Five University of Virginia football players were shot last night, three of them fatally, in a parking garage on the grounds of the university in Charlottesville. The students had just returned from a field trip, and were in a bus. The suspected gunman, a former teammate, was arrested later in the Richmond area.
In other news, police in Essex are reportedly running out of vegan meals after arresting so many “Just Stop Oil” protesters for blocking the M25.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, JW, Reader from Chicago, SS, Steen, 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.
‘A Question Worth Asking’: Elon Musk Weighs in on Money Laundering Allegations Against FTX
More questions are being raised about the relationship between the collapsing cryptocurrency company FTX, its former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and fellow executives, and the Democrat party, questions that Twitter owner Elon Musk believes are worth investigating.
Twitter user Tara Bull, who specializes in cryptocurrency, posted “Was FTX being used to launder money for the democratic party? WEF sponsored FTX on their website, which has now been removed.” Elon Musk replied, “A question worth asking.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Alameda Front Ran Crypto Tokens Ahead of New Listings on FTX
Another day, and one more shoe drops in the ongoing FTX scandal.
In the latest episode in this relentless scandal-drama, the WSJ reports that the trading arm of Sam Bankman-Fried’s empire, Alameda Research, was quietly amassing stakes in various cryptos ahead of announcements that FTX would be listing them for trade, a practice that is patently illegal.
Citing analysis of public blockchain data from analytics firm Argus, the Wall Street Journal reported that on the days FTX said it would be listing “new” tokens between 2021 and March of this year, Alameda had already amassed roughly $60 million worth of tokens ahead of time, arguably to sell into the burst of customer demand and make a huge risk-free profit.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Lists Bahamas Penthouse for $40 Million
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has listed his Bahamas penthouse for sale at $39,500,000 following the collapse of his net worth when his crypto exchange imploded.
The 12,000 square-ft, five bedroom residence is located in the luxury Albany resort was listed last week, according to Semafor, however the realtor declined to name the owner. That said, people close to current and former FTX employees who have been at the residence confirmed that it was SBF’s pad.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Economy Faces Bankruptcy Wave as Energy Prices Skyrocket
Some 32 percent of German companies are already having to resort to reduced working hours and redundancies. Meanwhile, more and more firms are being forced to file for bankruptcy due to inflation and unaffordable input costs.
In October, the number of insolvency applications filed by companies rose by 18.4 percent compared to the previous month, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Manhattan US Attorney Office Probing FTX Collapse
With Bahamanian regulators and local police investigating SBF — who last night was so drunk and/or high he tried tweeting and failed miserably…
[…]for “criminal misconduct”, the democrat-controlled US judicial system has finally been dragged kicking and screaming into investigating the single biggest fraud in crypto history, and the second biggest Democratic donor in recent history…
[…]just one day after Elon Musk saying that SBF will be spared any real punishment precisely because of his generosity (with other people’s money).
According to Reuters, prosecutors with the Manhattan district of New York are now probing FTX’s collapse, days after the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy protection last Friday following a rush of customer withdrawals.
Reuters reported last week that at least $1 billion of customer funds have vanished from FTX, citing sources; others have said the number is much bigger, with FTX holding less than $1 billion in liquid assets vs $9 billion in liabilities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Australian consumers are spending $7,844 more on essential bills than they were a year ago. The Institute of Public Affairs calculated increases in 11 categories with inflation at a 32-year high.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
3 Dead, 2 Injured in Shooting at UVA; Suspect Captured in Henrico
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WWBT) — The man suspected of shooting and killing three UVA football players late Sunday was captured in Henrico County.
The shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. Sunday on Culbreth Road at a parking garage behind the Drama building. Police say the shooting happened as students returned from a field trip.
“Where they’d been for the day enjoying a school activity, having a meal together and coming back to our grounds, and someone amongst them chose to do an act of violence, and we found them dead inside that bus,” said Chief Tim Longo, University of Virginia Police Dept.
UVA officials said the suspect, 22-year-old Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. is a student at the university. During a press conference on Monday morning, officials announced that Jones was arrested.
“Although we do not have a full understanding of the motive and circumstances surrounding these events, police are investigating,” said Jim Ryan, University of Virginia President.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
FIRST ON FOX — A Biden official at the U.S. Department of Education previously shared a tweet which blasted what she referred to as “White protesters” for their activism against lockdowns during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, while later on she posted a defense of pro-Black Lives Matter rioting, according to her Twitter account.
Tiffany Taber is the chief of speechwriting for Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
In April 2020, Taber tweeted out an article about the “whiteness of anti-lockdown protests.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: Antifa Turn Violent Outside NYC Women’s Rights Event, 7 People Arrested
During Monday’s last stop of Kellie-Jay Keen’s Let Women Speak tour in New York City, multiple arrests were made as protestors turned violent and attempted to breach the barricade set up to protect speakers at the event. Keen herself was prevented from attending by police, who said they wouldn’t risk their men to get her to the front of the crowd.
Antifa members were seen in attendance at the protest dressed in black bloc, pushing barricades that were set up around city hall. The Post Millennial’s Libby Emmons was on hand to document the protest. Trans rights activists screamed that the women were fascists and Nazis for their belief that biological sex is real.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
D.B. Cooper Expert: New Evidence Points to Person of Interest in Unsolved Case
VANCOUVER, Wash. — A simple black necktie may be the smoking gun to solving a mystery that has fascinated the country and law enforcement officials for 50 years: Who is D.B. Cooper, and what happened to him?
