Angry demonstrators gathered outside the Supreme Court in Washington D.C. to protest a leaked draft opinion that would overturn the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling on abortion. Meanwhile, the Marshal of the Supreme Court has initiated an investigation to determine who leaked the document.
In other news, a Moroccan imam in Italy has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for confining his wife to their home and beating her when she attempted to rebel.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, Insubria, JAS, 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.
“Major Slave Owner Vibes”: ‘Regal’ Hillary’s Gown Attended to by Black Masked Servant
Hillary Clinton drew criticism Monday for turning up maskless at the Met Gala where her ‘regal’ gown was attended to by a masked black servant in what has seemingly become the norm at these kind of events.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Algorithms Are Being Used to Help Determine if Kids Should be Taken From Their Parents
The limitations of algorithms today in terms of accuracy regarding context and nuance is evident even to a casual observer, most notably in the often blundering automated censorship on social networks.
Notwithstanding that state of affairs as far as limitations of the technology itself, without even taking into account intent of those behind it, social workers in the US have started relying on predictive algorithms in deciding when to investigate parents suspected of child neglecting.
The stakes are higher here than having a Facebook post deleted — these parents can eventually end up having their children removed, and the algorithm that is now in use in several US states, and spreading, is described by the AP as “opaque” — all the while providing social workers with statistical calculations that they can base their actions on.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Betrayal’: Supreme Court Slams Leaked Roe Opinion, Says Does Not Represent “Final Decision”
Update (1121ET): The Supreme Court issued a rare rebuttal to Monday’s leaked Politico report on a draft opinion overturning abortion rights in the US.
Yesterday, a news organization published a copy of a draft opinion in a pending case. Justices circulate draft opinions internally as a routine and essential part of the Court’s confidential deliberative work. Although the document described in yesterday’s reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts. Jr., provided the following statement:
To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way.
We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce — permanent employees and law clerks alike — intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law. Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the Court. This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here. I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Congressional Candidate Laura Loomer Files RICO Lawsuit Against Twitter and Facebook
Laura Loomer, a congressional candidate from Florida, has decided to file a federal lawsuit against Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as well as Twitter and former CEO Jack Dorsey, saying that she “relishes the fight to come.”
The lawsuit alleges that the social platforms’ behavior around suppression of free speech has the elements of racketeering and extortion.
That’s why the $10+ billion lawsuit was filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Conservative Texas Student Says Antifa Vandalized Front Door, Issued Threats
EXCLUSIVE: Antifa allegedly vandalized the door of a female college student and conservative activist who has been repeatedly harassed at the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton, Texas.
Kelly Neidert, who founded the UNT chapter of Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) and has chaired it since 2019, tweeted a photo over the weekend of the profane graffiti, which read, “Stay home Nazi c — —.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DeSantis Calls Supreme Court Leak a ‘Judicial Insurrection’
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis described the Supreme Court leak of a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade as a “judicial insurrection” on Tuesday.
“To have that leak out the way it did was really unprecedented,” DeSantis said during an unrelated press conference in Fort Myers. “And I think it was really an attack on a lot of the justices. I think it was intentional to try to whip up a lot of the public, to try to make it very political, and potentially try to bully one of them into changing their positions. And that is not something that’s appropriate for the judicial branch.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Eighty-Four Percent Demand Voter ID, Want ‘Zuckerbucks’ Banned
Despite President Joe Biden’s assault on election integrity efforts in several states, voters in record numbers are demanding that identification be presented to get a ballot and want reforms across the board in all 50 states.
New polling provided to Secrets Monday showed that 84% want voter ID, and huge percentages of black and Hispanic voters are behind the surge in support as the nation readies for the fall congressional midterm elections.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Responds to Mike Huckabee’s Request for Twitter to Remove Online Anonymity
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has asked Elon Musk to remove online anonymity if his Twitter bid becomes successful, sparking concern from privacy advocates about how Musk will “authenticate all humans” and whether it will involve users handing over ID to use the platform.
“I hope @elonmusk will insist that all Twitter posters use their real names & not be keyboard cowards hiding behind silly little sophomoric screen names. Be man enough or woman enough (if you even know what that is) to stand by what you say! If you can’t own it don’t say it,” Huckabee tweeted.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Says Twitter ‘May See Slight Cost for Commercial/Government Users’
Companies and government accounts on Twitter may have to pay a slight fee to stay on the social media platform in the future, but the service will always be free for “casual users,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose $44 billion bid for Twitter was accepted last week, tweeted on Tuesday evening.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FBI Nearly Triples Unconstitutional Searches of Americans in 2021
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) nearly tripled their unconstitutional warrantless searches of Americans year-over-year from 2020 to 2021, from 1.3 million warrantless searches to 3.4 million.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released data in a report showing the warrantless searches conducted under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which nearly tripled from 2020 to 2021. A senior FBI official admitted to the Wall Street Journal that the 3.4 million warrantless searches “is certainly a large number,” adding that he would “not going to pretend that it isn’t.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Left-Wing Activist Researched Republican Mayor Before Attempted Murder of Dem Candidate: Court Docs
Quintez Brown, an activist sprung from jail through a BLM-supported bail fund after allegedly attempting to murder a Democratic candidate running for mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, also researched a Republican mayor in the hours before the Valentine’s Day shooting, court documents allege.
