Two people were injured and one is missing as a result of an explosion at the General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems plant in Camden, Arkansas. The plant is a major manufacturer of the 155mm artillery shells that are so desperately needed by Ukraine.
In other news, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Vladimir Putin today that Turkey could help end the Ukraine-Russia war, but the Russian government said that Mr. Erdogan could not play the role of intermediary.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, 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.
Chicago’s Worst-in-Nation Pension Crisis Strikes Again
Authored by Nick Binotti and Ted Dabrowski via Wirepoints.org
Wirepoints recently warned in a Chicago Sun-Times oped that Chicago’s pension mess was going to get worse. As Chicago’s latest annual financial report shows, that’s just what happened.
Chicago’s pension shortfall across the city’s four major retirement funds — Municipal, Laborers, Police and Fire — rose to $37.2 billion total in 2023. That’s a 5% increase from $35.4 billion reported the prior year. Most of the increase is attributed to changes in actuarial assumptions and recent legislation that sweetened the cost-of-living pension benefit for thousands of police and firefighters.
Add in the Teachers Pension Fund’s $15.8 billion shortfall and Chicagoans are on the hook for $53 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. That’s over $45,000 owed per Chicago household to be paid off over time.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Amid European Fear-Mongering, a Trump Presidency Would Strengthen NATO
Donald Trump will be just as tough on the United States’ NATO allies as he was during his presidency but he will not leave the organisation, as some European countries worry, according to a report by Politico. Despite the fear-mongering by the European liberal elites about the dangers of a potential Trump comeback, the article concludes that his administration actually contributed to the strengthening of the military alliance.
The American publication talked to national security officials and defence experts who are likely to serve in a second Trump term. The Republican former president is leading opinion polls and has a good chance of defeating his Democratic rival, current U.S. President Joe Biden in the November elections.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Asks Dem Govs for Loyalty — But 4 Seen as Replacements Skip Public Pledge After Meeting
WASHINGTON — President Biden urged the nation’s Democratic governors to stand by his candidacy Wednesday at a more than hour-long meeting — but most of the 10 who attended in person didn’t vouch for him afterward on the White House driveway, including four of the Democrats’ top possible replacements for Biden.
Those forgoing a moment before the cameras and reporters after the meeting included California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Kentucky Gov. Andrew Beshear — all leading contenders for the top slot if Biden, 81, decides he can no longer lead the Democratic ticket.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Team Sends Out All-Staff Memo to Quiet Murmurs of Him Dropping Out: Report
President Biden’s re-election campaign tried to calm nerves and quash calls for him to exit the 2024 White House race Wednesday by firing off an all-staff memo showing the Democrat within striking distance of Donald Trump in some polls.
The memo, obtained by Politico, highlighted internal polling in battleground states before and after the first presidential debate June 27, when Biden alarmed millions of viewers over his poor performance — repeatedly losing his train of thought and struggling with what to say.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bidenomics: Man Sparks Internet Outrage After Paying $9.35 for a Diet Coke at Six Flags
Just when you’ve thought you’ve seen the worst, most egregious examples of inflation rearing its head, we give you: Six Flags.
The theme park was in the news this week after a customer went viral for spending $9 for a single Diet Coke at the park’s concessions, as was reported by DailyDot.
Guyset (@theguyset) posted a viral video on TikTok expressing shock over paying $9.35 for a Diet Coke at Six Flags, showing his receipt as proof. Despite the high price, he bought it. He noted in the caption that both he and the cashier were stunned by the cost.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has filed a lawsuit against New York, accusing the state of violating the First Amendment rights of Missouri residents by not allowing them to hear from former President Donald Trump in the upcoming election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dem Donors Threaten to Pull Funding From Biden Campaign if He Doesn’t Step Aside
Major Democrat donors have threatened to pull funding from Biden’s presidential campaign if he doesn’t end his reelection bid. This comes after Biden’s dismal performance at CNN’s debate on Thursday evening which left many reeling.
Whitney Tilson, a major Democratic donor and former hedge fund manager who has given the party over $300,000 in recent years, told the Daily Mail, “For Biden’s own good and the good of the country, he should step aside immediately. The fact that it has now been three days and Biden has done nothing to reassure us confirms my worst fears.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Steve Garvey, the Republican Senate candidate vying to fill the late Dianne Feinstein’s seat, is calling for Soros-backed Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon to prosecute those responsible for the violence that occurred outside a prominent Jewish synagogue in Hollywood last week.
“It was unconscionable what happened,” Garvey told Fox News Digital in a video call from his team’s van during his weeklong trip to Israel. “Again, this is literally a hate crime. And I will challenge the LA District Attorney George Gascon to prosecute these people to the full extent of the law.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Explosion Rocks General Dynamics’ Hellfire & Javelin Missile Factory in Arkansas
An early Wednesday morning explosion rocked the General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems facility in Camden, Arkansas, injuring at least two people and leaving one person missing.
Local media outlet Camden News quoted General Dynamics in a statement as saying:
“Today at 8:15 am CDT, an incident involving pyrotechnics occurred at the General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems facility in Camden, Arkansas. At this time, we are working with first responders and can confirm the incident resulted in at least two injuries and one missing individual.”
The 880,000-square-foot weapons factory, located about 86 miles south of Little Rock, is a “leader in the high-rate production” of weapons, including “Hydra-70 2.75-inch rocket, Hellfire and Javelin missiles, the Modular Artillery Charge System and various mortar munitions,” according to the defense firm’s website.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former Biden Advisor Claims “The First Amendment is Out of Control,” Hinders Government Action
Even the New York Times looks like it’s treading somewhat lightly while publishing articles aimed at dismantling the very concept of the First Amendment.
An opinion piece penned by an Obama and Biden administration adviser, Tim Wu, is therefore labeled as a “guest essay.” But was it the author, or the newspaper, who decided on the title? Because it is quite scandalous.
“The First Amendment is Out of Control” — that’s the title.
Meanwhile, many believe that attacks on this speech-protecting constitutional amendment are what’s actually out of control these days.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles will pay more than $21 million to settle claims by residents of a neighborhood where police bungled the detonation of a cache of illegal fireworks three years ago, injuring 17 people and displacing dozens of others.
The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the payments, and the settlements will now go to Mayor Karen Bass for approval, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Councilmember Curren Price, who represents the South Los Angeles district where the blast occurred, said he regrets the “agonizingly slow” process of reaching a deal.
“The victims of the 27th Street fireworks explosion have endured unimaginable pain and trauma that will last a lifetime,” Price said in a statement. “Reaching these financial settlements were a crucial step toward their healing, rebuilding their lives, and finding stability and peace.”
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Miami Man Arrested in ‘Anti-Semitic Hate Crime’ Investigation of Vandalized Bagel Shop
On Tuesday, law enforcement arrested a man who allegedly vandalized a downtown Miami bagel and pizza shop last month by spray-painting anti-Israel graffiti on the building and on a flag. A police officer stopped 28-year-old Kenneth Guerrero at NW 2nd Avenue at approximately 9:15 am on June 16 because he fit the description of a man seen in security camera footage vandalizing Holy Bagels & Pizzeria at 93 NW 1st Street earlier that same morning.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More Police Officers Relocating to Florida From Other States All Over the US: ‘We Back Our Blue’
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody welcomed new police officers to the state after they relocated from Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico and New York.
