Seven “Finnish” men have had their convictions overturned for raping a mentally incapacitated woman over a three-year period. One of the men is named Mohammed Ali Mohammed Mohammed, which means that if he had acted alone, the case would have had an unprecedented Mohammed Coefficient of 300%.
In other news, President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office tonight during prime time to explain his decision to drop out of the 2024 race. Mr. Biden appeared to have bruises and swellings on his jaw and cheek that were only partially concealed by makeup.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, Hellequin GB, JW, LP, McN, MM, 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.
Bank of Canada Reduces Key Interest Rate Again to 4.5%
The Bank of Canada reduced its key interest rate by 0.5 percentage points, lowering its overnight rate to 4.5%.
It is the second consecutive rate cut by Canada’s central bank.
“With broad price pressures continuing to ease and inflation expected to move closer to 2%, Governing Council decided to reduce the policy interest rate by a further 25 basis points,” announced the Bank of Canada in a release on Wednesday.
The bank rate was also reduced to 4.75% and the deposit rate to 4.5%.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canada Had Third Worst GDP Growth Among Trading Partners and is Getting Poorer: Study
Canada’s economy is trailing behind its international trading partners and is projected to be the worst in per-person gross domestic product among OECD countries by 2060, a new study finds.
According to a study by the Fraser Institute think tank, Canada is getting poorer, with economic growth “substantially” declining since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took office in 2015.
The study compared Canada’s GDP per capita, or the per person economic output of the country, to the other OECD countries in three separate periods: 2002 to 2014, 2014 to 2022, and 2022 projected out to 2026.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In Depth: Airbus Tries to Get a Grip After Stock Market Plummet
erospace multinational Airbus has said it wanted to avoid further delays in aircraft deliveries and was working with suppliers to avoid supply chain problems.
“We don’t do material control, but we do assist in the co-ordination of materials to avoid delays in the delivery of products,” said an anonymous Airbus source.
On 25 June, the company stock market value plummeted 9.4 per cent after it announced it would cut the number of aircraft it produced in 2024 due to supply chain issues.
Airbus said it now expected operating profit for 2024 to be €5.5 billion, down from the €6.5 billion to €7 billion it announced in February.
That led to the stock market fall, with losses amounting to €11.3 billion, the most since Covid.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Unreasonable”: These 20 Universities Still Require Students Get COVID Vaccine
Authored by Madelynn McLaughlin via The College Fix
Twenty United States colleges continue to require their students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the watchdog organization No College Mandates.
These mandates face increasingly heavy criticism from medical doctors and scholars who point to concerns regarding the vaccine’s safety, efficacy, and necessity.
Lucia Sinatra, co-founder of No College Mandates, an organization that tracks and advocates for the abolition of vaccine mandates, told The College Fix that such policies are “unreasonable and discriminatory.”
“One can only assume the purpose of this monthly testing is to discriminate against those who choose against COVID-19 vaccination and put undue pressure on them with the hopes they will tire of both the cost and routine of the monthly testing and succumb to the coercion to take COVID-19 vaccines,” Sinatra said in a recent email.
Many schools have been quietly retiring their vaccine mandates over the past year. The most recent of these include Wayne State University, which announced this month that it “strongly” recommends but no longer requires the vaccine.
San Diego State University also ended its mandate recently, according to No College Mandates. The number is down from approximately 100 colleges one year ago, according to an August 2023 report by The Fix.
However, 20 schools continue to require their students to receive the vaccine, including the Southern University System based in Louisiana and three California State University campuses, the watchdog reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Roland Hesmondhalgh started searching for a job in January 2020. He’s still looking.
In 2019, Hesmondhalgh was a part-time photojournalist while working toward a bachelor’s degree in multiplatform journalism at the Florida Institute of Technology. He thought it might lead to a full-time opportunity after he graduated, but then he was laid off, the 32-year-old, who lives in Virginia, told Business Insider via email.
Aside from the occasional freelance gigs doing photography or YouTube scriptwriting — which he says pay very little — he hasn’t found work since.
It hasn’t been for a lack of effort. Hesmondhalgh says he looks and applies for jobs every week, and he earned a master’s degree in journalism from Georgetown last year. He says he’s even expanded his job search to restaurant and retail jobs — “stocking shelves and flipping patties,” for example.
But he’s struggled to even get a second interview for any job. Hesmondhalgh says that his journalism degrees have “opened no doors” and that he’s overqualified for many of the entry-level positions he’s applied for — something he thinks has made some employers less likely to hire him.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
About 200 People Protesting Gaza War Arrested in Congressional Building, Police Say
About 200 demonstrators staging a sit-in against the war in Gaza were arrested on Capitol Hill Tuesday, according to U.S. Capitol Police, a day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to address a joint meeting of Congress.
In a post on X, the agency said the protesters, gathered in the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building, were arrested for “Crowding, Obstructing or Incommoding,” and added that it’s against the law to demonstrate in congressional buildings.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
President Biden spoke to the nation in a primetime address from the Oval Office tonight, three days after dropping his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement to take on former President Donald Trump this fall.
Biden explained his decision to drop out of the 2024 race, telling the American people that the “defense of democracy is more important than any title.”
“I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation,” Biden said. “That is the best way to unite our nation.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former President Donald Trump held a rally in North Carolina where he directed sharp criticism at Vice President Kamala Harris, calling her the most “radical, far-left extremist ever to occupy the White House.” Harris has been on the campaign trail for just a few days and has already leveled false statements agaisnt Trump, his intentions, and his record.
Trump’s attacks against Harris come as she is poised to become the official Democratic nominee for president after receiving enough delegate support within the party. She was installed at the top of the ticket by Democrat Party elites after Biden dropped out of the race though she hasn’t actually received any votes. The DNC intends to nominate her to secure her candidacy in advance of their convention. Trump dismissed Harris’ chances of winning the general election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed in a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday that investigators currently believe that Trump would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was live streaming footage taken by a drone of the Butler, Pennsylvania rally site ahead of the shooting.
Wray confirmed to lawmakers that a drone that Crooks was believed to have used was recovered in his vehicle, and said that that around 4 pm on the day of the shooting, “the shooter was flying the drone around the area” of the rally, not over the stage but an estimated 200 yards away.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CHICAGO — A River North business owner is fed up with the city after thieves targeted his store for the second time in two weeks.
Early Tuesday, the Gold Coast Market posted surveillance video on its Instagram page, showing four men getting out of a gray vehicle.
One man had a sledgehammer and tried to smash his way inside the store. Another one of the offenders had a gun and pointed it at someone. Fortunately, the owner said the thieves didn’t get in and no one was injured.
Earlier this month, in a separate incident, nine suspects broke into the same store and stole thousands of dollars worth of high-end liquor.
The owner believes the city does not have enough police and isn’t deploying officers when they are needed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Cop Dragged, Assaulted, and American Flag Burned as Pro-Palestine Protesters Rage in DC
Update (1815ET): Anti-Israel protesters were filmed dragging and assaulting a DC cop, and setting fire to an American flag in protest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech.
Meanwhile, all three flags at Union Station were replaced with Palestinian flags.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democrats Urge OpenAI to Allow Government Access to Models Before They Go Public
Five Democrat senators have penned a letter to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, as a form of not-so-subtle pressure to commit “to making its next foundation model available to US Government agencies for pre-deployment testing, review, analysis, and assessment.”
But, “pre-deployment testing by government agencies”? Are these guys sure this is how any democratic (no pun) government should be speaking to a private company?
What Altman is really being asked, critics say, is to commit to even broader Big Tech-Big Government collusion.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Democrat Party will enact a rule change for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) that will allow Vice President Kamala Harris to receive the party’s nomination prior to the convention being held. This decision comes as a strategic move to streamline the nomination process and is likely intended to avoid any perception of instability within the party.