Last week, Magistrate Judge Colin Lindsay unsealed nearly 800 pages of court documents showing 21-year-old Brown’s Internet search records leading up to the shooting at the campaign headquarters of Democratic Louisville mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg on Feb. 14, WPSD reported.
Earlier in the day, records show Brown searched “j town mayor office” on Google and looked at several social media posts of Bill Dieruf, the Republican mayor of nearby Jeffersontown, Kentucky.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Man Charged in ISIS-Inspired Plot Found Mentally Competent
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — A Maryland man has become mentally competent to stand trial more than two years after he was charged with planning an Islamic State-inspired attack at a shopping and entertainment complex near Washington, D.C., a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
Rondell Henry’s attorneys notified the court last Friday that he intends to pursue an insanity defense. Henry, 31, of Germantown, Maryland, was charged in 2019 with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State group.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis agreed Tuesday to order a psychiatric examination of Henry to determine whether he was insane around the time of his alleged offenses. The judge also ruled Henry is mentally competent to stand trial, can understand the charges against him and is capable of assisting in his defense.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Disinformation Board Chief Used to Say the Executive Branch Shouldn’t Control Speech
In 2020, when Donald Trump was president, Nina Jankowicz, the head of the new Disinformation Governance Board, did not want the executive branch to have the power to control free speech.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Protests Erupt at Supreme Court After Report of Draft Opinion Overturning Roe V. Wade
Anti-abortion and abortion rights protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court on Monday night after a report was published showing a draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.
Politico obtained a copy of the draft majority opinion in an unprecedented leak for the U.S.’s highest court. Alito’s opinion called the decision in the landmark abortion rights case “egregiously wrong.”
Soon after the report was published, barriers were erected outside the Supreme Court and hundreds gathered in protest.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Revealed: Hunter Biden Courted Russian Oligarch in Business Dealings During Obama Administration
New reporting reveals that Hunter Biden’s business dealings briefly involved courting Russian oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov for real estate offers. These meetings that took place during the Obama-Biden administration are under controversy now given the Russian oligarch’s role making weapons for the Kremlin amid the invasion of Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Taylor Lorenz Caught in Lie, There Was No Harassment From Drudge Report Editor
Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz, who rose to infamy after she doxxed conservative account “Libs of TikTok,” whose actions backfired on her not long after, falsely claimed that the Drudge Report was threatening to ruin her career.
In the now-deleted tweet, Lorenz on Monday accused an editor of the publication of personally harassing her.
“After calling and texting me relentlessly for a week, the Drudge Report editor just called my personal cell phone number, yelled at me when I asked him to leave me alone, and said he would ‘blast my name all over Drudge Report until it ruins my career,’“ wrote Lorenz.
Lorenz’s accusation was not taken lightly.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Truckers in People’s Convoy Sue D.C., Say Road Blockades Violated Constitutional Free Speech Rights
Sixteen truckers who participated in the recent People’s Convoy in the county’s capitol region are suing the District of Columbia for blockades they argue prevented them from exercising their “constitutionally protected right to free speech” on the streets of Washington, D.C.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump-Backed J.D. Vance Projected Winner in Tumultuous Senate GOP Primary Showdown in Ohio
CINCINNATI — J.D. Vance, the venture capitalist and bestselling author who less than three weeks ago landed former President Donald Trump’s endorsement in Ohio’s crowded, combustible and expensive Republican Senate primary, has won his party’s nomination.
The Associated Press projected Vance’s victory in Ohio, which along with the neighboring Midwestern state of Indiana held primary elections on Tuesday, kicking off a frenetic schedule this month, with a total of 13 states holding primaries.
Vance’s win is also seen as a victory for the former president, as Trump’s position as the Republican Party’s most popular and influential politician was on the line even though the former president wasn’t on the ballot.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tucker Carlson: Disturbing Number of Food Plant Disasters Are Contributing to Shortage Fears
An extraordinary number of disasters at food processing plants around the United States is contributing to grave concerns that the West is being threatened with food shortages.
In an April 25 broadcast, Fox News host Tucker Carlson explained, “America [has] the most fertile farmland in the world, it’s always had some of the cheapest food prices in the world. That could be changing.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Residents Annoyed at Parents Protesting Satan Club for Kids
Parents in Greensboro, North Carolina held a prayer vigil in protest of Satanists attempting to setup an after school SATAN CLUB for children as young as six, but instead of being supported by local residents they were treated as an annoyance, according to a report.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: CNN Humpty Stelter Says Ministry of Truth is Just “Common Sense”
During Potato time with Brian Stelter on CNN Monday, The Maris Pied Piper played a tune for his 90,000 viewers to let them know that The Department of Homeland Security setting up a ‘Ministry of Truth’ to decide what Americans can and can’t read is basic “common sense”.
