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Report highlights growing influence of religious soldiers within IDF ranks

The Israel Defense Forces have been painted into a corner recently, as they were forced to acknowledge and respond to an atrocious act of sacrilege committed by those in their ranks.

Blaze News previously reported on two separate incidents involving IDF soldiers desecrating Christian sites and symbols.

The secular headquarters ‘have very little control of the behavior on the ground.’

The first incident involved a uniformed IDF soldier smashing a statue of Jesus Christ in the face with a sledgehammer. The second, which occurred in late November 2024, was a video showing the desecration of an Orthodox church in Deir Mimas, Lebanon.

While the IDF has acknowledged both incidents to some degree, the extent of their response to the recent viral photo of the IDF soldier smashing the Christ statue was a rare step for Israeli leadership.

RELATED: IDF under fire after shocking footage of Lebanese church desecration resurfaces

Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “shocked and saddened” by the photo, the IDF announced punishments following the conclusion of their investigation.

The IDF announced Tuesday that both the soldier who photographed the smashing of the statue and the one who destroyed it would be removed from combat duty and receive 30 days of military detention.

Six additional soldiers who were present at the scene failed to intervene, stop, or report the incident. They have been “summoned for clarification discussions,” and “further command-level measures will be determined” moving forward.

Yet a new article from the Telegraph has suggested that these incidents may be a symptom of changing religious dynamics within the IDF’s ranks.

The Telegraph reported that a stricter sense of religious observance has begun to change the IDF culture.

Citing examples such as female soldiers being reprimanded for dressing “immodestly” and other soldiers being jailed for barbecuing on Shabbat, the Telegraph suggested that the IDF’s culture would be “almost unrecognizable” to the Israeli soldiers of the first decades of the state’s existence.

It is common knowledge that Israel’s military has historically been a secular institution within a largely secular government.

However, the author suggested that the IDF’s ranks are beginning to fill with Israelis who adhere to a “messianic and ultra-nationalist ideology” that informs the very reason they joined the military service in the first place.

This trend has caused tensions to rise between the religious soldiers and the generally secular leadership.

Chairman of the Secular Forum Dr. Ram Vromen told the Telegraph that the leadership views these changes with hostility.

“For years before October 7, secular people increasingly identified the combat roles with things they were not sympathetic to, like the occupation in the West Bank, so they volunteered for other roles,” he said. “But the religious and the religious nationalist recruits volunteer for combat roles enthusiastically.”

Vromen added that the secular headquarters “have very little control of the behavior on the ground,” likely referring to the recent incidents that have harmed the IDF’s public image.

It was later argued that the IDF, even if its leadership remains secular, faces a dilemma.

Between growing personnel shortages during the war and an increasing reliance on these religious soldiers to do the warfighting, the military cannot afford to lose them; however, the religious cultural shift continues to solidify its hold on the institution through an “increasingly muscular military rabbinate” and a takeover of most educational activities in the military.

As a result, the IDF may be forced to deal with increasingly popular ideas such as the expansionist “Greater Israel” project, along with more incidents like those mentioned above.

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​Benjamin netanyahu, Desecration, Israel defense forces, Jesus christ, Lebanon, Orthodox church, Politics, Sledgehammer, Soldiers, Idf, Idf soldier, Prime minister, Greater israel, Ram vromen, Secular forum, West bank, The telegraph 

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‘No such thing as a defensive weapon’: Judge warns Scottish axe girl she shouldn’t have carried blades

The internet icon known as the Scottish axe girl gave testimony in the trial of a man accused of attacking her last August.

Following her testimony, a judge lectured the young girl about possessing the weapons in the first place.

‘Come here, sexy. I’ll show you how to have a good time.’

The case goes back to the summer of 2025 when the 13-year-old girl was captured on video brandishing an axe and a knife in Dundee, Scotland.

Blaze News previously reported on allegations that a man had attacked the young girl after making sexual comments. Scotland Police stated than an adult man and woman had been charged in relation to the incident, along with a young girl.

The accused have since been identified as 22-year-old Ilia Belov and 20-year-old Nadjedzha Belova; both were charged with violent offenses against a group of girls between 12 and 14 years old. The man is also accused of following four young girls, according to the BBC, but he denies the allegations.

