The IDF announced that it has uncovered a major Hamas command center in the heart of Gaza City. Meanwhile, Hamas and Israel are reportedly close to an agreement that would implement a week-long truce while forty hostages are released.
In other news, Bern, the capital of Switzerland, is considering legalizing cocaine.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, JW, LP, Reader from Chicago, Roger, SS, 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.
CNN’s Jim Acosta Pushes Biden’s Narrative on Economy, Gets Shut Down by Top Democrat Pollster
CNN’s Jim Acosta was shut down by an expert while trying to promote Democrat President Joe Biden’s narrative about the economy.
Leading Democrat pollster Stanley Greenberg dropped facts on Acosta during a Monday interview.
Greenberg co-founded a top polling group with Democrat strategist James Carville.
Last month, the polling group surveyed 2,500 voters in battleground states and congressional districts.
In response to the results, Greenberg told the New York Times that the polling “is grim.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Finland Witnesses Highest Number of Bankruptcies in 25 Years
Statistics Finland reported that over the past year, more businesses have faced bankruptcy than in any 12-month period in the last 25 years. A total of 3,293 companies have closed their operations, according to Yle News.
Senior statistician Tommi Veistämö from Statistics Finland noted that the current level of bankruptcies surpasses that observed during the 2009 financial crisis.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish GDP Growth for 2024 Forecast to Reach 2.8%
The European Financial Congress is forecasting Poland’s GDP growth for this year to be 0.5 percent and 2.8 percent for 2024.
According to the surveyed economists, the rebound in consumption will be stronger than expected half a year ago. Back then, analysts estimated that after a 0.5 percent decline in consumer demand in 2023, there would be a 3 percent increase the following year. Currently, experts believe that this year’s decline will be 0.7 percent, but next year will see an increase of 3.8 percent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish Incomes Surge: Average Wages Reach New High in November
According to Rzezcpospolita, the average salary in the business sector increased by 11.8% in November compared to the previous year, reaching the level of gross PLN 7670. Although employment remains stable, the rapid wage growth suggests that it is a result of a shortage of workers rather than a low demand for their services.
According to the Central Statistical Office (GUS) data, the wage growth in November was slightly lower than in October due to a less favorable calendar arrangement and earlier payments of mining bonuses. Nevertheless, economists expected a slowdown in growth to 11.2%.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times
While videos of smash-and-grab robberies in California circulating on social media are attracting attention worldwide, lawmakers say finding solutions to stop the crimes is challenging.
Though acknowledging action is needed, some say viral clips are distorting reality and suggest that retail theft crimes are difficult to count.
“What is happening in our communities is unacceptable and we must act with urgency,” Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood) said in a Dec. 18 press release.
“But we must also look at the facts and find the solutions that will actually work.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
36 Million Customers Affected in Massive Comcast Data Breach
Your holiday present from Comcast has arrived, in the form of a massive data breach that has compromised the personal information of nearly 36 million customers. Comcast released a statement on Monday this week stating that a “recent data security incident” occurred involving Citrix software.
“On October 10, 2023, Citrix announced a vulnerability in software used by Xfinity and thousands of other companies worldwide,” Comcast wrote.
“Citrix issued additional mitigation guidance on October 23, 2023. Xfinity promptly patched and mitigated the Citrix vulnerability within its systems. However, during a routine cybersecurity exercise on October 25, Xfinity discovered suspicious activity and subsequently determined that between October 16 and October 19, 2023, there was unauthorized access to its internal systems that was concluded to be a result of this vulnerability.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Agitators Attack Guests at Michigan State Rep’s Christmas Party to Demand End to Israel-Hamas War
A holiday party thrown by Michigan Democrat politicians descended into violent chaos when pro-Palestinian demonstrators disrupted the celebration, which resulted in a massive brawl and one event attendee needing to be hospitalized.
The unruly protesters crashed the party to confront Democrat Rep. Shri Thanedar about her support for Israel. The holiday event was hosted by the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party at the Common Pub in Detroit and occurred on Dec. 16.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Austin’s Soros-Backed DA Blasted After Man Charged With 7th DUI, Killing 2 People Released on Bond
Austin’s progressive district attorney is facing criticism in the community after a man who allegedly killed two while committing his 7th DUI is walking the streets after his charges and bond were reduced.
Roberto Rangel, 52, was arrested last year in Travis County, Texas, for his 7th DUI that resulted in the deaths of 22-year-old Kate Garcia and 23-year-old Mark Narvaez, Fox 7 Austin reported.
Rangel, who has been sentenced to over 14 years in prison for DUIs dating to 1989, reportedly pulled out of a Chick-fil-A parking lot in Austin at 2:45 a.m. and parked his car sideways in the road.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Barring Trump From Running for President an Early Christmas Present From George Soros?
Hungarian politicians are reacting to the breaking news that the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump should be disqualified from holding office and removed him from the state’s 2024 ballot due to his alleged incitement of the Capitol insurrection in 2021. The Court’s justices were all appointed by Democratic governors. The ruling is likely to be resolved at the US Supreme Court, which will have the final say in whether the republican frontrunner, Donald Trump, can run for president.
The decision had stirred emotions among politicians and the world media alike, some in the comment sections likening the USA to a “banana-republic” for barring a political opponent from the race. Likewise, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Wednesday reacted on his Facebook page by suggestively asking “what would happen if a Central European country tried to disqualify a candidate in the presidential election?”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bill Gates Prepares for ‘Pandemic X’ With New ‘Needle-Free’ mRNA Vaccines
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is pumping vast sums of cash into a new “needle-free” mRNA vaccine technology in preparation for the so-called “Pandemic X.”
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is teaming up with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) for the project.
CEPI was also founded by Gates with a $460 million investment.
Gates and the CEPI are investing $1.2 million in a startup to create under-the-tongue vaccine “wafers.”
The wafer can be stored at any temperature and can be administered without the use of needles.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A lawsuit has been filed against the city of Seattle, as well as former and current city officials, on behalf of Robert West, a black teen who was the sole survivor of a shooting in Seattle’s deadly “autonomous zone.” The lawsuit alleged that the city failed to protect him by allowing “countless acts of violence” in the summer of 2020.
The suit names former mayor Jenny Durkan, former police chief Carmen Best, marxist councilmember Kshama Sawant, and fire chief Harold Scoggins.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In a Wednesday episode of Tucker Carlson Uncensored, Carlson said that the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling deeming Trump ineligible to be on the state’s primary ballot “looks like the actual end of democracy.”
