A New York Post poll shows 82% of respondents said that Joe Biden should not run for re-election in the wake of his disastrous debate with former President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Mr. Biden’s campaign spokesman said that the president is not dropping out of the 2024 race.
In other news, two new polls predict a possible absolute majority for Rassemblement National in the French National Assembly in Sunday’s election.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, Dora, DV, Insubria, JW, LP, Reader from Chicago, 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.
“He’s Not Dropping Out”: Biden Digs in After Disastrous Debate
President Joe Biden is “not dropping out” of the 2024 race despite his party’s collective freakout over last night’s debate performance, which put his severe cognitive decline on display, raising questions about who’s actually running the country.
“Of course he’s not dropping out,” campaign spokesman Seth Schuster told The Hill.
Biden echoed Schuster, saying at a post-debate waffle house stop following the debate: “No. It’s hard to debate a liar. The New York Times pointed out he lied 26 times.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
7 Democrats Who Could Replace Biden if He Drops His 2024 Reelection Bid
President Joe Biden’s widely panned debate performance has reignited the conversation over whether he should step aside before the November election.
David Axelrod, a onetime White House senior advisor under President Barack Obama, immediately sounded the alarm at the conclusion of Biden’s 90-minute faceoff with Trump.
“I think there was a sense of shock actually on how he came out at the beginning of this debate,” Axelrod said on CNN.
Axelrod added: “There are going to be discussions about whether he should continue.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Stock Tanks in Election Betting Markets After Disaster Performance
Election bettors had a visceral reaction to the CNN Presidential Debate on Thursday night, with the odds that President Biden will prevail in November taking a nosedive.
PredictIt.org, an election betting website, showed shares predicting that the Democratic incumbent will win re-election dropped 15 points in the aftermath of Biden’s widely panned debate performance.
The website allows users to buy shares in a candidate, priced between 1 and 99 cents, which corresponds to the market’s estimate of the probability that the candidate will win. Before the debate, the 81-year-old Biden traded at 48 cents per share. But in just one hour, after speaking with a raspy voice and giving rambling answers, his shares traded at 39 cents and bottomed out at 29 cents before rising to 30 cents as of Friday morning.
Former President Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, led Biden 53 cents to 48 cents prior to the debate, according to PredictIt. His shares shot up to 61 cents as he went back and forth with Biden and are now hovering at 58 cents, translating to a 58% chance of victory.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden White House Published ‘Classified Implementation Plan’ Against Domestic Wrongthink
The Homeland Intelligence Experts Group convened by the Department of Homeland Security, disbanded under a settlement with America First Legal, referred to a Biden White House “classified implementation plan” to accompany its public National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism, according to internal meeting notes obtained by AFL under the settlement.
The legal group founded by Trump White House advisor Stephen Miller posted a screenshot from those notes Thursday for the fifth release of its #DeepStateDiaries, saying it confirms a secret plan to “expand monitoring of political dissent.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bipartisan Vote Blocks CISA Budget Cut Despite Speech Censorship Concerns
104 Republicans and 198 Democrats voted to uphold a proposed budget increase for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in the defense appropriations bill. Representative Andrew Clyde from Georgia proposed an amendment to freeze CISA’s funding at its 2024 level, which would reduce the budget by just over 2% to $2,379,485,00. During a forceful speech on the House floor, Clyde criticized the agency for misusing its resources to suppress dissenting opinions.
The vote came just following the Supreme Court siding with the Biden administration’s partnership with tech giants to encourage the suppression of social media content, overturning the injunction by alleging that the case lacked standing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: Supreme Court Rejects Steve Bannon’s Request to Remain Out of Prison as He Appeals
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected War Room host and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon’s emergency request to remain out of prison while the appeals process continues. Bannon will report to prison to begin his four-month sentence on Monday.
In a short order, the Supreme Court wrote, “The application for release pending appeal presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is denied.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chip Roy Says He’ll Call on Harris to Remove Biden Under 25th Amendment
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) introduced a resolution Friday urging Vice President Harris to convene the Cabinet and declare President Biden unable to carry out the duties of the Oval Office after the commander in chief’s poor debate performance the night before.
The announcement marks the latest fallout from the CNN debate between Biden and former President Trump, during which the incumbent tripped over his words and appeared to lose his train of thought, prompting widespread concern among Democrats.
“I intend to put forth a resolution calling upon the @VP to immediately use her powers under section 4 of the 25th Amendment to convene & mobilize the principal officers of the Cabinet to declare the @POTUS is unable to successfully discharge the duties and powers of his office,” Roy wrote in a post on the social platform X.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dems Freak Out Over Biden’s Debate Performance: ‘Biden is Toast’
All Joe Biden needed to do was deliver a repeat performance of his State of the Union address.
Instead, he stammered. He stumbled. And, with fewer than five months to November, he played straight into Democrats’ worst fears — that he’s fumbling away this election to Donald Trump.
The alarm bells for Democrats started ringing the second Biden started speaking in a haltingly hoarse voice. Minutes into the debate, he struggled to mount an effective defense of the economy on his watch and flubbed the description of key health initiatives he’s made central to his reelection bid, saying “we finally beat Medicare” and incorrectly stating how much his administration lowered the price of insulin. He talked himself into a corner on Afghanistan, bringing up his administration’s botched withdrawal unprompted. He repeatedly mixed up “billion” and “million,” and found himself stuck for long stretches of the 90-minute debate playing defense.
And when he wasn’t speaking, he stood frozen behind his podium, mouth agape, his eyes wide and unblinking for long stretches of time.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
End the Censorship: Watchdog Demands Congress Pull the Plug on Biden’s Speech Crackdown
The Media Research Center watchdog’s Free Speech Alliance has turned to the House Appropriations Committee, with the request to move to put a definitive end to funding the current White House’s censorship initiatives.
A letter addressed to the Committee’s chief, Tom Cole, asked what the Free Speech Alliance said was a key congressional committee to completely strip the White House, the US Departments of Commerce, Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security (DHS), Justice, State and Treasury, and the National Science Foundation of funds by introducing “blanket (pro free speech) language” across all bills.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Enrollment Loss, Financial Woes an Increasing Problem at US Colleges
Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
Before Cazenovia College in Upstate New York closed in May 2023 because of decreasing enrollment and financial problems, students were given a list of comparable schools in the same region with similar tuition fees, major courses of study, financial aid availability, and athletic programs.
One of the schools on that list, Wells College, shut down one year later for the same reasons—low enrollment (354 students) and financial problems.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Even the Majority of Democrats Think Biden Didn’t Win Debate, According to Post Poll
It’s not just the pundits — even a majority of Democrats don’t think President Biden won Thursday’s debate, according to a new poll commissioned by The Post.
Respondents overwhelmingly said former President Donald Trump emerged victorious (49% to Biden’s 17%) — with the majority of Democrats also indicating that Biden didn’t win.
Nine percent of the Dems polled said Trump scored over Biden, 45% said no one, and 6% didn’t know, according to polling conducted by Leger.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Far-Left Activists Protest CNN Presidential Debate in Atlanta, Call for ‘Intifada’
Anti-Israel protestors marched outside of the CNN Center in Atlanta where President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump were debating on Thursday night. “We don’t want no ceasefire,” they chanted, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever.” They all chanted “free, free Palestine.”
A woman leading the chants, dressed in hijab and traditional dress, urged these chants, which calls for an end to Israel entirely.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In Blow to Democrats, Supreme Court Allows Crackdown on Homeless
In a flurry of SCOTUS decisions that have seen a clustering of losses for liberals and pro-government deep-staters, including a reversal of the Chevron Deference decision which crushes the encroaching administrative state, and a huge victory for the politically prosecuted Jan 6 protesters, today’s Supreme Court ruling that may be the most adverse impact on Democrats everywhere, was the decision to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outdoors, even in the mostly socialist West Coast, where shelter space is lacking yet where the population of the homeless is highest due to the generally nice weather (at least until the icebergs melt later today).
The case is the most significant to come before the high court in decades on the issue of America’s rising wave of homeless democrat.
