An Iraqi culture-enricher went on a stabbing rampage on a train, wounding five people in the western German city of Aachen, just across the border from Belgium. The would-be mujahid was subdued by a policeman who happened to be a passenger on the train, with the help of other passengers. The authorities have tentatively identified the attack as having “a possible Islamic extremist motive.”
In other news, inflation in Sweden is at its highest level in more than thirty years, and is still rising.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Caroline Glick, Dean, DV, Reader from Chicago, SS, 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.
Gas Prices Hit New Record High, Analysts Say ‘Get Used’ To Paying More
The ongoing pain at the pump for Americans is getting even more brutal Friday — as gas prices reached a new record high.
The national average for a gallon of regular increased to $4.432, according to AAA figures.
That eclipses the previous all-time high set in mid-March when filling up tanks set drivers back an average of $4.331 per gallon nationwide.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Inflation in Sweden Reaches Highest Level Since 1991, Keeps Rising
Over the course of the past several months, inflation has soared across Europe and the West at large, reaching levels unseen in decades, amid high energy prices and fears that the conflict in Ukraine, coupled with massive sanctions, may lead to further interruptions of oil and natural gas supplies from Russia.
Monthly inflation in Sweden has reached 6.4 percent in April, a 31-year-high, according to the country’s Statistics Bureau.In March, inflation was 6.1 percent year-on-year, and analysts expected it to increase by 0.1 percent.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Terra’s UST De-Pegging a ‘Brilliant’ Soros-Style Attack, Claims Analyst
Terra’s (LUNA) UST de-pegging from the U.S. Dollar was part of a ‘brilliant’ Soros-style stratagem that netted its perpetrator close to a billion dollars. So claims market analyst the Onchain Wizard, who delved into the anatomy of the attack to uncover its secrets.
Onchain Wizard laid out his argument for how the attack was perpetrated in a Twitter thread on May 10. The Wizard was ultimately so impressed by the “brilliant” strategy of the Luna attacker he compared it to “Black Wednesday” when George Soros bet against the Bank of England and won.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Baby Delivered After Pregnant Woman, Man Shot and Killed
BALTIMORE (Gray News) — A newborn is in critical condition after being born to a mother who was shot and killed.
According to the Baltimore Police Department, officers were called to respond to a shooting around 8:15 Thursday night.
An unidentified man and a 38-year-old pregnant woman were found shot inside a vehicle.
Police say both people were taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital where the man was immediately pronounced dead.
The woman gave birth to her child and was pronounced dead shortly after.
According to police, the newborn is in critical condition.
“I could sit here tonight and tell you a whole bunch of things, but we really need to focus on the fact that something caused this to happen,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott during a news conference. “To be quite honest and frank, I don’t really give a (expletive) what the conflict was; we cannot have folks shooting pregnant women in our city.”
Homicide detectives are investigating the shooting…
— Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
CDC Admits it Can’t Back Claim That Vaccines Don’t Cause Variants
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it does not have documents backing its claim that COVID-19 vaccines do not cause variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.
The CDC’s website calls it a myth that the vaccines cause variants.
“FACT: COVID-19 vaccines do not create or cause variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. Instead, COVID-19 vaccines can help prevent new variants from emerging,” the website states.
“New variants of a virus happen because the virus that causes COVID-19 constantly changes through a natural ongoing process of mutation (change). As the virus spreads, it has more opportunities to change. High vaccination coverage in a population reduces the spread of the virus and helps prevent new variants from emerging,” it also says.
The Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), a nonprofit, asked the CDC in Freedom of Information Act requests for documentation supporting the claim.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CDC Catalogs Lawmakers’ Tweets About Vaccines, Documents Reveal
The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been tracking and cataloging the vaccine-related social media posts of elected officials, according to internal documents.
The documents were obtained through a freedom of information request and investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson posted them online. The documents show that the CDC stored the vaccine-related posts in a database and classified them based on political affiliation.
The database contains the information on the post, the date it was published, a link to the post, and entries about what was discussed.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Child Sex Abuse Center Hires Professor Who Faced Backlash Over Pedophile Comments
An academic who resigned from a Virginia university after saying it wasn’t necessarily immoral for adults to be sexually attracted to kids has been hired by a Johns Hopkins University center aimed at preventing child sexual abuse.
“We are excited to share that Allyn Walker, PhD, will be joining the Moore Center as a postdoctoral fellow on May 25,” the Moore Center for Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse in Baltimore tweeted Thursday.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CNN+ Staffers Received Insulting ‘Gift Boxes’ After Getting Fired
An ill-timed team building scheme resulted in several CNN+ staffers receiving gift boxes filled with network-branded gear right after they were fired, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“This is an incredible time to be part of CNN,” read one note. “Build relationships and take time to connect with colleagues and learn so that you make the most of your time here.”