A virtual roll call will be held during the first week of August to formalize Harris’ nomination, confirming her as the party’s candidate after she secured support from a majority of delegates without any intra-party challengers. This move follows President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will not seek re-election and his endorsement of Harris as the party’s nominee. Despite Biden’s endorsement, his delegates—nearly all of the pledged delegates for the convention—were not legally obligated to support Harris. However, the party has taken proactive steps to guarantee Harris’ nomination, ensuring she faces no competition and to demand their compliance.
The virtual roll call, planned since May, was implemented to allow the Democratic ticket ample time to appear on ballots in states with early filing deadlines. The plan was to have Biden confirmed in advance of the convention. The difference is that Biden actually ran for president and received votes. Harris has not received any votes.
The decision to continue with this planned process also comes amid discussions by right-leaning legal experts about potentially challenging the Democratic Party’s effort to replace Biden with Harris on state ballots and to fork over his campaign war chest, accumulated from those who believed they were donating to Biden, to Harris.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Federal Judge Rejects Challenge to Chicago Ban on Gun Laser-Sights
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times
Laser sights for guns are not protected by the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment, a federal judge ruled on July 22, upholding the city of Chicago’s ban on the sights.
Firearms are effective weapons without laser sights attached “and thus a laser sight ‘is not a weapon protected by the Second Amendment’“ but is instead an accessory unnecessary to operate firearms, U.S. District Judge Charles Kocoras said, quoting a ruling in a separate case.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House Votes to Form Task Force to Investigate Shooting at Trump Rally, Recommend Legislative Fixes
WASHINGTON — The House voted Wednesday to form a task force to investigate the security failures surrounding the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump on June 13.
The vote underscores the bipartisan outrage over the shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump came within inches of losing his life. One rallygoer was killed and two others severely injured. Lawmakers have responded quickly with hearings and widespread calls for accountability.
The legislation passed by a vote of 416-0.
“Protecting the safety and security of our nation’s leaders is a responsibility that transcends party lines,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Rules for Musk’s SpaceX in Lawsuit Against National Labor Relations Board
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times
The makeup of a federal labor board is likely unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled on July 24, siding with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and administrative law judges (ALJs) employed by the board, are likely unconstitutionally protected from removal by the president, according to U.S. District Judge Alan Albright.
“Under binding precedent, this court is satisfied that SpaceX has demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on its claims that Congress has impermissibly protected both the NLRB Members and the NLRB ALJs from the President’s Article II power of removal,” he said in a 15-page decision.
SpaceX, which builds and launches rockets and other spacefaring vehicles, filed the legal action in April in Waco, Texas.
The company pointed to Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which gives the president all executive power.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Just in: Fox News Invites Kamala, Trump to September 17 Debate in PA After Biden Quits Race
Fox News has sent out invitations to the President Donald Trump and Kamala Harris campaigns to participate in the first presidential debate since Biden dropped out and Harris was installed by Democrat leadership in her place. That debate would be in Pennsylvania on September 17.
That date is only seven days after the previously scheduled debate that would have been between Trump and ousted candidate President Joe Biden, who tendered his resignation from the campaign on Sunday via social media post. The two men had committed to participating in that debate, hosted by ABC.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bodycam footage released on Tuesday by Senator Chuck Grassley showed local law enforcement and a Secret Service agent standing on the roof near the body of the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, discussing how Crooks had been photographed by law enforcement, but authorities “lost sight” of him.
The footage, obtained through a congressional request according to Grassley, showed the perspective from a Beaver County Emergency Service Unit officer’s body camera. The video depicted multiple officers and a Secret Service agent on the rooftop near the body of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. The Secret Service agent is seen confirming that Crooks matched the description of a suspicious person previously photographed by the Secret Service before the shooting.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mostly Peaceful Assassinations
The attempted assassination of President Trump was on the right side of history. The inch that spared his life was on the wrong side of history.
Leftists see history as a series of confrontations between progressive and reactionary forces. The escalation of those confrontations from political protests “dissent is patriotic” to violent riots “the language of the unheard” to terrorism “the last desperate struggle of outraged and exasperated human nature” is blamed on the failure of society to become sufficiently socialist.
The right side of history arrives when society, and all conservative and reactionary forces, is overthrown. Assassinating a president, especially a reactionary one, is a means to that end.
Over the last 9 years, liberals had pursued every possible legal and illegal means from secret investigations to lawfare to street violence to prosecution on invented grounds to stop Trump.
Are we supposed to believe that the same political interests that defended the violent BLM riots as “mostly peaceful” were willing to shrink away from a targeted assassination of Trump?
Just call it a mostly peaceful assassination.
Nearly every Democrat politician, media outlet and cultural force has consistently made the case for the last 9 years that Trump is a unique threat that must be stopped by any means.
If there is anything that they have demonstrated over the years, it’s that they don’t believe any value, principle or safeguard matters more than getting him. Or getting to the right side of history. A movement vandalizing art treasures, killing babies and destroying black neighborhoods for the greater good could hardly quibble with one man’s death.
Every legal and moral code has been made subservient to the right side of history. The ends of saving the planet and transforming society always justify the means. Violence is a means. Like racism or breaking into the Capitol, it’s not inherently wrong, its morality rests on whether it falls on the right and progressive side or the wrong and reactionary side of history.
To regret the violence is to also to regret the movement. Those liberals who came to regret the violence eventually became conservatives because they came to question the ends.
| — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield | [Return to headlines] |
Oregon Public Schools Among Worst in the Nation: Study
A study recently conducted by personal finance company Wallethub ranked public school systems across the United States from best to worst. Near the bottom of the list was Oregon, which performed poorly despite being among the states with the highest percentage of spending on education.
In overall quality, the Beaver state was ranked 45th ahead of just West Virginia, Louisiana, Alaska, Arizona, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. When it came to safety, it came in at 44th in the nation, with only Tennessee, Kansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Nevada, Missouri, and Mississippi receiving lower scores.
According to the study, Oregon received an overall score of 38.60. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Massachusetts came in at 74.36, with other states in the northeast taking the top five spots in both categories.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pennsylvania State Police shut down concerns by now-resigned Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle that the “sloped roof” the shooter used to nearly assassinate former President Trump was too unsafe for law enforcement officers.
Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris made the statement during his testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday. Paris oversaw the state and local law enforcement in their partnership with the Secret Service during Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., began his questions by recounting his own experience having been to the scene of the shooting earlier this week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Prosecutor Says the New Jersey Man Who Stabbed Author Salman Rushdie Was Trying to Carry Out a Fatwa
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A man who severely injured author Salman Rushdie in a frenzied knife attack in western New York was motivated by a Hezbollah leader’s endorsement of a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death, prosecutors said Wednesday in announcing new terrorism charges.
The three-count indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in Buffalo offered for the first time a potential motive for the 2022 attack on “The Satanic Verses” author.
Hadi Matar, a U.S. citizen from New Jersey, was attempting to carry out a fatwa, Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kruly said. According to the prosecutor, Matar believed the call for Rushdie’s death, first issued in 1989, was backed by the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah and endorsed in a 2006 speech by the group’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah.
“We allege that in attempting to murder Salman Rushdie in New York in 2022, Hadi Matar committed an act of terrorism in the name of Hezbollah, a designated terrorist organization aligned with the Iranian regime,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a news release. “The Justice Department will prosecute those who perpetrate violence in the name of terrorist groups and undermine the basic freedoms enshrined in our Constitution.”
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Report: Obama Doubts Kamala Harris Can Beat Trump, Will Not Endorse Her
Former President Barack Obama reportedly does not believe that Vice President Kamala Harris can beat former President Donald Trump in the general election and will hold on endorsing her.
On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced his exit from the 2024 race and immediately endorsed Kamala Harris. Speaking with the New York Post, a source close to the Biden family said the outgoing president’s decision to endorse Harris so quickly blindsided Obama.
“Obama’s very upset because he knows she can’t win,” the source told the outlet. “Obama knows she’s just incompetent — the border czar who never visited the border, saying that all migrants should have health insurance. She cannot navigate the landmines that are ahead of her.”
