America’s Comedians Blast ABC
The Hollywood Reporter wrote on September 19:
“Conan O’Brien Says Jimmy Kimmel Suspension ‘Should Disturb Everyone’: ‘It’s Wrong.’… ‘The suspension of [Jimmy Kimmel] and the promise to silence other Late Night hosts for criticizing the administration should disturb everyone on the Right, Left, and Center,’ he wrote on X. ‘It’s wrong and anyone with a conscience knows it’s wrong.’
“The former Late Night and Tonight Show host is one of many late night TV hosts who have voiced their disapproval on the indefinite suspension of Kimmel’s show… Stephen Colbert defended Kimmel, notably after his own The Late Show was recently canceled by CBS…. Jimmy Fallon also backed his fellow late night host, and said he ‘hope[s] he comes back’ on air.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live! was ‘pre-empted indefinitely’ by ABC on Wednesday shortly after Nexstar released a statement noting they would not air the planned episode and would preempt the long-running talk show for the foreseeable future. The backlash stemmed from Kimmel’s remarks about the alleged shooter of Charlie Kirk. His comments were as follows: ‘We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.’
“Following Kimmel’s remarks, Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr went on a podcast on Wednesday where he publicly condemned Kimmel’s comments and urged affiliates should ‘push back’ on ABC… A source told The Hollywood Reporter Kimmel was prepared to address the backlash on Wednesday night’s canceled show. He planned to explain what he said and demonstrate how it was taken out of context. The source added that Kimmel was not planning on apologizing. He felt that what he said did not need an apology.
“Late night TV legend David Lettermann shared his thoughts on the matter earlier on Thursday… ‘You know, I just, I feel bad about this because we all see where this is going, correct? It’s managed media. And it’s no good. It’s silly. It’s ridiculous,’ he said. ‘And you can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office…’
“Current Late Night host Seth Meyers stressed the importance of free speech during his Thursday night episode and offered support for Kimmel… ‘I wake up every day and I count my blessings that I live in a country that at least purports to value freedom of speech, and we’re gonna keep doing our show the way we’ve always done it with enthusiasm and integrity.’’
Blasting Disney and FCC Chair Brendan Carr
The German media outlet, Deutsche Welle, added on September 19:
“The decision to suspend Kimmel came amid pressure from the FCC and ABC’s parent company, Disney. The suspension has ignited a firestorm among fellow late-night hosts — Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and others — who are speaking out about what they see as an alarming threat to free speech in media….
“Colbert called the suspension ‘blatant censorship,’ criticizing ABC and Disney for yielding to external pressure rather than defending Kimmel. He especially zeroed in on the role of FCC Chair Brendan Carr, framing the suspension as symptomatic of growing media suppression.”
Daily Mail wrote on September 19:
“ABC parent company Disney decided to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! ‘indefinitely’ after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr threatened action against the network over the host’s remarks [on Kirk’s murder]…”
Germany and Great Britain are taking note of this development, as well.
Ted Cruz Blasts Brendan Carr—Trump Disagrees
CNN wrote on September 19:
“GOP Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday denounced Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr’s threats to pull ABC’s broadcast license as ‘unbelievably dangerous’ and compared some of his rhetoric to ‘mafioso’ tactics… ‘If the government gets in the business of saying, “We don’t like what you, the media, have said. We’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don’t say what we like,” that will end up bad for conservatives.’
“Though Carr’s comments have drawn widespread condemnation on the left, Cruz’s remarks represent one of the strongest denunciations of the threats against broadcasters by an elected conservative. Cruz also chairs the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which has broad authority over the FCC…
“President Donald Trump has also vaguely threatened to pull network’s licenses if they air overwhelmingly negative coverage of him, though Cruz did not rebut the president’s remarks directly on the podcast. Trump offered praise for Carr when pressed on the scathing remarks from the Texas Republican. ‘I think Brendan Carr is a great American patriot. So I disagree with Ted Cruz on that,’ he said.”
But Cruz is not the only Republican politician disagreeing with Trump. Note the next article:
NBC News wrote on September 21:
“Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said that Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr’s comments threatening to take action against Disney’s ABC last week were ‘absolutely inappropriate.’…”
Jay Leno and Eisner Speak Out
Daily Mail added on September 19:
“Late-night legend Jay Leno has weighed in on the abrupt suspension of Jimmy Kimmel… ‘I’m on Jimmy Kimmel’s side on that one,’ he told reporters on Thursday, adding that he’s ‘for free speech.’… The veteran host added that ‘you don’t get cancelled saying popular things.’ ‘Usually it’s the truth that winds up getting [you] cancelled, so we’ll see what happens,’ he said.
