Tonight’s news is overwhelmingly Canadian, as truckers in the Freedom Convoy converged on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and brought traffic to a standstill. Prime Minister Justin “Baby Doc” Trudeau is self-quarantining at an undisclosed location during the crisis. The CBC floated the idea that the activists involved in the convoy have been infiltrated by Russian agents.
In other news, a Swiss man who identified as a woman changed his gender and as a result was able to retire on a full pension a year earlier than he would otherwise have been allowed to.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, Insubria, PS, Reader from Chicago, 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.
Breaking: Mitt Romney Tests Positive for COVID-19
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney’s office announced that the Republican senator has tested positive for COVID-19 late Friday.
Romney, who is fully vaccinated and boosted, does not have symptoms, his office stated. According to the politician’s office, Romney’s wife Ann, 72, tested negative. She is also fully vaccinated and boosted.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: Donald Trump Praises Canadian Truckers’ Convoy Protesting Trudeau’s COVID Tyranny
Speaking at his rally in Conway, Texas, former President Donald Trump voiced his support for the Canadian truckers’ “Freedom Convoy” protesting Trudeau’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates on Saturday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Colorado State University Has 17 Different Resources to Help Students ‘Affected’ By ‘Free Speech’
Colorado State University (CSU) referred students who are “affected by a free speech event” to 17 different departments or resources for help.
The sign, which was posted on the Instagram account of Turning Point USA Rockies Territory earlier this week and reported by Campus Reform, reads, “If you (or someone you know) are affected by a free speech event on campus, here are some resources.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Appears Open to Idea of Buying Media Platforms
Elon Musk has been in the news for his increased opposition to the narrative put forth by legacy media outlets like CNN and the New York Times.
Musk’s criticism of this partisan bias, and calls for the public to embrace the truth prompted conservative commentator and author Dinesh D’Souza to remark that Musk could alter the political and cultural landscape by having skin in the game, suggesting he could acquire or create a media platform of his own. Alternatively, he could run his own online university, D’Souza suggested.
“Tweets are fine @elonmusk but you can dramatically change the political and cultural landscape this way: 1. Buy and take over a major social media platform 2. Acquire or create a TV network like ABC, NBC or CBS 3. Create a world-class online university and offer degrees for free,” D’Souza wrote on Twitter.
[Comment: I’d like to see Elon Musk buy Twitter and fire the green haired, nose ring wearing freaks who censor messages.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Google Demonetizes Dan Bongino, Days After YouTube Ban
Google Ads has demonetized bongino.com, the website of political commentator and alternative tech investor Dan Bongino. The ban means the website cannot run Google Ads, which is the largest ads platform and one half of the online ads duopoly with Facebook.
The official Twitter account for bongino.com, Bongino Report, said the ban underscores the need for a “free speech parallel economy.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Joni Mitchell Leaves Spotify After it Refused to Ban Joe Rogan
Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell has announced that she is planning to remove her songs from the Spotify platform in support of Neil Young who left Spotify after it refused to censor its most popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience.
Young pulled out of Spotify, saying that it was allowing the spread of “misinformation” about Covid vaccines, seemingly for interviewing mRNA vaccine pioneer Dr. Robert Malone.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kid Rock Refuses to Play at Venues That Use Vaccine Passports
Musician Kid Rock has said that he will not be performing in venues with vaccine passports in his upcoming Bad Reputation Tour. He would rather refund fans money for their tickets.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
LA Area City Council Member Pushes to Ditch Liberal DA Because He’s ‘Not Doing His Job’
One Los Angeles area city council member is proposing that his individual city take over the prosecution of misdemeanor crimes, since the county district attorney is declining to prosecute various misdemeanors.
Andrew Lara, a council member for Pico Rivera told Fox News Digital that he thinks the measure is warranted because Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is “not doing his job.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Loudoun County Rapist Who ‘Scares’ Judge Will Not Have to Register as a Sex Offender
There’s something deeply wrong in Loudoun County, Va. A court of law found an unnamed 15-year-old male student guilty of rape and sodomy of two high school-aged minor girls. This predator put on a skirt, entered the girls’ bathroom at Stone Bridge High School, and forcibly raped a girl. The school quietly transferred him to another school, Broad Run High School, where he did it again to another girl. When the father of the Stone Bridge student came to a board meeting to talk about the fact that nothing was done after his daughter was raped on the school property and to speak out against allowing “transgendered” students to use the girls’ bathrooms, the board had him arrested and charged with disorderly conduct before he could speak. The Daily Wire broke the story.
A third victim says the same boy also sexually assaulted her but her case was not tried. At the sentencing, the judge initially sentenced the offender to a jail term and registry on the sex offender list for life. But that was before the lawyers appealed and the judge changed her mind.
WTOP News reported the judge’s change of heart.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin Accused of Withholding Evidence in Officer Misconduct Case
A whistleblower on Friday accused San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin of withholding evidence in the case of a police officer accused of using unnecessary force against a civilian, according to local reports.
Boudin first announced charges against San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Officer Terrance Stangle in December 2020. Stangle is accused of unnecessarily beating a man named Dacari Spiers with a baton in October 2019, breaking Spires’ wrist and leg, while responding to a domestic violence call.
Magen Hayashi, an investigator for the DA’s office, testified Friday that she felt she would be fired if she did not withhold certain evidence in the case against Stangle, according to NBC Bay Area.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
HOUSTON — A man walked away from serious injuries after Houston police say his car exploded outside a northwest Houston Sonic Drive-In restaurant late Friday night.
