The Biden administration is considering extending sanctions on Russia to include a ban on the importation of all Russian oil. In reaction, crude oil futures climbed to levels not seen since 2008, and the average price of gasoline in the USA rose above $4/gallon.
In other news, the People’s Convoy of truckers did a lap around the Capital Beltway today and then returned to Hagerstown, Maryland.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, Insubria, 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.
Poland’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 2.8 Pct in January — Eurostat
Poland’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 2.8 percent in January 2022, from 2.9 percent in December 2021, Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, reported on Thursday.
According to Eurostat, in January 2022, the unemployment rate in the eurozone countries, according to seasonally adjusted data, stood at 6.8 percent.
According to Poland’s Central Statistical Office (GUS), Poland’s unemployment rate stood at 5.5 percent in January 2022, up from 5.4 percent in December 2021.
The discrepancy between GUS and Eurostat figures results from the use of different methodologies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago Police Seek Restitution for Investigating Jussie Smollett’s Claims
CHICAGO — The city’s law department is seeking restitution for the city as part of Smollett’s sentence.
Jussie Smollett is expected to be sentenced March 10. Leading up to that sentencing, the city said they’re owed over $130,000 after the actor’s claims took weeks for Chicago Police to investigate.
The former “Empire” actor told investigators that he was the victim of a hate crime attack in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2019.
Nearly three years later, Special Prosecutor Dan Webb laid out the case proving to a jury that Smollett falsely reported the attack.
Smollett was found guilty on five of six felony disorderly conduct counts. Webb said at the time, the false report was not a victimless crime.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Everybody’s Not Muslim Here’: N.J. Man Complains About Call to Prayer Broadcast Over Loudspeakers
A 57-year-old man named Edward Wright is being investigated for possible commission of a hate crime and has been charged with simple assault and bias intimidation after he walked into a mosque in Paterson, N.J. to complain about the adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, being broadcast over loudspeakers. If Wright is guilty, he should receive the due penalty for his crimes. At the same time, any controversy over the broadcast of the adhan in American cities is being dismissed as “bigotry” and “hate,” while reality, as is always the case with Leftist propaganda, is more complicated.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In response to a FOIA request filed by TheBlaze, HHS revealed that it purchased advertising from major news networks including ABC, CBS, and NBC, as well as cable TV news stations Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, legacy media publications including the New York Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post, digital media companies like BuzzFeed News and Newsmax, and hundreds of local newspapers and TV stations. These outlets were collectively responsible for publishing countless articles and video segments regarding the vaccine that were nearly uniformly positive about the vaccine in terms of both its efficacy and safety.
Hundreds of news organizations were paid by the federal government to advertise for the vaccines as part of a “comprehensive media campaign,” according to documents TheBlaze obtained from the Department of Health and Human Services. The Biden administration purchased ads on TV, radio, in print, and on social media to build vaccine confidence, timing this effort with the increasing availability of the vaccines. The government also relied on earned media featuring “influencers” from “communities hit hard by COVID-19” and “experts” like White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci and other academics to be interviewed and promote vaccination in the news.
Though virtually all of these newsrooms produced stories covering the COVID-19 vaccines, the taxpayer dollars flowing to their companies were not disclosed to audiences in news reports, since common practice dictates that editorial teams operate independently of media advertising departments and news teams felt no need to make the disclosure, as some publications reached for comment explained.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) government has fought tirelessly to inject critical race theory indoctrination into her state’s schools — now having her administration provide material promoting race essentialism to teachers.
Whitmer’s Educator Advisory Council published a report called “Social Justice and Anti-Racist Educator Resources” that gives schools and teachers the materials they need to push race-essentialism, ensure that race is seen as a central determinative factor in everyday interactions, and teach some children that they are oppressed and others that they are oppressors based entirely on the color of their skin.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Minnesota School Districts to Officially Observe Muslim Eid Holidays
With the burgeoning Muslim population in Minnesota, several district schools will now be observing Muslim high holy days. Beginning in the new school year, Eid El-Fitr and Eid El-Adha will be included as official school holidays.
