Category: International

Mastermind of Mexico Lawsuit Against Gun Makers Admits It’s a Backdoor Route to Gun Control

Gun control activists are thrilled that a federal appeals court has allowed the government of Mexico’s lawsuit against several major U.S. gun makers to proceed, at least for the time being, because they’re hoping that the litigation will lead to the obliteration of the firearms industry.

A new op-ed in Newsweek from Jonathan Lowy, head of Global Action Against Violence, makes that clear. Lowy, who was formerly the general counsel and vice president of Brady’s legal team, is the architect of Mexico’s lawsuit, though you have scroll all the way to the bottom of his op-ed to discover his role in the litigation.

From the outset of his piece, however, Lowy makes his hopes for the lawsuit clear: a way to impose all kinds of new gun control restrictions without a vote in Congress or even unconstitutional executive actions by

Joe Biden.

U.S. gun laws are broken. Even when states muster the political will to enact reasonable restrictions, for example as California did recently, they get blocked in federal court. With federal and state action on guns stymied, the gun violence epidemic can seem hopeless.

But now there’s finally some hope, and it’s coming from outside the United States. A federal appeals court just issued the most significant opinion ever to go against the gun industry, ruling that Mexico has the right to sue manufacturers to hold them accountable for gun trafficking and gun violence.

It’s always amusing to me when anti-gunners like Lowy use the phrase “reasonable restriction”, which implies there’s some gun control law that he would find unreasonable. I’ve been covering Lowy’s anti-2A efforts for two decades now, and I can’t recall him ever concluding that a gun control bill goes too far. Lowy has described the Heller decision as a “radical expansion of prior precedent limiting the Second Amendment to well-regulated militias—that is, today’s National Guard”, and warned ahead of the Bruen decision that striking down “may issue” licensing regimes “would have stark—and deadly—consequences in the real world”; a prediction not borne out by reality.

Lowy’s hope, in other words, isn’t that the courts will decide that gun makers and sellers have to jump through additional hoops before they can lawfully transfer a firearm. He’s aiming for the eradication of the firearms industry, and he’s using Mexico’s unwillingness to confront cartel violence head-on to do it, even as he promises that gun owners wouldn’t feel any impact if the courts ultimately accept his arguments.

Mexico has done what the U.S. failed to do: bring an effective lawsuit that could change the way guns are sold in this country and trafficked to others. It’s part of a promising new movement, led by my organization, Global Action on Gun Violence, to bring international pressure on the U.S. gun industry and policymakers to crack down on the illegal gun market like the rest of the world does. While the U.S. has abundantly demonstrated it can’t or won’t take effective action on guns, international actors, unconstrained by our gun-friendly politics, can and will.

The resulting reforms will not prevent law-abiding people from buying guns, but they will stop the supply of guns to straw buyers, traffickers, and other criminals. The U.S. stands to benefit as much or more than Mexico.

All you have to do is read Mexico’s initial complaint, which Lowy helped to create, to know what a lie that is.

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Once again, experience is the best teacher, and the best experience is someone else’s.

Once Again, The Israel-Hamas War Shows the Futility of Gun Control

Last year, I wrote an article exploring some practical lessons from the initial attack on Israel from the Gaza strip. The biggest thing was that, as usual, a country had slid into anti-gun complacency. Everyone thought that it was somebody else’s job to protect people, so targets of all kinds were left vulnerable.

But, this time, the tables have turned. An Israeli operation at a hospital in the West Bank managed to drive the point home yet again. Instead of Hamas proving that gun control is worthless, Israel waltzed right into a hospital and proved it again.

I don’t bring this raid up because I want to comment on whether it was wrong or right to do this. Some people are saying they violated international law. Others are saying this was just a police action within their own borders to take out a threat that was using the hospital as a human shield. Everyone is entitled to either of those opinions or any other.

Instead, I want to take a look at the security situation in that hospital and compare it to most any hospital in the United States. Are there metal detectors at the doors? No. Are there armed guards who would stop people from simply walking right in with a rifle? Nope. Are there police there? Also, a big no in most places. The only thing stopping people from simply walking right in and doing whatever they want with a rifle is them choosing not to.

