Texas Woman Arrested for Facebook Post About Town Water Quality

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Left: a police department water quality notice text; right: a mugshot of a woman with blond hair in a bun over a background of brownish tap water.

Reclaim the Net

Jennifer Combs had never gotten so much as a speeding ticket. On May 8, police in Trinidad, Texas, arrested her on a state jail felony charge for writing a Facebook post about the town’s water supply.

The post said residents had been hospitalized due to bacteria in the water. The city says that claim was false. So they sent cops to her door.

The charge is felony false alarm or report under Texas Penal Code § 42.06, a statute designed for people who call in fake bomb threats or fabricate emergencies. Trinidad’s police chief and local officials decided it also applies to a woman who ran a community Facebook page and relayed what neighbors told her about getting sick.

Combs’ post, published on her “Southern Belle Watch” account, read in part: “We have received reports that some citizens have been hospitalized due to bacteria in the water. This is a serious public health concern that deserves immediate attention. If your water looks discolored, contains sediment, has a strong odor, or you have experienced related health issues, please send us a message. We are gathering information and reporting findings to the state.”

That post got her a night in the Navarro County Justice Center. She has since filed a federal lawsuit alleging the arrest was “an act of deliberate political retaliation.”

We obtained a copy of the lsuit for you here.

The water is brown. The city admits it.

Tri nidad, a small city in Henderson County about an hour southeast of Dallas, has a water problem that nobody disputes.

[…]

Via https://reclaimthenet.org/texas-woman-arrested-for-facebook-post-about-town-water-quality

Fars debunks New York Times claims ‘Israel’ exempt from US-Iran agreement

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Al Mayadeen English

Claims that President Donald Trump exempted “Israel” from commitments under a potential agreement with Iran appear to be baseless, Fars News Agency revealed, based on a review of the final draft text.

Fars reported that The New York Times had alleged “Israel” was granted an exemption from the obligations outlined in the emerging draft MoU with Tehran.

However, an examination of the explicit wording of the prospective agreement shows the opposite. According to the draft text, should the agreement be finalized, the United States and its allies would be bound not to launch any form of aggression against Iran or its allies.

In return, Iran has committed that neither it nor its allies would carry out preemptive military strikes against the United States and its allies.

Consequently, the media outlet’s claim that “Israel’s” regime is exempt from any commitments toward Iran directly contradicts the explicit provisions of the final agreement, rendering the assertion false and unfounded.

US and Iran reportedly near agreement

This closely follows a report by Axios citing a US official familiar with the talks, stating that the United States and Iran are nearing a draft agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, ease pressure on global oil markets, and launch a new round of talks over Tehran’s nuclear program.

The proposed deal, which mediators and President Donald Trump have suggested could be announced as early as Sunday, would establish a 60-day ceasefire framework that could later be extended by mutual consent. However, officials cautioned that talks remain ongoing and the agreement could still collapse before being finalized.

According to the US official, both sides would sign a memorandum of understanding under which Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, remove naval mines deployed in the waterway, and allow unrestricted maritime traffic to resume. In return, Washington would lift its blockade on Iranian ports and issue sanctions waivers enabling Tehran to freely export oil.

The official acknowledged that the arrangement would provide a major boost to Iran’s economy, but argued that it would also stabilize global energy markets by restoring oil flows through one of the world’s most strategically important shipping lanes.

[…]

Via https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/fars-debunks-nyt-claims–israel–was-exempted-from-us-iran-a

Oil-rich province to vote on leaving Canada

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Oil-rich province to vote on leaving Canada
FILE PHOTO ©  Artur Widak / NurPhoto via Getty Images

RT

Alberta’s premier has agreed to let residents decide whether the province should pursue a path toward independence

 Canada’s oil-rich province of Alberta will hold a vote in October on whether to remain in the country or take steps toward a binding referendum on independence, Premier Danielle Smith has announced.

The vote is expected to be held on October 19 and will ask Albertans whether they want the province to remain in Canada. Smith stressed that this will not be a binding referendum on independence, but will instead gauge whether the people want to pursue one.

The announcement comes after pro-independence group Stay Free Alberta submitted nearly 302,000 signatures to trigger a citizen-led referendum on leaving Canada. The required threshold was 177,732 signatures, equal to 10% of the votes cast in the previous provincial election.

Smith has said she supports Alberta remaining in Canada, but argued that the people should be able to express their views on the province’s future. The initiative was challenged in court by First Nations groups arguing that secession would violate treaty rights.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded by saying Alberta is “essential” to Canada and vowed to build a stronger country. Ottawa has sought to address some of Alberta’s long-running grievances, including disputes over energy policy and access to export markets for the province’s oil and gas sector.