“Whatever else January 6 was, and in some ways, we still don’t know exactly what it was. It was not a Trump-led insurrection. The crowd had no guns. They had no plan to overthrow the government, nothing like that has ever emerged. And above all, Trump was not leading it,” Carlson said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California Lt. Gov. Calls for State to ‘Explore Every Legal Option’ to Remove Trump From ‘24 Ballot
A day after the Colorado Supreme Court disqualified former President Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s ballots in 2024, California Lieutenant Gov. Eleni Kounalakis is asking the Golden State’s Secretary of State to “explore every legal option” to do the same.
Kounalakis sent a letter to Secretary of State Shirley Weber, dated Wednesday, Dec. 20, and referencing Colorado’s recent ruling which stated Trump was ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot as a presidential candidate because of his role in “inciting an insurrection” on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Congress Expands Scope of Harvard Investigation to Include Allegations of President’s Plagiarism
A House of Representatives committee has expanded its inquiry against Harvard University’s handling of antisemitism on campus to include its embattled president Claudine Gay, who is facing a myriad of plagiarism allegations.
The chair of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., on Wednesday sent a four-page letter to Penny Pritzker, the head of the school’s governing board, alleging that Harvard applies a different standard of academic integrity to faculty members than to students.
The committee cited the university’s Honor Code as justification for the probe.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A notorious Southern California street vendor activist, Edin Alex Enamorado, and seven others were arraigned on several felony charges during a Victorville courtroom hearing on Monday as part of a months-long, multiagency investigation known as “Operation Accountability.”
All eight pleaded not guilty to the charges and are being held without bail until their next hearing on Dec. 26.
Authorities in the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office began investigating on Sept. 24 after an assault that took place at a protest in Victorville. The investigation sprawled into other nearby cities in the Inland Empire, resulting in the eight individuals being investigated for other acts of violence in several other cities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Defund the Police’ Democrat Demands Cop Patrols to Protect His Home: ‘Height of Hypocrisy’
A radical Democrat congressman has demanded the Austin Police Department provide security patrols at his home.
However, the same Democrat “Squad” member, Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), has been one of the leading voices in the far-left “Defund the Police” movement.
As a city council member, Casar successfully campaigned to defund the Austin Police Department (APD) by a staggering $100 million.
Just last week, he also blasted the APD for alleged racist practices.
Now Casar has been met with a backlash after requesting a police patrol at his home from the same defunded department.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Driver Who Crashed Into Biden’s Motorcade Charged With DUI and ‘Inattentive Driving’
A driver has been charged after crashing his car into an SUV that was part of Democrat President Joe Biden’s motorcade on Sunday night in Wilmington, Delaware.
The president, who was approaching his SUV at the time of the incident, was startled by the collision but not harmed.
The driver of the vehicle that caused the accident has since been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and “inattentive driving,” according to the Daily Beast.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Glynn Simmons Exonerated After 48 Years in Prison for Murder He Did Not Commit
A 71-year-old Oklahoma man who spent nearly 50 years in prison for a murder he did not commit was exonerated by a judge on Wednesday.
Former death row inmate Glynn Simmons was originally released in July after prosecutors agreed that key evidence in his case was not turned over to his defense lawyers.
At long last, he’s officially been deemed innocent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In the run-up to the 2020 US presidential election, Big Tech engaged in unprecedented levels of election censorship, most notably by censoring the New York Post’s bombshell Hunter Biden laptop story just a few weeks before voters went to the polls.
And with the 2024 US presidential election less than a year away, both Google and its video sharing platform, YouTube, have confirmed that they plan to censor content they deem to be “harmful” in the run-up to the election.
In its announcement, Google noted that it already censors content that it deems to be “manipulated media” or “hate and harassment” — two broad, subjective terms that have been used by tech giants to justify mass censorship.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Reports are beginning to emerge to suggest that Democrat President Joe Biden is planning to issue a presidential pardon for his son Hunter before he leaves office.
Such a move would explain why Biden’s weaponized Department of Justice (DOJ) appears to be rushing charges through against the first son before the 2024 election.
President Biden has repeatedly said, and the White House has likewise reiterated, that he won’t use his power of executive clemency to issue a pardon for his son.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
If Trump Ballot Decision Stands, Colorado GOP Says it Will Move From Primary to Caucus System
The Colorado Republican Party is planning to withdraw from the state’s primary election and move to a caucus system if the ruling against former President Donald Trump stands.
A state GOP spokesperson made the remark on social media following a video posted by GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, in which he pledged to withdraw if the Colorado Supreme Court’s Tuesday disqualification of Trump is sustained.
“I pledge to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary ballot until Trump is also allowed to be on the ballot, and I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley do the same immediately — or else they are tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver which will have disastrous consequences for our country,” Ramaswamy said in the video.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jonathan Turley Slams Colorado Supreme Court’s ‘Dead Wrong’ Trump Ruling: ‘Fundamentally Flawed’
Legal scholar Jonathan Turley has responded to the Colorado Supreme Court’s Tuesday ruling to remove President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot.
Turley, a George Washington University law professor, slammed the ruling as “dead wrong” and “fundamentally flawed.”
As Slay News reported earlier, the Democrat-appointed justices on Colorado’s highest court cited false claims about Trump related to Jan. 6.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lawsuit: Vermont Man Sues After Being Arrested for Flipping Off Police
MONTPELIER, Vt., Dec. 18, 2023 — Gregory Bombard was driving through his hometown of St. Albans, Vermont, enjoying a coffee and a cigarette. He committed no crime — not even a minor traffic violation.
Twenty minutes later, he was sitting in a jail cell.
Now the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, in collaboration with the ACLU of Vermont, is asking the Superior Court of Vermont to recognize Bombard’s First Amendment rights were violated in February 2018 when he was interrogated, arrested, and cited by a state trooper.
Bombard’s alleged crime? Cursing at a cop and giving him the finger during a traffic stop — conduct that is squarely protected by the First Amendment.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lincoln Memorial Steps Vandalized With Pro-Hamas Graffiti
The steps leading up to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. have been vandalized with red paint and pro-Hamas graffiti, authorities have revealed.
The National Park Service is working to remove red paint and the words “Free Gaza” that appeared in multiple places around the area on Wednesday morning.
“Vandalism was discovered in the area of Lincoln Memorial Circle and the Reflecting Pool,” the United States Park Police said in a statement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Major Pharmacy Chains Handing Over Patient Records to Law Enforcement Without Warrants
A startling revelation has emerged from a recent congressional investigation: several leading pharmacy chains in the United States, including CVS Health, Kroger, and Walgreens Boots Alliance, have been found to provide patients’ medical records to law enforcement agencies without warrants.
