Movies & TV the Penguin “I don’t regret what I got” — The Penguin’s “Bliss” By Keith R.A. DeCandido | Published on October 7, 2024 Credit: Macall Polay/HBO Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Macall Polay/HBO One of my favorite stories is about a baseball player named Rickey Henderson. When a Major League Baseball team makes it to the postseason, the teams get a percentage of the revenue generated by the postseason games they play in. The members of the team get to decide how that money is divided amongst the players, staff, etc. According to Mike Piazza’s memoir, when the New York Mets were deciding how to divvy up the shares they got as National League Champions in 2000, and they got to the marginal folks—like a minor-leaguer who was only up for a few games or the parking-lot attendant or some such—Henderson would say, “Full share!” When someone tried to argue, he’d say, “Fuck that! You can change somebody’s life!” I thought of that story when watching the third episode of The Penguin, specifically the scene where Penguin and Sofia discuss the circumstances under which the latter was sent to Arkham State Hospital. Penguin was Sofia’s driver, and he’s the one who revealed to Carmine Falcone that she was behind the Hangman murders, which resulted in Carmine sending her to Arkham. In their conversation toward the end of “Bliss,” Penguin semi-apologizes, as he thought he was doing it to help Sofia—he didn’t expect her to be sent to Arkham. (The trailer for next week’s episode indicates that at least part of it will be flashbacks to flesh out this storyline. It should also be added that Sofia says in this episode that she isn’t the Hangman, which is an interesting twist. In the comics, Sofia was the Hangman murderer in the Batman: Dark Victory miniseries by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale.) But what Penguin doesn’t apologize for in the least is what he got after she went away. The Penguin that we were introduced to in The Batman, who ran the Iceberg Lounge and was the guy who ran the drops operation for the Falcones, got there after Sofia was committed. He has no regrets about attaining a bit more success. Sofia nastily points out that he’s not a capo, he’s not a made man, and Penguin knows that, but it’s a huge improvement on what his life was like as a driver. As he said back in “After Hours,” the Falcones were “born full.” Penguin just wants more than he was born with. “Fuck that! You can change somebody’s life!” That theme runs throughout the episode. “Bliss” opens with a flashback that is contemporaneous with the final forty-five minutes or so of The Batman. We see Vic meeting up with his girlfriend Graciela (whom we saw texting him last week) and then we’re introduced to his immediate family: his mechanic father, his home-care specialist mother, and his little sister. Both Vic and his sister think their Dad should be asking for more money for his boss given the work he does, but their father is content with what they have because it’s still way more than they had before. (In the after-show, executive producer/showrunner Lauren LeFranc says that Vic is half Mexican and half Dominican; LeFranc herself is half Mexican, and Vic actor Rhenzy Feliz is Dominican.) Vic pushes back against that with his father, unsuccessfully, and later on we see him realizing that Penguin is going to pay him a thousand dollars a week. When Penguin tells him that he needs to ask for what he wants, not just sit and wait for it, the first thing Vic does is ask for two thousand. Penguin congratulates him on that, and then says no way. The flashback ends, of course, with the bombs going off that destroy the firewall and flood the city. Vic and Graciela are on a roof with their friends (some of whom we saw with Vic trying to boost Penguin’s car in “After Hours”), and they have to watch as their building is destroyed, their families killed. Penguin continues to show his ability to verbally tap-dance and talk his way out of things. When Sofia realizes that Penguin doesn’t know the specifics of the new drug that she and Alberto were going to unleash on Gotham, Penguin doesn’t miss a beat: Al wasn’t big on details, he just said it was a new drug and he would have Penguin handle distribution. (The first two parts are true, though the third obviously is not.) The drug in question, Bliss, comes from a rare strain of mushroom. Said drug was used as a pacifying agent in Arkham, and Sofia viewed it as the perfect thing to supplant drops as the big moneymaker in Gotham. Now even more so: the people of Gotham are hurting, badly. They need a something to take them away from the misery of their lives. That is, in fact, the argument that Sofia and Penguin make to Zhao (the eternal character actor François Chau), the head of Gotham’s Triad gang. (Digression: the drug being called Bliss threw me for a loop, as I had a magically enhanced drug called Bliss in my high fantasy novel Goblin Precinct back in 2013. I mean, it’s an obvious name for a drug, but still, it amused me…) They field-test the drug for the Triads because they’re the best bet to distribute without the Falcones or the Maronis knowing about it. But the only way to get the meeting with Zhao is for a high-ranking member of the Falcone family to vouch for