Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/4/2023

Three more ballots were held today in the House of Representatives, but Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy still failed to get enough votes to become Speaker. His total actually decreased by one when a former supporter voted “present” in the final ballot. The House will try again tomorrow.

In other news, the death toll for the Ukrainian missile attack on the Russian barracks in Makiivka (Makeyevka) has now officially risen to 89. Russia asserted that soldiers’ use of cell phones in the barracks allowed Ukrainian forces to target it with a missile.

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

Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, DV, Fjordman, McN, MR, Reader from Chicago, Roger, Seneca III, 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.

Financial Crisis
» Amazon to Layoff More Than 17,000 Employees
» IMF: Gloomy Economic Outlook for 2023
» UK: Household Energy Bills to Rise… But Not by as Much as First Feared as a Drop in Global Gas Prices Means Typical Annual Bills Will Fall to £2,800 From July
» What Does the Polish Job Market Look Like? New Survey Reveals the Hopes and Fears of Polish Workers
 
USA
» 2 Vehicles Stolen From Ruth’s Chris Steak House Valet in DC Since Christmas: ‘Unfortunate Incidents’
» Adam Kinzinger Gives Up Game, Lands New Job at CNN as Senior Political Commentator
» AOC Issues Warning to Republicans, Calls for ‘Coalition Government’ With ‘Democratic Chairs of Committees’
» Are Vaccines Fueling New COVID Variants?
» As Republicans Launch New Legal Strikes, Arizona’s Largest County Says 4,849 Ballots Not Counted
» California College Trustee Apologizes After ‘Threatening’ Remarks About Faculty Who Oppose Equity Initiatives
» Chicago Mayoral Challenger Predicts Controversial Mayor Lightfoot Won’t Make Runoff Election
» Clinton Judge Hides Identities of FTX CEO’s $250m Bail Backers
» Conservative Civil War Rages on Twitter as McCarthy Fails to Win Speaker Vote
» Damar Hamlin Had to be Resuscitated Twice After Massive Heart Attack
» Daughter of Former National Intelligence Director Convicted of Murder for Killing Friend in Maryland Airbnb
» Did Illinois Politicians Crush Their ‘EV Hub’ Dreams by Outlawing Right-to-Work?
» Elderly Man Has Ear and Part of Face Brutally ‘Chewed Off’ In Portland Train Station Attack
» Exclusive: Amateur Artist Hunter Biden Paints Himself Into a Corner as Mother of His Love Child Demands He Reveal Identities of Mystery — and Perhaps Foreign — Buyers Who Have Paid $500k for His Works…
» FBI Raises Reward for Information on Capitol Hill Pipe Bomber to $500,000
» Florida Gov. DeSantis Mandates All State University Systems Report Funds Spent on CRT, DEI
» Funeral Home Owner Who Dismembered Corpses, Sold Body Parts Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison
» George Soros’ Son Becomes Kingmaker With Top Dems as He Makes Multiple Biden WH Visits, Meets With Lawmakers
» George Soros ‘Quietly’ Gave $140 Million to Political Causes in 2021, Report Says
» Health Care Workers Cry Foul on FDA Claiming it Didn’t Prohibit Ivermectin for COVID-19
» Kevin McCarthy and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
» Lockdowns Deaths in 2020 Were 42% of Excess Deaths
» Mississippi Pushes Digital Driver’s Licenses as a Form of Digital ID
» Moorhead Murder Suspect Booked for Fatal Shooting in Minneapolis
» Musk: ‘Twitter Files’ Show U.S. Demanded Suspension of 250,000 Users, Including CNN, Canada
» Newlywed Woman Stabbed to Death With Machete While Working at Ohio Dollar Tree on New Year’s Day
» Pipe Bomb Found in Seattle Underground Garage, Suspect Osman Ibrahim in Custody
» Reporter Fires Back at Adam Schiff for Trying to Silence Him: ‘Produce Evidence to Back Up Defamatory Remarks’
» Republican Jewish Coalition Head Slams GOP ‘Infidels’ Voting Against McCarthy, Threatens ‘Consequences’
» Researchers Are Testing Biometric Recognition of Newborns for Vaccinations
» Respect for Muslim Students ‘Should Have Superseded Academic Freedom’ In Class Controversy: College President
» Rick Singer, ‘Operation Varsity Blues’ College Admissions Scandal Mastermind, Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison
» Searcy Police: Two Dead After Dispute Leads to Shooting at McDonald’s
» Seattle PD Declines by Another 150 Officers, Up to 509 Since City Council ‘Defunded Police’ In 2020
» Social Media Use May Impact Adolescents’ Brain Development, Study Says
» Texas and Florida Remain Top Destinations for Movers in 2022, U-Haul Says
» Three Muslim Knife Attacks on NYPD Officers in 8 Years
» Top Catholic Archbishop Urges Three-Day Fast for Jan. 6 Defendants
» Trump Breaks GOP Stalemate: ‘Take Victory and Watch Crazy Nancy Pelosi Fly Back Home to Broken California’
» Twitter Files: US State Department Panicked Over Zerohedge COVID-19 Reporting
» Two Charged in Christmas Day Attacks on Washington Power Grid
» US Intelligence Community Warned Twitter About Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Book Alleging Biden Corruption
 
Canada
» Newfoundland Races Ahead With Digital ID
» Trudeau Doubles Down on Calling Trucker Protesters ‘Tinfoil Hat’ Conspiracy Theorists: ‘I Won’t Apologize’
 
Europe and the EU
» Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil Vow to Continue Disruptive Action
» Major French Food Company Shuts Down 80 Per Cent of Production as Soaring Energy Costs Make Factories Uneconomical
» Meta Fined $414m by EU for Targeted Advertising
» Poland Furious After Germany Rejects Polish Government’s €1.3 Trillion WWII Reparations Claim With One-Sentence Response
» Privacy Concerns Are Raised After UK Health Secretary Considers Body Cams for Nurses
» Sweden Rocked by Multiple Shootings as Historic Crime Wave Carries Into New Year
» UK: Appeal After Henley Cars Have Tyres Deflated by Group Who Left Note Saying Why
» UK: Think They’re Leaves? Look Again! Bare Conker Trees Are Overrun by Bright Green Parakeets Making Them Seem Vibrant Despite Leafless Branches
 
