London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has issued a warning that American citizens may face legal consequences for social media posts that violate UK laws, leading to extradition and prosecution. Sir Mark told Sky News: “…whether you’re in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you.”
In other news, Russia fought intense battles against thousands of Ukrainian troops today during Ukraine’s largest incursion on Moscow’s territory since the start of the war.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, Gary Fouse, JW, LP, 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.
After Tim Walz Became Governor, Minnesotans Fled the State — and Took Almost $5 Billion With Them
Since Tim Walz became governor, Minnesota has faced an exodus of residents fleeing the state, taking nearly $5 billion of household income with them, according to data reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
On net, nearly 46,000 Minnesotans left between April 1, 2020, and July 1, 2023, according to the most recently available Census data, with many fleeing Walz’s major tax increases for the income tax-free states of Florida and Texas. The Land of 10,000 Lakes lost more than 19,000 in 2022 alone, the biggest drop in at least 30 years.
It’s not clear what led to the exodus, but in addition to tax surges, spending increases, and other progressive initiatives, Minnesota, under Walz’s watch, has faced a spike in violent crime and a drop in academic achievement. The downward domestic migration trend became apparent soon after Walz—who was recently tapped as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate—became governor.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Authored by Paul D. Thacker via The Disinformation Chronicle,
Hey guys, I had a piece last week in UnHerd discussing hundreds of emails I had gone through that found social media influencer Zeynep Tufekci pressured the prestigious medical nonprofit Cochrane to put out a statement attacking their own review that found there is little evidence that masks stop respiratory viruses. One of the people Tufekci interviewed for the piece also told me that she twisted his words, which is obvious from the emails.
I want to walk you through some of those emails, but if you’d like to read the piece in UnHerd, it’s here: How the NYT undermined mask evidence: Leaked emails reveal how scientists were smeared.
The emails were sent to me after someone had filed Freedom of Information requests at different universities, and I got others from a person at Cochrane who is upset at what is happening inside the organization. Let’s first set the stage for what happened.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden ‘Can’t Even Say How Old I Am’ as Prez Gives Blunt Explanation for Leaving 2024 Race
President Biden offered a blunt explanation this week about why he got out of the 2024 presidential race.
“Although it’s a great honor to be a president, I think I have an obligation to the country to do what I — most important thing you can do. And that is — we must, we must, we must defeat Trump,” Biden said during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, which is set to air Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UVALDE, Texas — Body-worn camera footage released by the City of Uvalde on Saturday provided the first glimpse of authorities breaching the classrooms of Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022, about 70 minutes after a gunman entered the school and opened fire.
The records were released in response to a lawsuit filed by news organizations, including KSAT TV, seeking records from the police response to the massacre. The city also released dash camera footage, emergency radio transmissions, 911 calls, and written records.
Body-worn camera footage from the Uvalde Police Department didn’t provide new revelations into the massacre, but it did confirm with visual proof that officers waited in the hallways while dispatch received 911 calls about a gunman in the school. Records released Saturday also included 911 audio from children inside the classroom calling for help.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
MINNEAPOLIS — A bar owner whose nearly century-old watering hole was torched by rioters during the 2020 George Floyd riots slammed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as a “criminal” who let the city descend into a lawless hellscape by refusing to immediately call in the National Guard.
Bill Hupp, who owned the Hexagon Bar in the Seward neighborhood, roared that the fiery destruction of his family-run business rested on Walz’s shoulders.
“It’s just complete neglect of the people you are supposed to represent,” the 74-year-old father of six said of Walz’s actions at the time.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former YouTube CEO and one of Google’s earliest employees, Susan Wojcicki, passed away at 56 after a two-year struggle with lung cancer, her husband, Dennis Troper, announced via a Facebook post late Friday night.
“It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki passing. My beloved wife of 26 years and mother to our five children left us today after 2 years of living with non small cell lung cancer,” Troper said in the post.
He continued, “Susan was not just my best friend and partner in life, but a brilliant mind, a loving mother, and a dear friend to many. Her impact on our family and the world was immeasurable,” adding, “We are heartbroken, but grateful for the time we had with her. Please keep our family in your thoughts as we navigate this difficult time.”
Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai shared a tribute to Wojcicki on X, “She is as core to the history of Google as anyone, and it’s hard to imagine the world without her.”
Wojcicki was YouTube’s CEO from 2014 to 2023. She was also one of Google’s first employees in 1999.
She was instrumental in heavy-handed censorship during the virus pandemic, expanding YouTube’s medical misinformation policy that censored anyone producing content that contradicted the government health authorities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Harris Campaign Admits Walz ‘Misspoke’ About Past Military Career as ‘Stolen Valor’ Criticism Grows
Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign admitted Friday that her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz “misspoke” about his past military service as a growing chorus of critics accuse him of “stolen valor.”
“Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country — in fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. It’s the American way,” Team Harris said in a statement to NBC News Friday.
“In making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the Governor misspoke. He did handle weapons of war and believes strongly that only military members trained to carry those deadly weapons should have access to them, unlike Donald Trump and JD Vance who prioritize the gun lobby over our children.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Harris VP Walz as Minnesota Governor Last Year Signed Into Law Flurry of Progressive Bills
Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential running-mate Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz last year signed into law a string of progressive bills across an array of policy issues.
As Harris narrowed her choice for a running mate, Walz emerged as the favorite of their Democratic Party’s progressive wing, due in part to his legislative record.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Illinois Facing Growing Housing Crisis as Property Taxes Continue to Increase
Illinois now ranks as the least affordable state for housing in the Midwest, with 1 in 3 households paying more than 30% of their income for housing as property taxes continue to rise.
U.S. Census Bureau data analyzed by the Illinois Policy Institute also shows that at least 15% of households pay upwards of 50% of their income for housing, rendering them by federal standards as “severely burdened.”
At the same time, data shows that the typical homeowner’s property taxes have jumped by $756 since 2019, leaving the state home to the second-highest rates in the country.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
IRS Whistleblower Claim That Evidence on Hunter Biden Swept Under the Rug Bolstered by Court Filing
The evidence prosecutors plan to cite in Hunter Biden’s California federal tax trial in the coming months states that the first son was paid by a foreign client in exchange for influencing U.S. policy. This provides evidence for a key claim the IRS whistleblowers brought to Congress last year: the Department of Justice had evidence of crimes by Hunter Biden, but failed to charge them before the statute of limitations expired.
