More than 800 migrants arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa in the space of 24 hours. Meanwhile, German police stopped a van in which human smugglers were transporting 29 suspected Syrian migrants.
In other news, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reportedly suffered a heart attack and is hospitalized in critical condition.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, LP, Reader from Chicago, Roger, SS, Steen, Vlad Tepes, 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.
EU Countries Sinking in Debt — Reports
Countries in Eastern Europe have borrowed some $32 billion so far this year, three times more than during the same period a year ago, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Poland has tapped overseas markets for nearly $9 billion, putting it second among emerging-market economies in terms of overseas borrowing, trailing only Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Romania and Hungary, which have borrowed a respective $6 billion and $5 billion, are the fourth and fifth largest emerging-market borrowers. This marks the first time in a dozen years that three Eastern European countries are among the top five overseas emerging-market borrowers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fox News Poll: Across the Board, Voters Say Economy Getting Worse for Them
Most voters think the economy is in bad shape, a record number feel it’s getting worse for their family, and not many think the White House is helping, according to a new Fox News survey.
Economic views are negative by more than three-to-one: 21% say it is in excellent/good shape, while 78% rate it as only fair/poor. That’s worse than the 33-66% rating at the end of Trump’s term (Dec. 2020), and it’s much worse when compared to pre-pandemic views. At that time, 55% rated the economy positively, with a record 20% calling conditions “excellent” (Jan. 2020).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House Passes McCarthy’s Debt Ceiling Bill by Two Votes, Four Republicans Vote Against
House Republicans on Wednesday delivered Speaker Kevin McCarthy the biggest win of his tenure leading the chamber so far by passing his bill to raise the debt limit and slash spending, a bill that serves as the GOP’s position on how to avoid a debt crisis in the coming weeks.
The bill passed in a narrow 217-215 vote. Every Democrat voted against it, as expected, along with four Republicans: Andy Biggs of Arizona, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Ken Buck of Colorado and Matt Gaetz of Florida.
Republicans cast the vote as a win that puts them in the driver’s seat in negotiations they hope can happen with President Biden in the coming weeks. Biden has refused to entertain anything other than a clean increase in the debt ceiling, while Republicans insist he should agree to some trimming in the federal budget as a condition of raising the government’s borrowing limit.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Good Riddance”: Military-Industrial Complex Celebrates Tucker Carlson’s Fox News Exit
Members of the military-industrial complex interviewed by Politico celebrated Tucker Carlson’s exist from Fox News, with one declaring, “Good riddance!”
Carlson was unceremoniously booted from the network on Monday despite being the most popular prime time TV news host in America.
He was reportedly given barely 10 minutes notice of the decision before it was revealed to the media.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, members of the military-industrial complex and the deep state are all but popping champagne corks in response to the news.
“We’re a better country without him bagging on our military every night in front of hundreds of thousands of people,” one senior DoD official told Politico.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A majority of U.S. voters believe Hunter Biden is getting ‘preferential treatment’ in the federal probe into his business affairs, a new poll has found.
It comes after a special agent for the IRS, the country’s tax agency, sought whistleblower protection from Congress after he alleged the investigation is being mishandled.
The survey by Rasmussen Reports found that 69% of Americans believe the accusations that he is using family connections to avoid tougher punishment.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
911 Calls Released in New Mexico Wrong Address Police Shooting
The 911 calls have been released from the night New Mexico police shot and killed a homeowner after responding to the wrong address. NBC’s Valerie Castro has more on how that family is calling for accountability. Warning: Some viewers may find the footage disturbing.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Are You Surprised? Fauci, Gates, DoD & CDC Funded Sudanese Lab Taken Over by Militants
An exclusive report by Natalie Winters of the War Room With Stephen Bannon highlights the American government’s involvement with a laboratory in Sudan that was recently overtaken by a group of rebel fighters who are at war with the nation’s military.
The World Health Organization on Tuesday warned the globe of a “huge biological risk” now dangerous virus samples are in the hands of the rebels.
Winters’ article, published Wednesday, detailed how the lab has received funding from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s NIH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and even the Department of Defense.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Administration Paves Way for Confucius Institute Affiliate Schools to Receive Federal Funding
The Defense Department in late March announced that it would grant waivers to allow schools to host chapters of the Confucius Institute, a Chinese Communist Party-backed program that Beijing uses to peddle influence and steal intellectual property from American universities. The department’s waiver program is a response to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which barred American colleges and universities from receiving federal dollars if they maintain Confucius Institute chapters.
Lawmakers say the Defense Department is subverting federal law.
“The Chinese Communist Party is subverting U.S. institutions and Joe Biden is sabotaging legislation to stop them,” Rep. Jim Banks (R., Ind.), a member of the House Select Committee on China, told the Washington Free Beacon. Banks added that the Biden administration has essentially “greenlit China’s espionage and malign influence operations on college campuses.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Joe Biden will face fresh questions about his fitness for office after he unwittingly brandished a cheatsheet that contained a vetted question from a journalist.
The 80-year-old made his latest gaffe at a joint press conference with South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol to celebrate 70 years of friendship with the United States.
The cards, prepared by aides, featured a list of Biden’s own senior officials who were taking part in the ceremony at the White House and possible talking points.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Joe Biden, who at 80 is the oldest president in American history, downplayed concerns about his age on Wednesday, saying ‘it doesn’t register with me.’
The president announced on Tuesday he was seeking a second term in office and, if he wins, he would 86 when he leaves the White House. Some Democrats have expressed concern about Biden’s age and health status, questioning if Biden is their best bet as the nominee.
But Biden shrugged off a question about his advanced years during a press conference with South Korean President Yoon Sun Yeol.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: Ex-Producer Suing Tucker Carlson Has Never Even Met Him
Tucker Carlson Tonight producer Abby Grossberg is suing Carlson and the Fox Network over sexual behavior in the workplace, despite never having met Carlson in person.
The Spectator reports that lawyers for Grossberg have confirmed that she never actually met Carlson. “Like many on the [Tucker Carlson Tonight] staff, Abby never met Tucker Carlson in person because he taped the show from his personal studios in Maine and Florida, and he did not visit Fox’s NY HQ during her time there,” said one of Grossberg’s attorneys Kimberly A. Catala.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CDC Makes False Claims About COVID Shot Safety
Officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have repeated and spread false claims regarding the safety of Covid vaccines.
CDC officials have made multiple false statements this month about the possible side effects of the jabs.
Top CDC official Dr. Tom Shimabukuro recently repeated the lie that the agency has never detected a safety signal for ischemic stroke for the old Covid vaccines.
“No safety signals were detected for ischemic stroke for primary series or monovalent boosters for Pfizer or Moderna vaccines in U.S. and global monitoring,” Shimabukuro told the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a CDC advisory panel, on April 19.
According to files obtained by The Epoch Times, CDC researchers identified ischemic stroke as a safety signal for the original Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has told Democrat senators to pound sand and declined an invitation to testify at a congressional hearing on ethics rules for members of the SCOTUS.
Roberts overruled Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and said if he came it would pose a threat to judicial independence.
Roberts wrote: “Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee by the Chief Justice of the United States is exceedingly rare, as one might expect in light of separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Climate Protesters Shut Down GW Parkway
Climate protesters shut down a portion of the George Washington Parkway during the morning rush hour Wednesday.
Video shows a long line of stopped traffic. Five people wearing neon vests could be seen sitting on the ground and holding a banner.
Both lanes of northbound traffic were blocked near the parkway’s scenic overlooks as of 8:40 a.m., U.S. Park Police said. The roadway was back open about 40 minutes later.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Congressman Andy Biggs Says Government Agencies Buying Private Data is a Fourth Amendment Violation
One way to define US federal agencies — the FBI included — that obtain their citizens’ personal data by buying it from third-party data brokers is to say they are bypassing the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, meant to protect against unlawful searches.
And that is pretty much how Republican Congressman Andy Biggs — and he is not alone — sees the practice.
It seems the idea is to put an end to the thing by depriving it of the funds. On Thursday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Government Surveillance and Crime was set to convene and consider the way the federal government has allegedly continuously pursued what its political opponents consider warrantless surveillance of Americans.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Court Finds Geofence Warrants to be Unconstitutional
As far as potential privacy violations at the hands of law enforcement go, the so-called geofencing stands out.
It’s a dragnet-style type of mass surveillance that determines a geographical area (typically as a criminal investigation is in progress — but the authorities really could use it for anything) — and then all those who happened to be in those confines, at a given time, with their mobile device broadcasting their location and other personal data, are basically fair game for searches.
Concerning and extremely sketchy — particularly without proper legal safeguards or even proper warrants — to say the least. And to say the most, straight up unconstitutional, on account of the Fourth Amendment (protecting from unlawful searches).
The latter definition of the practice is what the California Court of Appeals has gone for when it recently ruled in the People v. Meza case, during the appeals stage of the proceedings.
While it might sound logical to observers, the court’s decision is still very significant — digital rights group EFF says — because it set a precedent, being the first time a US appellate court looked into a geofence warrant.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DeSantis Open to Twitter HQ Relocating to Florida — So Long as Only Non-Woke Employees Make the Move
Republican Govenor Ron DeSantis of Florida said that he supports Elon Musk moving Twitter HQ to the sunshine state as long as “woke” employees stay behind.
“You know, I don’t know, I mean, I know Elon and basically, what I would tell him is like, OK, if you’re going to move Twitter to Florida, are you bringing woke employees to Florida or are you bringing just your people,” he said to Newsmax’s Benny Johnson on Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Disney Sues DeSantis Over Florida GOP Governor’s Attempt to Limit Its Control of Theme Park
Disney filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis alleging he and other state Republican lawmakers having a “targeted campaign of government retaliation,” over the so-called 2020 “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Disney World had self-governing privileges that DeSantis threatened to revoke after the company snubbed him last year when he signed a law in 2022 that his opponents labeled the “Don’t Say Gay Bill.”
The bill that was signed into law bans discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in public school classrooms from grades kindergarten through third. Supporters of HB1557 supported it because they believed it gave parents more of a say in their child’s education.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Eco-Terrorist ‘Pipeline’ Bombs at Box Office
James Cameron caught little heat for a shocking admission. He hearts eco-terrorism.
It’s one thing for the “Avatar” director to be so green he makes his cast and crew eat vegan. That seems quaint compared to a quote that got ignored by most press outlets.
Now, we have an entire film dedicated to eco-activists willing to employ violence to suit their needs. And it’s clear where the story’s empathy lies.
“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” deserves some sort of Truth in Advertising award. The story follows a gang of eco-thugs plotting to deliver on the title’s promise.
HiT guest critic Joshua Sharf called it “really good agitprop” along with this warning.
In other exchanges, we hear the familiar refrain, “you can’t make omelets without breaking a few eggs,” unaware that violent revolution generally produces a lot of broken eggs and few omelets.
The film enjoyed a limited release April 7 but expanded to north of 500 theaters last weekend. The results?
A measly $600K to date.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The former San Francisco fire commissioner who woke up in a hospital earlier this month with severe head injuries after a homeless man appeared to beat him with a pipe on video says the charges against the suspect will be dropped.
“Unfortunately, we have been informed by the district attorney’s office that they have decided to dismiss the charges against Don Carmignani’s attacker, Garret Doty, and release him back onto city streets with impunity,” Colla & Ray, the law firm representing Carmignani, said in a statement Tuesday night. “According to the DA, the attack on Don was ‘self defense.’“
Carmignani is still recovering from a fractured skull and other injuries suffered in what he describes as a brutal attack days before Easter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Groups Pushing Vaccine Passports, Mandates, Were Quietly Funded by Pfizer
Pfizer, the manufacturer of one of the most widely used COVID-19 vaccines in the country, silently funded groups advocating for vaccine mandates and passports, according to a report by Lee Fang (paywalled).
In August 2021, the president of the Chicago Urban League, Karen Freeman-Wilson, in an interview on TV, argued that vaccine mandates would not disproportionately harm the black community.
“The health and safety factor here far outweighs the concern about shutting people out or creating a barrier,” Freeman-Wilson said at the time.
Earlier that year, the Chicago Urban League had received $100,000 from Pfizer for a project on promoting “vaccine safety and effectiveness.” The organization did not list Pfizer as a donor or partner on its website and Freeman-Wilson did not mention the funding during the interview.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fox News executives are preparing to hand a ‘dirt file’ to leftist media outlets to embarrass Tucker if he attacks them.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lamest Campaign Launch Ever: Biden Loses to Generic Republican 41%-47%
Have you picked your jaw up off the floor yet at the unprecedented launch of the incumbent President of the United State’s re-election campaign with a lame video?
“A pre-recorded announcement?” marvels my colleague, Vodkapundit. “When someone announces they’re running for president, it’s a massive public event featuring the biggest and most enthusiastic crowd the candidate can muster. When it’s a sitting president, the pageantry and the crowds are practically built in. But not for Doddering Joe, whose people had to trickle out a video because they can’t trust their man to draw a crowd, not to screw it all up, or wander the wrong direction off the stage at the end.”
He’s certainly got the part about Biden not being able to draw a crowd right. Though we’re told Team Biden somehow magicked up a record 81 million votes in 2020, even during that campaign the doddering Democrat couldn’t draw a crowd. And now, a new poll from NBC reveals that enthusiasm for more of the same in 2024 is lacking, to say the least.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Memphis, New Orleans, and Richmond rank as America’s homicide hotspots, with scholars linking their rising murder rates to soft-on-crime Democratic leadership and low police morale.
A study by WalletHub found that murder rates jumped by a tenth in the country’s biggest cities between the first quarter of 2001 and the same period this year — and they’re still heading up.
It was released as William Shaw Jr, 67, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder over the shooting of his uncle in South Memphis this week — the latest in a string of killings in Tennessee’s second-biggest city.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Proposals Would Let Governments Seize Domain Names
Two US organizations — a non-profit and a corporation — are planning to “quietly” give governments around the world the right to seize domain names by means of canceling, redirecting, or transferring control.
This is based on the “Proposed Renewal of the Registry Agreement for .NET” — recently published by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and Verisign.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Profane’? School District Sued for Banning ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Clothing, Trump Flag
A Michigan school district is picking sides in a possible rematch of the 2020 election, not only showing a “continuing pattern of discrimination” against students who support former President Trump but flouting a major Supreme Court precedent on student speech, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
Tri County Area Schools ruled that student clothing that reads “Let’s Go Brandon” is prohibited as “lewd, indecent, vulgar, or profane” under its dress code. The phrase was originally improvised by a sports reporter amid “F— Joe Biden” chants after a NASCAR race, then adopted as a G-rated slogan against President Biden.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rapper MoneySign Suede Dies in California Prison Stabbing
Rapper MoneySign Suede has died after he was stabbed in a shower at a California prison, authorities and his attorney said.
Jaime Brugada Valdez, 22, of Huntington Park, was found in the shower area of the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday, according to a statement from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Despite life-saving efforts, he died at a prison medical facility.
The agency didn’t detail his injuries but said his death was being investigated as a homicide.
“They said it was a stabbing to the neck,” Valdez’s attorney, Nicholas Rosenberg, told the Los Angeles Times.
Suede signed to Atlantic Records in 2021, and released his most recent album “Parkside Baby” last September, the Times said.
| — Hat tip: Roger | [Return to headlines] |
RFK Jr: “There is No Time in History Where the People Censoring Speech Were the Good Guys”
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized the censorship of speech arguing that, “there is no time in history where the people censoring speech were the good guys.”
In an interview with Breitbart News host Joel Pollak, Kennedy discussed censorship of alleged “misinformation.” Kennedy has experienced censorship first-hand for questioning measures taken during the pandemic.
“I’m wondering if you can make a pitch to our audience about a common cause that you, running as a Democrat, may have with many conservatives who feel that they’ve been canceled or otherwise censored or marginalized in public discourse,” Pollak asked.
“It’s more than a personal aggrievement. It’s really just a direct assault on our democracy,” Kennedy said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two days on from Tucker Carlson’s exit from Fox News and the network has still failed to provide a specific reason as to why he left.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Soros Quietly Resumes Lobbying With $1.6 Million to Boost Inflation Reduction Act
Soros’s Open Society Policy Center spent $1.6 million lobbying the White House and Congress to support the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act, according to lobbying disclosures filed this month. It marks a return to K Street for Soros’s group, which hasn’t lobbied since 2020.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Reacts to Biden 2024 Announcement: ‘Most Corrupt President’ in History
Joe Biden announced his 2024 re-election bid in a video early this morning. I guess with a dementia patient, it’s better to have video you can edit or redo several times instead of attempting an in-person announcement for which Democrats would have to find people who actually want to attend. “Let’s finish the job,” the announcement said, which seems more like a threat than a slogan. Former President Donald Trump responded with a strong condemnation of Biden’s failed presidency.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump is ‘Listening’ to People Suggesting DeSantis for Vice President, Report Says
President Donald Trump is reportedly “listening” to advisers who are suggesting that he should consider Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis as his running mate for 2024.
A new report by Page Six indicates that, while Trump hasn’t said yes, DeSantis in the vice president spot isn’t completely out of the question after all.
According to many reports, DeSantis has been running his own shadow campaign for president, although he has denied it.
While he repeatedly refuses to confirm his presidential ambitions, he has denied wanting to run as Trump’s VP, stating during a Newsmax interview that he’s “an executive guy.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tucker Carlson Gets Job Offer With Higher Salary Than Fox News
Fox News boss Rupert Murdoch may have made a critical mistake firing star host Tucker Carlson.
Carlson already has a job offer from another network and he is being offered a big raise.
The owner of San Diego-based One America News (OAN) offered Carlson a job and said he wants to pay him $25 million per year to join its network.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tucker Carlson has posted a cryptic video to Twitter in which he claimed he had been silenced by Fox News, ending with a tantalizing: ‘See you soon’.
The 53-year-old was informed on Monday morning that he was being fired from Fox News, where he was their most-watched news host.
He was not given a reason.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Regulators Warn AI Firms to Comply With Laws, Say They Already Have Power to Crack Down on Misuse
U.S. federal government regulators have issued a warning to artificial intelligence (AI) companies about potential misuse of the rapidly advancing technology.
On Tuesday, several federal government agencies warned that they already have the power to prevent unlawful “bias in algorithms and technologies” marketed as AI.
Four federal agencies joined forces to issue a statement on AI: The Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
In a joint statement, the agencies noted that artificial intelligence is quickly becoming mainstream in society.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: Women Horrified to Learn Ice Cream They Just Ate Was Made of Bugs
Video from 60 Second Docs recirculating on social media shows a group of women trying ice cream made from bugs, and their reactions are about what you’d expect.
The 2018 video begins by explaining all the wonderful benefits of eating bugs, like more vitamins and a smaller carbon footprint, before showing how an ice cream alternative is made from the larvae of Black Soldier flies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Despite numerous speeches touting the EU’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions and climate neutrality by 2050, European Council President Charles Michel is racking up an enormous amount of time flying by private jet, which has cost EU taxpayers €700,000 just in 2022.
Michel does not hesitate to fly his jet to even nearby locations, such as Paris and Strasbourg, with the EU head booking flights with Luxaviation. Not only are the private jet trips producing an enormous amount of CO2, but they also cost a five-digit euro sum per trip, according to French newspaper Le Monde.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French President Emmanuel Macron is now travelling around France with his own electric generator as protesting French unions keep cutting off power during his regional visits, a report claims.
Under massive pressure as a result of his controversial pension reforms, Macron is currently undertaking a public-relations blitz in France in the hopes of rallying the general public to his side.
However, his whistle-stop tours of various regions across the country have not been going well, with the President’s visits often being met with protesters noisily banging pots and pans in the hopes of derailing the PR stunt.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Governing Greens Support Collapse: Turns Out People Don’t Like Energy Poverty
Support for Germany’s ruling green party has reportedly collapsed after the country rushed to shut down all remaining nuclear power plants, and ruled against gas central heating from next year.
Germany’s Greens are no longer one of the top three most popular political parties in Germany, with ongoing environmentalist-driven scandals over nuclear power and home heating pushing the party below 15 per cent support.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Signals it May Withdraw Patriot Missiles From Poland Even as War Rages Nearby
A few days ago, the spokesperson of the German Ministry of Defense announced its plan to withdraw Patriot missile batteries from Poland and Slovakia “to optimize limited military resources.” A ministry spokesman quoted by the Funke media group stated that the deployment of Patriot units in Poland will end in June and in Slovakia by year’s end.
This decision surprised local residents near the city of Zamosc in eastern Poland, where the missile are currently located, given Russia’s ongoing conflict in neighboring Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary continues to punch above its political weight by shining a beacon of light for conservatives across the world and proving that conservative ideologies can still be successful despite the global trend in favor of progressive politics, according to Miklós Szanthó, a Hungarian lawyer and political analyst.
Speaking to Zoltan Kovacs, state secretary for international communications and relations, in the latest episode of his “The Bold Truth About Hungary” podcast, Szanthó praised the “success story” that Hungary has been over the past decade from a conservative perspective, a story widely recognized by conservative colleagues globally who view Hungary “not only as a lighthouse for this conservative renaissance,” but also see Budapest as a “hub for conservatives to come together to share ideas, to change or exchange recipes for conservative success.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poles are opposed to the EU’s policy of banning combustion engine vehicles and to ideas circulating in the EU on forests, meat, clothes and a cashless economy, according to a poll carried out by the European Policy Research Center (CBPE)
The poll reports that 67 percent of respondents are opposed to an EU rule that will ban Europeans from registering combustion engine vehicles starting in 2035. The idea of the EU ban is supported by only 28 percent of Poles.
The opposition to the EU ban on such vehicles is seen across a broad spectrum of Polish society, including urban and rural inhabitants, as well as both those with higher degrees and those who have only finished high school.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poles Fear Poverty in Retirement and Plan to Work Longer
Poles are increasingly questioning their retirement plans and many are preparing to work longer to make ends meet.
Surveys show that 77 percent of Poles express fear that their pension will not allow them to live a decent life, and 55 percent assume they will have to work longer than the current retirement age, according to the latest “Polish Labor Market Barometer” published by the Personnel Service HR agency.
The biggest motivation for 38 percent of people to work longer is a significant increase in their future pension, especially for women, with 43 percent of women in this segment saying this was their biggest motivation, compared to 34 percent of men.
For 28 percent of workers, they plan to adjust their work to their age and physical ability.
In addition, 5 percent of Polish workers who plan to work longer say the key reason is the private medical insurance offered by the employer.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) held a hearing on Tuesday into allegations of systematic discrimination against German firms and companies in tendering procedures in Hungary, but the committee refused to hear Arne Gobert, president of the German Economic Club, which brings together German companies and enterprises operating in Hungary.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland Destroys Its Weapons Instead of Giving Them to Ukraine
Despite growing international pressure, Switzerland is instead destroying older air defense systems that it has decommissioned. The country claims that sending weapons to a warring party would violate its historical neutrality policy.
Switzerland has also banned other countries from sending Swiss-made weapons to the conflict. The country is famous for manufacturing high-quality small firearms.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: 45-Year-Old Marathon Runner ‘Dies Suddenly’ on Way Home After Completing Race
A 45-year-old man, who has been described as a “very experienced runner”, died suddenly on his way home after completing the London Marathon on Sunday.
Steve Shanks, a veteran of “many marathons”, tragically passed away while returning to his home in Nottinghamshire after completing the 26.2 mile race. So far, no cause of death has been determined.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish President Erdogan Hospitalized After Suffering Heart Attack
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack on April 26, 2023.
According to the statement issued by the presidency, Erdogan was taken to the hospital in critical condition and received treatment for myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack.
The President’s office also announced that all of Erdogan’s pre-election speeches and public events have been cancelled until May 3rd, two weeks before the election. The announcement has caused uncertainty in the political sphere, as Erdogan’s re-election campaign was already facing significant opposition from other political parties.
Erdogan has been in power since 2003, serving as Prime Minister until 2014 and then as President. He has been a controversial figure, with his administration facing criticism from various groups and individuals over issues such as freedom of speech and human rights violations.
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
China to Send Peace Envoy to Ukraine, Xi Tells Zelenskyy in Call
Chinese President Xi Jinping told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a call Wednesday that he will send a peace envoy to the war torn nation as Russia continues its brutal assault.
According to a government statement on the call, China will send an envoy to not only Kyiv, but other nations as well “to conduct in-depth communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.”
The statement did not confirm whether Xi, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, will also send a representative to Moscow to discuss peace in Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Putin Allies Warn West to Back Off Ukraine With Nuclear War Talk
Russian leaders have again accused the United States and NATO nations of pushing the world towards a “hot, full-scale World War III” by helping Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion.
Top allies of Russian president Vladimir Putin have made just the latest threats that continued American involvement in their attempt to conquer Ukraine will end in a third world war, with particular mention given to nuclear and biological weapons. Evidently meant for global consumption, the hostile remarks and threats are amplified by the Kremlin’s own English-language news service.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Deploys Its Most Modern Tank in Ukraine
Russia began deploying its most modern tank, the T-14 Armata, to Ukraine, according to a report from Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
The T-14 Armata, which has been in development since 2012, was heralded as a super tank in the press in 2016, and even Western experts feared that the new Russian tank could outperform its NATO rivals such as the US M1 Abrams, the British Challenger 2 or the German Leopard 2. However, until recently, these tanks were not used in the war in Ukraine, which could be because they were too expensive and featured too many technical issues.
Now, however, RIA Novosti has reported that Russia has started using Armatas on the front.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Cinemas Show Disney Movies Despite Boycott Over Ukraine War
At a movie theatre in central Moscow this month, people had come to watch an illicit film. It wasn’t a documentary about the war in Ukraine or political persecution under Vladimir Putin’s regime. It was “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Russian cinemas were supposed to have been left without most of the Hollywood blockbusters that had been the core of the country’s movie fare pre-war.
Within the first month of the war, the U.S.’ major movie studios announced they were pausing theatrical releases of their new movies in Russia, as Western governments imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow. Disney, which produced the new “Avatar,” said it was doing so in response to “unprovoked invasion and tragic humanitarian crisis.” Warner Bros, Paramount, Sony Pictures and Universal also stopped their releases.
But more than a year on, most major U.S. blockbusters are widely available in Russian movie theaters, which are circumventing the de facto boycott by illegally screening high quality pirated copies. With authorities doing little to stop this — and at times even encouraging the practice — it means Russian movie-goers are still able to watch most of the same movies as the rest of the world.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
During the call — which was initiated by Kyiv — Chinese President Xi Jinping told Volodymyr Zelensky that ‘talks and negotiation’ were the ‘only way out’ of the war with Russia, according to Chinese state media.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
The retired All Black, Sydney Roosters and Canterbury Bulldogs star has been the public face for the construction of the $5 million Hurstville Masjid in a sleepy backstreet of Sydney’s inner south.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Harvard Hires Lockdown Queen Former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern
Harvard University has hired former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as its first Knight Tech Governance Leadership Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. The lockdown queen’s fellowship is set to begin this fall.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tedros Adhanom: WHO Chief May Face Genocide Charges
An American economist nominated for the Nobel peace prize has called for the head of the World Health Organisation to be prosecuted for genocide over his alleged involvement in directing Ethiopia’s security forces.
David Steinman accused Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, 55, who took over at the WHO three years ago, of being one of three officials in control of the Ethiopian security services from 2013 to 2015.
Dr Tedros was the country’s health minister from 2005 to 2012 and its foreign minister until 2016, when his Tigray People’s Liberation Front party was the main member of the ruling coalition.
Mr Steinman, an economist and campaigner nominated for the peace prize last year, lodged the complaint at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
| — Hat tip: Steen | [Return to headlines] |
Brazilian Judge Temporarily Suspends Telegram App
A federal judge in Brazil on Wednesday ordered a temporary suspension of messaging app Telegram, citing the social media platform’s alleged failure to provide all information Federal Police requested on neo-Nazi chat groups. The move is regarded as part of the country’s push against a rise in school violence.
The judge also increased the daily fine for non-compliance to 1 million reais (about $200,000), from 100,000 reais previously, according to the ruling, which was provided by the Justice Ministry’s press office.
The ruling from a federal court in Espirito Santo state said “the facts shown by police authorities show a clear purpose of Telegram of not cooperating with the investigation.” Brazil’s federal police confirmed in a statement that the push to block Telegram is already on course.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
40 Migrants Arrive in Crotone Following Sea Rescue
ANSA) — ROME, APR 26 — A group of 40 migrants and refugees arrived in the port of Crotone in Italy’s southern Calabria region on Wednesday morning after being intercepted by Finance Police around 20 miles off the coast and tugged to shore by a Coast Guard patrol boat.
The group consisted of 35 Afghans, 2 Iranians and 3 Pakistanis and included 8 women and an accompanied child.
They arrived on board a sail boat that had allegedly departed from Turkey and been at sea for 5 days, of which the last two in difficult sailing conditions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Arrivals Continue on Lampedusa
(ANSA) — ROME, APR 26 — Two fishing boats respectively carrying 115 and 125 migrants and refugees arrived in Lampedusa on Wednesday, taking to 821 the number of people arriving on the tiny island in 15 separate landings since midnight.
The numbers are updated to 11 am local time.
The fishing vessels both departed from Zuwara in Libya and the people on board were from Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Palestine, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan and Syria.
Also on Wednesday morning, three smaller vessels carrying a total of 146 migrants and refugees were rescued by Coast Guard vessels in the Italian search and rescue area and accompanied to port.
All three boats had departed from Tunisia. (ANSA).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Asylum Claimants Make Up 30% of Toronto’s Homeless Shelter Population
Data out of Toronto shows that asylum claimants make up a third of the population of homeless shelters.
Total occupancy by asylum claimants reached 30% in municipal shelters last month, with some staying as long as six months at a time.
“We’re running about 9,000 beds per night in the shelter system, and right now about 2,700 of those beds on a nightly basis are being utilized by refugee claimants,” said the head of Toronto’s shelter programming, Gord Tanner.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Channel Migrants ‘Quickly Turn to Crime’ When They Arrive in Britain, Home Secretary Claims
Some Channel migrants ‘very quickly’ get involved in crime after reaching UK shores and have become a ‘notable feature of everyday crime-fighting’, said Suella Braverman.
The Home Secretary said chief constables had briefed her on small boat arrivals from northern France becoming embroiled in drug gangs, exploitation and prostitution.
She said: ‘Not in all cases, but it is becoming a notable feature of everyday crime fighting in England and Wales.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The surge of new arrivals illegally entering Britain via the English Channel over the past few years has threatened cultural cohesiveness, and the British government should “heed the warning” of anti-mass migration protests across the country, U.K. Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has claimed.
In a speech at the Policy Exchange think tank on Tuesday, the Conservative minister said that mass irregular migration will be one of the defining characteristics of the 21st century. He said that while Britain has previously been shielded to an extent from the wider crisis affecting Europe due to its geographical proximity, just across the English Channel, which he states was “once a barrier more impenetrable than any wall,” the stretch of water is now seen as a “gateway for those in search of better economic prospects” due to living in an age of “cheap manufactured goods, transnational smuggling gangs, and instant communications.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DeSantis Poised to Pass ‘Toughest Immigration Crackdown in the Nation’
DeSantis is proposing legislation criminalizing human smuggling and falsification of employment eligibility as felonies, with the New York Times calling the move the “toughest immigration crackdown in the nation.” With Republican supermajorities in both chambers, the proposals are likely to become law.
“With this legislation, Florida is continuing to crack down on the smuggling of illegal aliens, stopping municipalities from issuing ID cards to people here illegally, and ensuring that employers are hiring American citizens or those here legally,” DeSantis said in February.
The proposed legislation would make it a felony to smuggle an illegal alien or falsify employment eligibility records. It also requires voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship and Florida residency.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Political leaders across Western Europe are beginning to jump on trends set by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, particularly on the pressing issue of tackling illegal migration, an Austrian news outlet has claimed.
According to an article published on Tuesday by Zur Zeit, Europe is starting to change course and wake up to the fact that secure borders are fundamental to a functioning society.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: 12-Year-Old Robbed by ‘Migrant Teens’ at School Bus Stop
A 12-year-old boy was attacked and robbed by two youths of “southern appearance” at a bus stop in Germany this week, according to reports.
The disturbing incident unfolded at around 3:45 p.m. on Monday afternoon in Herne, a city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The young victim was waiting for a bus outside the Hibernia School when two teenagers approached him.
The suspects grabbed the boy and held him down while stealing his bag and belongings, local police explained in a press release.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Police Stop Van Carrying 29 Syrians in Suspected Human Smuggling Case
A van carrying 29 people from Syria pushed a patrol car off the road as officers tried to stop the vehicle near Germany’s border with Poland, police said Wednesday. No one was hurt.
Off-duty officers noticed the van weaving through traffic and nearly causing an accident near Goerlitz on Tuesday evening, federal police said in a statement. The Hungarian-registered Citroen Jumper’s back door was open at one point, and the officers noticed that there appeared to be people inside.
Police tried to stop the van as it headed toward Markersdorf, a few miles further west. A patrol car was pushed off the road and its right side damaged, while the van came to a halt and the driver tried to flee on foot.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Maricopa County Has Canceled Over 200 Voter Registrations From Illegal Immigrants Since 2015, Report
Maricopa County data shows that voter registrations for 222 foreign nationals have been canceled since 2015, with nine of them casting 12 ballots over four federal elections, according to an election integrity watchdog.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) published a summary of a Maricopa County report on Wednesday of the canceled voter registration numbers, noting that the longest period of time that a foreign national was registered to vote was 27 years.
Since 2015, the year with the most amount of votes cast by those whose voter registrations were canceled was 2020, when five votes were cast, according to the report.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A group of 673 “woke” university professors has signed a letter opposing courses on the U.S. Constitution and America’s founding from being taught to college students.
Hundreds of professors at the University of North Carolina signed a public letter on Tuesday.
It opposes legislation that would require university students to take courses on America’s government and founding documents.
The 673 UNC Chapel Hill professors revealed the public letter Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FIRST ON FOX: A nonprofit law firm is filing a civil rights complaint against Mars, Inc., alleging the food company is engaging is discriminatory hiring and training practices.
America First Legal (AFL) sent a letter Wednesday to the Washington, D.C., field office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requesting an investigation into the candy giant for what it claims “are strong reasons to believe that Mars is intentionally and systemically violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by unlawfully conditioning hiring, promotion, and training on race, color, national origin, and/or sex.”
Citing Mars’ stated goal to “achieve gender balance across one hundred percent of its leadership teams” as well to ensure “leadership teams and Associate representation… reflect the race and ethnicities of the labor force in the markets in which it operates,” AFL argued the company is effectively establishing quotas based on immutable characteristics in violation of Title VII.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The ire of conservative consumers has now focused on makeup brand Maybelline for partnering with trans woman and biological male Dylan Mulvaney for a recent makeup ad.
To celebrate Mulvaney’s gender transition and to promote Maybelline makeup, the brand collaborated with the TikTok star on a video featuring the trans woman applying several Maybelline products.
Mulvaney posted the ad to her TikTok account last month.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DOJ Sues Tennessee Over Ban on Gender-Related Treatments for Minors
The Department of Justice on Wednesday announced that it had filed a complaint against state law in Tennessee barring certain gender-related treatments for minors.
“The Justice Department today filed a complaint challenging Tennessee Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), a recently enacted law that denies necessary medical care to youth based solely on who they are,” reads a DOJ press release. “The complaint alleges that SB 1’s ban on providing certain medically necessary care to transgender minors violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Government Expands Euthanasia Access to Children of All Ages
The Netherlands is expanding its child euthanasia policy to include terminally ill and suffering children of any age.
The European nation will now allow doctors to assist in taking the life of sick children from one to 12 years old with parental consent.
The Dutch government claimed this was the “only reasonable alternative” to ending their suffering, when comfort care was not enough.
“This concerns a small group of terminally ill children who suffer hopelessly and unbearably, whose palliative care options are not sufficient to relieve their suffering and who are expected to die in the foreseeable future. For that group, termination of life is the only reasonable alternative to end the hopeless and unbearable suffering of the child,” the Dutch government announced in a press release.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk has suspended a Twitter user who created a ‘youth attracted person’ flag to support pedophiles.
The billionaire tech CEO shut down the account — under the username Pot Luck Pony — and condemned it in a tweet.
The account, which had no identifiable name associated with it, had earlier posted the blue, white, pink and yellow flag on their timeline.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A school district in Georgia settled a lawsuit and agreed to reinstate a substitute teacher after she was fired for expressing concern over the drawings in a picture book that was shown to elementary students.
Bryan County Schools has agreed to rehire Lindsey Barr and pay $181,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees after school officials fired her for raising alarm about a picture book that was shown to kindergartners, including her own children, at the McAllister Elementary School read-aloud program.
The book, “All Are Welcome,” reportedly contains several illustrations of same-sex couples parenting and expecting children. Barr asked the school’s principal if her children could be excused from the reading hour because she said the book contradicted her religious beliefs.
“The public schools have no business pushing radical ideology on our students, especially the youngest of our students,” Barr previously told Fox News Digital. “They have no business doing that.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘I’m Not a Woman’: Trans Marathon Runner to Return Medal After Beating Thousands in Female Category
A trans runner who beat over 14,000 women while competing in the female category of the London Marathon has admitted he is “not a woman” and offered to return the medal he received for his performance.
Glenique Frank, a man identifying as a woman who ran in the NYC Marathon as a man last year, “made use of a loophole in Athletics UK’s new rules excluding biological males who have gone through puberty from competing in women’s events to run the London Marathon on Sunday,” Breitbart’s Oliver JJ Lane reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Instagram influencer, model and Trump supporter Bri Teresi took a rifle to Bud Light, Tampax tampons, and lingerie made by her former employer Tuesday night, protesting their recent woke marketing schemes.
Teresi, who recently announced the termination of her modeling gig with lingerie company Honey Birdette over the brand using a biological man to model its ladies’ underwear, posted a video to her Twitter gunning down the brand’s underwear as well of cases of Bud Light, and boxes of Tampax tampons at her outdoor gun range.
Teresi blasted the products in protest of each brand choosing to market them using trans people.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lia Thomas Demands Biden Give Trans Athletes More Access to Women’s Sports, Spaces
Transgender former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas has spoken out in support of Biden’s proposed changes to Title IX that would prohibit an overarching ban on biological males competing in women’s sports.
“I started swimming when I was five years old. It has taught me so much, it has given me so many opportunities to learn, grow, develop, and connect with my peers, opportunities that I wouldn’t have gotten if I didn’t have access to athletics,” said Thomas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Report: Tucker Carlson Was Ousted for Talking About Prayer, Christianity
A source told Vanity Fair that the primary reason for Tucker Carlson being ousted by Fox News was because he gave a speech on Friday night in which he talked about spirituality and prayer, something that “freaks Rupert (Murdoch) out.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Texas Police Release Video of Arrests After Antifa Attacks Peaceful Drag Show Protesters
Fort Worth, Texas, police released a video of what transpired Sunday before three Antifa members were arrested for attacking peaceful drag show protestors.
Video captured of the incident on April 23 shows a small group from “Protect Texas Kids” setup for a protest in front of Fort Brewery and Pizza, which is located across the street from where a scheduled drag show event was to take place.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Biden’s Press SEC. Celebrates Herself for Being a “Queer” Lesbian
This week’s alphabet celebration belongs to the L’s as it is officially ‘Lesbian Visability Week’ according to the Biden administration, who celebrated by having Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tout herself while surrounded by a gaggle of other lesbians.
During Tuesday’s supposed press briefing, Jean-Pierre stated “This week is Lesbian Visibility Week, and as the first openly queer person to hold the position of press secretary for the President of the United States, I see every day how important visibility and representation are.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Woke Portland Grocery Store to Close After 50 Years in Business Due to Economic Issues
Food Front Cooperative Grocery in Northwest Portland closed its doors permanently on April 24 at 12 pm after 51 years, announcing in a letter posted to its website that the co-op’s general manager had stepped down as well as the store’s board.
The woke co-op’s General Manager Michael Balanoff had previously tendered his resignation with the co-op and the grocer’s board of directors said they do not have a path forward without a general manager.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Things are lining up now…
Erdogan has a heart attack…
Teddy is facing genocide charges..
And Trudeau has done so much yoga he can now suck his own c0€¥…
It’s pretty easy to auto-fellate when one is an invertebrate.
True if only he could stay busy [having carnal knowledge of] himself instead of his country every day the world would be a better place. If only Castro had used a rubber Canada would have been saved alot of heartache .
At the farthest frontier of Russia – in Kamchatka, an Uzbek pedophile was arrested, who raped three girls aged 11-12. The court imposed a sentence of 19 years in prison.
He denied his guilt until the very end.
https://www.dv.kp.ru/daily/27495.3/4753644/
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PiCTURE
https://gatesofvienna.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/gendernonbinary.jpg
Gender scientist gave conflicting answers in Fria Tider’s blind test
Asked to comment on made-up numbers in various cookbooks.
Gave almost identical answers even though the genders had been switched.
https://www.friatider.se/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/43tr56t56.jpg
Published on April 27, 2023
How scientific is gender studies? Fria Tider has asked randomly selected gender scientists at Swedish universities alternately why only 12 percent of images in cookbooks show men – and women – and received the same answer regardless of which gender was overrepresented.
In both cases, the researchers argued that our fabricated figures confirmed what is already known in gender studies.
Gender theory has been accused of being not real science but an ideology that has no place in education.
To test this claim, Fria Tider conducted a blind test by emailing gender studies departments at Swedish universities and asking them to comment on “empirical studies” for a thesis.
Half of the departments were asked to comment on a study showing that 88% of illustrations in cookbooks depict men and 12% women. The other institutions received the same study but with the numbers reversed: cookbooks with 12% men in the pictures and the rest women.
The gender scientists’ conclusions from the studies turned out to be virtually identical regardless of which figures they commented on: in both cases, they said it confirmed the theory of structural sexism.
Mostly men: “The result fits well with research”
The universities that commented on the result with the most men in the photos all agreed that it confirmed the higher status of men.
“The result is consistent with research,” writes Maria Jansson from the Centre for Feminist Social Studies at Örebro University, claiming that there is “a kind of hierarchy in the division of labor you have identified, namely that men and their work are often highlighted”.
Lena Martinsson, professor of gender studies at the University of Gothenburg, agrees. It “is part of a tradition where what men do is considered more interesting and important”, she explains the results.
“It is men who are portrayed as experts”, is also the analysis of Lovise Haj Brade from the Forum for Gender Studies at Mid Sweden University, who adds that “men are more likely to use themselves as a brand than women who may want to let the product speak for itself”.
Sofie Tornhill, from Research in Gender Studies at Linnaeus University, thinks that the study confirms that “chores and jobs that are highly valued are often linked to men”.
Mostly women: “Not so surprising from a gender studies perspective”
The universities that commented on the opposite result, with more women in the photos, said it confirms the lower status of women.
“This empirical finding highlights how gender marking of work and tasks is done in our everyday life”, says Britt-Inger Keisu from the Center for Gender Studies at Umeå University. “Unpaid work such as everyday cooking” is “femininely gendered”, she explains.
Her colleague Ann Öhman agrees, arguing that the overrepresentation “reflects a traditional and gendered division of labor”.
Maja Herstad at the Center for Gender Research at Karlstad University also claims that the study confirms gender theory. “For example, there are gendered associations with food/cooking”, she explains.
The Forum for Gender Studies and Gender Equality at Linköping University responds through Cecilia Åsberg, who finds the results “not so surprising from a gender studies perspective”. According to her, the overrepresentation confirms that cooking is “expected to be done by women”.
“Expectations of us as humans, how we should be, are reinforced and conveyed powerfully in images and everyday media. It is therefore important to examine them critically, as you have done!”, the professor writes.
Accidentally doing a blind test on herself
Despina Tzimoula, lecturer at Malmö University with a focus on gender studies, was about to comment on the result with most men but accidentally misread it and thought it was most women.
“This is consistent with the gender contract in our society. That is, there is a perception that women are the ones who cook”, she explained what she thought was the result.
After it was pointed out to her that the opposite was true, she no longer wanted to explain the result and instead said that the answers can be found in feminist literature. “My advice is that you start from e.g. Yvonne Hirdman. That you get a comment from me is just a speculation”.
Does not want to comment
Fria Tider has asked the gender institutions to comment on the results of the blind test and asked the following two questions:
* Gender researchers have claimed that two opposite results confirm one and the same theory. How does this relate to scientific requirements for rigor and objectivity?
* Does it make sense for universities to pay for gender researchers’ research when they seem to interpret all results to fit an already predetermined opinion?
None of the universities have chosen to respond.
Women are just obsessed with all that gender and sex blame game.
Recently, there was a woman who went into the deep forest and killed her 6 year old son and commited suicide afterwards. When I listened to the females discussing the case, I found out that it was all her husband’s fault.
And just like that, it’s all men’s fault.
The lack of logic and the stereotypical tendencies against men would be funny if these people didn’t vote and have citizen rights…
800 migrants arrived safe.
Sigh
800 too many.