A teacher at a high school in the French city of Arras died after having his throat slit by a Chechen militant shouting “Allahu Akhbar”. President Emmanuel Macron said that a similar attack had been thwarted by police in another part of France. Meanwhile, an employee of the Israeli embassy in China was stabbed several times on the sidewalk in front of the embassy by a foreigner of unspecified ethnicity. The alleged perpetrator is in custody.
In other news, the IDF has advised Palestinian civilians in the northern region of Gaza to evacuate to the southern part of the Gaza Strip, presumably in advance of a massive IDF ground assault on Gaza City.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Caroline Glick, Dean, DV, LP, McN, MM, Reader from Chicago, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, 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.
German Financial Hole is Deeper Than Expected
The German government downgraded its economic growth projections for 2023 and beyond in its revised autumn forecast published on Wednesday, October 11th, pointing to a slower recovery after the country officially entered recession earlier this year, Euractive reported.
Whereas Berlin’s spring projection predicted a mild growth of 0.4%, the government now anticipates that the German economy will instead contract by the same amount—a 0.8-point revision. At the same time, Germany updated its forecast for 2024 as well, anticipating only 1.3% growth instead of the previously forecast 1.6%, and only 1.5% in 2025.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Record 49% of Americans Say “High Prices Are Eroding Living Standards”; UMich
UMich inflation expectations soared in preliminary October data, with the year-ahead inflation expectations rose from 3.2% last month to 3.8% this month. The current reading is the highest since May 2023 and remains well above the 2.3-3.0% range seen in the two years prior to the pandemic. Long-run inflation expectations edged up from 2.8% last month to 3.0% this month…
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
1400 Athletes Died Suddenly Since End of 2020
Since late 2020, a staggering 1,400 athletes have died after suffering sudden serious health issues.
Those 1,400 sudden deaths were among the 2,003 athletes who were reported to have suffered major unexpected health issues.
The number of deaths among athletes has continued to rise this year.
As Slay News reported in July, 1,884 cardiac arrests were recorded among athletes with 1,310 dead.
Good Sciencing has been maintaining a non-exhaustive and continuously growing list of mainly young athletes who suffered major medical issues in 2021, 2022, and the first half of 2023.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Americans Killed by Hamas Rises to 27, Over a Dozen Captive, as US Arranges Evacuation Flights
Update(1355ET): The White House has confirmed that it has hostage negotiation experts in Israel working with the government and advising on hostage recovery. This as the death toll of Americans killed in the Saturday Hamas attack has risen to 27.
The numbers of missing Americans now stands at 14, according to a briefing by National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. These are presumed to be in captivity in Gaza. “The U.S. does not know anything about the condition of the U.S. hostages held by Hamas,” Kirby confirmed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Trips in Philadelphia Before Saying Hamas Makes ‘Al Qaeda Look Pure’
WASHINGTON — President Biden stumbled twice Friday while walking up the steps of a stage in Philadelphia — before telling his audience that Al Qaeda terrorists seem “pure” next to those from “evil” Hamas.
The 80-year-old president initially staggered as he began to climb a small set of stairs to the stage, then lurched forward as he threatened to lose his balance completely — recalling a bad spill he took earlier this year during the Air Force Academy commencement exercises.
When Biden regained his footing, he theatrically gripped the railing with both hands and mugged for his audience before making his way to the lectern and giving an unexpected appraisal of the global terror network that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, killing 2,977 people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: President Trump Expresses Support for Israel and Netanyahu on Social Media
In a Truth Social post made Friday afternoon, 2024 GOP frontrunner declared “I stand with Israel,” and showed support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I stand with Bibi,” Trump added, using the nickname for Netanyahu.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Brick Hurled at ‘Doxxing Truck’ at Harvard That Named Students Who Blamed Israel for Hamas Attacks
An enraged crowd near Harvard University hurled expletives — and a brick — at a “doxxing truck” circling the campus Friday morning to expose students who allegedly signed a letter blaming Israel for last weekend’s Hamas attack, The Post has learned.
Adam Guillette — the president of the nonprofit news watchdog Accuracy in Media that deployed the vehicle — said the rowdy mob blocked the female driver of the digital billboard-bearing box truck and began “banging on the windows, shouting things at the driver.”
“Once you get out of that truck I’m going to kick your f—king ass!’“ one person allegedly yelled at the driver, Guillette exclusively told The Post.
The next thing the driver heard was a brick hitting the vehicle as a security guard hired by Guillette rushed to the back of the truck.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democrat Election Clerk Admits to Ignoring Mail-in Ballot Law During Bombshell Testimony
During a bombshell testimony in a Connecticut court, a Democrat election clerk has admitted under oath that she has been ignoring the law regarding the handling of mail-in ballots.
The admission came during a Thursday hearing over the Bridgeport Mayoral Primary in Connecticut.
A judge has begun examining evidence in the legal case to overturn the outcome of the election.
The investigation comes in the wake of a scandal that has rocked the state’s largest city.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Florida teacher who was beaten unconscious by a 270-pound student in a viral video has refused to help the teen’s defense lighten his sentence, according to a report.
Brendan Depa, then 17, violently hurled Matanzas High School paraprofessional Joan Naydich to the ground, then could be seen in the video kicking and punching her in the back and head more than a dozen times before he was pulled off her by other staff.
The troubled teen told investigators he attacked Naydich because teachers ordered him to stop playing a video game on a Nintendo Switch.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FTX Used $100 Million of Customer Funds to Bribe Chinese Officials, Accomplice Testifies
Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX used customer funds to bribe corrupt Chinese officials, former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend and accomplice has testified in court.
Caroline Ellison stated in court that Bankman-Fried had directed her to commit fraud-related crimes.
She also said Bankman-Fried, the Democratic Party’s second-largest donor in 2022, used loans to make political donations.
Ellison told the court that $100 million in customer deposits were used to bribe Chinese officials.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Harper’s Bazaar Editor Forced to Apologize for Pro-Hamas Social Media Posts
Just days after hundreds of civilians were massacred by Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Israel, Harper’s Bazaar editor-in-chief Samira Nasr said in a post that the Jewish state’s move to cut off water to Gaza was “the most inhuman thing I’ve seen in my life.”
Nasr issued an apology on Thursday, however some have called into question whether it was sincere.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hydroxychloroquine Reduces Deaths in COVID Patients, Study Shows
A new peer-reviewed study has found that using hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid patients significantly reduced the risk of death.
Researchers discovered that people who took hydroxychloroquine in combination with another drug while hospitalized with COVID-19 were less likely to die than those who didn’t.
Hydroxychloroquine is already widely used against malaria and arthritis.
However, after it was touted by President Donald Trump as a treatment for Covid during the early days of the pandemic, hydroxychloroquine was swiftly demonized by the Democrats and their allies in the corporate media.
In Belgium, the drug was given to hundreds of patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
British Perfume tycoon Jo Malone’s son helps lead the Harvard Palestinian student group that was behind the pro-terror statement that blamed Israel for the Hamas massacre that left more than 1,000 Israelis dead.
The billionaire’s son, Josh Willcox, is one of the three Harvard students who runs the school’s Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
The group, which released a pro-terror statement in response to the recent Hamas attacks against Israel, said, in part, that “We hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jewish Schools in London, New York Close Doors Over Security Concerns as Antisemitism Surges
At least four Jewish faith schools in London shut on Friday, incidentally the Hamas “day of jihad”, citing security fears for their pupils.
Four schools including Torah Vodaas Primary, Ateres Beis Yaakov Primary, and Menorah High School in London are closed until next week, apparently part of an emerging move in some Western cities to close businesses and organisations today after a global threat of Islamic jihad was made.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jim Justice Soars Past Joe Manchin in West Virginia Senate Race: Poll
West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice stands well ahead of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., in the race to represent the state in the U.S. Senate, according to a recent survey.
The governor outpaced the incumbent senator 13% in the latest Emerson College survey, with 41% of voters backing Justice and 28% supporting Manchin. The Democratic senator has not announced his reelection plans.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
John Fetterman Roasted for Saying America Isn’t Sending ‘Best and Brightest’ to DC: ‘Pot Met Kettle’
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was roasted on social media after he claimed Wednesday America is failing to send its “best and brightest” to serve in Congress.
“You all need to know that America is not sending their best and brightest to Washington, D.C.,” Fetterman remarked during a late-night interview with Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show,” sparking laughter from the audience. “Sometimes you literally just can’t believe these people are making the decisions that are determining the government here. It’s actually scary.”
Fetterman’s comments came in response to a question from Colbert about whether it was “awkward” to face a lawmaker in person who he posted a meme about.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Josh Hawley Calls for Investigation Into Funding of Anti-Israel College Protests
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has called for a federal investigation into the funding behind anti-Israel protests that have sprung up in support of Hamas terrorists on college campuses across America.
Hawley has slammed academic institutions for allowing student groups to launch demonstrations supporting Hamas terrorism and blaming Israel for the attacks.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Admonishes DOJ for “Wasting the Court’s Time” in Trump Documents Case
Authored by T.J. Muscaro and Catherine Yang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
Attorney David Harbach with the special counsel’s office threw out a new argument during the two Garcia hearings scheduled Thursday, drawing ire from the judge for “wasting the court’s time” by not filing the arguments and case citations the motions the government had already submitted.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
On Thursday, one of Israel’s wealthiest couples resigned from their positions on the executive board of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in response to President Claudine Gay’s less than adequate response to a statement signed by dozens of student groups about Hamas’ massacre of civilians.
Idan Ofer and his wife, Batia, called Gay’s handling of the situation “shocking and insensitive,” saying that she took far too long to condemn the statement, which openly stated that Israel, not the Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist group, was to blame for the attacks that killed hundreds.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mike Pence Called ‘Gay’ During New Hampshire Campaign Stop
During a campaign stop in New Hampshire, former VP and current presidential candidate Mike Pence was heckled as “gay.”
Speaking to reporters about his campaign, Pence explained why he was running.
“We’re running because we simply believe, with all humility, that I’m the most qualified, most experienced, the most tested conservative seeking the nomination,” Pence said as camera shutters clicked.
At that, one of the crowd of reporters piped up, asking “Mike Pence, are you gonna tell them? Tell them.”
Pence ignored him, continuing his campaign message. “We’re gonna commit our campaign to the American people,” he said.
“You promised today was our coming out day,” the man in the crowd said, speaking over Pence. “Mike Pence you are gay,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Minnesota Hit With Major Bird Flu Outbreak as Thanksgiving Approaches
Minnesota has been hit with a devastating bird flu outbreak as the state prepares to provide much of the nation with turkeys for Thanksgiving.
On Wednesday, officials announced Minnesota’s first major outbreak of bird flu in 2023.
Minnesota is America’s largest producer of turkeys.
State officials said Wednesday that a flock of 140,000 turkeys was killed at a Meeker County farm.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New York City Councilwoman Arrested for Carrying a Gun While Observing Pro-Palestinian Rally
New York City councilwoman Inna Vernikov was arrested Thursday after allegedly being spotted carrying a gun while observing a pro-Palestinian rally at CUNY’s Brooklyn College.
The New York Post reported a source indicated “[Vernikov] was observed with the but-end of a firearm (handgun) protruding from the front portion of her pants.”
She allegedly observed the rally from around noon until 2:45 p.m. She surrendered to police around 2:50 a.m. Friday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Passengers who were in the subway car when homeless man Jordan Neely launched into a maniacal rant described his words as “insanely threatening” — and said they hid and prayed until ex-Marine Daniel Penny stepped in and placed him in a chokehold, according to a new filing seeking to dismiss the controversial criminal case.
Lawyers for Penny — the young former Marine accused of killing Neely during the May 1 struggle on a Manhattan train — also wrote in their motion that the medical examiner who testified to the grand jury never gave any evidence that Neely had died from asphyxiation due to the chokehold.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Oregon Gun Shop Refuses to Sell Firearm to Antifa-Affiliated Man
An Oregon man claims that a gun store is refusing to sell him a firearm because of his affiliation with Antifa.
Mark Iannicelli, a self-proclaimed member of Antifa, which is a far-left extremist group with ties to terrorism, alleges that Florence Gun Shop refused to service him a background check which is required to complete the sale of a firearm.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Overdose Deaths in Seattle Area at Record High, Topping 1,010 in 2023
King County, Washington has surpassed last year’s record number of overdose deaths with two month remaining in this year.
According to the King County overdose deaths data dashboard Washington’s most populous county may also have set a record for the state with 1,010 overdose deaths in 2023. 1,001 people died from overdoses in all of 2022.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pit Bull Attack Leaves Texas Grandmother Hospitalized With Over 100 Stitches
A grandmother was savagely mauled by three pit bulls while walking down a neighborhood in Austin, Texas.
The brutal attack left Maria Perez, 55, with wounds requiring more than 100 stitches and now the family says they want justice.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poll From Earlier This Year Found More Democrats Sympathise With Palestinians Than With Israelis
A Gallup poll released in March of this year found that for the first time more Democrats in the U.S. sympathise with Palestinians than with Israelis, a stark finding in the midst of current events.
Gallup’s 2023 World Affairs Poll revealed that among Democrat voters 49% to just 38% said their sympathy lies more with the Palestinian side than with Israelis.
Democrats who said they are neutral also fell to 13%, a new low.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republicans Vote for Jim Jordan as Speaker Nominee in Second Try to Replace McCarthy
House Republicans voted Friday afternoon to tap Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan as speaker-designate as the lower chamber of Congress reached the 10-day mark without finding a replacement for the ousted Kevin McCarthy.
In closed-door balloting, Jordan (R-Ohio) bested Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), who had only announced his candidacy four hours earlier, 124-81.
Jordan also prevailed in a second vote to determine who would support him from the House floor, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) told The Post, with a slightly higher 152-55 tally for the Judiciary chairman.
No speakership votes are expected on the House floor until Monday evening at the earliest.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republican ‘Make Putin Pay’ Bill Uses Frozen Russian Assets to Fund Ukraine Aid
Republican Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) has introduced a new bill that seeks to use frozen Russian assets to reimburse American taxpayers for the billions of dollars in aid being sent to Ukraine.
McCormick introduced the legislation, called the “Make Putin Pay” Act, on Wednesday, according to a copy of the bill exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller.
Roughly $330 billion in assets of Russian officials and related oligarchs have been seized and frozen by the U.S. and NATO allies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Someone is Inscribing All of Wikileaks’ Infamous Afghan War Logs on Bitcoin
What’s started with a mysterious inscription on October 7 may end up turning into the latest global protest in support of journalist and activist Julian Assange.
As revealed by Bitcoin Magazine, an unknown “Project Spartacus” has formed in an attempt to immortalize on bitcoin the classified information that the U.S. government has long alleged Julian Assange illegally provided to journalists in the infamous Afghan War Diary.
Following the inscription, an anonymous individual has contacted Bitcoin Magazine claiming responsibility for the project, which aims to inscribe the tens of thousands of logs from the Afghan War published by Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks in July 2010 into the bitcoin blockchain.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Stanford University has reportedly suspended an instructor for “identity-based targeting” of Jewish students as a result of Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists.
According to The Forward, the “non-faculty instructor” asked three students who were Jewish and Israeli to identify themselves during a required undergraduate course called “Civil, Liberal and Global Education.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Upholds “Actual Malice” Requirement of Defamation Cases
Leaning on the principles of Free Speech in the United States, the Supreme Court recently upheld the precedent of the seminal First Amendment case, New York Times v. Sullivan. This decision, much to the objection of Justice Clarence Thomas, preserves the “actual malice” hurdle that public figures must surmount to claim libel in civil court.
The Sullivan decision, dating back to 1964, stands as a bulwark against defamation suits slung towards media outlets by dissatisfied public figures. This time-honored safeguard requires such individuals to demonstrate that potentially damaging statements were made with “actual malice” to have any hope of prevailing in their libel accusations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators swarmed Manhattan streets Friday afternoon — as an Israeli contingent a fraction of its size pushed back — the same day an ex-Hamas leader issued a rallying cry for a global “day of Jihad.”
Helicopters whirled overhead as the protest began on CUNY’s Baruch College campus — starting with a group of about 100 — with the protesters taking part in the Friday afternoon call to prayer, observed by practicing Muslims.
Then cries of “Free, Free Palestine!” rang out in the crowd.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Huge election and referendums coming up in Poland this weekend.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Teacher in France is Stabbed to Death in Attack Investigated as Potential Terrorism
President Emmanuel Macron, who visited the school hours after the attack, said the victim “stepped in and probably saved many lives.”
ARRAS, France — A man of Chechen origin who was under surveillance by the French security services over suspected radicalization stabbed a teacher to death at his former high school and critically wounded two other people in northern France on Friday, authorities said.
The attack was being investigated as potential terrorism amid soaring global tensions over the war between Israel and Hamas. It also happened almost three years after another teacher, Samuel Paty. was beheaded by a radicalized Chechen near a Paris area school.
French anti-terror prosecutors were leading the investigation into the stabbings at the Gambetta-Carnot school, which enrolls students ages 11-18 and is located in the city of Arras, some 115 miles north of Paris.
President Emmanuel Macron, who visited the school hours after the attack, said the victim “stepped in and probably saved many lives.” Macron also said that police thwarted an “attempted attack” in another French region after the teacher’s fatal stabbing.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
‘An Absolute Scandal!’ Legia Warsaw Releases Footage of Its Owner Being Assaulted by Dutch Police
Polish football club Legia Warsaw has published footage showing its owner, Dariusz Mioduski, being manhandled and struck on the head by Dutch police after a game between AZ Alkmaar and Legia Warsaw on Oct. 5.
The treatment of supporters and staff of the Warsaw-based club has been roundly condemned in the Polish media and by both the governing conservatives and opposition politicians, all of whom have placed the blame on the local mayor and security services.
Legia claimed the published video footage, filmed during a UEFA European Conference League match, shows evidence of “xenophobia, discrimination, and aggression against Poles by the Dutch.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ancient Solar Storm Discovered in Tree Rings Reveals ‘Catastrophic’ Event 14,000 Years Ago
A new study, based on the analysis of growth rings in ancient trees, suggests that the most powerful solar storm on record slammed into Earth approximately 14,300 years ago. Should a storm of that intensity strike today, modern society would instantly collapse.
Researchers from the Collège de France, CEREGE, IMBE, Aix-Marseille University, and the University of Leeds published the new study in the Royal Society A journal. They measured radiocarbon levels in ancient trees preserved within the eroded banks of the Drouzet River near Gap, in the Southern French Alps, and found “tree trunks, which are subfossils — remains whose fossilization process is not complete — were sliced into tiny single tree-rings. Analysis of these individual rings identified an unprecedented spike in radiocarbon levels occurring precisely 14,300 years ago.”
They said, “By comparing this radiocarbon spike with measurements of beryllium, a chemical element found in Greenland ice cores, the team proposes that the spike was caused by a massive solar storm that would have ejected huge volumes of energetic particles into Earth’s atmosphere.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
BBC Criticised for Refusing to Call Hamas ‘Terrorists’
British officials have found it proportionate to label Hamas as “terrorist” for some time. But even after a week of utter terror, on which even the early reports have been filled with barbarism, the British Broadcasting Corporation believes the “T word” is too “loaded.”
Not that it doesn’t believe Hamas has committed “appalling atrocities,” which it has made quite clear. The matter, as long-time broadcaster and BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson wrote this week, simply revolves around the corporation’s “founding principles”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Do Poles Know Liberalism is Failing? An Interview With Jadwiga Emilewicz
Sunday will be the ultimate electoral showdown in European politics as Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) goes head to head with a turbo-charged Europhile opposition in what is easily the most salient EU election of the year.
Despite a buoyant economy and rising geopolitical fortune caused by the Ukrainian war plus the relative decline of Germany, PiS faces a tough fight as it battles a progressive united front in the form of Brussels insider Donald Tusk’s liberal Civic Coalition (KO) as well a populist insurgency on its right flank with the Konfederacja party.
Less than a week before the vote, The European Conservative sat down with former Polish deputy prime minister and current Minister for Development Jadwiga Emilewicz, formerly of the conservative Porozumienie party, but now closely allied with PiS.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
English Suicide Rate as Bad Today as 20 Years Ago
The same proportion of people died by suicide in 2021 (the latest available statistics) as in 2001, and campaigners want to know what ministers are doing about it.
Of course, figures have risen and fallen at various times in this 20-year period, but they landed back at 10.5 per 100,000 people in 2021 (equating to 5,219 people), reports show.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Opens Investigation Into X After Making Censorship Demands
Sparking serious concerns over severe censorship and free speech restrictions, the European Union has initiated a formal investigation into X, due to perceived misinformation related to the recent Hamas attack on Israel.
The potential risk of such probes is that they could lead to a world where a centralized authority determines the validity of opinions and controls information flow.
From the perspective of anti-censorship advocates, this move by the EU is a slippery slope.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
European Socialists Suspend Membership of Fico’s Party
The Party of European Socialists (PES) has suspended the membership of Smer and Hlas after the two Slovakian parties decided to enter into a coalition with the Slovak National Party (SNS), whom the group describes as “far-right.”
A statement by the Socialist group (S&D) in the European Parliament emphasises that the coalition memorandum signed by all three parties is “not compatible with the progressive values and principles of the European family of Socialists and Social Democrats.” They went on to say:
The recent public comments and positions taken by Smer and Hlas party leaders regarding the Russian war against Ukraine, migration, the rule of law and
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France Provides Police Protection for Jewish Politicians
Two prominent Jewish politicians in France have been placed under police protection following death threats directed at them in the wake of the Israeli war with Hamas as French authorities claim there have been over a hundred antisemitic incidents this week.
Speaker of the French National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet received police protection at her home on Wednesday, October 11th, following death threats that included a picture of teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded in the suburbs of Paris by a Chechen Islamic terrorist in October of 2020.
According to a report from broadcaster CNews, Braun-Pivet already has police who accompany her but the seriousness of the death threats led to police increasing her security.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Teacher Stabbed to Death by Chechen Yelling “Allahu Akbar”
A 20-year-old Chechen has been arrested in the French city of Arras for killing one teacher and injuring several others in a knife attack at a local school, with police confirming that he was on the terrorist watchlist.
The broadcaster BFMTV reports that the attack took place just after 11 a.m. local time at the Gambetta High School in Arras, located in the northern Pas-de-Calais region and saw the alleged suspect stab several people with a knife, killing one of the teachers at the school, believed to be a literature teacher.
Witnesses claim that the man yelled “Allahu akbar” during the attack and police have since confirmed that he was known for Islamic radicalism and was on the French terror watchlist known as the S-File.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Global Day of Jihad’: Teacher Killed, Two Injured in French School Attack
Counter-terror police are investigating after a teacher was stabbed to death at a French school on Friday morning.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban insisted on Friday that his country would not permit similar rallies experienced across Western Europe this week in support of the attack on Israel by the Hamas terrorist group.
“There will be no pro-terror demonstrations in Hungary,” Orban wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, as he vowed to “protect the people of Hungary.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
PiS Decries Polish Army Resignations as Election Hit Job
A very public spat between the top brass of the Polish military and the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) is sucking up media oxygen ahead of Sunday’s crucial parliamentary election in what the Polish government has called an orchestrated opposition assault before the vote.
Poland’s highest-ranking general tendered his resignation Monday, October 9th, on the grounds of government incompetence and an alleged coverup regarding a downed Russian missile in what is being seen in Warsaw as an engineered slight against PiS.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Votes: Will Conservative PiS Secure the 42%-43% Votes Needed for Independent Rule?
Following Szymon Holownia’s appearance in Monday’s pre-election debate on TVP, the Third Way’s ratings began to rise and stabilize a few percentage points above the electoral threshold for coalitions (8 percent).
As revealed by the Wirtualna Polska news outlet on Thursday, even in internal polls commissioned by the PiS election team, support for the Third Way, which is the alliance of Holownia’s Poland 2050 party and the Polish People’s Party, is increasing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In the last week, the lead of the Law and Justice (PiS) party over the Civic Coalition (KO) has increased. However, the opposition could still possibly secure a slim majority in the Polish parliament, the Sejm, according to a survey conducted by IBRiS for Onet.pl news outlet
The survey shows that 34.9 percent of respondents support the Law and Justice (PiS) party, marking a 0.9 percent increase from a poll taken a week earlier.
The Civic Coalition (KO) ranks second, with 28.1 percent of respondents indicating their support, a decrease of 0.8 percent from the previous week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rapists ‘Not Being Jailed’ Amid UK Prison Overcrowding
Just one week after Rishi Sunak insisted voters should put their faith in the Tories once again, reports have highlighted the total chaos in which the prison system, which has been under the watch of the Conservative Party for more than 13 years, finds itself.
The list of causes is long. We reported earlier this month on the conclusion of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of prisons that 10% of these are not “fit for purpose.” A good number, the vast majority of which are run by the government, were built in the Victorian era with much lower maximum capacities in mind, meaning accidents involving both inmates and staff are simply “waiting to happen.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Second ‘Terror Attack’ Foiled in France on Hamas’s ‘Day of Jihad’
French President Emmanuel Macron visited a school where a teacher had been killed by a radical Islamist with a knife on Friday, revealing a second suspected attack had been foiled at another school the same day.
Emmanuel Macron spoke to the public and press at the Gambetta Secondary School in Arras near the Belgian border where a teacher had been killed and two others injured by an “Allahu Akbar” shouting knifeman on Friday, and revealed in his speech another attack was thought to have been foiled.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Leftist Politicians Refuse to Condemn Hamas
While the vast majority of politicians from across the political spectrum of Europe have denounced Hamas massacres of Israeli civilians, many prominent far-left elected officials have continued to be unequivocally pro-Palestine as the fighting between Israel and Hamas continues.
In Spain, acting Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz, leader of the far-left party Sumar, gave a statement in support of the Palestinians on Wednesday saying she condemned “loud and clear Israeli apartheid and violence against the civilian population wherever it comes from,” during a speech at the closing of a leftist conference in Madrid, the newspaper Público reports.
Diaz was also critical of the European Commission, particularly Neighbourhood Commissioner Olivér Varhelyi, who announced on Monday that the European Union would be cutting off humanitarian aid to Palestine. Diaz called the decision “outrageous” and stated that the EU should be promoting peace instead.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Teacher Killed in Stabbing Attack at French School, Suspect Shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’
by RT
A teacher has been killed and two other people wounded in a stabbing attack at a French school. A 20-year-old ethnic Chechen has been arrested in connection with the incident on Friday, according to local media.
The attack happened at the Gambetta high school in the city of Arras in northern France. Senior government officials, including President Emmanuel Macron, have traveled to the city following the incident.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The EU Could Push Its Private Message Ban as Early as Next Week
The EU is getting ever closer to pushing through the legislation known among critics as “chat control” — officially, Child Sexual Abuse Regulation, CSAR — and is hoping to reach a deal on this within the bloc as early as next week.
One of those who have been consistently opposed to the controversial upcoming rules, a German member of European Parliament (MEP) and lawyer Patrick Breyer, has reacted by warning once again that regardless of some minor changes if passed, the bill would effectively spell the end of proper encryption and private messaging in the EU.
Instead, the implication is, that CSAR would usher in the era of indiscriminate mass surveillance in this part of the digital space.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘We Don’t Judge!’ Nigel Farage Finally Given Bank Account by Lloyds After 10 Banks Reject Him
Nigel Farage has finally been accepted by the Lloyds group after being debanked by Coutts and rejected by 10 other banks.
Speaking on GB News, Farage issued a message to Lloyds and said banks should “not judge people.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: They’ve Had an Oeuf! Moment Member of the Public Throws Egg at ULEZ Van…
— as ‘Blade Runners’ vow to dismantle eight out of 10 cameras amid backlash at Sadiq Khan’s hated scheme
A member of the public was caught on camera throwing an egg at a ULEZ van in London — as ‘Blade Runners’ today vowed to destroy eight out of ten cameras in four weeks amid backlash against Sadiq Khan’s hated scheme.
A livestreamer on Facebook filmed a member of the public jogging up to the white camera van in Northwood, Hillingdon, north west London, before he swung his arm to throw an egg at the windshield.
The alarm blared as the egger, who was wearing wearing a grey hoodie, sprinted away down Rickmansworth Road. The livestreamer exclaimed: ‘He’s just egged it! He’s just egged it! Man’s egged the van! He’s just egged it all over the windscreen people.’
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
X Yields to EU Demand to Remove Pro-Hamas Posts After Commissioner Threatens Ban for Entire Platform
The social networking platform X has removed hundreds of “Hamas-linked accounts” and taken action to remove or flag tens of thousands of posts since the attack on Israel, the CEO of the portal formerly known as Twitter, Linda Yaccarino, said on Thursday.
“Today, we responded to the European Commission’s letter seeking an update on how we are responding to this conflict. Our work is ongoing,” Yaccarino wrote on Wednesday in a letter to Thierry Breton, the European commissioner for the internal market, published on X.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Al-Qaeda Calls for Worldwide Bloodshed in Sinister Demand After Devastating Hamas Terror Attacks
Al-Qaeda is threatening to capitalise on the unrest caused by Hamas by calling for attacks on Christians and Jewish people worldwide.
The terror group is reportedly targeting US embassies and military assets just days after the Palestine-based faction carried out attacks on Israel.
The message — posted on a known al-Qaeda blog and promoted by militants in Pakistan, suggests Hamas’s actions have inspired jihadists from across the Middle East.
It comes after a joint statement released online from the terror group’s branches in North and West Africa encouraged further violence against Jews.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett erupted with anger on Thursday after being asked by a Sky News reporter how Israel can justify cutting off power to hospitals and turning off life support to “babies in incubators” in Gaza.
“What about those Palestinians in hospital who are on life support and babies in incubators whose life support and incubators will have to be turned off because the Israelis have cut off the power to Gaza?” reporter Kamali Melbourne asked.
“Are you seriously keep on asking me about Palestinian civilians?” Bennett raged. “What is wrong with you?”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Caroline Glick: Hamas’s Deception — And Our Self-Deception
The U.S. and Israel continue to base their policies on the fiction that the Palestinian Authority is willing to coexist with the Jewish state.
Last Sunday, senior Hamas terrorist Ali Baraka told the tale of how Hamas duped Israel and the U.S. into complacency.
In an interview with RT (formerly Russia Today), Baraka said, “In the past couple of years, Hamas has adopted a ‘rational’ approach. It did not go into any war and did not join Islamic Jihad in its recent battle, [i.e., its missile assault on Israel in August 2022].
“We made them think Hamas was busy with governing Gaza, and that it wanted to focus on the 2.5 million Palestinians [there] and had abandoned the resistance altogether. All the while, under the table, Hamas was preparing for this big attack.”
In other words, Hamas pretended it was a credible partner for negotiations, and that the only problem was Palestinian Islamic Jihad, its Iranian-founded spin-off.
One of the frustrating aspects of Baraka’s admission is that there was nothing new about Hamas’s deception. Deception is an integral part of the jihadist doctrine, going back to the days of Muhammad. Just as important, and frustratingly, even those who are unaware of—or willfully blind to—the centrality of Islamic jihadist doctrine and beliefs for Hamas, should still have been familiar with Hamas’s tactic.
It comes right out of the PLO’s playbook…
| — Hat tip: Caroline Glick | [Return to headlines] |
Countries Urge Israel to Hold Off on Gaza Assault With Civilians in Firing Line
JERUSALEM/NEW YORK/TEL AVIV, Oct 13 (Reuters) — Countries urged Israel on Friday to hold off on plans for an all-out assault on northern Gaza, where more than a million civilians largely defied its order to evacuate before it goes after Hamas militants who slaughtered Israelis a week ago.
Hamas, which controls the densely populated Palestinian territory, vowed to fight until the last drop of blood and told residents to stay put after Israel said they should move to the south within 24 hours.
While some heeded the call to leave, by Friday afternoon there was little sign of a mass exodus.
“Death is better than leaving,” said Mohammad, 20, standing in the street outside a building reduced to rubble in an Israeli air strike two days ago near the centre of Gaza.
“I was born here, and I will die here, leaving is a stigma.”
With power supplies cut and food and water in the Palestinian enclave running short after a week of retaliatory air strikes and a full Israeli blockade, the U.N. said Gaza’s civilians were in an impossible situation.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Flashback: George Soros Slammed US and Israel for Refusing to Work With Hamas
A recently unearthed article reveals that billionaire Democrat megadonor George Soros previously slammed the United States for its backing of Israel and its refusal to acknowledge Hamas after the extremist group gained control of the Gaza Strip.
In a 2007 opinion piece in the Financial Times, Soros rebuked the Bush administration’s unwavering support for Israel, urging the US and Israel to cooperate with Hamas, a terror group that had recently caused the deaths of almost 1000 people in the Gaza region so far.
“Israel, with strong US backing, refused to recognize the democratically elected Hamas government and withheld payment of the millions in taxes collected by the Israelis on its behalf,” Soros wrote.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
IDF Strikes Hezbollah Posts on Border as Terror Group, Iran Threaten to Join War
Strikes comes after explosion damages border fence, drone intercepted, Hezbollah fires at army bases; Lebanese terror group ‘fully prepared’ to join fight with Hamas
Israeli drones, artillery, and tanks struck targets in Lebanon on Friday after an apparent drone was intercepted, shots were fired at a number of military posts on the northern frontier and an explosion damaged the border security barrier, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The incidents were the latest skirmishes around the Lebanese border amid fears that the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group will open up a second front amid the war triggered by last weekend’s unprecedented Hamas invasion from the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 1,300 Israelis, most of them civilians.
It also came amid new warnings from Hezbollah and Iran that the fighting could escalate into a regional conflict.
The IDF said an explosion caused minor damage to a section of the security wall on the Lebanon border near the northern kibbutz of Hanita. Troops responded with artillery fire toward Lebanon in the area.
The home Front Command briefly issued an alert of a possible infiltration near Kibbutz Hanita, but soon sounded an all-clear.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Israel has been at war with Hamas for less than a week, and its forces are already expending a massive amount of ordnance.
In just six days, Israeli fighter jets dropped more bombs on the Gaza Strip than the US-led coalition dropped in any month of its fight against the Islamic State, even during the height of the multi-national air campaign against the terror group.
Israel began its aerial bombardment of Gaza on Saturday immediately after Hamas militants launched a series of surprise terror attacks against the country, killing at least 1,300 people — mostly civilians — and injuring over 3,200 more. The group also took an estimated 150 people hostage.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Tells One Million Palestinians to Evacuate
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) told Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza to leave their homes and evacuate to the southern part of the area on Friday, October 13th, The Times of Israel reported. Meanwhile, Hamas called for Gazans to stay, while the UN warned of a coming “humanitarian catastrophe” in the wake of Israel’s anticipated ground invasion.
According to the UN, nearly 350,000 Gazans have been internally displaced so far due to the seven days of airstrikes the IDF conducted in the Strip since Hamas’ bloody incursion into southern Israel last Saturday that left over 1,300 Israelis dead and up to 200 kidnapped.
Now Tel Aviv seems to be shifting gears and preparing for a ground invasion of northern Gaza, but not before letting innocent civilians evacuate first. According to the statement published on Friday morning, the IDF “calls for the evacuation of all civilians of Gaza City from their homes southwards for their own safety and protection, and to move to the area south of Wadi Gaza, as shown on the map “
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Minnesota Woman Who Advocated for Palestinians Was Murdered by Hamas
Cindy Flash — a 67-year-old Minnesota native — and her 66-year-old husband, Igal Flash, were among more than 1,300 people murdered by Saturday’s brutal Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
Flash’s family described her as a “staunch advocate for the rights of Palestinians” and an outspoken opponent of Israeli military action.
Cindy Flash hailed from St. Paul, Minnesota, while Igal Flash was the son of Holocaust survivors and an Israeli citizen. She relocated to the Kfar Aza kibbutz in southern Israel many years ago after visiting as a college student.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Palestinian-run pizzeria that posted a social media advertisement depicting an elderly grandmother and Holocaust survivor taken hostage by Hamas terrorists has been razed to the ground by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The restaurant, located in the Palestinian town of Huwara in the West Bank, published a photo of the elderly woman making a ‘V’ sign, the universal symbol for peace.
The photo was one she was reportedly forced to take by her Hamas captors, according to the Israeli news site, Walla.
The unsavory stunt sparked mass indignation among the Israeli public, prompting many citizens to head to the pizzeria and demand it be destroyed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ABC journalist Tom Joyner has come under fire in a fiery exchange in a WhatsApp chat group for international media about this week’s violence in Israell.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Report: Hamas Documents Planned to Target Schools, Kill Civilians
Newly-released documents reportedly found on the bodies of dead Hamas terrorists involved in Saturday’s attack on Israel show that the group intentionally targeted schools, and planned to kill civilians, along with taking hostages.
NBC News reported:
Documents exclusively obtained by NBC News show that Hamas created detailed plans to target elementary schools and a youth center in the Israeli kibbutz of Kfar Sa’ad, to “kill as many people as possible,” seize hostages and quickly move them into the Gaza Strip.
The attack plans, which are labeled “top secret” in Arabic, appear to be orders for two highly trained Hamas units to surround and infiltrate villages and target places where civilians, including children, gather. Israeli authorities are still determining the death toll in Kfar Sa’ad.
The documents were found on the bodies of Hamas terrorists by Israeli first responders and shared with NBC News. They include detailed maps and show that Hamas intended to kill or take hostage civilians and school children.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The video shows Hamas holding the distressed children as they sit around a table. The footage was recorded during as Hamas gunmen carried out their mass infiltration of Israel last Saturday.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
UN Refuses to Recognize Hamas as Terrorist Group Despite Brutal Israel Attacks
The United Nations (UN) Security Council is still refusing to recognize Hamas as a terrorist group despite the recent brutal attacks that saw hundreds of innocent Israeli citizens slaughtered.
Multiple nations have so far declared Hamas to be a terror group in the wake of the deadliest terror attack against Israel in years.
Despite the attacks, the globalist UN Security Council has not sanctioned Hamas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NATO Warns Iran and Hezbollah Not to Profit From Gaza Situation
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday called on nations and organizations “hostile” to Israel, including Iran and the Shiite Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, not to take advantage of the confrontation between the Israeli state and the Islamist group Hamas, which would escalate the conflict.
“The situation in the Middle East is now very difficult and, of course, there is always a risk that nations or organizations hostile to Israel will try to take advantage of this situation. It is, for example, organizations like Hezbollah or a country like Iran,” Stoltenberg told a press conference after a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
State Media: Syria’s Two Main Airports Disabled by Israeli Strikes
Syria’s two main airports were taken out of service Thursday by simultaneous Israeli missile strikes, Syrian state media said.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Tens of thousands of Yemenis have poured onto the streets in support of Palestine as Israel prepares for a possible ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Israel has heavily bombarded the enclave in response to terror attacks by Hamas that has killed more than 2,400 people.
Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, saw demonstrators taking to the streets with Yemeni and Palestinian flags.
They appeared after weekly Friday prayers to voice their anger at the airstrikes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In India, We Cannot Allow Any Demonstration Against Israel or Jews: Dr Subramanian Swamy
Hindutva leader Dr. Subramanian Swamy criticized the Modi Govt’s double-standard, ‘Palestine Policy’ and its stand to allow protest against Jews and Israel.
Upendra Bharti | HENB | New Delhi | Oct 13, 2023:: After a huge mobilization through local Mosques and different pro-Islamic organisations, India saw a protest against Israel in support of Hamas and Palestine, obviously under the indulgence of Modi Govt.
From Kashmir to Kerala, Kolkata to Delhi-Lucknow, Indian Muslims staged massive protests in support of Palestine on Friday, 13th Oct, 2023 during the ongoing war between Gaza-Palestine-Hamas and Israel. The universities like Jamia Milia University, Aligarh Muslim University, Hyderabad University, all were the main centers for the Protest against Israel and in support of Hamas and Palestine…
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
China Fines Man Over $144,000 After He Used a VPN
In a precedent-setting verdict, a programmer identified by his surname, Ma, from northern China has been slapped with a fine exceeding 1m yuan by the authorities for using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), marking a stark example of the stern measures taken to uphold China’s great firewall. This sets a new record for the harshest financial penalty ever imposed on an individual for bypassing the nation’s stringent internet censorship regime.
Chengde’s Public Security Bureau in Hebei province held Ma accountable on 18th August for using “unauthorized channels” to connect to worldwide networks while being employed by a Turkish firm.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Employee at Israeli Embassy in China Stabbed; Foreign Suspect Detained
BEIJING — A 50-year-old Israeli man who works at the Israeli Embassy in Beijing was stabbed on Friday in front of a supermarket, Chinese police and the Israeli government said.
Beijing police said they had arrested a suspect, a 53-year-old foreign man. They said the victim is a family member of an Israeli diplomat. No motive was given for the attack.
“The employee was transferred to hospital and he is in a stable condition,” an Israeli government statement said, without giving additional details.
The stabbing occurred as Muslims across the world took to the streets in large protests after Friday prayers over Israel’s intense bombing campaign in Gaza, following the unprecedented and deadly incursion by the militant group Hamas into southern Israel last Saturday.
| — Hat tip: McN | [Return to headlines] |
Man Detained After Israeli Embassy Employee Stabbed in Broad Daylight in Beijing
A man has been arrested in China after an employee of the Israeli embassy in Beijing was stabbed in the street on Friday afternoon.
Chinese authorities in the capital’s Chaoyang district confirmed they had detained a 53-year-old suspect whose nationality has not been disclosed.
The incident occurred at around 2 p.m. local time in the Zuojiazhuang subdistrict of Chaoyang when a male family member of an Israeli diplomat was attacked by a man brandishing a knife.
Footage circulated on social media purported to show the attack as bystanders witnessed the victim sustain several knife wounds to his shoulder and chest.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A group of masked men and woman throwing banned Nazi salutes and carrying a racist banner have been captured on video terrifying other passengers on a Melbourne train.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A construction worker who allegedly threatened a group of Jewish teenagers if they did not hide their Israeli flag claims he has ‘got Jewish mates’ and the whole situation has been blown out of context.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
First Repatriation Flight Evacuating Australians Stuck in Israel-Gaza War Departs From Tel Aviv
It’s the most difficult decision this family has ever had to make.
Tal Raymond, Dana Elhadad and their two young children were among the first Australians at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport to prepare for evacuation flights that left Israel on Friday afternoon (local time).
Mr Raymond, an Australian, and Dr Elhadad, an Israeli-American, have decided to split their family up for the sake of safety.
“My wife is an essential worker — she’s a doctor,” he said.
“So she has to serve the country and stay and we have to split up unfortunately.”
Dr Elhadad, an oncologist, is devastated to leave children Arielle, aged one, and Alon, who is four.
“It’s the hardest decision that I’ve ever had to make, sending my family away, but I want to keep them safe,” she said.
“War doesn’t cure cancer. People are still sick here. We have to keep working.”
As an essential worker, she says she’s not allowed to leave the country in a time of war.
The first repatriation flight evacuating Australians out of Israel has left Tel Aviv, bound for London.
Most airlines have cancelled commercial flights to the city since the Israel-Gaza war broke out last weekend, and leaving has been difficult.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Frances Hogan unleashed on the Geelong West man saying the behaviour was ‘cowardly’ and that he showed a complete ‘lack of empathy’.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Twist as Family Take a $40 Million Stand Against Property Developers Near Schofields, Sydney
A defiant Aussie family turned their back on MILLIONS from developers to live in their dream home — while hundreds of new-build houses are crammed around them.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
“EU Empire” Disregarding the Will of Sovereign States
“We need to accept that immigration policy is national policy. It cannot be one-size-fits-all for all twenty-seven member states. We need to get national borders back to be able to have the immigration policies that each of our member states wants,” said Patricia Chagnon, Member of the European Parliament for the French conservative, sovereigntist party Rassemblement National, at a forum organised by MCC Brussels on Wednesday evening, October 11th.
The event, entitled ‘Migration: Why Borders Matter,’ discussed the recent wave of migrants arriving on the Italian island of Lampedusa at a rate not seen since the beginning of the European migration crisis in 2015-16. The panel also analysed the EU’s upcoming migration pact, vetoed by Hungary and Poland, which would see the introduction of ‘mandatory solidarity,’ forcing member states to accept migrants under a quota system or pay fines. Another example of EU institutions infringing on member states’ sovereignty is the recently adopted Schengen reform proposal, backed by the European Parliament’s left-wing majority. This measure explicitly aims to ensure member states cannot reinstate internal borders within the Schengen Area except “as a last resort.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Despite public opinion across Germany swaying against the liberal immigration policies of the recent past and present, prominent government officials are continuing to lobby in favor of mass immigration to address the country’s labor shortage.
Robert Habeck, Germany’s federal economics minister and Green Party member, has called for even more immigration, even as the country faces a housing crisis, overcrowding in education and healthcare, and a concerning rise in migrant crime.
Speaking to the Rheinische Post newspaper, Habeck claimed it was “obvious” that Germany remains “dependent on immigration,” insisting it remains necessary in order to “generate growth and secure prosperity.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Catania Court Does Not Uphold 5 More Migrant Detentions
(ANSA) — ROME, OCT 13 — (see related).
The Court of Catania on Friday ruled against the detention of five migrants in Pozzallo ordered by the police chief of Ragusa, in the latest such ruling against the government’s Cutro decree.
The measure was adopted by Judge Rosario Cuprì, the colleague of Judge Iolanda Apostolico who had already issued two similar orders for six Tunisians in recent days, spurring claims of bias after her attendance at a 2018 pro-migrant rally was revealed in a video posted by then anti-migrant interior minister Matteo Salvini, now deputy premier and transport minister.
At present, sources said Friday, there are no other decrees to be validated and there are no migrants present in the pre-removal centre (CPR) of Pozzallo, another Sicilian port town.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NYC Plans to Make Migrant Families Reapply for Shelter Every 60 Days
The Adams administration is planning to make migrant families with children reapply for shelter every 60 days, as it amps up efforts to discourage new arrivals from coming to New York and attempts to encourage those already here in city care to find new accommodations.
The move comes as the number of people living in the Big Apple’s shelter and relief system has doubled since the migrant crisis began last year, with more than 118,000 people — 64,000 of them migrants — currently staying in city-run or city-funded facilities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republicans Introduce ‘Gaza Act’ to Stop Biden From Importing Palestinians
Reps. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) and Andy Ogles (R-TN) are introducing legislation that would ban Biden from importing Palestinians to the U.S.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Terrorist Watchlist Encounters at U.S. Border Are Up Over 7000 Percent Under Biden
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement statistics have shown that encounters with suspected terrorists at the Southern border are up more than seven thousand percent under the Biden Administration.
The stats show that the fiscal year 2023 broke the record for encounters on the FBI terror watch list, with 151 people encountered at the southern border so far.
The figure is higher than the previous six years combined, and obviously doesn’t even include the ones that got away.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tucker Carlson dived into the third-rail topic of illegal immigration, and the growing crisis at America’s southern border that an increasing number of Democrat governors and mayors are now recognizing is unsustainable.
Emphasizing its significant impact on the fundamental nature of nations, Carlson expressed concern that the character and success of a nation are inevitably shaped by its population and that unchecked demographic shifts can lead to chaos.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A trans-identified Antifa militant stated during a Hamas terrorist attack celebration in North Carolina on Sunday that the Israel “apartheid regime” and the US is the enemy of the LGBTQ community, not the Palestinians.
This despite Hamas governing Palestinian territory under Islamic law which prohibits same-sex relationships, and Hamas has reportedly executed LGBTQ-identified individuals.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
If there was ever a weekend to avoid big cities, it’s this one.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An ASU writing professor, author and Drag Queen Story Hour advocate David Boyles was questioned by TPUSA’s Frontlines reporters, and when he got too frustrated with being held to account for his “sex education obsession,” pushed the cameraman. That cameraman has now filed criminal charges with Arizona State University police.
Boyles’ Instagram lists him as the “head of recruitment” for “The Queer Agenda.” His book, “Life is a Banquet,” is about a 17-year-old boy who “is feeling suffocated by his conservative Arizona suburb and his parents’ megachurch Christianity.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trans Athletes Take 1st and 2nd Place in Chicago Women’s Cycling Event
Two transgender female cyclists dominated the podium at the Chicago Cyclocross Cup series last weekend after finishing first and second in a women’s event.
Tessa Johnson, 25, took home gold in the CX Women SingleSpeed event in the Jackson Park race on Oct. 8, after finishing with a time of 38:48, according to race results from USA Cycling.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
United Nations Development Program Urges Governments to Push Digital ID
The UN development agency, UNDP, has published its governance framework for digital public infrastructure, which the world organization no doubt eagerly hopes all of its 190+ members will align with.
Once again, another UN body comes out with a contested policy, basing it on the overarching one that’s supposed to provide it with legitimacy — the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030.
Here, UNDP said in a post on its website last month that the digital ID framework was its reaction to “requests for institutional support” — and lauded its own effort as inclusive and based on (ostensibly, civil and legal) “rights.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Russian viewpoint…
“As soon as the Russian President hinted that Russia was withdrawing ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBTO), Robert Floyd, Executive Secretary of the Treaty Organization, immediately rushed to Moscow. Right on the run. He naturally expressed concern about Russia’s plans to restore justice and parity.
“I have been in close and regular contact with senior officials of the Russian Federation, proving that ratification of the CTBT is in both Russia’s national interests and the interests of all mankind. I have also requested the opportunity to meet with key leaders in Moscow as soon as possible,” Floyd said.
“He’s in a hurry. Why such a rush? What were they afraid of?
“They had 23 years (twenty-three!!!) to ratify this Treaty, and they did not even scratch their heads. And how is it, I wonder, “a powerful instrument of global good and a vital part of the international architecture of peace and security” if the U.S. has not ratified it? And what does this have to do with Russia? It is our representative who should go to the US and ask questions. And worry. Ours!
“I wonder if there is a single treaty in the world that the Americans have ratified? What does it matter if there is or not: they don’t fulfill them anyway. There hasn’t been a case. I have asked the rhetorical question a hundred times: why do we negotiate with them? What’s the point? To what? To listen to their own concerns about Russia’s refusal to fulfill obligations that the US has spit on and wiped out?
(Squaring the circle)”
Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Source: t.me/Mikle1On/18412
Kraków, Poland last night – and a sign that Poland’s following the West down the toilet?
https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/10/14/pro-palestine-demonstration-held-in-poland/
There are idiots in all countries.