Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Minsk, the capital of Belarus, for the first time since 2019. Meanwhile, dozens of Russian kamikaze drones attacked Kyiv, causing new power outages.
In other news, a 73-year-old man shot and killed five people in a condominium building in Vaughan, Ontario before being shot dead by police.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, JW, LP, McN, 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.
38% of Canadians to Buy Second Hand Christmas Gifts
Some Canadians are turning to thrifting this Christmas season in order to buy second-hand Christmas gifts for loved ones, the online social e-commerce platform Poshmark reports.
The company’s 2022 Canada Holiday Trend Report found that 38% of Canadian shoppers indicated that they “intend to purchase a gift second hand” this year.
Others are on the hunt to buy goods for the lowest prices possible. A total of 69% of people told the retailer that they were seeking deals on holiday gifts.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
50% of American Workers Say They Plan to Quit Their Jobs in 2023
Amid widespread layoffs and hiring freezes under Democrat President Joe Biden’s economy, around 50 percent of American workers say they plan to quit their jobs in 2023, new data shows.
The uncertain economy is driving key players in the tech, automobile, media, and food industries to make unprecedented cutbacks in their operations.
However, despite the uncertainty, new data shows nearly half of all workers are looking to quit anyway, according to a recent survey from business consulting firm Robert Half.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Majority of Canadians Say Inflation Impacting Christmas Gift Buying
More Canadians than ever are struggling to afford holiday spending due to the rising cost of living.
BMO’s Real Financial Progress Index found that 77% of those surveyed said their Christmas shopping has been impacted by growing inflation.
Canadians are also less confident in their financial situation, according to the report. A total of 69% of people surveyed reported being confident in their finances — a 6% drop when compared to last year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Report: Government Responsible for 86% of New Jobs in Canada Since Pandemic Began
According to a research bulletin published by the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute in August, the overwhelming majority of new jobs in Canada’s economy since the start of the COVID pandemic were created by the government.
“We find that the government sector accounts for a large majority, 86.7 percent, of all net new jobs created since the start of the pandemic,” the Fraser Research Institute said. “Meanwhile, there has been almost no net job creation in the private sector (including self-employment).”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Christmas Food Much More Expensive This Year
According to a survey carried out by Statistics Sweden, several of the products that are traditionally on the Swedes’ Christmas table have increased significantly in price in the run-up to Christmas.
Costs for food have increased sharply and for Christmas tables this year it will be even more expensive than other foods. While the general price of food rose by 17 percent during the year, almost double the general price increase of consumer goods and services which rose by 9 percent, it is much worse in some categories traditionally associated with Christmas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Top Economic Forecaster: Recession Coming in 2024
A top economic forecaster has stated that America will enter a recession in 2024 after the economy slows down next year.
The recession will be brought on by American industry continuing to slow down, according to economic forecaster ITR Economics.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Unemployment Benefits and ObamaCare Subsidies Outpace Median Income in Several States, Study Finds
The labor force participation rate was 62.1% last month, notably lower than the 63.4% mark it was at before the coronavirus pandemic struck the United States in March 2020.
There are numerous reasons that unemployed Americans aren’t entering the workforce, including ongoing fears of COVID-19, disabilities such as “long COVID,” and other care responsibilities. One factor that is contributing to the relatively low labor force participation rate is the combination of unemployment benefits and recently expanded Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, according a new study by the nonprofit Committee to Unleash Prosperity.
In 14 states, unemployment benefits and ACA subsidies for a family of four with two people not working amounts to an annualized equivalent of $80,000 a year in wages and benefits, the study found.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
4 Charges in Brooklyn for Providing ISIS With Cryptocurrency
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Four people were charged in Brooklyn’s federal court this week with conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) after they were allegedly caught making more than $35,000 in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency contributions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
64% of Independent Voters Doubt Biden’s Mental Fitness, Poll Shows
A whopping 64 percent of independent voters say they doubt Democrat President Joe Biden’s mental fitness, a new poll has revealed.
According to the survey conducted by Harvard/Harris, a staggering 72 percent of independents also believe Biden is too old to be president.
The poll asked respondents, “Is Joe Biden mentally fit to serve as President of the United States or do you have doubts about his mental fitness for office?”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has issued a veiled threat to Twitter CEO Elon Musk over the platform’s new content moderation policies.
Speaking during an interview on CNN Sunday, Schiff told Jake Tapper that he sees a big problem with the “banning of journalists” and “explosion of hate speech on Twitter.”
However, both of Schiff’s claims about Twitter are false.
Twitter temporarily suspended a handful of media leftists posing as “journalists” because they violated a policy against doxxing and put Musk’s family in danger.
Their accounts were restored after just a couple of days.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
America First: Jarome Bell Has Been Reinstated to Twitter After Multiple Bans From Left-Wing Censors
America First conservative Jarome Bell has been reinstated to Twitter after multiple bans from left-wing censors, which came in the midst of his Trump-aligned campaign for Congress and were part of the documented effort by Big Tech elites and their political allies to crush the voices of the American People.
