The Biden administration has warned China against continuing to conduct armed attacks on the Philippines, but China has blatantly ignored the warning, repeatedly harassing Philippine naval vessels and severely injuring its sailors over the past several months. Beijing, for its part, has accused Washington of using the Philippines as a pawn and seems to have every intention of continuing to escalate the dispute. That dispute centers on the Second Thomas Shoal, a disputed reef within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, but also within China’s illegal “nine-dash line” maritime claim in the South China Sea. The dispute is not new, and China has used a wide array of tools to harass and intimidate the Philippines over the past several years. What’s new is the frequency of these incidents and the higher levels of force being employed by the Chinese coast guard against Philippine navy sailors. In March, the Chinese coast guard blasted water cannons and rammed into a Philippine patrol vessel, damaging it and injuring the vessel and crew. China called its move a “necessary measure” and accused the Philippines of violating China’s sovereignty for having resupplied the troops it keeps on Second Thomas Shoal. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, based in The Hague, ruled in favor of the Philippines in the dispute, but China has rejected the ruling. A month later, in April, and within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, the Chinese coast guard rammed into, and again used water cannons against, Philippine patrol vessels on a mission to resupply fishermen. Chinese state media responded, stating that the operation was “reasonable, legitimate, and professional” and that the Philippine vessels were conducting dangerous maneuvers that justified the “forced use of water cannons to warn the vessel.” In June, a Philippine sailor suffered severe injuries as a result of the Chinese coast guard ramming into, blocking, and launching water cannons against Philippine resupply vessels. Just as in March and April, China justified the use of “control measures” and claimed that the Philippine resupply vessel caused the collision. In another June incident, the Chinese coast guard brandished axes and machetes at Philippine personnel in what the Philippine coast guard has labeled a “brutal assault.” Outnumbered by the Chinese, one Filipino had a finger cut off. The Philippine ambassador to Washington has warned that the conflict with China could engulf the Indo-Pacific. Deterring China across the Indo-Pacific is a key U.S. goal, but the dispute in the Philippines is particularly salient, as the U.S. has a treaty obligation to defend the Philippines from “armed attacks” pursuant to the U.S.-Philippines defense pact. China’s repeated instances of aggression against the Philippines should serve as a warning to the entire Indo-Pacific. The post China’s Aggression Against Philippines Is Increasing appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Republican National Committee’s Platform Committee has adopted former President Donald Trump’s 2024 Republican Party platform, the Trump campaign announced on Monday. The Trump campaign described the party platform as a “pro-American agenda that stands in stark contrast to the record of weakness, failure, and dishonesty created by [President] Joe Biden,” promising that Trump’s platform “serves as a contract with the American voter that makes clear what we can and will deliver under a President Trump administration with the Republican Party leading the country for the next four years.” In a joint statement, Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said that the platform articulates Trump’s vision to “Make America Great Again in a way that is concise and digestible for every voter.” “While Joe Biden and Democrats argue about who will be at the top of their ticket and have implemented policies that have raised prices on everyday families, opened the floodgates to migrant crime via wide-open borders, shackled American energy with red tape forced by Washington bureaucrats, and sown chaos across the world through weak foreign policy, President Trump will Make America Great Again through these America First principles,” they added. The Fiserv Forum is being prepared for the upcoming Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. (Tannen Maury/AFP/Getty Images) RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and RNC Co-Chair Lara Trump similarly described the platform as a “bold road map that will undo the devastating damage that Joe Biden’s far-left policies have done to this country, power President Trump to a historic victory in November, and Make America Great Again.” The platform begins with “20 promises” that Trump intends to accomplish “quickly” when he gets back into office. Those promises focus on immigration, inflation, the economy, the Second Amendment, ending the weaponization of government, and more. SEAL THE BORDER, AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY  END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN MAKE AMERICA THE DOMINANT ENERGY PRODUCER IN THE WORLD, BY FAR STOP OUTSOURCING, AND TURN THE UNITED STATES INTO A MANUFACTURING SUPERPOWER  LARGE TAX CUTS FOR WORKERS, AND NO TAX ON TIPS DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION, OUR