CNN CEO Chris Licht announced mass layoffs that will begin later this week. Meanwhile, National Public Radio (NPR) has found it necessary to implement a hiring freeze.
In other news, Serbia has registered 109,000 illegal migrants so far this year.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, Fjordman, LP, MM, Reader from Chicago, Roger, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
CNN will be hit by mass layoffs on Wednesday and Thursday, according to a memo from the cable network’s CEO Chris Licht.
He told employees CNN will inform paid contributors Wednesday of their status and full-time employees will be informed if they are still employed Thursday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Faces Questions About Crypto Collapse at NYT Summit
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried appeared on Wednesday via video feed at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit and faced questions about the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange in the form of an interview by Times’ financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin.
FTX announced that it would move forward with bankruptcy filings earlier this month. The firm had been worth $32 billion and reports have indicated that at least $1 billion in client funds have disappeared, affecting roughly 1 million investors. Also reportedly missing are millions of dollars’ worth of company assets. Bankman-Fried himself is facing allegations that he secretly transferred $10 billion from FTX to Alameda Research, a bankrupt firm he also controls.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NPR Freezes Hiring as Sponsorship Revenue Tanks
National Public Radio, more commonly known as NPR, is planning to “severely restrict” hiring, seemingly participating in the pattern of media and technology companies cutting costs in recent months.
In an internal memo, obtained by Bloomberg, NPR Chief Executive Officer John Lansing said that the media organization, which is both publicly and privately funded, needs to reduce spending by millions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Private Jobs Report Reveals Steep Decline in Hirings for November
The private sector added a net 127,000 jobs in November, according to a monthly report from payroll processing firm ADP.
The group reported 239,000 jobs added in October, per CNBC. November’s numbers marked the lowest since January of 2021. The ADP metric precedes that of the Labor Department by two days.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Real Wages in Czechia Are Falling at Fastest Rate on Record, Analysis Shows
Czechia is currently undergoing the sharpest drop in real wages in its independent history to date, as well as among the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Compared to last year, Czechs will earn approximately 170 billion korunas (€7 billion) less this year, according to a report from Cyrrus. Analyst Vit Hradil says real wages fell by 8.9 percent in the third quarter and will fall by 8.3 percent for the whole year, with high inflation being the highest contributing factor.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
American Woman Who Led ISIS Battalion Sentenced to 20 Years
Allison Fluke-Ekren Provided Military Training to Over 100 Women and Young Girls in Syria on Behalf of ISIS and Committed Numerous Other Terrorist Acts
A U.S. citizen was sentenced to 20 years in prison today in the Eastern District of Virginia for organizing and leading an all-female military battalion in Syria on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.
According to court documents, Allison Fluke-Ekren, aka Allison Ekren, aka Umm Mohammed al-Amriki, and aka Umm Mohammed, 42, a former resident of Kansas, traveled overseas and, from in or about September 2011 through in or about May 2019, engaged in terrorist acts in multiple countries, including Syria, Libya and Iraq. Fluke-Ekren ultimately served as the leader and organizer of an ISIS military battalion, known as the Khatiba Nusaybah, where she trained women on the use of automatic firing AK-47 assault rifles, grenades and suicide belts. Over 100 women and young girls, some as young as 10 years old, received military training from Fluke-Ekren in Syria on behalf of ISIS.
[Comment: Article dated November 1, 2022.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Appeals Court Upholds Pause on Air Force Vaccine Mandate
The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has sided with unvaccinated Air Force service members by upholding an injunction pausing the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The Ohio-based court wrote Tuesday that “the Air Force agreed that it has granted zero religious exemptions to anyone who does not plan to leave the service within a year.”
The court also said the Air Force has “provided no statistics on the total number of medical or administrative exemptions that personnel have requested or that it has granted.”
The ruling comes in response to a class action lawsuit from 18 active-duty and reserve members who were denied religious exemptions to the COVID vaccine mandate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: Masked Far-Left Activists Protest Charlie Kirk Appearance at University of New Mexico
Masked far-left protesters descended upon an event with Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on the campus of the University of New Mexico, marching with signs and chanting expletives at the conservative activist.
In videos shared by Kirk to The Post Millennial, people wearing mostly black with their faces obstructed by masks and hoods crowded outside of the event at the Albuquerque, New Mexico campus.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Connecticut Man Admits to Attempting to Travel to the Middle East to Join and Fight for ISIS
Ahmad Khalil Elshazly, 25, of West Haven, Connecticut, pleaded guilty today in Bridgeport federal court to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.
According to court documents and statements made in court, beginning in approximately September 2018, Elshazly, a U.S. citizen, expressed a desire to travel to Syria and the surrounding area to fight on behalf of ISIS. In numerous conversations online and in person, he pledged allegiance to ISIS and its leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. For example, in October 2019, Elshazly sent a message pledging allegiance (bayat) to the new leader of ISIS, saying “I pledge my allegiance…to the Khilafah (the successor of the leadership) of the Muslims Abu Ibrahim Al Husseini Al Hashami Al Qurashi…” (after Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi’s death).