“Leno was blunt when addressing critics who praised Kimmel’s suspension. ‘It’s a comedian talking. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it… Let the people decide,’ he said…”
Deadline wrote on September 19:
“The ‘suspending indefinitely’ of Jimmy Kimmel immediately after the Chairman of the FCC’s aggressive yet hollow threatening of the Disney Company is yet another example of out-of-control intimidation,’ the 1984-2005 Disney boss [Michael Eisner] wrote Friday in a rare X post…
“Declaring that he ‘finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny,’ [Eisner] bluntly asked today: ‘Where has all the leadership gone?’”
Some Humorous Comments and Actions
The New York Post wrote on September 19:
“HBO host Bill Maher said Friday that Jimmy Kimmel was ‘wrong’ to suggest that Charlie Kirk’s suspected assassin was a MAGA Republican — but slammed his former network ABC for taking the comedian off the air… Maher noted that Kimmel’s show was pulled ‘24 years to the day’ that his own controversial remarks – about the 9/11 hijackers – ‘got me canceled from that network.’
‘And Jimmy Kimmel took my slot!’ he said. ‘I got canceled before cancel even had a culture,’ Maher joked, before taking a shot at his former network. ‘ABC stands for Always Be Caving,’ he quipped…
“Maher’s take on Kimmel came the day after his fellow late-night hosts supported their embattled peer Kimmel… Jon Stewart made a rare Thursday-night appearance on ‘The Daily Show,’ speaking in front of a gold-inspired backdrop wearing a dark suit and red tie, both nods to Trump’s preferred attire and decor. ‘From Comedy Central. It’s the all-new government-approved ‘Daily Show’ with your patriotically obedient host, Jon Stewart,’ an announcer began the show.”
Humorous, but they also paint a pathetic picture.
Shameful… Media Companies Buckle
The Guardian wrote on September 19:
“The move [to suspend Kimmel] ‘marks a dark new level of capitulation and censorship of speech more redolent of autocracies than democracies’, according to PEN America, the free-expression advocacy organization. The Trump administration’s bullying appalls first amendment champions. Just as bad is the way so much of big media has rolled over like a docile lapdog, eager to obey in advance. The administration ‘is becoming increasingly brazen in its abuse of government power to silence its critics’, said Jameel Jaffer, who heads the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, adding that ‘too many of the powerful institutions that could stand up to this thuggery are capitulating instead’…
“Each instance of bullying emboldens Trump and his allies, and each instance of capitulation lays the groundwork for more cowardice. Just a few months ago, it seemed shocking when ABC News settled a suit brought by Trump over on-air remarks made by star anchor George Stephanopoulos. Most first amendment experts believed that the network could have successfully defended the case, but instead ABC buckled, even including an apology with the financial settlement. Not long afterwards, an even more defensible suit against CBS News over the routine editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris went a similar route.
“Parent company Paramount Global settled the case. Soon after Stephen Colbert criticized that settlement, calling it a bribe, his CBS late-night show was cancelled. The media has been cozying up to Trump in earnest since last fall, often with the owners’ commercial interests all too obvious. Paramount Global, for example, was eager for federal approval of a huge merger with another media giant.
“… too many media companies are bending the knee – and then cowering as Trump grows ever bolder. What good is the first amendment when so many in power don’t seem to know it exists?”
As the media did under Biden, so now they are doing it under Trump.
Kimmel Is Back
The Huffington Post wrote on September 22:
“Disney announced Monday that it’s bringing ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ back on the air Tuesday…
“Critics slammed Disney and its CEO Bob Iger for suspending the show after Brendan Carr, President Donald Trump’s chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, threatened to punish the company with regulatory action over Kimmel’s comments. Earlier Monday, more than 400 celebrities, including Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, signed a letter calling the suspension a ‘dark moment for freedom of speech.’ [The letter was also signed, among many others, by Billy Crystal, Ron Howard, Ben Stiller, Michael Keaton and Kevin Beacon]. A handful of other celebrities have called on people to cancel their subscriptions to Disney’s platforms [including Howard Stern] or vowed not to work with the company again.