In a 6-3 decision, split as usual along ideological lines, the high court reversed a ruling by a deeply liberal San Francisco-based appeals court that found outdoor sleeping bans amount to cruel and unusual punishment. Which is only appropriate since San Francisco recently has descended into 8th circle of homeless hell territory, with drug needless, piles of human excrement, and armies of homeless zombies covering the streets of the once great city.
The majority found that the 8th Amendment prohibition does not extend to bans on outdoor sleeping bans.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Temporarily Blocks Georgia Law That Limits People or Groups to Posting 3 Bonds a Year
ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked part of a Georgia law that restricts organizations from helping people pay bail so they can be released while their criminal cases are pending.
U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert blocked part of Senate Bill 63 from taking effect on Monday after a hearing in Atlanta. The judge is stalling the law for 14 days and directing lawyers to present arguments on whether it should be stayed until a lawsuit over the measure is resolved.
The blocked section limits people and organizations from posting more than three cash bonds in a year unless they meet requirements for bail bond companies. That means passing background checks, paying fees, holding a business license, securing the local sheriff’s approval and establishing a cash escrow account or other form of collateral.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Aileen M. Cannon, who is overseeing former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, announced on Thursday that she will hold a hearing to reconsider a previous decision that allowed prosecutors to use information from one of Trump’s former lawyers.
The original decision, made by another judge, permitted the use of this information despite attorney-client privilege, citing the crime-fraud exception. This exception typically overrides attorney-client privilege if it can be proven that legal advice was used to commit a crime.
Cannon’s decision came just two days after Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors held a sealed hearing about whether or not to religitate the debate over the crime-fraud exception, according to the New York Times. Deputies for special counsel Jack Smith argued that readdressing this topic would “devolve into a ‘mini-trial’“ before the actual trial takes place.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Man Charged With Threatening to Kill Presidential Candidates Found Dead as Jury Was Deciding Verdict
CONCORD, New Hampshire (AP) — A New Hampshire man charged with threatening the lives of presidential candidates last year has been found dead while a jury was deciding his verdict, according to court filings Thursday.
The jury began weighing the case against Tyler Anderson, 30, of Dover on Tuesday after a trial that began Monday. A message seeking comment from Anderson’s lawyer was not immediately returned. A court filing said “the government has learned that the defendant is deceased.” Prosecutors have moved to dismiss the indictment having learned Anderson has died.
Anderson was indicted by a federal grand jury in December on three counts of sending a threat using interstate commerce. Each charge provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
The U.S. Attorney’s office did not name the candidates. When Anderson was arrested, a spokesperson for Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said that texts were directed at his campaign.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More Citizens Trust Trump Over Biden to Protect Democracy
Authored by Jonathan Turley
The debate last night was chilling for many citizens as President Joe Biden clearly struggled to stay focused and responsive. It appeared to put on display what Special Counsel Robert Hur saw in his interview before concluding that Biden’s loss of mental capacity would make a prosecution difficult.
What may be equally troubling for Democrats and the media is a poll that came out just before the debate that shows more swing-state voters see former President Donald Trump rather than President Joe Biden as protecting democracy.
According to a new poll from the Washington Post and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, if “democracy is on the ballot,” the majority of the public believes that threat comes from elsewhere, including possibly Biden himself.
Over half of the respondents told the Washington Post that threats to democracy are extremely important to their vote for president.
However, 44% said they think Trump would do a better job at handling those threats. Only 33% of respondents said they believe Biden would be better for democracy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Documents Link White House Advisor Slavitt to Pfizer and Twitter Amid COVID-19 Speech Debate
More internal documents originating from X have emerged, revealing some of the dynamics and ways used by the US government to, through one kind or another of roundabout pressure, nudge social platforms in the direction of censoring speech around Covid topics.
How this happened on the now former Twitter is what the documents reveal, and it all goes back to 2021 when a former Biden administration “Covid response” adviser, Andy Slavitt (who was at the point of these interactions still using the White House email address), put major Covid vaccine-maker Pfizer’s board member Scott Gottlieb in touch with Todd O’Boyle.
Alex Berenson, who has an active lawsuit against the Biden administration’s censorship attempts, has reported on this, suggesting that it was O’Boyle’s role was to, as a senior lobbyist for Twitter, interact with the White House. “I wonder if you would be open to a 20 minute call with Scott Gottlieb and me about a policy matter,” reads one email Slavitt sent to O’Boyle.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A mother and father claimed in a federal lawsuit that Texas authorities took their two children away from them on false child abuse allegations as a result of a flawed investigation. A children’s hospital alleged that their infant son had suffered from shaken baby syndrome but an investigation showed the baby’s brain injury was sustained during childbirth trauma. The baby’s father was charged with felony child abuse, though the charges have since been dismissed. Child protective services removed the five-month-old infant and the couple’s four-year-old son from their home and placed them into foster care due to the false allegations.
Lorina Bourne and Jason Troy filed a federal lawsuit against the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and Ascension Health, which operates Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas. According to the suit, the hospital improperly assessed their youngest son, Jason Jonathan Troy, in 2015 and misdiagnosed him with shaken baby syndrome when he was five months old, as per documents obtained by ABC News.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Identify Man Shot by Officers After Thursday Evening Stabbing
Cincinnati Police have identified the man officers shot and killed Thursday night after a stabbing and a chase. Investigators say 48-year-old Juan Mack stabbed a woman in Westwood before leading officers to Over-the-Rhine. He was shot after threatening officers with a handgun.
At a press conference Friday, Chief Teresa Theetge released body camera footage. Officers can be heard commanding and pleading with Mack to drop his gun. Theetge says Mack was shouting things like “I’m going to hell. I got a body on me,” referring to the stabbing.
A 911 caller on Parkcrest Avenue said he saw a woman jump from Blue Honda, and run into his garage, with a man following. He said the man stabbed her “10 times.”
Theetge says officers spotted the Honda, and blood-covered Mack, and tried to stop it.
“The officers already knew that he had stabbed a woman. They knew they had to stop him,” she says. “Then once they engaged in a vehicle pursuit, he points a firearm at the officers who are pursuing him.”
The vehicle pursuit ended at 12th and Elm streets when Mack got out of the car and started walking north.
Theetge says officers tried using nonlethal force, but it had no effect. Four officers fired a total of six shots at Mack. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
‘Reckless Gamble’: New York Times Editorial Board Calls for Biden to Drop Out After Debate
The New York Times editorial board released a blistering editorial on Friday night that called for President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race after his disastrous debate performance on Thursday.
Biden’s performance in the televised debate has shaken many Democratic insiders, leaving some liberal leaders reportedly scrambling to find a replacement candidate that has a chance of beating former President Donald Trump in November. But the White House has maintained that Biden will remain in the race.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rumble Breaks Records With Presidential Debate Audience Surge
Rumble has set a new record for concurrent live viewers during Thursday’s presidential debate between President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. The platform saw an unprecedented peak of 718,909 viewers tuning in simultaneously, marking a significant milestone in the free speech video platform’s history.
The news was confirmed via a tweet from Rumble, which cited data from StreamsCharts, a reputable source for streaming analytics. The tweet highlighted the massive engagement, underscoring the platform’s growing influence in the digital broadcasting arena.
Notably, several prominent streamers contributed to this record-breaking viewership. Figures such as Steven Crowder, Tim Pool, and Dan Bongino were among the top six streamers globally on the night, drawing massive audiences to their respective channels on Rumble. Their coverage of the debate, featuring real-time analysis and commentary, evidently resonated with viewers, adding substantial depth to the night’s discourse.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Staggering 82% Don’t Think Biden Should Still Run for President: Post Poll
A huge majority of people believe President Biden should drop out of the 2024 race for the White House after Thursday night’s debate debacle, a new Post poll shows.
Eighty-two percent of respondents said the 81-year-old Democrat should not run for re-election in the wake of his disastrous face-off against former President Donald Trump.
In comparison, just 18% said Biden should keep campaigning.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Hands Win to Hundreds of Jan. 6 Defendants, Weakens DOJ’s Case
The Supreme Court on Friday handed around 350 Jan. 6 defendants a potentially huge win, while weakening the DOJ’s case against former President Trump in the process.