“I’m back! Thank you @elonmusk,” tweeted Jarome Bell after his Friday afternoon reinstatement, the first tweet made to his @JaromeBellVA account since September 2021, when he was banned in the midst of his Trump-aligned Congressional campaign in Virginia’s 2nd District.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Arizona Judge Hears Arguments in Kari Lake Election Lawsuit, Has Yet to Make Decision on Dismissal
An Arizona judge heard oral arguments Monday in the case to dismiss 2022 GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s election lawsuit but declined to make a decision.
Superior Court Judge of Maricopa County Peter Thompson is presiding over the case in which Lake is challenging the results of her gubernatorial bid against Governor-elect and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. In addition to Hobbs, the other defendants in the case are Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, the county Board of Supervisors, and county Director of Elections Scott Jarrett.
If the lawsuit is not dismissed, then there will be a two-day hearing on Wednesday and Thursday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Businesses across the country have been battered by crime this year, including retail behemoth Walmart. As shoppers flock to stores this holiday season, even Walmart’s CEO warned this month that the uptick in crimes need to end or consumers could see higher prices and even stores shutting down.
“Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” earlier this month. He added that if the crime wave is not halted soon and if prosecutors don’t bring charges against shoplifters, “prices will be higher, and/or stores will close.”
Crime has weighed heavily on retailers across the country this year, ballooning to a $100 billion problem, the National Retail Federation reported earlier this year. Walmart competitor Target reported this year that shoplifting incidents have increased 50% year over year, causing $400 million in losses.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bill Gates Invests Millions in Brain Chip Implant Company
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has plowed millions of dollars into a company developing brain-computer interface chip implants.
Gates joins other wealthy investors, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, in buying shares in Synchron, Inc., a brain computing interface company.
The major investments come as global power elites race to successfully “hack” the human brain by linking it to computers.
The move from Gates and Bezos comes just weeks after Twitter boss Elon Musk, the co-founder of Neuralink, announced that the company is just six months away from implanting brain-computer interfaces in humans.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California College Trustee Wants to ‘Cull’ Conservative Faculty, ‘Take ‘Em to the Slaughterhouse’
A faculty-run think tank that challenges social justice orthodoxy at a California community college is so loathed by activists on and off campus that an elected official apparently suggested treating its leaders like his doomed livestock.
John Corkins, vice president of the Kern Community College District Board of Trustees, made the agricultural quip at a Dec. 13 meeting following public comments dominated by accusations of racism and harassment by the Renegade Institute for Liberty at Bakersfield College.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CNN & MSNBC Hit Rock Bottom in 2022, Get Lowest Ratings of All Time in Top Demographic
The 2022 television ratings are in and once again Fox News dominated across the board. Fox News had 92 of the top 100 cable news shows in 2022. Fox News delivered the third highest-rated year in cable news history for 2022 in total day viewers.
Fox News was the number one cable network in primetime and total day in viewers again and finished 2022 as the highest-rated cable news network for the 21st straight year. CNN and MSNBC also made history but the wrong kind.
Fox News beat CNN and MSNBC combined in primetime and total day across both categories, finishing the year as the only cable news network to notch more than 2 million in primetime viewers and 1 million in total day viewers. And MSNBC and CNN had their lowest-rated years of all time in total day viewers with the younger A25-54 demo. Ouch.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CNN CEO Chris Licht: ‘The Uninformed Vitriol, Especially From the Left, Has Been Stunning’
CNN’s New CEO Chris Licht has apparently reached his limit and trashed “the uninformed vitriol” of “the Left” over the “stunning” response to changes he’s made at the network.
Speaking during a new interview with The New York Times, Licht also blasted the “name-calling, half-truths, and desperation” that “passes for news” from today’s corporate media.
Licht became CEO of CNN earlier this year, promising major changes at the embattled network.
He cut thousands of jobs, canceled the Chirs Wallace-led streaming service, and shuffled the primetime lineup.
However, despite the changes, the ratings are still terrible.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Couple in Car Survive 300-Foot Fall Into Southern California Canyon
Cloe Fields and her boyfriend, Christian Zelada, were driving on a two-lane highway at the edge of a steep canyon in Southern California on Tuesday when, they said, a woman in a white Mercedes pulled up behind them and started honking.
Zelada said he had pulled over to let the woman pass. Suddenly, the couple said, their Hyundai Elantra hit some gravel, lost traction, spun 180 degrees and plunged over the edge.
Fields said the car had smashed into a few trees as it careened downward before it flipped over and landed wheels up at the bottom of the canyon.
The couple had fallen about 300 feet, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. And they had survived with no major injuries.
“We only had bruises on our faces, cuts and a little bit of neck pain and, now, a mild concussion,” Fields, 23, a freelance video editor, said in an interview Friday.