On Dec.14, 2019, Elshazly paid $500 to a person he believed was an ISIS facilitator who would be able to smuggle him out of the U.S. to Turkey. He further believed that travelling to Turkey would enable him to connect with ISIS members overseas who, in turn, would assist him with traveling to ISIS within Syria. On Dec. 15, 2019, Elshazly was arrested after he arrived in Stonington, Connecticut, where he expected to board a boat to begin his trip.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Country Singer Jake Flint Dies Hours After Wedding at Age 37
Country singer-songwriter Jake Flint passed away in his sleep just hours after his wedding. He was 37.
Flint’s publicist confirmed to The Oklahoman on Tuesday that the singer died in his sleep after his wedding Saturday at a rural Oklahoma homestead. His cause of death is still unknown.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Court is Asked to Order a Stop to Government-Directed Social Media Censorship
The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) non-profit has lodged an appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit asking it to stop what it considers to be government-directed social media censorship.
The case in question is Changizi, et al. v. HHS, et al., which NCLA believes should be allowed to progress. Previously, a lower court dismissed the filing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democratic-Led House Passes Bill to Avoid Railroad Strike
The Democratic-led House passed a bill on Wednesday to avoid a national railroad strike in a bipartisan vote of 290-137.
The membership of four out of 12 railroad labor unions had opposed the tentative agreement, which the Biden Administration reached with railroad companies and labor leaders, prompting President Biden to call for Congress to get involved.
The bill that passed is aimed at addressing the “unresolved disputes between certain railroads represented by the National Carriers’ Conference Committee of the National Railway Labor Conference and certain of their employees.”
The House also passed legislation 221-207 that would increase the number of paid sick days for railroad workers from one to seven.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Drops Bombshell: Twitter ‘Has Interfered in Elections’
Elon Musk has dropped a massive bombshell by confirming that Twitter “has interfered in elections.”
Musk made the explosive revelation as he prepares to release internal files from Twitter on the company’s censorship practices before he took over the social media platform in late October.
As Slay News reported, Musk recently announced that he plans to publish internal conversations between Twitter executives that show discussions on censoring users and information.
In particular, he is releasing discussions regarding the censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal in the run-up to the 2020 election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Meets Apple CEO Tim Cook, Says Twitter Not at Risk of Getting Pulled From App Store
Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter this week to blast Apple Inc.’s policies, but the newly minted Twitter owner said any strain had been resolved by Wednesday afternoon.
Elon Musk met Tim Cook at Apple’s campus on Wednesday. He described it as a “good conversation” and said Cook made it clear that Apple’s App Store would not be removing the Twitter app.
Musk also thanked Cook for a tour of the Apple campus in Cupertino, California commenting on their “beautiful HQ.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Biden administration’s nuclear waste guru appeared as a presenter at a fetish conference in weeks after they admitted that they stole a woman’s suitcase at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
FBI Investigating Georgia School Shooting Hoaxes as ‘Acts of Domestic Terrorism’, Kemp Says
Active shooters were reported in schools at least three cities in south and southeast Georgia on Wednesday morning.
ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday vowed authorities “will go after” the perpetrators of school threats and hoaxes, after several schools in southeast Georgia were sent into a panic over rumors of school shootings.
The governor added that the FBI is already investigating the hoaxes as “acts of domestic terrorism.”
The report of an active shooter generated a major police response at Savannah High School before officials confirmed a hoax, and 11Alive’s sister station in Jacksonville, First Coast News, reported an active shooter hoax happened at Brunswick High School. The City of Valdosta also reported a lockdown at Valdosta High School in response to a hoax.
Closer to Atlanta, there were also reports of similar situations at Cartersville High School and Forsyth Central High School.
Gov. Kemp said in his statement — calling these incidents a “cruel hoax” — that in each of these situations, “law enforcement across all levels immediately sprang into action.”
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Google’s Handing Over of Location Data on January 6th Protesters Was a New Record
The investigation into January 6 events in Washington is said to be the FBI’s biggest in history; and another record that was broken, reports say, is the number of phones identified via the geofence dragnet mass surveillance method, and thanks to Google.
There is still no consensus between various US courts on how valid, under the 4th, lawful search-related amendment, geofence warrants even are.
Nevertheless, of the 5,723 devices that Google identified for the FBI “initially” about 900 people have been charged for some offense related to the riot.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
GOP Rep. Jordan Demands the FBI Answer for Informants Who Provided ‘Bogus Information’
Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan has written to FBI Director Christopher Wray demanding that he account for the bureau’s use of “secret informants” that provided “bogus information.”
In a Wednesday letter, Jordan informed Wray that lawmakers are “conducting oversight of the FBI’s management of its Confidential Human Source (CHS) program and how the FBI handles secret informants.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hackers Release Personal Info of Millions of Twitter Users After Pilfering Data Last Year
Hackers have published the personal information of 5.4 million Twitter users, including high-profile celebrities and politicians, to an online forum after stealing the data in December 2021.
