One Citizen Speaking

HOW MANY BILLIONS WILL BIDEN OFFER TO BUY A PHOTO OP OF HAMAS RELEASING HOSTAGES?

After Iran and Afghanistan, I can’t help but wonder how much taxpayer money the Biden “negotiators” will offer to Hamas to secure the remaining hostages.

Here we go again…

CIA Director Burns helping broker another deal to release hostages from Hamas

CIA Director William Burns is helping President Biden with efforts toward a deal to release the remaining hostages held by the militant group Hamas in Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing war in the territory.

“He has been … involved in helping us with the hostage deal that was in place and trying to help us pursue another one,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Thursday.

Kirby said discussions about trying to get a renewed hostage deal have been “sober and serious” and noted that White House adviser Brett McGurk is currently in the Middle East working on a deal.

Burns, who was involved in the effort to secure the Hamas hostages in November, is expected to travel to Europe for talks with the Israelis and Egyptians, according to reporting from The Washington Post.

The CIA declined to comment when asked to confirm the director’s travel.

Burns traveled to Doha, Qatar, for the November deal, which led a weeklong pause in fighting during which Hamas released more than 100 hostages and Israel released more than 200 Palestinian prisoners. That deal took five weeks of intense negotiations between the White House, Qatar, Israel and Hamas.

For that deal, Burns in October began speaking regularly with director of Mossad, David Barnea, to whom Israel had delegated authority to negotiate.

The pause in fighting lasted from Nov. 24 to Dec. 1 [when Hamas broke the pause with continuing missile attacks and other terrorist operations within Israel.]

Hamas took almost 250 hostages during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which left about 1,200 Israelis dead. The first phase of the hostage deal was structured for women and children to be released and was considered at the time to include an expectation for future releases. <Source>

Biden to deploy CIA director to help broker major Gaza deal

William Burns is looking to close gaps between Israel and Hamas on a deal that includes the release of all hostages in Gaza and a two-month cease-fire

Israel’s latest proposal includes a 60-day pause in fighting in exchange for the phased release of the more than 100 captives, beginning with civilian women and children and followed by civilian men, military women and men, and the remains of those who have died since their abduction. Such a pause would allow Israel to continue fighting after the two-month lull in line with Netanyahu’s vow to achieve “total victory” by destroying Hamas.

The Israelis also have proposed that senior Hamas leaders agree to leave Gaza, but one official familiar with the negotiations said the idea was a nonstarter for the group and its military leaders, who are prepared to die as martyrs in the Palestinian enclave. Hamas also rebuffed Israel’s 60-day pause proposal, saying the next hostage release should involve a permanent cease-fire, the official said.

[HAMAS has broken every cease-fire they ever agreed to--their word is worthless.]

But multiple officials said negotiations on those key points remain active. <Source>

Bottom line…

The ideal deal for Hamas would see their leadership escape to friendlier nations with all of their money and a promise that Israel will not kill them. I am so cynical as to believe that Biden could put them in the witness protection program and give them a string of 7-11s somewhere in Minnesota.

We are so screwed when our corrupt CIA, the State Department, and the White House try to execute foreign policies. The question they never ask is always, “After that, then what?”

Will we ever know the terms of the real deal?

-- Steve

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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SCREW MEXICO IF IT TRIES TO BANKRUPT AMERICAN GUN MANUFACTURERS AND DISTRIBUTORS

The communists that run Mexico have gone too far with their bullshit.

Most of the military-grade arms used by the drug cartels are stolen military weapons or weapons trafficked by cartels operating in other countries. The average Mexican citizen is unable to possess weapons as the communist government wants a docile population unable to defend themselves from the government or the cartels that own the government.

Now they want to sue American gun manufacturers and the progressive communist democrats are willing to let them proceed.

U.S. appeals court rules Mexico can sue American gun manufacturers for "flood" of firearms across border

A U.S. appeals court ruled Monday that a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Mexico against American gun manufacturers can proceed

While Americans have spent decades complaining about Mexican cartels trafficking illegal firearms across the border into the United States, a recent ruling by an appellate court has turned the tides and shined a light on a growing problem for Mexican citizens.

A U.S. appeals court ruled Monday that a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Mexico against American gun manufacturers can proceed. The appellate court ruled that the Mexican lawsuit “plausibly alleges a type of claim that is statutorily exempt” from a 2005 law known as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, known as the PCLAA, which only covers lawful firearm sales.

Such protections are now codified under 15 U.S.C. Section 105.

The ruling overturns a lower federal court ruling in 2022 that dismissed the claims of the Mexican government, setting the stage for a possible final showdown that will either reach the U.S. Supreme Court or go to trial.

The case stems from claims argued by the Mexican government, which has insisted that the ‘”flood” of illegal firearms coming across the border is the result of “deliberate” business practices by American firearm manufacturers.

The American firearm industry's trade association has denied the Mexican government’s claims. Some of the firearm manufacturers named in the lawsuit are Barrett, Beretta, Glock, Ruger, and Smith & Wesson.

Mexico has accused those manufacturers of engaging in a practice that results in the trafficking of tens of thousands of gins across the border into Mexico, empowering drug cartels with weaponry to fight one another and kill innocent civilians and government agents.

The Mexican government has alleged that as many as half a million firearms illegally cross their border each year.

Despite strict gun control laws, the Latin American country plunged into violence with more than 30,000 people being murdered during the past year.

According to a report published by the BBC, the entire country only has “one gun shop, housed in a Mexico City military complex.”

The case, which started in 2021 was originally filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts where many firearm manufacturers are located. Mexico’s complaint alleges that those companies knew their product was being sold to traffickers in the country, and as a result was escalating violence.

The lawsuit was initially dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor who ruled that the gun manufacturers were shielded under the PLCAA because that law protects such companies from damages “resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse” of their firearms.

Mexico has since argued in its appeal in the 1st Circuit that the PLCAA is only applicable to domestic harm caused in the United States and does not protect U.S. companies from liability in Mexico.

The appellate court ruled that the complaint “plausibly alleges a type of claim that is statutorily exempt” from the act because it only covers lawful gun sales and the lawsuit is focused on the effects of illegal gun trafficking.

Gun control advocates and Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena heralded the appellate court’s decision as “great news” on X, but gun manufacturers are saying the ruling is opening a flood gate to future lawsuits that could dangerously cross into the line of general enterprise liability for the gun industry.

“The Mexican government wins their appeal in U.S. court and is able to proceed with the lawsuit against U.S. gun companies for supplying weapons to cartels that fuels the bloodshed south of the border. An important legal step, but more court battles to come,” wrote Mexican journalist Ioan Grillo on X.

Lawyers for the firearms industry said the lawsuit was designed to unfairly blame American manufacturers for violence caused by Mexican cartels.

“Mexico should spend its time enforcing its own laws [and] bring Mexican criminals to justice in Mexican courtrooms, instead of scapegoating the firearm industry for their unwillingness to protect Mexican citizens,” tweeted National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) general counsel Larry Keane. <Source>

Bottom line…

The Mexican government, owned by the cartels, is a communist kleptocracy that needs a scapegoat someone to excuse the violence plaguing innocent Mexican citizens. Considering the number of knife and machete deaths in Mexico, perhaps they need to ban those also.

I say let’s hold Mexico responsible for the “migrants” traversing their borders to present themselves as illegal aliens in the United States. Let’s hold Mexico responsible for assistance provided to their citizens and take payment in commodities like oil.

Let the corrupt Mexican police do their jobs.

We are so screwed when we allow communist thugs to impact our economy, security, safety, and public welfare.

-- Steve