Sgt. John Gilbert of the Sheriff’s Department said it was a “miracle” that the couple had survived the plunge into Monkey Canyon in the Angeles National Forest, which was reported by the Los Angeles Times.
| — Hat tip: Roger | [Return to headlines] |
Democrats Warn Meta Not to Rollback Any “Misinformation” Policies
Democrat lawmakers sent a letter to Facebook warning the platform not to stop censorship.
In a letter to Meta’s president of global affairs Nick Clegg, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Reps. Andre Carson (D-IN), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Kathy Castor (D-FL) hinted at Congressional action if Facebook attempts to “alter or rollback certain misinformation policies.”
Meanwhile, House Republicans have vowed to investigate social media companies over censorship when they take control of the House in January.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DOJ Snooped on House Intelligence Committee Investigators During Russia Probe, Subpoenas Show
In an extraordinary intrusion on congressional oversight, the Justice Department used grand jury subpoenas to secretly obtain the personal email and phone data of at least two top House Intelligence Committee investigators back in November 2017 just as they and their boss, then-Chairman Devin Nunes, were assembling bombshell evidence of FBI abuses in the Russia collusion probe, Just the News has learned.
The subpoenas, obtained by Just the News, show the DOJ demanded that Google turn over personal email and phone data from the two senior staffers on Nov. 20, 2017 and that responsive materials were to be returned to DOJ by Dec. 5, 2017.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Calls Out Media for Refusing to ‘Report About Millions of People Crossing the Border’
Elon Musk has fired back at the media for the lack of reporting on the border crisis as “millions of people” pour into the United States illegally.
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin has been one of the only members of the mainstream media to cover the ongoing crisis at the southern border.
Melugin’s coverage has been fair and impartial and has exposed what is really going on.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FBI Tried to Get Twitter to Share Account Information Without a Warrant
Internal Twitter emails that were published by journalist Michael Shellenberger as part of the Twitter Files show Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Supervisory Special Agent Elvis Chan attempting to get Twitter’s then-Head of Trust and Safety Yoel Roth to hand over information to the agency without legal process.
The term “legal process” describes information requests made in compliance with existing laws. Generally, these types of requests require a court order, subpoena, or warrant which means that a judge or court would need to review and approve information requests before a company is ordered to hand over the data. This legal process ensures that an independent judge or court can review law enforcement data requests and ensure that they’re legal and proportionate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FDA Researchers Find Pfizer COVID Vaccine Linked to Blood Clots in People 65, Older
Food and Drug Administration researchers have found that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is linked to higher instances of adverse effects in people ages 65 and older, but still says the benefits of getting shot “outweigh” the potential risks of being infected by the virus.
Using data up to Jan. 15, 2022, the study of more than 25 million people published by Science Direct earlier this month found that 0.06% of people over the age of 65 who receive the Pfizer COVID vaccine develop a pulmonary embolism, or a clot, typically of blood, in the lungs.
The researchers also noted an increased chance of people over 65 experiencing blood clots, platelet disorders and heart attacks after receiving the Pfizer vaccine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Feds Cite ‘Explosion’ in Child Sextortion Cases, FBI, DHS Issue National Public Safety Alert
Federal officials, describing “desperate” accounts from young victims, said the number of incidents in the first six months of 2022 represented a 1,000% increase from the same period last year.
Citing an “explosion” of online sextortion cases involving children, federal authorities Monday issued an unusual national public safety alert in an attempt to intervene in increasingly aggressive schemes linked to more than a dozen suicides in the past year.
At least 3,000 victims, primarily boys, have been identified as targets in operations largely originating outside the U.S., in which children are being coerced into sending explicit images online and then extorted for money.
On a variety of online platforms, from gaming and social media sites to chatrooms, predators are often using fake female accounts to target boys, between 14 to 17 years old. Some victims are as young as 10, the FBI said.
A large portion of the schemes are being traced to the West African countries of Nigeria and the Ivory Coast, officials said.
The FBI, along with the Department of Homeland Security and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, issued the alert in advance of the holidays urging parents to intercede as children are expected to spend more time online, away from the classroom.
| — Hat tip: McN | [Return to headlines] |
FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Agrees to Extradition to U.S.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried on Monday agreed to voluntary extradition to the United States to face a litany of federal charges in connection with the rapid collapse of his cryptocurrency empire.
His decision represents a dramatic reversal from his previous indications that he would contest his removal from the Bahamas, according to the Washington Post.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gabbard Says Former Democrat Party, Others ‘Rigged’ 2020 Election by Suppressing Biden Laptop Story
Former Democrat congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard says her former political party, along with the mainstream media and others, “rigged” the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden by intentionally suppressing a story late in the race about the contents of a laptop belonging to son Hunter Biden.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Google Introduces Support for Digital Driver’s Licenses, Starting in Maryland
In a move that will further normalize digital IDs, Google is beta testing digital driver’s licenses in its Wallet app. The feature is available on Apple Wallet, which allows users in states like Maryland to present the digital version of their driver’s license.
