Author: Blazingcatfur

It won’t be easy but here is how Mark Carney can pay for his promise to hike defence spending

Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney and our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies agreed to a new defence investment pledge — investing 5 per cent of annual gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035. That figure includes 3.5 per cent on core military capabilities and 1.5 per cent on defence and security-related infrastructure, such as ports and emergency preparedness systems.

This is an historically significant commitment and is rationalized by NATO political leaders in the context of rising global security threats and a need to increase contribution from non-U. S. members.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, NATO

Sinaloa cartel hacked security cameras to track and kill FBI informants, US say

Hacker working for cartel run by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was also able to access phone records of an FBI legal attaché at the US embassy in Mexico City

A hacker working for the Sinaloa drug cartel was able to obtain an FBI official’s phone records and use Mexico City’s surveillance cameras to help track and kill the agency’s informants in 2018, according to a new US justice department report.

The incident was disclosed in a justice department inspector general’s audit of the FBI’s efforts to mitigate the effects of “ubiquitous technical surveillance”, a term used to describe the global proliferation of cameras and the thriving trade in vast stores of communications, travel, and location data.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inMexican drug cartels, Mexico, USA

NATO’s history of running hot and cold on Ukraine is running cold again

There was a particularly telling moment at a bygone NATO summit about four years ago, which perfectly captured the sometimes capricious way the Western military alliance regards Ukraine.

The secretary general of the day, the often unflappable Jens Stoltenberg, was asked about the Eastern European country’s long-standing bid to join the allies.

At that point, Ukraine had been waiting more than a dozen years for admission.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia", NATO

Early Iran bomb damage spin falls apart

EARLY IRAN BOMB DAMAGE SPIN FALLS APART. You know the basics of the story. After U.S. bombers hit Iranian nuclear sites, President Donald Trump quickly announced that the raid had “obliterated” the Iranian facilities. At that moment, some of Trump’s opponents in the Democratic Party, plus their allies in the media, said no, no, no. The U.S. bombing didn’t obliterate anything. Instead, it did minimal damage — so minimal that the Iranian program could be up and running again in a “handful of months.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Deep State", Iran, Trump Derangement Syndrome

Prayer rooms, student groups fuelling tensions in Quebec colleges, government report finds

A Quebec government-commissioned investigation into the campus climate at Dawson and Vanier colleges is recommending the adoption of a law to “oversee academic freedom in the college system” with the aim of reducing tensions among students.

The report published Friday, after it had first appeared in the Journal de Montréal, found that the principles of secularism are not being followed at both colleges.

It raised several issues linked to student associations and religious accommodations and points to the availability of prayer rooms for fuelling a “climate of radicalization, community withdrawal” and mistrust at the junior colleges (CEGEPs).

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Islamophobia", Canada, Islam, Islam and violence, Islamization of the West

Man accused in Holocaust Memorial vandalism is City of Ottawa lawyer on leave

… In a post on X on Saturday evening, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said while it was encouraging to see that the police investigation into the incident has progressed, he was “very disturbed to learn that the person charged is a city employee who was on leave. As a community and as an employer, the actions at the Monument do not represent our values.”

The Mayor’s statement implies the perp was already on leave. Bet mental health issues ahead.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Oct 7 2023"

REPORT: 6K Iranian Migrants on ICE ‘Non-Detained‘ Docket May Soon Face Arrest

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records show thousands of Iranian nationals may be eligible to be arrested nationwide on immigration-related issues. These are in addition to the approximately 1,500 Iranian nationals whom the Border Patrol detained after entering the country illegally during President Joe Biden’s term. ICE Data shows nearly 6,000 Iranians who may have entered legally but have since violated their legal status may soon be the focus of the ongoing ICE dragnet.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCamp Of The Saints, Iran, USA

Why elected official shouldn’t be an entry-level job

Picture a teenager who decides they want to be prime minister someday. They join the party that best represents their views and start gaining experience in party politics and volunteering in election campaigns. Their network expands and doors start to open.

As quickly as possible, likely not long after finishing college or university, they run for federal or provincial office, win (if they play their cards right) and their political career is launched. Their first “real” job is as a member of parliament (MP), member of provincial parliament (MPP) or member of the legislative assembly (MLA).

Food for thought …

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada

New York braces for billionaire exodus after socialist Zohran Mamdani’s win

New York is bracing for an “exodus of billionaires” after the Democrats nominated a staunch socialist as their candidate for mayor.

Zorham Mamdani, a 33-year-old “anti-Zionist”, sent shock waves through American politics on Tuesday when he beat Andrew Cuomo, the former governor, in the Democratic primary, earning him the party’s nomination for November’s mayoral election.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Islamophobia", Islam, Islam and violence, Islamization of the West, USA

B.C. firefighter says he was denied entry to U.S.: ‘Good enough to fight their wars but not good enough to cross their borders’

A B.C. firefighter says he was denied entry into the United States, where he was going to take part in a competition for First Responders from different countries around the world.

Jamie Flynn posted on social media on Thursday to detail what happened to him when he was en route to Birmingham, Alabama. He said he was supposed to represent Vancouver firefighters in the Jiu Jitsu category at the World Police & Fire Games. Flynn, who is a British citizen, described the games as an “international event uniting frontline responders through sport,” in a post on Instagram.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, USA

Russian threat sees Eastern Europe bring back land mines

Since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, there has hardly been a more pressing issue for NATO than the defense of its eastern borders.

Over the past three years, five of the six NATO countries that share a border with Russia or Belarus — Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland— have already made significant investments to better secure these borders, for example with fences and surveillance systems.

But now, a new plan is in the works: land mines.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia"

Interest in ‘elbows up’ merchandise waning ahead of Canada Day, businesses say

When Rachael Coe decided to launch an “elbows up” merchandise line at her store in Yarmouth, N.S., in March, she said it was an immediate bestseller.

Within a week, Coe said her Timeless Memories shop had already made 400 sales. By the end of the first month, she had sold 2,500 products ranging from T-shirts to hoodies to car decals.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government