Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/25/2023

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that “…we are fighting a war against Russia and not against each other.” Meanwhile, Germany approved the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, and authorized other EU states to do the same with their own Leopards.

In other news, a Palestinian culture-enricher went on a stabbing rampage on a train in Schleswig-Holstein, killing two people and wounding seven others.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, DV, JW, LP, Reader from Chicago, Roger, SS, Steen, 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.

Financial Crisis
» Australia’s Cost of Living Crisis Worsens With Inflation Hitting a New ‘Unacceptable’ 32-Year High — Making Another Interest Rate Rise Within Weeks Almost a Certainty
» Big Banks Plot Digital Wallets for 2023 Release
» Business and Banking Elites Call for Australians to Take an Even Bigger Pay Cut as Inflation Soars to Levels Unseen Since the Early 1990s
» Norway Pushes Ahead With Digital Currency, Ignoring Privacy Concerns
» Tightening Up! 1.5% of the Google Layoffs Were Masseuses — Tech Giant Let Go of More Than Two Dozen on-Site Massage Therapists as Part of Massive Layoffs
 
USA
» 14-Year-Old Oakland County Girl Stabbed After Refusing to Have Sex With Man She Met Online
» Administrators Were Warned 3 Times the Day Boy Shot Virginia Teacher, Lawyer Says
» Backflip: U.S. Now Set to Approve Abrams Main Battle Tanks for Ukraine
» Defense Department Official Says Troops Need Training About Online Misinformation
» Director of Movie Co-Starring Sex Predator Smears Justice Kavanaugh
» Doomsday Clock Faces Mockery for Warning We’re ‘90 Seconds’ From Midnight: ‘Stupidest S**t I Have Ever Seen’
» Elon Musk Changes Twitter Name to ‘Mr. Tweet’ And Now Can’t Change it Back
» Family Issues Heartbreaking Update as Actor Julian Sands Missing for 12 Days: ‘I Know He’s Gone in My Mind’
» Georgia Gov. Kemp Vows to Protect Businesses From Protestors After Anti-Police Riot in Downtown Atlanta
» Google is Curating Data for AI, Whistleblower Claims
» Gov Hochul Refuses to Re-Hire Fired Unvaxxed Healthcare Workers After Mandate Overturned, Despite Shortage
» Hollywood Star Turns on Alec Baldwin: ‘This is What Happens When You Cut Corners’
» Hunter Biden’s Art Dealer Must Hand Over Sale Info, James Comer Demands
» ‘Incredibly Suspicious’ Hunter Biden Email May be Based on Classified Info: GOP Senator
» Joe Rogan Slams Media for Gaslighting About Riots: ‘it’s Not Mostly Peaceful When a Car is on Fire’
» Juanita Broaddrick Calls for FBI Raids of Schiff and Swalwell’s Homes for Classified Documents
» Kevin McCarthy Announces Subcommittee Team to Investigate Government Social Media Censorship
» Number of Americans Dead From Non-COVID Causes Soars
» Paul Pelosi Sold Google Shares Prior to DOJ Antitrust Suit
» Rand Paul, GOP Senators Push Bill to Reinstate Service Members Fired for Refusing COVID Vaccines
» Ronald Reagan Said Biden Threatened to Leak Covert Info, Called Joe a ‘Demagogue’: “Smooth But Pure Demagogue”
» San Fran Judge Orders Release of Bodycam Footage From Paul Pelosi Hammer Attack
» Scientology’s Missing Miscaviges: Where Are Leader David and His Wife, Shelly?
» Ted Cruz Says it’s ‘Critical’ For FBI to Search Hunter Biden’s Home for Classified Docs
» Tennessee Law Barring Adults Under 21 From Carrying Guns Shot Down
» Travis Lewis Killed Martha McKay 23 Years After She Forgave Him for Killing Her Mum
» Trump’s Facebook, Instagram Accounts Being Restored After 2-Year Suspension
» Union League of Philadelphia Overrules Protesters, Awards DeSantis With Highest Honor
» With Joe Biden, George Soros Finally Had a President He Could Control
» Woman Pleads Guilty to Trying to Kill Donald Trump With Ricin
 
Canada
» Canada’s Controversial WEF-Backed Digital Travel ID System is Back on the Agenda
» Large, Angry Protests Target Trudeau Government Cabinet Retreat in Hamilton
 
Europe and the EU
» 1 Dead, Several Injured in Spanish Church Machete Massacre
» Assisted Suicide Could Become a ‘Cost Saving’ Measure for UK Healthcare System, Church Leader Warns
» Berlin Has 10 Times More Crime Than Warsaw, Says Polish Consul in Berlin While Issuing New Travel Warning to Tourists
» Election Interference: Hungary’s Left-Wing Opposition Received Huge Sums of Secret Money From US and Switzerland
» EU Refunded Poland Only 1% of Billions in Arms Supplies to Ukraine
» German Train Stabbing: 2 Dead, 7 Hurt After Man Pulls Knife on Passengers
» Germany Investigates PayPal Over Market Dominance, Anti-Competitive Practices
» Germany: Will the Bundeswehr Special Fund be Increased to 300 Billion Euros?
» German Foreign Minister: ‘We Are Fighting a War With Russia’
» German Tanks Roll East: Berlin Approves Leopard 2s for Ukraine
» Germany Says Quiet Part Out Loud About Ukraine War
» Hungarian Football Federation Bans ‘Greater Hungary’ Flags and Scarves
» Machete-Wielding ‘Terrorist’ Bursts Into Two Churches in Southern Spain, Stabs Sexton to Death and Wounds Priest in Atrocity Before Police Arrest Attacker
» ‘No Justice in Romania’: Andrew Tate Claims His Criminal Case File is ‘Empty’
» Poll: Ukrainians Support Political-Military Alliance With Poland and UK
» Spain’s Center-Right Too Afraid of the Left to Govern With Vox
» Sweden’s NATO Membership Goes Up in Smoke
» UK Rated Only ‘Partially Open’ in Free Speech Index Amid Government’s Online Censorship Plans
» UK: Massive Food Waste: City Council Goes Vegan, But Nobody Wants to Eat it
 
Middle East
» Beirut Blast: Lebanon Prosecutor Charges Judge Leading Investigation
» Qur’an Burning: Sweden Closes Embassy in Turkey as Protests Spread Across Muslim World
 
Russia
» Moscow’s Fury Over German and US Tank Deal: Russia Blasts ‘Blatant Provocation’, as Putin’s TV Puppets Call for Bundestag to be Nuked After ‘Game-Changing’ Decision to Provide Leopard 2 Vehicles
» Ukraine Pulls Last Defenders Back From Donetsk Mining Town of Soledar
» Ukraine ‘Expects’ Tank Deal Will Lead to Western Delivery of Long-Range Missiles Capable of Striking Russian Supply Lines as Zelensky Begs for More Heavy Weaponry — While Angry Kremlin Brands German and US Aid to Kyiv ‘Extremely Dangerous’
 
South Asia
» The First Royal Wedding of 2023! Sultan of Brunei’s Daughter Princess Azemah Marries Her First Cousin in Lavish Week-Long Celebrations
 
Australia — Pacific
» AFL Star Bailey Smith Weighs in on Controversial Australia Day Debate… Calling on Authorities to ‘Change the F***ing Date’ As He Labels the Public Holiday Invasion Day
» Calls for Every Australian to Get a Vote on Whether to Keep Australia Day Amid Fears National Celebration is Being ‘Delegitimised’ By Endless Toxic Debate — But it Won’t Stop Millions From Enjoying a Day Off Hitting the Beach
» Ex-Bikie Goes Rogue and Explodes at One of Australia’s Toughest Gangsters in an Unhinged Rant That Could Put His Life in Danger — After Being Brutally Bashed Outside a Bunnings on the Gold Coast
» Fury Mounts Over New Celebrity-Backed Push for Aussies to Pay Indigenous Australians ‘Weekly Rent’ For Living on Their Land: ‘The Worst Type of Discrimination’
» January 26th Becomes ‘Division Day’: Thousands of Protesters Flood the Cities Across the Nation to Demand National Holiday Becomes a Day of Mourning
» Peta Credlin’s Australia Day Warning: Why Today Will be the Last Time Aussies Mark January 26th if the Nation Votes Yes to an Indigenous Voice to Parliament: ‘The Revolution is Coming’
» So Can You Choose Your Own Date for Australia Day? Experts Reveal Which Workers Can Swap the Public Holiday as Major Employers Ditch Day Off on January 26
» The Two-Word Mantra Kids Running Wild in Australia’s Most Lawless Town Use When Caught by Cops — as ‘FIFO PM’ is Mocked Over Cut and Run Visit
 