The “Digital Driver’s License” feature is available for devices running Android 8 or later that have enrolled for the Google Play Services beta program. After enabling Nearby Devices, Bluetooth, and scent lock, users should see the “ID Card (beta)” option.
The feature was announced in May during the company’s developer-oriented I/O keynote. It said Maryland would be the first state to have the feature.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Harvey Weinstein Found Guilty of Rape, Sexual Assault in Second Trial
Convicted sex offender and former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was found guilty on one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault on Monday following a lengthy trial in Los Angeles.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mark Zuckerberg-Funded ‘Zuckerbucks’ Group Pumps $80m Into Wisconsin Elections
The left-wing activist group funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is pumping another $80 million into Wisconsin’s elections over the next five years.
The Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) famously plowed $350 million of Zuckerberg’s “Zuckerbucks” into efforts to sway the 2020 election in Democrat President Joe Biden’s favor.
According to the Associated Press, the Chicago-based (CTCL) says 10 county and municipal election offices will be part of the first group to receive grants under the center’s Alliance for Election Excellence.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Musk Poll Show He Should Step Down as Twitter CEO, After He Pledges to Abide by the Results
Elon Musk may be out as Twitter CEO if he follows through on his pledge to abide by a poll he posted asking whether he should step down from his position as head of the social media platform.
“Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll,” Musk tweeted Sunday with a survey that ended Monday morning.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘My Pronouns Are I/Won’: Kari Lake Vows at TPUSA’s Amfest to Take on Election Corruption
On Saturday evening, Kari Lake spoke about the importance of election integrity at Turning Point USA’s Americafest, noting the midterm election day failures of Maricopa County, Arizona.
“Listen, we don’t have a choice but to fix our elections and fix them now. It’s so important. Election integrity is the single most important issue of our time,” Lake told the crowd.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Twitter Files Appear to Show FBI Tried to ‘Discredit’ Importance of Hunter Biden Business Deals
Independent writer Michael Shellenberger on Monday released the seventh edition of the “Twitter Files,” releasing information on the social media platform that appears to show how the FBI and the U.S. intelligence community “discredited factual information about Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings.”
“In Twitter Files #7, we present evidence pointing to an organized effort by representatives of the intelligence community (IC), aimed at senior executives at news and social media companies, to discredit leaked information about Hunter Biden before and after it was published,” Shellenberger wrote.
New Twitter CEO Elon Musk, in an attempt to show transparency, has given Shellenberger and two other independent reporters access to internals communications among Twitter executives about how to deal with the story when it broke just weeks before Election Day 2020 and external communications from top Democrats that appear to show their efforts to try to suppress the story.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NYT Slammed Over Swastika Crossword Puzzle Released During Hanukkah
The New York Times has come under fire for the uncanny resemblance that its Sunday crossword has to the Swastika, published on the first day of Hannukah.
Donald Trump Jr. was one of the loudest critics, pointing out on Twitter that if another news outlet with a different ideology pulled a stunt like this, the Times would not be giving them as much of a benefit of the doubt.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Over-Policed’ Minority Communities Oppose Illinois’ Proposed Gun Ban Penalties
Opposition to a proposed ban on semi-automatic guns and certain magazines in Illinois is coming from all sides, including minority communities opposed to penalty enhancements.
House Bill 5855, introduced by state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, would prohibit the future sale of around 100 semi-automatic guns and the future sale and possession of magazines of more than 10 rounds.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sean Penn: Unvaccinated People Are ‘Criminal’ — ‘It’s a Cowardice of Conviction’
Hollywood star Sean Penn has issued an aggressive rebuke of unvaccinated people, arguing that they are “criminals” and shouldn’t leave their homes.
The leftist actor says that a different set of rules should apply to the unvaxxed, asserting that choosing not to be vaccinated against Covid is “a cowardice of conviction.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Thief Breaks Into Robert De Niro’s NYC Home While Actor Sleeping, Caught Stealing Christmas Presents
A well-known burglar was caught inside Robert De Niro’s New York City home early on Monday morning while the Hollywood star was sleeping, according to reports.
The 30-year-old thief, Shanice Aviles, was caught by the police while she was trying to steal Christmas gifts from under the tree inside De Niro’s Manhattan townhouse.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Trolls Cheney for Primary Loss After Jan. 6 Committee Refers Him to DOJ for Criminal Charges
After the House select committee investigating the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, voted to refer him to the Department of Justice for criminal charges on Monday, former President Donald Trump mocked committee member Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., for losing her primary contest by a decisive margin.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Truth Social Launches Direct Messages
President Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social has launched a new direct messages (DMs) feature that’s available to all Android, iOS, and web users.
DMs can be accessed by clicking or tapping the “Messages” icon at the bottom right of Truth Social’s menu bar once the app has been updated to the latest version.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter’s ‘Thursday Night Massacre’ of Journalist Bans Mocked on Social Media: ‘Comedic Gold’
Media’s use of the term “Thursday Night Massacre” to describe the banning of multiple journalists’ Twitter accounts was heavily mocked over the weekend after a Wikipedia article on the topic was discovered.