Sure, in many places, hospitals are off-limits to guns by some legal means or other. In this case, there may be some international agreement or something prohibiting soldiers from going in. In the case of U.S. hospitals, it’s often a sign that any private property owner can post prohibiting guns. In some jurisdictions, there’s a law on the books specifically banning guns from all hospitals.

But, do those signs have some magical quality that zaps guns into oblivion as the person carrying them crosses the threshold? Definitely not. The only thing that can stop people from hiding a rifle under a coat or in a violin case is someone who both physically checks everyone for guns and has the means to stop people should they reveal a gun and use it. Clearly this hospital (like almost all others) doesn’t have either of those things.

At the end of the day, a mixture of people’s goodness and people prepared to deal with those devoid of goodness is what keeps people safe. There are very few people who would enter a hospital with a gun and the intent to harm people. The rest of us either don’t carry a gun in or don’t do anything evil with it. For the rare person who isn’t good, there needs to be a good person (or multiple good people) ready to step in and stop bad things from happening.

In this particular hospital, the opposite was true. Instead of having good guys with guns, they were hiding bad people with guns. The Israelis, like this or not, went in there and took care of the problem before these guys could hurt any more innocent people.

Victory to the French farmers

Europeans are right to rise up against our eco-obsessed elites.

A ‘siege of Paris’ is underway. Since Monday, thousands of tractors, trailers and combine harvesters have encircled the French capital, blocking key motorways in and out of the city. Roads around Lyon, Limoges and Toulouse have also been brought to a standstill by furious farmers.

French farmers have joined the Europe-wide fightback against the green agenda. In the Netherlands, farmers have been revolting for several years against their governments’ stringent restrictions on nitrogen emissions. A policy which, according to the Dutch government’s own figures, could lead to the closure of around 3,000 farms. In Ireland, farmers have risen up over green proposals to cull over 200,000 cows. In Germany, thousands of tractors descended on Berlin earlier this month, protesting against cuts to farm subsidies, tax hikes on diesel fuel and a raft of green rules that have made farmers’ lives intolerable.

Certainly, farmers in each of these countries have their own specific grievances. Every European government has proposed its own intrusive regulations or onerous tax hikes. But these are overwhelmingly driven by a common goal: to turn agriculture into a ‘Net Zero’ industry. And for EU member states, this lofty green goal is not a choice – it is a requirement of the EU’s so-called Green Deal.

These protests have quickly forced governments to sit up and listen. After just one day of the siege of Paris, the French government offered an array of concessions to the farming sector. New prime minister Gabriel Attal has abandoned a planned hike in diesel-fuel taxes for agricultural vehicles and has pledged millions of euros in grants for organic farms. He has promised to cut some red tape. And he has threatened to fine supermarkets that fail to offer producers a fair price for their wares. But none of this has been enough. Because as every farmer now knows, no amount of subsidies or tax breaks can disguise the coming catastrophe of Net Zero. A demented goal that no government seems prepared to abandon.

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Nigerians Divided as Senator Ned Nwoko Introduces Bill for Citizens to Carry Firearms

Ned Nwoko, the lawmaker representing Delta North Senatorial District, elaborated on his proposed bill for Nigerians to bear arms for self-defense, addressing the rising insecurity in the country.

The bill outlines strict criteria, including mental fitness certification from two medical doctors, endorsement from the local government chairman, validation by a traditional leader, and confirmation by the Divisional Police Officer regarding the individual’s criminal record.

Nwoko emphasized the need for gun shooting schools in every local government area, run by former military officers, where citizens can receive proper training before obtaining arms.

The proposed bill aims to empower individuals to protect themselves in the face of escalating lawlessness, acknowledging the limitations of current security measures.

I think he’s trolling SloJoe to make him stroke out or something.

