Two police officers suffered serious head injuries as they escorted an AfD politician in the German city of Essen. The officers were kicked in the head by attackers, and had to be hospitalized. Seven other officers suffered less serious injuries. The assailants were able to escape.
Meanwhile, a court in Munich ruled that the state of Bavaria may place the AfD under surveillance as a suspected extremist group. Also, Dusseldorf Administrative Court ruled that members of the AfD cannot legally possess firearms because the party has been deemed a suspected extremist group.
There’s no word yet on whether the people who kicked the policemen in the head in Essen are suspected extremists.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, JW, LP, MM, 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.
Inflation in Germany Fell to 2.2% in June, Preliminary Data Shows
Preliminary June inflation figures for Germany released on Monday showed inflation easing again, with prices 2.2% higher than the same month last year.
That is a decline from the 2.4% figure for May, according to preliminary figures released by the Germany’s Federal Statistical Office.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile prices for food and energy, amounted to 2.9%. While services in particular became more expensive, energy became cheaper in June.
Compared to May, prices rose by 0.1% in June, according to the preliminary figures.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland: Tusk Government Will Use EU Deficit Procedures as a Pretext for Austerity, Warns Expert
Dr. Artur Bartoszewicz, an economist and political commentator from the Warsaw School of Economics, has voiced strong criticisms regarding the Polish government’s handling of the European Union’s excessive deficit procedure. In a YouTube interview with tabloid Super Express, Bartoszewicz described the procedure as a convenient excuse for the government led by Donald Tusk to curtail state functions significantly.
“The government can now conveniently say: There is no money and there won’t be,” he stated.
According to Bartoszewicz, the deficit procedure serves as a pretext for “rolling up Poland,” promoting a vision of a non-functional, inactive state.
“We are being driven towards a scenario where the nation-state ceases to function effectively, becoming helpless and undeveloped,” he remarked.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Walgreens to Shutter Over 2,000 US Stores Due to Inflation
Walgreens will be closing over 2,000 stores in the US after it has been hit by inflationand customers cutting down on spending habits. The pharmacy and convenience store chain is looking to turn around its business.
Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said during a Thursday earnings call, “The current pharmacy model is not sustainable.” Only around 75 percent of the company’s stores account for 100 percent of the company’s adjusted operating income. In turn, a quarter of its 8,600 stores will be facing closures over the next few years or so. It would result in about 2,150 stores closing their doors, per CBS News.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Three people have claimed that they were assaulted during a seminar on “Strategic Lessons from the Palestinian Resistance” in Asheville, North Carolina. Monica Buckley, who is Jewish, was livestreaming the event when other attendees grabbed her phone and allegedly attacked her. David Moritz, a fellow Jew, and Bob Campbell, an elderly Navy veteran battling cancer, were also attacked when they stepped in to help.
The trio suffered various injuries, from which they are recovering. A report was filed with the Asheville Police, and one suspect was arrested. Taylor Danielle Zarkin, 35, was subsequently charged with two counts of “resisting, delay, and obstruct.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Andy Ngo Reports: So Cal Antifa Members All Sentenced to Prison or Jail Over 2021 San Diego Attack
This is part of a series reporting on the So Cal Antifa cell
Eight convicted rioters were sentenced to varying prison and jail terms last week for their role in a So Cal Antifa attack in southern California in 2021.
The sentencing in San Diego Superior Court on June 28 brought the conclusion to more than three years of investigations, a secret indictment, plea deals, and a dramatic trial. This marks the first time in U.S. history that prosecutors have broken up an Antifa cell with a string of multiple convictions. In fact, all 12 defendants related to the case were convicted.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
AOC Calls for Impeachment of SCOTUS Justices Over Immunity Ruling
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said that she would be filing articles of impeachment against justices on the US Supreme Court after they sided with Donald Trump in the immunity case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
AOC posted, “The Supreme Court has become consumed by a corruption crisis beyond its control,” after the ruling came down in Trump’s favor 6-3.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Reads Teleprompter for 5 Minutes, Takes No Questions in First Major Post-Debate Appearance
President Joe Biden made his first major appearance since his panic-inspiring debate performance Monday to give brief remarks on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision that was released earlier in the day.
Biden spoke for five minutes, from a teleprompter, on the court finding that presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution for “official acts” taken in office. After Biden criticized the decision, calling it a “dangerous precedent,” he quickly left without taking a single question as reporters shouted inquiries his way.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
President Joe Biden’s campaign has accused a news outlet of “undue influence” over the presidential election after it published an op-ed from the editorial board calling for the incumbent president to step out of the race. Several other outlets have also done the same.
The accusations were cast against the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s editorial board after the outlet published a piece titled, “It’s time for Biden to pass the torch.” Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is now a senior advisor for the president, said that she was “very disappointed with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution” for the opinion piece.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Campaign Sends Instructions to Supporters on How to Defend Debate Performance
President Joe Biden’s campaign, the White House, and the Democrats are now taking their gaslighting efforts to the next level as the November election draws near.
Following the president’s historic trainwreck debate performance last week, the Biden campaign is now emailing supporters with a list of instructions on how they can gaslight their friends and family that everything is okay in the Oval Office.
The Biden campaign’s email details how supporters can respond to friends who are critical of the president’s debate performance.
According to the Biden campaign, the only people who spotted something amiss during the debate, such as a “panicked aunt” or a “MAGA uncle,” are just part of the “bedwetting brigade.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Blinken Bets Big on AI to Combat “Misinformation”
The current US secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, has revealed that his department is testing AI-based tools as a way to fight “misinformation.”
In conversation with the State Department’s chief data and AI officer Matthew Graviss, he cited a number of initiatives — such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and Washington’s Enterprise AI Strategy as the foundations for the ultimate goal — using AI to “advance our foreign policy.”
The second part of the push to equip the State Department with AI tools is to — “strengthen this institution.”
According to Blinken, his department is a leader within the government when it comes to testing and “harnessing” the technology. Some reports speak about this as combating whatever happens to be considered foreign disinformation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago Police Conduct ‘Mass Arrest’ in Lakeview Following Pride Parade
CHICAGO — Chicago police said they conducted a “mass arrest” early Monday on the North Side following the city’s Pride parade.
Authorities said more than 50 arrests were made in connection to post-parade activity, “including felony arrests for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated battery against a police officer, aggravated assault of a transit employee, and armed habitual criminal.”
All told, 53 people were arrested, including nine juveniles.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Who could have guessed that after multiple Ivy League university presidents publicly humiliated themselves during congressional testimony — and then it broke that Harvard’s president, among others were likely involved in plagiarising key parts of their “academic” work — that confidence in U.S. universities has plunged to a new low?
