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    2023: The Year of War – China Readies to Battle America over Taiwan

    By
    Paul Crespo
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    9
    See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    ANALYSIS – Former Trump National Security Advisor and retired Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster is on a tear with the media, warning the nation of the biggest threats America faces in 2023. 

    Earlier, I wrote about the growing risk that Israel’s new nationalist government led by prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may strike Iran before the end of this year to prevent the Islamist regime from finally getting a nuke.

    In that piece I quoted McMaster as saying: “the chances are quite high of a significant conflict in the Middle East, maybe entailing an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear program.”

    An Israeli-Iranian conflict would certainly spread across the Middle East as Iran retaliates directly and asymmetrically, including targeting U.S. bases and interests.

    And now McMaster warns about something most of us already know, but he brings new urgency to the threat – that China is preparing its military for war with the United States war over Taiwan.

    On CBS Face The Nation, McMaster said: “Xi Jinping has made it quite clear, in his statements, that he is going to make, from his perspective, China whole again by subsuming Taiwan.” 

    “And preparations are underway,” he added.

    Earlier, I reported here that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) had just deployed one of its three aircraft carriers within miles of the U.S. territory of Guam, America’s small but strategic outpost in the Western Pacific.

    This is the closest the Chinese navy has ever sailed a warship of this size to any American territory.

    And it is sending a message – Chinese naval forces can get close to U.S. bases as well.

    But there is more. Newsweek also reported on McMaster’s CBS appearance:

    “China has become increasingly aggressive, not only from an economic and financial perspective and a wolf warrior diplomacy perspective, but physically, with its military,” McMaster said. “And what’s really disturbing is, I think, Xi Jinping is preparing the Chinese people for war.”

    He pointed to some of Xi’s speeches, which have taken on a hardline tone in recent months, as evidence that the U.S. should take the threat of war more seriously and “extend our power.” Doing so would also compel allies to invest more in their national defense, which would further serve as a deterrent, he added.

    Newsweek continued:

    McMaster’s warning follows other indications that China may be considering a war over Taiwan. In November, The Guardian reported that Xi told his military to “focus all its energy on fighting” to prepare for a potential war.

    “Focus all [your] energy on fighting, work hard on fighting and improve [your] capability to win,” he reportedly said.

    Welcome to 2023, the year America should be concerned not only with Russia’s war in Ukraine escalating and spreading into NATO Europe and possibly triggering some sort of nuclear incident, but also a war between Israel and Iran that could engulf the entire Middle East.

    And to top it off, this could also be the year we see a major catastrophic war with China over Taiwan.

    Or even worse – we may face all three regional military conflicts at once. Happy New Year!

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

    Amanda Head: CNN Stabs Biden!

    By
    Amanda Head
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    0

    Is the mainstream media finally waking up? Not so fast…

    However, tensions between the press and the Biden administration are definitely heating up after what has been widely regarded as a friendly relationship…

    Let Amanda explain the rising feud below:

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

    Amanda Head: According To The Left, DeSantis Is….Mussolini?

    By
    Amanda Head
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    3
    Ron DeSantis via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Florida Governor Ron DeSantis might as well be Darth Vader as far as the radical Left is concerned…

    Watch Amanda explain the latest controversy below:

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

    Veteran Gun Store Owner Saves Lives by Storing Other Vet’s Firearms

    By
    Paul Crespo
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    1
    Police image via Pixabay free images

    ANALYSIS – Every now and then you see a story that just hits home, and you know you need to write about it and spread the word. This one, reported by CBS News, is absolutely one of them.

    Caleb Morse, 39, an Army combat veteran, set up Rustic Renegade, a gun shop and shooting range in 2018 in Lafayette, Louisiana.

    Morse had served two combat tours in Iraq with the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division Special Troops Battalion, followed by service in the National Guard, and then worked as a military contractor in Iraq for four years.

    One day an Army buddy Morse served with in Iraq showed up at his gun store with his car and his dog. Then he brought a lot of guns inside the store, Morse said, adding: “And I’m like, brother, what are you doing?”

    Morse knew well that often when people, especially combat veterans, start giving away their things, they may be considering suicide. 

    But before Morse could have a chat with his buddy, the vet simply left. And for six months his buddy didn’t answer his phone.

    Meanwhile, Morse decided to hold his friend’s guns at Rustic Renegade in case he ever came back. 

    Thankfully, as CBS News reported:

    …his friend called and explained he had been in a bad spot and wondered where his guns were.  Morse said he told him, “They’re your guns, man. They’re yours, you may want them back. And whenever you’re ready, they’re here for you.

    “More than half of all gun-related deaths in the United States are suicides, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In 2022, the CDC reported that 26,993 people died by firearm suicide. Deaths by gun suicide are at an all-time high and have steadily increased, nearly uninterrupted, since 2006 according to researchers at John Hopkins School of Public Health. 

    In the veteran population the problem is acute; in its 2022 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Report, the Department of Veterans Affairs found that the suicide rate in 2020 was 57.3 % greater for veterans.  

    Guns are more commonly involved among veteran suicides, at 71%, than the rest of the population, at 50.3%, according to the CDC.

    Soon after his first buddy chose to drop off his guns with Morse, another veteran came by to do the same, telling Morse that he was “in a bad spot.”

    Morse, who had similarly been very depressed after returning from Iraq, accepted the vet’s gun and decided to set up a system to hold and track guns being left for storage by troubled vets in his store’s inventory, telling them to pick up their firearms when they felt better. 

    Within a year, other veterans dropped off guns “about a dozen times,” CBS reported. Since then, he has stored about 100 firearms.

    Soon after the second vet asked for gun storage, Morse was contacted by Gala True, an associate professor at Louisiana State University School of Medicine who specializes in efforts to prevent veteran suicides.

    According to CBS, she met with Morse in 2021 to work on a project she was coordinating with gun store owners who wanted to store firearm storage for those in crisis who, for a time, didn’t want their firearms in their homes. 

    The Armory Project was launched in Louisiana that same year with three different gun shop owners interested in providing storage for firearms.

    Through a Veterans Administration (VA) grant, True and her team helped the gun dealers build local networks and partnerships.

    Mike Anestis, a suicide prevention expert, professor at Rutgers University, and  Executive director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and a professor at Rutgers University, said that in a country with roughly 400 million guns, the solution can’t be about banning firearms or stopping people from buying them.

    And Anestis is absolutely correct. Voluntary outside storage, like preventing drunk driving by “taking away the car keys,” is a far better solution for preventing suicide by gunshot, than bans that violate our 2nd Amendment rights.

    However, storing guns as part of a gun store’s inventory can cause liability issues.

    So, as CBS reported, in July 2023 the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) got involved (in a good way this time). It issued an open letter to Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL) and gun shops advising how to legally and safely store firearms for these individuals. 

    Providing gun storage lockers at the gun store that individuals can open themselves and put their firearms inside, is one option.

    As the ATF letter states: “In this situation, an FFL does not “receive “or “acquire ” the firearm into its inventory, nor does the FFL assume control of the individual’s firearm.” This can reduce liability for gun shop owners like Morse, who want to provide outside storage for others in need. 

    This is a great idea, and a great story. Look up The Armory Project and see if you can help with the effort in your state, city, or locality.

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

    Biden DHS Funding Groups that Label Conservatives as Extremists

    By
    Paul Crespo
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    7
    Joe Biden via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    ANALYSIS – Your tax dollars are being used to demonize and target you. Team Biden continues its hyper-politicized, and illegal, campaign to equate Republicans and conservatives (i.e.: half the country) with Nazis and other fringe extremists.

    And it is using the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to spearhead the effort.

    Yes – They are weaponizing federal law enforcement to be used against you. And they are shamelessly lying about it.

    Joe Biden’s DHS, led by Alejandro Mayorkas, gave more than $350,000 to a left-wing university program that put the Republican Party and mainstream conservative groups on a “pyramid of far-right radicalization” next to militant neo-Nazis.

    This, according to documents obtained by a conservative media watchdog, Media Research Center (MRC).

    Despite its denials, and attempts to cover its tracks, DHS used its Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program to give the University of Dayton the funds in September 2022.

    This followed the college’s grant request proposal which highlighted those outrageous links made at a seminar in November 2021.

    At that event, Michael Loadenthal, a left-wing activist ‘researcher’ from the University of Cincinnati, presented the “Pyramid” — which also placed Breitbart News, PragerU, Turning Point USA, the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), and the American Conservative Union (ACU) on the next level of the ‘extremist’ pyramid.

    The ACU hosts the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) with speakers such as Donald Trump and other prominent Republicans.

    And to Team Biden, CPAC, the GOP, and MAGA are all equal to Nazis.

    Loadenthal, in another seminar, encouraged “antifascists” (aka radical left-wing extremists) to break the law and apply “pressure” to financial institutions and companies to de-platform conservatives.

    DHS knew very well what it was funding at the University of Dayton, yet blatantly lied about it, with a spokesperson for the agency telling the New York Post: 

    “This seminar was not funded, organized, or hosted by the Department of Homeland Security.”

    Adding:

    Similarly, the presented chart was not developed, presented, or endorsed by the Department of Homeland Security, and was not part of any successful grant application to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS does not profile, target, or discriminate against any individual for exercising their constitutional rights protected by the First Amendment.

    But according to the evidence, that is simply untrue; DHS is doing exactly that.

    “DHS is lying through its teeth once again,” Dan Schneider, a vice president at MRC, said in a statement. It “did indeed fund the…program a year after a graph and documents were presented that equated Nazis to conservatives, Christians, and Republicans.”

    According to MRC, the University of Dayton’s PREVENTS-OH was “among the most radical grantees.” The program vowed to fight “domestic violence extremism and hate movements.”

    But this grant is only a drop in the bucket of taxpayer funds used to target you.

    The Blaze reports:

    The DHS awarded 80 grants totaling nearly $40 million under its Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program to establish “media literacy and online critical thinking initiatives.” 

    In an internal memo obtained by MRC, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas referred to the grant program as a “high priority.”

    Of course, they are high priority – Team Biden and the Democrats need to smear and attack all Republicans ASAP – 2024 is just around the corner.

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

    Senate Flies US Flag Upside Down Indicating ‘Emergency Distress’

    By
    Paul Crespo
    -
    0

    ANALYSIS – We still don’t know if it was an intentional call for help, a prank, or a broken clip as Senate officials claim, but the American flag did spend some time flying upside down over the U.S. Capitol. 

    And considering it flew over the Democrat-led Senate building, the meaning and symbolism weren’t lost on many Americans.

    A tweet by Rogan O’Handley, a political activist whose Twitter handle is DC_Draino, posted on May 16, 2023, showed a photo of the U.S. flag outside the Capitol flying upside down.

    He tweeted: “NEW: US flag currently flying upside down over Senate building signaling distress and needing rescue.”

    DC_Draino added: “Some believe it was flipped after Sen. Fetterman spoke with the sophistication of a drunk toddler in a hearing today.”

    The tweet was viewed 4.3 million times by Thursday.

    Under the U.S. Flag Code, turning the flag upside down should never be done “except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.”

    Others noted that Congress, and indeed the entire country, is in distress and needs emergency assistance.

    The upside-down flag display has also been used as a means of protest, mostly by conservatives.

    Newsweek confirmed that the photo is real and the flag was at one point upside down, but reported that an official at the Capitol blamed the upside down flag on a broken clip, adding that the problem was later corrected.

    However, many on Twitter questioned the explanation. One asked: “If it was a broken clip and the wind was blowing as it clearly is in the photo, why would it not appear to be attached by only one clip?”

    “Science/physics, right?”

    “If it was caused because a ‘clip broke’ wouldn’t the flag just streamer in the wind instead of still fluttering like a flag?” another user suggested.

    DC_Draino also responded to the official explanation reported by Newsweek, and mocked those who bought it at face value:

    Yes I know the article says a “clip broke” but the flag wouldn’t fly like that if it was hanging by 1 clip

    Guarantee the reply guys in my comments taking the government’s PR answer at face value are vaccinated & boosted

    The picture is clearly showing something different.


    However, as symbolic and justified it may be to fly the American flag upside down over the Democrat-controlled Senate, this was still likely a case of human error and broken clip. 

    Still, maybe it should become a regular thing until the Republicans retake the Senate.

    America is definitely in emergency distress.

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

    Amanda Head: Debt Deal Is A Disaster!

    By
    Amanda Head
    -
    0

    Capitol Hill is in a frenzy over the latest debt deal reached between lawmakers.

    Watch Amanda explain the situation below:

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

    FBI Promised Twitter the Bureau Would be ‘Conduit’ to Intel Community, and Beyond

    By
    Paul Crespo
    -
    3
    Photo via Pixabay images

    ANALYSIS – The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) egregious overreach in manipulating Big Tech firms such as Twitter to do its bidding has now got an even more blockbuster twist.

    According to Matt Taibbi’s ongoing ‘Twitter Files’ exposé, the FBI offered to be the conduit between Big Tech and the entire U.S. intelligence Community (IC) in its unconstitutional effort to censor Americans.

    And it then actively became that conduit.

    The Bureau also oddly referred to itself as potentially being the “belly button” of the U.S. Government (USG) in terms of interactions with Big Tech.

    To keep a fig leaf of propriety, when making requests to Big Tech firms such as Twitter to censor or block accounts, the FBI ensured that the members of the IC involved in this loop would be in “listen only” mode.

    In these embarrassing email releases, we see, in what was then real-time, the FBI’s growing entanglement with BIG Tech, far overstepping its legal mandate, and constitutional restrictions, and endeavoring tirelessly to corral as many other federal agencies into the effort as possible.

    Beyond just looping in other intelligence agencies such as CIA, NSA, and who knows what other three-letter members of the IC’s alphabet soup, it even tried to get the State Department included in the unholy mix.

    FBI Supervisory Special Agent Elvis Chan reportedly pushed for the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) to be included in the weekly call with Twitter.

    For the sake of full disclosure, I am a former member of the U.S. Intelligence Community, having served with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) as a Human Intelligence (HUMINT) collector overseas. 

    I was also involved in a major Pentagon project creating news websites at our regional commands to combat anti-American and extremist narratives overseas.

    All the work I did focused on fighting the war of ideas abroad – never at home. And they only involved providing accurate information to combat the lies, propaganda, and misinformation of our enemies.

    Never to censor or quash stories.

    The essence of counter-propaganda is to fight lies with the truth.

    But, I’m intimately familiar with the agencies and techniques involved.

    And never then could I have imagined some of our federal law enforcement, intelligence or other agencies being allowed, or given free reign to, suppress, censor, or manipulate news followed in America by tens of millions of Americans.

    To his limited credit, even the woke and clueless Twitter Head of Trust and Safety Yoel Roth, pushed back on a few of the FBI’s increasingly outrageous requests.

    Roth reportedly argued against including the GEC in the meetings because it was “political” unlike the “apolitical” intelligence agencies.

    Roth expressed concerns about the GEC being “press happy” and said it would be a “major risk” to bring it into the weekly call, Taibbi reported.

    These concerns showed Roth understood the dangers involved. Sadly, he went along anyway.

    Note to Roth, it doesn’t matter if our intelligence agencies are ‘apolitical,’ they should be anywhere near domestic media outlets or equivalent ‘public square news disseminators like Big Tech social media platforms.

    In a second note to Roth – you idiot, of course our intelligence and federal law enforcement agencies are no longer apolitical, to the extent they ever truly were.

    The 2016 election and its aftermath made that crystal clear.

    And all of those protestations appeared moot as Roth and Twitter rolled over to the massive government push.

    Taibbi reported that eventually the FBI, DHS and other intelligence agencies, as well as the Treasury Department, Health and Human Services, the NSA and the State Department were among the government agencies sending requests to Twitter via Signal, a secure messaging app.

    And Taibbi notes that Twitter ended up taking orders (aka requests) from every conceivable government body.

    Per his tweet: “beginning with the [Democrat-led] Senate Intel Committee (SSCI), which seemed to need reassurance Twitter was taking FBI direction. Execs rushed to tell “Team SSCI” they zapped five accounts on an FBI tip…”

    So, to those hacks who said these Big Tech firms were private companies following their own internal rules for restricting accounts, and not government censorship, and their actions had nothing to do with violating the 1st Amendment – these files call ‘Bullsh*t.’