Latin America
» In Argentina, Getting a New SIM Card Will Now Require Giving Up Biometric Data
 
Immigration
» Austria Demands Tougher EU Migration Policy, Easier Deportations
» Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs Defends Decision to Keep Bussing Migrants Out of State
» French Officials Demand UK Cracks Down on British Charities That Help Migrants Who Are Planning to Cross the Channel
» German Officials Say Knifeman Who Stabbed Two People to Death and Wounded Seven Others in Brutal Train Rampage is a Stateless Palestinian
» Germany: Palestinian Knife Attack Leaves 2 Dead on Regional Train, Several Injured
» Germany: Trial Begins for Man Who Stabbed 7-Year-Old Girl Five Times in the Head During Breakfast at Her School
» Ireland is Full: Open Borders Government Takes to Twitter to Beg Migrants to Stay Away
» Police Missed Seven Chances to Stop Killer Afghan Asylum Seeker: Authorities Were Repeatedly Warned That Double Murderer Who Lied He Was 14 to Get Into UK Was Carrying a Knife Before He Stabbed Aspiring Marine to Death
» Up to 200 More Migrants Cross Channel by 10am After Braving Bitter Cold and Fog on Journey From France in Four Small Boats
 
Culture Wars
» Calif. Teacher Helps Students Change Names, Pronouns Without Parents’ Knowledge
» ‘Controversial’ Gender-Neutral Production of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Features Non-Binary Jesus
» Dave Chappelle Rips Transgender Activists Who Use Violence to Protest Him
» Drag Time Story Hour for Kids Cancelled by French Mayor After Backlash
» Florida Public Universities Spent $15 Million of Taxpayer Dollars on CRT, Diversity Initiatives: Report
» Gaming Forum Resetera Bans Conversations About Upcoming Hogwarts Legacy Game Over Associations With J.K. Rowling
» The Left Turns on Our Inspirational Australian of the Year: Outrage as Mike Carlton Says Taryn Brumfitt Is Just Someone Who ‘Makes a Buck Out of Saying it’s OK to be a Bit Fat’ — As Fellow Middle-Aged Male TV Journalist Agrees
» Transmania
 

Australia’s Cost of Living Crisis Worsens With Inflation Hitting a New ‘Unacceptable’ 32-Year High — Making Another Interest Rate Rise Within Weeks Almost a Certainty

Australian inflation has now reached levels unseen since 1990, hitting 7.8 per cent in the December quarter, making another interest rate rise in February much more likely.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Big Banks Plot Digital Wallets for 2023 Release

Big Banks in the US, including JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America are planning to launch a digital wallet to compete with PayPal and Apple Pay. The move, planned for the second half of this year, appears to be yet another push for a cashless society.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the new digital wallet will be managed by bank-owned Early Warning Services LLC (EWS), the company behind money transfer platform Zelle. The new digital wallet would allow consumers to pay merchants online through linked credit and debit cards.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Business and Banking Elites Call for Australians to Take an Even Bigger Pay Cut as Inflation Soars to Levels Unseen Since the Early 1990s

Australian workers would need a $7,178 pay rise to cope with the worst inflation since 1990. Despite that, employer groups and the Reserve Bank are opposed to generous pay increases.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Norway Pushes Ahead With Digital Currency, Ignoring Privacy Concerns

Norway is looking to join several countries that are on track to introduce a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) — a centralized form of digital money.

Despite the many controversies — not least related to people’s privacy — that accompany this form of digital money pushed by governments, and clearly, central banks around the world, Norway is reported to be accelerating its efforts, which started all the way back in 2016.

The country’s direction is clear: a move towards a cashless system. A CBDC fits in well with that model, but even before it finally gets introduced (what’s referred to as the “experimental phase” is due to end in mid-2023) several banks stopped using cash as a payment method altogether.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Tightening Up! 1.5% of the Google Layoffs Were Masseuses — Tech Giant Let Go of More Than Two Dozen on-Site Massage Therapists as Part of Massive Layoffs

Some 27 masseuses working for Google lost their jobs as part of the company’s largest ever round of layoffs.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

14-Year-Old Oakland County Girl Stabbed After Refusing to Have Sex With Man She Met Online

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (Fox 2) — An Illinois man stabbed a 14-year-old girl Wednesday after he went to her Oakland County home and she refused to have sex with him.

According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, the victim met the 18-year-old from Monmouth, Ill. On a social media website. The pair discussed meeting up, and the man went to her home in the 6000 block of N. Bay in her Springfield Township home around midnight.

When the girl wouldn’t have sex with the man, authorities say he stabbed her multiple times with an 8-inch knife he had purchased the day before in White Lake Township. A sibling was sleeping at the home when the attack happened, but the victim’s parents were not home. The victim was able to call her parents, who rushed home and called 911.

           — Hat tip: Roger [Return to headlines]
 

Administrators Were Warned 3 Times the Day Boy Shot Virginia Teacher, Lawyer Says

NEWPORT NEWS, Virginia — Concerned staff warned administrators at a Virginia elementary school three times that a 6-year-old boy had a gun and was threatening other students in the hours before he shot and wounded a teacher, but the administration “was paralyzed by apathy” and didn’t call police, remove the boy from class or lock down the school, the wounded teacher’s lawyer said Wednesday.

Diane Toscano, an attorney for Abigail Zwerner, said during a news conference that she has notified the school board in Newport News that the 25-year-old teacher at Richneck Elementary School plans to sue the school district over the Jan. 6 shooting, which left Zwerner with serious injuries.

“On that day, over the course of a few hours, three different times — three times — school administration was warned by concerned teachers and employees that the boy had a gun on him at the school and was threatening people. But the administration could not be bothered,” Toscano said.

She said that Zwerner first went to an administrator at around 11:15 a.m. on the day of the shooting and said the boy had threatened to beat up another child, but no action was taken.

About an hour later, another teacher went to an administrator and said she had taken it upon herself to search the boy’s bookbag, but warned that she thought the boy had put the gun in his pocket before going outside for recess, Toscano said.

“The administrator downplayed the report from the teacher and the possibility of a gun, saying — and I quote — ‘Well, he has little pockets,’ “ Toscano said.

Shortly after 1 p.m., another teacher told an administrator that a different student who was “crying and fearful” said the boy showed him the gun during recess and threatened to shoot him if he told anyone. Again, no action was taken, she said.

When another employee who had heard the boy might have a gun asked an administrator to search the boy, he was turned down, Toscano said.

“He was told to wait the situation out because the school day was almost over,” she said.

About an hour later, “Abby Zwerner was shot in front of those horrified kids, and the school and community are living the nightmare, all because the school administration failed to act,” Toscano said.

“Were they not so paralyzed by apathy, they could have prevented this tragedy,” she said.

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Backflip: U.S. Now Set to Approve Abrams Main Battle Tanks for Ukraine

The White House is set to approve sending advanced M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday, reversing a months-long policy of resisting the repeated calls of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the same.

The U.S. announcement is expected to spark a similar one by Berlin approving Poland’s request to transfer German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, according to one official.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Defense Department Official Says Troops Need Training About Online Misinformation

The US authorities and many other governments around the world — including “trans-national” groups like the WEF — have been beating the drum regarding the serious danger of misinformation and disinformation for some time now, and that noise is getting louder and louder.