them. Without hesitating, Penguin says that Johnny Viti will make that call. Sofia is confused, then learns that Viti has been sleeping with Luca Falcone’s wife, the blackmail that Penguin has had on Viti since the opening of the first episode (information he’s already sold to the Maronis in exchange for them not killing him), and he leverages that to get Viti to call Zhao. Viti, however, is dangerous to both of them. He dismisses Penguin pretty thoroughly (which gets a cell phone shoved in his mouth in anger by the Penguin), and he also wants nothing to do with Sofia, having followed through on Luca’s suggestion last week that she go to Italy by actually buying her a plane ticket. (Cristin Milioti plays it beautifully: “Aw, did you print this out yourself?”) However, he can’t afford for Luca to know about the affair, as the nicest possible response from Luca will be a bullet in his brain, so he plays ball for now. But this will come to a head in some way… Credit: Macall Polay/HBO Meantime, Vic is presented with a difficult choice. After being homeless and reduced to scavenging cars for parts, he’s now in a thousand-dollar-a-week job with a place to stay and everything. But then he and Graciela finally touch base for, apparently, the first time since the flood. She’s going away to California to start over, since her family’s dead and her school is destroyed. She wants Vic to come with her. The problem is that Vic doesn’t think he’s free to go. Penguin, after all “hired” him at gunpoint. The conflict rages in Vic all episode, and comes to a head when they’re field-testing Bliss at his club. Vic is the bag man for the women who are selling the drug in the club, and at one point the sound system plays some explosions and Vic has a massive PTSD flashback. (Kudos to director Craig Zobel, who has the spilled vials of Bliss rattling on the dance floor visually resonate with the pebbles on the roof vibrating from the explosions in Vic’s flashback.) It’s only when Penguin sees the text messages from Graciela asking why he isn’t at the bus station yet that Vic realizes the truth: he could have left any time. Penguin initially did virtually kidnap him in order to help dispose of Alberto’s body, but not after that. He was trying to give Vic the better life that his father never strove for. Penguin pulls out a gun and points it at Vic’s head, and asks if this is what being with Penguin felt like. And then he lets Vic go. Vic makes it all the way to the bus depot, but finds that he can’t get on the bus with Graciela. He can’t run away from the opportunity that has been presented to him. While Graciela is more to him than “a piece of ass,” as Penguin dismissively says, going with her means leaving his home, even if it’s not much of a home these days. And there’s that thousand a week. “Fuck that! You can change somebody’s life!” When he returns to the club, he finds that Sofia and Penguin’s heart-to-heart has been interrupted by Nadia Maroni, who is not happy that Penguin has double-crossed them. Sofia is not thrilled at the news that he was in a position to double-cross the Maronis, but Vic drives his car into the melee before anybody can get into any detail on the subject. Vic and Penguin drive off—Penguin specifically saying to leave Sofia behind—and now Penguin’s verbal tap-dancing skills are going to get their biggest workout. But that’s for another episode, as “Bliss” ends on that flip-the-table moment.[end-mark] The post “I don’t regret what I got” — <i>The Penguin</i>’s “Bliss” appeared first on Reactor.

Books book review The West Passage by Jared Pechaček Is a Fairy Tale With Modern Sensibilities A review of Jared Pechaček’s new fantasy novel By Alexis Ong | Published on October 7, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share There is something comforting in watching a couple of little guys making good in a bigger world, and following in this tradition, Jared Pechaček’s debut novel The West Passage delivers a warm, lovingly-crafted adventure built on the narrative bones of fairy tales, classic bildungsroman, and surrealist fantasy. The most obvious blueprint for the former would be hobbits being gently but firmly booted out of the Shire to save the world; it is, for better or worse, the best known example of its kind in fantasy and arguably broader popular literature. It makes perfect sense, then, that Pechaček is a Tolkien enthusiast, and has clearly studied the blade when it comes to the minutiae of hierarchical, ritualistic life from past ages. But The West Passage is very much its own well-formed creature, shepherded into being by a bright, confident hand to stand on its own two feet (or even three, in the world of palace anatomy). The West Passage is told primarily through the journeys of Pell and Kew, two teen apprentices from Grey Tower—the central node of a vast, rambling palace complex, that, for its inhabitants, may as well be the whole world. Pell belongs to Grey House, an order of women charged with the rituals of life and death, while Kew was most recently the apprentice to the Guardian of the West Passage, who dies just before the book begins. While Pell and Kew—both of whom have been groomed to inhabit very specific roles in their respective institutions—are the dual heart of the story, what I loved was how well Pechaček chose to expand these core narratives into a larger ensemble story, dipping a strategic toe into the different waters of each palace tower without losing focus on the two protagonists’ development.  