Ukraine’s largest drone attack so far struck the Moscow region today, wrecking dozens of homes. One woman was killed, and about 50 flights had to be diverted from regional airports.
In other news, air traffic at Sweden’s Stockholm-Arlanda airport was shut down for two and a half hours after four drones were spotted over its runways.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, LP, Reader from Chicago, SS, TN, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
2024 GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris took to the stage in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, where Trump took Harris to task about inflation that has plagued the Biden-Harris administration.
“People can’t go out and buy cereal or bacon or eggs or anything else. The people of our country are absolutely dying with what they’ve done. They’ve destroyed the economy. And all you have to do is look at a poll,” Trump said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
18-Year-Old Florida High School Football Player Dies Suddenly During Game
An 18-year-old high school football player has tragically died after he “just went to the ground suddenly” during a game.
Chance Gainer was a senior at Port St. Joe High School and a star player for the Tiger Sharks.
He tragically collapsed unexpectedly during a football game against the Bulldogs and died.
Earlier in the game, Gainer had electrified the crowd with a 70-yard touchdown.
He was playing defense when he “suddenly” went down, Northwest Florida Daily News reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo was branded a “lying sack of s**t” by furious families and lawmakers as he deflected blame in a heated congressional hearing Tuesday over his disastrous COVID nursing home order which led to thousands of deaths.
Over the course of the more than two-hour hearing on Capitol Hill, Cuomo was asked several times to apologize to the families in the room who lost loved ones during the outbreak — but never did.
“We have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision,” said Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.). “I think you should admit that it was wrong, and I’d think you would come off a lot better to those families if you’d just turn around and apologize.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dem House Candidate Took $21K From Soros-Backed ‘Defund the Police’ Group, Records Show
A Michigan Democrat running in a pivotal House race brought in $21,000 from a George Soros-financed group that lobbied for defunding the police.
Kristen McDonald Rivet, who is facing off against Republican Paul Junge in Michigan’s eighth district, received the contributions from the PAC for America’s Future while she was running for state senate in 2022, according to campaign finance records.
The news could reignite questions about McDonald Rivet’s views on law enforcement. The Democrat came under fire last month for past social media posts in which she criticized police as a “structure put in place to oppress” and called for a national “overhaul” of the policing system. McDonald Rivet’s previous anti-police comments are at odds with the policy positions she’s now voicing as a congressional candidate. On her website, the Democrat says she will “stand with law enforcement” and “put more cops on the beat.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Democratic lawmaker had a full-fledged meltdown during a congressional hearing Tuesday because a Republican had posted an AI-generated meme about Donald Trump.
‘What in the hell is this!’ Rep. Eric Swalwell decried while pointing to a printed out meme posted by the Republican House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan.
The AI-generated image showed Trump cuddling a kitten and duck in his arms while wading through a pool of chest-high water.
Donald Trump’s supporters flooded social media with AI-generated images of the ex-president snuggling cute kittens and darling ducks after an Ohio man made wild and unsubstantiated claims that illegal migrants from Haiti are eating wild birds.
‘My God, are you OK, Mr. Chairman?’ Swalwell continued emphatically.
Responding to the bizarre report of migrants eating animals in Ohio, MAGA-aligned social media users flooded X with images of the ex-president acting as a protector and guardian of the beloved animals on Monday.
Complaints of migrants hunting and eating ducks originally came from a Springfield, Ohio, resident who testified to seeing such activity during a public meeting in recent weeks.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Donald Trump Says He Planned to Send Kamala Harris a ‘MAGA Hat’ Because of Policy Changes
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday night slammed Vice President Kamala Harris during the presidential debate, claiming he was going to send her a Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat because her policies reportedly mirror his.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dr. Drew Warns Monkeypox ‘Must be’ a Bioweapon
Dr. Drew Pinsky has warned that evidence suggests that both monkeypox and bird flu “must be” bioweapons.
Pinsky argues that both viruses appear to have been manipulated using illegal gain-of-function research.
He made the comments during a recent interview with Alex Jones on Infowars.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Projected to be World’s First Trillionaire by 2027, Fueled by Space Race Bets
A new report from wealth-tracking website Informa Connect forecasts that Elon Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire by 2027. This news is likely disheartening for struggling WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann, who famously said in 2019 that he wanted to live forever and become the first trillionaire.
Informa Connect said that assuming Musk’s wealth growth continues linearly at an annualized rate of 110%, the billionaire, worth $237 billion according to Bloomberg’s wealth index, will reach the $1 trillion club by 2027.
This would mean Musk’s wealth would need to quadruple in the next few years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Embarrassing’: Kamala Harris Plagiarized Joe Biden’s Campaign Policies for Website
Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign plagiarized policies from President Joe Biden’s campaign website, copying and pasting onto its “issues” page Sunday — seven weeks after Harris entered the presidential campaign.
As Breitbart News noted, Harris finally posted a set of policies on Sunday, after weeks of criticism for not having one on her campaign website. The policies were published just 48 hours before the presidential campaign’s first — and likely only — debate on Tuesday evening on ABC (at 9:00 p.m. ET).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A leading US Congressman has accused the European Union’s self-styled digital enforcer, Thierry Breton, of failing to alleviate the concerns held by US lawmakers that the EU “may attempt to censor or suppress lawful speech in the United States.”
Last month Rep Jim Jordan objected when Breton threatened Elon Musk over an interview on X with President Trump.
Now Jordan, chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, says Breton has sent an “inaccurate” letter to his committee in an attempt to deny he was threatening to force Musk into censoring content.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A top Google executive has been caught in an undercover video admitting that “Big Tech and big companies” are “coordinating” to rig the 2024 election for Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Google Growth Strategist Dakota Leazer’s bombshell admission was exposed by undercover journalist James O’Keefe.
O’Keefe revealed that Leazer told an undercover journalist that there is “a coordinated effort by Big Tech and big companies” to help Harris win the 2024 election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gov. Gavin Newsom Wants Mandate for Oil Companies to Create Stockpile of Gasoline
Authored by Leslie Eastman via LegalInsurrection.com
Legal Insurrection readers may recall the report about Chevron’s California operations.
Chevron had been headquartered in California for over 140 years, giving it strong roots in this state. However, the toxic policies of California’s lawmakers and regulators have killed those roots.
The fossil fuel giant will relocate to Texas.
Sacramento sees gasoline firms and petroleum refineries as cash cows that will always agree to be milked despite being made into a climate villain and accused of corporate greed.
So, to resolve the state’s serious energy challenges, California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a special session Saturday after the Assembly rebuffed his efforts to pass an energy package before a critical deadline passed.