“Sinclair which owns multiple ABC affiliates and control what broadcasts on them, released a statement saying it would continue to preempt Kimmel’s show despite Disney lifting the suspension. It will air news during that time slot instead but left the door open to Kimmel’s return.”
This was apparently a bridge too far for Disney. In August, Sinclair said it was reviewing its business and considering “acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and business combinations,” which would require approval from the FCC.
Deutsche Welle wrote on September 23:
“In his first show since the suspension, Jimmy Kimmel said he never meant to make light of Kirk’s murder… Kimmel criticized the ABC affiliates that took his show off the air. ‘That’s not legal. That’s not American. It’s un-American,’ he said.
“‘This show is not important,’ Kimmel said, adding, ‘what is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.’”
Trump Keeps On Threatening
Mediaite wrote on September 24:
“Minutes before Kimmel was set to return, Trump posted a rant threatening ABC on Truth Social, writing:
‘”Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there. Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE. He is yet another arm of the DNC [Democratic National Committee] and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.’”
Deadline wrote on September 23:
“Saurav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform at the Campaign Legal Center, said… ‘The decision to put Jimmy Kimmel back on the air is in no way an illegal campaign contribution,’ he said. ‘…There is no indication the decision is being driven by anything other than a commercial decision. That is not even close to a campaign contribution.’”
The Daily Mail commented on September 23 regarding Trump’s threats:
“If Trump isn’t careful, he will end up no better than Biden! This dirty revenge tour must cease… before everyone loses…”
America at a Dangerous Crossroads
BBC wrote on September 17:
“Within days of Kirk’s death, the country’s political camps had already retreated to opposing narratives. Many on the left are eager to explore the ways that Kirk’s killer might have been radicalised by internet subcultures and group chats. Many on the right prefer to unpack whether the suspect was part of a left-wing conspiracy. Neither group seems particularly keen to prioritise reconciliation or healing…
“As for the question of whether America can break the hold of the algorithms that stoke the divisions, that would take a leader of enormous strength with an equally enormous commitment to reconciliation… Usually only a president can facilitate that… Trump is not that type of president. He often seems at his strongest, politically, when he has an adversary to fight against…
“The framing by the president – that this was not just the deed of a twisted individual but of the radical left more broadly – is being echoed by other White House officials. ‘With God as my witness, we are going to use every resource we have… to identify, disrupt, dismantle and destroy these networks,’ said Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff…
“However, a number of studies into politically-motivated killings and violence in the US – over several decades – suggest that more cases were carried out by people with ‘right-wing’ ideologies than with ‘left-wing’ ones, though more data is likely necessary to draw a firm conclusion…
“Yes, American history is full of anger and conflict — but I’m not sure this country’s social and political systems were always so quick to reward the companies and people who stoke those emotions. Meanwhile the United States will get weaker, not greater… America’s adversaries certainly know how much its divisions damage this superpower. They work hard online to drive people further apart. And Americans make it easy for them.”
America is deeply divided. And there are not even attempts from either side to bring about reconciliation.
Google to Reinstate Banned YouTube Accounts
Fox News reported on September 23:
“Google vowed on Tuesday to offer YouTube accounts that were permanently banned for political speech the ability to be reinstated, and the big tech giant admitted that it once faced pressure from the Biden administration to remove content about COVID-19… and elections integrity policies…
“Google’s revelations came in response to a yearslong Republican-led investigation by the committee into big tech companies, including Google, that censored and suppressed content on their platforms related to COVID-19, the 2020 election and Hunter Biden.”
We knew it and experienced it all along…
Trump Addresses the UN
The Sun wrote on September 23:
“The US president returned to the 80th UN General Assembly for the first time in five years – and shocked everyone with his fiery words. Trump touted America’s role in bringing peace to seven conflicts since taking over the White House. He touched on one of his favourite topics in politics – immigration, telling assembly members it’s time to end the ‘failed experiment of open borders’. He said: ‘It’s uncontrolled, your countries are being ruined.’…
“The jaw-dropping summit saw him calling global warming as an illegitimate idea, slamming climate change as the ‘greatest con job ever perpetrated in the world.’ He complained about renewable energy, calling it useless and warning that it was leading Europe to the ‘brink of destruction’…
“Meanwhile, Trump slammed the UN for ‘not helping me stop the conflicts.’ He said: ‘It’s too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them. And, sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help in any of them… ‘All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that on the way up, stopped right in the middle. And then the teleprompter didn’t work, these are the two things I got from the United Nations.’
