Russia launched a new series of cruise missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, targeting energy plants and other critical infrastructure. Most residents of Kyiv have lost water service, according to the latest reports.
In other news, a German energy company is tearing down a wind farm in North Rhine-Westphalia in order to expand an open-pit coal mine.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Caroline Glick, Daniel Greenfield, Dean, JW, LP, 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.
Eurozone Inflation Climbed to New Record High of 10.7% in October
Inflation in the eurozone is expected to have reached a new record high of 10.7% in October.
If confirmed later in November by Eurostat, the bloc’s official statistics agency, this would be the first inflation reading crossing the 10% threshold.
The increase was fuelled by energy prices which Eurostat estimates were 41.9% higher than in the same month last year. Prices for food, alcohol and tobacco are meanwhile believed to have risen by 13.1% year-on-year.
Inflation was at 9.9% in September.
Baltic countries remain the most deeply affected with the annual inflation remaining above the 20% mark. Estonia leads the pack with a 22.4% estimate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Faces Wave of Bankruptcies as Companies Increasingly Fail to Pay Their Bills
Due to Germany’s ongoing energy and inflation crisis, companies are increasingly unable to pay their bills, and if the past is any guide, new data shows that Germany is set to be hit with a wave of bankruptcies in the near future.
The data comes from Atradius, one of the world’s biggest credit insurance and debt collection agencies, which is reporting a significant rise in overdue notices, which it also saw in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. German companies are paying their bills later and later, and some are simply not paying at all.
“We are seeing an increase in overdue notifications,” said Frank Liebold, who heads the German credit insurance business at Atradius. He told Die Welt that “this increase is likely to accelerate in the coming weeks.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Inflation Jump Scares Halloween Candy Prices: Twix Up 53%, Skittles Up 41%, Reese’s Up 35%
Scary high inflation is causing beloved Halloween candy staples to be more expensive than ever.
This year, candy and chewing gum prices are 13.1 percent higher than last year, the largest increase ever recorded. In turn, handing out Halloween candy products like Twix, Skittles, Reese’s, Starburst, and Kit Kat might be a bit trickier this year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
One in Five Canadians Skipping Meals to Deal With Inflation
One in five Canadians are skipping meals to save money due to skyrocketing prices at the grocery store.
The data was reported in a new survey produced by the Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research (CHASR) at the University of Saskatchewan.
Researchers found that a majority of people were resorting to coupon-hunting and other methods to cut down on the cost of food.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
One-Third of UK Hospitality Businesses Risk Going Bust by Next Year
Over a third of hospitality sector businesses in Britain face closure by next year, a group of industry associations has claimed.
Research conducted by industry groups UKHospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) and Hospitality Ulster, has indicated that over one-third of businesses in the sector risk closure by 2023.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mark Finchem, the Republican candidate for Secretary of State in Arizona, tweeted on Monday that his Twitter account was temporarily suspended then restored after new owner Elon Musk said he was “looking into” the incident.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California State Senator Scott Wiener knew about 42-year-old David DePape, the man who allegedly assaulted Paul Pelosi early Friday morning, because of DePape’s pro-nudist activism around San Francisco and his status as a “Castro Nudist,” a term often used to refer to the gay prostitute scene in California’s Castro Valley.
According to KRON4 News, Wiener said, “I’ve been aware of him for a long time because he was associated with the public nudity folks in the Castro. It’s a long history with him.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dr. Malone: CIA is Using Psychological Warfare Against the Health Freedom Movement
From the outset in 2020, the political, militarized response to COVID has created an apparatus that allows governments to exert more control over citizens’ lives.
COVID also created a new profit model where corporations enrich themselves with public money by facilitating the development of public health tools like databases, surveillance systems or dubious pharmaceutical products.
Consent for these rigid control systems and financial looting is manufactured by the media party. Its propaganda tells people that these measures and products are necessary and good.
The sections of society that are opposed to this control-centered system that profits from lockdowns, online learning, telehealth, vaccine mandates, cross-border health checks, and new potentially harmful pharmaceutical treatments are the sections of society that the system correctly sees as a threat.
This opposition is known loosely as the “health freedom movement.”
According to Dr. Robert Malone, governments and their intelligence agencies are using psychological warfare and counter-insurgency tactics against the health freedom movement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Becomes Twitter’s Sole Director, Dissolves Board
Twitter has dissolved its board of directors and named Elon Musk its sole director, Securities and Exchange Commission filings confirmed.
The restructuring came “in accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement,” the company told the SEC, per The Hill. Musk completed his purchase of the social media platform last week, firing CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and others. News broke on Friday that the company would be de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange in November.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Looking to Bring Back Vine as Early as This Year: Report
New Twitter owner Elon Musk has reportedly taken action to revive Vine, a video-sharing app the social media giant shuttered years ago.
Citing multiple sources, Axios reported Monday that Musk, who purchased Twitter last week, has asked Twitter engineers to move forward with bringing Vine back as early as the end of the year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Mocks Twitter’s Human Resources for Sending ‘Mandatory’ Course on How to Manage a Company
Billionaire Elon Musk mocked an email he received from Twitter’s human resources department following his takeover of the company Sunday.