“Florida is the most pro-law enforcement state in the nation because we back our blue,” Moody said.
“We’ve been spreading the word about all the great incentives to join our ranks, and individuals like the new Sarasota recruits have answered the call — leaving behind places where their service was not as appreciated as it is here.”
Moody again recognized new recruits who moved to serve in Sarasota through her “Thin Line Tribute: Sunshine Salute” initiative after highlighting new recruits from California and New York who joined the St. Petersburg Police Department.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nearly 7 in 10 Voters Say After Debate Debacle Biden Should Step Aside: Poll
President Biden should step aside and not seek re-election in 2024, an overwhelming majority of voters say in a new poll.
A CBS News/YouGov survey released Wednesday shows a whopping 69% of registered voters think Biden, 81, should not still be running after his disastrous June 27 war of words with former President Donald Trump in Atlanta.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NewsGuard co-founder and co-CEO Steve Brill has published a book, “The Death of Truth” — but he’s not taking any responsibility. On the contrary.
Namely, Brill’s “apolitical (misinformation) rating system for news sites” as NewsGuard is promoted to customers, is often blasted — and currently investigated by Congress for possible First Amendment violations — as yet another tool to suppress online speech.
But corporate media sing his praises, presenting him as a “media maven.”
A censorship maven more like it, critics would say. And while getting his book promoted, Brill managed to add his name to the steadily growing list of governments, NGOs, and associated figures who are attacking online anonymity.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Oakland Man Charged in Shooting After Juneteenth Celebration
One of the 14 people injured during a shootout in Oakland, California, last month has been charged as one of the gunmen.
JaJuan Kelly, 23, was charged with four counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
Kelly is one of four suspected shooters identified in court documents. The charges against the California resident come after a June 19 shooting that injured 14 people. Kelly was among those injured. According to court records, law enforcement found the suspected shooter with a loaded gun.
The shootout happened after a Juneteenth celebration last month. Thousands attended the event, which, although peaceful, was not authorized by the police. As the celebration came to a close on the evening of the 19th, a sideshow involving at least 20 vehicles, including dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles, took over the intersection of Grand and Bellevue avenues. Chaos ensued as two rival groups became violent and a fight broke out between numerous people.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Proton Docs Debuts: A New Era of Encrypted Productivity
Privacy company Proton has unveiled Proton Docs, a new addition to its suite of encrypted tools. This new document editor integrates seamlessly into Proton Drive and shares a close resemblance with Google Docs, featuring a familiar interface complete with a formatting toolbar and live user indicators.
This launch is a significant step for Proton, marking its expansion beyond its origins as an email service to now encompass a comprehensive array of applications, including a calendar, file storage system, and password manager.
Given the widespread acclaim and usability of Google Docs, it’s not surprising that Proton Docs would draw aesthetic and functional inspiration from it. However, the real differentiation lies in its stringent privacy safeguards; Proton asserts that every aspect of usage—from document edits to cursor movements—is secured with end-to-end encryption, distinguishing itself markedly from its competitors.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Soros-Backed DA Loses Major Appeal in Pennsylvania: “Krasner Permitted Crime to Metastasize”
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner lost a major appellate case last week against Michelle Henry, the State’s Democratic Attorney General. Although Henry was the putative winner, the real winners are the 682,000-plus people who ride the transit system each day in and around the City of Brotherly Love.
Krasner, Philly’s Soros-funded rogue prosecutor, sued Henry over a 2023 state law signed by Governor Josh Shapiro, called Act 40, which authorized the state’s attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to handle all crimes on the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) transit system.
Act 40 was originally passed because Krasner’s pro-criminal policies, such as refusing to prosecute simple assault, theft, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and watering down felonies in serious cases, were endangering everyone who rides SEPTA. Robberies and aggravated assaults jumped more than 80% on SEPTA from 2019 through 2021, even though the system carried fewer riders because of the pandemic.
Upset that the state was infringing on his turf, however, Krasner claimed that the statute was unconstitutional for a variety of different reasons.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Soros DA Gascon Extends Grisly Record of “Second Chance Killings”
Less than a year after being released from prison early for a murder conviction thanks to Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon’s soft-on-crime policies, 25-year-old Denmonne Lee has been charged with another killing.
In 2018, Lee participated in a gas station robbery in Antelope Valley, California. He, along with co-defendant Deonta “Fatboy” Johnson, was charged with the murder of Marine veteran John Rue in the process of committing the robbery.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Steve Bannon Begins Four-Month Sentence: ‘I’M a Political Prisoner’
Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s former top advisor, has reported to a federal prison to begin a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress after defying a subpoena from the January 6 Select Committee.
Bannon, who also hosts the War Room podcast, reported to the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut on Monday. In his final edition of the podcast before starting his sentence, he said he was a “political prisoner.”
I’m a political prisoner of Nancy Pelosi. I’m a political prisoner of Merrick Garland. I’m a political prisoner of Joe Biden and the corrupt Biden establishment.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Suspect in Attempted Rape of Central Park Sunbather Has History of Sex Assaults: Prosecutors
The creep accused of trying to rape a Central Park sunbather has a sick history of sex assaults in four states — including at least two New York cases that were tossed after psych exams, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Jermaine Longmire, 43, was ordered held without bail after he was arraigned on first-degree rape and sex abuse charges in the disturbing June 24 alleged attack in Central Park — as disturbing new details were revealed in court.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Swing-State Democrat Wants Biden ‘Out of This Race’ After Debate Debacle
An Arizona Democrat became the fourth party member in the House of Representatives to deny that President Biden can win re-election — and the second to call for him to exit the race.
“If he’s the candidate, I’m going to support him, but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere,” Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) told the New York Times Wednesday.
“What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Thieves in Seattle Targeting EV Charging Stations Has Reached “Epidemic Proportions”
Over the past 12 months, thieves in the Seattle metro area have stolen over 100 electric vehicle charging cables, driven mostly by soaring copper scrap prices. This is incredibly frustrating for EV owners who arrive at these charging stations only to find severed cords and unable to charge.
In the last 12 months alone, thieves have stolen at least 100 EV charging cables across the city in pursuit of the small amounts of copper within that can be sold as scrap.
The thefts are particularly painful for drivers who lack home chargers and are left scrambling to find a way to juice up their vehicles. —GeekWire
“It’s a serious and frustrating problem around Seattle,” said resident Elaine Wong, who entirely relies on public charging stations.
In one year, Electrify America reported that 93 cables had been cut across its charging network in Washington.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Widens Lead Over Biden After Prez’s Worrying Debate Performance: New Polls
Donald Trump has widened his lead over President Biden following last week’s first presidential debate in two closely watched polls of the race.
The New York Times/Siena College survey published Wednesday showed Trump leading Biden, 81, by six percentage points (49%-43%) among likely voters — the largest lead the 45th president has enjoyed in any poll published by the outlet since 2015 — and eight points (49%-41%) among registered voters.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal showed Trump leading Biden by six points, 48%-42%, among registered voters, the biggest spread favoring the former president since at least late 2021.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Defense Weapons Plant Rocked by Explosion, Casualties Reported
NEW YORK, July 3. /TASS/. At least two people were injured and another went missing as a result of an explosion at the General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems’ plant in the US city of Camden in Arkansas, AP reported.
