UK: Record Illegal Migrant Crossings Ramp up Pressure on Sinking Sunak
Britain experienced a record number of illegal migrants arriving on its southern shore in the first three months of the year, piling the pressure on a Conservative government failing to appease its core voters on immigration.
A total of 4,644 migrants landed in southeast England on small boats from Europe up to March 26, according to provisional Home Office data — up considerably from 3,770 last year and the previous record high of 4,162 recorded in 2022.
Boat crossings were down toward the end of last year, prompting Home Secretary James Cleverly to trumpet the government’s efforts in cracking down on illegal immigration and claiming Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration was honoring its pledge to “stop the boats.”
Cleverly dismissed critics who claimed that adverse weather conditions had been the primary contributing factor to the drop in arrivals; however, the recent spike in arrivals coinciding with warmer weather conditions and plainer sailing appears to lend credence to the theory.
The Home Office is now using the spiraling figures to push its immigration reforms currently held up in the House of Lords — the upper chamber of Britain’s bicameral legislature — claiming a change in the law is needed to ensure deportation flights can take off for Rwanda, the African nation with whom Britain recently signed an asylum agreement.
“The unacceptable number of people who continue to cross the [English] Channel demonstrates exactly why we must get flights to Rwanda off the ground as soon as possible,” a Home Office spokesperson said last week.
Conservative MP Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister who quit the government in December over concerns the Rwanda legislation didn’t go far enough to tackle the migrant crisis, raised fresh fears over the spike in numbers.
“When I resigned last year, I said the government’s approach to illegal migration was a triumph of hope over experience. And so it is proving,” he wrote on X.
“The public rightly demands and expects us to stop the boats. When they say they’ll do ‘whatever it takes,’ the government should mean it.”
Conservative voters in Britain have grown tired of empty promises, however, and appear to be voting with their feet against a party that has consistently promised to reduce immigration while allowing it to sky-rocket to unprecedented levels in recent years.
Recent polling has the governing party attaining almost half the vote share of the opposition Labour Party with 22 percent to 42 percent. A Redfield Wilton survey published on Wednesday made even grimmer reading for Sunak in Wales where the Tories could soon find themselves coming third in a two-horse race, sitting at 16 percent and just one percentage point ahead of the fledgling right-wing Reform UK party run by Brexiteer Richard Tice and closely affiliated with nationalist firebrand Nigel Farage.
Reform UK has called on Britain to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in order to implement measures to prevent arrivals and expedite deportations without vexatious appeals being made in Britain’s immigration tribunals.
The move has been supported by several backbench Conservative MPs including former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, but has not received widescale support among the government.
Last week, Conservative backbencher Andrea Jenkyns asked Sunak during Prime Minister’s Questions whether he would approve a pledge to hold a referendum on leaving the ECHR in the Conservative Party’s manifesto in the upcoming election, a proposal evaded by the U.K. prime minister who replied, “I will not let a foreign court block our ability to send people to Rwanda when the time comes.”
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Israel Declares Major Land Grab in West Bank
The Israeli government has claimed almost 2,000 acres in the West Bank as state-owned land, in a move described by rights groups as the largest land grab on occupied Palestinian territories in decades.
Nevertheless, the growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank is considered illegal under international law.
In 2016, the United Nations Security Council defined them as “a major obstacle to the vision of two states living side-by-side in peace and security.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, however, claimed that the declaration of state-owned land in the Jordan Valley on Friday, March 22, was “an important and strategic issue.”
“While there are those in Israel and the world who seek to undermine our right to Judea and Samaria and the country in general, we promote the settlement movement with hard work and in a strategic manner across the country,” Smotrich said in a statement.
As reported on local media, the classification of plots of land as Israeli government-owned land clears the way for the construction of settler houses, in addition to commercial development.
Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now described the announcement as the biggest since the 1993 Oslo Accords, stating further that “the year 2024 marks a peak in the extent of declarations of state land.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration gave the go-ahead to the recent construction of over 3,400 new settler homes, attracting more criticism from the UN and the Palestinian Authority.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk stated in his report to the Security Council on March 8: “The West Bank is already in crisis. Yet, settler violence and settlement-related violations have reached shocking new levels, and risk eliminating any practical possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian State.”
Smotrich said in February that the expansion of settlements was a legitimate reaction to Palestinian terrorist attacks.
“Our enemies know that any harm to us will lead to more construction and more development and more of our hold all over the country,” Smotrich wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
The move arrived almost three weeks after the Defense Ministry body that approves settlement construction expedited plans for 3,426 new Israeli homes to be constructed beyond the Green Line.