Musk finalized his purchase of Twitter last week, saying he hoped to make the platform a beacon of free speech without turning it into a “hellscape.” The HR department also appears to have added him to an automated onboarding system for the company’s leadership.
The company promptly emailed him with the subject line: “Managing Twitter 101,” adding that he had just 30 days to complete the informational course.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Accuses Twitter Board of ‘Deliberately’ Hiding Evidence From Court: ‘Stay Tuned’
Elon Musk accused Twitter’s former board of directors and their lawyers of “deliberately” hiding evidence from court proceedings, days after the entrepreneur’s $44 billion deal was finalized.
“Wachtell & Twitter board deliberately hid this evidence from the court,” Musk tweeted Sunday night. He included a screenshot of internal messages from a Twitter executive referencing “fraudulent metrics.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk to Introduce $20 Verifications for Twitter: Report
Elon “Chief Twit” Musk has set a deadline for his employees — introduce paid verification on the platform or leave.
The plan is to transform Twitter Blue, Twitter’s optional $4.99 per month subscription to a new $19.99 plan, which will also feature the option for users to verify themselves. Current verified users will have a grace period of 90 days to subscribe or lose their blue checkmark, The Verge reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Orders True the Vote Leaders Detained for Contempt of Court
A U.S. district judge on Monday ordered that two leaders of a conservative election integrity watchdog organization be detained for a day following their failure to comply with a court mandate to hand over evidence as part of their legal battle with Konnech, a Michigan-based firm that provides poll watcher management software to election offices.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Blocks Penguin Random House Merger With Simon & Schuster
A federal judge has blocked the prospective merger of publishing giants Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster.
“Defendants are hereby enjoined and restrained from consummating the proposed merger, or otherwise effecting a combination of Penguin Random House, LLC, and Simon & Schuster, Inc.,” Judge Florence Pan wrote, according to Deadline.
“[T]he United States has shown that ‘the effect of [the proposed merger] may be substantially to lessen competition’ in the market for the U.S. publishing rights to anticipated top-selling books,” Pan further wrote. The Department of Justice had moved to block the merger.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A report by the Network Contagion Institute, an organization that monitors the spread of Hostile ideological content, there was an increase in the use of the n-word on Twitter within the first 12 hours after Musk took over. Twitter said that the increase in slurs is the result of a “trolling campaign.”
In a series of tweets, Twitter’s head of safety and integrity, Yoel Roth, explained that the platform’s policies on hateful conduct were still being applied.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Most Black Americans Oppose Defunding the Police: Poll
Most black Americans oppose defunding the police, with a meager 17% saying they support the move according to a poll conducted by theGrio and KFF.
Around 1,000 black adults who are registered to vote participated in the “Survey of Black Voters.” Around 48% of those responding said they would like to see police funding kept at current levels, 34% called for an increase of police funding, and only 17% said they supported decreasing the funding of police in their area.
Support for the police saw massive numbers from blacks who live in urban areas, with 39% supporting increasing funding, in contrast to only 29% of blacks living in suburban areas who back increasing funding for the police.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nancy Pelosi: Man Charged With Attempted Kidnap and Assault
A man has been charged with attempting to kidnap senior US politician Nancy Pelosi and assaulting her husband.
The 42-year-old is accused of breaking into the couple’s San Francisco home early on Friday and assaulting Paul Pelosi, 82, with a hammer.
He had been searching for the top Democrat and reportedly shouted “where is Nancy?” while inside the property.
But Mrs Pelosi, who is second in line to the presidency, was on the other side of the country at the time.
The motive is being investigated but police say it was “not a random act”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Report Warns America’s Woke Military “Would Struggle in a War”
by Daniel Greenfield
For the first time the Heritage Foundation’s index of American military strength has ranked us as ‘weak’. The index warns that the Army “remains ‘weak’ in capacity with only 62 percent of the force it should have”. And even the Army has admitted that it has missed its recruiting target by 10,000 personnel which is expected to climb to over 20,000 by the end of the next fiscal year.
As Heritage and the Wall Street Journal note, “From 2005 to 2020, the U.S. fleet grew to 296 warships from 291, while China’s navy grew to 360 from 216.” The Navy however is focused on inclusion and diversity. The situation at the Air Force is much worse with the Heritage report warning that “the munitions stockpile” would probably “not support a peer-level fight that lasted more than a few weeks”. But the Air Force is also focused on diversity and inclusion.
The Navy is rated as very weak in capacity and weak in readiness. The Air Force ranks as very weak due to “problems with pilot production and retention, an extraordinarily small amount of time in the cockpit for pilots, and a fleet of aircraft that continues to age”. The Heritage index warns that “there is little doubt that it would struggle in war with a peer competitor”.
The Space Force is described as weak because “there is little evidence that the USSF has improved its readiness to provide nearly real-time support to operational and tactical levels of force operations or that it is ready in any way to execute defensive and offensive counterspace operations.”
Only the Marine Corps is rated as strong. Even our nuclear capabilities are slipping with “Russia and China are aggressively expanding the types and quantities of nuclear weapons in their inventories. Nearly all components of the nuclear enterprise are at a tipping point with respect to replacement or modernization and have no margin left for delays in schedule.”