Authorities were called to the scene at around 11:15 a.m. in the 5100 block of West 34th Street near U.S. 290.
Police said a Sonic employee had just finished his work shift when he approached his car and smelled an odor similar to gasoline.
When the employee started the car, police said the smell worsened. He had rolled his windows down to air out the interior.
At some point, after the employee stepped out of the car, it apparently produced a large boom that could be heard from miles, according to police. Parts of the vehicle flew up to 100 feet away, including a large portion that flew over the restaurant.
The employee was transported to an area hospital to be treated for minor injuries, which police said it’s “a miracle he survived.”
Police said the employee’s relative had left his welding equipment, including an acetylene tank, inside the car’s trunk. Investigators said it may have triggered the explosion…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
WHO Director Praises Neil Young Spotify Censorship Demands
Earlier this week, singer-songwriter Neil Young told Spotify to either remove his music from the platform or ban Joe Rogan. The World Health Organization chief has now applauded Young for his censorship attempt.
Young feels Joe Rogan spreads misinformation by hosting guests who oppose the public health bodies’ narratives on Covid and its vaccines.
Unsurprisingly, Spotify chose to remove his music and continue hosting Rogan’s podcast, which is the most popular in the world.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
[Watch] Russell Brand Calls Out Fake News Media for Convoy Protest Blackout, Goes Viral
Russell Brand has made a podcast that is closing in on a million views. In it, he exposes the mainstream press for ignoring the massive truck convoy that is rolling across Canada right now. “There’s a great big convoy headed across Canada to protest vaccine mandates,” he says before pointing out that there are no stories about it in the press. “What’s going on?”
Then Brand lays out the important story, which mainstream media outlets won’t report, for the public. His report is trending on Twitter, and millions of people are discovering Brand’s awesome podcast for the first time and claiming he’s been “red-pilled.” As a longtime fan of Brand’s, I can assure you that this is who he has always been (at least for the last several years).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Alberta Trucker Convoy Protest Arrives at Legislature, Police Issue Traffic Advisories
Law enforcement agencies issued travel advisories for highways leading into Edmonton and roadways in the city Saturday afternoon as trucking convoys supporting protesters in Ottawa hold demonstrations.
Thousands of truckers and others opposing cross-border vaccine mandates and other public health restrictions rolled into Ottawa on Saturday for a rally on Parliament Hill.
Several Alberta convoys in support of the Ottawa demonstrations were organized to meet at the Alberta Legislature building in Edmonton.
RCMP say travel on Highway 60 near Acheson and eastbound on highways 16 and 16A is not recommended “due to heavy congestion and slow-moving traffic.”
In Acheson, at a starting point for one of the convoys, CTV News Edmonton saw approximately 400 vehicles.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Last year, Khan-Cullors resigned from the organization after an investigation revealed that she spent $3.2 million on homes in Georgia and Los Angeles. She reportedly denied that the homes were purchased with donations to BLM.
The purchase of the Toronto mansion, which is also called Wildseed Centre for Art and Activism, drew criticism from within the organization.
“For BLM Canada to take money from BLM Global Network [Foundation] for a building without consulting the community was unethical,” Canadian BLM activists Sarah Jama and Sahra Soudi recently said. “For BLM Canada to refuse to answer questions from young Black organizers goes against the spirit of movement-building.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canadians Feel Like They’re Part of the Freedom Convoy Team: Tamara Ugolini With Ezra Levant
Rebel reporter Tamara Ugolini joined last night’s episode of The Ezra Levant Show to discuss her experience watching crowds gather outside of the Greater Toronto Area as the Freedom Convoy passed through.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Convoys Against Mandates in Other Canadian Cities Support of Ottawa Truck Protest
EDMONTON — Like many of those gathered near the Alberta legislature to support a convoy of trucks that inched their way through Edmonton’s downtown streets for several hours on Saturday, Kyla Keulers has been to protests against COVID-19 health restrictions before.
But there were so many more people at Saturday’s event, and so many truck horns honking, that she felt optimistic things are about to change — that their protests will finally make a difference.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Enough is Enough, ‘ Say Protesters at Simcoe Rally
There was a celebratory mood as several hundred people gathered in Simcoe’s Wellington Park on Saturday to protest what they consider the government’s over-reaching vaccine mandates and other public health restrictions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hundreds Protest Outside N.L. Legislature in Support of Convoy
Protesters gathered outside Newfoundland and Labrador’s seat of government Saturday in support of the convoy calling for an end to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Hundreds of people rallied outside Confederation Building in St. John’s for what organizers called a freedom rally.
Some held signs supporting truckers and protesting vaccine mandates, while others waved Canadian flags.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jagmeet Singh Faces Backlash After Accusing Truckers of White Supremacy
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is facing backlash online after suggesting the Freedom Convoy is being led by white supremacists.
In a tweet meant to commemorate the 5 year anniversary of the Quebec City Mosque shooting, Singh said, “today Conservative MPs have endorsed a convoy led by those that claim the superiority of the white bloodline and equate Islam to a disease.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The last living drafter and signatory of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is the highest law of the land, is suing the Canadian federal government over its travel ban for the unvaccinated.
Former Newfoundland Premier Brian Peckford, 79, is the main applicant in a case brought against the federal government by the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, according to a press release.
