582 people were evacuated from the vicinity of a chemical plant in the Czech Republic after the discovery of an unexploded bomb from World War Two. Meanwhile, a Czech senator says that the ammunition the Czech Republic is buying for Ukraine is overpriced.
In other news, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that he is worried about his safety if Donald Trump is re-elected as president of the USA.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, JW, LP, McN, Reader from Chicago, Roger, SS, 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.
Kamala Harris is demanding that Americans give up to nearly half the profits, or capital gains, on their house if they decide to sell it. The endorsement of the policy comes after Harris has been hit on other economic issues such as price controlsand inflation.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Harris endorsed Joe Biden’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal this week. Many have sounded the alarms on the proposal, as it allows for up to a 44.6 percent tax rate on long-term capital gains if other proposed tax increases are implemented. Any asset that is held for over a year and sold for a gain can be considered to be taxable as a long-term capital gain.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Revises Jobs Report, Says Created 818k Fewer Jobs Than Estimated From Spring 2023 to Spring 2024
The government admitted Wednesday that job creation was much slower than it originally reported, slashing more than 800,000 jobs from its earlier tallies in a report just 24 hours before Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for president.
The revision is for the estimate of jobs created from spring 2023 to spring 2024, suggesting a “cool off” in the labor market.
The revised estimate stated the U.S. added 2.1 million jobs from April 2023 to March 2024. The original estimate pegged job creation at 2.9 million during that period, Market Watch reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
We Can’t Keep Spending Like We Used to, Dutch PM Says Ahead of Budget Talks
The Cabinet cannot spend as much as it has in the past, said Prime Minister Dick Schoof ahead of the first Cabinet meeting about the new budget that will be presented on Prinsjesdag. “We cannot spend the money that the Netherlands has gotten accustomed to in the last few years, but everybody knows this.”
According to Schoof, these conversations about the money for the ministries are always complicated by definition. But he also has “full confidence” that the ministers of the four government parties will reach a suitable result in the next few days during the so-called budget talks.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
44 DNC Delegates Snub Harris With ‘Present’ Vote
44 delegates at this week’s Democratic National Convention voted “present” during the roll call vote — a symbolic protest following Harris’ official nomination during a virtual roll call earlier this month.
Of note, during the 2020 election there were just 5 delegates who similarly abstained.
As the Daily Caller notes, among the 44 ‘present’ votes were likely 30 delegates from the “Uncommitted” protest movement — which says they “feel deeply hurt and betrayed by the President’s decisions to continue funding war crimes and the mass killing of Palestinians,” according to their website.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
50 GOP Military Vets in Congress Denounce Walz for Lying About Rank, Dodging Deployment: ‘No Honor’
Fifty Republican members of Congress who are military veterans denounced Democratic vice presidential pick Tim Walz on Wednesday for having lied about his rank in the Army National Guard and retiring before a deployment to Afghanistan to pursue his political aspirations.
The House and Senate GOP lawmakers, led by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), a retired US Army staff sergeant who chairs Veterans and Military Families for Trump, blasted out an open letter to the Minnesota governor, asking him to correct the “egregious misrepresentations” about his military record.
“[Y]ou have lied your way through a political career launched on the foundation of a title you did not earn and combat deployments you did not take part in,” the former military service members in Congress charged.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Israel Activists Disrupt Jewish Group’s DNC Event on Antisemitism
A small group of anti-Israel activists attempted to storm a Jewish event near the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday. The radicals temporarily disrupted the event but were blocked from entering an event put on by Agudath Israel of America.
The event focused on growing voter turnout in the Orthodox Jewish community and rising antisemitism in the US. According to The Times of Israel, the event included speeches by Democratic Sen. Debby Stabanow, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy and the chairman of the DNC host committee.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Big Brother Goes Digital: The Feds’ Race to Integrate Mobile IDs in America
The push to develop digital ID and expand its use in the US is receiving a boost as the country’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is launching a new project.
