An earthquake under the ocean near Taiwan with a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 prompted a tsunami warning for southwestern Japan. The expected wave may be up to ten feet high.
In other news, a Ukrainian drone struck Russia’s Tatarstan region, sending a giant fireball into the air and injuring around a dozen people.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, DV, Fjordman, Insubria, JW, LP, Mark Steyn, McN, MM, Reader from Chicago, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, 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.
Bidenomics: Americans Need a Six-Figure Salary to Afford a Median-Priced Home: Study
The average US home now requires a six-figure salary to afford, marking a significant increase compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to a study by Bankrate.
The study reveals that the average home buyer needs to earn over $110,000 annually to afford the median-priced home in 22 states. This represents a substantial jump from January 2020, when the average home buyer only needed to make approximately $75,000—a 46% increase.
During the same period, median home prices have surged from $290,000 to $412,000, marking a 42% increase.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Central and Eastern European Interest Rates Set to Decline Amid Inflation Drop
The Czech National Bank is leading the charge with the most significant planned rate cuts following the slowest economic recovery from the pandemic among its peers.
The National Bank of Hungary continued its rate-cutting cycle in March, while Romania remains the last country in the region to hold steady interest rates, though it is likely to start reducing rates soon, according to Jakub Rybacki, the expert from the Polish Economic Institute (PIE).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Commercial Real Estate Trouble Could Trigger Systemic Credit Crash, Fund Managers Say
A Bank of America survey of fund managers found that a growing percentage are worried commercial real estate woes could cause a credit crisis in the U.S.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Polish Conservatives’ Economic Record Superior to That of Tusk’s Liberals
A graphic that has gone viral online shows that when Poland was ruled by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS), it benefited from the highest economic growth rates, whereas the period of rule under Donald Tusk’s liberal Civic Platform (PO) was a period when the economy was stagnant.
While it is true that Tusk’s government had to face the global financial crisis of 2008 and its aftermath, that does not explain why the economy continued to grow very slowly right up until 2015 when that government finally left office.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Four of New York City’s five boroughs have lost a higher percentage of residents since COVID than any of the 40 largest counties in the country, a startling new review of US Census data shows.
Topping the list is The Bronx — with a 7.2% drop in the past three years, according to the analysis of county-level population estimates.
“It’s been good for us — we get more work — but it’s sad,” said Manny Gomez, a 42-year-old Bronx resident and employee of Morgan and Brothers Manhattan, a storage and moving company, in the borough’s Mount Eden section.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Alleged Squatters Pull Shake Shack Receipt as Proof They Legally Occupy Couple’s $930,000 Home
Two alleged squatters attempting to oust the legal property owners of a New York duplex included a fast food receipt as part of their evidence that they legally lived in the residence, according to court filings.
Denis Kurlyand and Juliya Fulman bought the Queens property several years ago through an LLC, Lakewood Queens Property, and invested $530,000 in it. But in early March, Top Nest Properties broker Ejona Bardhi Shyti told the couple two squatters had moved in, changed the locks and refused to leave, the Daily Mail reported.
“This is an abuse of the system and real tenant right,” Rizpah Morrow, Kurlyand and Fulman’s attorney, told the Daily Mail. “Now we are waiting until April 5 for a resolution.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Alleged Intruder Dies After Being Shot Multiple Times by Homeowner
An alleged home intruder in San Antonio, Texas, died Saturday shortly after being shot multiple times by a homeowner around 9 p.m.
The alleged intruder was 59 years old, and the homeowner is 27, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Update (0945ET):
Local, state, or federal officials have yet to offer a timeline for salvage crews to completely remove the collapsed bridge from the main shipping channel entering the Port of Baltimore.
On Tuesday morning, the Baltimore District, US Army Corps of Engineers published new 3D images of the wreckage at the bottom of the shipping channel on social media.
“These 3D images show the sheer magnitude of the very difficult and challenging salvage operation ahead,” the US Army Corps of Engineers said in a Facebook post.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden’s DOJ Targeted Trump From Day 1
Attorney General Merrick Garland is in trouble. Not just with Republicans, but with Biden.
While Republicans are unhappy that AG Garland had been going after Trump and other conservatives, Biden and other Democrats are unhappy at his ineffectiveness.
A Politico report from last month cited White House insiders claiming that if Biden wins, Garland won’t get a second term because he didn’t do enough to insulate the Biden family from investigations and that he didn’t move the Trump investigation along fast enough.
Biden’s people wanted a Trump trial before the election and Garland failed to give them one.
In response to the attacks, AG Garland and his allies have begun releasing information about their Trump efforts in a bid to save their jobs. While that isn’t likely to work, it does show that the “independent investigation” was a myth and that getting Trump had been the DOJ’s top job.
A New York Times report reveals that AG Garland “gathered his closest aides to discuss a topic too sensitive to broach in bigger groups” after “being sworn in as attorney general in March 2021”.
The topic was Trump.
| — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield | [Return to headlines] |
You’ll be dropping a lot of dollar on that Whopper.
Menu prices at fast food chains across California have increased, as a new law went into effect requiring them to pay a $20-an-hour minimum wage to workers from Monday.
The Post checked menus at several restaurants in the Los Angeles area to see if the costs are already being passed onto consumers — with mixed results.
The biggest leap on was at a Burger King, where a Texas Double Whopper meal cost $15.09 on March 29, but surged to $16.89 on April 1, a price whopping increase of $1.80 for the same meal.
The Big Fish meal also jumped from $7.49 on the menu before April 1 to $11.49 after — an increase of $4.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Footage has been released of the moment California cops killed an unarmed kidnapping victim in 2022 as she ran to them for help.
Savannah Graziano, 15, was shot while making her way over to officers after exiting the vehicle driven by her father, who had allegedly abducted her after killing her mother.
Video of the September 27 incident obtained by reporters under the California Public Records Act shows the teen getting out of the car on the side of a road in Hesperia following a 70-mile chase with police before being shot dead.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Cargo Ship’s Owner and Manager Seek to Limit Legal Liability for Deadly Bridge Disaster in Baltimore
The owner and manager of a cargo ship that rammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge before the span collapsed last week filed a court petition Monday seeking to limit their legal liability for the deadly disaster.
The companies’ “limitation of liability” petition is a routine but important procedure for cases litigated under U.S. maritime law. A federal court in Maryland ultimately decides who is responsible — and how much they owe — for what could become one of the costliest catastrophes of its kind.
Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd. owns the Dali, the vessel that lost power before it slammed into the bridge early last Tuesday. Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., also based in Singapore, is the ship’s manager.
Their joint filing seeks to cap the companies’ liability at roughly $43.6 million. It estimates that the vessel itself is valued at up to $90 million and was owed over $1.1 million in income from freight. The estimate also deducts two major expenses: at least $28 million in repair costs and at least $19.5 million in salvage costs.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
CDC Issues Alert Over Spike in TB Cases: ‘One of the World’s Leading Infectious Disease Killers’
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an alert over a spike in the number of tuberculosis cases recorded in America.
The CDC warns that number of U.S. tuberculosis cases in 2023 was the highest in a decade.
In an alert posted on the CDC’s website, the federal agency said that “overall, cases increased from 8,320 in 2022 to 9,615 in 2023, an increase of 1,295 cases”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago: Another Day, Another ‘Ceasefire’ ‘Anti-Violence’ Worker Busted on Gun Charges
The do-gooders in Illinois believe that if you hire enough felons to “interrupt” violence, somehow you’ll make the streets safer. Given that Murder City USA has kept that title for 12 years in a row now, one would think that smarter heads would prevail and the state legislature would vote to stop paying millions of taxpayer dollars to these foolish endeavors.