On the one hand, there is no doubt that disinformation can be harmful — but there is also no doubt that it has not only just appeared in the last couple of years, so the fierce insistence on finding new ways to “combat” it seems curious.

Unfortunately, there is also no doubt that this “war on disinformation” is often used as a convenient excuse to curtail free speech or engage in open acts of censorship.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Director of Movie Co-Starring Sex Predator Smears Justice Kavanaugh

by Daniel Greenfield

There was big news at the Sundance Film Festival, formerly the haunt of Harvey Weinstein, a new documentary smearing Justice Kavanaugh, once again, as a high school sex predator.

The folks at Sundance know all about sexual predators. Don’t take my word for it. Take it from this Washington Post op-ed, “Everyone at Sundance knew what Harvey Weinstein was.” But after the requisite political pieties, Hollywood is back to doing what it does best.

Changing the subject and smearing Republicans with projections of their own filth.

The Hollywood Reporter, splashily announced that Doug Liman, “the sought-after features director behind titles like Swingers, Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity — spent all of 2022 making his documentary debut about the government investigation into now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.” The documentary will be, ironically, titled, “Justice”…

           — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield [Return to headlines]
 

Doomsday Clock Faces Mockery for Warning We’re ‘90 Seconds’ From Midnight: ‘Stupidest S**t I Have Ever Seen’

“This is the stupidest s**t I have ever seen [sic] im guna [sic] make a the doomsday turtle race where we race turtles once a year to see if we move closer to the apocalypse because it has more logic behind it than this that and it will be very cute to watch little turtles running,” Tim Pool, a popular independent journalist, tweeted.

“I think these people want to be taken seriously?” asked Steve Cortes, a conservative commentator.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Elon Musk Changes Twitter Name to ‘Mr. Tweet’ And Now Can’t Change it Back

Even Twitter boss Elon Musk isn’t above the social media platform’s mistakes.

On Wednesday, Musk tweeted that he changed his name to “Mr. Tweet” but was prevented from changing it back.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Family Issues Heartbreaking Update as Actor Julian Sands Missing for 12 Days: ‘I Know He’s Gone in My Mind’

The family of missing British actor Julian Sands has issued a heartbreaking update after he went missing in California 12 days ago.

Sands, the star of “A Room With a View” and “Arachnophobia,” went missing on January 13 after going for a hike in the San Gabriel Mountains in San Bernardino County.

“The Sheriff’s Department is closing in on the second full week of the search for missing hiker, Julian Sands,” San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department said in a statement.

“Numerous ground and air search efforts have taken place.

“As of this time, Mr. Sands has not been found and no evidence of his current location has been discovered.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Georgia Gov. Kemp Vows to Protect Businesses From Protestors After Anti-Police Riot in Downtown Atlanta

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp vowed on Tuesday to protect local businesses after violent protestors took to the streets of downtown Atlanta over the weekend, smashing windows and setting a police cruiser on fire.

Kemp appeared on FOX Business’ “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” and said the state sent a strong message that Georgians won’t put up with the destruction of property.

“We’re going to bring these people to justice and man, we’re going to send a message,” Kemp said. “We did that two years ago during civil unrest when a lot of out-of-state people that, you know, really shouldn’t have a dog in this fight or come into our city to destroy businesses and government property like police cars.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Google is Curating Data for AI, Whistleblower Claims

Big Tech giant Google is curating data that artificial intelligence (AI) uses to learn, a whistleblower has claimed.

The whistleblower, former Google employee Zach Vorhies, warns that Big Tech can bias the AI to censor information flowing on the Internet.

Vorhies said he became concerned about how the company was curating data to generate AI while he was working for Google.

He claims that the data used by Google staffers is biased with social justice or leftist values that adhere to certain narratives.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Gov Hochul Refuses to Re-Hire Fired Unvaxxed Healthcare Workers After Mandate Overturned, Despite Shortage

New York’s Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul is refusing to re-hire the state’s unvaxxed healthcare workers who were fired for failing to comply with the now-overturned vaccine mandate.

The move from Gov. Hochul comes despite her vaccine mandate being overturned by the courts.

New York is also currently battling a state-wide shortage of healthcare workers.

Last week, a state Supreme Court judge in Syracuse struck down the statewide vaccine mandate for medical staffers, as Slay News reported.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Hollywood Star Turns on Alec Baldwin: ‘This is What Happens When You Cut Corners’

Two-time Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon broke his silence on Alec Baldwin’s criminal charges and doomed the fallen star.

“Man of Steel” star Shannon turned on Baldwin over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and warned that “this is what happens when you cut corners.”

Baldwin had a dual responsibility on the movie set due to being the star actor and a producer.

As Slay News reported, Baldwin has been charged by prosecutors with involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting and faces prison time if convicted.

According to Shannon, the tragedy likely happened because Baldwin and his colleagues were trying to “make the movie on the cheap.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Hunter Biden’s Art Dealer Must Hand Over Sale Info, James Comer Demands

WASHINGTON — The House Oversight Committee is demanding that first son Hunter Biden’s art dealer hand over sales information and book an interview with congressional investigators about possible influence-peddling.

The panel’s chairman, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), sent a letter Wednesday to SoHo gallery owner Georges Berges after he brazenly brushed off an initial request last month.

“For over a decade, the Biden family has profited from Joe Biden’s positions as a public official,” Comer wrote. “Your arrangement with Hunter Biden raises serious ethics concerns and calls into question whether the Biden family is again selling access and influence.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

‘Incredibly Suspicious’ Hunter Biden Email May be Based on Classified Info: GOP Senator

A Hunter Biden email about Ukraine from 2014 looks ‘suspiciously’ like it could have come from classified information, a leading GOP senator has claimed.

Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said the April 12, 2014 message to one of the first son’s business partners resembles documents that the State Department gives members of the Senate when they travel overseas.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Joe Rogan Slams Media for Gaslighting About Riots: ‘it’s Not Mostly Peaceful When a Car is on Fire’

Joe Rogan ranted Wednesday about how media outlets act as the “propaganda department” for their ideological allies to the point of calling riots “mostly peaceful.”

He and 1980s era MTV host and producer Adam Curry discussed how both the American public and the media have used “team” mentality and political ideology to make the country noticeably “tribal,” noting that pursuit of truth is lost in the process. They also criticized the phrase “trust the science” and the sentiment behind it in American politics.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Juanita Broaddrick Calls for FBI Raids of Schiff and Swalwell’s Homes for Classified Documents

Bill Clinton’s rape accuser Juanita Broaddrick is calling for the FBI to raid the homes and offices of Democrat Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) to search for classified documents after they were booted off the Intel Committee over national security concerns.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Kevin McCarthy Announces Subcommittee Team to Investigate Government Social Media Censorship

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy revealed the names of the Republicans that will serve on the select subcommittees on the origins of COVID-19 and the “weaponization of the federal government.”

In their list of demands to support McCarthy for speaker, many Republicans demanded the creation of the weaponization subcommittee, whose purpose is to investigate the Biden administration. The creation of the subcommittee was voted in last week along party lines.

In a letter to House Republicans, the speaker said that the subcommittee will investigate the “weaponization of government against our citizenry, writ large.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Number of Americans Dead From Non-COVID Causes Soars

The number of excess non-Covid deaths has soared in the United States, with an additional 300,000 Americans dead since 2020, new official data shows.

The latest federal government data shows that staggering numbers of Americans are dying unexpectedly.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Paul Pelosi Sold Google Shares Prior to DOJ Antitrust Suit

aul Pelosi, the multimillionaire husband of former House Speaker and current Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sold 30,000 shares of Google stock a month prior to the Dept. of Justice’s announcement of an antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant, according to a financial disclosure filed with the House of Representatives.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Rand Paul, GOP Senators Push Bill to Reinstate Service Members Fired for Refusing COVID Vaccines

GOP Senator Rand Paul has joined others in promoting an updated bill to reinstate military service members who were previously fired for refusing to comply with the Biden Administration’s COVID vaccine mandate.