Pechaček is meticulous in his attention to detail, painting complete pictures of these Grey-led caretaking scenes with generous attention to scent and texture and sound. It’s easy to see that this is a place of tradition, held together with obedience and hierarchy in the familiar way that foreshadows an inevitable upheaval; small little things, almost inconsequential, begin to snowball slowly, steadily, into the shape of a serious omen. But while Grey Tower is an ancient, crumbling core that takes its load-bearing duties very seriously, it’s balanced out nicely by smart, understated levity. In tandem with bleak, remorselessly matter-of-fact moments of despair, Pechaček’s use of lightness—dramatic indulgences, fleeting glints of droll pettiness, relatable wryness in the strangest places, the dry humor in his chapter names—elevates the palace world into something far beyond the average “ sheltered kids make good” adventure. Buy the Book The West Passage Jared Pechaček Buy Book The West Passage Jared Pechaček Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget People aside, the most compelling character for such a setting-centric story like this is, of course, the palace itself—five fragmented towers, Grey, Black, Red, Blue, and Yellow—which sits in an unknown place in an unknown world. Pell and Kew each venture out (quite independently of the other) into a landscape that neither knows much about beyond hearsay and books; Pell, who stands to inherit the responsibility of running Grey Tower, has never really needed to think beyond her order’s cloisters, while Kew, whose life has revolved mostly around elder knowledge and books, has no material experience with the world he was trained to defend. But rather than having these sheltered souls traverse across a static landscape, Pechaček reminds us in every scene that this pseudo-sentient palace is both a living, breathing horror, as well as a Kafkaesque layer cake of senseless bureaucracy (truly, at times, the same thing).  The Ladies, for instance, are inextricable parts of this palace landscape—the terrifying rulers of each tower, with Black Tower and its ruling Lady serving as the first among equals (though it becomes clear that the Ladies are very much not on the same footing). Each is a unique, unknowable universe marked by their own peculiar surreal motifs; the lasting impressions I had of each Lady were the overwhelming architectural qualities of their presence and presentation. Not only are they enormous—Pechaček’s approach to characterization has fun playing with scale and geometry—they are distinctly structural, stylized beings made of (and this is an important distinction, as opposed to being clothed in) specific materials, embellished to the hilt like sinister, sociopathic skyscrapers. The result is an unholy marriage of what stems from (clearly) Pechaček’s great love of formal costuming, architecture, and baroque aesthetics, and it works extremely well.  In some ways, the Ladies reminded me of the witches from Puella Magi Madoka Magica—inscrutable, fantastical, unreachable, and inevitable parts of the world they live in. What Pechaček did with each Lady was to cultivate a tangible sense that our protagonists were up against a concept or a feeling or at times, a fucking mountain, rather than a cogent entity capable of negotiation and logic, which makes perfect sense when you consider the Madoka Magica witches as the personification of bad vibes. But it’s also the chimeric nature of the witches—in the case of Ladies, what I felt was a technicolor patchwork of competing wills—which brought me to this comparison. The Ladies are, if anything, monstrously constructed spectacles that are inextricable from the land and towers that they dominate; there is a profound sense that to confront them is to confront the quiet, rotten truth at the core of one’s reality.    The West Passage, at least for me, was a lovely return to a genre I haven’t visited in some time, the fairy tale, though this one has more modern sensibilities focused on broader structural social commentary than folklore-centric fairy tales that tended to speak to issues around morality and related social phenomena (historically often things like child abandonment, poverty, changing family structures, and so on). Most of all, though, it reminded me of forgotten gems from the past (albeit ones that were far less horrifying), above all Nicobobinus, by Terry Jones, which remains one of my favorite childhood books for its unabashed joyfulness and sense of wonder; there are set pieces from Nicobobinus that remain engraved permanently in my mind despite not having seen (or heard anyone talk about) the book for almost three decades. The West Passage is similarly striking, a wonderful balance of mirth, matter-of-factness, and mystery in a wholly original setting that will stick with me for a while longer.[end-mark] The West Passage is available from Tordotcom Publishing. The post <i>The West Passage</i> by Jared Pechaček Is a Fairy Tale With Modern Sensibilities appeared first on Reactor.