Alberta is one of Canada’s most important energy-producing regions and has long been at odds with the federal government over environmental regulations, taxation, and pipeline access. Separatist sentiment has been fueled by claims that Ottawa has held back the province’s resource economy, though polling suggests full independence remains a minority position.

Even if Albertans vote to pursue independence and hold an official referendum, the province cannot unilaterally leave Canada. Under Canada’s constitutional framework, a clear referendum result would require negotiations with the federal government and other provinces, while legal challenges from indigenous groups could further complicate the process.

Tulsi Gabbard Quits Trump Administration

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Tulsi Gabbard quits Trump administration
©  Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

RT

22 May, 2026

\US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has announced her resignation, citing her husband’s recent diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer. Her resignation came a week after she revealed she was investigating US-funded biolabs in Ukraine.

“Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026,” she wrote in a letter to the president that she shared on social media. “My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”

Gabbard will be replaced by her current Deputy DNI, Aaron Lukas, Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her,” the president added.

A former Democrat, Gabbard left the party and denounced its leaders as “elitist warmongers” and anti-white racists in 2022. Gabbard endorsed Trump in 2024, claiming that only he could “walk us back from the brink of war.”

According to media reports and Washington rumors, Gabbard was sidelined by Trump and his closest officials – among them Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth – while plans were drawn up to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January and attack Iran in February.

Before endorsing Trump, Gabbard was a vocal opponent of war with Iran, and a persistent critic of US military aid to Ukraine. The Russia-Ukraine conflict, she tweeted in 2022, “could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns.”

Less than two weeks before news of her resignation broke, Gabbard told the New York Post that she was investigating more than 120 US-funded biological laboratories worldwide, more than 40 of them in Ukraine. Gabbard said that her team would determine whether these labs engaged in “dangerous gain-of-function research” – modifying viruses to make them deadlier or more transmissible

The Russian Defense Ministry has warned about the existence of these laboratories since early 2022, publishing documents that revealed the labs were working on “plague, anthrax, tularemia, cholera and other deadly diseases.”

After reviewing thousands of pages of documents seized from labs in Donetsk, Lugansk and Kherson, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov of the Russian Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces concluded in 2023 that “the US, under the guise of ensuring global biosecurity, conducted dual-use research, including the creation of biological weapons components, in close proximity to Russian borders.”

The existence of these laboratories was initially written off as a conspiracy theory by the US government, although then-US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland told lawmakers that “Ukraine has biological research facilities,” without admitting that they were funded and operated by the US.

Kirillov led Russia’s investigation into the labs until he was assassinated in 2024,  allegedly by Ukrainian security services.

[…]

Via https://www.rt.com/news/640431-tulsi-gabbard-quits-trump/

Barakah false flag: How Israeli drones targeted UAE nuclear plant to frame Iran, unleash nuclear catastrophe

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By Ivan Kesic

A drone strike on an electrical generator just outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates on May 17, 2026, suddenly brought the Persian Gulf to the brink of an environmental and nuclear catastrophe.

Iranian military sources have confirmed what the evidence overwhelmingly suggests: the attack was carried out by the Israeli military in a calculated provocation designed to push the UAE toward greater hostility against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The UAE now finds itself at the epicenter of a dangerously escalating crisis following the attack on its only nuclear power facility, which, if breached, could irradiate the entire region.

While Emirati officials have made veiled accusations pointing toward Iran, couched in ambiguous statements about the drones’ origin, a sober examination of the technical evidence tells a different story. The flight path impossibilities, the operational sophistication required, and the consistent, decades-long pattern of US-Israeli false-flag operations across the Persian Gulf region all converge on a single point.

Iranian military sources have explicitly identified the Zionist regime as the perpetrator. The attack serves Israeli interests with surgical precision: driving a wedge between Iran and its Persian Gulf Arab neighbors, sowing regional discord, and creating a pretext for further escalation, all while the regime in Tel Aviv celebrates the chaos and destabilization.

The Barakah plant, situated on the UAE’s far western coast near the Saudi border, is not an ordinary industrial site. It houses thousands of kilograms of nuclear material. Any direct hit, or even a well-placed strike on its supporting infrastructure, could have triggered a catastrophic release of radioactivity, poisoning the entire Persian Gulf.

The consequences would not have respected borders: Iran’s own coastline, from Asaluyeh to Bandar Abbas, would have been among the first to suffer. This was not an attack on the UAE alone. It was an attack on the Persian Gulf itself.

