Jews and the Issue of Fighting Back

This article first appeared in Times of Israel Blogs.

The latest attack in Los Angeles

-VINnews

 I have just finished reading reports of the latest attack upon a Jew in Los Angeles. It occurred in an area of West Los Angeles, which is not far from where I grew up, an area that is historically, heavily Jewish. A 32-year-old man was accosted and attacked by a man driving past in a car. The attacker, seeing that the victim was Jewish, got out of his vehicle and beat the man. Upon leaving, the attacker said, "Free Palestine".

For years now, with the Palestinian movement spreading its poison so effectively to the US, especially on our campuses, I hear time and time again of Jews being attacked both in North America and Europe, largely due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They were attacked not because they bore a resemblance to Benjamin Netanyahu, but because they were recognizably Jewish. Either they wore a kippah, or they were seen coming from a synagogue.

I have also taken note that in far too many of these cases, the victims put up little if any self-defense. I am speaking here about the US and Europe because I know that in Israel, it is different. Arab terrorist attackers are almost as likely to get taken down by armed Israeli civilians as by the police or military. I applaud that.

Some years ago, the late Jewish activist, David Horowitz, a man I admired, was speaking at the University of California at Irvine, where I was teaching part-time. The issue of fighting back came up during the question-and-answer session. A young Jewish student addressed the issue quite frankly. She said that as Jews, they were brought up to avoid confrontations and violence, thus, it was difficult for them to stand their ground when confronted. (I am paraphrasing.) As I thought about her comments, it made sense to me. Few of the Jewish kids I grew up with (and there were many) got into fights. In those days (the 1960s), schoolyard confrontations frequently ended in fisticuffs, either on school grounds or after school. I had my share, and I don't defend it because, looking back, I know it was usually, if not always, for stupid reasons.

But I never got into a fight because of my religion. Nobody attacked or insulted me because of my religion. Certainly, back then, nobody ever tried to kill me just because of who I was. We live in a very different world now.

I want to say this carefully, because I come from a law enforcement background, and I will never incite violence. I would never advise that innocent Muslims be attacked on the street or their mosques vandalized just because some of them engage in such attacks against Jews. That would be wrong.

However, given the current situation in the US, Canada, and Europe, what I do encourage is this: All Jews should know how to defend themselves from the time they are children.  They should learn self-defense, boxing, martial arts, whatever is necessary in order to protect themselves from these dastardly attacks. Gun laws vary from country to country, but in the US, Jews should at least consider exercising their rights under the Second Amendment to possess arms for self-defense. Become trained in the safe use of firearms. Know the laws governing the use of firearms and use them responsibly in accordance with the law. People should not have to be victims just because there are no police in the area at the time.

Of course, this advice is directed to American Jews because I cannot speak for the laws of other countries. As for the people in Israel, they don't need my advice. They know what to do.

"Starving the Treasury" in California

University of California, Berkeley School of Law

(Not really. It's Moscow State University, but you get the idea.)

Leave it to the UC Berkeley Law School, a bastion of left-wing thought, for one of its perfessers (sic) to come up with a new way to soak the rich here in the Golden State. Brian Galle is his name, and he has already reportedly helped design a 5% wealth tax on billionaires that may become law in California. That's because the little rascals in Sacramento need more $$$ for their social programs and to take care of the millions of illegal migrants in our state.  According to Galle, these rich people in California are "starving the treasury".

"I'm starving."

Of course, nobody knows how many billionaires are left in the state since so many people have left taking their money, their companies, and their jobs with them. Many are predicting that the next thing to come out of Sacramento will be an exit tax.

Of course, as is my wont, I point out that the dean of the law school is Erwin Chemerinsky. Under his stewardship, the law school is little more than a training ground for future left-wing activists. At times, his minions have gotten so out of hand that even he gets frustrated with their antics.  But as I told him once in an exchange of emails, this is largely of his own construction. 

"Ah yes. I remember that guy."

Campus Reform has the details below. (I can't seem to hyperlink it.)

