Gates of Vienna News Feed 10/21/2022

Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the anti-immigration party Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy), was sworn in today as the first female prime minister in Italian history. The exploding heads of political leaders caused seismographs to dance frantically all across Western Europe.

In other news, environmental scientists have expressed concern about the explosions that took out the Nord Stream pipelines, saying that they may have stirred up toxic chemical weapon materials that were dumped into the Baltic off Bornholm at the end of WW2.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to Dean, JW, LP, Reader from Chicago, Roger, 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.

Financial Crisis
» Congressman Jim Himes Says the US Should Develop a CBDC
» German Parliament Approves €200 Billion Energy Relief Plan
» UK: Cost of Living Pushes Families to Brink as Survey Suggests 32 Million People Are Now Struggling to Pay Their Bills
 
USA
» 5,000 Duplicate Ballots Sent to California Voters in Riverside County
» ABC News Producer Missing Since FBI Raid, Was Writing Book About Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal
» Again: Biden Gets Lost on Stage, Speaks Complete Gibberish
» Appeals Court Temporarily Halts Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan
» Arizona City Council Member Indicted for 2020 Ballot Harvesting Scheme: AG
» Bannon Sentenced to Four Months in Prison for Contempt of Congress Conviction
» Breaking: Terrified Judge in Waukesha Massacre Case Calls Recess After Darrell Brooks Stares Her Down
» Breaking: January 6 Committee Demands Trump Testify on November 14
» Breaking: Judge to Allow States to Depose Fauci, Biden Officials in Social Media Censorship Case
» Colorado Springs Seeks to Hire More Police Officers as City’s Crime Rate Rises
» Former FBI Official to Testify on Agency Allegedly Inflating Domestic Terrorism Data
» Former Oregon Principal, Who Oversaw 21-Day Antiracist Bootcamp for Kids, Hired at Teacher’s College
» GOP Governors Promise Not to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccine for Children
» Missouri Latest State to Divest From BlackRock Over ‘Woke Political Agenda’
» Norfolk’s Rising Homicide Rate Ranks as 8th Worst in the Nation
» Oakland Police Want ‘Terminator Style’ Robot With Shotgun
» Pence Inching Closer to 2024 Run, Saying He Prefers Somebody More Than Trump, ‘I’Ll Keep You Posted’
» Philadelphia Murder Suspect Previously Exonerated From Murder Conviction by Progressive DA
» Philadelphia DA Says GOP’s Focus on Crime Surge is ‘Racist Messaging’
» Radical Environmentalist Who Argued for Bombing Pipelines Defends Soup Throwers in New York Times Guest Essay
» Texas State Police Sergeant Who Responded to Uvalde Shooting Fired Amid Ongoing Investigations Into Law Enforcement Response
» The Regime Strikes Back
» ‘These Guys Don’t Get It’: Biden Slams Republicans for Their Threat to Cut Ukraine Funding Saying There Will be ‘Serious Consequential Outcomes’ To American Foreign Policy if it Happens
» These Major Cities Reported the Highest Homicide Rates in 2021
» Video: ADL Head Blasts Adidas for Not Dropping Kanye West; “A Company That Outfitted the Hitler Youth”
» Washington State Woman Survives Being Stabbed and Buried Alive
» Waukesha Parade Massacre Suspect Cries in Court, Says ‘The Incident Was Not Intentional’
 
Canada
» Breaking: Trudeau Liberals Officially Block Canadians From Buying Handguns
» Court Dismisses Air Travel Vaccine Mandate Lawsuits as Moot
» Emergencies Act Not Required: OPP Officer
» From Grandparents to Kids, Convoy Protesters Unlike Any Other: OPP Chief Superintendent
 
Europe and the EU
» ‘Against the Great Reset’: Leading Thinkers Take Aim at Globalist Elites in New Volume
» Black Death Alters Human Genome 700 Years Later
» BMW Tests Hydrogen Burner at German Plant, Expands Battery Assembly Lines
» Booming Bovine: Spanish Farmer Fined 300 Euros After Cow Moos Too Loud
» Edinburgh Crime: Extinction Rebellion Lecturer Climbed Onto Roof of Scottish Parliament in Climate Protest
» Firebrand Conservative Giorgia Meloni Becomes First Female Italian Prime Minister in History
» Four German States Are Repealing Rules on Water Purification
» France: Man Stabbed, Pregnant Girlfriend Attacked by ‘Young People’
» Germany: Climate Activists Arrested After Protest Inside Volkswagen Factory
» German Leader Warns Against ‘Worldwide Renaissance’ For Coal
» Germany Could Run Out of Gas by February, Must Cut Consumption by Up to 30 Per Cent
» Germany: Stuck With Glue But Nowhere to Poo: Climate Extremists Get in Sticky Situation
» Italy: Giorgia Meloni Tells Ex-PM Berlusconi ‘Keep Your Mouth Shut’ After Audio Leaks Bashing NATO
» Italy’s Meloni and Polish Conservatives See Eye to Eye on Common Values and European Security
» Key Ministers in New Italian Government
» Madrid to Refund €1.7 Million Lockdown Fines After Coronavirus State of Emergency Ruled Unlawful
» Nord Stream Blasts Spark Concern Over Chemical-Weapons Contamination
» PM Orban: We Defended Hungarian Interests at EU Summit
» Poland Against Mandatory EU-Wide Joint Gas Purchases But in Favor of Gas Price Cap
» Revealed: How Albanian Gangsters Fighting for Control of the UK’s Cannabis Market Are Posting Social Media Videos of Kidnappings and Beatings as a Warning to Rival Gangs
» The Franco-German Alliance is Tearing at the Seams
» UK: Climate Protesters Accused of ‘Blood on Their Hands’ After 2 Die in Crash Amid Traffic From Bridge Protest
» UK: Do You Feel in Charge? How the Tory Establishment Clawed Back Power From Truss’s Milquetoast Revolution
» UK: Gaining Bomentum: Five Cabinet Secretaries Back BoJo Returning as PM
» UK: I’ll be Your Puppet: Boris Begs Rishi to ‘Get Back Together’ For Shock Return
» UK: Just Stop Oil Protests: Clean-Up After Harrods Sprayed With Orange Paint
» UK: Two Men and Teenage Boy Are Charged Over the Murder of Turkish Radio DJ, 43, Found Dead in Woodland ‘After He and His Girlfriend Were Abducted’
 
Middle East
» Erdogan Signs Deal With Putin to Make Turkey a Gas Hub for Europe
» Qatar’s World Cup App Has Privacy Concerns, Report Finds
 
Russia
» Russia’s Change of Strategy in Ukraine is Effective, Says Polish General
» Ukraine War: Ukrainian Army Approaches Kherson, Russian ‘Evacuations’, Dam Warnings
 
South Asia
» Girl Nursing Student of Hindu Faith Seriously Stabbed by Jilted Muslim Boy in Bangladesh
 
Far East
» Chinese Lab’s Purchase of US Land for Primate Breeding Facility Draws Scrutiny
» TikTok Denies CCP Was Using App to Track Americans
 
Australia — Pacific
» ‘Get Out of My Face’: Qantas Passenger Loses it at a Flight Attendant Claiming That Staff Were Rude to His Wife and Children — Before They Kicked Him Off the Plane Bound for Australia
» Terrifying Moment Two Men ‘Posing as Fake Cops and Holding Torture Tools’ Try to Trick Homeowner Into Letting Them in So They Can ‘Cut Off His Hands and Tongue in Return for $25,000’
» United Nations Anti-Misinformation Push Spreads Offline to New Poster Campaign
 
Immigration
» Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey Suing Biden Admin Over Demand to Remove Shipping Containers Filling Gaps at Border
» Crack in Paris: 92-Year-Old Man, Beaten and Robbed in the Middle of the Street by a 25-Year-Old Drug-Addict Migrant, Dies
» ‘How Many Liters of Blood Will it Take to Have the Right to Speak?’ — French Politician Says the Murder of 12-Year-Old Lola is Being Swept Under the Rug
» Illegal Immigrant Arrested After Voting Unlawfully in Florida Elections
» Poll: Majority of French Want All Illegals Placed in Deportation Centres
» Serbian Police Raid Again Uncover Armed Asylum Seekers
 
Culture Wars
» Declaration Slamming WPATH’s ‘Standards of Care’ Hit by Malware Attack Within 24 Hours of Launch
» Invasive Tech Analyzes Your Voice for Signs of Mental Illness
» Majority of Americans Oppose Sex Changes for Minors: Poll
 

Congressman Jim Himes Says the US Should Develop a CBDC

In an interview on CoinDesk TV, Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) said that the US should develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) so as not to be “left behind.”