On the afternoon of Nov. 24, 1971, a nondescript man calling himself Dan Cooper approached the counter of Northwest Orient Airlines in Portland, Oregon. He used cash to buy a one-way ticket on Flight #305, bound for Seattle.
Shortly after the flight took off, he slipped the stewardess a note saying that he had a bomb in his briefcase and demanded that she write down what he told her to. The stewardess made her way to the captain’s cabin with Cooper’s new note, which demanded four parachutes and $200,000 in $20 bills.
When the flight landed in Seattle, Cooper exchanged the flight’s 36 passengers for the money and parachutes. Cooper kept several crew members, and the plane took off again, ordered to set a course for Mexico City.
Somewhere between Seattle and Reno, a little after 8 p.m., he jumped out of the back of the plane with a parachute and the ransom money. Cooper disappeared into the night and his ultimate fate and identity remain a mystery to this day.
Perhaps the mystery may be another step closer to being solved.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Disney has angered some subscribers to its Disney Plus streaming service by telling users that they have to hand over their date of birth and confirm their gender to continue using the service.
“PROVIDE YOUR BIRTHDATE AND GENDER TO KEEP STREAMING,” the message from Disney reads. “Disney+ now requires additional information from the primary account holder, including your birthdate and what best describes your gender.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Education Department Funding Middle East Studies Centers Pushing ‘Anti-West Ideologies’: New Report
The Golden Horseshoe is a weekly designation from Just The News intended to highlight egregious examples of wasteful taxpayer spending by the government. The award is named for the horseshoe-shaped toilet seats for military airplanes that cost the Pentagon a whopping $640 each back in the 1980s.
This week’s Golden Horseshoe is awarded to the Department of Education (DOE) for giving $2.9 million to 11 university-affiliated Middle East Studies Centers (MESCs) that are promoting left-wing causes and narratives, according to OpenTheBooks.com’s report on a recent investigation.
The public spending watchdog group reported on an investigation by the National Association of Scholars (NAS) concluding that the 11 Middle East Studies Centers, which receive federal funds, have “veered from their purpose, now pushing overtly anti-West ideologies focusing on social issues such as Islamophobia and immigration at the university level, and even pushing critical race theory to K—12 educators.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk said Sunday that free staff lunches at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters were costing more than $400 per meal because ‘almost no one’ was in the office.
He said that according to badge-in records, average occupancy in the office over the last 12 months was below 10%, peaking at 25%.
Musk was tweeting Sunday after The New York Times reported that Twitter employees would have to start paying for office lunches themselves.
He said criticism of the move was “especially bizarre given that almost no one came into the office,” adding: “There are more people preparing breakfast than eating breakfast. They don’t even bother serving dinner, because there is no one in the building.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Appears to Fire Software Engineer Who Argued With Him on Twitter
Elon Musk appears to have fired one of Twitter’s software engineers Monday after the pair argued publicly over what Musk said was the company’s subpar experience for Android users.
And it looks like he did it in a tweet.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Giuliani Won’t Face Criminal Charges After FBI Raided Apartment, Seized Electronics
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will not face criminal charges in connection with an FBI raid on his apartment and the seizure of electronics stored within.
Prosecutors announced the decision in a Monday court filing, per the New York Post, saying “The Government writes to notify the Court that the grand jury investigation that led to the issuance of the above-referenced warrants has concluded, and that based on information currently available to the Government, criminal charges are not forthcoming.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jay Leno Sustains Major Burns in Garage Fire
Former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno has been hospitalized following a fire in his Los Angeles garage.
The gas fire inflicted serious burns on the television personality, Deadline reported. Leno himself appears poised for a recovery, telling the outlet that “I got some serious burns from a gasoline fire. I am OK. Just need a week or two to get back on my feet.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Journalism is ‘Most Regretted’ Major for College Grads
According to a recent survey, Journalism tops a list of the ten “most regretted” college majors that graduates spent time and money getting.
CNBC reports that a whopping 87 percent of college graduates regretted their journalism degree according to a survey of over 1,500 college grads seeking jobs by ZipRecruiter.
In the survey, sociology tied with liberal arts/general studies degrees in second place, both warranting 72 percent of graduates saying they regretted making the choice to major in the field.
64 percent of Communications majors said they regret their choice of degree, followed by 61 percent of those with education degrees.
The list is rounded out, in order, with marketing at 60 percent, medical assisting at 58 percent, political science at 56 percent, and both biology and English degrees getting 52 percent saying they regretted what they had done.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Rules FBI Official Must Sit for Deposition in Big Tech Misinformation Collusion Case
A federal judge has rejected a bid from the Biden administration seeking to block the deposition of an FBI official in connection to a probe exploring bureau efforts to pressure Big Tech companies to censor alleged misinformation.
Republican attorneys general for Missouri and Louisiana had sought the testimony of FBI supervisory special agent Elvis Chan due to his being the “principal point of contact between social-media platforms and the FBI Section that combats so-called ‘disinformation’ on social media,” per the Epoch Times.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NBC News Tells Parents to Vaccinate Their Kids and Shun the Unvaccinated Over the Holidays
NBC’s medical correspondent Dr. John Torres provided his medical insight on an appearance this week, where the network posted a graphic that families should keep their children away from unvaccinated individuals.