The court narrowed one specific charge — obstructing an official proceeding — that the DOJ had relied on in more than 300 J6 cases, including Trump’s, Axios reports. This charge has been used almost exclusively to prosecute white-collar crimes like evidence tampering, however the DOJ tried to apply it to J6 defendants, arguing that the riot was an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding — that being the certification of the 2020 election.
The court on Friday said that prosecutors would now need to show that a defendant interfered with documents, records or other material parts of an official proceeding. They also sent the case back to a lower court to reassess Jan. 6 cases in light of the new test.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Overturns Chevron Decision, Curtailing Federal Agencies’ Power
The Supreme Court on Friday overturned a landmark decision that gave federal agencies broad regulatory power.
The 6-3 decision on the so-called, 40-year-old Chevron decision upends the agencies’ authority to issue regulations unless Congress has spoken clearly, according to CBS News.
The court split along conservative-liberal ideological lines in the dispute, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the conservative majority, the news outlet also reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Target Finally Gets Serious About Out-of-Control Thefts, Lowers Intervention Threshold to Just $50
A new Bloomberg report reveals that retailer Target is finally cracking down on thieves by lowering the staff intervention threshold from $100 to $50. Target management has complained on earnings calls about ‘shrink’ in recent quarters and surging thefts that have squeezed margins.
People familiar with the new policy say employees will soon be able to intervene and halt criminals from leaving the store with as little as $50 in stolen goods. The previous threshold was $100. They say the new policy will be enforced this summer.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
by Mark Steyn
You have to figure that that’s greatly to the advantage of the Deep State, and that’s why they’d like to keep it that way. It’s quite something to teach the people the lesson that representative politics is just a meaningless joke, third-rate dinner-theatre in which all the faux-combat is an obvious sham. In the Soviet Union, the point wasn’t to persuade you to believe the lie but to force you to live with the lie. Reducing the two-year US election cycle to the same state inflicts an even more brutal humiliation on the masses.
So why weren’t they able, after a week-and-a-half of dosage experimentation, to shoot the stiff enough of the juice to pass him off as being back in his State of the Union top-of-the-game mode?
As my former GB News colleague Neil Oliver observed long ago on The Mark Steyn Show, formulating a useful rule of contemporary politics:
This is happening because they want it to happen.
| — Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Blasts ‘Stupid’ Biden at Postdebate Rally in Virginia
Former President Trump on Friday piled on President Biden over his widely criticized debate performance, suggesting it could be “a big moment” in moving undecided voters in his direction.
Trump rallied supporters in Virginia, which a Republican presidential candidate hasn’t won since 2004 but that his campaign has argued is in play in November. The former president used his debate with Biden from a night earlier to slam his rival with familiar attacks on immigration and the economy and insulting him as a “stupid, stupid, stupid man.”
“Despite the fact that crooked Joe Biden spent the entire week at Camp David resting, working, studying — he studied very hard. He studied so hard that he didn’t know what the hell he was doing,” Trump told supporters in Chesapeake.
“He got the debate rules that he wanted. He got the date that he wanted. He got the network that he wanted with the [moderators] that he wanted,” Trump continued. “No amount of rest or rigging could help him defend his atrocious record. It’s not defensible.”
Trump and his allies spent the hours after the debate basking in headlines about Biden’s flop and the subsequent panic among Democrats over whether he should be replaced atop the ticket.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
White House Prepares Request on Baltimore Bridge, Disasters
The White House plans to send Congress an emergency funding request to address the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and other pressing needs as soon as Friday, according to three people who were granted anonymity to discuss the request ahead of the release.
The bridge’s collapse earlier this year severed a key East Coast transportation link and disrupted shipping into Baltimore Harbor. Administration officials have told lawmakers in recent months that the bridge and addressing other losses is expected to cost billions of dollars, likely enough to deplete an emergency relief fund through the Federal Highway Administration.
It’s unclear whether the administration’s emergency funding request — which is also expected to address disaster-related and internet connectivity needs — would get a standalone vote or if it could be attached to a must-pass bill, like a stopgap spending measure that Congress will almost certainly have to pass in order to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1, when federal cash expires.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
The heads of state and government of the European Union elected their top officials for the next five years in Brussels: Ursula von der Leyen scored a second term as EU commission president, while Spain’s Social Democrat António Costa was elected president of the European Council, and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will now be Europe’s top diplomat.
The news was announced by outgoing Council President Charles Michel on his social media page.
The main opponents for a second term for Ursula von der Leyen were Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. At Thursday’s vote, which ended with the required qualified majority for all three, Meloni abstained from the vote on von der Leyen and voted against Kallas.
Orban voted against von der Leyen and abstained from the vote on Kallas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Another 400,000 People Left Germany’s Catholic Church Last Year, But the Pace Slowed From 2022
BERLIN (AP) — Another 400,000 people formally left the Catholic Church in Germany last year, though the number was down from a record set in 2022 as church leaders struggle to put a long-running scandal over abuse by clergy behind them and tackle calls for reform, official figures showed Thursday.
The German Bishops’ Conference said that 402,694 people left the church in 2023. That was down from 522,821 the previous year, but still the second-highest figure so far. At the same time, 1,559 people joined the church and another 4,127 rejoined.
In Germany, people who are formally members of a church pay a so-called church tax that helps finance it in addition to the regular taxes the rest of the population pays. If they register their departure with local authorities, they no longer have to pay that. There are some exemptions for low earners, jobless, retirees, students and others.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Backroom Deals Continue to Shape Commission Talks
While all eyes are on the top jobs in Brussels, back-room dealing continues on the appointment of European commissioners from the 27 EU countries. Together, the 27 commissioners are the Commission’s political leadership during a five-year term and are assigned responsibility for specific policy areas by the Commission President.
Just as the top jobs haven’t reflected the will of the voters across Europe—or taken into account the views of winning parties, like Giorgia Meloni’s ECR, the negotiations on Commissioners appear to be more of the same.
One example of this is Emmanuel Macron’s lobbying for entrenched Eurocrat Thierry Breton not only to serve a second term as France’s commissioner, but also to be promoted to the powerful role of executive vice-president of the Commission with an enormous economic portfolio. This is, of course, in direct contravention to the expressed will of the French voters who chose to send Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National to the European Parliament in overwhelming numbers—not to mention her party’s likely huge wins in the upcoming French elections.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: Shooting at Brussels-Midi Neighborhood Café Claims Five Victims
Two dead, two in critical condition, and one wounded. With five victims, Wednesday night’s violent shooting near the Brussels-Midi train station—a drug-crime-ridden neighborhood of the city—was the worst in recent memory, amid increasing drug-related violence in the European Union’s capital.
Sources told the Belga news agency that the perpetrators arrived at the scene on a scooter at around 1:00 a.m and, according to VRT news, fired Kalashnikovs into the Astoria café near the Brussels-Midi station. A 44-year-old man and a 46-year-old woman were killed while sitting on the café’s terrace. Police believe the duo may have been collateral victims, although the investigation is still ongoing.
The two victims in critical condition from gunshot wounds are men, aged 42 and 49. They were taken immediately to the hospital where they are fighting for their lives. The victim who suffered less serious wounds is also a man, aged 31.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Deal on EU Top Jobs is Insult to Italy Says Salvini
Von der Leyen and associates are dividing up posts -League head
(see related) Deputy Premier, Transport Minister and League leader Matteo Salvini on Wednesday blasted the reported deal on the EU top jobs struck by the EPP, the socialists and liberals as an insult to Italy.
The League belongs to the right-wing Identity and Democracy (ID) group at the EU level, which, like the ECR Conservatives that Premier Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy (FdI) party is in, was excluded from the talks on the top jobs.
“The arrogance of the European bureaucrats, who are now dividing up their seats even though the people’s votes rejected the policies of this commission, is shameful,” Salvini said in a video message.
“The shady deal between the EPP and the Socialists cannot be the future, it is an insult to Italy, to the French, who will vote soon, and to the Europeans who have asked for change.