Yet each year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs off on scores of millions paid to these organizations like “CeaseFire” who employ ex-cons who will supposedly stop gang violence. ($110M in 2022 alone!) Ironically, CeaseFire lost one of its recent leaders thanks to an arrest for beating his wife domestic battery.
And while shoveling the money at these groups never stops, neither do the arrests of these paid “anti-violence” workers, often times for gun charges. Take Davon Turner, aged 35 — or in common parlance, “old enough to know better.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Double Murder: Toddler Found Face Down in Pool, Mother Stabbed 28 Times, Police Say
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida man is facing two first-degree murder charges after police say he stabbed his wife and 2-year-old son to death before trying to kill himself by a drug overdose last week.
Jean Carlos Aponte, 40, is accused of killing his wife, Sara Ashley Gama, and his toddler son, Ethan Aponte, on March 26. He is currently being held in jail without bond.
According to a “majorly redacted” arrest warrant obtained by WTVJ, Gama’s father called 911 after he discovered his 38-year-old daughter on the kitchen floor covered in blood. Aponte was found unconscious in the master bedroom. Her father also reported that his grandson was missing.
When first responders arrived at the family’s home on Northwest 97th Avenue, they found Gama with “apparent stab wounds and slashes to her neck.” The 2-year-old boy was later found face down in the pool.
Both were pronounced dead at the scene, and the couple’s 4-month-old baby was found unharmed, WTVJ said.
According to the arrest warrant, the 2-year-old had “four stab wounds to his beck and defensive injuries to his hand.” His cause of death was listed as “sharp force injury and drowning.”
Gama had reportedly been stabbed 28 times and had wounds to her face and neck area, as well as her abdomen. She also had fractures and defensive wounds.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Founder of Soros-Funded ‘Propaganda’ News Network Has Visited Biden’s White House Nearly 20 Times
FIRST ON FOX: A longtime Democratic political operative behind a network of left-leaning media organizations masquerading as “independent” local news outlets has maintained access to the upper echelons of President Biden’s White House.
Tara McGowan, the founder and publisher of Courier Newsroom, has visited the Biden White House nearly 20 times, a Fox News Digital review found.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen has announced that he would sign a bill that would return the state to an electoral college winner-take-all model. His announcement on Tuesday came after The Charlie Kirk Show called on Nebraskans to contact Pillen’s office and ask him to support the bill.
“Suppose Donald Trump flips Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada next fall, as current polls all show him doing. Would he win the presidency? Not quite. In fact, if Trump flips those three states and no others, he loses by exactly ONE electoral vote,” Kirk wrote on X.
The reason, he said, is the state of Nebraska, which is one of the few Republican states to award electoral votes by Congressional district instead of state-wide.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former Bill Clinton strategist James Carville has warned Democrats that the party is losing young minority voters “in droves.”
During a Sunday podcast, Carville, a veteran Democrat operative, said he’s been reviewing poll numbers and warned they are “horrifying.”
He warns that the polls show the Democratic Party losing support among young minority voters ahead of November’s presidential election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jonathan Turley: Supreme Court Would Overturn Latest Trump Gag Order
Legal scholar Professor Jonathan Turley has weighed in on the latest gag order issued against President Donald Trump in his so-called “hush money” case in New York.
As Slay News previously reported, the gag order was issued last week by Judge Juan M. Merchan — a Democrat donor and supporter of President Joe Biden.
However, Turley believes that the U.S. Supreme Court would be likely to strike down the gag order that has been imposed on Trump.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Cannon to Consider Argument That Jack Smith Has No Legal Authority in Trump Case
The judge overseeing President Donald Trump’s classified documents case will consider arguments that Special Counsel Jack Smith has no authority in the case.
A legal brief contends that Smith does not have the constitutional authority to prosecute a current or former president.
The move from Judge Aileen Cannon shows that she is at least open to arguments that Democrat President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) inappropriately appointed Smith.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Major League Baseball Begins Biometric Facial Recognition Scans
Technology developed by a company called NEC has been utilized to introduce biometric ticketing on the opening day of the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) season. This pilot was undertaken at four designated baseball parks, including Minute Maid Park in Houston, where it was revealed that around 6,000 eager baseball fans favored convenience and used the touchless technology for entry to the stadium.
Nationals Park in Washington incorporated the biometric tech through MLB’s Go-Ahead Entry system into their opening day proceedings. Using the MLB Ballpark app for touchless access, ballpark attendees could breeze through dedicated entrances using face biometrics enrolled via a selfie. Notably, Nationals Park has four such specialized lanes providing quick and easy access to fans who use the new system.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Oregon Governor Signs a Bill Recriminalizing Drug Possession Into Law
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek on Monday signed into law a bill that recriminalizes the possession of small amounts of drugs, ending a first-in-the-nation experiment with decriminalization that was hobbled by implementation issues.
The new law rolls back a 2020 voter-approved measure by making so-called personal use possession a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. It also establishes ways for treatment to be offered as an alternative to criminal penalties by encouraging law enforcement agencies to create deflection programs that would divert people to addiction and mental health services instead of the criminal justice system.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Independent presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has re-upped his commitment to pardon US accused spy and anti-surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden if elected.
The Kennedy scion rolled out a petition Monday calling for the pardon of Snowden — while hailing the now-Russian resident for exposing highly classified domestic government surveillance operations.
“Edward Snowden is an American hero,” Kennedy, 70, said in a video. “Instead of jailing Snowden, I’m going to build a statue to him and maybe to [WikiLeaks] Julian Assange somewhere near the Washington Press Club or perhaps outside the CIA headquarters in Langley as a civics lesson to the Republic.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
RFK Jr. Doubles Down on Warning Biden is ‘Much Worse’ Than Trump: ‘Genuine Threat to Our Democracy’
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doubled down on his belief that President Biden is the biggest threat to democracy on Tuesday, citing the administration’s alleged efforts to censor political speech online.
“President Biden has done something that no other president in history has done, which is to order media, particularly social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Google to censor his political opponents,” the independent presidential candidate told “Fox & Friends.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rider Physically Removes Box Cutter-Wielding Drunk Man From New York Subway
A repeat offender is back in custody after threatening people on the New York City subway. Diego Morales, 37, was arrested on Saturday after pulling a box-cutter on a good samaritan who told him to stop harassing a group of women.
Jose Ceron, 50, confronted Morales over his behavior, and despite the fact that the visibly intoxicated man pulled a box-cutter, he managed to pull him out of the train onto the platform and hold him until police arrived.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Simplex Chat Launches Quantum-Resistant Encryption in Beta
“First” there were apps like Telegram and Signal, springing up to address people’s fear that their private communications taking place online are being randomly and unlawfully accessed and spied on by governments.
This was something that went from niche to mainstream, mostly thanks to the Snowden revelations.
But over time, these chat apps themselves revealed a number of “imperfections” — leaving privacy enthusiasts wanting for more, and better.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sober Steve-O Asked Bill Maher to Not Smoke Weed During Podcast Appearance — Maher Refused
In a recent episode of Steve-O’s Wild Ride! podcast, he revealed that he had to turn down a request to appear on Bill Maher’s podcast because the host reportedly refused to cease smoking marijuana during Steve-O’s appearance.
Steve-O, most famously known for his antics in the Jackass film series, is 16 years sober. Maher on the other hand, is often seen smoking marijuana in his podcast Club Random.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court is Asked to Resolve Split Decision in Social Media Censorship Lawsuit
As swiftly as the pandemic — and more importantly, associated radical restrictive measures concerning people’s everyday lives — descended onto the world, it all seemingly quickly vanished into thin air.
But the consequences, particularly related to the stifling of speech, live on in a number of legal battles being fought now to prove that both government(s) and social media were wrong to introduce mass censorship because of alleged Covid misinformation.
In the US, this is happening specifically on the grounds that the First Amendment protections got breached in the process.