Campus Reform | UC Berkeley law professor helps design tax on ultra-wealthy, says capitalism ‘not working well’

 

May Day: It's Springtime in Europe

 

"Good news, mein Fuehrer, it's May Day!"

Yes, Dear Readers, today is May Day. That means all the little rascals will be out marching in all the big cities with their red flags, images of Che Guevara, and, of course, the Palestinian flags. Scanning the news out of Europe this morning, I have already noted riots breaking out in several large European cities. I'm sure by the end of the day, there will be similar news to report in our own cities here in the US.

I will close with this fun fact: Did you know that on April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler blew his brains out in his Berlin bunker?

"Yeah, ah did."

I wonder if there was any connection.

California Dems Want to Establish Muslim Holidays

Hat tip Counter Jihad Coalition

 

The little rascals in Sacramento are at it again. The majority Democratic legislature has now introduced Assembly Bill 2017, which would establish two Muslim religious days as state holidays.

Setting aside the argument that this is just another surrender to Islamist pressure groups, who, in turn, will view it as another step forward towards the subjugation they so desperately desire, if passed, this would discriminate against other religions. There are no state holidays for Jewish holy days, and none for Buddhist holy days. Yes, Christmas is a holiday all over the country, but that has been the custom in this majority-Christian country since, you know, You-Know-Who was a corporal.

As the linked article explains, there are excused absences for Muslims and other minority religions for their holy days. I have no quarrel with that. (When I was in high school, some of my fellow little rascals and I ditched school one day on a Jewish holiday. When we were caught hanging around another high school, I tried to tell them I was Jewish, but my Mom, bless her heart, refused to back up my story.)

Here is a post by Clarity Coalition explaining their opposition to AB 2017.

If you live in California and wish to weigh in with your elected representative in the Assembly, here is a link with contact information.

Another Attack on Jews in London

 This article first appeared in New English Review.

-The Times

On Wednesday, a 45-year-old man from Somalia attacked and stabbed two Jewish men in London before being tasered and arrested by police. Today, The Times identified the stabber as Essa Suleiman, who, predictably, is being reported as "mentally disturbed". Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, an Iranian backed group is claiming responsibility for the attack.  

At this point, one is tempted to throw up one's hands and say, "Well, here we go again". This is just the latest example of the West's failed experiment in importing millions of people from Islamic hellholes and expecting them to assimilate and leave behind their barbaric practices. In Europe and in America, not all, but far too many Somalis have shown that their proper place is in Somalia.

Now two Jewish men are recovering from their stab wounds in London, two more victims on the altar of the country's insane immigration practices. 

The video shows that after stabbing his two victims, Suleiman charged the cops, who responded by tasering him. Apparently, the Bobbies were not armed, a curious and outmoded British tradition. If this man had tried to charge cops with a knife in the US, he would have been shot and justifiably so. Sometimes, tasers are not sufficient to stop a man on a rampage.  

Beyond the case at hand, this incident points to a far larger problem. Our political leaders on both sides of the Atlantic have allowed in millions of mostly military-age men from Islamic countries without any meaningful vetting whatsoever.  This is the result: Jews being randomly attacked on the streets of major European cities, as well as places in the US like New York City, which, under Zohran Mamdani, is quickly deteriorating into another London under Sadiq Khan. Twenty-five years after 9-11, New York has elected an Islamist mayor, whose radical values were known to all. What has happened since he took office was easily predictable. True, these problems started long before Mamdani took office, but now things are worse. The radicals are emboldened by the knowledge that Mamdani is one of them.

Not to single out the British, but what is wrong with all of us that we cannot or will not protect our Jewish fellow citizens from the pure Jew hatred that infects far too many people who we allow into our countries? Any person with an ounce of common sense should have known what would happen, and it is playing out before our very eyes. New York City, London, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Malmo (Sweden), the list goes on. Jews cannot walk the streets in safety if they are dressed in Jewish garb. Jewish cemeteries and synagogues (churches too) are vandalized by people who choose to immigrate to countries with a Judeo-Christian heritage and who show their contempt for our own religions and traditions. Every year at Christmas time, traditional Christmas markets in Europe have to be carefully guarded by police lest they be the target of a terrorist attack.

