2022 spending levels.
“We should not fear a government shutdown. Most of what we do up here is bad anyway,” U.S. Rep. Bob Good, R-Virginia, said at a Freedom Caucus news conference Wednesday on the appropriations process. “Most of the American people won’t even miss it if the government is shut down temporarily.”
But not everyone in the party was thrilled with the idea. House Republican leaders have been working to balance the concerns of far-right and centrist members to advance appropriations bills before the August recess. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has a personal interest in showing that he can keep an ideologically diverse conference unified.
In the Senate, where the appropriations process has gone far more smoothly, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, disagreed with using federal funding as a bargaining chip to force policy goals, saying “it’s never proven to be particularly effective.”
“My hope is that between the House and the Senate, they’ll work out their differences and we’ll find a way to fund the government and not have to go through this government shutdown drama, which seems to come up way too often,” Cornyn told reporters Thursday.
The Texas House Republicans on Thursday also praised efforts by Gov. Greg Abbott under Operation Lone Star, a multibillion-dollar security effort that includes arresting migrants on state trespassing charges. They pushed an untested legal theory that Abbott had the authority to build barriers on the Rio Grande under the U.S. Constitution to defend the state from foreign invasion.
“This is an international border. We don’t talk about it as though it is an international border. We would defend the beaches on our West Coast and our East Coast much more aggressively than we are defending the southern border,” Self said. “Folks, this is not internal police actions. This is defending one of our international borders.”
The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to order Texas to remove the floating barriers that were installed earlier this month, arguing that state leaders violated federal law by building in a navigable waterway without federal approval and improperly meddled in the country’s foreign relations. Mexico has protested the barrier as a treaty violation and a safety hazard for migrants.
Arrington introduced a resolution in January that said states have the power to “repel an invasion and defend their citizenry” from drug cartels and paramilitary groups. He introduced a similar resolution in 2021 that was not acted upon.
The barriers, which include large buoys on the Rio Grande and razor wire, quickly drew strong condemnation from Democrats, human rights groups and immigrant rights activists. A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper reported orders from superiors to push migrants into the water and deny them drinking water, the Houston Chronicle reported, sparking a state investigation.
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, led a letter asking President Joe Biden to investigate Abbott’s tactics, saying they were “creating death traps for migrants and violating U.S. treaty commitments with Mexico.” All 13 Democrats in the Texas delegation signed the letter.
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, questioned the Republican effort to oust Mayorkas.
“You can’t claim to care about the border and border security while at the same time saying you’re going to withhold money for border security and the federal personnel who enforce our nation’s laws,” she said.
“Any legislator who says they support Operation Lone Star is saying that they support efforts to push migrant children back into the river, they support horrific instances, like the woman who had a miscarriage while she was stuck in concertina wire, and parents who have lost their children to drowning because of the objects being put in the river,” Escobar added. “So when someone says they support Operation Lone Star, they’re saying that is what they support.”
THE PRICE OF NORMALIZATION
To seal normalization deal with Riyadh, sovereignty push will have to wait 4 years
Amid reports on Saudi demands that Israel make "significant concessions" to the Palestinians before official ties are announced, Israel is signaling that the formula that worked for the Abraham Accords could work now too.
Ariel Kahana
Israel Hayom
July 31, 2023
MBS, Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday that "we will one day be able to have railways connect Saudi Arabia and Israel," just hours after a New York Times piece suggested that the kingdom was expecting the Jewish state to make significant concessions to the Palestinians as a precondition for normalization.
While the train to normalization has long left the station, the rails it is traveling on will have to pass through Washington. The Biden administration has been trying for months to have the normalization be linked to a breakthrough with the Palestinians, and that explains why The New York Times – the preferred outlet for the president – ran that piece. Essentially, in order to get Riyadh, Netanyahu will have to please Ramallah, the article said. But Jerusalem officials have been rejecting this idea, and the conventional wisdom is that the royal palace in Saudi Arabia has also rejected it.
Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who has unchallenged power in the kingdom, has on more than one occasion lashed out at the Palestinians. In fact, speaking of trains, he once told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that the "normalization train has left the station; it is up to you if you want to get on board." In other words, Riyadh is no longer willing to let Ramallah have a veto on the thawing of relations with Israel – for itself or for the Gulf in particular. That is why Bin Salman agreed to have the UAE and Bahrain sign the Abraham Accords with Israel and he himself has promoted ties with Israel unofficially.
According to one senior Israeli official, the current relationship with Riyadh is a "semi-normalization." For Israel, it would not be worth it to pay in Palestinian currency just so they could be completed and become public, as this would be a dangerous transaction. This has been Netanyahu's long-held view and it is not going to change. Selling the farm in exchange for worthless documents signed with the Palestinians is something that he could have done long ago.