According to the news agency, the plant manufactures 105mm to 155mm artillery shells.
“At this time, we are working with first responders and can confirm the incident resulted in at least two injuries and one missing individual,” a General Dynamics official said in a statement. “We are cooperating fully with the authorities as they conduct their investigation.”
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
VP Harris Nominee Odds Soar After NYT Report That Biden ‘Weighing’ Future
Update (1100ET): PredictIt odds for Kamala Harris hit the ceiling following a NY Times report that President Joe Biden is now ‘weighing’ whether he can remain in the race.
And while her odds pulled back bit after the White House denied the story, she’s still sitting far above this morning’s spike.
* * *
As Democrats wrestle with whether Vice President Kamala Harris has what it takes to lead the Democratic ticket after Biden’s debate performance last week kicked off ‘dementia-gate,’ betting market PredictIt has all but crowned her queen.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
White House Defends Labeling Critical Biden Videos as “Deepfakes”
The world (and the US with it, with the current US administration pretty much leading the way) has for the last few years witnessed what has obviously been a concerted effort to make “AI-powered deepfakes” a thing.
Specifically — a thing that can negatively shape up an election, or even break a democracy.
Anyone, especially apolitical people but those with even a cursory knowledge of the “deepfakes” tech and how long it’s been around in all sorts of media, might have been confused as to why this rhetoric is happening, and why now?
Well — now — months before a US presidential election, we’re starting to get answers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Far-Right” Women Contributing to Threats Against Democracy: RCMP Report
An RCMP warning about citizen movements threatening democracy takes note that women in particular are being drawn to the “far-right.”
Citing dubious statistics by anti-hate researchers, the RCMP’s recently published 2023 Environmental Scan highlights the supposed increase in radicalization driven by factors such as socioeconomic instability, polarization and political distrust.
One of the chief social concerns threatening democracy is the rise of mass citizen movements according to the federal police force.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Graves at a Jewish Cemetery Near Montreal Desecrated With Swastikas
Montreal’s Jewish community is reeling following another antisemitic attack.
As most of the country celebrated the anniversary of Canada’s confederation, Jewish graves at a cemetery near Montreal were desecrated with swastikas.
On Monday, commemorative stones were rearranged on top of graves at Kehal Israel Cemetery in Dollard-des-Ormeaux into the shape of swastikas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Suspect Two Toronto Synagogue Vandalism Cases Are Connected
Two synagogues in Toronto’s North York area were vandalized on Sunday in what police are investigating as “suspected hate-motivated” acts.
Police were notified in the early hours of Sunday that rocks had been thrown through the front windows of the Pride of Israel synagogue near Bathurst St. and Dewlane Dr.
Then a second synagogue, the Kehillat Shaarei Torah on Bayview Ave., was met with similar vandalism only 30 minutes later, according to a Toronto Police Service release.
The suspect, which investigators believe to be the same person, fled the scene on a motorcycle in both cases.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
U of T Anti-Israel Protesters Pledge Resistance After Court-Ordered Eviction
Organizers of the University of Toronto’s anti-Israel encampment say that despite a court injunction to remove them by Wednesday evening, they will not be silenced.
“No amount of police presence, no threat of legal action, no Zionist threat, and no attempt to smear our movement will deter us from our mission,” said Mohammad Yassin during a press conference held by the OccupyUofT group following the injunction.
“We stand here united, stronger than ever, with a resolve that cannot be shaken.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“The Future of Civilization and Children Are at Stake”: An Interview With Malika Sorel
Malika Sorel is an engineer from the École Polytechnique in Algiers. She was an advisor to Prime Minister François Fillon on education and immigration during the 2017 presidential elections She also worked at the High Council for Integration, which deals with migration issues. The author of several books on the problems posed by immigration in Europe and the policies required to address these problems, Sorel was number two on the Rassemblement National list, headed by Jordan Bardella, and she was elected as a Member of the European Parliament on 9 June.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A new anti-National Rally rap video featuring a collective of 20 popular French rappers features ultra-violent lyrics directed at Marine Le Pen, her niece Marion Maréchal, and National Rally leader Jordan Bardella.
Some of the lines include, “Marine and Marion, the whores, beat these female dogs in heat with a stick,” and “Jordan, you’re dead.”
Other violent lines include, “If the fascists come by, I’m going with a big caliber,” referring to a firearm.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Braverman: Failing UK Tories Only Have Themselves to Blame
Suella Braverman, who was sacked as Tory home secretary late last year, has written a blistering article ahead of tomorrow’s general election, blaming the Conservative Party’s likely defeat on its own failings.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Braverman said that Tory HQ can attack Nigel Farage as much as it likes, but that the reality is the Conservatives are “haemorrhaging” votes to Reform “because we failed to cut immigration or tax, or deal with the net zero and woke policies we have presided over for 14 years.”
The former home secretary added that while she and others have warned that failing on these fronts would lead to disaster—pointing at the obvious signs saying: “Cliff Edge Dead Ahead, Bad for Buses”—too many Conservatives have stuck to the view that the party really needs to be more ‘centrist.’
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Britain’s General Election is Tomorrow and Top ‘Conservatives’ Appear to be Conceding Defeat
A government minister and former government minister ostracised from the Prime Minister’s circle for, apparently, being too Conservative both appear to concede the election is lost, just 24 hours before polls open on Thursday.
Mel Stride, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions did the media rounds on Wednesday morning — the final day of campaigning for the United Kingdom’s snap election unexpectedly called by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak — and admitted their Conservative Party faces total defeat.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Budapest Blasts Jourova for Belittling ‘Make Europe Great Again’
Budapest has blasted Vice-President of the European Commission Vera Jourova for making fun of Hungary’s “Make Europe Great Again” (MEGA) motto for its Council Presidency.
Jourova initially made fun of the catchphrase shortly after it was announced, describing it as being “not very original” on June 25.
The jab has not been taken well by the Hungarian government, with Balasz Orban, the political director of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s office, reminding Jourova of other mottos used by the European institutions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Confederation MEP Rules Out Alliance With Germany’s AfD, Eyes Other European Groups
In a recent interview with commercial Radio Zet, Confederation MEP Anna Brylka voiced her concerns about future alliances in the European Parliament, specifically rejecting any collaboration with Germany’s right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Following a strong performance in the latest European Parliament elections, where Confederation garnered over 12 percent of the vote and secured six seats, including one for Brylka herself, the question of which political group the party will join has become increasingly pressing.
Brylka candidly admitted her preference to steer clear of an alliance with Germany’s AfD.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Conservative ECR Group on Brink of Split Amid European Parliament Turmoil
Members of the European Parliament’s European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group failed to elect key leadership roles on July 3 amid reports that the group could split.
ECR decision-makers, led by Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party, met in the parliament’s Brussels building but could only manage to elect half the roles foreseen, including members of the ‘bureau’ or group management board.
The meeting, which was connected remotely to Italy via video conference so that ECR members attending a gathering in Sicily could attend, comes ahead of the July 8 foundation or ‘constituency’ meeting of the new, rival Patriots group announced by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and allies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
There’s growing chatter within Poland’s ruling Civic Coalition (KO) about possibly accelerating the parliamentary elections. Reports from the podcast run by the journalists of the liberal news outlet Onet.pl suggest that Donald Tusk, wearied by conflicts with the left and the depressive state of Third Way leaders, might call for early elections if the coalition’s candidate succeeds in next year’s presidential race.