Now the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) has gotten involved in one of these cases by asking the Supreme Court to make a decision in the Changizi, Senger, and Kotzin v. HHS (United States Department of Health and Human Services) lawsuit.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A key ally of Donald Trump filed a complaint Tuesday against a district judge out of Washington, DC, who appeared on CNN last week and took jabs at the former president.
US District Judge Reggie Walton went on the cable news network to discuss Trump’s attacks on the judge overseeing his “hush money” case out of Manhattan and was openly critical of the 45th president.
Mike Davis, the founder of the Article III Project, an advocacy group that pushes for the nominations of conservative judges, ripped Walton’s CNN appearance as “judicial misconduct.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Asks Why He Has to Pay a $175M Bond While Ms-13 ‘Murderers’ Walk Free…
Ex-president says migrants ‘aren’t human… they’re animals’ and claims ‘Biden’s Border Bloodbath’ is causing ‘rape, plunder and slaughter’
Donald Trump tore into Joe Biden for allowing a ‘bloodbath’ at the border as he pledged to end ‘plunder, rape and slaughter’ in America’s suburbs by illegal migrants he called ‘animals’.
The former president, 77, railed that he had to pay $175 million to secure a bond in his New York civil fraud case while members of the ultra-violent MS-13 gang were being set free from jail.
During an explosive speech in Grand Rapids, Michigan, flanked by law enforcement officers in uniform, the former president went on to vow that he would shut down the border on his first day if reelected.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The latest average of polls gathered by Decision Desk HQ and The Hill has found that Donald Trump leads in the 2024 presidential race against both incumbent Joe Biden and independent candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr among voters nationwide.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Sues Truth Social Co-Founders, Says They’re Not Entitled to Stock Shares
Former President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the co-founders of Truth Social, alleging they mismanaged the social media platform early on and should therefore lose their stock in the company that recently went public.
In papers filed last week in Florida state court, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. argued that executives Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky made a series of costly mistakes that resulted in a long delay in the company going public, and urged a judge to strip them of their shares in the company.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tulsi Gabbard Rejected RFK Jr.’s VP Ask Before He Chose Nicole Shanahan
It has been revealed that Tulsi Gabbard refused an invitation from Robert F Kennedy Jr. to be his pick for vice president in the 2024 election.
The Democrat defector did, however, note that she would still be open to running alongside Republican candidate Donald Trump.
“I met with Kennedy several times, and we have become good friends,” Gabbard said in a statement, per ABC News. “He asked if I would be his running mate. After careful consideration, I respectfully declined.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Young Wisconsin Progressives Lead the Latest Protest Vote Against Biden Over Gaza
MILWAUKEE — President Joe Biden may have the 2024 Democratic nomination sewn up, but his critics on the left are still aiming to use a primary in a key battleground state to send him a message.
Biden, who has faced protest vote campaigns in several states this year over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war, is now confronting one in Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary. Young progressives are leading the movement to vote “uninstructed,” the term on the Wisconsin ballot to vote for no candidate or “uncommitted,” to register their opposition to the administration’s response to the situation in Gaza.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canadian Freedom Protesters Take to the Streets in Ottawa to Slam Trudeau’s 23% Carbon Tax Hike
Easter Monday’s carbon tax protest in Ottawa was not dominated by federal, provincial or municipal politicians. Instead, it was led by the same people who had come out over two years earlier to join the Freedom Convoy protest in Canada’s capital. These were farmers, truck drivers, electricians, and plumbers.
The Ottawa event was part of a cross-Canada demonstration against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax that not only increases the price of gas and home heating fuel but the cost of purchasing a multitude of goods and services that are affected in any way by the higher prices for energy, like transporting food to the grocery stores.
On Apr. 1, Trudeau hiked the carbon tax by a further 23 percent, despite seven out of 10 premiers and almost 70 percent of the population telling him that they want this to end.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Demographic Crisis Awaits Nearly All of Poland, Except for These 2 Major Cities
In an insightful analysis derived from the most recent projections by Statistics Poland (GUS), Professor Piotr Szukalski, a demographer from the University of Lódz, paints a bleak future for the demographics of Poland’s major cities by 2060. Warsaw and Kraków emerge as the sole beacons of growth amidst a general trend of population decline and aging across the nation’s urban landscapes.
While a few Polish cities, including Warsaw, Kraków, Wroclaw, Gdansk and Rzeszów, currently ride a wave of demographic stability, their resilience is not attributed to natural increase, which remains negative across the board. Instead, these demographic trends are due to favorable domestic and international migration patterns. However, this positive development is sharply narrowing, with only Warsaw and Kraków expected to maintain population growth in the coming decades.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
British ‘Conservative’ Supports Killing Old People to Save Money
Granny really is a burden, and ought to accept she must be killed in order to save the state some cash.
That is the outrageous proposal from Matthew Parris, a former Tory MP who wrote in the nominally conservative Times newspaper last week that “it will be a healthy development” for the old and infirm not just to consider undergoing assisted suicide, but to be “urged” to do so.
His article came shortly after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he will push to legalise assisted suicide if—or, rather, when—he wins the next general election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czech Defense Companies Post Huge Profits Amid Rising Tensions Across Europe
Reported revenues for last year revealed that several Czech arms manufacturers are flush with cash in the wake of rising tensions across the world and, in particular, the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Colt CZ, a holding company for several firearms brands, reported revenue of nearly CZK 15 billion (€590 million) last year. However, the growth in sales and profits was also confirmed to Novinka by the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) and Omnipol.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czech Republic Hasn’t Given Names of Dutch Politicans Allegedly Paid to Back Russia
The Czech Republic gave no names of Dutch politicians allegedly involved in the Russian disinformation campaign exposed by its intelligence service, Minister Hugo de Jonge of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations said in a letter to parliament. The Tweede Kamer will debate the matter this evening.
The Czech Republic revealed last week that Russia was using pro-Russian politicians in several European countries to try and question the “territorial integrity, sovereignty, and freedom” of Ukraine in the run-up to the European Elections. The news site Voice of Europe played a vital role in the disinformation campaign, the country said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Discord on Polish Right: Kaczynski and President Duda Haven’t Talked One-on-One in 4 Years
The Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski appeared on Catholic “Radio Plus” and was asked about remarks made by Marcin Mastalerek, President Duda’s chief aide, that he and the president had not had a face-to-face meeting in three years.
Kaczynski replied that the two had not spoken privately to each other “for four years actually,” but insisted that he would not comment further on the matter.
“I have adopted the principle that when it comes to the president, I will not comment,” he explained, adding that he thinks that Duda “is a man who has won two elections with our backing and that, despite differences of views, this is most important.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Withdraws Soccer Jerseys With Number 44 Because of Nazi Symbolism
The German soccer federation and Adidas have stopped the sale of Germany jerseys with the number 44 because of a resemblance to the logo of the Nazi Party’s notorious SS paramilitary units.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s official supplier Adidas had initially banned German football fans from customising the jerseys with 44 on the back but the sports giant will ditch the number in its current format amid a backlash.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Getting Ready: NATO’s Norway Boosts Conscription to Grow Military
Norway has become the latest European state to look again at its conscription programme, pushed by Russian aggression against Ukraine, and will increase the number of young people selected for compulsory service in the coming years.
Norwegian defence minister Bjørn Arild Gram has said Europe must be ready for the eventuality Moscow reorients its military position in response to Finland and Sweden joining NATO by deploying more troops to its northern borders, adding even after the Ukraine war ends he believes the Russian threat will not go away. The comments came just before he announced the country would be bolstering its armed forces by increasing conscription.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The head of the US State Department’s highly controversial Global Engagement Center (GEC), James Rubin, appears to be on a “press tour” to promote more stringent regulation around social media, and more censorship.