Newsom’s plan mandates that the state’s oil companies create gasoline stockpiles.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Harris Taps Big Tech Lawyer Amidst Antitrust Battle, Sparking Ethics Firestorm
Vice President Kamala Harris’s decision to employ Karen Dunn for debate preparation—while Dunn simultaneously defends Google against a major antitrust lawsuit from the Biden-Harris administration—has sparked accusations of a conflict of interest.
Karen Dunn, who has a long history of assisting Democratic candidates with debate preparation since 2008, represented Google at the start of their trial on Monday.
The ongoing lawsuit, pursued by the DOJ, claims Google unlawfully monopolizes its search engine market and is one of the biggest ever challenges to Big Tech’s dominance.
Despite no formal ethics rules barring such dual roles since political campaigns are not legal battles, the decision to have Dunn so heavily associated with the Harris campaign raises eyebrows, especially coinciding Dunn’s influence on Harris could lead to Harris’ being less likely to take action against Google should Harris win the presidency.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kamala Harris has been called out for using a technique to claim others have interrupted her during debates.
“I’m talking now, if you don’t mind,” Trump said mid-sentence as Harris spoke with a muted microphone. “Please. Does that sound familiar?”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘I Want to Save Lives’: Trump Vows to Bring Putin, Zelensky Together to End Ukraine War
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday stood by his campaign pledge to end the Ukraine war in 24 hours, saying he would bring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin together to negotiate.
“I want the war to stop. I want to save lives that are being uselessly, people being killed by the millions,” Trump said. “I want to get the war settled. I know Zelensky very well, and I know Putin very well. I have a good relationship, and they respect your president. Okay? They respect me. They don’t respect Biden.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Joe Biden Raises Eyebrows With ‘Doing 9/11’ Comment Ahead of Debate
President Joe Biden bluntly said he’s ‘doing 9/11’ tomorrow in a head-scratching comment to reporters who asked his plans ahead of the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
The gaffe-prone 81-year-old was heading to Marine One on the White House lawn when he made the comments just one day before the 23rd anniversary of the terror attacks.
‘I’m going up to my granddaughter’s birthday in New York,’ Biden began. ‘Then we’re gonna watch the debate, then tomorrow I’m doing 9/11.’
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Journalist Alex Berenson Sues Biden Admin, Citing New Evidence of Twitter Censorship Ties
Journalist Alex Berenson has amended his lawsuit against Joe Biden (Berenson v. Biden, deliberated by a New York district court), to add new evidence regarding alleged government-social media censorship collusion.
We obtained a copy of the lawsuit for you here.
Berenson’s lawsuit revolves around the involvement of not just the Biden administration, but Covid vaccine maker Pfizer, and what the journalist believes is their joint effort (“conspiracy”) to get Twitter to ban him in 2021.
According to Berenson, formerly a New York Times reporter, the updated suit provides proof that many similar legislative efforts have been trying to present — namely, that Twitter’s censorship was “ultimately traceable” to the current White House, specifically, government pressure exerted upon social media companies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kennedy Warns of ‘Totalitarianism’ if Kamala Harris Elected: ‘This is Our Last Chance to Stop Them’
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has issued a warning to the American people that the November election “is our last chance to stop” the country from falling to complete “totalitarianism.”
On the morning of Tuesday’s critical debate between President Donald Trump and Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Kennedy warned that the stakes could not be higher this election year.
In a video statement shared on social media, RFK Jr. urged his supporters to vote for Trump to stop Harris from being elected and leading America to a totalitarian state.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Looting Hits Gucci Store in DC as Chaos Breaks Out in City Center & Georgetown Areas
The Washington Post confirms “incidents of looting and vandalism” in Georgetown, City Center, and other parts of Washington, DC, in the overnight hours.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) released a statement that said, “Overnight, groups of individuals decided to destroy property and burglarize businesses throughout our city, specifically in the City Center and Georgetown areas, along with a store in the H Street Corridor, a store in Logan Circle, and a store north of Columbia Heights.”
“We immediately increased our police resources in the impacted areas. Preliminary, MPD is investigating six burglaries and six destruction of property offenses in those area,” police said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nearly 17K First Responders Are Suffering Cancers, Diseases Linked to 9/11 Over Two Decades Later
More than 45,000 people are living with the physical manifestations of the September 11 attacks more than two decades after the tragedy.
At least 45,200 civilians and officers from the FDNY, NYPD and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are suffering from at least one cancer or disease that has been directly linked to the largest terrorist attack in history.
The whopping total is 1,408% greater than the death toll for the tragedy itself: 2,997 victims were killed in the Twin Tower collapse and aftermath.
The shocking number reflects the amount of victims enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program with verified illnesses — but because the project only recognizes some cancers and diseases, officials warn the true total of sick survivors is much higher.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ricky Pearsall Shooting: Lawyer for Accused Teen Says New Video Evidence Could Change the Case
A defense attorney for the teenager charged with attempted murder in last month’s shooting of 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall said Tuesday that he obtained video evidence that shows an “extended struggle” between the two, suggesting a lesser degree of culpability for his client.
“I think it supports what has always been my belief and theory in this case, in that this is an attempted robbery, and not an attempted murder,” said Deputy Public Defender Bob Dunlap.
In addition to attempted murder, the teen is additionally charged with assault with a semiautomatic firearm, attempted second-degree robbery and other gun offenses. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has not publicly said whether she intends to attempt to prosecute the teen as an adult, a decision that is ultimately up to a judge.
Dunlap’s remarks came after a brief procedural hearing at San Francisco’s Juvenile Justice courthouse, in which he waived the 17-year-old’s rights to a speedy trial.
Prosecutors had no objections to the time waiver. A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the defense’s statement about the video. It was not immediately clear where Dunlap obtained the video.
| — Hat tip: TN | [Return to headlines] |
LONDON, Ky. (WKYT/Gray News) — Kentucky law enforcement officials are still searching for a suspect in a mass shooting that happened on Interstate 75 over the weekend.
Kentucky State Police is leading the ongoing manhunt for 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch of Woodbine, Ky. Police say Couch shot five people on I-75 in Laurel County on Saturday evening.
According to warrants obtained for Couch, he faces five counts of attempted murder and five counts of assault with the possibility of more charges to be added later.
A man who did not want to be identified spoke with WKYT and said he believes he saw Couch moments after multiple cars and trucks were shot on I-75 Saturday.
“A black SUV, white male got out of it, no shirt on, red hat on backward, blue jeans. Comes running through the intersection, comes to the lot right here by my trailer.”