Russia
» Biden Confirms He is Considering Sending Ukraine Armored Bradley Fighting Vehicles That Can Destroy Tanks on the Battlefield
» British PM Pledges Long-Term Support to Ukraine After Sending £2.6 Billion in Military Aid in 2022
» Iranian-Made Drone Deployed by Russia in Ukraine Contained Parts Made by 13 US Companies and Components From Other Western Countries — as Biden Launches ‘All Hands on Deck’ Task Force
» Makiivka: Russia Points Fingers After Deadliest Ukraine Attack
» Russia Blames Soldiers’ Phones for Giving Away Position to Ukraine
» UK Study: Russia is Quickly Depleting Its Pilot Pool
 
Far East
» Japanese Investigators Raise Alarm Over Spike in Sudden Deaths
» The Evidence COVID-19 Was Spreading Around the World in Late 2019
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Nigeria: DSS Arrests 2 Terrorists Who Masterminded Kogi Explosion
 
Immigration
» 4 Eritreans Who Gang-Raped 40-Year-Old Swedish Woman Will Not be Deported
» 70% of Those Arrested for New Year’s Eve Riots in Berlin Have a Migration Background
» Border Wall Dismantled in Arizona as Katie Hobbs Becomes Governor
» Germany: Berlin Police Worry About Terminology Used for Violent Immigrants
» Mass Migration Fueled Dutch Population Increase to 17.8 Million Last Year
» Now Democrat Governor is Busing Migrants to NYC: Colorado Lawmaker Jared Polis is Blasted by Big Apple Mayor Eric Adams for Inundating New York as it Struggles to Cope With Influx
» White House Repeats Claim That Talking About the Border Makes it Insecure
 
Culture Wars
» Covidians
» Florida School District to Require Students to Use Restrooms Based on Biological Sex: Reports
» Ireland: Children’s Minister Calls for ‘Transgender Issues’ To be Taught in Elementary School
» Madison Indigenous Arts Leader, Activist Revealed as White
» Polish Minister Who Criticized Black Eyed Peas’ Pro-LGBT Performance on New Year’s Eve Threatened With Expulsion From University of Warsaw
» Teletubbies, Crocs to Sponsor ‘Kids Fashion Show’ At RuPaul’s DragCon
 

Amazon to Layoff More Than 17,000 Employees

Amazon’s latest round of layoffs will hit more than 17,000 of its employees, marking the largest such staffing cut among big companies in the past year.

Though the company announced substantial layoffs in November of 2022, which the Wall Street Journal estimated at the time would affect 10,000 positions, the continuing cuts will bring the total reduction to around 17,000, the same outlet reported.

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

IMF: Gloomy Economic Outlook for 2023

Kristalina Georgiewa, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is therefore warning of a tough year. She assumed that by 2023 “half of the EU countries will be in recession”. Globally it will be a third of all countries.

Georgieva had already said at the beginning of December that the prospects for the world economy were becoming increasingly gloomy.

The probability that growth will be below two percent in 2023 is increasing. She pointed to the continuing burdens of the war in Ukraine, which, among other things, has driven up energy prices. She said she was also concerned about the slowdown in the growth trend in China.

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

UK: Household Energy Bills to Rise… But Not by as Much as First Feared as a Drop in Global Gas Prices Means Typical Annual Bills Will Fall to £2,800 From July

A drop in global gas prices means typical annual bills will drop to £2,800 from the start of July, experts at Cornwall Insight said — lower than was previously predicted.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

What Does the Polish Job Market Look Like? New Survey Reveals the Hopes and Fears of Polish Workers

With a year marked by inflation and global crises now behind them, Polish workers have big plans but also big fears heading into the new year, with a survey revealing what the Polish job market may look like in 2023.

The survey, conducted by the Pracuj.pl portal, shows over 36 percent of workers tried to obtain a raise this year, while 70 percent of respondents said 2023 is a good year to make bold career decisions. Another 67 percent of respondents are preparing for difficult challenges in their professional life in the next 12 months.

Additionally, 53 percent of employees in Poland would like to switch jobs this year, and 50 percent aim to grow professionally and acquire new skills.

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

2 Vehicles Stolen From Ruth’s Chris Steak House Valet in DC Since Christmas: ‘Unfortunate Incidents’

Two vehicles have been stolen from the Ruth’s Chris Steak House valet in downtown Washington, D.C., since Christmas.

A police report said suspects broke into the valet lockbox outside the restaurant Sunday and stole key fobs to five vehicles, according to local station Fox 5 DC.

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

Adam Kinzinger Gives Up Game, Lands New Job at CNN as Senior Political Commentator

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) gave up the game and joined CNN days after leaving Congress where he spent his last few months auditioning for a role at one of the networks. Or so it seemed because he took frequent swipes at former President Donald Trump and his former colleagues as he exited the stage.

It worked as he knew it would. CNN issued a statement that Adam is “joining CNN as a Senior Political Commentator. Kinzinger joins CNN with extensive experience in GOP politics, having recently retired from the U.S. House of Representatives after serving six terms representing Illinois’ Sixteenth Congressional District.

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

AOC Issues Warning to Republicans, Calls for ‘Coalition Government’ With ‘Democratic Chairs of Committees’

Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has struck fear in the heart of the Republican Party by calling for a “coalition government” in the House of Representatives.

Ocasio-Cortez suggested that, if Democrats could make a deal with House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-CA) to hand him the speaker job, then the Democratic Party could get “chairs of committees” in return.

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

Are Vaccines Fueling New COVID Variants?

The virus appears to be evolving in ways that evade immunity.

Public-health experts are sounding the alarm about a new Omicron variant dubbed XBB that is rapidly spreading across the Northeast U.S. Some studies suggest it is as different from the original Covid strain from Wuhan as the 2003 SARS virus. Should Americans be worried?

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

As Republicans Launch New Legal Strikes, Arizona’s Largest County Says 4,849 Ballots Not Counted

Arizona Republican candidates Abe Hamadeh and Kari Lake have launched new legal maneuvers to contest the November election as the state’s largest county gave its most detailed explanation to date on why it did not count more than 4,800 provisional ballots cast two months ago.

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

California College Trustee Apologizes After ‘Threatening’ Remarks About Faculty Who Oppose Equity Initiatives

A California college trustee board member apologized after being confronted over his provocative comments directed towards faculty who were against the school district’s diversity, equity and inclusion measures.

At the Kern Community College District’s Board of Trustees meeting on December 13, several speakers attacked professors who started a free speech group at the Bakersfield College campus called the Renegade Institute for Liberty.

Community members, faculty and students accused the group of spreading “hate speech” on campus, threatening violence against Black students and attacking racial affinity groups.