Rubin is doing this seemingly oblivious of the “elephant in the room” — that GEC is at the center of scandals involving government/Big Tech collusion (this bureau engaged in flagging posts on social media) and even lawsuits stemming from these accusations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Inside Sweden’s Deadly Gang War
About 62,000 people are active in, or have connections to, criminal networks in Sweden, police say, and the country’s gun crime death rate is now the highest in the EU.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ireland’s Justice Minister Helen McEntee Says “The Time for Facial Recognition Technology Has Come”
Ireland’s government is using every opportunity to charge ahead with promoting facial recognition tech, despite civil liberties groups expressing serious concerns and asking some hard questions about the policy.
But the current Irish authorities don’t seem to be missing a beat making, however tenuous or even distasteful, links to push that policy.
Thanks to those in power there, Ireland’s long-lasting troubles keep casting ever longer shadows, some with brand-new, current overtones.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Psycho-Aptitute Tests Also for Those in Government — Gratteri
ANM chief Santalucia blasts ‘symbolic norm’
If psycho-aptitude tests are to be introduced they should apply not just to magistrates but to all top public officials and those in positions of government, Naples Chief Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri said on Wednesday.
“If we want to do psycho-aptitude tests, they should be done for all the top sectors of the public administration, for those with government responsibilities and for those involved in the management of public affairs,” said Gratteri on the sidelines of a press conference after the cabinet on Tuesday approved the controversial introduction of psycho-aptitude tests for aspiring magistrates.
By the same token, the Naples prosecutor said all those in top public positions and government should be made to take drug and alcohol tests because these substances can “not only alter their reasoning but also make them blackmailable”.
The president of magistrates union ANM Giuseppe Santalucia on Tuesday described the introduction of psycho-aptitude tests for magistrates as a “symbolic norm” aiming to insinuate that administrators of justice need to be checked psychologically.
“It is an irrational norm that will come into force in 2026,” continued Santalucia, adding that there is “room to convince” and eliminate it.
However, Justice Minister Carlo Nordio defended the decision to introduce the tests, insisting that there is no “encroachment” or “interference” by the government on the judiciary and saying there is “nothing wrong” with “people like doctors who have responsibility for others’ lives trying to understand how they function and maybe correct themselves”.
Nordio also said in the event of failure of the psycho-aptitude tests prospective magistrates can sit the examination to enter the judiciary up to four times.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Salis Requests to Hungary Useless Says Budapest
Hungarian govt ‘has no control over courts’
Requests from Italy to the Hungarian government to intervene in the case of Ilaris Salis, a 39-year-old Italian antifascist on trial in Budapest for allegedly attacking two neoNazis last year, would be in vain because the Hungarian government, “as in any other modern democracy, has no control over the courts,” a spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said on X Tuesday.
Salis, an elementary school teacher from Monza near Milan, has been repeatedly led into court on a chain with her hands and ankles cuffed, causing an outcry in Italy.
A Budapest court last week rejected a plea to have her moved to house arrest in the Hungarian capital, as a hopeful prelude to being moved to house arrest in Italy.
Salis is on trial for attempted murder for allegedly being part of a German-led hammer gang that targeted neoNazis on the latters’ annual celebration of a heroic Nazi WWII regiment in February last year.
The men she allegedly attacked suffered minor injuries which they did not report t the police.
Kovacs said in his X post: “We have to make it clear that no one, no extreme left-wing group, should see Hungary as some kind of boxing ring where they come and plan to beat someone to death.
“And no, no direct request from the Italian government (or any major media outlet) to the Hungarian government will make it easier to defend Salis’s case, because the government, as in any other modern democracy, has no control over the courts”.
Hungary has suffered repeated European reprimands over the rule of law there.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Baudet Decries Russian Influence “Innuendo,” Says Debate is “Unworthy” of Parliament
Dutch parliamentarians were set to debate methods Russia may have used to influence Dutch politicians on Tuesday afternoon. The debate in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house, is “unworthy of our Parliament,” said Thierry Baudet, the leader of the far-right political party FvD. He said his party would not attend the hearing.
The Czech Republic announced sanctions against the European news and opinion website, Voice of Europe, and it’s financier and operator. The Prague-based website was accused of being a mouthpiece for Russian propaganda, and for spreading disinformation to affect the outcome of the upcoming European Parliament elections.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Physically Healthy Dutch Woman, 28, Decides to be Euthanized Due to Crippling Depression
A physically healthy 28-year-old Dutch woman has decided to legally end her life due to her struggles with crippling depression, autism and borderline personality disorder, according to a report.
Zoraya ter Beek, who lives in a small village in the Netherlands near the German border, is scheduled to be euthanized in May — despite being in love with her 40-year-old boyfriend and living with two cats.
Ter Beek, who once aspired to be a psychiatrist, has been dealing with mental health struggles throughout her life.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland May Ditch the US and Korea and Have France Build Its Nuclear Power Plants
The government of Donald Tusk is reportedly considering cooperation with France for the construction of Poland’s second or third nuclear power plant, signaling a potential pivot away from previous partnerships with countries like the United States and South Korea.
According to unofficial sources speaking to Polish paper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna (DGP), Tusk may be leaning towards a partnership with French energy giant EDF, which is becoming the favored collaborator within government circles.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Quran-Burner Salwan Momika Reported to Have Been Found Dead
People like Salwan Momika aren’t born every day. A former Iraqi militia leader who became a critic of Islam and gained global prominence and notoriety for championing free speech and public burning of the Koran.
Momika is amongst critics of Islam who are called Ex-Muslims.
Radio Genoa on Tuesday reported that Salwan Momika had been found dead, only to inform some moments later that further confirmation was awaited.
“Those who announced Momika’s death with over 1 million impressions deleted the tweet. We are waiting for further confirmation,” Radio Genoa posted on X.
Earlier it said: “The lifeless body of Iraqi refugee and Islamic critic Salwan Sabah Matti Momika has been found in Norway. Momika was known for organizing demonstrations in Sweden where he publicly burned the Koran several times.”
Salwan Momika has been in the news after he shifted to Norway from Sweden.
The ex-Muslim moved to Sweden from Iraq in 2018, seeking asylum.
“Today I left Sweden and am now in Norway under the protection of the Norwegian authorities,” Salwan Momika posted on March 27.
“I applied for asylum and international protection in Norway because Sweden does not accept asylum for philosophers and thinkers, but only accepts asylum for terrorists. My love and respect for the Swedish people will remain the same, but the persecution I was subjected to by the Swedish authorities does not represent the Swedes,” he added in the post.
| — Hat tip: Mark Steyn | [Return to headlines] |
Romania and Bulgaria Partially Join EU’s Open Borders Schengen Area
Romania and Bulgaria partially joined Europe’s ID-check-free travel zone, marking a new step in the two countries’ integration with the EU.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Romania and Bulgaria Join ‘Air and Sea’ Schengen
Romania and Bulgaria—the last two EU countries not yet part of the bloc’s free-movement zone—partially joined the Schengen area on Easter Sunday, March 31st.
Due to the persistent Austrian veto, border checkpoints have been lifted only for air and sea travel, while checks at the internal land borders—the main nuisance that gave birth to Schengen in the first place—remain in place. EU leaders are confident that full Schengen integration is possible by the end of the year, but Austria rejects setting up a timetable as it still insists on anti-migration Schengen reforms first.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: Humza Yousaf Declares That Graffiti Justifies Wild Hate Crime Laws
Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has declared that extreme new hate crime laws that have come into effect in the country are justified because of graffiti about him near his home.
The graffiti was reportedly sprayed on three walls in Dundee, and was quickly painted over by the local council.