During Belov’s trial last week, the teen girl testified that the man repeatedly said, “Come here, sexy. I’ll show you how to have a good time.”

The girl said the remarks made her “angry,” so she “turned around and shouted at him.”

RELATED: US birth rate plummets to record low in 2025 amid estimated 1,126,000 abortions

The 13-year-old also testified that a woman approached the group and threw the girl’s sister to the ground, which is when the girl tried “to go for” the woman but was pushed by the man.

The child then accused the adult male of pushing her on the head, which hit a handrail, and the adult female of kicking her sister “in the head.”

The girl told the defense attorney that it was at this point she brandished the axe and knife from her waistband, which was when she was filmed.

Defense lawyer Larry Flynn claimed that his client, Belov, did not start the incident and was simply responding to comments that were made to him. He also claimed that the witness called Belov an “immigrant,” but the young girl denied the allegation.

RELATED: Police charge man and woman in connection with Scottish axe girl incident

Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

After the young girl presented her testimony, Sheriff Tim Niven-Smith — the judge presiding over the trial — told her she shouldn’t have been carrying weapons in the first place.

“I hope you reflect that it’s not a good idea to carry weapons in the city of Dundee,” he reportedly said.

“There is no such thing as a defensive weapon; there are only offensive weapons,” he added.

According to U.K. law, it is an offense to carry “a bladed or sharply pointed article” in public. Although there are carveouts for a “reasonable excuse,” such as work, religion, or costume, the application of these rules can be strict.

According to the Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland, a government oversight agency, a gardener was convicted for possessing an axe in the door of his car because it was not stored in a tool bag in the trunk with his other tools.

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​Politics, Scotland, United kingdom, Immigrants, Self defense, Scottish axe girl, Knife, Weapons, News 

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VIDEO: Ilhan Omar lashes out at reporter over bizarre wealth discrepancy: ‘I don’t want to tell you jack s**t!’

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota refused to answer a reporter’s questions about revisions to her wealth disclosures.

Omar changed a disclosure of her assets from millions down to far less after Republicans demanded financial documents from her and her husband.

‘Last time I spoke to you, you said I was “stupid” for asking about your financial disclosure, but there’s some discrepancies on there, would you like to explain that?’

When pressed by a LindellTV reporter Alison Steinberg about the disclosures, Omar refused to answer even the simplest of questions.

“Last time I spoke to you, you said that I was ‘stupid’ for asking about your financial disclosure, but there’s some discrepancies on there. Would you like to explain that?” asked Steinberg. “Would you like to explain them? How did you make such a big mistake on them?”

“I said absolutely I think you’re stupid for asking me anything,” Omar responded.

“I am?” she asked.

“Yes!” Omar replied.

“Well, what about the American people who are wondering how you made such a big mistake?” Steinberg pressed.

“I have explained to the American people,” Omar said, smiling.

“What’s the explanation?” Steinberg asked.

“I have given them the explanation,” Omar claimed.

“Do you want to tell our viewers?” Steinberg asked.

“I don’t want to tell you jack s**t!” Omar interrupted.

“Oh!” Steinberg responded.

“How about that?” Omar said.

“OK!” Steinberg said.

“OK, have a good day!” Omar added.

LindellTV posted video of the interaction on social media where it quickly went viral.

RELATED: GOP demands financial docs from Omar’s husband: ‘Who’s funding this? Who’s buying access?’

Omar had initially reported her assets as being between $6 million and up to $30 million after growing in one year from $51,000. After investigative reporters began questioning the possibility of such a massive growth in assets, congressional Republicans demanded financial documents from her husband about their business investments.

Months later, a spokesperson for Omar said that the report had been a mistake and that they had revised the asset value to $18,004 and $95,000.

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​Ilhan omar finances, Lindelltv alison steinberg, Omar freaks out, Financial disclosures, Politics 

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The FBI busted an anti-ICE attack squad by reading its encrypted messages. The FBI can read yours too.

Whether you send texts through iMessage on iPhone, RCS on Android, or a third-party app like Signal, all of them boast end-to-end encryption, which is designed to keep your chats safe, secure, and private. No one can read them but you, right? Not so fast. Thanks to a little flaw in the way your phone delivers notifications, the FBI may be able to read your conversations and even use them against you in a criminal trial.