“If it’s not one, it’s the other they’re worried about,” said the anchor to Torres, referring to illnesses. “Frankly, why does RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) hit kids so hard, and then it seems like it almost doesn’t affect others?”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New York Family of Woman Slain by Angry Ex Moves to Sue State Over Cashless Bail Laws
The family of a slain upstate New York mom-of-three are considering suing Governor Kathy Hochul and local authorities as the woman was allegedly killed by her ex-boyfriend less than a day after he was put back on the streets via cashless bail.
The family’s lawyer, John Froman, told the New York Post, “The family feels authorities dropped the ball here, resulting in a heinous violent act and the murder of a daughter, sister and grandchild.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Obama and Bush to Present Seminars About Tackling Online “Misinformation”
Former US Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama are to hold conferences encouraging more online censorship.
According to Axios, the conferences by the two former presidents will “highlight rising threats from authoritarianism and disinformation — and how to combat them globally and at home.”
On November 16, the George W. Bush Institute will hold a conference called “The Struggle for Freedom.” The conference will address revitalizing democracy globally. The conference’s third panel is titled “Emerging Technology and the Future of Freedom.”
The conference will be attended by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pence Says Trump’s ‘Reckless’ Rhetoric on Jan. 6 ‘Endangered Me and My Family’
Former Vice President Mike Pence says former President Trump’s “reckless” rhetoric on Jan. 6, 2021, “endangered” him, his family and everyone else in the Capitol building during the riot that day.
“The president’s words were reckless. It was clear he decided to be part of the problem,” Pence said in interview with ABC’s “World News Tonight.”
The network aired a clip of the interview Sunday, ahead of the full interview set to air Monday and the release of Pence’s memoir scheduled for Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Moderna and Pfizer will investigate whether their shots cause long term issues. It will be the first trials to determine long term impacts of the vaccine on the population.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Revealed: Top Maricopa County Election Official Donated to Far-Left ‘Resistance Group’ Patriottakes
On Monday it was revealed that top Maricopa County election officer Stephen Richer, who helped to oversee elections in Arizona, donated to the far-left “resistance group” PatriotTakes.
PatriotTakes is a hybrid pack that describes itself on Twitter as a group of “dedicated researchers monitoring and exposing right-wing extremism and other threats to democracy.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rumble Announces Record 71 Million Monthly Active Users for Q3 2022
In its first earnings call since going public, free speech video sharing platform Rumble reported record financial results for Q3 2022 with significant increases in monthly active users (MAUs), revenue, and more.
The company attracted a record 71 million MAUs in Q3 2022 — a 97% increase compared with Q3 2021’s 36 million MAUs.
Rumble’s revenue also hit a new record high of $11 million for the quarter. This represents a 430% increase compared with Q3 2021’s revenue of $2.1 million.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sen. Josh Hawley: Time to “Bury” Republican Party, “Build Something New”
After a highly disappointing performance in the mid-term elections, Senator Josh Hawley says it’s time to “bury” the old Republican Party and “build something new.”
Although Republicans had a good chance of capturing the Senate, it now appears as though they could end up losing a seat following defeats in Arizona and Nevada, with a run off in Georgia to follow next month.
They are also only set to win the House with a slim majority, far from the relatively easy win predicted, as forecasts of a “red wave” completely failed to materialize.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) reacted to the outcome by calling for massive reform.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Denies Arizona GOP Chair’s Bid to Block Jan. 6 Panel From Reviewing Phone Records
The Supreme Court on Monday denied Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward’s request to keep her cellphone records from the Democrat-led House Jan. 6 panel.
The court vacated the temporary order that Justice Elana Kagan put in place, pausing the phone records from being shared while the court weighed Ward’s request.
Conservative-leaning Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, saying that they would have ruled in Ward’s favor.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Texas authorities are searching for two suspects who fled the scene of a botched home invasion that left one suspect dead.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said that just after 11 p.m. on Thursday “multiple suspects” dressed in body armor kicked in a door at a residence in Katy, which is located about 30 miles outside of Houston.
Once they made it into the home, for “unknown reasons,” the suspects “began shooting immediately,” with one suspect allegedly “inadvertently” shooting his accomplice.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The former University of Virginia football player accused of shooting five of his former teammates, including three fatally, on a charter bus after returning from a class field trip Sunday night had faced a prior hazing investigation, but the matter had been closed, according to UVA campus police.
Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. — apprehended off-campus following a 12-hour manhunt and exhaustive, building-by-building search of the UVA grounds — also was facing a pending disciplinary matter after failing to report a prior February 2021 criminal matter involving a concealed weapon violation that occurred outside of Charlottesville as required of all students attending the D1 university.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Day 22 Recap of Emergencies Act Hearings
No national security threat posed by Freedom Convoy: CSIS
On Day 22 of the Emergencies Act hearings, it was revealed that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) told the federal cabinet that the Freedom Convoy did not constitute a threat to national security just one day prior to the invocation of the Emergencies Act.
Under questioning from Convoy lawyer Brendan Miller, the former deputy minister for public safety Rob Stewart confirmed that CSIS advised the federal cabinet that the Freedom Convoy did not pose a national security threat.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hinshaw Fired as Alberta’s Chief Medical Health Officer
Dr. Deena Hinshaw has been fired as Alberta’s chief medical health officer.