Stelter wheeled on National Democratic Institute director Moira Whelan who claimed that the new ‘Disinformation Governance Board’ is merely a bureaucratic body designed to help people with “law enforcement,” and “emergency services like FEMA” being able to supply “accurate information about human rights abuses.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
White House Says DHS Disinformation Board Will be ‘Nonpartisan’ and ‘Apolitical’
Authored by Gabrielle Stephenson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
The White House on Monday asserted that a recently-convened board on misinformation under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be “nonpartisan and apolitical,” amid concerns it may threaten free speech.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked about how the board would operate, in relation to combating disinformation from cartels and disinformation from extremist groups.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Who is the Supreme Court Marshal Who Will Investigate Draft Opinion Leak?
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts announced Tuesday that he has called upon the Supreme Court marshal to investigate the leak of a draft opinion in an abortion case before the court.
So who is the Supreme Court marshal and what do they do?
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Who Leaked the Supreme Court Opinion?
After a draft Supreme Court opinion overruling Roe v. Wade was leaked to the press, speculation turned to who was responsible, with calls for them to be arrested.
The majority of the court has decided to vote 5-4 to overturn federal constitutional protection of abortion rights, with Justice Samuel Alito writing, “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” in addition to asserting, “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled.”
In an unprecedented move, the opinion was leaked to Politico, presumably in an attempt to create massive social unrest that would lead to one or more of the justices being intimidated into changing their mind.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Look at the ‘Rolling Thunder’ Rally’s Counter-Protesters in Ottawa
Sheila Gunn Reid and Adam Soos offered their reactions to some of the counter-protesters that came out in opposition to the ‘Rolling Thunder’ rally and related protests in the nation’s capital.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CTV Reporters Condemn ‘Rolling Thunder’ Protesters in Blatant Hypocrisy
On last night’s episode of The Ezra Levant Show, we dove deeper into how the Ottawa Police reacted to the most recent “Rolling Thunder” protests and examined CTV reporters’ hypocrisy in disregarding the viewpoints of the demonstrators.
As Ezra explains, unlike during many left-wing protests, Ottawa riot police were seen armed and ready for action as the bikers rolled into the downtown Ottawa core on Saturday. While CTV reporters are regularly known to condemn police overreaction when it comes to their ‘progressive’ causes, they were happy to applaud the police for arresting a number of the protesters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NDP Leader Says 16-Year-Olds Should be Able to Vote Because of Climate Change
New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh says he supports his party member’s bill that would see the voting age lowered to 16, arguing that 16-year-olds in Canada will face the most challenges with the housing crisis and climate change, and thus should have the right to vote.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Old-Growth Protests Repeatedly Blocking B.C. Traffic Meant to ‘Force a Dialogue, ‘ Activists Say
The activists behind road blockades and hunger strikes calling for an end to old-growth logging in British Columbia say their non-violent actions are aimed at sparking public discussion and urging politicians to heed climate science.
History has shown that “when you have to force a dialogue onto society, you have to engage in transgressive truth telling,” said 21-year-old Zain Haq,a spokesman for the group called Save Old Growth.
The demonstrations on busy commuter highways and bridges in Metro Vancouver and southern Vancouver Island have snarled traffic for hours, marking a different approach than blockades at Fairy Creek, where protesters have been trying to stop logging in the watershed west of Victoria.
Some protesters have superglued their hands to the highway, while others have attached themselves to barrels filled with cement to slow their removal. Dozens have been arrested and video footage shows some angry commuters have tried to drag protesters out of the way.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ottawa Mayor Pranked by Convoy Supporters With Fake Requests for GoFundMe Refund
‘It also appears that they signed-up the Mayor for memberships and subscriptions to various organizations and magazines, including job alerts for Walmart,’ wrote Patrick Champagne, accusing convoy supporters of a junk mail bullying campaign against Mayor Jim Watson.
However, an earlier request for an explanation about how the single email requesting a refund from GoFundMe came to be part of the mayor’s communication with the crowdfunding platform, Rebel News was met with accusations.
Instead of offering a response to Rebel News inquiries regarding an access to information wherein the GoFundMe auto generated email surfaced, Mayor Jim Watson’s press secretary Patrick Champagne initially called the documents “a complete fabrication”.
This sparked a snarky and contentious email exchange with Champagne. We had the document. We fabricated nothing. And the mayor’s office knew it.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Protests Carry on in Calgary as Injunction Dropped
Luckily for this lively group of Canadian patriots, Mayor Gondek’s injunction was dropped days after The Democracy Fund filed an appeal and finally put an end to this double-standard injunction.
