On October 7, 2023, the world didn’t just witness an attack; it saw the stark divide between good and pure evil. As the extent of the horrors unfolded, most people quickly united behind Israel, repulsed by the real-time videos that Hamas was posting of their own depravity. Some, however, including many in the legacy media and the despotic United Nations, would not budge from their decades-long anti-Israel bias. These reprobates refused to acknowledge that the atrocities were committed by stateless, Iran-backed terrorists who were, and continue to be, determined to wipe Israel off the map. Some in the press went so far as to suggest parallels between Israel and Hamas, even blaming the former for the tragedy it had just suffered. The Media Research Center has identified 195 times the media have spewed anti-Israel and anti-Semitic screeds since the Hamas attacks. Topping the list as the worst offender is CNN with 35 articles with anti-Israel bias. The Washington Post is next in line with 23 articles, but it should be noted that it won the top prize for the most number of writers with anti-Israel bias, employing ten who couldn’t resist exposing their troublesome hatred. The next is especially offensive since it uses taxpayer dollars to propagandize its views. NPR published no fewer than 19 biased articles against Israel. The remainder of the dozen worst outlets includes: ABC (15 articles), Reuters (14 articles), The Guardian (13 articles), The New York Times (11 articles ), BBC (11 articles ), CBS News (9 articles ), NBC News (8 articles), MSNBC (8 articles) and The Associated Press (7 articles). We also call out, with revulsion, the BBC, the AP and The Post for their refusal to acknowledge that Hamas is a terrorist organization, despite this designation by the U.S. State Department and most of the modern world. Instead, they refer to the sociopaths who committed these horrific acts as militants, fighters or even just gunmen. Unbelievably, the AP, Reuters, The Times and CNN even embedded photographers with the Hamas terrorists as they stormed across the border into Israel. The images created by these media outlets were indistinguishable from the pictures and videos created by Hamas for their propaganda purposes, begging the question whether they actually aided and abetted terrorism. The AP, like many other outlets, also minimized the barbaric attack, repeatedly referring to it as “the latest Gaza War.” It still prohibits their reporters from referring to Hamas as a terrorist organization, just like The Post characterizes Hamas as a militant group. George Achi of the Canadian Broadcast Company, instructed staff to avoid the term “terrorist” due to its “politicization,” showcasing a shocking moral cowardice. The distinction matters because terrorists are defined by their acts – those using unlawful violence targeted at civilians to kill, kidnap and intimidate. This isn’t just semantics; it’s a deliberate misrepresentation that undermines the very definition of terrorism and enables agenda-driven propaganda. CNN’s Fareed Zakaria provided an unchallenged platform for imprisoned murderer Mustafa Barghouti to justify genocide and blame Israel for Hamas’s brutal attack. Ali Velshi at MSNBC spun tales of collective punishment, crafting an alternate reality where Israel’s defense becomes a crime. Ostensibly, these media outlets want to maintain a patina of neutrality. But that neutrality evaporates as soon as they find a way to accuse Israel of war crimes, jumping to conclusions based on specious, and later rebutted, accounts from Al Jazeera, Hamas and the ever-inaccurate Gaza Ministry of Health. Recall the Oct. 11, 2023 bombing of a hospital in Gaza when the media breathlessly accused Israel of killing 500 innocent people, only to discover that an errant missile from within Gaza was the actual culprit. While a solid 80% of Americans stand with Israel, elements of the media are hijacking this narrative to push a Left-wing agenda. Tony Dokoupil of CBS Mornings faced ridicule for merely attempting a balanced discussion with a Palestinian advocate, revealing the media’s intolerance for objectivity. The media must rise above this tide of deception. The world deserves not just reports, but the truth. The atrocities committed by Hamas demand not just coverage but condemnation. It’s time for responsible journalism to reclaim its integrity, to tell the story of innocent lives shattered, not for political gain, but for the sake of history and humanity. * * * Dan Schneider is the vice president of Media Research Center’s Free Speech America.  Denise Cohen is an attorney and the founder of Bridge Post Communications, a member of the MRC-led Free Speech Alliance. The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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'It failed'

'It's not my signature. It's not me'

'You are letting someone else set your agenda'

Whitmer seems like the weird one to me

'That could incrementally increase customer bills'

