A massive freak wave struck the beach at Durban in South Africa, throwing bathers against the pier. Three people were killed and another seventeen were sent to hospitals with injuries.
In other news, Ukrainian armed forces shelled Russian territory and struck a poultry farm, killing one civilian and wounding another.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, JW, LP, MM, Reader from Chicago, Roger, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
SBF Changes Mind on Extradition to US After Four Days in Bahamian Jail
After spending just five days in a Bahamian jail cell, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is backpedaling on his decision to contest extradition to the United States to face fraud charges, Reuters reports, citing a person familiar with the matter.
According to the report, SBF will appear in court on Monday to formally consent to extradition — which will pave the way for him to appear in US court to face charges that he commingled customer deposits to cover expenses and debts, and to make investments through his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research LLC.
That said, legal experts tell Reuters that a trial is likely over a year away.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Small Businesses Report Hardship Due to Inflation This Christmas Season
(The Center Square) — Small businesses around the country still see inflation as a top concern this Christmas season.
Goldman Sachs released survey data that found that 52% of surveyed small business owners say that their profitability “has not met expectations. Even while an overwhelming 79% have increased prices compared to last year.”
“Small businesses are the backbone of America. Yet, as we enter this holiday season, we are finding it harder than ever to succeed,” said Janice Jucker, president and Co-Owner Three Brothers Bakery and member of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices National Leadership Council. “As our economy teeters on the brink of a recession, it’s more important than ever that Washington provide small businesses with the resources we need not just to get by, but to get ahead.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
7% of Vaccinated Americans Have Suffered Major Side Effects From COVID-19 Jab: Poll
(LifeSiteNews) — A recent Rasmussen Reports poll found that of the nearly 7 in 10 American adults who say they’ve received the COVID-19 vaccine, 34% said they experienced minor side effects while an astounding 7% reported major side effects from the jab.
“Seven percent of vaccinated people said they have a major side effect and you just do the math: 12 million people,” calculated Rasmussen’s head pollster, Mark Mitchell, in a podcast discussion with Emerald Robinson.
Mitchell further noted that the poll numbers are likely understated, explaining that with polling, “There’s always a little bit of selection bias. In this case, if somebody died from the vaccine, we couldn’t poll them.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Commenting on the recent Twitter Files’ revelation of the FBI’s constant communication with Twitter, including recommending account bans, Republican Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee Rep. James Comer said investigations should go beyond Twitter to Google and Facebook.
“The entire FBI needs to be dismantled, we need to start all over. We need to enact strict reforms, and there need to be checks and balances at the FBI,” Comer said, speaking to Tammy Bruce on Fox News’ Hannity. He added that fixing and holding the FBI accountable should start with the budget process, which is why he is against the push for an omnibus.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘An Atmosphere of Lawlessness’: Attacks on Churches Nearly Triple in 4 Years, New Report Finds
A Christian leader has blasted the Biden administration for “creating an atmosphere of lawlessness” by ignoring attacks on churches and houses of worship nationwide, which have nearly tripled over the last four years, according to a startling new report.
These assaults ranged from deadly to defacing, covered every region of the country and denominational background, and often sprang from pro-abortion domestic terrorism or other forms of left-wing enmity against biblical morality.
Offenders committed at least 420 acts of hostility against 397 separate churches in the United States between January 2018 and September 2022. These cases include everything from arson and gun-related violence to vandalism and bomb threats, the copiously documented, 84-page report specifies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk posted another poll to Twitter, this time to determine whether or not he should stay in place as CEO of Twitter.
“Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll,” he wrote. At the time of writing, the poll results are not yet in.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Burglar Climbs Through Bedroom Window, Homeowner Shoots Him Dead
A would-be burglar has reportedly been shot dead by a homeowner after climbing through the home’s second-story bedroom window in the middle of the night.
The crook was gunned down on Thursday night around 11:20 pm after allegedly entering the Vancouver, Washington, home.
KPTV reported that the man entered through the window after breaking it.
However, he was then confronted by the homeowner, who shot him.