“Trump warned in his fiery speech about the nuclear threat the world faces, and said ‘there is no more serious danger to our planet today.’ He asked Nato’s European members to stop buying Russian oil and prevent funding Russia’s war machine against Ukraine.”
Some of Trump’s comments were well-taken.
Russia’s Further Attacks
The Sun wrote on September 19:
“NATO forces were scrambled to intercept three Russian jets flying over Estonia as the Baltic nation triggered an emergency meeting. [Three jets] brazenly entered the country’s airspace today in a major escalation by Moscow… without clearance…
“Shortly afterwards, Polish authorities reported a ‘low flyover’ of Russian military planes near an oil and gas platform… While in Estonian airspace, the jets circled in the sky [for nearly 12 minutes] as though waiting for a response… NATO allies scrambled Italian F-35s to repel the Russian jets.
“Security expert Will Geddes told The Sun: ‘What we’re increasingly seeing is incursions into NATO country airspace, whether that be Poland, quite recently on September 10, with drones, whether it be Romania, or now Estonia. This is becoming increasingly concerning, as NATO has a joint agreement in terms of protecting their airspace.’
“He added: ‘I think what it really comes down to is the fact that Russia is testing NATO countries, and testing their aerial defence measures.’… It comes as hopes of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine look ever distant… Speaking in Istanbul, the former spy boss [Sir Richard Moore] said: ‘I have seen absolutely no evidence that President Putin has any interest in a negotiated peace short of Ukrainian capitulation.’”
Politico wrote on September 19:
“Romania has also faced repeated violations, including a drone tracked for nearly 50 minutes in its airspace in mid-September. Fragments from earlier Russian attacks in Ukraine have repeatedly landed on Romanian territory…
“NATO allies have historically exercised restraint in such situations. The last time a member state shot down a Russian fighter was in 2015, when Turkey downed a Su-24 near the Syria-Turkey border, sparking a sharp diplomatic confrontation with Moscow but no wider conflict. Since then, despite repeated airspace violations over the Baltics, Poland and Romania, the alliance has refrained from similar moves.”
Deutsche Welle reported on September 20:
“Germany’s air force on Sunday sent two Eurofighters to follow a Russian IL-20m military aircraft that had entered neutral airspace over the Baltic Sea, before handing the escort over to NATO partners in Sweden.”
It is clear that Russia is testing NATO. None of it is accidental.
Trump Switches Position on Russia-Ukraine War – For Now!
The Sun wrote on September 24:
“Yvette Cooper (Foreign Secretary) slammed Moscow or its ‘provocative and reckless violations’ into Nato airspace in recent weeks during a speech to the UN… [adding] ‘we will be ready to act.’
“Meanwhile, on Tuesday evening, Boris Johnson urged Britain to put troops into Ukraine now — with or without a ceasefire… he blasted Germany for not giving Kyiv its Taurus stealth cruise missiles. And he attacked the Labour government for buying Russian uranium…
“It comes after Trump told Nato countries to ‘shoot down’ invading Russian aircraft saying member states ‘shouldn’t hesitate’ in the face of incursions. When asked if Washington would back them militarily, he was non-committal. ‘That depends on the circumstance,’ Trump said….
“The president doubled down in a Truth Social post – calling Moscow a ‘paper tiger’ and backing Ukraine to reclaim its land… ‘in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that!’…
“He also admitted his relationship with the Russian leader ‘didn’t mean anything’…
“Trump has repeatedly argued that Ukraine would likely have to cede some land to end the war… Responding to Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was a bear, not a tiger, and ‘there is no such thing as a paper bear’…”
How It All Could Develop
The Sun wrote on September 19:
“Sir Richard [a former NATO commander] outlined that it would all start with a massive power outage across Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, which would plunge the city into chaos… ‘A wave of looting and civil unrest breaks out, wholly unexpected in law-abiding Lithuania.’ Power cuts would also be reported across Latvia and Estonia, the former army commander predicted. And within hours, [the] Lithuanian President… would announce that martial law had been imposed in the capital in the wake of rioting and violence.