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Days After Federal Mask Mandate Lifted, In-Air Unruly Passenger Incidents Plunge
It’s amazing what happens when you stop forcing people to wear masks.
After several years where in-air confrontations and unruly passengers became the norm for air travel, with most disputes arising over people wearing or not wearing masks, incidents have started to level off now that masks are no longer required.
It’s almost as if people don’t like being micromanaged…
The unruly passenger rate has fallen for the second week in a row, Bloomberg noted this morning, following the April 18 decision by a judge to end mask mandates on U.S. airlines and mass transportation.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The streets of downtown Chicago descended into chaos on Wednesday evening as hordes of teens and juveniles flooded the streets in a flash-party organized on social media.
Alderman Michele Smith, of Chicago’s 43rd ward, said in a statement that about 400 individuals — mostly consisting of juveniles and young adults — took over the streets in the vicinity of North Avenue Beach.
‘This promoted event was un-permitted by the City and the Park District,’ Smith said in a statement on Thursday, ‘Police received advance warning of the event and placed extensive resources at every entrance to the beach, including the pedestrian bridge.’
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Slams Biden ‘He Thinks He Was Elected to Transform the Country’
Elon Musk has weighed in on the 2024 U.S. presidential election, taking aim at both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, whom he said he would unban.
“Even though I think a less divisive candidate would be better in 2024, I still think Trump should be restored to Twitter,” Musk wrote on Twitter, adding that “Biden’s mistake is that he thinks he was elected to transform the country, but actually everyone just wanted less drama.”
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Exclusive Look at Baby Formula Shortages in Miami, Florida
With the increase of inflation and shortages affecting the United States, the most recent item to be negatively impacted is baby formula. Photos around the United States show the severity of the shortage of baby formula.
Shortages on baby formula have also been exacerbated due to the closing of an Abbott Nutrition facility in Sturgis, Michigan by the Food and Drug Association.
Drugstore chains across the country have been putting limits for customers on how much baby formula can be bought at one time.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Facebook Turns Off AR Filters in Texas and Illinois Over Facial Recognition Legal Concerns
Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, claims that augmented reality (AR) filters and avatars used on the two platforms don’t qualify for facial surveillance — and yet it has decided to turn this feature off in Texas and Illinois, to comply with privacy legislation related to facial recognition in these states.
Other platforms affected by the decision are Messenger, Messenger Kids, and Portal.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Set to Prohibit Protests Outside of Private Homes as Protests Continue at US Justices’ Homes
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Pro-choice activists have been picketing outside the homes of U.S. Supreme Court justices that signed onto the leaked draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, but a bill on the desk of Florida’s governor would make protesting in front of a private home illegal.
The bill was drafted well before the protests at the justices’ homes began.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Justice Alito Addresses Supreme Court Leak
Addressing the public for the first time since the Supreme Court draft leak, Justice Samuel Alito, who penned the draft opinion, briefly touched upon the topic during a visit to the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.
Alito answered the audience’s questions, speaking remotely from the Supreme Court at the the fourth annual Scalia Forum, according to The Washington Post.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Masks Will be Required at Pittsburgh Public Schools Beginning Friday
Pittsburgh Public Schools announced Thursday night that they are requiring masks again beginning Friday.
The district made the announcement in a Facebook post which read, “Allegheny County has reached the MEDIUM COVID-19 Community Level. Effective tomorrow, Friday, May 13, 2022, all students, employees, and visitors are required to wear a mask while inside a school or district facility. #PPSStayInformed”
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New York Parents Demand Eric Adams Drop Toddler Mask Mandate
An angry group of more than 200 NYC parents of schoolchildren insisted on an in-person meeting with NYC mayor Eric Adams on the issue of the city’s infamous mask mandates for children under five years old.
Many people are baffled by the attitude and actions of Adams, who recently extended the order for children from two through four years of age to be masked in schools and daycare centers.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A former Las Vegas mayor who also served as an attorney for Mafia chieftains was impressed with the possibility that the Mob killed enemies and dumped them in Lake Mead.
Oscar Goodman, who represented Meyer Lansky, Frank Rosenthal and Anthony “Tony the Ant” Spilotro, stated he had no idea how the body of a man found in a barrel in the receding waters of the lake got there.
Still, he declared, “Dumping a body in a barrel and then dropping it in a lake is not a bad way to get rid of someone.”