Police arrived and found the suspect dead at the scene, KATU noted.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Censor or Else: Democratic Members Warn Facebook Not to “Backslide” on Censorship
Authored by Jonathan Turley
With the restoration of free speech protections on Twitter, panic has grown on the left that its control over social media could come to an end. Now, some of the greatest advocates of censorship in Congress are specifically warning Facebook not to follow Twitter in restoring free speech to its platform.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Congressman Ted Lieu Defends FBI After Twitter Files Revelation
Congressman Ted Lieu has defended the FBI for its censorship relationship with Twitter, suggesting that the FBI was only targeting “foreign influence operations,” — despite the fact that many of those targeted in the latest revelations were US citizens and protected by the First Amendment.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk set Adam Schiff straight after the California Democrat trashed Musk for suspending some liberal journalists for violating Twitter’s rules. Adam said:
“Elon Musk calls himself a free speech absolutist, to justify turning a blind eye to hatred and bigotry on Twitter. But when journalists report unfavorable news, they are banned without warning. The devotion to free speech is apparently not that absolute. But the hypocrisy is.”
Musk fired back at Schiff in a now-deleted Tweet reminding Adam he has a small brain and will lose his powerful chairmanship in the next Congress: “Thankfully, you lose your chairmanship very soon. Your brain is too small.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Even Former Twitter Censor Expressed Discomfort With FBI Demands
Journalist Matt Taibbi has released a “Twitter Files Supplemental” which reveals that even Twitter’s former Head of Trust and Safety, Yoel Roth, was uncomfortable with some of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) demands to the company.
Previous releases of internal Twitter documents and depositions have shown that the FBI had regular meetings with Twitter and other tech platforms. Twitter allowed the FBI to flag tweets and the FBI flagged jokes and satirical accounts for censorship as part of this process.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The $858 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was passed on Thursday and part of the bill rescinds the U.S. military vaccine mandate. This is good news.
But most Republican senators wanted to go further in helping some former service members. Senators Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson introduced an amendment that, according to Roll Call, “reinstated troops discharged for refusing to be vaccinated for COVID-19, provided them back pay and service time, and prevented the Pentagon from reinstating the vaccine mandate without congressional authorization.”
“That amendment was defeated 40-54, with the threshold for its adoption being 60 votes,” Roll Call reported.
All 50 Democrats voted against the amendment, so it wasn’t close to reaching the threshold in the first place. But the vote against this amendment was 54, which meant four Republicans had to crossover and vote with the Democrats.
Those four Republicans were Senators Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Mike Rounds and Mitt Romney.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge to Halt Provision Making Challenges to California Gun Laws Costlier
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge on Friday said he will block a provision in a new California law to take effect next year that gun advocates argued was designed to hinder anyone from challenging the state’s famously restrictive gun laws.
U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez said he would issue the injunction requested by gun clubs as soon as possible to halt the provision that would force people who file lawsuits over California’s gun laws to pay the government’s legal fees if they lose. The judge announced his plans during a federal hearing in San Diego.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Maricopa County Election Officials Can’t Account for Discrepancy of 15k Votes, Emails Show
Top elections officials in Arizona’s Maricopa County have been unable to account for a discrepancy of over 15,000 votes, newly disclosed emails have revealed.
The internal communications of Maricopa’s Board of Supervisors Chair Bill Gates and Recorder Stephen Richer were obtained via a public records request submitted by America First Legal Foundation.
The emails show the top election officials struggling to reconcile a discrepancy of almost 16,000 in outstanding ballot totals during the immediate aftermath of Election Day.
The state’s gubernatorial race was decided by a margin of just over 17,000 votes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Michelangelo the 70-Year-Old Tortoise Stabbed in the Shell With Wooden Shards
A man has avoided jail after drunkenly attacking a pet tortoise at a nursery in California.
The tortoise — a 70-year-old African sulcata named Michelangelo — was found bleeding after being stabbed with six-inch shards from a wooden garden gate post.
A rake handle had been shoved between the animal’s head and leg and shattered glass put on its back.
George Robles, 42, was sentenced on Friday after he pleaded no contest to charges of animal abuse, commercial burglary and vandalism, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
| — Hat tip: Roger | [Return to headlines] |
New Jersey Faces Lawsuit Challenging Gun Control Law
(The Center Square) — A national firearms trade group is challenging a New Jersey law that allows the state and private individuals to file lawsuits against firearm manufacturers.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a Connecticut-based firearms industry trade group, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Thursday asking a judge to overturn a recently enacted “public nuisance” law that the group argues was “specifically designed to evade the judgment of Congress — and the Constitution.”
The lawsuit claims Congress barred such “baseless lawsuits” against gun makers in 2005 when it passed the bipartisan Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which gave firearm manufacturers and sellers broad immunity from most litigation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Twitter Policy Says Users Will be Suspended From Promoting Other Social Media Sites
On Sunday, Twitter announced a policy change that said the social media giant will “remove accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social platforms” such as Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Truth Social.
