Israeli missiles have reportedly struck a site in Iran. Iranian state television reported explosions in Isfahan, which activated the country’s air defenses. Isfahan hosts a major site of Iran’s nuclear weapons project. Explosions were also reported in Iraq and Syria.
In other news, ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris, police cleared out a makeshift camp housing about 450 migrants.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, DV, JW, LP, McN, MM, Reader from Chicago, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Poland’s Inflation Rate Continues to Decline
According to the final data recently released by Statistics Poland (GUS), consumer inflation in March fell to 2 percent year-over-year, which is slightly higher than the preliminary estimate. On a month-to-month basis, comparing March to February, prices increased by 0.2 percent.
Previously, a flash estimate had suggested that inflation in Poland dropped to 1.9 percent year-over-year in March from 2.8 percent in February, a reading lower than market expectations. The month-to-month flash estimate was confirmed. In a year-over-year comparison, prices for goods increased by 0.4 percent, while service prices rose by 6.6 percent, according to GUS.
Service inflation remains elevated, significantly impacting the core inflation rate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Authored by Paul Sperry via RealClear Wire
The ‘whistleblower’ who sparked Donald Trump’s first impeachment was deeply involved in the political maneuverings behind Biden-family business schemes in Ukraine that Trump wanted probed, newly obtained emails from former Vice President Joe Biden’s office reveal.
In 2019, then-National Intelligence Council analyst Eric Ciaramella touched off a political firestorm when he anonymously accused Trump of linking military aid for Ukraine to a demand for an investigation into alleged Biden corruption in that country.
But four years earlier, while working as a national security analyst attached to then-Vice President Joe Biden’s office,Ciaramella was a close adviser when Biden threatened to cut off U.S. aid to Ukraine unless it fired its top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Ukraine-based Burisma Holdings. At the time, the corruption-riddled energy giant was paying Biden’s son Hunter millions of dollars.
Those payments — along with other evidence tying Joe Biden to his family’s business dealings — received little attention in 2019 as Ciaramella accused Trump of a corrupt quid pro quo. Neither did subsequent evidence indicating that Hunter Biden’s associates had identified Shokin as a “key target.” These matters are now part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
“It now seems there was material evidence that would have been used at the impeachment trial [to exonerate Trump],” said George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, who has testified as an expert witness in the ongoing Biden impeachment inquiry. “Trump was alleging there was a conflict of interest with the Bidens, and the evidence could have challenged Biden’s account and established his son’s interest in the Shokin firing.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
All 12 Jurors Seated for Donald Trump Hush Money Trial
All 12 jurors were seated on Thursday, the third day of former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan.
“We have our jury,” Judge Juan Merchan said when the 12th juror was picked.
The 12 jurors and one alternate included seven men and six women.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Andy Ngo Reports: Antifa Trial of the Decade Exposes a Violent Conspiracy in San Diego Riot
This is part of an exclusive series reporting on the So Cal Antifa cell.
As the criminal trial of two So Cal Antifa members goes into its third week, the public is learning about how one of the notorious Antifa groups organizes and carries out violence against targets.
Jeremy Jonathan White, 41, and Brian Cortez Lightfoot Jr., 27, both of Los Angeles, are accused of carrying out violent attacks on supporters of former President Donald Trump in a felony conspiracy—the first time Antifa suspects have been charged with such a serious felony accusation anywhere in the US. Nine of their co-defendant comrades have already been convicted in plea deals, including Luis Francisco Mora, 32, who took a last-minute plea deal at the start of the trial.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Robert F. Kennedy’s campaign announced Thursday that the independent presidential candidate will appear on the ballot in Michigan — which could have masssive repercussions for President Joe Biden’s reelection prospects.
In the most recent poll in the state, Biden has fallen behind former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.
And during February’s Democratic primary, he lost more than 100,000 votes to ‘uncommitted,’ a protest over his stance on Gaza.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bank of America Accused of Political Debanking
Bank of America is facing serious accusations of involvement in discrimination based on politics, religion, and ideology (i.e., speech expressing this), with the targets of “debanking” allegedly being some Christian churches as well as supporters of Donald Trump.
These suspicions are expressed by over a dozen attorney-generals from Republican states who are behind a letter sent to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, looking for answers — and documents — related to the accusations.
The initiative follows revelations that Bank of America was turning over financial data belonging to clients to the FBI and the Treasury, as they investigated January 6 suspects.
Kansas AG Kris Kobach is leading the effort now, which centers on clarifying, by providing the relevant documents, the policy based on which the bank cancels some accounts.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
On Wednesday, conservative filmmaker Benny Johnson and his crew were robbed in the Bay Area while filming a piece about California’s rise in crime, which has forced businesses to close permanently.
Johnson and his team were filming a video about In-N-Out Burger, one of America’s most famous burger joints, permanently closing its location in Oakland due to more than 1,000 documented reports of customers being robbed while visiting the restaurant.
Ironically enough, Johnson and his team were reportedly robbed while filming the video.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A watchdog report has revealed that Democrat President Joe Biden has initiated “over 200 actions” that are “deliberately designed” to send energy production abroad by creating severe restrictions in America.
The Institute for Energy Research found that Biden has acted against the fossil fuel industry over 200 times in his presidency, JustTheNews reported.
While claiming the moves are part of an “environmental” agenda, Biden’s actions have made America more reliant on foreign energy from adversaries such as Communist China and Russia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Bay Area commuter harshly criticized the recent anti-Israel protest that blocked traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge for hours, calling it “such an inconvenience and very devastating” for people trying to get into San Francisco to work and make ends meet.
Ronald Davis, who commutes daily from Novato, California, to San Francisco, described to Fox News Digital the frustration he felt while forced to wait six hours on the landmark bridge as protesters chanted “Free Palestine” and blocked traffic.
“You know, a lot of us were just trying to get home or get to work or get to the doctors, or mothers trying to take their kids to school. It was such an inconvenience to all of us, and I just don’t feel like that was an appropriate way to protest,” Davis said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk to Fund New First Amendment Campaign to Combat ‘Relentless Attacks on Free Speech’
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk announced on Thursday that he is launching a new signature campaign to bolster the First Amendment against censorship.
“Given the relentless attacks on free speech, I am going to fund a national signature campaign in support of the First Amendment,” Musk posted on his X account.
While the details of this new venture remain unclear, Musk has recently criticized new NPR CEO Katherine Maher, who has faced backlash for previous statements about the “truth” and the First Amendment.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Excused Juror Reveals Selection Process for Trump’s ‘Hush-Money’ Trial: ‘All Have Prior Opinions’
Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
A juror who was excused from serving on the Manhattan trial of former President Donald Trump provided details about the questions potential jurors were asked.
Kara McGee told media outlets outside the courtroom on Tuesday that she was dismissed but said she believes she could be impartial, adding still that it would be “very difficult for anyone really in this country to not come to this without prior opinions.”
“We all have prior opinions on the defendant, unless you’ve been living in a cardbox,” she said, adding that she was excused because of her job in the cybersecurity sector.
Regarding her personal feelings on President Trump, the woman said, “I’m not a fan.” The main reason why, she said, is because of how she believed he handled the COVID-19 pandemic response.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins is asking for the public’s help to determine what charges should be filed against the 26 people who were arrested Monday during protests on the Golden Gate Bridge.
Jenkins said that she is considering false imprisonment charges for the drivers who spent hours trapped in gridlock during the demonstration.
The 26 people were released from the San Francisco jail Tuesday, pending further investigation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Google Fires 28 Workers for Protesting $1.2 Billion Israel Contract
Google has fired more than two dozen employees for protesting the company’s $1.2 billion contract to provide the Israeli government and military with cloud and artificial intelligence services.
The 28 firings come after nine employees were arrested Tuesday night following a sit-in at the company’s offices in Seattle, New York and Sunnyvale, California — including one at Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s office, according to the group that organized the demonstration, No Tech for Apartheid.
Protestors sat in his office for more than nine hours, wearing shirts and raising banners that read “No more genocide for profit,” until their eventual arrest.
It is the latest high-profile clash in the United States stoked by tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ilhan Omar Questions College President About ‘Wet Farts’ Attack on Anti-Israel Columbia Students
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., sounded the alarm about what she called an “attack” with a “toxic chemical substance” at an anti-Israel protest at Columbia University during a congressional hearing Wednesday. However, according to court documents, the substance was a non-toxic flatulence spray.
Omar questioned Columbia’s president, Dr. Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, about a January incident that involved anti-Israel activists while they were protesting.
The Squad member repeated an unverified claim — which was also parroted uncritically by mainstream media outlets — that the incident was a “chemical attack by former Israeli soldiers.” A recent lawsuit filed by one of the pro-Israel students who was suspended for releasing the substance said it was merely fart sprays called “Liquid A**” and “Wet Farts.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Juan Merchan’s Daughter Raises $100 MILLION Off Criminal Prosecution of Donald Trump: Report
Trump ally Mike Davis revealed on War Room Wednesday that the daughter of the judge overseeing the trial “has raised nearly $100 million for this criminal trial.”
Noting that he was replaced as a guest for a CNN segment by Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Davis said, “remember what this Democrat judge did, this Manhattan Democrat Judge Juan Merchan, who donated to President Biden in 2020, who donated to another anti-Trump cause, whose daughter, Loren Merchan, is a leading Democrat consultant and campaign fundraiser who’s working for Biden and Kamala Harris, Adam Schiff and many other Democrats.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Madison County Voters Will Take Up Symbolic Secession Vote in November
The Madison County Board voted 15-7 on Wednesday to send a symbolic question to voters in November about forming a new state separate from the Chicago area.
The secession vote, which carries no true power, could make Madison County in the Metro East the 27th in downstate Illinois to take the action.
“This is the single most democratic move that any group of concerned citizens can make,” said advocate Dave Stopher of Troy. “It’s to ask the people their opinion. That’s all we’re asking.”
The nonbinding advisory referendum will ask voters if Madison County should separate from Cook County, home to Chicago. It asks if the county board should communicate with other downstate county boards regarding forming a new state.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Man Arrested, Accused of Throwing Pipe Bomb at Satanic Temple in Massachusetts
No one was hurt in the incident last week in Salem. A hair strand on the device was used to extract a DNA sample.
BOSTON — An Oklahoma man was arrested Wednesday after authorities accused him of throwing a pipe bomb at the Massachusetts headquarters of a group called The Satanic Temple.
The Salem-based group says on its website that it campaigns for secularism and individual liberties, and that its members don’t actually worship Satan.
Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, of Perkins, Oklahoma, has been charged with using an explosive to damage a building following an attack last week on the headquarters, which is also used as an art gallery.
Several phone numbers associated with Palmer were out of service Wednesday, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts said they didn’t yet have the name of any lawyer representing him. He is due to make an initial court appearance in Oklahoma on Thursday. If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Surveillance cameras showed a man walk up to the building soon after 4 a.m. on April 8 wearing a face covering, tactical vest and gloves, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI. The man then ignited an improvised explosive device, threw it at the main entrance, then ran away. The bomb partially detonated, resulting in some minor fire damage, authorities said.
The bomb appeared to be made from a piece of plastic pipe, authorities said, and they were able to extract a DNA sample from a single hair on the bomb.
The attorney’s office said investigators found a six-page note in a flowerbed near the attack addressed to “Dear Satanist” and urged repentance. Authorities said Palmer had posted similar comments on social media.
The attorney’s office also said surveillance footage showed a black Volvo registered to Palmer driving erratically in the area before and after the incident, and it said Palmer had recently bought some PVC pipe from a home improvement store in Oklahoma.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Man Randomly Whacks Woman With Hockey Stick in New York’s East Village
A woman was beaten with a hockey stick in Manhattan on Tuesday night and is one of the latest unprovoked attacks to happen in New York City.
The suspect was not captured immediately after the crime and police asked the public for help in identifying him, the New York Post reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Orleans Police Chief Pushes More Gun-Free Zones — Where Tourists Can’t be Armed for Self-Defense
New Orleans police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick wants gun-free zones within the city where even licensed concealed carriers would be barred from carrying for self-defense.
4WWL reported that Kirkpatrick is pushing the zones in response to the constitutional carry bill signed by Gov. Jeff Landry (R) on March 5, 2024.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An alleged squatter accused of living in a $1 million home while earning money by renting out bedrooms to others has finally been charged.
Brian Rodriguez was indicted on Thursday on charges of burglary, grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, criminal trespass and criminal mischief.
Homeowner Adele Andaloro had been checking on the home in Flushing, Queens, in February that she inherited when she realized the front door had been changed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NPR CEO Katherine Maher Reveals How She Ruined Wikipedia
Katherine Maher, NPR’s newly appointed CEO, is facing criticism over her past tweets as a veteran editor accuses the organization of leftist bias. But along the way, another interesting line of investigation has opened — how Maher wrecked Wikipedia by turning away from “free and open” discussions on the “online wikipedia” because that goal represents a “white male westernized construct.”
The Daily Mail reports that Katherine Maher, NPR’s newly appointed CEO, has sparked controversy after a resurfaced clip from a 2021 panel discussion hosted by the Atlantic Council revealed her calling the First Amendment the “number one challenge” in American journalism. During the discussion, Maher, who previously served as the CEO of Wikimedia the parent organization of Wikipedia, argued that the First Amendment provides a “fairly robust protection of rights,” making it “a little tricky to address some of the real challenges of where bad information comes from.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NYPD Arrests Over 100 at Pro-Palestinian Protest at Columbia University
NEW YORK — Police arrested more than 100 protesters on Columbia University’s campus Thursday after they set up encampments to protest Israel’s war in Gaza.
Police officers forcibly moved students out of tents at the center of Columbia’s campus in Manhattan, according to eyewitness accounts. University President Minouche Shafik told police the encampment began early Wednesday morning with more than 100 people occupying the South Lawn of the campus.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the NYPD made more than 108 arrests.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of student organizations, said more than 120 people, including three legal observers, were arrested at Columbia’s “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.” The encampment was established early Wednesday morning, CUAD said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Oklahoma State U. to Shut Down Bias Response Team to Settle Free Speech Lawsuit
Oklahoma State University will shut down its bias response team to settle a lawsuit filed by a nationwide campus free speech organization, the group announced Tuesday.
The settlement secured by Speech First states the university will disband its Bias Incidents Response Team, will not reinstate the team nor create a new entity responsible for “bias incidents,” and will wipe all references to the bias response team from its website and written material.
The settlement also requires the public institution to change its “computer policy that previously forbade students from sending emails about politics,” a news release from Speech First stated, adding the school will also rewrite its harassment policy to include “important speech protection for students.”
The university will also pay $18,000 in attorney’s fees to Speech First, according to the settlement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish President Duda Meets Trump: ‘Excellent Meeting of Two Friends’
President Andrzej Duda’s visit to the United States saw Duda meet with close ally former President Donald Trump in New York City. The two leaders had dinner together at Trump Tower, with discussions reportedly spanning various topics, including matters concerning Ukraine.
The Associated Press noted President Duda’s long-standing admiration for Trump, coupled with his staunch support for aiding Ukraine and urging increased military assistance from the U.S. to counter Russian aggression.
Trump, upon meeting Duda, lauded the Polish president’s performance, referring to him as “fantastic” and emphasizing their friendship. Trump reminisced about their four years of cooperation while he held office, affirming continuous support for Poland.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poll: Donald Trump Leads Biden Nationally, as 3 in 4 Say Cost of Living Rising
Former President Donald Trump has grown his lead against President Joe Biden nationally, as three in four voters say the cost of living is on the rise, according to an Emerson College poll.
In a hypothetical two-way race, 46 percent of respondents back Trump, and 43 percent support Biden, the poll, published Thursday morning, showed. Another 12 percent are undecided, and when they are forced to pick a candidate, 50 percent choose Trump, and 50 percent choose Biden.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Report: January 6 Committee Democrats Say They Fear Trump Will Put Them in Jail
House Democrats who led an investigation into former President Donald Trump’s role in the January 6 Capitol riot say they are worried about their safety and being arrested if the former president wins reelection.
They fretted to CBS News in a recent piece about a March 18 Trump post on Truth Social that said former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) “should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
SCOTUS Justice Gorsuch Grills Biden DOJ Over Extreme Jan 6 Sentences for ‘Mostly Peaceful Protests’
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch demanded answers from Democrat President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) over the extreme sentences handed down to Jan. 6 defendants.
Gorsuch grilled Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar over the extreme prison sentences for those involved in protests at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The SCOTUS justice noted the harshness of the sentencing when compared with similarly situated left-wing protesters and rioters.
The overwhelming majority of leftist protesters, violent rioters, and looters face slaps on the wrist if they face any accountability at all.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Telegram Founder Reveals US Government’s Alleged Covert Maneuvers to Backdoor the App
Here’s a headline that surfaced on the internet this week: “US government tried to spy on people…” (…somebody, who happens to be the Telegram founder, “claims”.)
What a shocker. Is this really newsworthy? Actually yes — because here, we’re seeing the opposite of clickbait — a subdued, to put it generously, headline in legacy US media, in an attempt to report about some of the things Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said during his interview with Tucker Carlson.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Top Military Official Lied About Jan. 6: Whistleblowers
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
The secretary of the Army on Jan. 6, 2021, lied about multiple details regarding what unfolded as the U.S. Capitol was breached, National Guard whistleblowers said during a congressional hearing on April 17.
Then-Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy made multiple false claims, including that he spoke to the commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard on two separate occasions after officials requested that the Guard be deployed to the Capitol, the whistleblowers said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Top UK Newspaper Says USA Civil War ‘Increasingly Plausible’ & ‘More’ Insurrections Likely
The Metro, Britain’s most circulated freesheet tabloid newspaper, ran an article on Thursday claiming the United States could soon go through a second civil war.
“Second US civil war becoming ‘increasingly plausible’ as more insurrections likely,” reads the headline.
The article claimed slavery was the key cause of the Civil War before jumping to modern times and labeling the January 6th setup a deadly “insurrection.”
The piece focused on a study by a California State University San Bernardino team of researchers comparing the “social psychology of the United States of the 1850s to today.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Gains Ground Among Young Voters, Poll Reveals
According to the Harvard Youth Poll, former President Donald Trump is gaining ground among voters aged 18 to 29, though President Joe Biden still maintains a lead, as reported by POLITICO.
Biden holds a 45 percent to 37 percent advantage over Trump among this demographic, with 16 percent undecided. However, this 8 percentage point margin is notably smaller than Biden’s lead over Trump in the 2020 election, which was 23 percentage points at a similar stage.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Greeted With Cheers at Harlem Bodega Where Clerk Defended Himself Against Violent Customer
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday after day two of his hush-money trial visited the Harlem bodega where store clerk Jose Alba, 61, defended himself after being attacked by a violent customer in July 2022.
Alba was arrested and charged with second-degree murder after he stabbed the customer, Austin Simon, 35. Before that, Simon was captured on video going behind the counter and attacking him.
The charges were later dropped, and Alba is suing the city.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Demands Europe Pay Their Fair on Ukraine as US House Weighs $95 Billion Foreign Aid Package
On Thursday, former President Donald Trump called on European countries to throw more financial support towards Ukraine in its war against Russia, suggesting that they are not paying their fair share.
He questioned why the United States has shelved out $100 billion more than European countries and demanded they equalize or match the US’s amount in financial aid to Ukraine, considering they share a border with the war-torn eastern European country and the United States does not.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: Biden Falsely Claims That WWII Uncle Eaten by Cannibals, Twice
Joe Biden has always been a prolific liar and plagiarist, but on Wednesday he took things to another level.
While attempting to disparage former President Donald Trump for ‘skipping out’ on a 2018 visit to a military cemetery outside Paris (when in fact the Navy made a ‘bad-weather’ call), Biden claimed that his uncle, 2nd Lt. Ambrose J. “Bozey” Finnegan Jr., was shot down in World War II and eaten by cannibals.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Grieving families of the Covenant Christian School shooter’s six victims have claimed they own copyright of the full handwritten confession of the killer.
They are arguing before a Nashville judge that the confession, and other documents, should never be publicly released because no good can come from it.
The families’ claims comes as both city police and the FBI fight to stop the confession, and potentially information about mysterious notes and numbers found on Hale’s body, from being made public.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
X Says “Anti-Misinformation” Agency Spreading Falsehoods Caused “Incalculable” Damage
DoubleVerify, which says it is in the business of helping brands advertise more effectively while focusing on “transparency and authenticity” has caused X to lose a number of advertisers because it rated the platform’s “brand safety” erroneously.
The factual false information that DoubleVerify published to the world, all the while supposedly working to tackle misinformation, has to do with what the company said was “a graphical error in the display of X’s Brand Safety Rate in DV’s Pinnacle dashboard.”
This error continued to be displayed for four and a half months, showing a false, lower rate, admitted CEO Mark Zegorski.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Israel Railway Blockade Protesters Clash With Toronto Police
Anti-Israel protesters blockaded a railway near Dundas Street and Dupont Street Tuesday to call for an immediate two-way arms embargo on Israel.
Organizers of the protest celebrated what they called a successful five-hour blockade of critical freight services from Canada to the U.S.
Four arrests were made and all those arrested were released on bail.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canada Ushers in WEF’s ‘Global Carbon Tax’ Agenda
The Canadian government has signed an agreement with the World Economic Forum (WEF) that will see Canada begin paying taxes to the unelected globalist organization to supposedly “fight climate change.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government signed the WEF’s Global Minimum Tax agreement.
The plan is part of the WEF’s New Global Tax Agenda.
Once the agreement has been signed by globalist nations worldwide, governments will be paying billions of dollars a year into the WEF’s Global Carbon Tax program.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Coutts Trio Found Guilty by Jury, Faces 10 Years in Prison
Three men have been found guilty for their role in the 2022 Coutts border blockade on charges of mischief over $5,000.
Marco Van Huigenbos, Alex Van Herk and George Janzen face up to 10 years in jail. The judge’s sentencing is expected this summer.
The trio were convicted on Tuesday night by a jury of six men and six women in Lethbridge, Alta.
Van Huigenbos said the charges are politically motivated because Coutts “lit the flame that turned into a fire” that resulted in former premier Jason Kenney losing support and resigning. He claimed some members of Kenney’s government sought to exact justice on the Coutts trio for Kenney’s resignation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trudeau Liberals Consider Expanding Access to ‘Halal Mortgages’ to Cater to Muslim Canadians
The Trudeau Liberals’ recently tabled Budget 2024 mentioned a push to expand access to the vibrant and growing market of alternative financing products, such as “halal mortgages” that would “enable Muslim Canadians, and other diverse communities, to further participate in the housing market.”
Muslims who adhere to the teachings of the Quran are forbidden from receiving or paying interest, however financial institutions have created alternative systems that allow customers to pay the equivalent of interest without calling it that.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ahead of the Olympics, France to Trial AI Surveillance Systems
The Parisian Police Department announced it will trial new so-called algorithmic video surveillance (AVS) systems at public transportation venues throughout Paris ahead of the forthcoming Summer Olympic Games.
The first trials, utilising AI and “smart cameras” and set to run from April 19 to April 22, will primarily focus on two major events in the French capital: the PSG vs Lyon football match on April 21 and a concert by US rock band Black Eyed Peas on April 20.
According to the Police Department, the use of AVS comes in light of rising national security concerns.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Attempts to Shut Down NatCon “A Sign of Things to Come”
Many on the right seem to view the failed efforts of Brussels officials to shut down this week’s National Conservatism conference as a victory. For a start, they prompted a great deal more media attention than the event’s organisers could otherwise have hoped for. Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage also said that the presence of police outside the hall might have been the most “productive and fruitful” moment in Brussels “ever,” given that it proved “Brexit right.”
But author and journalist Peter Hitchens, who writes a column for The Mail on Sunday, has urged conservatives against dropping their guard—warning, in the simplest terms, that this battle may have been won, but the war for free speech is far from over.
He told Times Radio that “you often find in local government the first signs of what national governments will do 15 or 20 years hence.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Desperation Behind European Politicians’ Latest Russiagate Hoax
Authored by Peter Sourek, Cecile Jilkova, and Michael Shellenberg via Public Substack
The success of right-wing German political party AfD led European politicians to abuse their powers, perhaps illegally…
European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova (left) Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala (center); President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (right)
European politicians claimed late last month that Russia bribed European politicians to spread disinformation and interfere in the upcoming June elections. “Russian influence scandal rocks EU,” screamed a March 30 Politico headline.
Russia “is using dodgy outlets pretending to be media [and] using money to buy covert influence,” claimed European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova.
The BBC agreed: “Russian network that ‘paid European politicians’ busted, authorities claim.”
Heads of state hyped the alleged scandal.
“We uncovered a pro-Russian network,” claimed Petr Fiala, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, “that was developing an operation to spread Russian influence and undermine security across Europe.”
Poland’s intelligence agency said it had conducted searches in the Warsaw and Tychy regions and seized €48,500 (£41,500) and $36,000 (£28,500).
However, following an investigation by Public, the head of the Czech Intelligence Agency (BIS), Michal Koudelka on Monday admitted that his agency has no information about any bribery scheme.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Could Sue Germany in a Matter of Days Over Usage Fees on Its Gas Pipelines
The European Commission is likely to sue Germany for breaching EU single market rules by charging neighboring countries extra for buying gas from its storage facilities. According to Reuters, the infringement proceedings could start within days.
The German tariff is a legacy of the energy crisis, which peaked in 2022 as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war. Moscow had already cut gas supplies to Europe before the conflict, and later a sabotage attack orchestrated by still unknown perpetrators completely destroyed the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Germany
In order to recoup its losses, Germany introduced the so-called “neutrality fee” on gas sales to neighboring countries and on operators using the network for export.
The extra payment has more than tripled since its introduction in October 2022. Member states say this is against EU single market rules, which prohibit the imposition of tariffs on trade between EU countries.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Council Agrees on Air Defense Systems for Ukraine
EU leaders agreed to “urgently provide air defense to Ukraine and speed up and intensify the delivery of all the necessary military assistance, including artillery and missiles,” European Council President Charles Michel said in Brussels after the first working day of the informal EU summit in the early hours of Thursday.
Speaking to journalists in Brussels, Michel announced a final declaration had been adopted by members of the European Council, calling on the Council of the European Union, which brings together the member states, to ensure that the commitments are followed up.
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The European Union has taken a firm stance on child safety concerns raised by ByteDance’s popular social media platform TikTok, requesting a thorough risk assessment for the newly launched TikTok Lite application, Reuters reports.
TikTok Lite, which was released this month in France and Spain, features a “Task and Reward Lite” program that allows users over the age of 18 to earn points for engaging in various app activities such as watching videos, liking content, following creators, and inviting friends.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Rejects Oil Sanctions After Iranian Attacks on Israel
Last week’s Iranian drone and missile attacks on Israel have prompted the European Union to prepare to impose fresh sanctions on Iranian airlines and military companies—but not oil. The decision was made at a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels Wednesday, with Eurocrats slowly ratcheting up pressure on Tehran for its assault on Israel in retaliation for an alleged IDF attack on Iran’s Damascus consulate.
Divisions within the bloc, however, surfaced when it came to the question of sanctioning oil.
According to media sources, Germany and Austria are understood to be supportive of oil sanctions and denouncing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terror organisation. Other member states advocate what they see as a more pragmatic stance.
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Germany: Arson Attack Against AfD Politician’s Business Results in Massive Inferno
German state security services are investigating an arson attack against an Alternative for Germany (AfD) politician’s moving business in the Saale district of Schkopau, with five out of his six trucks set completely ablaze while the remaining one was badly damaged.
The Hohenweiden moving company, owned by local AfD politician Sven Ebert, has been targeted in the past, including suspected Antifa groups that hit his company with paint attacks.
The arson attack produced a blaze so intense that the flames could be seen up to 10 kilometers away in Halle an der Saale. The resulting damage is estimated to cost several hundred thousand euros. The police are investigating a potential political motive.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A conservative lawmaker in Germany has been kicked off his local Catholic Church committee’s board after refusing to distance himself from his political party.
Christoph Schaufert, an MP representing the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the Saarland state parliament, is a devout Roman Catholic and had sat on the administrative board of the parish of St. Marien in Neunkirchen as an honorary elected member.
He had been baptized at the parish and involved with the church ever since. Having been a member of the center-right CDU for two decades, he joined the AfD as a member in 2016 and was subsequently elected to office, first as a local councilor and then as a state parliamentarian in 2022.
However, a minority of the congregation and some members of the parish’s board expressed opposition to his continued involvement in the church on account of his AfD membership and filed a complaint.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Green Deal: Poland is Engaged in an Energy Transformation at the Cost of Its Economy, Says Expert
The Warsaw School of Economics economist Dr. Artur Bartoszewicz believes that the growing trend of jobs being lost in companies and public administration is a direct result of the Green Deal, which has generated increased energy costs. However, other factors include the war in Ukraine.
The Polish economy is also shedding labor, which was artificially protected during the Covid-19 pandemic, and companies are becoming more proactive in implementing technological changes. Artificial intelligence and robotization are the answer the economy has been waiting for, but these developments come with consequences, underlines the expert.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
JDE Peet’s Sees Coffee Industry Struggling to Meet EU Deforestation Law
JDE Peet’s JDEP.AS, one of the world’s largest coffee companies, said the global coffee industry is finding the timing very tight to comply with a new EU law banning the import of commodities and related goods linked to deforestation anywhere in the world.
The European Union law, which comes into effect at the end of 2024, will require EU importers of coffee, cocoa, cattle, palm and other commodities to prove their goods are not contributing to forest destruction — a major source of climate change — or face hefty fines.
Producing countries from Indonesia to Brazil have criticised the law, saying it is discriminatory and that the new rules could end up excluding vulnerable, small-scale farmers from accessing the EU’s lucrative market.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Majority of Young Muslims in UK Want Islamic Law
1 in 3 Muslims living in the UK want Islam to be declared the national religion and for everyone to live under the brutal system of Sharia law which calls for beheadings and amputations.
Less than 1 in 4 Muslims opposed the move while the majority were unwilling to commit.
Among younger Muslims 18-24, 1 in 5 believed that making Islam “our national religion” was “very desirable”, and a total of 43% supported redefining the UK as an Islamic state.
Only 16% opposed it.
This younger group who are the future of Muslims in the UK was also the one most likely to sympathize with Islamic terrorists.
1 in 4 British Muslim men expressed a positive view of Jihad. 46% of British Muslims sympathized with Hamas as did 58% of younger British Muslims. None effectively sympathize with Israel. Previously 1 in 4 Muslims had sympathized with the 7/7 suicide bombers in London.
52% of Muslims supported a ‘blasphemy’ ban on Mohammed cartoons. This Sharia ‘blasphemy code’ had already been used to justify violence and Islamic terrorist attacks against artists and magazines. Including the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris by heavily armed Muslim terrorists.
| — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield | [Return to headlines] |
Czech industry could soon play a vital role in the production of the latest German Leopard tanks, an unnamed source familiar with ongoing negotiations told news outlet Echo24.
Excalibur Army in Šternberk, which belongs to the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) holding company owned by arms manufacturer Michal Strnad, is expected to be largely involved in a new contract with the Czech army and militaries from several other countries.
Andrej Cirtek, a spokesperson for the group, told the Czech outlet it was ready to participate in the project but stressed that intensive negotiations are still ongoing.
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Norway Refuses to Host a Permanent NATO Contingent
The Chief of the Norwegian Armed Forces, Eirik Kristoffersen, announced the country’s decision not to host a permanent NATO contingent on its territory. In an interview with the German publication Welt, he emphasized that Norway is always ready to defend itself but does not plan to host nuclear weapons or permanent Alliance troops.
Eirik Kristoffersen noted that Norway is guided by historical practice, stating that the country has always maintained readiness for potential conflict. He emphasized the need for reliable defense to deter aggression from Russia.
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PM Orban: Hungary Does Not Want to Become a Mixed Society
Hungary rejects becoming a “mixed society,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in Brussels on Wednesday while speaking in a panel discussion at the National Conservatism Conference (NatCon).
“Hungary does not want a mixed society, it wants to protect its borders, it wants to preserve its culture and traditions,” said the Hungarian prime minister, stressing that it is up to each member state to decide independently how it wants to solve the issue of migration.
There is no need for a common EU migration policy, the issue of migration must remain a national competence, the prime minister said, adding that in his opinion migration is a civilizational issue.
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Poland Arrests Man Over Suspected Plan to Kill Ukraine’s Zelenskyy
A man has been arrested in Poland on allegations of being ready to spy on behalf of Russia’s military intelligence in an alleged plot to assassinate Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Polish prosecutors have said.
The Polish national, identified as Pawel K, is suspected of supplying information to Russian military intelligence and “helping the Russian special forces to plan a possible assassination attempt” against Zelenskyy, prosecutors said in a statement on Thursday.
| — Hat tip: McN | [Return to headlines] |
Poles Falling Out of Love With the EU?
According to the latest poll conducted by international think-tank More in Common across the European Union, just 51 per cent of Poles have a positive image of the bloc. That figure ranks as the 11th-highest in the EU.
The survey, conducted as Poland approaches its 20th accession anniversary on May 1, found that although many Poles still supported the EU, they no longer had such a rose-tinted view of the community.
While 51 per cent felt that EU membership was positive for Poland, 38 per cent were neutral with 11 per cent expressing a negative outlook.
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Polish Farmers Resume Blocking Two Border Checkpoints With Ukraine
Polish farmers are set to resume blocking the movement of trucks at the border crossings with Ukraine at “Medyka — Shehyni” and “Korchova — Krakovets” on Thursday. As reported by RMF24, the details of the plans were provided by the protest coordinator and the police.
The blocking is planned to resume at 8:00 AM local time. One truck per hour will be allowed to exit Poland, while passenger transport and cars will be able to pass through unhindered.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Maciej Wasik, who was one of the two MPs on hunger strike after being arrested despite having been pardoned by President Andrzej Duda, gave his wife’s case as an example of how the present Tusk government was settling old scores with PiS politicians by victimizing their family members.
Roma Wasik, Maciej’s wife, has been accused of calling for anti-government demonstrations and “publicly and intimately showing her support for an MP.” Maciej Wasik compared that kind of reasoning to times of martial law introduced by the communist regime in Poland in 1981 when people were dismissed for supporting their family members’ Solidarity activities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poll Reveals 40 Per Cent of Flemish Want Belgian Break-Up
Forty per cent of the Flemish population wants the country to break up, a new survey has found.
This is according to a poll backed by one of the biggest newsgroups in the country ahead of June’s national elections, which found that a near-record number of the public are now in favour of the split.
When asked if “Flanders should gain independence over time”, 40 per cent of the 1.1 million people who took part in the online survey responded yes, compared to just over 50 per cent who said no.
Over one-third of the respondents who opposed a break-up said they “felt strongly” about the issue, while more than one in five of those in favour said the same thing.
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The Anti-PiS Campaign Project in Poland’s Local Elections Failed Spectacularly
The anticipated grand victory for the ruling coalition turned out to be anything but grand.
The Law and Justice (PiS) party, deprived of all the stimulants to which it supposedly owed its popularity (from buying Poles with electoral promises to the “terrible” TVP propaganda), was expected to retreat into obscurity. This was to be accompanied by a sweeping witch hunt in the form of new parliamentary committees aimed at depoliticizing the country.
They were not expected to last, and even those who are still present like President Duda and NBP head Glapinski, were not expected to last for long. Particularly since the PiS members who have lost their grip on power, as is typical for opportunists without firm principles, were to disperse in every direction once Kaczynski’s binding force of positions and sinecures ran out. The PiS parliamentary club was expected to dwindle down to empty, and Morawiecki and Sasin were expected to have turned on each other by now.
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Two French Schoolgirls Aged Six and 11 Are Stabbed by Knifeman Near Their School
The six-year-old was attacked by a man after he stabbed the 11-year-old outside her school in Souffelweyersheim, just outside Strasbourg, officials said.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Uber Returns to Hungary After 8-Year Absence
After an eight-year absence, the world’s largest ride-sharing company Uber filled its only blank space in Central Europe, returning to Hungary in a deal with Budapest traditional cab company Fotaxi.
After the Budapest Transport Centre, the National Transport Authority also gave the go-ahead for the Budapest launch on April 16, 2024, completing the formal approval process.
With the approval in hand, Uber’s team now needs to recruit drivers for the platform, which they can join within days. The service is expected to launch in Budapest in early summer, Uber added.
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Across the UK, private rents increased by an estimated 9.2 per cent in the 12 months to March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Kelvin Ward was ambushed and chased by the masked thugs as he tried to defend his teenage son, their intended target.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Watch: Police Arrest Iranian Activist for Carrying Sign Saying ‘Hamas is Terrorist’ in London
on Wednesday for carrying a sign saying that Hamas are “terrorists”, despite even the British government branding the radical Islamist Palestinian group a terror group.
Niyak Ghorbani, a 38-year-old man from Iran, has come to national attention for holding a sign reading “Hamas Is Terrorist” at pro-Palestinian rallies in London over the past months. For merely holding up a sign factually stating the legal position of the British and American governments, Ghorbani has been arrested multiple times at protests and has even faced assault by anti-Israel activists.
The Iranian activist was arrested again on Wednesday outside Parliament during a pro-Palestinian rally, with footage posted on social media appearing to show officers question him about his sign and threaten him with arrest if he approached the pro-Palestinian activists.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Croatia is Moving Further to the Right
The centre-right ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won its fourth parliamentary elections in a row on Wednesday, April 17th, but it will likely have to rely on the conservative, patriotic Homeland Movement to form a government. The EU and NATO member Croatia is moving further to the Right, according to Croatian journalist Goran Andrijanic, who says patriotic forces are gaining in strength not only in the opposition but also within the ruling HDZ party.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic’s HDZ party—a member of the centre-right-liberal European People’s Party—gained 34% of the votes and 61 seats of the 151 seats available in parliament, according to almost final results published on Thursday. This is not enough for the party to secure a majority, and it will have to rely not only on the backing of the ethnic minority candidates (to whom eight seats are allocated), but also one other party.
This could be the right-wing nationalist Homeland Movement, which came third, increasing its number of seats by two to 14.
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Croatia’s Homeland Now Kingmaker After Snap Elections Backfire on PM Plenkovic
Croatia’s Homeland party has emerged as kingmaker following the country’s snap elections.
Receiving 14 seats in the wake of the April 17 vote, the Eurosceptic party is now pivotal in humbled Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic’s path to a parliamentary majority.
In true power-broker fashion, Homeland’s leader Ivan Penava has said that he will equally entertain offers from both Plenkovic and his defeated rival, President Zoran Milanovic.
“The key is that we will talk to everyone,” Penava said.
Plenkovic, by contrast, is down to 61 seats from 66, his decision to call the early election having misfired. He now needs 76 for a majority.
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US Approves Rafah Op in Exchange for No Israeli Counterstrikes on Iran — Report
Israel allegedly obtains approval on operation in Rafah- as long as it doesn’t strike Iran according to Qatari reports.
The US has approved a potential Israeli Rafah operation in exchange for the Jewish state not conducting counterstrikes on Iran, according to a Thursday report from the Qatari newspaper The New Arab.
A senior official told The New Arab that “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu managed to obtain American approval for a military operation in Rafah, in exchange for [Israel] refraining from carrying out a wide military operation against Iran in response to its recent attack.”
He claimed that “discourse of an Israeli response to Iran contradicts the desires of the American administration, and is not realistic, given the Israeli claims that the United States played the major role in repelling the Iranian attack and preventing its success.”
The source noted that “the IDF carried out airstrikes [overnight on Thursday] on several areas adjacent to the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt,” adding that “the relevant officials in Egypt were notified before the execution of some of these strikes, which came in the Philadelphi axis at a space adjacent to the border with Egypt.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
And just like that, Israel — having once again ignored Biden’s pleadings not to escalate the already tense situation — is retaliating against Iran’s weekend strike, which was itself a retaliation against Israel bombing Iran’s embassy in Syria on April 1.
Moments ago futures dumped, oil prices spiked, and treasury yields slumped amid social media reports and Reuters headlines that there have been three “huge explosions” near the central Iran cities of Natanz (location of an Iranian nuclear power plant) and Isfahan (location of the Iranian Nuclear Technology Center which is suspected of being the center of Iran’s nuclear weapons program), as well as simultaneous explosions in Iraq and Syria, where the Israel air force appears to be targeting pro-Iranian militias.
IRANIAN MEDIA CONFIRMS AN ISRAELI ATTACK ON IRANIAN TERRITORY
ABC NEWS REPORTS THAT ISRAELI MISSILES HIT A SITE IN IRAN
IRAN STATE MEDIA SAYS ‘NO FLY ZONE’ ESTABLISHED OVER WESTERN REGION
IRANIAN MEDIA: 3 HUGE EXPLOSIONS WERE HEARD IN ISFAHAN, SOUTH OF TEHRAN
JERUSALEM POST: SIMULTANEOUS EXPLOSIONS REPORTED IN IRAN, SYRIA, AND IRAQ ACCORDING TO INITIAL REPORTS
IRAN’S FARS NEWS AGENCY SAYS EXPLOSIONS HEARD IN CENTRAL ISFAHAN AIRPORT, REASON UNKNOWN
ISRAELI MISSILES HIT IRAN SITE, US OFFICIAL SAYS: ABC
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Israeli Missiles Hit Site in Iran, Explosions Heard in Isfahan: Report
Israeli missiles have hit a site in Iran, according to the US broadcaster ABC News, which cited an unnamed senior US official.
The Iranian state television reported explosions in Isfahan, as air defences were activated and flights across several areas including Tehran and Isfahan were suspended.
There were no reports of casualties. Nor was there an official response from Iran.
Israel promised to respond after Iran last Saturday launched a barrage of drones and missiles on the country, after a suspected Israeli strike on Iran’s consulate compound in Damascus killed a high-ranking commander.
There have also been reports of explosions in Syria and Iraq.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
US, UK Announce Additional Sanctions on Iran Following Airstrike
The United States and the United Kingdom have decided to impose additional economic sanctions on Iran, as reported by Der Spiegel. These measures specifically target the country’s metallurgical and automotive industries and aim to impact companies involved in the production of combat drones and missiles.
The decision by the governments in Washington and London is in response to Iran’s recent airstrike on Israel. US President Joe Biden emphasized that Iran would be held accountable for its actions.
The new sanctions are intended to particularly affect the producers of the Shahed drones, which were used in Iran’s first direct attack on Israel.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
G7 Countries Fail to Reach Agreement on Use of Frozen Russian Assets
Finance ministers from the G7 countries, meeting in Washington, could not reach an agreement on the use of frozen Russian assets, including their confiscation to aid Ukraine, according to the Financial Times.
A joint statement following the finance ministers’ meeting in Washington stated that the assets will remain frozen until Moscow compensates for the damage caused to Ukraine.
Media reports suggest that Washington supports the idea of fully confiscating assets worth €260 billion and transferring them to Ukraine. However, European officials remain concerned that this could violate international law and destabilize financial markets. Discussions will continue leading up to the G7 leaders’ summit in Italy in June.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
No More Russian Language on Air in Three Months — Kiev
by RT
Ukraine’s ban on using the Russian language in the media will take full effect three months from now, Kiev’s state language protection commissioner, Taras Kremin, has said.
Since gaining independence, Ukraine has been a bilingual nation, with most citizens able to speak or understand both Russian and Ukrainian. After the US-backed coup in Kiev in 2014, the new nationalist authorities adopted policies aimed at suppressing the Russian language, on the grounds of national unity and security.
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Ukraine Warns of Third World War if They Don’t Beat Russia
The global security system will be destroyed if Russia is allowed to prevail in Ukraine, leading to “many” new conflicts and a Third World War, that country warns while calling the U.S. to pass a major aid package.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal visited Washington D.C. to drum up support for the forthcoming votes on the “$100 billion foreign aid package” , and brought a message of looming disaster if it isn’t passed. Speaking to British state broadcaster the BBC in Washington, Shmyhal cautioned that allowing Russia to win would signal the multilateral international rules based order had collapsed which would trigger a surge in conflict.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Thousands Evacuated as Indonesia Volcano Erupts, Causes Tsunami Threat
MANADO: Indonesian rescuers raced to evacuate thousands of people Thursday after a volcano erupted five times, forcing authorities to close a nearby airport and issue a warning about falling debris that could cause a tsunami.
The crater of Mount Ruang flamed with lava against a backdrop of lightning bolts overnight after erupting four times on Wednesday, forcing authorities to raise its alert level to the highest of a four-tiered system.
The volcano in Indonesia’s outermost region was still billowing a column of smoke on Thursday morning, prompting authorities to shut the nearest international airport in Manado city on Sulawesi island for 24 hours.
Authorities said they were rushing to evacuate 11,000 residents from the nearby area that included the remote island of Tagulandang, home to around 20,000 people.
[…]
Authorities also warned of a possible tsunami as a result of the eruptions.
“The communities in Tagulandang island, particularly those residing near the beach, (need) to be on alert for the potential ejection of incandescent rocks, hot clouds discharges and tsunami caused by the collapse of the volcano’s body into the sea,” Hendra Gunawan, head of Indonesia’s volcanology agency, said in a statement Wednesday.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s Scholz Performs Balancing Act in China
n a three-day visit to China accompanied by industry leaders from major companies, including Mercedes and BMW, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had the difficult task of on one hand promoting his country’s industrial interests, while on the other not straying too far from the official EU stance towards Beijing.
“Germany is not the EU in our eyes,” his host, Chinese President Xi Jinping, told Scholz. In the words of the Chinese leader, “bilateral cooperation is an opportunity, not a risk” and is not under threat, despite EU investigations into Chinese companies. The leader of Germany, the economic engine of the EU, is visiting Beijing at a time when the EU itself is seeking to implement a program of so-called “de-risking.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A nurse thought she was going to die when a gang of youths, some as young as 11, attempted to carjack her at knifepoint.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Premier Minns and Police Commissioner Webb walk through Westfield Bondi Junction
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Teen Who Allegedly Stabbed Sydney Bishop Charged With Terrorism
A teenage boy has been charged with a terrorism offence by police after he allegedly stabbed a bishop in Sydney’s southwest on Monday night.
The 16-year-old allegedly stabbed Sydney bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a live-streamed service at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel suffered lacerations to his head, while 39-year-old Father Isaac Royel received cuts and a shoulder injury when he attempted to intervene.
The alleged offender was restrained by people inside the church and was later arrested by police.
He sustained a finger injury during the alleged stabbing and was taken to hospital.
On Thursday, he was charged with committing a terrorist act.
The boy was interviewed by investigators from the Joint Counter Terrorism Team at a medical facility before he was charged.
The teen has been refused bail and is expected to appear before a bedside court hearing on Friday.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Westfield Bondi Junction Attack: Security Guard Muhammad Taha Will be Offered Permanent Residency
Muhammad Taha was stabbed in the stomach as he tried to protect his friend during Joel Cauchi’s deadly knife rampage on Saturday.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Livid Chicago residents dressed in MAGA hats tore into the city’s mayor for allotting $70million to migrant care.
Concerned citizens spoke directly to Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday during a gathering where officials were originally expected to vote on funding for migrant services in the Windy City.
Johnson, a progressive, has long defended the city’s sanctuary policies and on Friday, he planned to get the aldermen to accept the requested funds, even though the city has already invested $300million on the crisis.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Foreigners Deported From Poland for Posing a Security Threat
Poland has expelled 10 foreigners from its territory, nine of whom were identified as posing a security threat to the state. Eight of them came from Georgia and two from Tajikistan.
One of the Tajikistanis was identified by the Polish Ministry of the Interior as “a potential terrorist from the Islamic State organization.” The suspected terrorist was wanted by Interpol, which had issued a red notice on him. The secret services reported that he was hiding under a false identity in central Poland and had been involved in terrorist activities for several years.
According to a spokesman from the border authority, the man had been active in armed conflicts in the Middle East and was also associated with members of the Islamic State Provincial organization Khorasan, who are under investigation for preparing terrorist actions in several European countries.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Police Evict Hundreds of Migrants From Paris in Pre-Olympics Clean-Up
PARIS (AP) — With the Paris Olympic Games 100 days away, police carried out a large-scale eviction at France’s biggest squat in the south of the country’s capital. Authorities, including dozens of gendarmes, cleared out the makeshift camp at an abandoned bus company headquarters in Vitry-sur-Seine on Wednesday.
The camp had become home to about 450 migrants, with images of the eviction spreading rapidly across social media.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Illegal Alien ‘Newcomers’ Blast ‘Shameful’ New Yorkers for ‘Refusing’ to Speak African Languages
Illegal alien “newcomers” have been airing their grievances toward New York City for failing to live up to their expectations.
Huge crowds of illegals flooded a hearing this week held by the NYC Council’s immigration and hospital committees.
Foreign nationals took turns to speak at the hearing to complain about the taxpayer-funded services that have been provided since arriving in the “sanctuary city.”
The “newcomers” were outraged over the quality of food and accommodation that NYC taxpayers provided for them.
Speaking through a translator, one woman even blasted New Yorkers for failing to speak African languages to illegals.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NYC Provides Free Airline Tickets to Illegal Immigrants for Travel Across the US
While walking through New York City recently, Frontlines’ Savanah Hernandez noticed a group of illegal immigrants lined up outside a building. She soon learned that many of them were waiting to receive tickets to destinations across the country and beyond.
The tickets, Hernandez discovered, were free, paid for by Mayor Eric Adams’ government.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An illegal open-air ‘flea market’ operating in Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s district has popped back up days days after it was raided by police officers.
Many of those operating on the sidewalks of Queens are believed to be illegal migrants hawking counterfeit goods and other wares.
The sellers have been blocking sidewalks and causing general quality of life issues for the residents of Jackson Heights, Corona, and Elmhurst.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
South American Gangs Target San Diego Homes for Burglary After Flying to US on Visa Waiver Program
San Diego, California is a common destination for travelers, however, a new set of visitors have taken advantage of what investigators say is a “weak vetting system” to wreak havoc on residents in more affluent neighborhoods.
The phenomenon, which has come to be known as “burglary tourism,” involves the obtaining of tourist visas by foreigners, typically members of South American organized crime groups, who then cross the border and steal from American citizens.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Government Suffers Yet Another Rwanda Plan Defeat
Few pieces of legislation can have made it into the news bulletins so often without having made an ounce of progress as Rishi Sunak’s failing ‘Rwanda plan.’
The House of Lords, Parliament’s mainly appointed upper chamber, delivered a double defeat to Sunak on Wednesday night by sending two amendments to the bill back to the House of Commons, Parliament’s lower chamber.
Robert Bates, research director at the Centre for Migration Control think tank, told The European Conservative that the Lords were being “true to form and siding with international bodies, quangos, and left-wing activist groups rather than working to fulfil the wishes of the electorate.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Congolese migrant who had his deportation from the U.K. blocked by an airline’s cabin crew and previously campaigned outside a detention center with a sign that read, “Migrants are not criminals,” has pleaded guilty to raping a 15-year-old girl.
Anicet Mayela entered his guilty plea at Oxford Crown Court last Friday for one count of rape of a former economics student. The court heard how there was a high level of “dangerousness” surrounding the attack, which is understood to have taken place between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31 last year.