According to motions filed earlier this week, federal prosecutors are planning to cite evidence at trial that Hunter Biden and his business associates were paid by a Romanian businessman to influence U.S. policy and public opinion.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judges Back Meta in Vaccine “Misinformation” Battle, Free Speech Advocates Vow to Fight on
The 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals ruled this week in favor of Meta, Facebook’s parent company. The case was brought forward by the Children’s Health Defense (CHD) over allegations that the social media giant violated free speech rights.
The lawsuit, initiated in August 2020 and later updated in December, claimed that Facebook, along with its CEO Mark Zuckerberg and two fact-checking entities, Science Feedback, and the Poynter Institute’s PolitiFact site, was complicit in an unconstitutional act of privately exercising governmental censorship. CHD alleges that Facebook, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal institutions, is censoring content and discussions that the government is barred from suppressing under the First Amendment.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Orders Biden DOJ to Respond to Wrongful Death Charges From Ashli Babbitt’s Family
A federal judge has ordered Democrat President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) to respond to wrongful death charges from the family of Ashli Babbitt.
Babbitt is the 35-year-old Air Force Veteran who was shot dead by a Capitol Police officer on January 6th, 2021.
Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee, gave the DOJ until September 6 to answer charges of assault and battery, negligence, and wrongful death in the $30 million case.
The officer who killed Babbitt, Michael Byrd, was not charged by the DOJ.
Byrd has faced no disciplinary action from Capitol Police.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judges Who Said They Wouldn’t Hire Columbia Graduates Have Been Cleared of Misconduct: Report
A judicial council cleared a group of federal judges who said they wouldn’t hire graduates from Columbia University as law clerks over misconduct charges.
The federal judges said a few months ago that they would not hire students at Columbia University who participated in the anti-Israel protests that took place following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
This resulted in a complaint being filed against the judges for discrimination, according to Campus Reform.
Fifth Circuit Court chief judge Priscilla Richman dismissed the complaint and stated that she didn’t find misconduct by the defendants.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A police officer has been hospitalized with a critical brain injury after protests turned violent during a confrontation in Ferguson outside the Ferguson Police Department. Two others were also injured during the confrontation between protesters and police.
According to Fox 2 Now, Officer Travis Brown is fighting for his life at the hospital with a brain injury after being knocked to the ground be a protester, according to the police. Several protesters have been arrested with charges and two other police officers were also hurt aside from Brown. Elijah Gantt, 28, is the man accused of knocking Brown to the ground, causing the brain injury. Gantt has been charged with first-degree assault, two counts of fourth-degree assault, resisting arrest, and first-degree property damage.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kamala’s Arizona Campaign Stop Was by Invitation Only — Not Open to the Public: Report
The campaign rally for Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris as well as her running mate Tim Walz was “invitation only” and not open to the public. Invite emails were sent out to attendees beforehand and they were required to RSVP and come with a matching ID to get in, according to a local Arizona outlet.
KJZZ Phoenix reported ahead of the Arizona rally on Friday that the event was not open to the public and attendees were only able to go if they RSVPed to a non-transferable email invite. Those who were invited to the rally were told to arrive no later than 3:30pm and had to bring an ID that matched their identification.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Leaked Zoom Footage From Biden’s 2020 Campaign Exposes Voter Manipulation and Censorship Tactics
Leaked recordings from Zoom calls held by Democrat President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign have exposed the disturbing tactics that were used to manipulate voters.
A Zoom call from shortly after the 2020 presidential election reveals that the Biden-Harris campaign used technology, psychology, and manipulation to sway voters, RedState reported.
The recently surfaced video recording outlined these tactics.
The call, which occurred on Nov. 18, 2020, was a postmortem of the election strategy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Louisiana’s New Law Sparks First Amendment Showdown
Under Louisiana’s new, recently enacted law (HB 173), journalists and other citizens are limited in their right to film the police.
Anyone who finds themselves within 25 feet of an on-duty officer doing that — after being warned to stop or retreat — could face misdemeanor charges.
Now a group of Louisiana-based media companies is challenging the new legislation by suing the state — Attorney General Liz Murrill and two other officials — on First Amendment grounds, seeking an injunction.
The plaintiffs behind the Deep South Today v. Murrill case, brought before the US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, go into the importance of the media being able to cover police activity to ensure public scrutiny and avoid miscarriage of justice.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A man has been charged for the suspected assault of Ferguson police officer Travis Brown after a protest outside the Ferguson police station in Missouri turned violent on Friday night. Four other protesters were arrested during the protest.
According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Elijah Gantt, 28, of East St. Louis, has been charged with two counts of fourth-degree assault, first-degree assault, as well as property damage. He is being held on a $500,000 cash-only bond.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democratic vice-presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz touts his credentials as a former public school teacher on the campaign trail — but the North Star State’s education performance has deteriorated under his leadership, critics told The Post.
Since Walz entered the governor’s office in 2019, students’ comprehension statewide for reading and math has plummeted, while his administration has come under fire for pushing what’s been described as an extremist, ideology-influenced curricula in the classroom.
“He spent most of the last two years working to accommodate far-left demands in his party rather than working to address real education issues in our state,” Republican state Sen. Carla Nelson, also a former teacher, told The Post.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
MSM Absent in Reporting “Dozens of Night Time Low Temp Records” Across US
Climate alarmists and their left-wing corporate media allies, who constantly spread fear and anxiety among an already heavily medicated population, churn out endless streams of climate doom headlines right at the peak of the Northern Hemisphere summer (how convenient). They deliberately ignore the fact that the 2022 Tonga Volcano eruption is contributing to some of the Earth’s warming—and they’ll conveniently leave out this critical piece of climate news:
“Dozens of night time low temp records have been broken the last 2 mornings. Many folks waking up to temps in the upper 40s and lower 50s this morning,” private weather forecaster BAM Weather wrote on X.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Audio Corroborates Claims Biden Had a Medical Emergency in Vegas
Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news
Police audio has been released revealing that law enforcement in Las Vegas were engaged in a snap operation to secure a route for Joe Biden to get to University Medical hospital, a trauma center, corroborating previous reports that there was some sort of medical emergency involving Biden before he stepped down as the Democratic nominee.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Portland Antifa member has been convicted of disorderly conduct this week after he was part of a mob of people who were accosting and following a group of Jewish people who were protesting against Hamas in downtown Portland.
Christopher Donald Fellini, 35, was arrested in March after he followed the group of Jewish protesters, yelling at them and nearly getting physical with those present. He has a rap sheet containing a history of prior charges and arrests having to do with violence at riots and protests.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Robberies and assaults are skyrocketing in Central Park, leaving tourists and lifelong New Yorkers on edge thanks to a troubling mix of violent teens, unhinged vagrants and lawless migrants roaming the troubled green space.