The official Twitter Support account tweeted, “We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Investigating Deadly Shooting Near Downtown Atlanta Hotel
ATLANTA — Atlanta police said investigators are working to learn what led to a person shot to death near a Downtown hotel.
The Atlanta Police Department said officers responded on Sunday to 255 Courtland Street. The address is matches the Hilton Atlanta.
Police appeared to have shut down the street at Piedmont Avenue.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Rantz: WA Dems Responsible as 41,330 Cars Stolen, Now Try to Ban Police Traffic Stops
According to the Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force, Washingtonians reported 41,330 vehicles stolen between January and November of this year. You can thank Washington Democrats for the state’s culture of lawlessness. Everyone saw this coming.
Every day, roughly 123 vehicles are stolen after Democrats passed a law banning vehicular pursuit. The stolen cars and trucks are often used in smash-and-grab crimes as criminals take advantage of defunded, demoralized, and understaffed police departments and a law that guarantees police won’t chase them.
The only time police can pursue a vehicle is if they suspect impaired driving or have established probable cause — a much higher standard than reasonable suspicion — that the driver committed a violent crime, sex offense, or are an escaped felon. In cases where this standard is met, they must still determine whether a chase outweighs the risk to the public should their pursuit cause an accident.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rep. Greg Steube Vows Justice for Troops Punished for COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal
Florida Republican Rep. Greg Steube is vowing to introduce legislation to obtain justice for those punished for refusing to comply with the military’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
“I intend on filing my own bill,” Steube said on the John Solomon Reports podcast Wednesday. “I am … not naive” about prospects for passage of such a bill in a Democrat-controlled Senate, he said, “but thankfully, the House has the power of the purse, and … when we do the appropriations process over the next year, we can put riders on appropriations bills to tell the Department of Defense how they’re going to give relief to these individuals.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Senator Wyden to Investigate Whether Domain Registrar Neustar Sold User Data to the US Government
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate whether domain name registry Neustar violated the privacy of millions of Americans “when it sold records of where they went online to the federal government.”
Wyden’s letter to the FTC states that in 2016, the Department of Defense funded a research team at Georgia Tech to purchase Neustar’s data. The senator obtained communications between the researchers and “both the FBI and the Department of Justice, indicating that government officials asked the researchers to run specific queries and that the researchers wrote affidavits and reports for the government describing their findings.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Says McCarthy ‘Deserves the Shot’ to be House Speaker
Former President Donald Trump said he believes House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy “deserves the shot” to be Speaker of the House, despite the fact that many of Trump’s top allies in Congress stand against the California Republican leader becoming speaker.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter Files Supplemental: How the FBI Bullied Twitter Over Lack of ‘Foreign Influence’ Evidence
Journalist Matt Taibbi just dropped the latest series of ever-incriminating signals from The Twitter Files, with a supplement to his recent discussion of how Twitter became a de facto Ministry of Truth dissent-killer for The FBI.
As a reminder, this is the fourth topic released under The Twitter Files:
Part 1 — The Removal of Hunter Biden Laptop Story
Part 2 — Secret Blacklists
Part 3 — The Removal of Donald Trump (Parts 1, 2, and 3)
Part 4 — Twitter as an FBI Subsidiary (Part 1 and today’s supplemental)
This supplemental to The FBI Subsidiary thread explains how the agency bullied Twitter into dismissing its own findings that “state propaganda” was not a thing on the platform and the stunningly circular media-to-govt agency-to-media circle-jerk that is mis-described as ‘sources’ for any and every rumor or narrative-confirming lie that is possible.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Authored by Jonathan Turley
The December Harvard CAPS / Harris Poll is out this week and Mark Penn and his colleagues have some interesting results to share. Despite the refusal of many in the media to cover the Twitter files, nearly two-thirds of voters believe Twitter shadow-banned users and engaged in political censorship during the 2020 election. Seventy percent of voters want new national laws protecting users from corporate censorship.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz Suspended From Twitter, Claims Musk Removed Her
Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz is suspended from Twitter, and she claims that Elon Musk, the social media platform’s new owner, removed her after she asked him to comment for a story.