The data is according to two new national polls commissioned by FIRE and conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. Americans were asked “How much confidence, if any, do you have in U.S. colleges and universities?”
In FIRE’s May poll, 42% of Americans expressed “some” confidence in U.S. colleges and universities, similar to Gallup’s 40%. However, fewer Americans reported “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence (28% vs. 36% in Gallup), while more expressed “very little” or “none at all” (30% vs. 22% in Gallup).
When compared to other institutions, confidence in higher education is on par with the U.S. Supreme Court (27%) and banks (26%). However, Americans have much higher confidence in small businesses (65%) and the military (60%), and much lower confidence in Congress (8%), television news (14%), and the criminal justice system (17%).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Boeing has finally hit rock bottom.
The US Department of Justice will charge Boeing with criminal fraud, Bloomberg reported, leaving the planemaker to choose between pleading guilty or taking the risk of going to trial, just as the company finalizes its acquisition of Spirit Aerosystems for $4.7 billion.
Boeing has until the end of the week to decide whether to plead guilty to the charge, the department told the families of victims of two fatal 737 Max crashes and their attorneys in a meeting Sunday, Bloomberg reported citing “people who asked not to be named.”
Yet contrary to speculation that the DOJ would seek a pound of flesh from the Chicago-based planemake, the department will only pursue a proverbial slap on the write as it informs Boeing it will have to pay an additional criminal fine of only $243.6 million on top of the $243.6 million already paid with a 2021 deferred-prosecution agreement, bringing the total amount of fine close to $500 million, or roughly the price of five of the giant paperweights better known as 737 MAX airplanes. The company will also have to hire a corporate monitor for three years, they said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Federal Judge Issues Injunction Against Biden’s Pause on Liquified Natural Gas Export Permits
A federal court has blocked the Biden administration’s pause on liquified natural gas (LNG) export permits.
Judge James Cain, a Trump appointee in Louisiana, The Hill reports, lifted the pause while a lawsuit by 16 states against the rule is considered.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Homeowners Fight Squatters With New Law That Ends ‘Scam’, Promises to ‘Punish Criminals’
A new bill granting state law enforcement officials more power to remove squatters and raising criminal penalties for offenders went into effect Monday, potentially giving Florida homeowners the tools to protect their property while circumventing lengthy court processes.
In a video posted to X, Gov. Ron DeSantis said his state is “ending this squatter scam once and for all” with HB 621.
“While other states are siding with the squatters, we are protecting property owners and punishing criminals looking to game the system,” DeSantis said at a press conference at the Orange County State Attorney’s Office after signing the bill in March.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former Northeastern University Lab Manager Convicted of Staging Hoax Explosion at Boston Campus
A former lab manager at Northeastern University has been convicted of staging a hoax explosion at the Boston campus and then lying about what happened to a federal agent.
Jason Duhaime, 46, from San Antonio, Texas, was convicted on three counts Friday by a federal jury. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each offense.
Two attorneys representing Duhaime withdrew from the case in January, court documents show. A public defender who replaced them could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday.
Duhaime worked as the university’s new technology manager and director of the Immersive Media Lab. In September 2022, he called the university police to say he’d collected several packages from a mail area, including two Pelican hard plastic cases, and that when he opened one of the cases, it exploded and sharp objects flew out and injured his arms.
Duhaime’s 911 call sparked a major response from law enforcement, who evacuated the area and called in the bomb squad.
He showed police a letter he told them he’d found inside the case, which claimed the lab was trying to get people to live inside a virtual reality world and was secretly working with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and the U.S. government.
“In the case you got today we could have planted explosives but not this time!!!” the note read, court documents show. “Take notice!!! You have 2 months to take operations down or else!!!!!”
But Duhaime’s story quickly unraveled, according to the FBI. They didn’t find anything in the cases and noted the letter appeared to be in pristine condition. The FBI said Duhaime had superficial injuries to his arms, but no damage to his shirt sleeves. And when agents searched Duhaime’s computer, they found a copy of the letter in a backup folder that he’d written a few hours before calling 911.
| — Hat tip: Roger | [Return to headlines] |
WASHINGTON — House officials on Monday began a probe into Harvard University after students protesting a speech by a Beijing official there were booted from the event and allegedly allowed to be harassed by Chinese students, The Post has learned.
Students Cosette Wu and Tsering Yangchen stood and yelled protests as Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng spoke at an April 20 event at the elite Harvard Kennedy School — only to be physically dragged from the room, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party said in a letter to the school’s interim president, Alan Garber.
A student from China forcefully threw Wu, a Taiwanese American, from the auditorium, according to video of the incident. Yangchen was also kicked out and was later followed by a Chinese student who demanded to know the names of the other protesters at the event, frightening her.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida prosecutors heard testimony that disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein raped teenage girls, but cut a plea deal with him in 2008 anyway, according to newly released court transcripts.
The 150-page transcript of the 2006 grand jury investigation reveals that the court heard testimony about Epstein sexually assaulting girls as young as 14 inside his Palm Beach mansion.
The victims also testified and told detectives that they were paid to find Epstein more girls to assault in a harrowing case that ended with the pedophile sentenced to less than two years in prison after taking a plea deal.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Supreme Court on Monday morning issued their long-awaited opinion regarding Trump’s presidential immunity challenge to the J6 case brought forth by Special Counsel Jack Smith The court ruled 6-3 that Trump does have immunity for official acts as president. In his concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas called into question the appointment of Smith to the case.
“I write separately to highlight another way in which this prosecution may violate our constitutional structure. In this case, the Attorney General purported to appoint a private citizen as Special Counsel to prosecute a former President on behalf of the United States. But, I am not sure that any office for the Special Counsel has been ‘established by Law,’ as the Constitution requires,” Thomas wrote.
“By requiring that Congress create federal offices ‘by Law,’ the Constitution imposes an important check against the President—he cannot create offices at his pleasure. If there is no law establishing the office that the Special Counsel occupies, then he cannot proceed with this prosecution. A private citizen cannot criminally prosecute anyone, let alone a former President,” he added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New: House Judiciary Sues Biden’s AG to Obtain Hur Recordings
The House Committee on the Judiciary on Monday filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Merrick Garland to obtain the audio tapes of Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur in the classified documents investigation. This comes as the House is set to vote on holding Garland in inherent contempt in the upcoming session.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, stated that the subpoena issued for Garland is “required, and still requires, Defendant Garland to produce the documents and records as set forth in Schedule A of the Subpoena, including the audio recordings of the Special Counsel’s interviews with President Biden and Mark Zwonitzer.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nothing to See Here, Just a Smiling Robot Face Made From Living Human Flesh
The New Scientist has posted a freaky video showing an experimental face intended for a robot that is made from living human skin cells, and is capable of smiling.