“When you are running for president there are things you can and can’t say,” source added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Shocker! Study Reveals That Giving Americans $1,000 Per Month Has Negative Consequences
A new study reveals what common sense could have predicted — giving Americans $1,000 per month disincentivizes them from working, causing them to work less — and earn less, over time.
According to the 3,000-participant, three-year study from the National Bureau of Economic Research, giving people $1,000 per month increased leisure time, as recipients spent less time on sleeping, child care, community engagement, caring for others, and self-improvement.
The study also found that recipients’ income, not including the free money, reduced their incomes significantly, as “for every one dollar received, total household income excluding the transfers fell by at least 21 cents, and total individual income fell by at least 12 cents.”
“The takeaway from the best study done so far about UBI in the United States is that handing out money isn’t the solution to all our problems,” Daniel Di Martino, a economics researcher and graduate fellow at the Manhattan Institute, told The Center Square. “In fact, sometimes it makes things worse.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Thin-Skinned Maine Governor Refers Social Media Criticism to Police
We all know that there are places in the world where simply using “bad language” can get you in trouble with the law. But it’s a pretty good bet most Americans don’t think theirs is one of those countries.
However, the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) has found out about this. Last December, a video clip showing Maine Governor Janet Mills making gun comments elicited this three-word reaction from the group, which they posted on X: “F**k you. No.”
That was their response to Mills saying there was a possibility “assault weapons” would be banned in the wake of the Lewiston shooting. And the reaction from the governor’s office to the FPC post was to “refer” FPC to the police officer responsible for Mills’s security.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Shooter Did Not Use Ladder to Gain Access to Roof: FBI Head Christopher Wray
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, providing new insights into the methods used by 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks during his attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Wray clarified that Crooks did not use a ladder to access the rooftop from which he fired at Trump, as previously thought.
Instead, Wray explained that Crooks likely used “mechanical equipment” found on the ground and vertical piping on the side of the building to reach the rooftop. Despite a receipt found on Crooks indicating he had purchased a five-foot ladder, the ladder was not present at the scene, and the FBI remains uncertain about how Crooks actually gained access to the rooftop.
In addition to these details, Wray disclosed that Crooks had researched the distance between Lee Harvey Oswald and President John F. Kennedy before the shooting, suggesting he may have been comparing his planned attack to the historical assassination.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
VP Kamala Harris Had 92% Staff Turnover During Her First Three Years
By Adam Andrzejewski of OpenTheBooks
“People really, really do not want to work for Kamala Harris,” wrote former staffer Dan McLaughlin, January 2022.
Topline
Under Kamala Harris, the Office of the Vice President has been called a “revolving door,” a “staff exodus” of key aides “heading for the exits.”
That’s not hyperbole from the national media. Our auditors at OpenTheBooks quantified an extraordinarily high 91.5-percent staff turnover rate. We used U.S. Senate disclosures to conduct our investigation and those databases can be downloaded below.
Elected in November 2020, Harris took the oath of office in January 2021. As of March 31, 2024, only four of the initial 47 staffers from the first year are still employed — consistently and without interruption — by the Vice President.
Furthermore, the turnover chaos isn’t getting better. In the trailing 12-month period, 24 staffers left — that’s almost half the employees.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
2 Alberta Men Arrested for Threatening to Assassinate Trudeau, Freeland, Singh
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have arrested two Alberta men accused of threatening to kill federal politicians. The RCMP Federal Policing Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET), Northwest Region charged and arrested Calgary resident Mason John Baker, 23, on June 6 for “uttering threats against a person contrary to section 264.1(1)(a) of the Criminal Code,” according to an RCMP news release. Baker allegedly made the threats against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on X.
The RCMP then arrested Edmonton resident Garry Belzevick, 67, on June 13 and charged him with three counts under the same section of the Criminal Code of Canada for allegedly threatening Trudeau, Finance Minister Chystia Freeland and New Democratic leader Jagmeet Singh.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canada’s Premiers Urge Trudeau to Reform Bail System Following Homicide
Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers are saying enough is enough after a British Columbia woman was allegedly killed by a man released from jail on bail days earlier. Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, urging that he revisit bail reform following the death of 30-year-old Tori Dunn in Surrey, B.C.
The letter follows a similar one penned in January of last year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Court Ruling Permits Trudeau Government to Evade Accountability for Vaccine Passport Mandates
A constitutional legal group dedicated to freedoms has criticized a Canadian court’s recent decision to drop charges against four individuals who rejected compliance with a COVID border surveillance initiative, arguing it allowed the federal government to dodge accountability for its targeting of individuals who refused to use a vaccine passport.
Chris Fleury, a lawyer with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), expressed mixed feelings about the outcome in a press release. “While it is a personal victory for the clients, they are disappointed at losing the chance to challenge the constitutionality of these unscientific and irrational quarantine mandates,” he stated.
Fleury highlighted that this ruling is yet another instance where the government, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, avoided responsibility for COVID policies that potentially infringe on the rights enshrined in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
GTA Police Investigation “Project Warlock” Leads to 18 Arrests, 150 Charges
Ontario police have arrested 18 people and laid over 100 charges in connection with a slew of home invasions and carjackings in the Greater Toronto Area.
The investigation called “Project Warlock” was a collaboration between Ontario Provincial Police, the Provincial Carjacking Joint Task Force, York Regional Police, Waterloo Regional Police, Barrie Police and ServiceOntario.
Nine of those arrested were out on bail for other offences, police said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Joe Rogan Won’t Return to Canada Until Voters “Get Rid of” Trudeau
Joe Rogan doesn’t plan a visit to Canada anytime soon and Justin Trudeau is to blame.
The podcaster had strong words for Canada’s prime minister in a recent episode of his popular show, the Joe Rogan Experience, going as far as to say he won’t be visiting Canada until Trudeau is voted out.
Rogan was speaking to his guest, comedian Sam Morrill, about the trope of U.S. citizens who say they “will move to Canada if former U.S. President Donald Trump is re-elected,” which Rogan claimed to be the worst country of the two.
“That’s not a good place,” said Rogan. “It’s not a good place under this administration at least. They went sideways. Canada was an amazing place ten years ago. You go to Canada ten years ago, it was awesome.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Over 30 Stolen Vehicles, Tens of Thousands in Cash Seized by Police Around Montreal
Over 30 stolen vehicles have been seized in the Montreal area, along with tens of thousands of dollars in cash, following raids by multiple Quebec police departments.
According to spokesperson Nicolas Scholtus of the Sûreté du Québec, the investigation that led to the seizure first began in March.
Police searched buildings and vehicles in the Montreal area on Thursday that were suspected to be linked to a criminal gang responsible for exporting stolen vehicles.
Police also discovered CAD $17,000 and more than USD $35,000 and six cellphones during the raid.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Six Takeaways From Danielle Smith’s Interview With Jordan Peterson
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith feels the Liberal government is Canada’s most “illiberal” ever. She preferred Pierre Trudeau to his son, Canada’s current prime minister. And, she says, environmental extremists have gone too far.
These are just a few things Smith said in a repeat interview with Alberta native Jordan Peterson that stretched nearly two hours.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Toronto Ruined by Divisive, Woke Politics, Jordan Peterson Tells Elon Musk
Tech mogul Elon Musk took aim at the “woke mind virus” taking over the West in a long-awaited interview with Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson.
Peterson told Musk in the interview, which was livestreamed on X Monday afternoon, that woke politics have made his hometown of Toronto more divided and racist despite the ideology’s stated tenets of “anti-racism” and “inclusivity.”
Musk said the diversity, equity and inclusion policies the Democratic party in America have been championing are “fundamentally anti-meritocratic” and “really just another form of racism and sexism.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trudeau Government Had Plans for “National Decriminalization” of Drugs: Memo
The Liberal government intended to “use all tools” at its disposal to implement drug decriminalization nationally, according to an internal memo.
First reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, the document, a memo to Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks obtained under access to information disclosure, was aimed at implementing a “national decriminalization” drug policy.
The memo was dated only five weeks before the B.C. provincial government decided to walk back its decriminalization project amid widespread backlash and reports of public disorder.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trudeau Discussed Pro-Palestine Protest With Toronto Police Chief One Day Before Police Action
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw to talk about a pro-Palestine protest one day before the protest was shut down, government documents confirm.
