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Nov 29, 2025 - World

Newsmax host T.W. Shannon exploded at his guest Saturday after they rebuked his condemnation of those criticizing the Trump administration’s potentially illegal military orders, calling his guest’s remarks "outrageous."“We're seeing the left now comparing our troops to Nazis!” Shannon proclaimed, pointing to remarks from Glenn Kirschner, an attorney and former U.S. Army prosecutor. Appearing recently on MS NOW, Kirschner spoke in support of the Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to defy unlawful orders.“If you're committing offenses, and your defense is going to be 'I was just following orders,' you know, that didn't work out so well at Nuremberg,” Kirschner said, referring to the military tribunals held after World War II to prosecute high-ranking Nazi officials.Following the clip, Shannon tried to get a consensus among his two guests – Joe Conason, editor-in-chief at National Memo, and Jeffrey Lord, columnist for The American Spectator – but failed to convince both of them.“Now Joe, surely we're at a point where we can all agree that comparing United States service members to Nazis is over and beyond the pale?” Shannon asked.“I don't think that's what he did, he clearly didn't do that if you listen to the clip,” Conason said. “The point is that if you follow illegal orders, you're imitating some of the worst figures in history, and we have a record with [President] Donald Trump of issuing illegal orders.”Conason went on to argue that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth – who’s carried out a number of strikes in the Caribbean at the direction of Trump targeting suspected drug traffickers, strikes that have been called illegal “extrajudicial killings” – had already violated the law with his remarks condemning the Democratic lawmakers – specifically Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) – who urged service members to defy illegal orders.“What's funny is that Hegseth clearly has no idea of what the legality of anything is!” Conason said. “He, by basically publicly convicting Mark Kelly in his remarks, violated the Uniform Code of Military Conduct himself!”Shannon went on to call Conason’s remarks “outrageous,” and encouraged his other guest to rebuke them. Lord was happy to oblige, declaring there to be “nothing illegal” about the Trump administration’s strikes on suspected drug traffickers at sea.Conason wasn’t done yet, however, and tore into Hegseth and the Trump administration for what he called their “real touch of evil.”“The question is how do you stop illegal drug smuggling? Do you murder people in advance of any showing that they were doing anything like that, or would you arrest them on the high seas as we've done in the past?” Conason said. “Or, do you just blow up boats and kill the survivors? I mean, that was the real touch of evil here. Apparently, Secretary Hegseth was informed that there were survivors of a strike and then told somebody to 'kill them all.'

Nov 28, 2025 - World

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly delivered an order in the first attack on a suspected drug boat that lawmakers have blasted as excessive and "blatantly illegal."President Donald Trump's Pentagon chief ordered a missile attack on the boat Sept. 2 off the Trinidad coast, but intelligence analysts and military leaders watching drone footage of the strike realized after the smoke cleared there were two survivors clinging to the wreckage – and the Washington Post reported that Hegseth gave another verbal directive.“The order was to kill everybody,” said a source with direct knowledge of the situation.The Special Operations commander overseeing the attack ordered another strike at Hegseth's instruction, and the two men were blown apart in the water – which a former military lawyer said "amounts to murder."An order to strike the defenseless men "would in essence be an order to show no quarter, which would be a war crime,” said Todd Huntley, who advised Special Operations forces during U.S. counterterrorism campaign is now director of the national security law program at Georgetown Law.The elite SEAL Team 6 led the attack, according to four sources with direct knowledge of the matter, and the operations commander, Adm. Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley, told others on the secure conference call that the survivors were legitimate targets because they might have been able to call other traffickers to come get them and their cargo.The Pentagon has since struck at least 22 more boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, killing another 71 alleged drug smugglers.Later the same day, Trump released a redacted 29-second video of the Sept. 2 attack, which didn't show the follow-up strike, but one person who saw the live feed said people would be horrified if the entire video was made public.Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC, reported to the White House that the “double-tap,” or follow-on strike, was intended to sink the boat and remove a possible hazard to other ships, and not to kill survivors, and a similar explanation was given to lawmakers in closed-door briefings.“The idea that wreckage from one small boat in a vast ocean is a hazard to marine traffic is patently absurd, and killing survivors is blatantly illegal,” said Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), a Marine Corps veteran and Trump critic who was briefed on the strikes with other members of the House Armed Services Committee. “Mark my words: It may take some time, but Americans will be prosecuted for this, either as a war crime or outright murder.”

Nov 28, 2025 - World

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla quits as MP after being accused of recruiting 17 men who are trapped in war-torn UkraineA daughter of the former South African president Jacob Zuma has resigned as an MP, after being accused of tricking 17 South African men into fighting for Russia in Ukraine by telling them they were travelling to Russia to train as bodyguards for the Zumas’ uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, 43, the most visible and active in politics of her siblings, volunteered to resign and step back from public roles while cooperating with a police investigation and working to bring the men home, the MK chair, Nkosinathi Nhleko, said at a press conference in Durban. Continue reading...