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rand Paul Holds Up $40 Billion Foreign Aid Package to Ukraine Until Financial Oversight Included
Republican lawmaker Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), stymied an attempt to pass $40 billion in aid for Ukraine in the US Senate Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell (R-KY), sought to move forward on the aid package passed in the House of Representatives the previous day by 368 to 57, with only Republicans voting against it.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rumble Expects to Go Public in Q3 2022, Raising $400m to Fund Even More Growth
Video platform Rumble has filed an amended registration statement form with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that updates the expected timing of its proposed merger with Cantor Fitzgerald-sponsored CF Acquisition Corp. VI (CFVI) to early in the third quarter of 2022.
After the business combination deal is completed, the company will be publicly listed and known as Rumble Inc. When Rumble first announced the deal, it expected to complete the merger in the second quarter of 2022.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A new study has found that although “high-poverty schools” suffered large losses in achievement by switching to remote learning during the coronavirus lockdowns, districts that remained largely in-person lost relatively little ground.
The report, titled “The consequences of remote and hybrid instruction during the pandemic,” was published by a team of researchers from the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, the National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research at the American Institutes for Research, and NWEA, a nonprofit research and educational services provider.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter CEO “Expects Deal to Close” After Musk Chaos
Update (1550ET): Late in the US cash session, Twitter shares have recovered some losses after tumbling as much as 21% in premarket after growing speculation that Elon Musk might walk away from the deal to purchase the social media company. Musk later clarified that the deal saga isn’t over yet and he’s “still committed to the acquisition.” At 1515 ET, shares are down 9.5% around the $40.80 mark.
At 1510 ET, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal tweeted a series of updates about what had happened over the past weeks.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Vacation Canceled for Chicago PD After Nearly 1,000 Cops Quit Last Year
In anticipation of violence over memorial day weekend, Chicago has canceled vacation for all officers going into the holiday.
According to ABC7 which obtained an internal CPD memo, all days off are being canceled for one full week between May 24 and 31. Officers may also be placed on 12-hour work shifts during that time “if operational needs arise.”
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
(Trailer) Trucker Rebellion: The Story of the Coutts Blockade
You’ve heard of the Canadian ‘freedom truckers’ protesting discriminatory vaccine mandates.
But they didn’t all go to Ottawa.
Many truckers decided to take a stand at a small border crossing in Coutts, Alberta.
This is their story.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canadian Pastors Who Refused to Close Church During COVID Lockdown Win in Court
The Crown has dropped 24 tickets totalling $55,200, issued in connection with COVID-19 public health orders to three pastors.
The Justice Centre represented Pastor John Koopman of Chilliwack Free Reformed Church, Pastor James Butler of Free Grace Baptist Church, and Pastor Timothy Champ of Valley Heights Community Church, who have all received tickets for holding services during the pandemic.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canadian Forces Veteran Still Marching Despite Rumours of Arrest
Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) veteran James Topp is reassuring supporters he has not been arrested after legacy media outlets reported on Wednesday he was being charged by the Defence Department for his protests against vaccine mandates.
Topp — whose military career has spanned nearly three decades and included tours in the Balkans and Afghanistan — began marching from Vancouver to Ottawa on Feb. 20.
He spoke from just outside Vermilion Bay, Ont. on Thursday, crediting the legacy media for finally noticing his 4293km trek and explaining that the charges stem from investigations into his original protests back in February.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Day 2: B.C. Supreme Court Hearing Legal Challenge Against Vaccine Passports
The province of British Columbia dropped its vaccine passport policy on April 8, but that doesn’t mean such a mandate won’t return during the next flu season.
In an effort to set a new precedent to prevent that from happening, an important legal challenge to the constitutional validity of public health’s vaccine passport orders was heard in Victoria’s Supreme Court this past Tuesday and Wednesday.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Joe Rogan Calls Justin Trudeau a “Creepy F***ing Dictator”
Popular US podcaster Joe Rogan has blasted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his attacks against Canadian truckers during the February Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa.
Rogan called Trudeau a “creepy f***ing dictator” in an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience with Canadian academic and author Gad Saad on Thursday, saying the prime minister’s behaviour belies Canada’s friendly reputation and his own nice-guy image.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
RCMP Will ‘Follow Up’ After NDP Leader Heckled in Peterborough, Ontario
RCMP say they are “following up” on an incident after New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh was harassed by protestors.
The incident took place on Tuesday, during an event in Peterborough, Ontario, wherein Singh was called a traitor, and subjected to vulgarities.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Should We Keep Wearing Masks in Quebec?
The verdict is in — the Quebec government has finally stopped pushing back the date for the lifting of mask mandates in public places.
After several changes to the date, Quebecers no longer seem to believe what they’re promised. Despite this measure being lifted, the media continue mentioning that more COVID-19 waves will come eventually.