This move could potentially allow Tusk to weaken the Left and absorb most of its voters, as well as dismantle the Third Way alliance (PSL and Poland 2050), currently linked by increasingly unrealistic presidential plans for Szymon Holownia. According to the Coalition’s strategy, such a scenario could substantially enhance Tusk’s chances of defeating conservative Law and Justice (PiS). The reasoning is that a loss of the presidency could put Jaroslaw Kaczynski and PiS on the defensive, potentially leading to a split within the party.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Courted by Conservatives, Von Der Leyen Meets With Greens Instead
Brussels might look a lot different by the end of this month. The European Parliament (EP) will have reconvened to elect its new leadership, the parties and factions will have finished reshuffling and new groups (if any) forged, and an absolute majority in the 720-seat house will confirm Ursula von der Leyen’s second term. Or not,—that last bit is far from certain.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Countries Rebuked for Not Doing Their Green Homework
June 30th was the deadline by which all European Union member states were legally obliged to submit detailed climate and energy plans to be implemented until 2030—key documents needed to assess whether the EU as a whole would even stand a chance of meeting its ambitious climate targets.
However, nearly all member states—23 out of the 27—failed to do so, leaving the Commission frustrated. Despite the “legal obligation” for member states to respect the deadline, “we have received only four plans,” a Commission spokesperson said. The only ones delivering on time were the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, covering only 8% of the bloc’s CO2 emissions.
“The Commission strongly urges all other member states to submit their Plans as soon as possible,” the spokesperson added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Farage’s Patriotic Plea to the British: Vote for Family, Community, and Nation ‘That We Recognise’
Nigel Farage closes out the 2024 election campaign with a simple and emotional appeal to family, community, and “a country that we recognise, a country that we know”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who burst back onto the British political scene just four weeks ago to practically steal the scene in this short snap general election campaign, now all but over as polling opens early Thursday morning, finished his campaign tonight in the seat he hopes to take, Clacton.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Macron’s Father: ‘Decision to Dissolve Parliament Made Months Ago’
The decision to dissolve the French National Assembly for snap elections was not due to a poor showing by President Emmanual Macron in the European Parliament elections but by his belief that the administration had become “ungovernable”.
So claimed his father Jean-Michel Macron in an interview with the Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace published on July 3.
While most people assumed the election move was a result of the pasting the President and his party received in the EP ballot of June 6-9, the French leaders’ father said his son had told him several weeks previously that he was planning to dissolve the National Assembly.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France’s Les Républicains at War as Senior Member Backs Socialists Over Le Pen
Infighting has once again flared up within France’s Les Républicains (LR) after a senior figure within the party voiced support for Socialists in the country.
Xavier Bertrand, the LR President of the Hauts-de-France regional council, announced he supported the return of a member of the French Communist Party in one of his local constituencies in the hope of enabling them to beat their National Rally (RN) opponent in the second round of France’s elections on July 7.
That provoked outrage, with the party’s embattled leader Eric Ciotti announcing on July 3 he had started the process of having Bertrand excluded from LR.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Election Results May Throw Country Into Chaos
After the second round of elections in France, there is every chance that no one will be able to form a stable government, Yann Caspar, guest researcher at Budapest’s Mathias Corvinus think tank, told news station InfoRadio.
Caspar said he did not think that Sunday was a good result from President Emmanuel Macron’s perspective, and even said that it was a “political earthquake.” The Franco-Hungarian lawyer added that the turnout in the first round of the early elections was almost 7.5 percent higher than two years ago.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Car Industry Urges EU to Drop Tariffs on China-Made Cars
Germany’s VDA auto association has urged the European Commission to drop its planned tariffs on China-made electric vehicles in a last-ditch effort to influence negotiations ahead of the tariffs kicking in on Thursday.
The association said in a statement on Wednesday the tariffs would hurt European and U.S. carmakers exporting from China and risked retaliation by China with counter-tariffs, which would hit the German industry hard given its high volume of exports to China.
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Hungarian President Strikes Conciliatory Tone at Council Presidency Launch
Hungary will endeavour to work with rather than against EU institutions to advance a sovereigntist agenda in the coming six months. This was the key message conveyed at the Brussels inauguration ceremony, kicking off the country’s term at the helm of the European Council presidency.
President Tamas Sulyok was just one of the many international dignitaries present at the Hungarian Presidency’s official opening ceremony, stressing the need for compromise despite the decade-long institutional war waged against his country by Eurocrats.
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In a move defying party lines, the pair of deputies to the Polish parliament, Paulina Matysiak of the leftist Together party and Marcin Horala of the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party announced last week their initiative to create a new social movement, “Yes for Development.”
Their stated goal is to foster collaboration across diverse political and social spectra to support key development projects in Poland, such as the Central Communication Port (CPK), nuclear power plants, and the expansion of ports and military infrastructure. This cross-party cooperation, however, has not gone without consequences.
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Jobs Deal Secures Polish Place in Conservative ECR Group
An Italian-Polish dispute within the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) faction of the European Parliament (EP) looks like it’s being soothed after the inaugural meeting of the parliamentary faction divided top jobs between Italian and Polish MEPs.
Fratelli d’Italia’s Nicola Procaccini and Joachim Stanislaw Brudzinski from Polish Law and Justice (PiS) are set to both chair the ECR in the years ahead in a sign of an agreement reached between the Poles and Italians despite earlier turbulence.
European and Brussels politics are still in flux a month after the EU elections, which saw the ECR ascend to becoming the third largest faction in the EP. Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia took commanding control over its parliamentary faction with an incoming bumper crop of new Italian MEPs.
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Marine Le Pen’s performance in the first round of voting has her party and its supporters all smiles, as she largely performed within expectations, snagging 34 percent of the vote and coming out on top in the first round. A deeper dive into her victory reveals that while her party is now the de facto “working-class” party of France, there is much going on under the surface, with a shift in support coming from a broad swath of French society.
The data shows that over half of Le Pen’s supporters come from an “underprivileged” background, meaning she is increasingly becoming the party that represents working-class interests. Similar trends are seen across Europe, such as with the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has recently labeled itself the “party of the working class” due to its strong support from those in blue-collar fields. However, Le Pen takes this type of support to another level.
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Meta Cannot Compel Payment to Stop Use of Personal Data, EC Rules
Meta cannot charge European users for the privilege of not allowing the company to use their personal data, the EU has ruled.
The European Commission has told Meta that its “pay or consent” model does not comply with the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) following an inquiry into the matter.
On July 1, regulators said Meta’s subscription of up to €12.99 a month forced users to choose between paying a fee or allowing the firm to use their data for targeted advertising.
Such an ultimatum, the Commission says, is illegal.
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NATO Agree on €40 Billion Financial Pledge for Ukraine
NATO allies have agreed to fund military aid for Ukraine with 40 billion euros next year, two Western European diplomats told Reuters on Wednesday July 3, a week before the alliance’s leaders are set to meet in Washington.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had asked allies to make a multi-year commitment to keep military aid for Kyiv at the same level as that since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, adding up to about 40 billion euros a year.
On the EU side, an agreement was reached at the last Council meeting in December 2023 to provide up to 50 billion euros more, which was not initially foreseen in the multiannual budget 2021-2027.