“The very next day, in the wake of the growing chaos, Vladimir Putin would announce that troops in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad are being placed on full alert and moved to the border with Lithuania… According to Sir Richard, Putin would say that ‘Russian-speaking residents in Vilnius are being targeted by nationalist mobs and that Moscow will not abandon them.’ And within two hours, he will claim that Russian forces in Kaliningrad have come under fire from ‘warmongering Lithuanian rebels’ – forcing him to take control of the Suwalki Gap…
“The 60-mile strip Suwalki Gap is wedged between Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. It has massive strategic importance for NATO and the EU – as well as Russia – if conflict were to erupt. For the West, it is the only land link to the three ex-Soviet Baltic republics – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. [Seizing the gap would essentially cut off the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia from their Nato allies] … For Russia, control of the corridor would give a land link to Kaliningrad, the main base of Putin’s Baltic Fleet…
“‘Nato chief Mark Rutte has spoken briefly to US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, whose response was: ‘Article 5? Sure, in theory, but what does that mean in reality? You’re seriously asking POTUS [the President of the United States] to declare war on Russia because of some low-flying planes? Get real!’ The military expert predicts that Poland would warn Russia to stay out of its airspace, but it will fall short of launching any direct retaliation.
“And soon, the Lithuanian army posted at the border will come under fire from the Russian army, before Russian tanks start to roll into Vilnius. And since Russia now controls the Suwalki corridor, Nato will fail to send support logistics to the Baltic countries to help defend against Russia. With Europe engaged with yet another Putin invasion, Sir Richard predicted that China in the East would launch an attack on Taiwan… The military expert said that even though Trump will threaten to slap China with ‘the motherload of all sanctions’, he will fall short of supporting the island with necessary military aid…
“‘China has seized the prize it long desired. Russia has guaranteed the eventual conquest of Ukraine and begun to reclaim the Baltic states. Nato has disintegrated. Europe is preparing a new alliance with the Far East. And Britain is exposed as a tiny island no better able to defend itself than Taiwan.’…
“While Putin’s war in Ukraine rages on with no end in sight, The Sun investigated the hidden signs that show Putin is planning to invade the Suwalki Gap… Speaking on Battled Plans Exposed of Putin’s telltale signs, Colonel Philip Ingram says: ‘We’re seeing increased Russian military presence in Kaliningrad and Belarus, we’re seeing snap military drills and unusual troop movements… The military analyst also explains that any potential threats to the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, need to be compared to the moments leading up to the invasion of Ukraine… Anything resembling the massive military buildup on the border of Ukraine just before the war in 2022 would need to be interpreted as a serious warning sign, he explains.”
In this regard, the next article is quite revealing.
“Trump Blocks $400 Million Military Aid Package to Taiwan”
The Telegraph wrote on September 19:
“[The] US was due to provide munitions and autonomous drones that would have been ‘more lethal’ than any sent previously… Donald Trump has blocked a military aid package to Taiwan worth more than $400m ahead of a potential summit with Xi Jinping…”
America’s Further Attacks
BBC wrote on September 19:
“President Donald Trump has said US forces carried out a ‘lethal kinetic strike’ on a vessel which he said was trafficking drugs, and the attack killed three ‘male narcoterrorists’ on board. Trump said he ordered the attack on the boat, which was in the US Southern Command’s area of responsibility, after US intelligence confirmed it was trafficking drugs. It was the third such strike on alleged drug boats in recent weeks.
“Trump’s statement on Truth Social on Friday said the strike happened in international waters. The US Southern Command’s area of responsibility covers most of South America and the Caribbean. Two previous strikes have killed a total of 14 people on boats allegedly from Venezuela…
“Trump’s post on Friday evening mirrored previous announcements of such strikes. It featured a video showing the boat travelling on a body of water, and seconds later it explodes and bursts into flames.”
How is something like this justifiable?
“Incalculable” Price to Pay?
AFP wrote on September 20:
“US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened Venezuela with ‘incalculable’ consequences if it refuses to take back migrants it has ‘forced into the United States,’ as tensions soar with Caracas. ‘We want Venezuela to immediately accept all of the prisoners, and people from mental institutions… Get them the hell out of our country, right now…’
“Venezuela on Friday accused the United States of waging an ‘undeclared war’ in the Caribbean and called for a UN probe of American strikes that have killed over a dozen alleged drug traffickers on boats in recent weeks. Washington has also deployed warships to international waters off Venezuela’s coast, backed by F-35 fighters sent to Puerto Rico in what it calls an anti-drug operation. The biggest US naval deployment in the Caribbean in decades has stoked fears the United States is planning to attack Venezuelan territory.