Meanwhile, both Europe and North America are infected by individuals and organizations that are part of the Muslim Brotherhood. In the US, the Brotherhood is secretly represented by the Council on American Islamic Relations, the Islamic Circle of North America, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and others. In virtually every Western European country, the Brotherhood has its tentacles in numerous charities and Islamic organizations, which act in furtherance of Islamist principles, in many cases with governmental financial support.

So now, while King Charles is cracking jokes with President Trump in the White House, feckless politicians like Prime Minister Keir Starmer wring their hands and reaffirm their support for their Jewish community, all the while insisting that the latest attacker is "mentally disturbed" and Islam is a religion of peace, as they await the next attack. They do nothing to fix the problem, which is that they have imported millions of people who have been taught to hate Jews (and Christians) since they were born. And what is the solution? Stop the flood, close the borders, properly vet immigrants, allow in only those who will assimilate and benefit our societies, and deport the criminals and radicals. True, that is easier said than done, given the millions we are now having to deal with, and some laws may have to be changed, but if this demographic trend is allowed to continue, our societies, at least in Western Europe, will be torn asunder, and Islam will, indeed, dominate Europe. If and when that day comes, our own relationship with Europe, including NATO, will disappear forever.

It pains me to write this, myself being married to an immigrant. Most of our friends are immigrants, and I have always supported immigration. What we don't need, however, are jihadists, Pakistani rape gangs, foreign mafias, and various and assorted criminals and fanatics from Morocco, Nigeria, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Venezuela, and Central America, etc. For the sake of our safety and the well-being of our law-abiding and assimilated immigrants, this madness needs to not only be stopped but reversed, and it has to be now before it's too late. Sadly, in Europe's case, it may already be too late.

Spain: Another Moroccan Rampage

Hat tip Gates of Vienna

On the night of April 21, a Moroccan man, illegally in Spain, went on a knife-wielding rampage, assaulting several people and attempting to rob them in the city of Almeria. When he was apprehended, he was in the process of beating and stabbing a 17-year-old girl who was on her way home from the library. Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt, at least physically. The girl did suffer a puncture wound to her thigh.

Meanwhile, Spain's liberal and feckless prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, wants to legalize some 500,000 illegal migrants in Spain with a simple governmental decree. Many of these people are from neighboring Morocco, and their "contribution" to the crime wave sweeping the country is hardly inconceivable. We can only guess if this particular suspect was on the list to be "legalized".

The below article from La Bandera (translated by Fousesquawk) mentions the fear that people like this man are causing in places like Almeria. More preventive measures are needed, more people, the article reads. True enough, but the two most urgent measures are missing: Securing Spain's borders, especially at the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which border Morocco on the African mainland, and removing the illegal aliens. Instead, Sanchez wants to grant them legal status. Unbelievable!

A Moroccan illegally in the country for beating and stabbing a 17-year-old student in Vega de Aca, Almeria

The city of Almeria continues to be impacted by the serious wave of crimes taking place in the neighborhood of Vega de Aca, where a Moroccan citizen, illegally in Spain, was arrested after carrying out a series of violent robberies using a knife. The case has generated considerable worry among authorities, especially regarding the profile of the arrestee and the circumstances in which he is in the country.

The incidents occurred on the night of April 21, when the arrestee carried out as many as 3 attempted robberies in the space of a few minutes, sowing panic among the neighbors. The rapid police intervention resulted in his arrest shortly thereafter, avoiding an escalation of the situation into even more serious consequences.

A brutal attack that left a woman injured

The most dramatic episode involved the victimization of a 17-year-old student who was attacked as she was returning home after leaving the library. The attacker followed her, knocked her down, and subjected her to a violent physical attack, dragging her by the hair and kicking her in the abdomen and ribs, while trying to rob her of her mobile phone, yelling, "Friend, telephone, now!"

