The Chinese government has proposed a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. The Chinese proposals were immediately denounced by President Joe Biden and NATO officials.
In other news, the EPA ordered a “pause” in the removal of toxic waste from the environs of the chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, JW, LP, Reader from Chicago, 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.
The rising cost of ingredients, manpower and energy means the price of the biscuit pack loved by Prince William has rocketed from 69p in 2016 to £1.80 now.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
“It’s Effective”: NYC Shops Deploy Crime-Fighting Dogs to Deter Shoplifters
Nationwide retail theft has erupted into a $100 billion crisis. Brick-and-mortar stores have expanded theft-deterrent merchandising strategies to mitigate unprecedented losses for companies.
In New York City, 34th Street Partnership, a non-profit retail trade group serving Midtown retailers, hired a security firm that provides K-9 units equipped with handlers, the New York Post reported.
Earlier this month, the K-9 program was launched at the CVS at Eighth Avenue and West 34th Street. The pharmacies have been plagued with thefts.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
After Backpedaling on Gas Stove Ban, Administration Plans to Raise Costs Via New Efficiency Regs
Soon after softening its public stance on banning gas stoves in response to backlash, the Biden administration is already planning to impose new costs on the appliances with stricter efficiency standards that have drawn a stinging rebuke form the natural gas industry.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rev. Al Sharpton’s half-brother pleaded guilty to tax evasion, mail fraud, and drug conspiracy charges. He faces 20 years in prison. Kenneth Glasgow, an Alabama pastor, voting rights activist, and half-brother to the famous MSNBC host, entered a guilty plea in Montgomery, Alabama federal court Friday
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Orders Ohio Door-to-Door Checks More Than 3 Weeks After Toxic Train Derailment
President Biden directed federal agencies on Friday to go door-to-door in Ohio more than three weeks after the toxic train derailment that has impacted the village of East Palestine.
Teams from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency will visit residents starting on Saturday, asking how they’re doing and what they need, and to connect them with resources from federal and nonprofit organizations.
The “walk teams” are modeled on similar teams following natural disasters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden ‘Can’t Recall’ if he Spoke to East Palestine Mayor About Train Disaster
Democrat President Joe Biden has claimed that he has “talked to everyone there is to talk to” about the toxic train derailment disaster in East Palestine, Ohio but says he “can’t recall” whether he has spoken with the small town’s mayor.
Biden made the comments during a portion of an interview aired on Friday’s edition of ABC’s “World News Tonight.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bill to Classify Fentanyl as ‘Weapon of Terrorism’ Approved by Virginia Legislature
With drug overdose deaths on the rise, Virginia’s Legislature on Friday approved a measure designating fentanyl as a “weapon of terrorism” and increasing penalties on those who knowingly and intentionally distribute or manufacture it.
Lawmakers in both the House and Senate voted in favor of advancing Senate Bill 1188 Friday — a measure that defines any mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl as a “weapon of terrorism.”
The bill also specifies anyone who “knowingly and intentionally” manufactures or distributes a substance with a detectable amount of fentanyl is guilty of a Class 4 felony — a charge that carries a sentence of two to 10 years, and a fine of up to $100,000. That charge would come on top of the felony charge associated with distributing a Schedule I or Schedule II drug, which can carry up to a 40-year sentence.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: Slack Permanently Suspends Libs of TikTok Over ‘Violations of Acceptable Use Policy’
In the early morning hours of Saturday, Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon reported that Libs of TikTok, has been permanently suspended from Slack due to a terms of service violation.
“@SlackHQ has permanently suspended @libsoftiktok,” Dillon said. “If your business is defending kids, Slack doesn’t want your money.” The message from Slack notifying LOTT that the ban had been undertaken reads:
“We are writing to let you know that we have suspended your workspace, lott-chat.com.com, for violations of our Acceptable Use Policy. As highlighted in Slack’s Acceptable Use Policy, Slack may exercise its right to suspend or terminate your access.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California Faces Historic Blizzard Conditions
Parts of California remain under blizzard warnings, a rarity for the Golden State.