Putin stokes tensions with US, declares 1867 sale of Alaska ‘illegal’

A brief history of how Alaska became part of the United States: Russia sold it in 1867 for $7.2 million, a deal considered to be mutually beneficial at that time. Nowadays, Alaska, a detached piece of the USA, stands as one of the fifty states constituting the country and has been an integral part of it for over 150 years. Nonetheless, the Russians aren’t content with this.

Interestingly, Vladimir Putin appears to have rethought the sale of Alaska to the Americans. It’s not a joke: he’s trying to give the impression that his influence extends not only to his country’s future events but also plans to rewrite the past. Therefore, he signed a decree rendering the sale of Alaska illegal.

This is likely the beginning of a request for its return from the United States.

Putin and his propaganda specialists persistently build an image of Russia as an empire that makes demands against its neighbors and, if unheeded, resorts to war and other consequences. As witnessed in previous years with Georgia and Moldova, Ukraine experienced similar tactics as it was attacked by its neighboring country in 2022.

It appears that Moscow has claims against the United States now.

Vladimir Putin signed a decree declaring the sale of Alaska to the USA as illegal. This action signals the start of a demand for the territory’s return and potentially entering into conflict with the superpower. However, this is just political posturing today, and no rational person would suggest that Russia could assault the United States. Nonetheless, as the saying goes, a continuous drip can erode a stone.

“Before Americans seize our properties abroad, they should remember, we also have something to reclaim.” – stated Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the State Duma, during a plenary sitting in the summer of 2022. At the time, Russians reacted nervously to the US-imposed sanctions on Moscow.

This propaganda tactic may not intimidate Washington’s authorities but perfectly illustrates the Kremlin’s new approach to international politics and its respect for agreements. Today in Russia, a fact clear and not disputed for years – that the Americans purchased Alaska legally in 1867 for $7.2 million – means nothing.

Interestingly, Alaska plays a significant role in the relationship between both countries. The USAF bases and USARAK (American Arctic military forces) are stationed here. Centers found in Fort Greely and Eielson are equipped with advanced machinery through which Americans could quickly launch an attack on Russia, including nuclear warheads.

Notably, Russia employed a similar propaganda mechanism in the case of Crimea, which was legally transferred to Ukraine during the USSR era. The result of this incident under Vladimir Putin’s regime is well known.

Gazan ‘Civilians’ Involved in Every Stage of Hamas Hostage Scheme, Freed Israelis Say

TEL AVIV, Israel—Israeli women and children have in recent weeks begun speaking publicly about what they experienced during nearly two months in Hamas captivity late last year.

In primetime Hebrew TV interviews, the released hostages have confirmed that ordinary Gazans were deeply complicit in every stage of the hostage scheme. Unarmed teens helped to abduct Jews from their homes on Oct. 7, while Gazan women and children held some of the Israelis captive. In other cases, Gazan doctors collaborated with Hamas terrorists to covertly treat kidnapped Israelis and imprison them in hospitals.

When the Israelis encountered Gazans on the streets, the results were often terrifying.

The revelations underscore the urgency of Israel’s 100-plus-day war to destroy Hamas and bring home the 132 hostages who, officials believe, remain captive in Gaza. At the same time, though, the released hostages’ accounts indicate how difficult it could be to extricate either the remaining hostages or Hamas from a radicalized population.

“The main issue is that the organization is very much melted into the social structure of Gaza,” Michael Milshtein, a former senior Israeli military intelligence officer and a leading expert on Hamas, told the Washington Free Beacon. “There is no way you can really know who is Hamas. Someone might have a grocery store where he sells tomatoes and water, but he might also have storehouse of weapons and give religious lessons there.”

And his wife and kids might be keeping an Israeli hostage at home.

“Hamas is not only a political matter in Gaza. It’s a way of life,” Milshtein said. “We can and should ruin Hamas militarily and change the political arena in Gaza. But ultimately the Gazan people will have to do some soul searching. And here in the Arab world, not only the Palestinians, soul searching is very rare.”

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Taiwan Casts Its Lot with Freedom

Taiwan just pushed back against bully China’s threats and elected a pro-Western, pro-sovereignty candidate to be president of the island nation.