Yousaf posted the following on X, stating that “we must, collectively, take a zero-tolerance approach to hatred.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Shooting by Pre-Teen Leaves Finland in Shock and Mourning
HELSINKI, April 2 (Xinhua) — Finland is mourning after Tuesday’s tragic incident, where a 12-year-old student opened fire on three classmates, resulting in two injuries and one fatality.
The shooting took place at around 9 a.m. on Tuesday at a school in Vantaa, a city not far from the capital Helsinki.
“The shooting scene in Vantaa deeply shocks. My thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones and the other students and staff of Viertola school,” Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said.
The suspect fled the school building after the shooting, but was detained within an hour by police, who discovered a handgun licensed to a close relative on his person.
The two injured students are being treated at the Helsinki Children’s Hospital. Police say their wounds are serious.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Top Virologist Warns ‘Massive Tsunami’ of ‘Death’ Among Vaccinated is ‘Imminent’
One of the world’s leading virologists has warned the public that a “massive tsunami” of “chaos” and “death” is about to decimate the global Covid mRNA-vaccinated population.
The grave warning was issued by Dr. Geert Vanden Bossche, a world-renowned Belgian virologist.
Dr. Bossche warns that a “huge, huge wave” of illness and deaths among those vaccinated for Covid is now “imminent.”
The top scientist says this “massive tsunami” will collapse hospitals and cause financial, economic, and social “chaos.”
Bossche issued the bone-chilling warning during an appearance on the KunstlerCast podcast on Friday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Driver Furious After Being Hit by ULEZ Fine — Even Though She Wasn’t in the Car
A driver has been left furious after she was given a ULEZ fine — despite not even being in the car at the time. The woman, named Louise, was shocked when she received a letter last Tuesday ordering her to pay a £12.50 charge on her Kia, after she had sold it 10 days earlier.
She was even more stunned when she saw the accompanying picture, which showed her car on the back of a transporter lorry on the way to auction in Enfield, north London.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Insane Moment Pro-Palestine Activist ‘Smashes Up Factory’ While Police Stand and Watch
This is the dramatic moment four Palestine Action activists breached the security and scaled the roof of a munitions factory. The premises in Shipley, West Yorkshire, was the centre of a major demonstration today (April 2).
Video footage shows two activists used a sledgehammer to burst through the roof and smash at least one window. Palestine Action took to X at 6.27pm to confirm that after more than 12 hours their activists were still on the roof of the Teledyne factory.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Moment Met Police Officer Tells Jewish Woman Swastikas ‘Need to be Taken in Context’
A video has captured the moment a Met Police officer tells a Jewish woman that the use of swastikas during a pro-Palestine march needed to be “taken into context”.
The footage shows an activist at Saturday’s protest in London embroiled in a heated exchange with the officer over the Nazi symbol being displayed by protesters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Melbourne-born aid worker Lalzawmi ‘Zomi’ Frankcom was killed during an air strike in Gaza on Monday, local time.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Gaza Infrastructure Damages Estimated at $18.5bn in UN-World Bank Report
The cost of damage to critical infrastructure in the first four months of Israel’s continuing war on Gaza is estimated at about $18.5bn, a new report by the World Bank and the United Nations has found.
The report estimated that the damage was equivalent to 97 percent of the combined GDP of the occupied West Bank and Gaza in 2022.
“The level of destruction in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 is unprecedented,” the Interim Damage Assessment Note released on Tuesday said.
The continuing conflict has damaged or destroyed approximately 62 percent of all homes in Gaza, equivalent to 290,820 housing units, and more than a million people are without homes. Housing accounts for 72 percent of the total damage costs, at an estimated value of $13.3bn.
Public service infrastructure, such as water, health and education, account for 19 percent, while commercial and industrial buildings make up 9 percent.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Hundreds of Ultra-Orthodox Block Route 4 in Protest Against IDF Conscription
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters blocked the Route 4 highway outside the central city of Bnei Brak during a demonstration against conscription to the military on Monday, the date set as a deadline for the Defense Ministry to begin drafting Haredim.
The demonstrators belonged to the extremist Jerusalem Faction, which numbers some 60,000 members and regularly demonstrates against the enlistment of yeshiva students.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Blamed as Gaza Strike Kills 7 Staff of US Food Charity
A US-based charity group on Tuesday blamed Israel for a strike that killed seven of its staff unloading food brought by sea to the war-torn Gaza Strip to…
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
The carnage unleashed by the Israeli drones is as shocking as it is bewildering. How could the Israeli air force possibly have launched it when aid convoy was so clearly marked?
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Each vehicle was clearly marked as working for the humanitarian organisation, followed an IDF-approved route and had GPS trackers and SOS beacons broadcasting their positions.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Asks Israel for Explanation After Aid Worker Killed in Gaza
WARSAW, April 2 (Reuters) — Poland’s foreign minister asked the Israeli ambassador in Warsaw for “urgent explanations” after a Polish volunteer was killed…
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Three Brits Killed in Israeli Drone Strike Named — Including Ex-Marine and Special Forces
The three British nationals who died while delivering vital aid in Gaza have been named. A total of seven people from the World Central Kitchen were killed when an Israeli airstrike tore through the roof of a car, where the aid workers had been sitting.
The strike, which took place last night (April 1) dealt a devastating blow to humanitarian efforts in the besieged Palestinian territory.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
World Central Kitchen (WCK) said in a statement that a dual citizen of the US and Canada , three aid workers UK, an Australian, a Polish national and a Palestinian were killed in a deconflicted zone.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Monday’s strike levelled a five-storey building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, killing at least 13 people including General Mohammad Reza Zahedi
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Nightclub Fire Leaves 29 Dead in Istanbul
Istanbul’s Gairetepe district was engulfed in tragedy today, 2nd April, as a fire broke out following an explosion in a 16-storey building used as a nightclub. The death toll has now climbed to 29, with the victims primarily being workers caught inside the inferno.
The disaster unfolded shortly before 13:00 local time, triggered by an explosion during renovation work at the Masquerade nightclub’s basement. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, present at the scene, revealed that no proper permits had been secured for the renovation, indicating illegal activity. “It’s two floors down, so (the site) is not visible. There was no complaint. There was an illegal encroachment,” he stated.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan engaged with Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya for updates. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc disclosed that three prosecutors had initiated a preliminary investigation, leading to the arrest of six individuals connected to the tragedy, including company partners, directors, accountant, and contractor.
Istanbul Prefect Davut Gul highlighted that the nightclub had been licenced since 1987, with a recent renewal in 2018. However, questions arose about the safety measures in place, particularly regarding escape routes during emergencies.
| — Hat tip: McN | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Erdogan’s Party Loses Local Elections in Major Upset
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) have suffered their worst electoral defeat to date, as the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) made significant gains in local elections on Sunday, March 31st. The CHP, a secularist party founded in 1923 by the republic’s first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, took 35 of Turkey’s 81 provincial capitals and gained 37.8% of all votes, compared to just 24 provinces and 35.5% for the nationalist AKP. In Istanbul, Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of the CHP won by almost 12 percentage points. In the capital Ankara, Mayor Mansur Yavas (CHP) beat his rival by 19 percentage points.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mass Deportations Seen in St. Petersburg After Moscow Concert Attack — NGO
Authorities in St. Petersburg have been deporting migrants en masse in the week since the deadly attack on a Moscow region concert hall, the legal rights group Perviy Otdel said Friday.
More than 64 foreigners were deported from the city’s Vyborgsky district on Thursday alone, the NGO said, citing one of its unidentified lawyers.
“Temporary detention centers for foreign citizens are packed, surrounded by special vehicles and buses heading to the airport,” the lawyer was quoted as saying.
A number of buses carrying migrants were also headed to St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo International Airport on Friday afternoon, they added.
The countries where the migrants were being sent to were not specified, though it is known that labor migrants in Russia mostly hail from poor Central Asian countries.