Lorenz said Saturday that when she was removed, she had three live posts on her account, two of which were promoting her other social media profiles, and one of which was asking Musk to comment on a story.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Credit Union Called Police on Canadian for ‘Liking’ Freedom Convoy on Facebook: Report
(LifeSiteNews) — A new report shows that a large Canadian credit union reported to the police one of its customers who “liked” the Freedom Convoy Facebook page and proceeded to monitor his financial transactions.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, recently released records show that on February 15 of this year, Assiniboine Credit Union in Winnipeg, Manitoba, reported one of its users to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) because he had “liked” the Freedom Convoy Facebook page, telling the federal police he is “potentially involved” in the protest.
The report to the RCMP came the day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enacted the Emergencies Act (EA) to shut down the protest, wherein the government gave banks and financial institutions the power to freeze suspected Freedom Convoy donors’ accounts without a court order.
Assiniboine went as far as having its staff members monitor the man’s social media posts, as well as comb through his checking account transactions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Danielle Smith Vows to Fight Trudeau’s ‘Absurd’ Plastics Ban
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s looming single-use plastics ban of being a direct attack on her province’s oil and gas industry, vowing to put an end to the proposal.
While speaking in the Alberta legislature on Monday, Smith said that it’s “absurd” that the Trudeau federal government has “intervened in our area over managing our petrochemical industry.”
She also blasted the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) for supporting “something as frivolous as imposing a ban on plastic straws,” which creates “uncertainty in our petrochemical industry.”
Just recently, the Trudeau Liberals announced they want to ban some single-use plastic items such as spoons, forks, and cups as part of their effort to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trudeau Gov’t to ‘Delay’ Mental Illness Expansion of Assisted Suicide Law After Pushback
OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — The Canadian federal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is now looking to delay the expansion of the nation’s euthanasia law to be applicable to those suffering solely from mental disorders after massive outcry from conservative politicians and citizens.
On Thursday, Canada’s Justice Minister David Lametti, along with Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett, said that legislation is soon coming which will push back the March deadline for the expansion of euthanasia — known legally as medical assistance in dying (MAiD) — to those suffering solely from mental illness.
According to Lametti, the delayed introduction of relaxed MAiD laws is being done because “we want to be prudent, we want to move in a step—by-step way so that we don’t make mistakes.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trudeau’s Gun Grab Bill on Hold After Massive Multiparty Pushback
OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s looming federal gun grab legislation is on hold until well into next year after pushback from opposition MPs.
While Liberal Party MPs on the House of Commons public safety committee had tried to ram Trudeau’s gun grab legislation, Bill C-21, through before the Christmas break, opposition MPs on the committee voted 6 to 5 Tuesday to block the effort.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Great Britain: Multiculturalism and Islam Turn it Upside-Down
“Leicester has become the poster city for multicultural Britain, a place where the stunning number and size of the minorities — the 55 mosques, 18 Hindu temples, nine Sikh gurudwaras, two synagogues, two Buddhist centres and one Jain centre — are seen not as a recipe for conflict or a millstone around the city’s neck, but a badge of honour,” was how, in 2013, the British liberal newspaper The Independent celebrated the transformation of Britain’s tenth-largest city.
There are places in Europe that visited the future sooner than others: Malmö in Sweden, Trappes and Roubaix in France, Cologne in Germany, Molenbeek in Belgium, Leicester in England…
This year, Leicester’s famous multiculturalism, so praised by the establishment, exploded.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Meloni’s Italy: Muslim Mob Stops Police From Shutting Down Illegal Mosque
A mob of Muslims in the Italian city of Florence blocked a local bailiff from repossessing an illegal mosque, with hundreds of people preventing police from entering.
A bailiff and local police attempted to take back a former garage in Piazza dei Ciompi being used as a mosque after the owner of the property refused to renew the contract with its operator due to money being owed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Military Families Left Shivering in Mould-Eaten, Unheated Homes as Migrants Enjoy Plush Hotels
Hundreds of active military servicemen and their families have been housed in mouldy homes with no heating or hot water as the government continues to host illegal migrants in plush conditions in hotels across the country, free of charge.
British soldiers and their families have been forced to huddle under sleeping blankets this weekend as hundreds of Army homes continue to have no working heating amid delayed repairs. Others have reported that their homes are riddled with mould and damp, despite private contractor Pinnacle reportedly receiving £144 million in March to revamp 46,197 homes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Extinction Rebellion Protester From Ashbourne Disrupts Another Cathedral Service
An eco-protester from Derbyshire disrupted another Sunday service at a cathedral today, calling for the Church of England to withdraw its investments in fossil fuel firms.