On Saturday, the Wikipedia page dedicated to the term “Thursday Night Massacre” went viral as what many viewed as a biased perspective of the event.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Videos: Everything Biden Says is Made Up
In between false claims about the economy and the border, Joe Biden fills in many of his appearances with stories about himself that are just completely made up.
He’s been a truck driver, a lumber yard worker, a university professor, a gang busting lifeguard, a rider of Amtrak trains, a civil rights protester, and he even got arrested trying to bust Nelson Mandela out of prison once.
Of course, none of these things are real.
He did this again at the weekend.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gunman Used Semi Automatic Handgun in Vaughan, Ont. Shooting That Left 5 Dead
Officers responding to a mass shooting in Vaughan Sunday night found multiple people dead on several floors of a condo building before the gunman was shot dead by an officer in a hallway, Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit said Monday.
Officers with York Regional Police were dispatched to the building on Jane Street, just north of Rutherford Road, for an active shooting at around 7:20 p.m. and the gunman was pronounced dead about 40 minutes later, SIU Spokesperson Kristy Denette told reporters.
“My understanding of what took place was there was multiple deceased located on several floors,” Denette said.
She said investigators have identified the deceased gunman, but his family has not consented to the release of his identity.
However a source close to the investigation, who was not authorized to speak publicly, identified the suspected gunman to The Canadian Press as Francesco Villi.
“The man was a resident in the building and the man was using a semiautomatic handgun,” Denette said.
She said a single officer discharged their firearm multiple times, fatally injuring the 73-year-old gunman.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Vaughan Condo Shooting: Three Victims Were on Condo Board
The man who went on a shooting spree at a Canada apartment complex killed five of his neighbours, including members of the building’s board, police said.
The 73-year-old suspect went from apartment to apartment looking for his victims, though police have not disclosed his motive.
The alleged gunman, a longtime resident of the building, was shot and killed by police.
Police have not identified the victims at this time.
York Region police first responded to reports of a shooting at an apartment building in Vaughan, about 30km (19 miles) north of Toronto, at 19:20 (00:20 GMT) on Sunday.
Police chief Jim MacSween said officers found a “horrendous scene” when they arrived, with five deceased victims found in three separate apartments of the building.
At a press conference on Monday, a spokesperson for Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, which probes police-involved deaths, said responding officers shot the alleged gunman in a hallway.
The spokesperson, Kristy Denette, added that the gunman used a semi-automatic handgun in the shooting.
Police have since identified the gunman as Francesco Villi.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
91-Year-Old Polish Woman Who Beat Bank Robber With Cane Honored by Regional Authorities
The elderly woman who stopped a bank robbery in Przemysl, eastern Poland, received congratulations from the local chief of police and municipal authorities as well as the bank management.
On Dec. 6, a young woman threatened one of the workers of the bank in Przemysl with a knife and demanded money. Mrs. Gizela, who is 91 years old, noticed the situation and instantly started beating the robber with a cane. According to police, the attacker was a 25-year-old woman who has a dual citizenship, Ukrainian and Russian, and previously lived in Moscow.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
After Qatar, Morocco Implicated in European Parliament Corruption
In the course of the Belgian judiciary’s investigation into the corruption and money laundering case involving politicians in the European Parliament, new elements have revealed the existence of another key player in the case: Morocco.
While revelations about the corruption and money laundering case involving MEPs and the Middle Eastern emirate have shaken the European news in recent days, new elements of the investigation have revealed the involvement of Morocco, another key player in the case, reported French daily Le Monde, on Saturday 17 December. The first link established between Qatar and Morocco is Antonio Panzeri, a former Italian MEP now imprisoned in Belgium in the “Qatar-gate” affair.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A 16-year-old schoolboy in Britain has told local media how he was found lying on the floor of a car park after being set upon by a gang of 10 masked Asian attackers as he walked home from school.
Harvey Pickering said the attack occurred shortly after 3 p.m. on Tuesday, outside the Buzz Bingo in the town of Fenton in Staffordshire, England.
The teen was ambushed from behind and hit on the head before being punched and kicked as he lay on the ground. He was found by passers-by who called the emergency services, and was taken to the Royal Stoke University hospital after sustaining a broken nose, chipped teeth, and a broken jaw.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Funds Test of Biometric Payments From Digital Wallets
The EU Commission will provide funds to a consortium whose job is to launch a payments pilot for the bloc’s digital ID wallet.
The NOBID (Nordic-Baltic eID Project) has been chosen to head a multi-national consortium comprising a number of companies such as Thales and iProov, who are expected to start the pilot focusing on payments — one of four EU digital identity pilots — in March 2023.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: 227 Arrests and 40 Police Injured After World Cup Final Violence
Following the French loss in the World Cup on Sunday, violent riots broke out across parts of the country, leading to 227 arrests and at least 40 police officers injured during clashes.