The timing certainly seemed a bit fishy, especially considering there was no hint of when the injunction would be lifted prior to The Democracy Fund setting its justice-forged sights upon it, and taking aim.
Saturday’s April 30th Rally was one for the books, with hundreds and hundreds of protesters attending the peaceful gathering and joyously basking in the delights of a freer Calgary.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Squads of Cops Pushed Around Peaceful Demonstrators Near Parliament Hill — Why?
It wasn’t exactly Shakespeare in the Park, but it was an incredible albeit inexplicable display of street theatre nonetheless. Namely, police officers from forces across the province descended upon Ottawa near Parliament Hill last Friday and set up a no-go zone on Rideau Street. Lines of law enforcement officers would slowly encroach upon people on the closed road (and even the sidewalks), constantly pushing people back.
But back from what? Well, from… nothing, actually.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Support for Federal Programs Plunges When Canadians Look at Costs: Study
A report from the Fraser Institute has revealed that Canadians’ support for new big-ticket social programs plummets when they learn they have to pay for them.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czechia Can Support EU Boycott of Russian Oil by Year’s End, Says Industry Minister
Under certain circumstances, Czechia is willing to support the end of Russian oil imports by the end of this year, Czech Industry and Trade Minister, Jozef Sikela stated following an extraordinary meeting with European colleagues devoted mainly to securing sufficient gas supplies.
The European Union is discussing the idea due to the sixth package of anti-Russian sanctions expected to be proposed by the European Commission by the middle of next week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Should Focus on Renewables Due to Inability to Replace Russian Gas, Commissioner Says
The European Union needs to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy sources, since the bloc cannot fully replace imports of Russian gas with supplies of fossil fuels from other countries despite the measures taken, EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said on Monday.
“We cannot simply replace 155 bcm of Russian gas with fossil gas from other suppliers. It [is] neither sustainable nor affordable. So we need to speed the deployment of renewable energy,” Simson said after the EU energy council extraordinary meeting.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany is a Net Importer of Agricultural Products
Today, the daily loss of agricultural land is around 52 hectares per day — that corresponds to almost 73 soccer fields.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s Green FM Preparing Public for Nuclear War
The German government is preparing for the use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war, according to Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens).
Baerbock told German news outlets Rheinische Post and the Bonn General-Anzeiger on Tuesday: “A nuclear power is waging a war of aggression on our doorstep, for that reason alone it is our responsibility as a government to take even the worst-case scenarios seriously. Russia’s nuclear sabre-rattling is irresponsible, especially in the current situation, even if we have heard similar tones from President Putin before.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Cops Search Offices of 7 Genoa Uni Lecturers
Suspected of rigging hiring procedures
(ANSA) — ROME, APR 28 — Italian police on Thursday searched the offices of seven Genoa university lecturers suspected of rigging the selection process for lecturing jobs and research grants at the northwestern Italian university.
The seven teachers have been placed under investigation on suspicion of rigging hirings, rigging bids, influence trafficking and the revelation of secrets.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: M5S Foreign Panel Chair Says He is Not Stepping Down
Petrocelli to ‘honor pledge’ made to voters
(ANSAmed) — ROME, MAY 3 — Five-Star Movement (M5S) senator and chair of the Senate foreign affairs committee, Vito Petrocelli, said on Tuesday that he was not resigning following a political storm over his positions regarding the conflict in Ukraine.
“I am not stepping down because I feel that I represent the Constitution, the will of Italians who don’t have any more parties representing them in Parliament”, he noted.
“I will honor the pledges for peace and international dialogue that I took with voters in 2018”, said Petrocelli, who has opposed the government’s package of aid, including military aid, for Ukraine after Russia invaded the country.
Petrocelli accused Premier Mario Draghi’s government, which the M5S supports, of becoming “interventionist” in the Ukraine war, saying in March that he would henceforth vote against the cabinet in all confidence votes.
Last month, M5S leader Giuseppe Conte announced Petrocelli’s expulsion from the movement after the senator posted a controversial tweet on the eve of April 25 wishing Italians “happy Liberation Day” using the capital ‘Z’ in “liberazione”, which has become a symbol of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Imam Jailed for Confining Wife to Home
Man found guilty of domestic abuse in denying woman all freedom
(ANSA) — ROME, MAY 3 — A Moroccan imam was jailed for two years and three months Tuesday for confining his wife to their home, depriving her of all freedom of movement and beating her when she tried to rebel.
A Turin judge found the 40-year-old man guilty of domestic abuse.
The woman was unable to dress as she wished, was forced to eat in a separate room from men, was not free to decide anything and not even allowed to watch TV, the court heard.
She was only allowed to take care of her husband, the man’s home and their two children.
When she tried to say no she was insulted and sometimes beaten, the court heard.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
New Study: Face Mask Usage Correlates With Higher Death Rates
A new peer-reviewed study entitled: “Correlation Between Mask Compliance and COVID-19 Outcomes in Europe” has demonstrated that use of face masks, even widespread, did not correlate with better outcomes during the COVID epidemic, based on data from 35 European countries with populations of over one million people each, encompassing a total of 602 million people.