NIST’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) has teamed up with 15 large financial and state institutions, as well as tech companies, to research and develop a way of integrating Mobile Driver’s License (mDL) into financial services. But according to NIST, this is just the start and the initial focus of the program.
The agreement represents an effort to tie in yet more areas of people’s lives in their digital ID (“customer identification program requirements” is how NIST’s announcement describes the focus of this particular initiative). These schemes are often criticized by rights advocates for their potential to be used as mass surveillance tools.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
During a campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday, President Trump exited the stage to attend to a supporter who was experiencing a medical emergency, leaving behind the bulletproof glass that had been protecting him.
The 45th president was met with cheers from the crowd as he walked off the stage in what individuals described on social media as a great act of “bravery” and “humility.” This comes after Trump survived an assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania. His campaign event in Asheboro was the GOP nominee’s first outdoor rally since the shooting.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago Cardinal Blesses DNC Without Mentioning Jesus
Cardinal Blase Cupich, the progressive Catholic Archbishop of Chicago, offered the invocation for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) Monday without ever mentioning Jesus Christ.
Calling him simply the “God of all creation,” Cardinal Cupich invoked the divinity without witnessing to Jesus or calling out the moral evil around him.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democratic Congressman Says Give Kamala’s ‘Fuzzy’ Policies ‘Some Time’
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, defended the recently announced fiscal policies of Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, telling Just the News that her ideas are “going to be fuzzy” because she has only been a candidate for about one month.
Cleaver was confronted with the words of Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell who castigated Harris for introducing a left-wing fiscal policy when the Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, has called her a communist. “When your opponent calls you ‘communist,’ maybe don’t propose price controls?” was the headline of her piece op-ed piece.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dozens Arrested After Pro-Palestinian, Anti-DNC Protesters Clash With CPD
CHICAGO (WLS) — Please note: This content may be disturbing for some viewers
Dozens of people were arrested after clashing with police at an un-permitted protest outside the Israeli Consulate Tuesday night.
The National Lawyers Guild Chicago said at least 72 people were arrested during that protest, while Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said 56 people, including three journalists, were arrested, after refusing to follow multiple dispersal orders.
Thirty were cited for disorderly conduct — breach of peace, 13 were cited for disorderly conduct — failing to obey a lawful order to disperse, one person was cited for disorderly conduct — failing to obey police and three were cited for resisting police, Chicago police said.
Nine others were charged with misdemeanors.
Twenty two of those arrested are from out of town. Many are from the west coast, according to CPD.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A fugitive wanted on murder and robbery charges was taken into custody Wednesday morning following an hours-long standoff in a Chicago restaurant just blocks from the Democratic National Convention.
Joshua Zimmerman was seen being escorted out of the Seafood Junction restaurant in handcuffs around 7:30 a.m. local time, footage from ABC7 Chicago showed.
SWAT teams and police had been on the scene since around 4 a.m., several hours after Zimmerman first hid inside the eatery less than a mile from the DNC.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ex-PSU Abington Student Getting Deported for ISIS Ties: Report
ABINGTON TOWNSHIP, PA —A former Penn State Abington student will be deported to Russia after serving a year in prison for making false statements to the FBI during an international terrorism investigation, a report states.
Kamal Fataliev, 20, who lives in Philadelphia and is a U.S. permanent resident with Russian citizenship, will be deported to Russia after spending just over a year in prison, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Fataliev was arrested and charged by indictment on charges of making false statements to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in July 2023, U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said.
Fataliev was accused of posting more than 200 manuals for making bombs, poison, and weapons to terrorism-related chat groups involving ISIS, The Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FBI Investigates After DNC Delegates’ Food Was Contaminated With Maggots at Chicago Hotel
The FBI and Chicago police are investigating after reports that a breakfast prepared for DNC delegates was contaminated with maggots. The incident occurred on Wednesday morning at the Fairmont Chicago hotel, a law enforcement source toldWGN.