Mary Smail, 63, from Ashbourne, held up a banner that read “invest for good not harm — tell the truth about climate”, alongside fellow members of Extinction Rebellion, during the 10.30am service at Lichfield Cathedral in Staffordshire this morning (December 18).
Other bright orange banners stated: “C of E: Divest now from fossil fuels”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Under 50 Per Cent of Greeks Now Support EU Stance on Ukraine
A newly released Eurobarometer survey conducted by the European Parliament has revealed that under half of Greeks support the European Union’s stance on Ukraine.
The Eurobarometer poll Autumn 2022 survey revealed that just 48 per cent of Greeks approve of the European Union’s support for Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February, tied with Bulgaria and one percentage point behind Slovakia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
One Civilian Killed in Ukrainian Shelling of Belgorod Region — Governor
According to Vyacheslav Gladkov, poultry farm was damaged
TASS, December 18. One person was killed and another one was injured when the Belgorod district of the Belgorod Region was shelled by the Ukrainian armed forces, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported on his Telegram on Sunday.
“On the Belgorod region. Unfortunately, there is one dead and one injured. The poultry farm was damaged. I’m heading to the site,” he wrote.
Gladkov added that as a result of the shelling the building of the local poultry farm was damaged. Earlier, he reported that four people were injured because of this shelling in Belgorod. The wounded were in moderate condition. The governor also specified that a shell hit a house in Belgorod, two children were in the epicenter. They were miraculously unharmed.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Sending Singers, Circus Peformers to Front to Boost ‘Fragile Morale’ — UK Intel
Russia is establishing two “front line creative brigades” and encouraging the public to donate instruments to troops in order to bolster “fragile morale”, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD).
“On 14 December 2022, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced the establishment of two ‘front line creative brigades’ tasked with raising the morale of troops deployed on the ‘special military operation’,” the MoD explained in their daily intelligence update on the Russo-Ukrainian war on Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lt-Col Mikhail Fotin (pictured) said that Russian men aged 18 to 27 will be called up for one and a half years starting from spring 2023, and two years from the autumn recruitment next year.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Row on 1971 genocide unleashed by Pakistani rulers against ethnic Bengalis and Hindus.
Vaidehi Jahagirdar | News on AIR | New Delhi | Dec 17, 2022:: In response to the media queries regarding the uncivilised remark by Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, issued a strong-worded statement on Friday lambasting Pakistan. Calling his comments an “uncivilized outburst” the MEA said it seems to be a result of Pakistan’s increasing inability to use terrorists and their proxies.
“These comments are a new low, even for Pakistan. The Foreign Minister of Pakistan has obviously forgotten this day in 1971, which was a direct result of the genocide unleashed by Pakistani rulers against ethnic Bengalis and Hindus. Unfortunately, Pakistan does not seem to have changed much in the treatment of its minorities. It certainly lacks credentials to cast aspersions at India,” the MEA spokesperson said.
Further hitting out at Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists, the spokesperson said, “Pakistan is a country that glorifies Osama Bin Laden as a martyr and shelters terrorists like Lakhvi, Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar, Sajid Mir, and Dawood Ibrahim.”
“Cities like New York, Mumbai, Pulwama, Pathankot and London are among the many that bear the scars of Pakistan-sponsored, supported and instigated terrorism. This violence has emanated from their Special Terrorist Zones and exported to all parts of the world. “Make in Pakistan” terrorism has to stop,” the Spokesperson added…
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
India: College Student Stabbed to Death in Public View in Barabanki
The victim, Shuganto Sharma, had previously filed a police complaint after which he allegedly received threat calls from the other group members, who had made a reel of thrashing Sharma last December.
During a physical confrontation between two groups over an Instagram reel made a year ago, a 20-year-old college student was stabbed to death in full public view near Palhari Crossing in Barabanki on Saturday evening, police said.
The victim, Shuganto Sharma, had previously filed a police complaint after which he allegedly received threat calls from the other group members, who had made a reel of thrashing Sharma last December.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Part-2 of Shraddha Sequel released in Jharkhand. Fatal end of another Love Jihad.
Sulata Mahato | HENB | Sahebganj | Dec 18, 2022:: The horrible ‘Sharddha Murder Case’ of New Delhi has emerged as a Part 2 of the sequel in Jharkhand creating another panic for the people. The similar heart-wrenching case has come to the fore from Sahebganj in Jharkhand. A 22-year-old tribal girl of Hindu faith named Rubika Paharia was cut into more than 12 pieces with a cutter and thrown away here and there in Borio locality in the district.