It’s no coincidence that the ‘wokest’ service branches also show up as the weakest…
| — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield | [Return to headlines] |
Pennsylvania Judge Strikes Down License Requirement for Short-Term Rental Managers
Today, Judge Stacy Wallace of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that the state’s real estate commission violated the Pennsylvania Constitution when it attempted to require vacation property manager Sally Ladd to get a real estate license simply to manage short-term vacation rental properties in the Poconos. The court ruled that the evidence presented at a July 2022 trial showed that, as applied to managers of short-term rental properties like Ladd, the state’s “licensing requirements are unreasonable, unduly oppressive, and patently beyond the necessities of the case.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poll: Almost 8 Out of 10 Americans Say Things Are “Out of Control”
A new CBS News Battleground Tracker/YouGov poll has found that a whopping 79 percent of Americans believe the country is “out of control” ahead of the mid term elections.
Just 21 percent responded to the say that they feel things are “under control,” and when that 79 percent were asked which party they will vote for a majority of 58 percent said Republican, with only 34 percent saying they will vote Democrat.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Questions Continue to Swirl at Apparent Lack of Security at Pelosi Residence
Questions are being asked about the lack of security at Nancy Pelosi’s home after authorities walked back a previous statement that there were three people at the residence, now claiming there were only two — Paul Pelosi and his attacker.
Following the reported hammer attack on Paul Pelosi by 42-year-old culprit David Depape, police initially said that a third “unknown” person opened the door when they arrived at the scene.
“Officers arrived at the house, knocked on the front door and were let inside by an unknown person. They discovered Depape and Pelosi struggling for a hammer,” reported Politico.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Revealed: Documents Show How the DHS Plots to Police Online “Misinformation”
A trove of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents and communications, which were obtained via leaks, Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests, public reports, and the ongoing Biden-Big Tech censorship collusion lawsuit, have shed new light on the DHS’s ongoing efforts to police online “disinformation.”
The documents, which were obtained by The Intercept, reveal the existence of a Facebook portal that the DHS and other government agencies can use to flag content to the tech giant, show evidence of the DHS flagging content to Twitter, document bi-weekly “election-related disinformation” meetings between tech giants and the DHS, and more.
One document shows that Facebook has created a special “Content Request System” for the DHS and other government agencies. According to The Intercept, government officials can use this portal to directly flag Facebook and Instagram content and request that it be throttled or suppressed. The login page for this Content Request System was still live at the time of writing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EcoHealth Alliance has been revealed to have received a grant from the US Department of Defense relating to “combating weapons of mass destruction.”
The American non-profit, which has come under fire in recent years over its work with the Wuhan Institute of Virology on coronaviruses, received $115,000 on September 30 from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Senator Klobuchar Uses Paul Pelosi Attack to Call for Internet Regulation
Senator Amy Klobuchar said she doesn’t Trust Elon Musk to run Twitter. She also slammed social media companies for profiting from amplifying “misinformation” and made some statements about internet regulations that completely ignore the First Amendment.
On NBC News “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning, Klobuchar was asked by host Chuck Todd if she trusts Musk.
She responded, “No, I do not.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Democratic prosecutor in the Chicago-area is sounding the alarm over a criminal justice reform law that will “tie the hands” of prosecutors and “destroy the criminal justice system in Illinois.”
The Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act, signed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill., in 2021, will implement sweeping reforms to Illinois’ criminal justice system, though it has drawn criticism from law enforcement professionals across the political spectrum.
“I never, in my 40-years in this profession, ever thought I’d ever see anything close to this,” Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow told Fox News Digital in an interview. “The intent of this law is to destroy the criminal justice system in Illinois, and I’m not going to let that happen.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter Removes Warning Flag on JTN Ballot Harvesting Story, After Direct Appeal to Musk
Twitter has removed its warning label on a post from the account of Just the News editor-in-chief John Solomon about his story on a whistleblower alleging ballot harvesting in Florida, following Solomon’s direct appeal to the platform’s new owner, Elon Musk.
Solomon made the post Thursday that included a link to his interview with the whistleblower. The label was put on the post Friday, and as of Monday morning, it was no longer there.
Though Solomon appeared to be the first to appeal to Musk, the new Twitter owner responded directly Sunday to a post on the matter by Tom Fitton, president of the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: DCCC Chair Defends Hillary Clinton Declaring Next Election May be “Stolen”
Appearing on CBS’ Face The Nation Sunday, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Sean Patrick Maloney defended Hillary Clinton’s baseless assertion that ‘right wing extremists’ are plotting to steal the next Presidential election.
As we highlighted last week, Hillary claimed that “Right-wing extremists already have a plan to literally steal the next presidential election, and they’re not making a secret of it,” adding that the “Right-wing controlled Supreme Court may be poised to rule on giving state legislatures the power to overturn presidential elections.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Viva Frei is Locked Out of Twitter After Raising Questions Over Paul Pelosi Attack Story
YouTuber Viva Frei has been locked out of Twitter for replying to a thread by Media Matters’ Matthew Gertz and questioning the circumstances surrounding the attack on Paul Pelosi, the House Speaker’s husband, on Friday.