Authorities said maggots were placed on breakfast tables containing food by a group who had entered the Fairmont Chicago around 6:45 am. It’s unclear if any DNC delegates consumed the contaminated food, but police said at least one person was treated at the scene, per the Chicago Sun-Times.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Georgia Mayor Arrested on Felony Charges for Supplying Alcohol to Prison Inmates
The mayor of Thomson, a small town in Georgia, has been arrested on felony charges over a controversial incident involving state prison inmates and alcohol.
Mayor Benjamin “Benji” Cary Cranford was indicted for allegedly placing alcohol in a path routinely used by inmates, questioning his future in office, Fox News reported.
The scandal began on June 3, when Cranford allegedly bought a bottle of Seagram’s Extra Dry Gin and strategically placed it in a ditch along Cobbham Road.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Google Faces Court Showdown Over Alleged Secret Chrome Data Harvesting
Although a lower court had dismissed the case, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has decided that Google will have to go to trial after all, for allegedly secretly collecting data from Chrome users, regardless of whether they chose to sync information from the browser with their Google account.
The class action lawsuit, Calhoun v. Google LLC., accuses the tech giant of using the browser, by far the most dominant in its market, to collect browsing history, IP addresses, unique browser identifiers, and persistent cookie identifiers — all without consent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Rejects Hunter Biden’s Request to Dismiss Charges
The federal judge in Hunter Biden’s tax trial has rejected a last-ditch effort to toss the charges from the first son’s high-priced lawyers.
The ruling has now all but ended any chance that Hunter Biden can avoid trial in September.
The younger Biden has sought to have the charges thrown out several ways.
He has even claimed he is being targeted politically by his father’s Justice Department, echoing President Donald Trump.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kamala Picks Terror Supporter as “Liaison” to American Jews
“Pressure is building in Congress for Biden to do more to halt Israel’s assault on Gaza,” he was asked in a 2021 interview as fighting raged to stop Hamas assaults on Israel .
“Hopefully he can use it as leverage to get the Israelis to stop,” Ilan Goldenberg, Kamala’s future Middle East advisor and new ‘liaison’ to the Jewish community, answered.
Could a Kamala administration be any worse for the Jews than the Obama administration?
An early answer arrived with the announcement that the Harris-Walz campaign had picked Ilan Goldenberg as its ‘liaison’ to the Jewish community. Freedom Center Investigates had previously profiled Goldenberg when he was serving as Kamala’s Middle East advisor.
A member of the Kerry team under Obama, whose biased attacks on Israel and support for Iran and Islamic terrorists in Israel helped lead to the current regional crisis, Goldenberg had spent the years leading up to Oct 7 doing everything possible to make the Hamas attack happen.
And the time afterward serving as a Kamala adviser and imposing sanctions on Israelis.
| — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield | [Return to headlines] |
Kamala Harris helped a controversial bail fund rake in millions of dollars, which it spent on getting violent criminals back on the streets in the name of “social justice” — only for some of them to commit more crimes, including murder.
Among the freed criminals: A twice-convicted male sex-offender who went on to allegedly assault other women before his re-arrest and a man who left a victim with a traumatic brain injury after being sprung from jail while awaiting trial for another felony assault.
Following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police, which sparked riots across the country, the Minnesota Freedom Fund received endorsements and donations from several celebrities including Seth Rogan, Justin Timberlake and Cynthia Nixon.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kamala Harris Snubs Obamas’ Speeches at DNC, Fueling Rift Rumors
Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris was notably absent from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on Tuesday night as the party’s unofficial leaders took to the stage for their speeches.
Both Michelle and Barack Obama gave speeches at the DNC as they sought to rally Democrats behind the party’s selected ticket.
However, Harris and her radical communist running mate Tim Walz were nowhere to be seen, despite the speeches from the Obamas being the most anticipated events of the convention.
The snub from Harris and Walz is now further fueling rumors of a deep rift in the upper echelons of the Democratic Party.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Man Faces Charges for Allegedly Stabbing Oregon Lottery Winner
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man is facing several charges after allegedly following an Oregon Lottery winner home and stabbing him multiple times while demanding the cash, court documents claim.