The legislation, named the Allowing Military Exemptions, Recognizing Individual Concerns About New Shots (AMERICANS) Act of 2023, includes a requirement that the Secretary of Defense offer reinstatement to active members who were removed from duty for not taking the shots.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Ronald Reagan Said Biden Threatened to Leak Covert Info, Called Joe a ‘Demagogue’: “Smooth But Pure Demagogue”

Former President Ronald Reagan was no fan of current President Joe Biden according to entries from Reagan’s diaries and Ron’s son. The Reagan Diaries, edited by Douglas Brinkley and released in 2007, shows what Ron really thought of Joe.

Reagan wrote on June 15: “1st meeting with Ken D. & the V.P.—Howard late getting back from Tennessee. Some talk about Sen. Biden—now cand. for Pres. I saw him on CNN last night speaking to the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard U. He’s smooth but pure demagog[ue]—out to save America from the Reagan Doctrine.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

San Fran Judge Orders Release of Bodycam Footage From Paul Pelosi Hammer Attack

A San Francisco judge on Wednesday ruled that San Francisco police body camera footage from the October 2022 hammer attack against Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, must be made public.

In his ruling, Judge Stephen Murphy sided with a group of media outlets, including the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times, who sought access to the dramatic footage as well as other evidence against David DePape, the alleged attacker, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Scientology’s Missing Miscaviges: Where Are Leader David and His Wife, Shelly?

The hunt is on for David Miscavige, the fiery, controversial and elusive head of Scientology, who’s being sought by lawyers in a civil child trafficking suit brought by former church members in federal court.

The case involves three plaintiffs who once belonged to the sect’s notorious military-style Sea Org and who allege they were forced into the church as kids and had to work into adulthood for almost no pay. Valeska Paris, along with married couple Gawain and Laura Baxter, filed the complaint last year after quitting Sea Org more than a decade ago.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Ted Cruz Says it’s ‘Critical’ For FBI to Search Hunter Biden’s Home for Classified Docs

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said on Wednesday that the FBI should search Hunter Biden’s home and business for possible classified documents.

Cruz made the comments during his “Verdict” podcast on Wednesday, which comes after classified documents were found at President Biden’s private office at the Penn Biden Center and Wilmington, Delaware home.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Tennessee Law Barring Adults Under 21 From Carrying Guns Shot Down

Chalk up yet another legal victory for gun rights advocates: On Monday, the government of Tennessee officially admitted its attempt to outlaw the carry of guns by adults under 21 is unconstitutional, The Reload was first to report.

Lawyers for the state signed onto an “agreed order,” which is a written agreement among parties to a lawsuit that becomes an order of the court upon the judge’s approval. In part, Monday’s agreed order reads:

“The Challenged Scheme regulating the possession and carrying of handguns that restricts individuals aged 18 years old to 20 years old from carrying handguns or obtaining permits to carry handguns on the basis of age alone violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

“Defendant and his officers, agents, employees, and all others acting under his direction and control, are permanently enjoined from implementing or enforcing the Challenged Scheme.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Travis Lewis Killed Martha McKay 23 Years After She Forgave Him for Killing Her Mum

Described by its website as “stately” and “elegant,” Snowden House, with its marble floor and sweeping staircase, was the perfect setting for a murder mystery.

In fact, the grand building, situated on the water’s edge of Horseshoe Lake in Arkansas, US, served as a location for a movie adaptation of one of John Grisham’s crime novels.

True crime

Tragically though, the home has not just seen fictional murder, but also the real thing.It started in 1996 when Sally Snowden McKay, 75, and her nephew, musician Joseph ‘Lee’ Baker, 52, were found shot dead inside the historic property.

It was understood they’d disturbed a burglar and the suspect — 16-year-old Travis Lewis — had shot them in fright.

He then, reportedly, set fire to the house.The teenager, who had been living with his parents nearby, was quickly arrested and charged with the double murder.Despite saying someone else had been involved, on April 7, 1998, Lewis pleaded guilty to the crime.Tried as an adult, he was handed a 28-and-a-half year jail sentence of which he had to serve at least 70 per cent.

Sally’s big-hearted daughter, Martha McKay, believed he deserved to be rehabilitated.A practising Buddhist, she forgave Lewis for what he’d done and began writing to him in prison.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Trump’s Facebook, Instagram Accounts Being Restored After 2-Year Suspension

Former President Donald Trump will be allowed back on Instagram and Facebook, the platforms’ parent company Meta announced Wednesday.

Nick Clegg, Meta’s president for global affairs and a former UK deputy prime minister, said the 76-year-old Trump’s accounts will be reinstated “in the coming weeks,” but added that “new guardrails” would be instituted “to deter repeat offenses.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Union League of Philadelphia Overrules Protesters, Awards DeSantis With Highest Honor

The Union League of Philadelphia has awarded its highest honor to Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, despite opposition from far-left protesters.

On Tuesday evening, DeSantis received the Union League’s gold medal.

The medal is an honor first given to President Abraham Lincoln back in 1863.

The club was “founded in 1862 as a patriotic society to support the Union and the policies of President Abraham Lincoln, The Union League of Philadelphia laid the philosophical foundation of other Union Leagues across a nation torn by civil war.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

With Joe Biden, George Soros Finally Had a President He Could Control

George Soros is the most dangerous man in America. The investor is intent on remaking the country to his liberal image, from our foreign-policy priorities to undermining our criminal-justice system. This week, The Post takes a look at the reach of Soros’ billions. In this third essay, Matt Palumbo, author of “The Man Behind the Curtain: Inside the Secret Network of George Soros,” examines Soros’ acolytes in the Biden administration.

At 92 years old, George Soros boasts more influence than ever before in the Oval Office.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Woman Pleads Guilty to Trying to Kill Donald Trump With Ricin

Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, 55, a dual citizen of Canada and France, pleaded guilty today to sending threatening letters containing homemade ricin in September 2020 to then-President Donald J. Trump at the White House and to eight Texas State law enforcement officials.

“There is no place for political violence in our country, and no excuse for threatening public officials or endangering our public servants,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew M. Graves. “We hope this resolution will serve as a warning that using our mail system to send a toxic substance and other threats of this type will cost you your freedom for many years.”

U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said: “This woman did not succeed in her efforts to poison numerous public officials in our district, but her actions still created fear and stress for many of these dedicated public servants.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Canada’s Controversial WEF-Backed Digital Travel ID System is Back on the Agenda

Transport Canada said that the Known Traveller Digital Identity (KTDI) project is unfortunately still being worked on. Earlier reports had indicated that the project was dead.

KTDI, a collaboration between the World Economic Forum (WEF), Accenture, INTERPOL, several government entities, and the governments of the Netherlands and Canada, was first announced in 2018. The purpose of the project was the development of a cryptographically encrypted and distributed ledger digital ID system travelers between Holland and Canada could use.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Large, Angry Protests Target Trudeau Government Cabinet Retreat in Hamilton

Hamilton has become the scene of large, chaotic demonstrations in recent days as protesters convened to target a retreat by the cabinet of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

From Monday to Wednesday, the 39-member cabinet gathered in the Ontario city in advance of the resumption of parliamentary sittings next week.

The ministers were met Monday by a “slow roll” of about 100 cars honking horns and flying flags on the street in front of the Sheraton Hotel hosting the retreat. A large crowd also flanked both sides of the street outside a Royal Canadian Legion in nearby Stoney Creek, where Trudeau had been rumoured to be planning an appearance.

And on Tuesday night, a crowd of several dozen carrying flags and air horns pressed against the windows of the Earth to Table Bread Bar, a downtown restaurant where cabinet members were inside eating dinner.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

1 Dead, Several Injured in Spanish Church Machete Massacre

At least one person has died and several others are injured following a machete attack at two Spanish churches on Wednesday evening.

A man allegedly wielding a machete attacked churchgoers of the San Isidro church in the port city of Algeciras, southwestern Spain, at approximately 6 p.m. local time.

It is understood the priest was attacked and sustained serious injuries to his neck.