Media outlets have said that the suspect, David DePape, is a far-right extremist and alleged that the attack was politically motivated. Neighbors and local reports say that DePape is part of a “hippie collective.” Outside his home are BLM signs and Pride flags which they say contradicts the narrative. One neighbor told NBC that DePape is a “left-leaning nudist drug abuser.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Recap Day 13 or Emergencies Act Hearings
Texts reveal feds planned to push “extreme” Convoy narrative
On Day 13 of the Public Order Emergency Commission, text messages between Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s offices revealed a plan to “get in on the growing narrative” that the Freedom Convoy truckers were “extreme.”
“I think there could be an opportunity to get in on this growing narrative of the truckers,” wrote Mary-Liz Power of Justin Trudeau’s office to Mendicino’s office. “My thoughts of the framing here would be similar to what the PM/Blair said last year when Jan. 6th occurred.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK MP Blasts Trudeau Govt for Depriving Civil Liberties During Pandemic
A British parliamentarian slammed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government for violating the civil liberties of Canadians during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tory MP Danny Kruger made the comments during a debate in Westminster Hall on Covid-19 vaccine safety on Oct. 24.
Kruger described Canada as being among “the worst offenders” alongside communist China when it came to violating rights.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The failure of Britishvolt , with its vaunting ambition to create a £3.8billion giga- factory in the North East, offers a salutary lesson.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Climate Extremists Now Endangering Lives in German Capital — Police Union
Radical climate activists in Germany are now endangering people’s lives in Berlin, the head of a police union in the city has said.
Green radicals in Berlin who are now routinely blocking roads are endangering the lives of the general public, the head of the city’s police union has claimed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Liberals with verified Twitter accounts flooded the social media platform to take issue with the idea of billionaires purchasing social media companies, prompting their conservative critics to point out that many Democrats have been silent about similar billionaire purchases in the past.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Crime Hits Record High in England and Wales
Crime in England and Wales has hit a record high, right as more police resources are devoted to investigating ‘offensive’ online speech.
What a coincidence!
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Assures European Union That Twitter Will Abide by Europe’s Content Moderation Laws
Twitter will abide by the European Union’s rules on illegal online content policing, an EU source confirmed to FOX Business. The confirmation comes after Twitter owner Elon Musk told the EU’s commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, that he plans to follow the Commission’s rules.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
First Nuclear Plant in Poland to be Constructed by US Company
Poland has chosen the Westinghouse group from the U.S. to construct the country’s first nuclear plant, with a government resolution on the matter to be adopted on Nov. 2, announced Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Saturday.
Morawiecki said the project will be realized using the proven and safe technology offered by the U.S. Westinghouse Electric Company. He delivered the news following successful talks with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Video of Youths Beating Disabled North African Man in Paris Goes Viral
A video of youths violently beating a disabled man in Paris has gone viral, but the footage is only coming to light months after it was filmed.
In the video, a group of Black males can be seen repeatedly striking a man inside the Seine-Saint-Denis neighborhood, one of the most multicultural neighborhoods in all of France. The victim is allegedly a North African man with undisclosed disabilities.
“An elderly North African man was attacked by a group of cowards in a laundromat, in Seine-Saint-Denis according to some Internet users. We are looking for the exact location, the attackers, and the father in order to pursue legal action,” wrote the Tajmat Twitter account. The Tajmat is an activist network, describing itself as a “collaborative platform for North Africans.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany to Tear Down Wind Farm to Expand Coal Mines
Germany is set to tear down a wind farm to make room for a coal mine expansion.
German energy giant RWE is set to demolish the turbines and expand a neighbouring coal mine to alleviate the country’s energy crisis, which was prompted by Germany’s sanctions on Russian liquid natural gas, which Europe greatly depends upon.
The wind farm, near the town of Lützerath, will be used to expand the Garzweiler open pit mine in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Eight wind turbines are expected to be dismantled, with one removed last week, two to be deconstructed next year, with the final five torn down by the end of 2023.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Is Germany a Friend or Foe? New Poll Asks Polish Citizens What They Think of Their Neighbor
A new poll from Poland asks Poles for their attitudes on Germany, and the results show the country is nearly evenly split on the question of whether Germany is a friend or foe.
The SW Research survey found that only 20 percent felt that Germany was friendly towards Poland while 23 percent said the country was hostile. However, 36 percent felt Germany harbored neutral feelings about Poland and 22 percent had no view on the matter. That means the majority of Poles either have no opinion or believe Germany is “neutral.”
Unsurprisingly, the older the voters the more likely to be skeptics of Germany. The number of voters over 50 who felt Germany was hostile to Poland was 25 percent, whereas among the 18-24 age group, it was only 11 percent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Latvian Defense Minister Accuses Hungry of ‘Treason’ As Clash Breaks Out Over Ukraine
The defense ministers of fellow EU and NATO members Latvia and Hungary have shared a blunt exchange of views over their respective countries’ approach to the conflict in Ukraine in which Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks accused Hungary of “treason.”
Hungarian Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky hit back at the accusation, reminding his Latvian counterpart that it is Hungarian fighter jets which are defending Baltic air space.
“I refuse to allow anyone to condemn or threaten Hungary. We have the right to represent our national interest, peace,” said Szalay-Bobrovniczky. “I respectfully suggest to my colleague Artis Pabriks that he look up to the sky instead,” he added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More and More Austrians Want Out of the EU
Since Corona and the beginning of the Ukraine war, the number of Austrians who are skeptical about the EU and are in favor of leaving the Union has increased significantly. It is becoming more and more apparent that the Eurocrats in Brussels are not helping to solve the current problems, but are exacerbating them or even causing them in the first place.