Twitter said the vulnerability that allowed the hackers to pilfer the information was fixed in January 2022, according to the outlet, The Daily Dot on Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hollywood Celebrity Fitness Trainer Eric Fleishman Dies Suddenly at 53
One of Hollywood’s top celebrity fitness trainers, Eric Fleishman, has tragically died suddenly at just 53 years old, according to reports.
Fleishman, known among his A-list star clients as “Eric The Trainer,” died “unexpectedly” at his home in Glendale, California on Thanksgiving.
Fleishman’s family announced his death in a statement posted on Instagram.
“We are heartbroken to share that Eric Phillip Fleishman passed away unexpectedly on the morning of November 24, 2022,” the post reads.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House Panel Gets Trump Tax Returns
The House Ways and Means Committee has obtained former President Donald Trump’s tax returns, years after first demanding he hand them over.
Multiple outlets have reported that the Department of the Treasury has complied with the House Ways and Means Committee’s request for the documents.
Trump had for years attempted to deny the documents to the House committee, though the Supreme Court earlier this month ended the dispute by ordering their surrender to lawmakers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republican Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) has fired a warning at Apple CEO Tim Cook after it emerged that the tech giant is helping “to crack down on speech at the Chinese Communist Party’s behest” while suppressing the First Amendment rights of Americans back home.
As Slay News reported earlier, reports are emerging to suggest that Apple helped the CCP suppress anti-lockdown protesters by blocking a communication tool used by demonstrators.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judicial Watch Files FOIA Suit Against DHS for Censorship Records
Conservative watchdog Judicial Watch announced on Wednesday it had filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit against the Department of Homeland Security to obtain records connected to the DHS’s misinformation censorship efforts.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Man Who Rescued Woman, Teen in Pigtown Explosion Remains in Critical Condition
BALTIMORE — Terry Bagley, a 70-year-old Marine veteran, remains in critical condition after he rescued a woman and a teenager from the aftermath of an explosion in Baltimore’s Pigtown neighborhood last week.
The explosion, which involved a ruptured gas line and damaged multiple homes, left a 16-year-old girl, a 48-year-old woman and Bagley hospitalized.
The woman remains hospitalized but in stable condition, and the teen has since been released from the hospital, fire officials said. They were in the home at the time of the explosion.
Bagley was walking by the home on Bayard Street in Southwest Baltimore last Tuesday when a home exploded and went up in flames, a family member told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren last week.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Married Couple Stabbed to Death in Marshfield Home; Suspect Sought, Authorities Say
MARSHFIELD — Authorities are searching for a 27-year-old man who allegedly killed a married couple in their 70s in their South Shore home, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said Wednesday.
Around 9:20 p.m. on Tuesday, the bodies of Carl W. Mattson and his wife, Vicki L. Mattson, were found inside their Gotham Hill Drive home in Marshfield, where they had lived since 1989, according to Cruz and town records.
The couple had “obvious signs of trauma” and the state medical examiner later concluded they had been “stabbed and bludgeoned to death,” Cruz said at a morning news conference. Vicki Mattson would have turned 71 on Wednesday; Carl Mattson was 70.
Cruz, Marshfield Police Chief Phillip A. Tavares, and State Police Colonel Christopher Mason said they want to locate Christopher Keeley and warned that he is “armed and dangerous.”
“This does not appear to be a random act of violence,’’ Cruz said. “Keeley was acquainted with the victims. This appears to be a targeted attack.”
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
McCarthy Says GOP Will Not ‘Go After People Simply Because of Their Political Views’
House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said during a press conference on Tuesday that Christian conservative Nick Fuentes “has no place” in the Republican Party and his ideology “has no place in society at all” just minutes before claiming the GOP will not “go after people simply because of their political views” when they take back power.
“I don’t think anybody should be spending any time with Nick Fuentes,” McCarthy told the press, referencing Trump’s dinner with Ye and Fuentes. “He has no place in this Republican Party.”
“I condemn his ideology,” McCarthy said, “it has no place in society — at all!”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Michigan Man Charged With Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISIS
A Michigan man was charged, in an indictment unsealed today in the Eastern District of Michigan, with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, aka ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization, and for being a felon in possession of a destructive device.
According to the indictment, Aws Mohammed Naser, 34, formerly of Westland, attempted to provide material support to ISIS, in the form of personnel (including himself) and services, knowing that ISIS was a designated terrorist organization, and that ISIS engages in terrorism. In addition, Naser is charged with being a felon in possession of a destructive device in October 2017.
[Comment: Article dated November 15, 2022.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More Charges Against Teen for ISIS-Inspired Plot Show Threat to Chicago May Have Been More Serious
CHICAGO (WLS) — There are more serious charges against a Maine teenager who’s accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on a mosque in Chicago.
Xavier Pelkey, 19, is now charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, along with the possession of unregistered destructive devices.
According to an FBI search warrant obtained by the I-Team, Pelkey planned to separate worshipers at a Chicago Shia mosque then kill all the adults.