According to the affidavit — which was first reported by The Oregonian and obtained by KOIN 6 News — the incident occurred the night of Aug. 17 when the victim won $2,000 from a lottery machine at Montana’s Bar on Southeast Stark Street in Portland where the accused attacker and victim met.
Around 11:30 p.m. the victim started walking home from the bar, when he was followed by his alleged attacker, identified in court documents as 61-year-old Pablo Andres Figueroa.
After the victim used a key to get through a secure gate at his apartment building, Figueroa followed him to his apartment, the affidavit alleges, noting surveillance footage shows Figueroa several paces behind the victim.
Before the victim could close the door to his apartment, Figueroa forced the door open and tackled the victim, court documents say, noting Figueroa pinned the victim’s arms to the ground, struck his face and demanded money.
After the victim gave Figueroa some cash, Figueroa allegedly pulled out a pocketknife and demanded more money — stabbing the victim approximately 15 times in the arms, face, and chest, according to court documents.
The victim started to “black out” and decided to play dead, Deputy District Attorney Branden Meadows reported in the affidavit.
It is not clear how law enforcement was called to the scene, but the affidavit says officers found apartment employees and determined there was no footage of Figueroa leaving the apartment, leading them to believe he was still on the scene.
Officers eventually found the suspect in the trash room where they deployed pepper spray, arrested Figueroa and found $624 in cash on him.
| — Hat tip: Roger | [Return to headlines] |
MIT Admits 7% More Asian Students After SCOTUS Strikes Down Affirmative Action
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has released statistics for its incoming freshman class of 2028, revealing a significant shift in the racial composition of students following the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action in college admissions. The decision, which deemed race-based admissions policies unconstitutional, has led to a dramatic change in the demographics of MIT’s latest class. Asians were the biggest winners, with a 7 percent increase in admissions, while white students lost 1 percent. Black and hispanic applicants lost substantial ground compared to the affitmative action years.
According to the newly released data, the percentage of black students in the freshman class has dropped sharply from 15 percent in the class of 2027 to just 5 percent in the class of 2028. Hispanic students have also seen a decline, falling from 16 percent to 11 percent. White students experienced a slight decrease, from 38 percent to 37 percent. In contrast, the percentage of Asian students increased significantly, rising from 40 percent to 47 percent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New York Court of Appeals Rejects GOP Challenge to Mail-in Voting Law
The New York Court of Appeals upheld the state’s mail-in voting law, rejecting a challenge from Republicans.
On Tuesday, the state’s highest court ruled in a 6-1 decision that the lower courts were correct in finding that the no-excuse mail-in voting law is not in violation of the state constitution, The Associated Press reported. Republican challengers, including New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, claimed the law was contrary to the state constitution’s mandate that most voters cast ballots in person.
The law, called the Early Mail Voter Act, took effect in January and was passed after New York voters rejected an expanded mail-in voting constitutional amendment proposal in 2021.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nielsen: DNC Television Ratings Crash 22% From 2016
The television ratings of the first night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) sunk 22 percent from 2016, according to Nielsen.
The ratings crash suggests that Vice President Kamala Harris is far less popular than the media purported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Northwestern Implements ‘Mandatory Anti-Hate Trainings’ Following Chaotic Gaza Campus Protests
Higher education is nothing more than leftist indoctrination camps, costing students (or taxpayers, in some cases) tens of thousands of dollars per year to be uploaded with the woke mind virus. Some of these woke activist students were triggered earlier this year, spewing racist hate speech and death threats against Jewish students (and we’re sure the hate went both ways) over the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The chaos and hate that flooded schoolyards at universities and colleges like Northwestern University earlier this year has served as a major wake-up call for Americans, leading many to question how leftist institutions might be indoctrinating vulnerable young minds.