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

Chicago Mayoral Challenger Predicts Controversial Mayor Lightfoot Won’t Make Runoff Election

With the midterm elections rapidly receding into the rearview mirror, the 2023 Chicago mayoral election is looming in the distance, with nine candidates looking to unseat first-term Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Feb. 28.

“I do not believe Mayor Lightfoot is even going to make it in the runoff,” candidate Willie Wilson predicted to Fox 32.

With nine candidates on the ballot next month, it’s unlikely anyone will get the 50% plus one vote needed to win outright, meaning a two-person runoff on April 4 is virtually certain.

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

Clinton Judge Hides Identities of FTX CEO’s $250m Bail Backers

The Bill Clinton-appointed judge overseeing the billion-dollar fraud case of Sam Bankman-Fried has agreed to hide the identities of those who paid the disgraced FTX CEO’s $250 million bail.

Bankman-Fried, FTX’s founder and a Democrat super donor, pleaded not guilty to the charges in a New York court on Tuesday.

Ahead of his court appearance, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers asked Clinton-appointed U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to keep his bail guarantors a secret.

Judge Kaplan approved the request to keep two large sureties in Bankman-Fried’s case anonymous.

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

Conservative Civil War Rages on Twitter as McCarthy Fails to Win Speaker Vote

Conservative lawmakers, journalists and influencers are trading blows on Twitter as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., failed another pair of votes Wednesday to become the next House speaker.

At least 20 Republicans currently stand in the way of McCarthy’s path to become the next Speaker of the House after Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Ever since the vote started Tuesday, conservative influencers have taken to Twitter to voice their support for McCarthy or take shots at him in favor of alternatives like Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, or Byron Donalds, R-Fla.

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

Damar Hamlin Had to be Resuscitated Twice After Massive Heart Attack

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin had to be resuscitated twice by medical professionals after suffering a massive heart attack on the field during Monday night’s NFL game with the Cincinnati Bengals.

As Slay News reported, 24-year-old Hamlin collapsed mid-game and received emergency medical treatment.

He was administered CPR on the field for nine minutes before being rushed to the hospital.

The football star is still reportedly in critical condition.

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

Daughter of Former National Intelligence Director Convicted of Murder for Killing Friend in Maryland Airbnb

Sophia Negroponte, 29, was found guilty of second-degree murder for fatally stabbing 24-year-old Yousuf Rasmussen in the neck in 2020

Sophia Negroponte, the 29-year-old daughter of Bush administration official John Negroponte, was found guilty of second-degree murder Tuesday in the 2020 stabbing death of her friend.

On the night of Feb. 13, 2020, officers in Rockville, Maryland, responded to a 911 call reporting that a man had been stabbed in the neck during an altercation at an Airbnb. When officers arrived, they found Negroponte covered in blood and laying atop 24-year-old Yousuf Rasmussen yelling, “I’m sorry,” according to charging documents obtained by PEOPLE.

First responders pronounced Rasmussen dead at the scene and took Negroponte into custody, where she reportedly told police that she did not remember attacking Rasmussen, but remembered arguing over a “silly issue” and later removing a knife from Rasmussen’s neck.

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Did Illinois Politicians Crush Their ‘EV Hub’ Dreams by Outlawing Right-to-Work?

Authored by Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner via Wirepoints.org

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Illinois lawmakers’ triumph with the “Workers’ Rights” amendment may very well condemn Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the General Assembly’s commitment to make Illinois “one of the leading EV hubs in the entire nation.” The constitutional amendment, which grants massive collective bargaining rights to Illinois labor, also blocks in perpetuity Right To Work (RTW) in the private sector. That doesn’t bode well for manufacturing in Illinois and EV industries in particular.

A review of the data below shows that the EV revolution is largely happening in Right-To-Work states — and that Illinois is already losing big. Crain’s recently reported that Illinois is zero for 18 in its attempts to attract EV battery factories. That’s not to say that a lack of RTW is the only factor hurting Illinois’ chances — businesses have long complained “about [Illinois’] tax rates, workers’ compensation system, precarious state finances and the drawn-out process of getting permits for new factories,” after all, but the correlation sure looks clear.

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

Elderly Man Has Ear and Part of Face Brutally ‘Chewed Off’ In Portland Train Station Attack

Police in Gresham, Oregon responded to reports of a stabbing early Tuesday morning at the Cleveland Transit Station, but when officers responded they discovered the suspect still on top of the victim and realized the incident wasn’t a stabbing, but that the suspect had “chewed off the victim’s ear and part of his face.”

Reports of the incident began at approximately 2:15 am stating that someone had been stabbed on a MAX platform on Northeast 8th Street.

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

Exclusive: Amateur Artist Hunter Biden Paints Himself Into a Corner as Mother of His Love Child Demands He Reveal Identities of Mystery — and Perhaps Foreign — Buyers Who Have Paid $500k for His Works…

— after he cried poverty in bid to lower support payments

Hunter Biden is attempting to lower his child support payments for his four-year-old lovechild who he shares with Lunden Roberts.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

FBI Raises Reward for Information on Capitol Hill Pipe Bomber to $500,000

The FBI’s Washington, DC field office, along with the district’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) division and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) have raised the reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the pipe bombs placed near the RNC and DNC headquarters the night before January 6, 2021, from $100,000 to $500,000.

The FBI Washington Office of Public Affairs stated that the suspect, who was seen in surveillance footage placing bombs outside of the Capitol Hill offices on the evening of January 5, has yet to be identified nearly two years later.

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

Florida Gov. DeSantis Mandates All State University Systems Report Funds Spent on CRT, DEI

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is mandating that all state universities report expenditures and resources used for campus activities that relate to diversity, equity, and inclusion and critical race theory initiatives.

Press Secretary Bryan Griffin shared a memorandum of Governor DeSantis’ Dec. 28 request on Wednesday.

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

Funeral Home Owner Who Dismembered Corpses, Sold Body Parts Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison

A former Colorado funeral home owner has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on charges of fraud and selling body parts without permission.

“This is the most emotionally draining case I have ever experienced on the bench,” U.S. District Judge Christine M. Arguello said during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing in Grand Junction, Colorado. “It’s concerning to the court that defendant Hess refuses to assume any responsibility for her conduct.”

Megan Hess, 46, pleaded guilty to fraud in July after a 2018 Reuters investigation into the sale of body parts in the United States. Former workers discussed the operation out of the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home, owned by Hess and her mother Shirley Koch, 69, who dismembered bodies and sold the parts while returning ashes to the grieving families.

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

George Soros’ Son Becomes Kingmaker With Top Dems as He Makes Multiple Biden WH Visits, Meets With Lawmakers

Alex Soros, son of billionaire megadonor and philanthropist George Soros, has quietly had a pipeline to the Biden White House as he openly mingles with high-profile Democratic politicians and showers liberal causes with millions in cash.

