Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called today for the West to use all possible means to force Russia into peace talks. Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned that Poland would face a nuclear attack if it responded to a Russian tactical nuclear attack with a conventional assault on Russian forces in Ukraine.
In other news, the left-wing 5-Star Movement in Italy filed a motion today that would commit the government to recognizing the State of Palestine.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, Insubria, JW, LP, Reader from Chicago, Roger, 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.
France Plans to Restrict Unemployment Benefits
The French government is planning to shorten the period people can claim unemployment benefits in order to strengthen incentives to work, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said in an interview published on Sunday.
Unemployment benefits will be limited to a maximum of 15 months, down from 18 months now, Attal told La Tribune Dimanche.
The government also plans to require someone to have worked eight months during the last 20 months, instead of six months during the last 24 months currently, to qualify for unemployment benefits.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Air Force Unveils B-21 Raider, the Newest Nuclear Stealth Bomber
See it while you can.
The Air Force has released the first in-flight photos of its new futuristic-looking nuclear stealth bomber, which is expected to be the “backbone” of military air operations from next year.
The sleek B-21 Raider, first unveiled late last year, was pictured during ongoing ground and air testing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Reflects on Son Beau’s Death as He Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington Memorial Day Ceremony
WASHINGTON — President Biden honored America’s fallen troops Monday at Arlington National Cemetery — saying in a Memorial Day speech that Americans must be “keepers of their mission” while reminiscing about his own son’s death from brain cancer.
“Today, we’re not just fortunate heirs of their legacy, we have a responsibility to be the keepers of their mission — that truest memorial to their lives: the actions we take every day to ensure that our democracy endures,” the 81-year-old president said after laying a wreath at the military cemetery.
Biden, whose son Beau died in 2015, said that he understood the grief of families in attendance for the annual event, and noted the expansion of veteran health treatment under the PACT Act, which he signed in 2022.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Visits Hunter’s Ex-Girlfriend Hallie Biden Ahead of Her Upcoming Testimony at His Gun Trial
President Joe Biden visited the home of his daughter-in-law Hallie Biden Sunday night, just weeks before she is set to testify against first son Hunter Biden in his federal trial for alleged gun crimes.
Hallie is the widow of Beau Biden and ex-girlfriend of Hunter. The visit by the president Sunday evening was at Hallie’s home in Delaware, according to Axios reporter Alex Thompson and The New York Post.
The White House did not give an explanation for the president’s visit, which took place at around 8 p.m., also according to The Post.
Hunter Biden is facing two trials this year on gun and tax evasion charges.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bill Gates Funding Research to Create Deadlier Bird Flu Strains
Billionaire Bill Gates is funding dangerous gain-of-function research that seeks to create far deadlier and more contagious strains of bird flu capable of rapidly spreading through humans and livestock.
Additionally, the Microsoft co-founder’s organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is working with Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration for the research.
The collaboration with U.S. federal government agencies means that American taxpayers are also funding the experiments.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CIA ‘Heavily Involved’ in Creation of COVID mRNA Shots
An explosive investigative report has exposed the role of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the creation of Covid mRNA shots.
According to a bombshell report from journalist Ian Carroll, the CIA was “heavily involved” in the production of pharmaceutical giant Moderna’s Covid injections.
Carroll uncovered a disturbing connection between the company and the CIA.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democratic Strategist James Carville Blasts Own Party — Again: ‘Messaging is Full of S**t’
Prominent Democratic strategist James Carville slammed his own party Saturday in a rant in which he called its messaging “full of s**t” — and accused the Biden campaign of worrying too much about the war in Gaza.
Carville, who helped run Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 White House campaign, ripped into national Democrats as polls continue to show President Biden struggling in his likely rematch with former President Donald Trump.
“We keep wondering why these young people are not coming home to the Democrats,” Carville, 79, said in a video episode of his Politicon podcast.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House Republicans Forcing Tough and Defining Votes on Democrats Ahead of November Election
Ahead of the November election, Republicans have forced tough votes on Democrats that may hurt their chances at the polls. From election security to law enforcement to illegal immigration, House Republicans have passed bills that most House Democrats have voted against, despite Americans’ prevalent concerns about those issues.
According to the Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted with Noble Predictive Insights in March, when given a range of top concerns, 45% of likely voters said inflation/price increases, 44% said illegal immigration, and 24% said the economy/jobs.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The House Ways and Means Committee has released new messages from Hunter Biden revealing that Hunter used a Sandy Hook memorial service to set up a meeting with Joe Biden and Chinese business partners. The messages come from a trove of communications released from an investigation into Hunter.
Messages released from the committee between Hunter Biden and a Chinese oil executive now show that Joe Biden and his son met with CEFC China Energy official Liu Yadong in New York in 2017.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jill Stein Exposes Democrat Effort to Target Third-Party Election Influence
An unexpected revelation by Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has exposed the Democrats’ strategies toward targeting third-party competition in the presidential election.
Stein uncovered a Democratic National Committee (DNC) job listing intended to manage and possibly suppress third-party influences in coming elections.
According to Breitbart, Stein shared a screenshot of the job listing that has stirred both controversy and concern across the political spectrum.
The position was titled “Independent & Third Party Project Manager” and was posted by the DNC.
Interestingly, shortly after its exposure on social media, the job listing was quickly deleted.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Louisiana judge presiding over a high-profile criminal case accusing black men of raping a white LSU student dismissed a 1972 rape conviction a year after she released a different rape suspect on reduced bail.
District Judge Gail Horne Ray’s decisions, coupled with her son’s serial rape conviction and her potential bias as a lifetime member of the NAACP, has raised concerns about conflicts of interest.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Libertarians Nominate Chase Oliver for President — Rejecting Trump, RFK Jr.
Libertarians have crowned former Georgia Senate hopeful Chase Oliver as their 2024 presidential nominee after a grueling eight hours of voting at their convention over the weekend.
Oliver, 38, who managed to fend off outside attempts to usurp the Libertarian Pary endorsement, now joins the likes of independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Green Party candidate Jill Stein, and independent Cornel West as a third-party force in the 2024 arena.
“We did it! I am officially the presidential nominee,” Oliver posted on X after clinching the party nod.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Massachusetts knifeman accused of stabbing six people, including three children, and suspected of killing another, appears to have been in the process of changing their identity.