“Despite these position-dealers, the League is working for a viable, necessary alternative that puts work, security and families back in the centre, not the positions that von der Leyen and her associates are dividing up”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
EU Green Deal Architect Fails to Disclose New Job at Gas Firm
Diederik Samsom, one of the architects behind the EU’s Green Deal, has breached the ethics code of the European Commission, according to a report by Follow the Money.
Samsom left the Commission earlier this month after five years. Until early February, he was the right-hand man of EU Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra and his predecessor, former ‘climate pope’ Frans Timmermans, now leader of the Green-Labour Party in the Netherlands. Samsom’s former bosses share the ultimate goal of completing entirely the bloc’s economy’s decarbonisation.
Last Wednesday, the Dutch state-owned firm Gasunie announced Samsom was to become chair of its supervisory board. Under Commission rules, any former official seeking a post closely related to work done within the EU apparatus needs prior approval from the EU executive.
Former EU official Samsom neglected to do this.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Leaders Sign New Security Deal With Ukraine
European Union leaders reaffirmed their support for Ukraine during the European Council summit in Brussels by signing a new security agreement.
The deal reached on June 27 is designed to support Kyiv by cementing existing EU initiatives and promising long-term commitments such as supplying Ukraine with artillery and an air-defence system.
“As Ukraine exercises its inherent right to self-defence, the European Council calls for the delivery of military support to Ukraine to be stepped up,” the leaders wrote.
“In particular, air-defence systems, ammunition and missiles are urgently needed to protect Ukraine’s population and critical energy infrastructure.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU: Three Top Jobs, Three Scandals
The European Council has agreed on the names that will determine the path of the European Union for the next five years — and all three are surrounded by scandals.
To little surprise, the leaders of the 27 Member States have decided Ursula von der Leyen will be the candidate for President of the European Commission, that António Costa will replace Charles Michel at the head of the Council and Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas will give up the role to take the reins as the EU’s foreign policy chief.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
any are unaware that one of the most important free-speech court cases in Europe is taking place in Belgium and being led by Vlaams Belang MEP Tom Vandendriessche, who is fresh off another victory in EU elections. Remix News had previously reported Meta’s censorship of Vandendriessche and his legal win against Meta, noting it was being described as a “victory against Big Tech,” but now Vandendriessche tells Remix News that the case may not be over yet.
He shared some remarkable aspects of the trial, including the enormous costs and resources tied to taking on a Big Tech Goliath like Meta, how a potential appeal could still develop in the future, and the enormous stakes for free speech and democracy tied to this case.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Falling Birth Rates Linked to Rising House Prices in Dutch Study
A study by a Dutch population expert shows declining birth rates could be connected to higher housing prices.
The survey published on June 26 by Daniël van Wijk, a Dutch demographer who has worked with the Dutch Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI), seemed to indicate the link. It investigated 40 regions in his country.
He added that it was important to point out it was not necessarily a causal relationship as there were also other factors associated with both birth rates and house prices.
“For instance, birth rates are known to be higher in regions where religious affiliation is higher, while these are also the regions where house prices are, on average, lower,” van Wijk said.
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France: Dispatch: Le Pen Victory Could Spark Wave of Violence Say Left-Wingers
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the fiery French far-Left populist, has a habit of peppering his speech with talk of revolution.
The question many in France are now asking is, will the unpredictable and tyrannical ex-Trotskyist call for just that, should Marine Le Pen’s hard-Right National Rally (RN) romp home in snap elections this and next Sunday?
This week, the 72-year-old former MP in the La France Insoumise (LFI) bastion of Marseille stopped short, saying: “If the RN wins these elections, we will enter moral and legal resistance.” In other words, civil disobedience.
But fanning the flames is his speciality.
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France: Controversy Over RN ‘Binational Ban’ Proposal Ahead of Vote
Roger Chudeau, a National Rally candidate in France, has faced a backlash for proposing a ban on binational French citizens holding key positions inside the government.
To justify his proposal he said that appointing Najat Vallaud-Belkacem as Minister of Education was “a mistake and not a good thing for the Republic.” Najal Vallaud-Belkacem is Franco-Morrocan and was minister from 2012 to 2017.
Amid the ensuing controversy, Chudeau attempted to clarify his stance.
He said on X that “The position that I expressed regarding Vallaud-Belkacem … is a strictly personal opinion and in no way commits the National Rally.”
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France: Parents of Gang Raped 12-Year-Old Jewish Girl Say Attackers ‘Mimicked’ Hamas
The parents of the young girl who was gang raped in France by a group of youths reportedly after they found out she was Jewish said that the attack “mimicked” the Hamas terror attacks in Israel on October 7th.
Earlier this month, the Jewish community in France was left horrified as a 12-year-old girl in Courbevoie was subject to antisemitism-inspired gang rape by a group of boys, who are alleged to have dragged her to an abandoned building where they anally and vaginally raped her.
Speaking for the first time since the horrific attack, her parents said that their daughter has been suffering “flashbacks” preventing her from sleeping since the rape. “She is very shocked. The attackers stole her childhood,” her father said in comments reported by Libération.
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French PM in Final Appeal to Stop Far-Right Victory
France’s lightning-quick election campaign is over, and despite last-ditch appeals not to back the far right, voters appear ready to hand the National Rally party a historic victory in parliamentary elections.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal warned it would unleash “impulses of hate and aggression”.
But the party of Marine Le Pen and 28-year old Jordan Bardella, who could be the next prime minister, has if anything cemented its lead in the opinion polls.
National Rally has fended off a series of accusations of racism, involving party members as much as supporters. The big question now is whether it can win an absolute majority in two rounds over the next two Sundays.
They have a significant chance, after European elections on 9 June turned most of the electoral map of France dark blue. That was the moment Emmanuel Macron chose to stun the French people with a decision to call a general election in just three weeks.
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French Catholic Teacher Asked Schoolgirls to Pose Nude ‘For Palestine’
Martin G., a teacher at a private Catholic high school in the Drôme region, is under investigation for “attempted corruption of minors” for asking his schoolgirls to pose nude”against the war in Palestine.”
The 45-year-old Martin G., a substitute teacher of literature, “allegedly suggested that pupils pose naked against the war in Palestine and post the photo on their networks,” Valence public prosecutor Laurent de Caigny told the press.
The matter was referred to the public prosecutor’s office by the school management. Martin G. had already been fired on May 17 following several complaints from parents, according to French news outlet La Depeche.
Contacted by Libération, Martin G. described himself as a “fervent Catholic, comedian and pacifist,” and said he wanted to “encourage reflection on Pentecost.”
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French Elections: Two Poll Institutes Give Le Pen’s RN Absolute Majority
With less than three days to go until the first round of the French parliamentary elections, two polling institutes are simultaneously predicting a possible absolute majority for the Rassemblement National (RN) in the National Assembly.
Since Emmanuel Macron announced the dissolution of the Assembly on June 9th, the Rassemblement National has been given the lead with more than 30% of the vote, but there is still uncertainty over the actual number of seats that Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella’s party could win. However, two independent estimates consider it entirely possible that the national Right party and its allies could pass the 289 MP mark required to obtain an absolute majority.
The RN’s upward trend has been observable for several days, despite the offensive orchestrated by the media and the political class of the centre and Left to dissuade voters from placing their trust in a party presented as ‘racist,’ ‘fascist,’ economically inept or dangerous for the rights of women and minorities.
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Germany: Security Threat Looms Over AfD Meeting in Essen
Left-wing militants, private companies, and municipal officials are all conspiring to harass Alternative für Deutschland’s (AfD) annual conference, which will go ahead this weekend in the west German city of Essen—after failed attempts by the city to completely stop it.
Fresh off the back of electoral wins that saw the populist party come in second in European elections—despite multiple scandals and near-constant state harassment—AfD top brass Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla will seek to renew their mandate at the head of the populist party against increasingly radical grassroots. Additional security protocols are being implemented to fend off “several tens of thousands” expected left-wing protestors.
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A German center-right politician is being investigated for a possible hate crime after calling for the expulsion of foreign criminals from the country following a brutal knife attack by an Afghan migrant earlier this month.
