The Latvian parliament has voted to ban the public display of the letter “Z”, due to its association with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Austria has issued a stage-one alert about a possible natural gas shortage if Russia follows through with its demand to receive payment in rubles.
In other news, according to the latest polls a majority of French voters support either Éric Zemmour or Marine Le Pen in the upcoming presidential election.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, LP, MM, 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.
Breitbart Business Digest: The Yield Curve Inverted!
A key market gauge of the risk of future recessions flashed a warning signal on Thursday afternoon.
The yield on two-year Treasury bonds climbed above the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds, a phenomenon known as an inverted yield curve.
The yield curve is regarded as a reliable predictor of recessions, having inverted before each of the last eight recessions as measured by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The yield curve inverted in 2007, foreshadowing the recession of 2008-09; and, spookily, it inverted in 2019.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.331 percent on Thursday when the yield on the two-year Treasury was at 2.337 percent. After the brief inversion, the curve righted itself as the two-year fell to 2.335 percent while the 10-year rose to 2.345 percent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Inflation Jumps More Than Expected to Hit New Record
French inflation accelerated more than expected to reach another record, reflecting the economic repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the growing challenges facing policy makers.
European Union-harmonized consumer prices rose 5.1% from a year ago in March — the most since the data series began in 1997. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was 4.9%. Out of 19 surveyed, 13 expected a lower reading.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Arizona Will Require Voters to Prove Citizenship and Residency, Angering Activists
Arizona residents will now need to show proof of citizenship in order to vote in a presidential election, sparking anger from some activists.
“Election integrity means counting every lawful vote and prohibiting any attempt to illegally cast a vote,” Gov. Dough Ducey said in a letter explaining his decision to sign the bill Wednesday.
The bill requires voters in presidential elections to show proof of citizenship, including by providing a driver’s license or tribal ID number, or a copy of a birth certificate, passport or naturalization documents. The bill also requires newly registered voters to show proof of address that they are an Arizona resident.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bi-Partisan Bill Would Push Big Tech and Big Media to Make Content Distribution Deals
Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC], Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA], Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ], Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI], Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY], Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA], Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME], and Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY] are all backing a bill that empowers mainstream media at the expense of smaller outlets and independent content creators.
The senators are co-sponsoring the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act which has been accused of actually hindering competition.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California Bill to Require Parents to Tell Schools About Gun Ownership Fails
A California bill that would have required parents or guardians of schoolchildren to disclose whether any firearms are in the home failed to pass through a policy committee in the State Legislature this week.
Senate Bill 906, introduced by Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge, failed to advance out of the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, with only two members voting to advance the measure.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California Task Force Votes to Limit Reparations to Slave Descendants
A California task force voted Tuesday to limit reparations to black families whose ancestors were in the US in the 19th century, drawing criticism from others who support compensation regardless of lineage.
The task force voted 5-4 after hours of debate that at times became heated. A proposal with recommendations is expected to be released by July 2023 before it could go before the state Legislature for a vote.
Lisa Holder, a task force member and a civil rights attorney, said the task force should continue to listen to the public’s opinions while working with economists to carve out a plan.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Campaign to Recall LA County DA George Gascón Gains Momentum With Over 200k Signatures
Organizers of the second effort to recall embattled Los Angeles County DA George Gascón said they have gained momentum after collecting more than 200,000 signatures— with plenty of time to still hit their goal to get on the November ballot.
Campaign officials said they also have raised more than $4 million — already four times the money raised compared to last year’s recall efforts, which fizzled in September after failing to secure less than half of the approximately 500,000 signatures needed from LA County voters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Georgia Bill Says it Will Protect People’s Opinions From Big Tech Censorship
The Georgia Senate passed a bill that would make it unlawful for online platforms to censor Georgians based on their views alone. The states of Florida and Texas have passed similar bills that were challenged for First Amendment violations.
Georgia’s Senate has passed bill SB 393. It will empower Georgians to sue platforms if they feel they have been unfairly discriminated against or censored.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Illinois’ Pritzker Ranks 4th-Worst Governor for Economic Freedom
Authored by Dylan Sharkey bv IllinoisPolicy.org
In a new report on America’s 50 governors, Gov. J.B Pritzker was ranked 47th because of the harm he’s done to the state economy. Voters saved him from a lower rank by rejecting his ‘fair tax.’
Gov. J.B Pritzker finds himself near the bottom of a new report on how America’s governors are guiding their state economies.
The American Legislative Exchange Council’s rankings are in the 2021 report on Economic Freedom: Grading America’s 50 Governors. The report ranked Pritzker overall at No. 47 — fourth from the bottom — by using a combination of Pritzker’s policies and the state’s economic performance under his leadership to form a list of 12 criteria.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Interview: Dr. Robert Malone on the COVID Vaccine, Trucker Convoys and World Economic Forum
“The science is on the side of the Canadian and US Truckers,” explained world renowned scientist and inventor of MRNA vaccine technology, Dr. Robert Malone.
This week Dr. Malone visited the U.S. trucker convoy, voicing his support for the movement and explaining how the truckers, not the government’s medical experts, have science on their side.