The man says he had just left the Wildcat ATV park when the suspect ran past him and then escaped into the woods east of Exit 49. He says police flooded the area shortly afterward.
“Had I not broken a brake line, I would have been on the interstate as he was shooting. That was scary,” he said.
Officials say 12 vehicles were hit by gunfire. They estimate at least 20 to 30 rounds were fired.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
The leader of the congressional committee investigating the assassination attempt on Donald Trump says the autopsy report of shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks is stomach-churning.
Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., the top Republican in charge of the probe told DailyMail.com that the report and its grisly details are ‘gruesome.’ However, he did not provide a timetable for when the autopsy would be released publicly.
Kelly, who represents Butler, Pennsylvania, where the shooting occurred, has led several investigative trips to the fairgrounds where Trump spoke to further uncover details about the tragedy that left one dead and several, including the former president, injured.
On Tuesday, Kelly exclusively told DailyMail.com that the autopsy should not be seen by those who ‘don’t have a strong stomach.’
Though he admitted he has not fully reviewed the coroner’s report, he assured DailyMail.com the contents were horrific.
‘The autopsy, there’s a warning that goes with it,’ Kelly continued. ‘It’s pretty graphic.’
He also mentioned how it is ‘really important’ to remember the Crooks family when considering the autopsy, noting how they ‘lost somebody’ that fateful day as well.
Kelly also disclosed that the FBI told him Crooks exhibited strange behavior before the shooting.
That included ‘walking around the house talking to himself’ and ‘flapping his arms,’ Punchbowl news first reported.
‘There was some indication that something was wrong,’ the chairman said.
Former First Lady Melania Trump also has questions that remain unanswered in the shooting saga.
‘The attempt to end my husband’s life was a horrible, distressing experience,’ Melania said in a video released Tuesday.
‘Now the silence around it feels heavy. I can’t help but wonder why didn’t law enforcement officials arrest shooter before the speech. There is definitely more to this story. And we need to uncover the truth,’ she added.
The video was in promotion of her upcoming memoir, but the pointed remarks about her husband’s near-death experience stirred questions over whether she has been satisfied by the investigation and response to the tragedy.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Pledges to Fire Federal Employees Engaged in Censorship Pressure
Former United States President Donald Trump’s pledge to safeguard the First Amendment was a highlight of his recent campaign rally in Wisconsin. Standing against the Big Tech censorship attempts by the ruling Biden-Harris administration, Trump stated his commitment to protecting the free speech of Americans, “I will sign an executive order banning any federal employee from colluding to limit speech, and we will fire every federal bureaucrat who is engaged in domestic censorship under the Harris regime.”
His remarks come in the wake of heightened debate around safeguarding free speech rights. The First Amendment, recognized as the bedrock of American values and rites, guarantees every citizen the right to voice their opinion, peacefully protest, and practice their religion without intrusion from the government. However, these liberties have come under fire in the online world, with government pressuring social media platforms to censor speech.
Under the Biden-Harris governance, the administration has been accused of muzzling so-called “misinformation.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
One of President Donald Trump’s top allies, former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Ric Grenell, has issued a warning for voters about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) efforts to buy up American farmland.
Grenall is raising the alarm about Communist China’s “aggressive strategy” to take control of the U.S. food supply by buying up farmland.
“We’re doing this event in Pennsylvania, because what we’ve seen from the Communist Chinese government over the last 10 years is a very aggressive strategy to infiltrate into the United States” in a variety of ways, Grenell said in an interview with Breitbart.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump said he would’ve “probably took a bullet to the head” in response to overheated rhetoric from Harris and Democrats, referring to his near-assassination at a Pennsylvania campaign rally on July 13.
“I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things that they say about me,” the 45th president responded when Harris charged that he would “weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are squaring up in Philadelphia for what is likely to be their sole debate of this campaign.
The two sparred over the debate rules with Harris wanting the mics to be unmuted. Ultimately, the same rules from Trump’s previous debate with Biden — which proved disastrous for the prez — were upheld and the mics were left muted.
At the debate former President Trump raised the issue of Haitian migrants allegedly eating pets.
Follow along with tonight’s theatrics with the Post’s bingo card and drinking game.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on Republicans to vote against a short-term government spending package absent “absolute assurances” that it would bolster “election security.”
“If Republicans in the House, and Senate, don’t get absolute assurances on Election Security, THEY SHOULD, IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, GO FORWARD WITH A CONTINUING RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“THE DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO ‘STUFF’ VOTER REGISTRATIONS WITH ILLEGAL ALIENS,” he argued. “DON’T LET IT HAPPEN — CLOSE IT DOWN!!”!
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Claims White Supremacists Tried to Use Telegram to Spark Race War, Put Out Hit on Senator
WASHINGTON — US prosecutors unveiled criminal charges Monday against two alleged leaders of a white supremacist gang, saying they used the Telegram social media site to solicit attacks on black, Jewish, LGBTQ people and immigrants, aiming to incite a race war.
The group, dubbed “The Terrorgram Collective,” used the site to celebrate white supremacist attacks around the world and solicit racially motivated violence, prosecutors said in an indictment unsealed in federal court in Sacramento, California.
Dallas Humber, 34, of Elk Grove, California, and Matthew Allison, 37, of Boise, Idaho, each face 15 criminal counts, including soliciting hate crimes and conspiring to provide material support to terrorism.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
USDA Virus Experiments With China Call Into Question Secretary’s Congressional Testimony
When Virginia GOP Rep. Ben Cline asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack about the department’s continued work with the Chinese Community Party-linked Chinese Academy of Sciences following U.S. debarment of its Wuhan Institute of Virology, for high-risk viral research the feds belatedly acknowledged as such, Vilsack claimed it was not a “collaboration per se.”
The former Iowa governor and three-month Democratic presidential candidate told the March budget hearing “everyone is doing their own separate research” in what Cline called a “$1 million collaboration on risky bird-flu evolution lab experiments” among the U.S., U.K. and China, which started in April 2021 and end in February 2026.
Vilsack snapped that there was “nothing to terminate” when Cline asked him to cut off CAS, accusing Cline of “doing a disservice to the professionals and scientists” at USDA by doubting the secretary’s claim that “all of this [U.S. data] is basically walled off” from its partners.
Nearly 200 pages of public records obtained by the White Coat Waste Project and published by the animal-research watchdog last week calls into question some of Vilsack’s representations, showing that everyone — including the USDA lead — referred to the project as a collaboration.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A judge sentenced the last of the Coutts, Alberta protesters on Monday to six-and-a-half years in prison for their role in a blockade that stopped traffic on the Canada-US border during the Freedom Convoy trucker protest against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Covid mandates.