Although the Federal Emergency Management Agency told Congress last month that it had $4 billion in its Disaster Relief Fund, officials also warned that the fund could have a shortfall of $6 billion by year’s end, a situation FEMA says could deteriorate in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. While FEMA is expected to ask Congress for new money, budget experts note a surprising fact: FEMA is currently sitting on untapped reserves appropriated for past disasters stretching back decades.  An August report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General noted that in 2022, FEMA “estimated that 847 disaster declarations with approximately $73 billion in unliquidated funds remained open.”  Drilling down on that data, the OIG found that $8.3 billion of that total was for disasters declared in 2012 or earlier. Such developments are part of a larger pattern in which FEMA failed to close out specific grant programs “within a certain timeframe, known as the period of performance (POP),” according to the IG report. Those projects now represent “billions in unliquidated appropriations that could potentially be returned to the [Disaster Relief Fund].” These “unliquidated obligations” reflect the complex federal budgeting processes. Safeguards are important so that FEMA funding doesn’t become a slush fund that the agency can spend however it chooses, budget experts said, but the inability to tap unspent appropriations from long-ago crises complicates the agency’s ability to respond to immediate disasters. ‘Age-Old Game’ “This is an age-old game that happens and it doesn’t matter what administration is in,” said Brian Cavanaugh, who served as an appropriations manager at FEMA in the Trump administration. “It’s unfortunate how complex disaster relief has become, but it’s skyrocketing costs.” Cavanaugh said neither action from Congress nor an executive order from the White House would be required to tap those funds because FEMA is operating on the sort of continuing resolutions Congress routinely authorizes. If the money is part of “immediate needs funding,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas could draw from the billions in untapped money to help the victims of Helene and then inform lawmakers he was compelled to do so, leaving elected officials facing charges they sought to pinch pennies when Americans were desperate. FEMA did not respond to a request for comment about whether it could access the earmarked funds. Mayorkas, whose department oversees FEMA, stressed the agency is not broke, and both he and other FEMA officials said last week there was enough money in the Disaster Relief Fund to meet the needs of victims of Hurricane Helene, which with a death count of more than 200 stands as the most lethal storm to hit the U.S. since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Most of Helene’s bills will come due in the future, and Mayorkas said FEMA can meet the day-to-day needs of operations right now in afflicted states but might be hard-pressed if another storm like Helene were to hit this year. Hurricane season officially lasts until the end of November, but historically, September and October have been the months in which the occasional monster smites the U.S.  “We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have,” Mayorkas told a press gaggle Oct. 2 on Air Force One. “We are expecting another hurricane hitting. We do not have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season and … what is imminent.” On Oct. 3, FEMA, which handles state and local government relief aid as well as the federal flood insurance plan and individual emergency requests, said it had spent at least $20 million in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida—three of the states that bore the brunt of Helene as it ripped ashore. The figures FEMA provided did not include Georgia, another state hard-hit by Helene, which made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane. Longtime FEMA critics said the looming shortfall is not surprising, given its main job is to use federal taxpayer dollars to reimburse state and local governments for recovery costs, in addition to more immediate money it provides to victims on an individual basis. “It doesn’t strike me as too weird,” said Chris Edwards, policy scholar at the conservative Cato Institute. “Right now, $20 million is peanuts, but it’s not necessarily unreasonable to think the upcoming bills will be much, much higher.” Skyrocketing Costs The skyrocketing costs associated with disaster recovery are one of the main drivers of FEMA’s predicted budget woes. Last year, the U.S. saw a record 28 storms that caused more than $1 billion in damages, and the $1 billion threshold has been reached 19 times thus far in 2024. Since 2001, there have been nine times that FEMA nearly ran out of money in its Disaster Relief Fund, forcing it to pause hundreds of non “life-saving services” the agency runs. The price tag on some of those services, such as those associated with assistance to immigration, has seen an unprecedented surge due to millions of illegal entrants during President Joe Biden’s term. FEMA has spent more than $640 million on those programs in 2024, leading to criticism this week from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, and others. FEMA rebutted the claims by insisting those sums did not come out of the Disaster Relief Fund. Yet as Cavanaugh, Edwards, and others noted, the relief fund isn’t the main driver of FEMA’s expenses, which are primarily reimbursements to state and local agencies that handle things like debris removal, road and power grid repairs, and the like. Thus far, FEMA has been getting mixed reviews from elected officials for its response to Hurricane Helene in afflicted states. While five state officials in North Carolina’s hard-hit Buncombe County did not respond to questions from RealClearInvestigations, some Tar Heel residents have complained in media reports about the agency’s invisibility. While FEMA rarely initiates or administers contracts to clean debris, restore power, or search for survivors, the agency does provide emergency cash to storm victims who apply for it. Flood insurance protection comes not from private homeowners policies but from a federal program run by FEMA. ‘Crazy’ Numbers Generally, FEMA, along with state or local officials and a neutral third-party civil engineer, will estimate the cost of such work, and then the final figure will come through negotiations. But given those settlements are far in the future, they should not have any bearing on FEMA’s current budget. “It’s just crazy how expensive the numbers have gotten,” said Jeremy Portnoy of OpenTheBooks, a nonpartisan watchdog of government spending. “They’ve been warning for months now they are running out of money.” Portnoy first called attention to FEMA’s unspent funds in conversations with RealClearInvestigations on Sept. 8. He said it seems bizarre that federal officials would have a pot substantial enough to cover a projected shortfall while adding billions to the Disaster Relief Fund but fail to draw on it. “There is all that money just sitting there,” Portnoy said. “They’re saying they don’t have enough money but when you juxtapose it with the more than $8 billion, well, why not use that right now in Florida and other places?” The “unliquidated obligations” have stayed on FEMA’s books because it “subjectively” extended the deadlines on some projects. The deadline for 2012’s Superstorm Sandy has been extended to 2026.  “As a result, the potential risk for fraud, waste, and abuse increases the longer a program remains open,” a DHS report concluded. Although DHS could probably reach into such unliquidated obligations to help restore order in areas devastated by Helene, experts note that bureaucracies are loath to resort to such tactics when budget negotiations are near, as they are when the fiscal year ends this month. “The bridges that have been washed out, that’s not something FEMA will have to pay tomorrow,” Cavanaugh said.  This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire. The post Untapped Relief: FEMA Is Sitting on Billions of Unused Disaster Funds appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The Alexandre de Moraes vs. X saga continues. It seemed it might be over, and that the ban in Brazil might get lifted after the social media company complied with the demands of the country’s Supreme Court. And that included paying fines, which X owner Elon Musk last Friday said had been done. But now Justice Moraes claims that the payment was made to the wrong bank and needs to be transferred to the proper one – and besides, even when that issue is settled, the prosecutor general will have to be consulted before making a decision on restoring X in Brazil. The first time X asked the Brazilian Supreme Court to allow it to resume business was on September 16, but Moraes at that time said that the fines still had to be paid. The platform was blocked in August, as a result of an ever-escalating clash, always with Moraes as the main protagonist acting on behalf of Brazil. Since early 2024, X and Musk tried to resist censorship requests coming from Moraes and revealed some of the mechanisms behind it that were supposed to be kept from the public. Those requests targeted the accounts of many prominent figures opposed to Brazil’s current government. But over the past weeks, X started to comply by blocking a number of accounts that the Supreme Court is investigating for alleged misinformation and hate speech. Another demand was for X to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, which has also been done. The issue of the fines, equivalent to $5.24 million, was the last remaining, but Moraes decided to further prolong the story by declaring that the money went to the wrong bank. X, on the other hand, is denying that, with its lawyers continuing to ask that the platform be unblocked. They also don’t believe that the prosecutor general’s involvement is needed. While the supposed mix-up regarding the money transfer is a delay tactic that only goes so far, bringing the prosecutor general into the picture could potentially complicate X’s attempts to return to Brazil in a more serious way – should that official, for example, come up with some new demands. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Elon Musk vs. Brazil’s Moraes Just Got Messier and the Drama Isn’t Done Yet appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Looking for a tonic syrup recipe to beat winter cold and flu? This classic tonic syrup can do wonders for our body. Forget the cold and flu commercial medicines and serve this delicious homemade remedy instead! RELATED: Homemade Cough Syrup Tonic Syrup | All-Natural Homemade Remedy for Cold & Flu How to Make Tonic Syrup for Winter Cold and Flu No matter what fun and beauty winter brings, sometimes you can't avoid feeling down especially when you have a cold and flu. Rather than having fun with the beauty of the winter season, you get some rest and stay in your bed all day. Well, I cannot allow that in my homestead. I cannot miss the fun winter brings. That's why I always have a classic tonic syrup ready to serve in winter to ensure nobody catches a cold or flu! Before we begin, make sure all your ingredients are natural extracts. What You’ll Need: Ingredients: 2 Limes or Lemons 1 sprig Rosemary 1 sprig Mint 1 sprig Tarragon 1 dropper full Echinacea Extract 1 dropper full American Ginseng Extract 1 dropper full Digestive Bitters Splash of Elderberry Extract Splash of Cranberry Juice Distilled Water Supplies: Quart Container Knife Chopping Board   Eat well this winter, homesteaders! See our top 10 healthy dehydrated fruit recipes today! ???????????????????? https://t.co/0hnwDUNVUq — Homesteading (@HomesteadingUSA) December 27, 2016 Step 1: Slice the Limes Slice the limes into halves. You can also use lemons or use both. Step 2: Squeeze the Limes Give your limes a good squeeze to extract the juice. This will be your liquid base at the bottom of the jar for mixing the rest of the ingredients. Step 3: Bruising the Herbs One by one, bruise or twist the rosemary, mint, and tarragon to release its natural oils and flavor. Add it to the jar with your lime juice. Step 4: Add the Rest of the Ingredients Add the rest of the ingredients, 1 dropper full echinacea extract, 1 dropper full American ginseng extract, 1 dropper full digestive bitters, a splash of elderberry extract, a splash of cranberry juice, and give it a good mix. Step 5: Top It off With Distilled Water Top it off with distilled water until your jar is filled. Then, that's it! Your very own all-natural tonic syrup to fight off winter cold and flu! Watch this video by Bon Appétit on how to make an anti-cold health tonic:  Isn't that quick and easy? Everything looks great when you feel great, my fellow homesteaders! Catching a cold or flu is the last thing we want to happen. Prepare this tonic syrup and don't allow cold and flu to beat you this winter. Happy homesteading! Do you know other homemade tonic syrup recipe? Let us know in the comments section below! Up Next: 26 Homemade Recipes For Cold And Flu Season Natural Antibiotics To Have Around The Homestead How To Build A Tiny House | A Step-By-Step Guide Fellow homesteaders, do you want to help others learn from your journey by becoming one of our original contributors? Write for us! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter! Editor’s Note – This post was originally published on January 2017 and has been updated for quality and relevancy. **Disclaimer: All content on this site is for informational purposes only. Please read our full disclaimer here.**

Massive Chinese Cyberattack Is a Disaster of Unimaginable Proportions

Is Hell Freezing or Did CBS Just Commit a Random Act of Journalisming?