The authority Borio police station said that the body of the woman was recovered in more than 12 pieces from a kutcha house in Santhali Momin Tola and near it late Saturday evening. Several parts of his upper body, including her neck, have not yet been found for which several teams are searching to reveal the reality of the case…
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
The organisation is stuck in 1945, very much in the interests of the five permanent members of the security council — the five allies who defeated Nazi Germany almost 80 years ago.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Concerns Grow That China Using Video Games to Influence Users, Harvest Data, Shape Narratives
The field of international relations is synonymous with the concept of power — more specifically, “hard” power and “soft” power. The former refers to a country’s use of coercive tactics to get what it wants; the latter employs the carrot rather than the stick. It involves the shaping of preferences through more subtle means.
Examples of soft power include economic power, political and religious values, diplomacy, and culture. Within culture, we find art, music, and video games. Yes, video games. With their vast popularity and reach, video games are among the most influential, if often overlooked, forms of soft power in today’s world. But one place it’s not overlooked is Beijing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Massive Wave Hits Durban Beach in South Africa; 3 Dead
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s coastal city of Durban has closed its North Beach after three people died when they were hit by a large wave, emergency officials said on Sunday.
The Emergency Medical Services “responded to reports of a freak wave that swept a group of beachgoers against the pier causing multiple injuries,” EMS spokesman Njabulo Dlungele said. “Unfortunately three people, including a teenager, were declared deceased at the scene.”
At least 17 people were also taken to various medical facilities for treatment after being injured by the wave, Nlungele said.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Violent Protests Shut Down Peru, Leave Tourists Stranded
Dec. 18 (UPI) — Protesters have shut down critical travel in Peru in a continuation of violent protests over the ouster of former President Pedro Castillo.
About 300 tourists are stranded at Machu Picchu after protesters placed large boulders on the train tracks coming into the historic Incan site in the Andes Mountains. Train travel is the chief mode of transportation into Machu Picchu.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
4 Turkish Nationals Arrested in Greece on Suspicion of Smuggling Migrants
Four Turkish nationals have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling migrants after a boat with nearly 100 people on board was found in trouble off an island near Athens, Greek authorities said Friday.
The coast guard said that the four had been among 97 people on board the boat found Thursday northeast of the island of Kea, which lies off the southeastern coast of the Greek capital. The remaining passengers were 32 men, 22 women and 39 minors, the coast guard said.
The passengers, who were transported to the Greek mainland by a coast guard vessel, were from Egypt, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Israel and Iraq, the coast guard said. The boat had set sail from Izmir in Turkey and had been bound for Italy, with the migrants paying smugglers in Turkey 8,000 euros each for the trip.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Exasperated Octogenarian Kills African Immigrant in Charleville-Mézières
On Sunday December 11, an octogenarian was indicted in Charleville-Mézières for the murder of a young African immigrant. He is said to have shot the young man two days earlier, because he could no longer stand the incivilities he had suffered for years.
According to French daily Le Figaro, the events took place two days earlier, on Friday December 9, in a working-class neighbourhood of this town in north-eastern France. That day, Hocine Abdellaoui, 82, a retired worker and former member of the Commandos Marine, shot Mahamadou Cissé, 21, with a .22 Long Rifle, the public prosecutor in Reims told the media.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gov. Abbott, Border States Prepare for Deluge of Crossings With Title 42 Ending
(The Center Square) — With Title 42 enforcement ending Wednesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the leaders of other border states are preparing for an expected deluge of illegal entries into the U.S.
The anticipation of the end of Trump-era public health authority, which allowed Border Patrol agents to immediately expel illegal crossers for fear of spreading COVID-19, has already led to a surge of new entries, with the El Paso Sector at the southern border and the northern sector including Vermont seeing record numbers of illegal crossings.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Over 8.45 Mln Refugees Have Entered Poland Since War in Ukraine Started
Since February 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine, more than 8.45 million people have crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border into Poland, the Border Guard (SG) tweeted on Saturday morning.
According to the SG, on Friday Border Guard officers carried out around 25,700 border checks on people entering Poland from Ukraine.