Initiated in June, the congressional review targeted eight prominent pharmacy chains to scrutinize their privacy practices in response to rising public concerns about health privacy and surveillance. This investigation, led by Senator Ron Wyden, Representative Pramila Jayapal, and Representative Sara Jacobs, was propelled into motion following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, which heightened fears about the confidentiality of medical records.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Majority of Democrats Want Hunter Prosecuted for Contempt; Harvard/Harris Poll Finds
Authored by Jonathan Turley
It appears that the concerted effort to excuse Hunter Biden’s defiance of a subpoena in the media has failed. According to a Harvard Caps/Harris poll, 71 percent of Americans believe that Hunter should be prosecuted for contempt of Congress. What is remarkable is that 54 percent of Democrats support his prosecution.
I have previously written that Hunter committed a flagrant, criminal violation in holding his presser in front of the Congress and refusing to appear for a deposition in the House. There is an equally compelling basis to take action against Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Cal.) under House rules for facilitating the alleged federal crime.
The poll shows that, again, the public has rejected the spin in the media and correctly sees this act for what it was: a federal crime.
Every group is lined up in favor of prosecution:
- Democrats: 54 percent support
- Republicans: 89 percent support
- Independents: 72 percent support
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Meet the Four Dem-Picked Colorado Justices Who Kicked Trump Off the Ballot
Four liberal Colorado Supreme Court justices were behind the landmark ruling Monday night that former President Donald Trump would not be allowed to appear on the 2024 presidential ballot in the state.
The Democrat-appointed justices who made the decision include three Ivy League graduates — two of whom were wrongfully accused of harassment and discrimination — as well as the first Latina and openly gay woman to serve on Colorado’s highest court.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Minnesota Commission Chooses New State Flag Design to Replace Old One Deemed Problematic
A Minnesota commission tasked with redesigning the state’s flag and seal announced its selection for the updated state flag on Tuesday.
The State Emblems Redesign Commission voted 11-1 to approve the new design. It features an eight-pointed star against a navy blue background shaped to resemble Minnesota, next to a solid light-blue field, which represents the state’s waters, according to the commission.
The design was a modification of submission F1935, one of the three finalists selected by the commission.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New York Bill Would Force Some Chick-fil-A Locations to Open on Sundays
A new bill filed in the New York State Assembly aims to force some Chick-fil-A locations to operate seven days a week, threatening the fast food chain’s longstanding policy of keeping its restaurants closed on Sundays.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New York’s Penn Station Mobbed by Anti-Israel Agitators Who Stage Mass Muslim Prayer
On Monday, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators descended upon Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station, disrupting two of New York City’s busiest transportation hubs.
Those who took part in the massive, hours-long protests carried flags, chanted anti-Israel slogans, and at one point even staged a mass prayer, with use of a loudspeaker in the middle of Moynihan Train Hall.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pete Buttigieg Blew $59,000 in Taxpayer Money on Private Jets, Inspector General Reveals
The Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has revealed that Secretary Pete Buttigieg blew a whopping $59,000 in taxpayer money on private jets.
According to an inspector general audit report released Wednesday, Buttigieg and his staff have enjoyed traveling to official events on government-managed executive aircraft between August 2021 and June 2023.
The report comes as Americans continue to suffer the impact of Democrat President Joe Biden’s so-called “Bidenomics.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Officer Crashes Patrol Car Into St. Louis Gay Bar Then Arrests Co-Owner for Assault
Members of a St. Louis community are demanding answers after a police car crashed into a local gay bar early Monday morning, resulting in the arrest of one of the businesses’ co-owners.
Owned by Chad Morris and James Pence, Bar:PM is an LGBTQIA+ safe space for residents of St. Louis and beyond. Around 12:30 a.m. Monday night, the pair, who live above the bar, told local NBC affiliate KSDK-TV that they were startled by a loud boom.
The married couple went to the front of the business only to see a St. Louis police patrol car had crashed into the front of their bar. According to KSDK-TV, a report from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said the vehicle contained two St. Louis police probation officers, both new on the force.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republicans Float Booting Biden Off State Ballots After Trump Ruling
Some Republican officials outraged by the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to boot Donald Trump off the state’s primary ballot have suggested doing the same to President Biden in their states.
Trump was disqualified by a 4-3 decision on Tuesday after the Centennial State’s highest court concluded that the 77-year-old’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, “constituted overt, voluntary and direct participation in the insurrection” by his supporters at the US Capitol.
Many Republicans peddling the tit-for-tat idea suggested it as a thought experiment to give Democrats a taste of their own medicine, rather than a serious legal undertaking.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Some of Trump’s Fiercest Rivals Rally in His Defense After Colorado Ballot Ruling
Colorado’s Supreme Court managed to bring an assortment of die-hard anti-Trump Republicans as well as his fellow 2024 GOP rivals to his defense.
The Centennial State’s highest court determined in a bombshell 4-3 ruling late Tuesday that former President Donald Trump should be disqualified from the state’s 2024 primary ballot over his actions surrounding Jan. 6, 2021.
“I think the US Supreme Court is going to reverse that,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday at a campaign event in Iowa.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Teen Accused of Fatal Gentleman’s Club Shooting to be Held Pending Further Hearings
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Police say a man was shot and killed early Tuesday morning in a gentleman’s club in downtown Albuquerque.
Court documents show the person arrested for that shooting was 16-year-old Louis Mugishawimana. He was in court for the first time Wednesday, but he wasn’t shown because he’s a minor.
“I am going to continue to hold you without bond, your case will be transferred to the district court sir and that court will make the determination whether you will continue to be preventatively detained pending trial,” said Judge Felicia Baca Rivera.
According to APD, a fight broke out in the Knockouts gentlemen’s club on Central and Third. But how did a 16-year-old get into the club in the first place?
Court documents show a witness saw the suspect getting his ID checked, and it made the bouncer do a double take.
KOB 4 reached out to Knockouts to ask about the ID check, but the business declined to speak with us.
Witnesses told police, Louis pulled out a gun during the fight and started shooting at the victim.
The criminal complaint says the victim could be heard begging for his life saying, “Stop, you got me.”
The suspect told police he was acting in self-defense, but witnesses say the suspect was the only one with a gun, and they say he was overreacting.
According to police, the man died of gunshot wounds at the scene.
Mugishshawimana is charged with an open count of murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and several other charges.
KOB 4 also reached out to the New Mexico Regulations and Licensing Department about the suspect possibly using a fake ID to get into the club.
| — Hat tip: Roger | [Return to headlines] |
There Were at Least 19 Campus Hate-Crime Hoaxes in 2023
Authored by Matt Lamb via The College Fix
Fake racist fans, racist graffiti written by Hispanic students… just a normal year
There were at least 19 hate crime hoaxes in 2023 that either occurred on a high school or college campus or are otherwise linked to higher education, according to an analysis by The College Fix. The tally marks an increase from last year, during which there were at least 14.
