Belarus: Regime frees prominent journalist Andrzej Poczobut in 10-person prisoner swap

Source: SFGate

“Prominent journalist Andrzej Poczobut has been released from jail in Belarus in a swap with Poland that saw a total of 10 people freed as the authoritarian leader of Belarus seeks improved relations with the West, officials in both countries said Tuesday. Poczobut, a correspondent for the influential Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and a leading figure among Belarus’ Polish minority, was serving eight years in prison in a case condemned as politically motivated. His 2021 arrest after covering pro-democracy rallies in Belarus drew widespread criticism. He later was awarded the Sakharov Prize, the European Union’s most prestigious human rights award. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski called Poczobut a symbol of the fight for freedom in Belarus but also of the effectiveness of the Polish state in leaving no one behind. Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who welcomed Poczobut at the border about midday Tuesday, posted on X that the journalist was ‘unwavering.'” (04/28/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/belarus-frees-journalist-andrzej-poczobut-in-22229752.php

Leftist [sic] Fundamentals: Violence, Hatred, and Lying

Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis

“Cole Allen’s leftism [sic] and his attempt to kill President Trump are not the least bit surprising to anyone who knows history and leftist [sic] philosophy. Violence, hatred, and lying are cardinal principles of leftist [sic] doctrine, but certainly not their only evils. If I were, in the title, to list every vile attribute the Left [sic] believes in and practices as part of their ideology, this column would only consist of one long title. So, I’m going to stop with violence, hatred, and lying, prove [sic] that those are part of leftism, and describe other leftist [sic] barbarities in other articles. Let’s look at the above three …” (04/28/26)

https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/04/28/leftist-fundamentals-violence-hatred-and-lying-n2675152

Canada: Carney launches sovereign wealth fund

Source: BBC News [UK State Media]

“Canada is launching a government-owned investment fund to pay for major development projects in the country, Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced. The Canada Strong Fund, a first for the country, will invest in energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture and technology, with an initial contribution of C$25bn ($18.4bn; £13.5bn). The fund will also allow Canadians who have ‘a bit of extra money’ to invest into it directly, but experts have warned it risks ‘limited returns.’ The move is part of a broader goal by the Carney government to boost Canada’s economy in face of US tariff threats. At Monday’s announcement in Ottawa, Carney said that Canada was at a critical point in its history due to its changing relationship with the US, requiring it to invest and build at an urgent pace.” (04/28/26)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98m800r28qo

CA: Two contentious measures move toward 2026 ballot

Source: SFGate

“Two highly contentious ballot measures are expected to come before California voters in November. The first is the GOP-backed brainchild of a conservative California Assembly member. If passed by voters this fall, it would require voters to bring a valid government-issued ID to vote. At present, California voters are only required to give their name and address to cast their ballot. Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, who represents San Diego, has argued that a voter ID law would help protect against voter fraud, while Democrats push back and say the measure is part of the Trump administration’s agenda to keep people away from the polls. … A second proposal introduced by SEIU, the state’s largest health care union, would impose a one-time wealth tax on the net worths of the state’s more than 200 billionaires and use the revenue to fill the gap in health care funding due to President Donald Trump’s 2025 budget bill.” (04/28/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/ballot-measures-california-november-22228575.php

Aftermath: California Gas Prices Are Up, and It’s Not Just the War

Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen

“Today we’re going to talk about gas prices, which are high everywhere but especially where I live in California. It’s a long and involved story, but I hope you stick with it! And tell a friend; it shouldn’t be this hard to understand the truth amid all the disinformation. Send them to prospect.org/aftermath for all of our stories about the consequences of the Strait of Hormuz crisis. I mean, who knows? Meetings keep getting set up and blocked; the latest is that the Trump administration is mulling over an Iranian offer to open the strait and then postpone nuclear talks. This would call into question why we ever went to war in the first place; opening the strait isn’t a concession but the state of the world before the attacks began on February 28.” (04/28/26)

https://prospect.org/2026/04/28/aftermath-california-gas-prices-are-up-not-just-the-war/