Countries like Australia, Japan, China, and Russia have pilot projects to test CBDCs.

Himes said that the US should develop a CBDC so that “we’ve got the option to move forward” if and when the time comes.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

German Parliament Approves €200 Billion Energy Relief Plan

Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, on Friday backed the government’s proposal of a €200 billion ($195 billion) fund to tackle skyrocketing energy prices.

The rescue package aims to help ease the energy crisis for industries and households.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Cost of Living Pushes Families to Brink as Survey Suggests 32 Million People Are Now Struggling to Pay Their Bills

Almost 32million people — 60 per cent of UK adults — say the rising cost of energy, food, fuel, rent and other bills is pushing them to the brink. That’s an increase of 6million since a similar survey in 2020.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

5,000 Duplicate Ballots Sent to California Voters in Riverside County

Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

Around 5,000 residents of Riverside County in California received a duplicated ballot ahead of the November midterm elections this week, which officials blamed on a computer system error.

Riverside County Registrar of Voters office said the 5,000 duplicate ballots were erroneously mailed to some voters in Canyon Lake, Menifee, Murrieta, Wildomar, and Winchester after a computer system error “mistakenly generated” the mailing files.

Officials said the error was identified over the weekend before they could be stopped from being delivered to the U.S. Postal Service.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

ABC News Producer Missing Since FBI Raid, Was Writing Book About Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal

A star reporter for ABC News has been missing since an April 27 FBI raid at his Arlington, Virginia apartment.

Emmy award winner James Gordon Meek — a deep-dive journalist who was also a former senior counterterrorism adviser and investigator for the House Homeland Security Committee, abruptly quit his job of 9 years and “fell off the face of the earth,” after the raid, one of his colleagues told Rolling Stone.

At the time of the raid, Meek, 52, was co-authoring a now-published book about the botched US withdrawal from Afghanistan. According to ‘sources familiar with the matter,’ federal agents allegedly found classified information on Meek’s laptop during their raid — though one investigative journalist who had worked with him said it would be highly unusual for a reporter to do so.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Again: Biden Gets Lost on Stage, Speaks Complete Gibberish

Another day, another video of Joe Biden getting lost on a stage and speaking complete mumbling gibberish.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Appeals Court Temporarily Halts Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan

The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily halted the Biden administration’s plan to forgive student debt.

Attorneys General for Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Carolina sued in late September to halt the Biden plan, a request the court granted pending further litigation, according to Reuters.

The ruling follows a rejection from Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett to a request from the Brown County Taxpayers Association to halt the plan.

President Joe Biden’s initiative would cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for some borrowers. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated it will cost taxpayers up to $400 billion.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Arizona City Council Member Indicted for 2020 Ballot Harvesting Scheme: AG

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said Wednesday that two people were indicted for their alleged involvement in a 2020 ballot harvesting scheme in Yuma County.

Gloria Lopez Torres and Nadia Guadalupe Lizarraga-Mayorquin, both of San Luis, face charges of conspiracy and ballot abuse, said the attorney general in a news release. Ballot harvesting is considered a class 6 felony.

Lopez Torres, notably, is currently a sitting San Luis Council member, according to local media.

They are accused of conducting a scheme to collect “early ballots from other voters” and deposit them in a ballot box during the state’s primary election in August 2020.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Bannon Sentenced to Four Months in Prison for Contempt of Congress Conviction

Ex-Trump White House political adviser Steve Bannon was sentenced Friday to six month in prison for contempt of Congress for having refused to comply with subpoenas from the Democrat-led House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot.

The judge in the case also ordered Bannon pay a $6,500 fine, much less than the $200,000 recommended by federal prosecutors, who also said the far-right conservative operative should serve two years behind bar.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Breaking: Terrified Judge in Waukesha Massacre Case Calls Recess After Darrell Brooks Stares Her Down

Darrell Brooks, the suspect accused of the Waukesha Christmas Parade massacre, slammed his fist and stared menacingly at Judge Jennifer Dorow, causing her to break the court for recess on Friday.

“I need to take a break,” Judge Dorow said, “this man right now is having a staredown with me. It’s very disrespectful, he pounded his fist, frankly, it makes me scared and we’re taking a break.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Breaking: January 6 Committee Demands Trump Testify on November 14

The January 6 committee, helmed by Democrat Chairman Bennie Thompson, has released its subpoena of former President Donald Trump, demanding that Trump testify before the committee on November 14. They further ask that he provide the committee with “relevant documentary material” by November 4.

The US midterm elections, upon which the fate of the balance of power in Congress relies, will be on November 8.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Breaking: Judge to Allow States to Depose Fauci, Biden Officials in Social Media Censorship Case

On Friday evening, a judge granted a motion filed by Missouri and Louisiana calling for key figures in the Biden administration to be deposed in regard to the administration’s work with social media platforms to suppress free speech.

In a Friday tweet, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said that the US District Court Western District of Louisiana Monroe Division granted the plaintiffs’ request to depose Dr. Anthony Fauci, former White House Press Secretary Jennifer Psaki, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Elvis Chan, as well as other Biden Administration officials.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Colorado Springs Seeks to Hire More Police Officers as City’s Crime Rate Rises

The Colorado Springs Police Department is short more than 100 officers amid a rise in crimes, including homicides.

The city has had 40 homicides so far this year, up from 30 at this time last year, Police Chief Adrian Vasquez told the City Council Monday during a budget workshop.

The chief shared additional crime statistics with the board Tuesday and strategy for increasing overall staffing through more frequent police academies at a board retreat with Mayor John Suthers.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Former FBI Official to Testify on Agency Allegedly Inflating Domestic Terrorism Data

Authored by Rita Li via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

Former FBI Counterterrorism Division Assistant Director Jill Sanborn is to be interviewed by the House Judiciary Committee on Dec. 2 over alleged politicization, including inflating domestic terrorism numbers, House GOP members announced Thursday.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Former Oregon Principal, Who Oversaw 21-Day Antiracist Bootcamp for Kids, Hired at Teacher’s College

A Portland teacher’s college hired a former principal who previously oversaw a school-wide “antiracist” bootcamp campaign for kids.

Portland State University’s College of Education announced on Sept. 7 that it had hired Cynthia Moffett, a former Beaverton School District principal, to its Curriculum and Instruction department.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

GOP Governors Promise Not to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccine for Children

Following the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voting 15-0 to add Covid-19 shots to the children’s recommended vaccine schedule, Republican governors have vowed not to institute mandates in their states.

The Covid-19 vaccine has been placed as a recommendation from 6 months of age and older, as well as being approved for the federally funded Vaccine for Kids program, which provides vaccines to children at no or low cost to families.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Missouri Latest State to Divest From BlackRock Over ‘Woke Political Agenda’

Authored by Katie Spence via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

Missouri plans to remove $500 million of its pension fund investments from BlackRock, making it the latest state to divest from the world’s largest asset manager in response to the company’s overt leftist agenda.

State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick announced the plans on Oct. 18.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Norfolk’s Rising Homicide Rate Ranks as 8th Worst in the Nation

NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk has one of the highest increasing homicide rates in the entire country, according to a new study by WalletHub.

Norfolk is on pace for its deadliest year since the early 1990s, according to historic FBI data.

13NewsNow records show 53 people have been killed this year in the city. All but two of the victims were shot.

The 53 killings is already well above Norfolk’s average of 39 homicides a year for the past decade, according to previous data.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Oakland Police Want ‘Terminator Style’ Robot With Shotgun

The Oakland Police Department is pushing for robots with a potentially lethal shotgun-like attachment, according to The Intercept.

Oakland Police and Oakland Police Commission subcommittee, a civilian oversight body, discussed rules surrounding the city’s use of military-grade police equipment in September. According to California state law, local police must be authorized by city leaders before they can deploy military equipment.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Pence Inching Closer to 2024 Run, Saying He Prefers Somebody More Than Trump, ‘I’Ll Keep You Posted’

Former Vice President Mike Pence appears to be inching closer to a 2024 presidential, saying he prefers someone other than former President Donald Trump.

Pence’s comment was in response to a question about whether he would vote for Trump again should he compete in the next election cycle.

“Well, there might be somebody else I’d prefer more,” Pence replied, drawing some laugher and applause from the audience at Georgetown University.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Philadelphia Murder Suspect Previously Exonerated From Murder Conviction by Progressive DA

The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) is looking for a suspect in a shooting who had previously been convicted of murder and served eight years in prison before being exonerated last year by the city’s progressive district attorney.

According to Fox News, Jahmir Harris, 33, is wanted in connection to a Sept. 5 shooting that left Charles Gossett, 50, dead after a bullet hit him in the back of the head.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Philadelphia DA Says GOP’s Focus on Crime Surge is ‘Racist Messaging’

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner held a press conference Friday to speak against a Republican-led effort to impeach him, during which he accused the GOP of using “coded and racist language” in their efforts to target crime.

State House Republicans have been working since June to impeach Krasner, a Democrat, due to the uptick in crime since he was elected in 2017. According to 2020 data, shootings are up 54 percent, and homicides have climbed by 50 percent since he entered office.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Radical Environmentalist Who Argued for Bombing Pipelines Defends Soup Throwers in New York Times Guest Essay

The New York Times published a guest essay Thursday by radial environmentalist Andreas Malm defending climate change protesters who defiled a Vincent van Gogh painting with tomato soup at the National Gallery in London earlier this month.

Malm is the author of “How to Blow Up a Pipeline: Learning to Fight in a World on Fire,” a book that advocates for ecoterrorism and criticizes pacifism among the more peaceful climate activists.

“As a rule, I tend to think sabotage is most effective when it is precise and gritty,” Malm wrote in the New York Times essay.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Texas State Police Sergeant Who Responded to Uvalde Shooting Fired Amid Ongoing Investigations Into Law Enforcement Response

Department of Public Safety Sgt. Juan Maldonado is the first state police officer fired in the aftermath of a botched police response to the shooting. He was the highest-ranking state trooper to initially respond to Robb Elementary School.

The Department of Public Safety has fired Sgt. Juan Maldonado, one of the state troopers who responded to the May school shooting in Uvalde that left 21 dead.

Maldonado is the latest law enforcement official — and the first state police officer — to be fired in the wake of the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, during which more than 300 officers from agencies across the state waited more than an hour to breach a door and kill the shooter.

Maldonado was the highest-ranking state trooper to initially respond to the May 24 shooting. Body-camera footage released by the Uvalde Police Department shows that at least one DPS officer — Maldonado — was outside of the school within four minutes of the shooting.

After the gunman fired more than 100 rounds, Uvalde Police Sgt. Eduardo Canales, a commander of the local SWAT team, stumbled outside. With blood on his hands after a bullet fired by the gunman grazed his ear, he encountered Maldonado.

“Dude, we got to get in there,” Canales told Maldonado, who, according to DPS, drove one of his closest friends, Ruben Ruiz, a Uvalde school district police officer, to the campus that morning. Ruiz’s wife was a teacher at the school.

“DPS is sending people,” Maldonado replied.

Eleven minutes later, Ruiz told officers that his wife had called him and said she had been shot. But officers continued to treat the situation as if they were dealing with a barricaded suspect instead of an active shooter. According to law enforcement doctrine, active shootings require that the first action by officers, no matter their rank, should be to immediately “stop the killing.”

           — Hat tip: LP [Return to headlines]
 

The Regime Strikes Back

The regime is now threatening to block Elon Musk’s Twitter deal on ‘national security grounds’ because he dared question ‘the current thing’ and called for a peace deal.

How dare he!

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

‘These Guys Don’t Get It’: Biden Slams Republicans for Their Threat to Cut Ukraine Funding Saying There Will be ‘Serious Consequential Outcomes’ To American Foreign Policy if it Happens

President Joe Biden on Thursday slammed Republicans for saying they want to cut off funding for Ukraine, saying there would be ‘serious consequential outcomes’ if it happens.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

These Major Cities Reported the Highest Homicide Rates in 2021

Detroit was one of the most violent major cities in America in 2021, even though the city’s homicides dropped 4% from 2020. “We are not in any way celebrating these numbers,” Detroit Police Chief James White said earlier this year. “These reductions illustrate the value of our efforts together as a collaboration during an unprecedented time in history.”

Nearly 300 miles west of Detroit, Milwaukee had a record year of killings in 2021, continuing the upward trend that started for them in 2020. “I don’t think it’s even a subject of debate anymore that lower-income communities took a harder hit from COVID and the impact that had on gun violence and homicides,” Jeff Flemmings, the Communications Director for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, says.

Memphis also struggled significantly with homicides in 2021, breaking the record the city set in 2020. “I think it’s going to take more than just the police department. It will take more than just the mayor. It’s going to take all of us,” Pastor Walter Womack, a Memphis community leader, told NBC WMC-TV in Memphis in 2021.

According to FBI crime data, in 2021 these three cities had some of the highest homicide rates in the country.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Video: ADL Head Blasts Adidas for Not Dropping Kanye West; “A Company That Outfitted the Hitler Youth”

Following Kanye West’s controversial comments over the past weeks, his detractors have targeted companies that do business with the hip hop star, with the latest attack directed at sports brand Adidas.

MSNBC, provided a platform for New York Times reporter Andrew Sorkin to blame Republicans, or something, and urge people to “call Adidas,” before providing airtime for the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt to slam the German clothing company.

“Adidas is a company that outfitted the Hitler Youth,” Greenblatt proclaimed after declaring that he doesn’t “believe in cancel culture” but “you also have to have consequences.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Washington State Woman Survives Being Stabbed and Buried Alive

Victim was able to alert contacts via smartwatch after attack by estranged husband, then escape from early grave to seek help

A woman in Washington state managed to escape after allegedly being bound, stabbed and buried alive by her estranged husband.

Thurston county police officers were dispatched to a home around 1am local time on Monday, where they found a distressed woman hiding behind a shed screaming, “My husband is trying to kill me,” reported NBC News, citing a court document.

The woman had been tied up with duct tape around her neck, legs and ankles, noted the court filing. “There was extensive bruising to her legs, arms and head and her clothing and hair were covered in dirt,” it said.

Chae Kyong An, 53, was arrested later that morning after police found him in his van near a local hiking trail, reported the Olympian.

Kyong An faces numerous recommended charges, including attempted first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. He is being held without bail.

According to the court filing, Kyong An attacked his wife while the two were discussing their impending divorce and money.

           — Hat tip: Roger [Return to headlines]
 

Waukesha Parade Massacre Suspect Cries in Court, Says ‘The Incident Was Not Intentional’

On Thursday, Waukesha Christmas Parade massacre suspect Darrell Brooks gave his opening statements for his defense, breaking down in tears as he told the courtroom that “there’s always two sides to every story.”

Thursday marked day 14 of the trial of Darrell Brooks, who is accused of killing six people after driving his SUV through Waukesha’s Christmas parade in November of 2021. Brooks has been charged with six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, and 61 counts of reckless endangerment.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Breaking: Trudeau Liberals Officially Block Canadians From Buying Handguns

On Friday, the Trudeau Liberals officially announced the implementation of their national handgun freeze.

Canadians will no longer be able to buy, sell, or transfer handguns, nor can they bring newly acquired handguns from elsewhere into the country.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Court Dismisses Air Travel Vaccine Mandate Lawsuits as Moot

The Federal Court will not hear challenges against the federal government’s vaccine mandate for air travel after dismissing them as moot.

On Thursday, Associate Chief Justice Jocelyne Gagné granted the federal government’s application to dismiss the case, 10 days before it was scheduled to be argued before the Federal Court.

The court was going to hear challenges filed by several applicants, including former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford, People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier, and private citizens who were unable to travel by rail or air when the federal vaccine mandate was in effect.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Emergencies Act Not Required: OPP Officer

Day 7 recap of Emergencies Act hearings

Officers “did not need the Emergencies Act”, according to a prominent Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer, who testified Friday on day 7 of the hearings into the controversial use of the Act.

Chief Superintendent Carson Pardy, who was one of the most senior law enforcement officers involved in the effort during the Freedom Convoy, told Commission lawyers that the Emergencies Act invocation wasn’t required to tow vehicles and that existing police strategies in place prior to invoking the act would have been sufficient to clear the protests within the same time period.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

From Grandparents to Kids, Convoy Protesters Unlike Any Other: OPP Chief Superintendent

The chief superintendent in charge of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) response to the Freedom Convoy said the profile of demonstrators was unlike any he’d ever seen at a protest.

Carson Pardy, who has since retired from the OPP, testified Friday before the Public Order Emergency Commission that characterizing the convoy as having an “extremist” element was a problematic claim.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

‘Against the Great Reset’: Leading Thinkers Take Aim at Globalist Elites in New Volume

For nearly 50 years, a Switzerland-based membership organization called the World Economic Forum (WEF) has flown under the radar. Its founder, a German economist named Klaus Schwab, has spent decades cultivating a cabal of like-minded international thought leaders, multinational corporate executives, and political decision makers. But few outside the world of high finance had ever heard of Schwab or his forum, whose annual confab is simply known as “Davos” after its host town in the Alps.

That all changed in mid-2020 during the early days of COVID-19. It was then that Schwab made a grand entrance onto the world stage by declaring that the global pandemic was “an opportunity” to completely rebuild and reorder society. “I see the need for a Great Reset,” he announced during an interview with CNBC in July 2020.

Schwab’s Great Reset Initiative, which was formally set down in a 2020 book coauthored with economist Thierry Malleret, presses political leaders around the world to “tie government aid to the green economy” and to “revolutionize” and “digitalize” society. The pandemic, he declared, was a “call for action” to address global warming and “create sufficient drive for each government to be more open for global cooperation.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Black Death Alters Human Genome 700 Years Later

The Black Death was one of the world’s largest mortality events ever, wiping out 30-60% of the global population as it swept through North Africa, Europe, and Asia 700 years ago.

Newly published research in the medical journal Nature reveals the ancient dead had a secret. DNA samples from victims and survivors of the bacterium Yersinia pestis, also known as the bubonic plague, had distinct genetic differences that helped some survive while others succumbed to death.

Those genetic differences likely altered the evolution of the human genome, as survivors of the plague passed on genes that once helped them survive the awful plague pathogen to offspring and are now linked to a greater chance of autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s and rheumatoid arthritis today.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

BMW Tests Hydrogen Burner at German Plant, Expands Battery Assembly Lines

LEIPZIG, Germany, Oct 20 (Reuters) — BMW is testing a burner able to operate on both hydrogen and gas in its paint shop in Leipzig.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Booming Bovine: Spanish Farmer Fined 300 Euros After Cow Moos Too Loud

The local council of the Spanish municipality of Siero has handed out several 300 euro fines to local farmers because one of their cows mooed above the allowed decibel limit.

The 300 euro (£261/$293) fine was handed down to local farmers in the municipality after a neighbour complained that one of the cows kept by the farmers was mooing too loudly.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Edinburgh Crime: Extinction Rebellion Lecturer Climbed Onto Roof of Scottish Parliament in Climate Protest

A former university lecturer sparked a security scare when he climbed onto the roof of the Scottish Parliament in a bid to highlight global climate change. Justin Kenrick, 63, scaled the perimeter of the £414 million building and made his way across the grassy rooftop before unfurling a large banner which read Climate Assembly, Be Bold.

Kenrick — a member of eco-group Extinction Rebellion — refused to come down from his precarious position and carried on his one-man demonstration for around two hours. Parliament security staff were alerted to the intruder on the building roof and immediately called in the police at around 7.30am on March 4 last year.

Police, the fire service and an ambulance crew raced to the scene to find Kenrick sitting cross-legged around 20 feet above the front entrance to the building at Holyrood in Edinburgh. The academic eventually agreed to halt his protest as the weather conditions worsened and when a large bamboo stick attached to his sign broke off and crashed to the ground.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Firebrand Conservative Giorgia Meloni Becomes First Female Italian Prime Minister in History

Fireband social conservative Giorgia Meloni became Italy’s first-ever female prime minister on Friday following the approval from Italian President Sergio Mattarella to form Italy’s next government.

Giorgia Meloni made history on Friday following a huge election win last month for her party, the Brothers of Italy (FdI).

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Four German States Are Repealing Rules on Water Purification

Sewage treatment plants in Germany are running out of chemicals. Four federal states are therefore taking drastic steps and they have been allowing the phosphate limit values to be exceeded.

The European production of the “precipitants”, which are essential for the chemical cleaning of sewage water, has fallen by more than 50 percent due to the self-imposed energy crisis. A quarter of German sewage treatment plants have since reported delivery failures.

The chemical industry currently has its back to the wall — more and more companies are threatened with bankruptcy. Wolfgang Große Entrup, General Manager of the industry association VCI, said in an interview with ntv recently: “The skyrocketing energy prices are hitting our industry brutally.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

France: Man Stabbed, Pregnant Girlfriend Attacked by ‘Young People’

A man was stabbed and his pregnant girlfriend assaulted by at least four ‘young people’ in France this week, according to reports.

The disturbing incident unfolded at around 11 p.m. on Monday night in Cavaillon, a commune in the department of Vaucluse.

The man and his partner had arrived to pick up their son from the scene of an altercation when they became the victims of a group of attackers.

Four suspects ranging in age from 16 years old to early twenties set upon the couple, injuring them both.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Climate Activists Arrested After Protest Inside Volkswagen Factory

A group of nine ‘scientists’ who glued themselves to the floor at the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, on Wednesday evening have been arrested by riot police.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

German Leader Warns Against ‘Worldwide Renaissance’ For Coal

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Thursday that Russia’s war in Ukraine mustn’t lead to a “worldwide renaissance” for coal.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Germany Could Run Out of Gas by February, Must Cut Consumption by Up to 30 Per Cent

Germany could be completely out of gas by February, the country’s gas agency has said, with some experts saying that the country needs to cut consumption by 30 per cent to make it through the crisis intact.

A reduction in gas consumption of up to 30 per cent may be required if Germany wants to make it through the coming winter intact, some experts have claimed, while the country’s gas agency has expressed concern that the nation could run out of the hydrocarbon by February.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Stuck With Glue But Nowhere to Poo: Climate Extremists Get in Sticky Situation

Climate extremists who glued themselves to the floor of a Volkswagen exhibition in Germany complained that no one gave them the means to use the toilet after there were left stuck to the floor for hours.

The group of nine climate extremists from the group ‘Scientist Rebellion’ glued themselves to the floor of the Volkswagen museum and car showroom Autostadt in Wolfsburg, which lies across from the automotive giant’s main factory after breaking in.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Giorgia Meloni Tells Ex-PM Berlusconi ‘Keep Your Mouth Shut’ After Audio Leaks Bashing NATO

An audio leak of three-time former prime minister and leader of the Forza Italia party Silvio Berlusconi is driving scandal and fragmentation within the Italian Right just ahead of Giorgia Meloni’s being sworn in as Italy’s first female prime minister on Saturday.

The contents of the recording, which have driven Italian media headlines this week, were condemned by Meloni. She warned Berlusconi in Wednesday comments that his future position in any new government is in question if he toes a ‘pro-Putin line’ on the war in Ukraine.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Italy’s Meloni and Polish Conservatives See Eye to Eye on Common Values and European Security

Italy’s prime minister in-waiting, Giorgia Meloni, thanked Polish President Andrzej Duda for his words of support during his interview with Italian state TV RAI. In her Twitter post, she also added that she is convinced that “Italy and Poland can enhance cooperation to defend common values and European security.”

In his interview for RAI2, Duda said that Meloni’s views were fully in line with those of Poland when it came to both global matters and also traditional values. He paraphrased Meloni’s now famous words, “I am Georgia, I am a woman, I am a mother, and I am a Christian,” by saying “I am Andrzej, I am a man, I am a father, and I am a Catholic.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Key Ministers in New Italian Government

ROME, Oct 21 (Reuters) — Giorgia Meloni’s Italian government will be sworn in on Saturday at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT). Her cabinet will be made up of 24 ministers. Here the profiles of some of the key figures:

Economy Minister

Giancarlo Giorgetti, 55, is a veteran political wheeler-dealer viewed as a moderate and relatively pro-European member of his right-wing League party.

As industry minister in Mario Draghi’s outgoing government Giorgetti helped block a number of Chinese takeover bids in strategic sectors of Italy’s economy.

[…]

Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister

Antonio Tajani, 69, is one of the closest aides to former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a safe pair of hands with solid EU credentials who has been deputy leader of Berlusconi’s conservative Forza Italia party since 2018.

A former journalist, Tajani entered politics with Berlusconi in 1994 and spent most of his political career in Brussels, either in the European Parliament or in the European Commission.

He led the EU parliament in 2017-2019. At the Commission, he held the transport (2008-2010) and industry (2010-2014) portfolios.

In his youth, Tajani supported a right-wing pro-monarchy party. He speaks French, Spanish, English and Italian.

Interior Minister

Matteo Piantedosi, 59, is a career civil servant who was chief of staff to League leader Matteo Salvini during his term at the interior ministry in 2018-19, helping him to shape his hard-line policies against illegal immigration.

Although he is close to Salvini, Piantedosi is a technocrat without party affiliation and has no previous experience as a minister. He has spent the last two years as Rome’s prefect — a position which upholds security and public order in the capital.

           — Hat tip: JW [Return to headlines]
 

Madrid to Refund €1.7 Million Lockdown Fines After Coronavirus State of Emergency Ruled Unlawful

The city of Madrid has moved to return 1.7 million euros worth of fines that were handed out during Spain’s first state of alarm during the start of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

Inmaculada Sanz, the spokesperson for the Madrid city council, announced last Thursday that the money would be refunded to those fined, while the Madrid City Council made the announcement official this week.

The 1.7 million euros collected by the municipal police after the state of alarm was declared in March of 2020 will be returned to the over 5,600 people who received 600 euro fines, or 300 euros if paid promptly, for violating the restrictions in place during the first part of the pandemic, El Mundo reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Nord Stream Blasts Spark Concern Over Chemical-Weapons Contamination

Researchers are scrambling to assess the extent and potential toxicity of pollution after the gas pipelines ruptured.

Researchers are rushing to find out whether explosions in the Nord Stream gas pipelines have caused further environmental chaos by stirring up pollutants from chemical weapons dumped after the Second World War.

The blasts that ruptured the pipelines in the Baltic Sea on 26 September happened very close to the Danish island of Bornholm, an area where stockpiled chemical warfare agents were dumped in 1947 as part of the post-war demilitarization of Germany.

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

PM Orban: We Defended Hungarian Interests at EU Summit

Halfway through the two-day European summit centered around a gas price cap in the EU and the larger issue of the war in Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that should a gas price cap become reality, the prices of his country’s long-term gas delivery deals will not be affected.

Orban logged on to his Facebook page at two in the morning, at the end of the summit’s first day. As the prime minister wrote, the most important issue, which is energy, had been concluded.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Poland Against Mandatory EU-Wide Joint Gas Purchases But in Favor of Gas Price Cap

The main issue facing the 27 member states at the meeting of the European Council is how to contain energy prices, and Poland, like many other EU countries, has its own ideas and interests.

One of the ideas produced by the European Commission is a common purchasing scheme. Poland has opposed making the participation in the common purchase of 15 percent of gas supplies compulsory. According to Polish diplomats, Poland is not against common purchasing and will probably be one of the first to join such an initiative, but it does not want to make the scheme compulsory.

Poland currently has enough gas in storage and does not want to see an untried mechanism replacing a system it has been developing for years.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Revealed: How Albanian Gangsters Fighting for Control of the UK’s Cannabis Market Are Posting Social Media Videos of Kidnappings and Beatings as a Warning to Rival Gangs

Ruthless Albanian gangsters are using ultra-violent social media videos to help fight a ‘secret suburban war’ for control of the lucrative UK cannabis businesses.

Horrific TikTok footage unearthed by the Mail show gang bosses using kidnappings, false imprisonment and brutal beatings to stamp their authority on the network of drug factories hidden in residential homes across the country.

The videos, some with over 10,000 views, feature badly bruised victims whimpering in pain or pleading for help to act as a stark warning about what happens to those who try to cross them.

Criminologists said the gangs were running the carefully orchestrated bloody social media blitz to advertise their strength over rival criminal networks and try to lure new recruits.

An undercover investigation by the Mail also revealed how people traffickers offered illegal migrants the chance to work in cannabis houses in the UK to pay off their debt on arrival.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

The Franco-German Alliance is Tearing at the Seams

The war in Ukraine, an energy crisis, and deteriorating economic conditions have led to severe strains on the alliance between Germany and France — the same alliance that has traditionally served as the main fulcrum of power on the continent.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has called for a “reset” between the two biggest nations in the EU, and after Germany and France canceled the Franco-German government consultations planned for next Wednesday in Fontainebleau, French President Emmanuel Macron has “vowed” to repair relations between both nations.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Climate Protesters Accused of ‘Blood on Their Hands’ After 2 Die in Crash Amid Traffic From Bridge Protest

Climate protesters in England are being accused of having “blood on their hands” after their protest scaling a bridge caused a traffic jam that reportedly kept first responders from quickly tending to two crash victims who died.

“The eco-warriors may have thought it was an innocent protest, but they’ve got blood on their hands,” Mark Heap, 55, told the Daily Mail after suffering a broken back and a broken leg on Monday when he stopped to help a stranded motorist and was struck by a speeding car that was attempting to avoid a traffic jam caused by climate protesters who had scaled England’s Queen Elizabeth II bridge.

Lisa Webber, a mother of four in her 50s, was also struck by the BMW while attempting to help the stranded motorist on London’s busy M20 highway and was thrown into oncoming traffic and later died.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Do You Feel in Charge? How the Tory Establishment Clawed Back Power From Truss’s Milquetoast Revolution

Grassroots members and supporters of the Conservative Party have been put back in their place by the party’s parliamentary elite, with Liz Truss ousted and an establishment premier likely to replace her.

Truss was hardly a staunch conservative given her strenuous support for Remain during the Brexit referendum, immediate postponement of any action against the EU over its behaviour in Northern Ireland, and desire to increase the country’s already record-high levels of immigration.

However, she was elected Conservative leader by ordinary Conservative Party members — against the wishes of the MPs who make up the parliamentary party, who wanted Rishi Sunak — on a platform of mild tax cuts and fracking for energy independence which was considered radical by the low standards of right-wing politics in the United Kingdom.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Gaining Bomentum: Five Cabinet Secretaries Back BoJo Returning as PM

Five members of Cabinet have suggested they will back Boris Johnson to return as Tory leader and Prime Minister, hinting he may just be able to muster enough support to make the membership ballot.

Johnson, who was finally ousted as Prime Minister not even two months ago, would romp home in a ballot of ordinary Conservative Party members as he did in 2019, if polls are accurate — but the party’s parliamentary elite have set it up so that would-be candidates cannot even stand without the endorsement of 100 Members of Parliament (MPs).

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: I’ll be Your Puppet: Boris Begs Rishi to ‘Get Back Together’ For Shock Return

Boris Johnson is pleading with Rishi Sunak, his old Chancellor-turned-Brutus, to “get back together” so he can return as Prime Minister, at least in name.

Johnson, having achieved remarkably little after finally becoming Prime Minister in 2019 and winning the Conservative Party their biggest parliamentary majority since the 1980s in a snap election — besides a hollow Brexit, a historically high tax burden, and various green agenda policies none of his supporters asked for — was forced out in September after scandals involving breaches of his own lockdown regime and the promotion of a known sex pest.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Just Stop Oil Protests: Clean-Up After Harrods Sprayed With Orange Paint

Luxury department store Harrods underwent a clean-up operation after Just Stop Oil protesters sprayed the iconic shopfront with orange paint.

About 20 protesters gathered outside the store in Knightsbridge in central London on Thursday morning, with many gluing themselves to the road.

Police were in attendance and two people were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.

Brompton Road was closed westbound while police dealt with the activists.

A video shared to the Just Stop Oil Twitter page shows protesters spraying the distinctive orange paint over the windows. Members of the public can be heard asking, “what are you doing?”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Two Men and Teenage Boy Are Charged Over the Murder of Turkish Radio DJ, 43, Found Dead in Woodland ‘After He and His Girlfriend Were Abducted’

Koray Alpergin — who roamed in the same circles as Mel B and 50 Cent — and a woman, 33, are believed to have been forced into a white van outside their north London home on Thursday night.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Erdogan Signs Deal With Putin to Make Turkey a Gas Hub for Europe

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a deal with Vladimir Putin to make Turkey a natural gas hub for Russian energy for Europe.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Qatar’s World Cup App Has Privacy Concerns, Report Finds

Everyone going to Qatar for the World Cup next month will be required to download two apps: a Covid tracking app called Ehteraz and Hayya, an official World Cup app for booking match tickets and accessing the free Metro.

According to a review by Øyvind Vasaasen, the head of security at Norwegian news outlet NRK, the apps collect a lot of data.

The more problematic app is Ehteraz. It asks for permission to read, delete or alter the content of a phone. It also requires location access, can make direct calls, and disable your lock screen.

Additionally, it will require access to Bluetooth and WiFi and it can prevent your phone from powering off and override other apps.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Russia’s Change of Strategy in Ukraine is Effective, Says Polish General

General Roman Polko believes that the use of Iranian drones by the Russians is indicative of Russia’s determination to arm itself and change its strategy rather than any indication it’s running out of munitions.

That change of strategy is a movement away from engaging in land battles and towards hitting energy infrastructure. Despite Ukraine being able to put up air defenses, this strategy of the Russians is having some effect, said Polko.

The former commander of the GROM special forces unit says that the use of these drones shows how the Iranian state works, which he says is always willing to sponsor terror. According to the general, Putin is finding the most sympathy and understanding from the likes of Iran and North Korea than anywhere else.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine War: Ukrainian Army Approaches Kherson, Russian ‘Evacuations’, Dam Warnings

1. Russia ‘deliberately’ delaying Ukrainian grain exports

Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “deliberately” delaying the passage of ships loaded with Ukrainian grain on Friday, restricting vital supplies for many countries in Africa and Asia.

“More than 150 ships are in a queue to fulfil contractual obligations to supply our agricultural products,” said the Ukrainian President.

“This is an artificial queue, which has arisen only because Russia deliberately delays the passage of ships”.

China, Egypt, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iraq and Lebanon are the main countries impacted by the blockages, which involve “about three million tons of food”.

Russia and Ukraine agreed in July to resume Ukrainian grain exports that had been languishing in silos since the start of the war in February.

Russia later criticised the deal — brokered by the UN and Turkey — saying its own exports were hampered by the sanctions.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Girl Nursing Student of Hindu Faith Seriously Stabbed by Jilted Muslim Boy in Bangladesh

Atul Das | HENB | Dhaka | Oct 20, 2022:: Nobody to console the victim. 48 hours have passed since the incident as a nursing student named Priyanka Biswas was seriously stabbed by a jilted Muslim guy. Nobody has been arrested yet. The role of an Awami League member in that area or anyone else is not visible. But the members of the minority Hindu community are disappointed enough!

Being refused to accept the proposal of love, a Muslim scoundrel named Mohammad Obaid Sikder stabbed a minority Hindu girl Priyanka Biswas in broad day light and ran away from the scene. The victim has been admitted to Chitalmari Upazila (sub-district) Health Complex in critical condition.

According to some local newspapers, on Tuesday 18-10-2022, Md. Obaid Sikder, son of Md. Chowkat Sikder of Kuraltala village of the upazila, stabbed and seriously injured Priyanka Biswas, a student of nursing in Dhaka. Priyanka also hails from Chitalmari, Bagerhat District of Bangladesh. Priyanka’s family is in extreme panic over the issue. Priyanka Biswas is the daughter of Alok Biswas of Dakatiya village of Chitalmari. The accused was disturbing the victim for a long time even after being requested to refrain. Priyanka did not accept the obscene and filthy proposals of Obaid, a wanton Muslim boy of that area.

Chitalmari Upazila Health Center Official Dr. Mamun Hasan said that two deep knife injuries were found on Priyanka’s back. She was initially treated by the on duty doctors and a board was framed for further treatment. She is under round-the-clock observation as her back injury is severe. Regarding this incident, Chitalmari police station OC ASM Kamruzzaman said that the matter has been entrusted to OC investigation.

The culprit is still on the run.

Attacks on Hindu minority girls are all time high in the Muslim majority Bangladesh as the ruling Awami League is apparently reluctant to protect the lives and rights of minority Hindu-Buddhists-Christians people there.

           — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari [Return to headlines]
 

Chinese Lab’s Purchase of US Land for Primate Breeding Facility Draws Scrutiny

Authored by Eva Fu via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

A Chinese firm’s purchase of land in Florida to build a lab monkey breeding facility is drawing scrutiny over the company founders’ ties to the Chinese military.

JOINN Laboratories CA Inc., the California subsidiary of a biotech firm headquartered in Beijing, in July purchased more than 1,400 acres of land for building a primate facility in Florida’s Levy County, county records show.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

TikTok Denies CCP Was Using App to Track Americans

Following a report from Forbes alleging that TikTok parent company ByteDance had plans to use the app to track American users, the company has taken to social media to deny that the CCP was using the app in this way.

Forbes reported that a China-based team at TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, planned to use the app to monitor the location of “specific” American citizens.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

‘Get Out of My Face’: Qantas Passenger Loses it at a Flight Attendant Claiming That Staff Were Rude to His Wife and Children — Before They Kicked Him Off the Plane Bound for Australia

A Qantas passenger has been kicked off a flight fg for swearing at cabin crew after he claimed they were rude to his wife and child and made them cry.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Terrifying Moment Two Men ‘Posing as Fake Cops and Holding Torture Tools’ Try to Trick Homeowner Into Letting Them in So They Can ‘Cut Off His Hands and Tongue in Return for $25,000’

Three men have been charged over an alleged attempt to mutilate a Perth man, as he opens up on the moment two men dressed as police pushed into his home.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

United Nations Anti-Misinformation Push Spreads Offline to New Poster Campaign

The United Nations is continuing to roll out its anti-misinformation campaign called “Verified” with posters that have been spotted on the subway in Australia, according to photos submitted to Rebel News.

The campaign was launched back in 2020 and was intended to reach millions globally and in several languages through so-called “information volunteers.” These volunteers will receive content to debunk in their communities, and the verified information will be posted online and in traditional platforms.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey Suing Biden Admin Over Demand to Remove Shipping Containers Filling Gaps at Border

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is suing the Biden administration over a federal order demanding the removal of double-stacked shipping containers used to fill in gaps on the state’s border with Mexico.

In a news release announcing the lawsuit, Ducey, a Republican, said Biden’s failure to secure the southern border has resulted in surrounding communities being overwhelmed by “illegal activity.”

“Arizona is taking action to protest on behalf of our citizens,” he said. “With this lawsuit, we’re pushing back against efforts by federal bureaucrats to reverse the progress we’ve made. The safety and security of Arizona and its citizens must not be ignored. Arizona is going to do the job that Joe Biden refuses to do — secure the border in any way we can. We’re not backing down.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Crack in Paris: 92-Year-Old Man, Beaten and Robbed in the Middle of the Street by a 25-Year-Old Drug-Addict Migrant, Dies

Jean-Baptiste Watel, a 92-year-old man violently attacked by a drug addict in the Porte de la Villette district in early September in Paris, died on Tuesday, the Fdesouche news outlet reported.

“My father died on Tuesday,” announced his son Jérome Watel on the set of “Face à Baba” on C8, this Thursday, during a special broadcast in the presence of the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin.

“He died of his injuries and could not absorb the shock. I have never cried so much in my life, I have never cried before, and there I cried all my tears for a month and a half,” continued Jérome before questioning the French interior minister.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

‘How Many Liters of Blood Will it Take to Have the Right to Speak?’ — French Politician Says the Murder of 12-Year-Old Lola is Being Swept Under the Rug

French officials want to sweep the shocking murder of 12-year-old Lola under the rug to hide their own failed migration policy, said Marion Maréchal, vice-president of France’s right-wing Reconquest party, during an interview on BFMTV. She said that despite so many deaths at the hands of migrants in France, the country’s political class is still attempting to stifle any dissent on the topic.

“I think that beyond the case in question, the death of Lola is our collective responsibility. This isn’t a random event, nor is it just an isolated case. It is a social phenomenon that is threatening us all. I will be a bit direct, but how many liters of blood will it take to have the right to speak? […] Lola is not an isolated case,” said Maréchal.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Illegal Immigrant Arrested After Voting Unlawfully in Florida Elections

On Wednesday, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Election Crime Unit, under Gov. Ron DeSantis, arrested an 11-time felon and illegal immigrant for allegedly voting.

Alfred Samuels, whose voter registration named him as Alford Nelson, was charged with unlawful voting.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Poll: Majority of French Want All Illegals Placed in Deportation Centres

As many as six-in-ten of French people would support placing every single illegal immigrant in France into a detention facility until they can be deported, which amounts to as many as 700,000 people.

The polling, which was carried out by the CSA Institute, revealed that 58 per cent of the people surveyed believed that all illegal immigrants living in France should be placed in administrative detention centres, which are used to house migrants before they are removed from French territory.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Serbian Police Raid Again Uncover Armed Asylum Seekers

Peaceful villages in Serbia are overrun by illegals who locals say are aggressive and destroy their property. Many are armed.

In a special police raid, which took place in the early morning hours of October 4, 200 foreign citizens without legal residence permits on the territory of the Republic of Serbia were detained in the village of Srpski Krstur. According to the police officers’ report, firearms, knives, a large sum of money and an AK 47 Kalashnikov automatic rifle were seized.

In July, operational teams in the area of the Police Administration for the city of Belgrade, as well as the police administration in Kikinda, Subotica and Sombor, took measures against 85 illegal migrants, six of whom were arrested, the police reported.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Declaration Slamming WPATH’s ‘Standards of Care’ Hit by Malware Attack Within 24 Hours of Launch

Beyond WPATH, an online declaration signed by over 600 mental and medical health professionals who believe the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) has discredited itself with its latest Standards of Care, has been hit by a malware attack within 24 hours of launching.

The group issued a press release stating that the Beyond WPATH online declaration, which holds that WPATH has discredited itself by releasing the “unethical, unscientific, and deeply flawed” Standards of Care 8, had garnered more than 600 signatures in under 24 hours, from “mental and medical professions, concerned parents, scientists, and others who have been impacted by gender medicine.”

However, the site was then hacked and forced to temporarily suspend the signature function.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Invasive Tech Analyzes Your Voice for Signs of Mental Illness

Sonde Health, Kintsugi, Winterlight Labs, and Ellipsis Health are selling “voice biomarker” technology to identify anxiety, depression, and other conditions. The technology is being used at medical clinics and call centers.

The few available studies into the technology claim that voice biomarkers can help detect a myriad of health problems, including depression, respiratory illnesses like asthma and Covid, and cardiovascular conditions. However, the technology does raise ethical and privacy concerns.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Majority of Americans Oppose Sex Changes for Minors: Poll

Some Republicans are moving to outlaw providing transgender surgeries to minors and a recent poll suggests a majority of Americans share a similar sentiment.

When asked “Do you believe underage minors should be required to wait until they are adults to use puberty blockers and undergo permanent sex change procedures?” an overwhelming 78.7% said the children should wait until reaching the age of maturity in a recent Convention of States Action/Trafalgar Group survey.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

5 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 10/21/2022

  1. Ti auguro il meglio, Giorgia, nel tuo difficile compito.

    [I wish you the best, Giorgia, in your difficult task.]

  2. .
    .
    Sunday Chronicle, from last week:

    Why do societies collapse?

    Posted on October 16, 2022 by I&M

    Part I

    There’s really only one answer to the headline question. Societies collapse because the ruling power elite does not get on with the job. That, of course, leads on to the question of why they can’t do the job. As I see it, there are six answers:

    A natural disaster
    An overpowering enemy has attacked and is destroying society
    The power elite is ideologically lost
    Incompetent leaders
    Society is too advanced to be managed by leaders
    Leaders have lost the trust of the people – often triggering
    a revolution.

    In this text, the focus is on the fifth reason. I do not comment on the sixth, because it is a consequence of failure. The first one hardly needs comment, even though it occupies most of the media space in the form of warnings about the climate catastrophe that is seen as threatening the world. For the second, an important question is whether society can be rebuilt. Carthage went under and was never rebuilt. Today, less than a hundred years after its destruction in the Second World War, Germany is once again the strongest nation in Europe.

    In the business world, there is the concept of “creative destruction”, which refers to the fact that destruction can pave the way for something new that works better. Applying it to societies that are collapsing is cynical, given the enormous suffering involved. Nevertheless, it may be relevant. The French Revolution was triggered by a degenerating feudal system that refused to reform itself sufficiently to adapt to changing circumstances and living conditions.

    The third, that the ruling elite is leading society towards collapse because it governs society by means of ideological dogma, is perhaps the most common criticism. It was the reason for the collapse of the Soviet empire and it is the reason for the current revolution in Iran. This is not, of course, just about the veil, but about a religious power elite that has created living conditions that have become too oppressive.

    Two political camps are competing for power not only in Sweden but throughout the West. You can call them right and left, conservatives and liberals, nationalists and globalists – there are many headings that together give a pretty good picture of the two ideologies. One camp claims that the other is incompetent: “As long as we come to power, we will correct all the mistakes that have been made”. The divide between the two camps is more irreconcilable than ever in our time and also cuts into private life.

    Paragraph 4 merely states that the leaders are incompetent, which of course they may be for many reasons. What I have in mind here is that the struggle of political parties for power selects leaders with the wrong qualities to the top of the hierarchy. Anyone who wants to be head of government in a European democracy has to pass the career test in their own party. This means that he or she must, firstly, be unfailingly loyal and, secondly, Machiavellian in his or her ability to fight for power. But the qualities required of a head of state are quite different. The first and most important is to put one’s own people and voters first.
    In today’s Europe, Victor Orbán is the prime example. He has the qualities that voters expect and therefore enjoys very strong electoral support. The fact that he is also the politician most criticised by his colleagues in the EU says something about their (in)competence.

    The more advanced a society is, the more it demands of its leaders. There is a big difference in the competence requirements for leaders of tribal societies and leaders of Western welfare democracies. We know quite a lot about this, because we have seen how societies that have been decolonised have fared. The complex societal structure with infrastructure and legal order created by the European colonisers has not been sustained and countries have fallen back to more primitive forms of organisation.
    South Africa is a frightening example. Since the transfer of power from the apartheid regime to the ANC, society has moved in one direction only, steeply downwards. From a morally reprehensible but functioning state, South Africa under black leadership, despite an initially strong economy, despite the applause and support of the outside world, despite a leader of Nelson Mandela’s calibre, has failed. Many blacks who remember that time would, if possible, gladly return to apartheid. As the playwright Bertold Brecht put it, “The stomach must be full before one cares about moral issues: Erst kommt das Fressen, dann kommt die Moral”.

    Three researchers, all of whom have been heavily criticised for their research, Helmuth Nyborg, Tatu Vanhanen and Richard Lynn, have highlighted low average intelligence as an explanation for why African societies perform so poorly. One concept that IQ psychology works with is the smart fraction, which applies to the part of the tested collective that is above 108 and thus, in another psychological concept, possesses the cognitive capital. Of course, if this is the category in power in a country, a society with an average score below 90 can have a functioning democracy.

    However, it is less likely to be sufficient to build a welfare state, since such a state requires well-educated citizens who are able both to manage a complex state apparatus and to compete with their services and products on a global market. There are simply not enough citizens who are sufficiently intelligent and therefore well educated to form the critical mass for building a qualified society with economic prospects. Society is simplifying, as citizens are no longer able to maintain the complexity that was the basis of its previous prosperity. The demands of society do not match the talent profile of the population.

    In the research report The Genius Famine (2015), Edward Dutton and Bruce G. Charlton write that in a society of declining intelligence we can expect
    increasing crime/violence
    corruption
    lower voter turnout
    poorer health
    increased obesity
    more of the instinctive, especially sex
    greater political instability
    less democracy
    higher levels of social conflict
    more selfishness
    a growing unemployed underclass
    declining educational standards
    a declining interest in education

    • Well done, except for the part about apartheid, it worked and it worked well, it kept the civilized from the animals, for without rules, we live with the animals. Now the animals have taken over, and anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together saw this coming a mile off, Rhodesia was the example, yet everybody ignored it at their peril and the treacherous bloody Swedes were right in the mix of it, thank God Rhodesia and South Africa got their pound of flesh with few targeted eliminations of a few Swedish leaders and minions in various African countries, may more come to the Swedes.

  3. .
    .
    Part II

    Residents are forced to adjust to an everyday life with many obstacles. Vehicles that break down or run out of fuel, unreliable electricity systems with frequent interruptions, trains that are cancelled or delayed, plane crashes, roads that are not repaired, people who do not turn up for meetings or arrive late without bothering, etc.

    This creaking social machinery does not affect states with higher average intelligence. Singapore is an example that demonstrates the inexorable validity of intelligence. Having thrown off the colonial yoke, Singapore has developed a highly advanced welfare state. The same was true of Hong Kong, but what we are now seeing is that when Hong Kong comes under ideological rule, big business flees. Often they choose Singapore instead. Hong Kong is falling back, but not because of the lack of intelligence of its citizens, but because of the ideological rule of those in power.