In the next 24 to 36 hours, the area faces historic amounts of snow, rain and winds.
“Right now, California’s getting basically drenched with a firehose of moisture,” said Kyle David, associate producer and weather forecaster at Fox Weather. “This is a very rare storm for California.”
The Santa Barbara County mountains, which are under their first-ever blizzard warning, and the Los Angeles County mountains, whose last blizzard warning came in 1989, can face a few feet of snow.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A man who drove through an Antifa/BLM riot and shot a person in Seattle during the unrest that rocked the city in the summer of 2020 pleaded guilty to a reduced charge last week after King County prosecutors could not disprove his self-defense claim, reports the Seattle Times.
Nikolas Fernandez, 31, of Seattle, drove a car down a street that the rioters had occupied in the Capitol Hill neighborhood on June 7, 2020. As he approached a makeshift barricade, a protester named Dan Gregory reached into the car, grabbed the steering wheel, and punched Fernandez in the face. Fernandez used his Glock 26 to shoot the 27-year-old protester in the shoulder and then turned himself over to the police.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DHS is Sued for Records on Online Election Censorship Demands
Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after the agency refused to provide records of communications related to election misinformation flagged by its Election Integrity Partnership (EIP).
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit after another agency under the DHS, the Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency (CISA) failed to comply with an FOIA request filed last October.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Drops Hammer on Ralph Nader: ‘You Are Lying — Shame on You!’
Tech mogul Elon Musk has dropped the hammer on Ralph Nader by exposing the activist for lying about Tesla.
Nader has taken to Twitter to make unfounded allegations about how Musk funded his electric car company Tesla in its early days.
“Elon Musk started Tesla with a huge U.S. government welfare grant,” Nader said.
“He has taken taxpayers to the cleaners for his factories and for Starlink.
“He is a gigantic corporate welfare king masquerading as a capitalist businessman.”
Musk refused to let the allegations slide, however, and shot back as Nader on Twitter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EPA Orders ‘Pause’ of Derailment Contaminated Waste Removal
Federal environmental authorities have ordered a temporary halt in the shipment of contaminated waste from the site of a fiery train derailment earlier this month in eastern Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line.
Region 5 administrator Debra Shore of the Environmental Protection Agency said Saturday the agency ordered Norfolk Southern to “pause” shipments from the site of the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine but vowed that removal of the material would resume “very soon.”
“Everyone wants this contamination gone from the community. They don’t want the worry, and they don’t want the smell, and we owe it to the people of East Palestine to move it out of the community as quickly as possible,” Shore said.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Georgia Woman Intentionally Crashes Vehicle Into Popeyes Over Missing Biscuits
A Georgia woman allegedly drove her vehicle into a Popeyes restaurant on purpose after biscuits were mistakenly left out of her order, according to officials.
Belinda H. Miller, 50, was charged with first-degree criminal damage to property and aggravated assault.
Deputies with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office were called to the Popeyes location on Walton Way in Augusta after receiving reports of an accident with injuries.
The store’s manager told police Miller became angry when she discovered no biscuits with her order and that she then drove her SUV into a restaurant entrance.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
GOP Congressman Warns of Chinese ‘Police Stations’ In US: ‘How Have We Allowed This to Happen?’
House China Select Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher hosted a press event Saturday at a former illegal Chinese Communist Party police station in downtown Manhattan.
“This innocent-looking building that you see behind me has an unauthorized secret police station linked to the Chinese Communist Party,” said Gallagher. “The nonprofit Safeguard Defenders discovered over 100 of these illegal police stations around the world, including at least two more on United States soil.”
Gallagher was joined by Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Fla. in an effort to shine a light on the threat the CCP poses to the United States and the need for the Biden administration to act “aggressively” to defend U.S. sovereignty.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The House Oversight Committee has announced that it has launched an investigation into the Transportation Department’s response to the toxic train derailment disaster in East Palestine, Ohio.
Lawmakers on the Committee accuse Democrat President Joe Biden’s Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg of having “ignored the catastrophe.”