Jared Ravizza, 26, swapped shirtless selfies showing off a gym-honed torso as recently as September 2023 for ones wearing lipgloss, face glitter and painted pink nails.
Ravizza also describes themselves as “she” on Instagram and court documents obtained by The Post show paperwork was filed for a legal name change from Jared Christian Ravizza Jones to Jared Love Jones just last month.
In the application, Ravizza wrote the reason as: “Honoring my beloved grandmother Priscilla Jones,” and “honoring the creative brilliance and magical beauty of my entire Jones family lineage,” on their maternal side.
Ravizza also asked the name change not be made public because “this has been a deeply personal journey for me,” in the papers dated April 8.
The request was granted and signed off on by a judge the following day.
Ravizza is being investigated over a murder in Connecticut after cops found a body in the tiny town of Deep River around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to Boston 25 news.
Ravizza is then accused of laughing as he stabbed four little girls aged between 9 and 17 as they watched the movie “IF” at a theater outside Boston — then attacking two other people at a McDonald’s, according to cops.
None of the victims’ injuries were life-threatening and they were treated at a hospital, according to local reports.
| — Hat tip: Roger | [Return to headlines] |
The man suspected of a stabbing spree which injured six, including three children, in Massachusetts claimed to be a male model and a CEO.
Jared Ravizza, 26, bragged during interviews about his prowess as a pro skier, model, philanthropist and the leader of Ravizza Group, a marketing company which he founded.
One gushing profile described him as an international “serial entrepreneur and media mogul,” and “a man with an innate desire to bring out the best in other humans in the most beautiful way,” according to beverlyhillsmagazine.com.
However, a website offering Ravizza’s services as a media manager offered no testimonials or proof of work completed by the company, focusing instead on glamorous selfies of its founder.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Massachusetts mother who says her daughters were among the victims of a stabbing spree that left six injured across two towns over the weekend is alleging that the suspect was “laughing the whole time” during the attack.
The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office says 26-year-old Jared Ravizza of Chilmark — a town on the island of Martha’s Vineyard — is now facing multiple charges following his arrest in connection to stabbing attacks at an AMC movie theater in Braintree and at a rest stop in Plymouth on Saturday night.
“I got a call from my sister that my oldest daughter had called her [and] that I needed to get to the AMC movie theater right away because they had been stabbed. Honestly, I just got in my car and headed right there,” Lisa Dembowski told reporters regarding the first incident, in which Braintree Police say four young females between the ages of 9 and 17 sustained “non-life-threatening injuries.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The New Jersey shore town Wildwood closed its popular boardwalk for a few hours early Sunday morning after hordes of “unruly, undisciplined” teens descended on the walkway, local officials said.
Police shut down the boardwalk to the public just past midnight after receiving an “irrepressible number” of complaints about an “extremely large number of young adults & juveniles” visiting the boardwalk for Memorial Day Weekend, according to a statement from authorities.
City officials did not cite a specific incident that led them to shut down the boardwalk, but claimed that cops were addressing “civil unrest.” Conditions “began to deteriorate despite the presence and efforts of local police officers and multiple mutual aid law enforcement agencies,” the statement adds.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Plymouth Stabbing Suspect Released From Hospital, Held Without Bail Until Arraignment Tuesday
PLYMOUTH — The Chilmark man prosecutors said stabbed two workers at a local McDonald’s, then injured himself when he crashed his car during a State Police pursuit in Sandwich Saturday night, was held without bail Monday after he was released from the hospital, according to the Plymouth District Attorney’s office.
Jared Ravizza, 26, is due to be arraigned Tuesday in Plymouth District Court on charges including assault with intent to murder, and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the stabbings, prosecutors have said.
Officials Monday released few new details about the investigation into the attacks, which State Police and Braintree police have said may be connected to the stabbing of four girls at the AMC Braintree 10 theater at about 6 p.m. Saturday, about an hour before the McDonald’s attack.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Radical Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MN) has attended a conference linked to terrorists and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and launched an attack against President Joe Biden.
While speaking at the Sunday event, “Squad” member Tlaib blasted Biden’s handling of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
She derided Biden as an “enabler” of “genocide” while speaking at the event.
The event, the People’s Conference for Palestine, was attended by at least one member of a designated terrorist organization.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sacramento Memorial Day Event Cancelled Due to Protest
(FOX40.COM) — A Memorial Day event planned to be held at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium on Monday was canceled due to Pro-Palestinian protests in the area, event organizers told FOX40.com.
The Sacramento Police Department shared just before 11 a.m. that J and 15th streets near the Memorial Auditorium would be closed due to the protests.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Senator Slams Biden’s EPA for Awarding $50 MILLION to ‘Pro-Hamas’ Climate ‘Justice’ Group
US Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) announced this week that the Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $50 million grant to Climate Justice Alliance using funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which Democrats have touted as the biggest climate bill ever. Climate Justice Alliance “engages in pro-Hamas, anti-Israel, and anti-Semitic activities,” Capito said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The class of 2024 have graduated into a rocky jobs market and to make matters worse, employers are becoming increasingly wary about hiring them.
In fact, 64% of employers have said they have become concerned about hiring graduates in the past five years more broadly, according to a recently published survey of 1,268 business leaders in the U.S. by higher education publication Intelligent.com.
Almost a third of employers are particularly worried about hiring recent graduates who have attended pro-Palestinian protests in the past six months, while 22% are reluctant to hire graduates who have participated in these demonstrations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two progressive ‘Squad’ members scrambled to delete posts about Memorial Day highlighting how little the lawmakers know about the longtime U.S. holiday.
Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Cori Bush of Missouri both posted tributes to soldiers on X Monday but quickly worked to delete their own posts after recognizing a fatal flaw in their tweets.
Both progressives ‘Squad’ members used the holiday to advocate for housing and healthcare reform, demanding that veterans get the treatment they deserve.
But unbeknownst to them — or at least their inept communications teams — Memorial Day celebrates the lives of fallen soldiers, not ones that are still living.