In other words, as far as Israel is concerned, peace with Saudi Arabia should be the culmination of a much different form of negotiations. The Saudis have recently presented their demands for bolstering ties with the US, and they include far-reaching demands on economic, scientific, and security matters. The Americans have a vested interest in such a deal to check the Chinese inroads in the region and of course to ensure that they don't lose a critical ally like Saudi Arabia. Normalization with Israel, they believe, will be a byproduct of such a large deal between Washington and Riyadh.
A senior Israeli official told Israel Hayom that "Netanyahu will not change his longstanding and principled stance on the Palestinian issue" for the sake of normalization with Saudi Arabia despite reports that it demands "significant progress" be made in Israeli-Palestinian relations before such a deal is struck.
According to the official, "a breakthrough with Riyadh depends on the talks between the kingdom and Washington. This [progress with the Palestinians] is the consideration that the Saudis are demanding, but the issue is not a high priority for them." The official added, "The two nations have already been maintaining unofficial ties, so for Israel there is no reason to take steps that could put it under threat in Judea and Samaria for things that already exist to a large extent.
Will Jerusalem be willing to offer something in order to finalize a normalization deal? The official formula Israel has subscribed to since the new government was sworn in is that it will not "take steps that could preclude a future deal." That is a very general statement, because no one knows what the contours of a future deal would look like, and that is why no one knows what steps could derail it.
But apart from that there is another thing: The Abraham Accords were born as a result of Israel's willingness to have its application of sovereignty to Judea and Samaria put on hold rather than be implemented in 2020 as the first step of the Trump administration's peace plan. According to that plan, once Israel applied its sovereignty, the Palestinians would have four years to enter into negotiations with Israel, but if they didn't – Israel would be able to extend its sovereignty to other places. Those four years are set to expire in the summer of 2024.
What Israel can offer Bide and Saudi Arabia is to continue putting off the sovereignty issue for four more years, until the end of 2028. This is not an empty promise, since there is a very real chance of Donald Trump returning to the White House (as well as other Republican victories). Thus, such a pledge would mean that even if a hawkish Republican president takes office in Washington, the fully right-wing government in Israel will not seize the opportunity to extend its sovereignty, despite the push by many right-wing circles, which some call "annexation."
Internal US politics is very much part of this story. The conventional wisdom in Israel is that Biden will have to decide by December whether he is all-in on such a deal. After that, the presidential campaign will be in full swing. Moreover, a full-fledged treaty with Saudi Arabia will require Senate approval with two thirds. The administration is wary that the GOP is unlikely to be inclined to give Biden as a historic accomplishment.
The normalization train may have left the station, but it is now at a stopover in Washington.
FREE SPEECH CARRIED WAY, WAY TOO FAR ..... THERE OUGHT TO BE SOME WAY TO THROW BARAK BEHIND BARS
Ehud Barak’s Poisonous Pyromania
Whatever you think of the Netanyahu government or its judicial reform proposals, Ehud Barak’s warmongering is the true threat to Israeli democracy.
Former prime minister Ehud Barak
On the days after Tisha B’Av, it would be nice to write about national unity, shared destiny, moderation and restraint. But I cannot ignore the kasach—the unbridled confrontation, the inflammatory demagoguery, the warmongering—that has become standard and acceptable behavior for some of Israel’s once and supposed leaders.
There are very specific people responsible for this degradation, with Ehud Barak taking first place in the ugly contest for the most hateful, most extreme, most seditious rabble rouser of all.
The former prime minister appears at every anti-government protest rally and in every foreign television studio with preening self-confidence, sky-high arrogance and the most untamed political language heard in this country in decades. He savages Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and anybody to the right of him as “dark and dangerous ultra-nationalists who are undermining the foundations of Zionism and Israeli democracy.”
He blabbers uncontrollably about Israel becoming a “fascist state” and an “apartheid” country. He even called a recent Supreme Court ruling that went in Netanyahu’s favor “a Weimar Republic-like decision.” He talks about the “shattering of Israeli democracy,” the “darkest days Israel has known,” “imminent dictatorship in Israel,” and “silencing” by the right. (Funny, Barak doesn’t seem so silenced.)
In one speech I heard, Barak hurled the epithet “fascist” at Netanyahu three times, “dictator” at Justice Minister Yariv Levin four times and “apartheid” at right-wing settlement policies another three times. He then accused all Israelis to his political right of wearing Nazi-style “selection glasses” (mishkefei selectzia shel hayamin)—which is a disgusting political slur whether used by an antisemitic non-Jew or a born-again wannabe Israeli leader.