During the struggle, the attacker used the knife, causing her a cut on the thigh. The intervention of several neighbors, alerted by the shouts, was decisive in stopping the attack and causing the attacker to flee.

The young woman was transported to Torrecardenas University Hospital, where she was treated for multiple contusions, a puncture wound, and significant psychological impact.

Pretrial custody and risk of flight

After being detained, the individual was brought before the court, which ordered his pretrial detention without bail. He is accused of three counts of attempted robbery involving violence, and one count of minor assault with injury.

One of the key elements in the judicial decision was the risk of flight since the arrestee has no known residence and is in Spain illegally. This aspect was underlined by the magistrate as determinant in adopting the most severe pre-trial detention measure.

Social concern and debate over security

This incident in Vega de Aca has reopened the debate on citizen safety in Almeria and the management of people in illegal administrative status, a factor which, according to judicial sources, can hinder the control and monitoring of certain criminal profiles  as is the case with this Moroccan. 

In addition, the series of violent incidents in the past few days has increased social alarm, especially among the residents of areas like Vega de Aca, who are demanding greater police presence and preventative measures.

A case that makes local news

The combination of violent extremism, vulnerable victims, and the personal circumstances of the arrestee has converted this occurrence into one of the most relevant of recent news in Almeria. The authorities insist on the importance of maintaining calm, but also recognize the necessity of reinforcing and improving the mechanisms of prevention to prevent similar incidents from being repeated.

More Jew Hatred at UCLA and UC Berkeley

 

                                                                    

Just when you thought things could not get any uglier at UCLA and UC Berkeley, this happens. Two events, one at each campus, and both illustrate what a double standard the hate-Israeli crowd has.

On April 14, Omer Shem Tov, A former hostage held in captivity by Hamas after October 7, 2023, came to speak at UCLA as part of Holocaust Remembrance Day. One would have thought that the little rascals in the Associated Undergraduate Students Association Council would have treated the event with the respect and solemnity it deserved, but that was not the case. They issued a letter condemning the event. One UC Regent, Jay Sures, who has had his own private residence picketed and defaced by the pro-Palestinian mob, had harsh words for the student association.

Here is how the Daily Bruin reported the controversy.

Up at UC Berkeley, a convicted Palestinian terrorist woman named Israa Jaabis spoke (remotely) to a crowd of Hamas supporters on April 20 (appropriately, the birthday of Adolf Hitler). Jaabis reportedly won her freedom as part of a prisoner/hostage exchange after the October 7 attack. The event was organized by Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine and UC Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine. Here is a report from Legal Insurrection.

While these two examples do not define every student at UCLA or Berkeley, they embarrass the institutions, and they do say much about the people involved. It is clear that those involved feel no sympathy for the Jews who died in the Holocaust, nor for those who were murdered, raped, and taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. They can deny they are anti-Semites till the cows come home, but I don't buy it. Shame on both these universities.

The Latest Assassination Attempt and the Inevitable Questions That Follow

This article first appeared in New English Review.

In the wake of the latest attempt to assassinate President Trump, some of the talking points

and second-guessing revolve around the Secret Service, one of whose members took a shot to

the chest in the process. (He was saved by his protective vest.) Some of the talking points

depend on what side of the political fence one sits. Were the proper protocols followed?

Would there have been more agents present if not for the shutdown of DHS funding led by the

Democrats? How did the accused shooter get into the hotel with the weapons, etc.? Far be it

from me to second-guess the Secret Service and how they go about their job. I would like to

address a couple of points, however.

Over the years, as a DEA agent, I had a few occasions to work with the Secret Service, and I

made several friendships with their agents. When I was stationed in Milan, Italy, in the 1980s,

they had a team of agents assigned to Milan investigating the trafficking of counterfeit US

currency, which, aside from protection, is also their responsibility.