There’s been a 222% spike in the number of robberies so far in 2024, compared to the same point in 2023, NYPD data show.
This year’s 29 incidents already surpasses the total number reported in 2019, according to the data.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Second Court Crushes Biden’s Assault on AR-Style Pistols
Today another federal court rejected President Joe Biden’s war on guns, ruling against his effort to require 3 million to 7 million owners of AR-style pistols to register and pay a $200 tax on their firearms or face prison.
In the latest blow to liberal gun control politicians and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the government’s plan, claiming it was likely to get tossed by the Supreme Court.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The family of a San Francisco cop shot dead in 2004 says they won’t support Vice President Kamala Harris after she put politics before justice — adding that Donald Trump is the “better option” for police departments across the US.
Isaac Espinoza, a 29-year-old husband and father, was shot by then-22-year-old gang member David Hill during a traffic stop in the Bayview District of San Francisco the night before Easter.
Harris, just months into her role as district attorney, got on television three days after the killing to announce that she wouldn’t seek the death penalty — before even speaking with the heartbroken family.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Minnesota retirement system for public school teachers under Gov. Tim Walz is “cooking the books” by vastly underreporting annual fees paid to Wall Street investment managers — and posting near-impossible gains tantamount to a “Madoff miracle,” a top pension investigator said.
The state-run Teachers Retirement Association, or TRA, has publicly disclosed less than 10% of an estimated $2.9 billion spent on fees in the past 10 years, said Edward Siedle, a former US Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer and independent pension investigator.
The TRA also posted gains claiming it beat its own custom benchmark over periods of one, five, 10, 20 and 30 years by exactly 0.2%, which Siedle called “virtually impossible.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Campaign Reports Email Hack, Points to Possible Iranian Role
Former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign announced on Saturday that it had been hacked, suggesting Iranian actors were involved in the theft and distribution of sensitive internal documents. The campaign did not provide specific evidence linking Iran to the hack. This claim follows a Microsoft report detailing foreign interference attempts in the 2024 US election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Accuses Kamala Harris and Tim Walz of Running on a ‘Fake Record’ at Montana Rally
Former President Donald Trump accused Vice President Kamala Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, of running on a “fake record” during a campaign rally in Montana on Friday.
Trump, whose plane was diverted to Billings earlier in the day due to mechanical problems, took the stage at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman an hour and a half later than advertised but wasted little time going after his 2024 opponent.
“So when you’re commander in chief, you don’t go to the run and hide away from the press,” the former president, 78, said, seemingly alluding to Harris’ refusal to give media interviews or hold a press conference since replacing President Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.
“You know, they run and they wanna go on a record that’s a fake record. They have a fake record, both of them,” he continued, in an apparent reference to Harris and Walz.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Uvalde School Shooter’s Uncle Tried to Intervene, But His Call Came 10 Minutes After Gunman Was Dead
DALLAS (AP) — The uncle of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooter who killed 19 students and two teachers begged police to let him try to talk his nephew down, according to a 911 call included in a massive trove of audio and video recordings released by city officials Saturday.
The records connected to the May 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School were released by Uvalde officials after a prolonged legal fight. The Associated Press and other news organizations brought a lawsuit after the officials initially refused to publicly release the information.
“Maybe he could listen to me because he does listen to me, everything I tell him he does listen to me,” the man, who identified himself as Armando Ramos, said on the 911 call. “Maybe he could stand down or do something to turn himself in,” Ramos said, his voice cracking.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
What Effect Will Voter ID Laws Have in the 2024 Election?
Since the last presidential election in the United States, four states have implemented strict photo ID laws at the polls, bringing the count of places with these types of laws to 10. Additionally, three more states have made their ID laws stricter and in one state, such a change was blocked by courts.
Around 29 million Americans of voting age live in states where voter ID laws were tightened, while the number of those living under strict photo ID requirements rose from fewer than 30 million to more than 50 million. Research by the University of Maryland shows that as of the fall of 2023, almost 50 million Americans or around 20 percent of adults citizens were estimated to not have a valid driver’s license or at least not one with their current name or address on it, among them 23 million Democrats, 15.7 million Republicans and 10.5 million Independents.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
After Foiled Taylor Swift Concert Plot, UN Official Calls ISIS-K ‘Greatest’ Terror Threat to Europe
The United Nations counterterrorism chief said Europe faces a more acute threat from ISIS-K, the Islamic State affiliate to whom a 19-year old man pledged allegiance before plotting to terrorize Taylor Swift’s concertgoers in Vienna this week.
Vladimir Vorokov, the UN undersecretary for counterterrorism, said Thursday the ISIS-K threat, “regrettably,” has “become manifest” in Vienna, where three of Swift’s concerts were canceled when Austrian authorities arrested three suspects, and that the ISIS satellite is increasing in strength and influence.
“The group is considered the greatest external terrorist threat to the continent,” Vorokov told the UN Security Council, citing its “intensified” recruitment efforts and array of financial and logistical nodes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Says Ex-Scottish Leader Humza Yousaf is ‘Super Racist,’ ‘Loathes White People’
Tech billionaire Elon Musk branded former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf as “super racist” over the far-left politician’s previous complaints about too many white people being in positions of authority in Scotland.
Continuing his row with the political establishment in the United Kingdom, X boss Elon Musk turned his fire on Humza Yousaf, who led the locally-devolved government in Scotland for a little over a year before being unceremoniously forced out of office in May.
Responding to Yousaf’s infamous Black Lives Matter-inspired 2020 speech in the Scottish Parliament, in which he listed off the major positions of power held by white people in Scotland, Musk branded the leftist politician as “super, super racist.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Free Speech is Under Siege in Starmer’s UK
The UK is currently experiencing a massive attack on free speech, spearheaded by new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is encouraging police to use the full force of controversial British laws to crack down on social media posts.
The push for more online censorship has spanned many years, and different governments in the UK have gained new momentum with the recent protests and riots.
Emboldened by the crisis, officials seem to be using it to step up the already existing, multi-year effort to get social media companies to “cooperate” with the authorities.
It has now emerged that the government in London has started flagging content it deems to be “misinformation” — but also something referred to as “concerning content.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany is Europe’s Prime Target for Audacious ATM Bombings
(Bloomberg) — In the early morning hours of May 6, 2023, an explosion occurred in a bank in the German town of Bad Homburg, sending shattered glass as far as 30 meters away. Two men had broken into the building and filled the ATM with explosives. Once the device did its job, they grabbed €165,000 in cash, jumped into the waiting getaway car and rushed off into the night.