Investigators cited statements from other teenagers allegedly involved in the plot, evidence that Pelkey planned to bring guns and ammunition to Chicago in addition to the explosive devices.
The homemade bombs, according to court records, were cooked up and concocted out of easily purchased items. That is the new ISIS MO: use what you have and can find to maim and kill.
According to federal law enforcement, Pelkey’s home in rural Maine was bomb central.
Months ago the teenager allegedly had an intricate ISIS-inspired plot with associates in Kentucky and Illinois and targets included churches, mosques and synagogues in Chicago.
Initially, in Maine federal court, Pelkey was charged with simple crimes: possession of explosive devices.
But this month he was indicted on terrorism related charges. Wednesday, he went before a federal judge and pleaded not guilty.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nearly a Quarter of Countries Forcefully Stopped Religious Gatherings During COVID, Report
Nearly a quarter of countries around the world used physical force to stop religious gatherings in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study.
The study published Tuesday by the Pew Research Center also found religious groups in more than a third of those countries defied the lockdowns.
Authorities used physical means, including arrests and prison sentences, to enforce COVID-related mitigation measures in 23% of 198 countries and territories in a study.
In the U.S., police in New Jersey arrested 15 people at a rabbi’s funeral that violated the state’s ban on public gatherings, according to the report. The arrests were made after some mourners reportedly became unruly and argumentative when police tried to disperse the crowd.
Religious groups in 37% of the surveyed countries faced various outside attempts to deter them from meeting during the COVID outbreak in 2020, the study also found.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley appears to be considering breaking her pledge that she wouldn’t run against President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Haley had previously said she wouldn’t run for president in 2024 if Trump confirmed his bid.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NJ Synagogue Threats Inspired by ISIS: Feds
SAYREVILLE, NJ — Federal authorities publicly identified the person they recently accused of threatening to attack synagogues and Jewish people. Omar Alkattoul, 18, of Sayreville, sent a message on social media with a document that stated, “It’s in the context of an attack on Jews,” the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.
Alkattoul was charged with one count of transmitting a threat in interstate and foreign commerce. He’s scheduled to appear Thursday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jessica S. Allen in Newark federal court.
In the document, the man called Osama bin Laden a hero and said he’d carry out the attack on behalf of the Islamic State — the terrorist organization also known as ISIS — the DOJ said.
[Comment: Article dated November 10, 2022.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Portland REI Location Increases Security Following Three Break-ins in 1 Week
On the busiest shopping day of the year, a car crashed through the glass front doors of the REI in Portland’s Pearl District.
It is the store’s third break-in one week according to The Oregonian, and the latest in a slew of robberies at Portland stores.
The outlet reported that no employees were in the store at the time of the incident as it was closed for the company’s annual “Opt Outside” day, REI’s alternative to Black Friday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Preacher Accused of Being ISIS Marriage Broker Faces Trial in New York
In late 2016, Abdullah el-Faisal, a Jamaican preacher who was an outspoken supporter of the Islamic State, began communicating on WhatsApp with a woman in New York who claimed to be an aspiring jihadist with medical training.
He offered to help her join the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, prosecutors in Manhattan said, and made an introduction to a member of the group, which is known for carrying out brutal executions, including drownings and beheadings in the Middle East. Mr. Faisal described the man as someone who not only would help her travel to join extremist fighters — but who would be a suitable husband.
Mr. Faisal also sounded a note of caution, counseling care in discussing ISIS by telephone, writing: “many pple got arrested just from text messages.”
Now those messages form the basis of a criminal case against Mr. Faisal in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. The woman was not a would-be jihadist but an undercover officer with the New York Police Department, one of several who posed as women who wanted his help to become ISIS brides.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Seattle Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison After Trying to Join ISIS
A Seattle man who attempted to travel to the Middle East and join the Islamic State group of Iraq and al-Sham was sentenced to four years in prison Tuesday.
Elvin Hunter Bgorn Williams, 22, was arrested by federal agents last year at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Egypt, where he planned to attend an ISIS training camp in the Sinai Desert, according to court records. He was charged with providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Williams’ sentence, four years imprisonment with 15 years of supervised release, is far less than the 15 years originally requested by federal prosecutors.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Texas Good Samaritan Fatally Stabbed by Felon Free on Bond, Police Say
A Texas man was stabbed to death earlier this month by a convicted felon who was free on bond during a series of robberies, according to reports.
Greg Downs, 61, was killed on Nov. 3 when he crossed paths with George Albert Hodge, who was a wanted fugitive at the time for violating his bail conditions and failing to appear in court.
“Basically from 2006 until right now, he’s been in and out of county jails and prisons. He’s got eight prior felony convictions,” Andy Kahan with Houston Crime Stoppers, told Fox Houston.
Hodge, 35, was granted bond for a felony evading arrest charge and had allegedly violated the bond within weeks of being free.
On Nov. 3, he allegedly stole a car and showed up at a motel where he reportedly went door to door, robbing people. Downs was outside and was taking down the license plate number of the car used by Hodge, who apparently noticed.