The Alberta government announced on Monday afternoon that Dr. Mark Joffe, the vice-president and medical director for Cancer Care Alberta, will take her place.
In a statement, Joffe said he was honoured to be selected for the role.
“I have always put the needs of my patients first and foremost throughout my career, which will continue as I take on this new challenge,” he said in a statement.
The change comes as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has hinted at firing Hinshaw as she campaigned on overhauling Alberta Health Services (AHS). In her first press conference as premier on Oct. 11, Smith said she will no longer take advice from Hinshaw.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hydro-Quebec Researcher Arrested After Allegedly Spying for China
The RCMP have arrested a Hydro-Quebec researcher after allegedly spying on Canada for the communist Chinese government.
35-year-old Yuesheng Wang is facing four charges including fraud for obtaining trade secrets, breach of trust, obtaining trade secrets and unauthorized use of a computer. The crimes are believed to have taken place between Feb. 2018 and Oct. 2022.
“While employed by Hydro-Québec, Mr. Wang allegedly obtained trade secrets to benefit the People’s Republic of China, to the detriment of Canada’s economic interests,” claimed an RCMP press release.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Investigating Radical Climate Activists Over Emily Carr Painting Vandalism
Police are investigating after radical climate activists in British Columbia threw maple syrup at an Emily Carr painting and glued themselves to a Vancouver Art Gallery wall on Saturday.
Other such incidents of environmental protestors vandalizing famous artwork have been reported around the world in recent weeks.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: Conservative MP Calls Chrystia Freeland ‘The Minister of Netflix’
Conservative MP Jasraj Singh Hallan blasted Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in Parliament today over her absurd suggestion last week that Canadians should consider cutting their Disney+ subscriptions if they are struggling with the rising inflation costs.
“Temperatures are dropping across Canada and Canadians are needing to heat their homes,” Singh said. “Home heating prices are doubling this winter and Liberals will add to the pain by increasing the carbon tax.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Eco-Zealots Are Hauled Away by Police After Vandalising Barclays Banks Across UK
XR activists glue themselves to branch windows, smash glass and cover them in paint in protest over fossil fuel funding
Climate activists have been vandalising branches of Barclays bank across the country this morning — by smashing windows and smearing them in black paint.
Extinction Rebellion groups struck simultaneously in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in protest at the bank’s funding of fossil fuel industries.
Eco-protesters said the bank was facing ‘the biggest ever day’ of climate protests as hundreds of people took action at more than 100 Barclays branches.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former CNN Intern Elected as Slovenia’s First Female President
The official results show that Natasa Pirc Musar, a left-wing independent, has won the second round of the Slovenian presidential election, becoming the country’s first female president.
According to figures released by the Slovenian Election Commission, which showed a 97 percent turnout, Musar, backed by the center-left, won 54 percent of the vote in Sunday’s second round, while former Foreign Minister Anze Logar, also an independent, won 46 percent of the vote.
The central electoral commission has not yet received votes cast abroad, but these are not expected to have a significant impact on the result, which means Musar’s victory is a certainty.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
How Inefficient is German Wind Power?
Germany has focused entirely on renewable energies and is promoting wind turbines throughout the country. However, the operators do not reveal how high the utilisation of their turbines actually are. It has now been calculated and the result has led to a depressing conclusion.
Some 28 000 larger wind turbines are in operation in Germany and no one knows how many of them are profitable. Germany’s wind farm operators hide the data “like a state secret”, reported the NZZ. Therefore, the Swiss daily examined and calculated the utilisation with the help of a simulation for 18 000 of these plants. To do this, it “evaluated hourly weather data over a period of ten years”.
The result is sobering, in some cases even shocking.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Only Nuclear and Renewable Energy Can Secure Czechia, Says PM
Only a combination of nuclear energy and renewable sources will bring energy security to the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said at the opening of the European Nuclear Forum.
A resilient energy system in the country cannot do without a stable energy source with low carbon emissions, and that is nuclear, he added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland: Can You See Any Fascists, Mr. Verhofstadt?
Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) MEP Dominik Tarczynski published a video on social media to show that there were no fascists attending the Independence March that took place in Warsaw over the weekend.
The video was in response to remarks made by Belgian politician Guy Verhofstadt who, following the Independence March in 2017 said, that “60,000 fascists marched in the streets of Warsaw, neo-Nazis and white supremacists.”
Tarczynski stressed in the video that the march is a way of showing Polish pride and is attended by young people and married couples with small children, among others. “Do not call us fascists because it was us, who fought both communism and fascism,” added Tarczynski.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Francis Denounces Exploitative ‘Sirens of Populism’
ROME — Pope Francis condemned conservative populists Sunday, accusing them of exploiting people’s real needs with “facile and hasty solutions.”
“Let us not listen to prophets of doom,” the pontiff said in his homily for the World Day of the Poor. “Let us not be enchanted by the sirens of populism, which exploit people’s real needs by facile and hasty solutions.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Francis Calls for an End to ‘World War III’
The war in Ukraine and the energy crisis featured prominently in this year’s World Day of the Poor, with 1,300 people in need attending a Mass presented by Pope Francis and a joint Vatican lunch on Sunday.
