When the private tax returns of billionaires were leaked to a left-wing group, liberals and conservatives reacted very differently. Liberals fell for the political trick and immediately said that the tax code was unfair and the rich should get a tax hike. Conservatives saw through the conspiracy and wanted answers on how the Deep State at the IRS could, once again, have so much unchecked power for political purposes. When it comes to outrage, liberals always protest louder, so conservatives have to respond better.

The billionaires' actual tax returns were “provided”  to the leftist activist group called ProPublica. It says it has “a vast trove of Internal Revenue Service data on the tax returns of thousands of the nation’s wealthiest people, covering more than 15 years.” It alleges that:

The data provides an unprecedented look inside the financial lives of America’s titans, including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch and Mark Zuckerberg.

ProPublica never explains that whoever gave them these documents broke multiple federal laws. The end justifies the means in their worldview. 

The FBI is investigating the leak. House Republicans have demanded IRS Commissioner Charles Retting keep Congress informed on the investigation and have hearings into any “evidence of political influence or motivations.”

Partisan politics at the IRS

The stunning revelation that the IRS released private tax returns was overshadowed by the juicy details, like Jeff Bezos didn't pay any income taxes in 2007 and 2011 and neither did Elon Musk in 2018. (We aren’t told if they lost money those years to explain this.)

The billionaires picked to use for this political hit job were chosen because they are so extremely wealthy and household names. There are many more millionaires who no one would recognize that likely have more income, rather than wealth, so they wouldn’t fit the narrative.

The Left has been jumping all over the billionaires' low tax rates but never considered that every

For the first time since its mass-vaccination campaign kicked off three months ago, Hong Kong's vaccination indemnity fund has paid out a total of HK$450,000 ($58,000) as compensation for patients who suffered particularly severe reactions to inoculation against COVID.

Out of more than 3MM doses of vaccines that have been administered in the city-state since February, HK's Food and Health Bureau said it had received 74 applications for compensation as of June 10, 58 of which were still being processed. As of Sunday, 3,605 people had reported an adverse reaction to their jabs, roughly 0.12% of all vaccination recipients. Only 1.2MM, or 16.3% of the city's population, has been fully vaccinated.

Awards were given to patients whose reactions were deemed especially severe.

"The principles of severity assessment include fairness to applicants, prudent use of public funding, transparency to the public, and based on medical science," the bureau said in a statement. "Severity of individual cases is subject to case-by-case assessment according to their circumstances."

The compensation figures were revealed while authorities also confirmed a new imported case from Sri Lanka, which brought the city’s official tally to 11,881, with 210 related deaths. So far 21 deaths have been recorded involving people who received a jab two weeks before dying, although no connection has been made between he vaccination and the deaths, according to the state authorities.

Between May 17 and Sunday, Hong Kong's public hospitals reported 2.8 deaths for every 100K vaccinated adults. That's compared with 58.1 in 100K among the rest who were not.

One of the patients who received a payout from the HK$1 billion ($129MM) fund suffered an allergic reaction that nearly killed them, according to the SCMP.

Of the three claims of vaccine-related deaths, two have already been processed while one was rejected because of a lack of an official vaccination record.

Family members of fatal cases could receive up to HK$2.5MM if a patient is below the age of 40, or a maximum of HK$2MM for patients aged 40 or older.

To be eligible for a payout, a

He later presided over a ceremonial signing on Thursday morning where the governor hailed it as the "biggest and best" gun law this session. Standing alongside National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre in San Antonio, where he signed the bill, Abbott said, "Surely there’s no state in America that’s ever done as much protecting gun rights."

As the law stands prior to the new change, Texans must pass a background check and undergo a safety course, which includes over 1.6 million licensed conceal-carry individuals in the state. The bill still keeps the formal licensing "option" in place. 

But after the new law takes effect anyone 21-years old and up can carry a holstered handgun, whether openly or concealed, without a permit.