This latest attempted assassination at the Washington Hilton reminded me of a time in 1997,

after I retired two years previously, when I went with a DEA International Training team to

Moscow. My last post of duty was in DEA International Training in Quantico, Virginia, and after

retiring, I had done a few contract teaching gigs with the International Training section. This

was just such an occasion.

We were lodged at the Marriott Hotel in Moscow, and while we were there, a Secret Service

team came to town in preparation for a visit by then-Vice President Al Gore the following week.

(I should note here that a Secret Service advance team had most certainly performed an

extensive advance trip much prior to this in order to arrange every detail of the visit.)

This team was staying at the Marriott, as would be the vice president. One afternoon, we found

ourselves on the elevator with one of their agents. She asked us if we were carrying firearms

and if we would still be in Moscow the coming week, and we replied to both in the negative.

She then said that was good because if we were, she would have had to have our rooms

changed to a different floor because we were on the same floor the vice president would be

staying in.

I bring this up because questions are being raised about how the accused gunman was able to

check into the Washington Hilton the day before with a long gun, a pistol, and several knives.

It’s a valid question, and I am not the one to answer it because presidential protection was not

part of my duties in the DEA.

I will say this, however, on behalf of the Secret Service, an organization I always respected and

still do. When such an incident occurs, whether it be DEA, Secret Service, FBI, or any other

federal law enforcement agency, what we refer to as “critical incidents”, involving a shooting or

other form of assault involving agent personnel, the agency concerned conducts an extensive

investigation. For example, if an agent has to fire his or her firearm, that incident must be

investigated by the agency involved. A critical incident review is necessary to determine if

agency personnel acted legally and or properly during the incident.

There is another reason for such a review. If mistakes were made, it is vital to identify and

correct those mistakes, not for the sake of pointing fingers of blame at an agent, but to prevent

such a mistake from happening again. While assigned to DEA’s Office of Training from 1990-

1995, critical incident review reports were not just of interest to the field office involved but

also were necessary for training purposes. For example, many of the main teaching points in

undercover training were learned from cases where our agents were wounded, even worse,

killed while working undercover.

In the case of DEA, if an agent were injured or killed during the execution of a search warrant,

working undercover, or making an arrest, is there a teaching point from that incident that

should be incorporated into our agent training?

I am not going to sit in my armchair and say that something could have been done better or

that the DHS funding issue was a factor. I don’t know. At the end of the day, the Secret Service

did their job and prevented anyone from getting injured or killed, save for the minor injury to

the agent who stopped a bullet with his vest. We can rest assured that the Secret Service will

analyze this incident down to the tiniest detail, and if corrections are warranted, they will be

made. In the meantime, we should be thankful to the men and women in the Secret Service

who protect our president, whoever he or she may be.

Italy: Italian Man Stabbed to Death: 16-Year-Old Egyptian Charged

Hat tip Gates of Vienna

Pavia (Lombardy), Italy

It has happened yet again. A 25-year-old Italian man is dead, and in this case, a 16-year-old Egyptian is charged with stabbing him to death.

A few days ago, in the northern Italian city of Pavia, a group of Italian men who reportedly were walking to their car with a box of take-out pizza when another group of youths asked them for a slice. An argument broke out, and Gabriele Vaccaro (25) was stabbed in the neck with a knife, or according to some reports, a screwdriver. Initially thinking it wasn't serious, he did not bother to call for aid, but shortly thereafter, died of his injury. A 16-year-old Egyptian boy is now charged with his murder.

The article below from Il Giorno Pavia is translated by Fousesquawk.

Murder of Gabriele Vaccaro, autopsy performed: Should clarify if he could have been saved after stab wound to the neck

Pavia- It will be at least 2 months to know the results of the autopsy and understand if the young Sicilian died because he was not treated in time, or if the depth of the wound was fatal. On Monday, the funeral will be held in his (home town) of Favara.

Caption: Gabriele Vaccaro was killed by a stab wound. On the right, the letter from a mother dedicated to young people.