Attack on Barakah nuclear plant and official UAE statements

The Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant sits in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region, approximately 225 kilometers west of the UAE capital, hard against the Saudi border. Its location is strategic and so is its vulnerability.

[…]

On May 17, Abu Dhabi authorities responded to a fire that broke out in an external electrical generator located outside the plant’s inner perimeter, a critical component whose destruction could cascade into larger systems. Officials insisted there was no impact on radiological safety levels and that all units continued operating normally.

But the official narrative began to fray almost immediately. The UAE Ministry of Defense claimed that its air defense systems intercepted three drones that had entered Emirati airspace. Two were successfully destroyed, the ministry said. The third struck the generator.

And then came the telling detail – one that speaks louder than any statement. For the first time in several weeks, the UAE Defense Ministry did not claim that the drones had entered the country from Iran.

Previous allegations of Iranian origin had never been confirmed by Iran’s Armed Forces. The absence of the usual accusation was itself an admission. And the evidence, as Iranian military sources confirm, points not east to Iran, but west to Tel Aviv.

IAEA assessment of the attack’s grave implications

On May 19, 2026, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency addressed the United Nations Security Council. His assessment was stark and deeply alarming.

The IAEA chief confirmed that a drone strike on the morning of May 17 caused a fire in an electrical generator located outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah plant. Radiation levels remained normal and no injuries were reported.

On the surface, these details offered a narrow sigh of relief. But he then laid bare the true gravity of what nearly transpired. He made clear that a direct hit on the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant could result in a very high release of radioactivity into the environment.

Even a strike that merely disabled the power supply lines to the plant, he explained, could increase the likelihood of reactor core melts, the nightmare scenario that nuclear safety regimes are designed to prevent. A meltdown at Barakah would not be a local problem but a regional catastrophe.

In their worst cases, both scenarios would necessitate urgent protective actions: mass evacuations, population sheltering, and the distribution of stable iodine tablets to prevent thyroid cancer. The reach of such measures would extend from a few kilometers to several hundred kilometers. Radiation monitoring would need to cover distances of hundreds of kilometers. Food restrictions would likely need to be imposed across multiple countries.

The IAEA chief did not stop at technical warnings. Attacks on nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes are unacceptable, he said, consistent with IAEA General Conference resolutions. He added that such attacks are even more dangerous when directed against operating nuclear power plants – whether Zaporizhzhya, Kursk, Bushehr, Barakah, or any other. Nuclear power plants, he noted, are protected under international humanitarian law.

[…]

Iranian military sources identify Israeli responsibility

An informed Iranian military source has delivered a decisive and informed assessment of the May 17 drone attack on the UAE’s Barakah nuclear facility: it was the handiwork of Israel.

The source, cited by a local news agency, said the Zionist regime is deliberately seeking to push the UAE toward deeper, more negative involvement in the region – against Iran and other Islamic nations. It is an operational reading of enemy intent.

He further noted that the UAE has engaged in various malicious actions over the past three months, while Iran, for its part, has clearly announced the operations it has carried out against the UAE for its direct and indirect involvement in the recent war against Iran.

[…]

Technical contradictions in Emirati claims

The UAE Ministry of Defense did not directly accuse any regional actor of responsibility for the attack. Instead, it offered two pieces of information: first, that the drone struck the power plant from the western border; second, that it was launched from Iraqi territory, along with the two other alleged downed drones.

This constitutes a subtle, indirect accusation against Iran, channeled through its allies in the Iraqi Axis of Resistance.

There is a problem, however. The second official Emirati claim is inconsistent with the first. And both are technically unfounded, as the assessment reveals.

The Barakah nuclear power plant is located on the far western coast of the UAE, relatively close to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Any drone targeting the facility would have followed one of two possible flight paths: either over the Persian Gulf from the north, or over the Saudi mainland from the west and south.

Consider the first option. An attack launched from Iranian soil would require the drone to arrive over the sea from the north. Yet Emirati officials themselves have denied this scenario, explicitly citing the western border as the point of origin. In other words, not from Iran – from Saudi Arabia, a country conspicuously absent from the ministry’s announcement.

Now consider the second option, combined with the claim that the drone’s flight originated in Iraq. This represents a serious and unspoken indictment of Riyadh. It would mean that the drone flew over at least 800 kilometers of the Saudi mainland, traversing the more densely populated and energy-critical eastern coastline, a region blanketed by radar systems, without triggering any reaction from Saudi air defenses or the Royal Saudi Air Force.