The small town and surrounding area have been devastated after a freight train carrying toxic materials derailed there earlier this month.
On Friday, the Committee’s Republican Chairman James Comer (R-KY) sent a letter to Buttigieg about the probe into the crisis.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hunter Biden Business Partner Flips, Now ‘Cooperating’ With GOP Investigators
Eric Schwerin, a close business associate of Hunter Biden who also dealt with Joe Biden’s business and tax affairs, is now working with House GOP investigators looking into Biden family dealings — particularly in Ukraine and China, where the family collected millions of dollars, Just the News reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Man, 35, and 15-Year-Old Arrested for Georgia Gas Station Shooting That Injured 9 Kids
A man and a 15-year-old boy have been arrested in connection to a shooting that injured nine children, including a 5-year-old, outside a gas station in Columbus, Georgia.
Columbus police announced they arrested D’Angelo Robinson Sr., 35, and the teen, who was not named because of his age, following their investigation into the shooting at a Shell gas station on Feb. 17.
Robinson is facing eight counts of aggravated assault and was booked into the Muscogee County Jail, Columbus Police said in a statement.
The teen has been charged with one count of aggravated assault and was taken into custody at the Regional Youth Detention Center.
Bullets began to fly after a fight from a nearby party spilled over to the gas station, Columbus Police Chief Freddie Blackmon said after the shooting.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Masks Forever? Feds, Medical World Double Down on Mandates Despite Evidence They Don’t Work
Decades of research finding that face masks provide little to no real-world benefit against respiratory viruses, recently reaffirmed by a “gold standard” Cochrane meta-review of randomized controlled trials, aren’t budging the faith of federal regulators and the U.S. medical establishment.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration could impose some form of mask mandate in healthcare settings permanently, assuming the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs approves its final rule submitted in December.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Media Drop Dilbert After Creator’s Black ‘Hate Group’ Remark
The creator of the Dilbert comic strip faced a backlash of cancellations Saturday while defending remarks describing people who are Black as members of “a hate group” from which white people should “get away.”
Various media publishers across the U.S. denounced the comments by Dilbert creator Scott Adams as racist, hateful and discriminatory while saying they would no longer provide a platform for his work.
Andrews McMeel Syndication, which distributes Dilbert, did not immediately respond Saturday to requests for comment. But Adams defended himself on social media against those whom he said “hate me and are canceling me.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nearly Half of NYC DOE Grads at CUNY Need Remedial Classes
Nearly half of all New York City public school graduates who head to local community colleges are forced into remedial classes to survive their first semester, troubling new data obtained by The Post reveal.
Amid chronic absenteeism, widespread grade inflation, and a failure to prepare students for higher education, city school kids are being shoved through an educational revolving door without truly learning, experts told The Post.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nevada Far-Left Fumes After Democratic Reps Vote to Condemn ‘Horrors of Socialism’
Nevada’s Democratic socialists were outraged this month when state Democratic lawmakers from their state voted for a resolution condemning the “horrors” of socialism, and the state party refused to condemn them — one of a number of flashpoints between the progressive left and the more centrist party officials.
The Las Vegas branch of the Democratic Socialists of America took aim at the Nevada State Democratic Party for “oscillated between playing respectability politics and making compromises to the center,” even after a slate of progressives gained power in the state party apparatus.
The group was particularly incensed by a bipartisan vote in the U.S. House of Representatives which condemned the “horrors of socialism” — noting the human rights abuses in places such as Cuba, North Korea, and the Soviet Union. The democratic socialists were not impressed by the vote, or the state party’s refusal to condemn the condemnation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Lawsuit Calls ESG Unlawful “Investing Fad”
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a conservative nonprofit law firm, brought a lawsuit Tuesday in the District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin challenging the Department of Labor’s recently enacted rule permitting the use of environmental, social and governance investment strategy in retirement plans. The complaint alleges that the rule “unlawfully politicizes the retirement system.”
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are two defined contribution plan participants in Wisconsin: Richard Braun, an operations manager for SWAT Environmental, and Frederick Luehrs III, a maintenance supervisor at Petron Corporation.
Like a similar lawsuit brought against the DOL in January, this one alleges that ESG is a “non-pecuniary” factor which prioritizes political considerations over risk and return, at the expense of retirees’ finances and to the benefit of political causes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Paul Ryan Vows to Boycott GOP Convention if Trump is Nominee
Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has announced that he won’t participate in the 2024 Republican National Convention if the nominee is former President Donald Trump during a Thursday interview.
On FOX6 News, correspondent Jason Calvi asked the former Wisconsin congressman where he would be for the upcoming Milwaukee convention, to which Ryan replied, “It depends on who the nominee is.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Joan Naydich, 57, of Palm Coast, was knocked unconscious by an unidentified teen student on Tuesday at Matanzas High School.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Project Veritas Slammed for Video Saying Staff is ‘Loyal to James’ Vision’
On Friday, Project Veritas released a video on social media saying they “remain loyal” to the vision of founder James O’Keefe, who was removed on Monday (February 20) from the news organization after 16 employees complained of his “management style and business acumen.”
On Twitter, Project Veritas posted the video and wrote, “We have and always will remain loyal to James’ vision, our mission, our country, and our supporters.” The video’s narration said, “High level disputes between our leader and founder James O’Keefe, and the volunteer board of directors who are responsible for oversight of the nonprofit have resulted in James no longer being here. James is not only the founder of Project Veritas, but the creative visionary of our mission.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republican senators are pushing back against an accord that would give the World Health Organization (WHO) power over member states if it declares a pandemic. The accord, which is legally binding on all member states, will be finalized in Switzerland this week.
The accord will give the WHO power to declare pandemics and require member states to give the WHO the “central role” as “the directing and coordinating authority on international health work” in areas like medical supply chains, treatments and lockdowns. However, the WHO also wants more power over surveillance and controlling “disinformation and fake news” when a pandemic is declared.
17 senators, led by Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson, have introduced the “No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act.” The bill states that the accord should be called a treaty. As a treaty, it would require approval by two-thirds of the Senate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ron DeSantis administration members and other conservatives battled teachers’ union boss Randi Weingarten on Twitter after she accused Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., of lying about his anti-woke school policies.
The head of America’s Federation of Teachers, the nation’s second-biggest teacher’s union, shared a video of DeSantis claiming that mainstream media is perpetrating a “hoax” by saying his public school policies constitute book banning.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard (left) has launched a scathing attack on Joe Biden’s commitment to diversity as she likened the President to Adolf Hitler.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Soros-Backed Prosecutor Pushed by Missouri AG to Resign Has History of Scandals, Alleged Misconduct
The George Soros-bankrolled prosecutor in St. Louis who’s facing calls from Missouri’s governor and attorney general to resign for allegedly neglecting her duties already had a history riddled with allegations of misconduct and mishandled cases long before her latest scandal.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner is no stranger to controversy, encountering admonishment for her handling of criminal cases on several occasions. She’s been publicly reprimanded and fined by the Missouri Supreme Court and scrutinized for what critics have deemed soft-on-crime policies.
However, Gardner is currently facing an unprecedented push for her ouster after volleyball player Janae Edmonson, 16, was hit by a vehicle and lost both her legs while visiting St. Louis with her team last weekend.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Sound Like Mickey Mouse’: East Palestine Residents’ Shock Illnesses After Derailment
EAST PALESTINE, OHIO — Wade Lovett’s been having trouble breathing since the Feb. 3 Norfolk South train derailment and toxic explosion here. In fact, his voice sounds as if he’s been inhaling helium.
“Doctors say I definitely have the chemicals in me but there’s no one in town who can run the toxicological tests to find out which ones they are,” Lovett, 40, an auto detailer, said in an extremely high-pitched voice. “My voice sounds like Mickey Mouse. My normal voice is low. It’s hard to breathe, especially at night. My chest hurts so much at night I feel like I’m drowning. I cough up phlegm a lot. I lost my job because the doctor won’t release me to go to work.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Suspected Child-Killer Yells Black Lives Matter Slogan During Arrest
The Florida man arrested for murdering three people, including a 9-year-old child, repeatedly yelled out a Black Lives Matter slogan during his arrest.
When 19-year-old Keith Moses was arrested by police, he was yelling “I can’t breathe” as he was handcuffed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Is Self-Defence a Right in Canada?
A Milton, Ont. man made headlines this week after shooting and killing an armed intruder. Despite using a legally-owned firearm, the man now finds himself being charged with second-degree murder. Criminal lawyer Sam Goldstein joined True North’s Andrew Lawton to discuss self-defence laws in Canada and his expectations for the case.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
News Report Identifies Liberal MP Helped by Chinese Interference
Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) sources and documents claim to show that Liberal MP Han Dong received assistance from the Chinese consulate in Toronto during his nomination race in 2019.
Global News reporter Mackenzie Gray tweeted on Friday that the consulate was involved in transporting seniors and students to vote for him at a party meeting. It is alleged that CSIS had urged senior officials in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office to rescind Dong’s nomination due to the alleged foreign influence involved.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Yet Another Survey Shows People Think Things Are Broken in Canada
A second survey this month has found the majority of Canadians think things are broken in the country.
The Abacus Data survey released on Thursday shows 65% of Canadians agree it feels like many things in Canada are broken — particularly in a handful of areas.
Many respondents said the healthcare system was doing worse than a few years ago (66%), followed by air travel (53%), government services (50%), the education system (49%), and customer service (46%).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Signal Says it Will Pull Out of the UK if the Government Tries to End Privacy
End-to-end encrypted messaging service Signal said it would stop offering services in the UK if the Online Safety Bill forced it to undermine encryption. The UK government argues that giving citizens privacy undermines investigations into terrorism and child sex abuse.
Signal president Meredith Whittaker told the BBC that Signal “would absolutely, 100% walk” if forced to undermine encryption.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Another year, (another government, even), and the UK’s distaste for a secure and private internet isn’t abating. At the same time, there’s the country’s authorities’ appetite for regulating the internet, and that’s just on top of the now perennial “hunger” to take down encryption.
Right now, a proposal is being floated to introduce legislative change that pertains to domain name and IP addresses takedown, and seizure. And seized data would not necessarily require a court order to retain.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Marco Pierre White’s Troubled Son Converts to Islam to Stay Off Heroin…
— CBB Star Claims His Chef Father Has Spent More Than £1 Million on His Rehab — and Says He Turned to Allah in Jail for Racially Abusing a Security Guard
EXCLUSIVE: Marco Pierre White’s troubled son has been released from prison vowing never to touch drugs again after spending more than £1 million on rehab.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Researchers Develop AI for Monitoring Real-Time Behavior of Citizens in Cities
Researchers at the Alan Turing Institute have developed an AI tool that can analyze people’s behaviors in cities 400 times faster than current methods.
Lead researcher Prof. Mark Girolami said that the system combines machine learning and classical numerical models to allow large-scale behavior analysis at city, regional, and national level.
The research has been published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. It has examples like how traffic congestion measures can affect retail behavior in London.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden, NATO Attack China’s Ukraine War Peace Proposals
(AFP) — China called Friday for urgent peace talks as it released its plan to end the war in Ukraine, but several Western powers rebuffed the proposals while warning against Beijing’s closening ties to Moscow.
The United Nations expressed cautious optimism over the Chinese proposals, particularly over the document’s call to avoid using nuclear weapons.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Shocking images from the event came to light, showing rows of wide-eyed children wearing crop-tops and crocs holding buckets of icy water in the snow.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Media Bewildered as Russian Economy Projected to Grow in 2023 Despite NATO Sanctions
After a smaller than expected GDP loss in 2022 of —2.1%, Russia has slipped through the NATO sanctions net and is projected by the IMF to see growth of 0.3% in 2023. Western media proponents, shocked by this development, are wondering how this could be? (Report starts at 15:43)
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The former Olympic boxing champ went to Germany to meet Ukrainian soldiers being trained to use the advanced weapon system ahead of their front-line deployment.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine War Could Last Another 12 Months, Says UK Defence Chief on Anniversary
Authored by Alexander Zhang via The Epoch Times
The war in Ukraine could last another year, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said.
Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the war, which began when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
There were at least 18 strikes last week over three successive days — the most recent on Friday night — in a significant ratcheting up of Ukrainian efforts to retake its captured southern corridor.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
US Military Aid to Ukraine Exceeds the Costs of Afghanistan
Ukraine receives the most military aid from the United States: Since the beginning of the war and as of Jan. 15, 2023, $46.6 billion in financial aid for military purposes has flowed to the country now at war with Russia.
When calculating the average annual costs (in 2022 prices) of previous wars in which the United States has been involved in, the true magnitude of the country’s Ukraine aid expenditure can be seen.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
China and the Ukraine War: The Real Reason for Beijing’s Charm Offensive
Over the past year, leaders in the West have tried to cajole China to help them end the Ukraine war. Now Beijing has given its firmest response yet — and it’s not something many in the West would like.
In recent days, China has launched an assertive charm offensive, kicking off with top diplomat Wang Yi’s tour of Europe, which culminated in a warm welcome by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Beijing has released not one but two position papers — the first offering the Chinese solution to the war, and the other outlining a plan for world peace. These largely retread China’s talking points from the past year, calling for respect for sovereignty (for Ukraine) and the protection of national security interests (for Russia), while opposing the use of unilateral sanctions (by the US).
The West may come away unimpressed — but convincing them was never likely the main goal for Beijing.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Japanese Doctors Are Pushing Back Against Medical Digital ID
Doctors and other individuals in Japan have filed a lawsuit against the government to challenge a law that will require people to use the national digital ID My Number instead of health insurance cards to access medical care.
274 individuals are included as plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed by the Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association.
The lawsuit argues that the government should amend the Health Insurance Act before replacing health insurance cards with My Number.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine War: Zelensky Wants Xi Jinping Meeting Following China’s Peace Plan
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he plans to meet China’s leader Xi Jinping to discuss Beijing’s proposals on ending the war in Ukraine.
Speaking on the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, he said the proposal signalled that China was involved in the search for peace.
“I really want to believe that China will not supply weapons to Russia,” he said.
China’s plan calls for peace talks and respect for national sovereignty.
However, the 12-point document does not specifically say that Russia must withdraw its troops from Ukraine, and it also condemns the usage of “unilateral sanctions”, in what is seen as a veiled criticism of Ukraine’s allies in the West.
The Chinese authorities have so far not publicly responded to Mr Zelensky’s call for a summit with Mr Xi.
Meanwhile, Russia hailed the Chinese peace proposals. “We share Beijing’s views,” the foreign ministry in Moscow said in a statement.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
YouTube Deletes Satirical Channel Criticizing Xi Jinping
YouTube channel RutersXiaoFanQi, known for mocking Chinese President Xi Jinping, has been removed. Online free speech advocates claim that the Chinese Communist Party used YouTube’s copyright infringement policies to get the channel banned.
According to Radio Free Asia (RFA) the last video uploaded on the channel mocked Xi for his attempts to become an emperor and claiming honorary university degrees, yet he has an “elementary school level” education.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led the Rainbow Labor float at Sydney’s Mardi Gras parade on Saturday, as the event returned to its inner-city route after two years away during the pandemic.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Pictures show the senator for Victoria jumping into the parade route and standing in front of an officer before allegedly shouting ‘f*** the police’.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
On Saturday the hashtag ‘BoycottBlackmores’ shot to the top of Twitter’s trending list after comments made by the Australian vitamin company’s major shareholder.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
$90 Million Spent by NYC Hospitals to House Illegal Immigrants in Luxury Hotels
It has been revealed that New York City’s hospital system, the New York City Health + Hospitals Corporation, is on track to spend over $90 million through Spring 2023 housing illegal immigrants. Mayor Eric Adams tasked the system with handling the accommodation aspect of the city’s migrant crisis last fall.