The Border Guard also said that close to 6.62 million people had left Poland for Ukraine since the beginning of the war. On Friday, around 21,700 people crossed the border from Poland to Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Attacks on Syrian Kurds Driving More Migration to Europe
QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — Baran Ramadan Mesko had been hiding with other migrants for weeks in the coastal Algerian city of Oran, awaiting a chance to take a boat across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
Days before the 38-year-old Syrian Kurd was to begin the journey, he received news that a smuggler boat carrying some of his friends had sunk soon after leaving the Algerian coast. Most of its passengers had drowned.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Judges Rule Home Secretary Broke Law by Not Giving Migrants Even More Cash
Britain’s infamously woke judiciary has found that Home Secretary Suella Braverman acted unlawfully by not increasing the cash handouts to asylum seekers amid rising inflation.
In a suit brought before the High Court in Manchester by an asylum seeker referred to as CB, judges found that Suella Braverman had violated the law by not increasing cash payments to nearly 60,000 migrants claiming refugee status by £5 per week.
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UK: Hotel Owner Nicknamed ‘Goldfinger’ Rakes in £60,000 a Month Putting Up Migrants
A controversial hotelier dubbed ‘Goldfinger’ is raking in up to £60,000 a month housing migrants.
Abid Gulzar has handed over his 45-room country house hotel near Eastbourne to accommodate up to 100 migrants.
The Indian-born 78-year-old, who owns three gold Teslas and wears large gold rings, stands to make more than £700,000 of taxpayers’ money a year housing migrants. And he says both his other hotels — the Mansion Lions and Albany Lions in Eastbourne — are also up for grabs if the Government wants them.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Current immigration levels of more than one million a year could become the ‘norm’ for Britain, a think-tank warned last night.
Official migration figures published last month showed 1.1 million foreign nationals came to live long-term in Britain — a rise of 435,000 year-on-year.
Now a report by the Social Market Foundation (SMF) said similar levels could be seen over the ‘medium to long term’. The think-tank called on ministers to introduce measures to ensure the arrivals serve the UK’s economy and jobs market.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
People smugglers are offering to ferry migrants across the Channel in dangerously overcrowded boats for less than £500 as a cut-price Christmas deal.
Kurdish gangsters are thought to be offering the lowest price ever charged for entering the UK illegally by boat just days after a sinking dinghy led to four deaths and 39 survivors, including 12 children, being pulled from the freezing water.
Lucy Halliday of the Care4Calais charity told the Mirror that some migrants are paying as little as €500 (£435) to make the treacherous crossing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Antifa Member Who Ran Violent Colorado Twitter Account Revealed to be ‘Furry’ Journalist
The individual who created the Colorado Springs Antifa Twitter account which was suspended from Twitter on Saturday has been identified as a far-left furry, transgender activist, and former high school teacher who boasted of using their military experience to “f*ck sh*t up.”
On Sunday, The Post Millennial’s Andy Ngo tweeted, “Breaking: The #Antifa member who ran the violent Twitter account of the Colorado Springs cell of Antifa @COSAntiFascists /@COSAntiFa is trans furry activist/Colorado Times reporter @HeidiBeedle.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ban on Biological Males Competing on Girls’ Sports Teams Fails in Ohio General Assembly
An Ohio bill that included a ban on biological males from competing on girls’ school sports teams cleared the state Senate but failed to pass the General Assembly.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Educator Brags About Indoctrinating Kids, Then Complains About ‘Right-Wing’ Reporting on It
A Chicago-area high school “literacy coach” recently recorded a video of herself in which she admits to indoctrinating the students in her charge.
Fox News reports Crete-Monee High’s Heather Marie Godbout (pictured), a member of the school’s Equity Team, also rips “right-wing conspiracy theorist nut jobs” in her video and notes she is opposed to traditional grading policies — because grades get “conflated with other things that aren’t actually learning, like effort or ‘work ethic,’ whatever that means.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Maine Social Worker Gives 13-Year-Old a Chest Binder Without Parents’ Consent
A Maine public school social worker secretly began to socially transition a 13-year-old girl without her parent’s knowledge or consent, giving the child a chest binder in a form of “child predatory sexual grooming,” says the child’s upset mother.
At a meeting with the school board, Amber Lavigne said a Central Lincoln County School System (CLCSS) social worker, Samuel Roy, gave the chest compression garment to her daughter and told her to keep it a secret from her parents, reported the Maine Wire on Friday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Oregon Department of Education to Spend $2 Million on ‘LGBTQ2SIA+’ Curriculum
The Oregon Department of Education (DoE) is set to spend $2 million on a campaign to launch pro “LGBTQ2SIA+” curriculum, teacher training, and “pride events.”