The case

On July 4, 2025, a group of “violent assailants equipped with tactical gear and weapons” descended on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas. One source claims that they set off fireworks and vandalized the facility. A police officer was even shot in the neck during the event. Luckily, the officer survived, and 10 perpetrators were apprehended four days later. Eight of the defendants were found guilty of multiple charges in their trial last month, and part of the evidence used to convict them came from an unlikely source: text messages procured by the FBI that were sent via Signal, an end-to-end encrypted messaging app.

This bombshell revelation comes with a few hard facts to keep in mind.

The question on everyone’s minds is, “How?” Signal’s powerful E2EE technology — dubbed the Signal Protocol — is lauded by technology enthusiasts and privacy proponents as one of the best open source encryption solutions available, yet somehow it was bypassed entirely. Even more concerning, the Signal app was already deleted from the suspect’s phone by the time the FBI gathered the incriminating messages, meaning that at least some chat data was both left behind and accessible.

So if Signal is exceptionally safe, secure, and private, how did the FBI easily gather these incriminating text messages for trial?

As it turns out, the flaw that handed this data to the FBI had nothing special to do with Signal. The feds could have gathered messages from any app, thanks to the way smartphones manage one of their most popular features.

The flaw

When you receive a push notification on your device, it comes across as a glanceable snippet of information complete with the app’s name, the app’s icon, and the details of the notification. These are known as notification previews.

Push notifications work for nearly every app — messages, social media, email, everything. And to make sure you get the most useful information from push notifications, they’re set to show snippets by default, letting you know exactly why you were pinged in the first place.

Unfortunately, while the apps that send push notifications can be encrypted, the information displayed in push notifications is stored as plain text within the device and openly available with the right tools.

RELATED: RED FLAG: FBI says these apps let China suck up your personal data

Dragos Condrea/Getty Images

That means the FBI can easily access and read this information for any push notification from any app on your device, assuming it has your phone in its possession. This includes private chats.

Notification previews on (left) and off (right)Zach Laidlaw/iOS 26 on iPhone 17 Pro Max

Cold hard facts

This bombshell revelation comes with a few hard facts to keep in mind:

This flaw only records incoming messages through the notifications system. It cannot save or replicate outgoing messages from the target device, since these are never displayed as notifications for the main user.The FBI can’t remote-connect to a targeted device to access this information. It must physically have the phone in its possession, which requires a warrant or subpoena.Although this particular case involved an iPhone, the flaw works on both iPhone and Android.

The worst part is that this isn’t the first time this particular exploit has popped up. In late 2023, Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.) warned that governments could spy on iPhone and Android users through push notifications using a similar method. This vulnerability has been known and exploited for years with no solutions from Apple or Google.

How to hide your notifications from government spying

The good news is that there is something you can do to fix the problem right now, but it will make your phone a little less glanceable. Apple’s iOS offers a way to hide app previews from the notification system. When previews are disabled, you will still see when you receive a notification, but the information inside will be hidden from the notification shade, ensuring it isn’t recorded or saved for later access.

To disable notification previews on iPhone, open the “Settings” app and tap “Notifications.” In the first section of text, you’ll find “Shows Previews.” Tap there and change the preview option to “Never.” If you don’t want to disable all previews, you can also disable these on an app-by-app basis by clicking on the app you want to hide and adjusting its settings.

Zach Laidlaw/iOS 26 on iPhone 17 Pro Max

As for Android, the only way to hide notification previews is to disable notifications entirely, either for the whole system or for individual apps.

This isn’t advised, of course, since you may miss important notifications, but if you’d like to add an extra layer of protection between you and the government, open the “Settings” app and hop into the “Notifications” section. Then select “App Notifications” and uncheck every potentially problematic app on the list. For even more insurance, disable notification history as well.

Zach Laidlaw/Android 16 on Google Pixel 10 Pro XL

Given that this flaw has existed for years without a solution makes it unlikely that Apple or Google will patch their operating systems anytime soon. Unfortunately, this appears to be more of a feature than a bug, prompting users to take their notification settings into their own hands to prevent unwanted data leaks.

​Tech, Fbi, Encrypted data, Privacy, Smartphone 

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Democrat congressman dies amid age concerns

A longtime Democrat congressman from Georgia has passed away.