Hate at Northwestern must have been such a serious issue for the administration because now, the school has announced
mandatory training for all students on preventing antisemitism and Islamophobia on campus.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Over 100 Anti-Israel NGOs Collectively Planned ‘March on the Democratic National Convention’
The thousands of anti-Israel activists that converged on the Democratic National Convention in Chicago did not do so thorugh a grassroots effort, according to a new report. Rather it was an organized and planned effort by almost a hundred anti-Israel NGOs.
Jerusalem-based research organization NGO Monitor published a report revealing details about “March on the DNC.” The report includes a list of the leading NGOs involved, including known antisemitic groups CODEPINK, Samidoun, a group that advocates for the release of terrorists held by Israel, Jewish Voices for Peace, and Students for Justice in Palestine. Known funders of the organizations include Billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundation and The Tides Network, previously supported by Bill Gates and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
RFK Jr. to Address Nation on Friday as Rumors Swirl of His Withdrawal
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will address the nation on Friday to discuss his path forward.
“Independent Presidential Candidate [Kennedy] will address the nation live on Friday about the present historical moment and his path forward,” campaign press secretary Stefanie Spear announced in an X post. The address is slated for 2 p.m. ET and will take place in Phoenix, Ariz.
Kennedy’s speech comes amid mounting speculation that he will drop out of the presidential race and endorse former President Donald Trump. Earlier this week, his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, confirmed the campaign was mulling such an option.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Secret Service Installs Bulletproof Glass for Trump’s Outdoor Rally in North Carolina
The Secret Service has installed bulletproof glass at former President Donald Trump’s Wednesday rally in North Carolina. This is his first outdoor rally since the one last month in which a sniper attempted to assassinate him.
A “special see-through protective barrier” will separate Trump, now the GOP presidential nominee, from rallygoers, according to The Washington Examiner.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Israel protesters interrupted former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” Tuesday night.
Pelosi had joined Colbert for a live taping of the late-night talk show at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago one day after appearing at the Democratic National Convention, which is being held nearly 3 miles away at the United Center.
The 84-year-old California Democrat was discussing her book “The Art of Power” when the subject turned to the Israel-Hamas war and the ongoing cease-fire negotiations.
“Free Palestine,” a protester shouted before questioning the US’ role in the Middle East conflict, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Shut Out in Chi-Town: Jewish Groups Blocked From Marching During the DNC
Authored by Jonathan Turley
This week, citizens will gather in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention to voice their support for Israel and protest the abuses of Hamas.
However, this largely Jewish gathering will not be marching.
Instead, they will gather on a small private lot blocks away from the convention as thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters march through the streets.
The reason is that Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson has refused to grant their request for a permit.
While pro-Palestinian protesters have been given an array of accommodations by the city (and received a shoutout from President Joe Biden in his convention address), the Jewish protesters are only able to gather due to the donation of a private lot by an owner for their use.
Even as pro-Palestinian protesters veered off approved routes and tore down security fencing, it will be the Jewish protesters who will reportedly remain confined to this private lot under the watchful eye of the Chicago Police Department.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Soros-Funded Fake News Network Swamps Nevada Voters With Disinformation
The George Soros-funded Democratic propaganda network Courier Newsroom is ramping up in Nevada, spending big on misleading digital ads disguised as news stories claiming, among other things, that former president Donald Trump would bring back a military draft.
Courier in 2023 added The Nevadan to its roster of local “news” websites that push Democratic talking points. Courier’s founder, the Democratic operative Tara McGowan, says the network’s goal is to combat disinformation, but The Nevadan has inundated voters in the swing state since June with deceptive Facebook advertisements attacking Republicans and propping up Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D., Nev.).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Teamsters Boss Alleges DNC Snubbed Him to Protect ‘Corporate Elitists’
International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien on Wednesday accused the Democratic National Committee of snubbing him by not allowing him to speak at their convention in order to protect “corporate elitists.”
The union boss spoke at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee last month, where he described former President Donald Trump as “one tough SOB.”
O’Brien said he requested to speak at the Democratic convention in Chicago, but that he has not heard back about addressing voters so far.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Teens, Innocent Bystander Injured After at Least 21 Shots Fired in Philadelphia Shooting
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Three people were injured in a shooting in Philadelphia’s Tioga section.