The National Rifle Association had months prior called for "Texas to join the 20 other states that have legalized this personal protection option" in a statement. Abbott had previously echoed this stance in media interviews, vowing that if HB1927 should pass the Texas state legislative bodies, he would sign it. "This is something that 20 other states have adopted and it’s time for Texas to adopt it, too," he told a local radio show in April.

Prior to approval this week the Texas Senate tacked on multiple amendments seeking to address law enforcement concerns that one alarming end result could be that the change allows easier access to weapons for criminals.

Over two dozen #txlege Republicans here for @GovAbbott signing ceremony for gun bills at Alamo pic.twitter.com/xmXXFadFPA

— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) June 17, 2021

According to the Texas Tribune: 

The compromise lawmakers reached behind closed doors kept intact a number of changes the Senate made to the House bill, including striking a provision that would have barred officers from questioning

Bosko Markovic began working for ocean carrier Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) in 2008. Over the next 11 years, the Montenegrin worked his way up to the position of chief mate, second in command behind the master, with an annual salary of $108,000.

That wasn’t enough money for him, according to prosecutors from the U.S Department of Justice. 

“Motivated by profit and greed,” they said, Markovic attempted to use his management role aboard the container ship MSC Gayane to help pull off one of the largest and most audacious drug-smuggling operations in history.

‘Astronomical’ quantity of drugs

Markovic and three other conspirators from Montenegro boarded the vessel and recruited four additional seafarers. That brought the drug gang to eight, more than a third of the crew of 22.

Markovic, who had a lead role in the smuggling operation on the ship, as well as the three others he came aboard with, communicated with co-conspirators on land using special “narco phones.”

The MSC Gayane was met by speedboats at night on multiple occasions off the coast of South America during a voyage in 2019. The eight members of the smuggling ring loaded duffel bags full of cocaine bricks onto the vessel using the ship’s crane. Markovic, as chief mate, was in charge of the cargo plan, and picked seven specific containers full of legitimate cargo to hide the cocaine in. Fake seals were used to reseal the boxes.

When authorities raided the ship upon its arrival at Packer Marine Terminal in Philadelphia on June 17, 2019, they found 20 tons of cocaine aboard. “This was the largest cocaine seizure in the 230-year history of U.S. Customs and Border Protection [CBP],” said prosecutors, adding, “The sheer quantity of drugs involved in this case is astronomical.”

To put the scope of the bust in perspective, the MSC Gayane is a 2018-built “Neopanamax”-class container ship with a capacity of 11,600 twenty-foot-equivalent units

The trio of astronauts – Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo – were transported in the Shenzhou-12 or "divine vessel" spacecraft on top of a Long March 2F at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country's northwestern Gobi Desert Thursday morning. By late afternoon local time, state broadcaster CCTV reported the craft had docked with the core capsule. 

This is the first time China has launched humans into space in five years and the seventh since 2003. The country has been banned from the International Space Station (ISS) since 2011, when Congress, under the Obama administration, passed a law that prevented Americans from working with the Chinese space program due to national security risks. 

The launch of #China’s first manned mission to its #space station. It’s pretty incredible what humans can do. The rocket’s chief designer told me after so much work, she was sad to see it go… but ‘thrilled’ that for 10 key minutes ‘it did its duty’.
This was my view.@NBCNews pic.twitter.com/ofDNV8XXU5

— Janis Mackey Frayer (@janisfrayer) June 17, 2021

The three astronauts will be living on the 90-metric-ton T-shaped space station called Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace, for 90 days. The new space station is still under construction as there are eight more missions to expand it. 

WATCH: China’s Shenzhou 12 docking to Tiangong Space Station Core Cabin Module

pic.twitter.com/mvi82lyKEI

— ASB News / MILITARY?? (@ASBMilitary) June 17, 2021

The launch was broadcast live on Chinese television and social media, attracting tens of millions of viewers.

This is another milestone for China as there are now two space stations operating in low Earth orbit. The ISS is nearing its working life, and Russia will soon withdraw from ISS cooperation in 2025

Another launch is set for September. That crew will replace the current trio onboard the space station.

For President Xi Jinping, the new space station represents power and his vision to dominate the world and space. 