Bailiffs reportedly refer to St. Petersburg’s mass deportations as “Operation Anti-Migrant,” with raids targeting local hostels and apartments. Similar raids were reported in Moscow and other Russian cities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine used Cessna-sized drones to attack deep inside the Russian Federation in the early hours of Tuesday morning, launching multiple strikes against a factory and oil refinery in the longest range hits of the war so far.
A drone factory and an oil refinery over 800 miles from the frontline of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were the targets in an attack claimed by Kyiv’s military intelligence bureau in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Footage shared from the scene by Ukrainian state media shows a large drone — perhaps the size of a civilian single-engine pleasure aircraft — crashing into a building in a residential area and exploding.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ukrainian Drone Strikes Tatarstan, Deep Inside Russian Territory
A Ukrainian drone struck Russia’s Tatarstan region, sending a giant fireball into the air and people scattering. Around a dozen people were injured in the attack that appeared to hit a dormitory in an industrial part of town, where an alleged factory that makes Iranian-designed drones is located.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Minor Hindu Girl Abducted in Pakistan’s Sindh, Sparking Outrage, Protests
Ratna Agarwal | HENB | Delhi | April 2, 2024:: Amidst growing outrage, members of the Hindu community and traders in Dera Murad Jamali took to the streets to condemn the recent abduction of a young girl, Priya Kumari, and demanded urgent action for her recovery, Dawn reported.
Criticising the Sindh government’s perceived incompetence, protesters voiced their frustration over the failure to locate and rescue Kumari, who was abducted from Sukkur just days ago.
Showing placards, demonstrators vehemently denounced what they described as the routine abduction of innocent children in Sindh and highlighted the deteriorating security conditions for religious minorities, as reported by Dawn.
Led by senior Hindu community figures Mukhi Manak Lal and Seth Tara Chand, the rally drew participants from various sectors of society.
Notable attendees included Taj Baloch, representing traders, Liaqat Ali Chakar from JI’s youth wing, Mir Jan Mengal, president of the wholesale market, Molana Nawabuddin Domki, Khan Jan Bangulazi, and Harpal Das.
The leaders urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to take immediate and decisive action to ensure the safe return of the girl and to deliver justice to the minority community. They issued a stern warning of nationwide protests if their demands go unheeded.
Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) has also strongly condemned the religious persecutions of minorities in Pakistan and urged the next government to bring legislation of equal status for all communities.
HRFP has highlighted that many people from Christians, Hindus, Ahmdiyya’s, Sikhs and other communities have been victimised in different attacks during the last few months.
Human Right Focus Pakistan (HRFP) is a non-government organisation (NGO) established in 1994 to work for the promotion and protection of human rights, with special focus to religious minorities, women and children
“The newly elected representatives and the government must make legislation for equal status of all citizens as per founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision and thoughts,” it stated.
“The recent cases are an addition to suffering, and the growing numbers has made minorities more vulnerable,” HRFP added.
Naveed Walter, the President of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) said that even in the short duration of the year so far, several alarming incidents have been reported.
Though the mainstream media doesn’t cover the extreme plight of the Hindu minorities in that country by the Jihadi people, many social media platforms try to reveal the truth of the minority in Pakistan.
The series of Islamic persecution on minority Hindus are endless.
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
Magnitude-7.5 Earthquake Hits Taiwan, Triggering a Tsunami Warning for Japan
A tsunami warning has been issued for south-western Japan after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 struck in the ocean near Taiwan.
The warning was issued for coastal areas near the southern prefecture of Okinawa, National broadcaster NHK said.
The tsunami is expected to be up to 3 metres.
The strong quake knocked out power in several parts of the Taiwan capital Taipei, according to a Reuters witness.
The Japanese Meteorological Agency says the depth of the earthquake is very shallow, making the impact worse.
AFP reported that powerful aftershocks hit Taiwan that were felt by the agency’s reporters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Maggie Zhang from Melbourne works as a healthcare management consultant and also runs her real estate venture, which now includes six properties, with a business partner.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Female teachers have spoken out about how young boys are being influenced by controversial social media star Andrew Tate.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
At least 10 electric vehicles are seen lined up in the rural town of Keith, in South Australia , with drivers waiting to use public charging stations.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
South Australia Establishes First Nations Voice to Parliament — Here’s How Much it’s Costing
SA’s Indigenous Voice to parliament has been slammed as a ‘joke’ and a ‘farce’ after less than 10 per cent of those eligible cast a ballot, meaning some candidates were elected with just six votes.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Who is Samantha Mostyn? Meet Australia’s New Governor General
A climate change and gender equity advocate has been appointed Australia’s new Governor-General.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
EU Ends Mission in Niger, Opens Path for Russia
With both European and American forces pulling out of the western Sahel, the region will be left to the growing influence of Russia, potentially increasing the movement of drugs, illegal immigrants, and even terrorists in the direction of Europe.
The region borders the southern edge of the Sahara desert and comprises areas of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Over the last decade, it has become a hotbed of jihadist activity with Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists taking control of many areas. Since 2013, the French had been leading a coalition of European forces but after nearly a decade the results of the mission were lackluster. Relations with the Malian government also broke down following a series of coups. At the same time, soldiers from the Russian-based mercenary Wagner group moved into the region at the invitation of Mali’s military junta. France started drawing down its troops in 2023 with the aim of ending the mission entirely.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
8 Illegal Immigrants Squatting Near Bronx School Arrested on Drug, Gun Charges
Eight illegal immigrants have been arrested after being caught squatting in a Bronx property filled with weapons and drugs. A 7-year-old child was also discovered in the basement of the home, which was located next to a school.
Hector Desousa Villalta, 24, Jaiver Alborno, 22, Yoessy Pino Castillo, 20, Yerbin Lozado-Munoz, 25, Yojairo Martinez, 42, Miquel Vaamondes-Barrios, 31, Jefferson Orlando Abreau, 39, and Johan Cardenas Silva, 35 were each subsequently charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a controlled substance and acting in a manner injurious to a child.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The immigration program that has allowed entry for illegal immigrants from specific countries under the Biden administration have primarily been allowing entry by those illegal immigrants to airports in the Republican-led states of Texas and Florida.
According to data from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), the large majority of at least 386,000 illegal immigrants that have been part of a program to allow would-be illegal immigrants to schedule appointments to surrender themselves for arrest, apply for asylum, and gain admittance to the United States at specific ports of entry have been using ports of entry Florida and Texas. These are both states run by governors that oppose Biden’s open border policies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Boston’s Democrat Mayor Silent as Migrant Crime Soars in Her ‘Sanctuary City’
Boston’s radical Democrat Mayor Michelle Wu is refusing to address reports that crimes committed by illegal migrants are soaring in her so-called “sanctuary city.”
Wu’s silence on the matter is leading her concerned constituents to assume that the city has no plans to rethink its status as a “sanctuary” jurisdiction.
Reports of crimes committed by migrants and a lack of cooperation with federal authorities have sparked worries among residents.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Cyprus Grapples With Record Number of Migrants
The government of Cyprus convened a special emergency meeting—involving the ministers of the interior, foreign affairs, justice and public order, defense, and other high-ranking officials—at the presidential palace on Tuesday to discuss migration. Speaking to reporters, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis described the meeting’s “exclusive topic” as “the discussion of the immigration flows of the last days.”
Like many other Mediterranean islands, Cyprus is hard hit by wave after wave of migrants. Since Sunday afternoon, 476 have arrived on Cypriot shores in ten boats, setting a new record.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Donald Trump Spotlights Victims of Open Borders, Calls on Joe Biden to ‘Say Their Names’
During a campaign speech in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump spotlighted the plight of Angel Families who have lost loved ones to illegal immigration, urging President Joe Biden to say the victims’ names.
