UNRWA IS AN ARM OF HAMAS

UNRWA Confirms Hamas Leader in Lebanon Was One of Their Own

 

By Rebecca Downs 

Townhall

Sep 30, 2024

 

Fateh Sharif, a UNRWA teacher and the leader of Hamas in Lebanon, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre.

 

There have long been concerns that the UNRWA, an agency of the anti-Israel United Nations, has been infested with terrorists. The agency confirmed that Fateh Sharif, who served as Hamas' leader in Lebanon, worked for them. He was even the chairman of their Teachers' Association and was principal of the UNRWA-run Deir Yassin Secondary School. He was one of the many terrorists killed in recent days by Israeli Air Force strikes. 

The agency appears to be trying to cover for these connections to terrorists. "Fateh Al Sharif was an UNRWA employee who was put on administrative leave without pay in March, and was undergoing an investigation following allegations that UNRWA received about his political activities," a statement from the agency to The Times of Israel read. 

As United Nations Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer has been posting throughout the day, though, Sharif's ties to Hamas was known by "Everyone in Lebanon." His organization also revealed Sharif's connections back in June. 

The UNRWA Lebanon Director Claudio Cordone also awarded Sharif with a "Certification of Appreciation."

More coverage from The Times of Israel includes more information about Sharif, making clear he wasn't merely some low-level employee:

The IDF and Shin Bet in a joint statement confirm that the commander of Hamas in Lebanon was killed in an airstrike overnight.

The statement describes Fateh Sherif as the “head of the Lebanon branch of the Hamas terror organization.”

According to the military, Sherif was responsible for coordinating Hamas’s activity in Lebanon with Hezbollah, as well as Hamas’s “force build-up efforts in Lebanon, in the field of recruiting operatives and procuring weapons.”

He “worked to advance the interests of Hamas in [Lebanon], both politically and militarily,” the statement says.

After it was reported in January that a number of UNRWA staffers were involved in the October 7 attacks that Hamas perpetrated against Israel, the Biden-Harris administration finally paused funding to the group. That being said, the pause still only applied to new commitments. The admission from UNRWA about such employees came in early August, and nine employees were fired. 

Damning revelations have continued to come out about UNRWA, as Townhall has been covering throughout the year. For instance, it was discovered in July that a Hamas command center and weapons were found at UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City. 

So-called progressives in Congress have still demanded that UNRWA receive funding though, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), of the particularly anti-Israel Squad, throwing a temper tantrum at the time when those new commitments were cut off. 

Just late last week, progressive members, including the particularly anti-Israel Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), as well as Rep. André Carson (D-IN) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), introduced a bill to restore UNRWA funding, as Leah covered at the time. 

Republicans, however, have issued calls to permanently cut off UNRWA funding.

"UNRWA’s confirmation that the head of Hamas forces in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif, was their employee is the latest proof that the United Nations has become a cesspool of antisemitism. President Trump rightfully cut off taxpayer dollars from funding UNRWA while Joe Biden and Kamala Harris outrageously reversed this decision and provided funding for an organization whose employees directly participated in the October 7th terrorist attacks against our most precious ally Israel. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris must permanently cut off UNRWA funding, revoke its tax-exempt status, and provide oversight of every U.S. dollar the UN receives," said Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the House Republican Conference chairwoman.

In response to Secretary-General António Guterres recently praising the UNRWA and calling for more support, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) chimed in with a reminder of the terrorist connections and an insistence that taxpayer dollars should be cut off.

Mast introduced legislation in January to permanently defund the agency.

Despite calls for him to further address the situation, UNRWA Commissioner-General Phillippe Lazzarini has yet to post about the connection Sharif had to the UNRWA. 

The UNRWA account has, however, posted since then, including the most recent post calling for a "#CeasefireNow." There's another post that includes comments from Lazzarini to promote his agency and the supposed "education" provided for any "transition to be successful" in Gaza. Such remarks are particularly rich considering that his agency, including schools, is infested with terrorist leaders.

THE STRIKE IS ON

Texas’ economy could take a hit if Houston dockworkers’ strike persists

Workers who load and unload shipping containers from cargo ships are at an impasse in labor contract negotiations.

 

By Paul Cobler and Tim Carlin

 

The Texas Tribune

Sep 30, 2024

 

 

Port of Houston

 

Port Houston dock workers could go on strike at midnight Tuesday, a move that could have damaging impacts on the local and state economy, largely depending on how long the walkoff lasts.

The U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents employers at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, and the International Longshoremen’s Association, which represents 45,000 dock workers across 36 ports, have reached an impasse in labor contract negotiations. The longshoremen’s current contract expires Monday night, and the union has voted to authorize a strike if a deal is not reached before then.

Longshoremen are the workers who load and unload shipping containers from cargo ships. A strike would mean cargo on ships would remain on ships and cargo on land would remain on land until the longshoremen return to work.

That squeeze on the supply chain could mean higher prices for everyday items like fresh produce, clothing, shoes, car parts and building materials, experts say.

Nationwide, the United States could lose nearly $5 billion a day in imports and exports from a strike, with $92 million coming from the Houston region alone, said Margaret Kidd, program director for the University of Houston’s supply chain and logistics technology program.

A prolonged longshoreman strike across half the country, Kidd said, “would be our Armageddon.”

A strike would force the port to stop all container handling operations at its two container terminals, Barbours Cut and Bayport, according to a Wednesday news release from the port. Operations at the port’s general cargo and multi-purpose facilities also would be impacted, according to the release.

The port is not involved in the labor contract negotiations.

The longshoremen are seeking higher wages and protections from automation.

"My ILA members are not going to accept these insulting offers that are a joke considering the work my ILA longshore workers perform, and the billion-dollar profits the companies make off the backs of their labor," ILA International President Harold Daggett wrote in a statement last week. “The blame for a coast-wide strike in a week that will shut down all ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts falls squarely on the shoulders of USMX."

In its own statement Monday, the U.S. Maritime Alliance said the two sides have reached an impasse.

"Despite additional attempts by USMX to engage with the ILA and resume bargaining, we have been unable to schedule a meeting to continue negotiations on a new Master Contract," the statement said. "Our goal remains the same -- we want to bargain and avoid a strike, but time is running out if the ILA is unwilling to return to the table.”

It is unclear how many longshoremen union members work at the Port of Houston and could be on strike. A Port Houston spokesperson said she did not know and referred the Landing to the union. The ILA declined to comment further, citing ongoing negotiations.

A 2022 study prepared by Martin Associates for the Port of Houston found more than 1.5 million jobs are supported by Port activity, with the port holding nearly $440 billion of total economic value — more than 18% of the state’s GDP.

Ships arriving in Houston are unloaded onto trains and trucks before they are shipped across the city and the surrounding region.

Houston is unique in the world of maritime trade, Kidd said, with its port being the largest in the country in terms of tonnage, and the fifth-largest in terms of containers.

A strike by the port’s longshoremen would not affect most oil, gas and liquid chemical exports because they are not transported in the shipping containers longshoremen are needed to move, said Jesse B. Thompson III, a senior business economist at the Houston Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

“It’s a mixed bag for Houston's core industries,” Thompson said. “Oil and gas will be fine, but chemicals, there could be some issues.”

The strike would halt the transportation of anything that moves in a container, including fresh produce, auto parts, manufactured components and, most crucially for Houston’s export economy, plastic resins, Thompson said.

Port Houston is the nation’s leader in resin exports, making up about 59% of the United States’ total market.

The last time longshoremen went on strike was in 1977, for 45 days.

Each day of a longshoreman strike would require between four to six days of catchup work to get operations back on track, Kidd said. That means a two-week-long strike could back up port operations across the country into 2025.

Impacts would not be felt immediately because importers and exporters have been aware of the strike possibility for much of the year, Thompson said.

National retailers have been importing products into the country for back-to-school and the holiday season earlier than previous years in an effort to prepare for the strike, according to the National Retail Federation.

This year, Port Houston surpassed the 2 million Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit — the standard measure for cargo containers — earlier than ever. The first six months of the year saw a 13% increase in imports over the first six months of 2023, according to Port Houston.

That early preparation should mitigate some consumer cost increases associated with a supply chain backlog, but it is unclear how long that buffer will last, Thompson said.

“A lot of people in the buy and trade side of moving containers around have had all year to get ready for this,” the economist said. “I’m sure there’s been some preparation, but I don't have any way to quantify that.”