Police say teenagers were out walking around at 19th and West Allegheny around 2 a.m. on Wednesday when witnesses say two groups got into an argument and that someone started shooting.
Two teens, a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old, were both shot in the leg. A 44-year-old innocent bystander was also shot in the lower back.
“It appears that the shooter was firing the shot into the crowd of juveniles,” said Chief Inspector Scott Small with the Philadelphia Police Department. “All three of our victims are very, very lucky. They’re all shot one time and we know at least 21 shots were fired because we found 21 spent shell casings.”
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Texas is Sued Over Attempts to End Online Anonymity
Free speech group the Foundation for Individual Rights (FIRE) has gone to court in a bid to block Texas state age verification law, Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act (SCOPE Act, HB 18).
We obtained a copy of the complaint for you here.
This largely Republican-backed law will take effect on September 1, starting when online platforms will be under obligation to register and verify the age of all users.
This will apply if “more than a third” of content on the platforms is considered “harmful” or “obscene.”
But FIRE believes this is a form of pressure to make sure sites collect biometric and ID data from adults in Texas as they access what is lawful (to them) content.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ASHEBORO, NC — Former President Donald Trump pledged to demand mass resignations of top military officials behind the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal and give “back pay” to service members fired for refusing COVID-19 vaccines should he return to the White House in January.
The Republican presidential nominee’s focused on his national security policies in his Asheboro, NC, stint — his second visit to the state in a week. He gave his remarks from behind bulletproof glass, which the Department of Defense and Secret Service ordered for all his outdoor events after he was nearly assassinated on July 13 in Butler, Pa.
Trump, 78, touched on issues related to Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine, Iran, “woke-ism” in the military and recruitment crisis facing the US armed services.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Shooter Thomas Crooks Had Encrypted Messaging Accounts in Belgium, Germany, New Zealand
CHICAGO — Trump rally gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks used encrypted messaging accounts on various platforms located in Belgium, New Zealand and Germany, according to a member of a congressional task force investigating his assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), one of 13 lawmakers tapped to serve on the House bipartisan task force, told reporters at a Wednesday press conference at the Trump Hotel Chicago that the “overseas accounts” piqued his suspicion immediately regarding the shooter’s motives.”
“Why does a 19-year-old kid who is a health care aid need encrypted platforms not even based in the United States, but based abroad — where most terrorist organizations know it is harder for our law enforcement to get into?” asked Waltz.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New information is continuing to emerge to shed light on the failings of the Secret Service in the run-up to the failed assassination attempt of President Donald Trump.
Trump’s campaign was forced to cancel events due to Secret Service failures before the assassination attempt on July 13, the Daily Caller reported.
The campaign asked the Biden-Harris administration’s Secret Service for extra protection but was routinely denied it because the agency claimed it didn’t have the resources.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Birth Rates Plummet in 2023: CDC
After two years of increases, the number of births in the United States dropped by 2 percent in 2023—coinciding with the end of Covid. A report released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics recorded 3,596,017 babies born in 2023. That’s 2 percent less than 3,667,758 babies born in 2022 and the 3,664,292 in 2021.
The lower birth rate is double the average that existed between 2014 and 2019, when it declined by one percent each year but half of what it was for the period of 2019 to 2020, when it fell by 4 percent. The CDC reported that abortion rates increased 5% in 2021, the year before SCOTUS overturned Roe vs Wade, although these numbers may not reflect the total number of abortions as some states have incomplete or no reporting.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An anti-semitic group reportedly calling itself “Court” sent a bomb threat via email early Wednesday morning to hundreds of synagogues, Jewish support centers and hospitals, warning of that all affected will be in “a pool of blood” because “none of you deserve to keep living.” That the emails were sent was verified by the Ottawa Police, the alleged text of the email was posted on X.