“It is becoming more obvious that being vaccinated does not stop people from getting Covid and does not stop them from spreading it,” the former premier said in a statement. “The government has not shown that the policy makes flying safer—it simply discriminates.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Must Watch: Indigenous Drummers Lead Crowd in O Canada in Support of Truckers’ Convoy
Indigenous activists joined the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa Saturday. Footage shot by The Post Millennial’s Beth Baisch shows an Indigenous drum circle leading thousands in O Canada.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nova Scotia Bans Gatherings Along Highway in Support of Truckers
The Nova Scotia government has made it illegal to gather alongside highways in support of the Trucker convoy.
According to a press release from the government, the Highway Blockade Ban “applies to people who stop or gather alongside Highway 104, the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border, or at the Cobequid Pass toll area in support of the 2022 Freedom Convoy, the Atlantic Hold the Line event, or others organized to interfere with traffic.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Photos: ‘Freedom Convoy 2022’ Comes to Penticton Saturday Afternoon
The sounds of honking horns could be heard for hours across downtown Penticton on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 29) in support of the protest dubbed as ‘Freedom Convoy 2022’.
Protesters against COVID-19 mandates and other restrictions were seen at Penticton’s Gyro Park starting at 12 p.m. before hundreds of vehicles dressed in Canadian flags made their down Lakeshore Drive in support of the rally.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A group called the Freedom Fighters of Ontario’s West Coast was part of a protest in Goderich on Saturday afternoon that supported the truckers protesting in Ottawa.
Co-founder Conrad Angus says the group was formed in November of 2020 and he says what they want is the freedoms they’ve lost during the pandemic.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Raw: Rebels Arriving in Ottawa Ahead of Freedom Convoy Demonstrations
A big team from Rebel News is in Ottawa this weekend to cover the massive Freedom Convoy protest held on Saturday at Parliament Hill.
On Friday, our Rebel reporters began arriving in the nation’s capital, and these are some of the sights, sounds and thoughts they heard.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Hundreds of Supporters Rally in Langley to Support Ottawa Protest Convoy
Hundreds turned out in Langley Saturday morning to show support for the trucker convoy that arrived in Ottawa to demonstrate against vaccine mandates.
There were dozens of semi trailer trucks, and many more smaller trucks and cars at the Jan. 29 Langley event, most waving Canadian flags and bearing signs calling for an end to vaccine restrictions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Volunteers Gather Massive Food Donations for Freedom Convoy
On Thursday, January 27, thousands of people gathered throughout the day to support the one of the Freedom Convoys — a group of truckers destined for Ottawa — as it passed through Port Hope, Ontario.
The outpouring of support was especially evident in the vast amount of food and beverages collected and offered to attendees.
The food donations were so massive that the organizers had allotted “stations” in which they prepared bags upon bags of goods to aid the truckers in their journey and subsequent hunker down initiative in the nation’s capital. Hand written letters with thanks and well wishes were included in many of the packages sent off with truckers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: Mocha Bezirgan Talks Freedom Convoy on Newsmax
Rebel News Chief Videographer Mocha Bezirgan has been embedded with the Freedom Convoy of truckers and their supporters, as they travel across from all parts of the country to converge on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
After finally arriving in the nation’s capital on Friday night, Bezirgan was invited to discuss the convoy with Newsmax.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: Ezra Levant Addresses Trucker Freedom Convoy
Ezra Levant, along with 10 more Rebel News team members, made their way to Ottawa this weekend to cover the Truckers Freedom Convoy arriving in the nation’s capital. With the truckers and their supporters gathered outside of Parliament Hill, Ezra took to a stage that had been set up to deliver an impromptu speech to the crowd.
“It’s great to be here, and on behalf of Rebel News, I salute you,” Ezra told the crowd. Criticizing the mainstream media, the Media Party, Ezra praised those who were filming and documenting the day as independent citizen journalists.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: Trucker Says He’s Staying in Ottawa ‘Until Justin Resigns or All Mandates Are Lifted’
A trucker interviewed by The Post Millennial’s Beth Baisch in Ottawa on Saturday said that he plans to stay in Ottawa “until it’s over, until Justin resigns or all mandates are lifted.”
One trucker told The Post Millennial he is here “because I wanna fight for the freedoms of Canada and my grandchildren and my kids.” Given the opportunity to speak to Justin Trudeau, the trucker said, “I would ask him if he’s gonna listen to the people and let the people have a choice because we don’t have a choice in his legislation.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: Maxime Bernier Slams Trudeau for Running Away From Truckers’ Protest
PPC Leader Maxime Bernier was in attendance at the truckers convoy protest at Parliament Hill on Saturday and had harsh words for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who earlier in the day was whisked away to a secure location due to security concerns.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘We Don’t Need the Government to Tell Us What to Do’: Trucker on Why He Supports the Freedom Convoy
Recent events revolving around government mandates have exploded onto the international scene, as thousands of truckers from across Canada, as well as the U.S., converge on our nation’s capital.
This comes two years after the beginning of the pandemic, and it seems now Canadians have had enough.
There is a strong push by bailout media, alongside our politicians such as NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole, and the prime minister himself, Justin Trudeau, to accuse this group of being a fringe minority of extremists, or otherwise anti-vax, anti-mask conspiracy theorists, but this is simply not the case.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Winnipeg Crowds Cheer on Convoy Protesting COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates, Public Health Measures
Groups of people crowded the property in front of Winnipeg’s City Hall on Main Street and the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature to cheer on a convoy that’s protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates and public health orders.