Access to information documents obtained by Rebel News show that Trudeau had met with Demkiw to discuss, in part, a pro-Palestine protest on a Toronto highway overpass in a Jewish area, which had garnered national media attention.
The meeting raises questions about whether Trudeau influenced or encouraged a particular police response, which would jeopardize the independence of the Toronto Police Service.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Kindergarten”: Borrell Moves Summit From Budapest to Brussels to Spite Orban
Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, decided to move an informal ministerial meeting, initially planned by the EU Council’s Hungarian Presidency for the end of August in Budapest, to Brussels. Borrell intended to snub PM Viktor Orban for his bilateral diplomatic efforts aimed at promoting his pro-ceasefire approach to end the war in Ukraine sooner.
The ‘non-boycott’ plan—which is not endorsed by the majority—however carries no real significance and only serves to highlight Brussels’ childishness once more, the Hungarian foreign minister commented.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“No Immediate Impact:” EU Commission Downplays Oil Pipeline Concerns But “Ready” to Mediate
The European Commission will step in as a mediator in the spiraling Lukoil dispute after Ukraine halted the Russian company’s crude oil transit through its territory, seriously jeopardizing the energy security of two EU countries, Slovakia and Hungary.
As we reported before, Kyiv’s unilateral decision to sanction the non-state-owned Lukoil—despite the company’s relative distance from the Kremlin and good standing in Brussels—has caused outrage in Slovakia and Hungary, the two countries most reliant on pipeline oil coming through Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Manuel Alejandro Rodriguez de la Peña holds a Ph.D. in medieval history from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. He has been a visiting research fellow at St. John’s College, Cambridge, and a research fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge. In 2002, he began his teaching career at the CEU San Pablo University, where he has been Professor of Medieval History since 2021. He is the author of seven books and fifty research articles in several languages. We spoke about his latest book, Dante’s Europe.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Austria’s Freedom Party Sues EPP’s Weber Over ‘Russian Financing’ Allegation
The Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) has filed a civil suit for defamation against Manfred Weber, President of the European People’s Party (EPP).
That came after Weber publicly alleged the FPÖ — a member of the newly formed Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament — was “financed out of Russia”. The party has already won two similar cases in Austria.
On June 12, Weber appeared on the talk show “Markus Lanz“ on German state television to discuss the results of the European Parliament elections. When asked whether the FPÖ could be a partner to help get Ursula von der Leyen re-elected as President of the European Commission, a smiling Weber responded: “Of course not the FPÖ because it is financed out of Russia and clearly says ‘we need to let Ukraine fall.’“
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Blair 2.0: UK Labour Strips Parliament of Yet More Power
Under former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, the power to set interest rates—one of the most important aspects of economic policy—was stripped from government and handed to the independent (and unelected) Bank of England. Historian David Starkey has described this as part of a deliberate and “sustained campaign to remove power from Parliament”—that is to say, “from the people.”
The new Labour government, led by Sir Keir Starmer, is working hard to keep this campaign alive. It told the country as much ahead of the July 4th election, but few in the media—and even fewer within the Conservative Party—bothered to listen.
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British Soldier Stabbed Outside Army Base
A British soldier is fighting for his life after being stabbed outside an army base in southeast England on Tuesday evening.
The soldier, who was in full uniform, was stabbed near Brompton Barracks in Gillingham, Kent at around 6 p.m. He was airlifted to hospital and is reportedly in a “serious” condition.
Kent Police said a 24-year-old local man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. They have also not ruled out terrorism as a motive, the Telegraph reports.
A witness told The Times that the attacker pulled up on a moped. “This was with two kitchen knives, about nine to 10 inches long, and there were about seven of us there who witnessed it,” according to the bystander.
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Dutch Government Surprises With Choice of Hoekstra as Nominee Commissioner
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof has gone against expectations and chosen to nominate Wopke Hoekstra as the country’s commissioner in the new European Commission.
That is despite Hoekstra’s Conservative Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party not being part of the country’s ruling coalition.
He was made a commissioner by the previous progressive Dutch Government and is serving as outgoing Commissioner for Climate and Transport. In the future, the Netherlands wants to see him in a financial or economic role at the EC.
Schoof said on July 23 that Hoekstra had “the relevant experience, knowledge and skills to successfully and independently fulfil this position”.
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ECB Official Calls Kamala Harris ‘Hopeless’ and ‘Invisible’ in Leaked Audio
A top official at the European Central Bank (ECB) has generated international headlines after a recording emerged of her describing U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris as “hopeless” and arguing that the presumptive Democratic nominee for the White House “would never win an election.”
German-born economist Isabel Schnabel, who serves on the ECB’s governing board, made the comments, which were caught on hot mic, at a panel event in February. She described Harris as effectively “invisible” when interacting with EU leaders during her three years in office.
“They should have built up another candidate to Kamala Harris from the beginning,” Schnabel said. “She would never win an election, I mean that’s hopeless.”
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EU Court of Justice Judge ‘Accused of Sexual Harassment’
Dutch investigative news platform Follow the Money (FTM) has reported that a judge with the Court of Justice of the European Union allegedly sexually harassed law students.
According to FTM report on July 23, the alleged incident happened in March 2023 during a legal competition in Luxembourg called The European Law Moot Court, where one of Europe’s top judges was at a dinner with a group of 10 students.
A young lawyer has claimed that the judge asked the roommate of one of the female students: “What is it like to sleep in the same room with a woman like [her]?”
The lawyer told FTM: “I wasn’t quite sure whether he would leave it at inappropriate comments.”
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The convictions of several men jailed for repeatedly raping a mentally incapacitated woman over a three-year period have been overturned by Finland’s Court of Appeal after the court ruled the woman’s disability did not mean she could not consent.
Seven men, including Samir Jasin Kadir, Alaa Kamil Al-Saadi, Sami Al-Mosawi, and Mohammed Ali Mohammed Mohammed, were handed sentences ranging between 10 months and 2.5 years by the District Court of Pirkanmaa back in May 2022.
The defendants, aged between 23 and 52, were found to have sexually abused the disabled woman multiple times between December 2017 and February 2020 when she was often led by the hand to the defendants’ respective houses and raped.
The case turned on the legal argument of whether the victim’s intellectual disability was obvious enough to be detectable regardless of nationality and cultural background, and whether the defendants, therefore, should have known the victim could not give informed consent.
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France: Paris Gears Up for Israel-Bashing Olympics
Every Olympic Games exhorts crowds and competitors alike to ‘keep politics out of sport’—before becoming gripped by the particular politics of that moment. With the Paris Olympics just around the corner, the build-up to the greatest show on earth provides a snapshot of the European mainstream’s mood right now—and it’s got nothing to do with sport.
Take the choice of U.S. rapper Snoop Dogg (Calvin Broadus Jr.) as one of the final torchbearers of the Olympic flame before Friday’s opening ceremony. Although an avid sports fan and qualified football coach, the convicted criminal and self-confessed pimp/drug dealer still seems an unlikely representative of Pierre de Coubertin’s ideals.
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France: Macron Refuses to Appoint Left-Wing PM Candidate
French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that his centrist government will remain in power until the end of the Olympic Games after refusing to appoint a left-wing candidate as prime minister.
Just before his first interview after the snap election, on France 2 on the evening of July 23, the left-wing coalition New Popular Front had surprised Macron by proposing senior civil servant Lucie Castets for the prime minister position.
During the subsequent interview, Macron dismissed the proposal and said the nation should focus on the Olympics, which runs from 26 July to 11 August, to avoid confusion.
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France Arrests Russian Suspected of Planning to Destabilize Olympics
PARIS (Reuters) — French police have arrested a Russian man suspected of planning to destabilize the Olympics, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday, just days before the Games begin.
The 40-year-old man was detained on Tuesday after police raided his house at the request of the Interior Ministry, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The evidence found at his home raised “fears of his intention to organize events likely to cause destabilization during the Olympic Games,” it said.