Should we push the date back again, or simply eradicate the measure once and for all? An issue on which people seemingly can’t reach a consensus on.
That’s why we decided to go directly to the people to ask them their opinion regarding mask-wearing.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chinese CCTV Cameras on British Streets Contain Hidden Microphones
Chinese-made surveillance cameras in Britain are made by companies linked to human rights atrocities and can pick up sound with hidden microphones, with this capability able to be activated remotely, according to the British government’s “snooping tsar”.
Professor Fraser Sampson, who serves as the official Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, tasked with reviewing the use of surveillance technology and personal biometric information, particularly by the state, has written to government ministers expressing his concern about “the clear ethical and human rights issues involved in public procurement of surveillance technology from companies associated with atrocities in China” and “the security risks presented by some state-controlled surveillance systems covering our public spaces.”
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Current Czech Gas Reserves Would Last Until the End of Summer if Russia Halted Supply
Should Russian gas supplies be halted, Czechia has sufficient reserves to last until the end of the summer, the country’s Industry Minister Jozef Sikela has claimed.
Czech gas reserves are growing rapidly and had exceeded 1.287 billion cubic meters by Thursday morning, and domestic gas storage tanks are now almost 40 percent full, the minister revealed.
“Compared to consumption in previous years, if supplies from Russia are stopped, current stocks should last at least until the end of the summer,” Sikela affirmed.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch MP Bemoans True Nature of ‘Red’ EU Corona Recovery Fund
Pepijn van Houwelingen this week, was present as the Dutch House of Representatives debated the European Corona recovery fund. The FVD MP wanted to know what Corona had to do with this fund.
There were plans announced to reform car taxes, talk about energy taxes, about the reorganization of pig farms and about CO2 taxes. It will come as no surprise to the people who have been following the debate about a planned economic demolition for some time: The Corona recovery fund is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It is an economically red Marxist plan in a green climate jacket.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Finland Will Apply for NATO Membership — Sweden Will Follow on Monday
It is now clear — Finland will apply for NATO membership on Sunday. Sweden will submit an application on Monday according to information.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former Polish Minister of Defense Calls for Demilitarization of Kaliningrad
Both Sweden and Finland have strong militaries that would bolster the eastern flank of NATO and help the alliance to dominate the Baltic Sea, according to Polish military expert and former deputy defense minister, Romuald Szeremietiew.
However, he feels that Kaliningrad enclave —the piece of Russian land sandwiched between Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea — could become a problem to the new set-up.
First of all, Szeremietiew claims its name will be unacceptable as the region is named after Mikhail Kalinin, a Soviet war criminal co-responsible for the Katyn massacre. Second, he argues that Kaliningrad will have to be demilitarized or else it will be a powder keg in the middle of NATO. Poland’s role on the eastern flank will be enhanced and with the entry of Sweden and Finland, NATO will bark near Saint Petersburg.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Groups of Armed ‘Africans’ Battle Each Other Then Attack Police
Armed groups of ‘African-type’ individuals clashed in France this week before joining forces to attack responding police officers, according to reports.
The chaotic incident unfolded at around 7:30 p.m. on Monday evening in Grenoble, the largest city in the department of Isère.
Authorities were alerted about a mob of men battling each other with knives and hammers in the Villeneuve district.
National police officers arriving on the scene quickly found themselves targeted by the same combatants who had previously been warring with each other.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Open Warns Russian Players Not to Make Political Statements of Support for Putin
The French Open tennis tournament has warned Russian players not to make political statements in support of President Vladimir Putin if they wish to take part in the grand slam.
Unlike Wimbledon, where they will be banned altogether, Russian and Belarusian players will be allowed to compete at Roland-Garros, but only under strictly neutral status.
However, Russian stars have been cautioned that they will face sanctions if they express anything other than pro-Ukraine opinions in the media in the run up to the event.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Global Food Crisis: Cut EU Red Tape to Bump Wheat Production — Agri Minister
Germany’s Minister for Agriculture has called on the EU to cut red tape to allow farmers to grow more wheat in response to the burgeoning Ukraine food crisis.
Farmers in Germany should be allowed to grow more wheat in order to combat the ongoing global food crisis, the country’s Agriculture Minister, Cem Özdemir, has argued.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Police: 5 Stabbed and Wounded on Train in Suspected Islamic Terror Attack
Iraqi-born man stabs five passengers on train near city of Aachen before being overpowered by a police officer and two other passengers
VIENNA — Police have arrested an Iraqi-born man and are investigating a possible Islamic extremist motive after five passengers received knife wounds on a regional train in western Germany, authorities said Friday.