Settlements Minister Orit Strock announced back then that after a months-long pause in West Bank construction approvals, the Civil Administration’s High Planning Subcommittee had boosted projects to build 2,402 new homes in Ma’ale Adumim, 694 homes in Efrat and 330 homes in Keidar.
The projects in Ma’ale Adumim and Keidar were authorized through a previous planning stage called a deposit, while the homes for Efrat acquired a more advanced planning approval before construction.
Smotrich, under whose auspices the subcommittee falls, called the recent expansion an “appropriate Zionist response” to a terror attack outside Ma’ale Adumim, in which one man was killed and 11 were injured, as well as a pregnant woman.
More than 490,000 Israelis are living in settlements across the West Bank
Despite opposition abroad, Israel has in the past few decades developed dozens of settlements across the West Bank.
They are now home to more than 490,000 Israelis, who dwell in the territory along with around three million Palestinians.
The Biden administration stated last month the settlements were “inconsistent” with international law after Israel declared recent housing plans.
Palestinian authorities denounced the land grab and growth of illegal settlements.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the newest move a “crime” that is a portion of an “official policy racing against time to annex the West Bank and eliminate the possibility of creating a Palestinian state.”
“There are no morals, values, principles or international resolutions that can stop the extremist right. The international failure to protect our people is complicity and cover for Israel’s ongoing evasion of punishment,” the ministry said.
The Palestinian Authority has called on all nations to put individuals connected to settler organizations or companies investing in settlement construction across the occupied Palestinian territories on their terror lists. The UN has already compiled a list of companies with business relations in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Follow IsraelCollapse.com for more news about Israel.
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No Prohibition on Ukrainian Embassy Recruiting Swedes, Says Stockholm
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Sweden is not prohibiting its citizens from participating in military hostilities in Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Thursday when asked about the recruitment of Swedes by the Ukrainian embassy in Stockholm.
“Ukraine’s defense of its territorial integrity is in accordance with International Law. It is not illegal for Swedish citizens to participate in the defense of Ukraine,” the ministry’s spokesman, Tomas Vanecek, said.
Bakhtiyor Rahmonov, a military expert, has said that terrorists who attacked the Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow could have been recruited by the Ukrainian embassy in Dushanbe.
According to him, several weeks before the attack, information about inviting foreigners to join the so-called “International Legion” appeared on its website. The same information was published on the website of the Ukrainian Embassy in Stockholm. Citizens of the country can join the formation, there is no specific information about the requirements for potential mercenaries, except for “readiness for hardship”.
The Russian Defense Ministry has said on numerous occasions that the Kiev regime is using foreign mercenaries as “cannon fodder,” warning that the Russian military will continue to destroy them throughout Ukraine.
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Oregon is Waging a War Against Small Farmers
A war against farmers is happening in Europe and it is now starting to happen in America.
Small farmers are under attackin the state of Oregon, which has started shutting down family farms throughout the Beaver State under the pretense of water conservation and groundwater protection.
(Related: ENGINEERED FAMINE: Oregon starts SHUTTING DOWN small farms “to protect the people.”)
The owner of Yanasa Ama Ranch shared a 20-minute video from Yanasa TV explaining what is happening in Oregon as bureaucrats mistakenly classify small family farms and homesteads as “concentrated animal feeding operations,” or CAFOs, to shut them down “for the environment.”
Any feeding area that has a concrete, rock or gravel floor falls into this classification, which could include small dairy or egg farms.
The rancher added that if a farmer has two or three milking cows, they are now targeted by the state for closure.
“The state of Oregon has effectively shut down small farms and market gardens on a large scale, and they’re actually sending out cease-and-desist letters to farms and they’re using satellite technology to find their victims and send them these letters that say you can’t operate,” the rancher explained in the video.
The rancher stated that there are two different laws that Oregon officials are using to carry out these shutdowns. And one of the laws includes Oregon’s widely unclear definition of a CAFO, which reads, in part, as follows:
“The State of Oregon defines CAFOs as the concentrated feeding or holding of animals or poultry, including but not limited to horse, cattle, sheep, or swine feeding areas, dairy confinement areas, and poultry and egg production facilities where the surface has been prepared with concrete, rock or fibrous material to support animals in wet weather.”
According to this definition, a few-acre homestead with pasture and let’s say two milking cows and some chickens qualifies as a CAFO if it has any area on the property where rock or gravel is used as a route to get to a small barn or coop.
“The way that they have redefined CAFOs is going to impact nearly everybody. Even on our property, we don’t have animals that are necessarily contained in one area (they’re roaming on pastures),” the rancher warned about Oregon’s “updated” CAFO definition.