The theft took just a couple of minutes.
Almost every day — or usually, every night — an ATM is blown up somewhere in Germany. Europe’s biggest economy has become the prime target for sophisticated smash-and-grab operations by organized criminal groups. Very few people rob banks anymore, it’s not worth it. ATM bombings are quicker, less risky and the payouts are significantly higher.
The Federal Criminal Police Office has been monitoring this type of crime since 2005, when numbers started to rise across Europe. Ten years later, they skyrocketed in Germany. Attacks doubled in 2016 to 318, and peaked in 2022, when 496 ATMs were blown up.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lithuania’s New Army Chief: Universal Conscription Would be Strong Message to Allies — BNS Interview
VILNIUS — The introduction of universal conscription in Lithuania would send a strong political message to allies, the country’s new Chief of Defense Raimundas Vaiksnoras says, adding, however, that such a model can only be introduced after proper preparations.
“I have not been and will not be an advocate and a fan of diving headfirst into universal conscription. We have to prepare so that we don’t have a reverse process, a reverse effect,” the general said in an interview with BNS. “Let’s start with the men and the boys, that’s achievable.”
Some 3,800 conscripts are expected to be called up this year, but Lithuania’s political leadership predicts that this number could reach 7,000 over the next five years.
Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas has said that this “would be de facto universal conscription”.
Lithuania had mulled introducing compulsory conscription for females, but as this would require more funds, the matter has been postponed.
Vaiksnoras argues that Lithuania needs to have a strong reserve of young post-conscription people.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
London’s Metropolitan Police chief warned that officials will not only be cracking down on British citizens for commentary on the riots in the U.K., but on American citizens as well.
“We will throw the full force of the law at people. And whether you’re in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you,” Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told Sky News.
[…]
A Sky News reporter asked Commissioner Rowley to further explain his warning, arguing that high profile figures have been “whipping up the hatred,” and that “the likes of Elon Musk” have been getting involved. She then asked what the police force’s plan will be “when it comes to dealing with people who are whipping up this kind of behavior from behind the keyboard who may be in a different country?”
Rowley answered by telling the reporter, “Being a keyboard warrior does not make you safe from the law.”
“You can be guilty of offenses of incitement, of stirring up racial hatred, there are numerous terrorist offenses regarding the publishing of material,” he said. “All of those offenses are in play if people are provoking hatred and violence on the streets, and we will come after those individuals just as we will physically confront on the streets the thugs and the yobs who are taking — who are causing the problems for communities.”
| — Hat tip: Gary Fouse | [Return to headlines] |
UK Police Commissioner Threatens to Extradite and Jail Americans for Social Media Posts
London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley has issued a warning that American citizens and others in the world could face legal consequences for social media posts that violate UK laws, leading to extradition to the country.
“We will throw the full force of the law at people. And whether you’re in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you,” Rowley stated.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Hundreds of Leftists Protest Outside Farage Party Offices in London
The London offices of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party were surrounded by hundreds of leftist protesters on Saturday amid attempts to blame the Brexit campaigner for the recent bout of anti-mass migration riots in Britain.
As leftist “anti-racism” rallies took place across the UK on Saturday, hundreds carrying ‘Stand Up to Racism’ placards and waving Palestinian flags descended upon the offices for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in London.
According to GB News, the leftist crowd could be heard chanting, “Nazi scum — off our streets” and “stop Farage”. A banner featuring a swastika being tossed into a bin was also seen at the demonstration.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
THE devastated parents of a six-year-old girl tragically killed in the horrific Southport attack have revealed her sister saw the stabbing — but managed to escape.
Bebe King was one of three young girls killed in a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift dance class in the Merseyside town last month.
The six-year-old was killed alongside Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine.
Bebe’s family have released a tribute to their “precious daughter” this afternoon.
They said Bebe was a “sweet, kind, and spirited girl” adored by her family.
[…]
The family also revealed that Bebe’s older sister Genie escaped after witnessing the horror attack.
They said: “We want to acknowledge our older daughter, Genie, who witnessed the attack and managed to escape.
“She has shown such incredible strength and courage, and we are so proud of her.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Starmer’s Push to Police “Fake News” Sparks Major Censorship Concerns
Under proposals currently being considered, the Labour Party, led by the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, plans to compel tech companies to eliminate “fake news” from their platforms. These measures, initiated in response to recent riots, have sparked controversy over potential infringements on free speech.
Keir Starmer, addressing these concerns last Friday, indicated that the government would reassess social media regulations to deter future disturbances. The Telegraph has reported that part of this reevaluation involves imposing obligations on social media entities to curb “legal but harmful” content. This would obligate platforms to limit or remove content spreading false information about various sensitive subjects, including asylum seekers and self-harm, irrespective of its legality.
Critics, however, have voiced apprehensions that these measures could suppress free expression.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More Than 90 Killed by Israeli Strike on a School Where Thousands Were Sheltering, Officials Say
An airstrike by the Israel Defense Forces on a school-turned-shelter killed more than 93 people and injured dozens more on Saturday morning, according to Gaza’s civil defense, in one of the deadliest attacks in the 10-month war as mediators discussed ongoing efforts to de-escalate soaring tensions in the region.
The strikes hit the Tabeen school in Gaza City, including the mosque inside it, as congregants were performing dawn prayers.
The IDF said it was targeting a Hamas command center embedded in the school, and that “numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians,” including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and intelligence information.
The IDF and Shin Bet, Israel’s internal intelligence service, said in a statement Saturday that “at least 19 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were eliminated.” They also disputed the extent of the damage reported by Gaza officials.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Overnight Drone Attack Targets US Troops Occupying Syria
Update(2210ET): American troops occupying northeast Syria have come under overnight attack by a drone, which some reports say was sent by ‘pro-Iran’ militants.
US officials did not indicate that there were any initial casualties, in what is the second such attack on a US base in less than a week. “Initial reports do not indicate any injuries, however medical evaluations are ongoing. We are currently conducting a damage assessment,” a defense official told Reuters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Belarus Downs Ukrainian Drones Amid Rising Conflict Tensions
Belarusian President Lukashenko claimed that a dozen Ukrainian drones were shot down over southern Belarus overnight. He accused Ukraine of repeatedly violating Belarusian airspace and said air defence forces were put on full alert. Lukashenko also reported additional drones heading towards Russian cities, which were allegedly intercepted by Russian defences after a warning from Belarus.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Belarus Accuses Ukraine of Violating Airspace, Sends More Troops to Border
Belarus sent more troops to reinforce its border with Ukraine on Saturday, saying Ukrainian drones had violated its airspace during Kyiv’s military incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.