Excerpts Fantasy Read an Excerpt From Cecy Robson‘s Bloodguard One hundred years. Tens of thousands of gladiators. And today, only one will rise… By Cecy Robson | Published on October 10, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from Bloodguard, a new romantic fantasy novel by Cecy Robson, out from Red Tower Books on October 18th. Everything in the Kingdom of Arrow is a lie.Leith of Grey thought coming to this new land and volunteering to fight in the gladiator arena—vicious, bloodthirsty tournaments where only the strongest survive—would earn him enough gold to save his dying sister. He thought there was nothing left to lose.He was wrong—and they took everything. His hope. His freedom. His very humanity.All Leith has left is his battle-scarred body, fueled by rage and hardened from years of fighting for the right to live another day.Then Leith meets Maeve, an elven royal who is everything he despises. Everything he should hate. Until the alluring princess offers him the one thing he needs most: a chance to win the coveted title of Bloodguard—and his freedom.But in a kingdom built on secrets and lies, hope doesn’t come cheap.Nor will his ultimate revenge… Sudden drumbeats echo around the stadium, and my pulse quickens. The time has come to announce the matches. A few of the fighters ease their postures, feigning courage that’s long gone, and we all turn to head back to the wagon. Typically, we’re routed to the stables to wait for our match. As though the games aren’t cruel enough, we never know who or what we’ve been matched to fight or the order until we are called. But today, before we can reach the wagon, the gate of the cage is swung closed. The other gladiators murmur to one another at this change in protocol, but we don’t have long to wait. From the top tier of the arena, four messenger hawks, their bodies twice the size of my head and their wingspan twice my height, swoop into the center with large sacks gripped in their talons. Their dull auburn plumage flutters as they drop their sacks, and their wings flap furiously as they take to the sky again. Two large ogre guards lumber to the fallen sacks and work together to dump out their contents. Weapons and shields clatter to the gray sand. Just as they finish, more hawks soar toward them and dump even more sacks with dull thuds in the middle of the arena. Sullivan and I exchange glances, a knot forming in the pit of my stomach. The piles of weapons are larger than we’re used to…large enough for every gladiator here to choose their starting weapons. And instead of being herded back to the pens, a row of gladiators is nudged forward by the guards, toward the center of the arena. Their heavy feet stomp in the sand, puffs of dust floating away on the wind like funeral ash. “Next row,” the human guard calls, and my chest tightens. “We’re not being paired off.” Sullivan ignores the command, his expression bleak. “It’s all of us. Everyone for themselves.” Buy the Book Bloodguard Cecy Robson Buy Book Bloodguard Cecy Robson Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget My breath leaves in pained bursts. We’re not just fighting a single opponent of their choosing—whether man or beast—we’re also fighting one another to the death. The sun is high in the sky and burns along the deep axe wound on my back, but I barely feel it, my insides twisting. “Next row!” the guard bellows again. I take a step forward. Sullivan follows me, spitting into the sand. He’s very sick. I’m injured. But we won’t slow down for anyone. In the arena, there is no slowing down. There is only victory or death. The moon horses squeal as they are hurried toward the exit, the rickety wagon clattering behind them, making the wizard jump. Death thickens the air, more tangible than the coat of sand settling onto our skin. In the piles of weapons, I spot a sword and a dagger I can use. There’s a metal chest plate that would protect me more than the meager leather one I’m wearing now, but the seconds it takes to put the armor on could cost me my life. Suddenly, the drums speed up, almost catching my racing heart and silencing the crowd, and then the percussion abruptly stops. “Halt!” a guard shouts. “And turn!” As one, we pivot to face the royal box, my mind racing with thoughts of which fighter I should kill first, who will be best to get out of the way quickly. Anyone but Sully, I argue. Anyone but my friend. Just then, High Lord Vitor rises. “One hundred years,” he bellows, the magic within the royal box amplifying and reverberating his voice across the massive structure. The crowd shrieks with excitement. “One hundred!” they echo. “Thousands of gladiators,” he shouts. The spectators cheer louder, enlivened by the thought of ten more. “And today,” Vitor continues, “we have a special match.” He gestures to the bet makers rushing up and down the stands and then to the pile of weapons in the center. “There are two potential Bloodguards before us, and therefore there should be…two times the payouts!” The crowd goes wild. Holy hell. This son of a bitch is spinning it so this crowd can make a fortune—not lose one. And we’re the ones expected to make or break their status. “Well, shit,” Sullivan mutters. Neither of us saw this coming. People are screaming with delight and still trying to catch the ear of the harried bet makers scribbling on pads and tossing out tickets as fast as they can. They’re not even waiting to see the drop of the banner that will reveal our final odds. The High Lord lifts his hand and pauses for the arena to quiet again. “In these final moments of betting, take in what awaits, my friends, and choose wisely, for those who thirst for water today, tomorrow may demand wine!” The crowd’s thrill escalates, their calls for action mounting. Then something roars, the menacing sound extinguishing all others. Even the vultures circling the skies flee. We still. The air around us shifts, growing thick with dread. Sullivan and I exchange one final glance. We know what it is long before it lands. Webbed wings the size of ship sails stretch out as talons the length of my arms slam against the arena floor. The brown dragon chuffs, the fire brewing in its belly hot enough to shoot steam from its nostrils. The elf rider on its back is covered with enchanted leather that protects his flesh from the heat. The dragon’s body is the length of three moon horses. Not as large as they come, but large enough to easily squash us. My mouth goes dry. This dragon is a young male—I can see the pair of claspers under the base of his tail as he thrashes. The only thing more ravenous than an old dragon is a young male. They need more energy to fuel their rapid growth spurts. “Only one will rise,” Vitor shouts over the gasps of the crowd. His smile takes on a malicious edge. “Will it be gladiator—or shall it be beast?” The dragon roars once more, and the final betting bell is barely audible above the crowd’s screams and cheers. We all shift around to face the pile of weapons as fast as we can. Sully breaks away from me. He crouches and shakes out his hands. We don’t exchange farewells. After three years of watching out for each other, it all comes down to this. I lean forward and get ready to run, my focus on the pile of weapons and not on the man who was—dammit, is—my friend. The moment the horn blasts, I charge.  Excerpted from Bloodguard by Cecy Robson. Reprinted with permission from Red Tower Books, an imprint of Entangled Publishing. All rights reserved. The post Read an Excerpt From <i>Cecy Robson</i>‘s Bloodguard appeared first on Reactor.