Pavia, April 24, 2026- This morning at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Pavia, the autopsy was performed on Gabriele Vaccaro, the young man (25), originally from Favara (Agrigento), dead after being stabbed in the Cattaneo parking area near the historic city center of Pavia. The examination, begun around 08:30, concluded after about 4 hours. Besides the expert appointed by the prosecution, also present was Dr. Novella D'Agostino, a forensic expert appointed by the defense of the 16-year-old accused of the homicide.

Caption: Three thousand people participated in the vigil organized in Pavia in memory of Gabriel Vaccaro.

Long (wait) times

The judge has set 30 days for the delivery of the results, but it is probable that the deadline will be extended to 60 or even 90 days. During the autopsy, tissue samples were also taken to verify the  bleeding patterns. The autopsy results are fundamental to understanding whether the wound inflicted on Gabriele with a knife (which has not yet been recovered) was fatal or potentially non-fatal had 118 emergency services  been summoned immediately. The 16-year-old accused of the murder is in the  Beccaria juvenile jail facility in Milan and is also under investigation for attempted homicide for having inflicted a wound to the abdomen-torso of one of Gabriele's friends. The 4 boys who were with him (a 17-year-old and 3 minors) are under investigation for failing to provide aid and complicity in homicide.

Caption: Findings of police in parking area where Gabriele Vaccaro was stabbed.

Funeral Monday in Favara

Now that the autopsy has been completed, the body of the young Sicilian man can be returned to the family for the funeral rites that will be celebrated on Monday in the main church of Favara in the province of Agrigento, where Gabriele was born before moving north to work.

 Defense strategy

Yesterday morning, 23 April, Judge Laura Margherita Pietrasanta validated the arrest of the 16-year-old Egyptian, accused of the homicide of Vaccaro. The minor is also under investigation for attempted homicide of the victim's friend, a young man (originally from Ribera, also in the province of Agrigento). His defense attorneys have explained that their client has reiterated the version he furnished during his questioning, maintaining that he was attacked first by the group of Sicilians. The judge has confirmed preventative jail custody. 

*Update: Here is the video contained in the above article with English subtitles added. Hat tip Gates of Vienna, Vlad Tepes, and RAIR Foundation USA for subtitling. Translation by Fousesquawk.

*Correction: The video is from RAI TGR Lombardia.

  

 

Spain: Anatomy of a Hate Crime

A few nights ago in Barcelona, a 19-year-old migrant from North Africa approached a woman on the street and asked her about her religion. When the woman replied that she was a Christian, the man reportedly started yelling that she was a "Christian whore" before assaulting her. Needless to say, the young man is now charged with assault and a hate crime to boot.

In the below article, the perp is described as "Maghrebian". That refers to Arabs from North Africa, for example, Algeria, Tunisia, or Morocco. Given what is going on in Spain and the rest of Western Europe, this is hardly surprising.

To borrow a Spanish term, it takes a special kind of cojones to go to another country, where the predominant religion is different from yours, and proceed to insult locals for their religion while physically attacking them. And yet, millions of these folks in Europe wonder why they are not popular.

Meanwhile, under Spain's feckless government, they are now legalizing the status of hundreds of thousands of young men like this.

The below article from La Gaceta is translated by Fousesquawk.

The victim suffered  minor injuries

North African immigrant who attacked a woman in Barcelona yelling, "Christian whore"
 arrested for hate crime 


A young man of North African origin was arrested and accused of a hate crime and (injurious) assault after an attack that took place in the early morning in Barcelona, police sources confirmed. 

The incident, reported by ElCaso.cat., occurred around 2 am on La Rambla (major street in Barcelona), where the arrestee (19) approached a woman who was walking in the area and struck up a short conversation. According to information gathered, the individual asked what her religion was, and, after receiving a response that she was Christian, he reacted violently, hurling religious insults at her before attacking her. 

As a consequence of the attack, the victim suffered minor injuries and had to be treated at the scene by paramedics; her condition was not serious. Shortly after the incidents, agents of the Guardia Urbana succeeded in locating the alleged perpetrator and arrested him nearby.