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is frequently attacked in the Canadian media for her conservatism and her antagonism of the Trudeau government. This week, however, she was targeted for answering a constituent's question about chemtrails. In their rush to condemn Smith for supposedly "sowing fears" and engaging with "conspiracy theorists," critics and other political opportunists glossed over at least one good reason why Canadians might suspect that planes are dumping toxic chemicals over their heads — namely the fact that the Pentagon has a history of doing just that. Prairie chemtrails During a recent United Conservative Party town hall in Edmonton, an audience member asked Smith about the occurrence of chemtrails over Alberta. Smith indicated that she did some asking around but has yet to see any evidence confirming public or private operations that would qualify. 'If anyone is doing it, it's the U.S. Department of Defense.' Chemtrails refer to the theory that governments or other groups use airplanes to dump toxic chemicals or biological agents into the atmosphere, which appear as lingering condensation trails. At temperatures below 45°F, contrails — usually the result of soot particulate from jet fuel and water vapor freezing — cannot evaporate again and typically end up persisting until dispersed by the wind. Although there are multiple versions of the chemtrails theory, some of which reference the 1996 Pentagon study "Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025," the suggestion is there is a malevolence behind these puffy contrails. "The best I have been able to do is talk to the woman who is responsible for controlling the airspace, and she says no one is allowed to go up and spray anything in the air," said Smith. "The other person told me that if anyone is doing it, it's the U.S. Department of Defense." Although apparently open to conducting a formal investigation, Smith intimated that it would ultimately be a federal undertaking. "I have some limitations in what I can do in my job," said Smith. "I don't know that I would have much power if that is the case, if the U.S. Department of Defense is spraying us." The premier's office said in a statement to Global News: The premier has heard concerns from many Albertans about this topic. In response, the provincial government looked into the issue and found no evidence of chemtrails occurring in Alberta. The premier was simply sharing what she has heard from some folks over the summer on this issue. She was not saying that she believed the U.S. government was using chemtrails in Alberta. A spokesman for NORAD and U.S. Northern Command told the Canadian press in a statement, "NORAD and U.S. Northern Command are not conducting any flight activities in Canada that involve the spraying of chemicals." Although she denied having seen any evidence of chemtrails, Smith was still attacked for daring to even broach the subject. Timothy Caulfield, a professor at the leftist University of Alberta's School of Public Health, told Global News, "The premier is making room for and, I would argue, legitimizing a conspiracy theory." "She could have said, 'Look, I hear your concerns but the reality is that this is not true,'" added Caufield. Trudeau cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault similarly attacked the premier, telling reporters, "I think it's becoming increasingly obvious that Premier Smith is using her office to peddle conspiracy theories." Nathan Ip, a member of Alberta's socialist NDP, joined his fellow travelers in mischaracterizing Smith's remarks, telling the Canadian Press it was "truly horrifying to see the premier of Alberta spread conspiracy theories." 'They said they were testing what they characterized as a chemical fog.' Operation LAC While the likes of Caufield, Boissonnault, and Ip appear keen to reject the possibility of aircraft dumping chemicals overhead, there is precedent in their province. Over a decade ago, St. Louis Community College sociology professor Lisa Martino-Taylor obtained U.S. Army documents through a Freedom of Information Act request revealing that in the mid-1950s, the Army used motorized blowers atop the roof of a low-income housing high-rise in St. Louis to test whether a chemical fog could shield ground targets from aerial observation. The fluorescent material blown into the poor neighborhood was zinc cadmium sulfide, reported the Associated Press. This test was not an isolated case. 'In principle, spraying an aerosol chemical mist over a populated area is criminal.' Additional classified documents obtained by Martino-Taylor indicated that between July 9, 1954, and Aug. 1, 1953, six kilograms of zinc cadmium sulfide were sprayed in aerosol clouds over the unsuspecting city of Winnipeg via U.S. Army aircraft, reported the National Post. This was part of the U.S. Army Chemical Corps' broader Operation LAC. "In Winnipeg, they said they were testing what they characterized as a chemical fog to protect Winnipeg in the event of a Russian attack," said Martino-Taylor. "They characterized it as a defensive study when it was actually an offensive study." "In principle, spraying an aerosol chemical mist over a populated area is criminal, to say the least," pharmacologist Frank LaBella told the Winnipeg Free Press. "At the time, there were no reports of illness but, if present, they could not be distinguished from other illnesses. If there were lasting effects, we'll never know." Just over a decade later, aircraft conducted similar chemical dumps over the Albertan cities of Suffield and