Relations between France and Russia have been deteriorating for months as President Emmanuel Macron is a prominent critic of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and a strong supporter of the Kyiv government.
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France’s Interior Ministry rejected around 5,000 security accreditation requests for Olympics volunteers and workers, with roughly 1,000 of those cases blocked due to suspicions of meddling or espionage.
The Ministry outlined in a statement on Tuesday that it conducted “about a million” administrative investigations into various staff for the 2024 Paris Games. Of those checks, varying threats were identified, including meddling and espionage, convicted criminal records, illegal alien statuses, radical Islam, and ultra-right and ultra-left ideologies.
“Projects of interference have been foiled,” the ministry stated, adding: “Russia is not the only country likely to interfere in France.”
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Germany: Constitutional Court to be “Protected” From AfD
Germany’s establishment political parties have agreed to amend the country’s constitution to stop “extremists” from influencing the federal constitutional court. The parties are acting out of paranoia that a potential future government, led by the anti-globalist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, could change the setup of the constitutional court in its favour.
The AfD, which finished second in the European elections in June and won a 16% vote share, has been rising in popularity due to its relentless criticism of the government’s lax migration policies. Despite AfD’s rising popularity and its projected victories in three state elections in eastern Germany in the autumn, the political establishment has placed a cordon sanitaire around the party and is attempting to delegitimize it. There have been calls for the AfD to be banned for allegedly endangering the democratic order, and it is legally being spied upon by the intelligence services.
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German Government Splurged €531,000 on Plane Tickets for Euro Football Championships
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and various ministers are facing fierce backlash after it was revealed that they spent enormous amounts to travel to the European Football Championships, courtesy of the German taxpayer. Germany’s Left Party has also gone on the offensive, noting that Scholz’s wife, SPD politician Britta Ernst, also flew with them and sat in the VIP section, which was allegedly against regulations.
Top ministers were often seen in the stands during matches, including Scholz, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who are all SPD politicians, along with Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, of the Greens. Nearly all of them were present when Germany’s national team lost to Spain in the quarter-finals of the European Football Championships in Stuttgart.
However, a range of cabinet members were seen at various games involving the German team, including in Munich, Frankfurt, and Dortmund.
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Germany Carries Out Raids and Bans a Group Accused of Links to Iran and Support for Hezbollah
BERLIN (AP) — The German government on Wednesday banned an organization accused of being an “outpost” of Iran’s theocracy, promoting the ideology of its leadership and supporting Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group. Police raided 53 properties around the country, including a prominent mosque in Hamburg.
The ban on the Islamic Center Hamburg, or IZH, and five suborganizations around Germany followed searches in November. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said evidence gathered in the investigation “confirmed the serious suspicions to such a degree that we ordered the ban today.”
The IZH “promotes an Islamist-extremist, totalitarian ideology in Germany,” while it and its suborganizations “also support the terrorists of Hezbollah and spread aggressive antisemitism,” Faeser said in a statement.
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Germany Shuts ‘Blue Mosque’ Over Alleged Links to Hezbollah
German police have raided one of the country’s oldest mosques in a crackdown on Islamic extremist groups with links to the Iranian regime.
On Wednesday morning, police officers in balaclavas descended on the Imam Ali mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, in Hamburg to confiscate cash and a black Audi vehicle.
Nancy Faeser, the German interior minister, announced that she was banning the organisation that runs the mosque, the Islamic Centre Hamburg [IZH], as it was an “extremist” group.
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Hungary: Orban Still on Top by Wide Margin, New Polling Shows
A poll out of the Nézopont Institute shows that if national parliamentary elections were held today, Fidesz-KDNP would still reign at 47 percent, 2-percentage points higher than its result in the June European Parliament elections. The Tisza Party would lose around 1 point to 29 percent, and Ferenc Gyurcsany’s DK-MSZP-Parbeszéd would remain at 8 percent.
The Mi Hazank (“Our Homeland”) Movement surprised with a gain of some 2 points over June at 9 percent, while the Two-Tailed Dog Party, which failed to enter the European Parliament, would garner a seat in the National Assembly, coming in at 5 percent in the poll. All other opposition parties together registered just 2 percent of voter support, while this stood at around 7 percent in June, with none of them gaining any MEP positions in the EU parliament.
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Investigation: EU-Funded NGOs Behind Advertisement Campaigns Denouncing ‘Far-Right’
EU-funded NGOs are behind attempts to rally the European Parliament against the so-called “far-right”, it has been revealed.
A Brussels Signal investigation has uncovered evidence that advertising campaigns asking centrist and left-wing politicians to fight against hard-right political groups have the backing of state-funded organisations.
In one ad campaign run in Politico’s Brussels Playbook several times in June, an open letter was promoted that attacked the Sweden Democrats (SD), Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), labelling all three as “far-right”.
It went on to order new MEPs arriving in Brussels for the first time to refuse to work with these politicians.
Other adverts run as part of the campaign included cartoon versions of various EU leaders being manipulated by Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, RN parliamentary leader Marine Le Pen, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At the centre of the campaign is the NGO Full Beam Media CLG, which is the company listed by Politico as being the main player behind the advertisement.
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Hungary is facing a potential energy crisis over Ukraine’s continued blocking of the Friendship (Druzhba) oil pipeline, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky turning up the pressure on Hungary like never before. Now, some members of the Hungarian government are openly speculating whether the move is not being pushed by Ukraine alone, but could be backed by “people in Brussels, or even the pro-war American Democrats.”
“They are punishing us for our support for peace, and now they are attacking our energy security. And it is quite possible that this was not initiated by Ukraine alone, but was helped by the people of Brussels, or even by the pro-war American Democrats. They want to destroy those who are pro-peace by all means. This is unfair, unacceptable and illegal. In any case, we will stand by our pro-peace position and defend ourselves against attacks in every possible way, with every possible means,” said Tamas Menczer, the communications director of Fidesz-KDNP, in a video post published on social media.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed on Wednesday that he plans to seek another term in office next year, despite trailing in the polls and the nation’s economy floundering under his watch.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Scholz was pressed on whether he would follow the example of U.S. President Joe Biden and not run for re-election, the German leader said: “I will run as chancellor to become chancellor again,” while claiming that his Social Democrat Party (SPD) is “very united” and in a good position to maintain power in the Bundestag parliament in Berlin.
“Poll results that are not good are an incentive to want to achieve better poll results,” Scholz said per broadcaster NTV. “My conviction is that we will get the thing turned around.”
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Microsoft Blames EU Regulation for World’s Biggest IT Outage
Why is it that Microsoft computer systems displayed blue error screens at the end of last week—grounding flights and disrupting access to healthcare and banking services across the world—but users of Apple devices and bespoke in-house systems carried on uninterrupted?
The answer could lie in the European Union’s preference for tech regulation over innovation, which industry figures say blocked Microsoft from preventing the highly disruptive outage.
Continual pressure on technology companies to conform to EU edicts, centred typically on the Digital Services Act and increasingly censorious towards platform content, ends up restricting the ability of IT firms to deliver their primary objectives.
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No Surprise: Brussels Singles Out Conservative Hungary and Slovakia as ‘Rule-of-Law’ Violators
The European Commission published its annual Rule of Law Report on Wednesday, July 24th, concluding that two-thirds (68%) of the recommendations issued last year have been fully or partially addressed, and that “member states and the EU as a whole are much better prepared to detect, prevent and address emerging challenges.”
However, during their press conference on Wednesday, Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, Vera Jourova, and EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders criticised the usual suspects, countries they consider the EU’s ‘black sheep’—Hungary and Slovakia, whose patriotic, sovereigntist governments are being constantly blackmailed by EU institutions for daring to go against the mainstream tide on issues like migration and Ukraine.
The annual Rule of Law Report assesses all the twenty-seven member states’ progress on judicial independence, corruption, media freedom, and institutional checks and balances.