Malone sat down with Rebel News‘ Jeremy Loffredo and discussed why the truckers movement is so important. “For me, it’s the truckers’ emphasis on medical autonomy,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Joe Rogan Says He’ll Quit Spotify if He Has to “Walk on Eggshells”
In a recent episode featuring MMA fighter Josh Barnett, Joe Rogan said he would quit Spotify if he is forced to “walk on eggshells” and be cautious about his words. The MMA commentator, comedian, and podcaster has recently come under fire for spreading what critics say is “misinformation” and “conspiracy theories” for interviewing doctors and scientists that contradict the mainstream narrative on Covid.
“I will quit. If it gets to a point that I can’t do it anymore, where I have to do it in some sort of weird way where I walk on eggshells and mind my p’s and q’s, that!” Rogan said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A rights group representing three people who had their Twitter accounts banned and suspended over tweets that were critical of COVID policies has sued the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Surgeon General, and Secretary of HHS, with the lawsuit alleging that the Biden administration’s persistent calls for tech platforms to censor COVID-19 “misinformation” violated the First Amendment.
The lawsuit was filed by the National Civil Liberties Organization (NCLA), a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, and names the Department of HHS, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, and Secretary of HHS Xavier Becerra as defendants.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are attorney and author Michael P. Senger, theoretical cognitive scientist Mark Changizi, and stay-at-home father Daniel Kotzin. All three have used their Twitter accounts to criticize restrictions imposed by governments in response to COVID-19 and challenge other COVID narratives pushed by health authorities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Louisiana Introduces Bill to Ban Porn on Students’ Computers
Louisiana state Sen. Beth Mizell has introduced a bill that would ban access to pornographic content on networks owned by public universities.
The bill “prohibits internet access to online sites that contain material which is reasonably believed to be sexually explicit, pornographic, or sexually harassing.” Mizell said such content should be banned because it is “reasonably believed to create a hostile work environment as prohibited by federal law.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Maxine Waters Tells the Homeless to ‘Go Home’
At an event where many of LA’s homeless thought they would be getting assistance, Rep. Maxine Waters instead defended her record and told people to “go home.”
On Friday, Maxine Waters showed up at a non-profit event aimed at helping LA’s homeless attain shelter
An event on Friday aimed at getting LA’s homeless into shelters drew larger than anticipated crowds after a social media post misled people into thinking they would be given coveted Section 8 vouchers.
In attendance was Rep. Maxine Waters, who became defensive after the crowd called for more to be done about the city’s homelessness crisis.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Newsom Mocks Other States for Banning Books — But California Has Banned Them Too
California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom had an epic fail on Wednesday when he posted a photo to Twitter which featured him reading iconic novels that have been “banned” by certain states and countries for being “controversial.” However, in the photo Newsom posted included To Kill a Mockingbird, an iconic novel that has been banned in Burbank, California under his tenure.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
One Police Officer Fatally Shot, Two Officers Injured in Lebanon
LEBANON, Pa. — A police officer was killed and two other officers were wounded while responding to a domestic disturbance in Lebanon, according to Mayor Sherry Capello.
Capello said police were called around 3:36 p.m. Thursday to a home in the 1100 block of Forest Street.
Shots were exchanged with officers at 4:24 p.m., and three officers were hit.
“In a moment that will be remembered as a sad day in the city of Lebanon, a Lebanon city officer was fatally injured,” Capello said.
Capello said another officer is in critical but stable condition at a hospital, and the third officer is in stable condition.
“As one can only imagine, I mean, it’s clearly a traumatic event,” police Chief Todd Breiner said. “Our guys are strong but we’re human and we have families and people were injured today. We’re all affected by this. And with the help of our families and every other law enforcement officer around this country, we’ll get through it.”
Breiner said the subject of the domestic disturbance call, a 34-year-old Lebanon man, is deceased.
The Lebanon County district attorney’s office is conducting an investigation…
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Over 60,000 Voters on NC Rolls Are Dead, Registered Twice or Enrolled in Other State, Report Warns
With midterms elections in North Carolina starting in about six weeks, more than 60,000 registered voters in the state are dead, registered in another state or registered twice under variations of their name, according to a new watchdog report.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Private Google Docs Alternative Skiff Adds End-to-End Encrypted File Storage
Skiff, a privacy-focused document collaboration service that protects shared documents with end-to-end encryption, has added support for embedded files.
Users can now embed any type of file in their Skiff documents and, once embedded, the files are end-to-end encrypted so that only the creator and their collaborators can see them.
Not only is this a great way to store or back up files privately but it also widens the scope of Skiff for collaborative projects. Before this support was added, files related to collaborative projects had to be stored outside of Skiff in a potentially less private location. Now, they’re easily available in one place and protected with end-to-end encryption.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Videos: Suddenly the Media Desperately Wants You to Know the Hunter Biden Laptop Story is Real
After calling it a fake Russian disinformation plot or just ignoring it altogether for over a year, the media is suddenly desperate for Americans to know that the Hunter Biden laptop from hell story is totally real.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In disturbing footage Wednesday, Joe Biden bumbled around a fake White House set before getting injected with a FOURTH vaccine shot while admitting he didn’t really understand why it was happening.
Biden struggled to read a scripted announcement about a new “one stop shop” for COVID stuff, including “free vaccines and boosters, free at-home tests, high quality masks.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Washington Republicans Target More House Democrat Seats as Polls Show Significant GOP Advantage
The National Republican Congressional Campaign says it adding more House seats to its target list following a number of developments in the redistricting process ahead of the 2022 midterm.