William Lai Ching-te, the current Vice President of Taiwan and candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party defeated his rivals from the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). He won the election handily, as by 8 p.m. Taipei time, Lai had garnered 40% of the vote. His closest competitor, Hou Yu-ih, candidate of the KMT and mayor of New Taipei, lagged behind with 33%.

Moreover, Lai’s predecessor, current President Tsai Ing-Wen enjoyed eight years as leader of Taiwan, so it appears the Taiwanese strongly approve of the party’s leadership. The DPP has stood for continued independence and firmness against Chinese aggression.

Needless to say, Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party do not approve of the election.

Despite the name “progressive,” don’t confuse the DPP with the far-left, ostensibly Marxist politics seen in the United States. Tim Mak, who writes on Ukraine and Taiwan for his Substack The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, notes that the DPP is  a “newer centrist party.” It favors a pragmatic and non-partisan approach to reform and modernization, as well as greater independence from China.

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Israeli drone kills deputy Hamas chief in Beirut

BEIRUT, Jan 2 (Reuters) – Deputy Hamas chief Saleh al-Arouri was killed on Tuesday night in an Israeli drone strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, a stronghold of the allied Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, three security sources told Reuters.

In response to questions from Reuters, the Israeli military said it does not respond to reports in the foreign media.

Lebanon’s national news agency said six people were killed when the drone struck a Hamas office. Two security sources said the strike had targeted a meeting and that another Palestinian militant commander was among them, but there were no details on the additional four casualties.

Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told MSNBC that Israel had not taken responsibility for this attack, but “whoever did it, it must be clear: That this was not an attack on the Lebanese state.”

“Whoever did this did a surgical strike against the Hamas leadership,” Regev said in the interview.

Arouri was deputy head of Hamas’s politburo and a founder of its military wing, the Qassam Brigades, which carried out a deadly assault in Israeli territory on Oct. 7.

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Continued Massacres of Christians in Nigeria Ensured by Citizen Disarmament

“A never-ending massacre of Christians being ‘killed for sport’ is reportedly happening in Nigeria, yet the world appears to be largely deaf to the matter,” Fox News reported Saturday. “More than 52,000 Christians ‘have been butchered or hacked to death for being Christians’ since 2009 in Nigeria, according to Intersociety, a civil society group based in Onitsha.”

“Christians are killed for sport, especially Christian children,” Rev. Johnnie Moore, a former commissioner for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and president of the Congress of Christian Leaders told Fox. “Entire villages are burnt and pillaged. Thousands of churches have been destroyed. Children and women are hunted.

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Notice, ‘locally made submachineguns’

4 Terrorists Killed in Samaria Gunfight; IDF Soldier Wounded

Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed four Palestinian terrorists during a raid overnight Monday in the village of Azzun, near Qalqilya in Samaria.

Troops from the 8211th Reserves Battalion were shot at from a house in the village and returned fire, eliminating the terrorists, according to the IDF.

One Israeli soldier was moderately wounded during the gun battle.

Following the exchange, troops confiscated three locally made submachine guns from the home.

In other raids across Judea and Samaria, Israeli troops arrested seven wanted terror suspects and confiscated weapons.

Since the start of the war against Hamas on Oct. 7, 2,550 wanted individuals have been arrested throughout Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, including 1,300 Hamas members.

The operations come amid unrelenting Palestinian attacks in the territories.

Two Israelis were wounded Sunday in a stabbing attack at the Mishor Adumim industrial zone, located east of Jerusalem in Judea.

Magen David Adom paramedics treated the victims, both security guards, at the scene before evacuating them, fully conscious and in stable condition, to the capital’s Hadassah Medical Center on Mount Scopus.

MDA said one of the victims, a 24-year-old woman, was in good-to-moderate condition, while the other, a man in his 20s, sustained minor wounds in the attack.

A day earlier, an Israel Defense Forces soldier was seriously injured in a vehicular assault near the al-Fawwar camp, located south of Hebron in Judea.

The victim, a reserve soldier from the IDF’s 7018th Battalion, was treated on the scene before being evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva.