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Netherlands: Number of Violent Deaths in Amsterdam This Year Already Higher Than 2023 Total
A fatal shooting under the Westelijke Merwedekanaaldijk bridge in Amsterdam last week brought the total number of violent deaths in the city so far this year to 12. That is one more than the total number of people killed by violence in the Dutch capital in all of 2023.
The suspects in at least four of this year’s murder or manslaughter cases are “disturbed” people. Disturbed is a blanket term used by the Dutch authorities to cover people with mental health problems or going through a mental breakdown.
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Netherlands: Left-Wing Leader Timmermans to File Motion of No Confidence Against PVV Ministers
GroenLinks-PvdA leader will file a motion of no confidence against PVV Ministers Marjolein Faber (Migration and Asylum) and Reinette Klever (Foreign Trade and Development Aid) on Thursday. He can not stand by and let people who promoted the racist repopulation theory in the past run the country. He would file a motion of no confidence against the entire Cabinet but expects that would not get majority support, Timmermans said in the first parliamentary debate with the Schoof I Cabinet on Wednesday, NU.nl reports.
Klever and Faber have received plenty of criticism about past statements since their nominations to become Ministers. Faber once used “repopulation” as an argument in a debate in the Senate. Klever also used the term in the past, although she now denies it.
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Netherlands: New Cabinet’s First Debate With Parliament Today; First Ever Debate for PM Schoof
One day after getting sworn in by King Willem-Alexander, the new Dutch Cabinet will debate their plans for the coming years with the Tweede Kamer today. It will be new Prime Minister Dick Schoof’s first-ever parliamentary debate.
Opposition parties have many questions about the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB’s main lines agreement, the plans of which the new Cabinet members will have to work out in more detail. The debate is also an introduction between parliamentarians and Schoof, who has never participated in a parliamentary debate before.
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Norway to Stockpile Grain in Preparation ‘For the Unthinkable’
The Norwegian Government has signed an agreement to start stockpiling grain to prepare for a possible supply problem towards the end of this decade.
This strategy is designed to protect against potential issues such as rising food prices in events such as a repeat of the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of wars in Europe, or extreme climate change.
The deal signed by Minister of Agriculture and Food Geir Pollestad, Minister of Finance Trygve Slagsvold Vedum and four private companies, envisages stockpiling about 30,000 tonnes of grain in 2024 and 2025.
The wheat, which will belong to the government, will be stored by the companies in existing facilities throughout the country. Three of these firms will store at least 15,000 tonnes this year.
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PM Orban: New Patriots of Europe EU Parliamentary Group Will Promote Peace and End Mass Migration
The European Union should not become a federalized, centralized state, but should instead focus on ending mass migration and the war in Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told national media in an interview on July 1, the day his country assumed the revolving presidency of the EU.
Orban stressed that the leaders in Brussels “have made a power pact whose only aim is to dominate the political positions in Brussels for another five years, but it won’t work because you can’t govern against the people, and that makes those of us who want change even stronger. It will lift us up, it will increase our strength and we will achieve this change. If not in two weeks, then in two months, but it will happen,” he said.
“We do not want a Europe that takes away, diminishes and erases everything that is important to us as patriots,” Orban added, according to Hungarian news outlet Infostart.
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PM Orban: Patriots for Europe Parliamentary Group Ready by Next Week
Viktor Orban’s ambitious plans for his new European alliance, dubbed ‘Patriots for Europe,’ are close to fruition, the Hungarian prime minister reiterated during a TV interview on Monday, July 1st, promising to hold the new European Parliamentary group’s inaugural meeting on Monday, July 8th.
The Patriots were launched on Sunday as the political alliance of Orban’s Fidesz, ex-Czech PM Andrej Babis’ ANO, and the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ). The three parties hold 34 seats between them—enough MEPs, but four delegations short of creating a parliamentary group by themselves. So, in order to indeed make the Patriots an official force in Brussels, the group quickly needs to find new allies to join.
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Poland Strikes at Lukashenko’s Regime With Detailed Border Checks
A decision has been made to introduce greatly increased checks at the large customs terminal on the border with Belarus, located in Malaszewicze in the Lublin region, as Warsaw ramps up its action against the regime in Minsk.
These controls are expected to be a significant blow to Minsk. The so-called “dry port” in Malaszewicze is a critical junction through which the majority of east-west transport, including key land-based shipments from China, passes. These goods travel by rail to European Union member states and to the port in Gdansk, from where they are distributed to other recipients. This transit route is a considerable source of income for the Belarusian regime, and its restriction could have significant consequences.
According to undisclosed sources obtained by RMF FM radio reporter Krzysztof Zasada, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ) is hoping for Beijing to exert pressure on Minsk, which could force Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to comply with Polish demands.
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Poland Ditches War Reparations Claim Against Germany
Poland has abandoned efforts to seek a new reparations package from Germany over World War II.
The announcement comes after a meeting between the German and Polish Governments in Warsaw, after which both countries vowed to work to better bilateral relations.
After the July 2 talks, authorities confirmed that the reparations claim started by Poland’s previous Law and Justice (PiS) government would not be pursued.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk instead chose to stress Poland’s close ties with its German neighbours.
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Poll: Europe and Ukraine Disagree on How the War Should End
New research conducted in 15 countries by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)—the EU’s oldest and most prestigious foreign policy think tank—revealed deep divisions in public opinion between Europeans and Ukrainians about some of the primary questions related to the war, including the perceived responsibility of the European Union.
The report, published on Wednesday, July 3rd, concludes the findings of detailed opinion polls carried out with the involvement of nearly 20,000 respondents from 12 EU member states (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden), as well as non-EU countries Switzerland, the UK, and Ukraine.
Among the report’s primary conclusions, the authors highlight that “lurking beneath the appearance of unity is a major divide” between Ukraine and Europe on how this war is supposed to end, and what the objective of Western support truly is.
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Portugal’s CHEGA to Join Orban’s ‘Patriots for Europe’ Alliance
Portugal’s right-wing populist party Chega has announced its desire to join the new alliance of sovereignist forces in the European Parliament established in Vienna on Sunday.
The new political group was initiated by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, and Austrian opposition leader Herbert Kickl and their respective parties.
Shortly after the signing ceremony on Sunday, European right-wing parties began to express interest in joining the group, including Chega, Orban’s press secretary Bertalan Havasi told news agency MTI on Monday.
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Reform UK is Taking Votes From Labour, Too
The media narrative through this election campaign has been that Reform will secure votes from non-voters and disgruntled Conservative Party supporters. But Britons who backed Labour in 2019 are choosing to back Nigel Farage instead of Sir Keir Starmer, too.
New polling suggests that Reform is taking 7% of the 2019 Labour vote. And that’s after both the Tories and Labour, as well as the mainstream media, spent about a week bashing Farage over his belief that the war in Ukraine was in part “provoked” by NATO and EU expansion.
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Romania’s Offshore Gas Platform to Start Drilling This Year
The Neptun Deep project is on schedule, and the first drilling could begin by the end of the year, Romanian Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said at a press conference on Monday.
The deep-water offshore gas field development project is the largest natural gas project in the Romanian Black Sea and the first deepwater offshore project in Romania. The estimated investments for the development phase of the project are up to €4 billion, the OMV-Petrom oil and gas company said.