While the elder Soros has often kept a lower profile while exerting influence through direct political donations and funding of left-wing causes from his big-money nonprofit network, the younger Soros has openly bragged about his cozying up with politicians and world leaders.

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

George Soros ‘Quietly’ Gave $140 Million to Political Causes in 2021, Report Says

WASHINGTON (TND) — Billionaire George Soros “quietly” donated at least $140 million to advocacy organizations and other policy initiatives in 2021, according to tax filings reviewed by CNBC.

The money was funneled through the Open Society Policy Center (OSPC), which falls within Soros’s Open Society Foundations network. It was then given out discreetly to various advocacy organizations and ballot initiatives from there, CNBC reported.

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

Health Care Workers Cry Foul on FDA Claiming it Didn’t Prohibit Ivermectin for COVID-19

Authored by Katie Spence via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

Dr. Yusuf Saleeby has practiced medicine for more than 30 years. He serves patients in South Carolina and until recently had never faced an investigation from his state medical board.

But after Saleeby started prescribing ivermectin to his patients, he was reported to the board, which opened an investigation, despite the state’s attorney general’s promise that his office wouldn’t prosecute doctors who prescribed off-label medications.

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

Kevin McCarthy and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Update (2100ET): Kevin McCarthy has now suffered defeat six times in his bid to become House Speaker.

His allies are spending Wednesday night trying to appeal to at least 20 holdouts who have blocked his bid for a second day.

After taking a several-hour break on Wednesday to stall any further votes, the House quickly voted to adjourn until Noon on Thursday — with all Democrats and four Republicans voting against the pause.

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

Lockdowns Deaths in 2020 Were 42% of Excess Deaths

There were virtually no Covid vaccinations given in 2020 (0.8 percent of population, and only 18 Covid vaccine deaths reported to VAERS), which makes it an ideal year for analyzing excess Covid deaths vs. excess lockdown deaths, which I am defining to include all excess deaths above Covid deaths, including iatrogenic deaths, and all other Nonpharmaceutical Intervention-caused deaths. Excess deaths, of course, are those above the actuarily expected number of deaths in the year that are predictable.

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

Mississippi Pushes Digital Driver’s Licenses as a Form of Digital ID

Mobile Driver’s Licenses (mDLs) are now available in the state of Mississippi, the latest state to adopt a form of digital ID in the United States. The state’s Department of Public Safety announced plans for the mDL towards the end of 2021.

The state has partnered with biometrics and identity solution provider IDEMIA to introduce the mobile ID to residents. It will be available via a free app on iOS and Android devices.

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

Moorhead Murder Suspect Booked for Fatal Shooting in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (KVRR) — A Rochester, Minn. man charged with 1st Degree pre-meditated murder in Moorhead in 2021 has been arrested in connection with a recent homicide in Minneapolis.

According to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Idris Abdillahi Haji-Mohamed was taken into custody following a fatal shooting in the early morning hours of Dec. 31.

Minneapolis police say officers and deputies from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office responded to the report of a shooting Dec. 30 near S. 6th St. and Chicago Ave.

Police say the injured male was sitting inside a running vehicle in a parking lot. He died at the scene.

Haji-Mohamed was booked for probable cause murder. Charges are pending.

Haji-Mohamed was indicted for the September 2021 shooting death of Abdi Abdi in Moorhead.

He was arrested three months later in Rochester and eventually was released from custody on one point seven million dollars bond.

           — Hat tip: MR [Return to headlines]
 

Musk: ‘Twitter Files’ Show U.S. Demanded Suspension of 250,000 Users, Including CNN, Canada

Twitter CEO Elon Musk says the State Department demanded that 250,000 accounts be suspended — including those of journalists and foreign government officials.

“US govt agency demanded suspension of 250k accounts, including journalists & Canadian officials!” Musk tweeted Tuesday in response to reporter Matt Taibbi, who published the latest edition of the Twitter Files, which are a series of revelations about the social media company that Musk gave to reporters.

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

Newlywed Woman Stabbed to Death With Machete While Working at Ohio Dollar Tree on New Year’s Day

On Sunday, a 22-year-old woman was killed after a man entered the Dollar Tree where she was working and struck her “numerous times with a machete.”

Keris Riebel was working at the Upper Sandusky, Ohio Dollar Tree on New Year’s Day when at 4:25 pm, police were called to the scene for a report of “a man waving a machete around inside the store.” Police arrived to discover Riebel’s body on the floor.

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

Pipe Bomb Found in Seattle Underground Garage, Suspect Osman Ibrahim in Custody

Police arrested a 38-year-old man Thursday morning after he allegedly placed a pipe bomb in an underground parking garage in Seattle.

According to the department, just after 8:00 am, police responded to the 900 block of South Horton Street for a suspicious item found in a parking garage while employees were sweeping the garage of trash.

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

Reporter Fires Back at Adam Schiff for Trying to Silence Him: ‘Produce Evidence to Back Up Defamatory Remarks’

A reporter has fired back after it emerged that Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) office tried to get him suspended from Twitter.

Schiff’s office demanded to have content related to reporter Paul Sperry removed from Twitter.

However, many have pointed out that the move from an elected official is as clear a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

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

Republican Jewish Coalition Head Slams GOP ‘Infidels’ Voting Against McCarthy, Threatens ‘Consequences’

Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks is furious with the GOP “infidels” who voted against Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House and is threatening them with “consequences.”

On Tuesday, 20 Republicans voted against making McCarthy the next speaker over three separate roll calls.

“When all the dust settles I hope the infidels pay a real prices for all the chaos and problems they’re causing,” Brooks said on Twitter. “Actions should have consequences.”

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

Researchers Are Testing Biometric Recognition of Newborns for Vaccinations

Work has been underway for a while in the US — and research and reports say it is progressing well — to achieve an effective level of collecting people’s biometric data. From the very moment they are born.

The purpose is to make sure newborn babies and young children are identified and monitored for healthcare purposes, such as vaccination.

A recent clinical study into how this is going using technology that is currently available has been published by the US National Library of Medicine.

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

Respect for Muslim Students ‘Should Have Superseded Academic Freedom’ In Class Controversy: College President

The president of a small liberal arts college in Minnesota issued an apology for offending Muslim students after they were shown depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.

Hamline University in Minnesota is at the center of a religious firestorm after a professor shared “two depictions of the Prophet Muhammad in class,” according to The Oracle, Hamline’s student newspaper.