    Here is the crux of my argument: for Sweden, it seems that the Social Democrats have built such a large and complicated welfare state that today’s rulers are incapable of governing it, no matter where they are on the political scale. There are a large number of systemic failures that not only persist year after year, but also get worse. Crime and violent crime are the main example. Although this plays a role, it is not primarily related to ideological bias. Nor is it about the party apparatus rewarding the wrong kind of personalities (although it is true that it does). There is a strong case to be made that our political leaders and public officials simply can’t do better than this.

    Although it was possible to foresee that this problem would accompany immigration from some of the world’s worst performing countries, they didn’t. As violent crime grew, it – and especially its link to immigration – was denied for as long as possible. Now politicians say they will fight it “to the hilt” but it’s mostly talk. They have neither the skills nor the effective tools at their disposal.

    Another systemic flaw that will not be addressed – it is even doubtful whether our current parliamentary politicians are even aware of it – was the one I wrote about in the previous Sunday column, namely that the welfare state deliberately selects a negative sample of children by giving financial advantages to families on social assistance when they have more children. A third example is the welfare fraud that just keeps on going, year after year.

    In order to manage our gigantic and gigantically costly state relative to its population, we would need a selection process that brought a talented elite to power. Perhaps a smart fraction with a minimum IQ of 130?

    Three researchers, all of whom have been heavily criticised for their research, Helmuth Nyborg, Tatu Vanhanen and Richard Lynn, have highlighted low average intelligence as an explanation for why African societies perform so poorly. One concept that IQ psychology works with is the smart fraction, which applies to the part of the tested collective that is above 108 and thus, in another psychological concept, possesses the cognitive capital. Of course, if this is the category in power in a country, a society with an average score below 90 can have a functioning democracy.

    However, it is less likely to be sufficient to build a welfare state, since such a state requires well-educated citizens who are able both to manage a complex state apparatus and to compete with their services and products on a global market.

    There are simply not enough citizens who are sufficiently intelligent and therefore well educated to form the critical mass for building a qualified society with economic prospects. Society is simplifying, as citizens are no longer able to maintain the complexity that was the basis of its previous prosperity. The demands of society do not match the talent profile of the population.

    In the research report The Genius Famine (2015), Edward Dutton and Bruce G. Charlton write that in a society of declining intelligence we can expect

    increasing crime/violence
    corruption
    lower voter turnout
    poorer health
    increased obesity
    more of the instinctive, especially sex
    greater political instability
    less democracy
    higher levels of social conflict
    more selfishness
    a growing unemployed underclass
    declining educational standards
    a declining interest in education

    Residents are forced to adjust to an everyday life with many obstacles. Vehicles that break down or run out of fuel, unreliable electricity systems with frequent interruptions, trains that are cancelled or delayed, plane crashes, roads that are not repaired, people who do not turn up for meetings or arrive late without bothering, etc.

    This creaking social machinery does not affect states with higher average intelligence. Singapore is an example that demonstrates the inexorable validity of intelligence. Having thrown off the colonial yoke, Singapore has developed a highly advanced welfare state. The same was true of Hong Kong, but what we are now seeing is that when Hong Kong comes under ideological rule, big business flees. Often they choose Singapore instead. Hong Kong is falling back, but not because of the lack of intelligence of its citizens, but because of the ideological rule of those in power.

    Here is the crux of my argument: for Sweden, it seems that the Social Democrats have built such a large and complicated welfare state that today’s rulers are incapable of governing it, no matter where they are on the political scale. There are a large number of systemic failures that not only persist year after year, but also get worse. Crime and violent crime are the main example. Although this plays a role, it is not primarily related to ideological bias. Nor is it about the party apparatus rewarding the wrong kind of personalities (although it is true that it does). There is a strong case to be made that our political leaders and public officials simply can’t do better than this.

    Although it was possible to foresee that this problem would accompany immigration from some of the world’s worst performing countries, they didn’t. As violent crime grew, it – and especially its link to immigration – was denied for as long as possible. Now politicians say they will fight it “to the hilt” but it’s mostly talk. They have neither the skills nor the effective tools at their disposal. Another systemic flaw that will not be addressed – it is even doubtful whether our current parliamentary politicians are even aware of it – was the one I wrote about in the previous Sunday column, namely that the welfare state deliberately selects a negative sample of children by giving financial advantages to families on social assistance when they have more children. A third example is the welfare fraud that just keeps on going, year after year.

    In order to manage our gigantic and gigantically costly state relative to its population, we would need a selection process that brought a talented elite to power. Perhaps a smart fraction with a minimum IQ of 130?

    Highly intelligent leaders are necessary, but not sufficient. There is only one way to be stupid, but intelligence can take many paths. That’s why the personality of leaders is perhaps even more crucial.

    The five-factor theory is widely accepted among psychologists, although it is not a hard science, in the same way as IQ tests.

    A simple presentation:

    Openness/Completeness. People are more or less creative, emotionally open, intellectually curious and willing to try new things.
    Conscientiousness. The questions asked here seek to establish thoroughness, a sense of duty and self-discipline. Who plans their behaviour and who acts spontaneously?
    Extrovert/Introvert The extrovert enjoys doing things with other people. Extroverts are enthusiastic, talk a lot, are eager to get things done and like to assert themselves. The opposite, the introvert does not engage as much with other people. They are often quiet and low-key, which should not be interpreted as shyness or depression. Most people are both. In some situations they are extroverts, in others introverts.

    Agreeableness, i.e. how empathetic and cooperative people are.
    They are more or less considerate, kind, generous, trustworthy, helpful.
    Neuroticism. This refers to how emotionally stable and stress-resistant people are. Neurotic people often interpret ordinary situations as threatening and lose their temper easily.
    These different personality traits are correlated and can therefore be grouped into a single variable, a General Factor Personality (GFP). Just as you can have a high or low IQ, you can have a high or low GFP. A person with a high GFP level is socially extroverted, empathetic and interested in the feelings of others, conscientious and self-disciplined, strives for socially acceptable goals, has a stable emotional life and is open to new ideas.

    Does it sound utopian to sift out leaders using such harshly meritocratic methods? However, that is precisely what the PAP ruling party in Singapore is doing, with the addition that it selects its agency heads from among leaders who have already demonstrated their leadership qualities through their success in other areas of society.

    It is necessary to open the corridor of opinion to discussions on intelligence, competence and leadership, not least because Sweden has granted residence permits to some two million migrants since the turn of the millennium. Most of them come from countries with low IQs. This raises new problems not only for political leaders but also for the population at large.

    Here on the blog, psychiatrist and doctor Ann Gardner told us five years ago about four immigrant women who had trained as nurses in Sweden and whom she treated for depression. For one of them, an ADHD assessment showed an IQ of around 70:

    They had not coped with the first job they got after graduation, despite supervision from the first day of work that would continue for at least a month. They were to be spared independent work during that time. Two of them fell ill after only 2 weeks as the above-mentioned patient, one after 4 months and one after 1 year, in what turned out to be an untreatable severe depression. /…/ Perhaps their abilities had not been sufficient for the demands of nursing to begin with. For them, the result was personal tragedy, as well as student debt for a profession they could not handle.

    In Sweden, when it has proved difficult to recruit police recruits, the requirements have been lowered, no less than four times in less than a decade:

    In 2014, the physical admission requirements were lowered. Two years later, IQ requirements were also lowered. The police training aptitude test has a nine-point scale and a normally gifted applicant scores a four, five or six on the test. Previously, a minimum of a four was required to enter police training. And now the requirement has been lowered to a three. In January 2022, the requirement for a passing grade in history was removed, and in May of the same year the IQ requirement was lowered again.

    There are quite a number of studies that have in common that they warn of declining intelligence. The so-called Flynn effect, named after intelligence researcher James R. Flynn, who showed that intelligence rose in the 20th century, has stalled. Since the mid-1990s, researchers report declining intelligence in Scandinavia, Australia, the UK, France and Germany.

    I think I know why it is falling. That is a question I will come back to.

    Karl-Olov Arnstberg

    • In Australia and UK IQ is falling because the government pays the bottom quartile of the intelligence bell curve to have 5 children while those above the average IQ are penalised financially and have fewer children. This has been going on for 60 years, 3 generations, so if we start with 100,000 morons being paid to have kids they have now produced millions of moronic kids after 60 years.
      Just simple maths.
      100,000 to 500,000 then 2500,000, then 12.5 million morons.
      We have attempted to improve our stats by importing intelligent children from other countries through the “education” industry but this is now failing.
      The only good news is the UK is the arbitrary benchmark of 100 for IQ. As their IQ falls, other countries, where everyone can have children, become “smarter”. LOL

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