    Big Tech was, and with the exception of Twitter under Musk, continue to be acting in great part under orders (aka requests) from multiple agencies of the federal government, making them complicit in violating Americans 1st Amendment right to free speech.

    This latest installment of the Twitter Files should be reviewed by everyone in government, Big Media, and Big Tech, as a warning of what NOT to do.

    Especially, since this unconstitutional activity is still going on at the likes of Facebook, LinkedIn and other Big Tech firms.

    It is time for full scale Congressional investigations, and clear-cut reforms, legislation, and executive orders that will put a stop to this outrageous collusion and censorship before it gets even worse.

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

    Amanda Head: Joe Biden Announces Re-election

    By
    Amanda Head
    -
    1

    Joe Biden has officially announced his campaign for a second term in the White House.

    Things are about to get interesting.

    Watch Amanda explain the situation below:

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

    Is ‘The Fix In’ Again? What’s Up With Hunter Biden’s Legal Case?

    By
    Paul Crespo
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    5
    President Joe Biden hugs his family during the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. (DOD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II)

    ANALYSIS – Federal prosecutors are seeking a grand jury indictment of Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. And while the investigation is a fresh setback to his father’s 2024 re-election bid, some believe ‘the fix could still be in.’

    It is unclear what charges the U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss plans to file against Hunter. 

    But, according to court papers, the newly named ‘special counsel’ said he expects an indictment before September 29, which is just before the statute of limitations runs out on Hunter’s felony gun charge.

    Of course, the time has almost run out because Weiss took years to complete the hyper simple investigation — and is still stalling.

    And Weiss didn’t have to announce the grand jury indictment is coming. He could have just done it instead.

    The court filing is related to a felony gun charge alleging that Hunter Biden illegally possessed a firearm in October 2018 while he was a drug user. He is also under federal investigation for his business dealings and failing to pay taxes on tens of millions of dollars earned mostly from shady foreign sources in 2017 and 2018.

    In June, Hunter Biden agreed to a sweetheart plea deal where he would plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offences, and separately get a ‘diversion’ program for the gun charge. The plea agreement fell apart after U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, appointed by President Donald Trump, correctly questioned it during a court appearance in July.

    It turned out Hunter Biden believed the deal would give him blanket immunity from any future prosecution. Federal prosecutors were forced to admit that wasn’t really the case. 

    Weiss didn’t have the authority to give global blanket immunity then. But as ‘special counsel’ appointed by Joe Biden, Weiss does now.

    Due to foot dragging and failures to cooperate by the FBI and other federal agencies, congressional Republicans are considering launching an impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden, alleging that he had played a role in his son’s shady foreign business affairs and influence peddling scheme.

    The inquiry would give the Congress full authority to force the reluctant, partisan bureaucrats to pony up all records requested.

    In July, the House of Representatives oversight committee said bank records showed Joe Biden’s family and associates received $20 million from oligarchs in Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine during his vice presidency from 2009-2017.

    “If you look at all the information we have been able to gather so far, it is a natural step forward that you would have to go to an impeachment inquiry,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy recently said on Fox News.

    That’s why the actions of Weiss are concerning. Many legal experts, and Republican opponents, see Weiss using the gun charge as leverage to get Hunter to renegotiate another, similarly weak, plea deal.

    As the New York Post reported:

    David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor, told The Post that an indictment on that gun charge is “not that significant” and could be merely “a placeholder” — meaning Weiss could still potentially bring a case against Biden related to any potential illegal foreign dealings or felony tax charges.

    “It’s holding in place the ability to use his leverage — a felony gun charge — in negotiations with Hunter Biden to resolve his global criminal exposure,” Weinstein said.

    Cornell Law Professor Robert Hockett told The Post he agreed that an indictment on the gun charge could be used to bring about a larger settlement to shut all this down.

    Weinstein added that he doesn’t believe Weiss “is going to end up playing hardball” in potential negotiations with Hunter’s legal team.

    But Hockett said that Weiss would be cautious to avoid the appearance of going easy on the president’s son, especially given the barrage of criticism Weiss received on the prior plea deal.

    Still, the GOP-led Congress should move ahead forcefully on an impeachment inquiry. It may be the only way to finally get to the truth about the Bidens’ shady deals.

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

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