“The strikes have prompted debate over the legality of the killings, with drug trafficking itself not a capital offense under US law. Nor has Washington provided specific details to back up its claims that the boats targeted had actually been trafficking drugs.”
Tylenol and Autism
The Sun wrote on September 22:
“Donald Trump has claimed that taking Tylenol during pregnancy increases the risk of autism… He advised pregnant women to only take Tylenol… in the case of high fevers…
‘”Taking Tylenol is not good,’ he said… Trump also demanded no mercury or aluminum in vaccines.”
Trump also said not to give Tylenol to your child, and that there is no downside to not taking it, except for high fever (compare NPR, dated September 23). Pharma of course rejected those comments.
Tylenol’s Historic Tweet
The Daily Mail wrote on September 25:
“Tylenol has come under fresh scrutiny after a 2017 post resurfaced in which the brand appeared to warn pregnant women against using its products. The tweet, now being widely shared, stated: ‘We actually don’t recommend taking any of our products while pregnant.’…
“When the Daily Mail approached Kenvue, which manufactures Tylenol, it issued the following statement: ‘This eight-year-old consumer response is incomplete and did not address our full guidance on the safe use of Tylenol.’ A spokesman added that paracetamol and acetaminophen remain the safest painkiller options for pregnant women — but stressed that any over-the-counter medicine should only be taken after consulting a doctor.
“Current Tylenol packaging advises: ‘If pregnant or breast-feeding, ask a health professional before use.’… Paracetamol packets in the UK carry almost identical warnings: ‘Talk to your doctor before taking these tablets if you are pregnant, think you may be pregnant or plan to get pregnant. If necessary, paracetamol can be used during pregnancy. You should use the lowest possible dose that reduces your pain and/or your fever and use it for the shortest time possible.’”
Massive Vaccines for Babies?
Express wrote on September 22:
“… the president remarked:… ‘children get these massive vaccines like you’d give to a horse… for a little baby to be injected with that much fluid, even beyond the actual ingredients, they have sometimes 80 different vaccines in them. It’s crazy… you have a little body, a little baby, and you’re pumping this big thing. It’s a horrible thing…’”
This is indeed horrible and crazy conduct.
Annual $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas
The Guardian wrote on September 19:
“Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Friday that would impose an annual $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications, dealing a potentially major blow to the US tech industry, which relies heavily on workers from India and China. The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said at a Friday press briefing that ‘all the big companies’ had been briefed on the new fee… ‘If you’re going to train somebody, you’re going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land. Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs,’ he said.
“Trump’s threat to crack down on H-1B visas has become a major flashpoint with the tech industry, which contributed millions of dollars to his presidential campaign. The tech industry relies, more than any other sector of the US economy, on H-1B visa holders. Roughly two-thirds of jobs secured through the H-1B program are computer-related, government figures show, but employers also use the visa to bring in engineers, educators and healthcare workers… Supporters, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, say it brings in highly skilled workers essential to filling talent gaps and keeping firms competitive. Musk, himself a naturalized US citizen born in South Africa, once held an H-1B visa.
“Adding new fees ‘creates disincentive to attract the world’s smartest talent to the US’, Deedy Das, partner at venture capital firm Menlo Ventures, wrote on X. ‘If the US ceases to attract the best talent, it drastically reduces its ability to innovate and grow the economy.’…
“Immigration experts are questioning whether the executive branch has the authority to impose the exorbitant annual fee. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said… ‘the president has literally zero legal authority to impose a $100,000 fee on visas… The only authority Congress has ever given the executive branch here is to charge fees to recover the cost of processing the application.’”
TechCrunch added on September 19, 2025:
“Trump hits H-1B visas with $100,000 fee, targeting the program that launched Elon Musk and Instagram…
“Silicon Valley will undoubtedly be up in arms over the initiative. The restrictions take aim at a program that helped create some of the region’s biggest success stories. Elon Musk… initially worked in the U.S. on an H-1B after arriving as a student. In fact, Musk, taking issue with a perceived critic of the H-1B program in December on his platform X, tweeted to the individual that, ‘The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B. Take a big step back… I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.’”
Another move to destroy the American economy?
