Gerald John Smith

Chewore Lodge-Zambezi River-Zimbabwe

The EU doesn’t care about democracy. It doesn’t even care about keeping up appearances anymore. The only thing the Eurocrats care about is getting @PM_ViktorOrban out of office, as he’s the only leader in Europe who truly opposes them. My dear Hungarian friends, please make the outcome too big to rig; because trust me, they’ll pull that card when they fail and Orbán wins anyway.

A tale of two Iranians 1. - A 19 yr old national champion wrestler. Executed today for the crime of marching with 30,000 other murdered young people who just wanted freedom. Canada said nothing. - A Shia cleric of that Islamo-fascist regime. Just given Canadian citizenship. Marching in support of the regime at an al quds parade in Toronto in his first week in Canada. If there’s a way for Canada to be on the wrong side of history, this is it. Thx to @AlinejadMasih for keeping everyone informed. Here’s to a free Iran.

The network operated according to a pre-established strategic plan in coordination with external parties linked to Hezbollah and Iran, in violation of economic and legal regulations, to launder money, finance terrorism and threaten national security. wam.ae/a/174oe2t

The network had been operating within the country under a fictitious commercial cover and sought to infiltrate the national economy and carry out external schemes threatening the country’s financial stability.

BREAKING: UAE State Security Apparatus 🇦🇪dismantles terrorist network linked to Hezbollah and Iran; arrests its members (WAM)

BREAKING: Starlink is now available in the UAE 🇦🇪 Packages start from AED 230 per month Thank you Elon Musk

The SAVE America Act is policy so simple even a baby would support it!! 🤣🤣🤣

Chuck Schumer and other Democrats have insisted that they actually support Voter ID—they just object to other parts of the SAVE America Act. Well, @SenJonHusted just asked unanimous consent to pass ONLY the Voter ID portion of the bill. Democrats blocked it.

I finally took a tour of Ponte City. For years I’ve driven past it, written about it, spoken about it, and used it as a reference point whenever the conversation turns to Johannesburg, urban decay, or the rise and fall of great cities. But I had never actually been inside. Ponte City opened in 1975. 54 storeys. 173 metres tall. For 48 years it held the title of the tallest building in Africa, only losing it to a tower in Egypt that beat it by just a few metres. At its peak, around 1,000 people lived here. At its lowest point, nearly 8,000 people were packed into the building without proper water or electricity, and Ponte was labelled Africa’s first vertical slum. The stories from those years sound unreal. Entire floors used as brothels. Trash piled up inside the hollow core to the 14th floor. It took three years to remove the waste, and over twenty bodies were found during the clean up. Trucks couldn’t reach the site, so workers carried everything out by hand. Since 2014, the internal windows have been welded shut to stop people throwing rubbish into the centre. The building was refurbished before the 2010 World Cup, and today around 2,000 people live there. When I arrived for the tour, my guide warned me not to panic if I heard a loud bang. Residents sometimes throw nappies or trash out of the windows. Not exactly the welcome you expect when entering one of the most famous residential towers in Africa. And yet, walking inside, I was surprised. Biometric access, 24-hour security and over 480 cameras monitoring the building. Just past the turnstiles was a box full of house keys on the floor. A simple system so school kids can collect their keys and go home if their parents are still at work. We went up to what used to be one of the penthouse suites. Today it’s a shared entertainment space for residents. Baby showers, birthdays, after-work gatherings. The view from the top is incredible, and also a little heartbreaking. In the 1990s, this exact penthouse could be rented for about R800 a month. Four bedrooms, two lounges, sauna, jacuzzi, braai area, fully furnished. From there we went to the community centre, where volunteers help children with homework after school. Downstairs, there’s convenience retail for residents. Fruit and veg shop, takeaway, butcher, tailor, pizza place. A small ecosystem keeping the building alive. Then we went to the centre - Ponte’s famous hollow core. Built on a slope, the circular design made structural sense, but standing there feels like standing inside a monument to everything that went wrong in the Johannesburg CBD. Cold metal stairs, dark concrete and echoes bouncing up fifty floors. And then, a bang. Someone threw a full bag of rubbish into the middle of the core while we were standing there. My guide didn’t even flinch. “They clean every day,” he said. That moment was really profound. Because you can install cameras, weld windows shut and hire security. But if people don’t respect the place they live in, nothing really changes. Standing inside Ponte feels symbolic of what happened to Johannesburg. A city that was once ambitious, modern, proud. Then hollowed out by neglect, mismanagement, and people who stopped believing the space belonged to them. And yet, Ponte refuses to die. The building recently went up for auction. It’s still unsold, which tells you someone believes there’s even more value left in it. The tour ended in the underground parking with rows of cars - some working, some abandoned, some stripped down to nothing but shells. Ponte is not just a story about urban decay. It’s a story about what happens when a city loses control and what it takes to build that control back. And walking out of Ponte that day, I couldn’t stop thinking that Johannesburg and Ponte City have something in common. Both were once symbols of possibility and both went through years that nearly broke them. Yet, both are still standing, waiting to see if the people inside are ready to rebuild again.

@its_Lexieroy @SenateGOP REPLACE @LeaderJohnThune immediately and get this done! @SenateGOP. We are FURIOUS. We know he hates @POTUS so much he wants to lose both the House and Senate so he can't do anything for the next two years.

@its_Lexieroy @SenateGOP

The @SenateGOP needs to know how we feel If you demand the Senate to immediately pass the SAVE America Act, drop a “👍” down below LAST CHANCE TO MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD

@AdamMoczar Yes

⚡🇭🇺 Facebook restricts Viktor Orban posts weeks before Hungary’s election. Do you support Orban to be re-elected?

@Neccccy Yes

Did the Monarchy die with her?

@MilitaryCooI 🙏🏻R. I. P. Sir

With heavy hearts, we say farewell to World War Il legend John Gleeson. John passed away on January 15, 2026, at the age of 102, who passed away peacefully, at home and surrounded by family a gentle ending to a life of heroic service. During World War II, John served as a pilot in the Army Air Force, flying the B-24 Liberator on long, dangerous missions deep into contested skies. 🫡🇺🇸

@kusha_alagband Lord have Mercy on the innocent seeking freedom from tyranny Amen 🙏🏻

At midnight, the regime raided 18‑year‑old Melika Azizi’s home and dragged her to Lakan Prison in Rasht. She’s been beaten, cut off from her family, and sentenced to death. In court she looked the judge in the eye and shouted: “You’ve spilled the blood of so many young people, how can I stay silent? It doesn’t matter to me, kill me too.” This is a teenager whose “crime” was courage. We can’t let them execute her in silence. #MelikaAzizi #StopExecutionsInIran

@WHLeavitt @LeaderJohnThune A

Congrats folks—you did it! 83% of Americans support voter ID. Pressure got the SAVE Act vote, but work remains. ✋️ if you want @LeaderJohnThune to pass it—let him know! His team will see your comments. Do you support the SAVE Act? A. Yes B. No

🚨BREAKING: Elon Musk just reposted on 𝕏 to his 234 Million followers supporting Congress passing - Voter ID - Paper Ballots - Same Day Voting - Proof of citizenship THIS NEEDS TO BE OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY Do you support this? YES or NO? IF Yes, Give me a THUMBS-UP👍!