“It was George Hodge at the door, and he had a knife, and started stabbing my dad,” Downs’ daughter, Ashley Ballesteros, told the news outlet.
Downs was taken to a hospital where he died. Hodge was arrested after fleeing the scene, the Houston Police Department said.
“These judges need to be held accountable for granting people like George Hodge bond,” Ballesteros said.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
A former Twitter executive, who was instrumental in the decision to ban President Donald Trump from the platform and censor the Hunter Biden laptop story, has finally come clean about the moves.
Yoel Roth, who was the head of Twitter’s “Trust and Safety” team, admitted that the decisions were a mistake.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Washington Post Makes Public Complaint About Twitter’s Free Speech Direction
Those who expected Twitter polls to be a “scientific feature” on the social network will be sorely disappointed to find out that may not be the case; among them is the editorial board of the Washington Post.
There is, however, one thing that disappoints and upsets that board even more over on Twitter: Elon Musk. And his understanding of free speech, which he is now, to their seemingly great chagrin, free to exercise as the owner of the platform.
Apparently, while in a somewhat “doublethink” frame of mind, WaPo’s Editorial Board is arguing that the efforts to bring (back) — and therefore protect — free speech on Twitter are in fact harming free expression.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Waukesha Christmas Parade Killer Darrell Brooks Files Notice to Appeal His Conviction
A Wisconsin man sentenced earlier this month to six consecutive life sentences for plowing his red SUV through a Christmas parade in Waukesha County in 2021 and killing six people plans to appeal his conviction, according to court documents.
In a handwritten letter obtained by Fox station WITI in Milwaukee and filed on Nov. 29, Darrell Edward Brooks Jr. informed the courts that he intends to seek post-conviction relief.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hollywood Star Jim Carrey Has Meltdown, Slams Elon Musk, Announces He is ‘Leaving Twitter’
Hollywood star Jim Carrey has announced that he is “leaving Twitter” after slamming Elon Musk in a bizarre rant (on Twitter).
The “woke” Canadian actor joins several other celebrities who have closed their account or threatened to leave Twitter since Musk took over the company last month.
Before making his announcement, Carrey posted a rambling meltdown where he appeared to trash Musk.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pierre Poilievre on the Emergencies Act, Firearms, Drugs and Provincial Sovereignty
In his first appearance on True North since becoming leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre sat down with Andrew Lawton for a wide-ranging interview about his agenda and priorities.
Poilievre and Lawton discuss the Public Order Emergency Commission and broader implications of Justin Trudeau’s invocation of the Emergencies Act.
They also discuss the drug epidemic sweeping Canadian communities, Liberal gun bans and Alberta’s new sovereignty act, among other things.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The ‘All is Beauty’ video ad, launched by La Maison Simons, centers around a terminally ill Canadian woman named Jennyfer, 37, who ended her life with medication intervention in October.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
EU Bureaucrats Threaten to Ban Twitter Unless Elon Musk Complies With Strict Censorship Rules
The European Union has threatened to ban Twitter unless Elon Musk complies with the bloc’s strict rules on content moderation and agrees to censor users.
EU bureaucrats issued the threat during a videoconference today with Musk, Twitter’s new owner and CEO.
Thierry Breton, the EU’s commissioner in charge of implementing the bloc’s digital rules, is demanding that the social media platform follows the EU’s strict rules on content moderation.
Breton made the threat during a video meeting with Musk, according to media reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An eco-zealot has sparked fury for using GoFundMe to pay court fines imposed for her illegal acts.
Gabriella Ditton, 28, who has been arrested more than 16 times, is using the crowdfunding platform to help pay her court fines and has so far raised more than £2,000.
The money will enable her to continue disrupting traffic and taking part in direct protest action.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Climate Fanatics Target Airports
The climate fanatics of the Last Generation are no longer an annoying nuisance but have become a danger to life and limb due to the benevolent approval of Germany’s spy chief Thomas Haldenwang. Their actions are increasingly radical, on the verge of terrorism aimed at airports and concert halls.
After months of bringing traffic to a standstill with their absurd road blockades, hampering rescue operations and keeping people from going to work, they made their way to Berlin Airport BER for the first time last week, where they glued themselves to the runway.
Air traffic had to be halted, five take-offs canceled and 15 planned landings diverted. Arriving planes were diverted to Leipzig, Hanover or Dresden, others had to fly in holding patterns. The police eventually removed the “activists”. According to the airport operator, 750 passengers were affected.
Massive danger to life and limb
Apart from the damage in the millions, this protest could have ended in a catastrophe, for example if flights with transplanted organs had not been able to land. After the action, the entire airport area had to be searched for dangerous objects to prevent them from endangering take-offs and landings.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In a departure from convention, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will not personally travel to Budapest to announce the adoption of the Hungarian recovery plan on Wednesday, a Commission spokesman said on Tuesday, without giving an explanation for the cancellation of the trip.