The new seats the NRCC is zeroing in on include several districts in California (13th, 26th), Colorado’s 8th district, Florida’s 14th and 22nd districts, Michigan’s 10th, as well as districts in Montana, New Mexico, Texas, two in North Carolina, one in Oregon, and one each in the swing states of Nevada and Ohio. Nine of those seats are open this midterm cycle.
Republicans’ confidence in their ability to regain control of the House this November has only been growing in recent weeks as a number of polls and surveys give the GOP position the edge on several significant voter issues.
Republicans also currently have a 7-percentage point edge on the generic ballot, according to the latest Harvard/Harris poll.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canada’s Internet Censorship Bill is a Major Threat to Free Speech Online
The push to get Canada’s controversial Bill C-11 — otherwise known as “Internet Censorship Bill” — is entering its final stages, as MPs in the country’s parliament will now debate it.
Those opposed to the bill are calling on Canadians to contact their MPs and ask them to vote against this legislation, which, if passed, is likely to make radical changes to the way Canadians are allowed to express themselves online, and what content they will be permitted to access.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canada’s Public Safety Manager Accuses Truckers of Spreading ‘Disinformation’ Online Without Proof
OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — A top Canadian government public safety manager has claimed without any evidence that the truckers involved in the Freedom Convoy were a threat to “social cohesion” by spreading “disinformation” online.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Ryan Schwartz, who is an acting director-general for Canada’s Department of Public Safety’s cybersecurity branch, claimed truckers’ use of the web was unruly.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Justin Trudeau Receives Cold Welcome From Pro-Freedom Protesters in Vancouver
This past Tuesday, Prime Minster Justin Trudeau received a cold welcome from over 150 pro-freedom protesters on his way to a fundraiser in Vancouver B.C. The $1,675 per person event called “An Evening with the RT. HON. Justin Trudeau“, was hosted by serial house flipper Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed, and took place at the Fairmount Vancouver Hotel.
This was one of at least six meetings and appearances the prime minister attended in Metro Vancouver from March 28-29, which included his pledge to lower Canada’s carbon emissions by 40% by the year 2030.
Trudeau being greeted by protesters wanting their liberties back certainly isn’t out of the ordinary.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
MP Calls for Canada to End Vax Mandates, Says All Citizens Have a ‘Right to Enter or Leave’ Country
OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — A Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) MP blasted the federal government’s continued travel ban on the vaccine free, saying all Canadians have the “right” to free mobility as granted by the charter of rights.
“Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in, and leave Canada. That’s not my words, that’s the charter,” Saskatchewan CPC MP Jeremy Patzer said Wednesday in the House of Commons while asking a question to Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Not a Joke: On April 1st, Taxes on Gasoline and Alcohol Increase, MPs Get a Raise
Canadians may think it is some sick April Fool’s Day prank, but taxpayers can expect to pay more at the gas pumps and for alcohol on Friday, while politicians in Ottawa give themselves a hefty pay raise.
Even with fuel prices breaking records across the country, the Trudeau government’s carbon tax will increase to approximately 11 cents per litre of gasoline, 13 cents per litre of diesel and 10 cents per cubic metre of natural gas.
According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), the carbon tax increase will cost families an additional $8.40 to fuel up a minivan.
Canadians can also expect to pay more for beer, wine and spirits when the “alcohol escalator tax” increases federal excise taxes on alcohol on Apr. 1.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ontario Health Experts Want Masks Back Despite Higher Rates in Masked Regions
Some health experts are citing a “sixth wave” of COVID and warning Ontarians may soon be forced to wear masks again even though some regions that still have mask mandates display higher rates of COVID transmission.
Ontario lifted its mask mandate for most indoor public settings on Mar. 21. The province had also previously ended all capacity and gathering restrictions as well as its vaccine passport requirement on Mar. 1.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trudeau Liberals Paid Over $600k to Hire Influencers to Convince People to Get Vaxxed
For the year 2021, it has been determined that the federal government spent more than $600 thousand on social media influencers to “promote federal initiatives,” chiefly the push for Canadians to get vaccinated.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trudeau Government “Online Safety Panel” Includes Hate-Hoax Spreader
The Trudeau government announced its “expert advisory group on online safety” on Wednesday, and it includes a known spreader of misinformation.
Bernie Farber made headlines last month during Ottawa’s Freedom Convoy after sharing a picture of an anti-Semitic flyer that was allegedly found “in plain site.”
The claim was later proven false by journalist Jonathan Kay in a Tweet where Kay found an identical photo posted by someone in Miami a month prior.
Farber’s original Tweet has since been deleted.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trudeau Cabinet “Penetrated” by World Economic Forum: Aussie Senator
Australian Liberal Senator Alex Antic has blasted the World Economic Forum (WEF) for influencing world governments, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet.
Antic, who is a member of the conservative faction of the Liberal Party, accused the WEF and founder Klaus Schwab of being “steeped in authoritarianism and Marxist ideology.”