Detlef Gürth, a state lawmaker for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Saxony-Anhalt, commented on the heinous attack in Wolmirstedt which saw a knife-wielding Afghan migrant murder one person and injure multiple others in a rampage through the town on the opening day of the European Football Championships.
The attacker was later fatally shot by police.
“This pack has to get out of Germany,” the politician wrote on X in a later-deleted post.
The remark, however, caught the attention of the left-wing state politician Henriette Quade, who filed a criminal complaint, accusing Gürth of a hate crime.
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German Teenager Convicted for Plotting Islamist Attack on Christmas Market
A 15-year-old was found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison by a German court on Friday after he plotted an ISIS-inspired attack on a Christmas market, according to the Associated Press.
The teenager, who was detained in November, had planned to drive a rented truck into the market and kill as many attendees as possible.
The youth had previously posted a video in an online group announcing an attack on “infidels.” The video reportedly included the symbol of ISIS.
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Hungary’s EU Presidency Agenda Receives French Approval, Says PM Orban
French President Emmanuel Macron is in agreement with Hungary’s plans to improve the competitiveness of the European economy and to lobby for EU enlargement for the Western Balkans, said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Wednesday.
The Hungarian leader held talks with the French president in Paris as part of his European tour ahead of Hungary taking the reins of the European Council presidency on July 1 for six months.
In an interview with the public media after the meeting, Orban revealed that France supports the proposed program by Budapest, which focuses on strengthening the European economy.
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Hungary: Budapest is One of the World’s Fastest-Improving Cities to Live in
Budapest is among the top five fastest-improving cities in the world when it come to livability, according to global rankings compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The EIU is one of the world’s largest analytical and forecasting agencies and has assessed the quality of life in 173 cities across stability, healthcare, education, culture and environment, and infrastructure.
In its Global Liveability Index 2024, the firm assigns numerical ratings to these and sums them up with different weightings in an overall quality index ranging from zero to 100.
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Hungary’s Leftist Media Receives Massive Foreign Donations
Hungarian press products should be obliged to declare their acceptance of foreign funding, said Bank Levente Boros, director of Policy Analysis at the Nézopont Institute in Hungary at a Freedom of the Press event organized by the institute.
The director explained that 85 percent of Hungarians are news consumers, and slightly more follow opposition press outlets than those that are said to be close to the government. There are currently 61 relevant opposition media outlets on the market, compared to 32 in 2010.
Most of them are profitable, with opposition media making a profit of HUF 4 billion (€10.1 million) last year, he said.
According to estimates by the Nézopont Institute, at least HUF 1 billion (€2.52 million) of funding comes from foreign countries every year, and Hungarian citizens have the right to know who is funding various press products, why and by how much.
He said he believes it is worth examining who is trying to influence the Hungarian press and public opinion from abroad.
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Macron’s Approval Drops Two Days Ahead of French Election
(Bloomberg) — President Emmanuel Macron’s approval rating fell to the lowest level in three months, delivering a boost to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party just two days before voting starts in France’s legislative election.
Support for Macron dropped six points to 36%, the worst showing since March, according to a Toluna-Harris Interactive poll for LCI TV published on Friday.
Separate polls are putting National Rally on course to be the biggest group in the lower house of parliament, with Bloomberg’s poll of polls projecting it will get 36.2% support in Sunday’s vote. A left-wing alliance called the New Popular Front would get 28.3% while Macron’s centrist group would get 20.4%.
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Orban Has Lively Talks With Zelensky at EU Summit
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had a short discussion with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky while in Brussels attending the EU’s two-day summit, Daily Magyar Nemzet reports.
A video of the meeting was also posted on social media, showing them having a lively discussion. However, neither the Hungarian prime minister nor the Ukrainian president gave any details of what the topic of conversation might have been.
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Outgoing Dutch PM Rutte Gives Himself Barely Passing Grade
Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD) is rather lukewarm about his own job performance.
“A 6, maybe a 6.5, [out of 10]” Rutte rated himself in his farewell interview with NOS Jeugdjournaal, a children’s program in which youth were given an opportunity to put questions to the prime minister.
His successor, Dick Schoof, will be assuming his duties next week.
While “many things worked out,” Rutte acknowledged that other things had not gone well, such as earthquake-triggering gas extraction in the northern province of Groningen, a childcare benefits scandal that saw recipients wrongly accused of fraud, and the Netherlands’ worsening housing crisis.
“It is a passing grade, but not by a large margin,” he frankly admitted.
The housing crisis—though he did not mention that fact—is intimately tied to the numbers of migrants (who naturally need housing) which continued to swell during his tenure.
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Poland Very Likely to Sign Security Deal With Ukraine Before NATO Summit, Says PM
WARSAW (Reuters) — Poland will almost certainly sign a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine before July’s NATO summit in Washington, the Polish prime minister said on Friday.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that before the NATO summit in Washington, which starts on July 9, talks will be held in Warsaw with the president of Ukraine.
“I must, together with the defence minister, determine how we can continue to help Ukraine, but we cannot weaken Poland’s defence capabilities,” Tusk told reporters.
“There is a 99% chance that we will sign this agreement with President Zelenskiy (before the summit).”
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Polish Conservatives Pressure Italian PM Meloni With Threat to Quit Parliament ECR Group
The Polish Conservatives (PiS), the second-largest party in the European Conservative Reformers (ECR), have threatened to leave the European Parliament group.
The PiS said it would do so unless the ECR leader and Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni agreed to grant it parity with her Brothers of Italy party in terms of parliamentary staff roles.
On June 27, former Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki of the PiS told Brussels media the party was in talks with other like-minded Central and East European parties such as Hungary’s Fidesz, Czechia’s ANO and Slovakia’s ruling SMER about the creation of a separate Parliament group.
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Poll: Reform UK Could Win 18 Seats at General Election
An astonishing new poll of almost 20,000 people suggests that Reform UK could win a higher vote share than the Conservatives at the general election and bag themselves 18 seats.
The polls have started moving at a rapid pace, with Reform predicted to win only seven seats just a week ago, and none at all not long before that.
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‘Poor Choice’ — Former Polish Foreign Minister Slams Rutte Becoming the Chief of NATO
NATO has decided that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will become its next secretary-general, succeeding Jens Stoltenberg, who has held the position since 2014. Rutte is set to assume the new role on Oct. 1.
Not everybody is happy about the move.
“This is a poor choice,” Witold Waszczykowski, former Polish foreign minister and former MEP, told conservative news outlet Niezalezna.pl. He criticized Rutte for his strong support of cooperation with Russia, including backing the construction of the Nord Stream pipeline, and accused him of playing a part in Russia’s financial preparations for its aggression against Ukraine.
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Slovakia to Restrict Right to Assembly in Response to Fico Assassination Attempt
The Slovak parliament on June 27 approved a so-called “Lex Assassination”, a package of measures designed to improve security following the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico.
The laws will limit the right to assembly. Public gatherings near the home of a person whose position is directly related to the government are to be banned.
The local government should also ban a rally if there is a fear of a clash between its participants and those attending another previously announced demonstration.
Gatherings are to be prohibited in residential areas that are not public spaces such as squares, parks, or marketplaces.
The law will extend state protection to more politicians, including opposition party leaders. The president, the head of parliament (House chair), and the prime minister will be given official state residences. Former House chairs and prime ministers who served two full terms will receive a lifelong salary.
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Spain’s Political Parties Reach Deal on Judicial Appointments
Spain’s two major parties have finally reached a provisional agreement for the renewal of the country’s judiciary system—a pending rule-of-law issue that went unresolved for six years.
Both the European Court of Human Rights and the European Commission have chided the country’s politicians for being unable to reach an agreement on renewing the General Council. The administrative arm of Spain’s judicial system, it consists of 20 members, 12 judges, and 8 other legal experts; it holds judges accountable and appoints magistrates. Under Spanish law, the body’s membership is completely renewed every five years by the parliament. The appointments require a three-fifths majority approval in both the congress of deputies and the senate: a practice that forces the two major parties to reach an agreement.