That attack took place close to where five Israeli soldiers were injured, including one seriously, in a similar car-ramming Friday.

Egypt Reportedly Has Mortal Fears About This Scenario Regarding Israel’s War With Hamas

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza isn’t going to end until the terror organization is destroyed or hobbled to the point where its impact on Gazan civilian life would be de minimis. No more can the strip be used to launch terror attacks against Israel. The IDF will remain in the strip, taking over its security responsibilities for the foreseeable future. And Israel might invade southern Lebanon to curb Hezbollah’s footprint so close to its northern border. Yet, neighboring Egypt has also been monitoring the situation. They deployed tanks to its border with the Gaza Strip, bolstering its presence near the long-closed Rafah border crossing.

The reason for its closure, which isn’t a new development, isn’t shocking: Egyptians don’t want Palestinian terrorists flooding into their country. That’s not just Cairo’s position. Every Arab nation knows the Palestinians are a problem, bringing nothing but trouble wherever they go. Reportedly, Arab nations have been quietly telling Israel that they hope their forces wipe out Hamas and that the IDF shouldn’t stop their campaign until the terror group is eliminated. For Egypt, being a neighboring state, they also don’t want millions of Palestinians pouring across the border. It’s an issue that Egyptians are warning Jerusalem could lead to a “rupture” in their relations (via Axios):

Egypt warned the U.S. and Israel that if Palestinian refugees flee into the Sinai as a result of the Israeli military operation in southern Gaza, it could create “a rupture” in relations between Egypt and Israel, according to four U.S. and Israeli officials.

Why it matters: The close relations between Egypt and Israel, especially between the military and intelligence services, have been critically important at several points in the war, including around the release of hostages.

Egypt sees the war in Gaza as a threat to its national security and wants to prevent Palestinian refugees from crossing the border into its territory.

As of 3 December, according to UNRWA, almost 1.9 million people in Gaza, or nearly 85 percent of the population, were estimated to be internally displaced.[…]

Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have been concerned since the early days of the war that Israel would push Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt — and not allow them to return after the war.

Israeli officials denied this both in private and in public and gave assurances to Egypt that any wounded Palestinian permitted to leave Gaza for medical treatment would be allowed to return to the enclave.[…]

Behind the scenes: Israeli officials say that over the last few weeks Egyptian officials, including in the military and in the intelligence service, told their counterparts in the IDF and the Shin Bet that they are highly concerned about the implications of an operation in southern Gaza for Egypt.

The Egyptians expressed anxiety that a crisis on their border with Gaza would result in thousands of Palestinian refugees crossing the border barrier and trying to find shelter in the Sinai, according to three Israeli officials.

One Israeli official said Egyptian officials told their Israeli counterparts they are concerned that militants from Gaza could also then escape into Egypt.

Egypt has already declared that they’re willing to sacrifice millions of its people to keep its border and nation safe against a flood of Palestinian refugees. Israel can’t upset the apple cart with Egypt, whose peace treaty they share is strategically important. It’s not just significant regarding inroads for peace in the region. It was a historic milestone. Egypt became the first Arab country to recognize the Jewish state’s right to exist. They won’t let this deteriorate; we should all hope they don’t.

Biden Just Kneecapped Israel and Gave Hamas New Life on Ceasefire

Even as hostages were finally released on Friday, marking the start of a four-day ceasefire, President Joe Biden was already hard at work kneecapping Israel and giving Hamas new life.

Hours after a press conference in which he claimed Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th because he was about to secure peace in the Middle East, Biden spoke to reporters again. This time, he directly stated that the first ceasefire was “just a start” and claimed that there was a “real” chance the truce could be extended.

US President Joe Biden said Friday’s release of a first group of hostages taken by Hamas was just a “start” and that there were “real” chances to extend a temporary truce in Gaza.

Speaking to reporters in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he was spending the Thanksgiving holiday with his family, Biden also said it was time to “renew” work on creating a two-state solution to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

In other words, Biden is now pushing for an outcome that would allow the remnants of Hamas to escape Northern Gaza and regroup to carry out new attacks. Any long-term truce is simply a new lease on life for the terrorist government.