What?
Yes, you read that correctly.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Report: Video Shows Thieves Hugging and High-Fiving After 24-Hour Heist Leaves Jewelry Store Empty
A jewelry store in West Hollywood released surveillance footage of four suspects sharing hugs and high-fiving each other after allegedly pulling off a heist, ABC 7 News reported.
Robert Goukasian, the store owner’s son, told the outlet that the group stole the family-owned store’s whole inventory and broke into several safes between June 17 and June 18.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republican on Powerful House Committee Says GOP Has the Votes to Hold Garland in Inherent Contempt
South Carolina GOP Rep. Ralph Norman, who sits on the powerful House Rules Committee, said on Monday that he believes his party has enough votes to charge Attorney General Merrick Garland with inherent contempt of Congress.
Florida GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna introduced inherent contempt articles against Garland last week, after the Justice Department announced it would not take action against the attorney general.
The contempt charges stem from Garland’s refusal to comply with a Congressional subpoena to hand over audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A woman from Seattle has now officially been charged with trying to influence the outcome of a Federal trial by dropping off $120,000 in cash at the home of a juror.
31 year old Ladan Mohamed Ali left the cash along with instructions to convince others to acquit the defendants, according to a report from KOMO.
KOMO reported that “the bribe also included a set of instructions to the juror to ‘inject racism into the case’ and to use the Feeding Our Future defendants’ status as immigrants to gain sympathy from other jurors.”
Now, she, along with her co-conspirators Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, 35, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, 23, Said Shafii Farah, 42, and 24-year-old Abdulkarim Shafii Farah, will be defendants themselves.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Andrew M. Luger commented: “These defendants engaged in a chilling attack on our justice system. They sought to buy a juror and use her to infiltrate the jury with their own false arguments — arguments that had nothing to do with the evidence or the law.”
Prosecutors added: “As part of the scheme, the conspirators decided to target Juror 52 because she was the youngest juror and they believed her to be the only juror of color. The conspirators conducted online research to obtain Juror 52’s personal information, including her home address and information about her background and family members.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Demands Deeper Look at Social Media Anti-Censorship Laws
The US Supreme Court has unanimously remanded two crucial cases involving social media regulation laws from Florida and Texas back to lower courts. This move concerns cases relating to both Florida and Texas, where the primary question was whether laws that restrict certain websites from making editorial censorship decisions violate the First Amendment.
On May 24, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law SB 7072, which aims to regulate social media platforms by prohibiting the deplatforming of political candidates and requiring platforms to provide explanations when censoring content, among other stipulations. SB 7072 places several specific restrictions and requirements on social media platforms, including:
- Prohibiting the willful deplatforming of political candidates,
- Banning the censorship or deplatforming of journalistic enterprises based on content,
- Imposing hefty fines on social media platforms that deplatform candidates for political office—up to $250,000 per day for statewide candidates and $25,000 per day for other candidates,
- Requiring platforms to notify users and provide explanations before taking actions like censoring or deplatforming,
- Granting Floridians the right to sue platforms for violations and seek monetary damages,
- Empowering the Florida Attorney General to sue technology companies under the state’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act,
That same year, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 20, a law regulating social media platforms by prohibiting them from censoring content based on viewpoint and imposing several obligations related to content moderation processes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Rules Trump Has Absolute Immunity for Some Official Acts, But Not Unofficial Ones
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Thursday that former President Donald Trump is immune from federal prosecution for some official acts he took while in office, but the justice made clear that there is no immunity for unofficial acts.
“Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority. And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the opinion.
This ruling may undermine Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution against Trump, in Washington, D.C., for his actions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and will likely cause further delays as the lower court will now have to determine which acts alleged in his indictment constitute official or private acts before the case can move forward.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Great Exodus Continues: Fresh IRS Data Shows Illinois Loses Residents to 40 Other States
Authored by Tad Dabrowski via Wirepoints.org
The latest state-to-state migration numbers from the Internal Revenue Service confirm what Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker consistently denies: Illinois is bleeding people.
IRS data for the 2022 tax filing year released last week shows Illinois once again lost out in the battle for Americans as they migrate between states each year. In all, Illinois netted a loss of 87,000 residents, with 175,000 moving into Illinois from other states and 262,000 moving out. That loss was the third-largest in the country, with only California and New York netting bigger losses of residents. Wirepoints documented in detail last week who were the nation’s biggest winners and losers overall.
Not only did Illinois lose a net 87,000 residents, but the state also lost the incomes those residents took with them. Illinois gave up a net $9.8 billion in Adjusted Gross Incomes (AGI), with outgoing residents taking with them more than $19.3 billion in AGI, while those moving in only brought in $9.5 billion. The net loss of AGI was also the nation’s third largest.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Hidden History of Robert Mueller’s Right-Wing Terror Factory, Part 1
Authored by Ken Silva via Headline USA
In 2007, Orlando residents were furious to discover that an FBI informant had organized a neo-Nazi rally through one of the city’s mostly black neighborhoods a year earlier.
“To come into a predominantly black community, which could have resulted in great harm to the black community? I would hate to be part of a game,” Orlando City Councilwoman Daisy Lynum said at the time, calling for a “full-scale investigation” into the matter.
However, an FBI agent testified that his informant participated in the event, but didn’t organize it. The city’s uproar passed without a public investigation, full-scale or otherwise—until now.
Thanks to a trove of previously unpublicized law enforcement records and interviews with several players involved, Headline USA can reveal that the Orlando neo-Nazi rally was indeed organized by the FBI. The Orlando event also seems to have been part of a larger program to hold Nazi rallies across the country. And according to FBI records, the bureau sponsored those events despite knowing they led to an increase in the number of card-carrying Nazis in America.
Moreover, the FBI’s Nazi rallies led to a much larger operation to target right-wing groups. Dubbed “Primitive Affliction,” the operation featured a motorcycle front group, rogue undercover agents, Outlaw bikers, Satanists, bomb-makers and a fugitive on the lam in Mexico.
To top it off, the FBI’s Nazi operation was briefed to the highest levels of the bureau, including to then-Director Robert Mueller, according to at least one record unearthed by this publication.
Little has been written about Primitive Affliction outside of the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center—biased groups that trained agents in the case, according to the newly revealed records.
But despite the lack of publicity, Primitive Affliction covers a crucial time in right-wing extremist history. It began where the FBI’s 1990s-era cases against the Aryan Nations trailed off, and it helped shape the neo-Nazi groups that would march at the 2017 deadly Charlottesville Unite the Right rally—an event that inspired Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential candidacy.