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Patriots to Challenge “Shameful” Cordon Sanitaire in Court
The European Parliament held the constitutive meetings of its parliamentary committees on Tuesday, July 23rd, and the same deal was implemented in each of them: the mainstream center-left coalition stripped every single candidate of the national conservative Patriots for Europe (PfE) of their allocated leadership positions, even at the expense of violating the Parliament’s own internal rules.
In their press conference shortly after, the Patriots’ leaders vowed to challenge this “shameful pact” through all legal means possible. “It clearly shows that they are not prepared to accept democratic election results and the fact that the Patriots are the third largest group in the European Parliament,” the group’s First Vice President, Kinga Gal (Fidesz) said.
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Poland Experiences Alarming Population Decline
In the past year, Poland recorded over 140,000 more deaths than births, according to Statistics Poland (GUS).
The demographic decline in the country is becoming increasingly evident. In May of this year, 32,500 deaths were recorded while only 21,000 births were registered. June followed a similar pattern with 29,000 deaths compared to 19,000 births.
Over the last 12 months, Poland has seen 259,900 births against 403,700 deaths. The introduction of the 500+ child benefit program (now 800+) in 2016 initially boosted the birth rate, but this increase faltered by early 2018 and has since plummeted.
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Poland Topples One of Its Last Larger Soviet Monuments to the Red Army
The city of Nowogard in north-central Poland witnessed the demolition of a Soviet monument that had adorned its center for nearly half a century. Known as the “Brotherhood of Arms,” the statue was a polarizing symbol of the past, provoking mixed feelings among the town’s residents.
“This is a brotherhood of arms that does not take into account the nearly 200,000 lives of Poles murdered as a result of the NKVD’s anti-Polish operations,” said Dr. Karol Nawrocki, president of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN).
Erected on Nov. 7, 1972, to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the so-called October Revolution and the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s creation, it stood as a stark reminder of the harsh Soviet imprint on Polish soil, argued Dr. Nawrocki.
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— as British law enforcement take down 12,000 ads
Albanian smuggling gangs are enticing migrants with social media posts promising trips to Britain ‘by speedboat and with 100% guaranteed safety’ — with €500 ‘prizes’ offered for recommending a friend.
Other posts in languages spoken in the Middle East offer journeys to London ‘by God’s will’, with visas promised in return for payments of up to £5,000.
The National Crime Agency (NCA), known as ‘Britain’s FBI’, has led a blitz against the illicit ads, with almost 12,000 removed by the end of June 2024 following a partnership with platforms including Meta, X, TikTok and YouTube.
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Romania Plans to Invest €14 Billion in Military Modernization This Year
As Eastern Europe responds to the ongoing war in Ukraine, countries like Romania are accelerating their defense modernization programs. According to Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tîlvar, the country plans to invest around €14 billion in new military equipment this year alone.
This massive outlay is slated to include advanced aerial ammunition, fifth-generation fighter jets and ballistic missiles.
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Slovakia Profits From War and Arms Ukraine
Slovakian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Robert Kalinak has declared a significant expansion in the production of large-caliber ammunition, urgently needed by Ukraine as it defends against the Russian invasion. While the Slovak government publicly denies direct support to Ukraine, ammunition manufactured in Slovakia is being supplied to the Ukrainian military, albeit not free of charge.
Kalinak, a close associate of Prime Minister Robert Fico, stated that next year, Slovakia aims to boost its production of large-caliber ammunition to 200,000 units, up from the 125,000 anticipated this year.
Despite the government’s official stance against arming Ukraine, shells from Slovak factories find their way to the Ukrainian front lines. Minister Kalinak noted that the government lacks total control over the final destinations of these shells, as it is ultimately the buyers who decide their use.
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Spanish PM Called to Testify in Wife’s Corruption Case
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has been called for interrogation in the investigation into possible influence trafficking and business corruption by his wife, Begoña Gómez.
This is the first time in Spain’s history that the spouse of the prime minister has been under a criminal investigation and the first time that a prime minister has been called on as a witness of a criminal investigation.
The judge who heads the Investigative Court number 41 of Madrid, Juan Carlos Peinado, issued the summons last Friday, July 19. The judge accepted the request made by the right-wing nationalist party VOX to call on Sanchez to testify in the investigation. VOX is one of several groups that have filed complaints against Gómez following almost a year of media investigations into her business practices, much of which were carried out from the offices of the Moncloa, the official residence of Spain’s prime minister.
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Summer Heat Shines Spotlight on Need for More Nuclear Energy in Hungary
Climate change is here to stay, with the record-breaking heatwave hitting Hungary this summer making the Paks 2 nuclear power plant project more urgent than ever. Just last year, at COP28 in Dubai, countries committed to tripling nuclear capacity by 2050 in response to the growing need for cheaper, reliable and clean energy.
Engineer and nuclear energy expert Zsolt Harfas told Magyar Nemzet that peak loads have been breaking records too, and weather-dependent renewables have been unable to meet demand. Solar and wind power plants have contributed only minimally to domestic consumption, meaning Hungary has been left to import high amounts, 2,730 MW, from neighboring countries to meet its needs.
Of course, Harfas says, this brings issues of dependence and national security risks. And then, there is the cost, which on the evening of July 16 €770 per megawatt-hour, nearly hitting €1,000 on July 18.
The Paks 2 nuclear power plant is expected to have an output of 2,400 MW, which would be a great help if it were already online.
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Of all the things UK authorities may have learned from the (authoritarian) way they handled the Covid pandemic — it’s disheartening to see that making things even worse, should another similar phenomenon occur, is the “lesson learned.”
A Covid Inquiry report appears to serve the purpose of advocating for more efficient and therefore widespread mass digital and data surveillance.
The report, resulting from a public inquiry, suggests that future events of the scale Covid — health, or otherwise — will, in the UK, require some sort of public debate — but more importantly, they will require “large scale (surveillance) digital platforms to be established.”
The purpose of mentioning a “public debate” here would be to rubber-stamp such future activity ahead of time, the results of Baroness Heather Hallett’s inquiry suggest.
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UK Restores Funding to ‘Hamas-Linked’ U.N. Agency
After a pause lasting five months, the new Labour government has announced that the UK will restart funding to a United Nations agency that Israel claims has been infiltrated by Hamas.
It was alleged that staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) were involved in the October 7th terror attacks, coinciding with criticism from MEPsabout the longer-term use of European Union funds in Gaza. In January 2024, then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak halted British payments to the organisation. Despite Israel’s legitimate security concerns, UK funding of UNRWA has now resumed.
Israel says that dozens of workers from the UNRWA took part in October’s pogrom, which saw more than 1,100 Israelis killed and 251 hostages taken, and that intelligence points to “the deep and systemic infiltration by … Hamas into the ranks of UNRWA.”
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In his first speech as a member of the House of Commons, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for a referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Court of Human Rights, which continues to have say over the UK’s immigration policies despite Brexit.
Leaving the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is the only way in which the United Kingdom will be able to put a stop to the illegal boat migrant crisis in the English Channel, Nigel Farage said in his maiden speech in parliament after being elected earlier this month to the Commons as the representative for Clacton.
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UK: Kent Soldier Stabbing: Former Met Police Detective Shares ‘Hideous Links’ to Lee Rigby Murder
The soldier is currently in a ‘serious condition’ in hospital following the attack
Former Metropolitans Police detective Peter Bleksley has condemned the attack on a soldier in Kent after he was stabbed in a frenzied attack on Tuesday.
The victim, who is in his 40s, is said to have been in uniform when he was attacked by a man wearing a ski mask, who was also on a moped.
Police have arrested a 24-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder, and say they are “not treating this as a terrorist incident”.
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UK: Ten Just Stop Oil Activists Arrested at Heathrow
A group of 10 Just Stop Oil activists have been arrested at Heathrow Airport but operations are continuing as usual, police have said.
They were detained near the airport and taken into custody on suspicion of conspiring to interfere with a site of key national infrastructure under the Public Order Act.
The campaigners said “the international uprising begins” and claimed supporters of climate activist organisation Last Generation were behind delays at Cologne-Bonn Airport.