Austrians are increasingly skeptical about the EU and its actions. Even Paul Schmidt, Secretary General of the Austrian Society for European Policy (ÖGfE) had to admit this on the occasion of the latest survey on EU opinion trends. The number of citizens who are in favor of leaving the EU has risen by a full 19 percent since the Corona pandemic and has therefore more than doubled in the past few years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Has 7 Aces Up Its Sleeve to Turn Tables on Brussels, Says Senior Polish MEP
Poland still has cards up its sleeve to turn the tables on Brussels and unlock tens of billions in EU funding that are still being withheld, said senior conservative Law and Justice (PiS) MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski in an interview for the Sieci weekly newspaper.
As long as Poland is prepared to turn the tables on Brussels, in a way that Spain has done in the past, it can still get its way, argued Saryusz-Wolski.
Saryusz-Wolski advised the Polish government to concentrate on seven weapons it has at its disposal.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Beg UK Public Not to Take Tackling Green Extremist Protesters Into Their Own Hands
A senior officer within London’s police force has begged the UK public to refrain from taking the fight against climate crazy protesters into their own hands.
Matt Twist, an Assistant Commissioner within London’s Metropolitan Police, has begged members of the UK public to leave combatting extremist protesters to law enforcement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been told by Brussels she is wrong to say an independent Scotland, separate from the rest of the United Kingdom, would be able to adopt its own currency if it were to rejoin the European Union.
The leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), in her long-held campaign for Scottish independence, attempted to allay fears that Scotland would lose its economic sovereignty were it to rejoin the European Union as an independent member following any vote to leave the United Kingdom. She explicitly rejected using the euro, saying it was not “the right option for Scotland,” and told those concerned that Scotland would continue to use pound sterling in the immediacy before establishing its own currency.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK PM Rishi Sunak Vows to End Arrests Over Social Media Posts
New UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned “woke” policing and arresting people over social media posts. He said police should be “fighting actual crime in people’s neighborhoods, and not policing bad jokes on Twitter.”
Sunak’s government wants to replicate the work of the chief of the Greater Manchester Police Stephen Watson for reforming two police departments. Watson enforced a policy that required officers to go out on patrol more often and to investigate every lead in a crime.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Support for Russian Sanctions Increasingly Fragile as Energy Costs Spiral
While the United Kingdom population remains broadly supportive of Western sanctions on Russian energy, its support is not unconditional and could change significantly should energy prices continue to rise in the country, new polling has revealed.
An Ipsos survey conducted for Sky News revealed that 70 percent of respondents were currently in favor of continued sanctions against Russia for its aggression in Ukraine, sanctions that have led to an unprecedented rise in energy prices across Europe prompting national government intervention — just 8 percent are opposed to sanctions and 23 percent were undecided.
The 70 percent figure in support of sanctions has dropped by 8 percentage points from when the same question was put to the public back in March, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
However, the same polling warns that public support for sanctions could erode and quickly should the cost-of-living crisis in the country worsen.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Just Stop Oil Activists Target MI5 and Home Office Buildings
Environmental activists have sprayed orange paint on buildings in central London, calling for the government to halt new oil and gas licences.
Just Stop Oil targeted buildings used by the Home Office, MI5, the Bank of England and News Corp.
The group said the buildings were chosen as they represented “the four pillars that support and maintain the power of the fossil fuel economy”.
The Metropolitan Police said six people have been arrested.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Caroline Glick: Jewish Sovereignty is on the Ballot
Most of Israel’s commentators insist that Tuesday’s Knesset elections—the fifth in fewer than four years—are about the same thing the last four were about: Benjamin Netanyahu. If you vote for Netanyahu’s Likud Party, or for the other three parties in his right-religious bloc, then you are for Netanyahu. If you vote for caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, or for any of the members of his left-Arab bloc, then you are against Netanyahu. Nothing else is up for grabs.
The notion that politics in Israel can be boiled down to whether a person loves or hates Netanyahu was never true, at least for voters. Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked, Gideon Sa’ar and their colleagues in the Yamina and New Hope parties who bolted the right and formed the current left-Arab government are rightly viewed as having betrayed their voters. Last May they put their hatred and envy of Netanyahu above their professed ideology and their voters to oust their camp from power and give Israel its first post-Zionist government.
Today, there is no “Never Bibi” right. Bennett isn’t running. Shaked is about to be wiped out at the polls. Sa’ar has joined Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s leftist National Unity Party.
Life in Israel has also moved on from where it stood in May 2021. Back then, it was still credible to call Netanyahu—whose corruption trial was in its opening stages—a crook. But in the intervening 18 months, the prosecution’s case against Netanyahu has completely disintegrated.
So too, the left-Arab bloc has shown it is incompetent to lead the country. Netanyahu gave his successors a country with a fast-growing economy, even as the global economy was sunk in deep recession following the Covid-19 lockdowns. Today, the economy is on a sharp downward trajectory. Inflation is galloping forward with no end in sight. And the middle class is straining to keep itself above water as prices outstrip wages.