Along with big-picture history, the records from Primitive Affliction reveal malfeasance by FBI agents and officers who today hold higher positions at the bureau.
The FBI declined to comment. Mueller didn’t respond to an email about Primitive Affliction.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Moves to Reverse Verdict in New York Case After Historic Supreme Court Ruling
Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers moved quickly Monday night to take advantage of the Supreme Court ruling that he enjoyed immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts, sending a letter notifying the judge in his New York hush money case that they intend to ask to set aside the verdict reached by a jury last month, according to multiple sources.
The sources, speaking to Just the News on condition of anonymity, asked Judge Juan Merchan to give them until July 10 to file arguments supporting a motion to vacate the verdict.
The letter asked for permission to file the motion and laid out a timetable for trying to resolve the issues before the court.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump: Biden ‘Is a Cognitive Mess’ Who ‘Choked Like a Dog’
President Donald Trump has further weighed in on last week’s historic presidential debate.
Trump said Monday that Democrat President Joe Biden “choked like a dog” on the debate stage last Thursday because he’s a “cognitive mess.”
The 45th president noted that he urged Biden to take a cognitive test during their debate, which as the history books will surely remind us, didn’t go well for the struggling incumbent.
Trump suggested that Biden could have saved himself a lot of humiliation if he had agreed to take an exam to test his mental abilities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Leads Biden by 2 Points in New Hampshire After Debate: Saint Anslem College Poll
A new poll has found that Donald Trump leads in the state of New Hampshire over Joe Biden by two points. The poll was conducted after the presidential debate on June 27, which has resulted in many, including Democrats, calling for Biden to step down from his reelection bid.
The Saint Anslem College poll found that of those aware of the Thursday night debate, 54 percent of New Hampshire voters believed that Trump won. The next-highest selected option was “neither” at 39 percent, with Biden taking in just 6 percent. The vast majority of voters, 81 percent, said the debate would not affect who they vote for.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Unveiling the Brennan-Clapper Files: How January 6 Shifted Surveillance Powers
America First Legal (AFL) has published another batch of documents (referred to collectively as “Deep State Diaries”) originating from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) advisory outfit, Homeland Intelligence Experts Group.
AFL refers to this body as the “Brennan-Clapper committee” since it included former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan.
The group has been disbanded, judging by AFL’s press release also thanks to its efforts, and now internal notes from meetings, which the non-profit said it obtained through litigation, have seen the light of day.
These documents focus on the way the Biden administration and its allies handled the events of January 6, the Mar-a-Lago raid, and social platforms for what AFL says is “targeting and surveillance of political dissent.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Monica Buckley uploaded a video Sunday to Instagram of an apparent confrontation she and two others had with a masked pro-Palestine mob at a public library in North Carolina.
Buckley, David Monitz and Bob Campbell alleged that the mob assaulted them Saturday when they attended an event called “Strategic Lessons from the Palestinian Resistance,” WLOS reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ANALYSIS France Elects: ‘Neither the Left Nor the Hard-Right’ Has Become a Tricky Position to Hold
Emmanuel Macrons and his allies’ “Neither the Left nor the hard-right” campaign faces a tricky situation ahead of the second round of votes on July 7.
They have the potential to shift the balance between the Left and the hard-right but many don’t want to.
Macron is facing a significant loss after the first round of the general election on June 30 saw National Rally (RN) and allies win with 33.15 per cent of the vote. Left-wing coalition the New Popular Front came in second with 27.99 per cent and the President’s Renaissance Party was third on 20.44 per cent.
Seemingly stuck in the middle, Macron is trying to make his mark and re-establish himself as the country’s leader.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Clear Victory for Le Pen in French Elections
Marine Le Pen’s national-conservative National Rally (RN) clearly won the first round of the French parliamentary elections on Sunday, June 30th, and is hoping to gain an absolute majority after the second round of voting on July 7th. French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Together alliance finished in a lowly third place, signalling voter dissatisfaction in the country.
The National Rally, which secured victory in the European elections only three weeks ago, prompting Macron to call snap elections, received 33.2% of the votes on Sunday, almost doubling its vote share of 18.7% from two years ago. This is RN’s best ever election result. The party is projected to have between 240 and 270 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly. 289 seats are required for an absolute majority. The total number of seats will depend on how the RN performs in the second round of voting. Altogether, only 75 MPs gained enough votes to be elected in the first round.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Green Deal Architect Takes Top Job With Dutch Gas Firm — Without EC Permission
Diederik Samsom, one of the architects of the European Green Deal, has raised eyebrows after joining the board of Gasunie, a Dutch gas company, as chairman.
He reportedly accepted the role without the required permission of the European Commission.
On June 26, Samsom announced he had taken up the position with the State-owned Dutch firm.
After surprise about a staunch climate activist working for a gas firm, it then turned out that Samsom had broken EC rules, investigative publication Follow the Money reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Elections: Meloni Yet to Break Silence on Le Pen’s Success
Le Pen’s advantage is seen as a positive development for Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and ECR’s role in the EU, according to Italian media.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Melania has yet to make a public comment following Marine Le Pen’s right-wing party’s triumph in the first round of the French elections this weekend. Yet, other officials were quick to express their views.
The first to react to the news of the National Rally’s success in Italy was right-wing Matteo Salvini, historically a political ally of Le Pen. He congratulated her while also taking the opportunity to criticise French President Emmanuel Macron.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s CDU Denies Their MEPs May Vote Against Von Der Leyen
As Ursula von der Leyen began her scramble to assemble enough European Parliament votes to stay in office, Germany’s Christian Democrats have denied press reports that many of their MEPs would withhold their votes if von der Leyen—herself a former CDU minister—entered an agreement with the EU’s Greens.
“In my eyes, this is rubbish,” Christian Democrat MEP Dennis Radtke told Brussels Signal.
“The CDU and CSU will vote in favour for Ursula,” he predicted.
Perhaps highlighting the sensitivity of the issue, though, Markus Pieper, a second CDU MEP, told Brussels Signal he “does not wish to comment on the topic”.
Von der Leyen in any case does not have many European Parliament votes to spare.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
On Monday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is set to arrive in Warsaw for the first intergovernmental consultations with Poland since 2018, bringing a suite of proposals aimed at reinforcing bilateral ties, including WWII reparations.
According to Süddeutsche Zeitung (FAZ), the German government will propose a comprehensive package that includes support for Poland’s eastern defense, reparations gestures to victims of the Nazi occupation, and the construction of a memorial site.