The federal holiday for veterans is, well, Veterans Day, which is observed on November 11 each year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Top Libertarian Endorses Trump After Party Nominates ‘Gay Race Communist for President’
After Chase Oliver was nominated to be the Libertarian Party’s nominee for the 2024 election, a top Libertarian in the movement came out and endorsed Donald Trump for the election instead, citing Oliver’s radical views as the reason and calling him a “gay race communist.”
After calling Trump supporters socialists at the convention over the weekend, popular Libertarian Jeremy Kauffman posted that he would be voting for the presumed Republican nominee over Oliver in the election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Continues to Dominate Biden in Polling
Democrats are currently scrambling as President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign continues struggling in a multitude of different ways.
One of those involves the onslaught of polls that show him steadily losing ground to President Donald Trump.
According to Breitbart, Trump is besting Biden in both a two-way race and in a field that includes third-party candidates.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
United Airlines Flight Catches Fire Before Takeoff in Chicago, Resulting in Delays
United Airlines flight aborted takeoff after an engine caught fire at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Monday, resulting in delays and halting arrivals.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that United Flight 2091 was supposed to take off at 2 p.m., when the engine caught fire.
The plane was supposed to go to Seattle, Washington. A spokesperson said the situation was resolved safely, according to Fox News.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US’ First Case of Mass Hysteria Might Have Something in Common With Havana Syndrome
Dizziness. Chirping in the ears. Migraines. Memory loss. These are just a few of the symptoms of Havana Syndrome — the mysterious sudden-onset illness that is said to have affected more than 100 US diplomats, White House staffers, intelligence agents and their family members.
Last Wednesday, the House homeland security subcommittee on counterterrorism, law enforcement and intelligence heard testimony from retired army officer Greg Edgreen, claiming that “America’s best men and women in national security are being targeted and neutralized.”
This echoed a “60 Minutes” bombshell report that aired March 31, claiming Russian intelligence operatives could be behind the debilitating syndrome that first surfaced in Havana, the capital city of communist Cuba.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Washington Doctor Forced to Undergo Re-Education for Prescribing Ivermectin to COVID Patients
The Washington Medical Board has ordered a veteran doctor to undergo re-education classes as punishment for prescribing his patients with ivermectin to treat Covid.
In addition, Dr. Wei-Hsung Lin has been forced to pay a $5000 fine.
Aside from taking medical education classes on approved COVID-19 treatment, Dr. Lin will now be subjected to annual “compliance” reviews because he prescribed ivermectin off-label to five Covid patients.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
As Ukrainian Casualties Soar, EU Will Move to Conscript European Youth to Fight, Warns Hungarian FM
Ukraine’s high causality rates combined with its struggle to conscript its own population means the EU will increasingly move to conscript European youth, mostly in the geographical proximity of Ukraine, to fight against Russia, said Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjartó following a meeting with EU foreign ministers.
“Ukrainian casualties are becoming more and more unbearable, Ukrainian men are not being allowed out of Ukraine, and now they want to conscript European youth into the war. And obviously, as the escalation hits this neighborhood first, one can almost clearly hear the argument that the soldiers should be sent from the geographical proximity first. All this means that they want to send Central European youth, including Hungarian youth, to the war with mandatory European conscription,” said Szijjartó during an interview with Hungarian media.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Centre-Right Lithuanian President Takes 75 Per Cent in Re-Election Victory
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda secured a second five-year term as Lithuanian president in a landslide victory over Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte.
Preliminary figures by the Lithuania’s Central Electoral Commission showed that Nauseda won 74.5% of the votes and Simonyte 24.1%.
The 60-year-old Nauseda is a moderate conservative and has been a strong backer of Ukraine, a position shared across most of the political spectrum. During his time in office, Lithuania has also given refuge to many who have fled an authoritarian crackdown in neighboring Belarus and increased repression in Russia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dairy Farmers to EU: Help Us or Face More Tractor Protests
Brussels must do more to help farmers make a living or face more tractor protests, the head of a major farmers’ association warned.
Speaking ahead of a demonstration in the EU capital on May 27, Kjartan Poulsen, the President of the European Milk Board (EMB), said agricultural workers were encouraged that European Union-level politicians had appeared to be taking their concerns seriously.
He went on to warn, though, that, while the latest Brussels protest would be a “friendly” affair, this would not be the case with future demonstrations should lawmakers not take their concerns seriously and act upon them.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Counterterrorism Agency on High Alert for Signs of Russian Sabotage
The National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV) is on high alert for signals of Russian sabotage in the Netherlands. It’s working closely with the police and security services to quickly identify signals of subversive operations and disrupt them, the NCTV told the Telegraaf after a series of suspected sabotage incidents in other European countries.
In November, construction workers in Karlsruhe, Germany, found an explosive during maintenance on a high-voltage pylon, the local authorities announced on Friday. A forensic investigation determined that it had been buried at the high-voltage pylon, which is within a few hundred meters of a NATO kerosene pipeline, no more than 18 months earlier.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Europe’s Hard-Left Parties Unite in Opposition to War
Ahead of the European Parliament elections on June 6-9, the annual Spring Festival in Madrid hosted by the Spanish Podemos party became a rallying point for Europe’s hard-left parties and their no-to-war message.
The May 25 event showcased a united front comprising French party La France Insoumise, Belgium’s Workers’ Party (PTB), and Italy’s Sinistra Italiana (Italian Left), which collectively advocated for peace and criticised the European Union’s position on the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel.
In a video message, left-wing political leaders expressed solidarity with their Spanish allies, reinforcing their collective push for peace.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Farmers Plan Brussels Showdown on June 4th
Europe’s farmers are once again taking their demands directly to European Union institutions, with the Dutch Farmers Defense Force (FDF) mobilising for a demonstration in the Belgian capital Monday to defend their industry and way of life. Organisers have predicted approximately 3,000 tractors will make their way to the EU capital for the FDF demonstration. Leading farming unions in France, the Netherlands, and Spain have already pledged their support.
Dairy farmers from at least five member states are also planning a manifestation under the motto “Fair income for farmers now” on Monday, to coincide with the meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council of the EU.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Foreign Ministers Meeting in Uproar After Hungary Refuses More Arms for Ukraine
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjartó said there had been a huge uproar during the Brussels meeting Monday between EU’s foreign ministers after Hungary refused for the EU to give €6.5 billion worth of arms deliveries to Ukraine through the so-called European Peace Facility (EPF) The EPF is an EU-backed fund that is supposed to “enhance the EU’s ability to prevent conflicts, build and preserve peace and strengthen international security and stability,” but which has provided billions of euros in military aid to Ukraine.