Rep. David Scott died on Wednesday at the age of 80, his office confirmed, according to the New York Post. The South Carolina native was first elected to the Georgia Assembly in 1974, to the state Senate in 1982, and then to Congress in 2002.

Scott is the fifth member of the 119th Congress to die since they took office in January 2025.

During his re-election campaign in 2024, some Democrats called on Scott to step aside and make way for younger candidates.

“David Scott is Exhibit A for term limits,” said an unnamed Democrat lawmaker who spoke with Politico at the time. “He was a respected, talented member who has become diminished. And it’s painful for people to watch.”

Despite the naysayers, Scott won re-election that year and was running for re-election this year as well. A cause of death has not been released.

“Congressman Scott’s passing is deeply sad,” said Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), NBC News reported.

“David Scott was a trailblazer who served the district that he represented admirably, rose up from humble beginnings to become the first African American ever to chair the House [Agriculture] Committee. He cared about the people that he represented. He was fiercely committed to getting things done for the people of the great state of Georgia, and he’ll be deeply missed.”

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also honored Scott in a statement: “We are all deeply saddened by the news of Rep. David Scott’s passing. For more than two decades, David faithfully served the people of Georgia’s [13th] Congressional District and spent the majority of his life in service to others. We are lifting up David’s wife Alfredia, his two daughters, and his grandchildren in prayer as they mourn.”

RELATED: California Republican suddenly dies at age 65

Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) died suddenly in January. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc/Getty Images

Of note, Scott is the fifth member of the 119th Congress to die since they took office in January 2025. Reps. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas) and Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) died in March 2025, Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) died in May, and Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) died suddenly in January.

Then, just in the last few weeks, Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) resigned from the House in disgrace.

For now, Republicans maintain a 217-212 majority, plus independent Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, who caucuses with them.

Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp now has 10 days to declare a special election, though six other Democrats were already challenging Scott in the primary race scheduled for May 19. Politico characterized the district as “deep blue.”

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​David scott, Georgia, Democrat, Congress, Politics 

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The lone Republican who could tank Trump’s Fed pick

President Donald Trump’s pick to overhaul the Federal Reserve has enjoyed support from the commander in chief’s allies in the Senate, but one lawmaker just might shut down the nominee’s confirmation.

Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to chair the Federal Reserve back in January after publicly feuding with current Chair Jerome Powell for failing to cut interest rates and for his multibillion-dollar renovation of the Fed building. Since then, Warsh took the first step of the confirmation process by going to Capitol Hill to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.

‘Political interference or legal intimidation is non-negotiable.’

Warsh received glowing reviews from the seven Senate Republicans after his hearing, including from GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who has butted heads with Trump in the past. Despite Tillis’ endorsement of Warsh, the retiring senator drew a bold red line for the administration that could cost the confirmation.

“Kevin Warsh is a great nominee to be chairman of the Federal Reserve, and I look forward to supporting him out of committee once the DOJ drops their bogus investigation into Chairman Powell that threatens the independence of the Fed,” Tillis said in a statement.

RELATED: Federal Reserve makes key decision on interest rates — and Trump won’t like it

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc./Getty Images

Tillis has repeatedly demanded that the administration suspend its investigation into Powell, even threatening to block nominees he supports, like Warsh. Notably, the Senate Banking Committee is composed of seven Republicans and six Democrats, meaning Tillis’ vote is necessary to advance Warsh’s nomination assuming the vote falls along party lines.

“The Department of Justice continues to pursue a criminal investigation into Chairman Jerome Powell based on committee testimony that no reasonable person could construe as possessing criminal intent,” Tillis said following Warsh’s nomination in January. “Protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve from political interference or legal intimidation is non-negotiable.”

“My position has not changed: I will oppose the confirmation of any Federal Reserve nominee, including for the position of Chairman, until the DOJ’s inquiry into Chairman Powell is fully and transparently resolved.”

One viable “off-ramp” that has been floated by Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who chairs the committee, is to create a subcommittee to investigate and oversee the Federal Reserve’s over-budget construction. This would, in effect, replace the Department of Justice’s criminal probe into Powell but still allow the administration and its allies to investigate the Fed.

It’s unclear whether the DOJ would drop the investigation, but Tillis expressed enthusiasm about the potential resolution.