The tens of millions of dollars have been spent on a number of Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers, HERRCs, throughout the city, however the bulk of the funding has gone to setting migrants up in swanky Manhattan hotels, many of which have reported that inhabitants have trashed their rooms and caused disturbances.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An expert witness has given an explosive testimony before the Arizona Joint Elections Committee, exposing widespread corruption in the upper echelons of the state’s government.
This week, the Arizona Senate and House Elections Committees heard testimony and presentations from multiple individuals regarding election anomalies.
Expert witnesses were called to present evidence of potential fraud in Arizona’s elections.
Forensic financial investigator Jacqueline Breger blew the lid off the hearing when she made several bombshell allegations during her testimony.
According to Breger, the recently installed governor, Democrat Katie Hobbs, and several other top Arizona officials have been working with Mexico’s deadly Sinaloa Cartel for years.
Breger detailed her findings during the hearing that suggest Hobbs has been working with the dangerous Mexican cartel to launder money, keep the border open for drug smuggling and human trafficking, and rig elections to keep cartel-friendly officials in power.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Egyptian Migrant Robs 12-Year-Old Boy at Gunpoint
A 23-year-old Egyptian migrant was arrested in eastern Italy after robbing a 12-year-old boy at gunpoint, stealing his jacket before fleeing the scene.
The incident took place in the town of Jesi in the province of Ancona in eastern Italy and saw the 23-year-old Egyptian point a gun, later revealed to be a replica, at the 12-year-old and demand he give up his valuables.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mass Migration Nation: Germany Starts Importing Economic Migrants Direct From Africa
The German government has announced a new migration scheme in Africa to recruit supposedly qualified migrants to do jobs in Germany — despite its Turkish “guest worker” programme being a historic disaster.
German Employment Minister Hubertus Heil and Development Minister Svenja Schulze, who are both members of the leftist Social Democrats (SPD), announced the programme while on a visit to Ghana, adding that similar programmes would be set up in other African countries.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Migrant Encounters at Southern Border Hit 1,000,000 Mark for Fy 2023, Outpacing Prior Year: Sources
Migrant encounters at the southern border have already surpassed the one million mark for Fiscal Year 2023, multiple Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources tell Fox News, marking an unprecedented pace for encounters.
As of Friday, the total migrant encounters at the border were at 1,008,217 for the fiscal year, which began in October. Of those, 87.8% were single adults. Just 328,454 were expelled under Title 42 — the pandemic-era protocol that allows border agents to rapidly expel border crossers.
There were more than 1.7 million encounters overall in FY 2021 and over 2.3 million in FY 2022. The first months of FY 2023 have outpaced those of the prior fiscal year. This time last year, numbers for FY22 through March 1 were 839,819 — well under the 1 million mark.
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Sub-Saharan Migrants Leave Tunisia After Prez Alleges ‘Criminal Plot’ to Change Demographics: AFP
(AFP) — A steady flow of taxis has rolled up outside the Ivorian embassy in Tunis in recent days, depositing dozens of migrants who say they no longer feel safe amid an officially sanctioned climate of fear.
After a wave of arrests in recent weeks, President Kais Saied gave a speech on Wednesday that critics said was openly racist.
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UK PM Rishi Sunak’s ‘Sell Out’ Migrant Amnesty Will Endanger Communities: Farage
Brexit’s Nigel Farage has warned that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s reported plan to effectively grant amnesty to thousands of illegal migrants in order to clear the asylum backlog will endanger British communities and national security.
On Thursday, reports emerged that the government is planning on allowing migrants from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria, Yemen, and Libya to skirt the normal asylum procedures, including an in-person review of their application, and merely fill out a ten-page form before being granted legal status in the United Kingdom.
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Federal Court Will Allow Males on Women’s Teams as West Virginia Transgender Law Sorted Out
Young male athletes who identify as women will be permitted to play on women’s school sports teams in West Virginia while a lawsuit regarding sports rules is resolved, a court ruled this week.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in its ruling reinstated an earlier injunction against a ban on those athletic arrangements. The injunction had last month been dissolved by a federal judge.