“Instead of solutions that increase the wealth of the few, we must light the lights of hope in the darkness by building a more fraternal world. The third world war is now under way, and instead of fear-induced paralysis, everyone must ask themselves what good they can do,” the pope said during the Mass.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The owner of Romanian side Steaua Bucharest has sensationally announced the club will ban all players vaccinated against Covid-19 from playing for them.
Mr Gigi Becali — a Romanian businessman and politician — said he is not allowing vaccinated players to play anymore because they are ‘powerless’.
Becali went on to claim that people who are vaccinated against the virus die in hospitals, as opposed to those who have refused the jabs.
| — Hat tip: Steen | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: Just Stop Oil Supporters Arrested in Aberdeen Following Protests
Just Stop Oil has covered Aberdeen’s Silver Fin building in orange paint in a sign of “solidarity” with fellow activist group, Extinction Rebellion.
Three of the protestors have since been arrested.
The Union Street offices house Neo Energy and the primary target of the protest, Barclays bank — while oil giant, Shell, will move in soon.
Shell said there were none of its employees in the building at the time, adding that it respects “the right of people to protest and express their point of view”.
Further adding “that society needs to take urgent action on climate change.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Lawmakers Are Concerned Sex Offenders Are Using Amazon’s Alexa to Spy
A serial sex offender admitted to using Alexa to spy on a victim. The case has raised concerns about the privacy risk of household smart devices.
Aaron Herschell, who identified as a trans woman named Alexis in prison, was first jailed in 2017 for attempted rape and again in 2021 for socializing with a minor. Last week, in a separate case at the Livingston Sheriff Court, he said that he spied on his victim by connecting his Amazon Alexa device to her so that he could remotely spy on her conversations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK PM Labels Russia ‘Rogue State’
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is making no “attempt to explain his actions” in Ukraine, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wrote in a statement for The Telegraph on Sunday, ahead of his trip to Bali to participate in the G20 summit.
Sunak demanded that “leaders take responsibility” and “show up,” denouncing Putin for refusing to personally attend the summit “to face his peers” and for sending Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov instead.
The British PM went on to praise Ukraine and its leader Vladimir Zelensky, and outlined a five-part action plan intended to offer more support to Kiev and combat Russia’s “weaponization of food,” and its alleged attempts to “asphyxiate the global economy.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK State Health Patients Will Have No Say Over Data Being Shared With Palantir
The £360m NHS England data platform, a project that will see personal medical data fed into one of the largest healthcare data platforms on the globe, is set to launch and will not require the consent of new patients.
The contract is likely to be awarded to Palantir, a firm chaired by Peter Thiel, one of the largest donors to the Republican Party. Palantir has previously won NHS contracts. The first contract was worth £1 ($1.18), but the company went on to win another contract in December 2020 to provide the NHS with real-time data on the prevalence of the virus and vaccinations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: He Said the Quiet Part Out Loud
Stanley Johnson suggested one of the tools in achieving the ‘net zero’ climate change agenda would be to stop people flying on airlines.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Just Stop Oil Stunt Backfires as Student, 22, Tries to Hurl Bucket of Paint at Barclays HQ
A Just Stop Oil protester has been caught in an embarrassing moment as she accidentally doused herself in orange paint while trying to throw the substance over the window of the Barclays bank HQ in Aberdeen. Lee Matthews, 22, was filmed clutching a tin of orange paint in front of the bank branch as another protester could be seen behind her. As she tries to throw the paint over the window, she fails to follow through and the orange liquid splashes up onto her clothes, staining the bottom of her dress. She then explains her reasoning behind the protest, claiming she is trying to stop Barclays from continuing to “invest in the oil industry”, as she tries to laugh off her ruined clothes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A police force is said to be ‘running out of vegan meals’ after arresting so many Just Stop Oil protestors this week.
Essex Police cracked down on the eco activists last week after they brought chaos to the M25 and caused a police motorcyclist to be thrown from his bike.
The force arrested and charged 17 activists with the disruption and many are being held on remand for the first time rather than receiving bail, meaning they can’t go home.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Trains to Use AI Technology and CCTV to Detect Pre-Crimes
Train operators in the UK plan to introduce an AI-powered CCTV system to monitor crime and “potential” threats on trains.
For instance, the system can detect if a woman sitting alone in a carriage feels threatened when a man approaches or if she doesn’t mind the man sitting next to her. The system can also differentiate “happy drunks” who pose no threat and those who are allegedly looking for a fight.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Istanbul Explosion Live News: Syrian Woman Arrested
Turkish police say they have arrested a Syrian woman for planting a bomb that killed at least six people in central Istanbul on Sunday, and claimed that she had been recruited by Kurdish fighters.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Most G-20 Leaders Agree to Condemn Russia for War in Ukraine
A majority of Group of 20 nations are set to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to a joint statement drafted for the summit on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.
The statement seen by Bloomberg cites a discussion at the summit about the impact of the conflict on the global economy. It refers to the “war in Ukraine” but not “Russia’s war in Ukraine,” and represents a compromise in wording designed to get as many G-20 leaders to sign off as possible.
Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy — constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks,” the draft says.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Premier Smith Banned From Russia After Critics Accused Her of Being “Pro-Putin”
Critics have accused her of pushing “pro-Putin, pro-Russian separatist propaganda,” but that didn’t stop Russian President Vladimir Putin from placing Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on his latest sanctions list.