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Short a Dozen Votes, Von Der Leyen May Turn to Greens to Secure Reelection
Despite her coalition having a majority in the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen does not have enough votes to be confirmed for a second term without outside help.
Even though right-wing parties were the biggest winners of the EU election and Meloni’s conservative European Conservative and Reformists (ECR) is now the third largest group in the Parliament, the Commission chief’s leftist coalition partners leave her no choice but to turn toward the Greens—cementing Brussels’ leftist hegemony once again.
Politico reports that on Tuesday, July 2nd, von der Leyen met with the leaders of all the political families in the Parliament behind closed doors to present her broad policy priorities and to gauge how much political support she could get. Perhaps not satisfied, the Commission president left the meeting room and stormed off towards the elevator to escape journalists who wanted to know how the talks went, sparing only a single word: “Good.”
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Spain: Puigdemont Denied Amnesty
Spain’s Supreme Court (TS) has denied amnesty to Carles Puigdemont, former MEP and fugitive from Spanish justice, complicating his planned return to his homeland and its politics.
The controversial amnesty law for Catalan separatists was passed just weeks ago—was written and passed with Puigdemont foremost in mind. Despite this, the Supreme Court has rejected his petition for amnesty for his crimes of embezzling public money. The same request on behalf of three other key Catalan separatist leaders was also rejected, dashing their hopes of re-entering Spanish politics.
In 2017, Puigdemont was the regional president of Catalonia. He used that role to organize an illegal referendum on the region’s independence from Spain and even declared the region independent. His declaration was unsuccessful; he fled the country shortly thereafter and has remained a fugitive of Spanish justice in Belgium ever since.
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Spain’s Constitutional Court Exonerates Corrupt Politicians
Spain’s constitutional court is now overturning jail sentences facing socialist politicians convicted of embezzling public money. The case involves at least €680 million, misappropriated over the course of nine years ending in 2009—making it one of the largest corruption cases in Spanish history, adding another huge scandal to the list of socialist misdeeds.
The case involves two former presidents of the Andalucia region, Manuel Chaves and José Antonio Griñan; four former advisors and two former vice councilors, such as Carmen Martinez Aguayo, as well as 15 other senior officials. Called the ‘Caso ERE,’ it saw misuse of funds earmarked for rescuing troubled businesses in the region. However, according to the sentences delivered by both the regional high court and the country’s Supreme Court, the funds lacked proper controls, objective criteria, and transparency, being granted instead in exchange for all kinds of favors.
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Former conservative Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, now engaged in a personal battle with esophageal cancer, accused critics of spreading lies about the Justice Fund and maligning the actions taken against priest Michal Olszewski, who was arrested and charged in the alleged corruption case. Ziobro, voicing his thoughts to the online portal Interia, said, “the true face of Tusk is revealed in these brutal actions.”
Ziobro, who leads the Sovereign Poland party, disclosed that he faces another phase of oncological treatment, along with rehabilitation and dealing with complications.
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UK: Nigel Farage’s Appeal on Eve of Voting: Strike Now to Break Up ‘Rotten Two Party System’
“Help us take the first really big step”, Brexit’s Nigel Farage says on the final day of his last-minute, four-week campaign to get a foothold in Britain’s Parliament with Thursday’s national election.
The United Kingdom will vote in its first national election in five years on Thursday to select the next parliament, and consequently Prime Minister and government. Polling showing the Labour party being all but certain to take a massive majority in the house — possibly the largest in modern British history — has been taken essentially as fact, and the race for second place is the only game in town.
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UK: Protesters Outside Just Stop Oil Trial Arrested for ‘Attempting to Sway Jurors’
Around a dozen Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly trying to sway jurors in a court case, in defiance of a judge’s ruling.
Twelve activists staging a silent sit-down protest outside Southwark Crown Court were led away by police.
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Ukraine and Czech Republic Near Completion of Security Pact
Ukraine and the Czech Republic have made significant progress in drafting a bilateral security agreement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office announced on their Telegram channel yesterday.
The Czech delegation in Kyiv was led by David Konecky, senior director of the Foreign Ministry’s security and multilateral section. Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced last week that the two countries would sign the agreement at the European Political Community summit in London on 18 July.
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US Provides $2 Billion Loan to Strengthen Polish Military
Poland and the United States have inked a direct loan agreement for $2 billion as part of the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program, announced the Polish Ministry of National Defense (MoD) on Monday.
This marks the second such loan granted by the U.S. government to Poland recently. The FMF funds, which are allocated only to select allies with whom the U.S. maintains close defense collaborations, aim to further enhance Poland’s defense capabilities.
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We May Join Orban’s EU Parliament Right-Wing Alliance, Says Germany’s AfD Co-Leader Weidel
Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel says her party may join the Patriots of Europe, a new alliance of right-wing parties backed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, adding that the foundation of the party is an “absolutely great” development.
In an interview with Zeit Online, Weidel said that while her party may not join the new grouping in the short term, she added “who knows what we will do in the medium and long term.”
Nevertheless, she said she is “full of admiration” for Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) leader Herbert Kickl and Orban, who are two founding members of the new group along with ANO leader, former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis.
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WWII Reparations: Empty German Gestures Satisfy Polish PM, Not Opposition
“In an atmosphere of trust,” Germany has promised to take steps to support victims of Nazi occupation. The country will not compensate Poland for war crimes it committed during World War II, however. Polish opposition conservatives are critical, blaming the leftist government for serving German interests and failing to resolve the issue of war reparations.
Leaders of the two countries praised a new era in bilateral relations and vowed to reinforce their defence cooperation. At a meeting between Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Warsaw on Tuesday, July 2nd, the duo announced they wanted to put their countries’ cooperation on a new footing. This follows a strained relationship between Berlin and Warsaw’s previous, conservative government.
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Israel Says it’s Studying Latest Hamas Response to Gaza Ceasefire-Hostage Deal
Israel said Wednesday evening that it had received Hamas’s response to the latest truce-hostage deal outline, and would evaluate the document before replying.
A statement from the Mossad distributed by the Prime Minister’s Office said that mediators “have conveyed” to Israel’s negotiators “Hamas’s remarks on the outline of the hostages deal.”
“Israel is evaluating the remarks and will convey its reply to the mediators,” the brief statement added.
Hamas later confirmed that it had submitted its latest demands, issuing a statement that it is “eager to reach an agreement to stop the war, and our communication with the mediators continues.”
“We exchanged some ideas with the mediators with the goal of stopping the war and the full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip,” the terror group said, claiming that it is being flexible in its demands, while Israel is “trying to deceive and evade.”
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Israel Takes Out 2nd Senior Hezbollah Commander in Less Than Two Weeks
Another senior Hezbollah commander has been killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. He was killed in a daytime strike on the coastal city of Tyre, in what appears a neighborhood or city area (according to widely circulating video).
Hezbollah in a statement confirmed the death Muhammad Nimah Nasser, also known as Abu Nimah. Regional reports say that he commanded Hezbollah’s Aziz regional division in southern Lebanon (one of three divisions operating there).
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The US will reportedly tell Ukraine it’s too corrupt to join the NATO alliance at its annual summit in Washington, DC next week, according to a senior official in the US State Department. NATO will be requiring “additional steps” from Volodymyr Zelensky before his country’s membership will be considered.