The Congolese national had been living in Britain since 2004 when he paid smugglers to help him escape his country of origin where he claimed he was being persecuted.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Prestigious co-ed Brisbane State High School recently converted its P Block of female-only toilets to accommodate for either sex.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
An 18-year-old high school student who identifies as transgender was arrested and charged over alleged plans to shoot up a Montgomery County, Maryland school. The suspect had a 129-page manifesto in which the student strategized how to undertake the crime.
Andrea Ye, of Rockville, who goes by Alex Ye was arrested on Wednesday by local Montgomery County Police. This follows an investigation carried out by local police in association with the FBI field office out of Baltimore. The manifesto was discovered after a search warrant was carried out.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Colorado LGBTQ Activist Arrested on Child Sexual Exploitation Charges, Released on $20,000 Bond
On Monday, Colorado police arrested a male suspect on charges of sexual exploitation of a child following a lengthy investigation that was first launched in late 2022.
LGBTQ activist Sean Pinion, 31, of El Paso County, was arrested and taken into custody on April 15. He has been charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a child, according to KKTV.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dems Will Make State Sanctuary for Kids’ Gender Transitions, Abortion Over GOP Protest
Maine’s Democrat-dominated legislature passed a bill Friday that would shield abortion and gender transition surgeons from facing lawsuits for providing services to minors.
The bill, LD 227, protects anyone aiding or offering medical services that are unlawful in other states, like abortion and gender transition surgical procedures or hormones. It would also create a private right of action for damages against law enforcement, prosecutors and other officials in states enforcing their respective state laws — even laws whose constitutionality has been confirmed by federal appellate courts.
With the state’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills expected to sign the bill into law, Maine voters must act to elect enough Republicans to “take back at least one chamber” in November’s election, Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Women are taking to TikTok to share their experiences with at-home abortions using pills like Mifepristone and misoprostol,
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Students at a Utah middle school staged a walkout to protest their peers who identified as ‘furries’ — people who dress up in costumes of animals — scratching and biting classmates.
The hours-long protest took place outside Mt. Nebo Middle School in Payson, Utah, on Wednesday. It was triggered by a petition demanding a stricter dress code, with some middle schoolers reported the offending students were physically attacking other people.
A ‘furry’ is anyone with a strong interest in anthropomorphic animals. Enthusiasts often don full-body animal costumes and gather at ‘furry’ conventions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
I don’t want to pay carbon taxes.
Can I just fart into a jar then send it to true- dope?
That’s how I’m going to pay my taxes from now on.
Jars full of carbon- farts…
Send them to anti-Christ liar Al Gore in Nashville, Tn.
“My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and OPEN BORDERS.” —Hillary Clinton (Oct 2016)
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37595047
“Imagine there’s no countries. It isn’t hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for. And no religion, too. Imagine no possessions. I wonder if you can. No need for greed or hunger. A brotherhood of man. Imagine all the people. Sharing all the world.” —John Lennon, “Imagine”
Today’s Rhetorical Question: Are commie-toddlers dim-witted enough to: 1) think Lennon’s tongue-in-cheek, fantasy lyric was serious; and 2) base a new political system on such an infantile world view? (hint: yes—they’re ‘TODDLERS!)” —posted to fb (Sept 2021)
“To investigate a problem is, indeed, to solve it.” —Mao
History keeps repeating itself and only the names and dates change…..BECAUSE only the names and dates change.
Please watch the first couple~three minutes of this video wherein they discuss the fallout after Israel’s “retaliation” for last week’s Iranian missile attack..
“WEAK or BRILLIANT? Israel’s Response to Iran EXPLAINED”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFky6cBm9e0&t=180s
I think Glenn Beck’s “Defense intelligence analyst”, Jason Buttrill, is making the same [lethal] MISTAKE we always make: thinking Mohammedanists’re rational people who know when they’re beat (i.e., without considering the axiom: “The only thing a terrorist/thug respects is a terror G-R-E-A-T-E-R than his own.”). In my view, guys like Buttrill couldn’t be more WRONG!
Shortly after the first Trade Center attack in the ’90s, I had a conversation with the most brilliant historian and military strategist I’ve ever known (he ran war-gaming for the Pentagon and nearly always [correctly] predicted the winner!) and posed this question: “What if these third-world loons get ahold of a nuke?” His response, which was essentially the thinking of nearly all of the Western military/intelligence services at the time: “What’re they gonna do….drop it off the back of an oxcart!? We’re so far ahead of them, militarily and technologically, that it’s very unlikely they’d ever attack us directly because they know the consequences and that we’ll ultimately prevail against them.”
Of course—as we all now know—what those backward, third-world loons did was to infiltrate the US and use our system against us by taking over and flying civilian passenger jets into buildings….thus causing mass chaos without a single nuke….or oxcart.
Based on what I know, I reckon the Iranians ARE thinking of new ways to outsmart both Satans—the little Satan (Israel) and the big Satan (Obamerica)—and’ll do so by repeating their winning strategy of thinking outta the box and using very low-tech in ways that’re difficult, if not impossible, for US to counter. Not being a mind-reader, I can’t predict the exact nature of their next move(s), but I reckon it’ll come as a complete SURPRISE to “experts” like Buttrill and run along the lines of some of my previous—KSM-based—hunches.
Please read the following two fb posts before watching the video:
“The US is NOT headed for Civil War!
However, we’re definitely on a crash-coarse for armed conflict, just not one separated by a geographic dividing line. Think: Bosnia, not Gettysburg.
During the US Civil War, the country was severely divided over three principal issues: states’ rights; the right of individual states to secede from the union; and “Bleeding Kansas”—whether new states would be permitted to choose whether to implement slavery or not. On virtually all other issues of law and morality, the country was in complete—Judeo-Christian, constitutional—lock-step.
Today, however, hyphenated- and non-hyphenated Obamericans can’t even agree on the definitions of “victim” and “victimizer”—the basic building blocks of law and morality; and the foundational moral and legal tenets around which healthy civilizations must coalesce. And therein lies the difference….and the great danger. When civilizations forced to live amongst one another lack any shared foundational understandings—with radically contrasting and, on one side, ever-“evolving” views of right versus wrong, good versus bad, success versus failure, legal versus illegal—they must inevitably and unavoidably find themselves confronted with three options: Assimilate, Separate (a peaceful “Two-State Solution”) or Assassinate (i.e., go to war); and history offers no other solutions that I’m aware of.
With one side armed with the Bill of Rights and the rule of law, and the other actively working to erase them, I fear we’re on a divisive and chaotic carnival ride that isn’t likely to end where it began.” —posted to fb (June 2020)
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“Obamerica’s Dirty(est) Secret.
Neither the Republicans, nor The Party have any intention of removing the ~50~60+ million ILLEGALS that currently reside within Obamerica….and that includes “Orange Hitler”. Even the most vociferous opponents of ILLEGAL immigration are 100% SILENT on the subject of what to do with the tens of millions of ILLEGALS who’ve successfully broken our immigration, employment and housing laws by entering the country ILLEGALLY and using stolen/forged identification to secure housing and employment, without which their continued existence in the country would be impossible. Even “Orange Hitler” had NO plan to deal with the ILLEGALS his “beautiful wall” would’ve secured WITHIN Obamerica had he actually completed it.” —posted to fb (Oct 2021)
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The Real Reason Republicans Aren’t Stopping the Invasion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl7alzJEgHU