Scholz intends to use this visit as an opportunity to “move beyond past tensions and conflicts,” with Chancellor Scholz offering monetary support and gestures of reconciliation to meet Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s expectations. According to the German paper, the message Scholz brings to Warsaw on Monday evening is optimistic: “We are moving towards better times.”
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Germany: AfD Congress in Essen Faces Violent Protests as Membership Soars 60%
Coordinated efforts by the far left and municipal officials failed to disrupt the annual congress of the right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in the German city of Essen over the weekend. The congress followed months of infighting, but also big successes for the party in last month’s European elections. The party also reported that membership had surged by 60% since January 2023.
According to protest organisers, 70,000 people took to the streets of Essen in a total of 32 demonstrations during the three-day congress. There were violent clashes between demonstrators and the police on Saturday morning, about which German media and politicians were largely silent.
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German Court Rules That Members of Far-Right AfD Cannot Own Firearms
Members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party cannot legally possess firearms under the country’s weapons law because the party has been deemed a suspected extremist group.
The Dusseldorf Administrative Court ruled on Monday that a married couple must surrender all of their firearms, dismissing a lawsuit brought by the couple over the revocation of their firearms possession permits.
Germany’s BfV domestic intelligence agency has formally placed the AfD under suspicion of working to undermine the country’s democratic constitution. That was upheld in May by an administrative court, which rejected an AfD lawsuit over the designation.
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Germany’s Baerbock Concerned With Far-Right Surge in French Election
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has expressed her concern about the strong performance of France’s right-wing nationalist National Rally (RN) party in the first round of elections there.
“It cannot leave anyone cold when […] in our closest partner and best friend a party that sees Europe as the problem and not the solution is far ahead,” Baerbock said on Monday, referring to the strong showing by Marine Le Pen’s party in French snap elections on Sunday.
She said that Germany and France — the two largest countries in the European Union — share a special responsibility for a Europe.
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Germany: Court Rules Bavaria Can Put the Far-Right AfD Under Surveillance
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party organization in the southern German state of Bavaria may be placed under surveillance as a suspected extremist group, a court in Munich ruled on Monday.
The decision, which rejected a lawsuit brought by the Bavarian AfD, clears the way for the use of undercover agents and intercepted communications to monitor the group.
Two lower courts had already made similar rulings.
At the beginning of the hearing, the AfD’s Bavarian state chairman Stephan Protschka said that he did not expect the complaint to be successful and announced that the party would continue with further appeals.
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German Far-Right AfD Continues Party Conference Amid Protests
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) continued its national party conference on Sunday in the western city of Essen amid mass anti-AfD protests that included occasional violent clashes.
On the second day of the meeting, the subject for debate was the party’s foreign policy orientation, for example with regard to the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine.
A resolution, which is supported by party co-chairwoman Alice Weidel, states that Germany must break more strongly from US foreign policy. It calls for an end to arms deliveries to Ukraine.
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Italy: All-Cause Deaths Surge Among COVID-Vaccinated
A major new study has revealed that deaths from all causes are soaring among those who have received Covid mRNA shots.
Alarmingly, the study also found that COVID-19 spread more rapidly among the “vaccinated.”
The study was conducted by top biology and immunology scientists at the University of Turin in Italy and published in the MDPI Journal.
The team of Italian researchers at the University’s Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology was led by Professor Marco Alessandria.
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Klaus Schwab Accused of Sexual Harassment by WEF Employees
World Economic Forum (WEF) founder Klaus Schwab has been accused of sexual harassment, discrimination, and various forms of inappropriate behavior by several employees.
Multiple female staffers at the WEF have gone on record to accuse Schwab of sexual harassment.
Schwab is also accused of discriminating against women and black people.
The allegations were exposed during an investigation by The Wall Street Journal.
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Kremlin: Le Pen’s French Election Victory is the Will of the Voters
The Kremlin has interpreted the victory of Marine Le Pen’s far-right nationalist National Rally (RN) and its allies in the first round of the parliamentary election in France as a clear sign of the will of the voters.
“We are certainly following the election very closely. What we saw in a number of European countries earlier, including France, these trends are being confirmed,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskovon Monday. “I guess we will wait for the second round, even though it’s pretty clear to us what French voters want,” Peskov added.
In the past, National Rally has been repeatedly accused of having close ties to the Kremlin.
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Le Pen’s ID Group Potentially Rebranding by Merging With Orban’s Patriots
It looks like Hungary’s conservative prime minister was not bluffing when he said the new political alliance that he launched over the weekend with the Austrian and Czech populists will become the largest political force to the right of the European People’s Party (EPP) in the European Parliament (EP).
Confidential sources from within Matteo Salvini’s Lega party—a member of the sovereigntist Identity and Democracy (ID) group—claim that the creation of Orban’s new group, ‘Patriots for Europe,’ was the pre-agreed plan between him and Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French election winning National Rally and de facto head of ID.
Instead of just simply admitting the Hungarian Fidesz and others to the ID, the group is aiming to regroup under Orban’s new banner, making it ideologically more flexible to expand its alliance and chart a new path toward political domination on the European Right.
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Le Pen Victory Triggers Leftist Protests: What Happens in the French Election Now?
Thousands turned out to protest the outcome of the first round of the French parliamentary elections on Sunday night, objecting to the French people having voted in greater numbers for Le Pen’s populists than the pan-left bloc.
France-wide election results trickled in overnight for the first round of the Parliamentary selection, largely confirming the exit polls published Sunday night and the opinion polling in the days running up to the vote. Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN) is the largest party with 33.15 per cent of votes cast on the highest turnout for a French election in decades. The New Popular Front, a new pan-left alliance put together for this vote got 27.99 per cent and globalist-managerialist President Emmanuel Macron’s faction came in third with just 20.76 per cent.
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Literature of the Catacombs: A Conversation With Joseph Pearce
A native of England, Joseph Pearce is the internationally acclaimed author of many books, which include bestsellers such as The Quest for Shakespeare, Tolkien: Man and Myth, The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde,C. S. Lewis and The Catholic Church, Literary Converts, Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G.K. Chesterton, Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile, and Old Thunder: A Life of Hilaire Belloc. His books have been published and translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Croatian, and Polish.
Pearce has hosted documentaries on EWTN on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit as well as two 13-part television series about Shakespeare on EWTN. His verse drama, Death Comes for the War Poets, was performed off-Broadway to critical acclaim. He has participated and lectured at a wide variety of international and literary events at major colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada, Britain, Europe, Africa, and South America.