“Every town is now a border town because Joe Biden has brought the chaos, carnage, and killing from all over the world and dumped it straight into our backyards,” Trump said alongside law enforcement officials. “People are coming in [to the United States] from prisons and mental institutions.”
“In Venezuela, the crime is down 67 percent from what it was a year and a half ago,” Trump said. “Because they’re taking all of their gangs and all of their criminals and they’re depositing them into the United States of America.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gov. Ron DeSantis is fighting back hard against a program that allows President Joe Biden’s administration to fly migrants to Florida without notifying officials first and wants to make Florida ‘undesirable’ for illegal immigrants.
The Biden administration’s CNHV program allows 30,000 undocumented migrants to be released into the country every month. And a new analysis from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) on Monday reveals a vast majority of migrants flown into the U.S. are landing in Miami.
Lawyers for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) refused earlier this year to disclose in a FOIA request which airports migrants arriving on the program were landing after boarding flights in Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CNHV).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Local mayors in Berlin are breaking ranks against a state Senate decision to build 16 new container facilities to house over 6,000 asylum seekers across the German capital, and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is quick to point out that the ruling government in Berlin is supposedly led by supposedly conservative Christian Democrats (CDU).
“The CDU is pursuing a migration policy against its own people: in CDU-governed Berlin alone, the Senate wants to build a total of 16 new asylum accommodations with more than 6,000 places. No wonder, because CDU Mayor Wegner has approved a stop to deportations. With the CDU, you get a policy of mass migration in all federal states. You get crime, parallel societies, asylum abuse and neglect,” wrote the party in a statement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Rome School That Had 95% Foreign Pupils 15 Yrs Ago Has 50%
Multi-ethnic quarter school ‘virtuous model’ for integration
A Rome school has been hailed as a model of integration after cutting its ratio of foreign to Italian pupils from 95% 15 years ago to 50% today.
The Carlo Pisacane school in the heart of the multi-ethnic quarter of Tor Pignattara, “is a virtuous example, so much so that now Italian families are queuing up to enroll their kids here,” said head teacher Rosanna Labalestra.
She said a 20% cap on immigrant children, or the children of immigrants, as advocated by rightwing League party leader Matteo Salvini, would be “impossible to implement here” and would mean that many parents would be forced to take their kids to other schools.
Salvini called for the cap after a school near Milan where 40% of the pupils are Muslim said it would give all its kids, including the Italian ones, the day off for Eid on April 10, when Muslims celebrate the fast-breaking after the holy month of Ramadan.
Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara on Thursday said the government would take measures, which he did not outline, to make sure there were majority Italian students in all Italian classrooms.
He also rejected multiculturalism and urged assimilation saying native and immigrant communities cannot live separately.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
President Donald Trump spoke at a Michigan rally on Tuesday, saying that he would ensure that there was justice for the “animal” that killed Laken Riley. The suspect is an illegal immigrant.
The Biden campaign cut up the clip, out of context, and spread it across social media with a caption quoting the former president, saying “Trump: Democrats said please don’t call immigrants animals. I said, no, they’re not humans, they’re animals.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New: Texas Installs Razor Wire Barriers Along Border in El Paso
Texas has started constructing wire fencing and barriers along the border in El Paso as Governor Greg Abbott takes action to stem the flow of illegal immigrants entering the state.
The move comes just two weeks after hordes of people hoping to be granted asylum in the United States stormed the border in the Texas town, tearing down the previous barriers and assaulting National Guard troops.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The vast majority of migrant flights President Joe Biden’s White House is transporting directly from foreign countries to U.S. airports to bypass the southern border are landing in Florida.
A new analysis from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) reveals that 326,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela arrived in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ state since the program started in January 2023.
Lawyers for Biden’s immigration agencies refused to disclose through a FOIA request data on which airports were receiving the undocumented migrants, claiming it would compromise safety and create national security ‘vulnerabilities.’
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Six of the eight gun-toting, drug-dealing migrant squatters busted last week in the Bronx were cut loose without bail — as frustrated neighbors said Tuesday that the unruly, noise crew brought nothing but trouble to the block.
The NYPD collared the squatters — who set up shop across the street from PS 56 inside a multi-family house on Hull Avenue in the borough’s Norwood section — after one of them pointed a 9 mm CZ pistol at someone on the property last Wednesday night, police officials said.
“I see all the gangsters and wannabe gangsters running around here,” one neighbor told The Post.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A known Somali terrorist spent nearly a year in the US after being wrongly released by the feds before he was arrested again.
According to a report from the New York Post, a 27-year-old Somalian man, yet to be identified, was on the terrorist watchlist as “a confirmed member of al Shabaab” and was involved in the trafficking and transportation of explosives and firearms.
Despite this, the terrorist was released after initially being caught by authorities entering the country illegally in California in March of 2023. He was eventually rearrested in Minnesota in January.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
— as No10 blames the weather for an increase in numbers
Rishi Sunak is still confident he can fulfil his pledge to ‘stop the boats’ despite more than 5,000 migrants having crossed the Channel to Britain already this year.
Downing Street insisted the PM remained convinced he would tackle the migrant crisis in the face of a record number of arrivals in the first three months of 2024.
Number 10 partly blamed the weather for a surge in the number of people crossing the Channel, with nearly 800 having made the journey over the Easter weekend.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Wales Pays Huge Sum to Illegal Migrants in ‘Nonsensical’ Labour Scheme
Illegal migrants are eligible for £1,600 a month under a “nonsensical” system in Labour-run Wales. Ministers confirmed the payments will be made under a £28 million basic income pilot.
Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies warned the handout will act as “pull factor” that encourages people to make the dangerous Channel crossing in small boats. He said: “Illegal migrants should not be getting a monthly payment in Wales, and this policy from Labour is nonsensical.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Unworkable” Scottish Hate Crime Law Comes Into Effect
Scotland’s sweeping new ‘hate crime’ law, designed to protect a wide range of individuals (except women) from hatred, came into effect on Monday.
The Hate Crime and Public Order Act, under which police have even been told to target ‘hateful’ comedians, has received criticism from almost all quarters of Britain’s political society. Even The Guardian insisted that officials “should not stymie public debate,” despite noting that the law might well be “well intentioned.”
But Scotland’s first minister and leader of the hard-left Scottish National Party, Humza Yousaf, said it was required to deal with a “rising tide of hatred.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Australia’s Left-Wing Government Celebrates Easter Sunday as ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’
Australia’s left-wing Labor government has joined U.S. President Joe Biden and praised Easter Sunday as the “Transgender Day of Visibility.”
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Samantha Wallace-Joseph forced her team, the NSW Swifts, to hold a crisis meeting and distance itself from her comments after outraging fans with her message on Easter Monday.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Several top medical professionals have spoken out to raise concerns over the growing worldwide push to relax euthanasia laws in order to relieve the “burden” of caring for elderly and disabled citizens.
Doctors say they are coming under increasing pressure to view vulnerable patients as being “better off dead.”
Slay News has been reporting for some time about the disturbing trend of “assisted suicide” laws that have emerged in multiple Western nations in recent years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Olympic medallist Sharron Davies has claimed ‘100s of males are stealing from females in sport’ after a trans cyclist won a bronze medal in a race in the United States.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A Harvard Law School professor is urging the Ivy League university to eliminate mandatory Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statements that force faculty and staff to “toe a political line.”
In the Harvard Crimson column “Mandatory DEI Statements Are Ideological Pledges of Allegiance. Time to Abandon Them,” contributing opinion writer and professor Randall L. Kennedy said requiring hires in higher ed to sign diversity statements “poses a profound challenge to academic freedom.”