Smith was banned from Russia along with former Alberta premier Ed Stelmach on Monday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Zelensky Watches Proudly as Ukrainian National Flag is Raised Over Liberated Kherson
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been filmed proudly singing the national anthem as he hosted the raising of the national flag in the recently liberated city of Kherson. Following the humiliating retreat of Russian soldiers from the strategic city last week, Ukraine’s forces quickly marched in, capturing the remaining soldiers and destroying escape routes across the Dnipro river to the southeast. In footage released on Telegram, Mr Zelensky could be seen holding his hand to his heart and singing the national anthem as the national flag was slowly raised up the flagpole. The ceremony marks the official reclaiming of the only provincial capital claimed by Russia since its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police said that Aftab allegedly strangled his live-in partner Shraddha on May 18 after a disagreement to marry her. He then allegedly cut her body into 35 parts and purchased a refrigerator to store them in. Aftab reportedly went out from his home every morning deep night 2 am for the following 18 days to scatter the body parts throughout Mehrauli forest inDelhi.
Jaya Paul | HENB | New Delhi | Nov 14, 2022:: In yet another shocking incident, a Muslm man was arrested for allegedly killing his Hindu live-in partner and chopping her body parts into 35 pieces. The man reportedly disposed of the pieces by throwing them away in different locations around Mehrauli forest in Delhi for 18 days.
Police have identified the accused as Aftab and the deceased victim has been recognised as Sharadha.
As per reports, Sharadha used to work in a Call centre and Aftab used to work as a chef. The family raised suspicion after Sharadha stopped putting updates on her social media platforms and a complaint was submitted to the Delhi Police. Aftab was missing since then, however, he was later arrested yesterday by Mehrauli police.
Delhi police said that “Mehrauli Police solved a six-month-old case and arrested one Aftab for killing one Shraddha, chopping her into pieces and disposing of them. They fell in love while working in Mumbai and came here (>From Mumbai to Delhi) after families’ opposition. He murdered her when she started forcing him for marriage.”
Aftab killed Sraddha
Police said that Aftab allegedly strangled his live-in partner Shraddha on May 18 after a disagreement. He then allegedly cut her body into 35 parts and purchased a refrigerator to store them in. Aftab reportedly went out from his home every morning at 2 am for the following 18 days to scatter the body parts throughout Mehrauli Forest in Delhi, news outlet NDTV reported.
In details, 26-year-old Shraddha worked at the call centre for a multinational company in Mumbai where she met Aftab Ameen Poonawalla. The two started dating and moved in together under a grab of Love Jihad as designed by Aftab. After Shraddha’s family did not approve of their relationship, the couple eloped and came to Delhi. They started living in a flat in Mehrauli.
Soon after, Shraddha stopped responding to her family’s phone calls. On November 8, her father Vikas Madaan came to Delhi to check on his daughter. When he reached the flat, it was locked. He approached the Mehrauli Police and filed a complaint alleging kidnapping.
On the basis of his complaint, police arrested Aftab on Saturday. During investigation, he revealed that the two fought frequently as Shraddha wanted to marry him, police sources said.
After filing a case of murder, Delhi are searching for Shraddha’s body parts if it is found anyway.
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
Private TikTok Accounts Harbor Child Exploitation Content on Platform
An investigation by Forbes has revealed that TikTok has a rampant child sexual exploitation issue, with the platform allowing predators to groom minors and share illegal images through private accounts despite the popular social media app claiming to have a “zero tolerance” policy for child sexual abuse material.
The illegal child sexual exploitation goes on in “post-in-private” accounts, which are explicitly forbidden by TikTok’s security policies but nevertheless exist in abundant quantity.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
At a time when an invasion of Taiwan by Communist China looms ever larger, why worry about TikTok?
Targeted at American teens, TikTok is a mobile app for sharing short videos, owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance. After five short years on the market, it has more than one billion users worldwide. The app has lived under deep suspicion for much of that time, as American cyber-security and counter-intelligence experts have warned about its enormous reach and direct connections to the Chinese Communist Party.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The year 10 students from Bacchus Marsh Grammar, northwest of Melbourne, are accused of stealing items from a Victoria’s Secret shop as well as Croc shoes.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
One of ABC’s best know presenters has apologised to Daniel Andrews’ devoted fanbase after they called for the anchor to be sacked over a question he asked.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
The pack rapist’s house, which was shot up on Sunday night by an unidentified gunman, has been completely obscured on Google.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Cash-Strapped UK Govt to Overspend on Foreign Aid by £1 Billion Due to Migrants
The supposedly cash-strapped British government, currently preparing punishing tax hikes and public service cuts to balance the books, will overspend by around a billion pounds on foreign aid due to the migrant influx.
Around £4 billion (~$4.7 billion) of the British government’s £11 billion (~$13 billion) f+oreign aid budget is being spent on dealing with asylum seekers in Britain itself — paying for them to enjoy free accommodation in luxurious hotels while paying customers are booted out, for example — which is a permissible use of so-called official development assistance (ODA) to which the government has inexplicably bound itself.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Borders Agency: Number of Illegal Migrant Arrivals Spiking
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The European Union’s border agency said Monday that the number of illegal entries by migrants spiked to more than 275,000 in the January through October period this year.