Commission spokesman Eric Mamer refused to elaborate as to why the trip was canceled, saying only that von der Leyen was not obliged to make the announcement in person, despite the fact that the commission chief has so far visited every country to make a personal announcement where EU funding is concerned.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Populist PM Meloni Refuses to Drop Libel Case Against Writer Over ‘Bastard’ Comment
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has refused to drop a libel case against an Italian writer she claims insulted her and insinuated she was to blame for migrant deaths at sea.
Prime Minister Meloni stated this week that she had no intention of withdrawing a libel complaint against anti-mafia writer Roberto Saviano, who spoke out against Meloni prior to her election as Prime Minister, calling the Brother of Italy (FdI) leader a “bastard” on television in December of 2020.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Morawiecki and Abascal Hope for Poland-Spain World Cup Final During Warsaw Meeting
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and the leader of the Spanish conservative Vox party, Santiago Abascal, met in Warsaw during the latter’s visit to Poland.
In a social media post, Morawiecki told Abascal that he hoped Spain and Poland, who both top their groups after the first two games of the FIFA World Cup, would meet up at some stage of the finals. He added that Poland’s superior defense and break-away attacks with Poland’s star Robert Lewandowski would prevail over Spain’s star-studded line-up.
Abascal claimed that the Spanish people would support Poland right up until the final in which he hoped Poland would play Spain, and assured that whatever the result of such a final, the two nations would remain friends.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Much Ado About Nothing? Hungary is Blocking NATO-Ukraine Meetings But Has Been Since 2017
There have been hysterical media reports that Hungary is blocking Ukraine from meeting with NATO, in another allusion that Hungary is working against Ukraine and attempting to undermine its fight against Russia. However, the reality is that Hungary has been blocking Ukraine from such meetings since 2017, and it has to do with Ukraine’s continued repression of its Hungarian minority.
As NATO foreign ministers arrived to the Romanian capital for a two-day summit, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjartó confirmed his country’s position that it has been blocking Ukraine’s participation in NATO events since 2017.
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Just Stop Oil activists brought central London traffic to a standstill once again today with a slow march as they ramp up their eco campaign, and were seen laughing and joking with police officers who escorted them.
The eco-warrior group has been blocking roads by slow-marching along the street, with police following behind them without taking action to stop the disruption.
Video footage shows protesters walking slowly outside the Barbican centre holding banners saying ‘just stop new oil’ while chanting ‘no new oil, no new gas’.
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Qatar Official Admits ‘500’ Workers Died During World Cup Construction
A Qatar government official has admitted that “between 400 and 500” workers died during the construction of the country’s new World Cup stadiums and infrastructure.
In order to host the FIFA World Cup, Qatar spent $300 billion on the construction of tournament-related infrastructure, including stadiums, hotels, highways, railways, and an expanded international airport.
In Qatar, migrant workers make up 90% of the nation’s workforce.
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Belarus’ Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei died “suddenly” at age 64, according to a government announcement on Saturday. Details regarding the cause of the death were not provided, but some Belarusian media suggest that it was the result of a heart attack.
However, theories from U.S. and Ukrainian sources claim that Makei was actually murdered by the Kremlin and that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is next on the hit list.
Vladimir Makei’s sudden death is a source of controversy among the Russian opposition and some Ukrainian politicians who do not believe in the explanations provided by sources cited by Belarusian media, which indicate that Makei suffered cardiac arrest after having ignored serious symptoms of heart disease.
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A state committee for identifying Russian influence over internal security over the last 15 years has been proposed, with the effort designed to trace the extent to which Russia has intervened in Poland’s internal affairs and energy policy, announced Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and the governing Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
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Ex-President Dmitry Medvedev issued the warning as NATO allies meet in Romania to discuss support for Kyiv, with Patriot missile defences at the top of the agenda.
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Videos: Tanks Deployed on Streets in China Amid Massive Protests
Fears of a new Tiananmen Square style crackdown in China have been heightened by footage of tanks being deployed to the streets of major cities as the Communist Party faces massive unrest.
Video of tanks was captured in the eastern city of Xuzhou on Monday night.
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Australian PM Anthony Albanese Urges US Government to End Pursuit of Julian Assange
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says he has personally urged the US government to end its pursuit of Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange.
In his most in-depth comments about the diplomatically sensitive issue in months, Albanese said he had raised the Assange case “recently in meetings” with US representatives and he vowed to continue to press for it to be brought to a close.
Assange, an Australian citizen, remains in Belmarsh prison in London as he fights a US attempt to extradite him to face charges in connection with the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars as well as diplomatic cables.
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The family of Diane Miller, 30, has been told she and her unborn child likely won’t survive after the unprovoked attack outside the Waterford Plaza in Karawara, Perth on Tuesday night.
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Anthony Albanese has continued his quest to becoming Australia’s hippest Prime Minister by rubbing shoulders with trendy young musicians.
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About 9.7 million current and former customers are believed to have been affected by the data breach, with Medibank confirming its entire system was exposed in November.
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Jamaica: Man Stabbed to Death by Abusive Woman
Ramone Patterson made several trips to the Trench Town Police Station in Kingston where he lodged reports against a woman who was allegedly physically assaulting him.