The rampage continued to the nearby Nuestra Señora de La Palma where the attacker stabbed the local sacristan who fled onto the nearby Plaza Alta de Algeciras where he was hunted down and mortally wounded. Two other people were injured during the incident, according to reports by Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

Eyewitnesses told local press how the attack, which began inside the church, spilled out onto the nearby public square as people were seen running from the scene. An employee from one of the local bars spoke of a tall man armed with a machete, dressed in a djellaba, a full-sleeved robe typically worn in the Maghreb region of North Africa. The man was reportedly shouting something during the attack.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Assisted Suicide Could Become a ‘Cost Saving’ Measure for UK Healthcare System, Church Leader Warns

The legalisation of assisted suicide could lead to it being seen as a “cost saving” measure to prop up the United Kingdom’s struggling socialised healthcare system, a top Scottish church leader has warned.

A moderator of the Church of Scotland, Rt Rev Iain Greenshields has expressed concern that in light of the recent expansion of assisted suicide in Canada, any legalisation could later lead to its widespread use and even potentially being utilised in order to save money for the consistently cash-strapped National Health Service (NHS).

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Berlin Has 10 Times More Crime Than Warsaw, Says Polish Consul in Berlin While Issuing New Travel Warning to Tourists

The Polish consul in Berlin, Marcin Król, warned tourists visiting the German capital that some of the areas of the city could be dangerous. He also announced that in 2021, 10 times more crimes were committed in Berlin than in Warsaw.

“While visiting Berlin, please note that some areas of the city may be relatively dangerous for tourists,” wrote the Polish diplomat on social media. He added that in 2021, over 482,000 crimes were committed in Berlin compared to 49,000 in Warsaw, with only two times more inhabitants living in the German capital.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Election Interference: Hungary’s Left-Wing Opposition Received Huge Sums of Secret Money From US and Switzerland

New information has come to light that Hungary’s left-wing opposition received far more foreign money than previously reported, raising concerns about election interference from the United States and other foreign actors.

The National Security Committee, a commission formed to investigate the matter, has now made public that a mysterious Swiss organization gave nearly HUF 1 billion (€2.57 million) to a Hungarian opposition smear portal Ezalényeg. The information was released as a partial report and made public this morning.

This means that it was not just the U.S. sending money to Hungary’s left-wing opposition, but also a second organization, with the total funds reaching more than HUF 4 billion. These left-wing parties had formed a coalition to take on Viktor Orban in the April elections last year; their efforts, however, failed when Orban won in a landslide victory.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

EU Refunded Poland Only 1% of Billions in Arms Supplies to Ukraine

The EU appears to be shortchanging Poland even for the substantial amount of arms it is supplying to Ukraine, which remains a vital strategic objective for Brussels. Poland has sent the EU bills worth around €2.2 billion but has only received €27 million so far, meaning the EU has refunded approximately only 1 percent of Poland’s costs for the war.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told journalists that Poland was submitting a request for its military aid to Ukraine to be reimbursed from the appropriate EU funds. He said that this was a “test of goodwill” from the EU.

In March of last year, the EU set up a fund for arming Ukraine. The European Peace Fund was created for the purpose of refunding member states for the arms they transfer to Ukraine. The fund has been replenished several times already, and after the latest decision on Monday to add €500 million, it will amount to €3.6 billion.

The problem is that this fund has not been functioning very well. Poland’s ambassador to the EU, Andrzej Sados, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that the bureaucracy is slow and the scale of refunds low.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

German Train Stabbing: 2 Dead, 7 Hurt After Man Pulls Knife on Passengers

BERLIN (AP) — A man fatally stabbed two people and injured seven others on a train in northern Germany on Wednesday before being arrested, police said.

Germany’s Federal Police force said the man used a knife to attack several passengers shortly before a regional train traveling from Kiel to Hamburg arrived at the Brokstedt station.

Police spokesman Juergen Henningsen from the nearby city of Flensburg said two of the stabbed people died after the attack. Three people were severely injured and four others suffered minor injuries. No details were given about the identity of the victims.

The attacker was also injured and taken to the hospital, police said.

Police did not provide any information on the suspect’s identity other than saying he was between 20 to 30 years old. They said his possible motives were under investigation.

           — Hat tip: JW [Return to headlines]
 

Germany Investigates PayPal Over Market Dominance, Anti-Competitive Practices

Germany’s antitrust watchdog, the Federal Cartel Office, is investigating PayPal over alleged anti-competitive practices, including restricting price competition and obstructing competitors.

According to a Bloomberg report, the antitrust watchdog is investigating PayPal’s user terms, which prevent businesses from lowering prices if their clients use other payment providers. It has also been alleged that the payments giant prohibits sellers from making it easy for customers to use other payment services.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Will the Bundeswehr Special Fund be Increased to 300 Billion Euros?

In the spring of 2022, in response to the war in Ukraine, the German government launched the so-called “Bundeswehr special fund”. For the sum of 100 billion euros, the Bundeswehr was going to be modernized and decades of neglect in equipping the troops would be corrected.

But months later there is still nothing happening. It was only at the beginning of January that the Federal Ministry of Defense announced that eight procurement and modernization projects had now been launched, but it will take years for them to be implemented.

At the same time, it has long been apparent that the 100 billion euros set by the government will not be nearly enough. The current Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl (SPD), is therefore going all out: She wants the “special fund” to be increased from 100 to 300 billion euros.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

German Foreign Minister: ‘We Are Fighting a War With Russia’

In what is the latest sign of the growing stakes facing the globe in the war in Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock openly stated that Ukraine’s allies — including Germany — are at war with Russia.

“And therefore I’ve said already in the last days — yes, we have to do more to defend Ukraine. Yes, we have to do more also on tanks,” Baerbock said during a debate at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Tuesday in Strasbourg. “But the most important and the crucial part is that we do it together and that we do not do the blame game in Europe, because we are fighting a war against Russia and not against each other.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

German Tanks Roll East: Berlin Approves Leopard 2s for Ukraine

The German government officially announced Wednesday its Leopard 2 main battle tanks are approved for use in Ukraine, with other countries given the chance to do the same.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany was “acting in close coordination” with its allies, AP reports.

In a statement, the government said it will initially provide Ukraine with one company of Leopard 2 A6 tanks, which comprises 14 vehicles, from its own stocks.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Germany Says Quiet Part Out Loud About Ukraine War

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock isn’t bashful about laying blame on Russia as its war in Ukraine surpasses 11 months.

Baerbock used a significant portion of her keynote address Tuesday at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, to defend law, democracy and human rights in response to “Russia’s murderous attack on the people of Ukraine.”

“We are fighting a war against Russia and not against each other,” Baerbock said, according to the A News TV network.

Baerbock called for unity among Western allies following the announcement that Berlin would send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Former U.S. military officials have expressed varied opinions about whether the tanks will lead to major change in the ground war.

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Hungarian Football Federation Bans ‘Greater Hungary’ Flags and Scarves

The Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) has announced a ban on the display of scarfs featuring the map of Greater Hungary, Hungarian news outlet Magyar Jelen reports.

Last November, five of Hungary’s neighboring countries condemned Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for wearing the scarf, claiming it represents a revisionist stance, but Orban said at the time there was no reason to read anything further into it.

The Greater Hungary map depicts Hungary before it was partitioned after World War I, which resulted in Hungary losing two-thirds of its territory and a huge share of its population to a number of neighboring countries.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Machete-Wielding ‘Terrorist’ Bursts Into Two Churches in Southern Spain, Stabs Sexton to Death and Wounds Priest in Atrocity Before Police Arrest Attacker

An interior ministry statement said the attack occurred at San Isidro church in the port city of Algeciras in the southern Andalusia region. The attacker is pictured brandishing a machete

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

‘No Justice in Romania’: Andrew Tate Claims His Criminal Case File is ‘Empty’

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate, who is jailed in Romania on sex trafficking and rape allegations, blasted the criminal case that prosecutors are building against him Wednesday — claiming their case file on him was “empty.”

“They know we have done nothing wrong,” Tate told reporters as he was escorted by law enforcement from a police van to the offices of DIICOT, Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism.