The email, that Canada’s mainstream media has not revealed, reads as follows, per Melissa Rogers, on X:
“Hi. We placed many explosives inside your building. They are placed in black backpacks. The bombs are set to go off in a few hours. You will all end up in a pool of blood. None of you deserve to keep living. Everyone inside the building will lose their lives. I incessantly have nothing other than scoring for humanity. Today will be your last day on earth. The group named “Court” is behind this massacre. We won’t stop causing terror.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Freedom Convoy trial of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber continued Tuesday as the defense counsel, focusing this day on the actions of Lich, declared there was “no case” against her.
The trio of defense lawyers are laying out their case for the innocence of the pair who helped organize the trucker protest against Covid mandates that attracted world attention in February 2022.
Defense lawyer Eric Granger took the stand in the morning and argued against the admissibility of the Carter application, a legal mechanism that the Crown suggests links the actions of both Lich and Barber as “co-conspirators.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poilievre Promises to End Both Industrial and Consumer Carbon Taxes if Elected
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has vowed to eliminate the carbon tax for large Canadian corporations as well as ordinary families if his party wins the next general election.
In an interview on Tuesday with CBC Radio-Canada’s Patrice Roy, Poilievre confirmed that his plans extend beyond his long-standing promise to abolish the federal carbon levy for consumers. He also plans to abolish the Clean Fuel Regulations, the second federal carbon tax that applies to all provinces, which Poilievre said will add 17 cents a litre to the cost of fuel by 2030.
“The Bloc and the Liberals want higher gas and diesel prices. The Conservatives want to cut taxes,” said Poilievre.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
582 People Evacuated Due to Risk of Bomb Explosion in Czech Republic
Prague, Aug 22 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Czech police have evacuated 582 people from the vicinity of a chemical plant in the country’s northwest region due to “a high risk of explosion” after the discovery of an unexploded bomb.
“An unexploded aerial bomb from World War II” was found during excavation work in a remote part of the Orlen Unipetrol plant near Litvinov, Most District, the Czech refining and petrochemical company said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.
Experts from the police and the regional fire rescue department intervened, and a partial evacuation was ordered in the refinery part of the plant, Xinhua news agency reported.
“The bomb weighing 250 kg will remain in place until August 27. A crisis team is now meeting to decide on the next course of action,” said the police.
| — Hat tip: McN | [Return to headlines] |
All COVID-Vaxxed Children Now Have ‘Altered Immune Systems’
A bombshell new study has revealed that all Covid-vaccinated children are at a massively increased risk of deadly diseases such as cancer after the mRNA shots left them with “altered immune systems.”
A team of leading German researchers conducted a long-term study that analyzed a group of healthy children before and after they received Covid mRNA injections.
The study analyzed 14 children aged between 5 and 11 years old.
The researchers took blood samples and examined the children on the day they received their first dose of the Pfizer mRNA shots, again one month later when received dose two, and again one year after they received the second dose.
They found that every child in the group had heightened levels of a type of antibody one year after “vaccination.”
This increased antibody level reveals that the children have an altered immune system response.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Romanian authorities raided the home of kickboxers-turned-influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate on Wednesday amid the ongoing human trafficking probe into the British-American brothers, which now includes allegations of trafficking minors.
According to Romanian media, four searches were carried out in properties in Bucharest and Ilfov County in connection to the criminal case against Andrew and Tristan Tate.
In a statement, Romania’s Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) said that it carried out four search warrants “in a criminal case regarding the commission of the crimes of setting up an organized criminal group, trafficking of minors, human trafficking, sexual intercourse with a minor, influencing statements and money laundering.”
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Czechia Will Use Part of Russian Frozen Assets Profits to Fund Ukraine’s Ammunition
The European Union has officially tasked Czechia to use revenues from frozen Russian assets to fund the next ammunition supply for Ukraine, Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova said on Tuesday (20 August).
The process mirrors previous efforts under the Czech-led ammunition initiative, which has already seen significant international collaboration, with contributions from 15 countries.