Justice David Labrenz read the sentence as Anthony Olienick displayed no emotion while his co-defendant, Chris Carbert, “appeared glum and folded his arms,” according to CBC News. Because the two have been locked up since their arrest, Labrenz gave them nearly four years credit for jail time already served.
The sentence came as a surprise to many sitting in the courtroom, as Rebel News reporter Sheila Gunn Reid noted in an X post: “The crowd is gasping. Olienick’s mother stares at the floor. No reaction from Carbert and Olienick.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has expressed concern at what he called the rise of the far-right in Europe.
The leader of the left-wing Labour Party cited civil unrest in Britain over mass immigration, and the electoral gains made by nationalist parties in Germany and France as an example of “right-wing extremism” becoming more mainstream.
“We can see what’s happening in Germany with the recent election, and we can see what’s happening in France and other countries, and I’m worried about the far-right because it’s the snake oil of the easy answer,” Starmer said in an interview with the BBC broadcast on Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Apple and Google Lose EU Appeals, Face Billions in Penalties
The European Union’s highest court ruled against Apple and Google on Tuesday in two landmark legal cases, delivering a major victory for the bloc’s efforts to regulate the technology industry, and leaving the tech giants facing billions in tax bills and penalties.
The New York Times reports that the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled against Apple and Google in two separate cases on Tuesday. The decisions, which have been years in the making, are seen as a crucial test of the EU’s efforts to clamp down on the world’s largest technology companies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Austria’s FPÖ Surges in the Polls But May be Kept Out of Power
Austria’s hard-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) has extended its polling lead ahead of the September 29 vote though a power sharing deal with the country’s Conservatives looks unlikely.
The first large-sample survey after the summer break, a poll by Unique Research for the magazine Profil, has the FPÖ in first place with 28 per cent of the vote, up one per cent compared to previous surveys.
The Conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) is polling at 24 per cent, and the Social Democrats (SPÖ) 20 per cent. Given that no party looks likely to have a majority in parliament on its own, two or three will have to enter a coalition to form Austria’s next government.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: COVID ‘Vaccines’ Linked to Excess Death Surge
A troubling new analysis of Austria’s official government data has shown that the nation’s excess deaths only surged among the population after people were given Covid mRNA “vaccines,” and not during the height of the pandemic.
The data was analyzed by Dr. Matthias Reitzner, a professor at Osnabrück University in Germany.
Prof. Dr. Reitzner, mathematician and actuary, revealed that the data shows nothing unusual regarding excess deaths during the supposed peak of the pandemic.
However, excess mortality rates surged during the second and third years of the pandemic — after the Covid mRNA shots were rolled out for public use.
Interestingly, Dr. Reitzner has previously conducted a similar study of the German government’s official data in February 2024.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Audi employees at parent Volkswagen’s Brussels plant have lashed out at their bosses by stealing 200 keys, saying completed cars wouldn’t leave the factory until there was clarity over their futures.
The Brussels Audi plant was earmarked for potential closure in July as Volkswagen attempts to undergo a €10 billion cost-cutting drive, which includes a 20% cut in administrative personnel costs.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bulgarian Revival MPs Table Bill for ‘Russia-Style’ Foreign Agents Law
Bulgaria’s pro-Russian radical party Revival has presented parliament with its proposal for a bill on foreign agents, which Euractiv Bulgaria found copies the controversial Russian law.
The law is aimed at ensuring transparency and protecting Bulgaria’s national interests, said the far-right party, which is part of the new Sovereignists group in the European Parliament.
“The bill is based on the US Foreign Agents Registration Act, which has been in force since the 1950s in the US and has been adapted to Bulgarian legislation,” said party leader Kostadin Kostadinov.
However, a check by Euractiv showed that the bill has nothing to do with the 1950s US law but is entirely copied from the Russian one.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Corruption Allegations Resurface Against Bulgaria’s EU Commissioner Nominee
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s pursuit of elusive gender balance in the next cabinet is more important to her, it seems, than the rule of law, integrity, and even her own reputation.
Von der Leyen asked Bulgaria to formally nominate its female candidate in preference to its male applicant, despite the former’s alleged involvement in a major corruption scandal just six years ago. Undoubtedly, this will be brought up against her in the years ahead if she gets into office.
As we have covered extensively before, the gender of future commissioners appears to take priority over competence in the eyes of von der Leyen. She wants a gender-balanced Commission so badly that she demanded all countries put forward two names instead of their usual one—one male and one female applicant—so that she could handpick a ‘representative’ mix.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Disgraced Islamic Scholar Tariq Ramadan Convicted of Rape by Swiss Appeals Court
A Swiss appeals court on Tuesday found Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan guilty of rape and sexual coercion in a Geneva hotel 15 years ago, overturning last year’s lower court acquittal.
AFP reports the court said it “annuls the judgement of 24 May 2023” and sentenced the former Oxford professor to three years in prison, two of them suspended.
Swiss-born Ramadan, 62, is the grandson of the founder of the Islamist movement the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and wrote his doctoral thesis on his ancestor.
Named by Time Magazine in 2004 among the 100 most influential people in the world for his influence on European Muslims, Ramadan has stirred controversy throughout his intellectual career.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Drones Shut Down Sweden’s Largest Airport
Air traffic at Sweden’s Stockholm-Arlanda airport was shut down for two and a half hours in the early hours of Monday morning after four unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were spotted over its runways. On Monday night, at least one unidentified drone was again seen above the landing strips at the airport. The incursion has raised concerns about Russian interference in the new NATO country, though authorities are exercising caution in pointing fingers.
“We suspect it was a deliberate act, but I cannot answer what the purpose was,” police spokesman Daniel Wikdahl told state broadcaster SVT.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Court Fines Apple, Google Billions in Latest Anti-Big Tech Offensive
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ordered both Apple and Google to hand over billions of euros in fines and unpaid tax revenue in two separate rulings.
Both judgments on September 10 have been celebrated by the European Commission, which has been pressuring US Big Tech in recent years with its competition rules and bespoke tech regulation.
The larger of the two rulings was against Apple, with the ECJ finding in favour of the EC’s claim that the company had illegally benefited from a “sweetheart” tax arrangement with the Irish Government between 1991 and 2014.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Set to Get Pared-Down iPhone 16 Due to Digital Markets Act
The European Union is set to get a pared-down iPhone 16 as a result of its regulatory environment, including the now-infamous Digital Markets Act.
Apple unveiled the new iPhone series alongside new Apple Watches and AirPods during its Glowtime event late on September 9.
According to the tech giant, the new iPhone is “built for Apple Intelligence”, the company’s much anticipated locally-operated learning model — which it claims is capable of altering texts, making custom images and assisting users with quickly finding information about flight times and restaurants.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
European Car Industry ‘Risks Being Crushed by EU Fines’, Renault Chief Warns
Luca de Meo, head of the Renault group, has said he fears European car manufacturers will suffer under stricter emissions rules for new cars imposed by the European Commission.
His warning came amid alarm bells over a shrinking European vehicle market, together with strong competition from Asia, which together are seen as forming a perilous situation.
Starting from 2025, the European Union will introduce tough emission restrictions on new vehicles which will only be allowed to emit 93.6 grams of CO2 per km, instead of the current 116 grams per km.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former Hungarian President Co-Founds Non-Profit to Solve Birthrate Crisis
Katalin Novak, the former president of Hungary, has co-founded a new non-profit organization committed to solving the collapsing global birthrate.
In an announcement on her social media platforms, Novak confirmed the launch of X-Y Worldwide — a platform raising awareness of the birthgap it describes as “the biggest crisis of our time.”
Novak founded the organization with Stephen J. Shaw, a British data scientist and demographer with a considerable pedigree in opposing anti-natalism and promoting traditional family values.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Ruling Far-Left Government Crashes to Record Low in New Poll, AfD Surges
After the Alternative for Germany (AfD) sunk down in the wake of the Correctiv scandal over the summer, the party has gone progressively higher in national polls, with the latest from Insa showing it has reached 19.5 percent, making it the second most popular party in the country.
At the same time, the far-left coalition government has reached a new record low, combined to receive only 28 percent of the vote, with the Social Democrats (SPD) at only 14 percent, the Greens at 10 percent, and the Free Democrats (FDP) at 4 percent. The FDP is therefore under threat of failing to meet the 5 percent threshold needed to join parliament.
The poll also shows the Christian Democrats (CDU) in the lead with 32.5 percent, while the left-wing BSW is at 10 percent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Left MEP Pappas Blasts Colleagues Over ‘Vulgar’ Complaint
Greek Syriza MEP Nikos Pappas has hit back at the European People’s Party (EPP) after it sent a letter of complaint about him to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
In the letter, leading EPP figures demanded “necessary measures” be taken against The Left group MEP after Greek media reported he had verbally abused the police in his home country.
In a reaction to Brussels Signal, Pappas claimed he was the real victim and that the EPP and Greek New Democracy Party were in the wrong.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary: PM Orban Backs ‘Economic Neutrality’ Between East and West
Hungary’s new economic policy must be neutral and free of politics, particularly when it comes to trade with the East and the West, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said over the weekend at a countryside conservative meeting that serves as the traditional opening of the autumn political season.
“The new economic policy must be neutral. This means that we must resist any kind of intervention, we must stay out of the conflicts that force us to choose,” Viktor Orban said in his speech at the picnic in the village of Kötcse, an excerpt of which he shared in his new video.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary’s MOL Energy Giant Reaches Agreement on Oil Transports From Russia
Hungary’s oil and gas company MOL has signed agreements with oil suppliers and pipeline operators to ensure the continuous supply of crude oil via the Druzhba pipeline, also known as Friendship pipeline, from Russia, the Hungarian company said on the local stock exchange’s website on Monday.
The Friendship pipeline runs through Belarus and Ukraine, onward to Hungary and Slovakia.
MOL announced that following the agreements, it will take over ownership of the oil volumes concerned from Russia at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border with effect from Sept. 9, 2024. The updated supply agreements and the new procedure for taking over the oil will be in full compliance with all relevant sanctions and regulations, including those of the EU and Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Russian Secret Services Involved in Theo Van Gogh’s Murder: Sources Say in Documentary
Russian secret services played a role in the murder of Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam 20 years ago, a Chechen arms dealer and other sources revealed in the documentary De Wapenroute by Sinan Can and Daniëlle van Lieshout. The documentary follows the trial of the murder weapon — an expensive pistol from Croatia that somehow ended up in the hands of Mohammed Bouyeri, the Telegraaf reports.
Bouyeri, a member of the jihadist Hofstadgroep, shot the controversial columnist and director Theo van Gogh dead in Amsterdam-Oost on 2 November 2004. It was the first jihadist murder in the Netherlands. How Bouyeri, a man who lived on welfare benefits, got his hands on the murder weapon — a pistol worth at least 2,500 euros — remains a mystery.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Prosecutors to Prosecute More Than Ten Extinction Rebellion Activists for Roadblock
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) wants to prosecute 13 climate activists for blocking the A10 motorway in Amsterdam. According to the Public Prosecutor’s office in Amsterdam, the activists caused danger on the road at the start of the blockades. The activists were part of Extinction Rebellion (XR). A spokesperson confirmed that this is the first time that the OM will prosecute XR members for this reason.
OM wants to sue the drivers and renters of the cars used to block the traffic. According to OM, four of them were involved in two of these types of blockades.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New EU ‘Conservative-Left’ Group Could be Set Up Within a Year, Says Czech MEP
A new conservative left-wing alliance is in the process of forming in the European Parliament, with the potential of officially being established within a year, Czech MEP Ondrej Dostal (non-attached) revealed in an interview for Euractiv.cz.
“I am happy to inform that we are already having a coordination meeting on 11 Wednesday with Germans, Slovaks, and us,” Dostal told Euractiv.cz., referring to the three non-attached parties that would form the new alliance — Czech MEPs from the coalition Stacilo! (Enough!), Germany’s BSW (Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht), and Slovakia’s Smer.
This emerging group is trying to distance itself from the progressive left, focusing instead on more traditional left-wing values such as workers’ rights, peace and economic stability.
[Comment: I take it that the emerging group is ditching wokeness.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland is a Leader in Defense Spending, So What’s With All the Contract Cancelations and Delays?
Poland is getting cold feet on defense spending under the new left-liberal government, which is drawing criticism from conservatives concerned about the threat Russia poses to the east.
“In less than a year, contracts for K2 tanks, K9 and Krab gun-howitzers were withdrawn. Now, it’s time for the HIMARS,” writes Mariusz Blaszczak, Poland’s former Minister of National Defense in the Law and Justice (PiS) government, posted on X, citing information from “Rzeczpospolita.”
“Although we signed a framework agreement for 486 Himars artillery systems a year ago, negotiations on the details have not yet started. There is no chance that we will buy that many,” wrote the daily.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland: New Polling Shows KO Still Ahead, Confederation Still Strong
A new survey conducted by the Pollster Research Institute for the “Super Express” newspaper puts Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO) at 32.24 percent and the United Right, to which PiS belongs, at 31.64 percent, reports wpolityce.pl.