The train was traveling near the western city of Aachen Friday morning when a man began attacking fellow passengers “randomly and arbitrarily,” state interior minister Herbert Reul said, according to the news agency dpa.
There were approximately 270 passengers on the train, Reul said. A police officer who happened to be among the passengers overpowered the 31-year-old suspect with the help of two other passengers, state police confirmed.
Reul described the incident as “a gruesome crime that was stopped in an enormous act of courage.”
In total, five people were wounded, Reul said. Police confirmed the casualties were being treated at local hospitals and that none of them was in critical condition.
Reul said the suspect was already known to authorities. However, he added that authorities suspected, but have not confirmed that he had an Islamist motive for the attack.
— Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
‘If Russia Attacks Poland, NATO Will Come to Its Defense,’ Warns US Defense Secretary
NATO will come to Poland’s aid if Russia ever decided to attack it, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has assured the country.
Addressing the the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense on Wednesday, Austin was asked about the consequences for Russia if it decided to launch an attack on “missile installations” in Poland, or any other country in the region.
Austin reiterated that “if Russia decides to attack any nation that’s a NATO member, then that’s a game changer,” adding that NATO would certainly respond as a coalition in line with its Article 5 commitments.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland and Czechia Are Allies in Defending the West From Eastern Threats
My relationship with Poland is deep and has evolved for a long time. Under the communist regime, of course, I looked to Solidarity and the Polish pope, but Polish literature had a great influence on me. I tried to learn Polish [during the communist era], With friends, we read books published in Polish on social sciences and theology, which were not allowed in our country, and we read Polish samizdats, from which we translated articles for Czech readers. I dare say that, thanks to the literature, I have managed to better understand Poland in its multilayered nature. I like to read Polish authors who started publishing in our country after November 1989.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Qu’ran-Burning Activists Get Greenlight for More Swedish Demonstrations
Qu’ran-burning anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan and his followers have been given the green light by Swedish police to carry out more demonstrations, despite prior events leading to large-scale riots over Easter.
Paludan and his group Stram Kurs (Hard Line), were allowed to hold demonstrations in Gothenburg, Borås and Trollhättan on Thursday where they set copies of the Islamic Qu’ran on fire and several people were arrested trying to assault police and Paludan himself.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rees-Mogg: No More Dancing to EU’s Wishes, Northern Ireland Deal Must Change or Go
The British government has indicated that it may finally scrap the Northern Ireland protocol — which leaves the European Union in control of much trade and regulatory policy in the province — with or without the EU’s agreement.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU plans to remove the unanimity rule are dangerous and would lead to an even greater domination of the bloc by larger member states, an MEP from the Law and Justice (PiS) ruling party in Poland has warned.
Zbigniew Kuzmiuk addressed the announcement by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in which she claimed “unanimity voting in some key areas simply no longer makes sense if we want to be able to move faster.”
In an interview by Polish Radio 24, Kuzmiuk stated that he is not surprised von der Leyen’s stance, but claimed that a drop in the rule of unanimity “would be the EU’s big mistake and undermine its foundations.”
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Power Exports to Finland Halted as NATO Bid Tensions Rise
Russian state-run power utility Inter RAO is ceasing transmission across the border into Finland, saying it has not been paid since last week.
“This situation is exceptional and happened for the first time in over twenty years of our trading history,” RAO Nordic, the utility’s Finnish subsidiary, said in a statement.
No reason for the lack of payment was given, but the cutoff comes amid rising tensions as Finland prepares to join NATO — a move Russia has said will prompt retaliation.
Finnish grid operator Fingrid said that the loss of Russian power will not affect the nation’s electrical infrastructure.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Drain the Swamp? Boris Looks to Axe 91,000 Civil Servant Jobs
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly planning to dramtically reduce the size of the civil service to bring back the deep state numbers to pre-Brexit levels.
At present there are around 475,020 full-time civil servants in Britain, a figure which has risen by 21 per cent (82,5000) since the British public voted to leave the heavily bureaucratic European Union in 2016.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: The Truth About the WHO’s Pandemic Treaty
Boris Johnson is on course to sign and join the World Health Organization’s pandemic treaty, which gives the WHO the power to dictate the laws of the U.K. with a flick of an unelected members finger.
In this report, we go through some of the details. A draft text of the WHO’s pandemic treaty is expected for 1 August 2022. Ensuring a “transparent, inclusive and fair” procedure will require the “full participation of all member states with meaningful inclusion of non-state actors.”
A pair of experts cited by the London School of Economics recommend the involvement of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization and International Labour Organization.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Working from home doesn’t work, Boris Johnson declares today as he calls for a return to the office.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, the Prime Minister says full workplaces will lift productivity and revive town and city centres.