Medicine Hat, according to Martino-Taylor. When the U.S. Army returned in 1964 for yet another chemical dump, Canadian officials expressed concern that an "American aircraft was emitting distinctly visible emissions." A visible stream of toxic chemicals trailing out of a government aircraft engaged in a secret military experiment would likely qualify as a not-so theoretical chemtrail. A bigger umbrella Lewis Brackpool, an independent journalist and the host of the podcast "The State of It," told Blaze News, "I believe that we shouldn't be using the term 'Chemtrails' anymore as it carries a lot of toxic baggage (ironically) and is just an easy way for the media class to shut down the conversation and dismiss someone as a crank or a conspiracy theorist, similar to when people use the term 'the great replacement' instead of 'replacement migration.'" Brackpool suggested that to open the conversation to the wider public and overcome the stigma, alternative terms, such as "climate engineering" or "geo-engineering," might be prudent.After all, some of the renewed interest in chemtrails has been driven in part by recent controversies over governmental and private efforts to meddle with the weather and alter the skies, such as cloud seeding and solar radiation management. Cloud seeding is the controversial weather modification technique whereby aircraft, rockets, cannons, or ground generators release various chemicals and tiny particles, such as potassium chloride, into clouds in an effort to artificially increase precipitation. Like the U.S., the United Arab Emirates has conducted cloud-seeding missions for decades. The Gulf state's National Center of Meteorology reportedly conducts more than 1,000 hours of cloud-seeding missions every year, using aircraft equipped with hygroscopic flares full of nucleating agents. Blaze News previously noted that a government meteorologist blamed the cloud seeding operations when Dubai was rocked in April by the heaviest downpour in 75 years and fatal flooding. The government subsequently denied responsibility. Cloud seeding has proven fatal before. Blackpool noted that declassified documents show that the Royal Air Force experimented with artificial rainmaking as part of Operation Cumulus the same week that some of the worst flash floods to have ever hit Britain stormed the village of Lynmouth, killing 35. In addition to cloud seeding, some groups are feeding chemtrail theorists' suspicions by openly plotting to pollute the stratosphere with sulfur dioxide in hopes of replicating the effects of volcanic eruptions on blocking sunlight and lowering global mean temperatures. The MIT Technology Review reported that last year, researchers in the U.K. used a high-altitude weather balloon to dump sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere. Their use of "Stratospheric Aerosol Transport and Nucleation" or SATAN balloon systems was allegedly "an engineering proof-of-concept test, not an environmentally perturbative experiment." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Law enforcement officials in San Antonio, Texas, conducted a raid on Saturday that led to the arrest of 20 individuals, four of whom were confirmed members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.Over the past year, TDA has rapidly expanded its transnational crime ring into parts of the United States, namely Colorado, Chicago, and New York. In Aurora, Colorado, the gang's members have taken over multiple apartment complexes, Blaze News previously reported.'We're on to you and we're coming for you.'TDA members reportedly took over Palatia Apartments, a complex in San Antonio. Authorities confirmed that the gang was "in control of" the property and using it as a base to commit a number of crimes. According to WOAI-TV, TDA has been involved in prostitution, selling cocaine, and violent crimes.Law enforcement officers conducted the weekend raid following several complaints involving narcotics violations, human trafficking, and threats made to the complex's personnel, according to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.McManus told reporters on Saturday that the sweep was conducted by a task force consisting of officers from the SAPD, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the FBI, U.S. Border Patrol, and the Department of Homeland Security."We had information that members of the transnational gang Tren de Aragua were in control of the area and committing various crimes," McManus stated. Officers cleared nearly 300 vacant apartments at the complex and arrested 20 individuals. One of the TDA gang members who was arrested was a "confirmed enforcer for that gang," according to McManus."Currently, there's 19 individuals arrested with 15 detainers," he said, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement's detainer requests.The confirmed TDA members were turned over to Homeland Security Investigations and ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations. "They were individuals with confirmed warrants. Multiple individuals had already had removal orders through HSI," McManus added.He noted that the investigation is still ongoing.According to McManus, TDA has been operating in the area for "several months."He stated that the department has other locations that it plans to raid as well in its ongoing effort to clamp down on the gang's influence. "We assure the community and members of the public that we are committed to their safety and we are on top of this TDA issue that seems to have become very public lately," McManus said."We're on to you and we're coming for you. We know where you are," he stated, directing his comments to TDA.