According to exit polls in Italy, the right-wing bloc led by Giorgia Meloni and the Fratelli d’Italia has scored a solid victory, and Ms. Meloni will be the next Italian prime minister. Meanwhile, stock market futures in the USA fell in reaction to the upsurge of right-wing sentiment in Italy.
In other news, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that will allow illegal immigrants to acquire state ID.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Caroline Glick, Daniel Greenfield, Dean, Dora, DV, JF, JW, LP, MM, Reader from Chicago, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, 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.
Former Bank of Canada Governor Forecasts Recession
Former Bank of Canada (BoC) governor David Dodge told the Senate banking committee on Thursday that Canada faces an impending recession.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Dodge predicted economic growth would flatline and unemployment will surge.
“It’s not going to feel so good,” said Dodge. “Unemployment is going to rise and economic growth will flatten to zero.” Dodge also blamed his successors for incorrect forecasts, claiming they were “not very helpful.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
They’re Redistributing Wealth, Not Fighting Inflation
by Daniel Greenfield
Biden threw a party to celebrate the Inflation Reduction Act on the White House South Lawn even as the latest figures showed that core inflation has continued to rise. Grocery prices had the steepest increase since 1979. Rent prices shot up again and medical costs are escalating.
Even the most loyal media lapdogs could hardly stand this festival of lies. CNN cut away from Biden’s masque of red ink to show what was happening to the stock market. Reuters acidly headlined its coverage, “Biden celebrates ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ as food, rent prices climb”.
So what’s there to celebrate?
The Inflation Reduction Act is a lie. It doesn’t reduce inflation: it actually gooses it. The IRA is another inflationary leftist spending boondoggle that throws billions at green energy and $80 billion at the IRS to audit the middle class in the hopes of balancing out some of the crony cash.
| — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Stock Futures Dip, Dollar Rises as Italian Election Results Add to Uncertainty
U.S. stock-index futures fell late Sunday, suggesting losses Monday, as the projected victory of a far-right party in Italy added to uncertainties about rising interest rates and recession fears.
After falling nearly 200 points earlier in the session, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -0.27% were last down about 50 points, or 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures ES00, -0.34% and Nasdaq-100 futures NQ00, -0.24% edged higher than their session lows as well.
Investors may have been reassured by the moderate tone taken by far-right Italian leader Giorgia Meloni on Sunday night, after partial national election results showed her party as the likely winner.
Stock futures had been relatively flat before it became news that the Brothers of Italy, a far-right party with neo-fascist roots, was projected to win. That could have ripple effects on the euro, Italian banks and Italian government bonds, further roiling markets.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Approval Rating Sinks Below 40%, Signaling Potential Reversal of a Political ‘Comeback’: Poll
President Joe Biden’s approval rating sank below 40% in a poll released Sunday, appearing to contradict various reports of the president making a “comeback” among voters.
The ABC/Washington Post poll of 1,006 adults, 908 of whom were registered voters, reported that 53% of respondents disapproved of Biden’s job performance while only 39% approved. Respondents gave Republicans double-digit leads when asked who they trusted to handle inflation, the economy and crime.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Cheney: I Will Leave GOP if Trump Wins 2024 Nomination
Sunday on CNN’s “New Day Weekend,” the show’s political panel discussed Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and her latest denouncement of former President Donald Trump and his supporters.
Network congressional reporter Daniella Diaz said, “She had a lot to say to say indeed. One of them being a question being whether she would run for president in 2024 against former President Donald Trump. She, of course, dodged that question as she has continued to dodge that question since she lost the primary. She will not serve in the next Congress. But really notable, as you all said, that she said if Donald Trump wins the nomination in 2024, she will no longer consider herself a Republican. Take a listen.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Roughly 15 months after the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of Georgia over an election integrity law it deemed to be “racially discriminatory” and would suppress votes, the Biden administration has little to say about the status of that lawsuit and whether Georgia’s upcoming midterm election results will be tainted by the “Jim Crow” legislation.
The Department of Justice told Fox News Digital this past week that it does not have an update on its lawsuit against Georgia’s election integrity law other than public court filings as voters are set to head to the polls in Georgia under the jurisdiction of an election law President Biden called “Jim Crow in the 21st Century” and “a blatant attack on the Constitution.”
Those court filings, according to senior legal fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies Hans von Spakovsky, show a weak lawsuit that has grown even weaker as time has gone on.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dozens of Chicago Inmates Scored PPP Loans to Make Bond
At least 25 people in Joliet, Illinois who were facing drug or weapons charges obtained PPP loans for fake businesses, and then used the money to make bond to get out of jail, Fox32 Chicago reports.
So far, 15 people have been arrested and charged with offenses ranging from wire fraud to theft, during an investigation dubbed “Operation Triple P.”
Another 10 individuals are wanted for the same crimes.
According to officials, inmates at the Will County Jail had been applying for, and receiving Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans using fraudulent information. It’s unclear if any of the inmates claimed to own a motorcycle dealer.