BILL OF RIGHTS, AND OUR FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, INCLUDING FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF RELIGION, AND THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS PREVENT WORLD WAR THREE, RESTORE PEACE IN EUROPE AND IN THE MIDDLE EAST, AND BUILD A GREAT IRON DOME MISSILE DEFENSE SHIELD OVER OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY—ALL MADE IN AMERICA END THE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE  STOP THE MIGRANT CRIME EPIDEMIC, DEMOLISH THE FOREIGN DRUG CARTELS, CRUSH GANG VIOLENCE, AND LOCK UP VIOLENT OFFENDERS  REBUILD OUR CITIES, INCLUDING WASHINGTON D.C., MAKING THEM SAFE, CLEAN, AND BEAUTIFUL AGAIN. STRENGTHEN AND MODERNIZE OUR MILITARY, MAKING IT, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE STRONGEST AND MOST POWERFUL IN THE WORLD KEEP THE U.S. DOLLAR AS THE WORLD’S RESERVE CURRENCY FIGHT FOR AND PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE WITH NO CUTS, INCLUDING NO CHANGES TO THE RETIREMENT AGE CANCEL THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATE AND CUT COSTLY AND BURDENSOME REGULATIONS  CUT FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ANY SCHOOL PUSHING CRITICAL RACE THEORY, RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY, AND OTHER INAPPROPRIATE RACIAL, SEXUAL, OR POLITICAL CONTENT ON OUR CHILDREN KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN SECURE OUR ELECTIONS, INCLUDING SAME-DAY VOTING, VOTER IDENTIFICATION, PAPER BALLOTS, AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP UNITE OUR COUNTRY BY BRINGING IT TO NEW AND RECORD LEVELS OF SUCCESS “When America is united, confident, and committed to our principles, it will never fail,” the Trump campaign release said. “Today and together, with Love for our Country, Faith in our People, and Trust in God’s Good Grace, we will Make America Great Again!” The 2024 Republican National Convention will take place next week in Milwaukee. It is closed to the public except for politicians, delegates, the media, and volunteers. The post ‘Road Map to Make America Great Again’: RNC Announces 2024 GOP Platform appeared first on The Daily Signal.

50-Year DC Insider Cries: The Elites Want Me Out!

Fox Business anchor David Asman went after President Joe Biden’s tyrannical electric vehicle (EV) mandate, absolutely devastating Pete “Racist Roads” Buttigieg, Biden's smug and clueless transportation secretary.  During the July 5 edition of Kudlow, Asman brought the receipts, showing that Americans were refusing to be bribed or cajoled into abandoning combustion vehicles. “The bottom line is — however they think they can work it out — their mandates are based on fantasy,” he said.  Asman provided two key examples of how “Americans are slamming the brakes on the Democrats' forced push for electric vehicles.” First, the Fox Business anchor pointed to collapsing EV startup Fisker Inc. slashing prices by “80%” in an attempt to get rid of their cars.  A second brutal blow came from McKinsey & Company, an ESG defender and publisher of debunked DEI studies. Asman cited a February study from McKinsey to show that even Americans who have purchased EVs are not sold on them: Nearly half of them “want to switch back to gas-powered vehicles.” With these two examples, Asman skewered Buttigieg, a former McKinsey & Company employee, for arguing that Americans were inexorably marching towards an all-electric vehicle future in 2050. “You’re not going to meet a whole lot of people who ever go back after they’ve gone electric and I think that really tells you something,” he said.  In the present, Asman mocked Buttigieg for presuming that Americans would fully embrace EVs when “even EV owners don’t.”  Asman’s guest, Alex Epstein, the founder of the Center for Industrial Progress, also pointed out that both the mandate and generous federal subsidies had failed to push the public to embrace EVs. Epstein argued that subsidies for electric vehicles went beyond what was allocated by the Inflation Reduction Act and could be as high as $20,000, $30,000 or $40,000 per car: “There’s all sorts of these crazy credits behind the scenes that allow automakers to lose billions and billions of dollars on EVs but make them up from the sales of gasoline-powered vehicles. Imagine they weren’t getting $30,000 plus and yet even when they're getting $30,000 plus in subsidies, they are still having trouble winning over Americans and the reason is just because for most people at this point in time, they are not the most cost-effective option.” Epstein warned that since this very expensive carrot had failed, the Biden administration was likely to continue using a stick. Epstein said, “Unfortunately, Biden's policy is government-dictated green energy and they think that ‘if we want people to want EVs and we put enough pressure on them, they’ll get them.’ And they’re holding a gun to our head partially but even that's not enough, so I guess they think they just have to totally dictate us or throw us in jail. That’s probably the only way it’s going to really work.”  Conservatives are under attack! Contact ABC News at 818-460-7477, CBS News at 212-975-3247 and NBC News at 212-664-6192 and demand they hold Biden and his cronies accountable for attempting to restrict fossil fuel production and Americans’ choices.

