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The High Court of Northern Ireland has ruled that a no-deal Brexit would not breach the Good Friday Agreement, which supports the peace process in the British province. Northern Ireland, known colloquially as Ulster, was for decades wracked with violence perpetrated by terrorists claiming to be fighting on behalf of the minority of the population which supports leaving the United Kingdom and uniting with the Republic of Ireland, and to a lesser extent by loyalist paramilitaries. This conflict, known as The Troubles, was significantly wound down by the Good Friday Agreement, or Belfast Agreement, signed in the 1990s... Campaigners seeking...

London (AFP) – A no-deal Brexit could lead to a united Ireland as more people in Northern Ireland would “come to question the Union” with Great Britain, Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar has said. His comments came after new British prime minister Boris Johnson said the current Brexit deal was unacceptable and set preparations for leaving the EU without an agreement as a “top priority” for his right-wing government. Tension around the withdrawal deal centres on the so-called Irish backstop — a mechanism designed to keep Northern Ireland in the bloc’s Single Market and prevent a customs border between it...

The Democrats’ Biggest Expert Accusing Republicans of Russian Trolling Was a Russian Troll They invented the Russian conspiracy, then they faked the crimes. December 31, 2018 Daniel Greenfield Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism. When the Democrats and the media wanted to prove that Russian trolls were everywhere, and supporting Republicans, they turned to Jonathon Morgan and Renee DiResta. Morgan and DiResta had originally been part of Obama’s futile effort to fight ISIS on social media, before discovering a much more lucrative...

The Alabama attorney general on Jan. 7, called on federal authorities to investigate the state’s 2017 special election for the U.S. Senate. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall made the announcement after conducting an informal inquiry into reports of a false-flag operation designed to boost Democrat Doug Jones, who defeated Republican Roy Moore by a thin margin in a hotly contested race. The New York Times reported in December that a secret social media operation funded by billionaire Democratic donor Reid Hoffman directed thousands of accounts designed to appear like Russian bots to follow Moore. A Facebook page then falsely portrayed...

Like grave robbers opening King Tut’s tomb, Congress can’t wait to get its hands on America’s retirement-account assets. The House passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, known by the acronym Secure, in May. The vote was 417-3. The Secure Act is widely expected to pass the Senate by unanimous consent. While ostensibly helping Americans save for retirement, the bill would actually reduce the value of all retirement savings plans: individual retirement accounts, 401(k)s, Roth IRAs, the works. The main problem with the Secure Act is that it eliminates the stretch IRA, the fixed star in the...

One of the perils of being well-off is the constant risk that the federal government and/or your friendly state and local tax collectors will figure out new and different ways to snatch more of your wealth. Especially wealth that you earned the old-fashioned way: by inheriting it. To raise your paranoia to the appropriate level, here are two new things to worry about. Few noticed when the House of Representatives in May overwhelming passed the imaginatively named “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019.” The vote was 417-3. Senate passage was thought to be a mere...

At a May press conference capping his tenure as special counsel, Robert Mueller emphasized what he called "the central allegation" of the two-year Russia probe. The Russian government, Mueller sternly declared, engaged in "multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election, and that allegation deserves the attention of every American." Mueller's comments echoed a January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) asserting with "high confidence" that Russia conducted a sweeping 2016 election influence campaign. "I don't think we've ever encountered a more aggressive or direct campaign to interfere in our election process," then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told a Senate...

The House of Representatives recently passed a bill that may complicate retirement planning options for Americans. The House passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 on May 23. If enacted into law, it could be tricky for Americans who are not financially savvy investors. Some of the changes could benefit consumers: The law encourages more small employers to offer 401(k) plans and raises the age for required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts to 72 from 70.5, a nod to longer life expectancies and later retirements. However, there are some changes that consumers should...

UK: Tons of Hizballah explosives in secret bomb factory uncovered in London Terrorists with links to the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah have reportedly been caught stashing tons of explosive materials in London. “The amount of ammonium nitrate reportedly found was more than that used in the Oklahoma City bombing” 24 years ago, in which at least 168 people were killed and over 680 others injured. This is merely a warning of more to come. The advancement of jihadists in the UK — and in fact most of the West — was facilitated by Leftist leaders who believe to this day...

Baby Boomers are retiring. Most are now starting to take their pensions and Social Security. The more fortunate are beginning to dip into their IRAs and 401Ks. As we reach this milestone, our views tend to harden. We are growing less tolerant. Some may call it cranky. We don’t buy a lot of the nonsense that is shoved down our throats by so many of the so called experts on television. We frequently find ourselves yelling back at them. We are even less tolerant of all the politically correct BS. As our circulation slows, we look forward to spending more...