To this, Barak recently has added piercing, scornful characterizations of Netanyahu and his cabinet ministers as “jokes,” “jackasses,” “pissers,” “drivellers,” “simpletons” and “people sick with autoimmune diseases.”
Barak delivers all this dreadful demagoguery alongside incessant use of the epithet “messianic” in describing policies of the right. This, of course, is supremely ironic, since the only messianism that exists in abundance in Ehud Barak’s presence is his own messianic self-assurance.
Whatever you think of the Netanyahu government or its judicial reform proposals, Barak’s wild exaggerations and exceedingly belligerent characterizations are disgusting. His use of near antisemitic and pseudo-BDS language is unacceptable. His feral ambition and savage hatreds clearly have propelled him off into the deep end.
Worst of all, by far worst of all, is the lead role Barak has taken in calling for subversion of the Israel Defense Forces through mass refusal-to-serve by Israeli soldiers and reserve duty officers.
Barak began barking about the need to refuse to serve in the IDF “under dictatorship” at a February Haaretz conference. “When a black flag of extreme illegality flies over an army order, it is not just the right of a soldier to obey that order, it is his obligation,” said Barak. “We are now facing the civilian equivalent of black-flag illegality.”
He continued: “Our only obligation is to liberal democracy as expressed in the Declaration of Independence. We have no obligatory contract with dictators, and history will judge to purgatory all those who submit to the dictates of dictators.”
Asked whether he wasn’t going too far with his call for mutiny in the military, Barak responded with his characteristic messianic self-possession that “we are the right [correct] side of history and we are not afraid of anybody or anything.”
On Channel 12 television on July 6, Barak specifically called upon “air force pilots and front-line commandos” to warn Netanyahu that if the so-called reasonability restriction legislation was passed, they would “refuse to serve a dictatorship, period.”
Reportedly, the Israel Police have opened an investigation into the possibly treasonous remarks made by Barak, and by Yair Golan of Meretz, but don’t hold your breath waiting for indictments. Prosecuting these people for sedition and concrete damage to the security of the State of Israel would not be politically correct.
It would require Israel’s legal elites to admit, which they won’t, that Barak’s discourse is the true threat to Israeli democracy. It would require them to concede, which they won’t, that those screaming the loudest about imminent threats to democracy are the people engaging in tactics that smack of dictatorship and lawlessness. It would force them to draw red lines, which they are unwilling to do, against the growing calls from Barak and his coterie to deny political and civil rights to anybody who thinks and votes differently than them, such as ultra-Orthodox Jews.
This is the place to remind readers of Ehud Barak’s dismal political record. He was resoundingly defeated in the elections of 2001 and 2009, leading the once all-powerful Labor Party to a nadir. His term as prime minister was blessedly short—the shortest of any Israeli prime minister. He was responsible for the helter-skelter retreat from Lebanon, which led to the rise of Hezbollah. His disastrous diplomatic policies led directly to the Second Intifada.
The last point is especially important. Barak betrayed the trust Israelis had given him, by agreeing at the July 2000 Camp David summit to divide Jerusalem and give away the Temple Mount. This was a radical diplomatic departure from the platform on which he had campaigned and which he had reaffirmed publicly just two months earlier. (So much for “democratic” behavior.)
This reckless gambit, for which Barak had no public mandate, terribly weakened Israel’s political hold on Jerusalem. It heedlessly broke an important and rightful Israeli diplomatic taboo about maintaining Jerusalem united under Israeli sovereignty.
This transgression undermined a core Jewish claim to legitimacy in Zion, which at source is rooted in the holiest place on earth to Jews—Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. It appreciably enfeebled Israel’s diplomatic fortitude. It drove Palestinian expectations sky high and became the baseline for international demands that the city be split into two capitals. It later gave cover to other politicians on the left (like Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni) to go astray, too.
It also promptly led to Yasser Arafat’s so-called Second Intifada, the most murderous spree of Palestinian terrorism in Israel’s history.
Arafat incorrectly assumed that all Israelis would be as supine as Barak; that several dozen bus-bombers would push Israelis over the edge and bring about capitulation in Jerusalem and across Judea and Samaria.
And sure enough, Barak almost gave away the store at the January 2001 Taba summit, after his government had fallen and despite the raging intifada. For the first time, an Israeli prime minister imprudently accepted the 1967 lines (and 97% of Judea and Samaria) as the basis for a Palestinian state. Fortunately, Barak was swiftly kicked out of office, and Israelis proved far more resilient and loyal to their principles than either Barak or Arafat imagined.
Barak has never expressed remorse for his flagrant offenses: for the near plundering of Jerusalem and for his near subversion of democracy. God only imagines to what insane ends of surrender Barak might go if he were to regain the reins of power.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)