Original link: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/seattle-hospital-sues-after-texas-attorney-general-asks-for-handover-of-patient-records/

This is pretty worrying. As far as I know, this is the first test of the safe haven laws. Seattle obviously isn't going to comply, but if these kinds of laws get challenged, I have no faith in the higher courts to rule in a sane way.

Here is Erin Reed's initial thread on it: twitter | nitter

Yeah no shit. Its hard enough to convince workmates and older family that the stuff they read on facebook is bullshit. This is going to decimate any election.

No Agnes, Starmer didnt just do a speech about his love of Savile.

Twenty-five farmers in the Serejeka sub-zone received training from the Ministry of Agriculture on techniques for increasing agricultural output and guaranteeing food security.

The three months of theoretical and practical training covered building bee hives, producing and using organic fertilizers and pesticides, and current wheat cultivation techniques, according to Mr. Abraham Berhane, head of the sub-zone’s agricultural office.

Farmers are very active on social media these days, eager to share cultivation techniques with one another, so 25 is not such a small number. This is their more respectable version of Biden calling top Tiktokers to the White House.

Archived link: https://archive.is/20231218080340/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/18/israel-gaza-journalist-shot-mohammed-balousha/

South Africa has submitted all necessary paperwork to the International Criminal Court (ICC), bringing war crime charges against Israel over its genocidal war in Gaza, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday, according to local outlet Eyewitness News.

Nothing like being tried as an adult for a "crime" white people, white kids, can do freely on the side of the road.

In Poland, it's business as usual.

Where are all the European libs who praised Macron and were happy that he won instead of that fascist Le Pen? Oh yeah, they all probably agree with passing this law now.

Ukraine's military wants to mobilise up to 500,000 extra people, President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed, as the war with Russia nears a two-year mark.

At a news conference in Kyiv, he said his commanders were seeking "450,000-500,000 individuals", admitting this was a "sensitive" and costly issue.

He said he needed more details before backing the move, hinting that 500,000 soldiers were already on the front.

His comments come in the wake of aid setbacks from the US and the EU.

Republicans in the US Congress first blocked a $60bn (£47bn) military package for Ukraine earlier this month.

That was followed by Hungary's blocking of the EU's €50bn ($55bn; £43bn) financial aid deal last week. EU leaders, however, said Ukraine would not be left without support.

Ukraine is facing an ammunition shortage as it continues to fight occupying Russian forces, following Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Kyiv's counter-offensive ground to a halt at the start of winter and there are fears that the Russians could simply outgun Ukraine.

Olena Zelenska, Ukraine's first lady, warned in a BBC interview earlier this month that Ukrainians were in "mortal danger" of being left to die without further Western support.

Russia President Vladimir Putin said this week that Moscow would continue its invasion, vowing that all his goals would be achieved.

The Kremlin leader also said that 617,000 Russian soldiers were now being deployed for what Moscow describes as a "special military operation". But he admitted that the armed forces had problems with air defence systems and communication, and needed to increase the production of drones.

President Zelensky's end-of-year news conference was held in the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday, with the time and venue being kept secret from the general public. Invited Ukrainian and foreign media had been given the details in their confirmation letters.

Appearing in his trademark military-style clothes, the Ukrainian leader was asked a wide range of questions during the two-hour event.

He revealed that Ukraine's top military commanders had "proposed to mobilise an additional 450,000-500,000 individuals" for the country's war effort.

He said this was a "very serious number" and he needed more in-depth discussion before committing to the plan.

"I need specifics: what will happen to the million-strong army of Ukraine, what will happen to those guys who have been defending our state for two years? We have issues of rotation and holidays. It should be a comprehensive plan."

But he ruled out any proposals to mobilise women.

When asked by the BBC's Jessica Parker about whether Ukraine could be on the cusp of starting to lose the war, Mr Zelensky was firm. "No," was the answer.

It's the answer you would expect, but he's not alone in expressing this kind of determination, our correspondent in Kyiv says. Many people she has met will not countenance anything other than beating back their Russian invaders, she adds.

During the briefing, Mr Zelensky also said that:

-Ukraine would be able to produce a million drones in 2024

-He had "working relations" with Ukraine's top military commander Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, playing down reports of a rift between the pair

-Peace talks with Russia were not currently feasible, stressing that he would seek to restore in full Ukraine's internationally recognised borders, including Crimea

During the whole event, the Ukrainian president sought to strike a confident note - but sometimes he appeared to be tense and tetchy when pressed over reports of corruption among Ukrainian government officials and lawmakers.

DISGUSTING. I can't believe it. I used to look up to this guy but it turns out he's a PERVERT?!?! They say never meet your heroes...

Clear Display of DPRK Strategic Forces' Toughest Retaliation Will and Overwhelming Strength

Pyongyang, December 19 (KCNA) -- The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) gave an order to take a powerful warning measure under the grave situation, in which the hostile forces' anti-DPRK military threat that has persisted for the whole of this year is getting evermore undisguised and dangerous even at this moment of year-end December.