“Some of the targets bonded out on their felony cases days after receiving their fraudulent PPP loan,” said Joliet Police Chief William Evans during a Wednesday press conference.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Exclusive: Firefighters Sue Seattle for Damages After Termination Over Vaccine Mandates
A lawsuit was filed against the City of Seattle and Fire Chief Harold Scoggins on Friday on behalf of two dozen firefighters who were terminated for refusing to comply with the city’s vaccine mandate. The former firefighters are seeking lost wages including their lost benefits and pension rights.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of a suit filed earlier this month which was seeking injunctive relief and a temporary restraining order against the city and Fire Chief Harold Scoggins to prevent any more members of the department from being fired because of the policy. A judge ruled that the terminations must be placed on hold until the results of a hearing in mid-October which will determine the fate of the firefighters, and possibly the city’s vaccine mandate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FBI Misled Judge Who Signed Warrant for Beverly Hills Seizure of $86 Million in Cash
The privacy invasion was vast when FBI agents drilled and pried their way into 1,400 safe-deposit boxes at the U.S. Private Vaults store in Beverly Hills.
They rummaged through personal belongings of a jazz saxophone player, an interior designer, a retired doctor, a flooring contractor, two Century City lawyers and hundreds of others.
Agents took photos and videos of pay stubs, password lists, credit cards, a prenuptial agreement, immigration and vaccination records, bank statements, heirlooms and a will, court records show. In one box, agents found cremated human remains.
Eighteen months later, newly unsealed court documents show that the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles got their warrant for that raid by misleading the judge who approved it.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Feds Award $1 Million to Nonprofit That Funneled Tax Dollars to Chinese Bat Coronavirus Lab
The Golden Horseshoe is a weekly designation from Just The News intended to highlight egregious examples of wasteful taxpayer spending by the government. The award is named for the horseshoe-shaped toilet seats for military airplanes that cost the Pentagon a whopping $640 each back in the 1980s.
This week’s Golden Horseshoe goes to the National Science Foundation for awarding a $1 million grant to EcoHealth Alliance, the controversial nonprofit whose former vice president claims in a sworn statement it created COVID-19 at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The NSF awarded the $1 million to EcoHealth Alliance and Boston University to predict and prevent future pandemics, The National Pulse reported.
The government spending watchdog OpenTheBooks.com questioned the grant to EcoHealth, which received several million dollars in grants from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to conduct research at the Wuhan lab whose experiments with bat coronaviruses are widely suspected to be the source of SARS-CoV-2.
“The new grant,” Open the Books Founder/CEO Adam Andrzejewski wrote, “came after Peter Daszak, head of EcoHealth Alliance, has been accused of helping to spark the Covid-19 pandemic with his organization’s pandemic prevention work, Science magazine reported. He has downplayed the possibility of the virus originating in a lab as opposed to nature.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
GOP Leader McCarthy Unveils ‘Commitment to America’ Plan
Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Sept. 23 unveiled Republicans’ “Commitment to America” plan, which includes a litany of policy promises on various issues.
While the race for the Senate is generally considered slightly favorable for Democrats, in the House it’s widely expected that Republicans will be in control next year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Maine Department of Education has doubled down on allowing one of its taxpayer-funded online learning programs to instruct high school students that the term “MAGA” is an example of covert racism and white supremacy.
The department, under the leadership of Gov. Janet Mills (D), refused to remove or condemn the controversial video content uncovered Wednesday by Breitbart News, according to a response from the department published Friday in the Bangor Daily News.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Media Cartel Bill Accused of Enabling More Censorship
Senator Tom Cotton has said that liberals and Democrats are supporting the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, a controversial bill that would allow media organizations to form cartels to negotiate with Big Tech companies, because it promotes censorship.
“There’s a reason that Dems and the liberal media universally support the Journalism Competition and Protection Act. And it’s not because they want to protect free speech for conservatives,” Cotton tweeted after a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting where Cruz supported the bill after certain amendments.
During the hearing, Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, argued that the bill is “not about content”, it is “simply about negotiating prices.” But according to critics of the bill, the bill is about censorship.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mob of People Spontaneously Ransack Wawa Convenience Store in Philadelphia
A mob of people entered a Wawa convenience store on Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia and broke out into a riot, seemingly without warning or reason. There’s no comment yet from Philadelphia police on the cause of the rampage. As the economic situation in the US continues to decline and prices continue to rise on most goods, expect to see more scenes like this one on a regular basis.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mugged by Reality? Dems Pivot on Law and Order as Soft-on-Crime Liberals Assaulted, Burglarized
Democrats’ virtual 180 on the issue of crime — a journey from supporting the “defund the police” movement to espousing tougher law enforcement — has been accentuated by a striking pattern in recent months: prominent liberals being mugged, sometimes quite literally, by the harsh reality of rising crime as victims themselves.