“This file is completely empty. Of course, it’s unjust, there is no justice in Romania unfortunately,” he continued.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Poll: Ukrainians Support Political-Military Alliance With Poland and UK

The vast majority of Ukrainians support the creation of Ukraine’s military-political alliances with Poland and the United Kingdom, as well as with Lithuania.

According to the poll by the Rating Group cited by the UNIAN agency, 85 percent of Ukrainians support creating a military and political union with Poland and the U.K., while 80 percent support a Ukrainian-Polish-Lithuanian alliance.

Just 3 percent of respondents were against the establishment of a political-military union with Poland and Great Britain, 7 percent were indifferent towards this, and 5 percent had no opinion. Meanwhile, 6 percent were against a Ukrainian-Polish-Lithuanian political-military union, 9 percent were indifferent, and 5 percent had no opinion.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Spain’s Center-Right Too Afraid of the Left to Govern With Vox

Bowing to pressure from the radical Left, the Sanchez government, and the mainstream media, Spain’s center-right won’t support pro-natalist measures and better information for women who consider aborting their children.

After a “health protocol” proposed by Castilla y León’s vice-president from Vox was defeated by Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s People Party (PP). Given that PP is the senior coalition partner with Vox in the regional government, tensions are running high between the two parties that make up the Spanish right.

The PP’s attitude has led some 500 doctors to sign a manifesto penned by the +Vida Foundation to protest the current situation whereby, in Spain, “there is an attempt to hide” the heartbeat of the embryo-fetus from pregnant women who decide to have an abortion.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden’s NATO Membership Goes Up in Smoke

After the burning of the Quran in Stockholm, Turkey has no intention of allowing Sweden to join NATO. Sweden’s Prime Minister, on the other hand, pointed to the importance of freedom of expression. The NATO Secretary General also spoke up on the matter.

After Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan carried out a permitted and constitutionally protected demonstration outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, there was a swift Turkish reaction. On Monday, Turkish President Erdogan announced that Turkey would not approve a Swedish NATO application.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK Rated Only ‘Partially Open’ in Free Speech Index Amid Government’s Online Censorship Plans

A new index rating free speech across the globe has described the UK as only being “partially open” amid the government’s online censorship plans.

The ‘Index Index’, a new global ranking scheme for freedom of speech and expression by the Index on Censorship, has ranked the UK as being only a “partially open” country, with the nation falling behind many European neighbours.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Massive Food Waste: City Council Goes Vegan, But Nobody Wants to Eat it

The city of Cambridge in the UK has reported excessive food waste after the public didn’t touch the vegan meals provided at events by the city council, which began phasing out meat and dairy last year in the name of climate change.

The Cambridge council phased out meat and dairy products at public events last year and switched to vegan food in an effort, they say, to fight climate change and was lauded for the policy at the time.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Beirut Blast: Lebanon Prosecutor Charges Judge Leading Investigation

Lebanon’s top prosecutor has charged the judge leading the inquiry into the 2020 Beirut port blast and ordered the release of suspects in custody.

Ghassan Oweidat summoned Judge Tarek Bitar for questioning, accusing him of “acting without a mandate”.

But the judge insisted that Mr Oweidat had no authority to charge him.

On Monday, he unexpectedly restarted the probe after a 13-month suspension and filed unspecified charges against eight officials, including Mr Oweidat.

No-one has yet been held accountable for the blast on 4 August 2020, which killed at least 218 people and injured more than 6,000 others.

A fire triggered the detonation of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been stored unsafely in a port warehouse for almost six years, causing a massive explosion that devastated a large part of the Lebanese capital.

It is widely believed that officials and politicians were aware of the combustible chemical’s existence and the danger it posed but that they failed to secure, remove or destroy it.

Victims’ relatives and activists say the investigation into the disaster is being hampered by the Lebanese political leadership’s efforts to shield those responsible from scrutiny.

           — Hat tip: LP [Return to headlines]
 

Qur’an Burning: Sweden Closes Embassy in Turkey as Protests Spread Across Muslim World

Sweden has closed its embassy in Turkey temporarily after protests spread across majority-Muslim countries in the wake of a Qur’an burning in Stockholm last weekend by a Danish anti-Islamisation activist.

Sweden closed its embassy in Ankara on Tuesday over protests following the burning of a copy of the Islamic Qur’an last weekend by the Danish anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan in Stockholm outside of the Turkish embassy.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Moscow’s Fury Over German and US Tank Deal: Russia Blasts ‘Blatant Provocation’, as Putin’s TV Puppets Call for Bundestag to be Nuked After ‘Game-Changing’ Decision to Provide Leopard 2 Vehicles

Russia branded the move an ‘immediate provocation’ and one raging Putin mouthpiece called for the Bundestag to be destroyed after weeks of bitter rows.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine Pulls Last Defenders Back From Donetsk Mining Town of Soledar

Kyiv confirmed Wednesday that it has pulled back the last of its troops defending the eastern mining town of Soledar — weeks after Russian paramilitaries claimed to have taken the city.

Ukrainian forces have retreated to prepared defensive positions outside the town, meant to “preserve the lives of personnel,” Ukrainian military spokesman Serhii Cherevatyi said.

Ukrainian authorities did not indicate when the retreat took place.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine ‘Expects’ Tank Deal Will Lead to Western Delivery of Long-Range Missiles Capable of Striking Russian Supply Lines as Zelensky Begs for More Heavy Weaponry — While Angry Kremlin Brands German and US Aid to Kyiv ‘Extremely Dangerous’

‘We must also open deliveries of long-range missiles to Ukraine, it is important — we must expand our cooperation in artillery,’ Zelensky said, also adding Ukraine needed jets.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

The First Royal Wedding of 2023! Sultan of Brunei’s Daughter Princess Azemah Marries Her First Cousin in Lavish Week-Long Celebrations

The bride, 38, and her new husband Prince Bahar ibni Jefri Bolkiah — who is her first cousin — held their various ceremonies at her father’s official residence Istana Nurul Iman in Bandar Seri Begawan.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

AFL Star Bailey Smith Weighs in on Controversial Australia Day Debate… Calling on Authorities to ‘Change the F***ing Date’ As He Labels the Public Holiday Invasion Day

AFL star Bailey Smith has called for the date of Australia Day to be formally changed, labelling the public holiday Invasion Day. He expressed his view to his Instagram followers on Wednesday.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Calls for Every Australian to Get a Vote on Whether to Keep Australia Day Amid Fears National Celebration is Being ‘Delegitimised’ By Endless Toxic Debate — But it Won’t Stop Millions From Enjoying a Day Off Hitting the Beach

Nationals MP Matt Canavan has called on the federal government to introduce a plebiscite for Aussies to vote on keeping Australia Day.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Ex-Bikie Goes Rogue and Explodes at One of Australia’s Toughest Gangsters in an Unhinged Rant That Could Put His Life in Danger — After Being Brutally Bashed Outside a Bunnings on the Gold Coast

Moudi Tajjour, who was brutally bashed outside Bunnings last month has goaded the Mongols national president ‘to me out’ in an explosive new video posted to TikTok on Tuesday.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Fury Mounts Over New Celebrity-Backed Push for Aussies to Pay Indigenous Australians ‘Weekly Rent’ For Living on Their Land: ‘The Worst Type of Discrimination’

Pauline Hanson has slammed a celebrity-backed push by an Indigenous group for Australian property owners to start paying a weekly ‘rent’ tax to Aboriginal groups.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

January 26th Becomes ‘Division Day’: Thousands of Protesters Flood the Cities Across the Nation to Demand National Holiday Becomes a Day of Mourning

Thousands of protesters have gathered in Belmore Park in Sydney’s CBD to rally against Australia Day, demanding the national holiday be changed to a day of mourning.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Peta Credlin’s Australia Day Warning: Why Today Will be the Last Time Aussies Mark January 26th if the Nation Votes Yes to an Indigenous Voice to Parliament: ‘The Revolution is Coming’

A fiery Peta Credlin has lashed the Labor Party for weakening the idea of national unity in a withering column about what could be our last Australia Day.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

So Can You Choose Your Own Date for Australia Day? Experts Reveal Which Workers Can Swap the Public Holiday as Major Employers Ditch Day Off on January 26

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared it was ‘fine’ to give workers a choice of working Australia Day or not, with many opting to take another day as a public holiday.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

The Two-Word Mantra Kids Running Wild in Australia’s Most Lawless Town Use When Caught by Cops — as ‘FIFO PM’ is Mocked Over Cut and Run Visit

Children running wild in lawless Alice Springs at night, some with instructions by their parents to rob houses, have two archaic words they repeat to police if they get caught.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

In Argentina, Getting a New SIM Card Will Now Require Giving Up Biometric Data

If you are in Argentina and value the security and privacy of your most sensitive personal biometric data — hold on to that SIM card you have, because the rules now say that in order to get a new one, you must submit to mandatory facial recognition.