The crowds first gathered at city hall around 1 p.m. on Saturday. The large crowd included families with young children, and people holding up signs that condemn vaccine mandates and passports as well as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
With Trudeau in Hiding, CBC Suggests Putin Behind Truckers’ Freedom Convoy
Update (1500ET): While in a normal world this would be beyond satire and ridicule, it is perhaps of no surprise whatsoever that the blame for instigation of the “Freedom Convoy” is already being placed on so-called ‘Russian actors’…
“…given Canada’s support of Ukraine… I don’t know it it’s far-fetched to ask but there is concern that Russian actors could be continuing to fuel things as this protest grows… perhaps even instigating it…”
As Brian Lilley writes at The Toronto Sun, “the media in this country is not acting as a neutral observer and conduit for news on this matter, most have decided the trucker convoy is the enemy and are treating it as such. Watch any of the news networks or, more importantly, read the Twitter accounts of supposedly objective journalists, or listen to the contempt in their voices as they ask questions to see that they have clearly taken sides.”
“Apparently, the journalists on Parliament Hill these days think their job is to hold the opposition and not the government to account. It also appears their job to support some protest movements and attack others based on the personal preferences of the journalists.”
The propaganda seems to have reached some, but not others…
In other news, while Trudeau hides in isolation, the Premier of Saskatchewan, a Canadian province that borders the US, calls for an end of the cross-border ban on unvaccinated truckers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
You’re Not Alone if You’re With the Freedom Truckers: Ezra Levant on Parliament Hill
“The only way to remove Justin Trudeau and the lockdownists are through hard work in elections. Through judicial actions [in] the courts of appeal… I think there is no shortcut out of the mess we’re in,” says Rebel Commander Ezra Levant.
Ezra is live in Ottawa now with the Trucker Freedom Convoy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Conservative politicians across Europe met in Madrid on Saturday to discuss the ongoing problems facing the continent and to reach a consensus on how to move forward with an alliance between like-minded parties disillusioned with the European Union’s political direction.
The summit was organized by Santiago Abascal, party leader of the conservative-nationalist Vox party in Spain, and notable participants included Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s National Rally and a presidential candidate aiming to dethrone Emmanuel Macron in April’s presidential election.
Conservative politicians from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, and the Netherlands were also in attendance.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dramatic Increase in Rape, Drug Use and Physical Assault Across France in 2021, New Stats Reveal
Cases of sexual violence, physical assault and domestic abuse continued to rise sharply across France last year, according to the latest report by the Ministry of the Interior.
Provisional statistics for 2021 released on Thursday and published in French daily Les Echos show a staggering 32 percent increase in the number of victims reporting rape or attempted rape, and a 33 percent increase in sexual harassment cases on 2020 — a total of 75,800 cases of sexual violence were reported to French authorities in 2021.
Reporting of domestic violence also saw a considerable rise last year, increasing by 14 percent on the previous year, while victims reporting physical assault increase by 12 percent.
The number of homicides also rose by 4 percent, with 1,026 cases compared to 983 in 2020.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Rockstar of the Right Marion Won’t Vote for Aunt Le Pen, Could Back Zemmour
Marion Marechal, former French MP and the niece of populist National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen stated she will not be voting for her aunt in the presidential election and may back conservative pundit Eric Zemmour.
The former MP told French media that she was reluctant to support her aunt Marine Le Pen, the leader of the populist National Rally (RN), who came in second during the presidential elections in 2017 and is a favourite to face off against current president Emmanuel Macron in the second round of this year’s elections.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Houllebecq’s Latest Novel is a Major Success
Although published only three weeks ago, the eighth novel by the most famous French writer, Michel Houellebecq, is already a major success. The right-wing, notoriously anti-immigrant, 65-year-old writer wrote this time nearly 800 pages about disintegration and death in France.
For a long time, Houellebecq was merely the most read and translated contemporary writer into most languages, but the ultra-liberal and liberal literary world tried to ignore him, especially after 2001, when he warned about the emergence of Islamic terrorism in his novel “At The Top.”
For nearly a decade, left-wing literary circles tried their best to ignore the writer, and his 2005 novel
The Possibility of an Island,” despite expectations, did not receive the prestigious Goncourt Award. He eventually won it with his 2010 novel, “The Map and the Territory.”
In 2015, his novel “Submission” was published exactly the day the Charlie Hebdo editorial staff was attacked and killed by Muslim terrorists. “Submission” is about the Muslim invasion of France. His penultimate and arguably best novel, “Serotonin,” is about loneliness, the search for God (and perhaps finding God), but one strand of the work actually foretells the rebellion of the French suburban and agricultural people, the Yellow Vest movement.
The title of his newly published novel, “Anéantir,” which has no official English translation yet, can be translated as Annihilate, Obliterate or Demolish. It takes place between 2026 and 2027, is centered around the presidential elections, and its protagonist is actually Bruno Le Maire, the incumbent Macron government’s economic minister, who comes from the otherwise right-wing party family.
The book was printed in 300,000 copies, of which 75,000 were sold in France on the very first weekend and a reprint is already underway. Just a few days after the original the German translation, Vernichten was also published.
Houllebecq is known for his outspoken views on a range of issues, and has openly supported presidential candidate Éric Zemmour’s past book, with Houllebecq saying that “Zemmour’s intelligence surpasses those who contradict him.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Historic Number of Irregularities in 2021 German Election
Four months after the German elections, some 2 100 objections were lodged with the so-called Bundestag Election Review Committee regarding voting irregularities.