“It’s an ideology which is creeping into governments across the world,” said Antic. “When speaking about the Canadian parliament, Schwab himself said: ‘We penetrate the cabinets. I know that half this cabinet—even more than half—are actually young global leaders of the World Economic Forum. It’s true in Argentina, it’s true in France—now with the President, who is a young global leader.’“
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: On Location for Pastor Artur Pawlowski’s Release From Jail
After spending 51 days behind bars, Pastor Artur Pawlowski was granted bail on a litany of charges stemming from his preaching at the Coutts border blockade and a series of health order and contempt of court order violations resulting from Pastor Artur opening his church, feeding the homeless and attending protests allegedly in violation of COVID-19 restrictions and mandates.
While Artur is now home, he is far from free, as he is subject to a strict curfew and an effective house arrest aside from times where he is serving his church community as a pastor.
You will be able to watch an exclusive long-form interview with Artur about his harrowing 51 days of incarceration that was recorded shortly after his release, but we were also on location at the Calgary Remand Centre to cover the release itself. As with all things Pastor Artur, authorities added a wrinkle to what should have been a straightforward release.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Another EU State Declares Gas Emergency
The Austrian government has declared a stage-one alert regarding the supply of natural gas, shortly after Germany did the same on Wednesday.
Vienna made the move fearing shortages should Russia insist on payments in rubles, rather than dollars or euro, due to Western sanctions.
The stage-one alert means there are “concrete and reliable indications that the gas supply could deteriorate,” Austria’s Climate Ministry announced, adding that it will be “monitoring” the situation. The country’s reserve tanks currently stand at 13% of capacity, which is about average for the season, local media reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czech Army Would Only Last Weeks if Attacked, Seeks to Accelerate Weapons Purchases: Analyst
The Russian invasion has fundamentally changed plans for equipping the Czech army. In response to developments in Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense is now accelerating the purchase of new weapons, including heavy equipment, and investments in the army are likely to be record-breaking in the coming years.
The army will purchase, among other things, a larger number of U.S. Venom and Viper helicopters and new armor. According to military analyst Lukas Visinger, the current army equipment is outdated. In the case of an attack, the curent Czech army would only be able to protect Czechia for a few weeks at most, he noted.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Election Campaign in France Sees Majority Siding With Right-Wing Demands
The most important political demands of the two right-wing candidates in the French presidential election campaign, Marine Le Pen and Éric Zemmour, meet with the approval of a majority of French people. This is the result of a recent survey by the polling institute Ifop.
French people were asked to give their opinion on the presidential candidates’ proposals on, among other things, the fight against Islamism and radicalisation.
According to the survey, 69 percent of French voters want a ban on the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols at sporting events, including most potential voters of Éric Zemmour (92 percent), Marine Le Pen (82 percent) or Valérie Pécresse (81 percent). However, the planned ban also meets with approval in the ranks of the left and the centre. But even almost a quarter of Muslims are also in favour of such a ban (24 percent).
Some 57 percent of French people also want to ban the wearing of conspicuous religious clothing or signs on the streets and in public spaces.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Estonian Government to Leave Symbols of Aggression Undefined
The Estonian government initiated a bill aimed at combating symbols that incite aggression as well as the justification and support of aggression. The new bill does not, however, define which symbols incite aggression, Minister of Justice Maris Lauri (Reform) said on Thursday.
Speaking at Thursday’s government press conference, Lauri said that if someone in Estonia engages in aggression-related hostilities or calls for such hostilities, this is punishable.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France Fines Google for Anti-Competitive Practices
On Monday, the Paris Commercial Court fined Google €2 million ($2.2 million) for anti-competitive policies in its app store.
In 2018, both Google and Apple were taken to court by France’s Ministry of Finance for abusing app developers who have listed apps in the Play Store and App Store. The ministry accused Google of a “significant imbalance in the rights and obligations” of developers, citing that Google could end or change contracts unilaterally.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Development Minister Calls for Drastically Reducing Meat Consumption
German Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) has called on citizens in Germany to eat less meat. “It would help the grain supply in developing and emerging countries in the medium and long term if we in the rich countries would eat less animal products,” the social democrat explained her initiative.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
HS: Support for NATO Membership Has Risen to 61% in Finland
SIXTY-ONE PER CENT of Finns believe Finland should join Nato, reveals a survey conducted for Helsingin Sanomat by Kantar TNS on 28—30 March.
Public support for membership in the defence alliance is presently higher than ever before in surveys commissioned by the newspaper, having increased by seven percentage points in the past 7—12 days. Opposition to the membership, in turn, has decreased from 21 to 16 per cent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kaczynski: I Would Like Poland to Have Nuclear Weapons
Poland should consider obtaining nuclear weapons, said Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland’s deputy prime minister and the leader of the ruling party Law and Justice (PiS), in an interview.
“As a citizen, I can say that I would like Poland to have nuclear weapons. As a responsible politician, I must evaluate however, that the idea is unrealistic,” he admitted.
In context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kaczynski pointed out that if the Ukrainian army continued to be as effective as it has been, then the Kremlin might be forced to make peace, which will be a compromise that would be far from what the Russians had expected.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Latvia Outlaws Use of Letter Z as Symbol
Latvia’s parliament has voted to ban public displays of the letter “Z,” saying it was a symbol that was used to glorify the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russian military vehicles in Ukraine are prominently marked with the letter and it has started appearing on social media and on clothing elsewhere in support of the war.
Latvia’s parliament said the display of the letter with intent to justify military aggression and war crimes would be punished under the new rules with fines of up to 350 euros ($A518) for individuals and up to 2,900 euros for companies.