“We have to step back and applaud everything that Ukraine has done in the name of reforms over the last two-plus years,” the official told The Telegraph. “As they continue to make those reforms, we want to commend them, we want to talk about additional steps that need to be taken, particularly in the area of anti-corruption. It is a priority for many of us around the table.”
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Breaking: Tucker Carlson to Interview Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Tucker Carlson has announced that he will be interviewing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, marking a significant moment in his series of high-profile interviews since departing from Fox News. The announcement was made via a social media post, where Carlson expressed his long-standing effort to secure this interview, especially after interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Looks like we’ve got the Zelenskyy interview. We’ve been trying for two years, and with particular intensity after interviewing Putin in February,” Carlson stated. “The point is to bring Americans much-needed information about the conflict that’s completely reshaping their country’s position in the world. Coming soon we hope.”
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Experts Warn Against Ukraine NATO Membership in Letter
Organized by Stephen Wertheim, a senior fellow with the Carnegie Endowment, 60 experts have signed a letter published Wednesday warning against the use of next week’s upcoming NATO summit to push Ukrainian NATO membership.
The letter says including Ukraine in the pact would give Kiev a security guarantee that could lead to World War III and commit the U.S. to fighting Russia in any future Russia—Ukraine conflict. The letter argues that Ukrainian NATO membership “would reduce the security of the United States and NATO Allies, at considerable risk to all.” The letter also calls into doubt whether Ukrainian NATO membership would deter a future conflict.
The letter argues that NATO expansion and the desire of many to incorporate Ukraine into NATO were the primary motivations for Russia’s invasion. The letter claims that the sooner Ukrainian NATO membership is taken off the table, the sooner peace can be established.
The letter deprecates emotive arguments for Ukrainian NATO membership: “The purpose of NATO is not to signal esteem for other countries; it is to defend NATO territory and strengthen the security of NATO members.”
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Nine Ukrainian Jets Destroyed in 24 Hours, Russia’s Military Says
The Kremlin has continued to signal to the West that the dozens of US F-16 fighter jets currently being prepped to transfer to Ukraine are as good as dead on arrival. Past weeks of media reports have indicated that a handful of European countries will begin sending F-16s by some point this summer, when Ukrainian pilots complete their training on the advanced fighter.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it launched a major attack on an airfield in central Ukraine, which destroyed and damaged seven Ukrainian fighter jets. The location was identified as the Myrhorod airbase in the country’s Poltava region. Two more were reported shot down in a separate operation.
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Turkey’s Erdogan Offers to Help End Russia-Ukraine War, Kremlin Rules Him Out as Intermediary
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that Ankara could help end the Ukraine-Russia war, but Putin’s spokesman said Erdogan could not play the role of an intermediary in the 28-month-old conflict.
Erdogan, speaking to Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan, said he believed a fair peace suiting both sides was possible, the Turkish presidency said.
But Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, ruled out any role as a go-between for the Turkish leader.
“No, it’s not possible,” said Peskov, when asked by a Russian television interviewer whether Erdogan could assume such a role, according to the Russian Tass news agency. The news agency’s account did not explain why the Kremlin was opposed to Erdogan’s participation.
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Ukraine Rushes to Recruit From Prisons After Suffering Hundreds of Thousands of Casualties
Since the start of the war, Ukraine has lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have been killed or wounded, according to German newspaper Welt. The prominent newspaper reports the seriousness of the situation is shown by the fact that the Ukrainian army is already recruiting in prisons, as it is still unable to fill the gaps at the front.
In addition to a shortage of modern fighter jets and ammunition, a shortage of soldiers is a central problem for Ukraine’s war effort.
Behind the prison walls, the Ukrainian army has found something that is rare in the country: volunteer fighters for the frontline. Since May, 2,800 prisoners have been released and are now serving as soldiers, the Ukrainian justice ministry told Welt when contacted.
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Ukrainian Army Head Clashes With Zelensky After Refusing to Execute ‘Doomed’ Offensive
Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi, much like his predecessor Valery Zaluzhny, has come into open conflict with the Ukrainian president’s office.
There is even talk of Syrskyi’s dismissal for refusing to carry out Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s orders to execute a ground offensive deemed by the army chief as “futile.”
According to the news site EADaily, the commander-in-chief was ordered to launch a major offensive but refused, saying that without proper equipment and air support, such a counteroffensive would turn into a meat grinder in which many soldiers would die.
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Cops Nab Founder of Notorious Venezuelan Gang Linked to Laken Riley Murder, NYC Gun Smuggling
Authorities in Colombia arrested a founder of El Tren de Aragua, the notorious Venezuelan gang that has infiltrated the US via the southern border and has been linked to crimes across the country — including the murder of college student Laken Riley and smuggling guns into migrant shelters in New York City.
The gang’s cofounder, 45-year-old Larry Álvarez, who also goes by Larry Changa — escaped prison in 2015 in Venezuela — fled to Chile and then Colombia — where he entered the country using a fake papers in 2022, according to Colombian authorities.
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Disturbing Video Shows Group of Venezuelan Migrants Beat Chicago Straphanger
A disturbing new video shows the moment a group of migrant men from Venezuela attacked and robbed a Chicago straphanger in February — with one of the men choking the victim unconscious as the rest rifled through his pockets.
The four suspects — Fernando Loyo-Rodriguez, Wilker Gutierrez Sierra, Carlos Carreno-Carreno and Yonnier Guasamucare Garcia — approached their 49-year-old target on a Windy City commuter train on Feb. 17 and started chatting him up, according to surveillance video obtained by Fox News.
But the affable facade — which included passing around a cigarette or a joint inside the car — concealed their true motive.
Suddenly, one of the migrants lunged for the unidentified victim, seized him around the neck and sunk a chokehold that eventually knocked him out, the video showed.
Police said one of the suspects pulled a knife and held it to the victim’s throat — as his criminal colleagues rifled through the man’s pockets, the video showed.
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Illegal Border Crossings Are Still on the Rise at the Northern Border
(The Center Square) — Illegal border crossings at the northern border continue to break records, according to the latest data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
In May, 18,644 foreign nationals were apprehended illegally entering the U.S. at the northern border, the highest total for the month of May in recorded history.
The northern border has seen the highest number of illegal entries in U.S. history under the Biden administration, The Center Square has reported.
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Illegal Immigrant Caused DUI Collision That Killed 22-Year-Old in Tragic Hit-and-Run: ICE
The suspect in a deadly DUI hit-and-run that killed a 22-year-old in New Mexico entered the U.S. illegally, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed.
ICE confirmed to Fox News that 21-year-old Jesus Sandoval-Martinez was arrested early Monday morning and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, reckless driving and leaving an accident resulting in great bodily harm or death.
Authorities allege Sandoval-Martinez was drunk when his Dodge pickup truck collided with a Tesla and a Toyota Corolla at an intersection in Albuquerque overnight Monday.
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NYC to Spend Millions on New Round of Pre-Paid Debit Cards for Migrants
(The Center Square) — New York City officials are dramatically expanding a controversial program that gives debit cards pre-loaded with cash to migrant families staying in taxpayer-funded hotels across the city.
The Adams administration says another round of debit cards is expected to be distributed to more than 7,300 migrants over the next six months, costing the city about $2.6 million. The move represents a major expansion of a pilot program that began earlier this year that doled out cards to about 3,000 migrants.