The latest liberal to embody this shift is Bill Walton, the 69-year-old basketball legend-turned-garrulous broadcaster, who has a history of stirring controversy and advocating a range of progressive causes over the years.
More recently, he backed income and business tax hikes to fund homeless services and supported Black Lives Matter rioters condemning police brutality following George Floyd’s death in 2020.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
During a rally on Saturday held in support of those currently being held prisoner over their roles in the January 6 riot at the Capitol building, counter protestors cheered for the death of Ashli Babbitt, and began yelling at an officer.
“Ashli Babbitt f*cked around and found out,” the group was heard shouting through megaphones as Capitol Police officers attempted to redirect them.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nancy Pelosi Booed at NYC Festival: ‘Doesn’t Bode Well for Dems Ahead of Mid-Terms’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a surprise appearance at a Saturday night music festival in New York City, called the “Global Citizen music festival”. She was introduced on stage by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, wife of American singer and actor Nick Jonas, to speak about climate change and carbon pollution.
But instead of the climactic “surprise” celebratory moment that organizers were hoping for, Pelosi’s presence triggered loud boos from the sizeable audience, as multiple videos from the event show…
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Orleans Police Department Hiring Civilians to Bolster Force as Murderous Crime Wave Hits City
The New Orleans Police Department is hiring civilians to help with the force’s staffing issues and allow for more police officers to patrol the streets as violent crimes such as murder spike.
“The goal is for our officers to feel safe, so they can make our citizens and visitors feel safe,” New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said Thursday at a press conference.
Ferguson said the department is focused on hiring civilian police intake specialists, who will monitor phones at the department and replace administrative police officers. The department will also hire between 50 and 75 civilians who will respond to calls that do not require the presence of a police officer. Some of the civilians will even be trained to do detective work, WDSU reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Roughly 98% of People Eligible to Receive Latest COVID Booster Have Not Received One
Barely 1.5% of Americans eligible to receive the updated COVID shot have acquired one, according to federal data, a sign that U.S. antipathy to the shots is continuing to grow even as experts have insisted on the need to regularly receive a new COVID booster.
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that around 98% of Americans who could receive the latest COVID booster have not obtained one. The CDC authorized the distribution of updated Moderna and Pfizer boosters earlier this month.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two Teens Stabbed at Pitt County Fair, Second Incident Since 2021
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — The Pitt County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an incident where two teens were stabbed at the Pitt County Fair on Saturday.
In a media release, officials said they responded at 8:16 p.m. to the Pitt County Fairgrounds to a report of someone stabbed. Officials said two teens, ages 19 and 17, were stabbed. Reports indicate they were assaulted by a group of 6-10 males.
Both victims were transported to ECU Health Medical by EMS. There was no update on their conditions as of Sunday morning. No names have been released.
Officials also said while dealing with the stabbings, deputies received reports of several fights and shots being fired at the fairgrounds. Those reports were unfounded. The fair closed early Saturday but resumed normal operations on Sunday.
This incident remains under investigation.
It’s at least the second time in as many years that an incident prompted the fair to end early.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
USPS Used Online Surveillance to Spy on Protesters
The US Postal Service surveilled protesters across the country, according to heavily redacted documents obtained by Patrick Eddington, a senior fellow at Cato Institute, through a Freedom of Information Act request.
According to the records, between September 2020 and April 2021, postal inspectors spied on protests, including through a covert social media surveillance program dubbed the Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP).
The inspectors spied on conservative groups that marched to DC following President Biden’s election, protests in Louisville, Kentucky, following an investigation into the death of Breonna Taylor at the hands of the police, and gun rights activists in Richmond, Virginia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Voting Equipment Will be Replaced in One County in Georgia Due to ‘Unauthorized Access’
Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced on Friday that voting equipment will be replaced in Coffee County due to “unauthorized access.”
A computer forensics team had traveled to Coffee County, Georgia in 2021 a couple months after the 2020 election and made copies of election system components and the election management system server. According to the Associated Press, the team involved in this had access to all of the voting equipment and spent hours in the election office.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Washington Post Columnist Calls for the End of Impartiality and Balance in Journalism
Authored by Jonathan Turley
In an age of rage, Washington Post columnist and MSNBC contributor Jennifer Rubin has long been a standout in her attacks on Republicans and conservatives: “We have to collectively, in essence, burn down the Republican Party. We have to level them because if there are survivors, if there are people who weather this storm, they will do it again.” However, her recent column shows that she has made a clean break not only from Republicans but from reason. The writer (long cited by the Post as their “Republican columnist” for balance) has called for the media to abandon balance and impartiality. Rubin is demanding that the media just become overt advocates in refusing to report both sides in the myriad of political issues in this election.
In her column, Rubin rejects the “need for false balance” because the coverage can suggest that Republicans are “rational.”
“The Kabuki dance in which Trump, his defenders and his supporters are treated as rational (clever even!) is what comes from a media establishment that refuses to discard its need for false balance that it has developed over the course of decades.”