The great power competition between the US and China, the two largest economies and largest military spenders, means space is becoming the next battleground. 

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

According to a report from Politico, the Pentagon is considering creating a permanent naval task force for the Pacific region to confront and counter China, which has been identified as the Pentagon’s top priority.

Sources told Politico that the plan would include creating a named military operation for the Pacific that would allow the Pentagon to release more funding for Navy operations in the region.

The Politico report said the naval task force would be based on a Cold War-era NATO construct known as the Standing Naval Forces Atlantic (SNFA) that was established in 1968 and served as a permanent naval presence that would rapidly respond to a situation in the Atlantic. The SNFA usually consisted of a rotating force of about six to 10 ships from NATO countries that would sail around the region.

If the US established such a naval force for the Pacific, it would likely include Washington’s European allies and regional ones such as Japan and Australia.

The idea grew from a 100-day task force review of the Pentagon’s China policy that was led by Ely Ratner, a special advisor to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Ratner is a China hawk who came from the interventionist Center for a New American Security think tank. He was appointed to his position to appease China hawks who did not believe Austin had enough experience dealing with Asia.

Last week, Austin ordered the Pentagon to adopt initiatives recommended by the China task force review. Most of the recommendations are being kept classified, but Austin’s directive ordered the military to start acting like China is the top "threat" facing the US instead of just talking about it.

A US official told Defense One that the task force found a "say-do-gap" between what the Pentagon is saying about China and the action it is taking.

Is he thinner, leaner and healthier? Or is he gaunt and sickly? Perhaps he previously suffered a bout of coronavirus which is believed to be ravaging the country also amid severe food scarcity concerns? Or is it stress due to the worsening food and economic crisis in the country? Perhaps he's just really hitting that treadmill hard.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's appearance is once again setting off widespread speculation over his health. A new Associated Press report calls him "noticeably slimmer" as the latest side-by-side photographs showing a quick months-long transformation show…

North Korean state media issued new photos of Kim on Saturday, after the strongman ruler hadn't been seen publicly for a month.

South Korea-based NK News published this week a series of side-by-side photo sets while analyzing the likely degree of the weight loss and what it could mean, writing that:

"Though often the subject of less serious online commentary, Kim’s weight and health are closely watched by foreign intelligence agencies, including South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS)."

And The Associated Press at the same time questioned:

Has he gained even more weight? Is he struggling for breath after relatively short walks? What about that cane? Why did he miss that important state anniversary?

Now, the 37-year-old faces fresh speculation in the South about his health again. But this time, it’s because he’s noticeably slimmer.

A thinner looking Kim…

On a national level, it's been confirmed that there his a major food crisis looming, as CNN details Thursday:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has admitted his country is facing food shortages that he blamed on last year's typhoon and floods, just months after he warned North Koreans about a looming potential crisis.

Kim told the plenary meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea the nation was experiencing a "tense food situation," Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Wednesday.

North Korean

For proof, look no further than a United Airlines plane at San Francisco International Airport, where two passengers had to be removed from the plane after an argument over elbow room on an armrest. Maybe airlines should take note of what these disruptions cost as they figure out new and creative ways to cram economy flyers even closer together. 

Google product director Jack Krawczyk documented the spat on Twitter, writing: “On my first flight in 15 months, of course we were rerouted back to the gate because two passengers got into a physical altercation over elbow placement upon arm rests.”

On my first flight in 15 months, of course we were rerouted back to the gate because two passengers got into a physical altercation over elbow placement upon arm rests. pic.twitter.com/YBAV1iG2Fk

— Jack Krawczyk (@JackK) June 13, 2021

The flight was on its way to Las Vegas when the incident took place before takeoff, the NY Post reports. The men involved in the altercation haven't been identified, but were detained when an officer arrived at the gate. 

Despite neither man wanting to "pursue further police action", they weren't allowed back on the flight.

One response to Krawczyk's Tweet read: "This is fucking why I HATE traveling economy. You're cramming a bunch of uneducated low lives into cheap seats with barely any leg and arm room and expecting them to be civil? Throw in them having to wear masks now and good LUCK."