EU decisions on foreign policy require the unanimous backing of all 27 member states. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis criticised Hungary for blocking “almost all of our discussions and needed solutions and decisions.” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said: “Every time we are coming here, we have to convince Hungary about not blocking very important initiatives.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Macron Wants to Debate Le Pen — But She Wants Conditions Attached
Confirming rumours that have been circulating for several days, the French president Emmanuel Macron just announced that he was keen to debate Marine Le Pen—as soon as possible.The conditions for a debate have not yet been met, according to Marine Le Pen, the former president of the Rassemblement National and now leader of her party’s parliamentary group.
Many French voters see this proposal as a crude political manoeuvre to salvage an election that looks set to end unfavourably for the president’s party.
On the flight back to Paris from New Caledonia, Emmanuel Macron explained to Le Parisiennewspaper that he “was ready to debate now with Ms. Le Pen.” The proposal has been floated for several days but not yet been confirmed by the Élysée Palace. Marine Le Pen explained at the time that she was willing to face the President in a debate, but on condition that the confrontation took place after the European elections.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Macron: ‘Democracy is in Crisis’
French President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to “get involved” in the European Parliament elections in June “to unmask the ideas of the National Rally”.
During his visit to Berlin on May 26, the French President said: “I think our democracy is in a crisis, and we can see it with our own eyes.
“The strength of democracy lies in the permanent debate on all kinds of questions, by which we try to achieve the best solutions that the people can choose.
“And now we come to question democracy itself. There is a form of fascination for authoritarianism that is being born in our own democratism,” he added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Goes to the Polls With AfD and Scholz Crises
Extremists weakened by scandals, chancellor by squabbles
BERLIN, 27 maggio 2024, 14:16
In the EU’s largest country, Germany, the European elections are marked by a far-right weakened by a series of scandals linked to its xenophobic and anti-Western tendencies and by internal frictions within German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s left-of-center coalition that are favoring the Christian Democratic opposition.
Despite almost no economic growth, Germany still produces a quarter of the EU’s GDP and will send the most (96) of its 705 MEPs to Strasbourg and Brussels.
And despite the Nazi past that almost 80 years after the end of the Third Reich still impregnates German political and institutional sensibilities, a party as partly officially far-right as the Alternative for Germany (AFD) manages to gather broad support: after 11 percent achieved in the previous European elections in 2019 and in the 2021 general election, polls by major demographic institutes give it between a 23 percent detected last summer and a 15 percent last month.
Also without a single leading candidate is the HDU, the Christian Democratic party’s main opposition force: leader Friedrich Merz is launching one for each region but has the pull of the European Commission chairwoman, Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen, the number one candidate of the entire European People’s Party (EPP) aiming for an encore at the helm of the EU executive.
The party, along with its Bavarian right-wing (CSU) electorally led by EPP group leader Manfred Weber, has been credited for weeks with 30 percent, virtually doubling the expected result for Scholz’s Social Democratic party. The chancellor is fielding a former family minister, MEP Katarina Barley. The Greens, credited with 14 percent, are presenting Terry Reintke, who is little known in Germany despite being the leading co-candidate of ecologists at the European level. In contrast, the other governing party, the Liberals (FDP, 4 percent), is betting on pro-Ukrainian Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a reference point of the Alde (Alliance of European Liberals and Democrats).
The left-wing opposition has leading co-candidates with ties to Italy: the newly formed ‘BSW’ of Sarah Wagenknecht (6 percent) has German-Italian Fabio De Masi, while the Linke (4 percent) is supporting Carola Rackete, the migrant sea captain who forced the blockade on Lampedusa in 2019.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
German police are set to introduce a robust five-point plan to ensure they are equipped to deal with any security threat during the European Championships next month, according to reports.
The much-anticipated tournament gets underway in Munich on June 14 with a clash between the hosts and Scotland at the Allianz Arena.
The fixture will see the first portion of the expected 2.7million fans expected in stadiums and up to 12m in fanzones and other areas across the ten host cities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
BERLIN (AP) — A German court convicted a military officer of espionage Monday for passing internal documents to Russia and offering more, and sentenced him to 3 1/2 years in prison.
The 54-year-old defendant, identified only as Thomas H. in line with German privacy rules, worked for the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support and had the military rank of captain. The Duesseldorf state court convicted him of espionage and violating official secrets.
The man acted of his own accord when he provided internal documents to the Russian consulate in Bonn in May 2023 to be forwarded to Russian intelligence, the court found. He also offered his cooperation and further documents from the German military, the Bundeswehr.’
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Police Dismantle Terror-Plotting Turkish Gang
Crime boss Baris Boyun among 19 people arrested
Milan investigators said Wednesday that 19 people had been arrested in Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Turkey in dawn operations involving hundreds of police officers to dismantle an armed criminal gang that was allegedly plotting terrorist attacks.
The suspects include the gang’s allegedly boss, Baris Boyun, a 39-year-old Turkish national of Kurdish origin and one of Ankara’s most wanted men.
The suspects face charges that include murder, terrorist attacks and being in an armed group for terrorist purposes.
Boyun was taken in custody from an apartment in the city of Viterbo, north of Rome, where he was under house arrest after being detained in Rimini in August 2022 under an international warrant issued by the Turkish authorities regarding allegations including murder, criminal association and arms felonies.
Boyun rejected the allegations and staged a successful legal battle in the Italian courts against his extradition, saying he was being persecuted for his Kurdish origins.
According to the warrant for Wednesday’s operations, Boyun had continued to lead a criminal network active in many parts of Europe from a residence in Crotone where he had been under house arrest.
Among other things, he was the alleged brains behind a planned attack in March on a Turkish aluminum factory involving suicide bombers that was thwarted thanks to information exchanged by Italian and Turkish police.
The warrant said that, in a wiretapped conversation, Boyun had boasted that “all of Turkey” would talk about what he had in store.