Then there is Israel’s international and regional position. When Netanyahu was sent into the political wilderness a year and a half ago, Israel was at the pinnacle of its regional power and global stature.
Today, Israel’s core national interests are threatened to a degree we haven’t seen in years. Israel’s regional and global positions are weaker today than at any point since 2002. Australia’s announcement last week that it is rescinding recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was an expression of the growing contempt in which the nations of the world now hold Israel.
If “Only Bibi” or “Never Bibi” was the leitmotif of the first four rounds of elections, that issue has been replaced by what is really driving our society apart. It’s not the economy, it’s something far more basic. Israeli society is being torn apart by the issue of national sovereignty…
| — Hat tip: Caroline Glick | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Must Dispose of Any Nuclear Weapons, UN Resolution Declares
Israel must dispose of all its nuclear weapons and place its nuclear facilities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. General Assembly ordered by a vote of 152 to 5.
The five nations opposing Friday’s resolution on “the risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East” were Canada, Israel, Micronesia, Palau, and the United States. Another 24 countries abstained, including European Union member states.
The resolution submitted by Egypt to the U.N. General Assembly in New York was supported by the Palestinian Authority and 19 countries, including Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Controversial Social Media Influencer Andrew Tate Accepts Islam
Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate accepts Islam. His video of offering prayer in a mosque is doing rounds on social media.
According to The Arab, the former kickboxer said, “This is why I’m Muslim.” “Any Christian who believes in good and understands the true battle against evil must convert. “So be patient, Indeed the promise of Allah is TRUTH” Quran 30:60.”
The video of Tate offering prayer in a mosque in UAE was posted by athlete Tam Khan, a verified Facebook user, confirming the news of his conversion.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s Scholz: EU Weighing Further Sanctions on Iran for Crackdown on Protests
BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday that the European Union is considering further sanctions against Iran over its “excessive” crackdown on demonstrators.
“I am shocked that people who are peacefully demonstrating at protests in Iran are dying,” Scholz tweeted.
“We condemn the excessive violence of the security forces and stand by the people in Iran. Our EU sanctions are important. We are reviewing further steps.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Lost Temper in Zelensky Phone Call: “Show a Little More Gratitude”
Days after the Pentagon announced that total US military aid given to Ukraine so far has topped $18.5 billion, new reporting has revealed President Joe Biden briefly lost his temper in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, after the latter kept pressing for more money and arms.
NBC has cited four officials familiar with a phone call which took place in June, who revealed for the first time on Monday, “Biden had barely finished telling Zelenskyy he’d just greenlighted another $1 billion in U.S. military assistance for Ukraine when Zelenskyy started listing all the additional help he needed and wasn’t getting.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Heavy Russian Barrage on Ukraine, No Water for Most of Kyiv
KYIV, Ukraine — A massive barrage of Russian cruise missile and drone strikes hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities on Monday morning, knocking out water and power supplies in apparent retaliation for what Moscow alleged was a Ukrainian attack on its Black Sea Fleet.
Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s power plants and other key infrastructure as the war enters its ninth month. Large parts of Ukraine are already experiencing rolling power cuts as a result of Russia’s strategy.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces carried out “strikes with long-range high-precision air and sea-based weapons against the military command and energy systems of Ukraine.”
“The goals of the strikes were achieved. All designated targets were hit,” the ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, 12 ships with grain left Ukrainian ports on Monday despite a Russian threat to reimpose a blockade that threatened hunger across the world, Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure said. One vessel carried Ukrainian wheat to Ethiopia, where a severe drought is affecting millions of people.
Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 44 of more than 50 cruise missiles that Russia launched.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Polish Sniper Who Survived Azovstal Siege: “We Ate Amputated Arms and Legs’ to Avoid Starvation
The only Pole who fought in the Azovstal steel plant provided his account of the fighting, Russian captivity, and the harsh conditions during the siege of Mariupol.
In a sign of how desperate the situation became in the besieged steelworks plant as food became scarcer by the day, he told Polish news outlet Onet that “we ate amputated legs and arms.”
Krzysztof was a sniper in the Azov battalion. He was asked about his efficiency and number of killed Russians.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Suspected of Learning About Top Secret Arms Shipments After Hacking PM’s Phone
A suspected Russian hack of former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ phone is thought to have leaked top-secret details regarding arms shipments.
Up to a year’s worth of conversations are thought to have ended up in Russian hands after the phone of former Prime Minister Liz Truss was hacked, jeopardising details of secret correspondence and arms shipments to Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine War: Kyiv Blackouts, Russian Spies, Grain Shipment Doubts, Russia Mobilisation Complete
1. Intercepted Russian missile falls in Moldova
A Russian missile shot down by Kyiv landed in a Moldovan village bordering Ukraine on Monday, causing damage but no casualties.
“A missile shot down by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defence fell on the northern end of … Naslavcea in the Republic of Moldova, near the border with Ukraine,” Moldova’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.
“For the moment, no casualties have been reported, but the windows of several homes have been destroyed,” it added. “The impact zone has been sealed off and a team from the Interior Ministry is on site to assess [the situation].”
Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu expelled a Russian diplomat to protest “the intensification of Russia’s attacks against Ukraine, which has serious repercussions on Moldova.”