The right-wing Confederation polled 12.61 percent, while the Left got 10.21 percent and Third Way 8.82 percent.
The survey was conducted on Sept. 7-8 using the CAWI method on a sample of 1,061 adult Poles.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish PM’s Legal Blunder: Experts Slam ‘Illegal’ Move to Revoke Judge
Liberal Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has embarrassed himself by agreeing to the appointment of a Supreme Court judge, and then announcing that he would “revoke” his approval—an act that constitutional law experts say goes against the law.
Two weeks ago, Tusk countersigned, i.e., approved, a decision by the country’s president Andrzej Duda—an ally of the opposition conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party—to appoint a judge as chair of an assembly that would choose the new head of the Supreme Court’s civil chamber.
Tusk consented to this decision despite the fact that the judge in question, Krzysztof Andrzej Wesolowski, was appointed to the Supreme Court following the judicial reforms of the previous conservative government. Judges appointed during the PiS-era have been deemed illegitimate by the currently governing leftist-liberal parties.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Slovakia in Line for Brussels’ Rule-of-Law Blackmail
The European Union executive branch, the European Commission, is preparing to punish Slovakia’s sovereigntist government for its alleged violations of the rule of law, according to stories appearing in Slovak media and Bloomberg.
If the plan moves forward, the country would become the third EU member state, after Poland and Hungary, whose funds are frozen as a punishment for going against Brussels’ mainstream ideological lines.
By bringing ‘lawfare’ into its dealings with nations that elect conservative governments, Brussels continues to combine intolerance with punitive pressures for conformity in domestic policy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Crime Rises 3%, Driven by Increase in Rapes, Murders, and Cybercrime
Crime is up 3% in Spain in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2023, mainly due to an increase in rapes, murders, and cybercrime, an official report has found,
According to the Balance Trimestral de Criminalidad (Quarterly Crime Report) of Spain’s Interior Ministry, the total number of crimes recorded from January to June 2024 was 1,224,084—80.6% of which were “conventional crimes” while the remaining 19.4% were cybercrimes.
Cybercrimes include all crimes committed online, including fraud and online sexual offences.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spanish Judge Rejects Puigdemont Appeal, Confirms Amnesty Law Does Not Apply
Spain’s Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena confirmed on Tuesday (10 September) that he will not apply the controversial amnesty law to Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, citing an exemption for embezzlement of public funds.
Llarena rejected — as experts had expected — the appeal lodged by Puigdemont, leader of the right-wing separatist movement Together for Catalonia (JxCat), against a previous decision by the judge in the same vein.
Puigdemont, who made a brief and controversial visit to Barcelona on 8 August, has since then been back in Waterloo, near Brussels, where he went into self-exile after the events of 1 October 2017, waiting to be able to return definitively to Spain under the amnesty law.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Speaker’s Global War on Free Speech: Lindsay Hoyle’s Bold Push for Worldwide Censorship
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the lower chamber of the British Parliament, has shared his thoughts about the dangers of “misinformation” during an interview with BBC Radio, at the same time coming up with some fairly unusual proposals on how to counter that — even by the standards of today’s political climate of a “misinformation witch-hunt.”
Opponents will easily ridicule — but also warn about — his proposals as yet another attempt to set up a real-world Ministry of Truth, but this one comes with a twist: Hoyle wants his country to enact more “anti-misinformation” laws, but the sort that would be valid outside the UK.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The UK’s new left-wing government released the first of thousands of prisoners early on Tuesday morning, with convicts saying they had been convinced to vote for the Labour Party for life after gaining their liberty.
Over 1,700 extra convicts are being released from UK prisons today, considerably more than would normally be let out in a typical day and nearly double as many who would end their sentences in a week in normal times, it is stated. If the government’s plan continues as advertised, the number of extra prisoners turned out onto the streets early, having served less than half of the court-ordered sentences, will rise to 5,000 in the coming weeks.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Shakiel Thibou, 20, is charged with the murder of 32-year-old Cher Maximen (pictured) on ‘Family Day’ at Notting Hill Carnival on 25 August.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A teenager assaulted a detective constable during a police interview and put him in a chokehold as he shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’, a court has heard.
Muhammad Zakir Arif, from Bury, Greater Manchester, lunged at the male officer as he was questioned on suspicion of being involved in terrorism offences.
The 18-year-old had been arrested a day earlier when he was stopped travelling in a taxi as a passenger and was found to be in possession of a Zombie-style knife and a machete in a rucksack.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
‘We Are Bitter’ — Beko Shuts Down 2 Factories in Poland and Workers Are Not Happy
Beko Europe is planning to close down its plants in Lódz and Wroclaw, affecting some 1,800 employees working at the home appliance manufacturer in both production and office/admin capacities.
The company’s announcement said the layoffs are part of a “production optimization plan aimed at securing a sustainable and profitable future for its industrial operations in Poland,” according to a statement sent to PAP last week.
Weak demand has affected the profitability of Beko Europe’s operations, and Polish production facilities, particularly in Lódz and Wroclaw, have been recording significant financial losses for several years, wrote wPolityce.pl.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Launches Biggest Drone Attack on Moscow Yet
At least one woman was killed and dozens of homes were destroyed in Ukraine’s largest drone attack on the Russian capital to date.
Kyiv also targeted airports for the first time, forcing around 50 flights to be diverted around Moscow. Yaroslav Trofimov, a journalist at The Wall Street Journal, suggested that officials were “seeking some reciprocity” for the fact there haven’t been any civilian flights in Ukraine since February 2022.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Unleashes Largest Drone Attack on Moscow Yet During War, Killing Woman
Ukraine struck the Moscow region on Tuesday in its biggest drone attack so far on the Russian capital, killing at least one woman, wrecking dozens of homes and forcing about 50 flights to be diverted from airports around Moscow.
Russia said it had destroyed at least 20 Ukrainian attack drones as they swarmed over the Moscow region, which has a population of more than 21 million.
At least one person was killed near Moscow, Russian authorities said. Three of Moscow’s four airports were closed for more than six hours, and almost 50 flights were diverted.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the drone attack was another reminder of the real nature of Ukraine’s political leadership, which he said was made up of Russia’s enemies.
“There is no way that nighttime strikes on residential neighbourhoods can be associated with military action,” Peskov said.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
A former Australian Federal Police officer has weighed in on the biggest mystery surrounding a coffee attack in Brisbane that left a baby with life-threatening burns.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Australia Plans Ban on Most Children Using Social Media
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday his left-wing government is preparing to impose a minimum age limit, probably between 14 and 16, for children to use social media.