This is reported by the magazine Business Insider citing sources in “committee circles”. The number is a historic record for objections lodged against elections in Germany.
In the past, between 80 and 300 lawsuits were common, and only in 1994 was there a clear outlier with 1 450 objections. Most of the submissions against the election came from Berlin.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mattarella Re-Elected Italian President for Second Term
‘Duty amid emergencies trumps personal expectations’ he says
(ANSA) — ROME, JAN 29 — Sergio Mattarella was re-elected Italian president Saturday on the eighth ballot of MPs, Senators and regional representatives after seven inconclusive votes forced political parties to beg the outgoing head of state to rethink his retirement plans.
The vote counters signalled to the 1,009 grand electors that the 80-year-old leftwing Christian, former minister and ex-Constitutional justice had reached the magic 505 vote mark, sparking a loud round of applause that lasted over four minutes.
Mattarella got 759 votes out of a total of 983 voters, compared to the 665 or 65.9% he garnered in his first election in 2015.
He is now the second most voted president after Sandro Pertini with 832 in 1978.
in third place, ex premier and Bank of Italy governor Carlo Azeglio Ciampi got 707 votes in 1999.
Mattarella said after being informed of his re-election that “the difficult days spent in the course of the grave health, economic and social emergency summon a sense of responsibility”, in his first remarks after his re-election. “These conditions impose not to shrink from the duties to which we are called and naturally they must prevail over other considerations and different personal prospects”, he said.
He said that there was “the commitment to interpret the expectations and hopes of our fellow citizens”.
Premier Mario Draghi said “Sergio Mattarella’s re-election as Italian president is splendid news for the Italians. I’m grateful to the president for his decision to satisfy the extremely strong will of the parliament to re-elect him for a second term”.
Former premier and centre-left Democratic Party (PD) leader Enrico Letta, who had led the call for Mattarella to be re-elected along with the League’s Matteo Salvini, said “it is a victory for all, I think parliament has shown wisdom because Mattarella was the president that the Italians wanted”.
Former premier and populist 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Giuseppe Conte said “Buon lavoro, Presidente Mattarella”, wishing the head of state well in his work.
Antonio Tajani, no 2 in the centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party of three-time ex-premier and media magnate Silvio Berlusconi,, who had unsuccessfully sought the presidency himself, said Mattarella was the “custodian of unity”.
Ettore Rosato, chair of former premier Matteo Renzi’s Italia Viva (IV) party, said “we still have a great President! Buon lavoro Sergio Mattarella”.
Mattarella’s re-election became breaking news worldwide.
Former premier and European Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, who had been a long shot for the presidency himself, said the re-election was “an excellent message of stability”.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “dear Mattarella, Italy can count on the EU”.
European Council President Charles Michel congratulated Mattarella and said under his guide Italy would continue to help the EU grow.
French President Emmanuel Macron said “best wishes Sergio, I’m counting on you for a strong Europe”.
USA Chargé d’Affaires Thomas Smitham tweeted: “Congratulations to Sergio Mattarella on being reelected as President of the Republic of Italy. We will continue to work together to promote shared values and strengthen the transatlantic partnership.” The head of the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI), Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, voiced “keen satisfaction” at the re-election of the head of state.
The head of the only opposition to Mario Draghi’s national unity government, Giorgia Meloni of the hard right Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, posted a video of the electors feting Mattarella captioned “what are they celebrating for?” FdI candidate, magistrate Carlo Nordio, got 90 votes, including the FdI’s 63.
Earlier majority whips said “we asked the president to unpack his boxes,” noting that Mattarella was already in the process of moving to a flat he had rented in Rome.
Draghi had reportedly told Mattarella and party leaders it was right for the head of state to remain in place “for the good and stability of the country”, sources said.
Mattarella’s precedessor Giorgio Napolitano is the only Italian president to have been re-elected, albeit reluctantly, serving another two years before standing down.
Neither the centre-left or the centre-right bloc had enough votes on its own to carry the election.
Ina previous vote the electors failed to give Italy its first woman head of state as Senate Speaker Elisabetta Caselllati fell short, while intelligence service chief Elisabetta Belloni was also briefly in the running but was never put to the vote.
Despite polling in the single figures in successive votes, Draghi had remained the bookies’ favourite to get the top institutional post in the eurozone’s third-largest economy and his chances are reportedly rising as the stalemate continued.
But many MPs feared the election of the economist and euro’s saviour as ECB chief would lead to them losing their seats in a snap election a year before the natural end of the parliamentary term.
Many MPs and the domestic and international business community were also worried that the departure of Mr ‘Whatever It Takes’ might jeopardise key reforms to the justice and tax systems and public administration needed to secure almost 200 billion euros in EU post-COVID recovery funds, helping turn Italy into a more modern, efficient and greener economy.
European media said after Mattarella’s re-election that EU leaders were relieved that both he and Draghi were staying on in their posts.
The president is a largely ceremonial figure representing national unity and upholding the Constitution as a sort of moral compass for the nation, but the person can wield power in government crises by naming premiers and rejecting ministers, while they may also ask parliament to reconsider legislation.
Mattarella is expected to be sworn in and give his inaugural address on Thursday, the day his current term ends.
People celebrated in the square outside the Quirinale chanting “Sergio, Sergio”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Soumaya Sahla has just resigned as an adviser to the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte. This is because it was recently revealed that in 2005, Sahla was arrested and charged with terrorist activities as a member of the Hofstad Network, an Islamic jihad group in the Netherlands that wanted to murder Wilders for criticizing of Islam. She had an automatic weapon when she was arrested, and spent three years in prison. The VVD apparently didn’t know or care about her past, until Wilders called attention to it. After all, they hate Wilders, too.