Demographics rules.
Also in Minnesota, a special Quran holds the signature of almost every Minnesota Muslim elected to office. The practice began when Ilhan Omar was elected to Congress in 2016. Imam Asad Zaman, Executive Director of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, ordered the “largest Qur’an he could find for her swearing-in ceremony.” Afterward, Zaman arranged for other Muslim officeholders to sign it, and the practice continues.
“Minnesota school districts to oberve Muslim Eid holidays for the first time this year,” by Brooke Anderson, The New Arab, March 1, 2022.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ahead of UFC 272 in Las Vegas, fighter Bryce Mitchell was asked his thoughts on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. “Here’s my first thought is I’m not going nowhere to fight none of these wars for these politicians,” he replied.
“I’m staying at home and when the war comes to Arkansas, I will dig my boots in the ground and I will die for everything I love and I will not retreat.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
National Average Gas Price Jumps Over $4 for First Time Since 2008
For the first time since 2008, the national average price for a gallon of gas has risen over $4.
According to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), Sunday’s national average for the price of gas was $4.009, with the prices being markedly higher on the West Coast and in the Northeast, as compared to interior states.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ohio State Legislature Introduces Resolution Urging Canada be Placed on Religious Liberty Watch List
Ohio state legislators on Tuesday introduced a new resolution calling on the U.S. commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to add Canada to its watch list of countries over the jailing of Canadian Pastor Artur Pawlowski, who has been jailed for almost a month.
Pawlowski has been confined at the Calgary Remand Centre for three weeks after he addressed the “Freedom Convoy” protest blockade along the U.S.-Canada border. Pawlowski’s brother, Dawid, was also arrested Wednesday for allegedly breaching his bail conditions, Rebel News reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Oregon Bill Declaring Racism ‘A Public Health Crisis’ Heads to Governor’s Desk for Signing
On Saturday, the Oregon Health Equity Taskforce announced that a bill declaring racism a public health crisis in the state passed through both legislative chambers and is heading to Governor Kate Brown’s desk for a signature.
House Bill 4052, entitled: “An Act Relating to equity; and declaring an emergency,” requires the “Oregon Health Authority, guided by advisory committee to be convened by authority, to provide grants to operate two culturally and linguistically specific mobile health units, as pilot program, to improve health outcomes of Oregonians impacted by racism.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Trucker Convoy Drives Laps Around DC Beltway
The pro-freedom “People’s Convoy” has made its way across the United States after a weeks-long journey and circled the outskirts of Washington, DC, Sunday.
Over the past couple of days, the massive US convoy has been spotted at the Hagerstown Speedway, in neighboring Maryland, as trucks, RVs, and cars arrived from nearby Pennsylvania. On Sunday, the vehicles have been seen driving slow loops on the Beltway, a highway that surrounds the nation’s capital.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: Suspects Use Sledgehammers in Smash-and-Grab Robbery at California Jewelry Store
Police are looking for as many as 10 suspects after a group armed with sledgehammers robbed a jewelry store at the Roseville Galleria in Roseville, California, around 12:30 pm on Friday afternoon. The suspects are still at large.
An eyewitness at the scene of the crime described how the intruders, wearing hoodies and face masks, entered the business and threatened the employees, forcing them to stand down as they rummaged through the store’s goods.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Young Mom and Her Six-Year-Old Daughter Found Fatally Stabbed in Bronx Apartment
Police discovered a young mother and her daughter fatally stabbed inside a Bronx apartment late on Saturday night.
Officers from the 47th Precinct made the horrific discovery while conducting a wellness check at a home on the 4000 block of Monticello Avenue in Edenwald at about 11:56 p.m. on March 5.
Upon arriving at the scene, law enforcement sources said, the officers located the two victims — a 26-year-old woman and her 6-year-old daughter — inside a bedroom. Both had suffered multiple stab wounds about their bodies, and were unconscious and unresponsive.
Responding EMS units pronounced them dead at the scene. Their identities were withheld, pending family notification, police reported.