Biden’s choosing to promote such nonsense has given Hamas the green light to pursue a strategy of trickling out hostages in order to keep a one-sided ceasefire going for possibly months. The ultimate goal would be for the fighting to stop long enough that international pressure would prevent Israel from reigniting the fight to finish off Hamas.

Long story short, Biden is a coward. He does not have the stomach to finish off Hamas, and he wants to prevent Israel from doing so in order to secure his domestic political fortunes. His base of far-left, pro-Hamas lunatics has been screaming bloody murder for a month-and-a-half, and the president is trying to find a way to give in to them but save face at the same time. A prolonged ceasefire that preserves Hamas gives him the out he needs.

As to this “two-state solution” nonsense that the administration keeps pushing, there can be no two-state solution with Hamas. Anyone continuing to suggest that is either a mental invalid or being deeply dishonest. The idea that Israel could allow a terrorist state to exist on its doorstep is laughable given what happened on October 7th.

Hamas leaders have pledged to keep attacking until they kill all the Jews in the area. They aren’t going to stop, and they certainly aren’t going to accept a “two-state solution,” even if Israel were dumb enough to offer it. All Biden had to do was stand strong here, but he doesn’t have it in him. He’ll always try to take the easy way out to save his own skin. Hopefully, Israel tells him to pound sand.

Argentina Elects Pro-Gun Chainsaw Wielding Libertarian

Javier Milei chainsaw

Argentina elected a libertarian head of state yesterday with some views I think many people can relate to.

I don’t know exactly what some labels the media are using mean, like “anarcho-capitalist” and “radical libertarian populist.” So, I spent a few hours reviewing his policies and listening to his speeches last night.

What Does Javier Milei Stand For?

He has proposed some significant reforms that many call radical, but I’m seeing some common sense. He can be very abrasive and blunt, so I can’t use his actual words for some of his views.

His governing philosophy is that “you can’t give s**t leftists an inch.”

  • He’s Anti-China
  • Thinks teaching gender education in school is brainwashing
  • Anti-socialism
  • Anti-woke
  • Anti-globalist
  • Anti-establishment
  • He’s said, “redistributing wealth is a violent act”
  • Climate change is a “lie of socialism”
  • He believes criminals shouldn’t be allowed to immigrate to his country.
  • You’ll have to look up what he said about Pope Francis and Mickey Mouse, but use your imagination.
  • Pro-gun and wants to loosen gun control.

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A Well-Outfitted Militia: German Translation of the Second Amendment Offers Insight

There’s a perennial debate in gun politics in the United States. The gun control side makes various specious arguments claiming that the Second Amendment protects muskets and not modern arms, that the right to keep and bear arms belongs to a select militia like the National Guard, not We the People, and that “well-regulated” authorizes the de facto destruction of our rights via regulation.

Those of us who have studied the copious scholarly research on the text and history of the Second Amendment know that those arguments are bunk. We know that the right to keep and bear arms is not dependent on militia service. We know that the right extends to modern arms, much like the First Amendment is applicable to modern forms of communication. We know that “well-regulated” means in proper working order, not choking off that right while pretending to nurture it.

To further support the originalist interpretation of the Second Amendment, there’s insight offered from an uncommon source: the re-translation into English of founding era documents originally translated into German. The following is the abstract from an academic paper published in the American Journal of Legal History:

A Well-Outfitted Militia: German–American Translations of the Second Amendment and Original Public Meaning
By Brandon Kinney

This article seeks to uncover the original public meaning of the Second Amendment by scrutinizing unusual and previously unexamined sources: German–American translations of the Bill of Rights during the Founding Era. Translations offer a unique perspective of political culture, because they served as thoughtful analysis and contextual commentary on the source text.

Using six German–American translations in the Founding Era, this article argues that the public understanding of the Second Amendment during the Founding Era was one that recognized the individual right to own firearms for individual use unconnected to militia service as well as a constitutional endorsement of an armed population as the best bulwark to preserve the liberty of the national people.