“The Russian Ambassador was summoned earlier today and informed of our decision to declare a Russian diplomat persona non grata,” he wrote on Twitter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine War: Kyiv Locals Queue for Water After Russian Strikes
People in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv had to queue for water after Russian missiles struck key facilities across the country on Monday.
An evening update from the city’s mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, said 40% of consumers in Kyiv remained without water, and 270,000 homes had no power.
Thirteen people were injured in the attacks nationwide, Ukraine said.
Russia said the strikes were aimed at Ukraine’s military control and energy systems, and that all targets were hit.
They were partly in response to an attack on a Russian warship over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.
In its evening update, the Ukrainian military said it had shot down 45 out of 55 missiles that were launched.
For security reasons, the outside world is rarely shown the destruction of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure by Russian airstrikes.
Ukrainian officials say this is to avoid sharing information that could be used in future attacks, including locations hit — or potentially missed.
But the consequences of Monday’s strikes were everywhere to be seen. Rolling power cuts have been introduced in several regions.
Ukrainians in general have been urged to reduce what is already an “extremely frugal” electricity consumption, in the words of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In Kyiv, streetlights were turned off and trolleybuses replaced with conventional buses.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
India’s PM Says 5G Rollout Will Help Boost the Use of Surveillance
While addressing home ministers of state on internal security issues, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that states should not let budget constraints get in the way of technological advances and that the rollout of 5G technology will improve surveillance efforts.
Modi warned that criminals have globalized and “we need to be ten steps ahead.” He added that interstate and international crimes have increased.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Age of Hindutva Politics Downgrading ‘Muslim Vote Bank’ In India
Owaisi hits out at BJP over Uniform Civil Code, says saffron party wants to promote Hindutva in the garb of UCC; laments that all political parties run for Hindutva as Muslims are not important for them.
Upendra Bharti | HENB | New Delhi | Oct 31, 2022:: It is very much difficult for Owaisi to bear with the downgrading of ‘Muslim vote bank’ politics as Hindutva has been appeared as the main theme of Election politics inits center stage.
In Indian politics, Hindutva is tagged with BJP from the beginning, but non-BJP leaders are also hopping into the temples premises here and there to prove their Hindu genre. Advancing in this trail, even Aam Aadmi Party convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal demanded Lakshmi-Ganesh image on Indian currency notes to improve the Indian economy under divine blessings.
This competition of Hindutva in election politics really frustrated the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi a lot to keep his business of Muslim Politics.
A frustrated AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is raising the issue of Uniform Civil Code to get votes in the forthcoming Gujarat Assembly elections and to push its Hindutva agenda.
Actually, before the announcement of the dates of the Gujarat elections, the atmosphere in Gujarat has heated up. The counterattack has started on the BJP, which announced the committee to implement the UCC. The BJP has been accused of raising the issue of Uniform Civil Code to gain votes in the elections and further its Hindutva agenda. Asaduddin Owaisi is the most vocal politician on this.
Notably, Asaduddin Owaisi’s statement comes just after Delhi CM and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal lashed out at the BJP-led Gujarat government over the same. The AAP chief urged the BJP to implement UCC across the country if it wished to do so.
“It is written in the Constitution that it is the responsibility of the government to create a Uniform Civil Code. UCC should be formed by taking inputs from all communities. BJP’s intention is bad. The committee was formed before the Uttarakhand and now Gujarat elections. After the polls, the committee went home. Why not make it for Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh or for the whole country?” Arvind Kejriwal asked.
“If their intention is to implement the Uniform Civil Code, then why don’t they frame it nationally and implement it across the country? Are they waiting for the Lok Sabha elections? So first ask them that Kejriwal is saying you do not want to implement the Uniform Civil Code…your intention is bad,” he added.
In his diplomatic stand in support towards Nationwide UCC enactment, Kejriwal also disappointed Owaisi to lose his temper against BJP.
Finally, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi has expressed his revelation that there is competition for Hindutva among secular parties and Muslims are not important for them and there is no secular party as such. As such, Owaisi acknowledges the degeneration of ‘Muslim Vote Bank’ politics in India.
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
The ominous message was posted to Twitter by a commentator who is closely linked to the Communist Party regime after reports the US will station up to six of the bombers at a remote facility south of Darwin.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
US Sanctions Chinese Chip Industry
With new US sanctions against China, which came into force on October 12, the Biden administration delivered a serious blow against the Asian giant. Any cooperation with Chinese chip and memory manufacturers and in particular the export of semiconductors to China is now prohibited.
Foreign companies that do not comply with these US requirements also run the risk of becoming victims of American sanctions. What is particularly disastrous is that the new sanctions require all US citizens working in China to immediately stop working for Chinese partner companies or company subsidiaries — otherwise there is even a risk of their US citizenship being revoked.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CCTV captured at Ballina Airport, the gateway to popular NSW holiday town Byron Bay, shows A wild brawl between rival Alameddine and Hamzy gangsters in front of terrified onlookers.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Somalia Seeks International Help After Devastating Explosions That Killed 100
There were deadly blasts in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has now urgently sought help from other countries. The bombing took place during the weekend in which 100 people lost their lives. Bulldozers were still cleaning up the debris in Mogadishu, and the search for dead bodies is still on.