Kamikaze drones are indeed difficult to detect by radar due to their small cross-section and low-altitude flight, but that very difficulty cuts against the Emirati claim.

If the drone was so hard to track, then tracing its origin to Iraq – a distance of approximately 1,000 kilometers – becomes virtually impossible. The UAE cannot simultaneously argue that its radars identified the launch point and that the drone was too stealthy to be intercepted along a 1,000-kilometer path.

The UAE operates several layers of air-defense radars with vastly different ranges. That layered architecture is designed precisely to prevent such ambiguities. Yet the official narrative leaves more questions than answers, however indirectly, toward uncomfortable truths about regional airspace, complicity, and the real actors behind the attack.

[…]

What can be determined with certainty is this: the drone attack was indeed carried out from the western border and over Saudi territory. And, there is no evidence – technical or otherwise – to support the claim that it was launched from Iraq.

[…]

Tehran has no conceivable interest in attacking a facility whose destruction would directly poison its own shores. The only parties with both the capability and the incentive to carry out such a strike are those who would remain untouched by its radiological consequences and who stand to benefit from the regional chaos that would follow.

US-Israeli false flag campaign using cloned Iranian drones

[…]

As Iranian armed forces continued to conduct retaliatory strikes against American and Israeli strategic and military assets, a sophisticated network involving the United States, the Israeli regime, and Ukraine deployed hundreds of replica Shahed-136 attack drones against the inSince the launch of the American-Israeli military aggression against Iran on February 28, a parallel shadow war has emerged across the Persian Gulf, one fought not with conventional arsenals but with cloned weapons designed to deceive.frastructure of Persian Gulf states.

These attacks, confirmed by multiple Iranian military sources and documented through recovered wreckage, represent a calculated strategy with a single purpose: to fracture regional unity and draw Iran’s neighbors into direct confrontation with the Islamic Republic.

[…]

Provoke military retaliation and transform the current US-Israeli aggression against Iran into a full-scale regional war, exactly what the enemy could not achieve through direct military confrontation. Iranian military authorities have documented this strategy with increasing specificity, noting that the enemy, having failed to achieve its stated objectives on the battlefield, has resorted to trickery and deception.

From a distance, the cloned drones are visually and audibly indistinguishable from Iran’s original Shahed-136 loitering munitions. They share the distinctive delta-wing configuration. They emit the same characteristic pusher propeller engine sound. They fly the same low-altitude profile that has become familiar across conflict zones from Ukraine to the Persian Gulf. To the naked eye and ear, they are identical.

But Iranian military intelligence has identified a crucial distinction. These drones are not Iranian. They are produced under the designation Lucas by American arms contractors.

Spektre Works unveiled this Shahed replica at a Pentagon event as early as summer 2025, months before the current aggression began. The Lucas drone was explicitly designed to emulate the Iranian model at a comparable cost point of approximately $35,000. That price point is not accidental. It is sufficient to create plausible deniability when debris fields are examined by non-specialists, while low enough to enable mass deployment.

It leverages the very success of Iran’s indigenous drone program against the Islamic Republic itself. The Shahed’s reputation as a battle-proven, cost-effective weapon has been turned into a weapon of confusion. The more effective the original, the more plausible the counterfeit. And the more regional states misattribute the attacks.

[…]

This component re-use means that even when debris is recovered, the presence of Iranian-manufactured parts appears to confirm Iranian origin. Only comprehensive forensic analysis – which includes examining serial number ranges, component wear patterns, and firmware signatures – can reveal the deception. And such analysis takes time, expertise, and political will that is rarely available in the immediate aftermath of an attack.

False-flag attacks and sinister objectives

The pattern of attacks falsely attributed to Iran escalated sharply in early March 2026, coinciding precisely with the onset of US-Israeli aggression against Iranian territory.

Saudi Arabia reported multiple drone incursions, including the interdiction of thirteen drones over Riyadh and the Eastern Province. The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) issued a categorical denial of any connection to these strikes.

Drone strikes targeted fuel storage tanks at the port of Salalah in Oman. The Iranian Embassy responded through social media to refute claims of Iranian responsibility,

[…]

Kuwait has also been targeted. An attack on Kuwait International Airport’s radar system represented a particularly dangerous escalation. Civilian aviation infrastructure is not – and has never been – a legitimate target for Iranian military operations.

[…]

Via https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/05/21/769018/barakah-false-flag-how-israeli-drones-attacked-uae-nuclear-plant-frame-iran-unleash-catastrophe

Iran’s UN envoy rejects US allegations about drone attack on UAE nuclear plant

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This undated photograph released by the United Arab Emirates’ state-run WAM news agency shows the under-construction Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi’s Western desert.