He is Visiting Professor of Literature at Ave Maria University and a Visiting Fellow of Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (Merrimack, New Hampshire). He is editor of the St. Austin Review, series editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions, senior instructor with Homeschool Connections, and senior contributor at the Imaginative Conservative and Crisis Magazine. His personal website is http://www.jpearce.co.
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Paws Up for EU Cats and Dogs Welfare Plan
Cats and dogs in Europe look likely to be left purring and tail-wagging over enhanced care rules that would apply across the European Union.
The Council of the European Union’s proposal to improve the welfare of the animals has been given a thumbs up (or paws up?) by the Member States.
EU citizens own a total of more than 72 million dogs and more than 83 million cats, according to the bloc’s statistics.
Under the agreement on June 26, the EU wants to introduce a set of bloc-wide rules on the animals for the first time.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish Priest ‘Tortured in Custody,’ Sparking Outrage
Father Michal Olszewski, head of the Profeto Foundation, has described harrowing conditions during his detention at the Warsaw-Sluzewiec jail, alleging serious abuse, including denial of water and restroom access, and degrading treatment. His attorney, Krzysztof Wasowski, has announced plans to seek intervention from both the Polish commissioner for human rights and international organizations.
Father Olszewski, who was arrested in late March amidst allegations involving the Justice Fund scandal, conveyed his experiences in a private letter that has now been made public by Sieci weekly and daily Gazeta Polska. According to the letter, his handcuffs were not removed even during moments of duress, leading to severe personal indignities. The priest describes being offered a half bottle of tap water and being told to urinate in a bottle in his cell. Additionally, he faced constant surveillance and was awakened hourly by lights throughout his first two weeks in custody.
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Russian and Iranian Influence Networks ‘Target French Elections’, Without Much Success
Russian and Iranian “influence” networks have targeted voters using multiple tactics amid the ongoing French elections, it was reported.
US cyber-security and intelligence company Recorded Future said the networks were however “having a negligible impact on shaping public opinion and voters behaviour” on the national ballot, in its report published on June 28.
The attacks are co-ordinated, it said, with two main strategies: The promotion of pro-Russian, populist political positions, and social media amplification with thousands of automated social media accounts impersonating French media organisations.
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Something Incredible is Happening Here
Something incredible is happening in France.
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Two German Police Officers Seriously Injured in Anti-AfD Protests
Two police officers suffered serious head injuries as they escorted a politician through a throng of activists protesting against a congress held by the far-right Alternative for Germany in the western city of Essen.
Unknown assailants kicked the officers in the head after forcing them to the ground, a police statement said. They were taken to hospital. Seven other officers suffered less serious injuries. The assailants were able to escape into the crowd.
Activists and police clashed throughout the day.
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U.S. Military Bases in Europe Put on Higher Security Alert
The U.S. military’s central command in Stuttgart issued top-level warnings to military personnel in Germany, Bulgaria, and Romania over the weekend, warning soldiers to telework if possible and to wear civilian clothing when using public transport due to an undisclosed terror threat.
On Sunday, the official alert level was raised to the second highest level, or “Charlie,” with a potential attack thought to be “likely” against the 100,000 U.S. military personnel garrisoned across Europe. Military bases in Germany initiated the most intensive safety procedures to protect staff and buildings.
While military officials have not commented on the motivations for the new alert, U.S. army protocols dictate that a “Charlie” warning be issued only if “an incident occurs or intelligence is received indicating some form of terrorist action or targeting against personnel or facilities is likely.”
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UK: Establishment Attacks Do Little to Dent Reform Support Base
Around 5,000 people paid an entry fee to attend an impressive Reform UK rally in Birmingham on Sunday despite despite increasingly intense establishment attacks on the party.
The political class first went for Reform leader Nigel Farage over his comments that the war in Ukraine was at least in part “provoked” by NATO and EU expansion. The Conservatives were particularly pleased with the opportunity to bash Reform, having spent weeks losing voters—and, more recently, donors—to the insurgent party.
But the saga hasn’t really done much to Reform’s position in the polls (believe them or not), which is still much higher than at the start of the general election campaign.
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What Do Poles Fear? Anxieties Over War, Immigration, and Extreme Weather Are Growing
A study reveals that health concerns for loved ones top the list of fears among Poles, followed by extreme weather events and personal health issues, with rising anxieties about war and immigration.
In a reoccurring survey, “Current Fears and Concerns of Poles,” participants were asked to identify from a list of 37 potential fears those they believed could occur soon. The results show that 43.3 percent of respondents fear diseases affecting a close relation or friend, a decrease from 48.9 percent six months ago.
Michal Murgrabia, a psychologist and co-author of the study, notes, “The fact that nearly half of the respondents indicated this concern underscores the importance of family health in Polish life. The reduction in this percentage could be due to several factors, including society’s adaptation to post-pandemic realities and changing priorities, which affect the overall level of anxiety felt in various aspects of life.”
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Whistleblower Archbishop Viganò Refuses Vatican Summons
ROME — Former Vatican emissary Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano has refused to obey a summons to the Vatican to face charges of schism, restating he does not recognize Pope Francis as the head of the Catholic Church.
“As I stated in my Communiqué of June 20, I do not recognize the authority of the tribunal that claims to judge me, nor of its Prefect, nor of the one who appointed him,” Archbishop Viganò said in a statement.
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Israel Orders Mass Evacuation, Signals New Assault on Southern Gaza City
The Israeli army ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians from much of Khan Younis on Monday, a sign that troops are likely to launch a new ground assault in the Gaza Strip’s second largest city.
The order suggested Khan Younis will be the target in the latest of Israel’s repeated raids into parts of Gaza it had previously invaded during the past mearly nine months, pursuing Hamas militants as they regroup. Much of Khan Younis was already destroyed in a long assault earlier this year, but large numbers of Palestinians have since moved back in to escape another Israeli offensive in Gaza’s southern-most city, Rafah.
The order came as Israel released the director of Gaza’s main hospital after holding him for seven months without charge or trial over allegations the facility had been used as a Hamas command centre. He said he and other detainees were held under harsh conditions and tortured.
The decision to release Mohammed Abu Selmia raised questions over Israel’s claims surrounding Shifa Hospital, which Israeli forces have raided twice since the start of the nearly nine-month war with Hamas. Abu Selmia and other Palestinian health officials have denied the accusations.
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Heavyweights in Paris to Support Iranian Opposition-in-Exile
Dozens of political heavyweights from the West gathered over the weekend in Paris to support the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) at the same time as thousands demonstrated in Berlin and Tirana, the capital of Albania.
Attendees at the annual event included former US vice president Mike Pence, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, Republican Senator Ted Cruz, former MEP Guy Verhofstadt, former French interior and defence minister Michèlle Allio-Marie, and Peter Altmaier, a minister under Angela Merkel.