Trump Threatens Non-Profits
The Guardian wrote on September 20:
“Immigrant advocacy organizations and activists are bracing for a crackdown from the federal government following threats from the Trump administration to root out and criminally prosecute non-profit groups it believes are sympathetic to ‘leftwing’ politics. Donald Trump and his closest allies have periodically threatened immigrant rights activists and nonprofits, including those that distribute food and water to migrants or provide immigrants with legal services, with arrest. But their rhetoric has been heightened in the days following the killing of rightwing activist Charlie Kirk this month.
“Over the last week, JD Vance described civil rights groups as a ‘domestic terror movement’, while Stephen Miller, a top Trump aide and the architect of the US president’s mass deportation agenda, vowed that the administration would hold nonprofits, including immigrant-rights and police-reform organizations, ‘criminally liable’ for what he baselessly described as ‘coordinated attacks’ on Ice agents… The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), meanwhile, has expanded its definition of ‘threats’ to include the filming Ice operations…”
So, nobody is allowed to give food and water to hungry and thirsty migrants? God has a lot to say about such ungodly prohibitions.
False Statistics?
The New York Post wrote on September 19:
“President Trump’s ‘border czar’ Tom Homan [claimed] that ‘70% of everybody arrested is a criminal.’ He said the other 30% of migrants arrested and slated for deportation include ‘thousands of national security threats’ who don’t have criminal histories and were ‘laying low to do their dirty deed down the road,’ as well as gang members that have evaded law enforcement.”
These comments are totally contradicted by many reports on the Internet, which state: “A large number of people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not have criminal convictions, with data from early 2025 showing that approximately 65% of individuals booked into ICE detention had no criminal record. More than 93% of ICE book-ins were never convicted of any violent offenses. Most convictions [53%] that do occur are for minor offenses, such as traffic or immigration violations.”
California Opposes ICE
The New York Post wrote on September 20:
“Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a series of bills on Saturday banning masking statewide [for federal law enforcement agents], as part of a concentrated effort to bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from concealing their identities during raids. The five bills Newsom signed into law Saturday ‘make California the first state in the nation to prohibit federal law enforcement officers, including ICE, from hiding their identities [‘except when absolutely necessary’] according to a press release from his office…
“Newsom’s office did not say how they would enforce such a rule against a federal agency, though they did talk at length about how much they oppose ICE’s recent actions…
“The new law will require notification to families when immigration enforcement intends on visiting a school. Emergency rooms and other nonpublic areas within hospitals are off limits to immigration enforcement ‘without a judicial warrant or court order, and it clarifies that immigration information collected by a health care provider is protected as medical information.’”
The key question is indeed: How WILL or even CAN California enforce these new rules? It will inevitably lead to further confrontations between the state of California and the federal government.
Sniper Attack on Migrants
The Daily Mail wrote on September 24:
“A sniper killed [one migrant and wounded two] in a shooting at a Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, then shot himself dead, police say. The bloodbath unfolded… when the gunman targeted migrants on an unmarked transport van. ICE said… that the sniper ‘fired indiscriminately’ before later shooting himself… The victims were ICE detainees, and no law enforcement were injured in the shooting…
“Officials said at a press conference on Wednesday morning that bullets found by the shooter’s body were engraved with ‘anti-ICE messages.’ … Although the sniper appeared to target migrants in ICE custody, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote on X that the shooting represented an attack on ICE and law enforcement…”
If this demonically inspired attack was indeed an attack on ICE, and not on migrants, as JD Vance claimed, then this was a terribly bad sniper. Something very hard to believe. The violence in this country reaches unparalleled proportions.
Stephen Miller a Nazi?
Breitbart wrote on September 25:
“California Governor Gavin Newsom launched an antisemitic attack on White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller this week, referring to Miller, who is Jewish, by the Nazi acronym ‘SS,’ in a social media post…
“Referring to a Jew as a Nazi is widely considered a form of Holocaust denial, as well as antisemitic…”
We have never heard before that referring to a Jew as a Nazi is “widely considered a form of Holocaust denial, as well as antisemitic.” This would be a rather strange association, if true. It would also be highly concocted to make this association because someone calling someone else a Nazi most surely is not trying to emphasize that the other person is Jewish.