The study noted that the average proportion of mask usage in the period investigated (October 2020 until March 2021) was 60.9% ± 19.9%.
Governments and advisory bodies have recommended and often mandated the wearing of face masks in public spaces and in many areas mandates or recommendations remain in place, despite the fact, the study notes, that randomized controlled trials from prior to and during the epidemic have failed to show a benefit to the wearing of such masks with regard to COVID transmission.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: Just Stop Oil Activists Blockade Glasgow Oil Terminal
Supporters of Just Stop Oil have blockaded the Nustar Clydebank oil terminal in Glasgow, demanding that the UK government end new North sea oil and gas projects.
At around 4am on Tuesday, protestors from the group blocked access to the site near Yoker by climbing on top of tankers and locking themselves together at the entrance.
Others entered the terminal itself and have locked on at height in a bid to halt terminal operations.
The blockade is the first action of its kind in Scotland since the Just Stop Oil coalition and Extinction Rebellion (XR) announced a wave of protests beginning on the 1 April, aimed at halting new oil and gas projects and “stop[ping] the fossil fuel economy.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spanish Ministry Warns Prison Officials of Serious Threat From Jihadi Inmates
The Spanish Interior Ministry has warned prison guards and other prison officials to take extreme caution over threats to their safety from Jihadi inmates after threats made in a radical Islamic magazine.
the Interior Ministry warned prison employees to take more precautions with their safety after the Central Group of Information and Operational Control of the Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions detected a threat to prison officials in an Islamist magazine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Europe’s football governing body UEFA has confirmed further sanctions on Russia, banning both domestic and international teams from continental football next season.
In a statement published on Monday, UEFA announced that Russian Premier League sides would be banned from the 2022/23 UEFA club competitions, including the prestigious Champions League and Europa League.
The move will likely affect Russian champions-elect Zenit St. Petersburg, Dynamo Moscow, PFC Sochi, and CSKA Moscow who all currently hold a European spot in the Russian Premier League.
Furthermore, the Russian men’s international side will be prohibited from participating in the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League, while its women’s team will be replaced by Portugal in the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 tournament to be held in July, and will be removed from the European qualifying round to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK to Install Data Loggers in New Cars From July 2022
Starting in 2022, drivers of new cars in the UK will highly likely be dealing with mandatory speed limiter (Intelligent Speed Assist, ISA) tech installed in their vehicles. This is based on new EU rules, and the UK is expected to follow suit despite no longer being a member of the bloc.
Based on a provisional agreement, the European Commission’s regulation is expected to come into force on July 6. A deadline of two years will be given for new cars sold before this date to also have an ISA installed. This technology can be based on GPS data or cameras for traffic sign recognition, or both.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An MP convicted of molesting a 15-year-old boy was finally removed from the Commons today to set up a tricky by-election for Boris Johnson.
Disgraced Imran Ahmad Khan was today handed a ceremonial role that allows him to resign his Wakefield seat, almost a month after he was found guilty of sexual assault.
He announced he was quitting more than two weeks ago, but dated the letter to the end of the April, allowing him to claim his £82,000 salary for the whole month.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
MSC Cruises Back to Tunisian Port After 7 Years’ Absence
968 tourists onboard, headed for Palermo
TUNIS — After an absence of seven years, a ship from MSC Cruises has returned to Tunis.
Coming from Barcelona and headed for Palermo, MSC Opera arrived on Thursday in the Goulette port with 968 tourists onboard, Tunisia’s tourism and crafts minister said.
Welcoming the cruise ship passengers were several institutional representatives that held a ceremony with the exchange of souvenirs to mark the occasion.
A large group of tourists then visited Tunisian archaeological sites.
The tourism ministry announced the arrival of 38 cruise ships in Tunisia in 2022 — a number that is highly likely to increase in the coming years.
Tunisia aims to achieve between 50 and 60% of the revenue it did in the tourism sector in 2019, a benchmark year for the country that saw a revolution in 2011, with over 9 million tourists and revenue equal to 14% of its GDP.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Food Crisis: Millions of Tons of Grain Stuck in Ukraine as Russia’s War Blocks Exports
While Russia’s intensification of its war against Ukraine is disrupting food production, the product that has already been harvested can’t even be exported, a United Nations director has warned, claiming there are millions of tons of grain in the country “just sitting there”.
Regional director of the United Nations’ World Food Programme, Germany-based Martin Frick has said there are as much as four and a half million tons of grain just sitting at Ukrainian ports waiting to be exported. In comments reported by The Guardian, UN man Frick said: “None of the grain can be used right now. It is just sitting there… The world urgently needs these items of food from Ukraine.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungarian PM, Croatian President, Nobel Prize Winner on Ukrainian ‘Hit List’
Not only Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban but also Croatian President Zoran Milanovic and a Nobel Prize winner have been listed on Myrotvorets, the Ukrainian intelligence database which acts as a hit list.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Latest News in the Russia-Ukraine War
Ukraine: Civilians who have been trapped for weeks in Mariupol and other Russian-occupied towns have been trickling into Ukrainian-controlled territory as Russia continues its offensive in Ukraine’s east and targets the strategic port city of Odessa.