The investigation was initially taken over by specialized Catalan police intelligence units in order to rule out any possible connections to radicalization. However, after the initial investigation, this hypothesis was ruled out, and the case was passed to the police investigative unit  

The arrestee was placed under judicial disposition as the alleged person responsible for violating (the victim's) fundamental rights for religious motivation, along with the crime of (injurious) assault. For now, no details have been released as to whether the (suspect) has prior offenses or the exact circumstances that motivated the attack. 

Mexico: The Deaths of Two CIA Agents in Mexico

Sierra Tarahumara, Chihuahua, Mexico

This past weekend, it was reported that two CIA agents were among 4 killed in a car accident in the state of Chihuahua after they had participated in a synthetic drug lab. There is controversy as to whether the Mexican federal government was aware of the participation of the two agents in this specific enforcement activity in their country.

There are apparently also ruffled feathers between Washington and Mexico City in that President Claudia Sheinbaum, in questioning the presence of the agents in Chihuahua, has not expressed sympathy for the loss of two US lives (in addition to the two Mexicans also killed).  This has apparently offended President Trump, who, in his fashion, reportedly said that "Mexico is lost and their only hope is the US". If so, that is sure to offend Mexican sensibilities. At any rate, the loss of all 4 individuals, US and Mexican, is to be mourned.

At any rate, it is no secret that CIA personnel are in Mexico, as they are all over the world.  The top CIA agent in a particular country, the station chief, is officially accredited and works with his or her counterparts in the host country.

It is also hardly a secret that US intelligence agencies are cooperating with Mexico and furnishing that country with intelligence relative to the drug traffic. What the specifics are in this case are yet to be sorted out.

The below article in Excelsior, one of Mexico's most respected newspapers, is translated by Fousesquawk. 

US calls for more empathy for the two agents killed in an accident in Chihuahua

According to Fox News. President Donald Trump reportedly said that "Mexico is lost," after the death of two members of the CIA

-By Mauricio Alvarado Martinez

April 23 2026 at 01:23

Caption: Karoline Leavitt, White House press spokesperson

Mexico should show more empathy after the death of two US agents in an operation in Chihuahua, Karoline Leavitt, press spokesperson declared yesterday.

The presence of the two US agents became known on Sunday after both died in a car accident in the state of Chihuahua, bordering with the US.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said that her government was not aware that these two agents of the CIA were in the area.

"A little sympathy on the part of Claudia Sheinbaum would be welcome after the loss of these two US lives. Considering everything the United States is currently doing to stop the narcotic traffic in Mexico," Leavitt said in an interview with the Fox News network.

"We have seen some cooperation on the part of President Sheinbaum. I believe the president (Donald Trump) always wants to see more cooperation, " she added.

The US Ambassador in Mexico, Ronald D. Johnson, described both agents as personnel of the mission in a message on X on Sunday. 

The State Department refused to give more details in response to questions from AFP.

Caption: Donald Trump, President of the United States

"Mexico is lost": Donald Trump

For his part, Trump claimed that, "Mexico is lost", and maintained that his country is the only hope for Mexican territory when being questioned by Fox News on the vehicular accident that occurred over the weekend in Chihuahua, where two US agents died.

"President Trump told us a little while ago, and I quote: 'Mexico is lost, and the US is the only hope Mexico has,'" the (Fox News) reporter said on air.

Any activity by foreign agents in Mexico must be spelled out.

The Mexican government emphasized that any activity by foreign agents must be strictly in accordance with the National Security Law, which requires prior detailed notification to federal authorities, which did not exist in this case.

On the other hand, the Governor of Chihuahua, Maria Eugenia Campos, in a public event, thanked the participation of the armed forces in an operation to dismantle synthetic drug labs in the Tarahumara mountains.

At a mining conference on Tuesday night, the head of the (state of Chihuahua) asked for a meeting to speak with President Claudia Sheinbaum, which would clear up the presence and activity of the US agents in the state of Chihuahua.

-With information from AFP

Netherlands: Who Gets the Short End of the Stick in the Dutch Housing Shortage?