In a wiretap from January 16, Boyun allegedly said that he had told the “upper hierarchy of the PKK” that “we don’t accept an organization like this and we will found a new organization, starting a new revolution”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: M5S Files Motion to Recognise State of Palestine
Commits govt to OK Palestinian state, censure May 10 abstention
The leftwing opposition 5-Star Movement (M5S) on Monday filed a motion committing the government to recognise the State of Palestine and censure Italy’s recent abstention on recognition at the UN along with the UK, Germany and several other countries.
Norway, Spain and Ireland last week said they would recognise Palestine on Tuesday, tomorrow, in a move that bolstered the global Palestinian movement but put further strain on relations between European and Israel.
The M5S motion commits the government not only to the formal recognition of the State of Palestine, but to take a clear position in the international arena by censuring Italy’s abstention of 10 May.
“(Premier Giorgia) Meloni can no longer bury her head in the sand,” said M5S sources, letting it be known that the group will ask for the motion to be immediately scheduled in the Lower House at the conference of caucus leaders on Tuesday.
Italy abstained May 10 on a UN General Assembly resolution recognising Palestine as qualified to become a full member of the United Nations.
The other abstainers were Albania, Bulgaria, Austria, Canada, Croatia, Fiji, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Marshall Islands, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Moldova, Paraguay, Romania, Vanuatu, Malawi, Monaco, Ukraine, Great Britain, Sweden and Switzerland.
The nine countries that voted against were the USA, Israel, Palau, Nauru, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Hungary, Argentina and Czechia.
The resolution passed.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: ‘Anti-Zionist’ TV Chef Beaten Up in Street
Chef Rubio says assailants were ‘Jewish terrorists’
Gabriele Rubini aka Chef Rubio, a self-declared ‘anti-Zionist’ and pro-Palestinian TV chef, was beaten up outside his Rome home by six men wielding their fists and bricks Wednesday night, he said on social media.
Rubini, who will be 40 on June 29 and who is under investigation for instigating hate with antisemitic remarks, called his assailants “terrorists” and !Zionist Jews”.
“Terrorists. These are the Zionist Jews. They waited for me outside my house in six and cut the wires of the gate to slaughter me”, he said on X, posting video and photos of the attack.
In the images, the chef can be seen with blood on his face and head and a swollen eye, saying “they beat the s**t out of me, they blocked the electric gate”.
He also posted photos of the inside of a car with broken glass.
On Thursday Rubini thanked well wishers for their support and solidarity, said he had been pummelled with 60 punches, and sent a “hug to the Jewish community” too.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Husband of Anti-Vax MEP Found Murdered in Car With Zip Tie Around His Neck
A top European Union lawmaker has made a gruesome discovery after finding her murdered husband’s dead body in his car.
Italian MEP Francesca Donato found her husband Angelo Onorato dead in his vehicle with a zip tie tightly wrapped around his neck, indicating he was murdered.
Additionally, Donato was also with her daughter when they found Onorato’s body in his car.
Both women insist that Onorato was murdered, according to Euronews.
The body of the 54-year-old architect was found in Palermo, the capital of the Italian island of Sicily, according to Agenzia Nova.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jet-Setting Archbishop of Canterbury Accused of Climate ‘Hypocrisy’
Canterbury Archbishop Justin Welby has been accused of “hypocrisy” for jetting around the world while agitating for greater efforts to combat climate change.
Under Welby’s leadership, the Church of England has adopted a stringent Net Zero
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Le Pen Pitches New Conservative Alliance to Meloni
French right-wing populist leader Marine Le Pen has proposed a merger between the two sovereigntist conservative blocs in the European Parliament, arguing that a united Right could be the second largest group in Brussels. The parties have usually dismissed the idea of merging the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and the Identity and Democracy (ID) groups before, but the expulsion of the German Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) from ID last week has put every option back on the table.
The ID group voted last week to exclude AfD following a controversy regarding statements made by the party’s top candidate seemingly relativizing the actions of SS soldiers during World War II. Several ID parties, including Le Pen’s Rassemblement National and Italian Lega declared they would no longer be willing to work with the German party. Speaking to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Sunday, May 26th, Le Pen pitched her idea of creating a new sovereigntist formation by joining the forces of her ID group and the ECR group—currently slated to become third and fourth largest blocs after June 9th—under one giant umbrella that would have the power to stand up to the leftist-globalist majority in Brussels.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Macron Aims to Strengthen Ties With Germany on State Visit
French President Emmanuel Macron is on a three-day State visit to Germany aiming to reaffirm the strength of the Franco-German alliance.
Speaking in Berlin at the Festival of Democracy at the start of his visit on May 26 before meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Macron professed his deep affection for the Franco-German relationship.
His trip to Germany provided him an “opportunity to demonstrate the strength of our friendship and to give it new perspectives”, he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Meloni Sees ‘Different Ruling Majority’ in EU
Premier Giorgia Meloni said Monday that next month’s European elections may usher in a new ruling majority in the EU with respect to the grand coalition between the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) that has ruled the EU institutions in recent years.
“Today there is room to build a different majority in the European Parliament, and for different policies,” Meloni, the leader of the right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, told Rai radio.
She added that “if things should not go like this, I have already shown that, with common sense, Italy can lead the way on many policies”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Teen Boy Will be Prosecuted for Hitting Far-Right Leader Baudet With a Beer Bottle
The Public Prosecution Service will put a 16-year-old boy on trial on suspicion of using a beer bottle to strike politician Thierry Baudet. The boy, who was 15 at the time of the incident, is suspected of attempting to seriously injure the Forum voor Democratie (FvD) party leader when he hit Baudet in the head at a Groningen café in November.
Baudet was attacked during a campaign event days before the 2023 election to determine members of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch Parliament. Baudet suffered a head wound from the blow.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Several Utrecht Cops Hurt in Clashes With Football Supporters; 2 Arrested
Several police officers got hurt on Sunday evening during disturbances after the FC Utrecht match against Go Ahead Eagles in Galgenwaard. The police made two arrests.
According to the police, one cop was taken to a hospital with injuries. Several other police officers suffered minor injuries. Ambulance personnel treated them at the scene.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Rioting by FC Utrecht Fans Means Team Will Play Next Home Match in an Empty Stadium
No spectators will be allowed in the stands at FC Utrecht’s next home football match in the Eredivisie. Mayor Sharon Dijksma decided to impose the measure in response to rioting by the team’s supporters on Sunday when the FC Utrecht was lost out on the chance to play in European football next season.