A group of civilians from Mariupol, including around 150 who were trapped in the besieged Azovstal steel plant, arrived at a processing center in Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, addressing The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit in London, said global companies have a critical role to play in isolating Russia and helping Ukraine restore its economy. He pledged attractive conditions for global companies to invest after the war ends.
Russia: Moscow resumed its wild claims about Jews, neo-Nazis and Ukraine, accusing Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid of making “antihistorical statements” when he said Jews didn’t murder themselves in the Holocaust.
Europe: Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said the war in Ukraine has pushed the European Union into one of the biggest crises in its history. The European Union is proposing a phased-in embargo on Russian oil imports, the delisting of more Russian banks from the Swift payment messaging system and fresh sanctions targeted at people spreading disinformation about the war. Germany is stepping up deliveries of heavy weapons to Ukraine, a senior German official said. Pope Francis said the “barking of NATO at the door of Russia” may have led to the invasion of Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
PayPal Purges Independent Media Outlets That Documented Ukraine War Censorship
PayPal has banned the accounts of journalists and media companies that have published stories that contradict some of the West’s reporting of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Among those that have been banned include MintPress News, its journalists Alan MacLeod and Mnar Adley, and independent journalist Caleb Maupin.
A few days ago, MintPress published a report by MacLeod, titled “An Intellectual No-Fly Zone: Online Censorship of Ukraine Dissent Is Becoming the New Norm.” The report alleges Silicon Valley and Big Tech have been suppressing anything that contradicts the US and Western governments’ narratives of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Admits NATO Likely Provoked Putin’s Invasion: “Barking at the Gates of Russia”
Pope Francis has said that he’s ready to meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in hopes of brokering an end to the war in Ukraine, according to the Vatican news agencies. He said in an interview published Tuesday by the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, “I am not going to Kyiv for now; I feel that I must not go. First I must go to Moscow. First I must meet Putin. But I am also a priest, what can I do? I do what I can. If Putin would only open the door…”.
The Roman Catholic leader’s criticisms of Russia’s actions in Ukraine were made clear throughout the interview, but among the more interesting and surprising lines came when he addressed the roots of the invasion and war which started on Feb.24. He told the newspaper that “the barking of NATO at the gates of Russia” is likely what motivated Putin to attack Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Launches ‘Powerful Assault’ On Steelworks Plant With Trapped Civilians
Russia has launched an attack on the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Ukraine, after a ceasefire broke down, Reuters reports.
Speaking on Telegram, Capt Sviatoslav Palamar of the Azov regiment said the steelworks where 200 civilians remain trapped underground was being targeted by artillery and planes, according to Reuters.
Palamar said two civilians were killed and 10 injured…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Canada: Keep ‘Em Coming: Roxham Road Crossing Hurts Legal Immigrants, Benefits Liberals
It can take three years for a legal immigrant to be accepted into Canada. Why do that when you can cross illegally at Roxham Road in three minutes — and have police carry your bags.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark Will Rent 300 Prison Cells in Kosovo for Deported Migrant Criminals
Criminals deported from Denmark will soon have to serve their prison sentences in Kosovo instead of Denmark, after the Danish government announced an agreement with the Balkan state to rent 300 spots in the country’s prisons.
The Danish Minister of Justice Nick Hækkerup, who signed the treaty, called the agreement, which had been in the works for some time, “groundbreaking.” The agreement concerns citizens of non-EU countries who often commit crime at far higher rates than natives.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Drunk Migrant Arrested for Brutal Rape in Middle of Street
Police arrested a drunk Romanian migrant suspected of beating and raping a young woman in the middle of the street in France last month, according to reports.
The horrifying incident unfolded in the early hours of April 12 in Juan-les-Pins, a town in the department of Alpes-Maritimes.
A 24-year-old woman was walking near the train station when she was attacked by a male assailant.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Roma Refugees Refugees Refuse Czech Accommodation Offer Set Up Camp Near Brno Train Station
Video footage posted by the iDNES.cz news outlet has shown a group of approximately 30 Ukrainian Roma who have settled on a grassy area at the underpass near the train station in the second largest Czech city, Brno, after reportedly refusing accommodation offered by the Czech authorities.
The footage shows the Romani refugees spreading blankets out on the grass as small children in unwashed clothing run around the adults and other children are in baby carriages.
“We settled here because the assistance center told us they had no place for us,” said one of the women to the newspaper’s editor and immediately asked the journalist if she had any children’s clothing.