“Frits Bosch column: Soumaya had the entire VVD by the tail,” translated by Gary Fouse from “Column Frits Bosch: Soumaya had hele VVD bij de staart,” by Frits Bosch, De Dagelijske Standaard, January 27, 2022
‘‘Since 2011, Soumaya Sahla has been the right hand of the VVD celebrity Frits Bolkestein, 88. She was never a problem for the party until Geert Wilders rang the bell, and her past was revealed during the Second Chamber (Parliament) talks over the coalition accord. The mainstream media and the (2nd) Chamber were furious that Wilders came forward, he was “racist”. Until big objections arose against her from the VVD itself, “How can this be, why didn’t we know?”. A spicy detail is that Geert Wilders himself enjoyed the mentorship of van Bolkestein as a faction member of the VVD. It is completely right that Wilders came forward. Fortunately, there is still someone awake in the 2nd Chamber.
It would be appropriate if the mainstream media swiftly offered their apologies to Wilders. Naturally, they won’t do that. The moral level of the mainstream media and Chamber members is lousy, but that’s not news. Ignore the potential danger of a dangerous threat…
| — Hat tip: PS | [Return to headlines] |
Papers Please: 1.8 Million Italians Over 50 Face Fines for Being Unvaccinated
Italians over the age of 50 who are unvaccinated could face fines and suspension from work as the country’s vaccine mandate come into force on the first of February,
Unvaccinated Italians over the age of 50, around 1.8 million people, face one-off fines of 100 euros (£83/$111) for being caught not having taken a coronavirus jab.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rights Groups Push Back Against UK’s Encryption Ban Proposal
The Internet Society claims that the UK’s controversial Online Safety Bill will expose Britons to more harm on the internet. Additionally, data from other countries show that surveillance is rarely used to target child abusers, despite child exploitation being used as the reason for ending end-to-end encryption.
Earlier this month, reports revealed that the government was launching a campaign against end-to-end encryption, a technology used in instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, iMessage, and Signal.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Tucker Carlson Originals’ Uncovers George Soros’ Secret Grip on Hungary and the Media
Tucker Carlson and his team jet off to Hungary for a sit-down interview with the country’s prime minister and gives Fox Nation subscribers an inside look at the alleged secret war being waged by billionaire investor George Soros in “Tucker Carlson Originals: Hungary vs Soros: The Fight for Civilization.”
In the January 26 episode, available now on Fox Nation, Carlson speaks exclusively with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who harbors a long and complicated history with Soros. Orban attended Oxford University on a Soros Foundation scholarship before delving into the world of politics. Despite entering university as a Soros protégé, Orban quickly forged his own identity as an anti-communist and Hungarian nationalist, diverging from Soros’ globalist tendencies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Proposes Prosecuting Platform Bosses That Don’t Censor Content
Social media executives could theoretically be jailed if their platforms fail to work with regulators to remove “harmful content,” under the updated UK Online Safety Bill.
An earlier draft of the Online Safety Bill, released last year, said tech companies would be fined billions of pounds for failing to remove harmful content, or the so-called duty of care.
According to the Daily Mail, a Whitehall source said: “It had been the sword of Damocles hanging over them. “But now it will come into force.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘They Predicted Catastrophe!’ Farage Humiliates Lord Heseltine After Latest Brexit Victory
NIGEL FARAGE has ridiculed Remainers, singling out Lord Heseltine and “big corporations,” as another huge economic win for Britain squashed the predictions of Brexit “catastrophe”.
Nigel Farage told GB News viewers that predictions of the Brexit catastrophe have failed yet again after another huge vote of confidence in the UK. This comes after a report from EY revealed 90 percent of major global financial services have said they would seek to set up in the UK or boost their current operations. Mr Farage said that report was “an absolutely overwhelming global vote of confidence” in the country after leaving the EU.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Are You Watching, EU? Boris Set to Land Huge New Brexit Trade Deal Worth Billions
TALKS are set to open with Israel to agree a huge new trade deal this week.
Boris Johnson will send International Trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan to Israel in days to agree a deal which will build on an economic relationship already worth £5 billion. The discussions with a longstanding ally is also seen as an important political signal coming against continued pressure from leftwing activists in Labour, the SNP, Lib Dems and Greens for Israel to be economically isolated over the Palestinian question.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Disabled Veterans’ Hotel Booking Cancelled to Make Room for Alleged Asylum Seekers
A group of disabled British veterans have been left without accommodation after a hotel close to a Falklands War anniversary event cancelled their bookings in order to make room for alleged asylum seekers.
The Potters Hotel in Aldershot, Surrey, cancelled on scores of elderly and disabled Parachute Regiment veterans who had booked to stay at the hotel while they commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War on Saturday. Instead, the hotel decided to house alleged asylum seekers via a lucrative government scheme, The Daily Mail reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Extinction Rebellion Plotting to Launch a ‘Coup’ Later This Year — Leaked Documents
EXTINCTION REBELLION is planning a “coup” in the comings months as the eco-extremists look to spark mayhem across the country.
Leaked documents seen by Express.co.uk outline detailed plans by XR to cause chaos at a local level. Accusing Britain of failing to take climate change seriously, MPs and local councils will be targeted by the activists in a series of stunts.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Over 1,000 Child Sex Abuse Victims Identified in Rotherham Grooming Gang Investigation
Over 1,000 victims have been identified in an investigation into child sex abuse grooming gangs that operated in the northern English town of Rotherham, Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) revealed this week.