“I not only think it’s a good off-ramp, but I also think it’s good governance,” Tillis said.

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​Criminal probe, Department of justice, Doj, Doj investigation, Donald trump, Interest rates, Jerome powell, Kevin warsh, Senate banking committee, Senate confirmation, Thom tillis, Tim scott, Trump nominee, Politics 

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SPLC indictment BOMBSHELL: Charlottesville violence allegedly was a leftist-funded ‘false flag’

Charlottesville, Virginia, became a flash point as tensions grew in August 2017 over the fate of American monuments that liberals deemed too racist to leave standing in public spaces.

A hodgepodge of protesters and counterprotesters — which included radical leftists, those opposed to removing Confederate statues, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists — descended on the city ahead of the so-called Unite the Right rally on Aug. 12.

Agitators helped ensure that the event went sideways.

‘Trigger the violence because you can’t stop the legitimate speech.’

Following a series of skirmishes between various factions, one demonstrator drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, injuring over 30 and killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

According to the grand jury indictment filed against the Southern Poverty Law Center on Tuesday, this bloody and tragic event — which the American left politically exploited for years and former President Joe Biden cited as his reason for running in 2020 — was the product, in part, of liberal machinations.

The indictment accuses the SPLC — a liberal outfit whose bread and butter is smearing law-abiding conservatives as “extremists” — of funneling millions of dollars to the very extremist groups it claimed to be fighting.

RELATED: Oath Keepers, Proud Boys feel hopeful and skeptical after Trump DOJ’s moves to end Biden-era witch hunt

Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto/Getty Images

In addition to allegedly bankrolling leaders and organizers in the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nation, the National Socialist Party of America, and the National Alliance, the SPLC allegedly “had a field source who was a member of the online leadership chat group that planned the 2017 ‘Unite the Right’ event,” according to the indictment.

This field source, who is not named in the indictment, allegedly made “racist postings under the supervision of the SPLC and helped coordinate transportation to the event for several attendees.”

For their contributions to the cause, this field source was allegedly paid over $270,000 by the SPLC in secret between 2015 and 2023.

The SPLC did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

While its insider was allegedly setting the stage for the rally, the SPLC worked feverishly to emphasize the importance of the planned event, noting in an Aug. 7, 2017, Hatewatch post, for example, that “the event may well become a seminal point for the Alt-Right and the extremist hate fringe: It’s a bold move beyond the anonymity of web sites, message boards, pseudonyms and social media — a move to take the hardcore, racist, white nationalist message to the public square.”

In the same post, the SPLC hyped the possibility of violence at the “‘summer of hate’ gathering of racist extremists from all corners of the country,” noting that “the looming social chemistry on a hot summer weekend … seems to point to the clear possibility of violence.”

The bloodletting in Charlottesville proved to be a windfall for the SPLC.

Days after the event, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that “hate is a cancer and left unchecked it destroys everything in its path.” Seeking to “help organizations who work to rid our country of hate,” Cook announced that his company was making a $1 million contribution to the SPLC.

Soon thereafter, JP Morgan Chase & Co. pledged half a million to the SPLC, and George and Amal Clooney announced that they were dumping $1 million into SPLC to help it highlight the imagined dangers of white-supremacist ideology.

The Clooneys said in a statement at the time, “What happened in Charlottesville, and what is happening in communities across our country, demands our collective engagement to stand up to hate.”

According to the indictment against the SPLC announced by the Justice Department on Tuesday, such donations collected from deep-pocketed liberals “under the auspices that the funds would be used to ‘dismantle’ violent extremist groups … was, instead, being used, in part, by the SPLC to pay leaders and others within these same violent extremist groups.”

The SPLC allegedly poured over $3 million in such funds to field sources associated with violent extremist groups between 2014 and 2023. These money transfers were allegedly made through a series of bank accounts created in the name of fictional entities, including the Center Investigative Agency, Fox Photography, North West Technologies, and Rare Books Warehouse.

The revelation that an SPLC plant might have been involved in the Unite the Right rally would help explain why the organization was so desperate to attack the notion that the event was a “false flag” from the start.

In the immediate aftermath of the violent rally, Alex Jones reportedly accused the SPLC of hiring actors to dress up like racists and prompt a crackdown by police on the rally’s legitimate attendees.

