US Military Desperately Seeking to Stay in Niger Despite Order to Leave
The Pentagon is desperately seeking to stay in Niger despite the military-led government telling US troops to leave in the wake of accusations from American officials that Niger could be poised to transfer uranium to Iran. Niger was outraged at the allegations and rejected them.
“The Pentagon is working with Niger officials, seeking a way for U.S. troops to stay in the country — a key base for counterterrorism operations in sub-Saharan Africa — following a weekend directive that they leave,” The Associated Press reports.
Spokesperson Sabrina Singh said the US is seeking “clarification” from Niger officials and is still engaged in lengthy and direct” discussions with the junta leaders. Washington has warned the West African nation against forging deeper ties with ‘rogue’ actors like Russian and Iran.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said that the Biden administration is “closely monitoring the Russian defense activities” there in order “to assess and mitigate potential risk to U.S. personnel, interests and assets.” Wagner Group is one major Russian mercenary outfit which has made deep inroads into the region.
Over the weekend, Niger’s military-led government which is called the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) declared US flights over Niger territory to be “illegal”.
Last year’s coup in the country saw a military-led government come to power, which from the start signaled rough and uncertain times ahead for US-Niger relations. A Saturday statement by Nigerien junta spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane said, “Niger regrets the intention of the American delegation to deny the sovereign Nigerien people the right to choose their partners and types of partnerships capable of truly helping them fight against terrorism.”
This charge of the US not respecting the West African nation’s sovereignty comes in reaction to recent Western intelligence claims that Niger is engaged in secret talks and deal-making to grant Iran access to its uranium. Singh in a Monday briefing had said, “We were troubled on the path that Niger is on.”
According to the latest back-and-forth between junta leaders and the Pentagon:
“The American bases and civilian personnel cannot stay on Nigerien soil any longer,” he [Insa Garba Saidou, an advisor to Niger’s generals] told The Associated Press.
Singh said the U.S. was aware of the March 16 statement “announcing the end of the status of forces agreement between Niger and the United States. We are working through diplomatic channels to seek clarification. These are ongoing discussions and we don’t have more to share at this time.” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said the discussions were prompted by Niger’s “trajectory.”
“We are in touch with transition authorities to seek clarification of their comments and discuss additional next steps,” Patel said.
When will Congress learn? Billions $$ burned up trying to buy “democracy” in Africa. https://t.co/e5su1Tuhkl
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 20, 2024
American officials are now worried about the major drone base only recently built at a cost of $110 million called Air Base 201, which was crucial for Pentagon drone surveillance operations over the region. Likely it will now have to be shuttered.
International reports estimate that some 1,000 or more US troops and contractors remain in the country, with most of them manning the airbase. Much of the population looks upon the US as an ‘imperial’ power, also given the history of the Western powers in Africa, particularly starting in the 19th century and what historians dub “the Scramble for Africa”.
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Study Says ‘Interpersonal Racism’ Linked to Heart Problems in Black Women
UPDATED
But health scholar questions findings
“Interpersonal racism” might lead to higher rates of coronary heart disease, according to a recent study.
But a health scholar who spoke to The College Fix questioned the findings.
“Perceived experiences of interpersonal racism in employment, in housing, and with the police were associated with higher incidence of CHD among Black women,” the study from Boston University epidemiologist Shanshan Sheehy concluded. However, “perceived racism in everyday life was not associated with higher risk,” Dr. Sheehy wrote.
She wrote the study, published in the American Heart Association journal, with Michelle Albert, the most recent president of the group. The paper used data from nearly 50,000 black women beginning in 1997.
The study found that after adjusting for multiple variables, the link between racism and heart problems was “no longer statistically significant,” meaning the connection could be explained by chance.
Sheehy did not respond to two emailed requests for comment on the paper, including the claim “racism is highly prevalent in America.”
The research director at Do No Harm said the extensive data set is a strength of the study, but there are many problems with its designs.
Ian Kingsbury said, “the association [of interpersonal racism] is not significant when it comes to myocardial infarction,” in his emailed comments to The Fix.
When it comes to coronary heart disease, Kingsbury said “there is no association with self-reported racism in everyday life but an association with self-reported discrimination in employment, housing and interactions with police.”
There could be a confounding variable at play.
Kingsbury said those reporting higher levels of racism in everyday life “are more anxious and prone to conflict,” and people with these personality traits have higher incidence of coronary heart disease.
When asked about the strengths of this paper, Kingsbury said the paper “connect[ed] data collected decades ago to contemporary health outcomes.”
Weaknesses included “overstating…findings” as well as a “lack of candor around the limitations of self-reported racism as a measure of actual racism.”