The German airport confirmed that “unauthorised people” gained access to its security area earlier.
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In Capitol Address, Israeli Leader Calls for U.S. Backing to Defeat Hamas
WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised victory over Hamas militants and said he knows “America has our back” during a joint meeting of Congress Wednesday that drew thousands of protesters and sparked a boycott from some Democrats who oppose the Israeli government’s monthslong offensive in Gaza.
“Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory,” Netanyahu told lawmakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, that victory is in sight.”
The Israeli leader visited Washington as his military’s airstrikes in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis added dozens of deaths to a mounting toll of 39,000, according to Gaza health authorities in the Hamas-controlled territory.
Additionally, news on Monday of the deaths of two captives held by Hamas charged the already roaring calls for their release.
Israel’s offensive, approaching its tenth month, has been ongoing since Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, terrorizing music festival attendees and numerous communal settlements. In one day, the militants killed more than 1,100 and escaped with upwards of 200 hostages.
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Ukraine Thrown Into War’s Bleak Future as Drones Open New Battlefront
The black box sits on the army truck dashboard like a talisman, its tiny screen lighting up with warnings when Russian drones are above us. We are driving fast along a country road in the darkness near the front lines outside Kharkiv.
Like many in this war, the soldiers inside have come to revere the little cube they call “sugar”; it warns of the unseen dangers above.
On the vehicle’s roof are three mushroom-shaped antennas that make up separate drone-jamming equipment. The car emits an invisible aura of protection that will thwart some, but not all, of the Russian attack drones patrolling the skies above this battlefield.
“It has detected the Zala Lancet Russian drones,” says Senior Lt Yevhenii, 53, from the front passenger seat, describing one of the most powerful long range Russian drones and its targeting drone. “Is that why we’re driving so fast?” I ask, aware that the drone-jamming antenna is useless against a Lancet.
“We’re not a priority for them, but it’s still better not to slow down because it’s very dangerous,” says Yevhenii, from the Khartia Brigade of Ukraine’s National Guard.
The jamming equipment blocks roughly 75% of frequencies that drones use to communicate with their operators, but some like the Lancet are difficult to block because they are entirely autonomous once their target has been marked. Because of the Lancet’s power, it tends to be used on larger targets, such as armoured vehicles or infantry positions, the Ukrainians say.
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Doctors in Australia Say Medical Cannabis Leading to Increase in Psychosis in Patients
Doctors in Australia are warning about a “significant increase” of patients developing psychosis after being prescribed medicinal cannabis, according to ABC Australia.
“We’re seeing a lot of people getting medicinal cannabis who end up with their first psychotic episode, or we’re seeing it dispensed to people who have psychotic conditions, and these people are relapsing,” said Brett Emmerson, Queensland chair of the Royal Australian and New Zealand’s College of Psychiatrists.
He told ABC his college wants better regulation of medical cannabis products and more scrutiny on prescription practices.
He continued: “Part of the issue … are these single-issue clinics which, if you ring up, it doesn’t matter what you say you want. They’ll provide it for you even though there is probably no indication that it will work, and the prescribers never contact the person’s treating doctor.”
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Jose Cuervo Tequila Plant Explosion, Fire in Mexico Kill at Least 5 Workers
An explosion and fire at a factory that makes Jose Cuervo tequila in Mexico killed at least five people Tuesday, local authorities said.
“So far the deaths of five people are confirmed, workers of the company,” the civil protection unit in the western state of Jalisco said in a statement.
Two others were injured, one seriously, the statement added.
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Axios Claims Kamala Harris Was Never ‘Border Czar’ — Biden Appointed Her in March 2021
In March 2021, President Joe Biden tapped his VP Kamala Harris to deal with the border. Harris, dubbed the “border czar,” was meant to “tackle the migration challenge at the U.S. southern border and work with Central American nations to address root causes of the problem,” the AP wrote at the time.
In a bizarre attempted fact-check, Axios claimed on Wednesday that she never was the border czar. They claim that the Trump campaign lied when saying that “Harriswas appointed ‘border czar’ in March of 2021, and since that time, millions and millions of illegal aliens have invaded our country and countless Americans have been killed by migrant crime because of her willful demolition of America borders and laws.”
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It has been revealed that during “border czar” Kamala Harris’ visit to El Paso, Texas on June 25, 2021, Customs and Border Patrol agents were asked to tidy up the area for the cameras. Sources familiar with the matter told the New York Post that in preparation for what would end up being the vice president’s only trip to the southern border during her term, they “sanitized” the streets, ensuring everything looked as orderly as possible.
Agents said that in order to prevent people from seeing illegal immigrants sleeping on the sidewalk, a number of hotels were rented out to house them, but only briefly. Additionally, steps were taken to show that those in detention centers were presentable. Biden named Harris the border czar in March 2021. Her office claimed that wasn’t her job.
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German Court Rules Syrians Can be Deported
A court in Germany has ruled that there is no longer a general danger to all civilians in Syria, and that a convicted Syrian people smuggler can legally be deported to his home country. The ruling could significantly impact deportation cases, because the German government has so far classified Syria as an unsafe country of origin and rejects deporting failed asylum seekers there.
Support for resuming deportations to both Syria and Afghanistan has increased after a spate of violent knife attacks in recent months, and the murder of a policeman by an Afghan failed asylum seeker. However, despite the leftist-liberal government vowing to deport dangerous criminals, it hasn’t followed through with actions.
The argument for deporting Syrian criminals will only intensify after another knife attack in which four Syrian men are the suspects. The men, aged 21, 27, 28, and 32, were detained on Sunday night in the northern city of Neubrandenburg for stabbing an 18-year-old man following an altercation.
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German Court Rules Syria is a Safe Country for the First Time, Paving the Way for Deportations
German court has ruled that Syria is a safe country for the first time, a move that will pave the way for deportations and could affect the status of thousands of Syrian nationals. Despite the groundbreaking ruling, there are a number of reasons why Syrians facing deportations orders are unlikely to be removed from the country anytime soon.
Since the civil war that broke out in 2011, the political left and the media have argued that Syrians had a right to settle in Germany and could not be sent back home due to the war there. The war saw millions of people leave the country, with a large portion of them heading towards Europe. Subsequently, hundreds of thousands and millions of other non-Syrian migrants traveled through numerous safe countries to arrive in Germany.
The new ruling, which was delivered by the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) in Münster, found that Syria is no longer as dangerous as it once was and Syrians can be safely sent back to the nation.
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A journalist for Germany’s left-leaning Spiegel Magazine, known for its pro-migration views and efforts against the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, stepped in to protect two elderly women near the North Sea coast, which resulted in a 13-year-old Syrian punching him in the face. Now, he is complaining about a lack of consequences for the youth.
Christian Neef is a well-known journalist for the outlet and has been working for many years for Spiegel. However, Neef himself said he “defended two elderly” women in Husum in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, which resulted in consequences.
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Germany: 11-Year-Old Moroccan Participates in Over 70 Burglaries, Leads Youth Gang
Following more than 70 burglaries, an 11-year-old Moroccan migrant who leads a youth gang is supposed to be moved to a secure facility. He arrived in Germany as an unaccompanied minor just last November, but has already struck terror in Hamburg and the surrounding communities with a huge number of break-ins and burglaries.
Police finally apprehended him last Thursday in the midst of a burglary spree in Norderstedt in Schleswig-Holstein, but due to his age, he cannot be held criminally liable, according to Bild newspaper.
Compounding the issue is that the far-left red-green Senate does not permit “secure” facilities within the state, but due to his extreme criminality, the boy cannot be allowed to operate freely in the standard youth migrant centers. That means he has to be transferred to another federal state, where he will then be placed in a more secure facility.
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Global Poll Shows 2:1 Opinion: ‘Refugees’ Are Just Economic Migrants
A poll of 52 nations shows overwhelming majorities of citizens say most “refugees” are just economic migrants seeking jobs and aid, not helpless victims of war or disaster.