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Viktor Bout — the infamous Russian arms dealer released in an eyebrow-raising prisoner exchange for Brittney Griner — is now selling arms to the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, according to a new report. In December 2022, the Biden administration made a deal with Russia to exchange Bout for Griner. Powerful weapons such as Kornet anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft weapons could also be part of the alleged arms deal. Griner is a basketball player in the WNBA. In February 2022, Griner was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport outside Moscow, Russia. Griner was accused of possessing cannabis, which is illegal in Russia. She admitted to the crime but claimed it was an "honest mistake." In August 2022, Griner was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison. Before her arrest in Russia, Griner made headlines for proclaiming that the national anthem shouldn't be played before sports games. She purposely stayed in the locker room when "The Star-Spangled Banner" was played before Phoenix Mercury games in 2020.As Blaze News previously reported, Griner sang a different tune after being released and said in 2023: "Hearing the national anthem, it definitely hit different."Bout – who is known as the "Merchant of Death" – is one of the most notorious arms dealers in the world. Bout has been an international weapons trafficker since the 1990s and has been linked to arms being dealt to Afghanistan, Colombia, Libya, and multiple conflicts in Africa. In 2008, a U.S. sting operation led to Bout being arrested in Thailand after he allegedly offered to supply anti-aircraft missiles to Colombian guerrillas to shoot down American aircraft. In 2011, the Merchant of Death was convicted of conspiring to kill U.S. nationals, conspiring to kill U.S. officers and employees, conspiring to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles, and conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. At the time of his release, Bout had served 12 years of his 25-year sentence.In the 2005 movie “Lord of War,” Nicolas Cage's character is loosely based on Bout.Since the time of the controversial prison swap, Bout joined the pro-Kremlin, far-right Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. In 2023, Bout won a seat in a local assembly.On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Bout is back in the arms-dealing business. According to the report, Bout is working on a deal to send small arms to Houthi militants in Yemen. Citing a European security official and other people familiar with the matter, the WSJ reported that Houthi emissaries went to Moscow in August to negotiate the sale of $10 million worth of automatic weapons, where "they encountered a familiar face: the mustachioed Bout."The first two deliveries would reportedly comprise mostly of an upgraded version of the AK-47 assault rifle and could start as early as this month. The shipment would allegedly be transported to the western Yemeni port of Hodeidah under the cover of food supplies. However, more powerful weapons such as Kornet anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft weapons could also be part of the alleged arms deal. Bout called the claim an “unsubstantiated accusation.”Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the WSJ article, "We are inclined to categorize it as fake news or an information attack on our elected representatives."Steve Zissou, a New York attorney who represented Bout in the U.S., compared the rumored weapons deal to America's shipments of weapons to enemies of Russia. "Viktor Bout has not been in the transportation business for over twenty years," Zissou told the Wall Street Journal. "But if the Russian government authorized him to facilitate the transfer of arms to one of America’s adversaries, it would be no different than the U.S. government sending arms and weapons of mass destruction to one of Russia’s adversaries as it has sent to Ukraine."The Houthi slogan is: “God Is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam.”President Donald Trump’s administration designated the Houthis as global terrorists and a foreign terrorist organization in one of his last acts as president in January 2021. However, President Joe Biden reversed the decision a month later. The Biden administration changed course in January when Biden's State Department classified the Houthis as a "specially designated global terrorist group." The U.S. Department of Defense declared in June, "The continued reckless behavior by Iran-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden."The Yemen-based Houthis struck two cargo ships that required the vessel's crew to have to be rescued in June. Since the Israel-Hamas War began last October, Houthis have targeted more than 80 merchant vessels with missiles and drones. On Friday, the U.S. military struck more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen, according to U.S. officials.Houthi rebels launched two drones and fired more than a half dozen ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles at three American ships traveling through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, but all were intercepted by Navy destroyers, the Associated Press reported. Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck analyzed a video clip from Bout's first interview as a free man in decades. - YouTube www.youtube.com Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!