Belarus’ Foreign Ministry summoned Ukraine’s charge d’affaires, demanded measures to ensure such incidents would not recur and suggested a repeat would prompt Belarus to consider whether Kyiv’s diplomatic presence in Minsk was “appropriate”.
President Alexander Lukashenko, addressing a meeting in eastern Belarus, said air defence forces on Friday destroyed several of “about a dozen” Ukrainian drones after they violated Belarusian airspace in the Mogilev region bordering Russia.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine forces’ cross-border attack into Russia’s Kursk region has entered a fifth day, with the Russian defense ministry acknowledging it is “continuing to repel” the offensive which has shocked Kremlin leadership and the population.
But this has apparently led to crackdowns on US-based social media platforms and messaging apps. Friday into Saturday there have been widespread reports that Russia has blocked the Signal messaging app while also throttling YouTube.
State media regulator Roskomnadzor told the RBC business daily on Friday that Signal has been banned from the country for “violations” of national law.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Battles Thousands of Ukrainian Troops as Deep as 20km Into Their Territory After Incursion
Intense battles raged over the Russian border on Saturday, after thousands of Ukrainian troops launched a large-scale incursion into the country which invaded them in 2022.
Russia fought intense battles against thousands of Ukrainian troops on Saturday, following Ukraine’s largest incursion on Moscow’s territory since the start of the war in 2022.
Ukrainian troops have reportedly pushed as deep as 20km into the Russian territory of Kursk.
Kyiv’s forces had launched an attack over the Russian border on Tuesday, sweeping across Kursk in a surprise attack supported by drones and artillery fire.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday that “the armed forces continue to repel the attempted invasion by the Ukrainian armed forces,” adding that fighting was focused around settlements 10-20km inside Russia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Launches ‘Counter-Terror’ Operation Against Ukraine Incursion
(AFP) — Moscow on Saturday mounted a “counter-terror operation” in three border regions adjoining Ukraine to halt Kyiv’s biggest cross-border offensive in the two-and-a-half-year conflict.
Ukrainian units stormed across the border into Russia’s western Kursk region on Tuesday morning in a shock attack and have advanced several kilometres, according to independent analysts.
Russia’s army has rushed in extra troops and equipment, including convoys of tanks, rocket launchers and aviation units — though neither side has given precise details on the extent of the forces they have committed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Says it Hit & Destroyed Russian Offshore Gas Platform in Black Sea
Ukraine says its military has targeted and destroyed an offshore gas platform in the Black Sea which had allegedly been converted to a forward operating sea base by Moscow forces.
“Ukraine’s navy and military intelligence have attacked and damaged a former offshore gas platform used by Russian forces in the Black Sea,” a Ukraine navy spokesman said Saturday.
The Ukrainians further released a video purporting to show the strike. The nighttime footage shows a large explosion and fire engulfing an offshore platform. Dozens of people may have been killed in the attack, but it is unconfirmed whether they were military or civilian platform operators.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Volodymyr Zelensky Hails Ukraine Attack ‘Pushing the War’ Into Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday acknowledged for the first time the recent offensive into the western Russian border region of Kursk, referring to actions “pushing the war into the aggressor’s territory”.
Zelensky had previously stayed silent about the operation.
In his nightly video address, the president said he had discussed the operation with top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, while not forgetting the battles troops face on the difficult eastern front
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Bombshell Japanese Study Exposes 4900% Spike in Heart Failure Among COVID-Vaxxed
Leading pharmaceutical scientists in Japan have just exposed a staggering surge in the risk of heart failure for people who have been injected with a Covid mRNA shot.
According to a team of Japanese researchers from the Division of Pharmacodynamics at Keio University Faculty of Pharmacy and Yokohama General Hospital, the risk of heart failure surges by up to 4,900% after a person receives a Covid mRNA injection.
The research team, led by Professor Keisuke Takada, found that the risk of myocarditis is 20-50 times greater after receiving the shot.
They calculated reporting odds ratios (RORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CIs) for the association between the vaccines and myocarditis and pericarditis based on data from the Japanese government’s vaccine adverse event database.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Climate Fear-Mongering Fail: Great Barrier Reef Sees Third Record Year of Coral Growth
Authored by Chris Morrison via DailySceptic.org
Massive increases in coral across the Australian Great Barrier Reef (GBR) have been reported for 2023-24 making it the third record year in a row of heavy growth. Across almost all parts of the 1,500 mile long reef, from the warmer northern waters to the cooler conditions in the south, coral is now at its highest level since detailed observations began. The inconvenient news has been ignored in mainstream media which, curiously, have focused on a non-story in Nature that claimed “climate change” poses an “existential threat” to the GBR.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Top Pro-Vax Journalist Dies of ‘Aggressive’ Brain Cancer
A prominent corporate media journalist, who promoted Covid mRNA vaccines and shamed “anti-vaxxers,” has died from “aggressive” brain cancer.
Jane Hansen was a reporter for the Australian TV show “A Current Affair.”
She died on the Gold Coast in Australia on Tuesday, her family revealed.
Hansen, aged in her 50s, worked at The Sunday Telegraph, having previously reported as a war correspondent and for “A Current Affair.”
She was the author of a controversial “A Current Affair” documentary called “Anti-Vaxxers Exposed.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Border Czar Kamala Admits Immigration is Broken Under Her Administration, Pledges to ‘Fix It’
Vice President Kamala Harris told her audience at an Arizona rally on Friday evening that the immigration policies of the country are “broken” and that she plans on fixing it if she becomes president. This comes as criticism of Harris’ job on the border as part of the Biden-Harris administration has ticked up since she became the Democratic nominee for the 2024 election, with many calling back to her being appointed as the “border czar” for the White House.
Harris touted her record of being the Attorney General of California in the prosecution of criminal activity related to illegal immigration and then added. “We know our immigration system is broken, and we know what it takes to fix it.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Exclusive: 2K Chinese Migrants Encountered at Southwest Border in July
According to a DHS report reviewed by Breitbart Texas, 1,953 migrants from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) were apprehended at the southwest border during the month of July. This brings this year’s total number of PRC nationals apprehended at the border to 35,300.
The unofficial report, provided by a source within Customs and Border Protection, shows that apprehensions of migrants from the communist regime increased over 2023 figures when 24,125 were encountered. According to Customs and Border Protection reports, only six Chinese nationals were arrested at the Southwest border during the first month of the Biden-Harris administration, January 2021. According to the source, the increase in Chinese national crossings defies any explanation agency intelligence officials have been able to conclude through post-arrest debriefs.