“That’s the plan,” Jones said. “Trigger the violence because you can’t stop the legitimate speech.”

Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar (R) was among the others who similarly suspected something was fishy, telling Vice News in October 2017 that the rally was likely “created by the left.”

The SPLC insisted that claims that the event was a “false flag” operation or that leftist infiltrators were among its organizers — Jason Kessler, the event’s primary organizer, was previously an Obama-supporting Occupy protester — were ludicrous “conspiracy theories” that served only to demonstrate “the strength of the link between the conspiratorial extreme right (Jones, Infowars, Gateway Pundit, etc) and the racist ‘alt-right.'”

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​2017, Alex jones, Altright, Conspiracy theories, Extremist groups, False flag, Fraud, George clooney, Heather heyer, Infiltratration, Jason kessler, Justice department, Ku klux klan, Leftism, National socialist party, Nazi, Paul gosar, Racism, Scam, Southern poverty law center, Splc, Unite the right, Unite the right rally, Virginia, White supremacist, White supremacy, Politics 

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‘AMERICAN INVASION’: Flailing Canada PM Mark Carney invokes historical grudge in latest lob at Trump

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney clearly misses the campaign trail.

A year ago he won the election on the promise that he alone could handle Donald Trump and deliver a stronger trade deal under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

The irony, of course, is that in 1812, Canada did not exist as an independent country.

But talk is cheap. When Carney went to Washington, he struck a flattering tone — calling Trump “transformative” — and came away empty-handed.

Now he’s back to his familiar “elbows up” rhetoric, declaring the age of America over. What better way to shift the focus from his utter lack of progress than a little political theater?

So on Sunday, Carney gave himself the biggest stage he could find: a carefully produced video, packaged and presented as a national address.

This is something Canadian prime ministers almost never do outside real national emergencies. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Justin Trudeau reserved major televised appeals for announcing concrete measures — lockdowns, restrictions, and public health directives.

Familiar message

There was nothing urgent about Carney’s speech. It was less an address than a political ad, polished and prepackaged and paid for by taxpayers.

The message was a familiar one: America is a lost cause, and Canada must move on:

The world … is more dangerous and divided. The U.S. has fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression. Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become our weaknesses — weaknesses that we must correct.

The correction? Carney’s “Canada Strong” plan, which calls for “attract[ing] new investment,” “striking new partnerships abroad,” and “taking back control of our security, our borders, and our future.”

It’s the same argument Carney made in Davos and the same one he repeated at the Liberal Party convention in Montreal. What made it different was a bizarre digression about Canadian history — complete with visual aids and celebrity name-dropping.

RELATED: NA-NUKE OF THE NORTH: Former top general says Canada needs nuclear weapons

Jung Yeon-Je/Galerie Bilderwelt/Getty Images

Model diplomacy

Brandishing a tiny figurine of General Isaac Brock — the British officer killed defending what would become Canada during the War of 1812 — Carney praised him for his resistance to the “threat of an American invasion.” Noting that the figurine was a recent gift from “Austin Powers” star — and fellow Canadian — Mike Myers, Carney said he keeps it on his desk as a reminder that “when we are united as Canadians, we can withstand anything.”

Even the self-inflicted wound of turning our back on our closest neighbor?

The irony, of course, is that in 1812, Canada did not exist as an independent country. It was a British colony, defended as part of an empire that spanned the globe. Today, Canada is economically, militarily, and geographically bound to the United States in ways that make the comparison absurd.

Empty bluster

The two countries are each other’s largest trading partners. Their industries are integrated, and their defense arrangements are intertwined. Whatever Carney may suggest, Canada is not pivoting across the Atlantic any time soon.

And if it tried, the costs would be immediate.

Carney warns against “nostalgia” while offering nothing but slogans. No major housing breakthrough. No completed energy corridor to global markets. No visible shift that would justify the sweeping language of national reinvention.

In short, Carney has yet to reveal a coherent strategy to replace the relationship he is so eager to downplay. Until then, his anti-American bluster is like the toy soldier on his desk — just for show.

​Canadian prime minister, Donald trump, Justin trudeau, Mark carney, Trade deal, Usmca, War of 1812, Letter from canada, Culture