Norwegian arms manufacturer Kongsberg announced late last month that it will build a missile manufacturing plant in James City County, Virginia. The development will be a major boon for the local economy and Virginia’s manufacturing capacity, thanks to a $100 million investment and the hiring of 180 employees. And, of course, the facility will produce a munition critical to naval operations in the Indo-Pacific.  Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, hailed the deal. “Following our productive meetings in Europe, Kongsberg’s decision to establish its first U.S. defense assembly facility in Virginia reaffirms our status as America’s top state for business,” Youngkin said. Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace will produce its cutting-edge Joint Strike Missile and Naval Strike Missile in the Virginia county, which includes Williamsburg and is part of the same metropolitan area as military-friendly Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Newport News. The Joint Strike Missile is the only long-range precision missile currently available for the Air Force’s elite F-35A stealth fighter that can be deployed inside the aircraft’s weapons bay and maintain its unparalleled stealth profile. The Naval Strike Missile, a superb anti-ship missile, would be crucial in any conflict in the Indo-Pacific. Kongsberg’s announcement comes as an increasing number of policymakers are waking up to the desperate state of defense manufacturing in America.  In the decades following the Cold War, much of our homegrown industry fled to foreign countries, chasing lower labor costs and less strict regulations. The primary destination: China. Efforts to move critical defense supply chains away from China will be a long-term challenge, but these efforts are an absolute necessity, especially as we find ourselves on the back foot in a great power contest with the communist regime. This factory in Virginia is part of a broader trend. Kongsberg also announced a simultaneous expansion of its factory in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Recent worldwide disruptions such as the Russia-Ukraine war have highlighted just how fragile our supply lines are. The disruptions also underline the importance of bringing back key manufacturing, particularly defense, to America and away from our geopolitical rivals. Besides losing significant overall industrial capacity, the dramatic reduction in the government’s defense spending over the past 30 years led to wide-scale consolidation of U.S. military contractors, resulting in higher production costs. According to a Congressional Research Service report on the defense industrial base, the consolidation was seen most intensely in the production of certain special weapons systems, including precision-guided munitions. To illustrate just how condensed the defense industry has become, five companies are the primary contractors on over 74% of the Pentagon’s major defense acquisitions. This squeeze allowed inefficiency, cost overruns, and time delays to become the norm as bureaucratic skill at navigating the Defense Department’s complex acquisition process was preferred over actual innovation. Kongsberg’s investment in the U.S. defense industry augurs well for efforts to undo this bad trend and restore competition. This is just one step, and much work remains to be done. The next presidential administration must make rebuilding our defense industrial base a top priority and encourage more companies to invest in America and put more Americans to work. The post Saluting Allied Investment in Virginia’s Defense Industrial Base appeared first on The Daily Signal.