This year, the summit coincided with the Iranian presidential elections on June 28, following which both parties, Conservative and reformist, will go to a second round after a technical tie.
Reformist Masoud Pezeshkian and Conservative Saeed Khalili are competing to take the place of former president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a plane crash on May 19 (the causes of which is still unknown). Both also hope to win the favour of Ayatollah Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran since 1989.
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NATO Suspects Russia is Sabotaging EU’s Critical North Sea Infrastructure
NATO officials have serious suspicions that Russia has undermined critical EU underwater infrastructure in the North Sea. These concerns are based on information obtained from companies operating key oil and gas platforms, pipelines, and power and telecommunications cables.
The Russians are deploying ships to carry out spying missions because satellite imagery does not reach the seabed, reports The Times. Protecting critical undersea infrastructure has become a major objective for NATO and European countries with access to the sea after the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipelines due to sabotage in the fall of 2022.
The main targets of Russian intelligence, especially after Russia’s large-scale military invasion of Ukraine, were power and telephone cables, as well as oil and gas pipelines.
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Ukraine War Briefing: Thousands of Ukrainian Convicts Join Fight Against Russian Forces
Ukraine is turning to its prisoner population to help address battlefield shortages as Russian continues to build up forces in eastern Ukraine. More than 3,000 prisoners have been released on parole and assigned to military units after such recruitment was approved by parliament in a controversial mobilisation bill last month, Ukrainian deputy justice minister Olena Vysotska told the Associated Press. The news agency visited a rural penal colony in south-east Ukraine where several convicts were offered a chance at parole in return for battlefield service. “You can put an end to this and start a new life,” one recruiter, a member of a volunteer assault battalion, told them. Ukraine does not announce details of troop deployment numbers or casualties, but frontline commanders openly acknowledge that they are facing serious personnel shortages.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Indonesia: 17-Year-Old Badminton Star Drops Dead From Cardiac Arrest Mid-Game
Shocking scenes have emerged from a major badminton championship after a teenage player dropped dead on the court mid-game.
On Sunday evening, 17-year-old Zhang Zhijie suddenly collapsed during a match at the Asia Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Zhijie, from China, was playing against Japan’s Kazuma Kawano when he suffered an unexpected cardiac arrest.
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China Tightens Grip on Crucial Rare Earths
China’s State Council announced the approval of new regulations on the management of rare earth materials, strengthening government control.
That will likely affect the rest of the world as rare earths are essential components in numerous modern technologies, especially electronics used in defence, clean energy and industrial applications.
The West regards the Chinese move as hostile, Bloomberg has reported. There has been a history of tit-for-tat tariffs, and anti-dumping probes.
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South Korea: Nine Killed, Four Injured After Car Hits Pedestrians in Seoul
A car has hit pedestrians waiting at a traffic light in central Seoul, killing nine people and injuring four, South Korea’s emergency officials said.
The passenger car drove in the wrong direction and collided with two other cars just before hitting the pedestrians, South Korean media reports said.
The reports say the driver in his late 60s spoke of a sudden, unintended acceleration. He was detained, media reported.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Australia Police Arrests 14-Year-Old Boy After Stabbing at Sydney University
SYDNEY, July 2 (Reuters) — Australian police said on Tuesday it had arrested a 14-year-old boy after a stabbing at the University of Sydney.
Emergency crews treated a 22-year-old man, who was taken to a hospital in a serious but stable condition, New South Wales state police said in a statement.
There is no ongoing risk to the community, it said.
A University of Sydney spokesperson said a police operation was underway on its Camperdown campus and that police would remain on campus while investigations continue.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Brazil’s Justice De Moraes Orders X to Delete Criticism, Fines it Despite Compliance
X and Brazil — more precisely, X and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes — are at it again.
The US company behind the social platform is accusing Moraes, known as an online censorship proponent, of putting more pressure on X.
The case concerns an order issued by Moraes for X to delete posts critical of a Brazilian politician, House Speaker Arthur Lira, and pay a fine equivalent to $18,000 (100,000 real).
X’s Global Government Affairs account posted that the platform complied with the law of the land, that is, this order the same day (within six hours), having been given what is described as an unreasonable, 2-hour deadline to do this.
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Biden Admin Offers ‘Temporary Amnesty’ to Over 300,000 Haitians Already in US
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has announced that “temporary amnesty” will be granted to illegal immigrants from Haiti already in the United States. Around 309,000 people who fit that description will be allowed to remain in the country for another 18 months after the Temporary Protected Status for Haitians ends on August 4.
The DHS argued that the extension was warranted “because the conditions that support Haiti’s designation are ongoing and that doing so was not contrary to the national interest of the United States.” Since violence broke out earlier this year, hundreds of thousands have fled to nearby countries and the US. The country’s government has essentially been replaced by gangs.
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ICE Captures MS-13 Gang Member Wanted for Murder: ‘Violent Criminal’
NEW YORK CITY (TND) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on Monday announced the arrest of an MS-13 gang member in New York City who is wanted for murder.
Officers arrested Melvin Hernandez, an illegal migrant from El Salvador, “without incident” near his residence in Queens. Among his belongings were a loaded handgun, a box of ammo and a small amount of marijuana, according to ICE.
Hernandez, 27, entered the U.S. at an unknown date and time. Salvadoran authorities in March sought Hernandez’s arrest on two counts of aggravated homicide and unlawful groups, leading FBI agents to inform New York enforcement agents of an Interpol Red Notice for the migrant.
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Illegal Migrant Accused of Shooting Dead 2 Texas Chick-fil-a Workers Previously Sneaked Into US
The illegal migrant accused of shooting dead two Texas Chick-fil-A workers had previously sneaked past authorities to enter the US illegally, sources told The Post.
Oved Bernardo Mendoza Argueta — a 37-year-old native of El Salvador who is charged with capital murder — told authorities he crossed into the US illegally, but claimed not to know when or where, Homeland Security sources said.
He also told authorities he’s married with a child, whom he says is a US citizen.
The number of migrants crossing the border without detection has skyrocketed in recent years, amounting to roughly 1.8 million since the start of the Biden administration.
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A 12 year-old Texas girl was raped before being murdered by two illegal immigrants, police say.
Jocelyn Nungaray suffered a sex attack prior to her killing last month, the medical examiner in Houston confirmed two weeks after her slaying.