On December 15, the U.S. and the military gangsters of the Republic of Korea held a nuclear war confab called the second meeting of the "Nuclear Consultative Group" in Washington and openly revealed their intention to conduct large-scale joint drills under the simulated conditions of an actual war of "nuclear retaliatory strike" at the DPRK, again crying out for the "end of its regime".

Such reckless behavior of the enemies, posing evident threat to the security of the Korean peninsula and the region under the eyes of the world this year, is further touching off the strong resentment of the government and armed forces of the DPRK and their will to take the toughest retaliation.

The enemies have determinedly strained the regional situation by staging various kinds of escalated military drills targeting the DPRK every month since January, recording the largest-ever level. And they are now loudly announcing the planned war drills aggressive in nature to be further detailed in the new year. The present situation clearly shows the inveterate confrontation stand of the U.S. and its predominant stooges keen on their unchangeable instinctive and constitutional ambition for aggression and predicts a black augury of total destruction of the security environment in the Korean peninsula to be further aggravated.

What should not be overlooked is the fact that the U.S. again dispatched its nuclear-powered submarine Missouri to the Korean peninsula, as an extremely provocative action, on Dec. 17 to pose a more grave threat to the security environment of the DPRK and the region, loudly advertising about it, not content with the frequent deployment of nuclear war hardware of various kinds including nuclear strategic bombers, super-large strategic nuclear submarine and nuclear carrier in the Korean peninsula to turn it into an assembly base for all the U.S. nuclear strategic assets.

Due to the confrontational maneuvers of the U.S. and its puppet military gangsters who are escalating the tension on the Korean peninsula, going in and out the region like their house, the territory of the DPRK and its boundary area are exposed to serious danger every moment and its security and interests are extremely violated. This grave situation is urgently requiring the DPRK to inevitably turn over to a changed action, a more offensive counteraction.

Under the decision of the WPK Central Military Commission on neutralizing the enemies' intentional and premeditated confrontational military threats with our strong behavioral warning, a drill of launching ICBM Hwasongpho-18 was staged as an important military action to clearly show the DPRK's nuclear strategic forces' overwhelming counteraction will and matchless strength to the enemies.

Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, watched the launching drill of an ICBM unit on the spot.

Accompanying him were commanding officers of the DPRK General Missile Bureau.

The drill was aimed to review the combat readiness of the DPRK's nuclear war deterrence and confirm its mobility, combat capability and reliability.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un listened to the plan for the launching drill, acquainting himself with the preparation for launch in a standby district beforehand.

Then he mounted the central command observation post to approve the launch of a strategic weapon, and General Jang Chang Ha, general director of the General Missile Bureau, issued a launch order to the Second Red Flag Company.

The moment, a huge body full of the absolute will and strength to mercilessly retaliate against the hostile forces obsessed with the ambition for nuclear confrontation with the DPRK began soaring into the sky with a shower of fire in its tail, making a deafening explosion.

The missile traveled up to a maximum altitude of 6 518.2 km and flew a distance of 1 002.3 km for 4 415s before accurately landing on the preset area in the open waters off the East Sea of Korea.

The launching drill had no negative effect on the security of the neighboring countries.

Through the drill, the combat capability of ICBM unit was highly estimated. And also verified once again were the rapid response posture of the strategic armed forces of the DPRK and the reliability of the most powerful strategic core striking means of the DPRK's military muscle.

Expressing great satisfaction over the results of the launching drill, Kim Jong Un said with pride that the successful drill is a practical demonstration of the actual condition and reliability of the formidable striking capabilities and absolute nuclear war deterrent possessed by the DPRK's armed forces.

He said that the launching drill sent a clear signal to the hostile forces, who have fanned up their reckless military confrontation hysteria against the DPRK all the year round and are frantically maximizing it till the end of this year despite the repeated stern warnings and denunciation by the DPRK. Noting that it was an occasion to clearly show what action the DPRK has been prepared and what option the DPRK would take when Washington makes a wrong decision against it, he appreciated that the drill once again and strikingly displayed the DPRK's will for toughest counteraction and its overwhelming strength.

The U.S. imperialists and their vassal forces' vicious ambition for confrontation will not abate of its own accord, he said, stressing the need for the DPRK to never overlook all the reckless and irresponsible military threats of the enemies destroying the basis of peace and security in the Korean peninsula and to strongly counter them with more offensive actions by adopting a more evolutionary and threatening way when the enemies continue to make a wrong choice.

He inspected the launching drill and set forth some new important tasks for accelerating the development of the DPRK's nuclear strategic forces.

The ceaseless bolstering of the national defence capability and the overwhelming counteraction are the consistent and immutable revolutionary policy and fighting spirit of the DPRK that can never change to defend the national dignity, sovereignty and interests. The nuclear strategic forces of the DPRK will perfect their military posture with more accuracy and confidence to resolutely suppress any grave military crisis and war crisis that may come at any moment. -0-

www.kcna.kp (Juche112.12.19.)

http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/feb7d621d7ebcf48ca25eabab12b35ec.kcmsf
mirror https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1702940860-224642236/clear-display-of-dprk-strategic-forces-toughest-retaliation-will-and-overwhelming-strength-launch-drill-of-icbm-hwasongpho-18-conducted/