His father, Paul, said that the younger Patterson was seldom taken seriously, except for an occasion three months ago when the woman was arrested after she allegedly stabbed him in one of his arms. The matter went to court but Ramone reportedly decided to withdraw the charges.
The physical assault reportedly continued. On Monday it turned fatal after Ramone, 25, was stabbed to death, allegedly by the woman at his home in Rema.
According to the police’s Corporate Communications Unit, Ramone was stabbed about 11:15 a.m. by a female who came to his house. An argument developed between them and Ramone was stabbed several times. He was rushed to the Kingston Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The female who fled the scene is currently in police custody.
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As Germany Eases Citizenship Rules, Sweden Tightens Them
While Germany is discussing easier naturalization for foreign nationals, the new center-right government in Sweden, propped up by the right-wing Sweden Democrats, is planning to make citizenship subject to stricter rules.
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Breaking: Project Veritas Reveals Children, Teen Migrants Forced Into Labor to Pay Off Cartel Debts
Project Veritas released a new video on Wednesday that shows that several illegal migrants were removed from school, put in forced labor, and were given fake social security cards to pay off cartel debts.
“When I got here [to the United States], I began studying, and then working. I went to school for six months. From a year ago, I began working…I go in [to work] at 4PM and get out at 2AM,” an underage female migrant said.
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France: Parents Angered Over School Class Trip to Makeshift Migrant Camp
Parents of students at a school in Northern France have expressed anger at a suggestion by a teacher that would see the students visit a makeshift migrant camp in Calais as part of an upcoming class trip.
A philosophy teacher at a high school in Valenciennes sent an email to her students regarding the trip to the migrant camp, with parents of the students becoming angered and accusing the teacher of pushing a pro-migrant ideology on their children.
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Germany to Ease Entry Rules for Skilled Workers
Germany’s government has agreed to relax its immigration laws with the aim of attracting skilled workers to its jobs market.
Germany has the biggest economy in Europe but experts say it needs an extra 400,000 immigrant workers a year.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the reforms would create “the most modern law on immigration in Europe”.
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Germany Seeks Looser Immigration Rules for Non-EU Workers
Germany’s Cabinet is pushing for a point system for skilled non-EU workers and plans to grant immigrants from the West Balkans access to their job market for an unlimited amount of time.
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Laughing Migrants Throw Truck Driver Into Icy Waters at Swedish Port
A truck driver was nearly killed when a group of migrants threw him into the frigid sea in Sweden last week, according to reports.
The horrifying incident unfolded on the evening of November 22 in the culturally-enriched city of Malmö.
A 51-year-old man was fishing during a stop at the port of Malmö when he was approached by five foreign men.
The suspects shoved the man into the ocean and reportedly laughed and filmed as he fought for his life in the icy waters, Sam Nytt reports.
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A man facing manslaughter charges over the deaths of 27 Channel migrants offered the victims’ families money to stay silent, a court heard yesterday.
After the tragedy, Harem Ahmed Abwbaker allegedly fled to Britain to claim asylum himself — and was put up in a hotel at taxpayers’ expense.
The 32-year-old is said to be the ‘right-hand man’ of a people trafficking crimelord thought to have organised the crossing last November.
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Poland Faces Surge of HIV Amid Ukrainian Refugee Influx
Polish doctors have sounded the alarm as the country’s medical infrastructure seems to be under severe pressure amid a spike of new HIV cases; the situation has been worsened by lack of testing kits for the disease.
By the end of October, 1,910 new cases of HIV were detected in Poland. From January to July this year 1,056 cases of infection were recorded, compared to 561 case in year 2021. Polish media have called these statistics alarming.
Some of these new infections have been linked to the Ukrainian refugee influx. According to the data provided via the International Congress on Drug Therapy in HIV Infection, one in six people receiving anti-HIV therapy in Poland right now is from Ukraine.
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Serbia Registers 109,000 Illegal Immigrants So Far This Year
So far this year, 109,000 illegal immigrants have been registered in Serbia, the head of the Serbian High Commission for Refugees, Natasa Stanislavljevic, confirmed on Tuesday following a report on Serbian public television (RTS).
Stanislavljevic revealed there are currently 4,835 migrants in reception centers across Serbia, while there could be another 1,000 migrants outside the centers. She added that she could not say how many migrants might be near the Serbian-Hungarian border because it is an “exit point” where a large contingent always resides.
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Texas AG Ken Paxton Hopes Texas Will Get to Go Before the SCOTUS Regarding Immigration Laws
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says that he hopes the Supreme Court of the United States will rule in favor of Texas being able to enforce immigration laws at the border since the federal government won’t.
In 2010, Arizona enacted a statute known as S.B. 1070 to “address pressing issues related to the large number of unlawful aliens in the state.” In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that states may not implement their own immigration laws.
Paxton says he disagreed with the ruling and hopes that Texas will have an opportunity to go before the Supreme Court and argue that border states like Texas have the right to enforce their own immigration laws.
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Just 15 per cent of asylum applications by Channel migrants since the start of the crisis in 2018 have been processed by the Home Office.
New figures show that out of 52,294 claims made by small boat arrivals from northern France over the last four years, a total of 43,476 — or 83 per cent — remain undecided.
Home Office caseworkers have made decisions in only 7,805 of the cases, or 14.9 per cent. The remaining 1,013 cases have been withdrawn.
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Canadian Food Bank Complains of Lack of ‘Culturally Appropriate’ Donations
A food bank in the Canadian city of Surrey, British Columbia, has complained over a lack of “culturally appropriate” food, noting that around 80 per cent of those who use the food bank are Muslim.
The Surrey Food Bank claims that it needs more food, specifically Halal slaughtered meats, due to increasing demand from local Muslim families who make up around 80 per cent of the 13,000 people who use the food bank.
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Extinction Activist Wants Humans to Voluntarily Die Out: ‘Feed ‘Em, Don’t Breed ‘Em’
An advocate of human extinction Tuesday called on everyone to voluntarily stop having children for humanity to die out and give the biosphere a “chance to recover.”
Tuesday’s Dr. Phil episode focused on the ethics of procreation and the debate over overpopulation where Voluntary Human Extinction Movement founder Les Knight delivered a variety of shocking statements.
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Farage: Media Avoiding Balenciaga BDSM Kids Scandal to Cover for the Left
Brexit leader Nigel Farage has slammed the establishment media for inadequate coverage of a Balenciaga photoshoot in which children posed with BDSM teddies with a document about child pornography in the background.
Farage told viewers on in a video posted to social media that they may have missed the Balenciaga scandal “because mainstream media resolutely refuse to cover it.”
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Google to Introduce Behavioral “Interventions”
Google has presented its project dubbed “Info Interventions” based on what it says is a behavioral science that, if these “interventions” are used as directed, could “teach” users to the degree they will become resilient to online harms.
Another promise is that by “pre-bunking misinformation” users can be “immunized.”
How is this supposed to work? Google has put up a site that states the goal is to provide accuracy prompts that would refocus users’ attention toward whatever Google decides qualifies as accurate information.
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Morrissey: Diversity is Conformity
“Diversity is conformity…diversity is a dreadful word, pin it to anything and that situation’s finished.”
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NY Times Claims Balenciaga Pedo Scandal is QAnon Conspiracy Theory
In the wake of the ongoing Balenciaga pedophilia propaganda scandal, the New York Times produced a piece Tuesday that essentially claimed the entire thing is some sort of QAnon conspiracy theory.
In the report, the Times suggests that only the likes of QAnon, Tucker Carlson, The New York Post, and Fox News are spreading the idea that the luxury fashion brand condones child exploitation.
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UK Diversity Group Calls to Rethink Christmas and Spare Feelings of Non-Christians
Too many people feel left out of Christmas celebrations due to their own faith — or lack of it — so the traditional Christian season should be downplayed, a UK-based diversity lobby group said.
The call comes after statistics showed less than half of the population of England and Wales described themselves as Christian in the 2021 census, meaning Christianity is now a minority religion, as Breitbart News reported.
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UK: Watch: Balenciaga Flagship London Store Daubed With the Word ‘Paedophilia’ By Activist
A protester has attacked the central London flagship store of Balenciaga after a week of global controversy for the luxury goods chain.
Street artist Joe Bloggs— self-described as The Average Man on the Street—plastered the word “paedophilia” using the British spelling of the word—on the window of the outlet.
Footage of the graffiti attack shows a man wearing a neon yellow vest appearing to attach something to the front window of the designer store.
He then steps back to reveal the word “paedophilia” daubed in a vinyl sticker clearly visible underneath the corporate logo.
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The new CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, announced Tuesday that he will seek to “quiet things down” at the company following several high profile controversies, most notably the admission of an executive producer under his predecessor declaring that Disney is operating an open LGBT agenda.
Iger was filmed at a town hall meeting with Disney employees, and the footage was posted to social media by Manhattan Institute senior fellow Christopher Rufo.
“Do I like the company being embroiled in controversy? Of course not,” Iger asserted.
“It can be distracting, and it can have a negative impact on the company. And to the extent that I can work to quiet things down, I’m going to do that,” Iger vowed.
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9 Privacy and Security Gift Ideas
Gifts are a great opportunity to share your love of privacy and security with others. And the good news is that there are plenty of privacy and security-focused gifts for everyone, no matter what stage of the journey they’re on.
In this post, we’ve compiled several awesome privacy and security-focused gifts that are suitable for all budgets and experience levels. So keep reading to find the perfect privacy and security-themed gift.
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Did the country singer have the depopulation jab?
The Smiths are some of the best 1980’s and Morrissey has the America You Are Not the World song from the early 2000’s.
Those who are triggered by Christmas can feel free not to participate.
Charity is a central tenet of the peaceful religion and they need some encouragement to donate in Canuckistan.
The extinction advocate is 75 years old or in other words a poser.
Haley and Pence for the GOP deliberate election loss in 2024. (honk, honk!)