Press TV

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations has dismissed US allegations regarding a drone strike against the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, saying Washington abused the Security Council to spread false accusations against Iran and its peaceful nuclear program.

In identical letters addressed to the UN Secretary General Antonio Gueterres and the rotating President of the Security Council Fu Cong on Friday, Amir Saeid Iravani said that the US Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, during the Security Council meeting held on May 19 under the agenda item “The situation in the Middle East,” falsely accused Iran of responsibility for the alleged assault without providing any verified evidence.

“Iran categorically rejects this allegation. Iran itself has been the victim of attacks and acts of aggression by the United States and the Israeli regime against its safeguarded peaceful nuclear facilities,” the letter read.

The senior diplomat further noted that the Islamic Republic reiterates its principled and unequivocal position that any attack or threat against peaceful nuclear facilities constitutes a grave violation of international law, the Charter of the United Nations, and the Statute and resolutions of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and has repeatedly warned of the catastrophic humanitarian, environmental, and radiological consequences of such reckless and unlawful acts.

Iravani went on to denounce it as deeply ironic that the US — the only country ever to have used nuclear weapons and itself responsible, together with the Israeli regime, for attacks against safeguarded Iranian nuclear facilities — now claims concern for nuclear safety and security.

He said that the US and the Israeli regime targeted, inter alia, the safeguarded facilities at Natanz, Fordow, Isfahan, and Bushehr during the unlawful acts of aggression and two unwarranted and savage wars against Iran in June 2025 and February 2026 in blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations, international law, international humanitarian law, the IAEA Statute, and relevant IAEA resolutions.

Iravani stated that the Washington and Tel Aviv regimes and their malicious and nefarious activities in West Asia are the main source of regional instability, and the current situation is the direct consequence of repeated unlawful uses of force by the US and Israel against Iran.

“Senior US officials have repeatedly threatened Iran’s infrastructure, economy, and civilian facilities, while serious violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes have been committed against the Iranian people,” he stated.

The Iranian ambassador hailed the Islamic Republic as a committed State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

He stated that the US unlawfully withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in violation of Security Council resolution 2231 (2015), undermined diplomacy, imposed unlawful unilateral coercive measures against the Iranian people, and repeatedly resorted to threats and the use of force.

“The United States has twice attacked Iran in egregious violation of the Charter of the United Nations, while negotiations were underway, demonstrating that its commitments cannot be relied upon.

Iravani finally underscored that Washington and Tel Aviv regimes must bear full responsibility for the harm inflicted upon Iranian civilians, civilian infrastructure, and peaceful nuclear facilities during their acts of aggression.

[…]

Via https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/05/23/769120/Iran-s-UN-envoy-rejects-US-claims-about-drone-strike-against-UAE-nuclear-power-plant-

Iran, US moving closer to memorandum of understanding

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Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei

Press TV

Iran and the United States have edged closer to finalizing a 14-point memorandum to end the imposed war, halt American maritime aggression, and secure the release of Iran’s blocked assets, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman says.

Speaking in a televised interview on Saturday, Baghaei elaborated on a day-long visit by a Pakistani delegation, led by Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, to Tehran, hailing Islamabad’s “important” mediating role in talks between Iran and the US in recent weeks.

“We are now in the finalization stage of this memorandum of understanding. The topics being discussed at this stage focus broadly on ending the war, halting the US naval aggression – what they themselves have labeled a ‘naval blockade’-, and issues related to the release of Iran’s blocked assets,” he said.

He added that the purpose of the Pakistani delegation’s visit was to continue the exchange of messages between Tehran and Washington.

He emphasized that Iran’s focus at this stage remains exclusively on ending the US-Israel imposed war based on the Islamic Republic’s 14-point proposal, which has been shuttled back and forth several times.

Asked whether Tehran and Washington have drawn closer to an agreement or moved further apart following recent meetings between the Pakistani and Iranian authorities, Baghaei said Iran cannot be fully confident that the US approaches will not shift again as before.

However, he acknowledged that after several weeks of dialogue between the two sides, the “process appears to be moving toward a convergence of views.”

Baghaei, who is also the spokesman of the Iranian negotiating team, emphasized that “moving closer” does not mean that Iran and the US are about to reach an understanding. Rather, he explained, it means that “based on a set of parameters, the two sides may be able to achieve a win-win solution.”