A total of 14,000 police were deployed across the country in cities and towns, with 2,750 police in Paris alone, where officers were targeted by fireworks and glass bottles by violent rioters along the Champs-Élysées. The French Interior Ministry noted that 47 people were arrested in Paris during the rioting, as police used tear gas to counter the rioters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Goalkeeper Subjected to Torrent of Anti-White Racist Abuse After World Cup Final Defeat
French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was the victim of anti-White racism following the French national team’s defeat to Argentina on penalties in the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday.
France lost 4-2 in the third FIFA World Cup final in penalties, after coming back from a losing position twice in the game to tie with Argentina 3-3 after extra time, thanks to a hat trick from superstar forward Kylian Mbappé.
However, the forward’s heroics were in vain, as two French players missed their spot kicks, mounting pressure on Lloris in a shootout where the French goalkeeper was unable to prevent Argentina from winning football’s flagship tournament for the third time in its history.
Following the match, Lloris was hounded by hundreds of social media users posting vitriolic abuse at the footballer, with the phrase “sale blanc,” or “dirty White,” frequently used.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany is at the Tipping Point Towards De-Industrialization, Warns Chairman of Stihl
Germany is heading for a tipping point in terms of its attractiveness as a place to do business, according to Nikolas Stihl, chairman of the famed power tools company Stihl AG.
“The danger of de-industrialization cannot be dismissed out of hand,” the Swabian family entrepreneur, whose company is best known around the world for its chainsaws, told news agency dpa in an interview.
German industry has acted very resiliently and more or less coped with the burdens, however, it is becoming more difficult from year to year, he added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Politicians Move to Ban Conservative AfD Party Following ‘Reich Citizens’ Raid
The raid on the Reichsbürger movement involving 3,000 officers is now moving into the political realm, with Germany’s left-wing political class using the arrests as a pretext to ban the opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, paradoxically arguing it is a threat to democracy.
Thuringia’s Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) is leading the charge, saying the raid against the so-called “Reich citizens” group is now the basis for an AfD ban.
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Ireland: Great Reset: State Planning to Slash Automobile and Cattle Numbers for Green Agenda
The Irish government is currently planning on dramatically cutting the country’s car and cattle numbers for the sake of serving its great reset green agenda.
Ireland’s progressive government under newly-reelected Prime Minister Leo Varadkar is planning to greatly reduce the number of cars and cattle in the country, reports on Monday have suggested.
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The widening corruption scandal that has hit the European Union shows the entire political institution is a “moral corpse and close to political death,” said Laszló Kövér, the speaker of Hungary’s National Assembly, while speaking on the political talk program “Bayer Show.”
Kövér said that in the strange light of recent events involving mass corruption involving millions in Qatari money, it seems that the institutional system of the European Union is itself a system of organized corruption, with George Soros in the background.
Kövér also described Hungarian left-wing opposition MEPs as “traitors.”
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The legislation which has been brought before parliament to alter the disciplinary system for judges in order to meet the demands of the European Commission requires extensive review and consultation “to avoid the danger of introducing chaos into Poland’s legal system,” the leader of the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS), Jaroslaw Kaczynski, has told weekly Gazeta Polska.
Asked whether the legislation would fulfill the EU commission’s milestones on the rule of law so that Poland could receive its EU recovery fund allocation, Kaczynski said that it probably would but warned there is a real danger it would cause severe problems for the judicial system in Poland, which could in turn damage Poland’s ability to absorb the main part of its EU funding from the general EU budget.
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Germany has recovered millions in stolen royal jewelry after the items taken in the 2019 Green Vault robbery of Dresden Castle. According to media reports, one of the members of the Arab Remmo clan told investigators where some of these jewelry pieces were located, likely in exchange for a more lenient sentence.
Six members of the Remmo clan, Rabieh (29), Bashir (27), Wissam (26), Abdul Majed (23), Mohamed (23), and Ahmed Remmo (24), are currently on trial for the crime, with the gang responsible for a number of high-profile museum heists in recent years, including the 100-kilogram “Big Maple Leaf” gold coin robbery from the Berliner Bode-Museum.
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The EU just announced a direct carbon tax on individuals for heating, petrol and diesel.
They admit it could cause massive continent-wide civil unrest.
How is this not the biggest story in the world right now?
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UK: ‘Fit & Healthy’ 14-Year-Old Boy Suffers Heart Attack While Riding His Bike
A 14-year-old boy, described as “fit and healthy” by his family, has been hospitalized in critical condition after suffering a massive heart attack while riding his bike.
Doctors say it will take Oscar six months to recover after surgery.
Oscar and his stepfather, Adam Dawe, 34, were riding their bikes in Cornwall, England when the young teen suddenly suffered a cardiac arrest.
They were riding mountain bikes along with the biking group Cornwall Bicycle Project on Bodmin Moor when Oscar complained of feeling dizzy, according to Essex Live.
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BBC Sounds have announced their “highly anticipated” podcast on ISIS bride Shamima Begum will be available in the new year.