Sources familiar with the investigation said that detectives are looking into the homicide as a possible domestic incident, though they have yet to identify a possible suspect. No arrests have been made, thus far, in the ongoing investigation, police noted…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: Police Say F*** Trudeau Flags Now Banned on Parliament Hill
A group of protesters on Parliament Hill in Ottawa said that they were told that their F*ck Trudeau signs are prohibited from being displayed on the Hill.
Video posted by Leigh Stewy on Twitter shows demonstrators being confronted by officers, who reportedly inform them about the apparent rules regarding signage.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Why is Tamara Lich Still in Jail?
Freedom Convoy fundraiser and organizer Tamara Lich is in jail until at least Monday, when a judge will decide whether she should be released on bail. True North’s Andrew Lawton spoke to criminal defense lawyer David Anber about the case.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Afghan Brothers Go on Trial in Germany for ‘Honour Killing’ of Sister
BERLIN, March 2 (Reuters) — Two Afghan brothers suspected of killing their sister for adopting a Western lifestyle went on trial in Berlin on Wednesday, in a case that highlights the violence against women and cultural tensions among some recent migrants to Germany.
The defendants, identified as Sayed H. and Seyed H. under German privacy laws, are accused of luring their 34 year-old sister to meet them last July in Berlin and choking her and cutting her throat, the Berlin prosecutor’s office said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czech Foreign Minister: I Am Hostile to Romantic Ideas of Fighting for Ukraine
Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský is not in favor of allowing Czech volunteers to participate in the fighting in Ukraine. In an interview with Novinky.cz news outlet, the minister also talked about the effect of sanctions against Russia, the exclusion of the country from the SWIFT system, and Czechia’s readiness for a possible cut in gas supplies from Russia.
Lipavský, for example, responded to the question of whether, according to him, the current sanctions against Russia would have an effect. The largest Russian companies handling energy payments are not involved in the SWIFT system.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Energy Crisis in Europe Worsens as Natural Gas Prices Double in a Week
Europe may have dodged the bullet of gas outages for this winter, but surging prices for natural gas in Europe is quickly becoming a worrisome signal for the EU economy.
The front month gas price at the Dutch TTF hub, the benchmark gas price for Europe, has doubled just this week alone, and now sits at $204.32 per MWh as Russian gas supply fears continue to grip the market.
On Thursday, prices were trading at $221 per MWh, which was a new all-time high.
The higher prices come not only as Russia invades Ukraine, but after reports that the flow of Russian gas through the Yamal pipeline had stopped, and as pressures mount on world governments to cease all energy trading with Moscow in light of the invasion.
[Comment: Article dated March 4, 2022.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Twitter Suspends Multiple Campaign Accounts of Zemmour and Le Pen
We have known for years that Twitter and the other social media giants were not neutral platforms, but they are more open and brazen about their efforts to silence dissent from the far-Left agenda of the global political and media elites. One prime reason why Twitter hates Zemmour and Le Pen is that they oppose mass Muslim migration into France and the West in general. The very fact this happened is a key illustration of why Macron must be defeated and the sinister power of these cabals must be broken if France is to have any future as a free republic.
“#STOPcensorship: Twitter Suspension Of Zemmour And Le Pen Campaign Accounts Is Undeniable Indication Of Political Censorship,” translated from “#STOPcensure: La Suspension Des Comptes De Campagne De Zemmour Et Le Pen Par Twitter Est L’indication Indéniable D’une Censure Politique,” GETTR, March 5, 2022.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“They will not silence me,” says Isabelle Surply.
But they’ll keep trying. If they do not win in the courts, they’ll smear her as a racist, bigoted “Islamophobe.” Clueless and short-sighted Leftists will eagerly pile on.
“Loire: an elected official denounces anti-Western remarks in a sermon, the council of Muslim worship files a complaint,” translated in “Loire : une élue dénonce des propos anti-occidentaux dans un prêche, le conseil du culte musulman porte plainte,” Valeurs Actuelles, February 26, 2022 (thanks to Medforth).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Concessions for 22 Property Treasures Up for Grabs
Bidding open till May 19 for historic villas, palace, ex-church
(ANSA) — ROME, MAR 1 — What do several historic villas, a palace, a theatre, a former church, a lighthouse and a former customs office have in common? They are all among the 22 treasures owned by Italy’s Demanio State-property agency that are being put out under concession for up to 50 years.