Once it becomes law, the new legislation will also apply to the letter “V,” also used by the Russian defence ministry in connection with the war.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lithuania to Scrap Mandatory Facemasks
Face masks will no longer be compulsory in most indoor environments from Monday, and will only be compulsory in medical and care facilities and public transport, the Ministry of Health said.
Moreover, the isolation period for people with Covid-19 will be reduced to five days.
“Although the wearing of masks will not be compulsory, it remains recommended in confined spaces where it is not possible to maintain a safe distance, where there is poor ventilation or where there is a larger gathering of people,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Two People Shot Dead in McDonald’s Restaurant
Police search for gunman following apparent targeted attack in city of Zwolle
Two people were killed after a gunman opened fire in a McDonald’s restaurant in the northern Dutch city of Zwolle, according to police and local media.
“Two people were killed in a shooting incident,” Dutch police tweeted late on Wednesday, with local broadcaster RTL Oost saying the incident happened around 6pm in a McDonald’s.
Witnesses told RTL Oost the men were having a meal when a gunman walked into the restaurant and fired shots at them in an apparent targeted attack.
“The man first ordered a meal and sat at a table across from the two victims before shooting,” RTL Oost said.
“There was massive panic among the patrons who all tried to flee outside,” the broadcaster added.
The assailant then fled.
Police and ambulances rushed to the scene where rescue workers tried to resuscitate one of the wounded victims, who later died.
Police said they were looking for witnesses and the search for the gunman continued.
They did not give details for a possible motive or the identities of the two victims, who were said to be of a Turkish-Dutch background…
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Two Brothers Shot Dead in Busy McDonalds Restaurant in Zwolle
The two men shot dead inside a busy McDonalds fast food restaurant in Zwolle early on Wednesday evening have been named by the Telegraaf as brothers Ali and Huseyin Torunlar.
The two men, aged 57 and 62, were of Turkish Kurdish origin and ran several grill rooms in Zwolle, the paper said.
The shooting happened at around 6pm when the two men were sitting eating together at a table. Eyewitnesses told the Telegraaf an as yet unidentified man entered the building, ordered food and sat at the table next to his victims. He then opened fire.
Dozens of people, including several children, were in the restaurant at the time and fled when the shooting started, leaving food and toys scattered behind them.
Zwolle mayor Peter Snijders described the shooting as shocking. ‘This was a question of extreme violence in a place where it would not be expected,’ he said. Victim support services have been drafted in to talk to those who witnessed the shooting.
Update: Police said on Thursday morning they had arrested a 32-year-old man who had reported to police in Deventer on Wednesday evening in connection with the shooting.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Norway Told to Get Cold War Bunkers Ready Amid Fears of Nuclear Fallout
Fears of another Chernobyl-like disaster in Ukraine have prompted warnings in Norway for citizens to “dust off” Cold War bunkers.
Since invading Ukraine last month, Russian troops have occupied Europe’s largest nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia as well as at the now defunct plant at Chernobyl, the scene of the world’s worst nuclear accident in 1986.
Odd Roger Enoksen, Norway’s defence minister, has now aired concerns that any accident at a Ukrainian power plant that cause a radiation leak could impact his own country if the wind travels in its direction.
According to The Times, defence sources have told civilians in Norway to start “dusting off” their bunkers at home “in case of nuclear alert”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland to End Russian Oil, Gas and Coal Imports
On Wednesday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki presented “the most radical plan in Europe” of moving away from Russian hydrocarbons. The head of the government announced Poland was completely cutting Russian oil, gas and coal as early as this year.
“We will enforce a total embargo on Russian coal in April or May at the latest. We are calling upon everyone — Germany and other Western European countries that are still importing those resources from Russia — to do the same,” declared Morawiecki. He stressed that thanks to Polish oil giant PKN Orlen “we have reached the point where we are mostly independent, and we are showing a plan of moving away from Russian oil by the end of this year.”
“I call upon the European Commission to introduce a tax on Russian hydrocarbons, so that fair trade, and fair economic rules would be implemented in a unified European market,” said Morawiecki.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland to Drop All Remaining COVID Restrictions
The last remaining public health measures to tackle Covid-19 in Switzerland will be lifted as of Friday April 1, the government has confirmed.
Concretely, this means that as of Friday, protective masks will no longer be mandatory on public transport and in healthcare facilities, and those who have caught the virus will no longer have to isolate for five days.
The “special” government powers in place since June 2020, which shifted a certain amount of competences from cantons to federal authorities in Bern, will also end on Friday, the government said, confirming a phase-out plan announced in February.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Maternity Care in Socialised National Health Service Deemed Unsafe After Official Report
Maternity care in England’s socialised National Health Service (NHS) has been deemed unsafe and ineffective following a damning official report that found hundreds of mothers and babies died or were severely harmed due to “repeated failures” over decades.
Senior midwife Donna Ockenden was commissioned to lead an investigation into the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust in 2017 by then-Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, and uncovered an astonishing number of deaths and injuries to babies resulting in brain damage or disability as a result of staff’s obsession with seeing through so-called “normal births” even when a Caesarean section would have been medically appropriate, between 2009 and 2019.