The Shamima Begum Story, from BBC Radio 5 live, will be available on Wednesday 11 January and will also broadcast weekly on BBC Radio 4 from the same date.
An accompanying World TV documentary will air at the start of February 2023 on BBC Two and iPlayer.
Begum is said to have given investigative journalist Josh Baker a detailed account of “what really happened” after she was discovered in Syria with the Islamic State group, four years after disappearing as a teenager from London.
The journalist meets Begum in a Syrian detention camp for the podcast that looks to establish “fact from fiction”, according to the BBC.
Many social media users have taken to Twitter to discuss the announcement from the broadcasting company.
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The Prime Minister, will announce a £250million contract that will ensure a constant flow of critical artillery ammunition to Ukraine throughout next year.
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Iranians Hold Large Protests on First Day of 3-Day Action
Monday evening thousands of Iranians came out in numerous cities to protest against the Islamic Republic and confrontations ensued with security forces.
The government shut down the Internet in most parts of the country to prevent footage from the protests to appear online. Although some videos were published on social media but the Internet disruption made it much more difficult.
In several cities, gatherings were held for the mourning ceremonies of protesters killed during the past three months.
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Putin Visits Minsk, Sparking Fears That Belarus Could Soon Enter Ukraine War
Following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Belarus on Monday, Ukraine is fearful that the former Soviet Union ally country could be preparing to invade.
Putin met with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko alongside his defence and foreign ministers. This was his first trip to the country, which is an important ally of the Kremlin, since 2019.
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Ukraine War: Russia Hits Kyiv With Wave of ‘Kamikaze’ Drones
Russia unleashed 35 “kamikaze” drones on Ukraine in the early hours of Monday as many people slept, hitting critical infrastructure in and around Kyiv in Moscow’s third air attack on the Ukrainian capital in six days.
The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defences shot down 30 incoming drones, the latest in a series of Russian missile and drone attacks since October that have targeted the Ukrainian power grid causing sweeping blackouts in winter.
“Kamikaze” or “suicide” drones are cheaply produced, disposable unmanned aircraft that fly towards their target before plummeting at velocity and detonating on impact.
Kyiv’s mayor said no one had died or been wounded in the attacks on Kyiv that rocked the capital’s Solomianskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts, according to preliminary information.
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Ukraine Attempted ‘Decapitation Strike’ of Russia’s Top General, Even as US Tried to Stop It
A lengthy and wide-ranging New York Times assessment of “Putin’s War” detailing the last ten months of how a “walk in the park” became a catastrophe for Russia — as the story is sub headed — includes a particular bombshell buried deep within the narrative which has yet to be subject of widespread reporting.
US officials cited in the report say that Ukraine’s military and intelligence attempted to assassinate General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, even after American officials urged against such a brazen action of unpredictable consequences, on fears it would invite uncontrollable Russian military escalation.
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Aboriginal elder Kerry White says that constant Welcome to Country and Acknowledgment of Country rituals are an attack on Aboriginal culture because they are no more than ‘virtue signaling’.
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Aussies have turned against the network after its parent company announced it would not be celebrating Australia Day next year.
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Former federal MP and head of the AMA Dr Kerryn Phelps says both she and her wife have suffered vaccine injuries, which she believes are far more common than medical authorities will admit.
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Victoria’s south coast will become home to turbine projects. Victorian and Australian governments are hoping to capture the energy of the Bass Strait’s wild weather for Australian homes.
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Brazil: Pro-Bolsonaro Tribal Chief Arrested; Demonstrators Begin to Riot in Response
Demonstrators in Brasilia, Brazil have started to riot after the arrest of Tserere, aka Cacique Cerere, who was taken into custody by federal police on Monday evening after an arrest warrant was issued by Supreme Federal Court (SPF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is also a justice on the Superior Electoral Court.
[Comment: Article dated December 12, 2022.]
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Multiple sources on the ground in Brasilia, Brazil stated that the riot which broke out Monday night after the arrest of Brazilian Xavante tribal chief, Tserere, aka Cacique Cerere, was instigated by Leftist “black bloc infiltrators.” One witness compared it to the events of the January 6 Capitol protests.
Brazilian chef and political activist, Vinicius “Vinny” Rossignolo, 36, spoke with National File on Wednesday about Chief Tserere’s arrest and the riot which followed.
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France: 4 Police Officers Injured in Violent Brawl at Migrant Detention Center
Four police officers have been injured during a violent altercation that took place on Saturday at a migrant administrative center in the French city of Marseille.
The incident spiraled following an argument that broke out between detainees during lunchtime in the cafeteria, according to French broadcaster BFM.
Police officers on duty at the premises rushed in to restore order, resulting in injuries being sustained by four officers as five participants were apprehended and separated.
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Half of Ukrainian Refugees in Germany Have No Plans to Return Home
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, about 1 million Ukrainians have fled to Germany. According to a survey, the majority feel welcome in the country, which means many have no plans to return for years, and a significant proportion never want to go back to Ukraine.