Progressivism’s attack dog SPLC blows itself up

Source: Washington Times
by Robert Knight

“‘He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.’ (Psalm 7:15) The Southern Poverty Law Center, famous for battling ‘hate groups’, helped stoke hate by funneling millions of dollars to the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and other extremists and engaged in criminal activity to cover it up, according to the Justice Department. Announcing an indictment with 11 counts Tuesday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that from 2014 to 2023, the SPLC paid big bucks to leaders at the Ku Klux Klan, the United Klans of America, Unite the Right, National Alliance, the National Socialist Movement, the Aryan Nation Motorcycle Club, the National Socialist Party of America and the American Front.” (04/27/26)

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/apr/26/progressivisms-attack-dog-splc-blows/

Reining in the Pentagon: Can the Military-Industrial Beast Be Tamed?

Source: TomDispatch
by William D Hartung

“Right at this moment, we are witnessing an unprecedented shift of resources from domestic investments in the United States to the military-industrial complex (aka the war machine). The only comparable period in our history was the buildup to World War II, when the United States confronted a powerful adversary in Nazi Germany with designs to control not just Europe, but the world. The current buildup is breathtaking in scope and will certainly prove devastating in its impact — not just on this country’s foreign and domestic policies but also on the economic prospects of average Americans. When, in 2023, my colleague Ben Freeman and I first conceived of our book, The Trillion Dollar War Machine, we viewed it in part as a cautionary tale about just how high the Pentagon budget might rise in the years to come (absent pushback from Congress and the taxpaying public).” (04/26/26)

https://tomdispatch.com/reining-in-the-pentagon

The “No Kings” Movement Is Sheer Hypocrisy

Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis

“I’m convinced that the majority of people who take part in the ‘No Kings’ marches have absolutely no idea what they are doing. The Democratic masses are, sadly but inexcusably, nothing but ignorant, foolish sheep, being led to the slaughter by their ‘shepherds,’ who are wolves in wool. The sheep are taught to hate Donald Trump, and so, like Pavlov’s dogs, when the bell rings, they slobber and shout ‘Nazi!’ ‘No king!’ etc. Many of them probably actually believe Donald Trump wants to be king. It will never happen, even if Trump wanted it. You and I wouldn’t allow it. That’s what we rebelled against, remember. But while the Democratic masses are ignorant sheep, their ‘shepherds’ know exactly what they are doing and what they want.” (04/26/26)

https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/04/26/the-no-kings-movement-is-sheer-hypocrisy-n2675051

MI: Feds order immediate inspection of Cheboygan Dam powerhouse

Source: SFGate

“Federal energy regulators have ordered immediate inspections of the Cheboygan Dam powerhouse and other Michigan dams that faced the risk of failure in this month’s historic flooding. Separately, state officials said they plan to inspect dams under their oversight to check for damage from the high waters that nearly overtook several impoundments last week amid spring snowmelt and heavy rains. After similar flooding in 1986, ‘a couple of dams failed weeks later because they sustained damage that didn’t get adequately assessed,’ Luke Trumble, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy’s dam safety chief, told Bridge Michigan. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in a Thursday letter ordered Hom Paper XI LLC, the owner of the Cheboygan Dam powerhouse, to file a report no later than May 15 detailing how it will keep operational a powerhouse that was reactivated as an emergency measure April 17.” (04/27/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/feds-order-immediate-inspection-of-cheboygan-dam-22228290.php

Trump’s Epic Stupidity Could Kill Millions of People

Source: Beat the Press
by Dean Baker

“Trump is both an incredibly ignorant person and incredibly dishonest person. As a result, when he claims ignorance of an obvious fact it is difficult to tell whether he really is as ignorant as he claims or he’s just lying. Such is the case with Trump’s claim that he didn’t know Iran might attack its neighbors and close the Strait of Hormuz in response to his joint attack with Israel. Trump insisted that none of the experts thought this possible when in effect just about every expert thought it was both possible and likely. Given Trump’s ignorance and propensity to lie, it is not easy to know whether Trump actually went to war totally unaware of the most likely consequences, or instead went to war anyhow, deciding that he didn’t care about the damage it would cause.” (04/27/26)

https://cepr.net/publications/trumps-ignorance-could-kill-millions/