However, the refugees’ claim that there was allegedly no place for them has been swiftly rejected by the region’s authorities and the police officers who intervened on the spot.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden’s Prime Minister Says Integration of Migrants Has ‘Failed’
Last month, violent riots erupted across Sweden after a politician burned multiple Qurans in a statement of free expression. More than 100 police officers were injured while dozens of buildings were burned to the ground.
After the riots, Andersson stated that “segregation” had been allowed to go on too long. This is in reference to Muslim “no-go zones” that have sprung up…
According to Reuters, the number of people in Sweden born abroad has doubled in the last two decades to 2 million. This accounts for a fifth of the population.
| — Hat tip: JAS | [Return to headlines] |
Dozens more migrants have crossed the Channel today for the third day in a row after a Bank Holiday surge feared to have been caused by delays to Priti Patel’s Rwanda plan.
At least 25 arrivals including young children were escorted into Dover harbour in Kent on board Border Force cutter Speedwell this morning, before being led along the gangway for processing by Army personnel in hi-vis jackets.
The Ministry of Defence said it had intercepted nearly 550 migrants in two days — 254 on Sunday and 293 yesterday — following an 11-day break in crossings, bringing the total number in the past three days to more than 600 and this year’s total to over 7,200.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The number of unaccompanied migrant children making the perilous journey across The Channel to Britain has increased by three and a half times vs last year.
The dramatic increase has forced the Home Office to make four hotels available to house them — twice the amount used throughout last year, according to data obtained by The Times.
The influx suggests Home Secretary Priti Patel’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda has not discouraged young people from making the journey, with kids ineligible for the scheme.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
As Wokeism Grows, Christians Will Respond and Become Ever More Politically Conservative
In an exclusive interview, esteemed academic Dr. David Engels speaks to Remix News about the current state of play across the European political landscape, offering his thoughts on the long-lasting effect of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the political consequences this may have for Europe, and the continuing role of Christianity across the continent
David Engels is chair of Roman History at the University of Brussels (ULB )and senior analyst at the Instytut Zachodni in Poznan. He is the author of numerous books, including “Was tun?: Leben mit dem Niedergang Europas.” Considered one of the leading intellectuals in Europe’s conservative movement, he recently delivered a speech at the National Conservatism conference in Brussels on “European Renewal Through National and Cultural Patriotism.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Shitlibs have realized they might now be forced to abandon their efforts to sexualize kids…and return instead to just butchering them in the womb.
A society that treats its progeny like medical waste is a deeply sick society.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dear Illinois Parents, Your Kid’s Sex-Ed Curriculum May be More Extreme Than You Think
Authored by Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner via Wirepoints.org
It doesn’t matter where you stand on the issues of sex-ed, pronoun usage or transgenderism in school, you should know who’s teaching your kids, what they’re teaching them and whether there’s more than meets the eye.
How far does the sex ed curriculum go? What’s being “normalized” by your school’s teachers? Who sets the agenda and how are your children’s teachers being trained? And how does the material align with your family values?
Judge for yourself in the case of AMAZE.org, an organization with materials that have made its way into Illinois schools. According to its website, AMAZE “takes the awkward out of sex ed. Real info in fun, animated videos that give you all the answers you actually want to know about sex, your body and relationships.”
AMAZE videos appear on standards proposed for Illinois’ New Sexuality Ed courses by the group’s partner organization Advocates for Youth, which are posted on this website. And Advocates for Youth appears as a resource on the Illinois State Board of Education website.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Fights ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ For Children
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has expressed his willingness to pass a law in Florida banning gender reassignment surgeries for children. Although DeSantis has not expressed any desire to pass an executive order to do so, it’s very likely that the governor will instruct the state’s Republican-majority legislature to pass a bill to that effect and enshrine such a measure in law.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mental Health and Worship Apps Are Found to be Some of the Most Privacy Invasive
Apps that deal with some of the most sensitive and personal data, such as that concerning a user’s mental health or religious activities, are said to rank among the worst privacy offenders.
This is the conclusion of a study conducted by the Mozilla Foundation, which singled out mental health and prayer apps as being prone to track and collect data revealing a person’s state of mind, feelings, and thoughts, and then “share” that for-profit via targeted advertising.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
MSNBC Reporter Warns Viewers That Pregnancies Lead to Children
In response to the leaked draft US Supreme Court opinion that indicates a possible overturning of Roe v. Wade, Yamiche Alcindor of MSNBC warned that one of the dangers of pregnancy is having children.
For context, the outlet put Alcindor in front of the abortion clinic in Jackson, Mississippi, that’s involved in the SCOTUS case making national headlines.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Summer Camp Under Fire for Housing Campers Based on Gender Identity Not Biological Sex
A UK taxpayer-funded summer camp is facing controversy for their housing policies that allow for campers to be housed based on gender identity and not biological sex, meaning that biologically male campers can end up in female cabins, and vice versa.