More than 300 people were wounded during this incident. It is stated that this blast was the deadliest blast in five years in the African nation.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
English Channel Migrants May Share UK Hotel With Public
Migrants in the UK may share hotels with the public as part of Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s measures to tackle “catastrophic overcrowding” at the Manston asylum processing center in Kent amid the Channel crisis, a British media outlet has reported.
Braverman was previously accused of turning a deaf ear to Manston’s overcrowding problem and reportedly refusing to approve new hotels where asylum seekers could be sent upon arriving in the UK.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Transit Worker Stabbed by Fare-Dodging Syrian Migrant
A ticket inspector was stabbed by a Syrian migrant who was illegally riding a bus in Germany over the weekend, according to authorities.
The horrifying incident unfolded just after noon on Sunday in Dresden, the capital city of Saxony.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Jordanian migrant identified as Shadi B. stabbed 21-year-old Ukrainian refugee Alina and then went to go eat bratwurst and French fries after the murder, according to police.
Both individuals knew each other and were staying at the same refugee shelter in the Bavarian ski resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Alina was walking to a hotel where she works as a chambermaid when Shadi B. stabbed her in the entrance to the refugee shelter, severely wounding her, German tabloid Bild reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sanctuary State California: Paul Pelosi Assault Suspect is an Illegal Alien
David DePape, the man accused of attempting to murder House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) husband Paul Pelosi with a hammer, is a “longtime” illegal alien living in sanctuary state California, a report reveals.
Days ago, police officers in San Francisco, California, responded to a 911 call made by Paul Pelosi. According to police, on October 28, 42-year-old DePape attacked Pelosi with a hammer, leaving him with severe blunt force injuries to his head that called for immediate surgery.
DePape was taken into custody, and charges of attempted murder are expected. He has already been charged with assault and attempted kidnapping.
FOXLA’s Bill Melugin reports that DePape is actually an illegal alien who has been living in the sanctuary state of California for some time after having overstayed his visa. It is unclear what kind of visa DePape initially arrived on to the United States from Canada and in what year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Councils are fighting back against Government attempts to book up hotels to house asylum seekers.
At least four have taken legal action after hotels — some in ‘prime tourist areas’ — stopped taking reservations because the Home Office block-booked all their rooms for migrants.
Local authorities across the UK said they would take a ‘strong stance’ against the plans as they affect tourism revenue, put pressure on stretched services, risk local jobs, and breach planning rules.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Brexit leader Nigel Farage has warned that a petrol bomb attack on a Border Force migrant processing centre will be used by the open borders lobby to try and shut down legitimate discussion of and action against the ongoing Channel boat migrants crisis.
On Sunday, a man drove to the Border Force facility in Dover, Kent, which had borne much of the brunt of the Channel crisis, and lobbed three petrol bombs towards it, starting a fire.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
— a week before petrol bomb attack on immigration centre
The Tory MP for Dover today claimed a migrant was found in a woman’s bedroom a week before a petrol bomb attack on an immigration centre.
Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke has warned of ‘rising tensions’ in the coastal town due to the number of people crossing from France in small boats — with the official figure expected to hit 40,000 in 2022.
Residents on the Aycliffe estate in Dover have said around 40 migrants were running around their area last Sunday after landing on a nearby beach.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain’s main mental health specialists’ organizations published a stark warning in the El Mundo newspaper on Oct. 17 against the governing coalition’s draft “Trans Law” which is about to be passed in the Spanish parliament. The “Law for Real and Effective Equality of Trans People and for the Guarantee of LGBTI Rights” will introduce the right to “gender” self-determination in Spain at a time when other countries are backtracking on their own laws based on gender ideology.
“It ‘jeopardizes the comprehensive medical care to which all children are entitled. It ignores that ‘in all judicial decisions relevant to the life of the minor, the best interests of the minor must prevail.’ And it ignores that countries such as ‘Finland and the United Kingdom have moved from quick and invasive models to others that are more reflective and linked to Mental Health’,” wrote El Mundo on Oct. 23 quoting Luisa Lazaro, the president of the Spanish Association of Adolescent and Child Psychiatry (AEPNyA).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
TDSB Survey Asks Elementary Kids if They’re Trans and Know About Breast Binding
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) will spend the month of November administering a highly intrusive survey which reaches far beyond simple demographics of its student population to ask students questions about their sexuality, their knowledge of transgender issues and more.
The confidential census for Grades 4-6 and 7-8 — copies of which were obtained by True North — has a heavy focus on feelings, mental issues, racial and ethnic identities and sexuality.
The composition of the questions demonstrate all the more that the TDSB has descended into this kind of woke social science experiment that is focused on victimhood, critical race theory and gender ideology.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The End of Roe Has Prevented at Least 10,000 Legal Abortions: Report
There were at least 10,000 fewer legal abortions in the U.S. in the two months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to FiveThirtyEight.
SCOTUS struck down Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in late June, leading Republican states to institute limits on abortion across the country. The limits caused some women to travel to Democratic states to obtain abortions, leading to an uptick in states like Illinois. Nevertheless, there were 10,570 fewer abortions between July and August than would typically occur, according to the FiveThirtyEight data.
The data was compiled by #WeCount, a subsidiary of the Society of Family Planning, a pro-abortion non-profit.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |