Elon Musk Condemns U.S. State Dept for Not Lifting a Finger to Secure Gonzalo Lira’s Release
X owner Elon Musk condemned the State Department on Friday for not lifting a finger to secure the release of American citizen Gonzalo Lira and leaving him to die in a Ukrainian prison.
“The Biden administration could have gotten Gonzalo Lira back with a phone call but didn’t lift a finger,” David Sacks, a friend of Musk’s, commented in a thread on X. “Therefore the Ukrainian government knew it could act with impunity. Still, the sheer brazenness to kill an American citizen in custody reveals a thuggish and unmoored regime.”
“If you want to quibble and argue that Lira wasn’t killed by the Ukrainian government, but rather he was just wrongfully imprisoned (for exercising First Amendment rights), abused and denied vital medical treatment, I don’t see much of a difference,” Sacks continued. “There was a time when even a U.S. enemy, never mind an ally, would have expelled Lira to avoid any risk of an American citizen dying in their prison. No foreign government wanted to risk America’s wrath coming down on their head.”
He added: “The fact that the Ukrainian government dared to act with such impunity must reveal the shared attitude of the Biden administration. Ie. critics have no rights; justice is weaponized. ‘For my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law.’ “
“This is super messed up!” Elon Musk responded.
This is super messed up!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 12, 2024
Musk tried to press the Biden regime to secure Lira’s release just one month ago but his request went unanswered.
What is the status of this American journalist @JoeBiden? https://t.co/KBPCxU0Roa
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 10, 2023
The State Department confirmed Lira’s death on Saturday but wouldn’t even say his name.
From Tass, “US authorities confirm death of reporter Gonzalo Lira in custody in Ukraine”:
The US Department of State has confirmed the accuracy of data about the death of reporter Gonzalo Lira, a citizen of Chile and the US, in prison in Ukraine.
“We can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in Ukraine. We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss,” a representative of the Department of State told a TASS correspondent in response to a request to comment on the information that Lira died in jail.
“We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. Out of respect to the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment,” the official added.
Gonzalo’s father held the State Department, Joe Biden and the Zelensky regime responsible for his son’s death in a statement to the media on Friday.
“I cannot accept the way my son has died. He was tortured, extorted, incommunicado for 8 months and 11 days and the US Embassy did nothing to help my son,” Gonzalo Lira, Sr. said. “The responsibility of this tragedy is the dictator Zelensky with the concurrence of a senile American President, Joe Biden.”
Taiwan’s ‘Anti-China’ Candidate Wins Presidential Election
Lai Ching-te of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been elected as the self-governing island’s new leader following Saturday’s presidential election.
Lai, who entered the election as Taiwan’s vice president, claimed victory after the candidate representing the island’s main opposition party, Hou Yu-ih, conceded defeat.
The DPP, which was seeking a third term in power, rejects Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan and maintains that the island has the right to a separate identity from mainland China. Lai has said he is determined to preserve peace across the Taiwan Strait, but has called for boosting the self-governing territory’s defences, to ward off possible threats from Beijing.
Lai was declared the victor after partial results showed that he had gained 40.2% of the vote, prompting Hou – as well as former Taipei mayor, Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party – to withdraw from the race. Incumbent Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is constitutionally prohibited from seeking a third term in office.
“Every vote is valued, as this is Taiwan’s hard-earned democracy,” Lai said in the southern city of Tainan on Saturday before casting his vote, according to Reuters.
The Chinese government has described Lai as a separatist, and has rejected his calls for talks over Taiwan’s future. His rival, Hou, has accused Lai of supporting Taiwanese independence – while Lai claims that Hou holds pro-Beijing positions, which Hou denies.
Ko, whose Taiwan People’s Party has appealed to the island’s youth vote since it was established in 2019, has focused more on domestic issues, such as housing costs. However, while he has said he wants to re-engage with China, he has stressed that this cannot infringe on Taiwan’s own democratic goals.
Following his victory, Lai said that he is “determined to safeguard Taiwan from continuing threat and intimidation from China” and said he intends to maintain the current status quo in the Taiwan Strait. He added that his administration will “use dialogue to replace confrontation” in its diplomacy with Beijing – which had warned voters against supporting Lai.
However, Lai also said the DPP did not hold on to a majority in the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s unicameral parliament, where 113 seats were being contested in a separate vote. “The elections have told us that the people expect an effective government as well as strong checks and balances,” he said, adding that “we fully understand and respect these opinions from the public.”
The parliamentary balance, which could potentially hinder the new government’s ability to pass legislation, means that Taipei must form a political reality based on communication and cooperation, Lai said. He added that he would study and evaluate the policies of his defeated electoral opponents.
Trump Jr. Blames Zelensky For ‘Murder’ Of US Journalist Gonzalo Lira
Donald Trump Jr. has blamed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky for the death of journalist and filmmaker Gonzalo Lira. Gonzalo Lira, a national of the US and Chile, died while in jail in Ukraine. He passed […]
The post Trump Jr. Blames Zelensky For ‘Murder’ Of US Journalist Gonzalo Lira appeared first on The People’s Voice.
Schism Emerges Among US Allies After Yemen Attacks
While several countries assisted in the recent US-UK bombing of Yemen, several nations opted to distance themselves from the questionable actions.
The Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Bahrain rendered material support to the recent US-UK strikes against Yemen and signed a statement defending them, together with the attack’s perpetrators and Germany, Denmark, New Zealand and South Korea.
Three of Europe’s largest countries and NATO members, however, refrained from doing either of these things.
According to Reuters, Italy was apparently asked to participate in the attacks but declined, arguing that doing so would require the approval of the Italian parliament, not to mention that Rome seeks a “calming” policy regarding the current shipping crisis in the Red Sea.
France also opted to distance itself from the US and UK efforts, with Paris reportedly being concerned that participating in these strikes would undermine its diplomatic efforts to prevent the crisis in the Middle East from spilling into Lebanon.
One diplomat also reportedly suggested that France did not believe that the US-led attacks on Yemen could be framed as legitimate self-defense.
Finally, Spain’s Minister of Defense Margarita Robles declared that her country “will always be committed to peace and dialogue” and therefore did not join the US-led military action.
The United States and Britain launched a series of missile and air strikes against Yemen on January 11, ostensibly in retaliation for the attacks by the Yemeni Houthi movement on Israeli-linked vessels navigating the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis began attacking Israeli-related cargo ships in response to Israel’s brutal invasion of the Gaza Strip, with the Yemeni movement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and for providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian civilians there.
General Michael Flynn joins Alex Jones to give his expert analysis on the Pentagon’s fumbling leadership.
Trump Jr. Condemns Zelensky for US Journalist’s ‘Murder’
The death of journalist and filmmaker Gonzalo Lira is a “murder,” and the blame for it lies with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, the son of former US President Donald Trump stated on his page on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Gonzalo Lira, a national of the US and Chile, has died while in jail in Ukraine. Lira passed away on January 11, with his family reporting his death the following day. The US Department of State then confirmed it.
“So we are now allowing our foreign welfare recipients, such as Zelinski [Zelensky], to kill our citizens and our journalists?” Donald Trump Jr. wrote.
Trump Jr. also denounced the likely lack of reaction to this tragedy in the US media. “I would have waited for the outrage of our media, but I know that it will not happen,” he lamented.
So we are now allowing our foreign welfare recipients like Zelinski to murder our citizens and our journalists???
I’d wait for the outrage from our media but I know it’s not coming! https://t.co/L5VbRfHm9R— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 12, 2024
Lira had been in pre-trial detention in Ukraine’s Kharkov since May 2023 on accusations of justifying Moscow’s military operation against Kiev.
According to a handwritten note by Lira addressed to his sister and published by the Grayzone news website, the journalist had severe health problems caused by pneumonia and a collapsed lung, which began in mid-October.
Ukrainian prison authorities only acknowledged the issue on December 22 and stated he would undergo surgery, Lira wrote.
BREAKING: It is with great sadness I must announce that Gonzalo Lira @GonzaloLira1968, passed away in a hospital according to his father, who has been fighting to get his son much-needed medical attention for the past weeks.
— Alex Rubinstein (@RealAlexRubi) January 12, 2024
Here is a hand-written note from Gonzalo which I… pic.twitter.com/jY8Mh0xQV3
Following the journalist’s death, his father, Gonzalo Lira Sr., said that his son had been “tortured” while the US Embassy in Kiev “did nothing” to help him.
“The responsibility of this tragedy is the dictator Zelensky with the concurrence of a senile American President, Joe Biden,” Gonzalo’s father wrote in a note published by the Grayzone.
After Russia and Ukraine’s long-simmering disputes turned to military confrontation in February 2022, Lira, who moved to Ukraine and married a local woman in 2010, began actively covering the fighting on social media. He insisted that the conflict had been provoked by the Zelensky government and its Western backers, saying that Ukraine had no chance of winning against Russia and predicted failure.
He also criticized efforts by the Western media to portray Ukraine as a “democracy,” speaking about rampant corruption in the government and publishing a list of Zelensky’s opponents who, he claimed, had been “disappeared” by local authorities.
Kiev insists it has rightfully targeted Lira over his activities, with the Security Service of Ukraine repeatedly stating the journalist has been accused of “producing and distributing materials justifying the armed aggression,” as well as disseminating “fakes” about the country’s armed forces. The first hearing in his trial had been scheduled for December 12.
General Michael Flynn joins Alex Jones to give his expert analysis on the Pentagon’s fumbling leadership.
Pentagon: No Date for SecDef Austin’s Discharge From Hospital Yet
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin remains at Walter Reed Medical Center and the date of his release from the hospital is unknown, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.
“Secretary Austin continues to be hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and remains in good condition,” the statement said on Friday. “We do not have a specific date for Secretary Austin’s release from the hospital at this time but will continue to provide daily updates until then.”
Earlier on Friday, Austin conducted phone calls with House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker, and House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Rep. Adam Smith who have been critical of the Pentagon Chief’s failure to disclose his hospitalization to Congress.
Austin was hospitalized in early January due to an infection, following cancer surgery in late December. The Defense Department failed to communicate Austin’s hospitalization to the White House for several days, prompting bipartisan calls for him to leave his leadership role.
The White House and the Pentagon itself continue to insist that Austin’s hospitalization has had no impact on US defenses and that he continues to provide effective leadership of the military, including ordering strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen last night.
General Michael Flynn joins Alex Jones to give his expert analysis on the Pentagon’s fumbling leadership.