For immediate release, Thursday April 25, 11:30pm. The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the trip to Gaza. However, today we received word of an administrative roadblock initiated by Israel in an attempt to prevent our departure. Israel is pressuring the Republic of Guinea Bissau to withdraw its flag from our lead ship—Akdeniz (“Mediterranean”). This triggered a request for an additional inspection, this one by the flag state, that delays our April 26 planned departure. This is ..read more

After hearings on its policy and fiscal implications, the California Senate has deferred action on a bill to automatically register draft-age applicants for driver’s licenses and state IDs with the Selective Service System (SSS) for a possible future military draft, by placing the bill on the Senate Appropriations Committee “suspense file”. This means that unless the Senate Appropriations Committee decides by May 17, 2024, to call up the bill and forward it to the state Senate floor, the bill will be dead. The Acting Director of the Selective Service System (who had been on the West Coast to s ..read more

On today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video yesterday attacking the student protests in the US against Israel’s actions in Gaza and demanding that US authorities crack down on those exercising free speech. House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed Netanyahu’s condemnation of the protesters and called for the National Guard to be sent in. Has he ever heard of “Kent State”? Also… Texas governor Gregg Abbott sent troops to crack heads at a University of Texas protest. Free speech on the ropes? Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosper ..read more

The president uses some absurd rhetoric about the new military aid bill: Congress has passed my legislation to strengthen our national security and send a message to the world about the power of American leadership: we stand resolutely for democracy and freedom, and against tyranny and oppression [bold mine-DL]. This will come as news to the more than two million people in Gaza being deliberately starved by a U.S.-armed client. The U.S. has stood resolutely on the side of an occupier as it commits countless war crimes against the civilian population of a territory under its control. In Gaza, t ..read more

On COI #582, Kyle Anzalone discusses the TikTok ban Biden signed into law. Subscribe on YouTube and audio-only ..read more

On today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report: In a bizarre rant after Senate passage of the huge $95 billion foreign aid bill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blamed journalist Tucker Carlson for Republican opposition to the overseas giveaway. The top Senate Republican implied that Carlson’s reporting on rampant corruption in Ukraine makes him a “Russian asset” rather than a journalist. Also today: The McConnell/Schumer uniparty bulldozes America. Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity ..read more

Secretary Blinken made a claim yesterday that absolutely no one will believe: “We apply the same standard to everyone,” Blinken said. “And that doesn’t change whether the country in question is an adversary, a competitor, a friend or an ally.” Everyone can see that Blinken isn’t telling the truth. It’s a bit odd that top U.S. officials try to preserve the fiction that the U.S. holds allies and clients to the same standard that it uses for others. No one takes the story seriously, and it just prompts critics to call out the pointless lying. It is obvious that allies and clients are given a free ..read more

On today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report: NATO’s purpose – if it ever had one – is now long since passed. The Cold War has ended and the over-blown scare of global communism has receded. So what is NATO’s purpose in our era? Is it time for a radical restructuring? Also today – the Ukraine aid bill will likely be signed into law today and the military-industrial bonanza will be on. But will more weapons make a difference? Finally – is Trump secretly mad at Speaker Johnson? Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity ..read more

On COI #581, Kyle Anzalone discusses the war in Ukraine. Subscribe on YouTube and audio-only ..read more

Dear Antiwar.com Reader, Did you watch any of the Congressional session on Saturday? I’ve been watching these things regularly since I was a kid, and I have literally never seen anything like it. US lawmakers passed a raft of legislation containing some $95 billion in military aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, and also approved a bill that will allow Washington to hand Kiev assets seized from Russia and pave the way for a ban on TikTok. They considered all four war bills in a single debate, with only three House members allowed to speak in opposition. They allowed voting on only seven amend ..read more