Though the exact text of the translations differ across publishers and states, they retain thematic and syntactic similarities that suggest a public consensus over the meaning of the text. The notion that the Second Amendment protects an individual right rather than a collective one is borne out by additional translations well into the mid-nineteenth century.

Printers adjusted their translations of the amendment after the militia as a military institution had fallen into disuse but preserved or strengthened the clause protecting the individual right to arms rather than letting it ‘fall silent’.

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BLUF
Whatever else it accomplished, the murderous attacks perpetrated by Hamas tore the mask off the “poor, suffering Palestinians” and revealed the entire operation as the bloodthirsty, anti-civilizational impulse we have long known it to be. For that, at least, we must be grateful for this excruciating moment of clarity.

This Time Israel Will Finish The Job.

There are many reasons for any sane person to regret the existence of Hamas, the savage Sunni Muslim militia that controls the Gaza Strip in Southern Israel. Founded in 1987, the group has specialized in terror attacks against Israelis while maintaining vigorous side-concessions fomenting anti-Western sentiment and keeping their own populace in a state of wretched poverty.

Such are the convoluted workings of providence, however, that the world may eventually find itself grimly grateful for what one percipient observer called “the Sabbath Massacres”: the barbaric slaughter perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which left some 1,400 dead, thousands wounded, and more than 200 kidnapped and held hostage in Gaza.

The main reason to be grateful for this horrific carnage follows from the revelation it afforded. In the first place, by acting with such savage and sanguinary abandon—deliberately targeting the young and helpless, the old and infirm, raping, mutilating, beheading—Hamas in effect signed its own death warrant.

We’ve seen all the usual suspects fulminating against Israel, “the Zionists,” “the Jews.” A prominent Hamas spokesman called Ghazi Hamad said in an interview that the Sabbath Massacre of October 7 was only the start, that there would be many more and similar attacks “until Israel is annihilated.”

But that is idle, impotent imprecation, of a piece with King Lear’s aposiopetic rant against his sisters:

– No, you unnatural hags,
I will have such revenges on you both,
That all the world shall – I will do such things, –
What they are, yet I know not; but they shall be
The terrors of the earth.

One of the  most brilliant spokesman for the the Israeli Defense Force, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, was right when he described Hamad as a “rotten, vile, and cowardly terrorist.” Doubtless Hamad would slit the throat of any Israeli he chanced across. But he is likely to chance across very few, if any. As Conricus has explained in patient if steely detail, the IDF is going to dismantle Hamas piece by piece, tunnel by tunnel, terrorist by terrorist.

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Russia Finally ‘Ready’ for Ukraine Peace Talks.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday that Moscow is ready for talks on the “post-conflict settlement” of the war in Ukraine.

Shoigu made the remarks at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, China’s largest military diplomacy event, saying that Russia is also ready for talks on further “co-existence” with the West, but said Western countries needed to stop seeking the strategic defeat of his country.

The prospect of peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow have been raised multiple times since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Kremlin has specified a few conditions that are non-negotiable for Russia, including that Ukraine must accept the September 2022 annexation of four of its regions—Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia—following referendums called by Putin that were deemed illegal by the international community.

Ukraine has said that any peace deal must invalidate the September 2022 annexations of its territory, and that the Crimean Peninsula, which Putin annexed in 2014, must once again be considered part of Ukraine.

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*HERO STORIES:*

“Get in under the covers, Abba (daddy) will protect you, there will be some noise but everything will be OK.”

That’s what Alon said to his three daughters who took shelter with him in a safe room when Hamas terrorists began to set fire to their home.

Heroic dad, Alon, opened the door, fired his rifle, killing one of barbaric terrorists, the other two fled, allowing Alon to return and guard his daughters during the invasion.

Apart from his role as a father Alon is also a farmer and security volunteer at Kibbutz Nirim.

Squad of female IDF combat troops eliminated nearly 100 Hamas terrorists.

Only a few have had the chance to witness the extraordinary actions of the Caracal Battalion during their battle against Hamas terrorists.