The survey interviewed more than 11,000 people who had fled Ukraine for Germany and settled in the country after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Around a third of those surveyed would like to move back home.
However, more than a quarter of the respondents, 26 percent, said they would like to live in Germany forever and do not want to return to Ukraine even after the war is over.
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‘Immigration Mainly Has a Negative Impact on Germany,’ 49 Per Cent Believes: Poll
Considerably more Germans think immigration has a mostly “negative impact” on their country than don’t, a survey has found.
A poll conducted by YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency has found that a convincing plurality of Germans feel that immigration has a mainly “negative impact” on their society.
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Migrants Using Catholic Charities to Avoid Deportation: Report
Illegal migrants are reportedly listing Catholic Charities addresses as their destinations to slow the process of their court hearings and stall any possible deportation.
Both the Department of Homeland Security and Catholic Charities recognize that the phenomena is occurring, with DHS asserting that its agents have to accept any listed address a migrant provides, according to the Washington Times.
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Supreme Court Delays End of Title 42 Immigration Rule
The Supreme Court on Monday delayed the termination of the Title 42 immigration rule that was set to expire this week.
Chief Justice John Roberts issued the temporary hold in response to an appeal from Republican-led states seeking to keep the order in place, according to NBC News. Roberts gave the Department of Homeland Security, which had sought to end the order, until 5 p.m. on Tuesday to respond to the Republican appeal, per the New York Post.
An appeals court had previously rejected the bid from 19 Republican states to halt the order imposed by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in mid-November, paving the way for the order’s termination.
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Suella Braverman has defended the UK’s ‘humane and practical’ plan to deport migrants to Rwanda to deter Channel crossings, after the High Court today said the scheme did not break the law.
The Home Secretary defiantly vowed to start sending people to East Africa under a £140million programme Rwanda ‘as soon as possible’ after a ruling in favour of the Government and against charity campaigners.
Two judges rejected arguments that the proposal to provide one-way tickets to the east African nation were unlawful, but ruled that the cases against eight individual asylum seekers were not ‘properly considered’ and should be reexamined.
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Videos: Senior Advisor Can’t Say Why Biden Hasn’t Visited Border; Democrats Dismiss Crisis
This week, the border crisis is set to explode into a full on catastrophe as Title 42 is rescinded, and thousands of migrants currently waiting to attempt entry to the U.S. will surge crossing points.
Yet one of Joe Biden’s senior advisors, Keisha Lance Bottoms, said Sunday that she “can’t speak to why he has or has not gone” to the border.
He hasn’t gone. You can’t speak to why he has gone because he hasn’t.
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Virginia Gov. Youngkin Warns of ‘Catastrophic’ Effects From Title 42’s End
Despite the fact that at its nearest point, the Commonwealth of Virginia is more than 1,300 miles from the Mexican border, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin warned Monday of dire effects from the record surge of illegal immigrants expected if the Trump-era protection is removed this week.
Late Monday afternoon, Chief Justice John Roberts responded to a request from several Republican attorneys general to pause the removal of the Title 42 health-related immigration restriction by enacting a temporary pause to a Bill Clinton-appointed federal judge’s order last month that the provision be nixed.
On “Your World,” Youngkin called the situation at the southern border “catastrophic.” The governor said the Biden administration or Congress should have acted to prevent an anticipated deluge later this week if Title 42 goes away at the behest of District of Columbia federal Judge Emmet Sullivan.
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BlackRock Not Changing Stance on ESG Investing, Despite Criticism
BlackRock is making no major changes to its policies on sustainable investing despite backlash from some Republican lawmakers.
In an annual update on its stewardship policies, the world’s biggest asset manager said it only made “a few changes.”
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On Sunday, Darren Merger, a biological male who identifies as transgender, who allegedly exposed his genitals to a little girl and several women in June of 2021 at the Los Angeles Wi Spa, was apprehended after months of an outstanding warrant was out for Merger’s arrest for indecent exposure.
The Post Millennial Editor-at-Large Andy Ngo tweeted, “BREAKING Wi Spa update: The trans sex offender & wanted fugitive over women’s locker room indecent exposure incidents, including Wi Spa case defended by Antifa, has been arrested. Darren Merager had been on the run since September 2021 after my reporting. Bail is set at $350k.”
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Spain Advances ‘Menstrual Leave’ Legislation for Women Experiencing Period Cramps
Spanish lawmakers in the lower house last Thursday approved a bill which would grant paid medical leave for women who say they’re experiencing period cramps — which, if passed, would make it the first such legislation in Europe.
According to Spain’s left-wing government, the legislation — which passed by a margin of 190 for, and 154 against (with five abstentions), the legislation is aimed at ‘breaking a taboo’ on the subject, France24 reports.
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1) Apartment dwellers should all be armed with sub- machine-guns for self defense.
2) Knives should not be sold to drug addicts.
3) Foul birds like Turkeys should not be admitted into NATO.