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Just five asylum-seekers have been sent to Rwanda through Rishi Sunak’s flagship scheme, costing the taxpayer an average of £74million each, it has been revealed.
Despite claims as many as 52,000 people could potentially be flown to Rwanda through the scheme, fewer than half a dozen made the journey before Sunak paused the programme in May in the run-up to the election, according to The Sun.
The National Audit Office (NAO) estimates that the scheme will still incur a £370million fixed development fund by 2026 regardless, comprising £220million sent to Rwanda in February 2024 — and £50million for three Aprils thereafter until 2026.
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The Biden administration has stated that it opposes surgical sex-change procedures for minors, marking a significant shift from its previous stance that seemingly endorsed the practice.
“These are deeply personal decisions and we believe these surgeries should be limited to adults,” a White House spokesperson said in an email, according to the 19th News. “We continue to support gender-affirming care for minors, which represents a continuum of care, and respect the role of parents, families, and doctors in these decisions.”
This statement comes as the Supreme Court agreed last week to hear a challengebrought in part by the Biden administration to a Tennessee law that bans treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery for transgender-identifying minors. The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the constitutionality of statewide bans on these procedures, and more Republican states have enacted similar bans in an attempt to protect children from these irreversible procedures.
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Cultural Icons Urge Vatican: Save the Traditional Latin Mass
Prominent cultural figures, both Catholic and non-Catholic, have signed a letter calling on the Vatican not to issue any further restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass.
In the letter to The Times of London, more than 40 UK artists, businessmen, politicians, and journalists lamented the “painful and confusing” prospect of the Latin Mass being banished from almost every Catholic church.
Signatories include composer Lord (Andrew) Lloyd-Webber, opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and human rights activist Bianca Jagger.
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‘Progressive’ Ireland: One in Six Pregnancies Now Ends in Abortion
The Republic of Ireland recorded an almost 20% increase in abortions performed in 2023 alone, ending approximately one-sixth of all pregnancies. With a cumulative total of just over 36,000 abortions being conducted in the Republic under the new regime, Ireland’s former standing as a European holdout against state-sanctioned abortion is being overturned.
After an intense government campaign, abortion up to 12 weeks was legalised following a popular referendum in 2018. Pro-life Irish parliamentarians are now warning that the country’s health services are specifically downplaying alternatives for women seeking abortions.
Despite supposed risks to the mother’s life being a major reason put forward by proponents of liberalisation, the Irish Department of Health confirmed in a statement that just 21 abortions were performed last year “due to a risk to the life or health” of the woman.
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https://samnytt.se/muslimskt-land-forbjuder-hijab
Translation: deepl.com
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Muslim country bans hijab
Published 07:00
While traditionally Christian countries in the West are increasingly allowing themselves to be Islamized, several countries that have lived with Islam are moving in the opposite direction and de-Islamizing. One of these countries is Tajikistan, where the latest in a long line of decisions in one direction now bans the Muslim headscarf, the hijab.
Before Islam invaded and conquered the country, Tajikistan had a different and older culture that has long been suppressed. However, for the past 25 years, governments and a president, Emomali Rahmon, have pursued policies aimed at reclaiming the country from Islam.
To “prevent superstition and extremism”
The recent decision is the 35th in a series of measures aimed at “protecting national cultural values” and “preventing superstition and extremism”. The law, which was approved a few days ago by the upper house of parliament, the Majlisi Milli, bans not only the hijab but also certain other types of “foreign clothing”.
Women are advised by the government and parliament to wear traditional Tajik national dress instead. Ordinary citizens who break the law and continue to wear the Muslim hijab can be fined the equivalent of more than SEK 7 000.
For persons holding public office, the fine is considerably higher, equivalent to around SEK 50 000. Representatives of religious communities will be fined even more if they appear in the prohibited garment.
Policy to avoid a new civil war
The decision is described by some as surprising given that 96% of the Central Asian country’s 10 million inhabitants were recorded as Muslim in the last census held in 2020. At the same time, it is a reflection of the secular and national-cultural policy line that President Rahmon has been pursuing since 1997.
The policy has its origins in the five-year civil war that divided the country and the peace that was concluded in 1997. Initially, Rahmon was forced to co-govern with radical Islamist parties but has gradually driven them out, including the Tajikistan Islamic Resurrection Party (TIRP), which is now classified as a terrorist organization in the country on suspicion of involvement in a bloody but failed coup d’état.
Partially banned for a long time
The hijab has been banned for a number of years in public institutions, such as universities and government buildings, but now the ban is being extended to all public places. On the male side, far-reaching efforts are also being made to remove the long Muslim beards. In criminal contexts, perpetrators with such beards have been forcibly shaved.
Another example of a law with a similar purpose is the Parental Responsibility Act, which came into force in 2011. Parents are prohibited from sending their children to religious education abroad. Minors under 18 are also not allowed to attend places of worship without special permission.
Thousands of mosques have closed
Thousands of mosques have been closed as part of the policy described. In 2017 alone, as many as 1,938 mosques were closed, according to official data. In many cases, the buildings are converted into things like tea shops and health centers.
Since the arrest of Muslim terrorists with Tajik passports in connection with a recent bloody attack in Moscow, the Tajik government has further sharpened its policy in this area.
According to President Rahmon, the overall policy aims to make Tajikistan “democratic, sovereign, law-based and secular”. No one is banned from practicing their religion, no matter what it is. But the president has urged residents to: “Do not forget your own culture”.
Reaction to Islamization in the West
In many Western European countries, policy makers are increasingly catering to Muslim and Islamist interests. There is no experience of what Muslim rule means for a country. Hijab is just one of many examples of Muslim phenomena welcomed from above, despite widespread grassroots criticism.
In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party recently enjoyed great success in the elections and are now in government. The party is highly critical of anything to do with Islam.
France already legislated in 2004 against the wearing of ‘symbols or clothing through which pupils conspicuously display their religious affiliation’, notably the Muslim hijab, in public primary, middle and secondary schools, but not its universities. Similarly to the Netherlands, the pro-nationalist National Coalition has significantly advanced its positions in general elections.
A similar selective hijab ban was passed into law in Austria in 2017, with accompanying fines of several thousand euros for violators. In Italy, the Muslim full-coverage swimsuit – the ‘burkini’ – has been banned in bathhouses and on beaches since 2009. The full-face veil – niqab or burqa – has been banned in public places in Germany, Belgium, Norway and Bulgaria, among others.
Criticism for limiting religious criticism
Muslim and left-liberal politicians are opposed to anything that they believe restricts religious freedom. The left has been criticized for siding with the oppression of women instead of gender equality.
But even conservatives have been criticized for not putting their foot down and instead welcoming the religion that is alien to the West. In the UK, David Cameron’s government rejected a bill in 2013 that would have banned the burqa/niqab in public places. The motivation was that “women should have the freedom to choose what they wear”.
In neighboring Ireland, a burqa ban has also been rejected by the government. This happened in 2018 and the justification was that religious freedom outweighed, for example, gender equality.
Tajikistan is not the only Muslim-majority country to ban the hijab, burqa and niqab in public places such as schools, universities and government buildings. Examples include Kosovo (2009), Azerbaijan (2010), Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Tunisia already did so in 1981, but radical Muslim forces in the country managed to lift parts of the ban in 2011.