“I want to see kids off their devices and onto the footy fields and the swimming pools and the tennis courts. We want them to have real experiences with real people because we know that social media is causing social harm,” Albanese said in an interview with the Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
“Parents are worried sick about this,” he said of social media. “We know they’re working without a map. No generation has faced this challenge before.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Government Makes HUGE Gender Demand of Australian Sporting Clubs, Holding Funding Back as Ransom
Australian sporting organisations will lose government funding if half their board members aren’t women within three years.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek recently blocked the proposed site of a tailings dam for the goldmine in Blayney, in the state’s central west.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
“It’s a Crazy Story”: Illegal Alien MS-13 Gangster Kills Girl, Then Enrolls in Maryland High School
Investigative journalist Chris Papst of Fox45 News’ Project Baltimore revealed that a Maryland high school unknowingly allowed an illegal alien MS-13 gang member, at the center of a murder investigation, to enroll after local, state, and federal authorities failed to inform the school’s administration of the student’s criminal background. Tragic events like this should never be happening in the first world. Yet, the news cycle is becoming inundated with these types of horrific events because of disastrous open southern border policies pushed by the Biden-Harris team.
The story begins with illegal alien and MS-13 gang member Walter Martinez, who was 16 years old and murdered Kayla Hamilton in 2022. Months before the murder, Martinez walked across the open southern border and was apprehended by the US Border Patrol. He was then sent to a sponsor in Maryland.
Fox’s Papst laid out a timeline of Martinez’s illegal entry into America to the murder of an American citizen to his time at a Maryland public school.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jordan Knight was told by a Q+A producer he wouldn’t be allowed to ask about international student numbers.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Busing Migrants to Brussels: Hungary Both Praised and Criticised
The Hungarian Prime Minister’s Political Director Balazs Orban defended his government’s migration policies on Tuesday, September 10th, after Hungary came under fire for promising to bus migrants to Brussels.
“Hungary has been protecting the European Union’s external borders without any financial support from Brussels; what we received instead was political and financial blackmail. This nonsense must stop now!” Balazs Orban wrote on his X account.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Death of Schengen: Germany Reinstates Border Checks Amid Migration Surge
The German government has decided to implement temporary border checks on all of its land borders for the next six months in an attempt to curb illegal crossings into the country, the Interior Ministry announced on Monday, September 9th.
“We want to further reduce irregular migration. To this end, we are now taking further steps that go beyond the comprehensive measures currently in place,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said. She added that border checks are necessary until the EU’s external borders are sufficiently reinforced through joint action, although Brussels still lacks the legal framework for that.
According to Faeser, the measure is justified by the need to protect the country’s internal security from the “acute dangers posed by Islamist terror” and cross-border crime, as well as to alleviate the crushing “burden” on municipalities of having to accommodate and integrate too many asylum seekers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Does the New PM Want to Create a French Ministry of Immigration?
Newly appointed French Prime Minister Michel Barnier is rumoured to be considering creating an immigration ministry—an idea reflecting the concern of the French electorate while causing uproar on the Left.
Two days after his appointment, Barnier explained that he wanted to make immigration a central concern. He said he wanted to “control immigration in a rigorous and humane way.” “There is always the feeling that borders are sieves and that migratory flows are not under control,” he added.
The idea is not new: under President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007, a Ministry of “Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Supportive Development” was created.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DOJ Admits Illegal Immigrant Stole American’s ID, Voted in US Elections
Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that an illegal immigrant agreed to plead guilty to charges of stealing an American citizen’s identity, using it to vote in elections, and obtaining a U.S. passport.
Angelica Maria Francisco, 42, who had been residing in Alabama but is originally from Guatemala, was charged with making false claims of citizenship in connection with voting, aggravated identity theft, false statements to apply for a U.S. passport, and use of a U.S. passport obtained by false statements, said the DOJ in a news release on Sept. 5.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Hands Afghan Criminals €1K for Deportation
German authorities late last month celebrated the first deportation flight to Afghanistan—carrying 28 convicted criminals—since the Taliban took power. “The action,” said Der Spiegel, “is intended to send a signal.”
But concerns have emerged after a separate report revealed that these deportees were paid around 20 times more than is standard for rejected asylum seekers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Announces Border Crackdown Amid Continuing Collapse of Schengen Free Movement Zone
The German Government has announced a new border-control crackdown in the country ahead of its next State-level elections.
The new crackdown comes ahead of the vote in Brandenburg, set to take place on September 22.
Interior minister Nancy Faeser — a member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) — declared that the measures will last for six months and are aimed at preventing illegal immigration and the influx of Islamic extremists following a number of terror stabbings in the country.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The violent Venezuelan migrant gang Tren de Aragua has taken over a hotel in the Texas border city of El Paso — turning into a hub of fighting, drinking and hard-partying behavior, authorities say.
The cops have been called nearly 700 times to the Gateway hotel.
Surveillance footage shows one man wielding a hatchet, others were spotted with knives and at least one man was seen firing a gun inside, the El Paso County Attorney said.
Much of this activity happened while children were present.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary has upped the ante in the migration debate with Brussels by presenting the buses it can use to send migrants to the EU capital, with a Hungarian politician repeating the threat on Monday after Belgium said it would reject the buses.
If Brussels “wants us to let them in, we will let them in—put them on the bus, and drop them off in front of [European Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen’s office,” said Tamas Menczer, the spokesman for the Hungarian ruling party Fidesz in a video posted on his Facebook account on Monday, Sept. 9.
The original threat that made international headlines was made by Hungary’s interior minister, Bence Rétvari, during a press conference in front of a fleet of buses last week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The European Union is a power-hungry monster that grabs sovereignty and never gives it back, the leader of the largest party in the Netherlands has claimed.
Geert Wilders, the firebrand nationalist who guided his Party For Freedom (PVV) to electoral success in the Dutch legislative elections last November, reinforced his opposition to “ever closer union” — a phrase coined by the architects of the European treaties committed to European federalism.
Speaking to CNBC from the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy on Sunday, the Dutch politician claimed that the European Union needed less centralized control and more power returned to national parliaments, particularly on issues like immigration.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish PM Slams German Border Controls
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Tuesday (10 September) sharply criticised Germany’s decision to tighten controls on all its borders, including the one it shares with Poland.
Germany will introduce controls at all its land borders from 16 September to fight against irregular migration, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced on Monday (9 September).
But Poland, which borders Germany to the east, did not react kindly to the announcement.
“This type of action is unacceptable from the Polish point of view,” Tusk told a press conference in Warsaw on Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Coalition Divided Over Remigration Allowance
Sweden’s ruling coalition, halfway through its four-year term, faces a deepening division over the thorny issue of raising the voluntary remigration allowance, strongly criticised by the Liberal Party.