“I am aware that this is unique, but given the situation last Sunday, this is an appropriate measure. Also, I will not hesitate to disallow an audience at other matches if this situation repeats itself,” Dijksma wrote on Monday in a letter to the City Council. According to the mayor, FC Utrecht understands the reason for the decision.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland to Introduce Restrictions on Movements of Russian Diplomats
Poland will introduce restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats on its territory says Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
“These are national decisions, but we have evidence that the Russian state is involved in authorising sabotage in our country as well. We hope that the Russian Federation will treat this as a very serious warning,” Radoslaw Sikorski told journalists in Brussels.
According to Radoslaw Sikorski, these restrictions are due to Moscow’s involvement in a hybrid war against the European Union.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Opposition Gathers Thousands in Madrid to Protest Against Catalan Amnesty
Spain’s centre-right Partido Popular (PP) drew thousands of protesters against the amnesty for convicted Catalan separatists to Madrid’s famous Puerta de Alcala (Alcala Gate).
The PP claimed more than 80,000 thousand turned up on May 26 but the Government delegation in Madrid under Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of the Socialist Party said the figure was around 20,000.
The leader of the opposition and PP President Alberto Núñez Feijóo demanded Sanchez “withdraws the Amnesty Bill, dissolves Parliament, and calls for new elections”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tusk to Remain as PM, Rejects Bid for Polish Presidency
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says he will not take part in elections for the Polish presidency in spring 2025.
“I will not be running in the presidential elections,” Tusk announced on May 24. When asked about the candidacy of Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski’s, who narrowly lost the last presidential election, Tusk said he “would be happy if the Mayor tried again”.
The PM, who is also leader of the country’s largest party in the ruling coalition (KO), explained his decision not to run by saying: “I have a lot of work to do here [as Prime Minister]. A few months or even years won’t be enough to clean up everything, so I really have a lot to do.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘Unserious’ Tory National Service Proposal Falls Flat
A surprise manifesto pledge by the UK Conservative Party to ‘bring back national service’ for 18-year-olds has been ridiculed as a ‘gimmick” by opposition figures and military experts alike.
Aiming to provide 30,000 placements in defence, including cyber security, Sunak has defended his national service announcement as potentially creating a “shared sense of purpose among our young people,” echoing plans for a ‘citizen army’ modelling Scandinavian and Swiss examples raised by military chiefs earlier this year.
However, as the general election campaign enters its second week, Conservative MP Steve Baker was among multiple Tory politicians who appeared to distance themselves from the proposed scheme, which would have teens serve a year in the British armed services or participate in oxymoronically named “mandatory volunteering”. Baker, a minister of state at the Cabinet Office, hinted that the policy had been formulated without proper consultation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
World War III Watch: Eastern Europe NATO Allies Readying to Foil Russian Hybrid Attacks
Wars and rumours of wars are having an impact on military preparedness right across Eastern Europe. NATO member Poland on Monday became the latest state to announce a boost, presenting a plan to strengthen its anti-drone surveillance and on-ground military capabilities in the face of continued Russian threats.
The effort follows Finland, Norway, and Baltic states drawing up similar proposals to deter Moscow’s aggression.
AP reports a system of fortifications and barriers along about 430 miles of Poland’s eastern border with Russia and Russian ally Belarus are part of the planning.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dozens Reported Killed in Israeli Strike on Rafah
At least 45 people have been killed, including women and children, in an Israeli air strike on a camp for displaced Palestinians in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, the Hamas-run health ministry says.
Videos from the scene in the Tal al-Sultan area on Sunday night showed a large explosion and intense fires burning.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had killed two “senior Hamas terrorists” and that it was “investigating the circumstances of the deaths of civilians in the area”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “tragedy”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nation Building’s Last Stand in Gaza
Rafah isn’t just the last stand for Hamas, but for an entire foreign policy establishment.
The desperate effort to keep Israeli soldiers from going into the last Gaza stronghold of the Islamic terrorist organization is about more than the sum of the geopolitical parts.
After nation building failed in Afghanistan and Iraq, and everywhere else it’s been tried, the radioactive ‘Palestinian’ nation building experiment from over 30 years ago is its last hope.
Long before George W. Bush tackled nation building after 9/11, his father began the era of turning Muslim terrorist groups into countries with the project to give the PLO a state. Where the first Bush failed, Bill Clinton succeeded with the Oslo accords and a Nobel prize for Arafat.
The PLO state failed long before Iran took over Iraq and the Taliban took over Afghanistan. There had never been anything peaceful, democratic or aspirational about Arafat and the PLO. By the time that Hamas had captured Gaza after winning democratic elections, it had long been clear to everyone outside of D.C. that rather than ending terrorism, statehood had incarnated it.
Any ‘Palestinian’ state was doomed to be a terrorist state. The only question is who would run it. And the answer was that the biggest and deadliest terrorists would command popular support.
| — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield | [Return to headlines] |
UN Security Council to Hold Meeting After Rafah Strike
The United Nations Security Council is set to hold a closed door emergency meeting following a deadly Israeli airstrike that hit the southern Gaza Strip, according to diplomats.
The meeting was requested by Algeria, the Arab representative on the council, and supported by Slovenia.
The Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled enclave said 45 people were killed and dozens were injured in the airstrike that hit tents housing displaced people.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Nuclear Threat: Russia’s Medvedev Warns Poland ‘It Will Get Its Share of Radioactive Ash’
Former Russian President and current Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev took to social media over the weekend in response to an interview with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and warned Poland would face a nuclear attack if Poland and its allies responded to any Russian nuclear tactical attack with a massive conventional assault on Russian forces in Ukraine.
“Warsaw will not be omitted and is certain to receive its share of radioactive ash,” wrote Medvedev in response to remarks made on the likelihood of a Russian nuclear attack by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in an interview with The Guardian on May 25.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Zelensky Calls on West to Force Russia Into Peace Talks
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky called Monday, May 27, on the West to “use all means” to force Russia to peace talks during a visit to Madrid, which pledged one billion euros in military aid as a Russian offensive gained new ground.