That balance was once called “journalism” but Rubin now calls it facilitating “disinformation.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A woke fourth-grade teacher at William Penn Elementary in Utah, placed on paid leave after bragging that she built her classroom for “non-white students,” will get to keep her job. The teacher issued an apology for her video, in which she proudly stated, “If you look around and interact with some of the materials I have, you’ll notice that there’s, like, no white kids represented.”
“For the first time in my life, I’m going to be teaching at a majority white school, and I’m kind of interested to see how students and parents react to my classroom — because it’s built for non-white students,” the teacher said in a video posted to social media.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fiona: Homes Washed Into the Sea and Thousands Without Power as Storm Batters Canada
Post-tropical storm Fiona battered eastern Canada with hurricane-strength winds, torrential rains and huge waves which swept away houses and left hundreds of thousands without power.
Canadian troops have been mobilised to assist recovery efforts after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to provide help to those affected.
“I know this is an extremely difficult time for many people who have seen their house, their property destroyed. But I also know that these people know they are not alone and that we will be here for them”, he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Birmingham Durga Mandir Attack: The Islamic Upsurge in England is Dangerous!
Over the past few years, not just England but most European countries are witnessing ugly Hinduphobia.
Avarice and belief were the two engines of the British Raj. The first to feed the growing imperial beast. The second was the conviction that the white man was superior to the races he conquered, and it was his duty to civilise them by replacing the natives of their indigenous culture and religion with the narrow morality of Victorian imperialism. Rudyard Kipling had a poetic phrase for this —the White Man’s Burden.
That was in fin de siècle British India. Little would he have guessed that the sun would be setting on the Empire in about 50 years. Even after decolonisation, the West continues to be the arbiter of morality and racial responsibility. For the past few weeks, parts of England have been engulfed in communal clashes between Hindus and Muslims. Yet the British elite and its malicious media maintain a dishonourable distance from targeted violence against Hindus. They feel that Hindus must learn civility and tolerance even as their counterparts in faith destroy their temples. Over the past few years, not just England but most European countries are witnessing ugly Hinduphobia. ‘Hindu Matters In Britain’, which works to promote Hindu interests, defines Hinduphobia as “the complete range of Hinduphobic acts (that) extends from microaggressions to genocide. Hinduphobic projects include the destruction and desecration of Hindu sacred spaces; aggressive and forced proselytisation of Hindu populations; targeted violence towards Hindu people, community institutions, and organisations; and ethnic cleansing and genocide.” A 2022 House of Commons report incidentally notes that though Muslims make up 4% of the UK’s population, 18% of British criminals are Muslim.
Leicester burned as Islamists attacked Hindus, their originations and temples for three consecutive days. A crowd of cricket fans in Leicester publicly celebrated India’s victory over Pakistan in the T20 match on August 28. Illiberals blamed the festivities as expressions of ‘Hindutva extremism’ and ‘anti-Muslim chanting’. However, a week later, when temples were attacked after Pakistan’s victory over India, UK’s white establishment didn’t condemn the aggressors. Leicester East MP Claudia Webbe even wrote to the Police Chief Constable, committing her endorsement for the Federation of Muslim Organisations. Leicester has the largest concentration of Hindus. However, it is a Labour Party constituency with 50 members viz one from the Tories. This is despite 22% of Labor voters in a survey calling Islam a threat. Nearly 32% thought there were “no-go areas” in Britain under sharia. A report noted that 5000 Britons converted to Islam a year—it’s the UK’s fastest growing religion.
Islamic fundamentalists oppose the visits of the Hindu Parivar leaders with impunity. Early this month, when Sadhvi Ritambhara was in London to address a gathering, massive protests broke out. In 2008, a determined cabal of anti India leaders was responsible for cancelling Narendra Modi’s UK visa just as he was about to board a flight to London. Earlier this year, Rashmi Samant, the first Indian woman to be elected as the president of Oxford University Union, was hounded by the Left and Islamists because of her social media views. She was forced to quit both the varsity and the country after a diatribe from a faculty member. Despite over 119 British Hindu organisations sending a signed letter to 10 Downing Street seeking action against the academician for his “Hindu hatred and bigoted views”, Boris Johnson played possum. Ironically, not many Right Wing, nationalist Oxford Alumni in India supported Samant. The Indian High Commission did squat and stuck to secular diplomacy. However, she received massive support from local Indian organisations.