Lt.-Col. Or Ben-Yehuda, the commander of this unit, now recounts her experiences in the southern Gaza Strip, where her battalion eliminated approximately 100 terrorists. She also has a clear message for those who question the capabilities of female fighters in the Caracal (Desert Lynx) and Tank Battalion.

As the assault on the Gaza border area began, Ben-Yehuda swiftly moved from the battalion headquarters in Nahal Raviv to a post on the Egyptian border with armored personnel carriers. Rockets were raining down, and warnings arrived regarding potential terrorist infiltration in the Shlomit and Bnei Netzer towns.

In the midst of this chaos, she received a message from Lt.-Col. Yonatan Tzur, the commander of the Nahal Brigade’s patrol battalion, who was later tragically killed in an encounter with terrorists. He reported an infiltration near Sufa and Nirim, saying, “There are several terrorists there… They’re heavily armed!”

Ben-Yehuda summoned troops from the mixed-gender, infantry combat Caracal Battalion and made her intentions clear: “We are going out to eliminate terrorists. Infiltration into Israel is happening, and it’s spreading. Stay alert. We might cross paths. We are a strong squad.”

During the fast-paced journey, Ben-Yehuda began to understand the scale of the terrorist incidents in the region. Arriving at Sufa, she received a report from a sergeant from the guards at the entrance to the military base, indicating that terrorists were inside with at least three wounded.

Information revealed that the military post contained around 40 combat soldiers from the Nahal patrol, a mix of Nahal, mortar soldiers from the 50th battalion, other soldiers, military drivers operating in high-risk areas, and numerous terrorists. It was apparent that most of the combatants were in the dining room, armed with anti-tank missiles. It became clear that this was not a typical terrorist infiltration.

Approaching the base from all angles, they identified at least seven terrorists, and more from the nearby dirt embankment were starting to climb up. Suddenly, a convoy with almost 50 terrorists and snipers charged toward the squad of 12 at breakneck speed. They responded with gunfire. Terrorists were eliminated, and the others dispersed.

In a harrowing moment, a terrorist advanced on Ben-Yehuda at point-blank range, but her quick reaction saved her from harm.

Lt.-Col. A from the Magic Touch Squadron (190) arrived and identified the terrorists inside the base. He suggested taking action but Ben-Yehuda insisted on avoiding harm to the soldiers inside. Instead, bursts of fire were directed at the surrounding earthen embankments, killing terrorists and preventing further attacks on the squad.

For nearly four hours, terrorists attempted to outflank Ben-Yehuda and her team, engaging them in firefights. More vans arrived, but the Caracal Battalion commander effectively thwarted them. Additional Light Anti-Armor Weapon (LAW) missiles were launched, further eliminating terrorists: Some were killed, and others retreated.

Despite wounds to some of her soldiers, they persevered.

After hours of intense combat, soldiers from the Shayetet (flotilla) 13 Navy Special Forces unit arrived to clear the base of terrorists. Drones were launched to assist them. The firefights continued, and wounded soldiers were evacuated. They remained at the base for a total of 14 hours until it was fully secured.

Ben-Yehuda emphasized the significant contributions of the female soldiers under her command, who saved many lives through medical care and even daring helicopter landings under fire. Their remarkable performance under the extreme pressure of war highlighted their capabilities.

She also acknowledged the tank soldiers under her command, who played a vital role in defending towns and decisively impacting the battle in Holit, a kibbutz near the southwestern-most border of the Gaza Strip where at least 11 of its members were killed along with two migrant workers.

In total, her battalion eliminated around 100 terrorists. She hopes this serves as proof that there should be no more doubts about female combat soldiers. “Their training and performance on the battlefield have erased any doubts. They fought bravely, saved lives, and emerged as heroes,” she said.

Ben-Yehuda also highlighted the dedication of the commanders who rushed from home to join the fight.

She concluded: “There are no more doubts about female combat soldiers, who have triumphed in every encounter with terrorists. At present, we are responsible for 11 towns and are preparing for any potential ground maneuvers to ensure the safety of the southern Gaza border area and the Egyptian border.”