“For the first time since World War II, Japanese combat troops are participating in live-fire, land-and-sea military exercises in an Asian country that was once under the harsh rule of imperial Japan. On Monday, some 1,400 Japanese soldiers joined with the forces of a few other democracies around the Pacific to practice mock battles for 19 days in the northern Philippines – not far from China and the islands it forcibly claims in the South China Sea. … For Japan, this overseas training under real-world conditions marks a historic turning point for its postwar pacifist tradition and its heavy reliance on the United States for external defense. Yet, on a larger scale, it puts on display a long-term effort by many Asian democracies and their Western partners to define the meaning of shared security, preferably the kind that cannot be seen as ganging up on China.” (04/21/26)
“You can credit President Trump with taking extreme risks for the sake of a possible peace, but we fear he’s simply putting off the inevitable by giving Tehran another cease-fire extension. At the least, he should set a deadline of a day or two for the Islamic Republic’s factions to agree on an offer; if they can’t do it fast, they never will. Caveat: The president has access to intelligence he can’t share; that we can’t make clear sense of his decision Tuesday doesn’t remotely mean he was wrong to delay a return to active operations. Still, his stated reasons don’t add up: So what if Pakistan’s leaders asked Washington to hold off until the Iranians ‘can come up with a unified proposal?'” [editor’s note: Anything but declaring “victory” — despite it actually being a fiasco — and knocking off is a stupid idea – TLK] (04/21/26)
“South Korean authorities have found that two fighter jets collided mid-air in 2021 because the pilots were taking pictures and videos. The incident took place while the jets were on a flight mission in the central city of Daegu, according to Seoul’s Board of Audit and Inspection. The pilots survived with no injuries, but the collision damaged the planes, costing the military 880 million won ($596,000; £440,500) in repairs. One of the pilots, who has since left the military, was made to pay a fine of 88 million won. The incident took place because that pilot had wanted to take photos to commemorate his last flight with his military unit.” (04/22/26)
“Researchers working in Turkey say fresh scan data uncovered what appear to be tunnels inside a long-debated landform, bolstering their case that the site may be a manmade object that they believe to be Noah’s Ark. Noah’s Ark Scans researcher Andrew Jones told ‘Fox & Friends First’ on Wednesday that he believes the peculiar formation near Mount Ararat is the real deal. ‘I do believe that this is the real, decayed, buried remains of Noah’s Ark, the famous ship. And we’re doing our best to convince the skeptics and show the world this site,’ he said. Jones said his team’s latest work has revealed tunnels in the landform suggestive of a manmade structure. ‘Our new research has shown that there are tunnels about four meters down and about two meters high, going down the center of the boat and on the inside edge of the hull shape,’ he said.” (04/22/26)
“As another week of Trump’s war begins, it becomes ever more clear that all his presumptions about how the war would go have proven wrong. Iran’s economy has bent but not folded despite a blockade of its ports. Its ability to control the Strait of Hormuz hasn’t been eliminated. Iran still has drones and missiles for retaliatory attacks. The regime’s control of the population remains. Gas prices and the cost of oil remain high. The war goes on. Trump’s deadline on the cease-fire expires April 22. Will Vice President JD Vance travel to Islamabad for a second round of talks with Iran? … The only certainty is in Trump’s mind: that Iran has ‘no choice. We’ve taken out their navy, we’ve taken out their air force, we’ve taken out their leaders,’ he said on his social media. He just doesn’t get it.” (04/22/26)
“A Los Angeles school board has voted to be the first district to limit student screen time. On Tuesday, April 21, the Los Angeles Unified Board of Education (LAUSD) approved a measure to limit student access to screen time to ensure “developmentally appropriate guardrails” for all learners across the district, the board announced in a press release. The vote was passed 6-0 with one recusal, NBC News reported. According to the LAUSD, the new restrictions prohibit student-led use of YouTube and other video streaming platforms in the classroom. The board will also review a report of all classroom technology contracts, following the new measure.” (04/22/26)
Source: Association of Mature American Citizens
by Shane Harris
“On Tuesday, Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment that will allow Democrats to draw new maps, handing them control of 10 of 11 U.S. House seats in a state that Kamala Harris won by just five points in 2024. The result should be a shock to the senses for Republicans nationwide that it’s time to get serious about redistricting – starting with a push in Florida next week. What Americans witnessed over the past three months in Virginia was one of the most corrupt, dishonest – and well-funded – campaigns in American history.” [editor’s note: “Playing hardball” with gerrymandering was what got the GOP into this mess in the first placce – TLK] (04/22/26)
“Pope Leo has criticised the treatment of prisoners in Equatorial Guinea, ahead of a visit to a jail known for its dire conditions. He addressed the Central African nation on Wednesday at a Mass that drew some 100,000 people, including Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the country’s leader and the world’s long-serving president. Pope Leo said: ‘My thoughts go to the poorest, to families experiencing difficulty and to prisoners who are often forced to live in troubling hygienic and sanitary conditions.’ Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, a country with a poor human rights record and vast income inequalities, is the Pope’s final stop on a four-nation tour of Africa. In the evening on Wednesday, his last full day of the tour, Pope Leo is scheduled to visit an infamous prison in the economic capital, Bata.” (04/22/26)
“An appeals court has blocked a California law passed in 2025 requiring federal immigration agents to wear a badge or some form of identification. The Trump administration filed a lawsuit in November challenging the law, arguing that it would threaten the safety of officers who are facing harassment, doxing, and violence and that it violated the constitution because the state is directly regulating the federal government. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction pending appeal Wednesday. It had already granted a temporary administrative injunction to block the implementation of the law. At a hearing March 3, Justice Department lawyers argued that the California law sought to regulate the federal government, violating the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.” (04/22/26)
“In 2020, news of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin swept the nation. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, which had been formed seven years earlier in response to the police killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, saw a massive re-emergence. Protests were held across the country, including in conservative and rural areas. Governments were faced with calls to “defund the police,” re-evaluate policing strategies, and hold police officers and departments accountable. That year, the Boston Police Department (BPD) saw $12 million of its funding reallocated to community programs and police reforms. This of course was a drop in the bucket of the department’s $404 million (now over $430 million) in overall funding at the time. In addition, Boston officials created the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, which was supposed to receive and investigate reports of police misconduct. But this project has seen little success.” (04/22/26)