The Oregon DoE is offering $2 million every two years in grants to leftist, pro-LGBTQ+ organizations that will help craft politically motivated curriculum, professional development, and events for students that promote gender ideology.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Parents Push Back as Liberal Foundations Fund Woke Education Programs
Parent organizations are pushing back after learning that Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and others were bankrolling woke education programs.
Over two dozen groups of parents are requesting that five different organizations stop funding social emotional learning (SEL) and race-based education programs in public schools, a report from Fox News explains.
Among the five organizations are the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Both the Wallace Foundation and the Windward Fund are also involved in the funding of the SEL and race-based programs.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Francis Dismisses National Director of Priests for Life, Trump Supporter, From the Priesthood
Father Frank Pavone has been dismissed from the Catholic priesthood over what the Vatican has called “blasphemous communications on social media” and persistent disobedience of the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop.”
Pavone has been a full-throated supporter of Donald Trump, and is unforgiving on his pro-life stance as the national director of Priests for Life. No clear reason other than “blasphemy” has been given, and what comprises the basis for that accusation has also not been revealed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An Ontario school is threatening students with suspension for taking pictures of a “transgender” shop teacher who wears gigantic prosthetic breasts to class.
Kayla Lemieux, the male teacher whose size Z fake breasts also feature prominently protruding nipples, also wears a blonde wig and made headlines when pictures circulated of him skydiving with a male pornography actor.
The Oakville Trafalgar High School teacher has been making rounds to other local schools by substitute teaching, according to the Toronto Sun.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Study: UK Christians Afraid to Express Their Faith in the Workplace
Christians in the United Kingdom are often afraid to display their faith in the workplace, according to a new study that found as many as 82 per cent of British Christians who normally wear religious symbols would not do so while at work.
While it is common for religious minorities such as Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus in Britain to wear religious garb like hijabs and turbans while working, the study of Christians in the workplace by the diversity and inclusion firm Pearn Kandola found that 82 per cent of British Christians who wear religious symbols or dress in their private lives would not do so at work.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
WHO Labels Unvaccinated People a ‘Major Killing Force Globally’
The World Health Organization (WHO) has labeled unvaccinated people a “major killing force globally” in a new campaign being promoted on social media.
The WHO is promoting a new video that targets “anti-vaccine activism” by blasting those who choose not to be vaccinated for supporting “anti-science aggression.”
The video features pediatrician and vaccine advocate Dr. Peter Hotez who laments the “devastating impact of misinformation and disinformation” regarding Big Pharma’s Covid shots.
Hotez goes on to link the so-called “anti-science aggression” of people who refuse the Covid vaccines to “far-right extremism.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Re skydiving: According to my log book I have done 27 jumps out of a perfectly good aeroplane.
I did all of my jumps solo… none of this tandem- fag stuff.
That circus freak did not even do a real jump.
IT was just pretending to be a skydiver. The same as IT is just pretending to be a person.
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Swedish banks don’t just give a damn about your or other individuals’ experience of customer service. They are keen to instil fear and respect. The next time I call the bank, I have to keep my wits about me, because I have to be fully aware that their reaction might be to simply not let me get a new bank ID.
There is no duty to contract in this regard. And without a bank ID, you don’t have swish or the ability to do your monthly payments from home, without much hassle. So we are back to the paperwork of the 1980s, for which the bank of course charges a hefty fee.
As most people know, we don’t just need a bank ID for payment transactions. We do government business too. The fact that the banks do not feel obliged to provide the service for everyone, not even to keep a rapid service available when problems arise, when phones and computers break down, is a hard fact to swallow.
We are entering digital hell,…society. In order to survive there, a variety of functions are already or will be almost entirely necessary. The lack of civil rights in this area is frightening.
Some people seem to think it is perfectly reasonable that banks should be able to demand all sorts of things from us, both sensitive personal data and wealth status, in order to provide their services. They also demand the ‘right’ answers to these questions.
Instead, the question that needs to be asked is: should we be required to have a clean record, without any criminal record, and with a character that was previously only required for election to our highest judicial offices? And what PC opinions do we need to have in order to have this access?
The “chaos” and/or “unclear legal status” is intentional. In the end, some kind of “universal ID will come about, one ID for them all, rich and poor, free and bond – everyone will have to be marked in order to buy and sell 😉
Time to put your cash in a small bank in Switzerland, the smaller banks don’t follow EU rules and refuse to, including my bank there.
Re: USA: Michelangelo…
Not to make fun of this unnecessary cruelty, but he was evidently named after the wrong Renaissance painter, or he would have been a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, and able to defend himself!