The order to switch to requiring biometrics in order to be allowed to use a SIM card came from the National Communications Authority (Enacom), and applies to all mobile carriers.

The authorities are justifying the decision by saying it will increase security, particularly around identity theft, and hacking through methods like SIM swapping.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Austria Demands Tougher EU Migration Policy, Easier Deportations

After struggling with a record-breaking number of asylum applications last year, Austria is demanding the EU tighten its immigration policy and ease deportation rules.

In a recent statement, Austrian Minister of Interior Erhard Karner said that it should be allowed to expel illegal immigrants at the EU level, even without an asylum procedure.

Karner said data shows that more and more Tunisians and Indians were applying for asylum in the EU. He said that these citizens have practically no chance of being granted asylum, but they have the right to have the procedure carried out.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs Defends Decision to Keep Bussing Migrants Out of State

Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs told reporters last week she would continue the program under her Republican predecessor Doug Ducey to bus migrants out of the state — but in a more humane and efficient way.

On Tuesday, Hobbs defended her decision to keep the program in place, telling The Arizona Sun that her administration would focus on ensuring that the state’s continued payment of migrants’ travel costs is “efficient and humane.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

French Officials Demand UK Cracks Down on British Charities That Help Migrants Who Are Planning to Cross the Channel

French officials have demanded a crackdown on British-based charities they accuse of ‘constantly frustrating’ attempts to intercept Channel migrants.

Authorities in northern France have expressed concerns about UK-funded organisations and handed a dossier of evidence to British counterparts, the Mail understands.

They have also requested urgent action to curtail the charities’ activities, a diplomatic source said.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

German Officials Say Knifeman Who Stabbed Two People to Death and Wounded Seven Others in Brutal Train Rampage is a Stateless Palestinian

At least two people have been killed and seven more injured in a stabbing rampage on a train in Germany today.

The attacker sparked chaos as he lunged at horrified passengers on board the train from Kiel to Hamburg shortly before 3pm, sending commuters screaming down the carriages as they tried to escape his onslaught.

The bloodbath came to an end when the suspect, a 33-year-old stateless Palestinian man according to officials, was tackled by cops and arrested on a station platform in the town of Brokstedt.

A police spokesman said the investigation into a motive was focused on ‘all directions’ including possible extremism or psychological problems on the part of the assailant.

Three of the seven injured passengers are in a serious condition following the attack condemned as a ‘horrible act against all humanity’ by regional interior minister Sabine Suetterlin-Waack.

           — Hat tip: Steen [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Palestinian Knife Attack Leaves 2 Dead on Regional Train, Several Injured

A Palestinian asylum seeker has been arrested for stabbing two passengers to death on a regional train in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Another victim is reportedly close to death while several other individuals were injured.

“A traveler stabbed passengers from Kiel to Hamburg in the regional express, injuring at least five people and killing two people,” a police spokesman told Bild newspaper.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Trial Begins for Man Who Stabbed 7-Year-Old Girl Five Times in the Head During Breakfast at Her School

The trial for a 25-year-old unemployed man with a migration background who stabbed a girl five times with a knife last June has begun in Esslingen, Germany. The man said he targeted the child because he thought an adult would be more able to resist his attacks.

On June 10, the 7-year-old victim had just taken off her backpack and was planning to take a seat for breakfast at the Katharinen School in Esslingen when the man stabbed her with full force five times in the back of the head. The kitchen knife the man used featured a blade 20 centimeters long and penetrated all the way through the girl’s skull.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Ireland is Full: Open Borders Government Takes to Twitter to Beg Migrants to Stay Away

Ireland’s pro-open borders government has begged on Twitter for migrants looking to claim asylum in the country to stay away.

Despite having initially insisted it would take in a limitless number of refugees and asylum seekers from Ukraine and beyond, Ireland’s open borders government is now desperate for migrants to refrain from coming to the island nation, with the country even now taking to social media to repeatedly beg would-be arrivals to stay way on social media platform Twitter.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Police Missed Seven Chances to Stop Killer Afghan Asylum Seeker: Authorities Were Repeatedly Warned That Double Murderer Who Lied He Was 14 to Get Into UK Was Carrying a Knife Before He Stabbed Aspiring Marine to Death

Police were warned up to seven times that a violent Afghan asylum seeker was carrying a knife before he went on to kill again on British soil, it has emerged.

The Home Office also failed to check the fingerprints of fugitive Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai against police databases when he entered the UK — because he falsely claimed to be a child.

Abdulrahimzai was on the run from murder charges in Serbia when he arrived in Britain and was later convicted in his absence of gunning down two people with a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Up to 200 More Migrants Cross Channel by 10am After Braving Bitter Cold and Fog on Journey From France in Four Small Boats

Up to 200 migrants crossed the English Channel this morning despite the cold and foggy conditions at sea.

The first asylum seekers were seen dressed in their winter coats upon their arrival in Dover, Kent before dawn.

The migrants were intercepted by a Border Force vessel while making the bitterly cold crossing and then handed blankets as they disembarked the boat. A second Border Force vessel arrived in the port shortly after 9am.

[Comment: Article dated January 25, 2023.]

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Calif. Teacher Helps Students Change Names, Pronouns Without Parents’ Knowledge

A California high school teacher has boldly confessed that she helps students change their gender identity — without their parents’ knowledge.

“My job, which is a public service, is to protect kids,” Olivia Garrison told the New York Times about helping students socially transition at school.

“Sometimes, they need protection from their own parents.”

Social transition describes the process in which a person adopts the name and pronouns that align with their gender identity, rather than the gender they were at birth.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

‘Controversial’ Gender-Neutral Production of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Features Non-Binary Jesus

The Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group (EUSOG) is reportedly performing the first gender-neutral production of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

The rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar,” from Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sir Tim Rice, retells Jesus’ last weeks from the point of view of Judas Iscariot.

EUSOG’s version, running at the Church Hill Theatre in Edinburgh this week, is fully licensed as gender-neutral, allowing the cast to portray any character despite the traditional male and female roles, The Edinburgh Tab reported.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Dave Chappelle Rips Transgender Activists Who Use Violence to Protest Him

Dave Chappelle has ripped the apparent hypocrisy of trans-rights protesters using the very violence they accuse his comedy of inciting.

In a live special for his podcast “The Midnight Miracle,” the 49-year-old funnyman recalled the protests outside his July shows in Minnesota following calls to cancel him for jokes about the transgender community.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Drag Time Story Hour for Kids Cancelled by French Mayor After Backlash

A French mayor has cancelled a drag queen storytime event for children after backlash and reorientated the event for adults only, after a petition against the event garnered around 5,000 signatures.

Mayor of Toulouse Jean-Luc Moudenc announced that the planned drag queen event, which was planned for February 18th and originally for children between the ages of three and six, would be reoriented so that only adults would be able to attend after facing a backlash.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Florida Public Universities Spent $15 Million of Taxpayer Dollars on CRT, Diversity Initiatives: Report

The State University System of Florida (SUSF) spent $28 million on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) or Critical Race Theory (CRT) programs in the 2022-2023 school year, according to a report obtained by the University of Florida student newspaper. Over 50 percent of the money spent on the initiatives across the Florida university system was taxpayer funded.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis notified the state’s colleges and universities on December 28 that they had until January 13 to report any spending on DEI and CRT initiatives and classes.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Gaming Forum Resetera Bans Conversations About Upcoming Hogwarts Legacy Game Over Associations With J.K. Rowling

Resetera, one of the largest gaming forums, has banned all discussions of the upcoming game Hogwarts Legacy, a role-playing game (RPG) set in the Wizarding World introduced by JK Rowling in the Harry Potter books. The game is weeks away from release.