Taking a swipe at the out-of-office culture that has taken hold across Whitehall, he adds: ‘My experience of working from home is you spend an awful lot of time making another cup of coffee and then, you know, getting up, walking very slowly to the fridge, hacking off a small piece of cheese, then walking very slowly back to your laptop and then forgetting what it was you’re doing.’
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Caroline Glick: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Foreign Minister
The responses elicited by the death of al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh were written hundreds of years ago. Blood libels — the practice of using the death of non-Jews as a means set up the Jewish collective for demonization, condemnation, ostracism and mass murder — may vary in their proximate details. But the substance is always the same. The Jews are guilty.
Israel has been subjected to repeatedly blood libels. Their details are always more or less the same. Israeli forces fight terrorists. Non-Jewish civilians die, and Israel’s right to exist is rejected by “right thinking” people the world over. In the case at hand, on Tuesday night IDF forces were carrying out counter-terror operations in Jenin — the terror capital where most of the recent terror attacks were planned. 19 innocent Israelis have been murdered in these attacks. Tuesday night, Palestinian terrorists opened fire on the IDF forces shortly after they entered the city. In the ensuing firefight, Abu Akleh was shot. Palestinian footage indicates fairly clearly that she was killed by the terrorists.
But facts are meaningless in a blood libel. So all the regular actors in contemporary morality plays are reciting their lines in turn. The Arabs, the Europeans, the Americans, the UN, and most importantly the Arab and Western media are all playing their assigned roles and using Abu Akleh’s death as the basis of a mass indictment of Israel’s very existence.
The Abu Akleh blood libel does have one novel aspect to it. A new actor has joined the pile-on.
Ra’am, the United Arab List is a Muslim Brotherhood political party in Israel’s Knesset. Its leader Mansour Abbas fundamentally changed Israel’s political realities when he broke with 73 years of convention and joined the governing coalition last year, giving it its bare majority of one vote. With his four-seat faction, Abbas controls the fate of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s and Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s government. If he bolts, the government collapses.
Abbas presents himself as a moderate leader whose only concern is the welfare of Arab Israelis. His partnership in the coalition, he proclaims, is focused on issues like sanitation and electricity, not Arab nationalism or jihad.
Given Abbas’s mild-mannered persona, Ra’am’s statements following Abu Akleh’s death were stunning. Ra’am responded to her death by demanding an international inquiry. Ra’am’s message is not simply about virtue signaling. It is a proclamation. The party that controls Israel’s government considers Israel’s governing institutions — the IDF, the police, the Health Ministry, the forensic medical institute — fundamentally illegitimate. Israel, in other words, is fundamentally illegitimate. By demanding an “international investigation,” Ra’am is effectively demanding that Israel surrender to the braying blood libel mob…
— Hat tip: Caroline Glick | [Return to headlines] |
Latest News in the Russia-Ukraine War
Ukraine: Kyiv continued negotiations to evacuate several hundred fighters trapped in the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol. Ukraine’s first trial of a Russian soldier for alleged war crimes began in Kyiv on Friday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pressed his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu to agree to a cease-fire in an hourlong call on Friday, the first such discussion since the war began. G-7 countries discussed how to help Ukraine circumvent a Russian naval blockade to export grain and avert a global food crisis.
The diary of a 12-year-old boy illustrated the fear, tragedy and grief experienced by many Ukrainians. The country’s defense minister warned of a long fight ahead.
Europe: The European Union plans to add the equivalent of over $500 million to a fund set up to repay European countries that provide weapons to Ukraine, an official said, bringing the total provided by Brussels for weapons deliveries to over $2 billion. The U.K. sanctioned Alina Kabaeva, believed to be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s girlfriend.
Finland is expected to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the coming weeks, an indication of Mr. Putin’s failed quest to divide and weaken the alliance.
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Russia Oil Revenue Up 50% This Year Despite Boycott, Iea Says
Russia’s oil revenues are up 50% this year even as trade restrictions following the invasion of Ukraine spurred many refiners to shun its supplies, the International Energy Agency said.
— Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Suspends Yamal Pipeline Gas Deliveries to Europe, Prices Rise on News
BERLIN (AP) — Natural gas prices rose Friday after Russian state-owned exporter Gazprom said it would no longer send supplies to Europe via a pipeline in Poland, citing new sanctions that Moscow imposed on European energy companies. The move doesn’t immediately block large amounts of natural gas to Europe but intensifies fears that the war in Ukraine will lead to wide-ranging cutoffs.
Gazprom said Thursday that it would ban the use of the Yamal pipeline that reaches Germany through Poland. While that cuts off a supply route to Europe, the pipeline’s entry point to Germany has not been used in recent months. Plus, Gazprom has already cut off gas to Poland for refusing to meet Moscow’s demand to make payments in rubles.
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Sri Lanka Opposition, Protesters Push Anti-Government Campaign Despite New PM
COLOMBO, May 13 (Reuters) — Sri Lanka’s main opposition party joined anti-government protesters on Friday in rejecting the appointment of a new prime minister and insisted the president resign to take responsibility for the country’s disastrous economic crisis.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed five-time prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to his sixth term late on Thursday, but opposition comments signalled it was not likely to resolve the political and economic disarray in the strategic Indian Ocean island nation.
A week of violent clashes between protesters and government supporters across the country has left nine people dead and more than 300 wounded. The president’s elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, quit as prime minister on Monday as violence spiralled and is in hiding in a military base.
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Part Two: Australian Nurse Breaks Silence on COVID-19 Vaccines and Being Censored
In Part Two of nurse Jaana’s interview, she discussed the devastating reactions and injuries purportedly stemming from the employer-mandated COVID-19 vaccinations that she witnessed in her patients and colleagues. She first noticed the reactions in her coworkers, with some reporting fevers of upwards of 39.5°C. Another colleague reported blindness in one eye after their Covid-19 vaccination, and one dealt with back pain so severe that they were unable to feel their legs.
As nurse Jaana explained “My colleagues would rock up to have their vaccine and they would be crying and distressed, because they didn’t want it. If we are willing to do that to people, what else are we willing to do to them?”
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Czechia to Offer Refugees Holding Hungarian Passports Transport by Train Back to Hungary
Czechia will urge all refugees with a Hungarian passport to head to Hungary for processing and will provide free train travel to enable their transportation, Czechia’s Interior Minister Vit Rakusan told his Hungarian counterpart, Sandor Pinter, during a phone call on Thursday.
Rakusan has insisted on a quick and thorough inspection of all refugees arriving in Czechia to ascertain those with dual nationality, and also revealed that in the newly-built tent town in the Prague suburbs, people could stay for a maximum of 30 days, which is the deadline for their checking.
Rakusan stated several times earlier that Roma refugees from Ukraine often have dual citizenship and, as Hungarian citizens, are not entitled to receive help in the Czech Republic. These people stay, for example, at Prague’s main railway station.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Magazine: Hungary’s Anti-Migrant Wall is Now a Model for Europe Despite Past Criticisms
In 2015, as refugees fleeing the war in Syria poured into Europe, Viktor Orban’s initiative was labeled as a new “wall of shame,’ but times have changed.
Seven years later, the Complément d’Enquête investigative news magazine is reporting that much the “anti-migrant” system championed by Hungary’s conservative-populist president improved and served as an example for many other countries. In just a few years, 1,200 kilometers of fencing has been erected at the gates of Europe. France Info broadcast reported.
Hungary’s eastern border with Serbia is one of the most monitored areas in Europe. Between the two countries, fencing stretches for 175 kilometers and stands 3.50 meters high. In 2015, its construction, amid the migrant crisis sparked a lively controversy.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Majority of Flemish Believe No Immigrants Can be Truly Belgian
A poll has found that a majority of those living in the Dutch-speaking Belgian region of Flanders believes that no immigrants can be truly Belgian and that to be Belgian requires being born in the country.
The poll of 2,000 residents of Flanders, conducted by the University of Antwerp and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, found that 55 per cent believed that unless someone is born within Belgium they can never be fully Belgian or Flemish even if they adopt the values and culture of the country.
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Salvini: Ukraine War Must End Before 20 Million African Migrants Head to Europe Over Food Shortages
If the war in Ukraine does not end in May, African food shortages could trigger a massive immigration wave, Italian League party leader Matteo Salvini has warned.
Without the Ukrainian grain, “significant hunger is expected on the African continent, which will be a humanitarian, then a social, and finally an Italian problem. Without peace there will be famine in the autumn and 20 million Africans will be ready to go,” Salvini said.
He added that this is why peace must be achieved by May, which is “essential for Ukraine, Russia and Italy as well.”
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UK: New Plan to Tackle Illegal Immigration
The British government has announced a new plan to fight illegal immigration by giving some migrants seeking asylum in the United Kingdom a one-way ticket to Rwanda to have their applications processed in the East African country.
The five-year pilot project, aimed at deterring migrants from crossing the English Channel, will initially focus on single males arriving illegally to the UK on boats or trucks.