He said the medical community should not use this paper. The results are “unconvincing” he said, when other variables are taken into consideration.
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Kingsbury said, “it’s unclear how [the results] would be actionable” and said there is a growing view doctors are “people who can solve all the world’s problems.”
This often “invites activism into medical training at the expense of technical expertise.”
Other studies have tried to connect police interactions with health problems.
For example, a University of Minnesota researcher found a correlation between police stops in a neighborhood and preterm births. However, the researcher, Rachel Hardeman, could not identify any woman who had an interaction with police and then had a preterm birth.
Furthermore, black immigrant women had better pregnancy outcomes than even white women, according to the study.
That did not stop Hardeman from blaming racism.
“These findings suggest that racialized police patterns borne from a history of racism in the United States may contribute to racial disparity in preterm birth,” the Planned Parenthoodboard member wrote.
Editor’s note: A short explanation of what statistically significant means has been added.
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Ukraine Drones Again Target Strategic Bomber Base Deep Inside Russia
On Wednesday a wave of Ukrainian drones targeted a well-known airbase deep inside Russia which is home to strategic bombers. The air base, called Engels 2, is near the Russian city by the same name, and nearby residents reported hearing at least four explosions during the attack.
The Main Directorate of Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) has since owned up to the attack, with sources in Russia confirming to international media that “targets had been hit” and the damage is being assessed.
Some drones may have been intercepted, however, with Roman Busargin, the governor of the Russian region of Saratov, describing in a statement that a drone attack was “repelled”. This attack is significant given Engels is located over 600km from the Ukraine border. But it’s not the first time it has come under attack during the war.
In December of 2022 there were reports that two Tu-95 bombers were damaged in a similar drone operation from Ukraine. Later that same month explosions were reported at the airbase but the extent of damage on the ground was unclear. During this latter attack, three Russian servicemen were reportedly killed by falling debris after UAVs were intercepted.
A well-known Russian Telegraph channel which reports breaking news related to the Ukraine war said of this newest assault on the airfield: “Preliminary data suggests the anti-aircraft defense system was activated. Residents report hearing a prior siren. There is no official information on casualties or damages.”
Ukraine-based media sources have speculated that something was hit at Engels:
Meanwhile, social media users mentioned a fire at the airfield area post-explosions, with rescuers quickly arriving.
One commentator, residing near the airfield, wrote, “There was at least one direct hit, the rest (of the drones) likely shot down by anti-aircraft missiles. Then came the fire trucks, ambulances, police with flashing lights.”
Engels has long been known to house both Tu-160 and Tu-95MS long-range bombers which are being used in Ukraine, thus it remains a high priority target for Ukraine’s cross-border attacks against Russian territory.
The Kremlin has accused Western intelligence with assisting in such operations. This recently found some degree of positive confirmation in a damning New York Times story detailing the extent of the CIA’s presence in Ukraine going back a decade. The CIA established intelligence outposts along the border with Russia, many of which are likely directing these attacks into Russian territory.
Feeling emboldened by a string of ‘successes’, including prior attacks and bombings in Crimea but especially destruction of oil refineries, Ukraine forces will likely try to continue hitting targets inside Russia, also as their capability grows given they have been supplied with ever-longer range rockets from the US and NATO countries
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Gay Bar Managers Arrested in Russian City
A Russian court has ordered the arrest of an administrator and an art director of a gay bar in the city of Orenburg on Wednesday. They were charged with violating the ban on LGBTQ “propaganda.”
According to news agency RBC, the employees identified by the media as Diana Kamilyanova and Aleksandr Klimov are the first people who have been arrested since Russia formally banned the “international LGBT movement” last year.
The arrest comes after police raided the bar Pose on Monday. In its post on Telegram, the court described the administrator and the art director as “persons with non-traditional sexual orientation” and said they will remain behind bars until May 18.
According to the court, the administrator has been accused of organizing shows that constitute “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations.” The art director, meanwhile, was responsible for “the selection of drag performers” and has been accused of “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among the bar’s patrons and on the bar’s Telegram channel.”
Read more ‘Don’t touch the kids,’ Putin tells gays
Both were charged under Article 282.2 of Russia’s Criminal Code, which deals with membership in banned organizations. If found guilty, they would face up to eight years in prison.
In 2022, Russia expanded the existing ban on LGBTQ “propaganda” to minors by outlawing it altogether. Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the State Duma – the lower house of Russia’s parliament – said at the time that the ban would shield “our children and the future of the country from the darkness spread by the US and European states.”
President Vladimir Putin insisted last month that the authorities do not have issues with what the members of the LGBTQ community do in their personal lives as long as they “don’t flaunt it” in public.
