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New York City’s pension funds could resume investing in Israeli government bonds, a move that would funnel public money directly into Israel’s treasury despite the ongoing genocide in Gaza and its apartheid system in the occupied West Bank.

“The Israel bonds have performed very well and they continue to be investment grade rated,” Mark Levine, New York City’s chief financial officer, told the FT. “My fiduciary responsibility is to make investment decisions based on that record of performance.”

Israeli government bonds function as direct loans to the state, providing steady interest payments to investors while channelling cash straight into government coffers.

The watch list, drawn up before Mr Jenrick’s defection, and seen by The Independent, includes former ministers and veteran MPs Suella Braverman, Sir John Hayes, Mark Francois, Esther McVey, Andrew Rosindell and Sir Desmond Swayne.

Also included on the list are MPs from the 2024 intake – Katie Lam, Bradley Thomas and Lewis Cocking, as well as shadow ministers Matt Vickers and Joy Morrissey.

A consortium of international researchers has called for a new alliance of mid-sized nations to challenge the overwhelming dominance of the United States and China in artificial intelligence.

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) released a policy report Sunday titled "A Blueprint for Multinational Advanced AI Development." The document, co-authored with scholars from the University of Oxford, Canada's Mila institute, and Germany's RWTH Aachen University, argues that countries like South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Canada must pool their resources to secure technological independence.

The report paints a stark picture of the current landscape, noting that approximately 90 percent of the world's AI computing capacity is concentrated in the United States and China. The authors warn that this imbalance effectively blocks other nations from developing "frontier" AI models on their own, forcing them into a state of technological dependency on a handful of superpowers and Big Tech firms.

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The blueprint suggests modeling this cooperation after CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Instead of particle physics, the proposed body would focus on sharing the heavy burden of AI infrastructure. Member nations would pool computing resources, establish protocols for cross-border data training, and create a shared system for research talent to move freely between countries.

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The report notes that approximately 90% of global AI computing capacity is concentrated in the United States (75%) and China (15%), warning that technological dependence on specific nations or global big tech companies could intensify. It proposes that "AI bridge power nations" including Korea, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Singapore form a new cooperative bloc to lead norms for AI collaboration. These countries possess world-class AI research influence and technological capabilities but face practical constraints in independently building hyperscale AI and power infrastructure.

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Archived link

A Twitter/X post on Russian state platform RT, twists Canadian PM Mark Carney’s remarks about supporting Danish/Greenland sovereignty within NATO into a false war declaration. Multiple independent records show Carney did not threaten war; he affirmed that Greenland’s future is for Denmark/Greenland to decide and underscored allied defense commitments—nothing more. Given RT’s track record and EU sanctions, this is a textbook Kremlin tactical narrative injection to create panic and divide the US and Canada.

RT has been identified by Canada and its allies as an important component of Kremlin intelligence operations.

THE CLAIM

RT’s X post reads: “CANADA WILL DECLARE WAR ON USA FOR GREENLAND — CARNEY.” The exact wording is mirrored by third-party captures discussing the RT post.

THE FACTS

Mark Carney did not declare war or threaten it. He stated the future of Greenland is for Greenland and Denmark and reaffirmed support for Danish/Greenland sovereignty, consistent with NATO commitments, not a call to war.

NARRATIVE CONTEXT & STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE

Match to playbook: Inflate allied differences, cast NATO as fracturing, and push Western publics toward cynicism (“allies on brink of war”). Strategic objective: Incite conflict between allies. Corrode NATO cohesion and distract from Russia’s aggression elsewhere by manufacturing an intra-alliance crisis.

Shakedown, breakdown, takedown

Trump wants his bribe so get in line

Breakdown, takedown, say fuck him

The Israel lobby is exposed these days as it has never been before. Or AIPAC is. AIPAC is a dirty word among Democrats because it refuses to criticize the Netanyahu government.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner are both refusing AIPAC donations. In New York City, progressive Democratic candidates are primarying two sitting congressmen, Ritchie Torres and Dan Goldman, and making the incumbent’s donations from AIPAC an issue.

The liberal Zionist organization J Street looks to be the beneficiary of this shift. J Street used to represent a left/liberal fringe of the Democratic establishment. Now it represents the center/right.

And J Street is lobbying hard for Israel. It doesn’t want the U.S. to cut military aid to Israel. It says it wants young Jews to “fall in love with Israel” all over again.

He joins Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn and Frank Bruno in a big new series. Plus: the bizarre return of After the Flood. Here’s what to watch this evening

10pm, Channel 4

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Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Doha on Saturday as part of a push to attract foreign investment and deepen Canada’s economic partnerships beyond its traditional allies.

Carney’s visit comes on the heels of his visit to China and follows the recent presentation of a new federal investment budget aimed at positioning Canada as a stable, attractive destination for global capital.

In a news conference on Saturday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canada is working to broaden its economic relationships as global trade patterns shift.

“We are one of the G7s with very big industries. We build cars, planes, ships, we have an abundance of energy, and we are the only one with free trade with all G7,” Champagne said. “With the way the world is changing, you better diversify, supply chain is changing and we need to adapt.”

KAMAL YUSUF DOESN’T speak English. That hasn’t stopped him from getting involved as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents flood his immigrant-heavy Minneapolis neighborhood.

For the last two weeks, he has been on the streets actively looking out for any ICE presence.

From 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Yusuf travels through the Cedar Riverside neighborhood, popularly known as West Bank, on foot in biting cold and on slippery ice. The instant he spots ICE agents, he immediately informs a Signal chat and whistles for several minutes without pause.

Yusuf, with his neon orange vest and black beanie that says “FUCK ICE,” is not an inconspicuous presence.

“But I am a citizen. I need to do this for my community,” he said, speaking to The Intercept on Sunday, through a friend who translated.

Since we're playing this game:

Some 1,500 active duty Army paratroopers have been put on alert for a potential deployment to Minnesota, according to two defense officials.

They're ones who are trained and equipped for arctic warfare. This is kind of thing you do when planning to massacre civilians.

Edit: The Washington Post is now saying the same thing:

Pentagon readies 1,500 soldiers to possibly deploy to Minnesota, officials say

Soldiers with the Army’s 11th Airborne Division in Alaska have been placed at the ready following Trump’s Insurrection Act threat, according to defense officials.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/57236378

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/57193593

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Minnesota National Guard was mobilized on Saturday afternoon to support local law enforcement and emergency management agencies, according to an announcement from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS).

This development occurs amid the , referred to as “Operation Metro Surge” by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

DHS officials are reporting the operation as a major success, citing the arrests of the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from Minnesota neighborhoods” including alleged thieves, drug traffickers and fraud perpetrators. Recent DHS statements have also claimed that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey “refuse to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and have released nearly 470 criminal illegal aliens” from custody.

Governor Walz, who directed the Minnesota National Guard to mobilize on Saturday, made a statement earlier in the week criticizing the intentions behind this latest crackdown operation in his state.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A large group of protesters turned out in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday and confronted a much smaller group of people organized by conservative influencer Jack Lang to demonstrate in support of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Anti-Ice protesters chased the pro-ICE group away and forced Lang, who appeared to be injured, to leave the scene with visible bruises and scrapes on his head.