He outlined the framework of the negotiations, saying, “Our approach has been to first draft a memorandum of understanding consisting of 14 articles. That memorandum would include the most important issues necessary to end the imposed war and matters of fundamental importance to us.”

“Subsequently, within a reasonable timeframe of 30 to 60 days, the two sides would discuss the details of these issues and ultimately reach a final agreement.”

The criminal US-Israeli aggression against Iran began on February 28 with airstrikes that assassinated senior Iranian officials and commanders, including Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Iranian Armed Forces responded by launching daily missile and drone operations targeting locations in the Israeli-occupied territories as well as US military bases and assets across the region.

Furthermore, Iran retaliated against the strikes by closing the Strait of Hormuz, which resulted in a significant increase in oil prices and its by-products.

On April 8, forty days into the war, a Pakistan-brokered temporary ceasefire between Iran and the US took effect.

Negotiations ensued in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad but stopped short of an agreement amid Washington’s maximalist demands and insistence on unreasonable positions.

Strait of Hormuz has nothing to do with US

Elsewhere in his remarks, Baghaei pointed to the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, saying the strategic waterway “has nothing to do with America.”

He added that Iran and Oman, as the coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz, should define a mechanism for it.

Asked whether the Strait of Hormuz is included in the 14-point memorandum, the spokesman said the issue would logically be discussed.

However, he added, putting an end to “US piracy and maritime banditry” against international shipping is even more important than the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran shut down the strait to its enemies and their allies after the unprovoked US-Israeli aggression. Iranian authorities began enforcing much stricter controls last month following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a blockade targeting Iranian vessels and ports.

Tehran says the measures violate the terms of the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire.

Despite the blockade, shipping activity linked to Iranian crude is continuing.

Nuclear Issue not on the table for now

Asked whether the nuclear issue might be part of any potential agreement, Baghaei responded, “At this stage, we are not discussing the details of the nuclear issue.”

He said Iran knows that its nuclear program has been a “pretext” for two aggressive wars against the Iranian people, adding that the country came under illegal attacks even during nuclear negotiations.

“In later stages – within 30 days, 60 days, or whatever timeframe is ultimately agreed upon – we can discuss the nuclear issue or other mutually agreed matters separately. But at this stage, as stated, all our focus is on ending the war,” the spokesperson emphasized.

Removal of all sanctions, Iran’s constant demand

On the subject of sanctions, Baghaei said Iran has made clear to American parties that sanctions are both “illegal and inhumane.”

Given that Tehran is not discussing details about the nuclear issue at this stage, it is also not discussing the specifics of sanctions removal in this short window.

However, he stressed that Iran’s demand for the removal of all sanctions has been explicitly included in the text.

“This is our constant demand in any interaction with intermediaries,” he noted.

Baghaei stressed that “both the nuclear issue and the issue of releasing Iran’s blocked funds are included in the 14-point memorandum of understanding.”

Pakistan official mediator, Qatar facilitating

Clarifying the role of different countries in the negotiation process, Baghaei said that Pakistan is officially the mediator in the precise sense of the word, while Iran thanks other parties that have at the same time tried to help, including Qatar.

He reiterated that the presence of a Qatari delegation over the past two to three days was aimed at facilitating certain articles of the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US.

“It is natural that regional countries have concerns about regional peace and security. They have witnessed how actions by the US and the Israeli regime against Iran could trigger conflict across the entire region. Therefore, they have tried not to withhold any help they could offer in this regard,” Baghaei said.

[…]

Via https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/05/23/769157/Iran-US-Baghaei-understanding-nuclear

 

Arabic Verse: Love Poetry and Wine Songs

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Episode 19 Arabic Verse: Love Poetry and Wine Songs 

Islamic Golden Age (2017)

By Eamon Gearon

Film Review

According to Gearon, the three most important poets of the Islamic Golden Age were

  • Abu Nuwas, born in 756 AD in Persia (wrote poems celebrating wine)
  • Abu Taba, born in 805 AD in Syria
  • Al-Mutunabbi, born in 915 AD in Iraq.

Prior to 610 AD Arabic had no written language and all poetry (which was valued above all other artistic endeavors) was recited from memory. The physician Ibn Sina wrote half of his medical texts in Arabic and Persian verse.

Poems from the Islamic Golden Age took one of six forms:

  • poems of praise (of a leader or rich person)
  • love poems
  • war poems
  • poems praising wine and drunkenness
  • insult poems
  • laments – usually for warriors who died in battle

Mohammed’s attitude towards poets, who he once described as ungodly, deceitful and dishonest, was ambivalent. Some hadith (see The House of Wisdom and How the Sunni Muslim Religion Was Defined) permit poems written in praise of god or wisdom or to attack poems attacking Islam.

Abu Nuwas (756-814) was of mixed Persian-Arabic ancestry. He moved to Baghdad shortly after the founding of the Abassid caliphate. Most historians view him as the greatest poetic of the Islamic Golden Age and some as the greatest ever to publish in Arabic.

The topic of his poems ranges from wine, drunkenness, love, lust, masturbation, homosexuality and sex with young men.

A religious skeptic, he delighted in offending all religious systems, as well a poking fun at liars, cheat and hypocrites. He was a personal friend of Harun al-Rashid and receives mention in The Arabian Nights. The caliph threw him in jail more than once from public drunkenness and debauchery and eventually exiled him to Egypt. He returned to Baghdad following the caliph’s death, having tutored his son and successor Al-Alimin. There are rumors Al-Alimin shared his debauched lifestyle.

Al-Rshid drank alcohol, like many prominent Muslims at a time when Islamic orthodoxy had yet to be established. The Koran itself only forbid drinking prior to prayer, though some hadith forbid drinking.

AbuTamman revived neoclassical Arabic poetry by compiling early Arabic verse. Converted to Islam after being born and raised a Christian. He was the court poet and historian for Caliph Motassen. He wrote the 10 volume Book of Exhortations.

Al Musinabi made his living writing odes (70-100 line monorhymes) about honor, courage, loyalty, friendship and chivalry. Witty, arrogant and honest, he was murdered at age 50 for insulting someone.

The Persian poets Omar Kayam (1048-1131 AD) and Hafez (1325-1390 AD) were both profoundly influenced by Arabic-Islamic culture.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/watch/video/5756987/5757025

Massie Got 2020’d? Record Kentucky Turnout Sparks Massive Fraud Doubts

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Massie Got 2020’d? Record Kentucky Turnout Sparks Massive Fraud Doubts

by: aDirect – Grok – Mr. W. C. C. T.

2026-05-20

Speculation that Thomas Massie “got 2020’d” in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District Republican primary has circulated quickly among his supporters following his upset loss to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein. Massie, the longtime libertarian-leaning incumbent, saw his vote total increase by about 19% compared to his unopposed 2024 run, yet Gallrein racked up dramatically higher opposition turnout—reports of a 357% surge in challenger-side mobilization. Overall turnout roughly doubled 2024 primary levels, producing the highest vote total in Kentucky history for such a race, with over 105,000 ballots cast in the GOP primary for this district.

Skeptics question whether this surge was purely organic “get-out-the-vote” enthusiasm or something more coordinated. Many point to the massive spending—over $32 million poured into the race, much of it targeting Massie’s stances on foreign aid and spending—as the real driver, combined with heavy Trump endorsement and advertising that energized older voters. The narrative asks if Boomers truly flooded the polls in numbers that overwhelmed younger demographics in a district where Massie had long held strong support. Adding fuel, observers noted Gallrein’s victory party in Covington drew a modest crowd of just 30-40 people, while Massie’s election night event hosted significantly larger, more energetic gatherings of supporters chanting “no more wars” and “America First.”

While these discrepancies and the record turnout invite conspiracy-minded speculation reminiscent of 2020 election claims, available evidence points more toward conventional political dynamics than widespread fraud. Kentucky’s primary used in-person and limited absentee voting (restricted to qualified voters like seniors, disabled, and military), with no universal mail-in expansion. Heavy outside money, national attention, and a direct Trump vs. Massie proxy fight mobilized voters in a safe Republican seat that Trump carried overwhelmingly in 2024. Massie conceded the race and spoke to a fired-up crowd, framing it as a principled stand rather than alleging irregularities. Absent concrete proof like statistical anomalies beyond turnout spikes or documented irregularities, the outcome reflects a well-funded primary challenge succeeding in a polarized environment rather than a stolen election. The “2020’d” talk highlights ongoing distrust in the system but remains unproven speculation amid otherwise explainable factors.

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MAGA president goes full psychotic on America and Americans

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By Helena Glass
May 22, 2026

428 activists, 50 vessels, representing 42 countries were arrested while traveling in International Waters toward Gaza carrying humanitarian aide.

Ben Gvir posted pictures, proudly displaying his latest ‘catch’ for the world to witness. They were bound, injured and put in an open air prison surrounded by guards.

Trump’s response? He sanctioned the flotilla occupants, now prisoners, calling them terrorists therefore allowing Israel to treat them as they do the Palestinians in their hell-hole prisons of rape and sodomy.