A hate crime hoax is anything considered criminal or at least an act of misconduct. A hoax can be confirmed, such as when Hispanic gangs were found guilty of spray-painting “white power” graffiti at an Idaho high school or when black Sacramento high schoolers were found to be behind circulating a dollar bill with a “racist anti-Black caricature” on it.
It can also include a phantom attacker, like when a Muslim University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student claimed she was attacked with a knife by an Israel supporter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Lawmakers Tell Biden to Scrutinize How the EU Regulates US Tech Companies
America builds, Europe regulates. This has been the prevailing sentiment for some time concerning technology. However, US lawmakers are increasingly concerned with the way EU regulations are hindering tech companies and even suppressing American values.
This growing pushback is especially pertinent as just this week the EU announced an investigation into Elon Musk’s X platform, demanding censorship.
A cross-party coalition of US legislators has expressed concerns to President Joe Biden regarding the European Union’s approach to regulating technology companies. According to a document obtained by Reuters, these lawmakers suggest that the EU’s policies disproportionately affect US firms while largely exempting Chinese and European entities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Washington Democrats are seeking to jail state residents for using gas-powered landscaping tools such as leaf blowers.
Democratic State Representative Amy Walen has pre-filed HB 1868, which adds to the Washington State Clean Air Act a ban on “gasoline-powered and diesel-powered landscaping and other outdoor power equipment” for “contributing to climate change.”
Violators would face up to a year in jail or a $10,000 fine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Canadian government has come up with an update (some observers call it a re-write) of the Online News Act, C-18, but do the “final touches” to this massively controversial law in fact represent improvement?
The accompanying regulation adopted late last week — to dissuade Google from blocking search engine links in Canada — means that smaller outlets will be left out as most of the money goes towards big legacy, mainstream media.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Freedom Convoy Truckers Showed Ottawa is ‘Authoritarian,’ U.S. Presidential Hopeful Says
Republican U.S. Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy thanked Canadian truckers for their “civil disobedience” during the Freedom Convoy protests of 2022.
Ramaswamy made the comments while announcing a campaign stop in a video posted on his official account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘There May be More’: Alberta’s Danielle Smith on the Fights She’ll Take to Trudeau in 2024
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith won re-election last spring. Since then, her government has feuded with Justin Trudeau’s government over the carbon tax, the plastics ban, the draft regulations for a net-zero electricity grid, and more. Alberta, like other provinces, has also been hit with an affordability crisis — rental prices are increasing faster in Calgary than anywhere else in the country, utility bills are soaring in the winter months and inflation has hit everyone.
In addition, Smith has several policy issues to tackle in 2024: parental rights and broader transgender issues; planned legislation that would allow for court-mandated addictions treatment; and a reorganization of provincial health care in an attempt to improve access and wait times.
Smith spoke to the National Post’s Tyler Dawson on Wednesday about these issues and more. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: Standoff at Polish State TV After Purge of Conservatives
There is ongoing pandemonium at the headquarters of Poland’s state broadcaster TVP after high-ranking members of the conservative PiS party, including the country’s former prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski began a sit-down protest against a purge by the new Tusk government of PiS friendly executives.
The Polish media landscape was thrown into disarray Tuesday as senior members of TVP management were dismissed due to their conservative PiS ties, resulting in broadcasting being partially curtailed on the network’s news channels.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Conservative Politicians Hold Vigil at TVP HQ as Left Moves to Dismantle Country’s Free Press
Members of Poland’s conservative opposition party, Law and Justice (PiS), started a vigil at the headquarters of the public television broadcaster TVP on Tuesday evening. This move was in response to the Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s parliament, adopting a resolution concerning “the restoration of legal order and impartiality in public media and the Polish Press Agency (PAP).”
Notably absent from the Sejm session were 109 PiS deputies, including their leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski. During the vote, many of these deputies were present at the TVP headquarters, demonstrating their opposition to the actions of the Sejm majority. PiS leader Kaczynski emphasized the necessity of the protest against the government’s actions, stating, “There is no democracy without pluralism in the media, without strong anti-government media.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Convicted Terrorist Sentenced to Probation in Germany
A Syrian national convicted of aiding and abetting his Islamist terrorist brother in his plans to blow up a Swedish church has been handed a year’s probation by a German court because he had expressed a desire to integrate into Western society.
The two brothers, both of whom arrived in Germany back in 2015, were arrested on April 25 this year after counter-terrorism police received intelligence about the older brother’s attempts to purchase bomb-making equipment.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“I belong to those Czechs who admire the position of the current government of Slovakia,” stated former Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs and Former President of the United Nations General Assembly Jan Kavan during a diplomatic meeting in Prague.
It’s worth noting that after the parliamentary elections in Slovakia in October 2023, relations between the two countries noticeably deteriorated. The newly elected Prime Minister Robert Fico did not receive congratulations from either President Petr Pavel or Prime Minister Petr Fiala. Additionally, the Czech Republic has not taken active steps to restore key diplomatic ties.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Finance Ministers Reach Fiscal Rules Reform Agreement Following German-French Compromise
European Union economic and finance ministers achieved a breakthrough on Wednesday as they sealed a deal to reform the bloc’s fiscal rules. This pivotal agreement was made possible after Germany and France, previously at odds, found a middle ground in their respective positions.
The disagreement between Berlin and Paris had persisted for months, with Germany advocating for automatic safeguards to reduce debt levels and France pushing for greater flexibility to allocate funds strategically. Finance ministers Christian Lindner of Germany and Bruno Le Maire of France intensified bilateral contacts in recent weeks to resolve the impasse.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France’s Teachers Can’t Do Their Job for Fear of Upsetting Muslim Students
By Rachel Marsden, a columnist, political strategist, and host of independently produced talk-shows in French and English.
A teacher in suburban Paris is being accused of Islamophobia for showing her class, for the purpose of an analytical exercise, the classic painting ‘Diana and Actaeon’ by Giuseppe Cesari — all because the “five muses of antiquity” depicted happened to be naked. It’s a painting, not a porno.
Although the artist, who has been dead for nearly four centuries, probably didn’t have any intention to offend anyone with his portrayal of the nymphs when he created the piece back in the 17th century, his work apparently now serves as a convenient springboard for the kind of gratuitous victimhood that has become so rampant in the current age of cancel culture, where just about the worst thing you can be accused of is offending anyone.
By the end of the school day, parents of the handful of kids at Jacques-Cartier Middle School in the Parisian suburb of Issou, who, according to the school board, had reportedly turned away from the painting when it was presented in class, were already hanging out in front of the school and demanding explanations for what the French press says they qualified as Islamophobic. By the next school day, the school’s teaching staff had exercised their right not to show up to work out of fear, and the French minister of education had to personally show up on campus in an effort to put a lid on a fiasco that risked boiling over.
The school is a mere 34 kilometers from the middle school in Conflans-Saint-Honorine, in front of which teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded for showing provocative Charlie Hebdo cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed to a class for educational and debate purposes in October 2020. The incident gave rise to a known radical Islamist sending out viral online messages that were picked up and acted on by a motivated 18-year old Muslim refugee who was subsequently killed on site by police responding to the teacher’s assassination. Earlier this month, six juveniles were criminally convicted for collaborating with the killer in targeting Paty.
Meanwhile, at another middle school in Mantes-la-Jolie, just 9km away from this latest art incident, teachers also briefly exercised their right of withdrawal in early December when they found out that their names had appeared in a parents’ chat group on WhatsApp in the wake of a media literacy lesson by history and geography teachers on the Israel-Palestine conflict. The parents were reportedly shocked that the teaching material used in the class had referred to Hamas as a “terrorist group.”
Look, just because a teacher quotes a reference to Hamas as terrorists doesn’t mean that the teacher is Islamophobic or some kind of rabid Zionist. One may not personally agree with that particular characterization — because one man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter — but that’s the actual current policy of France and the European Union. The teachers, if they want to do their job as objectively as possible, don’t have much wiggle room behind adhering to establishment doctrine.
What are they supposed to do — open a debate? Everyone loves that idea until the teacher fails to come down on the side that one favors. With so many teachers fearfully withdrawing their services, it’s no wonder there aren’t enough of them. Last September, about 50% of high schools and middle schools were short at least one teacher, according to the teachers’ union. This is definitely a step up from the school bedbug infestations that were making headlines for teacher withdrawals earlier this year.
Much like free speech, statues, drawings, and paintings are also part of Western culture and civilization. One of the main selling points of accepting more immigrants, as promoted by the Western establishment, is that it’s a means of culturally enriching Western democracies even more. Demanding that classical cultural works be covered up, torn down, or censored because they’re offensive to immigrant cultures flies right in the face of that argument.
Come on, folks. We’re talking about France here. One of the national symbols, Marianne, was perhaps most famously depicted as a topless woman in Eugene Delacroix’s legendary painting ‘Liberty Leading the People’, which depicts the moment of popular victory over the elites during the French Revolution. Anyone who’s offended by the natural female form really made the wrong call when deciding that France was the country for them — from the topless sunbathing that doesn’t even warrant a Gallic shrug, to France being the actual birthplace of the bikini when Louis Réard’s invention made its global debut at Paris’ legendary Molitor pool in 1946.
Granted, we live in an era of heated conflict where everyone seeks to score against ‘the other team’ by conveniently trying to define inconvenient incidents as warranting a certain label that serves to slam their opponent’s mouth shut — whether it’s from the fear of being accused of ‘racism’, ‘sexism’, ‘Islamophobia’, or ‘anti-Semitism’. This does a huge disservice to the underlying causes that they’re trying to champion by diluting it with triviality. There’s a real, legitimate global sympathy for the thousands of civilians of Gaza currently being killed while the world stands by and bickers over it. Using the conflict as an excuse to infringe on people’s speech isn’t going to win over many hearts and minds.
There are cases of real Islamophobia, which has a very clear definition of prejudice against Muslims. Selective dislike of some aspects of the cultural repertoire of another country doesn’t fit the bill, just like knee-jerk cries of anti-Semitism shouldn’t be used as a means of bullying critics of Israeli foreign policy into submission and silence. These are two sides of the same rhetorical coin. They serve to effectively quell democratic debate — which may be desirable when used in one’s favor, but certainly isn’t when one’s on the receiving end of the same tactics.
It should be possible, even amid a passionate clash of ideas, to still have nice things like paintings and art — and school teachers who don’t fear for their lives.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Having already banned 34 associations as of the end of November 2023 — a record number for a French president — Emmanuel Macron, through his government, and more precisely his Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, has announced further bans against civil society organizations, including one against the conservative Catholic association Academia Christiana. Academia Christiana’s chairman, Victor Aubert, talked to Remix News about his organization and the possible motives behind this ban.
What kind of organization is Academia Christiana, which France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has said is going to be banned?
It is an association functioning under the French 1901 law on associations. From a legal point of view, it fits in with the French constitutional law, which allows the creation of associations for different purposes.
In our case, the purpose is to provide young people with both spiritual and intellectual Christian formation in the traditional spirit of the Church. Academia Christiana was founded in 2013 by four students, including myself. Of the three others, two are now married, like me, and one has become a priest.
We act as a training institute that organizes universities and training sessions in history, philosophy, and literature, as well as, for the religious dimension, in catechism. Our association is also a think tank that publishes books, symposia, and video interviews on societal issues such as identity, ecology, culture, and anthropological decline.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Police Raid Pro-Palestinian Feminist Group
The raids were part of a probe into allegations that members of the group Zora were using emblems of the PFLP, which Israel, the EU and the US have designated a terrorist organization.
Police in Berlin, Germany’s capital, conducted on Wednesday a raid targeting members of a pro-Palestinian, left-wing feminist group, German media reported.
The Zora group is accused of backing the radical, left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The European Union and the United States list the group as a terrorist organization.
The GDP police trade union representative for the Berlin area, Benjamin Jendro, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that around 200 officers took part in the operation.
They searched six flats, an office and a café in the districts of Neukölln, Friedrichshain, Karlshorst, Wedding, Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg and Wedding, the BZ newspaper reported.
There are six suspects, five of whom are said to belong to the group Zora.
German outlets reported that the raid was mainly prompted by a statement the group posted on its Instagram account on October 12. The statement was titled: “No liberation of women without the liberation of Palestine.”
In the statement, the group argues that while the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which launched the October 7 terror attacks on Israel, has no interest in fighting the patriarchy, it is important to “strengthen the progressive forces that are also part of the Palestinian resistance” such as the PFLP.
The PFLP has historically been keen on organizing women and recruiting them in its activities.
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
German Health Minister Admits COVID Shots Don’t Work
Germany’s top health official has publicly admitted that Covid mRNA shots do nothing to prevent the virus.
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach made the startling confession after recently defending the injections amid mounting safety fears.
Lauterbach was responding to a post on X by the well-known pro-vax German virologist Isabella Eckerle.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: In Berlin, Searches Were Conducted at a Pro-Palestinian Feminist Group
Police in Berlin conducted searches at locations associated with a pro-Palestinian feminist group, as reported by DW.
Approximately 200 law enforcement officers were involved in the operation. Searches took place in six apartments, an office and a cafe located in different areas of Berlin.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Closes Case on Attack on AfD Leader
The prosecutor’s office in Ingolstadt has announced the closure of the investigation into the attack on Tino Krupalla, co-chair of the “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) party. The incident occurred on October 4, 2023, during a pre-election event at the Theater Square in Ingolstadt.
The decision to close the case was made due to a lack of evidence supporting the claim that Deputy Krupalla was a victim of an attack. According to the official statement from the prosecutor’s office, video footage has been examined, witnesses interviewed and forensic examinations conducted. The investigation revealed that the injection into Krupalla’s hand could have been made with a clerical button, whose broad head prevented deeper penetration.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Major Dutch Employers Phase Out Disposable Cups, Embrace Reusables From January 2024
Major Dutch employers are set to discontinue the use of disposable cups at their workplaces starting January 1, 2024, in compliance with a new law in the Netherlands.
According to Nl Times, the initiative, in line with a broader European directive to reduce single-use plastic waste, will see most office workers making the switch to reusable cups. The regulations specify that as of the mentioned date, offices, companies and institutions are prohibited from utilizing disposable cups and containers containing plastic components.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Orlen in Czech Republic Relies on Russian Oil, Slovakia and Hungary Adjust Imports
Orlen in the Czech Republic relies on fuels derived from Russian oil. In 2023, Slovakia reduced its import of oil from Russia by 10%, and Hungary by 2%. As reported by Rzeczpospolita, the deliveries of Russian raw material to the Czech Republic remained at the previous year’s level. Both refineries in the Czech Republic are owned by Orlen.
Data on the amount of imported oil by EU countries were provided by the Russian pipeline transportation monopolist, Transneft, on Wednesday. All three countries use a single active thread of the Friendship oil pipeline, passing through Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rising Antisemitic and Islamophobic Sentiment Sparks Terrorism Fears in Europe
Concerns over a heightened risk of terrorist attacks during the Christmas period are escalating in Europe due to the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The continent has witnessed a disturbing surge in antisemitic and islamophobic incidents in recent weeks, Euronews writes.
Following a deadly knife attack in Paris on December 5, the European Union’s Home Affairs Commissioner, Ylva Johansson, urged member states to enhance security measures, attributing the risks to the societal polarization resulting from the Gaza conflict. The European Commission has committed 30 million euros to bolster security in vulnerable areas, with a specific focus on places of worship.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Slovak Prime Minister Fico Promises to Block Ukraine’s Entry Into NATO
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has stated that he will block Ukraine’s entry into NATO. In his opinion, Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance would signify the beginning of the Third World War. The politician shared this view in an interview with InfoVojna.
“We will not agree to Ukraine’s NATO membership because it would mean the start of the Third World War… I believe this will never happen. As long as I have the opportunity to influence the Slovak political scene, I will use the right to veto such a decision,” said Fico.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Slovenian MEP: EU Commission is Withholding Information to Protect VP for Values and Transparency
European Commission Vice-President Vera Jourova (Renew) visited Slovenia earlier this year, preceding the Slovenian Constitutional Court’s legal ruling which paved the way for the left-globalist government to purge all conservatives from the country’s sole public broadcaster. Today, Wednesday, December 20th, MEP Milan Zver (EPP) lodged a complaint with the European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly against the Commission for its failure to provide access to documents related to this trip.
Zver accuses the Commission of “deliberately stalling to prevent Jourova from being held accountable for her actions” before her term ends in May 2024.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Capital of Switzerland is Exploring the Possibility of a Cocaine Legalization Initiative
Bern, the capital of Switzerland, is considering a groundbreaking project that would legalize the recreational use of cocaine. The proposal is backed by the parliament in Bern, is still in its early stages and faces opposition from the city government. The initiative would also require a change in national law, as reported by Reuters.
This move comes at a time when drug policies worldwide are undergoing transformations. For instance, the U.S. state of Oregon decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cocaine in 2021, favoring drug treatment. Several European countries, including Spain, Italy and Portugal, have eliminated prison sentences for drug possession but none have gone as far as the proposal being discussed in Bern.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK MP Demands Zuckerberg Bring in Facebook “Safeguards” (Encryption Backdoors)
UK officials are demanding that before Meta rolls out end-to-end encryption for its Messenger and Instagram platforms — it must simultaneously significantly weaken that very same security feature.
The demand of CEO Mark Zuckerberg is to ensure there are “safeguards” (i.e., encryption backdoors) built in first.
These politicians are, as ever, “thinking of the children” (rather than, as their critics rather suspect, looking for ways to facilitate mass state surveillance).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
After Midnight: Rocket Barrage on Kiryat Shmona, Hezbollah Claims Responsibility
At least eight rockets fired, of which two exploded in the city. Hezbollah: A response to Israel’s continued aggression.
Sirens were sounded shortly after midnight on Wednesday night in Kiryat Shmona and the nearby area.
At least eight rockets were fired from Lebanon. The city of Kiryat Shmona said that one rocket hit a building in the city and another fell near residential homes. There were no injuries, but homes and vehicles were damaged.
The Israel Police said that they are dealing with a number of areas in which rocket fragments fell in the vicinity of Kiryat Shmona.
“Police officers and police sappers are now isolating the scenes and searching for additional remains, in order to remove further risk to the public,” the police said.
The Hezbollah terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the rocket fire and said that “it is a response to Israel’s continued damage to the villages and homes of the civilians.”
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Hamas and Israel Open to Weeklong Truce to Free 40 Hostages: Reports
Hamas and Israeli officials appear open to discussing a weeklong truce that could free as many as 40 hostages — including women, the elderly and those who are sick.
All three major Israeli TV networks presented the Jewish state’s negotiating goals on Tuesday, revealing that their government wants to see Hamas free specific hostages, including women, seniors, and those with physical or mental illnesses.
In exchange for the hostages, Israel is allegedly prepared to engage in a weeklong cease-fire in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners in its jails, the Times of Israel reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hamas Commander Admits Use of Hospitals as Military Facilities
The director of a hospital in northern Gaza has confessed to being a senior Hamas commander, and described how the Palestinian terrorist group is using hospitals as military bases—a assertion consistently made by Israel, but dismissed by Western liberal commentators and politicians.
Ahmad Kahlot, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabaliya, was captured by Israeli forces last week during a raid of the hospital, and interrogated by the Shin Bet intelligence service. A video of his confession in which he described how Hamas transformed the hospital into an operational hub was published on Tuesday, December 19th.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Uncovers Major Hamas Command Center in Gaza City as Cease-Fire Talks Gain Momentum
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military on Wednesday said it had uncovered a major Hamas command center in the heart of Gaza City, inflicting what it described as a serious blow to the Islamic militant group as pressure grows on Israel to scale back its devastating military offensive in the coastal enclave.
The army said it had exposed the center of a vast underground network used by Hamas to move weapons, militants and supplies throughout the Gaza Strip. Israel has said destroying the tunnels is a major objective of the offensive.
The announcement came as Hamas’ top leader arrived in Egypt for talks aimed at brokering a temporary cease-fire and a new deal for Hamas to swap Israeli hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Israeli leaders have vowed to press ahead with the two-month-old offensive, launched in response to a bloody cross-border attack by Hamas in October that killed some 1,200 people and saw 240 others taken hostage.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Report: Tens of Thousands of Houthis Are Being Mobilized to Support Hamas in the Gaza Strip
In northern Yemen, controlled by the Houthis, there is a widespread mobilization for volunteers to be sent to the Gaza Strip to support Hamas, as announced by the Politburo of the Ansar Allah movement.
Tens of thousands of young people have reportedly volunteered. The method of Houthi troops entering the Gaza Strip, despite its blockade by Israel and Egypt, has not been disclosed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey’s Erdogan Wants F-16 Fighter Jet Sale Before Approving Swedish NATO Membership
Movement on the U.S. sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara and the Canadian arms embargo would help the Turkish parliament ratify Sweden’s application for NATO membership, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
“We expect positive developments on the F-16 and Canada’s pledge, which could help our parliament to take a positive stance on Sweden’s case. These are all connected here,” the Turkish president told reporters on his plane home from a visit to Hungary.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
And it’s Gone: “War in Ukraine” Quietly Scrubbed From WaPo Masthead
“It’s over” — comments investigative journalist Kit Klarenberg after noticing that The Washington Post quietly deleted a prominent tab from its Masthead.
What was a long featured “War in Ukraine” tab, which had been there from the start of the war going back to Feb. 2022 has disappeared…
An Internet Archive search and review of all Washington Post frontpages shows the tab was there throughout all of 2022. It was also present through most of 2023, until very recently.
Ironically just yesterday Ukraine’s President Zelensky again complained that the world’s focus has been taken off supporting his country’s struggle due in large part to the events in Israel and Gaza.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Authorizes Sweeping Seizure of Energy Assets From ‘Unfriendly’ European Countries
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed decrees granting the government the authority to seize and forcibly sell off billions of dollars worth of energy assets owned by European firms from countries labeled as “unfriendly.”
The Kremlin’s move specifically targets the colossal Yuzhno-Russkoye oil and gas field, currently held by Austria’s OMV and Germany’s Wintershall, both with a 60 percent stake in the project.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine’s Forces Pivot to Defense After Russia Holds Off Counteroffensive, Analysts Say
Ukraine’s armed forces are taking up a more defensive posture, a military analysis said Wednesday, after their summer counteroffensive failed to achieve a major breakthrough against Russia’s army and as winter weather sets in after almost 22 months of the war.
“In recent weeks, Ukraine has mobilized a concerted effort to improve field fortifications as its forces pivot to a more defensive posture along much of the front line,” the U.K. Defense Ministry said in an assessment.
The Kremlin’s deep defenses held firm against Ukraine’s months-long assault, which employed Western-supplied weapons but did not have essential air cover along the front line that extends for about 600 miles.
Most fighting in recent weeks has focused on artillery, missile and drone strikes as mud and snow hinder troop movements.
“Russia continues local offensive options in several sectors, but individual attacks are rarely above platoon size,” the U.K. analysis said. “A major Russian breakthrough is unlikely and overall, the front is characterized by stasis.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin is hopeful that Kyiv’s Western allies will grow weary of financing the costly Ukrainian war effort, allowing the Kremlin’s forces to make a new offensive push next year against a weaker foe. He has put the Russian economy on a war footing to prepare for that. Putin sent troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022 after invading and annexing the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine years earlier, a move most countries don’t recognize.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
The Opposition has called for ministerial heads to roll over allowing terrorist ‘scum’ Abdul Nacer Benbrika, the first Australian convicted of leading a terrorist cell, to walk free.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
El Salvador Leader Blasts America’s Lack of ‘Democracy’ After Trump Removed From Colorado Ballot
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has issued a fiery response to the Democrat-controlled Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot.
As Slay News reported earlier, the Democrat-appointed justices on Colorado’s highest court cited false claims about Trump related to Jan. 6.
The court claims that the 45th president is disqualified because he allegedly engaged in an “insurrection” by stoking the protests at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Biden administration has been ordered to stop destroying razor wire at the Texas border as migrant crossings surge to historic levels.
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday blocked the federal government from dismantling the barrier along the Mexico border that was installed to deter migrants.
The ruling is temporary in the battle between Texas and the federal government over enforcing the border that saw a record 14,000 crossers encountered on Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Agreement on Migration Will Still Force Member States to Either Take Migrants or Pay
After two days and nights of difficult trilogue negotiations, the European institutions came to a preliminary agreement on the five remaining legislative chapters of the Migration and Asylum Pact, the EU’s flagship migration management framework that has been in the works for years.
Brussels’ establishment hails the deal as a just and balanced compromise, but conservative lawmakers criticized the agreement saying that it will hardly put an end to unrestrained mass migration to Europe.
The five tracks agreed upon on Wednesday include new screening and asylum procedures that will allow member states to more effectively identify and turn back economic migrants who do not qualify for international protection.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Compromise Bill on Immigration Adopted: What’s Next?
After many weeks of heated debate, France’s immigration reform bill has finally been adopted. The approved version includes the introduction of annual immigration quotas, the end of automatic citizenship for children born to foreign parents, and the extension of the period of legal residence required to qualify for social benefits. However, elements requested by the Right, such as the abolition of State Medical Aid, were not retained.
The new version is a compromise drawn up by a committee of senators and MPs. It is stronger than the previous version, at the request of the Right. But as soon as it is passed, the law’s existence is already in jeopardy as President Emmanuel Macron is already sending signals that he doesn’t accept the outcome of the vote and may find a way to bypass certain aspects of the law.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A black resident of Chicago was filmed berating Mayor Brandon Johnson over the city’s current ‘sanctuary’ status for migrants and the progressive’s failure to bring funds to more at-risk communities.
The exchange was recorded at the Chicago City Council’s special meeting Thursday, called to consider whether residents should vote on a referendum on the city’s sanctuary status for the upcoming year.
The meeting was thus filled with debate, and drew a fierce statement from a woman who billed herself as a Chicago native born and bred, Lauren Lawrence.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Church Leader Speaks Out Against Migration
by RT
Russia will be lost if the current immigration trends continue, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, said on Wednesday.
The patriarch has been calling for a national conversation about immigration since last month, pointing to the alarming examples of communities that refuse to integrate or respect the Russian cultural norms and even laws.
“The situation has worsened compared to last year,” the patriarch said in a report to the Moscow Archdiocese, urging both the government and the business community to understand that “if the described trend continues, we will lose ourselves, we will lose Russia as a multinational state, the core of which is the Russian Orthodox people.”
According to Patriarch Kirill, large numbers of migrants from “foreign cultures” are showing no signs of wanting to assimilate into the Russian society, or at the very least respect its religious and cultural customs. Some of the migrants are even forming “criminal communities” and extremist organizations, whose activities “threaten interreligious and interethnic peace and harmony,” he added.
The desire to obtain cheap labor for the sake of mainly short-term economic benefits should not attract to our motherland a huge number of people belonging to a different culture, who often do not speak Russian and have no respect for Russia and the peoples that live here,” the patriarch said.
Patriarch Kirill made a similar argument at last month’s World Russian People’s Council. Another alarming development he highlighted at the time was the tendency of migrants to congregate in “clans” and shield their members from police if they commit a crime.
Several days later, President Vladimir Putin agreed that migrants would need to assimilate in order to stay, adding that Russian citizens’ interests need to come first. Putin acknowledged, however, that the Russian economy was short of labor, which increased demand for guest workers.
Residents of former Soviet republics, mainly from the Caucasus and Central Asia, have flocked to Russia in search of work over the past two decades. Official statistics put the number of migrant workers at three million, not counting those who live and work in Russia illegally. According to the special representative of the State Duma on migration and citizenship Konstantin Zatulin, there were still more than two million job vacancies in Russia as of early December.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Texas Begins Flying Migrants to Sanctuary Cities With First Flight to Chicago
The state of Texas has started flying migrants to sanctuary cities, with the first flight arriving in Chicago on Tuesday evening, Fox News has learned, marking an escalation of Gov. Greg Abbott’s previous strategy of bussing migrants to ease the pressure on the border state.
Fox was told that the first flight left El Paso on Tuesday afternoon with 120 migrants on board and arrived at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport later in the day. Sources in Abbott’s office told Fox that all migrants signed voluntary waivers, as they do when bussed.
The decision was partially in response to Chicago’s interference of the buses traveling to the sanctuary city. The city has launched lawsuits against companies transporting the migrants.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Church of England Gives Blessing to Female Priest Couple
The Church of England (CofE) has begun granting blessings to same-sex couples, with a lesbian couple who also serve as Anglican clergy themselves, being among the first to receive an official blessing.
Catherine Bond and Jane Pearse, both of whom serve as associate priests in the CofE, had their homosexual relationship blessed over the weekend in Felixstowe County Suffolk, local newspaper Suffolk News reports.
Vicar Canon Andrew Dotchin blessed the pair in St John the Baptist Church, the parish where both Bond and Pearse also serve, during the Sunday Eucharist.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Microsoft Word has added a “woke” feature that issues warnings when words are written that aren’t “inclusive” in nature.
The software was brought to light by X owner Elon Musk who stirred up a debate on whether or not Microsoft is attempting to push a societal narrative through its software programs.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s New Strategy Pushes ‘Feminist Foreign Policy’ in Asia
Germany’s recently published regional development strategy in Asia plans to build on Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s “feminist foreign policy” and emphasizes the role of gender equality when seeking to build new development partnerships, Euractiv writes.
The document is part of Germany’s first-ever National Security Strategy launched this year, which identified—among others—building partnerships in Asia as a primary objective to safeguard national interests.
The new Asian development strategy was presented by the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development last week and asserted that Berlin would “prioritize gender-transformative projects” in identifying and funding key partnerships.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Majority of Poles Support Legal Abortion, New Survey Reveals
Most Poles favor legal abortion and a majority of the new ruling coalition’s voters support abortion on demand, according to recent polling.
A total of 57 percent of respondents to an IPSOS survey voiced their support for legal abortion. The survey, which included a representative sample of 1,507 individuals from Dec. 1-8, 2023, indicated a growing acceptance of abortion rights in Poland.
Within the group supporting unconditional abortion, 38 percent were in favor of allowing abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy, while 19 percent supported its availability up to the 24th week.
On the other hand, 35 percent believed abortion should be accessible but only under specific legal circumstances.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netflix has come under fire after a recent episode of its most popular children’s show “CoComelon Lane” featured a young boy dressing up as a girl and dancing for his two gay dads.
CoComelon Lane, which is produced by Moonbug Entertainment, is the most popular show on the streaming service for babies and toddlers ages two and up, and the episode has resulted in individuals across social media calling for a boycott of the company.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Polish Family Minister Faces Backlash for Controversial Anti-Christian T-Shirt
Poland’s new family minister is under fire for a t-shirt that features a graphic of a woman shielding herself from Christian crucifixes with an umbrella, with the photo fueling fears of anti-Christian sentiment in the new ruling left-liberal government.
Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bak, the new minister of family, labor, and social policy in the Polish government led by Donald Tusk, wore the controversial t-shirt during a photo shoot in the past. The image, resurfacing on social media, led journalist Slawomir Jastrzebowski to highlight the hypocrisy by suggesting that if the crosses were replaced with symbols like the Star of David or a crescent moon, the minister would have been promptly dismissed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ontario Judge Rules That Calling Drag Queens ‘Groomers’ is Defamatory
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ruled it “defamatory” to label drag queens as “groomers” and using such terminology is not protected by Canada’s free speech laws.
According to The Counter Signal, the decision is part of a ruling in the case of Rainbow Alliance Dryden (RAD) et al v. Webster, with Justice Tracey Nieckarz determining that “it is reasonable to conclude that the suggestion that … drag performers are ‘groomers’, merely because of their sexual or performance identity, is defamatory.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The UK authorities have officially registered an official “hate incident” in connection with Rachel Maclean, the deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, due to a social media post in which she referred to a transgender woman as a “man in a wig.”
This incident came to light following a complaint lodged by Melissa Poulton, a would-be Green Party candidate, prompting West Mercia Police to include Maclean’s remarks in their archives.
The controversial and Orwellian “Non Crime Hate Incident” was declared because Maclean, being a figure with a significant enough online following, was deemed to have potentially reached a significant number of people with her comments.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Vicar Faces Investigation for Calling Transgender Archdeacon a “Bloke”
In the UK, investigations are underway into Reverend Brett Murphy, a former vicar, who voiced strong criticism in a video post about the Church of England’s choice of a transgender person as an archdeacon. The incident centers around Murphy’s comment that the appointed archdeacon, Rev Rachel Mann, is “biologically a bloke” and revolves around the CofE’s alleged placement of an activist in a high-ranking position.
“Bloke” is a colloquial British term for “man.”
Murphy had stepped down from his role earlier in the year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
On social media networks write that this channel belongs to the Prague shooter.
https://t.me/Kozak_David