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

Rick Singer, ‘Operation Varsity Blues’ College Admissions Scandal Mastermind, Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison

Rick Singer, the mastermind of the “Operation Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal that federal prosecutors say was “breathtaking in its audacity and levels of deception it involved,” was sentenced Wednesday to three and a half years in prison.

It’s the longest sentence in the scandal but short of the six years requested by prosecutors. Singer will be on supervised release for three years afterward.

Singer, a 62-year-old businessman from Newport Beach, California, had pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

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

Searcy Police: Two Dead After Dispute Leads to Shooting at McDonald’s

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Two adult men are dead after a dispute between the two led to a shooting at a McDonald’s on Tuesday, Searcy police said.

Police said the shooting occurred at the East Race Street location of the long-running fast food chain.

“What started out as a dispute between the two males ended with both passing away,” police said on Facebook.

           — Hat tip: Roger [Return to headlines]
 

Seattle PD Declines by Another 150 Officers, Up to 509 Since City Council ‘Defunded Police’ In 2020

Over 150 officers left the Seattle Police Department in 2022, increasing the total separations to over 500 since the Seattle City Council began defunding the police in 2020.

Seattle Police Officer Guild President Mike Solan told The Ari Hoffman Show on 570 KVI, “Crime is here to stay, unfortunately… since 2020, we’ve lost 500 cops and counting, and I think that’s a recipe for disaster, which is the impetus in my view of crime sweeping this city.”

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

Social Media Use May Impact Adolescents’ Brain Development, Study Says

New research presented by neuroscientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found young adolescents who habitually checked social media showed a distinct neurodevelopmental trajectory within the brain.

Their sensitivity toward social rewards and punishments from peers heightened over time in comparison with those who engaged in moderate or low checking behaviors.

The three-year study of 169 sixth— and seventh-grade students from three public middle schools in rural North Carolina was published Tuesday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

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

Texas and Florida Remain Top Destinations for Movers in 2022, U-Haul Says

Texas and Florida ranked as the top two states attracting Americans in 2022, according to the U-Haul Growth Index, which measured more than two million one-way trips last year.

The Lone Star State, which took the top spot for the second year in a row and the fifth time since 2016, has seen its population steadily growing for decades with more than 30 million residents last year.

The only other state with more than 30 million residents, California, ranked last on U-Haul’s Growth Index last year as demand for trucks out of the Golden State spiked.

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

Three Muslim Knife Attacks on NYPD Officers in 8 Years

by Daniel Greenfield

At 9:30 PM, partygoers in Times Square wearing purple Planet Fitness hats heard a bang.

The ball hadn’t dropped, another Jihadi had. Along with three cops.

Trevor Bickford, 19, had taken the train down from Wells, Maine: a town of less than 10,000 souls. The born-again Jihadi had turned to Islam after his father’s drug overdose. He urged his mother and brothers to join him in serving Allah or they would perish in “hellfire”.

Maine isn’t a big hub of Islamic terrorism so the local teens who convert to Islam have to go to more exciting places to kill infidels in the name of Allah and earn their fellow 72 virgins.

In November, Xavier Pelkey, 19, of Waterville, Maine, a city of 15,000, was indicted for joining ISIS and plotting to kill some Shiites at a mosque in Chicago.

Pelkey and three other Jihadists intended to “enter the Shia mosque and separate the adults from the children, then murder the adults”. Then they planned to move on to a synagogue.

The plot to massacre Muslims in a mosque (never mind Jews) received virtually no coverage in the media because while Xavier is white, he’s a Muslim who had changed his name to Abdullah or ‘Servant of Allah’. Xavier’s two other pals, an unnamed 15-year-old in Chicago and a 17-year-old in Kentucky, had assembled hand painted ISIS flags and homemade bombs…

           — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield [Return to headlines]
 

Top Catholic Archbishop Urges Three-Day Fast for Jan. 6 Defendants

Catholic Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who has served in several high-level Vatican roles, said he encourages a three-day fast to bring “heavenly protection” for defendants charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and for the nation as a whole “against the subversive attack of the deep state.”

Vigano, ex-Vatican secretary-general and former Holy See diplomat to the United States, called for a fast from Jan. 3 to 5, in a letter Saturday to Joseph McBride, an attorney for multiple Jan. 6 defendants.

“In your message you tell me about your initiative to announce three days of fasting to propitiate heavenly protection to the United States of America against the subversive attack of the deep state,” Vigano wrote to McBride. “I can only encourage and bless this commendable gesture of penance, to be accompanied by prayer — above all the Holy Rosary.”

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

Trump Breaks GOP Stalemate: ‘Take Victory and Watch Crazy Nancy Pelosi Fly Back Home to Broken California’

President Donald Trump has broken his silence on the Republican power struggle and urged the GOP to “take the victory” by electing Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as the next speaker.

Trump argues that by ending the stalemate, the Republican Party can come together in celebration and “watch crazy Nancy fly back home.”

“Some really good conversations took place last night, and it’s now time for all of our great republican house members to vote for Kevin, close the deal, take the victory,” Trump said.

“And watch crazy Nancy Pelosi fly back home to a very broken California.

“The only speaker in U.S. history to have lost the ‘house’ twice,” Trump added.

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

Twitter Files: US State Department Panicked Over Zerohedge COVID-19 Reporting

Journalist Matt Taibbi gave the public a double-header on Tuesday — first revealing how Twitter was swarmed by the US intelligence community…

The drop includes several bombshells about how the US intelligence community, and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), tried to force-feed the Russian influence narrative down Twitter’s throat despite the fact that Twitter just wasn’t seeing it.

And second, a thread on how the intelligence community started going straight to the media with lists of suspect accounts.

In the early days of the pandemic, the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) was flagging accounts suggesting COVID-19 was a bioweapon, blaming the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or “attributing the appearance of the virus to the CIA,” (the latter of which nobody was actually saying… it was speculation over work done at Fort Detrick and the University of North Carolina).

As Taibbi further notes, the State Department also flagged accounts that retweeted ZeroHedge due to “Sinophobia” and a “flurry of disinformation” that allegedly broke out after our suspension on Twitter.

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

Two Charged in Christmas Day Attacks on Washington Power Grid

Two men have been hit with federal charges of conspiracy to damage energy facilities, over a Christmas Day attack on four electrical substations in Washington state. That charge carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison.

Matthew Greenwood, 32, and Jeremy Crahan, 40, were arrested on Saturday and charged with breaking into the substations near Tacoma and tampering with power switches in a move that disconnected some 15,000 people from their electrical supply while inflicting $3 million in damage that may take up to 36 months to repair.