The polling firm IPSOS asked 33,000 people in 52 countries to agree or disagree with this statement: “Most foreigners who want to get into my country as a refugee really aren’t refugees. They just want to come here for economic reasons, or to take advantage of our welfare services.”
Fifty-eight percent of Americans agreed with the “not refugees” view and just 34 percent disagreed, according to the poll, which was conducted to help the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to rebuild public support for more migration.
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Greek Court Approves Extradition of Turkish Citizen Awaiting Asylum Appeal
Greece’s Council of State has ruled in favour of extraditing a Turkish businessman, legal sources told Reuters on July 23. He is wanted by Ankara to serve a prison sentence for crimes including manslaughter, attempted robbery and gun possession.
Despite the top administrative court’s ruling, Ali Yesildag’s extradition is pending as he awaits a final decision on an asylum request made in September in Greece, arguing his life would be in danger in Turkey due to his conflict with Erdogan.
The 54-year-old man, a former ally of President Tayyip Erdogan, was arrested last year in a town near the Greek-Turkish border of Evros.
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More NGOs Aiding Illegal Aliens Come Under Scrutiny in Texas
Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times
At least four Texas nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating on the U.S. southern border have come under scrutiny from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for their role in aiding illegal immigrants in recent months.
The latest action involves petitions filed by the attorney general’s office to depose officials at Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley (CCRGV) and Team Brownsville Inc.
The attorney general’s office could shut down the NGOs if it can prove they broke the law.
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Netherlands: Costs for Asylum Shelter Jumped From €1.6 to €2.7 Million Last Year
The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA)’s yearly report shows that asylum shelters cost around 2.7 billion euros last year. This is a significant increase compared to the year before when the COA needed 1.6 billion euros to shelter foreigners. The main cause is the high price paid for (crisis) emergency shelter.
The fees for regular shelter were, on average, 30,400 euros per resident. The care for the people in emergency shelters is twice as expensive; an average of 69,400 euros per resident is spent on this. Shelter costs do not just consist of the physical housing or the room that somebody is staying in but also the costs of security, catering, and care, a spokesperson for the COA said.
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Ontario Resident Goes Viral After Speaking Out About Immigrants Pooping on the Beach
Videos from a Wasaga Beach resident in Ontario are being shared widely on social media after she accused immigrants, mainly from India, of defecating in holes on the beach and burying it.
Tiktoker “ItsNattylxnn2.0,” is a local in the Ontario resort town that boasts the world’s longest freshwater beach.
“Natty” went viral online after ranting about being unable to take her kids to the beach because visitors have been using it as a toilet.
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Poland on the Hunt for Migrant Who Murdered Polish Soldier on Belarusian Border
Polish authorities have pinpointed and are tracking the individual responsible for the murder of a 21-year-old Polish soldier guarding the border with Belarus, according to unofficial sources from commercial radio RMF FM. The attack occurred on May 28, with Sergeant Mateusz Sitek succumbing to his injuries days later.
Investigations have revealed that the assailant is from the Middle East and currently in Belarus, potentially planning to flee to Syria. The identification of the Polish soldier’s murderer was achieved through the analysis of video footage recorded during the border attack. This critical evidence enabled officials to ascertain the attacker’s appearance.
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Spanish Parliament Votes Against Redistribution of Unaccompanied Minors
A change to Spain’s immigration law has been defeated in the Congress of Deputies in another sign of the weakness of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’ current government.
With the number of migrant arrivals on Spanish shores growing exponentially this year and reception centers overflowing, particularly in the Canary Islands, the government had proposed a change to the law that would make the redistribution of unaccompanied minors to different regions of Spain obligatory rather than voluntary, as it currently stands.
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UK: Labour to Grant Thousands of Illegal Migrants an “Effective Amnesty”
It’s difficult to imagine how the Labour government’s approach to illegal migration could be any softer than that of the Conservative administrations that came before it. But new home secretary Yvette Cooper is giving it a good go.
For starters, her department is labelling illegal Channel crossings not as “illegal” but “irregular.” This, said Reform leader Nigel Farage, demonstrates from the off that “Labour wants to bury illegal immigration as a subject.”
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Could Abortion Battle Break Up the Polish Left-Liberal Government?
The leader of the Polish People’s Party (PSL), the deputy prime minister in the left-liberal government, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, has stated that breaking up the coalition would be less costly than losing voters for the parties involved. This bold declaration comes amidst growing tensions within the coalition over the contentious issue of abortion.
The abortion issue has become a significant point of contention, particularly between the Civic Coalition (KO) and the Left, on one side, and the PSL on the other. The PSL leader’s opposition to the Left’s proposal to decriminalize abortion has sparked outrage among abortion rights supporters.
The rejected bill, voted down on July 12, sought to decriminalize assistance in performing abortions and would have allowed abortions up to the 12th week of pregnancy with the pregnant woman’s consent. The lack of unity in the left-liberal coalition was evident, as some PSL members voted against the bill.
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DOJ Asks Supreme Court to Allow Some Blocked Title IX Rule Changes
Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an emergency application on July 22 asking the Supreme Court to allow some parts of the changes the federal government made to Title IX rules related to sex discrimination, which were blocked by a lower court.
The DOJ is arguing that the wholesale pause to the rule changes was “more burdensome” than necessary, asking the Supreme Court to limit the district court’s injunction to 10 states and to only those changes related to gender identity.
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Popular evolutionary biologist Colin Wright was booted from a public symposium put on by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Human Genome Research Institute on July 17—and will be seeking a legal remedy.
The event occurred over two days online and was titled “Exploring the many dimensions of sex and gender in the genomics era.” Wright, who holds a PhD in evolutionary biology, became an author and journalist after leaving academia in 2020 over an atmosphere of rigid ideological enforcement. He has been a vocal and public critic of gender identity ideology for several years.
Wright said that his rights were violated when he was booted from the NIH symposium.
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They Wish Death on Trump and All of His Supporters. We are Not the Violent Ones.
https://tinyurl.com/43zmsesy
How are Donald and his Trumpettes doing?
He wants to take them on a cross-country tour but the Secrete Service won’t allow him the travel clearances. Sad, I was looking forward to an enjoyable show.
WE are NOT Trumpettes. that is an insult.
We are MAGA Adorable Deplorables. We turned Hitlerys negative insult into a positive.
Trumps has NEVER said that he wants to take up on a cross-country trip. There are no travel clearances.
YOU have a problem with the truth, inacuara. Try researching the facts first.
Hm. So the shooter bought a ladder, there were pictures of the ladder propped up, but he did not use it and shinnied up a drain pipe?
Sure. Makes sense…
Vera: The shooter was observing OSHA regulations. The ladder was too dangerous.
Indeed!
Wall to wall gaslight. What a time to be alive… 😀
Eh. 🙁
Obamerica.
“A new snap poll conducted last Thursday revealed that a third of Democratic voters wish that former President Donald Trump had been killed by would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.”
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2024/07/one-third-of-democrats-wish-trump-had-been-killed-poll-shows/
Some jerk with murderour thoughts has put out clothing (jacket, shirt, t shirt) that urges people to try to assassinate our GREAT President Donald John Trump.
It is the Democrats and Secret Service who want him dead.
The secret service where putting most of their resources into protecting Jill Biden at an indoor event of a couple of thousand people at a casino in another Pennsylvania location the same day as the Trump rally .Last I heard the secret service did not even have a common radio change the local police could talk to them at the scene of the shooting and the secret service refused to meet with local law enforcement at a 0900AM meeting they where invited to the morning of the shooting.. Now the FBI director is saying he doubted the Trump was hit by the bullet ??Even with photographic evidence by a journalizes with the bullet shown flying towards Trump near his head before it hit him . A member of the FBI wrote on social media website that he was disappointed that the shooter missed Trump! In other news the MSM has said Joe Biden is a “very brave man ” for having to drop out of the race ,but refusing to step down from being President till after the election ??His reason for dropping out the MSM has not ask him ,and he has not told them way in his mono tone grabbled zombie like speech that lasted about 12 min. the other night ,he also said in that speech Trump was a threat to democracy ,and he Joe Biden is a wonderful President.