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Spain: Amnesty for Embezzlement and Attacks on Police
At least 27 Catalan separatists have benefited from Spain’s amnesty law since the rule entered into force on June 10. All the amnesty rulings issued so far have come from the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC)
La Gaceta reports that most amnestied convictions involve violence against police during various protests between 2017 and 2020, but the first amnesties were for the former interior adviser of the regional government Miquel Buch, and former President Carles Puigdemont’s escort, Lluis Escolà. Both faced four-and-a-half year prison sentences for embezzlement for spending public money on personal security for Carles Puigdemont as he fled Spain.
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Sultan of Brunei Vying for Ex Berlusconi Villa in Sardinia
Hassanal Bolkiah said to have toured property recently
The Sultan of Brunei, one of the world’s richest men, is vying for late three-time ex premier and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi’s famously luxurious villa in Sardinia, which has been put up for sale at an asking price of 300-500 million euros.
Villa Certosa, a huge estate with gardens measuring 80 tennis courts, access to the sea, and an amphitheatre, was placed on the market by Berlusconi’s heirs earlier this year.
The 77-year-old sultan, whose net worth has been put at around 30 billion dollars, is reportedly keen to get his hands on a residence that has at one time or other hosted some of the world’s most powerful men from ex US president George W.Bush to former British prime minister Tony Blair and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The ruler of the Borneo island, whose name is Hassanal Bolkiah, boasts a patrimony of cars alone worth some five billion euros including 452 Ferraris, 500 Rolls Royces and dozens of unique vehicles.
Bolkiah is reportedly facing competition from other Arab and American billionaires as well as hotel groups hoping to turn the villa into a luxury resort.
But the sultan has reportedly set his heart on the late flamboyant statesman’s costliest residence, according to reports which say he may gift it to one of his 10 children, 32-year-old Abdul Mateen, who recently got married in a 10-day ceremony on a cruise ship that circled he Mediterranean and also stopped on Sardinia.
Bolkiah is rumoured to have recently toured the fairy-tale property
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Support for Farage’s Reform UK Party Drops After Ukraine Comments, Latest Poll Shows
Support for former arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party has dipped, according to the latest BMG Research poll.
The slide revealed in the June 27 survey, ahead of the July 4 UK general election, came after he had suggested that the West provoked Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The BMG Research poll, conducted between June 24 and 26, showed Reform UK’s support dropping to 16 per cent, down from a record high of 19 per cent the previous week.
[Comment: Some of the British electorate are so daft that they are more concerned about the invasion of another country than about the invasion of their own.]
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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced plans to press forward with the ambitious Central Communication Port (CPK) project, labeling it a “triple jump into the future.”
Tusk’s vision for Poland includes the construction of a central airport with a network of rapid transit connections that will reduce travel times dramatically across the country. “Poland will soon become one vast megalopolis. It will take only 100 minutes to travel from Warsaw to cities like Gdansk, Kraków, and Katowice,” said Tusk during a press conference on Wednesday.
The CPK project, now also described as the “100-minute Project,” aims to link Poland’s largest cities through a network of high-speed trains. Additionally, the initiative includes the “Close to the Airport” plan which focuses on the development of regional airports and the construction of a new airport in Baranów by 2032. The expansion of the Polish Airlines (LOT) fleet to over 130 aircraft is another significant component of the strategy.
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UK: Labour Will Spend “Hundreds of Billions of Pounds” on Net Zero
Senior Labour officials spent the early months of this year pretending to quibble over pumping £28 billion (€32.8 billion) into ‘green’ projects. Now, a leaked recording has revealed that they believe this sum to be “tiny”—that “hundreds of billions of pounds” must be thrown at net zero proposals instead.
At UnHerd’s “alternative election hustings” debate on June 26th, Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens described the Labour Party manifesto—which contains only a few vague slogans on net zero—as a “bikini,” because “what it conceals is more important than what it it reveals.” In much the same way, Labour’s environmental spending commitments were earlier this year omitted from a ‘campaigning bible’ designed to help current and prospective Labour MPs win votes.
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UK: Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ on the Brink of Chaos as Only One in Seven Drivers Pay Daily TfL Fines
Only one in seven drivers have paid their Ulez fines in May as motorists continue to refuse to get on board with the clean air measures.
Data obtained exclusively by GB News found that during the month of May, Transport for London issued 188,745 penalties to drivers of non-compliant vehicles.
Despite thousands of fines being sent out, only 25,275 have been paid since the original penalty date — or 13.4 per cent.
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Vacation Costs Are Up as Most Poles Opt for Domestic Getaways This Summer
This year, the average Polish vacationer plans to spend 1,734 zloty (€403) on their holiday, up 7 percent from the previous year, according to a study conducted by Minds & Roses on behalf of the Polish Bank Association.
For family trips, the typical summer budget rises to 4,334 zloty (€1,008 euro). Despite the higher costs, most are reluctant to finance their vacation expenses through loans or credit. Instead, they consistently seek out the best deals.
The study reveals that a majority of Poles are opting to vacation domestically this year. Although slightly lower than in previous years, more than half (56 percent) are choosing local destinations. Meanwhile, the number planning foreign trips has increased from 22 percent to 24 percent year-over-year.
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Visegrad 4 Alliance Potentially Forming in European Parliament
The Visegrad 4 is reportedly in talks about forming an alternative faction in Brussels—opposed to mass migration and the EU’s Green deal. The Visegrad initiative is made up of Eastern European member states, known as the V-4, and includes Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary.
A week after breaking from the Macron-dominated Renew group in the European Parliament (EP), Czech liberal-conservative populist Andrej Babis announced that he and his ANO party are examining the possibility of creating an alternative faction in Brussels—opposed to mass migration and the EU Green Deal.
Today, additional reports say Poland’s former ruling party, conservative Law and Justice (PiS) are considering joining the new group, leaving Giorgia Meloni’s European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). In addition to Babis and his ANO party, PiS is reportedly in talks with the as of yet unaffiliated Hungarian Fidesz party, as well as Janez Jansa’s Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS, currently EPP). The latter, however, remains in question; SDS MEP Romana Tomc called the talks “fake news.”
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Welsh Police Pay Home Visit to Man for Displaying Reform UK Political Sign
Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news
A video shows Welsh police visiting a man’s home because he displayed a Reform UK political sign on the wall, despite this being a completely normal sight during election season.
Voice of Wales posted a clip to X showing an officer at the man’s house talking about how “concerns” had been expressed about the sign and that he needed to take a photo of it.
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Croatia Announces Plans to Bring Back Military Conscription
Croatia has joined the ranks of European countries that are considering bringing back conscription in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
Croatian Defense Minister Ivan Anusic attended a meeting of the Croatian National Assembly on Tuesday and told the press afterward that the mandatory conscription is planned for two to three months, but did not mention any specific details, Hungarian news agency MTI reported.
He stressed that the allowances for voluntary military service had recently been increased to €900, which is expected to remain the same for those who perform compulsory conscription.
The aim is to keep as many young people in the defense system as possible, with an estimated 15,000 people taking part in training each year, he said.
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US Will Remove Gaza Aid Pier Due to Weather and May Not Put it Back, Officials Say
WASHINGTON (AP) — The pier built by the U.S. military to bring aid to Gaza is being removed due to weather to protect it, and the U.S. is considering not re-installing it unless aid begins flowing out into the population again, several U.S. officials said Friday.
While the military has helped deliver desperately needed food through the pier, the vast majority of it is still sitting in the adjacent storage yard because of the difficulty that agencies have had moving it to areas in Gaza where it is most needed, and that storage area is almost full.
The pier has been instrumental in getting more than 15 million pounds, or 6.8 million kilograms, of food into Gaza but has faced multiple setbacks. Rough seas damaged the pier just days into its initial operations, but the bigger challenge has been that humanitarian convoys have stopped carrying the aid from the pier’s storage area further into Gaza, to get it into civilians’ hands, because they have come under attack.
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Russia Pummels Ukrainian Airfields Set to House Western-Supplied F16 Jets
Widespread international media reports previously indicated that the first deliveries of US-made F-16 jets to Ukraine from European partners would begin at some point this summer. The hold-up has been in large part due to the significant time it takes for Ukrainian pilots to be properly trained on the advanced aircraft, given they are used to Soviet era planes such as the Soviet MiG-29, and they are about to be thrust into aerial combat in new equipment.