The port is encouraging companies to pick up their imports as soon as possible because anything in the yard at close of business on Monday will be unavailable until the strike ends.

Despite the potentially catastrophic consequences, Kidd said she thinks any longshoreman strike, if not avoided entirely, would be short-lived. It is more likely the parties will come to a resolution on their own, or with federal government intervention, she said.

Although the federal government has declined to intervene up to this point at the request of labor organizers, Kidd said the Biden administration would have an obligation to avert the level of international economic crisis that would be created by a prolonged strike.

“You can’t destroy a national economy,” Kidd said. “Given a prolonged strike, it would just be irresponsible if (Biden) didn’t step in.”

 

This article first appeared on Houston Landing and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

13-YEAR OLD GIRL STABS CLASSMATE AND TWO STAFF

By Bob Walsh

 

 

 

This little bit of drama played out in Ysgol Dyffryn Aman which, as you might guess, is in Wales in the U.K.  It went down on April 24 of this year and much of the attack is on video.

It seems that the young lady, who is now 14, wanted to be famous.  So she took a multi-tool from her dad's fishing kit to school with her and stabbed a female student.  She then attacked two staff members.  One of them was so badly injured that she had to be airflighted to a hospital.  

The young lady admitted to the stabbings, but denies that she attempted to kill any of her victims.  That may be hard to square with her statements of "I'm going to fucking kill you" while she was stabbing Fiona Elias, the deputy head of the school.  She was finally restrained by other staff while attempting to stab a second female student.

Several months earlier she was found to have a kitchen knife in her bag at school.  She was allowed to continue at school but only if staff was allowed to search her belongings on a regular basis.

Because the young lady is a minor she is referred to only by her first name in court proceedings, which are not released to the public.  Also she is seated in the gallery in the court rather than in the dock. 

ON STRIKE ... SHUT IT DOWN

By Bob Walsh

 

 

The longshoremen at all the ports between Maine and Texas walked off the job at midnight east coast time last night, effectively shutting down a great deal of commerce.  

The media asked Senile Joe if he would use Taft-Hartley and order them back to work.  He said flat-out NO, that he regarded this as a labor relations issue.  Lunchbox Joe is a good union man (at least sort of).  The longshoremen want a 70% raise over six years with guarantees regarding no further mechanization and computerization of the ports.  I strongly suspect they will get very little action on that issue.  

The talking heads are saying that if this goes on more than a very few days the back-up will be very hard to deal with for several times longer than the strike itself runs.  Also we are getting into the delivery schedule for Christmas.  In a very short while we will have trouble buying cheap Chinese crap for Christmas presents.

HELENE IS INDEED A NASTY BITCH

By Bob Walsh

 

 

From both hard news and anecdotal info on talk radio it seems that Hurricane-Tropic Storm Helene has been very, very damaging to the Georgia-Tennesee-W. Virginia-N. Carolina area.

I-40 is damaged and will be unpassable for some time.  I-26 in the same area is also shut down in places.  There are a LOT of bridges damaged or just plain gone.  Power is going to be out over large areas for weeks.  Many railroad rights-of-way are badly damaged and impassable.  FEMA is thus far a no-show (allegedly).

Local national guard operations are being very helpful.  They are supplying, among other things, helicopter transport for water and food going in and evacuations of injured and hospital patients going out.  Medical care is spotty due to power availability and flooding.  In some areas the rivers are more than 15 feet above flood stage.  

It is very, very bad and will continue to be so for many days, maybe many weeks, possibly months.

THE PERILS OF PUNTING RESPONSIBILITY

By Bob Walsh

Lebanon used to be a very nice place I am told.  Pretty.  Prosperous.  Tolerant.  The government of Lebanon has essentially folded up over the last several years and operational control of the country is now in the hands of fundamentalist goatfucker Islamic fanatics.  It is about to cost the people of Lebanon dearly.

Assuming the mainstream media is to be believed Israel is about to move into Lebanon with a significant ground action.  They are tired of their country being attacked by what is allegedly non-state actors who seem to be able to act with impunity.  

Nature abhors a vacuum.  If you don't run your country somebody else will do it for you, and it is likely to be somebody you don't like and who has no interest in protecting the people and property of the locals.  If those people piss off a nation-state that is both willing and capable of expressing it's unhappiness you and your property are at some risk.  That's life in the real world.