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

US Intelligence Community Warned Twitter About Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Book Alleging Biden Corruption

An internal Twitter document published by journalist Matt Taibbi has revealed that the United States (US) intelligence community warned the tech company about the publicity surrounding a book from a former Ukrainian prosecutor that claimed President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, were involved in corruption in Ukraine.

The book, “True Stories Of Joe Biden’s International Corruption In Ukraine” was written by Viktor Shokin, who served as Ukraine’s top prosecutor between February 10, 2015 and March 29, 2016. In the book, Shokin alleged that Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company that had Hunter Biden on its board, paid Hunter millions of dollars to prevent prosecutors from taking action against Burisma.

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

Newfoundland Races Ahead With Digital ID

The tone of reports coming out of Canada about the pace of introduction of digital IDs in the country’s various provinces suggests that it’s now a race to achieve that goal.

Newfoundland and Labrador is hopeful it will be able to launch its digital ID this year — but Ontario is seen as “lagging behind.”

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

Trudeau Doubles Down on Calling Trucker Protesters ‘Tinfoil Hat’ Conspiracy Theorists: ‘I Won’t Apologize’

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had doubled down on his previous comments where he labeled Freedom Convoy Trucker protesters as “tinfoil hat” conspiracy theorists.

During a recent interview with CTV News, Trudeau defended his remarks regarding the trucker protests of 2022.

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

Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil Vow to Continue Disruptive Action

Commitment to ‘civil resistance’ comes after Extinction Rebellion said it would prioritise ‘relationships over roadblocks’

Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil have doubled down on their commitment to disruptive climate “civil resistance” after Extinction Rebellion announced new tactics prioritising “relationships over roadblocks”.

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

Major French Food Company Shuts Down 80 Per Cent of Production as Soaring Energy Costs Make Factories Uneconomical

Cofigeo, a group which owns several food companies in France, has shut down four of its eight factories over energy costs, amounting to 80 per cent of its total production.

Cofigeo owns several French food brands including William Saurin, Garbit and Raynal and Roquelaure and has announced it has shut down four of its eight French factories, affecting 800 of the company’s 1,200 workers due to soaring energy costs.

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

Meta Fined $414m by EU for Targeted Advertising

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, was slammed with a $414 million fine from the European Union on Wednesday after being found to have violated privacy laws with its usage of targeted advertising.

The authority responsible for protecting EU citizens’ data, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), found the social media giant in violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a privacy law enacted in 2018 in Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the union.

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

Poland Furious After Germany Rejects Polish Government’s €1.3 Trillion WWII Reparations Claim With One-Sentence Response

The Polish government is expressing anger after Germany responded to demands for World War II reparations with a one-sentence answer, which included no substantive or legal arguments. Poland’s deputy foreign minister, Arkadiusz Mularczyk, has described the curt response as disrespectful to the Polish government and the Polish people.

“To dismiss that with just one sentence means that all assurances about excellent German-Polish relations are false,” said Mularczyk.

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

Privacy Concerns Are Raised After UK Health Secretary Considers Body Cams for Nurses

England’s NHS is considering giving nurses body cameras to “protect” against aggressive patients. The move appears to be an attempt by the government to solve the NHS staff striking problem and opens hospital wards up to video surveillance.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay proposed the measure to union leaders as a way to improve the working conditions of nurses as an alternative to increasing pay.

A trial at Oxford found that nurses feel safer when they have body cams. However, privacy activists have raised concerns over the possibility of private medical data being captured and transmitted to the police or even hackers.

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

Sweden Rocked by Multiple Shootings as Historic Crime Wave Carries Into New Year

Multiple victims were struck by gunfire in shootings that unfolded on the same day in Sweden this week, according to reports.

At least three people were injured or killed in separate incidents on Wednesday in Stockholm and Malmö as the Nordic nation’s historic violent crime crisis continues into 2023.

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

UK: Appeal After Henley Cars Have Tyres Deflated by Group Who Left Note Saying Why

Vehicles in Henley had their tyres deflated before a note was left explaining why. Police say the incident took place between 9.30pm and 11pm on December 26.

The vehicles were in Henley town centre when they were targeted. A group known as The Tyre Extinguishers on social media have claimed to be responsible for the deflatings.

The group, which targets SUV-type vehicles, says it wants to make it “impossible” to own 4x4s in urbanised areas. Having deflated tyres on cars, its activists leave notes saying the victims will have “no difficulty getting around” by walking, cycling, or using public transport.

Posting on Twitter, The Tyre Extinguishers said: “Boxing Day action in Henley-on-Thames. SUVs deflated in posh Henley, outraging some locals who believe they need to drive urban assault vehicles to go to Tesco.”

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

UK: Think They’re Leaves? Look Again! Bare Conker Trees Are Overrun by Bright Green Parakeets Making Them Seem Vibrant Despite Leafless Branches

A leafless tree exploded into a burst of colour after being overrun by hundreds of parakeets yesterday.

A huge swarm of the bright green birds appeared just like leaves in two chestnut trees above a south London BP Garage.

Both shed their leaves for winter, but pictures show the parakeets are making them look colourful again next to the petrol station and Subway near Mitcham Common on Mitcham Road.

Close up, their vibrant red beaks and lurid feathers fill the bare branches in the night.

Ring-necked parakeets have lived in the UK for over 50 years and were added to the UK pest list in 2010 as their numbers soared.

There are many rumours of how the parakeets arrived in London — popular stories include Jimi Hendrix letting two free on Carnaby Street and birds escaping from the set of the 1951 film African Queen.

However, most researchers reportedly believe the parakeets took over the Capital by being repeatedly released and introduced.

Scientists discovered most of the parrots in London are descended from Pakistani or Indian birds.

In 2021 government officials considered shooting the so-called ‘grey squirrels of the sky,’ that are Britain’s fastest-spreading species of bird.

Between 1995 and 2015, parakeet numbers exploded by 1,455 per cent, with at least 170,000 of the bright birds currently thought to be in the UK.

Ring-necked parakeets could be culled as experts warn they pose an ‘urgent economic, society and environmental problem’.

The wild parrots compete against native birds — including blue tits and great tits — at garden feeders and can cause damage to orchards if their numbers continue to increase.

           — Hat tip: Seneca III [Return to headlines]
 

Biden Confirms He is Considering Sending Ukraine Armored Bradley Fighting Vehicles That Can Destroy Tanks on the Battlefield

President Joe Biden on Wednesday said that sending Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine was being considered to help the that country fight Russia’s invasion.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

British PM Pledges Long-Term Support to Ukraine After Sending £2.6 Billion in Military Aid in 2022

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke by telephone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and assured him that Ukraine could count on Britain’s support in the long term, according to Downing Street.