The figure is 73% higher than at the same time in 2021, and the highest since a peak in 2016, Frontex said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Files Supreme Court Brief in Case Over Biden Refusal to Deport Violent Criminal Aliens
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a lawsuit filed by Texas and Louisiana seeking to halt a Department of Homeland Security policy that limited federal agents from detaining and deporting dangerous criminal aliens and instead is allowing them to remain in the U.S.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Migrant ‘Minor’ Arrested for Brutal Robbery Caught Lying About His Age
An African migrant who claimed to be a minor during his arrest for beating and robbing a man with accomplices was found to be lying about his age by French authorities, according to reports.
The brutal assault unfolded at around 6:45 a.m. on Sunday morning in Valence, a commune in southeastern France.
The victim, a 35-year-old man from the commune of Valetin, was on his way home after a night out with friends when he was jumped by three suspects near the Polygone district.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France’s decision to dock migrants from the Ocean Viking NGO ship after Italy refused to take them in has sparked a political firestorm in the country. The move has apparently prompted former Interior Minister Gérard Collomb to break his silence, revealing a number of politically damaging allegations directed at French President Emmanuel Macron.
Collomb gave France’s Le Point magazine information that contradicts the French government claim that taking in 234 illegal immigrants from the Ocean Viking ship was “an extraordinary” one-time decision. In fact, according to Collomb, Macron had actually been pushing to open a migrant reception center in Toulon already in 2018, which is the same port that received the Ocean Viking NGO ship.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Illegal Immigrant Wanted for Murder and Decapitation in Mexico Lived in US for Years
34-year-old Osmar Mendez Martinez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who is wanted in his home country for the murder and decapitation of his fiancée, was arrested in North Houston and then given back over to Mexican officials on Wednesday.
According to Breaking911, acting field office director for ERO (Enforcement and Removal Operations ) Houston Matt Baker said, “This is another example of the strong partnerships that the ERO Houston Field Office has with our international partners and ICE offices abroad.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poll: Two-Thirds of Poles Back Building Border Barrier With Russia’s Kaliningrad
A strong majority of Poles back efforts to build a border barrier with Russia’s Kaliningrad, according to a poll carried out by United Surveys for the portal Wp.pl.
The poll shows that 65 percent of Poles back the construction of a wall on the border with Russia’s Kaliningrad region in order to ensure greater border security from hybrid attacks of the sort facilitated by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on the Polish-Belarusian border.
Only 23 percent were opposed to the measure proposed recently by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government, while 12 percent had no view on the matter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Protecting the Hungarian-Serbian Border From Illegal Immigration is Key, Says Czech PM
Within the framework of the presidency of the Council of the EU, the Czech Republic, with the support of Slovakia, will demand greater involvement by other countries in the protection of the external Schengen border, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Friday.
Fiala met with Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger on Thursday to discuss solutions to the illegal migration and checks on the Czech-Slovak border. Both countries revealed their desire to take steps to open the border for EU citizens in the coming days, but checks will continue for now.
“Protecting the Hungarian-Serbian border is key to mitigating migration,” said Fiala. “Czechia is ready to double the number of police officers operating on the border from 40 to 80 in the spring,” he added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New York City will spend nearly $600million per year to house, educate, and provide health and legal aid to the thousands of migrants who have come to the city in recent months.
The figures were compiled by the Independent Budget Office [IBO] at the request of Staten Island politicians, and were based on the 17,500 migrants that had arrived in New York as of November.
Based on those numbers, the IBO found the city will spend ‘at least’ $596million per year on migrants, and that an expected additional 10,000 individuals would add $246 million in expenses.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rishi’s “deal” with France to stop illegal boat migrants is guaranteed to fail.
What incentivize does France have to stop them leaving their country?
The only solution is get out of ECHR and process asylum claims on neutral territory at a snail’s pace.
That will disincentivize economic migrants from attempting to cross.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK to Pay French Government £63 Million a Year to Better Man Its Borders
Britain and France have signed another agreement in an attempt to curb the record-level number of migrants crossing from the European mainland to Britain this year.
The deal, signed on Monday by Home Secretary Suella Braverman and her French counterpart, Gérald Darmanin, will see Britain pay the French government £63 million a year to increase its surveillance on French beaches and allow British police officers to observe patrols on French territory.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Climate Reparations? UN Summit Releases Draft Plan for Climate Damage Fund
As international representatives meet for the United Nations’ COP27 climate summit, a draft agreement is circulating among them that includes a plan to establish a fund to compensate countries for damages incurred due to climate change.
The plan would start a two-year implementation process and prepare a funding plan that may include a U.N.-operated funding facility, according to The Hill. It does not specify the kind of damages for which the fund would provide compensation nor does it specify amounts.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Guardian has been accused by one of its columnists of ‘censoring’ important discussions about gender identity.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
World Population Expected to Hit 8 Billion on Nov. 15
The world’s human population is expected to reach 8 billion on Tuesday, according to a United Nations report released earlier this year.
The United Nations will host events on Tuesday to mark “milestone in human development” that is the “Day of Eight Billion,” according to NEXSTAR. The population cleared 7 billion just 12 years ago and is expected to reach 9 billion in another 15 years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Blame Whitey. Make him pay.
Until whitey gets mad and does what he always does when 3rd worlders vex him, go to war and tears up the Queensbury rules and gets busy with a massive Purge.
If you have a look at the global population pyramid you will see that it is no longer a pyramid, but looks more like a rectangular block. This is because the number of people at the bottom, babies, is now more closely matched by the number of people at the top. Due to health and logistics (food) improvements, people are not dying off and are living longer.
The concern over the total population has led to governments ignoring this at their peril and now there are not enough children and young people coming up to care for those say over 75. It will be difficult for this small number of young people to work to keep society going and to provide care for elderly. They can only do one job. This is what is driving the chronic labour shortages. The baby boomers dropping out in the last year or so has made it critical. It will not reverse.
Fighting for children.Countries are now fighting each other for their children. Education industries luring them in is an example. In part, I think the Ukraine war was a bit about children, in that Putin knows he needs children and he could not bear to see the Ukrainians slaughtering all those young Russian speaking fertile people in Eastern Ukraine. Every time a family of 6 popped out of a cellar I imagined Putin rubbing his hands and adding them to his pile like Scrooge. Just look at all the programs to encourage Russians to have children that he has introduced; money, loans, medals etc. Putin wants people. I think remember Putin saying he didn’t not want Ukraine to become “empty” and filled with god knows what. This would have happened if the Ukraine joined the EU and all their young people left to work in the EU.
China is facing a demographic crisis similar to the west and is not letting as many leave now. Their population has aged very quickly as they have had so few children. Their “pyramid” is like a deformed sausage.
The EU lets in new members so they can “steal” their children, luring them in with jobs and money, then they need new members to replace them. Expanding the EU appears to make no logical sense. It is only sensible when you realise that it is about children, then it makes perfect sense.
The country that has children will ensure it’s long term survival. We all know that on GOV.
I agree with you, however at the risk of being provocative I am going to point out there’s another solution to the problem of how to support an oversized elderly population on the backs of the younger generations which undoubtedly western governments are well aware of – cause them to die off.
There was more than a hint of this in many governors response to the CCP virus of stuffing infected elderly patients into nursing homes resulting in many elderly deaths. Wars, supply chain disruptions, skyrocketing prices of heat and energy groceries etc., make life difficult for everyone but even more so for elderly pensioners. If there are truly serious shortages of necessities along with hyperinflation across western economies, it wouldn’t be younger healthier members of society getting thrown under the bus. Expensive medical treatments and shortages of medicines would likely result in mass die-offs of elderly who are dependent on such for their survival. If this is the intent, then actuarial pressure on untold numbers of government programs will be significantly eased, but I suspect that the real intent is to cause the die-off of as much of the population as possible in order to further the elite Malthusian or neo-serfdom dreams.
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https://www.snaphanen.dk/2022/11/14/vil-demokratiet-overleve-det-21-
aarhundrede/#more-198875
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Will democracy survive the 21st century?
13/11-22
By Lats Hedegaard
Danish domestic politics
Torben Mark Pedersen asks this question after half of the parliamentary parties are apparently prepared to review the government’s breach of the constitution in order to retain power. Voters have even rewarded the Social Democrats, who are also met with goodwill in most media. From now on, there is nothing to worry about: the Constitution is for amateurs, and the future belongs to people like Mette Frederiksen and Barbara Bertelsen.
But this is only the beginning. Soon we will be living with Islamic parties whose only agenda is more Muslim immigration and more power for the followers of the Prophet. The flip side will be anti-Islamic parties, which according to Torben Mark Pedersen will make “Stram Kurs look like a kindergarten”.
And, one might add, the rest of the population can continue to play democrats while their real – enforced – concern will be naked physical security. People will increasingly isolate themselves with like-minded people. This is what is happening in “diverse” societies like Northern Ireland during the “Troubles” and Bosnia in the 1990s, where issues like pensions, tax policy and “welfare” had to give way to mere survival.
So the answer to Torben Mark Pedersen’s question is no! The prerequisites of democracy include a minimum of common culture and the majority’s commitment to a common set of values, i.e. a generally accepted framework within which opinions can be broken without tearing the state apart.
These preconditions will not exist in a future increasingly determined by identity politics, which means that people will have less and less to rally around. We will isolate ourselves into tribes that define themselves in opposition to other tribes, while traditional political divisions between right and left will lose their significance.
It was not obvious that this would happen. It is a development that has been pushed by politicians, media and experts who have opened the country to ethnicisation and called it progress.
The cold, harsh, brutal, bottom line is thus, no two completely different groups, ethnically, religiously and culturally have NEVER EVER coexisted together in the history of man, and this will inevitably result in a Balkans type scenario, just like it has throughout history. This is no different with the 3rd world invading the western world, sooner or later, massive amounts of blood will spill, history says so.
A more recent event in the last couple of years is the request to round up for some cause when you are at a check out. What I wonder is through any of the entities associated with the transaction, the retailer or the bank or credit card company, is there any ESG related data compilation associated with you and your transaction?
Not only that.
On Facebook you are bombarded with “Live vegan!”, in advertisements the vegan selection gets pushed and you find tips for not wasting energy and supporting a green lifestyle aka ESG everywhere.
Someone is controlling all of this.
Klaus Schwab, Soros, anybody?
One of the Quiet Ones: I find the checkout donation requests to be annoying. Not only are the requests an imposition on customer privacy and time, but, the extra steps during the check out process (especially at national chain stores, and over millions of transactions) distract employees and cause longer checkout lines. The problem has significant implications at chain pharmacies, where pharmacy staff, already overworked and pressed for time, should be 100% focused on filling prescriptions, rather than fooling with donations at checkout.
/rant off