A parent who complained about a biological male identifying as female being housed with biological females was told by camp staff to respect the identity of the transgendered person. Another reported instance happened in 2019 when a son wanted to leave the camp, because two campers, one of whom was trans, got into a “sexual relationship.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“This disgusts me.”
Åkesson rages against SD question on national exam
Published 3 May 2022 at 16.31 in Fria Tider
In today’s national school exam there is a question that links the Sweden Democrats to Nazi Germany – something that causes party leader Jimmie Åkesson to react strongly and demand an “immediate explanation” from the Director General of the Swedish National Agency for Education .
“A social democratic commentator wrote in 2017: ‘The Sweden Democrats think we are living in the 1930s.
Which country’s history from the 1930s is the writer probably referring to?”
Put a cross.
This is the wording of a question in the national history exams written today, according to SD. Students are given a choice of four answers:
France, Germany, the Soviet Union or the United States.
[The question is not only illogical, but also poorly formulated – the Swedish National Agency for Education in its prydno!!
– requires IQ>85].
A picture from the test is spread on social media and republished by Jimmie Åkesson on Twitter.
“This really disgusts me. Propaganda aimed at schoolchildren belongs in dictatorships,” the SD leader writes.
He states that the Director-General of the National Agency for Education, Peter Fredriksson, will be held accountable for what happened.
“Why Swedish children are forced into political indoctrination at school is a question that requires an immediate explanation. We will summon the Director-General of the Swedish National Agency for Education to the Education Committee,” writes Jimmie Åkesson.
Despite the many changes in Eastern Europe in recent decades, Russia and Germany still fail to see the countries in between – Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine – as little more than geopolitical nuisances
Why do Germany and Russia think so much alike about us, their neighbours in between?
The answer may lie in history and in geopolitics: both countries have been great powers since the mid-18th century and their “natural” field of contention and cooperation has been Eastern Europe. It stands to reason that their mental maps of the region would be similar.
Unsurprisingly, we Eastern Europeans often view their relationship with Germany and Russia as similar to being trapped between a hammer and an anvil.
And with good reason – modern history is full of examples of Russo-German conflict and cooperation resulting in death and destruction for ours countries in between.
Russia and Prussia (the forerunner of modern Germany) colluded in three partitions of Poland in the second half of the 18th century.
Wilhelmine Germany and Tsarist Russia were on opposing sides in World War One, and most of the warfare took place in today’s Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland.
In 1922, Soviet Russia and Weimar Germany signed the Treaty of Rapallo, thereby recognising each other diplomatically and opening the door to economic and military cooperation that enabled Germany to rearm. The losers were, once again, the newly independent states of Eastern Europe.
Russo-German relations temporarily worsened after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, but collaboration resumed after a Non-Aggression Treaty was signed in 1939, resulting in the fourth Polish partition and Russian aggression against the Baltic states.
The signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on August 23, 1939
Two years later, Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union, and, as during the previous world war, the death and destruction were centred on the peoples of Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine.
Post-war Germany’s policy of Ostpolitik led to a normalisation of relations with the Communist regimes of the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and East Germany, but Eastern European democratic dissidents paid the price.
Former German chancellor Willy Brandt urged the Solidarność trade union movement in Poland to stop striking in 1980, and then, in 1985, while on an official state visit, purposely refrained from meeting with Solidarność activists, clearly signalling who Bonn’s preferred interlocutors were and where Germany’s interests supposedly lay.
The revolutions of 1989, Germany’s reunification in 1990, and the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991 paved the way for the pro-Russian and pro-Putin policies that helped make Europe dependent on Russian gas, demonised Ukraine as irredeemably corrupt, and ignored the telltale signs of Putin’s openly aggressive stance toward Russia’s neighbours.
Germany’s neglect of its eastern neighbours and Russia’s hostility to them facilitated the ongoing genocidal war.
In as much as Eastern Europeans have suffered both when Germany and Russia have fought and when they have cooperated, the solution to this problem has to be geopolitical.
In the short run, that means Ukraine’s victory over Russia.
In the long run, Germany must remain a middle power and Russia must be denied great-power status. De-Putinizing the regime will help, but the only durable solution for peace is for Russia to breakapart.
https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/bonn-moscow-ties-newly-released-documents-shed-fresh-light-on-nato-s-eastward-expansion-a-5a362292-dfe6-4355-b90f-10d635d7d664?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#ref=rss
It looks like Rasmus Paludan is a Kremlin agent.
According to Keir Giles, the Easter riots could play into Russia’s hands when outraged supporters of both right-wing and left-wing extremists could be used to destabilize Swedish society.
https://samnytt.se/aftonbladet-ryssland-utnyttjar-korankravallerna-for-att-sprida-skrack/
That is so idiotic
I have no words
Your pro-Russia stance is duly noted. As far as the muslims rioting? Let me bloody riot until the Europeans get off their damn backsides and do something about it other than look like deer in the headlights wondering how this could happen and look at government to fix their problems instead of doing it themselves. This is what socialism looks like. Russian agent my backside.