An illegal immigrant has been charged with multiple crimes in Massachusetts, including sex crimes against minors. Meanwhile, an illegal immigrant from Haiti confessed to the sexual abuse of a 10-year-old Florida girl.
In other news, President Biden said today that he “didn’t do that” when asked about his official proclamation declaring March 31st as “Transgender Day of Visibility.”
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, Dora, Insubria, JW, LP, McN, MM, Reader from Chicago, Roger, 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.
There has been a surge of people living in motorhomes, caravans and converted vans in the last year as they battle not only with the economic climate and housing crisis.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
California Fast Food Workers Face Layoffs as State’s $20 Minimum Wage Goes Into Effect
California fast-food chains are laying off workers, raising prices and deciding against opening new stores as the state implements a minimum wage that is more than 175% higher than that required by the federal government.
California implemented a minimum wage for all workers at $16 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2024, although some individual municipalities have implemented higher minimum wage requirements. The new $20-an-hour minimum wage that goes into effect Monday only applies to fast-food workers, who will see their hourly wages rise by as much as 25%.
All fast-food employees, regardless of age, will see a $20 an hour minimum wage in California. This is significantly higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for adults and the youth minimum wage of $4.25, which applies to employees under the age of 20 during their first 90 consecutive days of work with an employer.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
After Lawsuit, Google Commits to Destroying Incognito Browsing Data
Google agreed to destroy or remediate billions of Chrome Incognito mode data records as part of a proposed class action settlement filed Monday. The lawsuit accused the search giant of violating California privacy laws in collecting Incognito mode data, a mode in which users might be led to believe is more private.
The proposed settlement in Brown v. Google will require the company give more detailed disclosures on how it collects information in Incognito mode. For the next five years, Incognito mode will block third-party cookies by default.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Almost Orwellian’: Feds Black Out Nearly All Emails About Trucker Surveillance Proposal
A Department of Transportation component slammed the brakes following semi-furious opposition to its proposal for “on demand” law enforcement surveillance of commercial vehicles a year and a half ago.
It took another six months to turn over the records after a FOIA lawsuit to compel their release, a day before they were due in court Thursday, with no indication yet from FMCSA when it would release a final rule.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Antifa Threatens Violence at Indiana Speaking Event Featuring Libs of TikTok, GOP Congressman
An Indiana Antifa cell is threatening violence against Rep. Jim Banks and popular X account Libs of TikTok, who are set to appear at a speaking event in the state on Monday afternoon.
“ALERTA Bloomington, Indiana and fishers Indiana. Libs of TT homophobic bigot chaya raichik and far right bigot jim banks will be speaking at 2 locations. You know what to do. Action items below,” a post from X account Red Orchestra_AFA read.
The post included the details of one of the events, a pizza lunch taking place at Indiana University Bloomington on Monday at noon.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Baltimore Bridge: Alternative Route to Open for Shipping
A temporary alternative route for ships is to be opened in the US city of Baltimore following the collapse of a major bridge, officials have announced.
[…]
According to a statement from the Key Bridge Response, a taskforce set up in the wake of the incident, port officials are preparing to open the temporary channel to the north-east side of the main channel near the collapsed bridge, for “commercially essential vessels”.
This will be part of a “phased approach to opening the main channel”.
Capt David O’Connell, who has been helping to coordinate the response, said the alternative route “will mark an important first step along the road to reopening the port of Baltimore”.
| — Hat tip: McN | [Return to headlines] |
Car Rams Gate at FBI Office in Atlanta, Driver Arrested After Attempting to Enter Facility
A driver crashed a vehicle into the front gate of the FBI’s Atlanta, Georgia headquarters on Monday, according to the bureau.
The bureau told Fox News that the vehicle rammed into the employee entrance shortly after noon and the driver attempted to enter the facility.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago Man Shot 9 Times While Pumping Gas, as Violent Easter Weekend Leaves 7 Dead
Gun violence in Chicago over Easter weekend killed at least seven people and wounded dozens of others, including a man who was shot nine times while pumping gas, authorities said Monday.
The 33-year-old victim was at a gas station in the 3700 block of West Roosevelt Road in Chicago’s Home Square neighborhood around 11:18 p.m. Saturday when a trio of suspects fired gunshots and rifle rounds, Chicago police said. The three suspects then fled in a white Infiniti.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CNN Host Admits Democrat Stacey Abrams is an ‘Election Denier’
A CNN host has admitted during a debate about “double standards” that Democrat Stacey Abrams is an “election denier.”
The use of the term “election denier” has long been discredited by conservatives as it’s a label that the Left only applies to Republicans who question Democrat wins and not the other way around.
However, during an appearance on HBO’s “Real Time,” CNN host Fareed Zakaria admitted to Bill Maher that Democrats are also “election deniers.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Roman Catholic Cardinal Wilton Gregory took a swipe at President Biden’s faith on Sunday, calling him a “cafeteria Catholic” for picking and choosing parts of the faith while “ignoring or even contradicting” other aspects of his adherence.
Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., was asked on CBS’ “Face the Nation” whether he believes Biden’s long-touted Catholic roots will resonate with American Catholics in the upcoming 2024 election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democrats Connected to NY Judge in Trump Trial Raised $93 Million From Case
Democrats linked to the judge overseeing President Donald Trump’s so-called “hush money” trial in New York fundraised a staggering $93 million off the back of the case, according to reports.
Concerns regarding potential conflicts of interest have continued to resurface in the trial of Trump’s hush-money case.
Sources close to Trump’s legal team say the defense is considering a motion for Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan’s recusal.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democrats Grumble Over Mike Johnson’s Ukraine Aid Proposal
Democrats are groaning at a plan floated by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to pass aid to Ukraine — including some key moderates.
Why it matters: With an aid bill likely to require a two-thirds majority and Republicans largely opposed to Ukraine aid, the vast majority of Democrats will likely need to support the package for it to pass.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Driver Arrested After Ramming Car Into Gate at FBI Atlanta Office in Chamblee
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A man is now in custody after ramming his car into security gates at the Atlanta FBI field office.
The FBI is investigating why he attempted to follow an employee into a gate parking area and then struck the entry gates as they closed.
FBI officials told Channel 2’s Tom Regan that the man driving a crossover vehicle tried to follow an FBI employee into the parking lot.