The plan to outsource the processing of asylum applications overseas — if it survives legal challenges that are certain to come from human rights groups and the European Court of Human Rights — could become a model for other European countries seeking to crack down on illegal immigration.
Denmark, frustrated by the European Union’s dysfunctional migration and asylum system, recently announced that it, too, is seeking to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda.
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Anonymous App Yik Yak Exposed User Locations, Report Alleges
Yik Yak, an anonymous social media app for iOS often used on college campuses, has been accused by a computer science student of being designed in a way that can potentially allow users to deanonymize others and even stalk them.
The app was first launched in 2013, and after shutting down four years later, reemerged in 2021. It works by letting users create threads in a message board within an 8-kilometer radius.
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British Judges Rule Use of Term ‘Bald’ Can be Sexual Harassment
A panel of three judges in the UK have ruled that the term “bald” constituted sexual harassment during an unfair dismissal case.
Workers in the UK will now have to be careful about the banter they partake in with their fellow employees, with a panel of judges ruling that the use of the term “bald” was sexual harassment while deliberating an unfair dismissal case.
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Canadian Kindergartners Given Masturbation Homework Assignment
According to Libs of TikTok’s Substack, 4-year-olds at Alert Bay, British Columbia, were given a homework assignment discussing where and when to masturbate.
The incident happened at the T’lisalagi’lakw School which is part of First Nation territory. School officials are said to be investigating the matter which was reportedly undertaken by one particular teacher and wasn’t indicative of the overall curriculum.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Cenk Uygur Claims Joe Rogan ‘Hates’ Transgenders Because He Had Sex With Them
The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur went on a bizarre, angry rant during which he suggested that Joe Rogan’s “hatred” for transgender people is driven by the fact he has had sex with them.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Church Plans on Hosting Drag Show for Minors
An event promotion flyer demonstrated that the Naples United Church of Christ, located in Naples, Florida, plans on hosting a “Youth Pride Conference” on May 21 and is expecting children from ages 12-18 to attend.
The flyer states the event as “an exploration of LGBTQ-related issues affecting today’s youth,” and will feature a drag-show, where people dress as members of the opposite sex. The flyer also stated that free transportation will pick up attendees from Immokalee and Golden Gate Middle Schools.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netflix Fires Major Warning Shot at Its Woke Employees With New ‘Culture Memo’
A new corporate culture memo from Netflix is taking a hardline stance on attempts to silence artistic expression by warning those who are offended by the streaming service’s content that they may want to go find a job somewhere else.
Variety reports that the change in Netflix’s company culture appears to be in large part due to the backlash the streaming service faced from woke employees last year over its Dave Chappelle special, which the employees claimed was transphobic.
The updated Netflix Culture memo includes a new section called “Artistic Expression” that states that it will not “censor specific artists or voices” even if employees consider the content “harmful.”
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Wisconsin school district has lodged a Title IX complaint against three middle school students for allegedly using the wrong pronouns while addressing another student.
Three Kiel Middle School students are being investigated for sexual assault in connection to the incident.
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Socialist Spain to Offer Monthly Menstrual Leave for Women
The Socialist government of Spain is set to become the first country in Europe to offer women monthly leave from work for menstruation.
As a part of the upcoming abortion legislation spearheaded by the socialist government’s Minister of Equality, far-left MP Irene Montero, women will be allowed to take three paid days off per month from work if they are experiencing pain associated with periods.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
I have right away wondered if the ” other” passengers who assisted the policeman were either : female, or students of communication science, theatre arts, or…
My guess is : they were male, men of the crafts and over 45 years old. Unless otherwise stated.
I was on that train 3 days ago, and police presence would have been only disruptive, let alone that one agent present.
add. And sure enough, the psychiatric assessement of the perp was delivered 5 minutes after his arrest. The local cops are trained in that matter! ( irony off)
Another beautiful day in “ das beste Deutschland in alle Zeiten „ , keep importing, keep importing, naive Germans, this very good for you country..
It could have been me, because I use that train every day two times.
If you look at the people in the trains, the majority is using their smartphones and not paying attention to anything else.
So, in a matter I am surprised that it was only five people.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eO8BGNq_uyk
Ha! Still, Paludan managed to stir up the Swedes. The poor guy lost all his fat trying to do it.
Look, for the first time in the video since all the actions of Paludan, we see not only black hair and hijabs. The blond heads began to show interest.
Oh what a video! How much drama!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdOCHoUiBHg
Good article, but in German.
THE ISLAMIZATION OF GERMAN SCHOOLS IS PROGRESSING UNSTOPPABLE
https://ansage.org/die-islamisierung-deutscher-schulen-schreitet-unaufhaltsam-voran/