AfD on Top
Deutsche Welle wrote on September 20:
“If federal elections were held in Germany today, the far-right populist… AfD would emerge as the largest party, according to an opinion poll released on Sunday… which put the anti-immigration party up one percentage point at 26%, overtaking the ruling conservative CDU/CSU bloc which remained unchanged at 25%. The center-left… SPD, the junior partner in the current coalition government, would increase their share of the vote by one percentage point to 15%, according to the poll, while the Green Party and far-left Left Party would both be on 11%. The left-wing populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) and the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) would both fall short of the minimum 5% threshold required to enter parliament at 4% and 3% respectively.
“The AfD, which has been officially classified as a ‘confirmed right-wing extremist endeavor’ by Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz or BfV), won 20.8% of the vote in February’s federal elections. Despite being the second-largest party in parliament, the other parties refused to enter into a coalition with the AfD.”
The AfD will not go away, and sooner or later, parties desirous to rule will be forced to enter into a coalition with it.
UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal Recognize Palestine as a State
Breitbart wrote on September 21:
“The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia announced on Sunday they now recognize Palestine as a state, despite accusations that it would be rewarding the Islamist Hamas terrorists behind the October 7th terror attacks on Israel. One day before the beginning of the Rosh Hashanah Jewish New Year celebrations, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced that the UK would recognize Palestine statehood. The move pre-empted plans from France to back the measure this week at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.
“Starmer’s telegraphed announcement was preempted by fellow G7 nation Australia and Canada, both of which announced Sunday they would also recognize the territory as a state shortly before Starmer’s statement.
“Starmer initially laid out plans to officially recognize Palestine in July on a conditional basis, demanding that Hamas — the Islamist terror group behind the October 7th terror attacks on Israel in 2023, which saw over 1,200 murdered and around 250 hostages taken — disarm, release the hostages, and agree to give up control of Gaza. Despite these conditions not being met, Starmer said on Sunday, ‘In the face of the growing horror in the Middle East, we are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and of a two-state solution.’…
“Turning to Israel, the PM accused Jerusalem of conducting a ‘relentless and increasing bombardment of Gaza,’ adding: ‘The starvation and devastation are utterly intolerable. Tens of thousands have been killed, including thousands as they tried to collect food and water. This death and destruction horrifies all of us. It must end.’ For its part, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in response: ‘Recognition is nothing but a reward for jihadist Hamas – emboldened by its Muslim Brotherhood affiliated in the UK. Hamas leaders themselves openly admit: this recognition is a direct outcome, the “fruit” for the October 7 massacre…’
“Palestine lacks the fundamental aspects of statehood, such as clearly defined borders or a firm constitution and has not held meaningful elections in nearly two decades. Meanwhile, it continues to be a major sponsor of terrorism against its neighbour and top trading partner, Israel. The move to recognise Palestine as a state will put Canberra, Ottawa, and London at odds with both Israel and the United States, with the Trump administration stressing its opposition to Palestinian statehood as it would be ‘rewarding Hamas’ for the October 7th terror attacks on Israel…
“Nigel Farage, whose Reform UK party has led in the polls throughout the year, said per The Telegraph: ‘Hamas and a Palestinian state are inseparable for now. This is typical of Starmer, he can’t really decide where he stands… this announcement is a surrender to terrorism and a betrayal of Israel.’…
“According to a survey released on Saturday from JL Partners, 87 per cent of the public opposes the move [to recognize Palestine] without any conditions on Hamas. Additionally, 51 per cent said that they would oppose it while Hamas remains in power in Gaza, and 52 per cent said they believe the action would be rewarding the terrorists.”
The shortsightedness of these politicians is mind-boggling. France recognized Palestine on Monday in the UN General Assembly, as did Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, and Monaco. Germany, Italy and Japan did not recognize such a state. Note the next article.
“Hamas Releases ‘Parting Image’ of 48 Remaining Captives, Vowing That Israel Will Never See Them Again”
The New York Post wrote on September 20:
“Hamas ominously released what it called a “parting image” Saturday of the remaining 48 Israelis being held captive in Gaza, as the Jewish state’s ground troops prepare to close in on Gaza City… Gaza City, the largest city in the Palestinian enclave, is considered Hamas’ last remaining stronghold…
“The terror group, in anticipation of IDF forces encircling the critical city, issued its strongest warning yet Thursday, saying the military takeover of Gaza City meant Israel had lost any chance of having the hostages returned — dead or alive.”
Hamas is a murderous lying terrorist organization. To try to strike any deals with them is patently stupid.
Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:
These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.