The iron gates came down on the vehicle, but he then rammed the gates, still trying to get in.
Agents quickly rushed to the vehicle and pulled the man out of it.
A bomb squad then moved to examine the car to check for an explosive or weapons inside — there were none.
Agents also went through the vehicle to look for any information to help explain the man’s intentions for trying to force his way into the parking lot of a highly secured facility.
| — Hat tip: Roger | [Return to headlines] |
Fact Check: Biden’s Myth of the Lowest Crime Rate in 50 Years
“Last year, the United States had one of the lowest rates of all violent crime — of all violent crimes in more than 50 years. Murder, rape — murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery all dropped sharply, along with burglary, property crime, and theft,” Biden recently proclaimed at a White House law enforcement event.
And then he claimed credit for it.
While Biden has a history of making things up, this particular one has been slowly making its way through the media which is also composed of the only people who could possibly believe it.
The original source for the claim that the United States had the lowest crime rate in 50 years came from the substack blog of Jeff Asher, a 30-something former federal employee who set up his own consulting and analytics firm that helps create “a more equitable criminal justice system” which is a term often used for the pro-crime policies that led to the high crime rates.
Asher had popped up in pro-crime media outlets back in 2020 to dismiss the idea that pro-crime policies had caused a surge in violent crime. In one op-ed, Asher blamed, “increased domestic violence early in the pandemic, warmer weather, or just plain randomness”. Now Asher is back and arguing that we’re enjoying “the lowest violent crime rate nationally since 1969.”
And his claim appears to have ended up in a president’s mouth.
There are some obvious problems with Asher’s thesis. Forget 1969. The FBI recorded 16,214 murders in 2018. While a story about Asher and his firm says that they expect “homicides overall to fall from 21,156 last year to around 18,450 this year.”
Asher admits that, “murder was almost certainly still higher in 2023 than in 2019 even with a record double-digit decline nationally this year, but not by much.”
Biden is bragging about the “lowest crime rate in 50 years” that includes thousands more murders than not all that long ago under Trump.
But Asher argues that, “Detroit is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1966”. That would be more impressive if not for the fact that there were over 1.5 million people living in Motor City in 1966 and there are some 600,000 still living there now.
There were 252 murders in Detroit in 2023, that’s a little more than the 232 murders in 1966, but the actual per capita murder rate is much higher because the population is much lower. Detroit has actually gone from 15 murders per 100,000 to 41 murders per 100,000.
| — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield | [Return to headlines] |
Firefighters in New York City have been smeared as “fascists” and ordered to remove a flag honoring heroes who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks.
NYC Fire Department (FDNY) officials ordered an East Village ladder company to remove its “red line” American flag honoring the squad’s six brothers killed on 9/11.
The move came after a neighborhood resident complained the flag was “fascist” and an NYC Democrat suffered a meltdown and accused the firefighters of promoting a “politically charged symbol.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Supreme Court Approves Ballot Measure to Legalize Recreational Marijuana
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — The Florida Supreme Court will not block a ballot initiative that seeks to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults in this year’s general election, giving a major boost to the effort to open up pot use in the third-most populous state in the country.
With the green light from Florida’s conservative-leaning high court and more than 1 million signed and certified voter petitions in hand, Florida voters will have a chance to weigh in on an issue the state’s Republican-led Legislature has rejected for years.
The decision was in response to a request made by Florida Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody to reject the ballot language, arguing the measure fails to remind voters about a federal ban on marijuana.
Florida’s Supreme Court in a 5-2 ruling determined that the ballot language proposed by the Smart & Safe Florida committee to go before voters in November’s election fit the state’s single-subject rule for ballot initiatives.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
For Terminal Patients, Dying in California May Get Easier
SACRAMENTO, California — California could become home to the nation’s most sweeping assisted dying policies with a new bill that would allow dementia patients and out-of-state residents to end their lives here.
First, the proposal will have to overcome opposition from the state’s influential religious and disability rights groups. It could also face pushback from doctors and hospitals that have historically been hesitant to loosen rules around the process.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Massachusetts residents are outraged at recently announced plans to turn a former Boston area veteran housing unit into a homeless shelter as the city is inundated with migrants.
Democrat Governor Maura Healey revealed the government will turn the former Chelsea Soldiers’ Home facility, which is vacant and scheduled for demolition, into a safety-net site in April.
It will be able to accommodate 100 families who are eligible for the state’s Emergency Assistance family shelter system, which has been operating at capacity for months.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
John Kerry’s Daughter Pushes WEF’s ‘Net Zero’ Agenda: Public Compliance ‘No Longer a Choice’
The daughter of Democrat President Joe Biden’s former “climate czar” John Kerry has warned that the days of allowing the general public to decide whether or not to comply with the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) “Net Zero” agenda are now over.
Although her jet-setting father left his role as the 1st United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate last month, Vanessa Kerry still serves as the Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health for the World Health Organization (WHO).
Both Vanessa and John Kerry also serve as key “agenda contributors” at the unelected WEF.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jonathan Diller’s Family Banned New York’s AG and Governor From Speaking at Funeral
Fallen NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller’s family refused to allow New York’s Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James to speak at the slain cop’s funeral service.
The ban on the two top state Democrats speaking at the funeral was revealed by Fox News’s Brian Kilmeade.
“I have now learned tonight from a source that Kathy Hochul, the governor, asked to speak at tomorrow’s funeral at St. Rose [of Lima Roman Catholic Church],” Kilmeade reported.
“So did, hold on to something tight: A.G. Letitia James.”
“Both were rejected by the family,” he added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Rejects Hunter Biden Bid to Dismiss Tax Charges in Special Counsel Probe
Aj udge on Monday rejected first son Hunter Biden’s request to dismiss tax charges brought against him by special counsel David Weiss.
Weiss filed charges in December, alleging that Biden “engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019, from in or about January 2017 through in or about October 15, 2020, and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns in or about February 2020.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Just 38% of Voters Think Biden Lives Through 2nd Term: Poll
Just 38% of voters think President Ron Burgundy Joe Biden would survive a second term in office, according to a new poll by the Daily Mail and J.L. Partners.