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Germany: Dismantling Diplomacy With ‘Feminist Foreign Policy’
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) wants to counter German security issues abroad with feminist politics. Gender training, LGBTQ events and quotas are now part of their new guidelines, which are intended to bring about “cultural change”. The German ambassador to Hungary, Julia Gross, provided an embarrassing example.
The Foreign Minister recently underlined her commitment to a “feminist foreign policy” with new guidelines for the work of her agency. With this approach, “historically grown power structures” must be broken up, according to the paper which was made available to German weekly Spiegel. It is scheduled to be presented on March 1, this year.
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Kansas Legally Defines Woman as ‘Human Female’ In New Women’s Bill of Rights
On Thursday, Kansas legislators passed the Women’s Bill of Rights, becoming the first state in the union to pass a bill that defines a woman as a biological female.
The Daily Mail reports that the bill defines a woman as a person “whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova.”
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Lawsuit Aims to Remove Abortion Pills From Market in Light of Dobbs Decision Oveturning Roe
A pro-life medical group is suing the Food and Drug Administration to overturn its 20-year-old approval of abortion drug mifepristone — just months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHP) initially filed the suit in Texas last November arguing the drug was improperly fast-tracked in 2000 by categorizing pregnancy as “an illness.”
Now, legal experts are at odds over whether a law from the 1800s will come into play given the Biden administration’s decision to allow the drug to continue to be shipped via email, as some believe the case can be headed all the way to the Supreme Court.
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Scotland Leader: Muslim Contender Allegedly Skipped Gay Marriage Vote Under ‘Pressure’ From Mosque
Leftist Humza Yousaf, frontrunner to become Scotland’s new First Minister, allegedly caved to “pressure” from a mosque to skip a vote on same-sex marriage — but he has faced little scrutiny of his religious views compared to Christian rival Kate Forbes.
With Nicola Sturgeon stepping down as leader of the left-separatist Scottish National Party (SNP), which governs Scotland’s devolved government — roughly equivalent to a U.S. state government — alongside the Scottish Greens, other SNP MSPs are vying to fill her shoes as the country’s First Minister, with Humza Yousaf, a practising Muslim, and Kate Forbes, a practising Christian, leading the pack.
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Amy Hamm, the Canadian nurse who is under investigation by the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) for allegedly holding “transphobic” views is firing back at the regulatory body, pointing out hypocrisy in the way they handled a sex abuse case.
In October 2022, BCCNM concluded an inquiry into the conduct of former nurse Mark Mohun-Smith, who they say sexually harassed “several female patients” between 2017-2020. The board wrote that “the women were all highly vulnerable,” as well as used “woman” and “female” interchangeably, which Hamm pointed out is antithetical to gender ideology.
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Teacher Says Schools Need to Keep Students’ Info From ‘Christo-Fascist’ Parents
A Washington teacher complained on Friday that many schools’ “guidelines and laws” haven’t helped them keep students’ information secret from “Christo-fascist” parents.
A tweet shows Auburn School District 408 teacher Karen Love responding to another that urged parents to check their school district’s policy regarding keeping info about their child’s secret from them.
“Parents-check your school districts’ policy regarding keeping info about YOUR child secret from you. There are some scary policies out there. Schools should not have a right to keep info about your child from you unless abuse by you is suspected. There I said it and mean it,” a tweet written by “The Principle’s Office” reads.
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Woke Disney’s Year of Enduring Box Office Bombs, Subscriber Losses and Layoffs
February has been a cruel month for Disney as the giant corporation slashed 7,000 employees in mass layoffs and announced a 2.4-million subscriber loss to streaming service Disney+. All of this came as the network endured yet another woke controversy as a kids cartoon show on the streaming service lectured children about “white fragility” and denounced Abraham Lincoln.
But these latest problems for Disney are not new and are only the latest in what is closing in on a year of woke disasters, instability at the top of the company and financial problems. Here are some of the many problems Disney has endured in 2022 and 2023.
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