MAGA supports this action.

The Justice Department has announced the formation of an Advisory Committee on Antisemitism. It is worded in such a way that it appears consistent with the formation of the Brownshirts in Nazi Germany, only they are not Germans, they are the IDF.  And they will effectively have carte blanche to arrest and use FORCE on those persons deemed antisemitic by The Committee under the guise of protecting civil rights.

Leo Terrell has been announced as the head of the committee. (I would suggest blocking him on your social media accounts asap.) Lists of targets will be made. They will be called domestic terrorists and imprisoned. Trump will treat them with the same exact hospitality employed in Israel. Trump is planning on becoming Israel’s next Prime Minister, revealing what has been suspected, Netanyahu is dead:

Sec. 2. Policy:

“It shall be the policy of the United States to combat anti-Semitism vigorously, using all available and appropriate legal tools, to prosecute, remove, or otherwise hold to account the perpetrators of unlawful anti-Semitic harassment and violence.”

Trump’s EO specifically cites clause 18 U.S.C. 241, which states that unique to this one civil right element, i.e., antisemitism, ‘No Overt Act is Required’ to be found guilty. The penalty for standard violation includes a fine and/or imprisonment for up to ten years.

And suddenly, one begins to wonder if those purported military data centers are in fact going to be military prisons as Trump builds his underground fortification ‘ballroom’.

The Trump regime has proven without a doubt they are a mafia cartel:

Iran

Trump paused strikes on Iran at the behest of China, however, Israel has stated they will be resuming soon and conversations between Israel and Trump took place Tuesday evening, per The Times of Israel. It is curious whether the troops taken out of Europe were simply re-stationed on destroyers and bombers in the Persian Gulf. But Trump’s allegiance to Israel and NOT to America is now on full display.

Given Xi Jinping’s statement warning Trump, he will likely notify the Middle Eastern royals before launching his own barrage of missiles on Israel and possibly American ships. How the Middle East will respond to the backstabbing by Trump is questionable – but sitting on the fence should the launch be conducted is definitely not on the table any longer. Anything out of Trump’s mouth is obviously worthless, any signature he puts on paper is just as worthless. A deal is worthless. Therefore, game on!

Trump IRS Lawsuit

An Attorney General’s duties include ‘settling major federal lawsuits’. However, they are legally bound by Department of Justice ethics rules. If they have a significant personal or political relationship with someone directly involved in a matter, they cannot participate in that specific investigation or prosecution. Acting AG Blanche was Trump’s personal attorney and has routinely stated he ‘loves’ Trump. Disqualifying him from signing the “Settlement Agreement” with the IRS.  No other signature appears on the document.

The office of the Commissioner of the IRS is vacant and has been since March. Frank Bisignano is the CEO of the IRS and manages day-to-day operations. The position of CEO is relatively new and was not confirmed by the Senate. Concerns to this regard claim that the position represents an unconstitutional end-run around the confirmation process. Consequently, critics warn that any unilateral legal, policy, or enforcement decisions made directly by the CEO could be challenged in court as invalid.

Typically, the chief counsel for the IRS is tasked with making legal decisions. Kenneth Kies is currently serving as the Acting Chief Counsel of the IRS, a position he holds while concurrently serving as the Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy. As of July 2025, Kies was the third Acting Chief Counsel of the IRS since Trump came to office.  De Mello was the Acting Counsel before Kies. Trump removed him when he refused to disclose the addresses of 7.3 million taxpayers sought by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

If the Acting Counsel did not sign off on the Settlement Agreement, it is invalid.  I doubt any lawyer would want to have their name on such a document given the suit never went to the courts and is an obvious fraud.

As a part of the Agreement, Jan-6ers are entitled to compensation for their time spent in jail. The total amount is $1.8 billion which is wholly in Trump’s personal name to be distributed how he sees fit. The first claimant has already come forward. Michael Caputo is seeking $2.7 million.  Caputo is an attorney who was appointed to USAID during the Clinton regime while he was a resident of Russia.

Caputo has worked in PR for Reagan, Yeltsin, Putin, Roger Stone, someone in Ukraine, Trump, CDC promoting the vax, and became part of the inquiry of Russian collusion in Trump’s first election. His claim is his children’s college tuition was spent on his legal fees. That would be the entire basis for his $2.7 million restitution. NOTHING denotes him as a Jan-6er per the terms of the Settlement Funds as stated by Blanche.

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FYI: It took $32 million and election fraud to defeat Massie.

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Via https://www.globalresearch.ca/maga-president-full-psychotic-america-americans/5927177