The NCA — which roughly equates to the F.B.I. in the United States — announced on Thursday that it has launched an appeal for grooming gang victims in Rotherham to come forward in relation to Operation Stovewood. The investigation, which is the largest of its kind in the UK, was launched in response to child sexual abuse gangs targeting young girls in the area in the 1990s and 2000s.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kansas Mom Charged With Leading All-Female ISIS Battalion in Syria
A former Kansas woman and mother of five has been charged with joining ISIS and leading an all-female battalion of fighters in Syria, the Department of Justice announced Saturday.
Allison Fluke-Ekren, 42, allegedly trained her own children to use AK-47s and suicide belts, translated speeches made by ISIS leaders, and conspired to plan an attack on an American college campus, the DOJ said.
Fluke-Ekren was appointed in 2016 to lead the Khatiba Nusaybah, an all-female military unit of the Islamic State, in Raqqa, Syria, according to a criminal complaint filed in 2019 and unsealed Saturday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘We Should Participate in Dispatching Troops to Ukraine, ‘ Says Czech Foreign Minister
The deployment of new NATO troops in the countries of its eastern wing is in the interests of Czech security and Czechia should participate in it, the country’s foreign minister Jan Lipavský said in Brussels on Thursday.
Following talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Lipavský assured that NATO remains united in rejecting Russian demands which threaten Czech sovereignty.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
PM Modi Delivers Special Message on 30th Anniversary of India-Israel Diplomatic Ties
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the people of India and Israel on the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, noting that the relationship between India and Israel has a long history. PM Modi said that the people of India and Israel have always had a special affinity.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that, at a time when the globe is undergoing significant changes, the importance of India-Israel relations has grown even more. PM Modi said this period has been tremendously important for both countries in a special video message on Twitter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hong Kong’s Last Tiananmen Square Memorial Covered
The last remaining memorial to the Tiananmen Square massacre in Hong Kong was covered up on Saturday.
The memorial — calligraphy painted on the roadway — commemorated the hundreds or thousands of protesters who were killed by the Chinese government in 1989, according to the BBC.
University of Hong Kong workers covered the calligraphy with yellow and black striped metal safety plates, and claimed the action was regular maintenance, the outlet reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Donald Trump Holds Biden Accountable for Ongoing Illegal Immigrant Surge and Rising Crime
A massive crowd turned out for former President Donald Trump at his rally in Conroe, Texas. Trump’s opening topic of the night was Biden’s failure to secure the U.S. border and moderate immigration.
Trump touched upon a variety of topics during his speech, condemning the Biden administration for empty shelves, the surge in illegal aliens, China’s threats over Taiwan, and rising crime, crumbling infrastructure, and the continuous decline of the American economy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Five Syrian Men Encountered at Southern Border Amid Migrant Surge
Five Syrian men were arrested by Border Patrol agents as they crossed into Hidalgo, Texas, on Thursday, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) source told Fox News.
The men were picked up by Rio Grande Valley sector agents and mark one of a number of nationalities picked by Border Patrol, many of them from countries far away from the land borders of the United States.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lithuania Installs Barbed Wire Fence at Belarusian Border to Prevent Illegal Migration
As tensions between Europe and Russia escalated, Lithuania announced that it has already constructed 200 kilometres (124 miles) of barbed wire fence at the border with Moscow’s ally Belarus to mitigate the over flooding of migrants. The European country has invested an estimated €152 million (INR15.2 crore) on the construction of a 500-kilometre wall on the border and expects that the complete wall will be ready by September 2022. The country also plans to install a barbed wire fence and video surveillance on the border to manage the migrant crisis more effectively.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: People Smugglers Sentenced to Nine Years After Migrant Deaths
A Spanish court has sentenced a pair of African national people traffickers to nine years in prison each in connection to the deaths of nine migrants aboard a boat heading to the Spanish Canary Islands.
A Las Palmas court found Amadou D., a Senegalese national and Kate D., a Gambian national, guilty of several charges relating to the deaths of the nine migrants, which took place in March of last year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Reporters Attacked by Immigrants in ‘Little Mogadishu’
Uppdrag granskning, a Swedish television investigative journalism program, went to shoot to the troubled Tjärna Ängar district in the town of Borlänge, known as ‘Little Mogadishu,’ where more than half of the residents are immigrants from Somalia. Some locals were aggressive and violent towards the journalists, the SVT Nyheter reported. One person even threw stones at them and shouted, “F*** SVT.”
One of the locals that the journalists met was an older woman who has lived there for 18 years, but who has not yet learned Swedish.
“What are you doing? Hello! Do not film me, bitch!” shouted one man as reporters drove around the area.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago Public Schools mandated a teacher training program that declared sex a social construct and threatened punishment if faculty didn’t use students’ preferred pronouns, multiple teachers told Fox News Digital.
A 104-slide PowerPoint presentation echoed a number of left-leaning talking points that have surfaced in trainings across the country. Titled “Supporting Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender Nonconforming Students” the presentation argued that “everyone has multiple, overlapping identities” and that sex is assigned at birth.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DC Comics’ Bisexual Climate Change-Fighting Superman is Kryptonite to Sales
Last fall, we learned that DC Comics’ new incarnation of Superman, Jon Kent (the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane), would be less a superhero and more a social warrior, leaving the battling of supervillains to others while he tackled climate change. And in Superman: Son of Kal-El #5, it would be revealed he had a boyfriend.