Britain’s skewed immigration policies, which allowed people from their former colonies, led to the rise of Muslim ghettos controlled by extremists. The Islamisation of British education made some schools ban the greeting “Merry Christmas!” to avoid offending Muslim students. A new book, “Among the Mosques”, notes that from the UK’s first two mosques in Liverpool in 1887, there are now 2,000. As Hinduism asserts itself globally, and in England particularly, it is facing widespread attacks from lawmakers. Former British Home Secretary Priti Patel faced vicious attacks from Muslims and whites in her country. Labour Party MPs led by Naz Shah charged her with exploiting her Indian heritage to “gaslight” the “very real racism” faced by Muslims. Another Labour Party leader Navendu Mishra had shared a report that acknowledged “research by the 1928 Institute which revealed that 80% of British Indians have faced prejudice because of their Indian identity, with Hinduphobia the most prevalent”. Numerous such surveys indicate the growing threat to Indian Hindus in the West. The reasons for the toxic hate aren’t difficult to define. The rising influence of Indians on global business, commerce, technology and academics stick in the craw of rival communities suffering from inferiority complex. One report says that about 30 per cent of the CEOs of the top Fortune 500 companies are of Indian origin. Over 15 per cent of the global GDP is generated by companies owned or managed by Indians. Over 10 per cent of the faculty in top western academic Institutions has an Indian pedigree. British Hindus topped the Sunday Times Rich List this year. Hindus hold numerous key political and administrative posts. Barring a few fringe elements, most of them practice tolerance and pluralism, as expounded by Swami Vivekananda, who orated in America, “The fault with all religions like Christianity is that they have one set of rules for all. But the Hindu religion is suited to all grades of religious aspiration and progress. It contains all the ideals in their perfect form.”
Read also: Dr Subramanian Swamy raises voice against attack on Hindus in UK; Leaves dire hanging warning. (Republic World).
Detractors of Hinduism have realised that Vivekananda’s words can be countered only by spreading canards against the Hindu way of life. Since whites who ruled the world for centuries are now forced to earn and learn from non-whites, Hinduism is being targeted out of envy. Hinduism’s detractors forget that it’s a civilisation older than most Western societies. The collateral gain of international economics is expanding global acceptance of Hinduism as an essential tool for unity in diversity. Bhrasht Karma is a bitch, as the saying goes: the UK’s Christian population is falling (8.3 percentage points) as the Muslim population grew to 5.7 per cent by 2021—an estimated 3,369,400 Muslims. Hindus are at 1.7 per cent. The British colonial strategy was Divide and Rule, which laid the foundations of the present sub-continental strife that escalated during the Partition. They expected India to be turned into a permanent communal battlefield. Now, the Empire’s post colonial brown children with both mesmerising mind and money are returning the favour with bloodbaths on Leicester’s streets. Kipling may be turning in his grave as whites are becoming the Brown Man’s Burden. It’s a different Jungle Book now, populated by beasts of hatred to both India’s heritage and success.
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
One third of seats are allocated to first-past-the-post single-member constituencies, with the other two-thirds coming from proportional party lists. But voters cannot split their vote, by choosing a centrist constituency candidate and a leftist proportional list, for instance. So the single-member vote is a strong indicator of each coalition’s support in a given area.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
German Public Broadcaster’s Image Hits Rock Bottom
A resounding slap in the face for the mainstream media in Germany: According to a current INSA STUDY, 84 percent of Germans are now demanding the abolition of the broadcasting license fee.
This is not without reason. The image of mainstream media was ruined not only incessant tendentious reporting, which has been getting on the nerves of more and more viewers, but also the most recent corruption and nepotism scandals involving leading radio officials.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Election: Meloni Says Center-Right Bloc Has ‘Clear’ Mandate
Giorgia Meloni, leading a center-right coalition, is on track to become Italy’s first woman prime minister ever and its first far-right leader since Benito Mussolini. The main center-left group has conceded defeat.
The center-right coalition led by nationalist Giorgia Meloni secured a parliamentary majority in Italy’s general elections on Sunday,according to exit polls.
Speaking early Monday, Meloni said Italians had sent “a clear message” in backing her alliance.
“If we are called upon to govern this nation, we will do so for all Italians, with the aim of uniting the people, of exalting what unites them rather than what divides them,” she told reporters. “We will not betray your trust.”
Her remarks came shortly after the main center-left group, the Democratic Party, conceded defeat.
“This is a sad evening for the country,” Debora Serracchiani, a senior PD lawmaker, told reporters in the party’s first official comment on the result. “[The right] has the majority in parliament, but not in the country,” Serracchiani said.
| — Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
Meloni’s Right-Wing Alliance Wins Clear Majority in Italian Elections
First Sweden, now Italy.
Europe’s unelected authoritarian ruler, Ursula von der Leyen, is not going to be happy: according to early exit polls out of Italy’s national election, the right-wing bloc of Giorgia Meloni — which the ultra-left wing press just can’t stop comparing to Mussolini — is set for a historic, if largely expected, victory and a clear majority (if, however, not a super-majority) which will propel Meloni to the top of the Italian government as the country’s next prime minister, ushering in a historic right-wing shift for a country that — like Sweden until two weeks ago — has traditionally been very left-wing.
Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, which won just 4% of the vote during the last national election in 2018, won the biggest share of the vote in Sunday’s parliamentary elections with around 22.5%-26.5% of the vote according to an exit poll released by Italian national broadcaster Rai. She is now set to become prime minister but would require approval from junior partners in her coalition to assume the role.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland: Opposition Likely to Win Parliamentary Election if United Says Poll
Poland’s three main opposition parties could win the next parliamentary elections, but only if they run on a joint ticket, a new poll has found.
