Israel aims to finalize phasing out of US military aid before new Congress takes office: report

 Israel aims to quickly finalize a reduction in U.S. military aid under a framework that would see aid halved and phased out within five years — rather than 10 — in an effort to reach an agreement before the new U.S. Congress takes office in January, Ynet News reported.

U.S. President Donald Trump shocked Israeli officials last week when he said U.S. military aid would be cut off at the end of 2026. The announcement came in an apparent attempt to shore up support for struggling Republican candidates ahead of the midterms.

Trump’s party nevertheless suffered a devastating loss. In an interview published on Monday by CBS program "60 Minutes," Trump said voters “didn't like the war. They didn't like the fact that gasoline went up. ... And there's a great dislike, incredibly, for Israel.”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance also blamed Republican Party losses in the midterm elections on the Iran war, adding that voters want the United States to “change our relationship with Israel.”

Following Trump's announcement, U.S. and Israeli officials are working to finalize a new security memorandum of understanding (MOU) before the current Congress leaves office, although the incoming Congress could still delay or obstruct military assistance in the coming years.

Israel aims to finalize phasing out of US military aid | World

PayPal drops 'hate,' 'intolerance' from rules after ADF challenges debanking policies

 PayPal has dropped the words “hate” and “intolerance” from its rules on banned transactions after the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom objected to the company’s policies before a federal banking regulator.

The payment company’s old rule barred transactions involving “the promotion of hate, violence, racial or other forms of intolerance that is discriminatory,” ADF said in a statement. The new wording limits the ban to discrimination against traits “protected under applicable law.”

PayPal will also narrow its rule against “misleading information.” Under the change, the rule will cover only messages about PayPal transactions. Customer speech on other subjects falls outside the narrower rule.

PayPal updated its Acceptable Use Policy this week, after outlining the changes in a Sept. 15 letter to the FDIC.

The company also posted a new statement on its frequently asked questions page saying it bases account decisions “on account activity, not a customer’s religion, race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, or any characteristic protected under applicable law.”

PayPal agrees to change its policy on ‘hate’ and ‘intolerance’ | Business

Prosecutors Authorize Felony Charges Against U. of Michigan Student Who Attacked Conservative Influencer

Charges have reportedly been authorized against a University of Michigan student who was caught on camera attacking a conservative influencer and Jewish commentator. The student, Temulun Togochog, yelled “I should have fucking killed you while I had the fucking chance!” as she was taken into custody.

 The Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office in Ann Arbor, Michigan, authorized charges against Temulun Togochog, who was seen on video launching herself at Liz Benichou during a free speech event on University of Michigan’s campus on Sunday, according to a report by JNS. 

 Video footage shows Togochog attacking Benichou after the conservative commentator questioned whether her attire would be acceptable in Iran. “We thoroughly reviewed the evidence that was submitted to us,” Alyssa Fountain, administrative assistant at the prosecutor’s office, told JNS, adding that the case was submitted to the office on Monday. Fountain also noted that Togochog will be charged with a count of assaulting, resisting or obstructing an officer and two counts of assault or assault and battery.

Prosecutors Authorize Felony Charges Against U. of Michigan Student Who Attacked Conservative Influencer

Poland's political, constitutional crisis explained: 5 events that led up to coup attempt

 Poland’s fight over its Constitutional Tribunal escalated into coup accusations Friday after a judge the president refused to swear in suspended the court’s chief and took control.

Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who claimed authority as the judge with the longest judicial career, suspended Court President Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański, and put herself in charge, The Telegraph reported. Her seniority claim rests on her judicial career, which began in 1995, not on service on the tribunal, which she joined this year. The tribunal accused Prime Minister Donald Tusk of staging a coup and posted on social media that "all persons participating in these actions are committing the crime of a coup d'état."

Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek, who is also attorney general, asked for the two judges to lose their legal protection so they could be charged with failing to do their jobs. He said they had stopped judges chosen by today's parliament from working. "This court has become private property; we must restore its proper functioning," he said.

Tusk defended the move on X. "Restoring the rule of law is our duty," he wrote, adding that undoing years of rule by the opposition Law and Justice party, or PiS, was hard, at times painful, and required decisive action.

Poland: 5 events leading up to coup attempt | World

Ukrainian President Zelensky responds to critics who say his country is persecuting Christians

 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to critics who accuse his government of persecuting Christians, saying religious groups in Ukraine are free and that American commentator Tucker Carlson has probably never been to the country.

Zelensky made the remarks in an interview with host Tony Perkins on "This Week on Capitol Hill" on Saturday. Zelensky asked how Carlson could talk about religious life in Ukraine without having visited.

“We are very free,” Zelensky claimed, adding that Ukraine has the largest council of religious institutions in Europe and that its members meet every month at the presidential office.

The council talks through problems and the delivery of humanitarian aid, he said, and takes up cases of destroyed buildings and of church leaders tortured or jailed by Russia. Zelensky said Christians, Jews, Catholics and Muslims all sit in the same room.

He said Carlson, a former Fox News host, “doesn’t know what’s going on in Ukraine” and could come to see what Russia had destroyed and how Ukrainians treat different faiths and nationalities. Ukraine is home to many nationalities, Zelensky said, and can defend itself only if they stand together.

In 2023, the Orthodox Public Affairs Committee, a U.S.-based organization advocating for the global Orthodox church, condemned Carlson’s comments at the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines, Iowa, about Christian persecution in Ukraine. Carlson asked former Vice President Mike Pence if he had asked Zelensky about the treatment of Christians in Ukraine during his meeting with the leader in June that year. Pence had voiced support for the U.S. giving Ukraine resources to thwart the Russian invasion.

The group accused Carlson of spreading “Russian propaganda.”

During Saturday’s interview, Perkins said he met the council and Zelensky during an August visit, prayed for the president on Independence Day and saw religious freedom there. Zelensky replied that thousands of people take part in that work and that they respect one another.

Earlier in the interview, Perkins raised accusations that Russian troops had detained and tortured Christian pastors and taken over churches in occupied parts of Ukraine. Zelensky said Russians had killed about 120 representatives of religious institutions and called the killings deliberate attacks on people and churches.

Zelensky responds to claims Ukraine is persecuting Christians | U.S.

The Midterms Offer a Choice Between Two Brands of Socialism

In the country with arguably the most successful market economy on Earth, it's not unreasonable to ask for just one major political party to favor a system of relatively unfettered voluntary exchange. 

And yet, the midterm elections offer Americans a "choice" between a party openly embracing socialism by name, and one that increasingly embraces state-directed economic activity in the cause of nationalism.

 Not every candidate running as a Democrat or Republican is on board with their parties' statist transformations, and there are certainly other issues separating the two dominant political tribes. But if you want reliable advocacy of economic freedom, you won't find it in the two major parties.

The midterms offer a choice between two brands of socialism

France’s multiculturalism experiment goes up in flames

 “French culture doesn’t exist in and of itself; there is no such thing as a single French culture. There is culture in France and it is diverse.”

That was French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017, putting his own spin on the insipid “diversity is our strength” mantra that’s been the thoughtless creed of Western elites for more than two decades.

Now France, like so many other Western countries, is reaping the whirlwind of that shallow, misguided ideal. Riots are breaking out all over the country.

But it isn’t a case of France being French.

In fact, just the opposite.

This instead feels like the beginning of the end of a foolish and civilizationally suicidal globalist, “multicultural” project facilitated by EU elites that can no longer accommodate its contradictions.

I’m going to back up a bit here for those who haven’t been paying close attention to what’s been happening across the pond. Last week, protests in France — absurdly billed by much of the media as student frustration with large class sizes and fiscal “austerity” — exploded into a torrent of violence that authorities have been unable, or perhaps unwilling, to contain.

Left-leaning media continue to spin a narrative about what’s happening, downplaying the violence in a way that will be quite familiar to those who remember the Black Lives Matter and defund the police “mostly peaceful” riots in 2020.

One now-deleted X post by CBS described what was happening in France as “scuffles” between “small groups of protesters” and police.

Does this look like a scuffle to you?

The situation got bad enough that Macron addressed the nation, but he hardly rose to the occasion. Instead, the French president seemed to minimize the violence, highlighted the importance of “listening and dialogue,” and blamed America.

France’s multiculturalism experiment goes up in flames