Gates of Vienna News Feed 4/15/2024

An Assyrian Christian Bishop, Mar Mari Emmanuel, was stabbed tonight during his sermon at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, a western suburb of Sydney, Australia. The attacker was a 15-year-old (some reports say 16-year-old) boy who shouted “Allahu Akhbar” during his attack. Early reports said that angry parishioners mobbed the assailant and cut off his fingers, but police later said that the disturbed youth had severed his own finger. The attacker is in custody, and the bishop is in the hospital in stable condition.

In other news, when Israeli forces from the Golani Brigade crossed the border into southern Lebanon, Hezbollah detonated explosive devices, wounding at least four Israeli soldiers.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, 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.

Financial Crisis
» Poland Not Cheap Enough? Mass Layoffs Sweep the Nation as Companies Shift Production Abroad
 
USA
» 38 Pro-Palestinian Protesters Arrested After Shutdown of Golden Gate Bridge, I-880 in Oakland: CHP
» 4% of Voters Say Biden’s Economy is ‘Excellent,’ New York Times Poll Shows
» 52 Protesters Arrested After Blocking I-5, Waving Palestinian Flags on Freeway in Eugene
» 576,000 Roku Accounts Hacked in Second Security Incident in 2 Months
» After Illegal Veto, Kentucky Becomes 45th State to End Sales Taxes on Gold & Silver
» Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ Armorer Sentenced to Maximum Time in Fatal on-Set Shooting
» Audit: California Lost Track of $24 Billion Spent to Combat Homelessness
» Biden Admin Rejects Standalone Funding for Israel Without Ukraine Aid
» Big Brother in Training? How Proposed Legislation Might Pave the Way for Online Age Verification and Digital ID
» Boeing Purged Veteran Leaders, Outsourced Dreamliner Development to Boost Stock Prices, Bust Unions: Report
» California Sues Beach City Over Voter ID Law Backed by Majority of Residents
» CDC: COVID Shots Caused 14,000% Increase in Cancers
» Congress Summons WEF-Affiliated Media Alliance Co-Founder Over Demonetization Scandal
» Crime-Ridden San Francisco Wants to Punish Grocery Stores for Fleeing Said Crime
» Donald Trump: ‘Scam’ Trial to Prevent Me From Campaigning, Appearing at Supreme Court, at Son’s Graduation
» Elon Musk Predicts AI Will Surpass Human Intelligence Within Two Years
» FBI Opens Criminal Probe Into Baltimore Bridge Collapse: Source
» Fentanyl Fear Factor: White House Leverages Drug Scare to Push for Controversial Surveillance Powers
» Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for ‘Rust’ Film Shooting
» Liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge Announces Retirement
» Most Republicans Oppose US Aid to Ukraine — 79% Trust Trump Above All for Info on War: Poll
» Nashville Students Stage School Walkout to Protest Bill Allowing Teachers to Carry Guns in Classrooms One Year After Trans School Shooting
» New NPR CEO’s Social Media Posts Show Progressive Views, Support for Clinton, Biden
» New: Elon Musk Slams NY Alvin Bragg Case Against Trump as ‘Corruption of the Law’
» New: FBI Opens Up Criminal Investigation Into Key Bridge Collapse
» Pro-Palestinian Protesters Block Road, Cause Delays Near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport
» Protest in Support of Palestine Shuts Down Parts of 2 Roads on Northwest Side
» Several Arrests Made After Protestors Block Center City Intersection
» Soros Group Gives $60 Million to Super PAC That Boost Democrats
» Swastikas Are Progressive Now
» Troubled USS Boxer Returns Home 10 Days Into Deployment Due to Maintenance Issue
» Trump Criminal Trial an “Assault on America”
» Trump Leads Biden by 5.3% When RFK Jr Included: RealClearPolling Average
» U.S. Judge Tosses Out Lawsuits Against Libyan Commander Accused of War Crimes
» US Supreme Court Rejects Black Lives Matter Activist’s Appeal Over Protest Incident
 
Europe and the EU
» 24-Year-Old Italian Soccer Star Suffers Heart Attack Mid-Game
» Åkesson: Time for Sweden to Declare “Full-Scale War” on Gangs
» ‘All the Blood is on Their Hands’ — Man Shot Dead in Front of Son by ‘Youth’ Gang Was a Polish National Living in Sweden
» Belgian Navy Left Red-Faced Over Botched Frigate Exercise
» Belgium: Protestors Threaten Response After Conservative Event Finds New Brussels Venue
» CDU and AfD Lead Party Support in Germany Ahead of EU Election
» Enlargement and Halting Migration Are Hungary’s Priorities During EU Presidency, Says Foreign Minister
» EU States Call for Crackdown on Anonymous Online Profiles
» European Election Interference: Facebook Restricts CHEGA’s Account
» Facebook Censors Auschwitz Museum Photograph and Flags Images of Death Camp Victims for ‘Promoting Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity’: Historians Blast Move as ‘Hurtful and Absurd’
» Former Greek Minister, Once a Darling of the European Left, Banned From Entering Germany Over Plans to Attend Pro-Palestinian Conference
» Fragmented Europe to Make New Bid for US-Style Capital Market
» G-20 Nations Are Giving Would-be Climate Investors the Jitters
» Germany Considers Banning Weekend Driving to Meet Climate Goals
» Germany Parliament Speaker Repeated Tehran ‘Propaganda’ by Blaming Israel for Iran Missile Attack, Critics, Faces Calls to Resign
» Hungarian Air Force Begins Testing Brazilian Military Cargo Plane
» Hungary Prepares for Protracted War in Ukraine
» Hungarian Defense Council Convenes to Prepare Response After Iranian Attacks on Israel
» NatCon Perseveres Despite Cancellation Efforts by Brussels Bureaucrats
» Polish PM Tusk is Difficult to Work With, Complain His Own Ministers
» Puigdemont Threatens to Withdraw Support From Spanish PM Sanchez
» Romanian Right-Wing Party Campaigns With Vlad the Impaler
» Security Ramped Up in Germany After Jihadists Threaten Drone Strikes at Euro 2024
» Swiss Prepare Referendum on Russia Sanctions Which Risk ‘Scaring Away’ Other Customers
» The Albanian ‘King of Instagram’ Who Tells His Followers How to Run Cannabis Farms in UK: Influencer Kozak Braci Posts Videos ‘Glorifying’ Drug Trade by Offering Tips on How to Sneak in Britain Illegally and Make £6,000-a-Month
» UK Lawmakers Target TikTok in the Name of Fighting “Misinformation”
» Vatican Prosecutors Charge Italian Journalist With ‘Defamation’ for Criticizing Pope Francis
» WHO Official Testifies That Advice Against Vaccine Passports Was Ignored to Continue Digital Rollout
 
Middle East
» 4 Israeli Soldiers Injured by Explosive Devices in S. Lebanon
» Iranian Activist Blasts Islamic Regime for Pushing War With Israel: ‘We Want Peace’
» Spirulina Significantly Reduces COVID-19 Mortality: Study
 
Far East
» Thousands of Japanese Citizens Flood Streets to Protest WHO, WEF, Bill Gates, Vaccines
 
Australia — Pacific
» Alleged Terrorist ‘Cut His Own Finger Off’
» Coptic Bishop Stabbed in Australian Church
» Sydney Church Stabbing: Angry Mob ‘Chops Off’ Smiling Attacker’s Fingers for Attacking Bishop During Sermon
» Sydney Church Stabbing Live: Police Declare Wakeley Sermon Stabbing a Terror Attack as Furious Top Cop Slams Rioting Mob Who Attacked Police at Christ the Good Shepherd Church
» Sydney Church Stabbing: Sonny Bill Williams Sends Message to Bishop Who Was Attacked During Service as Riots Break Out
» Sydney Church Stabbing: Bishop Mar Mari’s Chilling Sermon Months Before Attack Warning Congregation He Had ‘Weeks to Live’
» Teen Shouted “Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar” Whilst Stabbing Christian Bishop in Sydney
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Nigeria: How a Group of Taxi Drivers Went in Search of Their Missing Friend… and Discovered ‘House of Horror’ Where Kidnapped Victims Were Sacrificed and Their Body Parts Sold for Black Magic Rituals
» UN Rolls Out Bill Gates’ Digital ID in Sierra Leone
 
Latin America
» Brazil Rebrands Internet Censorship Amid Pushback
 
Immigration
» 10 Illegal Alien Pedophiles Arrested During Raid in Texas
» Biden Spending $300 Million on Sanctuary Cities
» Colorado County Sues State Government Over Sanctuary Immigration Policies: ‘Quality of Life Comes First’
» Election Loophole Allows Illegal Aliens to Vote in Wisconsin
» French Actress Refuses to File Charges for Home Burglary After Learning Suspects Were Illegal Immigrants
» Indiana National Guardsman Deployed to Texas to Help With Border Crisis Shoots Migrant After Watching Him Stab Two Others
» Jim Jordan Accuses Biden’s DHS Chief of Withholding Documents on ‘Criminal Illegal Aliens’ Crossing Border
» Johnson, Trump Announce Election Integrity Bill to Require Proof of Citizenship to Vote
» Jury Visits a Ranch Near US-Mexico Border Where an Arizona Man is Charged With Killing a Migrant
» Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Seeks $8 MILLION in State Funds for Illegal Immigrants’ Legal Fees
» NYC Pharmacists and Shopkeepers Blast Sudden Explosion of Migrants Who Are Flagrantly Running Illegal Street Market for Stolen Goods and Prostitution
» Revealed: The Record Number of Chinese Illegal Migrants Arrested at the Border in the Last Six Months as Entries Spike by 7,000% in Three Years
» Tax Day: Illegal Immigration Costs American Taxpayers Over $150 Billion
» UK: Fight Back Against 20,000 Asylum Seekers and Refugees Moved Out of Hotels — and Into Private Rented Homes…
» UK: MPs Are Urged to Finally Pass the Rwanda Bill After 535 Migrants Cross the Channel on Sunday — a New High for This Year
 
Culture Wars
» BlackRock CEO Melts Down as Profits Plummet Over Woke ESG Agenda
» ‘Huge Mistake’ — Scottish Conservatives Push for Repeal of New Hate Speech Law
» Planned Parenthood ‘Stonewalling’ Probe Into Peddling Puberty Blockers to Minors: State AG
» Polish Parliament Moves to Overturn Pro-Life Legislation
» Polish Opponents of Abortion March Against Recent Steps to Liberalise Strict Law
» President of Belgian Health Insurance Company Promotes Euthanasia as Solution for Aging Population
» Supreme Court Allows Idaho to Enforce Its Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth
» ‘Uterus Renting is Inhuman,’ Says Italy PM Meloni
» WEF Pushing Digital IDs to Enforce Vaccination Compliance
 

Poland Not Cheap Enough? Mass Layoffs Sweep the Nation as Companies Shift Production Abroad

Across Poland, a disturbing trend of mass layoffs is intensifying, with global corporations that have operated in the country for decades either reducing their workforce or shutting down production entirely. This situation is leaving thousands unemployed. Industry experts cite the recent increase in minimum wage as a primary factor driving these layoffs.

Levi Strauss, a prominent denim manufacturer, recently announced it will cease production in its Plock facility, which has been operational for 31 years, resulting in nearly 800 job losses. This is part of a broader pattern of painful employment cuts across various sectors including furniture, automotive, apparel, IT, banking, and services. The trend of mass layoffs began in 2022 and is gaining momentum.

Nokia is also joining the list of companies reducing their Polish workforce, planning to lay off about 800 employees. Similarly, PepsiCo might cut up to 200 jobs at its Kraków branch.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

38 Pro-Palestinian Protesters Arrested After Shutdown of Golden Gate Bridge, I-880 in Oakland: CHP

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Pro-Palestinian protesters shut down the Golden Gate Bridge and I-880 in Oakland for hours on Monday as part of a worldwide economic blockade in solidarity with Gaza.

The California Highway Patrol said 38 people were arrested and face conspiracy charges.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

4% of Voters Say Biden’s Economy is ‘Excellent,’ New York Times Poll Shows

The Democrats have just been hit with more bad news from their allies in the obedient corporate media as a new poll shows voters are not impressed with President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy.

According to a New York Times/Siena poll, only four percent of voters believe Biden’s economy is “excellent.”

Meanwhile, 52 percent of Americans say Biden’s economy is “poor,” the poll published Saturday shows.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

52 Protesters Arrested After Blocking I-5, Waving Palestinian Flags on Freeway in Eugene

Fifty-two people were arrested Monday after protesters waving flags in support of Palestinians walked into the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 in Eugene, shutting down traffic on the freeway.

A large crowd of people walked onto the roadway at about mile marker 194, near the I-105 interchange, just before 10 a.m. Protesters were also standing along Harlow Bridge above I-5, holding flags in support of Palestinians and chanting phrases like “We see you, we love you, and we are all here for you.”

Organizers said the protest was held as part of a global “A15 Economic Blackage,” a loosely coordinated effort nationwide on April 15, Tax Day.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

576,000 Roku Accounts Hacked in Second Security Incident in 2 Months

More than half a million Roku accounts were recently hacked in the second security incident in two months, the company announced on Friday.

The streaming device giant said in a statement that 576,000 accounts were part of the second incident.

The company said “Roku’s security monitoring systems detected an increase in unusual account activity” earlier this year, and after an investigation, “we determined that unauthorized actors had accessed about 15,000 Roku user accounts using login credentials (i.e. usernames and passwords) stolen from another source unrelated to Roku through a method known as ‘credential stuffing.’“

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

After Illegal Veto, Kentucky Becomes 45th State to End Sales Taxes on Gold & Silver

Via Money Metals

In a high-stakes showdown with Gov. Andy Beshear over a gold and silver sales tax exemption, the Kentucky legislature today deemed his attempted line-item veto as an illegal act — and directed the Secretary of State to enroll the exemption into law.

This action makes the Bluegrass State the 45th state in the nation to enact this sound money policy — and the second this year.

Originally introduced by Rep. Steven Doan as a standalone bill, the sales tax exemption on purchases of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium coins, bars, and rounds enjoyed strong grassroots support — thanks, in large part, to the hard work of the Sound Money Defense League, Money Metals Exchange, and in-state activists.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ Armorer Sentenced to Maximum Time in Fatal on-Set Shooting

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sentenced Hannah Guiterrez Reed to 18 months in prison after a jury found her guilty of manslaughter

The “Rust” armorer was responsible for the firearms on the Western film set where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed on Oct. 21, 2021.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Audit: California Lost Track of $24 Billion Spent to Combat Homelessness

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration lost track of $24 billion it spent over the past five years on the homelessness crisis, an audit found.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Biden Admin Rejects Standalone Funding for Israel Without Ukraine Aid

In Monday’s White House press conference, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that a standalone bill to aid Israel would not be accepted, as it “would actually not help Israel and Ukraine.”

“House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that he’ll move forward with a vote on additional Israel aid, if Congress were to pass additional aid for Israel and only that, will President Biden reject it?” a reporter asked.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Big Brother in Training? How Proposed Legislation Might Pave the Way for Online Age Verification and Digital ID

Bipartisan legislative efforts are underway in the US House of Representatives to adopt new versions of two laws originally drawn up to deal with the safety of youth online.

But the fear is that the bills introduced now — H.R.7891, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), and H.R. 7890, the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) 2.0 — will facilitate implementation of a future sweeping age verification and digital ID push.

These concerns are raised because KOSA is directing the secretary of commerce, together with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to conduct a study “evaluating the most technologically feasible methods and options for developing systems to verify age at the device or operating system level.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Boeing Purged Veteran Leaders, Outsourced Dreamliner Development to Boost Stock Prices, Bust Unions: Report

A report in The American Prospect has shed some light on the concerning behaviors within Boeing, including instances of corporate culture prioritizing profit over safety and the tragic consequences that ensued.

According to the report, under the leadership of former CEO Jim McNerney, who led the company from 2005 to 2015, Boeing adopted a new approach to “knowledge” that prioritized intellectual property and trade secrets over the expertise and experience of its workforce. Employees who emphasized plane integrity over stock prices were derogatorily labeled as “phenomenally talented assholes” and were marginalized within the company in an effort to have them leave.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

California Sues Beach City Over Voter ID Law Backed by Majority of Residents

California officials are suing the beachside city of Huntington Beach over a voter ID amendment it passed last month with support from a majority of residents.

The lawsuit, from California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, challenges Huntington Beach’s voter ID law, Measure A, which amends the city’s charter to allow voter ID requirements by 2026.

In their lawsuit, Bonta and Weber argued that the city’s voter ID law “unlawfully conflicts and is preempted by state law.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

CDC: COVID Shots Caused 14,000% Increase in Cancers

Official government data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows a shocking spike in cancer among Americans who received Covid mRNA shots.

The latest figures published by the CDC confirm that the injections caused a staggering 14,000% increase in cancer cases in the United States up to the end of March 2024.

The data also reveals an alarming 6,113% increase in cancer cases reported among children and young adults.

The shocking spike is revealed in comparisons between the official data for Covid shots compared to figures for influenza vaccines.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Congress Summons WEF-Affiliated Media Alliance Co-Founder Over Demonetization Scandal

The US Congress would like to have a word with Robert Rakowitz, co-founder of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) — an organization with ties to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The questions being raised here concern suspicion that coordinated targeting of conservative media was organized in order to deprive them of advertising revenue.

GARM is an initiative established by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) in 2019, to then be promoted as a key project in WEF’s Platform for Shaping the Future of Media, Entertainment and Culture.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Crime-Ridden San Francisco Wants to Punish Grocery Stores for Fleeing Said Crime

Unpunished crime is so out of control in San Francisco that the city now wants to punish grocery stores who want to leave.

Under the ‘Grocery Protection Act’ introduced by city Board of Supervisors member Dean Preston (Democratic Socialist), stores that want to flee all the crime and other increased liabilities will have to provide the city with six months advanced notice, and make efforts to find a replacement supermarket for the location being vacated, Benzinga reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Donald Trump: ‘Scam’ Trial to Prevent Me From Campaigning, Appearing at Supreme Court, at Son’s Graduation

New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan will prevent former President Donald Trump from campaigning, appearing at the Supreme Court, and celebrating his son’s graduation, Trump said Monday.

Trump’s unprecedented trial began Monday morning with jury selection, the first day of a process that could span two weeks. The trial could last until June.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Elon Musk Predicts AI Will Surpass Human Intelligence Within Two Years

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made a bold prediction about the future of artificial intelligence, claiming that AI will be “smarter than the smartest human” within the next two years.

Futurism reports that in a recent interview with Norway wealth fund CEO Nicolai Tangen, Elon Musk shared his thoughts on the rapid advancement of AI. Musk, who is known for his hype-filled predictions, stated that he believes AI will surpass human intelligence by 2026. “If you define AGI as smarter than the smartest human, I think it’s probably next year, within two years,” he said, as quoted by Reuters. AGI refers to artificial general intelligence, a far more powerful form of AI that generative AI made popular by tools such as ChatGPT.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

FBI Opens Criminal Probe Into Baltimore Bridge Collapse: Source

The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, a federal source confirmed to Fox News.

The probe, first reported by the Washington Post, centers on the 985-foot container ship, the Dali, looking at any violations of federal maritime law, with a focus on whether ship personnel may have been aware of any onboard technical or operational issues before the ship left the Port of Baltimore, according the source with knowledge of the ongoing investigation.

Authorities are looking into the events leading up to the moment the ship lost power before slamming into one of the bridge’s support pillars, the Post reported, citing two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the FBI confirmed the bureau “is present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity.”

           — Hat tip: MM [Return to headlines]
 

Fentanyl Fear Factor: White House Leverages Drug Scare to Push for Controversial Surveillance Powers

In a recent public appeal, the Biden administration has urged the reauthorization Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) before it expires on April 19. Bill Burns, the CIA Director, issued a statement, alleging the significant role of the FISA powers in fighting threats against national security, especially the illicit trafficking of fentanyl into the United States.

Burns highlighted the gravity of the fentanyl threat, saying, “The threat to the US posed by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids is real. Section 702 is an essential tool in CIA’s mission to protect the American people from a range of threats, including illicit fentanyl trafficking. Without this vital program, CIA simply would not be able to defend our country as effectively in as many dangerous corners of the world.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for ‘Rust’ Film Shooting

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has been sentenced to 18 months at the New Mexico Women’s Correctional Facility for her role in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by actor Alec Baldwin on the set of the film “Rust.”

Gutierrez-Reed was convicted in March by a jury on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and has been held for more than a month at a county jail on the outskirts of Santa Fe.

Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for “Rust,” was pointing a gun at Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge and says he pulled back the gun’s hammer, but not the trigger, before the gun went off. His trial is scheduled for July before the same judge, Mary Marlowe Sommer, who oversaw the trail of Gutierrez-Reed.

Gutierrez-Reed could also receive a $5,000 fine.

           — Hat tip: LP [Return to headlines]
 

Liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge Announces Retirement

One of the liberal justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court announced her retirement on Thursday after 29 years.

Justice Ann Walsh Bradley announced in a statement that she will not be running for reelection for a “fourth ten-year term” with the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Her current term will end on July 31, 2025.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Most Republicans Oppose US Aid to Ukraine — 79% Trust Trump Above All for Info on War: Poll

Most self-identified Republicans oppose further US aid for Ukraine — and more than three-quarters trust former President Donald Trump above other government and media sources to inform them about the conflict, according to a new poll.

A CBS News/YouGov survey released Sunday found that 61% of Republicans say the US should not send more weapons and other military assistance to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his nation’s war against Russia.

That holds true even when pollsters differentiate between self-identified “MAGA” Republicans and those who do not associate with the direction in which Trump, 77, has dragged the party.

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Nashville Students Stage School Walkout to Protest Bill Allowing Teachers to Carry Guns in Classrooms One Year After Trans School Shooting

On Monday, hundreds of students across Nashville walked out of school to protest a billrecently passed by the Tennessee state Senate that would permit teachers and staff in public schools to carry concealed firearms in their classrooms.

This comes one year after a school shooting was carried out by a trans-identified female, 28-year-old Audrey Hale. The shooting at the Covenant School took the lives of 3 children and 3 adults. Hale was killed by police responding to the scene.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

New NPR CEO’s Social Media Posts Show Progressive Views, Support for Clinton, Biden

NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher has gone viral over her old tweets, which show her support for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, after she attempted to address a senior NPR editor’s concerns about the outlet’s left-leaning bias.

Maher, who took over as NPR’s CEO and president last month, wrote a letter to NPR staffers on Friday after senior editor Uri Berliner called out his own outlet’s biased reporting on major news stories, such as Russiagate, Hunter Biden’s laptop and the COVID-19 lab leak theory.

Maher said questioning the integrity of NPR’s journalists was “hurtful” and “demeaning.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

New: Elon Musk Slams NY Alvin Bragg Case Against Trump as ‘Corruption of the Law’

Elon Musk slammed the falsified business documents case brought by left-wing NYC District Attorney Alvin Bragg as a “corruption of law” and “lawfare” on Monday.

The comments from Musk came in response to a quick explainer of the case from former GOP candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

New: FBI Opens Up Criminal Investigation Into Key Bridge Collapse

The FBI has opened up a criminal investigation into the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland after a boat crashed into it last month.

Authorities are reviewing the events leading up to the crash of the boat and the subsequent collapse of the bridge early in the morning on March 26, the Washington Post reports. The boat reportedly lost power briefly before veering one of the bridge’s support, sending the bridge cascading into the water below. Six lives were lost.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Pro-Palestinian Protesters Block Road, Cause Delays Near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport

CHICAGO (CBS) — Traffic was returning to normal on the Kennedy Expressway late Monday morning, after pro-Palestinian protesters blocked the I-190 access road to O’Hare International Airport.

Several protest groups shared videos on Instagram showing a group of people sitting with their arms interlocked on the Interstate 190 access road between the Kennedy Expressway and O’Hare, blocking all lanes of traffic headed to the airport.

The protest began around 8 a.m., and dozens of police cars and other emergency vehicles then blocked I-190 as police tried to contain the protest groups blocking traffic. Aviation officials said traffic had resumed by around 9:15 a.m.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Protest in Support of Palestine Shuts Down Parts of 2 Roads on Northwest Side

SAN ANTONIO — A protest in support of Palestine shut down parts of two roads on the city’s Northwest Side early Monday morning.

The protest occurred near the Valero headquarters, which is located on 1 Valero Way, not far from Loop 1604.

Protesters were staged on both sides of Valero’s campus. The intersection of UTSA Boulevard and Valero Way was shut down, along with the access road of Loop 1604.

A press release said the activists “gathered to blockade the Valero headquarters to take a stand against the global economy’s complicity in the ongoing genocide in Palestine.” The release also said that Valero is a supplier of military-grade fuel to the Israeli military.

The protests were targeted Monday to coincide with the IRS deadline to file federal income taxes.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Several Arrests Made After Protestors Block Center City Intersection

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Several people were arrested after a group of protesters blocked an intersection in Center City Philadelphia during the Monday morning commute.

It happened at the intersection of Market Street and Schuylkill Avenue.

Organizers say it is part of A15, a worldwide economic blockade in solidarity with Palestine and calling for an arms embargo and an end to US taxpayer funding for Israel.

They also said the date is significant since Monday is Tax Day.

The protest began around 8:15 a.m. near Philadelphia’s IRS building.

Meanwhile, Chopper 6 was above another protest a short time later, described as a “funeral procession” along key traffic routes in the city to “mourn” Palestinians killed in Gaza in the last six months.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Soros Group Gives $60 Million to Super PAC That Boost Democrats

A nonprofit founded and funded by billionaire George Soros donated $60 million in January to Democracy PAC, a super political action committee he uses to support Democrats, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Swastikas Are Progressive Now

After Hamas supporters vandalized a synagogue with a swastika, leftist cheered this prototypical Nazi act as a progressive commitment to human rights.

“A swastika clearly has a deep and painful history for the people in our community, it’s a symbol of hatred and death,” Rabbi Ethan Witkovsky of Temple Beth El said.

However Malcolm Harris, a former Occupy Wall Street activist and author of ‘Palo Alto’ and other books published through Hachette, explained that swastikas were progressive now.

“Israel’s genocide has literally reversed the meaning of a swastika on a synagogue from a Nazi threat to a condemnation of genocide,” Harris, who also writes for The Nation and Wired, argued.

Harris claims that he viewed vandalizing a synagogue with a swastika as “an anti-zionist condemnation of Israeli genocide.” And if vandalizing synagogues with swastikas, the ultimate symbol of Nazi behavior is only “anti-Zionist”, not antisemitic, then there really is no difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, and between leftist anti-Zionists and Nazi antisemites.

David Austin Walsh, a postdoc at the Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism, who has a book on the “far-right” coming out from Yale University Press, chimed in, “I’ll stipulate for the sake of argument that tagging a synagogue with a swastika has an ambiguous or multivariate meaning. How are we to determine which is the intended meaning?”

Marshall Steinbaum, an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Utah and a Senior Fellow at the Jain Family Institute, whined that, “I wish we lived in a world where spray-painting a swastika on a synagogue still meant Nazis”.

           — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield [Return to headlines]
 

Troubled USS Boxer Returns Home 10 Days Into Deployment Due to Maintenance Issue

The maintenance-embattled USS Boxer is heading back to San Diego just 10 days after deploying due to an engineering issue, as first reported by USNI News and confirmed to Military.com by Navy officials.

Sailing as the big deck, or lead ship, of its amphibious ready group, the Boxer had already been delayed by months when it deployed April 1. Its return further comes on the heels of an announcement by the Navy’s top leader earlier this week that the service, in conjunction with the Marine Corps, is conducting an inquiry into amphibious operations that will include problems with the ship.

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Trump Criminal Trial an “Assault on America”

Donald Trump has denounced a criminal case brought against him by a Democratic New York prosecutor as an “assault on America,” as he became the first ex-U.S. President on Monday, April 15th, to stand criminal trial. The case is just one of many court cases initiated by the Democrats, who are fearful of a Trump victory over current President Joe Biden in the November elections.

“This is political persecution, this is a persecution like never before, nobody has ever seen anything like it and again it’s a case that should have never been brought, it’s an assault on America,” Donald Trump said as he appeared in a New York courthouse on Monday.

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Trump Leads Biden by 5.3% When RFK Jr Included: RealClearPolling Average

The latest average of polling by RealClearPolling has found that in a three-way racebetween Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Robert F Kennedy, Jr., Trump is in the lead by 5.3 percent.

The poll average, covering between January 22 and April 2, has Trump in the lead with 41 percent, a 5.3 percent lead over Biden, who received 35.7 percent support. Kennedy received 11.7 percent support.

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U.S. Judge Tosses Out Lawsuits Against Libyan Commander Accused of War Crimes

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A U.S. judge has tossed out a series of civil lawsuits against a Libyan military commander who used to live in Virginia and was accused of killing innocent civilians in that country’s civil war.

At a court hearing Friday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said she had no jurisdiction to preside over a case alleging war crimes committed in Libya, even though the defendant, Khalifa Hifter, has U.S. citizenship and lived for more than 20 years in the northern Virginia suburbs of the nation’s capital as an exile from the regime of Moammar Gadhafi.

The ruling was a significant reversal of fortune for Hifter. In 2022, Brinkema entered a default judgment against Hifter after he refused to sit for scheduled depositions about his role in the fighting that has plagued the country over the last decade.

But Hifter retained new lawyers who persuaded the judge to reopen the case and made Hifter available to be deposed. He sat for two separate depositions in 2022 and 2023 and denied orchestrating attacks against civilians.

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US Supreme Court Rejects Black Lives Matter Activist’s Appeal Over Protest Incident

April 15 (Reuters) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed a Black Lives Matter activist to be sued by a Louisiana police officer injured during a protest, opens new tab in 2016 in a case that could make it riskier to engage in public demonstrations, a hallmark of American democracy.

In declining to hear DeRay Mckesson’s appeal, the justices left in place a lower court’s decision reviving a lawsuit by the Baton Rouge police officer, John Ford, who accused him of negligence after being struck by a rock during a protest sparked by the fatal police shooting of a Black man, Alton Sterling.

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24-Year-Old Italian Soccer Star Suffers Heart Attack Mid-Game

24-year-old Italian soccer star Evan Ndicka has collapsed suddenly while clutching his chest in the middle of a game.

The shocking incident brought the stadium to a halt as emergency medical teams rushed onto the field while stunned fans watched on.

The game was abandoned after it was confirmed that Ndicka had suffered a heart attack.

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Åkesson: Time for Sweden to Declare “Full-Scale War” on Gangs

To help put a lid on pervasive lawlessness and violence afflicting the nation, Sweden’s Tidö government on Monday morning during its unveiling of the spring budget announced substantial increases in spending to, among other things, combat crime and strengthen security.

The government’s announcement of a 1.45 billion euro (16 billion SEK) budget enlargement, some of which will go to expand prisons and detention centers, comes days after a tragic incident last week that saw a 39-year-old father gunned down in broad daylight in front of his son after a confrontation with a gang of ‘youths’ in a Stockholm suburb.

The murder prompted the leader of the conservative, sovereigntist Sweden Democrats Jimme Åkesson to call for a “full-scale war” to be declared on gang criminals.

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‘All the Blood is on Their Hands’ — Man Shot Dead in Front of Son by ‘Youth’ Gang Was a Polish National Living in Sweden

The father shot in the head in front of his son by a youth gang in Stockholm on Wednesday has been confirmed as 39-year-old Polish national Mikael Janicki.

The nationality of the Polish victim was confirmed by the brother-in-law of the man, who said the family was in shock. Polish portal Niezalezna.pl reports that the Pole murdered yesterday in the capital of Sweden was named Michal.

Anna Kremka, a Pole living in Sweden, told the portal that the perpetrators of the murder acted with immense ruthlessness and premeditation, firing a fatal shot directly at the victim’s head.

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Belgian Navy Left Red-Faced Over Botched Frigate Exercise

A failed naval test simulating a drone attack on the Belgian frigate Louise-Marie (F931) has resulted in the ship’s Red Sea mission being cancelled.

During the exercise, an anti-aircraft missile jammed in the vessel’s launch tube and other onboard weaponry also malfunctioned.

One of Belgium’s two frigates, the Louise-Marie and its 170-strong crew was due set to sail to the Persian Gulf and join the European mission in the Strait of Hormuz. There, warships protect merchant vessels against potential attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen and elsewhere.

That has become increasingly important amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. On April 13, a huge wave of missiles and drones was fired from Iran and its sites in Yemen towards Israel. Almost all were reportedly intercepted by Israel with help from Western forces.

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Belgium: Protestors Threaten Response After Conservative Event Finds New Brussels Venue

So-called ‘anti-fascist’ organisers have threatened to respond after a conservative event they allegedly helped get cancelled found a new venue.

The National Conservatism conference — which is set to host Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Brexiteer Nigel Farage — had its initial venue pull out last week after pressure from left-wing activists, including those with links to “antifascist organisations”.

While some publications had claimed that the event had officially been “cancelled” due to the leftist activists, organisers announced on Monday that they managed to secure another venue in the centre of Brussels.

Left-wing activists now appear to be putting pressure on the new venue also, with The Brussels Times reporting that the so-called “Coordination Antifasciste de Belgique” has published an open letter requesting they also cancel the conference.

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CDU and AfD Lead Party Support in Germany Ahead of EU Election

In the context of the serious budget crisis and the national problems caused by migration, there is growing speculation in Germany about the likely results of the European Parliament elections on June 9, especially as local elections will be held shortly afterward in three German regions.

Analysts say that both the EU parliament elections and the regional state votes could be indicative of the outcome of next year’s national parliamentary elections.

The EU parliamentary vote on June 9 is already seen through this lens by the vast majority of Germans. This may be helped by the results of a survey conducted by the polling institute Insa, which at the same time pointed to notable changes in voter sentiment compared to recent months.

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Enlargement and Halting Migration Are Hungary’s Priorities During EU Presidency, Says Foreign Minister

This year’s Hungarian EU presidency can provide an opportunity to promote the long-stalled enlargement towards the Western Balkans and strengthen the fight against illegal immigration, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjartó said at a countryside political forum in Gyöngyös on Thursday.

In the second half of the year, the Hungarian government will be able to decide what can be put on the agenda of the Council of the European Union, which is a major opportunity regarding two issues: enlargement and migration, Szijjartó said.

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EU States Call for Crackdown on Anonymous Online Profiles

Ministers from all 27 member-states have called for a crackdown on anonymous online profiles.

In a joint statement published on Friday, April 12, politicians described the rapid increase of “fake profiles” on social media as being a “major threat to online democracy”.

The so-called “Louvain-la-Neuve Declaration” went on to request that the European Commission draw up voluntary measures to tackle this alleged threat.

“The Louvain-la-Neuve Declaration entrusts the European Commission with creating optional tools… to provide information about the veracity of the profiles with which we interact in the digital world,” it reads.

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European Election Interference: Facebook Restricts CHEGA’s Account

With just 51 days to go until the first voting booths open in the critical European Parliamentary elections, the globalist-aligned Silicon Valley tech giant Meta has imposed a ten-year restriction on the Facebook page of Chega, Portugal’s third-largest party, without giving specific reasons.

The rightist, sovereigntist party—currently polling at 19.9% after having secured 50 seats in last month’s national election, up from 12 in 2022—has referred to the social media company’s move as an “unjustifiable” act of “persecution,” and pledged to use all legal means at its disposal to oppose the restriction.

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Facebook Censors Auschwitz Museum Photograph and Flags Images of Death Camp Victims for ‘Promoting Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity’: Historians Blast Move as ‘Hurtful and Absurd’

Outraged Auschwitz museum staff lashed out at Facebook on Friday saying that the flagging of photos and biographical information of those who died in the death camp was ‘hurtful to survivors’.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Former Greek Minister, Once a Darling of the European Left, Banned From Entering Germany Over Plans to Attend Pro-Palestinian Conference

Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has been refused entry to Germany to attend a pro-Palestinian conference in Berlin. Now, the German media confirms that there is an entry ban on Varoufakis from entering the country, with the conference he was set to attend shut down in a matter of minutes.

Several bans on entry to Germany were imposed, including one against Varoufakis “to prevent any anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli propaganda at the event,” German security authorities told AFP.

Varoufakis, co-founder of the pan-European left-wing DiEM25 party, wrote on social networking site X on Saturday that the German Interior Ministry had issued an “activity ban” against him, meaning “a ban on any political activity.”

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Fragmented Europe to Make New Bid for US-Style Capital Market

After years of struggling to raise capital in European Union markets, Mews — a hospitality software firm with Czech roots —finally secured funding by registering as a Dutch company.

For its next step, Mews is looking even further from home and considering listing in the United States, highlighting the problem of startups leaving the 27-nation bloc in order to grow.

While the EU offers a huge single market for products and services, it still has 27 capital markets with a maze of different securities laws, taxes and accounting.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

G-20 Nations Are Giving Would-be Climate Investors the Jitters

The European Union and UK have been world leaders for implementing policy to promote clean energy technologies, but their crown is starting to slip.

The EU and UK have taken the top spots in BloombergNEF’s ranking of the Group of 20’s low-carbon policy regimes since the first edition in 2021, and this year was no exception. But what was unusual was that neither of them improved their score, averaging a decline of 1.1 percentage points compared with the 2023 ranking. Even the US fell back this year, in spite of the momentum it had created with its landmark Inflation Reduction Act.

The weakening climate ambitions of the world’s biggest economies is increasing uncertainty among consumers, industry and investors — a subject that will likely set the tone for many discussions at BNEF’s summit in New York this week.

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Germany Considers Banning Weekend Driving to Meet Climate Goals

Germany’s transport minister has suggested banning weekend car use for the sake of meeting proposed emission quotas.

The two-day-a-week ban on personal use of the car, as well as new speed limits, are being considered as part of an effort to reduce Germany’s carbon footprint in the latest example of governments trying to control people for the sake of green targets.

Transport minister Volker Wissing, a member of the supposedly pro-market FDP party, made the remarks in relation to an impending new piece of onerous climate legislation, the Climate Protection Act, warning that the restrictions on personal car use could be implemented if alternative amendments were not made.

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Germany Parliament Speaker Repeated Tehran ‘Propaganda’ by Blaming Israel for Iran Missile Attack, Critics, Faces Calls to Resign

The Vice-President of Germany’s parliament has faced calls to step down after she said Israel “provoked” Iran’s enormous missile attack on Sunday.

Aydan Özoguz, a Turkish-heritage left-wing politician of Germany’s SPD (Social Democrat) party, who now serves as the nation’s Bundestag Vice-President (parliament deputy speaker) faced a barrage of criticism from politicians and Jewish groups after she wrote Israel had provoked the Iranian missile and drone strike. Critics have called for political “consequences” for the comments and its subsequent retraction and non-apology, for her to resign, with some even sardonically noting Özoguz’s previously publicised familial links to Islamic extremism.

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Hungarian Air Force Begins Testing Brazilian Military Cargo Plane

Hungary has begun testing the Brazilian-made Embraer KC-390 military cargo plane at the Hungarian air base near the city of Kecskemét, with plans to introduce the planes into the country’s air force later this year.

Hungarian Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that the testing schedule, which started after the aircraft’s first takeoff on Feb. 8, 2024, has entered its final phase, with ground and flight tests being carried out in the final stages of the production process.

“The current phase of testing will include the installation and validation of special NATO communication equipment, and (the planes) will return to Brazil to complete the work,” said Szalay-Bobrovniczky in a statement.

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Hungary Prepares for Protracted War in Ukraine

The Hungarian government is preparing for the war in Ukraine to go on under the assumption that the war will not come to an end anytime soon.

“The change is negative. We are in a very dangerous period. The next six months will be decisive in terms of whether the world is heading towards war or peace,” cabinet minister Gergely Gulyas said.

The top official said there is more bad news than good, and he believes Europe is heading towards more war and not less.

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Hungarian Defense Council Convenes to Prepare Response After Iranian Attacks on Israel

After Saturday’s largely failed Iranian drone and missile attack against Israel, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban convened a meeting of the country’s Defense Council on Sunday to discuss the developments.

“Last night, what we feared happened. Iran attacked Israel with drones and missiles. We condemn the attack, but the attack threatens to devastate the entire Middle East with an interstate war, and this poses a serious threat to the whole world, including Hungary,” Orban said in a video on Sunday evening.

“Today, I convened the Defense Council to take stock of the national security and economic consequences of the conflict for Hungary. I have instructed the Interior Minister and the heads of the counter-terrorism services to guarantee the security of the Hungarian people with all available means,” he added.

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NatCon Perseveres Despite Cancellation Efforts by Brussels Bureaucrats

The high-profile National Conservatism conference will go ahead as scheduled in Brussels this morning, Tuesday, April 16th, despite repeated efforts by Brussels officials to cancel it at the last minute.

Some 600 participants are arriving this morning to hear speeches from the French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour, Germany’s Cardinal Gerhard Müller, former MEP and Brexit Party founder Nigel Farage, and the previous UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman, among dozens of other public figures. Tomorrow, the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban and former Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki will address the conference.

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Polish PM Tusk is Difficult to Work With, Complain His Own Ministers

The image of the Tusk government on television is of a smiling administration, but behind closed doors, the reality is that tempers are often frayed and ministers upset with their boss.

Portal wProst.pl has been speaking to politicians from the ruling coalition, and they have revealed that “some of the weaker members of the cabinet have been reduced to tears after government meetings.” Tusk does not tolerate fools and likes to demonstrate his intellectual superiority over most of his government, says the source.

Tusk is reported to be especially annoyed with the environment minister, Paulina Henning-Kloska, from the Third Way alliance, who managed to mishandle legislation on wind turbines the prime minister was very keen on.

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Puigdemont Threatens to Withdraw Support From Spanish PM Sanchez

Spanish MEP Carles Puigdemont has threatened to withdraw his party’s support for the ruling coalition in Spain’s Parliament.

The former regional president said his separatist Junts per Catalunya’s seven MPs will no longer back Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Government should the Socialist Party (PSOE) support a non-separatist majority in Catalonia’s regional Parliament. Snap elections have been called for May 12 .

“If the Socialists ‘pull a Collboni’, these will be the consequences,” said Puigdemont, who is campaigning in exile in from France for the region’s top job.

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Romanian Right-Wing Party Campaigns With Vlad the Impaler

15th-century leader Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Dracula) as its mascot for this June’s European Parliament elections, Hungarian news outlet Mandiner reports.

A giant poster on a Bucharest tower block has a huge picture of the Wallachian leader who once put thousands of Turkish prisoners on stakes and later became, according to some scholars, the basis on which the modern Dracula myth was born.

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Security Ramped Up in Germany After Jihadists Threaten Drone Strikes at Euro 2024

An offshoot terror cell affiliated with Islamic State has published propaganda encouraging jihadists to target German football stadiums during this summer’s European Championships.

In the latest issue of the “Voice of Khorasan” magazine, a publication run by ISKP, or Islamic State — Khorasan Province, the terror organization called for jihad at Europe’s flagship football tournament, which runs for a month in Germany from June 14 until July 14.

Against a backdrop of an explosive drone flying across a football stadium, the publication used the headline, “If they restrict and oppress you on the ground, then attack them from the sky.”

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Swiss Prepare Referendum on Russia Sanctions Which Risk ‘Scaring Away’ Other Customers

Neutrality, never far from Swiss national debate, now will be the subject of a referendum that could end the country’s sanctions on Russia.

“The lack of neutrality means they lose Russian oligarch money, and potentially scare away others too. They don’t mention the latter, needless to say,” University of Zurich professor Nicholas Martin tells Brussels Signal.

But if voters adopt the Neutralitätsinitiative (neutrality initiative), it will prevent Switzerland from imposing or joining any sanctions regime unless the UN Security Council approves it.

With Russia and China as permanent members, this means Switzerland will likely never join a sanctions regime against either country.

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The Albanian ‘King of Instagram’ Who Tells His Followers How to Run Cannabis Farms in UK: Influencer Kozak Braci Posts Videos ‘Glorifying’ Drug Trade by Offering Tips on How to Sneak in Britain Illegally and Make £6,000-a-Month

Kozak Braci, who has more than half a million followers on TikTok and Instagram, gave fans tours of cannabis farms as he discussed how to profit from criminality in the UK.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

UK Lawmakers Target TikTok in the Name of Fighting “Misinformation”

Lawmakers in the UK are trying to get the government to come up with “a strategy” to tackle “misinformation” on TikTok.

To make such demands seem less controversial, the good old “think of the children” is brought up, as MPs behind this initiative claim it is supposed to stop “misinformation directed at young people.”

But, this is only one element — albeit one highlighted by some legacy UK media — contained in a report that just came out, claiming that the government there “should learn lessons from pandemic to improve communications and counter misinformation.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Vatican Prosecutors Charge Italian Journalist With ‘Defamation’ for Criticizing Pope Francis

Vatican prosecutors have filed charges against a prominent Italian journalist for criticizing the Catholic Church and Pope Francis.

According to Breitbart, Marco Felipe Perfetti, a well-known conservative journalist who authors a blog called Silere Non Possum (“I cannot be silent”), was just charged by the Vatican Court.

Perfetti was hit with charges of “defamation” against Pope Francis and “divulging confidential documents.”

In a statement after he was charged, Perfetti insisted that the charges were an obvious attempt at “intimidation.”

Perfetti explained that his blog writings have “annoyed” the Vatican, while blasting the country for the lack of a free press.

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WHO Official Testifies That Advice Against Vaccine Passports Was Ignored to Continue Digital Rollout

Dr. Hanna Nohynek, a World Health Organization (WHO) official, has told a court that her recommendation to Finland’s government during the pandemic was that the so-called “vaccine passport” was not necessary.

Nohynek, who is also the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s chief physician, testified that as the controversial schemes were being announced, her stance was that Covid vaccines were not effective in stopping the transmission of the virus, and therefore “vaccine passports,” designed to prove somebody’s vaccination status and create a checkpoint society, were superfluous.

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4 Israeli Soldiers Injured by Explosive Devices in S. Lebanon

BEIRUT, April 15 (Xinhua) — Lebanese armed group Hezbollah on Monday detonated several explosive devices as Israeli troops was trying to cross the borderline separating Lebanon and Israel.

Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters had planted several explosive devices in the Tal Ismail area adjacent to the border. When Israeli forces from the Golani Brigade crossed the border and arrived at the site of the explosive devices, Hezbollah detonated them, killing and wounding Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli military confirmed on Monday that four of its soldiers sustained injuries in an explosion that occurred hundreds of metres inside Lebanese territory.

Lebanese military sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Israel on Monday carried out nine successive airstrikes on six border towns and villages and fired 40 shells at 10 towns and villages in southern Lebanon.

           — Hat tip: JW [Return to headlines]
 

Iranian Activist Blasts Islamic Regime for Pushing War With Israel: ‘We Want Peace’

An Iranian activist has taken to social media with a powerful video message denouncing the warmongering agenda of Iran’s Islamic regime.

Elica Le Bon, a social media influencer and lawyer, blasted those who support the Islamic Republic going to war with Israel.

She warns that those who support the Islamic regime are “no friend” to the Iranian people.

Le Bon asserts that citizens in Iran only “want peace.”

Le Bon posted the video on TikTok to her more than 300,000 followers.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Spirulina Significantly Reduces COVID-19 Mortality: Study

Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

Hospitalized COVID-19 patients who took spirulina had a lower risk of death than those who did not, according to results of a randomized controlled trial recently published in Frontiers in Immunology.

Study participants took spirulina for six days. No deaths were recorded in the spirulina group, while 15 percent of those who only received standard treatment died.

“The overall results of the present study showed that a six-day course of Spirulina platensis plus the standard treatment of COVID-19 was superior in the recovery of patients compared to standard treatment alone,” the authors wrote.

The study was conducted at two Iranian hospitals, where 189 patients were randomized to take 15.2 grams of spirulina capsules alongside standard COVID-19 treatment or only receive standard treatment. Previous research showed that this dosage of spirulina would provide potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects.

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Thousands of Japanese Citizens Flood Streets to Protest WHO, WEF, Bill Gates, Vaccines

Tens of thousands of Japanese citizens have taken to the streets in huge rallies to protest threats to the nation’s sovereignty from globalist outside forces.

Protesters are demonstrating to pressure the Japanese government to reject the World Health Organization’s (WHO) “Global Pandemic Treaty.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Alleged Terrorist ‘Cut His Own Finger Off’

An alleged teenage terrorist who was detained by churchgoers and police after a bishop was attacked at a western Sydney church is understood to have severed his own finger.

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed during a sermon at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley on Monday night about 7pm.

Police confirmed one of the alleged 16-year-old attacker’s fingers was cut off after he was pulled away from the bishop.

It had been speculated a member of the angry mob had been responsible but it is now understood he accidentally severed the finger himself during the alleged attack.

Pictures which showed all four fingers on the left hand severed are understood to be fake.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Coptic Bishop Stabbed in Australian Church

A Coptic Bishop was stabbed during Mass at a church in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia on Monday night. A knife-wielding assailant attacked the bishop in the middle of his sermon, resulting in the cleric and three other people being wounded in what is the second mass stabbing incident in the city within one week.

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was rushed to a nearby hospital after the incident that occurred at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in the suburb of Wakeley, west of Sydney, at 7 p.m. local time. Video footage shows the attacker calmly walking up to the bishop before attacking him.

The popular bishop, who is of Assyrian Aramaic heritage, is known for his anti-lockdown messagingas well as his critical stance towards Western foreign policy. The motives of the attacker are unknown as of yet. Bishop Emmanuel is understood to be recovering in the hospital.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Sydney Church Stabbing: Angry Mob ‘Chops Off’ Smiling Attacker’s Fingers for Attacking Bishop During Sermon

Sydney: In a shocking incident, a bishop was stabbed multiple times in a church in Sydney on Monday. The incident was caught on camera, and the video of the horrific incident is circulating on social media. It can be seen in the video that a man dressed in black attacked the bishop at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley. The attacker was reportedly apprehended by the people present inside the church and was restrained after he attacked and injured four people in the incident.

Various pictures of the attacker are circulating on social media, showing him shamelessly smiling after being caught by the people. It seems that the attacker is proud of assaulting the Christian leader at the church in the presence of worshippers. Another picture shows the attacker with an injured hand and a bandage wrapped around it.

It is being claimed on social media that the angry crowd severed the fingers of the attacker after apprehending him. However, the reports remain unconfirmed yet. A large crowd gathered around the church after news of the attack spread in the vicinity. The incident was witnessed by many people as the event was being live-streamed on social media. The attacker stabbed the bishop while he was delivering his sermon at the church.

There are reports that the attacker is a radical Muslim and was allegedly shouting “Allahu Akbar” while attacking the priest. The NSW Police reached the scene and brought the situation under control after the mob gathered around the church.

There are also reports that the mob attacked the police vehicle in which the attacker was being transported. The police took the attacker into custody. The police said that the accused has been removed from the church and taken to an undisclosed location.

The bishop and others suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the attack and have been taken to the hospital for treatment. There are reports that the condition of the priest is stable.

           — Hat tip: Roger [Return to headlines]
 

Sydney Church Stabbing Live: Police Declare Wakeley Sermon Stabbing a Terror Attack as Furious Top Cop Slams Rioting Mob Who Attacked Police at Christ the Good Shepherd Church

A bishop and several worshippers have been attacked in another stabbing rampage to rock Sydney.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Sydney Church Stabbing: Sonny Bill Williams Sends Message to Bishop Who Was Attacked During Service as Riots Break Out

That footage quickly circulated on social media, with former All Blacks star Williams, 38, sharing it from Andrew Tate’s X account with a message to bishop Emmanuel.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Sydney Church Stabbing: Bishop Mar Mari’s Chilling Sermon Months Before Attack Warning Congregation He Had ‘Weeks to Live’

The Bishop stabbed during a church sermon in Sydney’s west on Monday was warned of a threat on his life in the weeks leading up to the incident.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Teen Shouted “Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar” Whilst Stabbing Christian Bishop in Sydney

A 16 year-old responsible for the stabbing of a Christian bishop in Sydney, Australia on Monday evening, repeatedly shouted “Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar” during the attack.

Following this and other evidence, the NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb declared that the stabbing yesterday of Christian Orthodox Assyrian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was a terrorist motivated attack.

“At 1:35am this morning, after consideration of all the material, I declared that it was a terrorist incident. It is crucial that New South Wales police are able to devote their resources and intelligence as well as officers to the investigation of this crime.” said Commissioner Webb.

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Nigeria: How a Group of Taxi Drivers Went in Search of Their Missing Friend… and Discovered ‘House of Horror’ Where Kidnapped Victims Were Sacrificed and Their Body Parts Sold for Black Magic Rituals

Reports from the time said that several severely malnourished people were also found aimlessly wandering in the bushes near the building.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

UN Rolls Out Bill Gates’ Digital ID in Sierra Leone

Modular Open Source Identity Platform (MOSIP) in Sierra Leone.

The plan is being rapidly advanced in Africa as globalists seek to expand digital transformation efforts.

Third-world states are being used as a testbed for the technology before the digital ID system is rolled out on a global level.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Brazil Rebrands Internet Censorship Amid Pushback

Brazil has caused quite a stir lately when the country’s ongoing internet censorship policies and actions hit the international limelight, thanks to a clash between Superior Electoral Court President Alexandre de Moraes, a long-time champion of those policies, and X owner Elon Musk.

But Musk is by no means the only one pushing back against censorship demands — many in Brazil do as well, so the authorities there recently decided to go into damage control mode and attempt to “rebrand” censorship legislation.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

10 Illegal Alien Pedophiles Arrested During Raid in Texas

Authorities have arrested a gang of illegal alien pedophiles during a raid on a property in Texas.

The suspects were arrested on child pornography charges in Chambers County, approximately 33 miles east of Downtown Houston.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and local law enforcement officials, the raid was conducted at a residence identified as a hub for human smuggling activities.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Biden Spending $300 Million on Sanctuary Cities

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is distributing $300 million to sanctuary cities that provide services like shelter and food to illegal immigrants amid a massive increase in incursions across the southern border.

release. SSP offers funding to non-federal entities like NGOs and local governments that provide support to illegal immigrants released into the United States by the DHS. Out of the $300 million, $275 million will be distributed in the first allocation, with the remaining $25 million to be allocated later this year to meet operational requirements.

“The initial funding will be available to 55 grant recipients for temporary shelter and other eligible costs associated with migrants awaiting the outcome of their immigration proceedings.”

Costs covered under the program include expenses related to providing shelter, food, transportation, medical care, and personal hygiene for illegal immigrants. Other costs like modification of existing facilities, clothing, translation services, outreach information, and management and administration expenses are also covered.

In addition to the $300 million funding, the DHS also announced $340.9 million for the SSP competitive grant program.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Colorado County Sues State Government Over Sanctuary Immigration Policies: ‘Quality of Life Comes First’

A county in Colorado is suing its own state over sanctuary immigration policies, according to a new filing.

Douglas County filed a lawsuit on Monday morning against Governor Jared Polis and the Centennial State, in reference to Colorado House bills 19-1124 and 23-1100. The state is currently seeking the right to comply with the federal government on immigration matters, which the bills prohibit.

Specifically, the bills forbid Colorado police from arresting and detaining undocumented immigrants based on immigration status. It also prevents state judges from exchanging information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Election Loophole Allows Illegal Aliens to Vote in Wisconsin

A disturbing loophole has been exposed in Wisconsin that allows illegal aliens to vote in American elections.

The loophole is being promoted by Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation.

The department provides a step-by-step guide for illegal aliens to apply for an ID that can be used to vote in the 2024 election.

The guide notes that the method can be used by anyone without documentation of any kind.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

French Actress Refuses to File Charges for Home Burglary After Learning Suspects Were Illegal Immigrants

A French actress whose residence in the south of France was burgled while she was away filming opted not to file a police complaint against the perpetrators after learning the suspects were illegal immigrants.

Audrey Lamy, whose house was targeted in October 2022, was deprived of several pieces of expensive jewelry and designer handbags during the raid, in addition to footing an €18,200 bill to repair the damage to her house.

However, when three suspects of Italian-Bosnian origin were apprehended on suspicion of carrying out the burglary, as well as 15 others over three months back in 2022, the 43-year-old actress was said to have been “touched in the heart” and chose not to press charges.

According to PurePeople magazine, Lamy wanted to “let it slide” rather than add further charges to the indictment.

[Comment: That is not only dumb on her part, but also bad for society.]

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Indiana National Guardsman Deployed to Texas to Help With Border Crisis Shoots Migrant After Watching Him Stab Two Others

A man with a knife who had attacked two migrants on the border near El Paso, Texas over the weekend was shot at by a national guard member.

The shooting took place after an unidentified Indian National Guard member saw a man with the knife on the US side of the border stabbing two migrants, according to a security bulletin obtained by News Nation.

Soldiers from several states are deployed to the Texas border in support of the Lone Star State’s effort to bring down illegal border crossings.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Jim Jordan Accuses Biden’s DHS Chief of Withholding Documents on ‘Criminal Illegal Aliens’ Crossing Border

Republican House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) has blasted Democrat President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief for “failure to comply” with demands to hand over documents related to the border crisis.

Jordan has requested that DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas hand over documents that the agency reported has on “several alleged criminal illegal aliens” who reportedly crossed the Southern Border into the United States.

However, Jordan accuses Majorkas of withholding the documents, which the congressman blasted as “unacceptable.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Johnson, Trump Announce Election Integrity Bill to Require Proof of Citizenship to Vote

Authored by Samantha Flom via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and former President Donald Trump are urging support for a bill aimed at preventing non-citizens from voting in federal elections.

At a Friday, April 12, press conference at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence, the Republican leaders announced the bill as part of larger efforts to bolster election integrity.

“What we’re going to do is introduce legislation to require that every single person who registers to vote in a federal election must prove that they are an American citizen first,” Mr. Johnson said.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Jury Visits a Ranch Near US-Mexico Border Where an Arizona Man is Charged With Killing a Migrant

PHOENIX (AP) — Jurors in the case of an Arizona rancher charged with fatally shooting a migrant on his property near the U.S.-Mexico border visited the scene…

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Seeks $8 MILLION in State Funds for Illegal Immigrants’ Legal Fees

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration has proposed spending $8 million to fund legal services for illegal immigrants seeking asylum in the US.

The funding for the upcoming fiscal year would be used to help pay for attorneys to represent illegal immigrants in immigration proceedings.

The proposed budget states that asylum seekers could help boost Michigan’s population, thus boosting the economy.

The Executive Budget Recommendation, released in February for fiscal year 2025, includes $8 million for “New Michigander Immigration and Legal Services.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

NYC Pharmacists and Shopkeepers Blast Sudden Explosion of Migrants Who Are Flagrantly Running Illegal Street Market for Stolen Goods and Prostitution

Shopkeepers in New York City have slammed the sudden increase of migrants who are flagrantly running illegal street markets, including flogging stolen goods and prostitution.

Milton Reyes, the manager at Mi Farmacia, whose shop is located along the Roosevelt Avenue strip in Jackson Heights, Queens, told DailyMail.com that these illegal vendors are a nuisance — smoke, drink, leave garbage behind — and called the situation ‘out of control.’

He said: ‘It started with one or two guys sporadic and now it is so bad you can’t cross the street. The random neighbors. The stores being pillaged.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Revealed: The Record Number of Chinese Illegal Migrants Arrested at the Border in the Last Six Months as Entries Spike by 7,000% in Three Years

Chinese nationals crossing the border in 2024 so far has massively surged from prior years and is causing heightened concern over why so many migrants from China are coming illegally into the country.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) arrested nearly 25,000 nationals from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since October, according to government data of crossings at the southern and northern borders over the last four years.

The recent figures represent an astounding 7,000 percent increase from the same time period in 2021.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Tax Day: Illegal Immigration Costs American Taxpayers Over $150 Billion

As Tax Day passes on Monday, the cost of illegal immigration to American taxpayers has hit an unprecedented level on President Joe Biden’s watch.

The latest estimates, published by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) last March, show that millions of illegal aliens residing across the United States cost taxpayers more than $150 billion annually.

The FAIR report stated:

At the federal, state, and local levels, taxpayers shell out approximately $182 billion to cover the costs incurred from the presence of more than 15.5 million illegal aliens, and about 5.4 million citizen children of illegal aliens. That amounts to a cost burden of approximately $8,776 per illegal alien/citizen child. The burden of illegal immigration on U.S. taxpayers is both staggering and crippling, with the gross cost per taxpayer at $1,156 every year. [Emphasis added]

Illegal aliens only contribute roughly $32 billion in taxes at the state, local, and federal levels. This means that the net fiscal cost of illegal immigration to taxpayers totals approximately $150.7 billion. [Emphasis added]

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Fight Back Against 20,000 Asylum Seekers and Refugees Moved Out of Hotels — and Into Private Rented Homes…

— Furious residents in Teesside, Hull and Bradford warn ‘scandalous’ Home Office plan to buy up properties will create ‘mini ghettos’

Furious residents in Teeside, Hull and Bradford have blasted a government scheme to buy up private rented homes for asylum seekers — warning it could create ‘mini ghettos’ that risk hindering integration.

The Home Office has secured around 16,000 rental properties for asylum seekers as it seeks to move them out of hotels, with an official claiming the purchases were focused in areas where property was cheaper.

Locals in Middlesbrough were among those to slam the move, claiming that concentrating asylum seekers in certain areas will slow their integration into British society and add to the regional housing crisis.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: MPs Are Urged to Finally Pass the Rwanda Bill After 535 Migrants Cross the Channel on Sunday — a New High for This Year

Parliament was urged to finally pass the Rwanda bill last night after the number of illegal Channel crossings hit a new daily high for 2024.

Latest figures revealed that 534 migrants in 10 boats reached Britain on Sunday, following 214 in five dinghies the day before.

That takes the total number of arrivals so far this year to 6,265 — 28 per cent higher than by this time last year.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

BlackRock CEO Melts Down as Profits Plummet Over Woke ESG Agenda

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink suffered a meltdown during an earnings call over the company losing billions of dollars in contracts due to the international asset manager’s woke “environmental, social, and governance” (ESG) agenda.

A recording from the call has emerged online and revealed Fink imploded while raging over the Texas Board of Education canceling $8.5 billion in contracts with BlackRock.

As Slay News reported, Texas joined several states in blocking their funds from going to BlackRock due to the company’s ESG agenda.

During the call, Fink lost his cool as he complained about “lies” and “misinformation” regarding BlackRock’s agenda.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

‘Huge Mistake’ — Scottish Conservatives Push for Repeal of New Hate Speech Law

The Scottish Conservatives will introduce a measure this week to repeal the draconian speech restrictions recently imposed by the leftist government of Humza Yousaf, calling on local parliamentarians to admit that the new hate speech law was a “huge mistake”.

Members of the locally devolved Scottish Parliament at Holyrood will be put on the spot this week as to whether they continue to support the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, which has sparked chaos and controversy after coming into effect earlier this month. Now, the Scottish Conservatives will look to put pressure on left-wing Labour Part and Lib-Dem MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament) by introducing a measure to repeal the legislation on Wednesday.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Planned Parenthood ‘Stonewalling’ Probe Into Peddling Puberty Blockers to Minors: State AG

Despite a judge’s ruling that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey can now access Planned Parenthood patient records — the third such ruling against transgender health clinics that could potentially expose whether they’ve been offering puberty blockers and transgender surgeries to children — Missouri’s top lawyer says he’s still meeting significant “stonewalling.”

Missouri’s Merchandising Practices Act allows Bailey to obtain patient documents because they do not fall under Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protections, St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer ruled last week. Even as he described the ruling as “a huge win” in his series of investigations into how transgender health clinics have offered services to minors, Bailey singled out Planned Parenthood for its part in dragging out the investigation.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Polish Parliament Moves to Overturn Pro-Life Legislation

On Friday, the new ruling majority in the Polish parliament passed proposals that would scrap Poland’s strict abortion laws. The bills have a long way to go, however—and conservative President Andrej Duda can not only veto the bills, but also refer them to the conservative-leaning Constitutional Tribunal for review.

Three bills from the Donald Tusk-led government came before the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, with the express purpose of reversing existing restrictions on abortion, which are among the most stringent in the EU.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Polish Opponents of Abortion March Against Recent Steps to Liberalise Strict Law

A nation of some 38 million, Poland is seeking ways to boost the birth rate, which is currently at some 1.2 per woman — among the lowest in the EU.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

President of Belgian Health Insurance Company Promotes Euthanasia as Solution for Aging Population

by Andreas Wailzer

(LifeSiteNews) — The president of Belgium’s largest health care fund has promoted euthanasia as a solution for the country’s aging population problem.

Luc Van Gorp, head of Christian Mutuality (CM), pointed out that the number of people over 80 in Belgium will double up to 1.2 million by 2050, putting large financial pressure on the health care system and insurance companies.

According to De Specialist, Van Gorp said the problem cannot be solved with more money and called for “a radically different approach.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Supreme Court Allows Idaho to Enforce Its Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing Idaho to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth while lawsuits over the law proceed, reversing lower courts.

The justices’ order Monday allows the state to put in a place a 2023 law that subjects physicians to up to 10 years in prison if they provide hormones, puberty blockers or other gender-affirming care to people under age 18. Under the court’s order, the two transgender teens who sued to challenge the law still will be able to obtain care.

The court’s three liberal justices would have kept the law on hold. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that it would have been better to let the case proceed “unfettered by our intervention.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

‘Uterus Renting is Inhuman,’ Says Italy PM Meloni

Surrogate parenthood is an “inhuman” practice that treats children as “supermarket products,” Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, urging Parliament to pass a bill to prosecute those who go abroad for it.

Parenting via surrogacy is already illegal in Italy, punishable with jail and fines, but the right-wing coalition of Meloni has vowed to impose an even stricter ban on it as part of its conservative agenda.

“No one can convince me that it is an act of freedom to rent one’s womb, no one can convince me that it is an act of love to consider children as an over-the-counter product in a supermarket,” she said at an event in Rome on April 12.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

WEF Pushing Digital IDs to Enforce Vaccination Compliance

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is pushing for digital ID technology to be used as a tool to enforce global vaccination compliance.

The WEF is pushing for the “digital identity” system to include support for users to prove their “vaccination status.”

As the digital ID will be required to use certain services, members of the general public could be denied access based on their vaccine history.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

3 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 4/15/2024

  1. ********************************************
    THI IS AN ABSOLUTELY MUST HEAR!

    Dr. Aseem Malhotra’s Testimony against Covid.

    ********************************************

    illustration:
    https://gatesofvienna.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/needleskull.jpg

    – Direct from the District Court of Helsinkil April 12,
    2024, the same day as LN enters hisr non-vaccinated, 
    & therefore, 90th year of life-.

    ***
    documentcloud.org 
    › documents › 24543473-dr-aseem-malhotra-helsink-court-statement

    Cardiologist, Dr. Aseem Malhotra’s  Helsink court statement –

    ***
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrJFOR8D7IU
    ***

    Dr. Aseem Malhotra, Helsinki court statement – DocumentCloud p. 1. Statement COVID-19 Vaccines Safety and Efficacy by Dr Aseem Malhotra MD for Mika Vauhkala

    Short Biodata: Dr Aseem Malhotra is an…
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrJFOR8D7IU
    ***
    cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra in Helsinki District Court 6:21 / 55:55 min, 49 views 15 Apr. 2024 Source: https://casecovidpass.com/

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