Nov 28, 2025 - World

The Trump administration was dog piled by critics after a Lebanese news outlet claimed that the United States is demanding the return of an advanced bomb it had recently dropped on the country but failed to detonate.A local Lebanese news outlet, Al-Markaziya, reported that a recent Israeli strike on central Lebanon near Beirut that killed five people and injured 25 saw at least one bomb – an American-made GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb, a precision-guided glide bomb that costs around $39,000 to manufacturer – land without detonating.And, according to the outlet as reported by India Times on Friday, Trump administration officials are now asking for the bomb to be returned, and out of fear that it could be reverse engineered and allow Trump administration adversaries like China or Iran develop similar weapons.With more than 4,000 Lebanese having been killed from Israeli strikes since late 2023, a significant share of which was done with American-made weapons given Israel is the single-largest recipient of American foreign aid, the alleged request was largely met with mockery and scorn among critics.“Is this a meme?” asked X user “tweeterbird,” who’s shared content critical of the Trump administration for its focus on artificial intelligence, as well as content critical of the Israeli government. “This is so stupid it feels like a joke.”“What can be more ridiculous than this?” asked another X user, “ManofGod,” whose profile says they specialize in AI and robotics.Israel has launched an extensive campaign against Lebanon’s Hezbollah in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and Israel’s subsequent siege on Gaza. Among Israel’s most notable operations in Lebanon was its 2024 pager attack, an operation that saw Israeli intellegence remotely detonate thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies simultaneously across the country, killing and injuring thousands of civilians and Hezbollah members alike.Is this a meme? This is so stupid it feels like a joke.— tweeterbird (@loki8588) November 27, 2025

Nov 28, 2025 - World

I’ve been struggling to imagine Elon Musk might do if he gets his trillion-dollar payday. He could spend a million dollars a day for 3,000 years. Or, more realistically, $100 million a day for 30 years. He could spend the $290 million he invested in Donald Trump’s re-election and do it 3,400 times, wherever and whenever he pleases. Or buy more media properties, spending up to 20 times the $44 billion it took to buy Twitter and make it into a misinformation swamp, key to Trump’s success.But the money the Tesla board just handed Musk isn’t guaranteed. He has to meet goals like delivering 20 million Tesla vehicles and dramatically increasing Tesla’s stock price. Ordinary citizens can prevent that, but we need to take our efforts to another level.The global Tesla Takedown campaign has spearheaded the challenges to Musk with protests at showrooms and charging stations. So signs, chants, music, inflatable animals, and a clear message that driving a Tesla means supporting all that Trump and Musk have done. They brought people out who’d never participated before and, as people have followed their lead globally, helped: Drop European Tesla sales nearly 40 percent in a year. Drop US sales 19 percent from two years ago, despite lowering prices and margins.Despite EV sales increasing overall, drive Tesla’s US share to an eight-year low,. Led Cybertrucks to sell just 16,000 in the US through September, despite Musk saying they’d sell 250,000 and having his other companies buy them. Drop Tesla’s stock price to 71 percent from its January high, before rebounding in part due to third quarter sales, when people grabbed EV’s of all kinds to buy them before Trump’s tax bill ended the $7,500 tax credits.The campaign did lose some momentum after DOGE, and as Musk left the White House and feuded with Trump. Musk became less visible and maybe seemed less toxic. But he just joined fellow tech lords at a lavish White House dinner for Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman, bone saws optional. And he’s continued promoting ultra-right wing parties globally, like the German Alternative für Deutschland, while his Grokipedia praises White Supremacists and French Grok promotes Holocaust denial. Add to that an estimated 400,000 children and 200,000 adults who’ve died because of DOGE’s USAID cuts. Whether Musk gains or loses power remains hugely consequential. Tesla showroom protests remain a powerful way for citizens everywhere to push back. But they need to put more energy into engaging America’s 2 million existing Tesla drivers as allies, by asking them to display anti-Musk stickers, magnets, or vinyl decals. Without them, Teslas on the street function as de facto advertisements. People see the cars. It’s the EV brand people have heard of most and their owners seem content. Their presence seems uncontroversial, and they do have a great charging network, so why not buy one if you’re considering an EV.But when Teslas display anti-Elon statements, this changes the message. “I BOUGHT THIS BEFORE ELON WENT CRAZY.” “HERE FOR THE CLIMATE, NOT ELON.” “ANTI-ELON TESLA CLUB.” “FRIENDS DON’T LET FRIENDS BUY NEW TESLAS.” Such stickers proclaim clearly that drivers bought the cars to help address climate change, not to promote would-be dictators. When most bought their cars, Musk really was an environmental hero, particularly when Tesla also bought the leading rooftop solar installer, Solar City. The bumper stickers, magnets and decals make clear that the drivers won’t buy a Tesla again, and neither should others. They become rolling advertisements against purchasing the car.Tesla Takedown has sometimes linked to particularly clever stickers. But their prime push for existing Tesla owners is to pressure them to sell their cars to undercut new sales. That’s fine when it happens. But especially with Trump killing EV credits, switching to a new equivalent EV, like replacing any car, is costly. Like $5,000-10,000 costly, despite all the great new EVs on the market. Most Tesla owners won’t switch just to make the political point, and that cuts them off as potential participants in the campaign. The bumper sticker approach invites them in.If the anti-Tesla campaign and its volunteers want to enlist more existing Tesla owners, they could:Highlight links to inexpensive stickers, magnets, and decals that anti-Tesla activists could send to or give to friends with Teslas. They can even ask vendors to add Tesla Takedown QR codes.Post template letters and emails that people can send friends and neighbors who own Teslas. Or, where legal, put them under Tesla windshields.Publicize alternatives. We bought a Chevy Bolt for $20,000 after the $7,500 tax credits that Musk has now helped kill, and it’s been great.Press companies and municipalities not cancel Tesla fleet orders, boycott Starlink, support alternatives to Tesla high speed charging stations, and to have their pension funds divest from the company. The latter might also ell pay off financially — even Peter Thiel just sold three-quarters of his holdings.The campaign is pushing on those more institutional demands, but the more they existing Tesla owners they can bring in, the more impact they’ll have. If we want to limit Elon’s destructive power, the Tesla owners can play a key role Paul Rogat Loeb is the author of Soul of a Citizen and The Impossible Will Take a Little While, with nearly 300,000 copies in print between them