More than 80 percent of the migrants from the PRC are single adults. After processing by the Border Patrol, most are released to pursue asylum claims in the United States with almost no exceptions. In July, for the first time since 2018, DHS coordinated a repatriation flight of more than 100 PRC nationals. The source says the solitary flight was merely for show and has done little to stop the entries.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Marriott Sues Franchisee for Turning Queens Hotel Into Migrant Shelter
Marriott International has filed a $2.6 million federal lawsuit against a hotel in Queens for becoming a migrant shelter in violation of its franchise agreement.
The hotel chain claims the owners of the Pride Hotel in Jamaica had a 2015 deal with Marriott to operate a dual-branded Aloft and Element hotel at 149-03 Archer Avenue, according to the complaint filed last week in the Southern District of New York.
Marriott alleged the hotel’s owner, Pride Hospitality Group, made a “lucrative” agreement with the city to house migrants and asylum seekers “just months before” its slated Nov. 1 opening, after eight years of construction. In doing so, it broke the agreement and gave up the right to use Marriott branding.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Multiple States Sue the Biden Administration to Stop Expanding ACA to Cover Illegal Aliens
Fifteen states have filed a lawsuit against the federal government challenging a rule that allows healthcare coverage from the Affordable Care Act to be given to illegal aliens.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is also being sued by the states. The current law allows health benefits from the Affordable Care Act to be given to those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More people will leave Sweden than arrive in 2024, a major turnaround for the country, which was once the most enthusiastic adopter of mass migration in Europe, and which experienced all the social unrest that seems to inevitably come with it.
The Swedish government has hailed its new anti-mass migration policies, as migrants start leaving the country in larger numbers, meaning it now has net emigration for the first time in over 50 years. The government’s Migration Minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, has announced that “Sweden has stopped being an asylum immigration country” on the back of the latest figures.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Establishment Media Clamour for Censorship Over Anti-Migration Riots
Establishment media in Britain, in an apparent attempt to deflect from the underlying issues facing the UK, have sought to blame social media for the anti-mass migration riots while urging the government to enact more stringent censorship measures.
Elon Musk, social media, and “disinformation” are the true culprits — legacy media outlets have argued — for the protests and riots that broke out across the country after three young girls were killed in a mass stabbing by an alleged second-generation migrant from Rwanda.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Facebook has nuked the account of famed evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins after he said that genetically male boxers should not be allowed to fight women in the Olympics.
On Saturday morning, Dawkins posted on X about the shocking censorship — saying that there was no reason given for the sudden removal of his account.
“My entire @facebook account has been deleted, seemingly (no reason given) because I tweeted that genetically male boxers such as Imane Khalif (XY undisputed) should not fight women in Olympics. Of course my opinion is open to civilised argument. But outright censorship?”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Parents Sue Oregon School District After Student Raped in Gender Neutral Bathroom
The parents of a former student at Tualatin High School in Oregon have filed a lawsuit against the school district, alleging that the district failed to protect their disabled daughter from being raped in a gender-neutral school bathroom during school hours.
The lawsuit, filed in Washington County Circuit Court on July 31, says that the assault occurred in April 2023 in a gender-neutral bathroom and that the district was negligent in its supervision of the student responsible, per KGW8.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two hour interview with Tommy Robinson here:
https://rumble.com/v5afn16-england-descend-into-full-tyranny-live-with-tommy-robinson-viva-frei.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * *
Sunday Chronicle:
The oligarchs, Big business and Ukraine’s farmland
Published on August 11, 2024 by Karl-Olov Arnstberg
In recent years, Western countries, donors and institutions have provided massive military and economic support to Ukraine, which is the largest recipient of US foreign aid.
It is the first time since the Marshall Plan that a European country holds this top position. As of December 2022, less than a year into the war, the United States had allocated over $113 billion to Ukraine, including $65 billion in military aid, which is more than the entire budget of the US State Department and USAID globally ($58 billion).
One of the explanations for the US provoking Russia to invade Ukraine is that they want access to Russia’s amazing raw material resources.
Russia covers a sixth of the earth’s land surface and it would be much better, the US believes, if the huge country was broken up into a number of smaller, and thus weaker, nations. War is a tool that often rearranges the geopolitical reality.
In the case of Ukraine, the media reporting is usually mainly about the material destruction and how missiles kill civilians. What is worse, but not a big topic in mainstream media, is the thousands of soldiers who die every day, in a war that Ukraine, despite the support of the US, the EU and NATO, has no chance of winning with less than a third world war, maybe even with nuclear weapons. The reporting is there, but it is sparse about the mass killing of young people going on at the front.
However, the media never mentions what is happening to Ukraine’s agricultural land, which is among the most fertile in the world and is sometimes called the breadbasket of Europe. The country has 41 million hectares of agricultural land, of which 33 million hectares are arable – which corresponds to a third of all arable land in the EU.
In August 2023, the American and independent The Oakland Institute presented a solid report entitled “War and Theft: The Takeover of Ukraine’s Agricultural Land.” There are two links, one to a summary,
https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/new-report-take-over-ukrainian-agricultural-land
partly to the report in its entirety.
https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/sites/oaklandinstitute.org/files/takeover-ukraine-agricultural-land.pdf
The report identifies the interests that control Ukraine’s agricultural land and presents an analysis of land ownership in the country. This includes the highly controversial land reform that took place in 2021, as part of the structural adjustment program initiated by Western financial institutions, following the installation of the Western-oriented government following the 2014 Maidan coup.
The creation of a market for agricultural land favors oligarchs and large agricultural companies. Due to the country’s widespread corruption and weak rule of law, smallholders have few opportunities to assert their rights in the face of increasing competition from agribusiness. UkraineInvest, the government agency created to attract foreign investment, promotes Ukraine as the land of agricultural opportunities, cheap labor and cheap land rent.
With 33 million hectares of arable land, Ukraine has large parts of the most fertile agricultural land in the world. Misguided privatization and corrupt governance since the early 1990s have concentrated land in the hands of a new oligarchic class. Here are the owners, with a Ukrainian oligarch as the largest and only Ukrainian owner:
1 Viktor Petrovych Ivanchyk
2 Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd, Canada
3 Kopernik Global Investors LLC, USA
4 Heptagon Capital LLP, United Kingdom
5 Investiční společnost České spořitelny, a.s. Czech Republic
6 NN Investment Partners Holdings N.V. Netherlands
7 Russell Investment Management LLC USA
8 Marathon Asset Management Ltd. USA
9 Universal Investment GmbH Germany
10 Acadian Asset Management LLC USA
And here are the biggest agricultural companies. Please note that only number ten is tax registered in Ukraine. Five are written in the tax havens of Cyprus and Luxembourg.