Baby Boomers are retiring. Most are now starting to take their pensions and Social Security. The more fortunate are beginning to dip into their IRAs and 401Ks. As we reach this milestone, our views tend to harden. We are growing less tolerant. Some may call it cranky. We don’t buy a lot of the nonsense that is shoved down our throats by so many of the so called experts on television. We frequently find ourselves yelling back at them. We are even less tolerant of all the politically correct BS. As our circulation slows, we look forward to spending more time in...

The newly-elected mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Council has come under attack over his attendance at IRA commemorations. Sean Bateson (26), who topped the poll for Sinn Féin in the Bann electoral area, was appointed mayor of the borough just days after being elected for his first term. Over the weekend, social media posts emerged which showed Mr. Bateson — who is a supply teacher at Sperrin Integrated College in Magherafelt — posing for photographs at a memorial to two IRA men. A Twitter post boasting about tearing down a Union flag — described as a “butcher’s apron” by...

Most journalists and other Democrats say it is racist and unfair to ask on the census form whether people living in the United States are here legally. The ACLU, in its arguments to the court, says you can't ask the question because we are a nation of laws.  Is that a joke?  You can't ask people if they have violated our laws because we are a nation of laws? Court Blocks Trump's Plan to Add a Citizenship Question to 2020 Census A federal court has blocked the Trump administration's decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, stating that it constitutes...

Former Irish republican fighter and asylum seeker Malachy McAllister will not be deported from the U.S., according to a Washington report. Kevin McAleenan, President Trump’s newly-appointed acting secretary of Homeland Security, has granted a request from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to stay the deportation of McAllister, the Washington Examiner reports. On Thursday, Schumer had called McAleenan asking him to overrule ICE's decision not to grant McAllister political asylum...

WASHINGTON—The top Democrat on the Senate’s tax-writing committee wants to tax long-term investments like other types of income, raising rates and requiring the wealthiest people to pay taxes on their unrealized gains each year. The plan from Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon is the latest proposal from Democrats in Congress and on the presidential-campaign trail to boost taxes on the wealthy in a bid to address what they view as the problems of economic inequality and provide a funding stream to pay for new programs. While the specific proposal has little chance to become law anytime soon, such ideas could...

Congress is making another push on legislation that could make it easier for small companies to offer 401(k) plans and for workers to guarantee themselves an annual income after they retire. A bipartisan group of lawmakers including Rep. Richard Neal (D., Mass.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, announced Friday the legislation would repeal the age cap for contributing to individual retirement accounts, currently 70½. It would also increase the age at which owners of tax-deferred retirement accounts are required to start taking withdrawals from those accounts to 72 from 70½. Because the measure has support from key...

Internet billionaire Reid Hoffman apologized on Wednesday for funding a group linked to a “highly disturbing” effort that spread disinformation during last year’s Alabama special election for U.S. Senate, but said he was not aware that his money was being used for this purpose. Hoffman’s statement is his first acknowledgement of his ties to a campaign that adopted tactics similar to those deployed by Russian operatives during the 2016 presidential election. In Alabama, the Hoffman-funded group allegedly used Facebook and Twitter to undermine support for Republican Roy Moore and boost Democrat Doug Jones, who narrowly won the race. Hoffman, the...

PINEVILLE, Mo. — Gregg Sweeten had difficulty last week putting his reaction into words. When he learned that funding for the long-sought Bella Vista Bypass had been found, Sweeten, the Pineville mayor and McDonald County emergency manager, was stunned. Then he was elated. "That is amazing," Sweeten said. "That is going to be so great. I think it’s going to lead to all kinds of opportunities not only for Pineville but for McDonald County. I mean, it’s just — I just can’t say how happy I am. Wow. That is ... that’s wild. That’s amazing. That’s a Christmas present right...

While the debate rages on over how much Russia really influenced the results of the 2016 presidential elections, one detail put the entire controversy in perspective: Democratic operatives spent an identical amount of money on their project to create a Russian bot “false flag” campaign during the Alabama 2017 special election. Multiple reports detailed the Russian government-backed Internet Research Agency spent up to $100,000 on Facebook advertisements throughout their entire disinformation operation. As The Daily Caller News Foundation reported Wednesday, billionaire-backed Democrats “created more than a thousand Russian-language accounts that followed [Roy] Moore’s Twitter account overnight.” The group of Democrats...