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Ukraine Trying to Help Hungarian Left Win Upcoming Election: Report
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s refusal to ship weapons to Ukraine has put him at odds with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but now there are reports that his government is actively looking to influence the upcoming April 3 election in favor of Orban’s rival left-wing opposition.
At the meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels on Mar. 21, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjartó stated that Hungary would not supply arms to Ukraine nor allow arms shipments to pass through Hungary.
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377,000 people killed in western-backed Saudi air strikes. 10,000 children killed since 2015.
Why has that never been the “current thing”?
Some current things are more current than others.
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Saudi Arabia Prepares to Deport 100,000 Ethiopians
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia successfully deported several hundred Ethiopians to Addis Ababa, which represents the first contingent of some 100,000 Ethiopians who will be repatriated from the kingdom in the coming months
A total of about 900 people, including many mothers with small children, landed in the morning and afternoon at Addis Ababa International Airport, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), an organization linked to the United Nations, announced.
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Could Ukraine ‘Win’ The War? And Other Questions
Russia continues to face fierce resistance from Ukraine, more than a month into its invasion.
Ukrainian forces have begun attempts to retake some areas from Russia, which said this week it would scale back operations around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv.
Meanwhile four million people have fled Ukraine, and a quarter of the country’s population is thought to be displaced.
Two of the BBC’s reporters on the ground answer your questions.
In light of the recent counter-attacks that Ukraine has undertaken, and assuming that diplomatic talks between Ukraine and Russia fail, is it possible that Ukraine may be able to “win” this war militarily? — Harry Tinsley
Olga Guerin writes:
In military terms it’s a case of so far, so good for Ukraine.
It has surprised President Putin, and the world, by mounting skilled and stubborn resistance against a larger, better equipped army. Equally, Russian forces have surprised the world by being disorganised and inept…
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Ukraine: Russian forces returned control of the Chernobyl nuclear plant to Ukrainian authorities. Ukraine’s armed forces pressed forward against Russian units around Kyiv, seeking to exploit Moscow’s efforts to regroup, Ukrainian officials said. President Biden voiced skepticism about Moscow’s claim of reducing attacks on Kyiv.
Russia: The invasion of Ukraine will cause the Russian economy to contract this year by about 10%, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The Russian ruble, however, rebounded on Thursday to near prewar levels. The U.S. levied new sanctions on nearly three dozen Russian companies and individuals.
Peace Talks: Russian and Ukrainian negotiators were set to resume discussions on Friday, Ukrainian officials said. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would broker direct talks between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, though the Kremlin has opposed such a meeting.
Oil Markets: President Biden, framing high energy prices as a wartime issue, said he would tap up to 180 million barrels of government oil reserves over the next six months. OPEC decided on Thursday to again reject U.S. calls to speed up production increases.
NATO: Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization outside the U.S. are set to boost their military spending, according to the alliance’s secretary-general and pledges from member countries.
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Putin Signs Decree Ordering Gas Exports to be Halted if Buyers Don’t Pay in Rubles
Contrary to expectations that Vladimir Putin was bluffing about collecting rubles in exchange for Russian energy exports, moments ago a decree signed by the Russian president confirmed that that was not the case.
According to Bloomberg, Putin said he had signed a decree demanding payment in rubles for Russian gas supplies, which is set to begin April 1 as previously reported. According to the decree, while Russia will continue to supply gas at set volumes and prices, it will demand that buyers of gas open accounts in Russian banks, and warned that Moscow can halt gas contracts if buyers don’t pay in rubles; additionally, new proceedings in EUR or USD could be blocked. Pushing what many viewed as a bluff to the edge, Putin said that active contracts will be halted if demands are not met, and explained that the move is meant to increase settlements in national currencies.
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Russia Bans Export of Sunflower Seeds Through August, Imposes Quota on Sunflower Oil
Russia says it will ban exports of sunflower seeds from Friday through the end of August and impose an export quota on sunflower oil in an effort to avoid shortages and ease pressure on prices in Russia.
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Samsung Has Cancelled the Letter ‘Z’ After Ukraine Called for it to be “Criminalized”
South Korean tech company Samsung has quietly dropped the letter ‘Z’ from its newest range of folding smart phones in several Eastern European countries, presumably for fear of being associated with Russian military forces.
Samsung had branded its newest phones as the ‘Galaxy Z Fold 3’ and ‘Galaxy Z Flip 3’, and had released a raft of promotional material with the letter ‘Z’ emblazoned on the devices.
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UK Spy Chief Claims Russian Soldiers Now Refusing to Carry Out Orders in Ukraine
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Demoralized Russian soldiers in Ukraine were refusing to carry out orders and sabotaging their own equipment and had accidentally shot down their own aircraft, a U.K. intelligence chief said on Thursday.
Jeremy Fleming, who heads the GCHQ electronic spy agency, made the remarks at a speech in the Australian capital Canberra.
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Ukraine Demands Removal of Slovenian Flag Because it Looks a Bit Russian
Ukrainian authorities demanded the removal of a Slovenian flag from an embassy in Kiev, despite Slovenia supporting Ukraine, because it looked a bit similar to the Russian flag.
No, this isn’t the Babylon Bee.
Russophobia has spread to colors. Anything that looks a bit Russian is now prone to cancellation.
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China Threatens Livestreamers With New Regulations
China is considering new restrictions for the live-streaming industry, continuing with its crackdown of the entertainment industry and control over the content young people are exposed to.