Russia is not waiting around for the NATO planes to arrive, but is apparently taking preemptive action, with the defense ministry (MoD) announcing Thursday its forces have struck airbases in Ukraine which were set up to house Western-supplied jets.
The MoD said it used long-range sea-based weapons to attack “airfield infrastructure of Ukraine, planned to accommodate aircraft from Western countries,” according to state media. This included the use of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles alongside drones, the statement indicated.
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Zelensky Says Preparing ‘Plan’ to End War With Russia
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said he was drawing up a ‘comprehensive plan’ for how Kyiv believes the war with Russia should end.
There are no public talks on-going between Ukraine and Russia and based on public statements by Zelensky and Russian president Vladimir Putin, the two sides appear as far apart as ever when it comes to the terms of a potential peace settlement.
Zelensky hosted a major international summit in Switzerland earlier this month — to which Russia was not invited — to rally support for Ukraine’s position.
‘It is very important for us to show a plan to end the war that will be supported by the majority of the world,’ Zelensky said on Friday.
‘This is the diplomatic route we are working on,’ he said at a press conference in Kyiv alongside Slovenian president Natasa Pirc Musar.
More than 90 countries sent leaders and senior officials to the two-day summit with Zelensky in Switzerland.
The vast majority of whom agreed to a final communique that stressed the need for Ukraine’s ‘territorial integrity’ to be respected in any settlement.
But some key countries that attended, like India, did not agree and others, like Russia’s ally China, boycotted the summit in protest at Moscow not being invited.
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North Korea to Send Troops to Ukraine, South Korean TV Reports
North Korea is planning to send troops to Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, South Korean TV has claimed.
TV Chosun cited a South Korean government official, who said that North Korea plans to send construction and engineering forces to the territories as early as next month for rebuilding work. Pyongyang did not comment on the allegation.
On Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary General Pat Ryder expressed his concern about the possibility of Pyongyang sending troops to Ukrainian war zones.
“If I were North Korean military personnel management, I would be questioning my choice of sending my forces to be cannon fodder in an illegal war against Ukraine. And we’ve seen the kinds of casualties that Russian forces [have been takingn],” Ryder said.
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8 Men Arrested Over ISIS Ties Sparked Suspicion of U.S. Terrorist Attack: Report
Eight men from Tajikistan who were arrested this month over alleged ties to ISIS had reportedly sparked suspicion they were plotting a potential attack on U.S. soil, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation.
While there was no evidence confirming a specific terrorist attack had been planned, the chatter was troubling, CBS News reported Wednesday, citing sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
As of Wednesday, the men were still in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, facing removal proceedings.
They were arrested over the course of multiple days on immigration charges and have not been charged with terrorism-related offenses.
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Anti-Migrant Hit Song Defies Censorship Ahead of French Elections
An anti-migrant electro-dance song titled Je Partira Pas (I won’t leave) has taken French social media by storm, despite efforts to ban it.
The track, credited to an artist named Grazy Girl, first aired on June 21 during the Fête de la Musique (Music Day) in France.
The song quickly went viral on social media platform TikTok, amassing a large following and hitting 47,000 views in three days.
TikTok intervened, deleting two versions of the song. The first was removed on June 26, rendering all related videos silent with a message indicating the tune was “unavailable.” The second version, used in around a hundred video posts, was taken down on June 27. By then song had garnered several hundred thousand views.
TikTok’s bans have not deterred users from re-uploading the track manually. Consequently, it has spread to other social media platforms such as X and YouTube.
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Border Patrol Union Denies Biden Presidential Endorsement: ‘We Never Have and Never Will’
The labor union representing US Customs and Border Protection agents set the record straight Thursday after President Biden claimed to have the support of its members during his debate with former President Donald Trump.
“We significantly increased the number of asylum offices, significantly … by the way, the Border Patrol endorsed me, endorsed my position,” the 81-year-president claimed during an exchange on immigration.
The National Border Patrol Council refuted Biden’s claim mid-debate.
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German Foreign Ministry Officials Investigated for Issuing Illegal Entry Permits
High-ranking employees at the German Foreign Ministry have been placed under investigation on suspicion of ordering illegal entry permits for thousands of people, some of which involved forged passports from Afghanistan, Syria and other countries, a Focus Online exclusive reveals.
Public prosecutors in Berlin and the northeastern city of Cottbus claim that Interior Minister Baerbock’s employees instructed embassies abroad to allow applicants to enter Germany using either incomplete or forged documents, including passports.
Syrians, Turks, and Afghans (thousands of Afghans have already been identified for having made use of the scheme) are primarily involved, but also citizens of African countries and Pakistan.
A majority of these have likely already applied for asylum.
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Haitian Migrant Accused of Raping Teen Girl in Boston Freed on $500 Bail
A Haitian migrant accused of raping a 15-year-old at a Massachusetts shelter has been released on bail — despite a request from federal immigration officials to keep him in jail.
Cory Alvarez, who had been held without bail since his March arrest, was freed on a measly $500 bail on Tuesday after the Plymouth County Superior Court ignored a request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to keep the suspect in custody, the Boston Herald reported.
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‘Hordes of Bandits’ — Polish Defense Minister Warns of Migrants Attacking Border in Record Numbers
In a powerful address in the Polish parliament, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s deputy prime minister and minister of national defense, voiced his concerns about the situation at the Poland-Belarus border. He described this year’s border security challenges as unprecedented, with approximately 20,000 attempts made to illegally cross into Poland this year so far.
Kosiniak-Kamysz characterized the assailants as “hordes of bandits” who not only threaten Polish soldiers but also aim to disrupt the nation’s security.
“Their goal is not to seek asylum, their goal is to attack our officers, and they are trained for this. This is the highest level of hybrid warfare aimed at Poland,” he said.
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Iraqi Arrested for Rape and Murder of Teen on Board Migrant Shipwreck Headed for Italy
An Iraqi migrant attempting to enter Italy illegally on a distressed boat has been arrested for raping a 16-year-old fellow passenger before choking her to death.
Italian authorities detained the 27-year-old suspect on June 17 after 12 people on board the migrant shipwreck located in the Ionian Sea were rescued and brought ashore.
Several dozen passengers died when the vessel got into difficulty around 120 miles from the Calabrian coast, with about 70 migrants on board.
Some 36 people were confirmed dead at the time of writing.
Once on land, the man was reported by the other passengers to the police for allegedly raping the teenager, also an Iraqi national, in front of her mother before strangling her.
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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was hit with a House Judiciary Committee subpoena Friday demanding he produce long-awaited records on nine migrants suspected of sickening crimes, including the rape of a disabled teen girl and a mob assault on two NYPD cops.
DHS must hand over documents on the accused criminals by 9 a.m. on July 17, according to documents exclusively obtained by The Post.
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Migrants in France: Labour Government Will be “Incredible” Boost for Channel Crossings
It’s not just Britons who think Labour will have a lax attitude towards the nation’s borders—perhaps even more so than the Conservatives. Migrants in France also expect that the likely incoming government under Sir Keir Starmer will make it even easier for Channel crossers to make the illegal (and hideously dangerous) journey to the UK—and, more importantly, to stay there.
The Daily Telegraph has been in contact with a handful of migrants waiting to travel in dinghies from France to England who said:
“When I heard that this man [prime minister Rishi Sunak] was going to fall, and not going to win this election, I was like, you know, this is going to be amazing, this is going to be incredible. Most of us are still here due to the fear we have about [being deported to] Rwanda. We are praying for the new government to come.” (A 24-year-old student from Sudan.)
“I will not go until the day they make the right decision to destroy [the] Rwanda [plan]. I am looking forward to a new government. If things change, I will go.” (An elderly Iraqi woman.)
“It’s better to wait for two weeks [until after the general election], I would like to wait for two weeks. We need to wait until the new government has arrived.” (A 43-year-old Peshmerga fighter from Iraq.)
