The U.S. Border Patrol says its agents will not remove the razor wire barriers put up along the border with Mexico by the Texas National Guard. Meanwhile, a boat full of illegal immigrants landed on a beach in San Diego, after which they ran into the wealthy neighborhood of La Jolla.
In other news, three people were injured in an explosion at a military plant of the Azerbaijani Defense Industry Ministry in the eastern city of Shirvan.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Caroline Glick, Dean, Insubria, JW, McN, Reader from Chicago, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
24 GOP Legislators in Pennsylvania Challenge Biden Over Voter Registration Executive Order
Authored by Beth Brelje via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
A group of 24 Republican legislators in Pennsylvania have filed a federal complaint against President Joe Biden, Gov. Josh Shapiro, and representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of State, saying they have usurped the authority of the legislature by changing voter registration and election rules.
The legislators say the Elections Clause and the Electors Clause of the U.S. Constitution give state legislators the sole constitutional right to determine the manner of elections, and there is no role for the president, governor, or other executive officials, such as the secretary of state, to create, rewrite, or disregard the laws established by the legislature. The group alleges they have been unconstitutionally excluded from the law-making process regulating federal elections for president and Congress.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Arab-American Leaders Call Off Meeting With Biden’s Campaign Boss in Michigan: ‘Not Welcome Here’
Arab-American leaders in Michigan refused to meet with President Biden’s campaign manager on Friday over the commander in chief’s backing of Israel in its war against Hamas.
The planned Dearborn, Mich., get-together was part of a Biden campaign “listening tour,” according to the Detroit News, and was expected to involve Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez and roughly a dozen Muslim and Arab American elected officials, office holders and community leaders.
When word of the scheduled summit got out, Wayne County deputy executive and meeting coordinator Assad Turfe canceled it, because of community “outrage.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Atlanta Townhome Construction Site Set on Fire in Attack Claimed by Far-Left Extremists
In the latest of a string of arson attacks in what has been part of the far-left, Antifa-linked “Stop Cop City” activist movement, equipment of a construction company that is involved in building Atlanta’s public safety training center was burned while at a town-home construction site. The training center has been dubbed “Cop City” by activists opposed to it.
The attack on the town-home construction site equipment is one of 80 different violent incidents that have often involved arson attacks against the public safety project.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
And another foreign policy faux pas…
The Biden administration says it is currently reviewing its sanctions policy on Maduro’s Venezuela, after the country’s top court blocked opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from becoming a presidential candidate. Her formal candidacy was initially banned for backing US sanctions against Caracas and for alleged corruption.
“The United States is currently reviewing our Venezuela sanctions policy, based on this development and the recent political targeting of democratic opposition candidates and civil society,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a fresh Saturday statement in response to the development.
It was only in October that the White House initiated most extensive rollback of Trump-era sanctions on Caracas, after a series of visits of high-level US officials to meet with counterparts in Caracas. The engagement came to fruition against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, which sent the US abroad in search of alternative energy resources.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democrats Push WEF’s ‘Climate Lockdowns’ to Fight ‘Global Warming’
Democrats are quietly pushing the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) plans to lock members of the public in their homes under so-called “climate lockdowns” to “save the planet” from “global warming.”
Many Americans are only now beginning to realize the devastating impacts that Covid lockdowns had on our society.
Businesses are still struggling to recover and children are trying to catch up with missed learning opportunities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DNI Investigation Reveals How CCP Interfered in US Election
Authored by Andrew Thornebrooke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
The Chinese regime interfered in the U.S. 2022 midterm elections through various means, according to a declassified intelligence report and multiple private-sector investigations.
The effort included a broad array of techniques orchestrated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including retaliation against U.S. lawmakers, the promotion of divisive content, and the impersonation of American voters online.
Noted China hawk Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) said the regime will continue its efforts to interfere in U.S. elections until the Biden administration deals more seriously with Beijing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Female Army Commander Fired After Male Soldiers Say She Sexually Assaulted Them
US Army Col. Meghann Sullivan was fired from command of a unit based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state following allegations of sexual assaults against male subordinates and sexual harassment.
According to an Army spokesperson, Sullivan served as commander of the 5th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 5th Security Force Assistance Brigade and was the first woman to take command of an SFAB battalion.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Legislators Push to Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Evidence
Lawmakers in Florida are pushing to unseal secret evidence presented to a grand jury that resulted in a sweetheart prosecution deal for multimillionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein nearly 20 years ago, according to a report.
Two lawmakers who tried unsuccessfully last year to introduce legislation to eliminate the secrecy provision of grand juries renewed their push this month to change the law as part of an effort to convince the courts to unseal evidence given to a grand jury in 2006 that charged the serial pedophile with only one count of solicitation of a prostitute.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
San Francisco’s oldest toy store, which inspired the Pixar classic “Toy Story,” is permanently shutting its doors after nearly a century in business with the city’s widespread crime and violence problem playing a significant factor.
Jeffrey’s Toys broke the news Friday it will be closing up shop at the end of February, marking the end of an iconic 86-year run.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jan. 6 Lawyer Says Suspects ‘Can’t Get a Fair Trial’ in DC
Federal juries in Washington, D.C., have a pretty consistent record of convictions in cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, and a defense lawyer who has worked in over 50 of them thinks she knows why.
“This is a Democratic town. People here are Democrats,” Kira Anne West said.
After two years of Capitol riot trials, it’s settling in for the dozens of cases still in the queue that getting a fair trial before a jury is nearly impossible in a town that voted 93% Democratic in the 2020 presidential election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Memphis TV News Anchor Drops Dead at 38 After Sudden ‘Medical Emergency’
A much loved local Memphis TV news anchor has tragically died suddenly at just 38 years old.
Amanda Hanson, described as “energetic” by those who knew her, was the face of Tennessee station Action News 5 until her shocking sudden death.
Hanson’s death was confirmed in a statement posted on the TV station’s website.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More Senate Republicans Embrace Trump as He Marches Toward GOP Nomination
Authored by Samantha Flom via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
Former President Donald Trump continues to pick up endorsements from Capitol Hill as it appears increasingly likely that he will clinch the Republican nomination for president.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) became one of the latest GOP lawmakers to back President Trump on Jan. 24 following his historic victory in New Hampshire.
“Competition makes us all better, so I let the primary play out, but this thing’s over,” Mr. Kennedy wrote in an X post.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Network of 3,000 Radical Left-Wing Groups Backing Indictments, Anti-Trump Ballot Attempts: Report
A network of over 3,000 left-wing groups have been trying to suppress influence of former President Donald Trump for years. This group has been found to be behind the push to remove him from ballots in the 2024 election. The group leading the network backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and is called Indivisible.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nikki Haley Victim of ‘Swatting’ Attack at South Carolina Home
Authorities in South Carolina responded to a bogus emergency call at Nikki Haley’s South Carolina home last month, allegedly to investigate reports of that a man had shot a woman and was preparing to harm himself.
The false report, known as swatting, has become a growing problem for high profile Americans and politicians of both parties and can result in deadly accidents.
The swatting attack took place on Dec. 30 in the town of Kiawah Island. Neither Haley nor her son were not at home during the incident.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Oppenheimer Critic Says Movie’s Awards Season Success Marks ‘Troubling’ Return to ‘Macho’ Dad Movies
Online backlash ensued after a media critic questioned whether the award season success of “Oppenheimer” meant Hollywood is returning to a “troubling” era oversaturated with “macho” dad movies.
The Christopher Nolan-directed epic about the physicist behind the atomic bomb was a critical and commercial hit, and it won five Golden Globe earlier this month, including Best Motion Picture-Drama and Best Director.
“Oppenheimer” earned 13 Academy Award nominations this week, making it one of the most-nominated movies in Oscars history.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pelosi Suffers Brain Freeze 13 Seconds After Mocking ‘Trump’s Cognitive Disorders’
Democrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) suffered a humiliating brain freeze just moments after mocking President Donald Trump’s mental acuity during a corporate media interview.
During an appearance on MSNBC, Pelosi seized the opportunity to raise questions about Trump’s health.
The former House speaker tried to mock Trump after he appeared to briefly confuse Pelosi with Nikki Haley at a rally.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Plane-Shaped Sonar Image May be Vital Clue in Amelia Earhart Mystery, Adventurer Says
For dozens of explorers, Amelia Earhart is the one who got away — seemingly permanently.
However, a commercial real estate investor from Charleston, South Carolina, believes he might finally have found a vital piece of the 87-year-old puzzle.
The pioneering female aviator, a household name at the time, disappeared with her flight navigator on what was to be a record-setting trip around the world in 1937.
Despite many attempts and millions of dollars spent over nine decades, neither Earhart’s remains nor the wreckage of her plane have ever definitively been located.
But Tony Romeo, a pilot and a former US Air Force intelligence officer who sold all his commercial properties to pay for his search, told The Wall Street Journal he thinks he found part of Earhart’s plane resting on the ocean floor.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
— just around the corner from Lebron James and John Legend’s homes
A dramatic police raid descended on a raucous Beverly Hills ‘squatting’ mansion that has been plaguing its celebrity neighborhood with nightly rave parties.
The Los Angeles Police Department responded to reports of a home invasion shortly after 3pm Friday at the $4.3 million mansion, the site of a number of out-of-control parties that began in October.
Despite counting Lebron James and Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane as neighbors, police had been seemingly powerless to stop the continuing raves — until Friday’s incident reportedly included several suspects armed with a knife.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Arrest Teen Said to be Linked to Hundreds of Swatting Attacks
For more than a year, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation has been hunting the person whom experts say is one of the most prolific swatters in American history. Law enforcement now believes they have finally arrested the person responsible.
A 17-year-old from California is allegedly the swatter known as Torswats, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The teenager is currently in custody and awaiting extradition from California to Seminole County, Florida. The Florida State Attorney’s Office tells WIRED that he faces four felony counts.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pro-Hamas Protesters Vow to Shut Down JFK as Cops Promise Crackdown
Waves of Hamas-loving protesters are planning to descend on John F. Kennedy Airport on Saturday looking to repeat the havoc they caused there on New Year’s Day.
“Flood JFK for Gaza,” read a promotional ad for the event which began circulating online this week. The “flood” language is a direct allusion to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Hamas’ name for the Oct 7 terrorist attack in Israel which left at least 1,200 dead.
“Bring flags, keffiyeh, signs, banners and decorate your cars,” the banner continued, calling on the disrupters to congregate outside Terminal 4 arrivals.
The New York Police Department — which has so far taken a blasé approach to the unrest, allowing wanton mayhem with few consequences — this time vowed it would get tough with agitators.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Israel demonstrators gathered outside the Braddock, Pa. home of Sen. John Fetterman — who responded to the din by going on his roof and waving an Israeli flag at them.
The progressive-hating Democrat, silently waved the blue and white flag Friday night as protesters waved Palestinian flags and screeched “Fetterman, Fetterman, you can’t hide. You’re supporting genocide.”
The first-term senator, once a darling of progressives, has incurred wrath from the left over his staunch support of Israel to defend itself from Hamas terrorists in the aftermath of Oct. 7. He’s responded by publicly trolling them.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Snopes REVERSES ‘Fact Check’ Claiming Joe Biden Didn’t Wear Hard Hat Backwards
Misinformation hall-monitor website Snopes was forced to reverse a fact-check on Saturday after making the false claim the Joe Biden did not wear a hard hat backwards during a recent photo-op with construction workers.
When Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) posted the photo of Biden to X with several other construction workers, users responded slamming Biden for wearing the hard hat backwards.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump’s Team Reached Out to RFK Jr. ‘Early on’ About Serving as VP: ‘Wouldn’t Write it Off’
People close to former President Trump made preliminary overtures to Robert F. Kennedy about the possibility of serving as his running mate, The Post has learned.
“Trump operatives expressed an interest in Kennedy early on, but it was all premature,” said one person familiar with the matter, adding that it was “right out of the box when Bobby announced” in April 2023 he was running for president.
“Anything’s possible. I wouldn’t write it off by any means,” the insider continued.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Housing, Rents Hit Record High in 2022
A newly released study reveals that rent and housing has reached record breaking highs in unaffordability for the average American household.
Half of American renters paid more than 30 percent of their income for rent and utilities in 2022, when rents increased due to the COVID-19 epidemic, according to recently released data from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Why Are Strokes Rising in Young People? as Snoop Dogg’s 24-Year-Old Daughter Recovers From One
Strokes normally strike adults in their 70s, but have been rising faster among younger adults — those aged 18 to 45 years — in the US for decades than in any other age group.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Campus Watch: Concordia Wants to “Decolonize and Indigenize” Academics
Montreal’s Concordia University is seeking to “decolonize and Indigenize” every aspect of its academic curriculums and pedagogy.
The university has highlighted its agenda in a “5-Year Strategic Implementation Plan” published last fall.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Edmonton City Hall Shooter Made Gaza ‘Genocide’ Tape Before Attack: Reports
An Afghan migrant working as a security Guard who allegedly threw Molotov cocktails and opened fire with a long gun at a Canadian city hall is said to have published a wide-ranging video manifesto talking of diverse subjects like “genocide” in Gaza, house prices, and the importance of obeying Canadian law before the attack, reports claim.
A man opened fire at Edmonton City Hall on Tuesday, lighting “several” incendiary devices described as “Molotov cocktails” before shooting rounds from a long gun into the walls and ceiling. He was subsequently apprehended by security who detained him until the police could arrive and nobody was killed. A suspect, named as 28-year-old Bezhani Sarvar by Canada’s Globe and Mail has been charged with six counts including reckless use of a weapon, arson, and throwing explosives with intent to cause harm and appeared in court on Thursday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A new report has claimed that the Trudeau Liberals relied on “fabricated intelligence” to justify the invocation of the Emergencies Act to crack down on those who participated in the Freedom Convoy.
The federal government was quick to brand attendees as a “fringe group” with “unacceptable views,” and used that to suggest that they posed a threat to national security, however new documents obtained via Canada’s Access to Information and Privacy Act have called into question how such a determination was made in the first place.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Chief Drops Bid for European Parliament Seat
In a major U-turn, president of the European Council, Charles Michel announced Friday he was abandoning plans to try to win a seat in upcoming EU Parliament elections after coming under “personal attacks.” Michel added that he would now see through the rest of his European Council mandate that ends in November.
Michel, a former Belgian prime minister, announced on January 6th that he was vying to become an EU lawmaker in European Parliament elections taking place June 6-9 across the bloc. As a result, and in the event of being elected, he said he would step down as European Council president in mid-July.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EXCLUSIVE: Alexandra Oger, 39, was convicted of leaving her child for two years in a freezing second floor flat when she moved in with her lover Charlene Muller and her two children.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
French Farmers Vow to Continue Protests Despite Government Concessions
The farmers’ movement, seeking better remuneration for their produce, less red tape and protection against cheap imports has spread in recent days across the country, with protesters using their tractors to shut down long stretches of road and slow traffic. They’ve also dumped stinky agricultural waste at the gates of government offices.
While some of the barricades were gradually being lifted on Saturday, highway operator Vinci Autoroutes said the A7, a major highway heading through southern France and into Spain, was still closed. Some other roads were also partially closed, mostly in southern France.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Greta Thunberg has shut down a British airport demanding private jets be made illegal as she joins an Extinction Rebellion protest.
The Swedish activist is taking part in a climate protest at Farnborough Airport, against the airport’s expansion and calling for a ban on private jets.
This comes as Farnborough Airport submitted plans to move from a cap of 50,000 flights to 70,000 flights per year.
The airport says this increase would meet the demand for business trips.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hague Ruling on Eve of Holocaust Day Hurts — Di Segni
‘S.Africa action aberrant, same court verified genocide of Jews’
The ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day that Israel must take all measures to prevent genocide in Gaza “hurts”, the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, Noemi Di Segni, told ANSA on Friday.
“It hurts, on the eve of the Holocaust memorial day, to see that the International Court of Justice has established its jurisdiction to decide on the case brought by South Africa,” said Di Segni.
It is, she added, “a totally aberrant action that distorts the meaning of that ‘never again’ pronounced so convincingly in the aftermath of the war, precisely in the establishment of the court that ascertained the genocide of the Jewish people”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Naples Rabbi Says Carrying Symbols Has Become Dangerous
Some Jews victims of threats, fortunately only verbal
Carrying Jewish symbols has become dangerous in Italy, Naples chief rabbi said at a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony brought forward from the actual date, January 27, because Saturday is the Jewish day of rest.
“Even in Naples, wearing Jewish symbols, such as the kippah and the Star of David, has become a danger,” said Cesare Moscati, chief rabbi of the Jewish community of Naples, on the sidelines of the Remembrance Day celebrations.
“Some Jews in our community have been threatened, fortunately only verbally and not physically”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Politicians: Deans Are Misrepresenting the Shoah — Di Segni
‘The Church too has made appeals that belittle Oct 7 terror’
University rectors, politicians and other institutional representatives are using language that misrepresents the Shoah, the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI), Noemi Di Segni, said on Tuesday.
“In the last few weeks, we have heard rectors, teachers, politicians, institutional figures use words about the Shoah that have been distorted, out of context, turned against Israel and the Jews,” said Di Segni ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday, without naming names.
The UCEI chief said the use of the Fascist salute at the January 7 commemoration of the 1978 Acca Larentia massacre in Rome “depends on contexts and circumstances, to the use of the term ‘genocide’ in comments on the Hague Court trial”.
South Africa has brought Israel before the International Court of Justice in The Hague for its alleged genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, a charge Tel Aviv has dismissed as “grossly distorted”.
“And, with all due respect, it also concerns the Church: we have heard appeals that belittle the recognition of October 7 as an act of terrorism,” she added, referring to the unprecedented Hamas attack mounted from Gaza that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw approximately 250 hostages taken.
The resulting Israeli offensive to eliminate the Islamist militant group from the Strip has so far left over 24,000 Palestinians dead according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Rummo Pasta Says Not Fazed by Boycott Calls on Salvini
Not used to asking for party cards says owner after visit
One of Italy’s most popular pasta makers, Rummo fom Benevento south of Naples, said Tuesday it was not fazed by calls to boycott its products by leftists on social media after rightwing League leader, Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini visited the works.
“People will continue to buy our pasta,” owner Cosimo Rummo told ANSA.
He added: “I’m not accustomed to asking for a party membership card from people who come here”.
Salvini visited Rummo Monday saying his visit was aimed against those who wanted to eat things like insect flour.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: We Must Avoid Sending Arms to Israel — PD Leader Schlein
‘Cannot risk weapons being used to commit war crimes’ says opposition party chief
Italy must avoid fuelling conflicts by exporting weapons particularly to the Middle East because of the risk of being used to commit war crimes, the leader of the centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) Elly Schlein said on Friday.
“We must face the issue of avoiding fuelling these conflicts, of avoiding sending arms and exporting arms to conflicts, to the conflict in the Middle East, in this case particularly to Israel,” said Schlein at the end of a meeting of PD lawmakers in Gubbio.
This, she added, is because “we cannot risk weapons being used to commit what could be construed as war crimes”.
Tel Aviv is waging a military campaign to eliminate Hamas from Gaza after the brutal and unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.
The Hamas-run health ministry now says over 24,000 people have been killed in the Palestinian enclave since the war began.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Anti-Semitic Phrase Written Near Synagogue in Milan
Serious act ahead of Shoah Day of Memory says Jewish councillor
A piece of antisemitic graffiti appeared Thursday afternoon on a wall near the synagogue in Milan, saying ‘Out of Gaza, Jews dung”, reported centre-left Democratic Party (PD) councillor Daniele Nahum, a member of the Jewish community, in the city council.
“The writing appeared a few minutes ago and I believe it is a serious act, a sign of a very serious climate because it takes us back to dark times for this city,” he said.
“We arrive at (Holocaust) Remembrance Day (on January 27) with a climate that is not positive and not nice, in a city that has suffered deportations.
“I strongly want to say that I no longer want to see that climate and democratic institutions cannot allow it”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Counter-Terror Police Hunt Vigilante Group Cutting Down and Blowing Up Speed Cameras
London is not the only city where vigilantes are destroying traffic cameras, as Italian counter-terror police have been deployed to catch the people behind the destruction of cameras in the north of the country.
A team of counter-terrorism and anti-mafia police officers are working to track down the people destroying speed cameras in several Italian areas, with cameras sawn down, shot out, and even exploded. The elite police squad finally got their first hit this week, reports Il Giornale, which reports security cameras at the scene of one strike against the traffic cameras caught a man in the act, allowing him to be identified and later arrested.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mask-Wearing German Judge Acquits CJ Hopkins in ‘Nazi-Promoting Tweets’ Case
Six months after renowned American author and satirist CJ Hopkins was first charged (and found guilty and sentenced) for daring to dissent against the state’s increasing authoritarianism (by tweeting an image of a mask with a swastika image shining through), he finally had his day in (German) court…
…and, in his own words “it went pretty well.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Conservative watchdogs may be plotting to label a Swiss-born billionaire who has funneled hundreds of millions to left-leaning US groups ‘the new George Soros’.
Hansjorg Wyss, 88, who has an estimated net worth of $10 billion and in lives in Wyoming, has given over $800 million to liberal groups in recent years, with particular focus on donations toward President Joe Biden’s climate agenda.
However, many of his donations have also gone to trying to stop former President Donald Trump and his successful nomination of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The United States Intends to House Nuclear Weapons in the United Kingdom
The United States is reportedly considering deploying nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom for the first time in 15 years, citing an increasing threat from Russia.
As cited by The Courier, the proposal involves placing warheads, three times more potent than the Hiroshima bomb, at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. Pentagon documents indicate procurement contracts for a new facility at the airbase. The move comes after the removal of nuclear missiles from RAF Lakenheath in 2008, a period when the Cold War tensions with Moscow had diminished.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Hello, 911?”
The Welsh Ambulance Service revealed some of the most ridiculous calls it received this year — including a woman who lost her voice, a person who had eaten too much kebab and another person who’d gotten their hand stuck in a mailbox.
The service said it fielded a whopping 414,149 calls to 999, its equivalent to 911 in the US, but 68,416 turned out to be not emergencies at all — an average of 188 bogus calls per day.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Notorious Israeli Spyware Firm Wants to Use the Gaza War to Make a Comeback
In 2021, the Biden administration blacklisted the NSO Group, an Israeli company infamous for selling controversial commercial surveillance technology across the globe. But now pressure is mounting on the White House to reverse course. NSO Group lobbyists and several European governments claim the firm’s spyware — software for covertly collecting mobile phone data — has become indispensable in Israel’s fight against Hamas.
But removing NSO Group’s blacklisted status would be a mistake. Doing so would endorse unconstrained surveillance and undermine broader U.S. efforts to curb other firms enabling undemocratic uses of spyware. Washington must stand firm to preserve the political and moral leadership it needs to combat spyware abuse.
The United States has taken necessary steps to counter the proliferation and abuse of spyware. In addition to banning the NSO Group, the White House also blacklisted Candiru, another Israeli spyware company with links to repression. In July 2022, the Biden administration shot down the potential acquisition of NSO Group by U.S. defense contractor L3 Harris. In March 2023, the administration expanded its efforts with an executive order setting new guidelines on the federal acquisition and use of commercial surveillance software.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Caroline Glick: Israel’s Isolated Generals
Shortly after Hamas’s Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, its sadistic massacre of 1,200 Israelis and kidnap of 246 men, women and children from southern Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government declared war on Iran’s Palestinian proxy. The government set four war goals: the military eradication of Hamas; the eradication of Hamas’s civilian regime in the Gaza Strip; the return of all the hostages; and the permanent pacification of Gaza to ensure that it will never pose a threat to Israel again.
Almost immediately thereafter, anonymous “senior IDF sources” began grousing to the media about the government’s war goals. “Sources in the General Staff” have been regularly cited advocating for replacing the goals of the war with others that rule out Hamas’s eradication and the permanent pacification of Gaza.
A few weeks into the war, the Biden administration began insisting that the government set out its vision for postwar Gaza while making no effort to hide what it expects the plan to include: the transfer of power to the terror-infused, Hamas-aligned Palestinian Authority. As Netanyahu hemmed and hawed and delayed his response to avoid a confrontation with the administration, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevy and the other generals hopped on the U.S. bandwagon.
Buttressed by a chorus of retired generals, the sitting generals have insisted on and off the record that the absence of a vision of the day after the war leaves the military directionless. Netanyahu, they gripe, is making it impossible for the IDF to fight strategically.
The generals have things backwards. Israel’s strategic goals of destroying Hamas and securing the release of the hostages are both straightforward. It is the General Staff’s job to set out a plan for achieving them, replete with benchmarks to mark success. By demanding a plan for the day after the war, the General Staff is not asking for further guidance. It is demanding that the war goals be revised…
| — Hat tip: Caroline Glick | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Increasing Efforts to Shut Down Ukraine’s Access to Elon Musk’s Starlink Satellites
Russia is stepping up efforts to cut off Ukraine’s access to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites, according to a report.
During the nearly two-year conflict, the Russian military has tried to prevent Ukraine from accessing the satellites by attaching jammers to its tanks to interfere with signals and disrupt exploding drones, according to a Business Insider report.
Jamming of Ukraine’s satellites has forced troops to move closer to their targets on the front lines of the war, which began in February 2022.
The satellites have been crucial for Ukraine’s survival during the conflict.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Claims No Evidence it Shot Down Plane Carrying Own Prisoners of War
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Officials in Ukraine said Russia has provided no credible evidence to back its claims that their own forces shot down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to be swapped for Russian POWs.
The Ukrainian agency that deals with prisoner exchanges said late Friday that Russian officials had “with great delay” provided it with a list of the 65 Ukrainians who Moscow said had died in the Wednesday plane crash in Russia’s Belgorod region.
Ukraine’s Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said relatives of the named POWs were unable to identify their loved ones in crash site photos provided by Russian authorities. The agency’s update cited Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, as saying that Kyiv had no verifiable information about who was on the plane.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that missiles fired from across the border brought down the transport plane that it said was taking the POWs back to Ukraine. Local authorities in Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, said the crash killed all 74 people onboard, including six crew members and three Russian servicemen.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
3 People Injured in Military Plant Explosion in Azerbaijan
Baku, Jan 23 (UNI) Three people were injured as a result of an explosion at a military plant of the Azerbaijani Defence Industry Ministry in the eastern city of Shirvan on Tuesday, the Azerbaijani General Prosecutor”s Office told Sputnik.
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Nepal Wants Its Men Back From Russia’s War in Ukraine After Deaths on the Front
SYANGJA DISTRICT, Nepal — Reema Karki is angry, but she’s good at hiding it with a stoic look on her face.
The 31-year-old woman from Nepal received a letter from the Nepalese Embassy in Moscow with news that her husband, Pritam Karki, had died on Nov. 15 while serving in the Russian military in Ukraine.
Thousands of miles away from their village in the Syangja district of Nepal, her husband used to send her texts and voice messages on the Telegram messaging app every two weeks. But the communication had gone silent.
In his last voice message, Pritam said he was in Russia, away from the front, and tried to reassure her: “My dear wife, this country is huge. It’s risky on the front line, but I’m not there, so it’s all good. It’s just a matter of one year. After that, we will have a citizenship card and you can move here with me.”
He was referring to the Russian government’s offer of citizenship to foreigners after one year of serving in its army on a contractual basis.
He was one of hundreds of Nepali men Russia has recruited to bolster its military forces in nearly three years of war against Ukraine. Now, after some of them have died or disappeared, Nepal’s government says it’s taking steps to prevent citizens from going and urging Russia to send back the country’s men.
“I didn’t know much about the situation in Russia,” Reema Karki tells NPR, saying her husband kept details from her.
“He never told me stories of war, never told me about the hardships he faced there. He used to say he is safe there. Had I known about the war, I would have never let him go,” she says. “Only after I heard the news [of his death], I could sense that he was hiding things from me.”
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Despite intensifying debate surrounding keeping January 26 as our national day, revellers descended to the beach in droves to take advantage of the surf, salt and sun on Friday.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A statement from the NRL in relation to Australia Day being a ‘painful and sorrowful day’ for Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people has angered many footy fans.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Oxley’s Anchor in Tamworth was scrawled with paint overnight, with pictures on Facebook capturing the extent of the graffiti.
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To the attackers, Captain James Cook is ripe for demolition at present. Bitterly criticised in Australasia, especially Australia, he has also been targeted in Britain, writes JEREMY BLACK.
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Maria Fernanda Cabal is a Colombian businesswoman, political scientist, and politician. In the 2014 legislative elections, she was elected representative to the Chamber for Bogota with the endorsement of the Democratic Center, and in 2018, she was elected senator of the republic for the same party. Cabal revalidated her mandate in 2022, and she was a pre-candidate in the presidential elections for the same year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
50 on Terror Watchlist Caught Amid Biden Border Invasion
On Friday, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) revealed its agents encountered 50 people who appeared on the terror watchlist attempting to cross the border into the US illegally so far in fiscal year 2024.
According to its website, CBP encountered 49 personnel with records in the Terrorist Screening Dataset coming across the southern border and one attempting to cross the northern.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Biden administration’s border policy poses an “imminent danger” to the US, which has been “invaded” by “military-aged men from around the globe,” a group of former FBI officials warned.
In a letter sent Jan. 17 to leaders in the House and Senate, 10 former FBI senior executives said the migrant crisis is “ the most pernicious ever to menace the United States.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Border Patrol Says Agents Will Not Remove Texas Razor Wire Barriers
Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news
In defiance of the Biden Administration’s wishes, senior figures within Customs and Border Protection have stated that there are no plans to have Border Patrol agents remove razor wire barriers erected along sections of the border by the Texas National Guard.
Fox News reports that a high ranking CBP official told the network that their relationship with the Guard is “strong”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Border Patrol Catches Two Child Sex Offenders, a Murderer, and Felon Illegally Entering US
This week, US Border Patrol agents caught two child sex offenders, a convicted murderer, and a felon trying to cross the border illegally into the United States.
In a post on X, Chief of the US Border Patrol Jason Owens posted the picture of two men and said, “USBP agents in Del Rio, TX & Rio Grande Valley, TX nabbed two child sex offenders with prior felony convictions.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A group whose members have described themselves as “God’s army” is heading to the southern border to protest record numbers of migrants illegally crossing over from Mexico.
Organizers with “Take Our Border Back” say they want to stand up to “globalists” who they believe are conspiring to let migrants illegally flood the country.
“This is a biblical, monumental moment that’s been put together by God,” one organizer said during a planning call, according to Vice News.
“We are besieged on all sides by dark forces of evil,” said another.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Joins Trump, Republicans to Slam Rumored Senate Border Deal
Elon Musk joined Donald Trump and Republican critics to denounce the contentious Senate border deal that President Joe Biden touted as the “toughest and fairest set of reforms.”
“No laws need to be passed” to halt the US border crisis, Musk, the world’s richest person, posted on X — calling it “undeniable” that Biden has pursued an “open border” policy.
“All that is needed is an executive order to require proof before granting an asylum hearing,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO — a legal immigrant from South Africa — wrote Friday. “That is how it used to be.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A migrant family with two young children have camped in the freezing cold outside the New York City offices of billionaire George Soros, 93, who poured at least $47 million into backing loose immigration policies and open borders.
Shocking footage captures the woman and two young children sitting on the busy sidewalk outside the headquarters of the Open Society Foundation, a nonprofit organization established by far-left billionaire Soros in Midtown Manhattan.
Consultant Jason Curtis Anderson, who shared the video on X, formerly Twitter, stated that the mother, an Asian migrant, has been there with her two babies for more than a week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
This is the shocking moment a boat full of undocumented migrants landed on a beach in San Diego before running into the wealthy La Jolla neighborhood.
More than 20 migrants were filmed storming the beach on Wednesday morning and disappearing into the southern California enclave, where homes go for a median price of $2.2million.
The exclusive footage was shot by NewsNation’s National Correspondent Jorge Ventura. It shows the migrants arriving on the shore on some sort of boat, before they take off running into the neighborhood in San Diego, the largest city on the Mexican border.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Slams Biden’s ‘Open and Gushing’ Borders Amid Worsening Migrant Crisis: ‘This is an Invasion’
Former President Donald Trump hammered President Biden over the worsening migrant crisis Saturday, saying the US-Mexico border “has become a weapon of mass destruction — our destruction.”
“Our borders are open and gushing, it’s a big gushing wound,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Las Vegas, Nev., as he turned his attention away from the Republican primary contest and toward November’s presidential election in the wake of his New Hampshire victory on Tuesday.
“Nothing like this has ever happened to our country before … this is an invasion,” Trump said, acknowledging the record 302,000 migrants who crossed into the US in December.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Now when I read this, I realised that the world has truly gone mad.
A Church of England school allowed a four-year-old boy, Bobby, to enrol as a girl.
Now when I read this, I realised that the world has truly gone mad.
A Church of England school allowed a four-year-old boy, Bobby, to enrol as a girl.
So basically pretend to be female, because he apparently identified as one. At four. Please.
Bobby became part of a friendship group of girls. His biological sex was hidden from his classmates.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Growing Concerns Over Links Between Transgenderism and Violence
Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
Mental health issues that manifest in gender confusion, combined with potent cross-sex hormones, can be a recipe for violence, some experts have said.
Since 2018, five people who identified as transgender or were gender-confused have gone on killing sprees at schools and businesses. Authorities have been increasingly slow to confirm so-called gender identities and motives in cases such as these.
When shooters’ “gender identities” were revealed, some news outlets and commentators were quick to point out that people who identify as transgender and those who say they’re neither male nor female represent a small fraction of mass shooters.
But the numbers show a concerning pattern.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Planned Parenthood Targets Youth in Video About Virginity, Invents New Definition of Sex
Virginity is a social construct and everyone can create their own definition of what sex is, Planned Parenthood claims.
Planned Parenthood — which notably profits from the killing of unborn babies via abortion — posted a video to X on Thursday aimed at young people, explaining its definition of virginity and telling young people that they can create their own definition of sex rather than adhere to reality.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Woke Maryland Private School Questions Young Boys About “Gender” & “Sexuality”
Reversing the “woke” takeover of America’s education system will require a concerted effort from concerned parents who don’t want their children infected by the woke mind virus.
The latest example of parents becoming infuriated with diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI being injected into the education curriculum, comes from an elite private school in Baltimore County, Maryland.
Project Veritas posted on X this week that St. Paul’s, a private school that charges $38,000 or more per year, issued a questionnaire to 5th-grade boys, asking if they were “Cisgender” or “Transgender” or “Gender Non-Conforming” or “Agender.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Just figured that out, huh?
“Steve Bannon…said in August that a Trump-Kennedy ticket would produce a “massive landslide.”” —New York Post (27 Jan 2024)
“As a life-long “JFK Democrat”, I have to ask: Would a Trump/RFK, Jr ticket in ’24 REMAKE [the CHAOS of] Obamerica into [the Constitution-based rule-of-law] United States of America (without bloodshed)? And could a successful four-year Trump/Kennedy administration return a [JFK-style] Kennedy back into the White House? Watch this space..” —posted to fb (June 2023)
RFK Jr is an environmental fruitcake, and he treated his previous wife eliminates him from office. Regardless, a pair of men will not fix our problems. Even if we had a super majority, there are too many evil politicians who will do anything to save our country.
“RFK Jr is an environmental fruitcake, and he treated his previous wife eliminates him from office. Regardless, a pair of men will not fix our problems. Even if we had a super majority, there are too many evil politicians who will do anything to save our country.”
Jeff, I don’t think your comments’re wrong, but I do think the conclusion—that RFK, Jr is “an environmental fruitcake”—you draw from them is.
I’ve been following RFK, Jr for decades and there’ve been few popular conspiracy theories that he failed to latch onto. That, in my book, makes him more of a sucker than a fruitcake. But let’s not dither over differing lexiconic interpretations.
Unlike most of the purveyors of unsubstantiated “facts” (e.g., Alex Jones), RFK, Jr does: 1) does consider [reasonable] challenges to his point of view; 2) evolve when the facts prove him wrong; 3) admit his mistakes; and 4) view the United States as AMERICA, rather than Obamerica….which, I believe, demonstrates he’s NOT an [ideological] fruitcake….as’s the case with nearly all of his [former?] Party comrades.
That tells me that four years under “Orange Hitler” (Trump) is likely to ripen his views into fresh-tasting fruits (rather than over-baked fruitcakes). And since the Trump team appears to be thinking along similar lines, I’m fairly confident that RFK, Jr’s strengths significantly outweigh his weaknesses. But I could be wrong.
“Three U.S. service members were killed and dozens wounded during an unmanned aerial drone attack on U.S. forces stationed in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border…At least 34 personnel were being evaluated for possible traumatic brain injury.” —Reuters (28 Jan 2024)
“Prediction: As Prince Aricept (Biden) takes control of the US, China, Iran and N. Korea will take aggressive action to “test” the incoming administration. The incoming administration will falter. Watch this space..” —posted to fb (2021)
Unsurprisingly, The Prince and his orderlies’re now forced to re-act. I fear the collective incompetence of these ‘toddlers’re leading us closer to a spring-loaded bloodbath….that isn’t likely to leave any clean towels hanging around after the “steam” clears.
Ducking and covering..
“The U.S. Border Patrol says its agents will not remove the razor wire barriers put up along the border with Mexico by the Texas National Guard. Meanwhile, a boat full of illegal immigrants landed on a beach in San Diego, after which they ran into the wealthy neighborhood of La Jolla.”
“A CONTRACT is an agreement between two or more parties where each agrees to do something IN EXCHANGE for the other. The CONTRACT between the US government and AMERICAN CITIZENS goes like this: AMERICAN CITIZENS agree to pay a “reasonable” chunk of their income to the government IN EXCHANGE for PROTECTION (e.g., against invasion).
Increasingly, it’s become clear that whilst AMERICAN CITIZENS continue to pay ever-increasing “chunks” of their income to the government, the government’s willingly FAILING to uphold their part of the contract (i.e., knowingly and willfully permitting an invasion that causes harm to AMERICAN CITIZENS). Which brings me to….
Today’s Rhetorical Question: Should AMERICAN CITIZENS stop paying income tax until/unless the government demonstrates they are ACTIVELY fulfilling their part of the CONTRACT?” —posted to fb (Aug 2021)
Just sayin’..