1 Kernel Holding S.A. Luxembourg
2 UkrLandFarming, Cyprus
3 MHP S.E., Cyprus
4 NA Corporate Solutions LLC USA
5 NCH Capital, USA
6 Astarta Holding N.V., The Netherlands
7 Industrial Milk Company (IMC) S.A., Luxembourg
8 PIF Saudi, Saudi Arabia
9 Agroton Public Limited, Cyprus
10 Nibulon, Ukraine
According to the Ukrainian government, private interests have also “stolen” about five million hectares from the state of Ukraine. The total amount of land controlled by oligarchs and large agricultural companies amounts to over nine million hectares, which represents 28 percent of the country’s arable land. The rest is cultivated and controlled by over eight million Ukrainian farmers.
– – – – –
2.
While the big companies focus on exports, Ukraine’s small and medium-sized agriculture plays a crucial role in the country’s food supply. They produce 99 percent of potatoes, 89 percent of vegetables, 78 percent of milk and 74 percent of beef. Yet most smallholder farmers have very limited access to finance. The banks mainly work with farmers who have more than 500 hectares. In addition, if loans are granted to small farms, they require extensive paperwork. The loans tend to be short-term, with high interest rates.
The largest landowners are a mix of oligarchs and a variety of foreign interests – primarily European and North American, including a US-based private equity fund and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Although run and still largely controlled by oligarchs, a number of companies have gone public and Western banks and investment funds now control a significant portion of their shares.
The report identifies several of the world’s largest investors, including Vanguard Group, Kopernik Global Investors, BNP Asset Management Holding, Goldman Sachs-owned NN Investment Partners Holdings and Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway’s sovereign wealth fund. A number of major US pension funds, foundations and universities have also invested in Ukrainian land through NCH Capital – a US-based private equity fund, which is the fifth largest landowner in the country.
Most of these companies are heavily indebted to Western financial institutions, in particular the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – the private sector arm of the World Bank. Together, these institutions have been major lenders, with close to US$1.7 billion lent to just six of Ukraine’s largest land-owning companies. Other important lenders are a mix of mainly European and North American financial institutions, both public and private. These debts not only give the creditors a financial stake in the operations of the agricultural enterprises, but also a significant influence over them.
The international financing directly benefits the oligarchs, several of whom are accused of fraud and corrupt dealings, as well as the foreign funds and companies that are shareholders or creditors. In parallel, Ukrainian farmers are forced to work with limited land areas and funding. Because of the war, many are now on the verge of bankruptcy and poverty. These farmers receive virtually no support, compared to the oligarchs and the big agribusinesses. The credit guarantee fund set up by the World Bank to support small farmers amounts to only US$5.4 million, a negligible amount compared to the billions channeled to the big players.
Ukraine is now the world’s third-largest debtor to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and this crippling debt burden is likely to lead to further pressure from the country’s creditors, bondholders and international financial institutions on how to proceed with post-war reconstruction. These powerful players have already made it clear that they will use their influence to further privatize the country’s public sector and liberalize its agriculture.
The report describes how Western countries’ support has been conditioned on a drastic structural adjustment program, which includes austerity measures, cuts in social safety nets and privatization of important sectors of the economy. A key condition has been the creation of a land market, which was introduced into law in 2020 under President Zelensky, despite opposition from a majority of Ukrainians who understood it would exacerbate corruption in the agricultural sector. The report confirms these concerns, showing that the creation of a land market is likely to further increase the amount of agricultural land ending up in the hands of oligarchs and large agribusinesses. The latter have already begun to expand their areas. Kernel has announced plans to increase its land bank to 700,000 hectares – up from 506,000 hectares by 2021. Similarly, MHP, which currently controls 360,000 hectares of land, is looking to expand its holdings to 550,000 hectares. MHP is also said to circumvent restrictions on the purchase of land by asking its employees to buy land and lease it to the company.
Furthermore, by supporting these large agribusinesses, international financial institutions are effectively subsidizing the concentration of land and an industrial farming model based on intensive use of fossil fuels, chemical additives and large-scale monoculture – which in the long run has proven to be environmentally and socially destructive. Small-scale farmers in Ukraine, on the other hand, have a great potential to lead the expansion of another production model based on ecological and environmental sustainability, i.e. production of healthy food.
– – – – –
3.
Russia has also seized large areas. For example, UkrLandFarming has lost control of 40 percent of its holdings, including 100,000 hectares in the southern Kherson region and 6,500 hectares in the eastern Luhansk region. HarvEast, which is controlled by SCM, has stated that it has lost almost all of its assets in Donetsk- region, as a result of the war, and lost control of more than 95,000 hectares of land near Mariupol.
Some of this land has been seized by other agricultural companies, who are taking advantage of the conflict to seize more land. For example, 40,500 hectares of the land lost by HarvEast has been seized by the Russian agricultural company Agrocomplex, which controls over 800,000 hectares of land in Russia and is headed by oligarch Alexander Tkachev, former Russian Minister of Agriculture.
In December 2022, a coalition of farmers and NGOs called on the Ukrainian government to repeal the 2020 Land Reform Law and all market transactions of land during the war and post-war period, “to ensure national security and the preservation of the country’s territorial integrity during the wartime and post-war reconstruction period” .
Professor Olena Borodina of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) explained:
– Today, thousands of boys and girls, farmers in the countryside, fight and die in the war. They lose everything. The processes for selling and buying land are liberalized and increasingly advertised. This really threatens the right of Ukrainians to their land, for which they give their lives.
Karl-Olov Arnstberg
https://morklaggning.wordpress.com/2024/08/11/sondagskronika-oligarkerna-big-business-och-ukrainas-jordbruksmark/
from Swedish by LN
I want to talk about the peculiarities of the Ukrainian invasion of Russia. I do not absolve Putin of responsibility for his crime, but there is one point that is significantly different.
Russia’s invasion was accompanied by political declarations and at least minimal concern for the civilian population.
Ukraine’s invasion is an invasion of embittered people. Who DO NOT MAKE ANY STATEMENTS TO THE CIVILIAN POPULATION. But many in Russia were against the so-called SVO. The voice of pacifists was suppressed by unprecedented repressions. It turns out that those who were against the war and Putin are forced to accept Putin’s side. They are not given any alternative.