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Palestinian Woman Slated for Deportation From Canada After Working for Hamas-Related Group
Canada’s immigration tribunal wants to deport a Palestinian woman who was working with a Mississauga, Ont. relief group with links to Hamas. Majeda Sarassra was an employee of the International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy (IRFAN) Canada, Globals News reports.
The Immigration Appeal Division decided her employment made her a “member” of IRFAN-Canada, deemed a terrorist group. The decision is under appeal at the Federal Court.
Canadian authorities ruled in 2011 that IRFAN-Canada was not a legitimate charity because it had provided $14.6 million to organizations “associated with Hamas.” The Canada Revenue Agency seized videos from the group that were described as praising “martyrdom” and portraying the Palestinian conflict with Israel as a war of religion.
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Poland: 55-Year-Old Ukrainian Man Charged With Sexual Crimes Against Teenage Girls
A 55-year-old Ukrainian man, Oleksandr M., who is a resident of the Czluchów district in the Pomerania region, is facing serious charges of sexual crimes against minors in Poland. According to local newspaper Czas Chojnic, the man was linked to two sexual offenses involving teenage girls, aged 14 and 15, which occurred between 2022 and 2023.
The Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Chojnice filed an indictment against him in November 2023, accusing him of a sexual offense in the Brusy commune. It was established that in May 2023, he threatened a 14-year-old girl from the Chojnice district and forced her to engage in a sexual act. Oleksandr M. was an economic immigrant working in a nearby town.
During questioning, the man did not admit to the charges against him. However, the prosecutor’s office rejected his explanations, deeming them an attempt to evade criminal responsibility.
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The main suspect in the murder of a young German beaten to death as he walked home from his sister’s graduation on Sunday is an 18-year-old Syrian national already known to the authorities.
Twenty-year-old Philippos T. and his 18-year-old friend were attacked in the early hours of Sunday as they walked home through the German town of Bad Oeynhausen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Witnesses reported a gang of around 10 “Southern-looking” men confronting the pair before beating them to the ground and kicking them as they lay defenseless. “Southern” is often a description used in Germany for men of Maghreb or Arab origin.
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Censorship in WWII Museum in Gdansk: New Management Removes Exhibits About Polish Heroes
In a move that has caused political and public uproar, the World War II Museum in Gdansk has taken down several exhibits that honor key Polish figures such as the Ulma family, Witold Pilecki, and Father Maximilian Kolbe.
The museum’s new administration asserts that their goal is “to promote a narrative that unifies rather than divides, striving for an inclusive representation that is consistent with academic findings, even if it deviates from earlier government or political party visions.”
The controversy began when Karol Nawrocki, head of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), released a video condemning the museum’s management and its director Rafal Wnuk for censoring Polish heroes.
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Tractor Supply Vows to Reverse LGBTQ, DEI Policies After Boycott Campaign
Tractor Supply Company vowed to reverse its left-wing policies on Thursday following a boycott campaign launched against the business this month. This includes eliminating DEI roles, scrapping ESG targets, and discontinuing sponsorship of Pride events.
The move comes after reports from journalist Robby Starbuck revealed that Tractor Supply Company has been involved in diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. The company also had ESG climate goals, funded LGBTQ Pride activities and drag events. The revelations resulted in a significant call for Tractor Supply to reverse course.
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The Swedish Riksdag says YES
to the new mass surveillance law
Published 2024-06-19 in Samnytt
A majority of the Riksdag supports “chat control 2.0” – the new mass surveillance law where politicians want to be able to control what you do with your computer or mobile phone.
The Social Democrats, whose EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson was the one who launched the original bill in May 2022, have been behind the proposed surveillance law all along.
The Sweden Democrats and the Center Party, like a mismatched couple, have instead agreed to oppose the “chat control” law.
The Moderates, the Christian Democrats, the Left Party and the Green Party have previously been against the law, but after the EU’s presidency of Belgium presented a modified bill in the spring, the four parties have now changed their minds.
During Tuesday, the Belgian bill was considered by the Riksdag’s justice committee. The SD politician Pontus Andersson Garpvall, one of the members of the committee, tells about the meeting:
– The Sweden Democrats and the Center Party had a dissenting opinion towards the Belgian position. So that was actually what happened, he tells Samnytt.
– The other parties were satisfied with this compromise proposal, which is a little more vague, but in our opinion too far-reaching. The left has been critical before, but only we and the center have gone against it and consider it too far-reaching.
Want to see your pictures
“Chat control 2.0”, as the law is informally called, is about installing special programs in all computers, mobile phones and other electronics used within the EU. Purpose: To monitor videos and images sent between users.
EU politicians believe that such monitoring is needed to combat child pornography and track down pedophiles. The critics instead believe that the proposed measures are far too far-reaching and restrict personal integrity.
There are also concerns that such spyware, once installed, is used for purposes other than stopping child pornography. For example, to track down and punish critics of the regime or expose whistleblowers who tip off journalists about corruption and irregularities.
And perhaps worst of all: Some critics believe that EU politicians’ spy programs make it easier for hostile actors in, for example, Russia, China or Iran to break into and hijack encrypted data traffic in the EU.
The Belgian Compromise
So-called chat control already exists within the EU, but is then not mandatory for the companies that provide the services. For example, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, among others, voluntarily conducts such monitoring of the users of its apps. What’s new with chat control “2.0” is that mass surveillance becomes mandatory.
The Belgian compromise, which M, KD, V and MP therefore now support, is that it will be up to the users whether they want to be monitored or not. With the contention that those who do not want to be monitored are also not allowed to send photos or videos to other users.
Tomorrow, Thursday, the European Council will take a position on the chat control issue. As I said, the politicians in Sweden agreed on a yes yesterday.
The governments of Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria and Poland instead say no. Not least in Germany, the opposition is strong, as the bill there reminds the Germans of the brutal and totalitarian surveillance machinery of the Gestapo and Stasi.
Much now depends on how the French government reacts to the Belgian proposal. Tomorrow we will know the answer.
Samnytt has sought the Moderates’ EU parliamentarian Tomas Tobé. He hasn’t answered.
Author of the text
Matthias Albinsson
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The honey trap speaks out
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Anna Ardin on Assange:
Hope he stops “preying on women”
Published June 27, 2024 in Fria Tider
Anna Ardin – the S-marked feminist who accused Julian Assange of sex crimes – says she welcomes the whistleblower’s eventual release.
It was in August 2010 that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange visited Sweden and was received like a rock star by various left-wing people.
Anna Ardin, who was previously involved in the Brotherhood movement (now Social Democrats for faith and solidarity) and today is a deacon, arranged the trip and Assange stayed with her.
On August 13 and 14, Assange managed to have sex with both Anna Ardin and then a rival woman in Enköping. Both women were dissatisfied with their experiences and a while later they talked to each other and reported Assange for sex crimes. Anna Ardin claimed that he had somehow torn the condom before he had consensual sex with her. The other woman also stated that he had had unprotected sex with her without her consent.
It was the beginning of the 14-year long press for the Wikileaks founder, who spent most of that time as a prisoner – first in the Ecuadorian embassy in London and then in a British prison.
Now that Assange is finally a free man, Anna Ardin comments on the matter on X, and takes the opportunity to give him a dick.
“I am happy that he is out and hope he will fight for transparency and human rights, without preying on women,” writes Anna Ardin on X.
For Dagen, however, she clarifies that punishment “is not revenge”.
– Punishment is not revenge, but the most important thing for me, as I have said all along, is that he is brought to justice and that what happened is investigated, says Anna Ardin.
She further explains that she has been made a scapegoat because she is a woman and it is “easier to kick me than the US”. When asked if she can “forgive” Assange, she gives only vague answers.
Revenge in particular is a subject that Anna Ardin is very familiar with. In January 2010, she published a blog post with the title “Seven-step model for legal revenge” where she described in point form how to take revenge on men of whom you unsatisfied.
Any famous man who gives a bad lay to an angry “fan” should beware be careful , and watch your back a lesson that believe all women nonsense has created . May this women die along at a very old age with only her cats and house plants to keep her company looking out of a dirty window in a cluttered overheated apartment in a bad part of some grey forgotten city in North Europe .