The Civic Coalition (KO), Poland 2050 and the Left would get 50.4 percent of the vote if they ran together, according to the results of the Pollster survey, commissioned and published on Friday by the daily Super Express.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Khan’s London: Man Charged With 14 Terror Offences Named as Ismail Kissa
A man charged with 14 terrorism offences by London police has been named as Ismail Kissa.
Following an investigation “related to Islamist terrorism”, by the Counter-Terrorism Command of the Metropolitan Police, 23-year-old Kissa was charged on Thursday with “13 counts of dissemination of a terrorist publication (contrary to Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006); and one count of possessing a document containing information likely to be useful for terrorism (contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000).”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Leftist Labour Declares Tax Cuts ‘Immoral’ At Party Conference
Britain’s opposition Labour Party opened its annual conference on Sunday, with leaders attacking the “immoral” tax-cutting of the new Conservative government.
The event, this year taking place in the northern city of Liverpool, kicked off two days after the British government, under new prime minister Liz Truss, said it would scrap the 45 per cent tax rate on earnings over £150,000 and forge ahead with plans to boost growth.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Sixty Labour Members Attend Anti-Monarchy Event Slamming King Charles as ‘White Privileged Male’
Sixty Labour members including a Member of Parliament attended a ‘Labour for the Republic’ event where King Charles III was slammed as a “white privileged male”.
While party leader Sir Keir Starmer has shied away from his previous support for abolishing the monarchy, dozens of members including Richard Burgon MP at a fringe meeting of Labour’s annual conference were unable to read the proverbial room now the seven-decade reign of Queen Elizabeth II is at an end.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Caroline Glick: Israel’s Choice: Independence or Appeasement
Caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid and his supporters in the media went berserk Tuesday after Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out against the gas deal the Biden administration is mediating between Israel and Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon.
Since Hezbollah launched two drones against Israel’s Karish gas platform in July, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly threatened to blow up Karish if Israel brings Karish online without first surrendering to Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon large swathes of sovereign Israeli land underneath Israel’s recognized maritime economic zone, including the Qana gas field.
Rather than stand with Israel against Hezbollah, the Biden administration is siding with Hezbollah—Iran’s Lebanese foreign legion against Israel. U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein has pressed Israel to surrender to most of Hezbollah’s outrageous demands. And Israel has folded to the combined U.S.-Hezbollah extortion. Lapid has agreed to give “Lebanon” the Qana field. Together with his partner in strategic collapse Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Lapid insists that with the Qana field, “Lebanon” will be economically saved and once that happens, the Hezbollah-controlled country will magically free itself from Hezbollah’s grip and sign a peace deal with Israel.
Netanyahu’s statement popped their balloon. Summarizing the negotiations to date, Netanyahu warned, “Lapid has entirely collapsed to Nasrallah’s threats. Nasrallah threatened him that if we operate the Karish platform before we sign a gas deal with Lebanon, he’ll attack Israel. Lapid got scared and didn’t bring Karish online…
| — Hat tip: Caroline Glick | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Warns of Catastrophic Consequences if Russia Uses Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine
Sept 25 (Reuters) — The United States warned of “catastrophic consequences” if Moscow were to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, after Russia’s Foreign Minister said regions holding widely-criticised referendums would get full protection if annexed by Moscow.
Votes in four eastern Ukrainian regions, aimed at annexing territory Russia has taken by force mostly since its invasion in February, were staged for a third day on Sunday. The Russian parliament could move to formalise the annexation within days.
By incorporating the four areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia into Russia, Moscow could portray attacks to retake them as an attack on Russia itself, a warning to Kyiv and its Western allies.
The Russian annexations raise the risk of a direct military confrontation between Russia and the NATO military alliance as Western arms are being used by Ukrainian troops.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday the United States would respond decisively to any Russian use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine and that it had spelled out to Moscow the “catastrophic consequences” it would face.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Why Ukraine Referendum is a Big Deal
The referendum on September 23-27 in the Donbass and southern Kherson and Zaporozhye regions of Ukraine on their accession to Russian Federation is, prima facie, an exercise of the right of self-determination by the native population who reject the western-backed regime change in Kiev in 2014 and the ascendancy of extreme nationalist forces with neo-Nazi leanings in the power structure.
But it has other dimensions, too. In all probability, the referendum will overwhelmingly opt for accession to Russian Federation. In Donbass, it is a straightforward question: “Do you support the entry of the DPR into the Russian Federation as a subject of the Russian Federation?” For Kherson and the Zaporozhye Cossacks, the referendum ascertains three sequential decisions: secession of these territories from Ukraine; formation of an independent state; and its entry into the Russian Federation as a subject.