Ter Apel Asylum Center

The Netherlands is a tiny country, but with a very high population density. For years, there has been a shortage of housing, and those in need of social housing have to go on a waiting list that can last years. The obvious solution is to build more houses, but European courts, which have jurisdiction over all EU member nations, have ruled that, due to environmental concerns, housing construction in the Netherlands must be limited.

Enter into all this are the hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers, refugees, and assorted migrants  mostly from the Middle East and North Africa, who are flooding the country. They are being housed in asylum centers. The largest asylum center in the country, a former NATO base, is in the small town of Ter Apel, and local residents there are fed up with the crime committed by the mostly young, male "refugees". Other towns are resisting the government's plans to build more centers around the country to handle the flow that steadily continues. (Building houses is limited, but more asylum centers? No problem.)

But what happens to that waiting list for social housing? As the Netherlands grants legal resident status to new arrivals (status holders), they go to the head of the list for housing. That means that Dutch families who have been waiting for years for social housing keep getting pushed back on the list.

Now comes a report that there are as many as 4,000 homeless children in the country, homeless because their parents are homeless, in many cases, sleeping in their cars.

The below article from the conservative news site, Dagelijkse Standaard, which describes this sad state of affairs, is translated by Fousesquawk. 

Scandal: Dutch children sleep in cars while status holders get priority for housing everywhere

Domestic   21 April 2026 at 13:30

It is the absolute lowest point in what was once a great and prosperous country. While the party cartel in the Hague squanders billions on asylum reception and places priority on furnished social housing for status holders, thousands of Dutch children are sleeping in autos, damp garages, or on the couches of relatives. Teachers are sounding the alarm over the dire housing shortage among their pupils. It is the cold, hard reality from a decades-long border policy and a government that has abandoned its own citizens.

The harsh reality: Sleeping in a car

The reports coming from the educational sector are flat-out heartbreaking. From new numbers from the Youth Educational Funds, it shows that the schools are sounding the alarm en masse. Last year, there were dozens of requests for emergency assistance for homeless children. We are not talking about an extra math book, rather about fundamental supplies for survival: clothing, blankets, or even an overnight stay in a hotel.

A recent count revealed that there are no less than 4,000 homeless children in the Netherlands. The saddest example? A teacher wanted to give a craft project to a kid to hang up at home. The heartbreaking answer from the child? "I have no wall because we sleep in the car." It is a national scandal that this happens in our country.

Crocodile tears from the elite left

Naturally, the elite left stand ready to scream murder and fire, this time in the person of Hans Spekman, chairman of the Youth Educational Funds and future FNV (Federation of Dutch Trade Unions) boss. Spekman calls the situation "sickening" and says, "We are failing as a society".

It is truly the ultimate hypocrisy. It is precisely the political flank of Spekman, (the PvdA-Labour Party-  and the rest of the leftist cloud) that for decades has advocated for unlimited immigration. They have facilitated the asylum tsunami that has brought our entire housing market to a standstill.

For years, their social housing has been given away with urgency to people who have never contributed here for one day, while Dutch residence-seekers have been consigned to the back of a 15-year waiting list. And now, for prominent leftist bigwigs, pretending to be shocked over the disastrous results of their own policy, it is intolerable.

(Our) own people last

The contrast could not be more gruesome. On the one hand, asylum-seeker centers are being built from scratch out of the ground, and status holders and their families who join them are being immediately housed. On the other hand, we see overfull women's reception shelters, families rotting away in illegal, moldy homes, and Dutch children who have to do their homework in the back seat of a car or in a garage.  

Spekman cynically says: This is happening everywhere in our neatly-manicured country." No, Mr. Spekman, this is happening in a country that is systematically destroyed by politicians who want to save the world, but who let their own people suffocate.

There must be a radical change of course. The borders must be closed, the priority rules for asylum-seekers must be thrown in the trash, and (housing) must be built for the Dutch. Our children belong in a warm bed, not in the trunk of a car.