President Joe Biden's administration officially came out to say officials do not support House Republicans' proposal to have a voter ID law for elections to prevent illegal immigrants from voting, as the border crisis has gone on for the entirety of Biden's presidency.Introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act would require states to obtain proof of citizenship in person when registering an individual to vote and require states to remove anyone who is in the country illegally from existing voter rolls.'This bill would do nothing to safeguard our elections.'"Radical progressive Democrats ... are using open-border policies while also attacking election integrity laws to fundamentally remake America. That's why I am proud to introduce the SAVE Act with Speaker Johnson and my Republican colleagues, along with the invaluable support of citizens and organizations that recognize we must end the practice of non-citizens voting in our elections," Roy has said about the bill.The Biden White House said the bill is not needed since there is already a law on the books disallowing non-citizens to vote and that requiring voter ID will hinder Americans from voting."The alleged justification for this bill is based on easily disproven falsehoods. ... This bill would do nothing to safeguard our elections, but it would make it much harder for all eligible Americans to register to vote and increase the risk that eligible voters are purged from voter rolls. The evidence is clear that the current laws to prevent noncitizen voting are working as intended — it is extraordinarily rare for noncitizens to break the law by voting in federal elections," the statement says.The statement then blames House Republicans for not voting for the Senate bill that had some strict measures at the border but was also filled with items that would have codified into law some of the worst aspects of the border crisis. — (@) "81% of Americans want ID verification to vote. It’s pretty straightforward. Democrats are assulating American Citizenship on a daily basis — elections, open borders, fiscal health, welfare to noncitizens. It’s time to stand up for AMERICANS and pass the SAVE Act," Roy posted on X.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is pushing forward with a new depiction of a classic character.The game was released in May 2024 by Rocksteady Studios, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Games, and was a $200 million disaster. The studio later said revenues for the entire parent company went from a reported $607 million in Q1 2023 down to just $184 million in Q1 2024, a 70% decrease.However, the studio has seemingly taken zero cues from its audience.Shortly after the game's freefall, Warner Bros. Games launched a leadership program for women and non-binary individuals aimed at making the video game industry less male. Announced by startup and tech community Built In, the Women and Non-Binary Leadership Program had the stated goal of upending the gaming industry's allegedly male-dominated characterization.'They perceive femininity and female anatomy as threats to society.'Weeks later, the Suicide Squad game is moving forward with Season 2, despite fewer than 500 people currently playing the game on the Steam platform, according to PC Gamer. These concurrent gaming stats are absolutely abysmal figures for a project of such a magnitude.It seems at least one new character is ready for launch in the new season, and it is Mrs. Freeze — not Mr. Freeze — but his wife, whose character name is Nora Fries.Mr. Freeze was typically portrayed as a bald man with varying degrees of scientist looks and was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1997's "Batman & Robin."At the same time, there exist near limitless depictions of Mrs. Freeze as a classically beautiful blonde woman. The character was played by model Vendela Kirsebom in the aforementioned 1997 flick.It seems the video game studio decided not to go with anything in the vicinity of the usual portrayal of Mrs. Freeze. In previous iterations, she was cryogenically frozen by Mr. Freeze in hopes of finding a cure for her illness. Now, she is seemingly portrayed as taking over her husband's role.One gamer even took it as far as to describe the new character as looking like a "non-binary Karen they/them."The same account, with over 20,000 followers, suggested the studios sees feminine attributes as a threat."I predicted this before the game's release, and the backlash was intense. They perceive femininity and female anatomy as threats to society."The short-haired depiction is actually so far off that outlets have theorized it must be from an alternate/timeline or universe. — (@) The character art follows the recent revelation from a video game artist that it is very difficult get studios to depict beautiful women in modern games.Del Walker, an artist who has worked on Star Wars and Batman games, said that "after 10 iterations the concept or model comes back without a speck of the original beauty I pitched."Walker added that it wasn't only the faces of the characters that have been changed but their entire likenesses, ages, and attitudes.Gamers have pointed out the many examples of dampening beauty, such as Star Wars Outlaws character model Humberly González.A recent remake of the classic Perfect Dark video game was also dragged for hardening the jawline of beloved hero Joanna Dark.This appeared to be a similar instance with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, as the studio has seemed unwilling to depart from the diversity, equity, and inclusion parameters it set for itself during its production by involving diversity consulting company Sweet Baby Inc.The game has faced significant backlash and calls for boycotts throughout its time on the market.