Sunak said that Britain had handed over 1,000 anti-aircraft missiles to the Ukrainian armed forces as a recent example of British assistance, according to a spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office in London.

The British prime minister also told Zelensky that work was already underway to prepare for the delivery of further equipment in the coming weeks and months. Sunak said that “British assistance is aimed at ensuring that Ukraine wins on the battlefield.”

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

Iranian-Made Drone Deployed by Russia in Ukraine Contained Parts Made by 13 US Companies and Components From Other Western Countries — as Biden Launches ‘All Hands on Deck’ Task Force

A Ukrainian intelligence assessment has found that a single Iranian-made attack drone launched by Russia contained parts made by more than a dozen US companies.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Makiivka: Russia Points Fingers After Deadliest Ukraine Attack

The deaths of dozens of Russian soldiers in a new year missile strike on a building in occupied eastern Ukraine have prompted recriminations among critics of the Russian military.

Russia’s defence ministry has so far conceded that 89 people were killed in the Ukrainian attack on Makiivka at around midnight on New Year’s Eve.

One commander’s wife accused the West of trying to destroy Russia.

But elsewhere military leaders were accused of incompetence.

Ukraine says as many as 400 people were killed or wounded at Makiivka, and numbers into the hundreds have been given by Russian nationalists on social media.

However, there is no way of verifying how many soldiers were killed when US-made Himars missiles hit a vocational college packed with conscripts. Ammunition was also being stored close to the site, which was reduced to rubble.

Whatever the number, this is the highest number of deaths acknowledged by Russia since it invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

Rallies were held in several cities in Russia’s south-western region of Samara, where governor Dmitry Azarov said many of the conscripts had lived.

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Russia Blames Soldiers’ Phones for Giving Away Position to Ukraine

The Kremlin has raised the death toll from the New Year’s Day strike in Makiivka from 63 to 89, the highest acknowledged loss in the war, although Ukraine says the true number is around 400.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

UK Study: Russia is Quickly Depleting Its Pilot Pool

The Russian Air Force lacks fully trained pilots and has sent what few good pilots it has into combat, according to a report by the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI). RUSI is the world’s oldest and Britain’s premier defense think tank.

“Ukrainian assessments concluded that given limited flight hours and the practice of training being delivered in units, the VKS entered the conflict with fewer than 100 fully trained and current pilots,” the report said.

However, Moscow is resorting to a strategy even more dangerous to the long-term health of Russian air power: It is committing instructor pilots to combat, which means that pilots being trained now and in the future will have fewer experienced mentors.

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

Japanese Investigators Raise Alarm Over Spike in Sudden Deaths

Investigators in Japan are raising the alarm over the spike in sudden deaths and believe they have discovered a link behind the soaring excess fatality rates.

Two renowned Japanese medical professors are leading the investigations into rising numbers of unexpected non-Covid deaths that have been seen in Japan and other nations around the world.

Professor Masataka Nagao of Hiroshima University School of Medicine and Professor Shigetoshi Sano of Kochi University School of Medicine are investigating the link between the spike in sudden deaths and the rollout of Covid shots.

The researchers believe they have identified a pattern following their examinations of the bodies of people who have died after being vaccinated.

Professor Nagao, a medical specialist in forensic medicine, performs autopsies, together with Japanese authorities, of more than a hundred bodies a year.

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

The Evidence COVID-19 Was Spreading Around the World in Late 2019

When did the coronavirus first appear and begin spreading? Did it emerge in December in the Huanan wet market, or did it leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in November, or was it intentionally released at the World Military Games in October? Was it spreading internationally during autumn 2019? Has it been around for years?

Here I’ll present evidence that the coronavirus appeared at some point in the second half of 2019 and was spreading globally during that autumn and winter.

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

Nigeria: DSS Arrests 2 Terrorists Who Masterminded Kogi Explosion

The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested the masterminds of the Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) attack which occurred on December 29, 2022, near the palace of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland in Okene, Kogi State.

Recall that the explosion occurred shortly before the visit of the President Muhammadu Buhari to commission some projects in the State.

The suspects arrested were Abdulmumin Ibrahim Otaru (a.k.a Abu Mikdad) and one of his associates, Saidu Suleiman.

DSS spokesperson, Dr Peter Afunanya, said the suspects were arrested on January 3, 2023 and Otaru sustained a gunshot injury on his left foot while attempting to escape.

He further said: “During investigations, it was ascertained that Otaru was a high commander of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and either coordinated or was involved in the following dastardly operations: the 24th June, 2022 attack on Nigeria Police Area Command, Eika-Ohizenyi, Okehi LGA of Kogi State. A Police Inspector, Idris MUSA was killed and two AK-47 rifles carted away in that attack; “The 5th July, 2022 attack on Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kuje Area Council of the FCT; and the 5th August, 2022 attack on West African Ceramics Ltd (WACL) in Ajaokuta LGA, Kogi in which three Indian expatriates were kidnapped. It would be recalled that five persons including one Indian, two Policemen and two drivers of the company were also killed in the attack. The kidnapped expatriates were released on 31st August, 2022.”

           — Hat tip: McN [Return to headlines]
 

4 Eritreans Who Gang-Raped 40-Year-Old Swedish Woman Will Not be Deported

The four Eritreans who committed aggravated rape against a 40-year-old Swedish woman in Stockholm in June of last year have been sentenced to jail. However, despite the prosecutor’s request, the court decided they will not be deported.

As Remix News previously reported, on the night of June 26, 2022, a 40-year-old intoxicated woman was attacked by four men, all of whom were unknown to her, in Flemingsberg, south of Stockholm. One of the men kicked the woman to the ground in a forest near the train station. He and the other three foreigners then took turns raping her. Afterward, two of the perpetrators brought the woman to Flemingsberg station where they raped her again in an elevator.

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

70% of Those Arrested for New Year’s Eve Riots in Berlin Have a Migration Background

The vast majority of those arrested for riots in Berlin on New Year’s Eve are migrants, local police have confirmed.

On Tuesday evening, Berlin police provided an update on the situation of those arrested in connection with the civil disorder witnessed across the German capital on Saturday.

The figure of 159 arrests was amended to 145, citing duplication in the initial reporting.

Of those arrested, 100 have a migration background while just 45 hold German citizenship.