In 2014, all legal procedures for the admission of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation were completed in four days. An expeditious process can be expected this time around too. There is huge mass support within Russia for reunification with the ethnic Russian populations in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine who suffered severe persecution during the past 8-year period, including brutal violence, at the hands of extremist Ukrainian nationalist elements in control of the state apparatus. This is a highly emotive issue for the Russian people…
| — Hat tip: JF | [Return to headlines] |
The woman said she had a fight with her Muslim husband a week ago, after which the latter assaulted her and gave her triple talaq. The husband had a habit of beating the woman while drinking alcohol.
Upendra Bharti | HENB | Bareilly | Sept 25, 2022:: A Muslim woman adopted Hinduism after her husband gave her triple talaq. She became Pushpa from Rubina and married a Hindu man in Bareilly’s Nawabganj, according to a Jagran report.
Rubina had a love affair with Shoaib, who is a resident of Haldwani, Uttarakhand. The duo married about nine years ago. A few years after their marriage, quarrels started between the couple. Reports suggest Shoaib used to torture Rubina. Shoaib was a habitual drunkard and used to beat Rubina in intoxication on a regular basis. The couple has three sons.
Pushpa said about a week ago, Shoaib and she had a fight again, after which her husband assaulted her and gave her triple talaq. In such a situation she shared his ordeal to one Prempal who is a resident of Nawabganj on the outskirts of Bareilly. The two started to find a solution jointly. Prempal was also known to Shoaib as a friend.
After her husband gave her triple talaq, Rubina expressed her desire to marry Prempal. Later Rubina adopted Hinduism and tie the knot with Prempal and became Pushpa Devi.
The marriage was solemnized by a Hindu pandit in Agustya Ashram of Bareilly according to full Hindu customs.
As per the report of Jagran, Pushpa Devi expressed her pleasure to become a Hindu saying, “women are respected in Hinduism, they have equal rights. There is no shadow of fear in their relationship”.
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
Blinken Warns China FM Against Support to Russia at UN
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Chinese counterpart Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday — at a moment tensions over Taiwan are still on edge following Nancy Pelosi’s early August trip to the self-ruled island.
Blinken took the opportunity to again warn Beijing against providing any support to ongoing Russian operations amid the invasion of Ukraine. A statement said the top US diplomat “reiterated the United States’ condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine and highlighted the implications if the PRC [People’s Republic of China] were to provide support to Moscow’s invasion of a sovereign state.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Is Xi Jinping Missing? Rumours of Military Coup in China Explained
Social media has been abuzz with rumours of a coup in China claiming that the country’s president Xi Jinping has been deposed. Speculations began on the internet after Jinping was said to be missing from the public eye following his return from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Uzbekistan — his first official foreign visit since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
No officials from China’s ruling Communist Party or the state media have said anything on the rumours. Their social media accounts show work as usual in the country ahead of the party’s five-yearly congress which is set to begin on October 16 where Jinping is poised to secure a historic third term that will cement his place as China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.
Here’s what we know so far on claims of a coup in China:
Is Xi Jinping under house arrest?
After Xi Jinping’s outing at SCO in Samarkand, claims of the president being under house arrest went rife. The claims have been dismissed by experts saying that there is a strong possibility that the Chinese premier is under quarantine owing to the country’s strict zero-Covid policy that mandates every individual who enters China from abroad to undergo quarantine.
Are international and domestic commercial flights in China being cancelled?
Reports of fewer passenger flights in and out of Beijing were also shared across social media in addition to claims that all trains and buses have been cancelled. Beijing Capital International Airport’s website, however, showed that some flights were cancelled, several others were scheduled, slightly delayed, or had already landed. Nevertheless, China’s flight traffic has not returned to pre-pandemic level which could be a reason for the data showing less number of flights out of Beijing.
What has been happening in China for the past one week?
Two former ministers were sentenced to death and four officials were sent to life in jail in China last week as the Communist Party continues its anti-corruption campaign strongly initiated by Xi Jinping. The removal of officials, said to be opponents of Xi, is an indication of his influence on the party and China at large.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
New Zealand Expands Surveillance Network That Was Used to Hunt Down Three COVID-Positive Women
The surveillance networks that New Zealand police used to hunt down three Covid-infected women are being rolled out in other parts of the country.
Police have taken advantage of tapping into a surveillance system run by two private companies, allowing them to access thousands of cameras that are constantly scanning and documenting car number plates, even when they don’t own the cameras.
Police issued new rules about the use of automated number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras last week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Around 6.54 Mln Refugees Have Entered Poland Since War in Ukraine Started
Since February 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine, close to 6.54 million people have crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border into Poland, the Border Guard (SG) tweeted on Sunday morning.
According to the SG, on Saturday Border Guard officers carried out around 27,300 border checks on people entering Poland from Ukraine, and by 7:00 a.m. on Sunday the number of arrivals had reached around 7,500 people.