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The district attorney of Orange County, California, blasted far-left Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers for their "soft-on-crime policies" after a trio of thugs were charged murdering a 68-year-old woman at a posh mall in Newport Beach last week.The DA's office said New Zealand tourist Patricia McKay and her husband were waiting for a ride after finishing shopping at the Fashion Island mall Tuesday when a white Toyota Camry pulled up next to the couple and two masked males jumped out and attacked McKay’s 69-year-old husband, putting a gun to his head and demanding his watch as they forced him to the ground as bystanders ran away.'Our shopping centers and malls have become hunting grounds for criminals who are stalking innocent shoppers to rob them blind because our Governor and our Legislature refuse to hold anyone accountable for their actions.'When the suspects — later identified as Malachi Darnell and Jaden Cunningham, both 18 — couldn't get his property, Cunningham is accused of throwing McKay to the ground, stealing her shopping bags, and dragging her into the street in front of the getaway car, which 26-year-old Leroy Ernest Joseph McCrary was driving, the DA's office said.With McKay lying in front of the Camry, McKay’s husband jumped in front of the vehicle in an effort to stop his wife from being run over, but McCrary is accused of accelerating forward with Darnell in the vehicle, pushing McKay’s husband out of the way, and running over McKay and dragging her body 65 feet, the DA's office said.While McCrary was dragging McKay under the car, Cunningham was running to try to catch up to the getaway car, the DA's office said, adding that a good Samaritan tried to stop Cunningham from getting back into the vehicle. Darnell is accused of shooting from the getaway car at the good Samaritan, the DA's office said, adding that McCrary is accused of slowing down to allow Cunningham to jump back into the getaway vehicle, after which McCrary drove away.Cunningham was arrested after bailing out of the vehicle in Cypress, the DA's office said, adding that McCrary and Darnell were arrested in South Gate after a police pursuit; all three defendants were being held without bail.Orange County DA Todd Spitzer did not hold back in his comments against Newsom and state lawmakers.“Our shopping centers and malls have become hunting grounds for criminals who are stalking innocent shoppers to rob them blind because our Governor and our Legislature refuse to hold anyone accountable for their actions," he said in a Friday statement. "Actions have consequences, and it shouldn’t have to result in the death of an elderly woman just enjoying a day of shopping with her husband for our elected leaders in Sacramento to realize that this is the product of their soft-on-crime policies which encourage criminality while sacrificing public safety. This is Orange County, and we refuse to accept this is the new normal. Criminals will be held accountable and violence will never be acceptable.”The DA's office said the three suspects are eligible for the death penalty if they are convicted of the special circumstances murder charges in the commission of a robbery with a felony enhancement for causing the death of an elder over the age of 65.McCrary faces additional felony charges of attempted second-degree robbery and evading while driving recklessly, the DA's office said, adding that McCrary has prior felony convictions for residential burglary in 2018, criminal threats in 2020, and robbery in 2023, all in Los Angeles County.Darnell has also been charged with second-degree attempted robbery, attempted murder, and felony enhancements of personal use of a firearm and personal discharge of a firearm, the DA's office said, adding that Cunningham also been charged with one felony count of attempted second-degree robbery.You can view a video report about the incident here.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The Democrat-controlled Senate is debating a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that includes a plan to register women for selective service, which would make them eligible for the draft. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah (R) is standing up against it. “The draft-our-daughters agenda has no place in our national defense,” Lee tells Glenn Beck, explaining that he believes the move is for “aesthetic purposes” — showing how “woke” and “open-minded” we are. “I can’t fathom any other reason why they would want to do it,” he continues. “You don’t send women to fight as long as able-bodied men exist and are available to fight. It’s a fundamental notion. You don’t even have to get to a moral question on this, it’s a survival question.” The push to draft women has been brought up by Democrats every few years, and every single time Congress has rejected it. “This year they’re quietly trying to slip it into the NDAA, the National Defense Authorization Act,” Lee explains. “We shouldn’t be putting policy like this, such a revolutionary policy, into it.” “Especially when what they’ve been doing as of late is putting this together and then ramming it through the Senate floor and telling us that we have no opportunity to amend it once it gets to the floor. So, that’s why we’ve got to start sounding the alarm bells now,” he adds. While women can and do serve in the military currently, most of them don’t do it the same way men do. “Women served all through wars in different capacities. You can serve, it’s just your body is not made for a war. You can't drag your 200-pound companion off the battlefield if you’re a 125-pound woman,” Glenn says. “This isn’t about right and wrong, this is about survival,” Lee agrees. Want more from Glenn Beck?To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Diablo fans have never had it so good. You can play the original on GoG, the second game has been remastered, the third is still going, the fourth is in the middle of a renaissance, and Diablo Immortal has come a long way from its pre-launch reception. No matter which of these games you prefer, you can hop into them right now. If bite sized adventures are your thing, Diablo Immortal’s next swathe of content has been detailed - and you won’t have to wait long. Continue reading Free to play ARPG Diablo Immortal details new Cursed Solstice events MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Diablo Immortal tier list, Diablo Immortal system requirements, Best Diablo Immortal builds

There are plenty of great strategy and building games to check out, with this year alone providing a wealth of options that runs from Manor Lords and Homeworld 3 to survival hybrids like Palworld and more to come soon with Frostpunk 2 and Nova Roma. One of the most refreshing takes on the genre, though, is Bulwark Falconeer Chronicles, an innovative approach to strategy design convention that tosses away unnecessary complexity and presents a unique fantasy world through a lovely visual style. Since it launched earlier this year, creator Tomas Sala has continued working on the project and now its newest update, the upcoming Naval Command, has been explained by Sala in further detail. Continue reading Massive new Bulwark Falconeer Chronicles update explained by dev MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best city building games, Best strategy games, Best building games