A total of 18 different nationalities were recorded among the transgressors, a police spokesperson revealed. The largest migrant contingent of 27 suspects originated from Afghanistan, while 21 were Syrian.

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

Border Wall Dismantled in Arizona as Katie Hobbs Becomes Governor

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times

Arizona has started to dismantle its makeshift border wall made of shipping containers that was championed by former Gov. Doug Ducey but faced opposition from newly minted Gov. Katie Hobbs and was the target of a Biden administration lawsuit.

Footage taken on Jan. 3 showed construction machinery removing a line of shipping containers placed along the U.S.—Mexico border in Yuma, Arizona, which coincided with the day Hobbs was sworn in as governor.

Ducey, who in mid-December agreed to dismantle the wall for which he had once been an ardent advocate, ordered disassembly of the makeshift barrier as one of his final acts in office.

He said earlier that the container wall was always meant to be a temporary construction intended to help stem the tide of illegal border crossings until a permanent solution could be found.

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

Germany: Berlin Police Worry About Terminology Used for Violent Immigrants

Real-world satire from the ransacked German capital: The New Year’s resolution of police officials in Berlin is to choose a more careful multicultural vocabulary. In a recommendation for “discrimination-sensitive language use”, officials are told which terms are “appropriate”. This latest farce is from a city which saw extreme violence on New Year’s Eve perpetrated by immigrants.

For example, the list which German tabloid Bild was able to see, police officers should say “West-Asian” instead of “from southern countries”. The reason given is that the term is geographically inaccurate and “negatively connoted by the media”.

The justification for not using “Southerner” was in fact particularly bold: the term is allegedly often used by “anti-constitutional media”.

There are other descriptions to be avoided. The term “refugee” is also “controversial” and it should rather be “people seeking protection”. The term “asylum seeker” is also discouraged. Instead, the police officers should use the gendered form “asylum seekers” to pander to politically correct gender expectations.

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

Mass Migration Fueled Dutch Population Increase to 17.8 Million Last Year

The population of the Netherlands increased to more than 17.8 million last year and is expected to grow at twice the rate of 2022 in the year ahead, according to estimates published by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

The Dutch population grew by almost 227,000 last year, with the increase almost entirely attributable to mass migration, Dutch broadsheet De Telegraaf reported.

More than a quarter of new arrivals came from Ukraine, while the number of migrants originating from Asia and the Middle East, including Syria, Turkey, and India, all increased compared to previous years.

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

Now Democrat Governor is Busing Migrants to NYC: Colorado Lawmaker Jared Polis is Blasted by Big Apple Mayor Eric Adams for Inundating New York as it Struggles to Cope With Influx

New York Mayor Eric Adams has accused Colorado’s Democrat governor of launching an ‘unfair’ plan to send an influx of migrants to the Big Apple.

Jared Polis, Colorado’s Dem governor, called the NYC mayor on Monday night to inform him large numbers of migrants would be transported to the city.

Adams publicly criticized the plan on Tuesday morning and insisted New York has taken its fair share of migrants, adding: ‘There’s no more room at the inn.’

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

White House Repeats Claim That Talking About the Border Makes it Insecure

The Biden Administration signalled that it is picking up in 2023 where it left off last year, with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeating a claim that anyone talking negatively about the security of the border is helping smugglers and cartels by spreading ‘misinformation’.

Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked Jean-Pierre “Does anybody around here think that the southern border is secure?”

The Press Secretary claimed that “This is a president who has been working since day one to work on border security,” further claiming that Biden “has taken historic actions” to secure the southern border, without explaining what at all those actions are.

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

Covidians

Three years later.

Proven spectacularly wrong time and time again.

And yet the Covidians are back!

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

Florida School District to Require Students to Use Restrooms Based on Biological Sex: Reports

A Florida school district plans to implement policy that strictly requires students to use the restrooms based on their biological gender, according to reports.

Fox station WTVT in Tampa reported that Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning announced the new policy during a school board meeting on Tuesday night.

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

Ireland: Children’s Minister Calls for ‘Transgender Issues’ To be Taught in Elementary School

Ireland’s Children’s Minister has publicly called for “transgender issues” to be taught to children in elementary schools.

Roderic O’Gorman, Ireland’s Minister of Children, has told a newspaper in the country that elementary school children in the country should be taught about “transgender issues” in order to properly educate them about “diversity”.

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

Madison Indigenous Arts Leader, Activist Revealed as White

Early in 2020, an Indigenous artist urged the owners of a new music venue in town to change its name.

It was called The Winnebago, after the street on which it stands. Many Indigenous people and allies let the owners know that wasn’t the best name for a white-owned music venue. One of them was nibiiwakamigkwe, also known as Kay LeClaire, a founding member and co-owner of the queer Indigenous artists’ collective giige, and budding leader of Madison’s Indigenous arts community.

It took several months, but the venue eventually relented and rebranded as The Burr Oak.

“I’m glad the owners have decided to no longer profit from the identities of Indigenous peoples,” LeClaire wrote in an editorial for Our Lives Wisconsin. “I’m glad the name is going, but I’m not happy the institutions that allowed it to be stolen in the first place remain. For over 500 years, Indigenous Peoples have not controlled our narratives and representations. Our exclusion has been built into inclusion for others.”

One problem with that narrative: LeClaire wasn’t Indigenous, and was, in fact, profiting from the identities of Indigenous peoples.

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

Polish Minister Who Criticized Black Eyed Peas’ Pro-LGBT Performance on New Year’s Eve Threatened With Expulsion From University of Warsaw

The management of the University of Warsaw will decide whether to pursue disciplinary proceedings against Deputy Justice Minister Marcin Warchol for his remarks, which were critical of the promotion of LGBT on the Polish state-run TVP television channel. Warchol, a lawyer and academic on sabbatical, said he believes that he could even be expelled from the university.

Warchol had taken to Twitter to protest the Black Eyed Peas’ performance for TVP’s New Year’s Eve celebration after they appeared with rainbow-colored armbands and declared their support for the LGBT community. The minister tweeted, “Promotion of LGBT on TVP. Shame! This is not a New Year of our dreams but a new year of perversions.”

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

Teletubbies, Crocs to Sponsor ‘Kids Fashion Show’ At RuPaul’s DragCon

RuPaul’s DragCon, described as the “first convention celebrating drag, queer culture, & self-expression,” is hosting a kids’ fashion show as a part of its UK event this coming weekend, which is being sponsored by foam shoe company Crocs.

“Want to walk the runway?” the poster for the event asks, in which children are given the opportunity to dress up in drag and perform for adults.

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