Despite the lifting of Covid restrictions, people still seem to be on edge. Forbes noted earlier this month that "airlines have seen a dramatic increase in in-flight passenger incidents and these have gotten increasingly violent and dangerous". 

About 2,500 incidents have been reported through May. 394 of these incidents have been labeled "unruly", compared to "well under 200" such incidents for the full years 2019 and 2020. 

Authored by Jack Posobiec via Human Events,

Following the criminal indictment of a fellow officer, the entire Portland Police Rapid Response Team made the unanimous decision to resign, according to police sources via Portland news outlet KXL.  

Cory Budworth, 40, is the first officer in the county to be prosecuted for using force during a violent protest. 

The Rapid Response Team is a group of volunteer officers who respond to civil disobedience, demonstrations and riots. At the time of the incident, Officer Budworth was assigned to the Rapid Response Team for crowd control.

Indeed, Budworth was indicted for breaking up an Antifa riot in 2020, charged with misdemeanor fourth-degree assault. He was accused of “unlawfully, knowingly and recklessly causing physical injury” to Teri Jacobs on August 18.

A video shared on social media showed an officer running and striking a protestor with his baton. The woman fell down and was hit with the baton a second time. 

However, it is critical to mention that the bureau found the baton strike in question was “not intentional” and therefore not considered lethal force, while the Independent Police Review office viewed the strike as a “push,” WCAX News reports. 

“Unfortunately, this decorated public servant has been caught in the crossfire of agenda-driven city leaders and a politicized criminal justice system,” the Portland Police said Tuesday. 

Portland Police Association Executive Director Daryl Turner told the “Lars Larson Show” Wednesday that he feared officers would quit in response to what he called a “Witch Hunt” of a prosecution. 

Sources confirm for me tonight that members of the Portland Police Rapid Response Team (trained in riot control) met tonight and all resigned their spots in the voluntary assignment. The news comes one day after the Antifa friendly District Attorney of Multnomah County (cont)

— Lars Larson (@LarsLarsonShow) June 17, 2021

*  *  *

For more information on Antifa, check out my new book The Antifa: Stories from Inside the Black Bloc here. 

"There is now a serious possibility that China seeks to occupy one of the outer islands," a Sydney-based defense analyst tells Bloomberg in a new report about Beijing's eyeing Pratas Island in the South China Sea (or Dongsha in Chinese), which though under Taiwan's control actually lies closer to the Chinese mainland and has been long claimed by Beijing. 

China's PLA military has lately launched almost daily surveillance flights over or near the disputed atoll, which remains uninhabited except crucially for a small forward base of Taiwanese marines and coast guard officers. 

Pratas is back in the spotlight particularly after on Tuesday the PLA flew a record 28 fighter jets into Taiwan's defense identification zone, some of which broke off during the operation and flew near the island, taken in Taipei as another "warning" – also just after President Joe Biden had been at the G7 summit in the UK and then NATO headquarters to shore up support for confronting China especially in the Taiwan Strait.  

"China’s warplanes made more incursions into the southern part of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone last year than in the previous five years combined," the Bloomberg report underscores. "While Beijing has blamed the exercises on Tsai’s refusal to accept that both sides belong to 'one China,' the increase has tracked with U.S. efforts to step up arm sales and diplomatic exchanges with Taiwan."

This has resulted in the US responding by upping its own reconnaissance flights monitoring islands off Taiwan, also as others are also deemed under "threat" from the mainland, particularly the Matsu Islands, made up of 19 islands and islets off the southeast coast of China – which are inhabited and also uniquely administratively divided between the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China. 

A recent report in Nikkei highlights another 'method' China is using to increasingly try and assert its control over the outlying islands, namely its massive dredging operation. That report describes a small army of dredgers often working under cover of darkness to slowly change the geography of the area in favor of mainland China:

In the darkness, Chinese ships edge closer to Taiwan’s Matsu Islands, at times entering Taiwan-controlled waters. They are