In recent years, live-streaming has exploded in China, as more people now have access to mobile internet and are looking for fresh content. In 2020, the China Association for Performing Arts estimated the value of the live-steaming industry at $30 billion.
However, instead of the government supporting the industry, it is planning restrictions.
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China: Robot Dogs With Loudspeakers Enforce Shanghai Lockdown
Authorities in Shanghai are relying on robot dogs with loudspeakers strapped to their backs to enforce the latest round of COVID lockdowns.
A video out of the city shows a robot dog scuttling down a residential street barking out orders and reminding people to stay inside their homes.
The streets of the city, which has a population of over 26 million, are completely deserted.
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Popular Brazilian Creators Monark and Ferréz to Post Exclusively to Rumble After YouTube Censorship
Influential Brazilian podcaster Monark and Brazilian commentator Ferréz have announced that they’ll be live streaming exclusively on the neutral video sharing platform Rumble and offering exclusive subscription-only benefits on the community generation platform Locals from April.
Monark is one of Brazil’s most popular podcasters and has been described as “Brazil’s version of Joe Rogan.” He has over 3.3 million subscribers on YouTube and his previous podcast, “Flow,” broadcast hours-long interviews with a range of guests. He says he’s been “completely censored and demonetized” on YouTube.
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Arizona Gubernatorial Candidate Kari Lake Vows to Declare ‘Invasion, ‘ Send Armed Troops to Border
Aleading candidate for Arizona governor says she would declare her state is under invasion on her first day in office and send armed troops to seal the border from illegal immigrants.
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Austria: Migrants Arrested in Rape of Teen Girl at Facility for Ukraine Refugees
Austrian police arrested three teen migrants from Afghanistan and Iran for allegedly raping a young girl at a building housing Ukrainian refugees this week, according to reports.
The horrifying incident unfolded on Wednesday evening in Linz, capital of the state of Upper Austria.
Officers on patrol heard a scream and loud voices coming from a stairwell behind a post office distribution center which is currently being used to shelter refugees from Ukraine, Austria Press Agency reports.
They opened an emergency exit door and discovered four males attacking a 16-year-old girl.
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EU Members Agree to 10-Point Plan to Settle Ukrainian Refugees
European Union member state Interior Ministers have agreed to a ten-point plan to help settle the millions of Ukrainian refugees who have fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including measures to prevent trafficking.
The Interior Ministers met on Monday in Brussels and agreed to a ten-point plan that would help ease the burden on countries like Poland, which has taken in over two million people who have fled the Russian invasion and has wanted that its own asylum system was becoming heavily strained.
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Hungary Accepted the Largest Number of Refugees Per Capita From Ukraine
A total of 7,947 asylum applications have been filed in Hungary, in just over a month, according to the figures provided by the country’s government.
In this regard, the government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkiralyi has emphasised the fact that asylum applications are increasing every day, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
In addition, from February 24, when Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine until March 29, Hungary has accepted the largest number of refugees per capita, with 530,587 people who have arrived in the country so far.
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Many Ukrainian Refugees Aren’t Really Ukrainian, Says Insider Police Source in Germany
Since the beginning of the wave of refugees as a result of the war in Eastern Europe, critical voices have been warning that non-Ukrainians could take the opportunity to come to Germany. After riots took place in a Munich refugee accommodation, this suspicion was confirmed. More than 50 people clashed there on Saturday, and attacked one another with chairs and paving stones, triggering a large-scale police operation.
According to the Bild newspaper, a police source said about the conditions on site: “Only a fraction are really Ukrainian refugees.” Among other things, large families that are assigned to the Sinti and Roma ethnic groups are conspicuous, according to the police officer.
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Poland Vows to Go it Alone to Block Its Belarus Border Even if the EU Doesn’t OK the Move
On March 25, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine sent a letter to the European Commission with a proposal to completely block transport services with Russia and Belarus.
But in apparent growing urgency, Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland Andrii Deshchytsia says his officials are already in talks with Warsaw to “completely close” the border to all traffic with Belarus, according to Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.
“We are holding talks with the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure, with the Polish government, in order to completely close the border between Poland and Belarus — even if the decision is not taken at the level of the European Union,” Deshchytsia said.
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Report: “Someone is Making a Fortune” Out of Giving Non-Ukrainian Migrants Fake Ukrainian Passports
According to a report by German newspaper Bild, “someone is making a fortune” out of giving non-Ukrainian economic migrants fake Ukrainian passports so they can slip into western Europe and get free welfare.
More than 50 migrants clashed on Saturday night during a riot at a refugee facility in Munich as chairs and paving stones were used as weapons, prompting a huge police response.
Bild cited a police source who said the overwhelming majority of the “refugees” were from the Sinti and Roma ethnic groups and that, “Only a fraction are really Ukrainian refugees.”
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Ukrainian Refugees Could be Benefit for Czech Economy, Says Czech Labor Minister
Czechia will begin to find out about the education and current profession of Ukrainian refugees before the Russian invasion of their country. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Marian Jurecka said during an interview with iDNES.cz news outlet.
The editor mentioned that some Czech companies recruit Ukrainian workers through intermediary agencies and then do not pay mandatory insurance for them.