Russia said it has taken two more villages as part of its assault in eastern Ukraine and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg urged allies to rethink their restrictions on using Western weapons to strike inside Russia, a key demand of the Ukrainian president.
“We need to intensify our joint work with our partners to achieve more. Security and tangible coercion of Russia to peace by all means,” Zelensky told a joint press conference with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
France to Lift State of Emergency in New Caledonia After Deadly Anti-Colonial Riots
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron decided on Monday to lift the state of emergency in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia in a move meant to allow political dialogue following the unrest that left seven people dead and a trail of destruction, his office said.
The president’s office said in a statement that the state of emergency won’t be extended “for the moment” and will therefore end Monday at 8 p.m. in Paris, which is 5 a.m. Tuesday in New Caledonia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trust the “Science”… That Just Retracted 11,000 “Peer Reviewed” Papers
It’s yet another reminder of why blindly ‘trusting the science’ may not always be the best go-to move in the future.
217 year old Wiley science publisher has reportedly “peer reviewed” more than 11,000 papers that were determined to be fake without ever noticing. The papers were referred to as “naked gobbledygook sandwiches”, Australian blogger Jo Nova wrote on her blog last week.
“It’s not just a scam, it’s an industry,” she said. “Who knew, academic journals were a $30 billion dollar industry?”
According to Nova’s post, professional cheating services are employing AI to craft seemingly “original” academic papers by shuffling around words. For instance, terms like “breast cancer” morphed into “bosom peril,” and a “naïve Bayes” classifier turns into “gullible Bayes.”
Similarly, in one paper, an ant colony was bizarrely rebranded as an “underground creepy crawly state.”
The misuse of terminology extends to machine learning, where a ‘random forest’ is whimsically translated to ‘irregular backwoods’ or ‘arbitrary timberland’.
Nova writes that shockingly, these papers undergo peer review without any rigorous human oversight, allowing egregious errors, like converting ‘local average energy’ to ‘territorial normal vitality’, to slip through.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A graduate in history and contemporary history from the University of Paris, Fabrice Leggeri is a senior French civil servant, politician, and diplomat who has spent much of his career in the Ministry of the Interior, serving as sub-prefect in the French regions of Haute-Normandie and Chteaulin. Between 2013 and 2014, he headed the division for the fight against irregular immigration in the French Ministry of the Interior. He was also the director of the European Union’s European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) between 2015 and 2022, when he resigned after three years of continuous clashes with the European Commission. Fabrice Leggeri is Rassemblement National’s number three candidate for the next European elections.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California Wrongly Claimed Millions in Medicaid Services for Illegal Migrants: HHS Watchdog Reports
The state of California incorrectly claimed millions of dollars in federal Medicaid funding for health services that were provided to illegal immigrants, according to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
The OIG released an audit last month that alleged the California Medicaid program didn’t use proper methodology to evaluate reimbursements for resources given to noncitizens who aren’t eligible to be fully covered by Medicaid.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Denver Offers How-to Guide on Turning Cities Into Taxpayer-Funded Immigrant Sanctuaries
The Democrat-led city of Denver, Colorado, is offering a how-to guide to help other cities turn into immigrant sanctuaries at the expense of taxpayers.
The guide is titled “Newcomers Playbook: A Guide to Welcoming Newcomers into Your City,” and its authors say they are “thrilled” to offer their guide on how to plan and implement a sanctuary city.
The guide exclaims:
We are thrilled that you are interested in creating a welcoming environment for migrants in your city. As part of Denver’s welcoming approach, we use the term “newcomers” to refer to migrants, recognizing that they are new to our city and embracing a more inclusive language. This playbook is a guide divided into two sections, offering recommendations and strategies for successfully integrating newcomers into your city.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Farage: Migrant Crisis a ‘National Emergency’ Putting Britain at Risk of Further Terrorism
Brexit boss Nigel Farage blasted both the Conservative and Labour parties for failing to put forward meaningful plans to stop the illegal migrant crisis in the English Channel, which he warned represents a “national emergency” putting Britain at risk of further terror attacks.
The failure of the poorly-named Conservative government to end the illegal boat migrant crisis in the Channel is not only a betrayal of the UK public’s desire to “take back control” of their country’s borders but also represents a major national security issue given the large proportion of unidentifiable young military-age males landing on British beaches every month, Mr Farage argued.
Speaking with the Express newspaper, the honorary Reform UK party president said: “There is a growing list of people who have come into Britain illegally [and] committed serious crimes in our country. What we cannot know is how many of these could be part of a future terrorist attack. The Channel crisis is an issue of national security that is of the utmost importance.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Interior Minister Tempted by Italy’s ‘Albanian Model’ Asylum System
German interior minister Nancy Faeser has expressed interest in how Italy aims to more asylum application procedures in Albania.
Faeser said the Italian plans to outsource parts of its asylum-claim procedures to Albania were an “interesting model”, while at the same time rejecting the British Rwanda migrant relocation plans.
Speaking to German newspaper Stern on May 27, Faeser said she was “looking forward to what Italy is doing together with Albania”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A former employee at New York City’s largest migrant shelter has claimed that hotels involved in resettlement are profiting off the city’s shelter program.
Carlos Arellano previously worked at Row NYC, which was converted from a four-star hotel into the city’s biggest temporary shelter for migrants just under two years ago.
Speaking from personal experience, Arellano claimed the hotel staff at such shelters were expensing the city ‘for any little thing they can.’
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Migrant Male Arrested After Knife Rampage on French Metro
A man who should have been deported in 2022 was arrested after a stabbing spree at a Lyon metro station on Sunday afternoon, leading to right-wing critics of the government to point to failure by the state to protect the public.
The peace of what is described as a quiet Lyon neighbourhood was shattered on Sunday afternoon after a knifeman launched a rampage at the city’s Place Jean Jaure’s Metro station. Four people were injured, three seriously, but there were no fatalities.
The suspect arrested at the scene is a 27-year-old Moroccan man who, authorities say, is subject to a OQTF (an ‘Obligation de quitter la France’ or order to leave the country) which was issued as far back as 2022. Embarrassingly for the French government, this means the suspect — who is known to the police for drugs possession — has been in France without authorisation for years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Plurality of British Public Want a Total Freeze on Non-Essential Immigration: Poll
Nearly half of the British public wants a total freeze on all non-essential immigration into the country, but do not trust either of the two main political parties to cut the number of foreigners allowed into the UK.