Biden — who last month was essentially found too old and feeble to prosecute by the special counsel’s office investigating his mishandling of classified information, would be 86 at the end of a second term.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kash Patel, a former advisor to former President Donald Trump and chief of staff for the Defense Sec during Trump’s term, alleged that he was subjected to a smear campaign by the January 6 Committee following his testimony that Trump authorized the National Guard for use on that day in 2021. This comes after Patel’s testimony was found to have been corroborated by others who spoke with the Committee.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Last Survivor of USS Arizona From Pearl Harbor Attack, Dies at 102
Honolulu — Lou Conter, the last living survivor of the USS Arizona battleship that exploded and sank during the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, has died. He was 102.
Conter passed away Monday at his home in Grass Valley, California, following congestive heart failure, his daughter, Louann Daley said, adding she was beside him along with two of her brothers, James and Jeff.
The Arizona lost 1,177 sailors and Marines in the 1941 attack that launched the United States into World War II. The battleship’s dead account for nearly half of those killed in the attack.
Conter was a quartermaster, standing on the main deck of the Arizona as Japanese planes flew overhead at 7:55 a.m. on December 7 that year. Sailors were just beginning to hoist colors or raise the flag when the assault began.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Mayor Bowser Directly Asked if People Should ‘Feel Safe’ in DC: ‘Whats the Plan?’
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was asked on Monday if people should feel “safe” in D.C., as the mayor said crime had come down in the nation’s capital in “all categories.”
CNBC host Joe Kernen asked Bowser if his daughter should feel safe in the city.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A vigilante group in Southern California is taking the squatting crisis into its own hands by removing the unruly tenants themselves.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
On Sunday, a Republican congressman claimed that House Speaker Mike Johnson is “committed” to bringing additional funding for Ukraine to the floor when the House reconvenes in Washington D.C., per the New York Post.
The decision would likely cause a ruckus within the House GOP and could potentially cost Johnson his Speakership, he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The lawyer for the family of the Missouri teen who was brutally beaten in a viral video said that the teen’s condition has “slightly improved.”
“Kaylee’s ability to walk has slightly improved, but she is still unable to do so without the assistance of the hospital staff. However, Kaylee is still showing signs of significant cognitive impairment during the limited conversations that she is able to have, and she tends to reiterate the same short sentences over and over,” Bryan Kaemmerer, the family’s lawyer, said in a statement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
North Carolina State University in Raleigh continues to investigate student and alumni exposure to concerning levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a probable carcinogen, in one of its campus buildings that the school officially shut down in November of last year.
More than 150 cancer cases in people who attended classes at Poe Hall have been reported to local news outlet WRAL, which began probing concerns about the building starting around November 2023, a month after PCB levels at more than 38 times the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) standards for building materials were detected inside five rooms within the building.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NY Times Blasted for ‘Disgraceful’ Coverage of Slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller’s Funeral
The New York Post shamed rival paper The New York Times on Sunday after the Gray Lady failed to cover pointed comments by Stephanie Diller, the widow of slain New York Police Department Officer Jonathan Diller.
Stephanie Diller received a standing ovation when she approached the lectern to deliver her remarks at her husband’s funeral on Saturday before demanding change by asking, “How many more police officers and how many more families have to make the ultimate sacrifice before we start protecting them?” She also put a spotlight on other recent police officers who were killed on the job.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Oakland Retail Store Reportedly Vandalized, Stolen From on Easter Day: ‘This is Not Fair’
A small business owner in Oakland, California, revealed that her store was vandalized and broken into on Easter Sunday.
“We need the city to take action and prevent this from happening to us,” owner Taylor Jay said, according to a KRON4 report. “This is not fair. This is Easter Sunday, this is a Sunday we should all be spending time with our loved ones and enjoying this day, not having to clean up glass.”
The theft occurred at about 5:30 in the morning, KRON4 reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Obama Snapped at Leftist Protesters That Biden Hopes to Appease to Secure Voter Support
During a star-studded Democrat fundraiser in New York City, former President Barack Obama snapped at a group of radical leftist protesters who had gathered outside the event.
Democrat President Joe Biden has been walking a figurative tightrope over the past several months.
As the critical November election draws near, Biden is desperately attempting to appeal to the majority of normal Americans without further alienating the angry leftist base of the Democratic Party opposed to U.S. support for Israel.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Owner of Dali Ship Seeks to Limit Liability in Baltimore Bridge Collapse
BALTIMORE — The Singaporean company that owns the cargo ship that collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge last week took steps Monday to limit its liability for the accident.
The Dali, a 984-foot-long vessel carrying shipping containers, struck one of the Key Bridge’s support columns around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, causing the tragic collapse.
Eight construction workers were on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Two workers were injured, and two were found dead. Crews are searching for the bodies of the four other victims, who are presumed dead.
A salvage operation is underway to recover the bodies of four victims that have not yet been located.
A filing in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore details a petition from Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and the manager of the ship, Synergy Marine Group, for exoneration from or limitation of liability in the incident.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Removal of Baltimore Bridge Wreckage to Clear Shipping Channel Begins
Work crews have commenced the urgent work to remove the collapsed structure of the bridge over the Patapsco River, cutting through the enormous steel girders to load parts onto waiting barges.
Large barge-mounted cranes arrived in Baltimore at the end of last week to support the effort to clear the deep-dredged central channel of the Patapsco River, and now cascades of sparks herald the work of cutting the remains of the former bridge into manageable pieces for recycling. Workers suspended in cages used gas torches or cut through the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s steel, supported by seven cranes including cranes capable of lifting up to 1,000 and a 500 tons, reports WorldCargo News.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
RFK Jr. Says He Meets Ballot Threshold in Another State
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign says the independent presidential candidate has moved a step closer to his goal of getting on the ballot in all 50 states.
The campaign of the longtime environmental activist and high-profile vaccine skeptic, who is the scion of the nation’s most storied political dynasty, on Monday announced that it had collected the necessary number of signatures to put “Bobby on the Ballot” in North Carolina.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
RFK Jr. Accuses DNC and Others of Using Fake Protesters and Online ‘Trolls’
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is accusing the Democratic National Committee and the progressive group MoveOn.org of hiring protesters to hold up disparaging signs at an event he spoke at on Saturday at Union Station in Los Angeles.
“One of the protesters was carrying a sign shaming me for attacking COVID vaccines. One of our staffers asked if he took the vaccine, and he said, ‘Hell no.’“ Kennedy told Newsweek. “The DNC, by way of MoveOn, is paying big money to hire protesters.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Hawaii property owner is getting sued after finding out a half-million dollar house was accidentally built on her land.
The legal quagmire has attracted squatters to the house, according to a neighbor who spoke to local news.
“You already make a mistake, and then you build on my land without my permission. And then now you’re suing me for it,” Reynolds told the New York Post. “I was so mad. I was so mad that day … that’s a really big mistake to make.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Suspects in Killing of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller Indicted in Queens
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz has announced the indictment of Guy Rivera and Lindy Jones in connection with the death of NYPD officer Jonathan Diller.
Rivera has been indicted on charges including first-degree murder for fatally shooting Diller and first-degree attempted murder for attempting to shoot an NYPD sergeant present at the scene. Additionally, he faces charges of criminal possession of a weapon, according to Fox News.
Jones has been indicted on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tennessee Senate Passes Bill to Ban Vaccines From Food Supply
Lawmakers in the Republican-led Tennessee Senate have just passed a bill that seeks to ban vaccines from the state’s food supply.
In a landmark vote, state lawmakers passed HB1894 on Thursday.
The legislation would redefine the term “drug” within the state’s legal code to include food products containing vaccines or vaccine materials.
The bill now awaits the signature of Tennessee’s Republican Gov. Bill Lee, WSMV reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump’s Truth Social Lost $58 Million in 2023, and the Stock is Taking a Hit
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) plummeted by more than 23% on Monday after the parent company of former President Trump’s Truth Social platform reported it lost nearly $60 million last year.
TMTG, which trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol “DJT,” reported it brought in $4.1 million in revenue in 2023 but had an operating loss of more than $58 million.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Hush-Money Judge Expands Gag Order to Ban Attacks on Judge’s Daughter
Donald Trump’s New York hush-money judge on Monday expanded his gag order to bar statements about the judge’s daughter.
Trump is now barred from personally making — or directing others to make — statements about “family members of any counsel, staff member, the Court or the District Attorney,” if those statements are made with the intent to materially interfere with the case, the updated gag order now reads.
“It remains this Court’s fundamental responsibility to protect the integrity of the criminal process and to control distruptive influences in the court,” wrote the judge, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Posts $175M Bond to Stave Off Seizure of His Assets While He Appeals Civil Fraud Verdict
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump posted a $175 million bond Monday to stop collection of a half-billion dollar judgment in the civil fraud case against him, preventing state authorities from seizing his assets while he appeals the verdict.
Trump’s posting of the bond comes after a panel of appellate judges last week ruled that he could post a bond in a significantly smaller amount than the $454 million he owes as a result of the verdict. That decision came after Trump’s lawyers said he lacked the cash to cover the full amount of the penalty and had been rejected by dozens of insurance companies for a bond for the full amount.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tucker Carlson was seen in a recorded Zoom call that he had with students from St. George’s School after the prep school banned him coming to campus to speak.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Virginia Residents Say Vibrations From Construction of Offshore Wind Project Causing Cracks in Walls
Residents living near in an upcoming, major offshore wind project say say the developer’s activities are creating a lot of noise, and they weren’t told to expect it.
WTKR reported Sunday that the residents in a Virginia Beach neighborhood met with Dominion Energy about the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, and the meeting didn’t ease their concerns.
John Knight, a resident of the neighborhood, told WTKR that the developer never warned that his “house is going to be shaking for almost a year.” Had he known, he said he would have opposed the project.
This construction, the residents say, is going on day and night, with some of the vibrations from the development being so loud, it’s causing cracks in their walls.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canadians Mount Freedom Convoy-Styled Protests Against Carbon Tax
Thousands of Canadians from across the country are gathering along highways, provincial borders, and Liberals MPs’ offices in a Freedom Convoy-styled protest against the federal carbon tax.
The tax rose to 17 cents per litre of gasoline, 21 cents per litre of diesel and 15 cents per cubic metre of natural gas on Monday, Apr. 1.
Event organizers at various locations told True North that demonstrators are prepared to stay for weeks in hopes of swaying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to remove his costly tax.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jordan Peterson’s COVID-19 Debate With Leftist Livestreamer Destiny Goes Viral
Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson fiercely defended the position that the COVID-19 vaccines were not adequately tested before their rollout, and that vaccine mandates later implemented by governments were unjust in a viral debate with the leftist livestreamer Destiny.
In a conversation with the influencer, Peterson was challenged to defend the positions that many conservatives had taken over the course of the pandemic relating to vaccines and lockdowns.
The debate between the two has since garnered over two million views and has been clipped widely on various social media channels. Other livestreamers have also provided commentary on the debate since its release.
Peterson pushed back, arguing that the COVID-19 vaccines likely have something to do with higher-than-expected excess mortality statistics in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, specifically in Europe.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bombs and Bullets: Sweden’s Deadly Gang War
The Gangster
In a car park in a suburb in Sweden, Adam reveals how much money can be earned from shooting someone.
“If you shoot somebody in the leg, you’ll get 50,000 krona (£3,700),” he says.
“Before, if you were going to kill somebody, you got a million [krona] (£76,000) — but now the prices are so low that everyone kills.”
Now a young man, Adam has been in a gang since he was nine.
He covers his face to protect his identity — leaving only his eyes showing — and spits out terse answers to the questions we ask him.
“I’m not worried about my own safety, because I’ve eliminated almost everyone,” he claims.
By his own admission, he has committed a litany of crimes and has been in prison several times.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chancellor Says Austria Needs to Deter Russian Infiltration After Allegations of Spying Emerge
VIENNA (AP) — The arrest in recent days of a former Austrian intelligence officer on serious allegations of spying for Russia suggests that Austria needs to boost its security to thwart Russian infiltration, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said Monday.
The allegations against Egisto Ott, who worked for a now-defunct intelligence agency and whose arrest was announced Friday, are “grave” and have prompted the chancellor to call a meeting next week of Austria’s National Security Council, he said. Ott has denied wrongdoing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
European Prosecutors Take Over Belgian Probe Into Pfizergate
Top European prosecutors are investigating allegations of criminal wrongdoing in connection with vaccine negotiations between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the CEO of Pfizer, according to a spokesperson from the Liège prosecutor’s office.
Investigators from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) have in recent months taken over from Belgian prosecutors investigating von der Leyen over “interference in public functions, destruction of SMS, corruption and conflict of interest,” according to legal documents seen by POLITICO and a spokesperson from the Liège prosecutor’s office. While EPPO’s prosecutors are investigating alleged criminal offenses, no one has yet been charged in connection with the case.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The crowd erupted in cheers as the clock struck midnight and thick clouds of smoke quickly filled the air as hundreds of people sparked up in unison.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
German Establishment Parties Unite to ‘Protect’ Constitutional Court From ‘Extremists’
The German Union parties (CDU/CSU) are again considering backing an initiative by the left-globalist ‘traffic light’ coalition to amend Germany’s constitution in an attempt to keep the anti-establishment Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party from influencing the Federal Constitutional Court.
Negotiations between the Union and the governing parties concerning the latter’s proposed draft law—framed as necessary to ‘protect’ the court from ‘extremists’—began in late January but concluded shortly thereafter when the CDU and CSU stated that they found no compelling reason for the constitutional amendment.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Shutters Seven More Coal-Fired Power Units
Two German energy companies said they shut down seven coal-fired power plants over the Easter holiday weekend, taking more than 3,000 MW of generation capacity offline for decommissioning. The German government, which already has called for an end to coal-fired power generation in that country, had allowed the units to continue operating through the winter as Germany continues to reduce its dependency on natural gas from Russia after that country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. RWE Power said it closed five coal-fired units at the Grevenbroich-Neurath and Bergheim-Niederaussemin power stations on March 31. The lignite-fired power plants in total had 2,100 MW of generation capacity. LEAG said two of its coal-fired units, at Jänschwalde in the eastern state of Brandenburg, near Berlin, also were shuttered, taking another 1,000 MW offline. Two 500-MW units at the site were restarted at the start of the winter season to support the country’s power supply.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Goes Green: Cannabis Legalised, Drug Crime Prisoners Released
Germany’s hardliner covid lockdown boss has succeeded in pushing through his cannabis legalisation pet project in the teeth of opposition from political opponents, doctors, and police.
Cannabis possession became legal in Germany on Monday, the first first of several easings of the law coming that follows years of campaigning by Federal health minister Karl Lauterbach, the left-wing covid lockdown supremo.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: FDI at 27% Followed by PD at 19.9% and M55 at 15.6% — Poll
Majority partners League at 8.3% and Forza Italia at 7.7%
Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) remains the leading party in Italy with 27% of support according to the results of the latest Swg opinion poll released on Tuesday.
This represents an increase of 0.2 percentage points over the results of the last survey published on March 18.
Support for the centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) led by Elly Schlein also grew slightly, by 0.1 percentage points, to reach 19.9%.
Next came the populist opposition Five Star Movement (M5S) led by former premier Giuseppe Conte at 15.6%, up 0.3 percentage points over last week.
The minor government coalition partners League led by Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini and Forza Italia led by Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani brought up the rear respectively with 8.3% (up by 0.3 percentage points) and 7.7% (down by 0.1 percentage points).
The survey was carried out between March 20 and 25 on a nationally representative sample of 1,200 adults.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Respect for Our Culture at School — Salvini
Forget do-goodery says deputy PM in solidarity with Ravel
Respect for teachers and local culture must be brought back into the classroom, Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday.
“Solidarity with the headmaster of the French high school Maurice Ravel,” wrote Salvini on X, formerly Twitter, referring to the principal who resigned earlier this week after receiving death threats in connection with his request for a student to remove her hijab, or Islamic veil.
“Forget do-goodery, respect for teachers and our culture must be brought back into the classroom,” added the leader of the right-wing League.
Salvini’s post came the day after Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara, also of the League, said the government will take measures to try to ensure that the majority of Italian school classes are made up of Italian pupils and that foreign students assimilate along with their parents by learning Italian language and culture, and not living in separate communities.
“If one agrees that foreigners should assimilate into the fundamental values enshrined in the Constitution, this will happen more easily if the majority in the classes are Italians, if they study Italian in an enhanced manner where they do not already know it well, if Italian history, literature, art, and music are taught in depth in the schools, if their parents are also involved in learning the Italian language and culture, and if they do not live in separate communities,” he said.
Salvini on Wednesday himself proposed a 20% cap on the number of foreign pupils in Italian schools, prompting Florence Mayor Diego Nardella of the opposition centre-left Democratic Party (PD) to say “when we expel them, where are we going to put them? Salvini ignores the real Italy”.
The League responded Thursday by calling Nardella “a radical chic who doesn’t know the problems in Italian schools”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Psycho-Aptitude Tests for Magistrates Not an Insult — Tajani
‘I can’t see what all the fuss is about’ adds deputy premier
ROME, 27 March 2024, 17:23
(see related) The introduction of psycho-aptitude tests for aspiring magistrates is not an insult or a violation of judicial autonomy, Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Wednesday.
“I don’t consider the tests to be the least bit offensive or a violation of the autonomy of the judiciary because they are done on non-magistrates not on magistrates,” said Tajani.
“Had we decided to introduce the tests for magistrates it would have been an interference but they are for those who want to become magistrates.
I do not understand what all the fuss is about,” he added.
“My daughter is a psychologist and I have done the test.
I am sure that the vast majority of magistrates would be happy,” concluded Tajani.
On Tuesday the cabinet approved the introduction of psycho-aptitude tests for people sitting the exam to enter the judiciary as of 2026.
Magistrates’ union ANM has slammed the move as “useless” and “just propaganda”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘Fantastic’ Soccer Player Dies Suddenly at 24
A soccer player described as “talented” and “fantastic” has died suddenly at just 24 years old.
Tributes have been flooding in on social media for “terrific” British soccer player Ross Aikenhead following his tragic death over the Easter weekend.
Aikenhead was a “fantastic young man,” his club Winsford United FC said in a statement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Anger as Pakistani Flag Flown From Westminster Abbey
Footage of the Pakistani national flag flying above Westminster Abbey in London has caused a stir online with British people asking why the Union Jack was no where to be seen.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimates one in 72 of those patients will have died because they were left in A&E waiting rooms before a place on a ward became available.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
The creatures have reportedly left the 64-year-old music mogul’s eight acres of luscious lawns riddled with hundreds of holes and resembling ‘Swiss cheese’.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Something Terminally Wrong With the Conservative Party: An Interview With Robin Harris
Robin Harris worked for the UK’s Conservative Party from 1978, and collaborated increasingly closely with Margaret Thatcher herself from 1985, writing her speeches and advising on policy. He left Number Ten with her and, as a member of her personal staff, he then drafted the two volumes of her autobiography and a further book on her behalf, continuing to see her regularly after her retirement. He is the author of numerous books, including Not for Turning: The Life of Margaret Thatcher (2013), The Conservatives: A History (2013), and Dubrovnik: A History (2003). He is currently vice president of the Croatian Centre for the Renewal of Culture.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Passes Law, Giving Itself Power to Temporarily Shut Down Al Jazeera
On April 1, 2024, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a sweeping statement indicating the immediate ceasing of Al Jazeera’s operations within Israeli territory. The Prime Minister’s staunch decision followed the legislative green light enhancing the authority of senior ministers to terminate the operations of non-domestic news agencies that are perceived as a potential threat to national security.
Emphasizing his intention to immediately commence action according to newly approved legislation, Netanyahu proclaimed, “Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel.” The declaration, which received widespread publicity through a post on X, was made right after the final iterations of the law received parliamentary approval.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Zomi Frankcom — Australian Aid Worker — is Killed in an Israeli Airstrike on Gaza
An Australian humanitarian worker has been killed in an airstrike in Gaza.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Accused of Deadly Strike on Iranian Consulate in Syria
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards says seven officers have been killed in an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate building in Syria’s capital, Damascus.
Brig-Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of the elite Quds Force, and Brig-Gen Mohammad Hadi Haji-Rahimi, his deputy, were named among the dead.
Iran and Syria’s governments condemned the attack, which destroyed a building next door to the Iranian embassy.
The Israeli military said it did not comment on foreign media reports.
However, it has acknowledged carrying out hundreds of strikes in recent years on targets in Syria that it says are linked to Iran and allied armed groups which are armed, funded and trained by the Revolutionary Guards.
The Israeli strikes have reportedly been stepped up since the start of the war in Gaza in October last year, in response to cross-border attacks on northern Israel by Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups in Lebanon and Syria.
But Monday’s attack will be seen as a serious escalation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Senior Iranian Commander Killed in Syria by Apparent Israeli Airstrike
A top Iranian commander and several diplomats were killed Monday in an airstrike that leveled a building in Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus, an attack media outlets from both countries are blaming on Israel and that could lead to an escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, Reuters reported.
Three senior commanders died in the assault, most prominent among them Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi of Iran’s elite Quds Force. His death was confirmed in a statement by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, which said seven military advisers were killed.
Iranian ambassador Hossein Akbari said his country’s response would be of “the same magnitude and harshness,” The Associated Press reported.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
New Evidence Shows Russia is Behind the Serious Havana Syndrome
In an explosive new report CBS’s 60 Minutes, The Insider and Der Spiegel found new evidence that hundreds of U.S. government employees complaining of sudden neurological symptoms known as Havana Syndrome may have been attacked by Russia with a weapon using directed energy.
“Well, there’s a number of reasons why we think the U.S. doesn’t want to blame Moscow, i.e. Putin and the Russians. One is essentially this is an act of war,” Mark Zaid, the lawyer representing two dozen US government employees who claim to be victims of Havana Syndrome, told FOX News.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Crews End 2-Week Rescue Effort to Reach 13 Miners in a Collapsed Mine and Declare Them Dead
Authorities in Russia’s Far East on Monday called off a two-week rescue effort to reach 13 workers trapped deep underground in a collapsed gold mine and declared them dead.
The miners got trapped on March 18 at a depth of about 400 feet when part of the mine collapsed in the Zeysk district of the Amur region, about 3,000 miles east of the capital, Moscow.
About 200 rescuers used powerful pumps to try to take out water that flooded the mine, posing a challenge to the salvage operation.
Regional authorities and the mine operator announced the termination of rescue efforts on Monday, saying the mine remained flooded and that more of its sections could collapse, jeopardizing emergency responders.
The company that operates the mine, one of Russia’s largest, said it would pay compensation to victims’ families.
Officials have not said what caused the accident. Most mining accidents in the past have been blamed on violations of safety rules.
| — Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
Kavre District in the foothills of the Himalayas has become known as kidney valley. Desperate for money, many workers in the region are being sucked in by ‘cash for kidney’ rackets.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Labor frontbencher downplays solo VIP flight ‘scandal’ instead of travelling with Anthony Albanese.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk ‘s X is suing the Australian government after its ‘world-first’ E-Safety Commissioner ordered an ‘offensive’ post to be removed from the platform.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A Nine News crew on Monday were on Victoria Street in Richmond, Melbourne , when a man allegedly started threatening two drivers in their late model Jeeps.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Australia’s biggest companies spent millions on campaigning for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, new figures reveal.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Three teenagers who allegedly broke into two homes armed with machetes before stealing a car have been arrested after a wild police chase.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Another Migrant Crime Ring, This Time in Wealthy, Biden-Voting Oakland County, Michigan
One of Michigan’s wealthiest counties, which voted heavily for Joe Biden in 2020, has become the target of organized migrant gangs of home invaders, according to the county sheriff.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard is warning residents that the gangs of illegals are targeting high-end homes, especially of those who are out of town on spring break vacations, according to WXYZ-TV Detroit.
This is not the first time the area has been beset by a spree of home invasions by migrants. A similar wave of break-ins occurred last spring and Bouchard’s office launched a special task force that netted several arrests.
Criminal gangs based in Chile and other developed countries are increasingly flying gangs of trained burglars into wealthy suburbs throughout the United states. Typically, the criminals fly fin from countries that are waived from normal visa rules, quickly hit their planned targets, and fly home before the local cops get on their trail.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Admin Allows Immigrants to Check THIRD GENDER Option on Naturalization Forms
President Joe Biden’s US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have revised their application for naturalization to have a “third gender” option designated by “X.”
The application form for naturalization, Form N-400, has been updated by the USCIS to include a “third gender” option.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A federal judge on Monday dropped Ron DeSantis from a lawsuit after the Republican Florida Governor coordinated flights of illegal immigrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022.
In a 77-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs dropped DeSantis and various past and present staff members from the lawsuit over “insufficient facts” presented in the case.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk, AOC, Ilhan Omar Spar on X Over Report Biden Might Issue Green Cards to Certain Migrants
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., replied to a post on the social media platform X from Elon Musk, CEO of X, accusing the Biden administration of importing voters in response to a report that the president is considering offering green cards to migrants that meet certain criteria.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Guatemalan Illegal Immigrant With Criminal History Charged With Child Sex Crimes in Massachusetts
An illegal immigrant has been arrested and is awaiting removal proceedings after being accused of multiple crimes in Massachusetts over the last two years, including sex crimes against minors, and was previously released.
On Thursday, Deportation officers from Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston apprehended the unidentified 33-year-old Guatemalan national near his home in Lynn, Mass, according to a press release from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
He is scheduled to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge and will remain in the ICE’s custody pending deportation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Haitian Illegal Immigrant Confesses to Sexual Abuse of 10-Year-Old Florida Girl
On Saturday, a Haitian illegal immigrant appeared in bond court in Broward County Florida on accusations that he sexually abused a 10-year-old girl and took pictures of it on his cell phone.
According to a Pembroke Park Police arrest report obtained by Local 10, police officers told 37-year-old Nivenson Sarazin, who has a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold, that they had video evidence of the abuse. He then confessed to the abuse admitting that he “lost control” and that he pulled the victim’s pants down and molested her on multiple occasions adding, “I should have just asked for a lawyer.”
Sarazin also confessed that the victim had told him to “stop” and said “no” during the abuse and told him, “Don’t put it inside me,” referring to his genitalia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A beachfront hotel in Cape Cod has been slammed for housing migrants far beyond the time frame permitted by local laws.
Since September more than 20 families have been staying at Harborside Suites in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.
As the peak summer season approaches, the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals has declared the property to be in violation of a local bylaw that limits temporary stays to 30 days or less.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Migrants in Iowa Consider Leaving Over a Bill That Could See Some Arrested and Deported
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A bill in Iowa that would allow the state to arrest and deport some migrants is stoking anxiety among immigrant communities, leaving some to wonder: “Should I leave Iowa?”
The legislation, which is expected to be signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds, would make it a state crime for a person to be in Iowa if previously denied admission to or removed from the United States. It mirrors part of a Texas law that is currently blocked in court.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Texas law enforcement officials and National Guard posted up along a section of the southern border in El Paso overnight to prevent a line of Venezuelan migrants from charging the barriers.
Shocking images and drone footage emerged showing a trench of migrants camping out on the Juarez, Mexico side of the southern border Sunday night huddled around fires and bundled in blankets.
Republicans and border hawks are growing increasingly annoyed with a lack of action to address the border migration crisis as illegal crossings continue to surge.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nearly 800 migrants crossed the Channel over the Easter weekend to push this year’s total past 5,000 and heap more pressure on Rishi Sunak.
The Prime Minister’s pledge to ‘stop the boats’ has come under increasing scrutiny with record numbers making the dangerous journey in dinghies in the first three months of this year.
Home Office data showed 349 people crossed the Channel from France to England in seven boats on Saturday, with another 442 in nine boats making the journey 24 hours later on Easter Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: ‘Refugee’ Threatens German Host Family With Knife
According to a video being widely shared online, an illegal migrant being housed by bleeding-heart liberals in Germany threatened the family at knifepoint when they tried to kick him out of their home.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Harry Potter author, and prominent gender critic, posted a string of tweets on X where she sarcastically urged her followers to respect ‘lovely Scottish lass’ Isla Bryson.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Pre-eminent atheist Richard Dawkins said on Easter Sunday that he identifies as a “cultural Christian” and that he prefers to live in a country based on Christian principles and would not want the UK to become an Islamic nation.
Emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and God Delusion author Richard Dawkins said that he identifies with Christian society and that he would choose it over other countries based around other faiths, namely Islamic nations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
President Biden said Monday that he “didn’t do that” when asked about his official White House proclamation, declaring March 31, the same day as Easter, as “Transgender Day Of Visibility.”
In an exchange with reporters at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, Biden declined responsibility for the proclamation when asked about House Speaker Mike Johnson’s, R-La., criticism of the action. Over the weekend, Johnson wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the White House “betrayed the central tenet of Easter,” adding that the proclamation was “outrageous and abhorrent.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida’s Abortion Law Will Change: Here’s When
The Florida Supreme Court upheld the state’s abortion law Monday, setting up a change to the law in the coming months that will likely be a focus for the November election.
The court upheld the state’s current 15-week ban on abortion in the Monday ruling, allowing it to continue to be enforced. The conservative majority ruled the right to privacy does not extend to abortion.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Telfer, who previously competed as a man, became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) title back in 2019
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Gov. DeSantis Rips Joe Biden for Not Owning Up to ‘Transgender Visibility’ Declaration
‘Who’s running the presidency? Is it a bunch of woke 20-something-year-old White House staffers?’
Florida’s Governor is weighing in on President Joe Biden’s official acknowledgement of Easter Sunday as a “Transgender Day of Visibility,” suggesting that his subsequent disavowal of it raises questions about who is running the White House.
During a stop in Miami, Gov. Ron DeSantis made light of the message confusion between the President and his comms shop.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Olympic Medalist Blasts Male Transgender Athlete for Competing in Women’s Event: ‘Simply Cheating’
A celebrated Olympic medal winner has blasted a male athlete for using transgender rule to compete in women’s events, describing the tactic as “simply cheating.”
Sharron Davies is a former Olympic swimmer who won a silver in the 400 medley for Britain in 1980.
After retiring from swimming, Davies went on to star as a “Gladiator” in the UK’s version of the hit TV game show.
She has since enjoyed a long career as a sports commentator.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pop Music Keeps Getting Worse Over Last 50 Years: Study
A new study looking at the patterns of lyrics and music over the last 50 years have concluded that songs have gotten more simple and repetitive over time. Emotions in the songs have also become more negative and angry.
The study, published in Scientific Reports found the English-language songs have become simpler and repetitive over the last five decades in the categories of rap, country, pop, R&B, and rock songs.
Lead author of the study Eva Zangerle and others wrote in the paper’s conclusion, “We find that lyrics have become simpler over time regarding multiple aspects of lyrics: vocabulary richness, readability, complexity, and the number of repeated lines.”
“Our results also confirm previous research that found that lyrics have become more negative on the one hand, and more personal on the other,” it added.
Additionally, the authors stated, “Our analysis shows that lyrics have become angrier across all genres, with rap showing the most profound increase in anger.” Country music had the lowest increase in anger and negative emotion across time.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Queer Fat Club’ Infiltrated by Skinny ‘He/They’ Who ‘Identifies as 275 Pounds’
A man with a slender build attempted to join a club for queer and fat people but his presence was not welcomed despite self-identifying himself to the group as “queer” and “275 pounds.”
Video footage of the incident has since gone viral across X, formerly known as Twitter, which had many claiming that if someone can identify as the opposite sex or nonbinary then identifying as “fat” should be accepted too.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: JK Rowling Could be Imprisoned for “Misgendering” Trans People Under New Law
Author JK Rowling could be prosecuted for “misgendering” trans people under Scotland’s odious new hate crime law that comes into force today, an SNP minister has admitted.
Senior police officers are expecting a deluge of complaints over online posts after the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 created a new crime of “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: Humza Yousaf Reported to Police Over Anti-White Rant as Hate Crime Bill Comes Into Force
As Scotland’s odious hate speech law comes into force, innumerable people are fighting back by reporting First Minister Humza Yousaf to the police for his infamous anti-white rant.
The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 created a new crime of “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex.
Even speech deemed merely to be “insulting” towards such groups could be punished by up to seven years in prison.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Transgender Activist Who Fought to Abolish ICE Honored With 2024 RFK Human Rights Award
A transgender woman fighting to shut down U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement detention centers is this year’s recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award — an honor bestowed by the advocacy group meant to carry on RFK’s legacy and founded by his daughter, Kerry Kennedy.
Arely Westley, an LGBTQ+ and immigration activist who identifies as a “trans-Latinx woman,” will be the 41st recipient of the award, which was announced over the weekend. The organization said Westley will be recognized during an official ceremony in June.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Felix Ngole, 46, was thrown off a social worker training course at Sheffield University following his Facebook post which quoted passages from the Bible about same-sex marriage.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
White House Pushed Trans Day Messaging on English Accounts, But Not to Spanish Speakers
The Biden White House social media account “La Casa Blanca” did not post anything related to “Transgender Day of Visibility” while the English White House account on X made a post on Easter to declare the LGBTQ recognition day.
Over the weekend, the Biden administration faced backlash for issuing a proclamation for March 31 as “Transgender Day of Visibility” when the holiest Christian holiday, Easter Sunday, fell on the same day. A proclamation from Biden was issued about March 31 on Good Friday that read, “By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility.” The day was established in 2009 and Biden has proclaimed it repeatedly during his administration.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/02/malaysian-shop-chain-that-sold-allah-socks-targeted-with-petrol-bombs
Malaysian shop chain that sold ‘Allah socks’ targeted with petrol bombs
Re: “An illegal immigrant has been charged with multiple crimes in Massachusetts, including sex crimes against minors. Meanwhile, an illegal immigrant from Haiti confessed to the sexual abuse of a 10-year-old Florida girl.”
Anyone needing an obvious lesson in the right-hand vs. left-hand nature of how government operates could do worse than to study these incidents for a moment and ponder how the federal government itself ought to be on trial for its complicity and negligence in leaving the border wide-open, and not just the illegal aliens – oh, pardon me, “migrants”! – themselves. That’s one hand, let’s call it the left…
Meanwhile, the right hand is also from the government, specifically the legal system – and this is the one which apprehended, charged and is now trying the suspects.
See how that works? The left-hand creates the problem, so that the right-hand can come along like the proverbial hero and save the day. Ain’t democracy grand?? Sorry for being so cynical, but what a racket it all is, from top to bottom.
So, getting back to the cases in question, who is more guilty of rape? Those foreigners or the government itself for inviting them into the country in the first place?
“See how that works? The left-hand creates the problem, so that the right-hand can come along like the proverbial hero and save the day.”
You betcha! Standard counter-insurgency tactic. ‘Toddlers’ve been [successfully] using these against the willing and the weak since 1917.
Release YOUR feral goons upon the volk to prey and victimize ’em. Then, once a sufficient percentage of the [terrorized] populace can be distracted (away from their usual distractions—bread-and-circuses) and forced to focus on the violence and mayhem unleashed upon them, simply point out that, “See, the government’s unable to protect you, but we can. Simply vote us into power and we’ll make all better. We’ll even give you more free guano in exchange for your votes as long as you agree to speak like good little children and not use any off-colour words that might offend or trigger other ‘tots.”
“It’s like a Kafka novel where you wake up and the two year-olds’ve become the mommies…and they’re all authoritarian commies. But it’s not a novel, it’s not a mistake…it’s real, it’s the plan…it’s PAA’s “remaking America”…it’s Obamerica.” —posted to fb (June 2020)
Boiled frogs..
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”
~ H. L. Mencken
I don’t know why I am acting so shocked. It has been known for years that the federal government gets the taxpayers coming and going. Look at tobacco: The Feds funded growers through Dept. of Agriculture subsidies ~ i.e., so they are indirectly funding lung cancer and other respiratory diseases ~ but on the other hand, have been funding the American Cancer Society, NIH, etc. funded studies to cure/stop/treat those same diseases!
Like I stated earlier, quite a racket they’ve got going. Nice work if you can get it, as the old saying goes…
___________________________________________________________
Sweden – what kind of country is this?
___________________________________________________________
How did identity become a trap,
Yascha Mounk wonders?
In his new book
political scientist Yascha Mounk
explores the foundations of the woke ideology –
what he calls “the identity synthesis”.
And how to counter it without losing yourself in the process.
IVAR ARPI CHANNEL
APR 02, 2024
https://www.enrakhoger.se/p/how-did-identity-become-a-trap-yascha?utm_source=podcast-email%2Csubstack&publication_id=330775&post_id=143197475&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&utm_medium=email&r=1ju8of&triedRedirect=true
How did identity become a trap, Yascha Mounk?
In his new book political scientist Yascha Mounk explores the foundations of the woke ideology – what he calls “the identity synthesis”. And how to counter it without losing yourself in the process.
Interesting that Bristol in west of U.K. has a severe cost of living crisis; it is a university town of far-left middle class types. It’s beginning to look like Oakland, California.
Go woke go broke seems to work equally in the Americas and Europe in woke run cities ,towns, counties .