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BC Removes Words ‘He’, ‘She’, ‘Himself’, and ‘Herself’ From Regulations
“Outdated gendered language” has been removed or updated from 138 British Columbia regulations so far in 2022, the Vancouver Sun reports.
“Outdated gendered language” has been removed or updated from 138 British Columbia regulations so far in 2022, the Vancouver Sun reports.
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British Transgender Cyclist Barred From Women’s National Omnium Event
Male-to-female transgender cyclist, Emily Bridges, will not be participating in the National Omnium Championships on Saturday, which would have made it Bridges’ first women-only event.
The decision to omit Bridges from participation comes following a ruling by British Cycling, which faced a massive backlash from numerous professional female athletes over the inclusion of transgender riders in the sport.
Had Bridges been allowed to compete, the transgender athlete would have faced off some of the sport’s most popular names, including five-time Olympic champion Laura Kenny.
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Major Canadian Telecom Company Asks Staff to Live Out Trans Values in the Workplace
(LifeSiteNews) — The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for TELUS — a major Canadian telecom company — sent a memo to employees asking them to celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility by attending pro-gender ideology workshops and by using preferred pronouns in email signatures.
The memo, which was sent to LifeSiteNews, was written by CFO Doug French, who is listed as the Global Executive Sponsor of Spectrum, an intra-TELUS organization that promotes LGBT values to staff. The Spectrum program is active in the United States, Canada and the Philippines by helping to fund initiatives like pride parades.
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School Nurse Suspended for Facebook Post Accused of Being “Transphobic”
The Hartford Public Schools board has suspended a 77-year-old school nurse after posts she made on social media. She was accused of transphobia and failing to respect the privacy of students by commenting publicly about what is going on at the school.
In a moms’ group, Kathleen Cataford, who works at Richard J Kinsella Magnet School, posted that there was an 11-year-old female student on puberty blockers and 12 other students identifying as “non-binary.”
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A current Walt Disney Company employee, who is also running for Congress in Florida, recently spoke out regarding the state’s recently passed “Parental Rights in Education” bill, and how despite the legislation having a loud opposition among the corporate infrastructure at the entertainment company, a “silent majority” of Disney workers support the bill.
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US Passports to Start Including ‘X’ As Gender Option
The State Department announced Americans applying for a passport will be allowed to choose “X” as a gender option starting April 11.
“We’re setting a precedent as the first US federal government agency to offer the ‘X’ gender marker on an identity document,” said Douglass Benning, principal deputy assistant secretary for consular affairs at the State Department, according to CBS News. The announcement comes on International Transgender Day of Visibility.
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Klaus Schwab Tells Global Leaders to Collaborate for World Governance
The time has come for world governments to unite as one and tackle global problems such as climate change, trade, and economic disruption without hinderance or delay, World Economic Forum (WEF) founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab announced Wednesday.
The unelected globalist issued his demand during a keynote speech on the opening day of the World Government Summit (WGS2022) in Dubai, saying the world can only be improved by more government cooperation at more levels.
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Sales of “Dumb Phones” Are Increasing
If various global sales statistics alone are to be believed, a significant number of people over the three years ending in 2021 decided that while smartphones may be smart — it isn’t such a smart thing to use them.
Some reports cite figures related to sales of so-called dumbphones (predecessors of the smart variety, known also as “feature phones”) as increasing from 400 million units sold worldwide in 2018, to a billion in 2021. This seems to correspond to other statistics, such as the fact that in the same period, Google searches for “dumbphones” increased by 89%.
At the same time, global sales of smartphones dropped 12.5 percent in 2020 to 1.4 billion devices last year.
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Russia “denazifies” a country with the lowest level of antisemitism in Central Europe. In Russia it’s 3x higher.
The Pew Research Center survey was published in 2018. The next year Ukrainians elected with 73% of votes a president of Jewish origin – Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
https://mobile.twitter.com/DMokryk/status/1509614748408627212
All this looks like an election, in fact it is something else.
In Ukraine, whoever screams louder gets voted for. And they don’t like Jews. But now, they don’t like Russians anymore. Apparently, at the time of the elections, Zelensky most shouted against Russia, although there was no war.
How can people in their right mind choose a clown?
In Russia, too, the elections looked like clowning. Ridiculous figures have been put forward as an alternative to Putin. There were no election races. These figures appeared out of nowhere 2-3 months before the elections with colorless programs as if written under tracing paper. State employees (state slaves) were forced to vote for Putin or the ruling party. All the rest did not go to the polls – they did not want to take part in this farce.
Ukrainians I spoke to were very disillusioned with their politicians, much like other countries, such as the USA – hence they voted for a “clown”…
But you can’t deny they have a vibrant political scene… Since 2006, they had 4 different presidents, representing different groups: Yushchenko, Yanukovich, Poroshenko and now Zelensky (a Russian-speaking Jew).
“a majority of French voters support either Éric Zemmour or Marine Le Pen in the upcoming presidential election.”
Which means the vote is split and Macron will win. For the good of France, one of them needs to drop out and endorse the other. Maybe they could flip a coin?
Marine Le Pen alsmost sold out when she backed away from her previous stance on Muslim terrorist.
But Zemmour is the real deal because he wants to deport a million of those sons and daughters of satan.
I do not believe that Macron will win. He has done too much damage to the citizens of france by siding with Islam.