The aim is recoup these assets, combining tourism, culture, environmental protection and sustainable transport, opening them up to the public, removing them from the threat of degradation and making the most of them in economic and social terms.
They are being entrusted to private entities that are capable of restoring, reusing and managing the properties.
It is possible to respond to the call for tenders and present a bid until 12:00 on May 19, 2022.
The properties are spread across the nation, they have a rich range of variety, they have high value in terms of history and identity and they are entwined in their landscape and urban environments, as well as in the social and cultural fabric of their local communities.
One of the biggest pieces of real-estate is the former Caserma Caldieri barracks on the sea front of the island of Ortigia in Siracusa, a building that dates back to the 17th century and was originally a convent before being turned into barracks and a military hospital.
Another is the Palazzo dei Principi Lanza di Trabia at San Nicola Arcella (in the province of Cosenza), which was built at the end of the 18th century and has a panoramic position on a stretch of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Then there is Villa Lieta, previously Villa Boyd, which sits in its own park at Sanremo and was built at the start of the 20th century in a prestigious 19th century district; and Villa Carducci Pandolfini, which is situated on a plain to the south-west of Florence and is a 15th century structure built on the remains of a 13th-century tower.
Another big property is the San Vito prison at Agrigento. Built as a convent in the first half of the 15th century, it was turned into a jail in the second half of the 19th century.
There is also Palermo’s Real Casa dei Matti, a former mental institution and military hospital close to the centre of the capital of Sicily.
The list also features two very special properties.
These are the historic Teatro Rossi in Pisa, a theatre built in 1770 with a glorious past as a famous stage for works of prose, opera and dance; and the former San Cristoforo church in Mantua, which dates back to the early 15th century with additional elements from the 18th century.
The properties up for tender also include medium-sized buildings along sustainable tourism itineraries: the former Torre di Badino customs office at Terracina; the Cardeto lighthouse in Ancona; the Bacucco sul Po toll gate at Ariano nel Polesine; the former Roccolo and Ronchi toll gates at Pieve di Cadore together with the Sottocastello station; the former Monte Croce Carnico defensive barracks at Paluzza; the Monte di Mezzo former munitions depot at Sagrado; the Sperone bastion and the Gran Maestrato of San Lazzaro a Capua; the Villa Margi rail signal box at Reitano; the roadman’s house at Irsina; a customs house with garden at Grottammare; and another property in Via Stenico, Cremona.
The initiative is part of the Valore Paese Italia (Italy Country Value) project that sees the Demanio agency work with the culture ministry, tourism agency ENIT, Difesa Servizi Spa and other institutional partners such as Anas and Anci-Fondazione Patrimonio Comune.
The project aims to bring together under the same brand the networks that seek to valorize properties of cultural and landscape interest, helping the development of new activities linked to sustainable tourism, culture, sport, training and sustainable transport, via public-private partnership instruments.
Among the objectives of Valore Paese Italia is that of creating a system to support slow, sustainable tourism lined to the valorization of public assets.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Opens Government Platform of Humanitarian Aid Coordination for Ukraine
A Polish government official has said that Poland is launching a central, government platform of coordination of humanitarian assistance for Ukraine.
“The new platform is being launched as part of the pomagamukrainie.gov.pl website,” Michal Dworczyk, the head of the PM’s Office, told reporters on Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland: Russia Should be Banned From Sports Events, Federations Says Official
A Polish presidential official has said that Russia should be immediately expelled from all sports competitions and federations.
Jakub Kumoch, the head of the Polish President’s International Politics Bureau, made the statement on Sunday after Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak caused outrage in a World Cup event after wearing a symbol supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on his shirt while sharing the podium with his Ukrainian rival.