These requirements, he said, often tell applicants to submit a statement of teaching philosophy that includes a description of their “orientation toward diversity, equity and inclusion practices.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
JK Rowling Blasts GB News Presenter a ‘Misogynist’ After Gender Tweet Backlash
JK Rowling has hit back at a presenter calling him a “misogynist” after he challenged her views on gender-identity. Albie Amankona — a presenter on GB News — shared a post on social media platform X explaining how he felt “sympathetic” of the author’s views.
But he went on to share a picture of transgender model Munroe Bergdorf, saying: “I suspect like me, most Brits would find calling a trans woman who looks like @munroebergdorf1 ‘him’ to be obtuse & mean-spirited, though not a criminal offence.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The feminist group National Organization for Women (NOW) is receiving an onslaught of criticism for defending the inclusion of transwomen athletes in female sports.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie Create ‘Non-Woke’ Film Studio, Promise Unfiltered Movies
In a bold move against Hollywood’s woke culture, actors Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie have joined forces to launch their own film studio dedicated to producing ‘Non-Woke’ movies. Tired of the industry’s obsession with political correctness, Cage and Jolie aim to bring back unfiltered storytelling and entertainment to the big screen.
The duo’s film studio, aptly named “Unfiltered Productions,” has already announced its first project—a gritty action thriller devoid of woke agendas. Cage stated, “Audiences want real stories, not preachy lectures. We’re here to deliver raw, unapologetic cinema.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A biological male Ontario resident who identifies as non-binary but female dominant is embroiled in a legal battle over their desire to undergo a vaginoplasty operation that would create a neo-vagina while keeping the biological penis intact.
The resident, identified as KS, was told that the procedure would not be covered by the province, however KS has appealed the decision, arguing that the surgery should be covered by taxpayers.
According to the National Post, KS’ request was denied by Ontario’s Health Insurance Plan in 2022, who deemed the unorthodox vaginoplasty to be an experimental surgery.
Such operations are not done in Canada, and as such it would have been performed at the Crane Center for Transgender Surgery in Austin, Texas. In an interview with the National Post, Dr. Curtis Crane said it was not uncommon, and that he does “10 or so a year.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish President Vetoes Morning-After Pill for Minors
The arrival of a liberal government in Poland has been accompanied by an offensive to reverse the social policies of the previous government under the Law and Justice (PiS) party. In a step to oppose this, conservative President Andrzej Duda on Friday vetoed a law aimed at liberalising access to the morning-after pill.
The coalition that came to power in Poland in December has made no secret of its desire to see Poland ‘move forward’ on abortion and the promotion of homosexuality—in a break with the policy of the previous government. On February 22nd, the lower house of the Polish parliament passed a law by 224 votes to 196, authorising access to the ‘morning-after pill’ from the age of 15 without a prescription, whereas until then, a doctor’s prescription was required to obtain it.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: Calling These Trans Criminals ‘Men’ Could Lead to Arrest Under SNP’s New Hate Crime Laws…
How you could go to jail for ‘misgendering’ double rapist, paedophile and sex attacker who assaulted children in supermarket toilets
JK Rowling has decided to play chicken with Police Scotland over the SNP ‘s new hate crime laws by naming a number of high-profile trans women and calling them men.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
— as she says she ‘hopes every woman who wants to speak up for importance of biological sex will be reassured’
Reports were made against the Harry Potter author but police have assessed her tweets against Scotland’s new hate crime laws and found they did not breach the legislation.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Seattle Public Schools is replacing its program for gifted students with a more “inclusive” and “equitable” program in an ongoing trend of states scrapping honors classes in the name of diversity.
SPS began phasing out its Highly Capable Cohort (HCC) schools and classrooms for advanced learners in the 2021-22 school year, claiming the program did not address racial inequalities.
Its replacement, called the Highly Capable Neighborhood School Model, will be available in every school by the 2024-25 school year, SPS said. Instead of separate classrooms and schools for gifted students, all students will remain together in the same classroom and the teacher will individualize learning plans for each student.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Texas University Clears DEI Offices, Fires Employees in Light of New State Law: Report
The University of Texas at Austin fired dozens of employees who worked in their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs to comply with a new state law, according to a report.
University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell announced Tuesday the school’s Division of Campus and Community Engagement is being dissolved and its programs and funding transferred to other divisions.
The announcement comes as the university works to comply with a new Texas law that came into effect Jan. 1, which effectively dissolved DEI institutions at public colleges and universities throughout the state.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish cities grow at the expense of the countryside and smaller towns. There are many empty homes in the Polish countryside as people have had to move away for work and services like they have in all western countries. This was noted for the US in the hit piece book against US country voters. Jobs and income have deserted them. Mechanisation and corporatisation of farming now excludes them. Same happens in Poland. The houses are empty and start to decay and water starts to destroy them structurally. Also, still almost 1 million Poles in the UK who haven’t returned and haven’t been replaced in Poland. Look at morizon.pl and other property websites.
Bulgaria has the same. Many empty houses remote from major cities.
Hungary had the same, many people working in Germany and UK.
Of course this may reverse as UK, Germany and France struggle with energy costs and their standard of living falls and Eastern europe is still on Russian gas their economies will survive.
“Of course this may reverse as UK, Germany and France struggle with energy costs and their standard of living falls”
As long as ‘toddlers and their sophisticate “experts” retain ANY control over our lives, I wouldn’t bet on a reversal any time soon. This goes for any western state, including the three you cited, that lacks the testicular fortitude to take up arms against commie-toddlerism. Remember: you vote your way into ‘toddlerism, but you’ve gotta shoot your way out.
And, sadly, the ‘toddlers’ infantile psychosis is no longer limited to Obamerica.
“Prediction: As the commie-toddlers assume more power, under the auspices of their BLACK Lunatic Madness (BLM) comrades, prepare for nationwide electrical brown- and black-outs, shortages of food and supplies, runaway inflation (as previously predicted), ubiquitous violence and crime and an overall LOWER standard of living. As’s been said, it’s not a mistake, it’s Obamerica….it’s The [Party’s] Plan.” —posted to fb (Sept 2021)
San Francisco über alles!
Sara: Poland should promote its rural locations as retirement destinations for older American looking for an escape to normalcy. Offer
Yes they should but the climate in Poland is not like Spain. When reading the property ads in Bulgaria many English retirees have gone there and bought cheap properties to do up and retire in. When they become disabled they need to return to UK and sell. The properties have wonderful renovations and are quite cheap versus Australia.
Germans have been retiring to Hungary and some to Poland. Swedes have been moving to the northern part of Poland which is just a short ferry trip back home if they need to visit family.
Poland could start building retirement homes but it does lack the Spanish climate and beaches for a mass movement. Bulgaria has the beaches.
Recommended reading..
“A lot of people seem to have forgotten about the war in Ukraine. That’s a mistake. Russia is slowly but steadily defeating Ukraine, which is becoming increasingly obvious to everyone except the most anti-Russian diehards…Fearmongers like to point to what Putin once said in a speech: “Whoever doesn’t miss the Soviet Union doesn’t have a heart.” They take that as proof that he wants to recreate the Soviet Union. But they conveniently omit what he said next: “Whoever wants it back doesn’t have a brain.”” —James Rickards (one of the smartest guys alive)
https://dailyreckoning.com/ukraines-starting-to-get-dangerous/
I am sick to death of hearing about that lying bully Zelenskyy and Ukrainc.
I am sick of that dementia patient in the White House of giving them money. Zelensky even demanded money from Biden.
I hope Russia defeats them.
“I hope Russia defeats them.”
I think they already have.
But your pal, Prince Aricept (aka “the dementia patient in the White House”), keeps pumping guano into the EV (electric vehicle) of wars to avoid having [yet] another military debacle attributed to the regime, whose strings’re pulled by PAA and his BLACK Lunatic Madness (BLM) comrades.
The colloquial phrase is “beating a dead horse”.