Small family farms throughout Oregon have filed a lawsuit against the state’s updated CAFO law
A lawsuit was filed in January this year on behalf of small family farms throughout Oregon, claiming that the definition of a CAFO is too wide and negatively affects almost anybody who produces eggs from backyard chickens, no matter the size of their property.
According to the National Review, Oregon’s government “joined forces” with the massive dairy industry to crush and suppress Oregon’s small farmers.
“This law is being enforced in the state of Oregon,” the rancher said, sharing the same story as National Review about Godspeed Hollow Farm in Newburg, Oregon, which has been recategorized as a CAFO for the simple reason that it has a gravel pathway from the milking machine to the pickup station just 100 feet in distance.
“[Oregon] has already shut down some farms. There is an injunction on some of the definitions of the law until it can be heard in court. Currently, small dairy farmers … a lot of what they’re requiring is simply too much for the small farmer.”
Another issue that Oregon farmers have to contend with is the state’s rules on water.
The only water that farmers are legally permitted to collect in Oregon is rainwater while all other things, including water from rivers and streams, in addition to groundwater on private property, are deemed a public resource.
Due to this rule, Oregon farmers are not even permitted to utilize water from their private wells to water their crops and hydrate their animals without a permit.
Together with the CAFO rule, this one concerning water use is being abused in this manner as to make it restrictive, if not impossible, for farmers to manage their farms.
“This rule went into place back in 2021,” the rancher stated about how Oregon officials passed the water rule, which just so happens to have occurred at a period when everybody was being troubled and shocked by Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) “pandemic” tyranny.
“It has slowly rolled out to the point where market gardeners on a half-acre of land are now receiving cease-and-desist orders saying, ‘you can’t water your gardens; figure out another way,’” the rancher added.
The apparent goal of this is to centralize power and control over the food market into the hands of a moneyed elite while denying small farmers their livelihoods and incomes in addition to their God-given right to grow, produce, consume and sell the fruit of their work.
If this sort of thing can occur in Oregon, it can happen everywhere in America.
Follow FoodFreedom.news for more stories about the food war going on against farmers.
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The Declining Value of The US Federal Minimum Wage
This graphic illustrates the history of the U.S. federal minimum wage using data compiled by Statista, in both nominal and real (inflation-adjusted) terms. The federal minimum wage was raised to $7.25 per hour in July 2009, where it has remained ever since.
Nominal vs. Real Value
The data Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu used to create this graphic can be found in the table below.
What our graphic shows is how inflation has eroded the real value of the U.S. minimum wage over time, despite nominal increases.
For instance, consider the year 1960, when the federal minimum wage was $1 per hour. After accounting for inflation, this would be worth around $10.28 today!
The two lines converge at 2023 because the nominal and real value are identical in present day terms.
Many States Have Their Own Minimum Wage
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), 30 states and Washington, D.C. have implemented a minimum wage that is higher than $7.25.
The following states have adopted the federal minimum: Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Meanwhile, the states of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee have no wage minimums, but have to follow the federal minimum.
How Does the U.S. Minimum Wage Rank Globally?
If you found this topic interesting, check out Mapped: Minimum Wage Around the World to see which countries have the highest minimum wage in monthly terms, as of January 2023.
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Grim ‘Diagnosis’ For German Economy Issued
A group of leading German economic institutes have slashed growth forecasts for the EU’s top economy in 2024 to 0.1% from an earlier projection of 1.3%.
In a “Joint Diagnosis” report published on Wednesday, the think tanks attributed the downgrade to high interest rates, weak global demand, and political uncertainty, saying these factors had dented hopes of a stronger recovery.
German economic output was barely higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic, as productivity has been at a standstill since then, the institutes said.
“Although a recovery is likely to set in from the spring, the overall momentum will not be too strong,” said Stefan Kooths, head of economic research at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW).
The economists now expect Germany’s gross domestic product (GDP) to increase by 1.4% in 2025, down from the 1.5% previously forecast.
READ MORE: German growth forecast to be slashed – economy minister
“There have recently been more headwinds than tailwinds in the domestic and foreign economies,” the report said.
Germany was the only G7 economy to contract last year as it struggled with the fallout from the energy crisis. Official data shows the economy shrank by 0.3% year-on-year in 2023 under pressure from soaring inflation and higher interest rates, as well as general weakness in the global economy.
The latest data reveals that German exports had declined despite rising global economic activity, largely due to lower demand for capital and intermediate goods, which are important for Germany. Price competitiveness for energy-intensive goods has also suffered due to high electricity prices and the outsourcing of some production, the economists said.
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