The Border Guard also said that more than 4.76 million people had left Poland for Ukraine since the beginning of the war. On Saturday, around 26,700 people crossed the border from Poland to Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden CDC Awarded Millions to Soros-Funded Activist Group Suing DeSantis
In February, 2021, the Biden administration-run Centers for Disease Control (CDC) awarded a Soros-backed pro-migrant nonprofit $7.5 million under the guise of pandemic-related support for “LATINX ESSENTIAL WORKERS AS HEALTH PROMOTERS,” and aimed “to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate impacts among Latinx and Latin American immigrants,” according to an analysis by the Daily Caller.
The group, Alianza Americas, is currently suing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and other Florida officials over migrant flights to Martha’s Vineyard earlier this month.
The group has also received nearly $1.4 million from George Soros’ Open Society Network.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California Gov. Newsom Signs Bill Allowing Illegal Immigrants to Obtain a State ID
California residents can now acquire a state ID regardless of immigration status under a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday.
“We’re a state of refuge — a majority-minority state, where 27 percent of us are immigrants,” Newsom said after signing the legislation. “That’s why I’m proud to announce the signing of today’s bills to further support our immigrant community, which makes our state stronger every single day.”
A law passed in 2013 allows California residents to obtain a driver’s license, but the bill that was signed Friday will allow non-driving residents to acquire a government-issued ID, even if they are not a legal immigrant.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary: Human Smugglers Attempt to Infiltrate Border Hunter Units
Although the whole world is focused on the war between Russia and Ukraine, the threat of illegal migration has not gone away and has even increased, the Parliamentary Secretary of State of the Interior Ministry said in Budapest on Tuesday. Bence Rétvari, bidding farewell to the members of the 77th Hungarian police contingent on their way to North Macedonia, stressed that security is important for all Hungarians who have repeatedly stated that they see illegal migration as a threat.
The Secretary of State also listed the figures, saying that 178,000 illegal border crossings had been prevented at Hungary’s southern border so far this year. In comparison, this figure was 73,000 in the first nine months of last year and 122,000 for the whole year.
Bence Rétvari pointed out that the number of human smugglers has also increased dramatically, with 1,350 smugglers caught this year, compared to 1,277 in the whole of last year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
One year ago, President Joe Biden falsely accused Del Rio Sector Horse Patrol Unit agents of using horses to run over migrants and of strapping them from horseback. The president refused to apologize to the agents despite his accusations being proven to be untrue.
“To see people treated like they did, horses running them over and people getting strapped, it’s outrageous I promise you those people will pay,” Biden said one year ago. Despite no publicly available evidence to back up his claims, the accusations stuck and the president has not apologized to the agents involved in the incident.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Urges Italians to Have More Children, Welcome Migrants
MATERA, Italy — Pope Francis traveled to southern Italy on Sunday to close out an Italian church congress that coincided with Italy’s national election, and delivered a message that hit on key domestic campaign issues including immigration.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A migrant who came to the UK by boat and claimed to be a child so he could stay is actually in his mid-20s, and even joined an over-30s dating group, before he was caught out by his grey hairs and stubble.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Texas Has Raised Over $55 Million in Private Donations for Border Wall
As of September 12, the state of Texas has raised a little over $55 million to secure the southern border and build a wall, which was one of the main issues former President Trump ran on in 2016.
“While securing the border is the federal government’s responsibility, Texas will not sit idly by as this crisis grows. Texas is responding with the most robust and comprehensive border plan the nation has ever seen,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement.
Biden’s open-door immigration policies have led to a drug crisis and a humanitarian crisis, according to Gov. Abbott’s statement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Maths teacher Kevin Lister, 59, was sacked from a Swindon school after refusing to affirm a pupil’s gender change because he wanted to first obtain the permission of the student’s parents.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Planned Parenthood Stealth-Edits Website to Match Stacey Abrams ‘Heartbeat’ Claim
Planned Parenthood, founded by eugenicist Margaret Sanger, stealth-edited their website to match comments made by Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who claimed that unborn children do not have detectable heartbeats at six weeks, the Washington Examiner reports.
“There is no such thing as a heartbeat a six weeks,” said Abrams. “It is a manufactured sound designed to convince people that men have the right to take control of a woman’s body.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Threatens to Pull Company From Indiana Over Abortion Restrictions
A week after a new abortion ban went into effect in Indiana on September 15, Salesforce Co-CEO Marc Benioff threatened to pull his company out of any states that restrict abortions.
“The number one thing is, we must have our employees’ back,” Benioff said, “We are dealing with a whole series of crazy presidents, crazy governors and crazy mayors all over the world in every country, every city and every state. The number one thing I can do is let my employees know I’m here for them and I will 100 percent support them.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Teachers’ Union Provides Ohio Teachers With Guide for ‘Anal Sex, ‘ ‘Bondage, ‘ ‘Fisting’
Teachers in Ohio’s Hilliard City School District are allowed to wear “safe space” badges with a QR code that leads to how-to guides on extreme sexual content.
The badges are being promoted and provided by the National Education Association, a major teachers’ union in the United States.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |