The Dutch comedian Hans Teeuwen was raided by police after he posted a video ridiculing Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema. Meanwhile, a Belgian court ruled that group chat jokes were hate speech, and sentenced a Flemish former parliamentarian to prison.
In other news, the United States Military Academy in West Point has removed “Duty, Honor, Country” from the list of key values in its mission statement.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, DV, Insubria, JW, LP, McN, MM, Reader from Chicago, 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.
Argentina’s Inflation Slows Down After 3 Months of Milei ‘Shock Therapy’
The National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina (INDEC) announced on Tuesday that Argentina registered a 13.2 percent inflation rate in February, marking the second month in a row where inflation has slowed down as a result of President Javier Milei’s austerity policies.
Upon taking office in December, Milei applied a series of “shock therapy” measures to avoid a total economic collapse in Argentina after nearly two decades of socialist governments left the country teetering on the brink of hyperinflation. Milei began by undoing as many of the hundreds of socialist regulations as possible and has turned his attention towards the near-depleted foreign reserves and a convoluted currency control system.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Burn it All Down”: Radical Maryland ‘Equity’ Official Promotes Racial Revolution
In a crime-ridden metro area just north of the Washington, DC swap, dominated by radical progressives, it comes as no surprise that the mayor recently appointed a “racial equity” leader who openly supports violence and advocates for a revolution.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
3 Suspects Charged in Chiefs Super Bowl Parade Shooting
Three Missouri men have been charged with federal counts related to the illegal purchase of high-powered rifles and guns with extended magazines after last month’s shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade and rally left one person dead, roughly two dozen others injured and sent hundreds of people scrambling for cover, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
Court documents unsealed Wednesday said 12 people brandished firearms and at least six people fired weapons at the Feb. 14 rally, which drew an estimated 1 million people to downtown Kansas City. The guns found at the scene included at least two AR-15-style rifles, court documents said. And U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore said in a news release that at least two of the guns recovered from the scene were illegally purchased.
The federal charges come three weeks after state authorities charged two other men, Lyndell Mays and Dominic Miller, with second-degree murder and several weapons counts for the shootings. Authorities also last month detained two juveniles on gun-related and resisting arrest charges. Police said the shooting happened when one group of people confronted another for staring at them.
Authorities have said a bullet from Miller’s gun killed Lisa Lopez-Galvan, who was in a nearby crowd of people watching the rally. She was a mother of two and the host of a local radio program called “Taste of Tejano.” The people injured range in age from 8 to 47, according to police.
Named in the new federal charges were 22-year-old Fedo Antonia Manning, Ronnel Dewayne Williams Jr., 21, and Chaelyn Hendrick Groves, 19, all from Kansas City. Manning is charged with one count each of conspiracy to traffic firearms and engaging in firearm sales without a license, and 10 counts of making a false statement on a federal form. Williams and Groves are charged with making false statements in the acquisition of firearms, and lying to a federal agent.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Biden, Duda, and Tusk Affirm Strong US-Polish Ties in White House Meeting
Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, alongside U.S. President Joe Biden, underscored the unwavering commitment of the United States to Poland and discussed defense spending and the strategic partnership between the two nations during their visit to the White House on Tuesday.
President Biden emphasized the solid relationship, stating, “America’s commitment to Poland is ironclad,” and highlighted the importance of collective defense, reflecting the principle that an attack on one ally is an attack on all.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more bizarre or surreal, the Boeing story did just that.
As previously reported, the aerospace giant has been under regulatory scrutiny following a string of safety-related incidents since the beginning of the year (really, since 2019 when two of its 737 MAXes fell out of the sky like overpriced deadly paperweight, but let’s just skip to the latest snafu), starting with a door blowing off a flight and continuing with multiple other incidents, including a cracked cockpit window, bolts missing on a wing, various wheels falling off during takeoff in at least two incidents and several engine fires/failures.
And as the pressure ratchets up on Boeing, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that management is running the same type of interference it did during the infamous MCAS scandal and ensuing cover-up attempt which cost former CEO Muilenburg his job. Sure enough, on Wednesday we learned that Boeing — in a pure coincidence that Jeffrey Epstein would approve of — “overwrote”, i.e. deleted, security camera footage showing work being done on a door that blew out on the Alaska Airlines MAX jet in January.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democrat President Joe Biden’s U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been forced to release a 148-page report on a study that sought to investigate any potential links between soaring rates of heart failure and Covid mRNA shots.
The study investigated where the public release of Covid mRNA injections is linked to skyrocketing cases of myocarditis.
Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle (myocardium) and it is a known side effect of the Covid shots.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Don Lemon’s New Show Dropped by Elon Musk’s X Before First Episode Airs: ‘Lacked Authenticity’
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon’s new show has already been dropped by Elon Musk’s X social media platform before the first episode has even aired.
Lemon announced Wednesday that his show had been axed and claimed it was because “Elon Musk is mad at me.”
However, Musk said Lemon’s shows ended up just being “CNN, but on social media” and argued that it “lacked authenticity.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) has dropped the hammer on former Attorney General Loretta Lynch after it emerged that the top Obama administration official has been lobbying for a Chinese Communist Party-linked military technology company.
Lynch has reportedly been using her Washington D.C. influence to lobby the Pentagon on behalf of a China-based firm known as DJI.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former DEP Official Says it’s “Nearly Impossible” to Identify All Unregistered Natural Gas Wells
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — State and local officials are investigating how the Crescent Township house explosion happened on Tuesday.
“We’re really going to have to be patient with the DEP’s investigation of this situation,” said David Hess, former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
That said, early indications are that the blast that killed the two people living in the home was possibly caused by an unregistered natural gas well nearby, and there are a lot of unregistered gas wells in Pennsylvania.
“Somewhere around 350,000 conventional oil and gas wells were drilled in Pennsylvania,” Hess said. “That started in 1859, and nobody was registering wells. … We really didn’t have any regulations until the ‘60s.”
Hess said that it’s going to be “nearly impossible to really identify all of them.”
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Georgia Judge Dismisses Several Counts in Trump Election Interference Case
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee dismissed six charges out of the 40-count indictment in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants, including three of the counts against Trump.
The ruling, which is not linked to Fulton County DA Fani Willis’s (D) relationship with a special prosecutor she hired on the case — however McAfee is expected to rule on that later this week as well.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House Votes to Force TikTok Owner ByteDance to Divest
As part of a legislative move that may potentially eliminate TikTok from US app stores if it doesn’t divest itself from the Chinese state-associated company Bytedance, the House of Representatives today approved a relevant bill by a majority vote of 352 to 65, with one member abstaining.
Showing a rare moment of bipartisan agreement in an otherwise polarized political landscape, both Democrats and Republicans rallied behind the measure, led by Chair Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) of the House China select committee.
With the committee unanimously endorsing it 50-0, the proposed law now looms over TikTok’s parent company. If the legislation passes in its current form, Bytedance will have a 165-day window to divest from TikTok or else it will face US prohibition.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — The man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend’s 12-year-old son is now in the Harris County Jail, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
Terry Bryan Rivera, 27, is charged with capital murder in the March 4 shooting death of Carlos Fernandez.
Gonzalez said Rivera was captured Monday at the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville while trying to cross back into the US from Mexico. Customs and Border Protection agents used biometric verification, checked federal law enforcement databases and discovered Rivera was wanted in Harris County.
“As spring break traffic begins to pick up, our frontline CBP officers continue to maintain strict vigilance and apprehended a man wanted for capital murder,” Acting Port Director Michael Reyes with Brownsville Port of Entry said.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Jeff Bezos Pumps $60 Million Into Development of Fake Meat Products
Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has joined the war on food by pumping $60 million into efforts to advance the development of fake meat products.
Bezos joins Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the race to replace all-American, farm and ranch-reared meats with mass factory-produced synthetic “foods.”
The moves come amid a globalist effort to seize control of the food supply.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
JPMorgan to Roll Out Controversial Biometric Payments
America’s largest bank and one of the largest in the world, J.P. Morgan, is preparing to launch biometric payments next year and is currently carrying out pilot projects.
J.P. Morgan has chosen PopID — which verifies a person’s identity via facial recognition, among other methods — as the backbone for the project.
The massive financial corporation is clearly unwilling to be left behind the likes of Mastercard or Visa, who are both implementing biometrics-powered payments.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Just in: Hunter Biden to Face Trial in June on Federal Gun Charges
On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled that Hunter Biden will go on trial for felony gun charges in less than three months. Proceedings are set to begin the week of either June 3 or 10.
The president’s son was accused last year of lying on an FBI background check form in order to purchase a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver. He claimed not to be a drug user when in fact he was, as revealed in his own memoir, Beautiful Things.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Just in: Oklahoma Trans Student Nex Benedict’s Death Ruled a Suicide by Medical Examiner
The cause of death for Owasso, Oklahoma sophomore student Dagny “Nex” Benedict has been reported by an initial medical examiner’s report as suicide. Benedict had been in a fight with girls at her school in the school bathroom and died the next day.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lara Trump: Preventing Cheating in November is Top RNC Priority
RNC co-chair Lara Trump says that “protecting the vote” in the upcoming November election is the most critical task for the committee.
“We have three pillars that we need to focus on at the RNC to ensure victory on November 5, turn out the vote, protect the vote, and raise money,” she told Fox news‘ “Sunday Morning Futures” on March 10.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mike Pompeo Doesn’t Rule Out Serving in 2nd Trump Administration
Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a new interview that he’s not ruling out accepting a White House position if former President Donald Trump is reelected in November.
“If I get a chance to serve and think that I can make a difference … I’m almost certainly going to say yes to that opportunity to try and deliver on behalf of the American people,” he told Fox News, when asked during a interview if he would work for President Trump again.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A math teacher at a Seattle-area school suggested co-workers send money to a charity run by an Islamic cleric who has endorsed sex slaves and denied the Oct 7 atrocities committed by Hamas.
A Freedom of Information Act request filed by Parents Defending Education revealed that Sobia Sheikh, a math teacher at Mariner High School in Everett, Washington’s Mukilteo School District suggested the cleric’s charity when asked by the school counselor where to donate for emergency relief for Palestinians.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US smart TV and streaming devices and TV operating systems maker Roku has changed its terms of service related to dispute resolution process — and has reportedly decided to lock out devices until their owners consent to the new rules.
Judging by reports, based on information users have been posting on forums and social media, Roku is not above playing some long-since established “user interface” games to get customers to do what they want.
Customers still have some ownership and control over their hardware — but the company is making them jump through a lot of hoops to exercise it.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump vs. Biden Rematch Virtually Assured After Former President Becomes Presumptive GOP Nominee
To no one’s surprise, former President Donald Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee after making a clean sweet of three more Republican presidential primaries — Georgia, Mississippi and Washington.
While it’s not technically a done deal just yet — between the three states there are 142 delegates, of which Trump needed 137 to secure a majority within his party, and an overall count of 1,215, and positioning him to become the Republican party’s presidential nominee once a vote is held at the convention in Milwaukee.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Wawa Shutters Yet Another Location in Center City Philadelphia
When Wawa keeps shutting down locations in Philadelphia — where it is beloved — one can’t help but wonder just how bad things are getting in the city.
But that’s exactly what’s happening, with the chain announcing this week it would be closing yet another city location — this time at 2000 Hamilton Street, near the Spring Garden/Fairmount Whole Foods and Rodin Plaza.
This shutdown the company is blaming on its landlord, however, stating that the owner of the property reportedly “did not give the company a chance to renew its lease”, according to CBS News.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
West Point Removes ‘Duty, Honor, Country’ From Mission Statement Values
The United States Military Academy in West Point, New York has caused outrage with a new super-woke update of its mission statement.
Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland has announced that the institution has removed “Duty, Honor, Country” from the key values in its mission statement.
Instead, the patriotic statement has been replaced with the “more inclusive” phrase “Army values.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Reuters investigation revealed that at least 128 cases have been filed at law enforcement agencies across the US from people alleging that they had been featured in sexually explicit content on OnlyFans without their permission.
The complaints were made from both men and women between January 2019 and November 2023. The videos in which they did not give consent were often sold for profit, the report shows.
These complainants include woman who alleges that a video of her being raped had been sold for money on OnlyFans, which is a subscription-based adult entertainment site.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canadian Butcher Dubbed ‘Satan’s Helper’ Gets NO JAIL TIME for Dismembering Woman’s Body
An Alberta butcher who tore apart and burned a woman’s body, earning the moniker “Satan’s helper,” has avoided jail time for his barbarous act.
Joseph Skelly pleaded guilty last Dec. 19 to dismembering and disposing of Treasa Lynn Oberly’s body after she was murdered. He was officially charged with causing indignity to a dead body.
Skelly’s son, Kenneth Skelly, is charged with second degree murder in that crime. He was Oberly’s boyfriend.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Levy: Some Canadian University Professors Are “Openly Supporting Hamas, “ Report Finds
Antisemitism isn’t just alive and well on American campuses, but also those in Canada, a new report finds.
A publication by the respected Canary Mission, a group dedicated to exposing antisemitism in academia, finds Canadian university staff and faculty are “openly supporting Hamas.”
The report highlights 10 faculty members, contending that these academics are justifying the atrocities of Oct. 7 using social justice, “decolonization,” and “resistance” as the rationale for their hateful stance.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre spoke to an enthusiastic audience at the Toronto Congress Centre in Etobicoke on Sunday for his “Spike the Hike — Axe the Tax” rally. The rally took aim at the Trudeau Liberals’ latest carbon tax increase which goes into effect on April 1.
“Axe the tax!” Poilievre said, as he took to the stage, with the crowd chanting along. “Who is ready to spike the hike? Who is ready to axe the tax? Who’s ready to make common sense common again? Who’s ready for affordable homes, affordable food, affordable gas? And who’s ready to make all these things in Canada again? In other words, BRING IT HOME!” he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“We Need to Rethink the Current Model of Europe”: An Interview With Francesco Giubilei
Francesco Giubilei is an Italian publisher, columnist, and writer, and chairman of the conservative think tank Nazione Futura. In an interview for The European Conservative, he talks about the negative impact that the Ursula von der Leyen-led European Commission has had on Europe in the last five years, and how the many crises the EU finds itself in can be attributed to the relinquishing of our traditional values. However, the successes of conservative parties in Hungary and Italy, as well as a projected right-wing breakthrough in the European elections, are signs of hope, he says.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Americans and Italians Most Favorable Nationalities Among Poles, Russians Most Disliked
In a comprehensive survey conducted by the Public Opinion Research Center (CBOS) in January, Polish citizens were asked about their feelings towards various nationalities, allowing them to express sympathy, indifference, or aversion. The results showcase a broad spectrum of attitudes, with Americans, Italians, and Czechs topping the list of nations viewed most favorably.
Americans emerged as the most liked with 65 percent of respondents expressing a positive view. Only 8 percent showed aversion, while 21 percent remained indifferent. The remaining 6 percent were undecided.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Climate Regulations Will Cost Homeowners Big Time
The European Parliament on Tuesday passed a regulation, which had been agreed on with the European Council, to reduce emissions and energy use in buildings, and the final bill for property owners could cost a fortune. According to the European Council, buildings account for 40 percent of energy use and 36 percent of emissions.
Poland’s conservative party (PiS) opposed the measure, arguing that it would lead to housing and energy poverty. PiS MEPs accused the present ruling left-liberal coalition in Poland of supporting the measure in the European Parliament and thereby making housing more expensive in Poland.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Fishermen Join Farmers in Fighting Brussels Regulations
Europêche, the main lobby group of Europe’s fishing industry, is lending its full support to the EU farmers’ fight against Brussels’ unreasonable environmental and sustainability mandates.
The organization’s Director General Daniel Voces de Onaindi said Europêche is in favor of the joint demonstrations organized in France and Spain and “fully shares the frustration expressed by farmers over the unbalanced and unworkable European policies that are strangling our businesses across the EU.”
The statement opens the door for more such protests by the bloc’s fishers, either by themselves or with the farmers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Parliament Leftists Demand That Court Block Funds for Hungary
Progressives within the European Parliament are trying to derail the European Commission’s release of €10.2 billion of Hungary’s cohesion funding by appealing to the EU’s Court of Justice, in an attempt to reignite Brussels’ ‘rule-of-law’ battle against the country’s conservative Fidesz government.
MEPs on the Parliament’s notoriously left-leaning legal affairs committee voted 16-1 Monday to sue the Commission over the decision to release the funds last December—a vote denounced by critics as a political attack disguised in legal “nonsense.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Parliament to Sue EU Commission for Releasing Funds to Hungary
On Monday evening, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) decided whether to refer the European Commission to the Court of Justice of the European Union for unblocking previously frozen funds for Hungary.
The result of the committee’s vote was a recommendation that the case be referred to the EU’s top court. However, the decision to do so must be ratified by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
Should Metsola not agree with the proposal, it will go to the Conference of Presidents, i.e., the leaders of the parliament’s political groups.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
European Greens “Downplayed” Sexual Harassment Allegations
The leadership of the European Greens is under pressure amid claims it failed to treat sexual harassment allegations against one of its rising star MEPs seriously.
German magazine Stern said Terry Reintke, the group’s co-leader in the European Parliament, has gone “into hiding” following a wave of serious questions about her and her colleague Philippe Lamberts’ handling of what has been described as “massive MeToo allegations.” Less than three years ago, Reintke gave a speech in Parliament in which she declared that those who cover up sexual harassment “do the damage.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ex-Parliamentarian Sentenced to Year in Prison in Belgium Over Group Chat ‘Hate Speech’
Court rules group chat “jokes” were actually “Nazi ideology… white supremacy” hate speech, and that a group chat constitutes a public space, sentencing Flemish former parliamentarian to prison.
The Ghent Criminal Court determined that former Parliamentarian Dries Van Langenhove “was infatuated with Nazi ideas” and “wanted to undermine democratic society”, while sentencing him to a year in prison, barring him from holding public office for 10 years, and ordering him to pay a fine of €16,000 ($17,500/£13,700).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Court to Rule on AfD’s ‘Extremist’ Designation
A court in Germany is set to rule this week on whether the anti-globalist, anti-immigration party AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) can be designated as a suspected extremist organisation, in what is seen as another attempt to delegitimise the party which is riding high in the polls amid voter disenchantment with the policies of the left-liberal coalition government.
The court in Münster is holding hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 12th and 13th, after the AfD challenged a 2021 lower court ruling that placed it under investigation as a suspected right-wing extremist party. If the higher court upholds the decision, the domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, will retain the right to spy on the AfD, using intelligence tools such as tapping phones, reading emails, or recruiting informants from inside the party.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In a harrowing video, a group of Turkish-speaking students torture a 12-year-old victim, with the film showing the victim repeatedly beaten, forced to kneel, and verbally insulted.
Despite the serious nature of the crime, police are discontinuing their investigation, stating that the young age of the perpetrators, who are also 12, means no charges can be filed.
The video was filmed in the city of Uetersen in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with the picture and videos published by German newspaper Bild.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Green Agenda to ‘Disproportionately Hit Lower-Income Consumers’ Admits UK Gov’t Energy Regulator
The British government’s energy regulator has warned that the ‘Net Zero’ green agenda will likely hit the poorest households the hardest particularly following years of economic hardship that have forced many into debt traps.
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) regulator warned on Monday that the transition to the so-called green economy and the goal of achieving ‘Net Zero’ carbon emissions “could disproportionately hit lower-income consumers” who cannot afford to purchase technology compliant with government standards or to change their behaviours.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Summons U.S. Ambassador Over ‘Lies’ From Biden About Orban Seeking a ‘Dictatorship’
Hungary summoned its ambassador from the United States on Tuesday over what Budapest termed as “lies” from President Biden about Prime Minister Viktor Orban supposedly seeking to become a dictator.
A diplomatic rift broke out between Budapest and Washington this week following comments from President Joe Biden, who claimed during a campaign stop in Philadelphia on Friday that Prime Minister Orban “stated flatly he doesn’t think democracy works and is looking for dictatorship”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungarian Firms Growing Into Regional Leaders, Says FM Szijjartó
As a result of the economic development strategy of the past 14 years based on national interests, several domestic companies have now become regional leaders in various key industries, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjartó said in Budapest on Monday.
At the announcement of a new investment by Bayer Construct Zrt., the minister said that the construction company will build a HUF 15 billion (€38 million) factory in Sóskút, where a bathroom assembly plant will operate. The project will be supported by the state with HUF 6.6 billion (€16.7 million), helping to create 100 new jobs.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Court KOs Extradition to Israel of Palestinian ‘Terrorist’
Anan Yaeesh risks cruel, inhuman,degrading treatment by Tel Aviv
A L’Aquila court on Wednesday rejected the extradition to Israel of a 37-year-old Palestinian held in Terni prison on suspicion of international terrorism including planning carbomb attacks on Jewish settlements in the West Bank, saying he risked being tortured if sent there.
The L’Aquila appeals court said the man, Anan Yaeesh, “if extradited to the state of Israel may be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or in any case acts that constitute a violation of his human rights.” It also said he did not need to be extradited as he is charged in Italy with the same crimes Tel Aviv wants to try him for.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have been protesting against the possible extradition for weeks.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Macron Furious as Commissioner Points Out Lack of Support for EU President
Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, is in hot water for observing in a social media post the lack of enthusiasm for a second term for European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen from her parliamentary group.
In comments made last week, the Frenchman pointed out how the Commission president lacked support within the European People’s Party (EPP) group at its congress in Bucharest, where an endorsement for her second term as head of the EU’s executive was anything but persuasive.
“The EPP itself does not seem to believe in its own candidate,” the commissioner noted on X.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NATO Should Oblige All Members to Spend 3% of GDP on Defense, Says Polish President Duda
President Andrzej Duda has revealed he will propose that NATO allies increase their defense spending to 3 percent of GDP to bolster the alliance’s strength in response to the war in Ukraine.
Duda was speaking ahead of a trip to Washington D.C. on Tuesday alongside Prime Minister Donald Tusk, where they are expected to hold talks with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Geert Wilders Populist Government Breakthrough, But at What Cost
Over three months since the Netherlands sensationally swung towards right-populist firebrand Geert Wilders the country is still without a new government, and negotiations now look towards a coalition where the leader of the largest party doesn’t get the largest job, possibly the humbling price of keeping the left out of power.
UPDATE 2100 — Wilders confirms he may not be Prime Minister
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Trial of Islamist Shooter at LGBT Festival Gets Underway
The trial of a Muslim immigrant accused of killing two and seriously injuring nine at a 2022 LGBT festival in Norway started on Tuesday in Oslo. According to prosecutors, Zaniar Matapour, a 44-year-old Iranian immigrant of Kurdish background, fired ten rounds with what police described as an automatic weapon and eight rounds with a handgun into crowds. If found guilty, he is facing 30 years in prison.
Matapour has consistently refused to cooperate with investigators and did not agree to have interviews taped unless recordings of his interviews were released in their entirety to the public “with no time delay so it won’t be censored or manipulated.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland’s Left-Liberal Government Slashes Spending on TV Belsat and Fires Its Founder
Following a decision by the foreign ministry to cut funding for Belsat TV by 47 percent, Poland’s government-controlled TVP has dismissed Agnieszka Romaszewska, the head of the channel.
Romaszewska revealed on her social media account that she had declined a financially attractive offer to go quietly and chose to protest against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ decision to slash spending on TV Belsat. After she took her stance, she was dismissed by TVP’s liquidator.
The founder and now former director of Belsat has claimed that the government is planning to partition the channel, as the Russian broadcasts are to be handled by the current English language channel TVP World in the future. She said she believes that this is a great mistake, as it turns upside down the service that has been developed over a number of years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland’s new left-liberal government in Warsaw will fall, according to a Hungarian commentator Zoltan Hegyi, writing in Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet.
“Donald Tusk’s regime in Warsaw is doing its best to do away with the respect, appreciation, and brotherly and sisterly love I have for Poles, which has been instilled in me for generations, and I would even dare to say is genetically ingrained in me. Let me say at the outset that this administration is doomed to fail,” he wrote.
Hegyi then recounts his long history with Poland, writing that he has “Pole-mania” and many have watched his “obsession” with the country “with increasing incomprehension.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Raid Dutch Comedian’s Home After Video Parody of Amsterdam Mayor
Dutch comedian Hans Teeuwen on Tuesday found himself the target of a police raid mere hours after publishing a video ridiculing Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema’s defense of allowing a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the opening of the city’s Holocaust museum over the weekend.
The motive for the raid was not political, police said—but because a handgun-like object could be seen on a table next to Teeuwen in the short video. The Netherlands has a strict ban not only on handguns, but also on objects made to mimic them, and, according to police, a “concerned individual” had contacted them after seeing the video on social media.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Romanian President Announces Bid to Lead NATO
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced on Tuesday, March 12, at the Cotroceni Palace, that he is entering the race for the leadership of NATO.
“I assume this candidacy on behalf of Romania, with full responsibility. This decision is based on Romania’s performance, the experience gained during my two years as president of Romania, and my deep understanding of the challenges faced by NATO, Europe and our region in general,” Iohannis said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russia’s Goal is to Take Over Germany, Predicts Polish Historian in Interview With French Media
A top Polish professor argues that while many Western Europeans think Russia will only attempt to take over Eastern European nations, parts of Western Europe are also in Russia’s crosshairs, including Germany.
Polish historian Prof. Andrzej Nowak from Jagiellonian University in Kraków said while speaking to French newspaper Le Figaro that Central Europeans feared that Putin would succeed because so many Western Europeans still think Europe begins at the German border and “what is to the east of it is a gray zone that can be shared.”
However, he argues that “the problem is that Russia will not satisfy itself with this area and will also want to control Germany.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain’s Pollsters Blame Nuns for Ruining Their Predictions
Instead of recognizing its own obvious errors in predicting the outcome of recent regional elections in Galicia, the head of Spain’s Sociological Research Center (CSIC) blamed the resounding victory of the center-right Partido Popular on hard campaigning and—nuns.
The CSIC, a public research entity, has come under scrutiny and popular criticism in recent years. During the over five years that socialist Pedro Sanchez has held the country’s premiership, its polls have consistently favored the ruling party, the PSOE, predicting higher electoral outcomes for them than any other polls, and results above what tangible public sentiment and normal political cycles can justify—besides the fact that they have almost always proven to be wrong.
Elections in Galicia in February was the most recent and arguably egregious case.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spanish Government Invents Estimates for Opposition Protests
During the more than five years that the socialists have been in power in Spain, Spaniards have repeatedly taken to the streets of the nation’s capital to protest the government’s policies or even call for the resignation of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, particularly over his concessions to Catalan separatists. But on every occasion, the government’s official estimation of the number of participants in opposition protests grossly mismatches both those of the organizers and those of the Municipal Police.
As El Debate reports, the latest discrepancy occurred over the pro-life march that took place on Sunday in Madrid. Organizers said that 35,000 people attended, while the government counted just 5,000 people, despite the fact that some 500 pro-life and other groups participated and buses brought people from all over Spain to the march.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spanish PM Opaque About Government Retreats at Luxury Ranch
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is well-known for the time he spends at the national properties at his disposal as president. One of his favorites is Quintos de Mora, a ranch-like property just south of the Spanish capital.
He often retreats to the luxurious country holding with his family—but also with his entire cabinet and, likely, more guests.
Equally famous is Sanchez’ lack of transparency on matters of public spending personally related to him, whether his use of state planes or vacation properties.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Steve Bannon’s ‘Gladiator School’ Wins Massive Vindication From Italian Courts
A former Tory parliamentary assistant and close associate of former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon has overcome substantial legal challenges in Italy and might now be able to finally reopen the doors of a right-wing training academy in a mountainous 13th-century monastery southeast of Rome.
Benjamin Harnwell, a former Conservative chief of staff in the EU Parliament and director of the Catholic Dignitatis Humanae Institute, who is also a contributing editor to The European Conservative, was completely exonerated of all charges of fraudulent participation in a public tender by Rome’s Central Criminal Court last week, arising from his role in winning the 19-year lease for the former Carthusian abbey in 2017.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘That’s Not Allowed!’ Police Officers Banned From Showing Support for Germany During Euro 2024
German police officers have been warned they are not to fly the national flag from their vehicles this summer as the nation gears up to host the European Football Championships.
All national insignia has been banned from official vehicles during Europe’s flagship football tournament with officers ordered to remain strictly impartial.
In an interview with Tagesspiegel, Berlin Police Chief Barbara Slowik revealed that police officers had been banned from taking vacation during the tournament but, when asked if they could show their support for the German national team by attaching a “small flag” to their vehicles, shot the idea down.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Three Palestinians Arrested in Italy on Terrorism Charges
Italy on Monday arrested three Palestinian men, described by the Minister of Interior Matteo Piantedosi as “dangerous terrorists.” Prosecutors said they were planning terror attacks abroad.
La Repubblica reports that the three had been allowed to live in Italy after being given “residence permits for humanitarian reasons.”
Swiss politician Ruedi Löffel said the news was a sign that “Hamas terrorism is coming to Europe.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tory PM in Panic Mode as Voters Turn to Reform UK
Reform UK claims that more than 1,000 people joined the party after former Conservative Party deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP.
Conservative officials are now concerned that more MPs could follow in his footsteps—so much so that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is threatening to call a snap general election if ten Tories in Parliament defect to Reform.
That is according to Sky News, who cited an “influential party figure with impeccable connections.” The Daily Mail added that the warning is intended to put pressure on Conservative MPs “to toe the line or face carnage at the ballot box.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tourists Travelling to Europe Warned to Check Flights as Protests Throw Travel Into Chaos
A series of environmental protests this week are forcing tourists to check their travel plans in case their flights get cancelled.
Airports across Europe have seen environmental protesters from a coalition of 20 organisations strike sites across the continent and the UK.
These protesters are demanding a reduction in the number of flights from France, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, and the UK and for the cap to be below 2019 levels.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In the UK, the Court of Appeal has taken a stance on what constitutes “malicious communications” — and when speech should not be construed as such, because it is part of a political debate.
The appellate court ruling in R (Crown) v. Thomas Casserly overturned the first instance judgment that found a man guilty of violating the 1988 Malicious Communications Act.
And that was because his “indecent or grossly offensive” email sent to a councilor was part of a political exchange.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Government Admits That Net Zero Drive Risks Blackouts
It’s impossible to predict UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s next move on the environment, so often does he seemingly flip his position on decarbonisation. But the latest turn, which will see Britain build new gas power stations, is more important than most in that it serves as a tacit admission of the fact that the net zero agenda is not sustainable.
Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho could not have put this more clearly:
There are no two ways about it. Without gas backing up renewables, we face the genuine prospect of blackouts.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Singer Lily Allen Claims Having Kids ‘Totally Ruined’ Her Music Career: You Can’t ‘Have it All’
British singer and actress Lily Allen claims that having two kids “totally ruined” her music career, and insisted that women can’t “have it all” with regards to having both a family and a flourishing career.
“My children ruined my career,” Allen said during a recent appearance on The Radio Times Podcast, after being asked if she had to “re-think career strategy” after she had children.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Approves Sale of Hundreds of Missiles to Poland and Offers $2 Billion Military Loan
The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of nearly 1,800 air-to-surface missiles to Poland, including over 800 JASSM-ER cruise missiles and more than 700 AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM medium-range missiles, in deals valued up to $3.7 billion.
The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on Tuesday the State Department’s three approvals for the potential sale of the missiles to Poland.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Users Flock to Brave Browser When Apple is Forced to Show Default Browser Options in the EU
Following recent modifications induced by the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), iPhone users have considerably boosted the installation of the privacy-friendly Brave browser app. Initiated by Apple in its iOS 17.4 release, the DMA obligated the technology giant to allow European users to select their default browser. Apple’s proprietary Safari was simply one option amongst many.
In the past, though iPhone holders could theoretically define their preferred web browser since the iOS 14 launch, this freedom has been somewhat of an illusion.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Vatican Confirms Suspended Jail Terms for Climate Protesters
Court also upholds fine of 28,000 euros for Laocoon stunt
The Vatican court of appeal on Tuesday upheld suspended nine-month jail terms and huge fines for two people who staged a protest in the Vatican Museums in August 2022 to highlight the need to address the climate crisis.
Ester Goffi and Guido Viero glued themselves to the iconic Laocoon statuary group as part of a series of controversial acts of civil-disobedience staged by the Ultima Generazione (Last Generation — UG) group to draw attention to the consequences of global heating caused by human greenhouse-gas emissions.
Along with the suspended sentences, the pair was ordered to pay 28,148 euros in damages and 3,500 euros in costs and fines by a Vatican court last June, a ruling that was confirmed on Tuesday.
UG has said the ruling is totally out of proportion, given that no permanent damage was caused to the statue, as conflicts with Pope Francis’s repeated calls to the international community to address the climate crisis.
“Guido and I were driven by love and care when we did this and there was absolutely no violence,” said Goffi.
“What is violence? “Is it remaining indifferent when faced with disaster, or is it looking for a way to draw attention to it, so that the disaster can be averted?”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The French city of Rennes faced open gang warfare on Sunday night, with exclusive footage provided to CNews showing men armed with automatic weapons prowling the streets firing volleys of bullets in an hour-long incident that injured two people, one seriously.
Although dozens of shell casings were discovered, reports indicate there were hundreds of rounds fired in the “sensitive” Blosne district of Rennes. Around 2:00 a.m., reports began flowing in of “dozens of explosions” from residents in the area, with the public prosecutor, Philippe Astruc, saying “long weapons” were “fired sporadically, sometimes in bursts” between 1:56 a.m. and 3:03 a.m.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Young French Voters Are Flocking to the Right Ahead of EU Elections
An increasing number of young French voters are preparing to vote for right-wing parties in the upcoming European Parliament elections in June, the latest polling has revealed.
According to an Ipsos survey published on Tuesday, 31 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds in France are lending their vote to Jordan Bardella’s National Rally (RN) — the anti-immigration party still heavily influenced by nationalist firebrand and former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen.
A further 3 percent of young people in France are backing Éric Zemmour’s hard-right Reconquête, for whom Marion Maréchal, the niece of Le Pen, is the party’s lead candidate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Four U.S. Army Supply Ships Heading to Gaza to Construct Biden’s Promised Pier
Four U.S. Army supply ships loaded with tons of equipment and steel pier segments left Virginia on Tuesday heading to Gaza ready to fulfill President Joe Biden’s promise to build a pier linking the war-torn territory to the rest of the world.
AP reports the vessels pulled out of docks at Joint Base Langley-Eustis and headed toward the Atlantic Ocean for what could be a month-long voyage to the Mediterranean Sea.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Says it Plans to Direct Palestinians Out of Rafah Ahead of Anticipated Offensive
The Israeli military said on March 13 it plans to direct a significant portion of the 1.4 million displaced Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip’s southernmost town of Rafah toward “humanitarian islands” in the center of the territory ahead of its planned offensive in the area.
The fate of the people in Rafah has been a major area of concern of Israel’s allies — including the United States — and humanitarian groups, worried an offensive in the region densely crowded with so many displaced people would be a catastrophe. Rafah is also Gaza’s main entry point for desperately needed aid.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said a Rafah offensive is crucial to achieve Israel’s stated aim of destroying Hamas following the militants’ Oct. 7 attack in which about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and around 250 taken hostage and brought into Gaza. Israel’s invasion of Gaza has killed more than 31,000, according to Gaza health officials, left much of the enclave in ruins and displaced some 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
Israel’s chief military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said moving those in Rafah to the designated areas, which he said would be done in coordination with international actors, was a key part of the military’s preparations for its anticipated invasion of Rafah, where Israel says Hamas maintains four battalions it wants to destroy.
Rafah has swelled in size in the last months as Palestinians in Gaza have fled fighting in nearly every other corner of the territory. The town is covered in tents.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Poll: Netanyahu Tops Rivals as Biden Pressure Campaign Fails
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is far ahead of his political rivals, and right-wing parties would win another election if it were held today, according to a poll released Wednesday by Israel’s Channel 14.
The result led to speculation that pressure from the Biden administration has united Israelis behind Netanyahu as the only leader capable of standing up to the White House on issues such as a Palestinian state and defeating Hamas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
No NATO Troops Need to Die Unless Ukraine Defeated, Says Zelensky
Children of the West will not be sent to die against Russia — as long as Ukraine’s army is kept from being defeated — President Zelensky said in his interjection into the ongoing debate over France’s Macron’s comments on deploying NATO against Moscow.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with French broadcaster BFMTV and engaged with controversial remarks by President Emmanuel Macron, that nothing was off the table when it comes to defeating Putin’s Russia and further NATO involvement shouldn’t be ruled out. The comments have caused concern across the NATO alliance in recent weeks with other national and military leaders insisting such a deployment was totally off the table.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Putin Blusters Before National Elections: Promises He’s Ready to Nuke West Over Ukraine
Russian President again threatens West with nuclear war if it becomes more involved in his invasion of Ukraine, but moderates remarks by saying while he is ready to strike, he believes the United States will exercise “restraint”.
Vladimir Putin faces re-election this week for a fifth term in office — a vote Western observers say isn’t fair and free and is essentially a rubber-stamping exercise — and gave a pre-election interview to Russian television where he once again made remarks on the potential for nuclear war over Ukraine. Broadcast Wednesday morning, the interview saw Putin assert his country was absolutely ready to use its nuclear arsenal but said he did not see the world “rushing to it” yet.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Putin Asks Voters, Including in Annexed Ukrainian Areas, to Determine Russia’s Future
President Vladimir Putin appealed on Thursday to voters, including in annexed parts of Ukraine, to be united in determining Russia’s future by casting ballots in this week’s presidential election which he is all but certain to win.
“It is vital to underscore our cohesion and resolve and move forward together. Every vote you cast is valued and meaningful,” Putin said in a video address first shown in the Russian far east and reported by national news agencies.
“I therefore ask you in the coming three days to exercise your right to vote.”
Putin, 71 and in power as president or prime minister since 2000, faces three challengers in three days of voting beginning on Friday. None of the challengers has criticized him.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Producing 3 Times More Shells Than US, Europe Combined: NATO Report
Authored by Will Porter via The Libertarian Institute
Russia’s defense industry is turning out nearly three times more artillery shells than its American and European counterparts, according to a NATO intelligence report obtained by CNN. Western powers have scrambled to ramp up production as Ukrainian troops face dire ammunition shortages.
While the US and Europe have the capacity to produce a combined 1.2 million shells annually, Russia’s output has now reached 3 million, the NATO estimate said. Though Washington aims to boost production to 100,000 155mm shells each month by 2025 — up from just 28,000 last September — that target can only be met with a resumption of American aid to Kiev, and would still put US output at less than half of Moscow’s.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tanks Roll East: Ukraine Counter-Invades Russia With Legion of Anti-Putin ‘Liberation Fighters’
Russian citizens fighting for Ukraine counter-invaded Russia on Tuesday morning, Ukrainian state media claimed, saying they were fighting to liberate Russia from “Putin’s dictatorship”. Both sides have so far claimed combat success in the clashes.
Kyiv-loyal units of Russian citizens have performed several incursions into Russia proper in the past year, but Tuesday morning’s attack which is alleged to have involved the coordination of several units including tanks across the borders of two Russian regions appears to be the biggest of the war so far. Units including the Russian Legion, the Siberia Battalion and the Russian Volunteer Corps are said to have crossed the border into the Russian provinces of Belgorod and Kursk on Tuesday morning, a day that also saw a large coordinated airstrike by Ukraine deep into the Russian interior.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Arms Market Benefits From War in Ukraine, While Russia’s Arms Market Shrinks
The war in Ukraine has notably impacted the global arms trade in various ways, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The institute compared the latest period from 2019 to 2023 with the period from 2014 to 2018, observing several significant changes, some of which are dramatic.
For instance, the overall global arms trade decreased by 3.3 percent compared to the years 2014-18. However, arms imports to Europe nearly doubled, largely due to the war in Ukraine. The majority of arms supplies to Europe, specifically 55 percent, originated from the United States. This marks a 20-percentage point increase from the 2014-18 period, indicating Europe’s growing dependency on the U.S. for arms.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chinese Police Obstruct Reporters Covering Deadly Blast in Hebei
Following Wednesday’s deadly explosion in the northern Chinese province of Hebei, near Beijing, state-run media correspondents reporting the incident came up against police interference.
The blast occurred at a restaurant in a shopping district in the city of Langfang. Seven people have so far been confirmed dead and 27 were injured.
A reporter from state-run China Central Television covering the incident live was seen being obstructed by local police.
| — Hat tip: McN | [Return to headlines] |
South Africa’s Ruling Party Falls Below 40% in Poll Before May Election
South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), has fallen below 40% in a new poll, with just over two months to go before the country’s next general election on May 29.
That raises the possibility that there could be change at the national level for the first time since 1994, if the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) can put together a rival coalition to dislodge the ANC from power.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
American Missionaries Whom Joe Biden Abandoned in Haiti Plead for Rescue
American missionaries trapped in Haiti pleaded for rescue on Tuesday, reporting constant gunfire around their hideaway and corpses rotting in the streets. The group’s leader said the only assistance they have received from the Biden administration was advice to “be safe.”
“Okay, well, that’s not really helpful,” Jill Dolan of the group Love A Neighbor said of the response she received from the U.S. Embassy when she asked for help getting her family out of Haiti.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele on Haiti Chaos: ‘We Can Fix it’
The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, declared on Sunday that “we can fix” the ongoing political turmoil and rampant gang violence in Haiti, equating the images of brutality from the island nation to the state of affairs in his home country before implementing a law enforcement crackdown in 2022.
Bukele did not specify who the “we” in his sentence was — whether he meant the government of El Salvador or the international community in general. He later commented that “experts” had declared similar violence in El Salvador “intrinsic” to the country, and the eradication of organized criminal violence from the country had proven them wrong.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Everyone is Afraid’: Haiti’s Armed Militias Terrorize Christians in Barbecue’s ‘Bloody Revolution’
Violent gangs in Haiti have kidnapped “a lot” of Catholic priests and churchgoers in the past week as the Caribbean nation descends deeper into gang-led chaos, Christian outlets reported on Monday.
Catholic organizations have urged the faithful to pray for “restored order” in Haiti as organized armed militias led by Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier take control of the country. Cherizier, who in recent years has repeatedly demanded the ouster of all Haitian politicians, publicly made calls for a “bloody revolution” on Monday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democrat President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a gag order to prevent immigration judges from voicing their criticisms about the massive backlog of illegal border crosser cases they are dealing with.
Under Biden’s open border policies, illegal immigration has exploded in America.
Immigration courts are now overwhelmed with a massive backlog of cases to adjudicate.
However, the American people won’t hear further complaints about that significant problem from the union that represents federal immigration judges.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Admin Deports Only 834 of 335,000 Venezuelans After Illegal Border Crossings
According to recent Immigration Customs and Enforcement data, only 834 Venezuelans were deported in fiscal year 2023, despite there being more than 335,000 border encounters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary and Slovakia Are United on Ukraine Peace Talks and Illegal Immigration, Says PM Orban
Hungary will stick to its peace policy on Ukraine and is pleased that Slovakia is also speaking with the voice of peace, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said after receiving Peter Pellegrini, the speaker of the National Council of Slovakia, at the prime minister’s office on Monday.
Referring to the Russian-Ukrainian war, Orban said in a press statement after the meeting that Hungarians are watching with concern what is happening, with hundreds of thousands of people dying, women becoming widows, and hundreds of thousands of children becoming orphans.
“We cannot see where the end of this war is,” he added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republicans have introduced the bipartisan “Laken Riley Act” in the United States Senate after the legislation passed the House with support from 251 Republicans and 37 Democrats.
On Wednesday, Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Katie Britt (R-AL), and Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced Rep. Mike Collins’s (R-GA) Laken Riley Act, which would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take into custody illegal aliens arrested, charged, or convicted for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twice as Many Canadians Say Immigration is Too High Compared to Last Year
Half of Canadians now agree that immigration levels are too high. A recent Leger survey conducted for the Association for Canadian Studies and the Metropolis Institute found that the amount of Canadians who shared that sentiment in January 2023 was only about 21%, revealing a dramatic change in opinion in just over a year.
“This concern about immigration has traction and certainly it constitutes a challenge to this consensus…. This suggests it’s a departure from what we’ve seen in the previous decade,” Jack Jedwab, president of the Association for Canadian Studies and the Metropolis Institute told the National Post.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In a decision delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the use of the word “woman” to describe the victim in a sexual assault case was “problematic.”
According to the National Post, Justice Sheilah Martin wrote that the use of the word “woman” by a trial judge may “have been unfortunate and engendered confusion.”
The ruling came in the case of R v Kruk, which involved a 2017 charge of sexual assault against then-34-year-old Charles Kruk of British Columbia, Canada.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gov Sanders Removes ‘X’ From Driver’s License & ID Gender: ‘Arkansas Will Not Endorse Nonsense’
Arkansas has removed the option for residents to list their gender as “X” on official documents such as driver’s licenses and IDs, the state has announced.
In a statement about the move, Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared that the “Arkansas state government will not endorse nonsense.”
Residents will now only be permitted to list their gender as either male or female and only use their biological sex, not their chosen “identity.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
J.K. Rowling Mocks Radical Gender Mob With UK Mother’s Day Message: ‘Happy Birthing Parent Day’
Writer J.K. Rowling continued her attack on the woke, woman-hating, left with a Mother’s Day message mocking the “inclusive” language favored by the LGBTQ crowd.
With Mother’s Day being celebrated in the UK on March 10, the British author jumped to her X account and posted a message ridiculing the left’s penchant for erasing women with language that neutralizes their actual gender.
“Happy Birthing Parent Day to all whose large gametes were fertilised resulting in small humans whose sex was assigned by doctors making mostly lucky guesses,” she wrote in her first post.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jordan Peterson and Elon Musk Challenge Justin Trudeau to Protect Kids by Banning Puberty Blockers
Elon Musk and Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson both agreed on Tuesday that Britain is right to ban puberty blockers for kids. Peterson went one step further, saying that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is “culpable in child mutilation and sterilization.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poll: Three of Four Americans Oppose Puberty Blockers for Trans Kids
Fewer than one in four Americans think it’s okay to give puberty blockers to children who experience gender dysphoria, a new poll reveals.
A mere 22 percent of Americans surveyed believe it should be legal to provide children under 18 with puberty blockers or to perform gender reassignment surgery on them, according to a Scott Rasmussen National Survey conducted March 6-7.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Update (0825ET): As one might expected Transgender activists were furious at the NHS’s decision, with advocacy group Stonewall stating “All trans young people deserve access to high quality, timely healthcare.”
The group went on to falsely claim that puberty blockers are reversible, stating “For some, an important part of this care comes in the form of puberty blockers, a reversible treatment that delays the onset of puberty, prescribed by expert endocrinologists, giving the young person extra time to evaluate their next steps. We are concerned that NHS England will be putting new prescriptions on hold until a research protocol is up and running at the end of 2024.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘Common Sense Has to Prevail’ — Leftist Labour Party Leader Backs Trans Sports Ban
Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has finally decided on transgender people competing in sports, admitting he believes biological males should not be able to play against women.
After years of dithering on the subject, in an apparent attempt to keep his far-left progressive base on board while not alienating the wider public, Sir Keir said that ultimately “common sense must prevail”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Whom Do You Abort When No One is Expecting?
The greatest threat to abortion may be its own success.
The Biden administration is preparing to run the 2024 election on abortion. With a miserable economy and failure on every side, that is the one thing still left for the Democrats to run on.
But no generation has ever had less use for abortion than this one.
After the end of Roe v. Wade, Democrats warned of a decline in abortions, what they failed to mention was that abortions had been declining long before the Supreme Court decision.
After Roe v. Wade first came on the scene, abortions shot up all through the 80s and hit a peak in 1990 with 1.6 million. Then, just as the Democrats decided to go all-in on abortion, purging their pro-life wing, abortion rates crashed, and now struggle to pass the million mark.
The numbers are even more striking when accounting for the large U.S. population increase since 1990. According to the CDC, there were 345 legal induced abortions per 1,000 live births, 24 per 1,000 women, in 1990. By 2021, there were 204 abortions per 1,000 live births and 11.6 abortions per 1,000 women. The actual abortion rate had fallen by more than half.
| — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield | [Return to headlines] |
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Douglas McGregor:
The Ukraine fiasco creates panic among the globalist elite
March 13, 2024
It is only a matter of time before the US withdraws from Ukraine. There is no other way, argues military analyst Douglas Macgregor in Judging Freedom. Europe’s politicians – the “globalist elite” – know this, and have therefore panicked, he believes.
French President Emmanuel Macron has opened up about sending troops to Ukraine. Europe should not be so “coward”, he has also claimed.
There is an explanation for such statements, according to US Army colonel and military analyst Douglas Macgregor, who also holds a doctorate in international relations. The “globalist elites” are panicking, he explains.
This is because of the failed proxy war in Ukraine, which only made Russia stronger and richer and Europe weaker and poorer.
– I think they are in a state of panic, says Douglas Macgregor in an interview with Judging Freedom. We are talking about the globalist elites who currently rule Western Europe.
– They are in a panic because they unconditionally followed us down the stairs to hell. They have suddenly realized that we will not continue. They see evidence that we are looking up and trying to find a way out of the hell we have created for ourselves. They know this. There is no future for us in Ukraine. Ukraine will never become a member of NATO and no one will go to war with Russia.
According to Macgregor, it is only a matter of time before the US withdraws from Ukraine. Because that’s how you do it, regardless of what you say to the contrary.
That was how it was done in, for example, Afghanistan. Then you hope that people will forget what happened, which also usually happens.
– Russia is now the superior military power in Europe, and there is no way we can take them on and win. So the only thing we can do is quietly retreat and hope most people don’t notice because it will be embarrassing.
– It will happen in silence. It will not be made public. We will simply leave. The Europeans know this. That is why they are afraid. They will look ridiculous in front of their voters, who foolishly elected these people.
The power elite in Europe “fear a giant red wave of right-wing nationalist organizations taking over”, says Macgregor and points out that this is also likely to happen.
Douglas Macgregor also touches on the question of Israel’s bombing of and actions in Gaza – which Swebbtv’s Lars Bern firmly said last week “will be labeled as a genocide, it is not possible to label it as something else, what they are doing is terrible” .
US President Joe Biden is described as a weak, mindless leader and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows, Macgregor claims, “that he wields infinitely more power and influence over decisions on Capitol Hill and in the White House frankly than President Biden.” Netanyahu’s starting point, his “thinking”, is that the US will back Israel regardless of what the country’s regime does, and this is also a completely correct assessment on the part of the Prime Minister, according to Douglas Macgregor.