“The idea of replacing Clark Kent with another straight white savior felt like a missed opportunity,” Tom Taylor, the writer of the new comic, said. So instead, Taylor revealed that the new Superman “had to have new fights — real world problems — that he could stand up to as one of the most powerful people in the world.”
While the left collectively cheered for DC Comic’s “bravery,” others lamented the blatant wokeness of the comic series. In addition to going woke with the social justice nonsense, DC Comics also changed Superman’s longstanding motto from “Truth, Justice, and the American Way” to” Truth, Justice, and a Better Tomorrow.” The company’s direction was enough for the comic’s colorist, Gabe Eltaeb, to quit DC Comics.
So, how did this new woke version of Superman do? Well, it turns out that going woke is kryptonite for comic sales.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Swiss Man Changes Gender to Retire and Receive His Pension a Year Earlier
A man in Switzerland has exploited an administrative loophole and formally changed his gender in order to retire a year earlier, it has emerged.
New rules introduced on Jan. 1 enable any Swiss resident with the “intimate conviction” that they do not belong to the sex they are registered as in the civil status register can apply to change their gender, in addition to their first name, for just 75 Swiss francs (€72).
And it took just four days for the system to be taken advantage of with Swiss daily Luzerner Zeitung reporting that a man from Lucerne applied to change his gender so that he could receive his state pension at the Swiss retirement age for women of 64, a year earlier than men.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The ‘Internet Apocalypse’ That Nobody Cares About
A historic event of unprecedented magnitude that will keep the specialists busy for many months to come: This information has not exited the mainstream media nor the public at large.
“Log4j” is not known to anyone outside of developer circles. And many who use this piece of computer code are not even aware of its vulnerability. For PCs, smartphones, game consoles and internet-enabled objects in general, it is one of the most used programs in the world with up to a billion downloads per year. Because of its severity, the Log4j vulnerability has been given its own name. It’s called “Log4Shell”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
I have come across some people claiming that the freedom convoy is a stealth operation directed in the manner of color revolutions. That the intent is to greatly worsen the shortages of food and basic goods and then blame the opponents of the system for them, rather than bad covid policies.
I wonder if we have strategic thinkers here who can unwrap this one.
What was first, the Covid policies or the convoy?
The convoy is probably a natural result of the covid policies. Now the question is if it is desired result of the covid policies?
The plan seems to always have been to take down the western countries and put them under global UN rule, so massive protests against the government in Ottawa are desirable for the goal of taking down the Canadian Government.
But – if there was no protest – the government in Ottawa has already been taken over by the globalists..
It’s more of a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” kind of matter, in my opinion. The globalists are “players”, and they force everybody into their game. so, from this perspective, it is good that the Canadian truckers started to play, since this way there is at least a fighting chance.
This is the first time in years that I’ve had some hope for my country of Canada.
I went to cheer the convoy a few days ago when it passed through here.
“Following talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Lipavský assured that NATO remains united in rejecting Russian demands which threaten Czech sovereignty.”
– Words like “Czech Souvereignity” make me laugh! Yeah Right. The genuine will of the “Souvereign” Czech People is to go to war with Russia! The Empire said so! 🙂
Another view: if the trucker action goes fast (before it can affect any meaningful supply issues), and the police and national guard are on their side, then it would be hard to coopt it by nefarious actors. So far, I don’t see cooptation of any kind.
If the trucking industry cuts of supplies of every sort, the people will blame the politicians, not the truckers. I see this as a very good strategy.
Swedish cinema news.
I recommend running this article from the Swedish resource through an automatic translator.
https://www.friatider.se/nytt-pk-rekord-nar-varens-svenska-filmer-presenteras
I do not understand anything. Is someone really trying to undermine the universal principle of masculine and feminine in manual mode?
Why does no one loosen it for cats and dogs, but only homo sapiens?
yes they are trying to underminde the maskuline and feminine principles. It is the mode operandi of the “dark side” – they make white black, up is down, good is bad, and men are women and women are men…
The logic behind it is the logic of a “mirror”, when you see yourself in a mirror your right is left and your left is right, and they use this optical trick to trick people into following the “dark side”
When it comes to women and men, watch how modern movies have the best pilots female (although tests have shown every time that spatial intelligence is the domain of men), and men are the caring dancing and crying nice guys, although nurture is the domain of women, etc…
PS: I have worked in Sweden for 10 years, but I can’t say I have seen a single “swedish movie”, thank God 🙂
Until nature rears it’s ugly head and these feminaxi’s find themselves under the domain of men who don’t give a rip about their poor precious feelings. These feminaxi’s are in for a very nasty, cold, cruel, brutal reality soon, it will be a great day, a red day.
“In other news, a Swiss man who identified as a woman changed his gender and as a result was able to retire on a full pension a year earlier than he would otherwise have been allowed to.”
Which, frankly, begs the question of why women should get to retire earlier, especially considering that they tend to live longer than men!
(I know why… because they tend to marry slightly older men – I guess. But that’s not *my* problem.)
There’s some systemic sexism, for real this time!
This is biology. A woman after the onset of menopause in places of work where physical strength is required can no longer work.
But in general, these norms were adopted at a time when the body wore out more – women had more children and household chores took a lot of effort. Although the food quality was better.
In Russia, women live longer because they tend to destroy themselves less than men.