As the Swedish Parliament resumed session on Tuesday (10 September), the delicate issue of increasing voluntary aid for remigration caused tension between the Liberals and the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD).
Sweden is currently ruled by a minority centre-right coalition made up of the Moderates (EPP), the Christian Democrats (EPP), and the Liberals (Renew), which are supported by the Sweden Democrats (ECR).
“It is time for the Liberals to show balls and show that we make a difference,” said Liberal MEP (Renew) Karin Karlsbro to Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
“We should not contribute to the implementation of ill-considered proposals that are actually based on the SD’s harsh rhetoric,” she added.
The far-right SD party (ECR) has long pushed for a repatriation policy for foreign-born residents along the lines of the Danish system, where people leaving the country permanently can receive allowances of up to 330,000 Danish Kroner (DKK) (€44,000).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A 15-year-old boy from Syria who arrived in Sweden as a refugee has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following a school shooting last week.
Authorities detained the boy on Saturday in relation to the attack, which occurred shortly after 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday at Trångsund School in Huddinge.
A gunshot was fired from inside a school restroom resulting in serious injury to one 15-year-old victim who was taken to the hospital for emergency surgery. The school’s principal later announced the surgery had been successful and the victim was not expected to have any long-lasting injuries.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tensions Rise in Brussels Over Hungarian Threat to Bus-in Migrants
Politicians in Belgium have become nervous about Hungarian threats to send migrants to the EU capital, with State Secretary for Migration Nicole de Moor, along with Brussels Mayor Philip Close, saying they will block any buses from entering the city.
The Hungarian Government has said it plans to confront the capital: “If Brussels wants illegal migrants, they can have them”.
Since the press conference on September 6, where Hungary showed a line of buses ready to go offering migrants a free one-way trip to Brussels, politicians have been weighing in.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Austria will not accept illegal migrants turned away at the German border, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said on Monday after Berlin announced its intention to reinstate controls at all internal EU borders.
The Austrian minister told German tabloid newspaper Bild that under no circumstances would Vienna entertain receipt of migrants refused entry into Germany, warning that any plans to turn migrants away at the border would be unlawful under the current arrangements.
“Austria will not accept people who are rejected from Germany. There is no wiggle room. That is current law,” Karner told the newspaper.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Says Illegal Immigration is Destroying US Economy, References Springfield and Aurora
Former President Donald Trump said that illegal immigration is part of the reason why the economy and cost of living is bad for all Americans during the second presidential debate.
“We have millions of people pouring into our country from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums,” Trump said. “And they’re coming in and they’re taking jobs that are occupied right now by African Americans and Hispanics and also unions. Unions are going to be affected very soon.”
He then went on to reference the towns of Springfield, Ohio, and Aurora, Colorado. Aurora made headlines when videos circulated online of Venezuelan gangs occupying apartment buildings in Colorado. Springfield in Ohio has similarly made news amid reports of Haitian migrants wreaking havoc on the small town.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Why Not Deport Foreign Criminals Instead of Emptying the Jails, Reform’s Richard Tice Questions
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice has questioned why the left-wing Labour Party government is releasing criminals back onto the streets early rather than deporting the thousands of foreign criminals clogging up space in British jails.
In a question posed in the House of Commons, Tice, who serves as Nigel Farage’s second-in-command questioned: “Why, when there are some 10,000 foreign criminals blocking up space in our jails, why aren’t they being removed and deported, simultaneously saving the British taxpayer billions of pounds every year and having the support of millions of British voters?”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DeSantis: Fraudulent Petitions Used to Get Radical Abortion Amendment on Florida’s Ballot
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has revealed that state officials have discovered fraudulent petitions were used to get a radical amendment on abortion added to Florida’s ballots.
Law enforcement officials are going to thousands of people’s homes in Florida to investigate the issue.
Investigators are visiting people listed on the petitions to see if they signed their support for putting a far-left pro-abortion amendment on the ballot.
Amendment 4 is so extreme that the state of Florida has deployed resources to warn voters how the dangerous amendment puts women’s health and safety at risk.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
United Nations Agency Declares War on ‘Gendered Language’
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)—global guardian of trademarks and patents—is cracking down on the use of so-called masculine terminology in its communications and documentation.
Out go such words as ‘forefathers,’ ‘lumberjack,’ and ‘cavemen,’ and the phrase ‘brotherhood of man.’ In comes a series of stretched neologisms, with all the charm of something thrown together by committee—if not by a veterinarian trying to reassemble animals amid a butcher’s shop window display.
Despite widespread mockery, the process of eliminating ‘problematic’ words also has a sinister side.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“New EU ‘Conservative-Left’ Group Could be Set Up Within a Year, Says Czech MEP. This emerging group is trying to distance itself from the progressive left, focusing instead on more traditional left-wing values such as workers’ rights, peace and economic stability.”
[Comment: I take it that the emerging group is ditching wokeness.]
Yes. Even though I am not “leftist”, I quite agree with these guys because they go back to the “leftist roots” – worker’s rights, unions, etc. Or at least I hope so.
Otherwise – today’s “left” is mostly preoccupied with gimme-grants, LGBT, electric cars for rent, and they make policies to make everybody need a bicycle.
Barn Swallow: “…and they make policies to make everybody need a bicycle.” That’s funny and will become true once the electricity goes out for good.
I am afraid it’s already become true. Or at least I bought an electric bicycle for this very reason: I expect some politician made “energy shocks” in the near future
“Obituaries are to be expected
Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebensya, has recommended waiting for obituaries of Western mercenaries, including US mercenaries, following a series of Russian attacks on Ukrainian military facilities.
The Russian military, the diplomat said, had recently carried out “impressive and effective” attacks on Ukrainian military facilities, including the Ukrainian Armed Forces training center in Poltava and a hotel in Krivoy Rog where Ukrainian intelligence officers were staying.
“A distinctive feature of this series of attacks was the elimination of a significant number of foreign instructors, specialists and mercenaries. Those following this issue can therefore expect numerous obituaries for the sudden demise of high-ranking US, British, French, Polish and Swedish military officers,” Nebensja said during a UN Security Council meeting.
Moscow had initially warned that anyone who helped Zelensky’s clique maintain its military capabilities was a legitimate target for Russia.”
This was a DeepL.com translation of a summary in German – https://www.russland.jetzt/2024/09/todesanzeigen-sind-zu-erwarten.html – of the original article in Russian:
https://ria.ru/20240910/nebenzya-1971954411.html