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Liz Warren And Socialist Pals Want To Normalize Confiscation Of Assets With ‘Ultrarich’ Tax
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Tuesday reintroduced her ‘Ultra-Millionaire’ Tax Act, by which the government would confiscate 2% from households worth between $50 million and $1 billion, and 3% on households worth over $1 billion.
Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Brendan Boyle (D-PA) have introduced a companion bill in the House.
“As President Biden says, no one thinks it’s fair that Jeff Bezos gets enough tax loopholes that he pays at a lower rate than a public school teacher,” Warren said in a statement. “All my bill is asking is that when you make it big, bigger than $50 million dollars, then on that next dollar, you pitch in two cents, so everyone else can have a chance.”
While Warren insists that the bill would affect the wealthiest 100,000 households in the US – roughly 0.05% of the population, Democrats routinely lie to sell voters on their plans, and normalizing the confiscation of assets would obviously open the door to the consideration of confiscation among lower wealth brackets.
Communist Elizabeth Warren, (“Democrat”, Mass), is seeking to confiscate your capital with the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act which confiscates capital, not income: it would confiscate 2% of household wealth worth $50 million to $1 billion and a 3% of worth more than $1 billion
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 20, 2024
According to Fox News, Warren’s bill contains additional rules to go after wealth head in trusts as part of a tax minimization strategy, and would give the IRS and additional $100 billion to fund auditing and enforcement efforts. ‘Tax-and-spend’ at its finest.
Communist Elizabeth Warren, (“Democrat”, Mass), is seeking to confiscate your capital with the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act which confiscates capital, not income: it would confiscate 2% of household wealth worth $50 million to $1 billion and a 3% of worth more than $1 billion
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 20, 2024
Warren’s proposal also includes a 40% “exit tax” on people worth $50 million or more who attempt to renounce their US citizenship to avoid paying the tax (which would obviously happen the moment this bill had a chance in hell of passing).
According to the Whatron Budget Model at the University of Pennsylvania, Warren’s legislation would raise $2.7 trillion over a decade. The analysis also concluded that the wealth tax would reduce capital by 3.1%, slash average hourly wages by 1.2%, and reduce GDP by 1.2% in 2050.
“Smaller federal deficits translate into less crowding out and thus increased national saving and greater capital accumulation. However, wealthy households that face a tax on their savings choose to save less and thus accumulate less capital,” the economists explained in 2021. “The net effect is a decline in the total capital stock of 1.4 percent in 2031 and 3.1 percent in 2050. This decline in capital in turn makes workers less productive, which is reflected by a decline in wages of 0.7 percent in 2031 and 1.2 percent in 2050. Lower private capital leads GDP to decline by 0.6 percent in 2031 and 1.2 percent in 2050.”
Warren’s plan has the support of five other ‘Democratic’ senators, as well as 27 House Democrats and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The proposal follows a push by President Biden for higher taxes on businesses and the wealthy at his SOTU speech earlier this month.
“The way to make the tax code fair is to make big corporations and the very wealthy finally pay their share,” Biden read off a teleprompter, asking Congress to raise the minimum corporate tax to 21%, and insisting that billionaires should pay a minimum tax of 25%.
In Nov. 2022, voters in Warren’s home state of Massachusetts narrowly approved a 4% surtax on those making over $1 million – which the state’s Department of Revenue estimates will generate $1.5 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ending this June.
Killing Jobs?
According to Dan Savickas, director of policy at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, “It is clear that lawmakers at the highest levels of government fundamentally misunderstand what net worth actually means. Senator Warren’s proposal sets out to tax wealth as if net worth reflected cash in the bank. It paints a fictional ‘Scrooge McDuck’ image of these billionaires storing their own money in large swimming pools, just laying around.“
According to Savickas, Warren’s wealth tax would be on investments used by businesses to create jobs, helping the economy – and is not a tax on liquid assets that can easily just be paid to the government.
“A tax on wealth is a tax on gains that have not been realized. Innovators and investors cannot pay off something they don’t have. In order to comply with Senator Warren’s ridiculous scheme to boost her political profile, these businessmen and businesswomen will have to sell off these assets or shrink their operations,” he said, adding “This will cost jobs, plainly and simply. This is as misguided an economic policy proposal as there is right now, and it is the working people Senator Warren purports to champion that will bear the brunt of the consequences.”
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WEF Leader Working To Radically Depopulate the Planet Fighting For Life After Emergency Brain Surgery
Sadghuru, the WEF Agenda Contributor who famously declared his goal is to have “less souls” on the planet, is currently fighting for his life after undergoing emergency brain surgery following massive swelling and bleeding in […]
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