The gaming forum started by banning posts promoting the game, effectively banning users from discussing trailers and other promotional content of the game. However, this week, Resetera’s general manager announced that “the mod team has decided to expand our prior ban on promotion for the Hogwarts game to include the game itself,” adding “no discussion of this game” will be allowed on the forum.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

The Left Turns on Our Inspirational Australian of the Year: Outrage as Mike Carlton Says Taryn Brumfitt Is Just Someone Who ‘Makes a Buck Out of Saying it’s OK to be a Bit Fat’ — As Fellow Middle-Aged Male TV Journalist Agrees

A tweet by journalist Mike Carlton disagreeing with body image campaigner Taryn Brumfitt being made Australian of the Year has been heavily criticised as ‘ignorant’ by women.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Transmania

A transgender who only started identifying as a woman after raping two women is being sent to an all female prison.

Welcome to transmania.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

14 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/25/2023

  1. US troops need to be protected from “misinformation” because after Polish troops they may be sent to die in the Ukraine “meat grinder”. Don’t want to scare them with facts before they get on the plane/boat to the front do we?
    150,00 Ukrainians dead and Poles are next if they move in. The US tanks aren’t arriving until mid year anyway as they probably can’t operate in the extreme cold. Also, those jet engines inside them make them glow hot on the battle field so they are easy to spot and destroy. Only safe to move in warm weather.
    I also don’t know how they are going to be able to move around without avtur/kerosene as this is not a battlefield fuel for any other army and there would be none in Ukraine. Once they run out they will be just sitting ducks.

    • Without air cover it doesn’t matter what kinds of tanks get sent to the Cokehead of Kiev. Drones will get most of them and what eventually makes it to the front is far more likely to be killed by artillery in conjunction with drone spotters than by Russian tanks.

      When I transferred to the Army, I was initially trained as an armor crewmember and learned the basics of operating the Abrams tank and the firing the main gun, as my position was the gunner. After four months of training we were still heavily supervised by civilian instructors and were barely proficient at basic simulator drills. An actual Abrams tank is not Hollywood-easy to operate and had I remained with an armor unit I would have had many months of intensive training to be able to pass gunnery standards, and several years of training and exercises with my crew and unit before I would have a decent level of proficiency. This isn’t something that operators with minimal experience are going to be able to pick up after several weeks or even months of training. And I would be surprised if there are many surviving tank crews left in Ukraine after all of the tanks they started the war with and the old soviet ones they were subsequently given have already been destroyed.

      You’re also right about how fuel hungry they are, and what logistics headache keeping them fueled on the battlefield is. If I was a Russian commander, I would go after the fuel tankers needed to support them since they are going to be easier to spot and destroy, and if you hit enough of them then all those tanks waiting for fuel will be mobility kills and could be captured intact, assuming the Ukrainians don’t sell them first to the Russians.

      • Your last paragraph is correct:

        Beginners talk strategy and tactics, experts talk logistics.

        And if the Ukrainians sell them on the Darknet, maybe I can get one. I always wanted to put an M1 or Leopard 2 on my front lawn.

        • Heh! There’s an old Russian T-34 tank near where I live; the wiki entry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandela_Way_T-34_Tank doesn’t mention the story that the owner of the waste ground where it sits asked for permission to put a “tank” there, without mentionng that it was of the military variety!

          Normally I’d object to the application of multiple colour schemes to a historical artefact, but, like Spitfires or Mustangs, there are many T-34s in working order, and even more in museums.

  2. .
    .
    THE CULTUREL ENRICHMENT OF SWEDEN

    With “We didn’t see it coming” the treasonous, social democratic power elite excuses itself over the current state of affairs in the failed state of Sweden.

    NOW DIVERSITY & CULTURAL ENRICHMENT IS BLOOMIMG
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    read here:
    GoVNews Feed 1/24/2023:

    https://tinyurl.com/comment-586995

  3. and now Ukraine will be very tankful, especially to the US to whom they will say, “Tanks a lot!”

  4. We had Foreign Ministers who may have been sometimes more, sometimes less agreeable. But never, ever as abysmally stupid as this one. How did we get here?

    • Apparently using her mouth is not her particular talent; at least not for utterances or when the brain must be used simultaneously.

      Most likely she got to where she is now because of her skill or at least aggreeableness to being laid back or bent over amongst her elite masters. That, and like our own Kamala, and Canada’s Turdeau, she’s too dumb to do much of anything other than what her masters tell her to do.

      • I don’t qualify for judging her talent with her mouth, but it’s glaringly obvious that there is no brain whatsoever that controls it. What I meant to express with this rhethorical question is bafflement at the speed of decline that puts such intellectual non-factors in the highest positions of power. Even if we call the entire democracy theater a sham and assume nefarious purposes for putting it up, it requires a crew of sufficient intelligence to steer such a ship. Even more so than an honest one, it would seem to me. This makes no sense at all, regardless from which angle one looks at it.

        • There was a recent video from Andrei of “The Saker” blog where he flogged the subject in some detail. His premise was that competence and quality amongst the elites has fallen drastically.

          I believe that it is a reasonable argument; its the GIGO principle (Garbage In, Garbage Out) for those who haven’t hearrd of it. Declining standards, ideological intolerance, and intellectual uncuriosity amongst the replacement professors for the more competent generation that preceded them result in poorly educated elites. And the current crop of leaders drawn from this pool of less capable elites are picked for leadership based more upon their adherence to WEF globalism, ideological purity, and loyalty to their masters with competence, charisma, or intelligence a dim afterthought if it’s even considered at all.

          And thats how you end up with a dangerously incompetent fool like Ms Baerbock declaring Germany is at war with Russia with no sense of just how much of a blunder she made, or a weak fool like Scholz folding to American demands to send German tanks against Russia without regard for the provocation such a move will be viewed as in Russia, or a destructive political moth like Von Der Leyen, flitting from office to office in the folds the German and EU political fabric all the while dangerously weakening everything she landed upon. Multiply that by every western country and one can see that there are no longer any competent leaders in office or waiting for their turn at power. This has been decades in the making and is not likely to get any better until after it has become far worse – to the level of famines, violent civil wars, actual wars, and heaven forbid, nuclear exchanges.

          • That’s pretty much what I’ve arrived at, too, but there is still the missing link of the electorate. We all know how easily people can be manipulated into voting evil people into power, but such utterly stupid ones, which was known beforehand, I find surprising even considered the rising star of the Greens. I can only suspect the manipulators are using ever more refined methods, including AI. Those immune to it are few in comparison and would be wise to get out of the maelstrom, if possible. What we’ll get to deal with after the collapse, if we’re still there, nobody knows.

  5. Ukraine part of US/NATO/EU plan to break up Russia
    John Robles interview with Prof Francis Boyle
    February 23, 2014

    https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1402/S00150/ukraine-part-of-usnatoeu-plan-to-break-up-russia.htm

    I heard the names (Kissinger, Brzezinski and Francis Boyle) come up in a Viva Frei/Robert Barnes interview with Alex Jones today and did a small amount of research. Has anyone collected and translated local news from there from before 2014?

  6. Ok, anybody taking any bets on how long it will be till Ukraine demands groundtroops and how long it will take before the European countries institute the draft to get soldiers to send to Ukraine?

    And I think NOBODY here on Gates of Vienna will take a bet when muslims will be send to Ukraine, because our “Enrichers” will NEVER be drafted.

    Our rulers will draft even 90+ year old germans, british etc but never muslims.
    Anybody Volkssturm 1945 revisited?

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