“This is a symbolic image showing why Russia should be immediately expelled from all sports events and federations,” Kumoch wrote on Twitter, adding that President Andrzej Duda had been one of the first to make such a proposal.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republicans Want Permanent US Bases in Central and Eastern Europe
Mike Rogers, the Republican Party’s senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives Defense Committee, is calling for permanent U.S. military bases in Poland, Romania and the Baltic states
“In order to deter Putin from invading NATO states, we need to have a permanent presence in Poland, Romania and the Baltic states. Putin must be made to understand that his invasion of Ukraine has hardened NATO’s resolve and increased its presence,” he said.
Rogers wants to see the rotational presence in the region made permanent. He also pointed to Poland’s offer of paying for part of the costs of a permanent base.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Droitwich Shop Wins Appeal Against £35k COVID Lockdown Fines
The owners of a card and gift shop who repeatedly refused to close during coronavirus lockdowns have won an appeal against a £35,000 fine.
Alasdair and Lydia Walker-Cox, of Grace Cards and Books in Droitwich, were told to pay the sum last year.
They argued it qualified for exemption because it sold icing, sweets and publications. But in August, a judge called this reasoning a “fig leaf”.
However, the couple won an appeal at Worcester Crown Court on Friday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Tony Blair Says He Thought Invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq Were ‘Right Thing’ To Do
Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair has said in an interview that he thought his invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were the “right thing” to do at the time.
Blair, who served as Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007, seemingly attempted to justify his controversial role in the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq by saying that, at the time, he thought it was the “right thing” to do.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Wounded Ukraine Fighters Will be Treated in Germany and Poland
Ukrainian fighters wounded while battling the Russian invasion will be treated in hospitals in Germany and Poland, officials from both countries said Sunday.
German hospitals, including military clinics in Berlin, will start treating Ukrainian fighters on Monday, according to two senior German government officials.
The wounded will be transported from the battlefield by road and rail to neighboring Poland, which shares borders with both Ukraine and Germany. They will then be airlifted to specialist German clinics depending on the treatment required, the officials said.
Poland will also treat wounded Ukrainian fighters, a Polish government spokesman said. A Polish medical train has already transported casualties from Ukraine to Polish territory to provide care, he added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: Biden Admin Gives ‘Green Light’ For NATO to Send Fighter Jets to Ukraine
In a Sunday interview, the Biden administration’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that NATO member nations have the “green light” to go ahead and send fighter jets to Ukraine amidst the country’s ongoing invasion by Russia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In Ukraine: Heavy combat inside Ukraine continued, with Russian forces resuming their push into the capital of Kyiv and the country’s second largest city of Kharkiv. Ukrainian troops have managed to slow, and in some cases halt, Russian advances.
Ukrainian authorities said they had to abandon efforts to evacuate civilians from the southern city of Mariupol, for the second day in a row, saying Russia shelled the southeastern port city as evacuation convoys were gathering.
Russia’s military insists it isn’t targeting civilians. But deaths are mounting from Russian strikes on residential areas in cities around the country and agreements to evacuate towns and cities have fallen through.
In Kherson, the only regional capital that Russia has captured, thousands of people came out for the third day of protests against the occupation.
The U.S. is exploring a deal in which Poland would send Soviet-era aircraft to Ukraine in return for American F-16 jet fighters. The disclosure of a possible deal followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s impassioned plea to Capitol Hill for assistance.
In Russia: Visa and Mastercard said they are suspending their Russian operations. The card networks earlier said they would no longer handle card operations pertaining to sanctioned Russian banks and are now extending that to all card issuers and merchant processors in Russia. The move will have a major impact on foreigners in the country.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Patricia Arquette Torched for Demanding Russia’s Expulsion From NATO, Blames Her Dyslexia
Patricia Arquette is an Oscar-winning actress but when it comes to current events, the Boyhood star deserves a Golden Raspberry for dumbest tweet of the year.
In her since-deleted tweet, Arquette demanded that Russia be kicked out of NATO, apparently not realizing that Russia never was part of NATO and that the organization was created in part to contain Soviet expansion.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Decries War, Calling it ‘Madness’
ROME—Pope Francis on Sunday deplored the “rivers of blood and tears” flowing in Ukraine, using his strongest language yet to criticize the war, though he stopped short of blaming Russia. He also said he had sent two Vatican cardinals to Ukraine as an expression of his concern and to provide assistance.
Speaking from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square following his recitation of the noon Angelus prayer, the pope described the Ukraine conflict as “not just a military operation, but a war, which sows death, destruction and misery.” His words stood in contrast to earlier language by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, who originally described the invasion last month as “the start of Russian military operations on Ukrainian territory.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘We will find every bastard’, Zelenskiy warns
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivered an impassioned nightly address to his nation, warning Russian troops he will punish those who committed atrocities in Ukraine while the “only quiet place” that awaits them is the grave.
“Today is Forgiveness Sunday. But we will not forgive hundreds and hundreds of victims. Thousands and thousands of sufferings. And God will not forgive. Not today. Not tomorrow. Never. And instead of Forgiveness, there will be a Day of Judgment,” Zelenskiy said.
An excerpt of his speech, as translated by Ukrainian broadcaster Ukrinform, reads:…
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Russia-Ukraine War: What Happened Today (March 6)
As Sunday draws to a close in Kyiv and in Moscow, here are the key developments of the day:
The death toll reached the hundreds. At least 364 Ukrainians have died since Russia invaded Ukraine and at least 759 have been injured, according to the United Nations. The actual toll is believed to be “considerably higher.”
Another cease-fire attempt failed. Russian forces broke a cease-fire for the second consecutive day when they opened fire on Mariupol, again forcing the port city to halt evacuations of civilians.
Thousands of people were detained for anti-war protests in Russia. Over 4,300 people across 56 cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, were detained over protesting President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to an independent monitoring group.
Western powers are in talks about a ban on Russian oil and gas imports. The U.S. and its allies are having an “active discussion” about banning such imports from Russia, while ensuring there’s enough of an oil supply for the rest of the world. The Biden administration fears what that could mean for gas prices, but an energy imports ban would also deprive Russia of a large source of revenue.
TikTok temporarily banned Russian content. The immensely popular video-sharing app is suspending all new content, including livestreams, from being uploaded from Russia. The company says it’s enforcing the ban as it reviews the implications of Russia’s new law that cracks down on independent media.
In-depth
Over 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine have crossed into neighboring countries in what the U.N. calls the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. See some of the faces of the crisis here.
Russia’s assault on Ukraine has devastating implications for world hunger. Experts outline six grim scenarios.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Teen Tracking Russian Oligarchs’ Jets is Now Targeting Their Superyachts
The Florida college student who garnered attention for tracking the private planes of Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk and Russian oligarchs has a new Twitter target: the luxury yachts of Russia’s elite.
Jack Sweeney, 19 years old, created @RussiaYachts on Saturday, a Twitter bot that monitors and publishes the on-water whereabouts of super-wealthy Russians. As of Sunday afternoon, the account had over 9,300 followers.
“I just kept getting more and more people in my direct messages saying, ‘Can you do the yachts, too?’ So, I did it,” Mr. Sweeney said in an interview Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine War Hits Farmers as Russia Cuts Fertilizer Supplies, Hurting Brazil
Brazil is searching for new fertilizer suppliers as the war in Ukraine threatens to cut off shipments to one of the world’s breadbaskets, with potential ripple effects on already high global food inflation.
The Latin American country is the largest producer of coffee, soybeans and sugar, and the most dependent of the world’s agricultural superpowers on imported fertilizer. Brazil imports some 85% of its fertilizers and about a fifth of those imports come from Russia. The Russian trade ministry has called for a broad suspension of fertilizer exports, state news agency TASS reported Friday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
WNBA Star Detained in Russia on Drug Charges
WNBA all-star player Brittney Griner reportedly has been detained in Russia on drug charges that could land the 31-year old basketball superstar with a 10-year sentence behind bars.
Russian authorities detained the two-time Olympic gold athlete after customs officers discovered hashish oil among other vaping supplies in her luggage as she was going through a security checkpoint at Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Military Intelligence Worried About Possible Attack on Taiwan by China
Canadian military intelligence suspected that China would use Russia’s attack on Ukraine as a smokescreen to launch an offensive on Taiwan, the House of Commons defence committee heard on Wednesday.
Head of Canada’s military intelligence Maj.-Gen. Mike Wright told the committee that his unit was on high alert over possible action by China.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Unsilenced: Chinese-Canadian Filmmaker on His New Film About the Persecution of Falun Gong
On this week’s episode of The Gunn Show, Chinese Canadian filmmaker, Leon Lee joins Sheila Gunn Reid to discuss why he felt compelled to make a movie on the state of religious liberty in China and the intimidation he and his crew faced to make it.
Lee has brought the persecution of Falun Gong and those trying to tell the truth about the state of religious liberty in China to the big screen in his new movie, Unsilenced. Based on true events, the film follows a Chinese student and Falun Gong practitioner, and an American journalist, in their fight to tell the world about China’s evil crackdown on free thought and belief.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kenya: Evangelist Beaten, Tied Up to be Burned for Converting
NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) — Muslim relatives of a Christian evangelist on Feb. 6 beat and tied him up to be burned to death after he returned home for a funeral in eastern Uganda, he said.
Malingumu Bruhan, 34, returned to Kaliro District for his grandfather’s funeral in Muhira village, Nawaikoke, and then accepted his uncles’ request to stay and visit, as they said they had not seen him for a long time, he said.
Other visitors had left when Bruhan’s uncle, Ndifakulya Musa, began rebuking him, he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
One Million Ukrainians Have Crossed Into Poland
Poland’s Border Guard said on Sunday night that one million refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine have now fled into Poland.
The agency added that most people have crossed at the Medyka and Korczowa crossings.
“Today at 20:00 the number of people who have escaped to Poland from Ukraine exceeded one million,” the Border Guard said in a statement. “That is one million tragedies, a million people expelled from their own homes by war.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Romanian Town, Population 8,000, Sees 63,000 Refugees Arrive From Ukraine
The Romanian town of Siret, which boats a population of just 8,000, has seen over 63,000 Ukrainian refugees arrive since the Russian invasion commenced.
The small border town has seen a surge of people fleeing from neighbouring Ukraine since Russia began military operations in February, with at least 63,000 Ukrainian refugees having arrived since hostilities commenced, European Union-funded website InfoMigrants reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Bishops Chairman: Gay Sex Does Not Harm ‘One’s Relationship With God’
ROME — The Chairman of the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, has urged the Catholic Church to change its teaching on sexual morality, insisting that gay sex does not harm a person’s relationship with God.
Same-sex relations are okay, Bishop Bätzing told the German magazine Bunte in its March 4 issue, “as long as they are carried out with loyalty and responsibility.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
On Saturday, famed “Harry Potter” writer JK Rowling slammed a bill that First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon is attempting to pass—one that would make it easier for people to legally change their gender—and the remarks that she made in a Parliament session. The acclaimed author then shared an opinion piece that was published in the Scotsman on Saturday, in which a woman by the name of Susan Dalgety wroted about her past experiences with sexual abuse.
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Netflix Asks Federal Court to Block Child Porn Charges Over ‘Cuties’ Film
When the Netflix film “Cuties” initially came out in September 2020, it was quickly hailed by left-wing elites as a cultural success. Receiving raving reviews from niche audiences, the movie instantly grabbed national headlines and stole the mainstream media spotlight. It even made the French Academy Award’s shortlist for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2021 awards ceremony.
But as “Cuties” began its climb in popularity among left-wing circles, it also began receiving a different kind of attention when a grand jury hit Netflix with an indictment in October of 2020 for displaying patterns of behavior that sexualized pre-teen children. Netflix has attempted to get the indictment tossed out of state court in Texas, while new child porn indictments were filed in the past week.
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Protesters at the University of North Texas in Denton were filmed chanting “F*** you, fascist” at a father who reportedly lost custody of his child when opposing his transition to becoming a girl.
The speaking event was hosted by the UNT Young Conservatives of Texas and featured current State House candidate Jeff Younger, who has described the gender transitioning of minors as “child abuse” and “mutilation.” Younger also supported Governor Abbott’s directing the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate the transitioning of minors in the state.
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https://www.friatider.se/putin-satter-araber-mot-ukraina
Putin sets up Arabs against Ukraine
Publicerad 7 mars 2022 Fria Tider
Published March 7, 2022 at 08.35
FOREIGN. Syrians are now being offered $ 7,000 to fight for Russia in Ukraine for up to seven months, reports Arab Asharq al-Awsat. The move is seen as a sign that the illegal war of aggression is not going as Vladimir Putin has intended.
Several of the Arabs are already in place in Russia and are now getting ready to be deployed in Kyiv, according to information to the Wall Street Journal.
When the UN General Assembly last week voted on a resolution condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine, Syria voted against. The others who voted against were North Korea, Eritrea and Belarus.
“Republicans Want Permanent US Bases in Central and Eastern Europe”
How ignorant to not realize this is one of the major causes of the current crisis!
Common people want US bases about as much as Russian ones. Let’s cooperate, not act like conquerors.
I agree.
The US is “actively working” on an agreement with Poland to send combat aircraft to Ukraine, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Sunday during a visit to Moldova.
But the Poles thought: “Look, Blinken, idiots elsewhere”
On Sunday, Poland’s prime minister’s office denied reports of a potential deal, the Wall Street Journal reported. “Poland will not send its fighter jets to Ukraine, and will not allow the use of its airports,” the office of Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Twitter. “We are helping significantly in many other areas.”
Interestingly, Blinken is a Hungarian Jew, and his stepfather is a Polish Jew who went through concentration camps.
By the way, what about Poland’s reparations to the Jews?
Blinkin acts as an agent of George Soros. https://aclj.org/foreign-policy/blinken-acts-as-agent-of-george-soros-in-the-balkans. His parents took over Soros foundation Open Society Archives. Soros set it up in 1995. renamed after Blinkins in 2015. Many stories about this.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinken_Open_Society_Archives
Blinkin is a Soros type Jew.
And reparations from any of the former Communist bloc. Stalin didn’t pay for the munitions he had from the US or Britain either.
The war threatens to turn into a religious one.
Ukrainian Sheikh Said Ismagilov called on Russian Muslims to use the situation and self-determination.
https://risu.ua/ru/shejh-said-ismagilov-prizval-musulman-rossii-ispolzovat-situaciyu-i-samoopredelyatsya_n126860
Use google translate and read the full article.
In the past, when there were clashes with Muslims in Russia, the British Empire never stood aside, helping the Turks, the Basmachi of Central Asia and patronizing the Chechen cutthroats.
Yesterday in Russia we celebrated the pagan holiday Maslenitsa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslenitsa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VURiGuLlC_s
Usually burn the scarecrow “Winter”, but why this time they burned the Tower of Babel is not clear. But the scale of the action is fascinating.
So I have to wonder how Soros is getting wealthier at this moment? Who is he screwing over.
Blinkin acts as an agent of George Soros. https://aclj.org/foreign-policy/blinken-acts-as-agent-of-george-soros-in-the-balkans. Soros is getting rich based on what Blinkin does for him. Blinkin is his agent.
Soros placed bets that oil would rise to above 100 dollars a barrel, he made a few billion more to use against us, why that SOB and his whole entire family is breathing really fascinates me.
It isn’t a complete video but you know how everyone says Joe Biden gets every wrong. He got this one right.
“AMAZING! Biden Predicted NATO Expanison Would Drive Russia Into Alliance With China and Iran Back In 97′”
https://www.banned.video/watch?id=6226675a5bbbdb5813b1c240
Looks like Ivermectin works. I’ve seen a few apparently ehtical Dr.’s supportive of the vaccines come across studies (where Dr’s still used other treatments) showing it is better than remdesivir and they know it was all about money. Who made everyone lie?
If you had the ability to see the evil in every mans heart – you couldn’t not see it, would you just stay drunk all the time, evangelize, punish, make a profit or be quiet?