Yes. The war must continue. Idiot Slavs must kill each other. The world has not yet enjoyed the SNAFF with Russians burned alive.
“I want to talk about the peculiarities of the Ukrainian invasion of Russia. I do not absolve Putin of responsibility for his crime, but there is one point that is significantly different.”
“Unlike The Prince & The Party, Putin’s been consistent on his visceral opposition to Ukraine—which the Russians, who can read a map, see as a [western] dagger to their throat—joining NATO. And what vital strategic interest does the US have in Ukraine anyway? None! What ‘toddler boob ever thought it was a good idea to offer NATO’s collective defense (Article Five) protection to every nation solely because they don’t wanna offend anyone?
A brief HISTORY lesson: The Bucharest Summit (2008)..
“The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, today repeated his warning that Moscow would view any attempt to expand Nato to its borders as a “direct threat”.” —Guardian (4 Apr 2008)” —posted to fb (14 Mar 2022)
“”If at any time the Communist build-up in Cuba were to endanger or interfere with our security in any way….then this country will do whatever must be done to protect its own security and that of its allies.” —President John Kennedy (13 September 1962)
“One thing must be clear to everyone: the greater the range of weapons supplied to Ukraine, the more we will be forced to move the threat away from our borders.” —President Vladimir Putin (21 February 2023)” —posted to fb (22 Feb 2023)
Yes. Thank you. But eat this geopolitics yourself. I hate Putin, but should I bless the destruction of my people by NATO weapons of mass destruction? Everything that is happening is extremely disgusting.
I see what I see. I see that Gauleiter Putin, together with the Zelenskys and their globalist masters, are destroying the Russian and Ukrainian people. I have enough sense to abstract myself from the hatred that is being whipped up in Russia towards Ukrainians. But I can’t seem to develop Ataraxia in myself and be apathetic about the fate that is prepared for me to be sacrificed.
“I have enough sense to abstract myself from the hatred that is being whipped up in Russia towards Ukrainians.”
And vice-versa. Not a good thing, but that IS the nature of war—which IS hell.
“Arakhamia told journalist Natalia Moseichuk in a recent televised interview that “Russia’s goal was to push us to take neutrality,” meaning to commit to not joining NATO, and that “they were ready to end the war if we accept neutrality.””
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-russia-talks/
“If you have an [objective] understanding of history and can read a map, one can make a cogent argument in favour of Russia’s claim. From Russia’s point of view, the US saying “Every country (i.e., Ukraine) has the right to join NATO” is akin to China saying “Mexico has the right to join the CCCP and place nuclear missiles on her northern border (i.e., across from Texas and California)”. I think it goes without saying that the US would not tolerate such a move.
Note to The Prince: I’d offer an international agreement declaring Ukraine to be a “neutral state” (akin to Austria or Switzerland) and making clear that any attack on Ukraine will result in an international retaliation against the attacker. I reckon Putin would sign such an agreement. Alas, if only The Prince (or any of his ‘toddler attendants) had a [working] brain..
“Lavrov sent letters to the U.S. and other Western counterparts pointing out their past obligations signed by all members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a top trans-Atlantic security grouping. Russia has argued that NATO’s expansion eastward has hurt Russia’s security, violating the principle of “indivisibility of security” endorsed by the OSCE in 1999 and 2010. It says the U.S. and its allies have ignored the principle that the security of one nation should not be strengthened at the expense of others, while insisting on every nation’s right to choose alliances.” —MarineTimes (1 Feb 2022)” —posted to fb (1 Feb 2022)
Sir Mark Rowley is a small man. His police cap seems a bit too big for him, which makes him look even smaller. He is a loyal supporter of the government. He would not have got his job otherwise. He insists two tier policing is a myth. Should we believe him or our lying eyes? But I do hope he tries to extradite Elon Musk. He needs to be reminded that the USA has a first amendment. Britain, in contrast, has nothing, which is why little men like Sir Mark Rowley think they can throw their weight around. I expect he will be reverting soon, insh’allah.
The Brits want their American colonies back.
Randi Weingarten and the American Federation of Teachers: The 2024 Nathan Bedford Forrest and Ku Klux Klan https://shorturl.at/73SRH
PsyWar: Enforcing the New World Order | Dr. Robert Malone @RWMaloneMD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-cV5WUuyB4
There was some research about Nathan Forrest published a few years ago in the Confederate Veteran Magazine. Although the Ku Klux Klan later became the paramilitary arm of the Democratic Party, it was originally founded as a men’s social club. There was no need for secrecy, and we know the founder and original members. Nathan Forrest was not among them.
Forrest was a trusted and respected man in western Tennessee, where the Klan originated. Therefore, when the Klan became involved in illegal activity, Forrest was asked by Congress to investigate and report to Congress. He did, but kept his promise made when gathering information not to report the names of members. He would neither deny nor confirm that any individual was a member of the Klan. Because he did not deny that he was a member, some people believed that he was a member.
After Forrest died, an officer that served under him wrote a fawning, exaggerated and sometimes fictional biography of Forrest that made no mention of the Ku Klux Klan. Another book by a different author, The Klansman, gave a positive portrayal of the Klan and became popular. It was later made into a movie, Birth of a Nation. When the Klan became popular, an addendum was added to the Forrest biography in which the author takes credit for taking Forrest to Klan meeting where Forrest joined the Klan. Details of this account have been checked, and it is now known to be fiction.
The only non-fiction allegation that Forrest was a wizard in the Klan is in a letter to the Confederate Veteran Magazine in which an elderly man stated that over sixty years previous he had attended a Klan rally and Forrest was there as a wizard.
“This week, Metropolitan Police Commissioner…said that…Americans and other citizens could be extradited and brought to London for online postings….As some of us predicted, these laws have expanded as the desire to silence others becomes an insatiable appetite.” —Jonathan Turley (10 Aug 2024)
https://jonathanturley.org/2024/08/10/london-calling-police-chief-threatens-to-arrest-people-around-the-world-for-online-speech/
“Bolshevik two year-olds ask: Why do you need a Second Amendment today? What “tyrant” do you fear?
The British gave up their guns. Now, the “hate speech” police watch their social media posts and arrest them if they say anything that’s not politically fashionable….this season. It’s become the blueprint for American college campuses, and I know how well they’re protecting Americans’ First Amendment rights there. To Bolshevik two year-old sophisticates, that’s not a mistake…it’s THE goal.” —posted to fb (Dec 2018)
‘Toddlers’re as predictable as a well-regulated Rolex.
I would love for that limey sob to come to the US and try to arrest any US citizen, it would be fun had by all, much to that limey scumbags chagrin.