Houston prosecutors have been awaiting forensic evidence of a sexual assault since a second crime on top of murder would make the two Venezuelan men accused of killing her eligible for the death penalty.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Migrants Are Just Waiting for a Labour Government Before Crossing to the UK’…
— Rishi Sunak warns Britain will be a ‘soft touch’ magnet for illegal migration under ‘socialist’ Keir Starmer as hard right movement sweeps across France and Europe
Rishi Sunak today warned Britain would become the ‘soft touch of Europe’ on illegal migration if Labour wins power at Thursday’s general election.
The Prime Minister ramped up his attacks on Sir Keir Starmer and claimed the Labour leader ‘doesn’t have a plan’ to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel.
With just three days left until polling day, Mr Sunak reiterated his accusation that migrants in Calais are waiting for Labour to be elected before journeying to the UK.
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Migrant Charged in Syracuse Murder Carried Corpse Right Past Cops and Got Away With it: Video
The migrant charged with murdering a young woman on her birthday in Syracuse was caught on video carrying her lifeless body — right in front of a passing police cruiser, the harrowing clip shows.
Surveillance footage shows the moment murder suspect Jhon Moises Chacaguasay-Ilbis went into the Airbnb with still-alive Joselyn Jhoana Toaquiza, 21, on June 18. Chacaguasay-Ilbis, an Ecuadorian national who entered the US illegally, then leaves the home with a limp Toaquiza draped across his back.
Just as he approaches the street, a Syracuse Police Department patrol car drives by — without appearing to notice the horrifying situation, the video shows.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
— as party leaders vow to tackle the problem ahead of Thursday’s election
Dozens more migrants arrived in Dover this morning after trying to cross the Channel.
Around 50 people including young children were seen being brought to shore on the Kent coast after being rescued during the perilous journey.
Some youngsters were carried, seen wearing life jackets, while others walked and were led by the hand.
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Labour’s plan to scrap the Rwanda deportation scheme could lead to a surge in Channel migrants that would cost the average household £635, James Cleverly has warned.
The Home Secretary cited government figures suggesting that removing the ‘deterrent’ scheme would lead to the number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels jumping to 185,000 at a cost of £32million a day.
And he seized on reports yesterday that Sir Keir Starmer is ‘praying for rain’ this summer to prevent a surge in Channel crossings in Labour’s first hundred days.
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Appeals Court Seems Lost on How Internet Archive Harms Publishers
The Internet Archive (IA) went before a three-judge panel Friday to defend its open library’s controlled digital lending (CDL) practices after book publishers last year won a lawsuit claiming that the archive’s lending violated copyright law.
In the weeks ahead of IA’s efforts to appeal that ruling, IA was forced to remove 500,000 books from its collection, shocking users. In an open letter to publishers, more than 30,000 readers, researchers, and authors begged for access to the books to be restored in the open library, claiming the takedowns dealt “a serious blow to lower-income families, people with disabilities, rural communities, and LGBTQ+ people, among many others,” who may not have access to a local library or feel “safe accessing the information they need in public.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California Cops Stand Idly by as Men Expose Themselves, Pee on Each Other at Event Open to Kids
Police appeared to opt out of taking action as San Francisco’s Pride march attendees openly performed oral sex on each other and engaged in disturbing sexual acts, including urinating on one another, during Sunday’s pride parade, social media video shows.
One attendee laid down in an inflatable pool in a designated area called “The Fetish Zone” and let a woman pee on him. Another man wearing only a dog collar and a small cloth around his genitals stood in the pool and clapped, video that reporter Savanah Hernandez posted to Twitter shows.
“The Fetish Zone” was designated as an 18+ zone but parade officials were allegedly not checking IDs, according to Hernandez.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Google Launches New Censorship Effort to Crack Down on ‘Toxicity’
Big Tech giant Google is expanding its online censorship as the critical 2024 elections draw near.
The new crackdown is being led by Google’s Jigsaw censorship division.
Jigsaw, originally called Google Ideas, was launched under former CEO Eric Schmidt in 2010.
Schmidt’s idea sought to tackle “issues at the intersection of technology and geopolitics.”
However, the program was later deemed too “open and honest” and was reworked into Jigsaw by Google’s parent company Alphabet.
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Kamala Harris Hit With Community Note Over Post Claiming Trump Would Ban Abortion
President Donald Trump would seek to ban abortion nationwide should he return to the White House, a post that earned her a community note from X in light of Trump’s repeated statements to the contrary.
“Donald Trump would ban abortion nationwide. President [Joe Biden] and I will do everything in our power to stop him and restore women’s reproductive freedom,” she posted on X.
“President Trump has repeatedly said he will not sign a national abortion ban,” the attached note read. Included were links to CNN, the BBC, the Associated Press, the New York Times, and Trump’s Truth Social account asserting his preference that abortion be left to the states or his refusal to back a nationwide ban.
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Polish Government Divided Over Same-Sex Unions
Donald Tusk’s centrist governing coalition is having trouble reaching a consensus about a draft law introducing same-sex unions submitted by a coalition member. Once again, the prime minister seems caught between what’s expected of him in Brussels and the majority opinion in Polish society.
The draft bill would introduce same-sex unions in Poland for the first time, covering the right to a joint surname, similar tax status to married couples, the right to obtain the partner’s medical information, as well as the right to inheritance and to take over the care of the partner’s children in case of death.
The legislation was submitted by Nowa Lewica (‘New Left’), the government’s most junior coalition partner sitting in the social democrat (S&D) group in the European Parliament (EP), which campaigned during last year’s parliamentary elections on the promise to eventually introduce full same-sex marriage in the country.
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Zelensky’s wife buys latest Bugatti Turbillon for 4.5 million euros
During the official visit of the Ukrainian delegation to Paris in early June, Bugatti Automobiles, together with the Paris dealership, organized a preview of the new Bugatti Turbillon hypercar especially for the Zelensky couple (the public premiere took place two weeks later, on June 20). According to the dealer’s representative, Zelenskaya was delighted with the new car and pre-ordered it. She thus became the buyer of the first of 250 cars planned for production.
French journalists managed to obtain a copy of the invoice for Zelenskaya’s new car. In addition to the basic price of almost 4 million euros, there are options worth almost 500,000 euros. Zelenskaya will receive her car in 2026.
Source: Telegram – https://t.me/neuesausrussland/19609
Translation: deepl.com
“Zelensky’s wife buys latest Bugatti Turbillon for 4.5 million euros”
I looked up “sketchy” in Webster’s. It referred me to this story.
“Meanwhile, a court in Munich ruled that the state of Bavaria may place the AfD under surveillance as a suspected extremist group.”
This reminds me of a cartoon I saw in a newspaper in the waning days of apartheid in South Africa. The white South African leader, whose name I can’t remember, is standing on a stage being confronted with a huge crowd of protesting blacks. And he declares, “You’re all under arrest.”