A survey conducted by the Centre for Migration Control has found that a plurality of the public agrees that “Britain should have a five-year freeze on all further immigration that is not essential to supporting the NHS”, with 32 per cent strongly agreeing and 17 per cent tending to agree, compared to 13 per cent who tended to disagree and 11 per cent who strongly disagreed.
Additionally, 58 per cent supported cutting legal net migration to the “tens of thousands” compared to just 17 per cent who disagreed, The Express reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police: Illegal Alien Abducted Girl From Louisiana, Took Her to Virginia
An illegal alien has been caught in Alleghany County, Virginia, after allegedly abducting an underage girl from Louisiana, police revealed.
Diego Soch Castro was arrested and charged with abduction, indecent liberties with a minor, and assault and battery for allegedly kidnapping a girl from Louisiana and taking her about a thousand miles away, to Virginia.
According to the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office, the girl called the police around 4:00 a.m. and asked for help at a Love’s Travel Stop gas station.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish MPs Demand Prime Minister Explain Statements on Migrant Quotas
The recent election debate in Paris between the two biggest political forces on the French scene stirred up a surprising controversy in a completely different member state: Poland.
During the debate, the French prime minister boasted that the West had managed to convince Eastern Europe to accept the EU Migration Pact’s “mandatory solidarity mechanism—the scheme which forces countries to either accept refugees or pay €20,000 per migrant—which, according to the Polish conservative opposition, had “exposed” PM Donald Tusk’s “lies” that the scheme will not apply to the country.
Last week’s debate took place between France’s liberal PM Gabrial Attal and the lead candidate for the governing parties’ main populist challenger, National Rally MEP Jordan Bardella. When talking about the EU’s flagship Asylum and Migration Pact, Attal pointed out that even the Pact’s biggest opponents have been forced to agree in the end.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Shocking New Border Statistics Reveal the Surprising Countries Migrants Are Flocking to the US From
Shocking new border statistics have revealed the surprising countries spawning an influx of migrants to the US.
While Chinese migrants continue to dominate the list, thousands are also pouring in from India, Vietnam, Turkey, Uzebakistan and the West African nation of Mauritania.
About 62% of all Chinese migrants arriving at America’s borders are entering the country through San Diego, according to US Border Patrol statistics.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s claim that the EU migration pact will mean illegal migrants will be transferred to Central Europe and will not go to France, has caused uproar on the Polish right.
“The migration pact introduces solidarity. We managed to force eastern countries to sign a document according to which they either accept migrants or pay,” said Attal during a television debate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski has ignited outrage in Poland by enacting a policy aimed at promoting “equal treatment standards” within the capital’s public offices. This directive prohibits the display of crosses and other religious symbols within government buildings, as well as on employees’ desks.
During a top-tier football match between Legia Warsaw and Zaglebie Lubin on Saturday, fans of the Warsaw team displayed a banner targeting Trzaskowski, reading “Trzaskowski, hands off the cross.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A trans-identifying biological male convicted pedophile who was found guilty of raping his 7-year-old stepdaughter is appealing the life sentence handed down by the court, claiming that the prosecution made “improper remarks” with the label of “abuser.”
Robert William Perry II, 32, announced the transition shortly before being sentenced to life behind bars, and received gender-related concessions from the court.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Vow to Find Violator Who Did Donuts on Pride Crosswalk in Florida
Police are investigating after drivers left tire marks on a Pride crosswalk in St. Petersburg, Florida in two instances over the last two weeks. The first a car accelerated through the intersection and the second time a driver did donuts on the pride mural.
The St. Petersburg Police Department released a statement about the recent incidents and wrote in a Facebook post, “Over the last week, two different vehicles have left tire marks damaging the Progressive Pride street mural at the 2500 Central Avenue roundabout.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Francis has allegedly shocked bishops in Italy by using an offensive slur when saying that homosexual men should not be admitted to church seminaries because there is already ‘too much’ gay sexual activity.
The pontiff told a closed-door meeting at an episcopal conference at the Vatican that homosexual men should not be allowed into colleges to train for the priesthood, Italian media reports.
Bishops at the meeting were reportedly taken aback by the language the 87-year-old used to make the statement — the derogatory word ‘frociaggine’, which roughly translates to f*****ry.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trans Sports Agenda: Drag Queens Carry the Olympic Torch to Launch Summer Games
The push for public acceptance of trans athletes has been relentless for the past few years. The agenda has been forced to the forefront of western social discourse despite the fact that the majority of people polled believe trans athletes should not be allowed to compete outside of their biological sex. In other words, men pretending to be women should not be allowed to compete with real women because of their inherent physical advantages.
It seems like common sense, but today we live in a world where common sense is under attack. The International Olympic Committee has joined in the program to promote trans propaganda, first with their removal of testing restrictions on trans competitors. For the 2024 Olympic Games trans athletes will no longer be required to undergo testing to prove they are using hormone treatments or procedures to transition. This means any man can simply claim he is a “trans woman” and compete in most women’s categories. Only 10 out of 48 sports categories at the Paris Summer Olympics will have rules against trans competitors.
Numerous sports associations worldwide have begun to tighten rules regulating trans participation, but the Olympics seems to be going in the opposite direction.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
WHO’s Pandemic Treaty Dead in the Water — for Now
Following two years of negotiations, on Friday, the 194 member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) proved unable to reach consensus on a draft of its new wildly contested ‘Pandemic Treaty.’
The treaty was originally aimed at pooling resources and knowledge in a pandemic and at centralizing management—including legally binding decisions on lockdowns, mandatory vaccinations, border closures, vaccination passports, and other measures—giving unprecedented power to unelected officials at the WHO.
Several countries, as well as individual MEPs and national politicians, have resisted and campaigned against the UN agency’s perceived power grab. Earlier this month, former UKIP and Brexit leader Nigel Farage grabbed headlines as he joined the Action on World Health (AWH) in their efforts to stop the treaty, going as far as recommending Britain leave the WHO rather than comply with the treaty’s measures.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Zelensky is a terrorist who came to our country. and DEMANDED that we give him money for Ukraine. He did this twice.