The procedure will be similar to other cases under this initiative. The Czech defence ministry will, according to the requirements of the donor of the money — in this case, the EU — broker the purchase of ammunition to meet urgent military needs specified by the Ukrainian side.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czech Senator Says Artillery Shells for Ukraine Are Overpriced
The ammunition that the Czech Republic is buying as part of the ammunition collection initiative for Ukraine is overpriced, a Czech senator has claimed.
Lukas Wagenknecht warned that as a result, Ukrainians are receiving less than they should, but the Czech defense ministry refutes this.
Wagenknecht, a senator from the opposition Pirate Party, called the Czech ammunition collection initiative a “great project”, but said the Czech Republic could not buy better at a better price.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark and Sweden Vow to Hunt Down Gang Leaders Who Hire Minors to Kill From Abroad
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Danish and Swedish justice ministers vowed Wednesday to go after organized crime leaders abroad, whom they say have been hiring teenagers in Sweden to carry out deadly shootings in Denmark.
Denmark’s Peter Hummelgaard has said that gangs have hired young Swedes to commit crimes in Denmark at least 25 times since April, in part because Swedish law imposes lighter penalties for minors who commit serious crimes.
“Several of the people who orchestrate this reckless and violent crime are hiding under warmer skies, and of course this is completely unacceptable,” Hummelgaard told a press conference Wednesday after a meeting with his Swedish counterpart Gunnar Strömmer in Copenhagen. He said they were “often in the greater Middle East” but didn’t name any specific country.
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EU’s Borrell Warns EU-China Trade War Could be ‘Unavoidable’
Josep Borrell, the EU’s outgoing High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has warned that a trade war between the EU and China “may be unavoidable.”
Speaking at the annual Quo Vadis Europa? conference in Santander in Spain on August 20, the bloc’s foreign chief said Brussels did not want such a conflict but that it may occur regardless.
“Our political systems are different but that shouldn’t lead to a systemic and permanent rivalry. That’s not in our interest,” Borrell said.
“We mustn’t be naive, we have no interest to get into a trade war… but maybe it’s unavoidable, it’s also in the logic of things.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former Commissioner Takes Senior Role With Controversial Chinese Firm SHEIN
A former European Commissioner has sparked concern after taking a senior role at a major Chinese retailer SHEIN — an online retailer facing accusations of compelling workers into 75-hour weeks, using cotton produced by forced-labour Uyghur workers, and producing clothes that Canadian officials banned after finding elevated levels of lead in the fabric.
Despite all this, Günther Oettinger, who formerly served as the European Commissioner’s digital economy tsar, is reported to have become a consultant for the international fashion retailer known for its hyper-cheap pricing at €5 to €10 an item.
His role has been described as designed to “help SHEIN navigate the European political climate,” according to a spokesperson for the online clothing giant.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Threats and Protests Disrupt AfD Campaigns Ahead of State Elections
As the right-wing anti-globalist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party continues to gain traction in the polls, opposition protests are intensifying. Following a recent poster campaign in Hamburg that urged activists to use illegal methods against the party, AfD candidates in two states have faced menacing encounters with protesters.
In Thuringia, where state elections are scheduled for September 1st, a protest compelled state AfD leader Björn Höcke to cancel a planned campaign event in Jena. Around 2,000 demonstrators clashed with police, who used pepper spray and nightsticks to disperse sit-ins obstructing access to the venue. Höcke’s personal security team judged the situation to be too heated to be safe and chose to cancel the event.
The demonstration, arranged by the organization “Rechtsruck Stoppen“ (Stop the Shift to the Right), included Bundestag and state parliament members, FDP Mayor Thomas Nitzsche, city council members, and representatives from social organizations. Authorities recorded twelve criminal offenses and one administrative violation but reported no injuries. Protest organizers, however, told Märkische Allgemeine that they had recorded several injuries in demonstrators.
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Germany Ready to ‘Assume Command and Control in the Baltic Sea’
Germany’s military leaders have set their sights on expanding their influence over Baltic Sea operations, with ambitions to not only take responsibility for NATO’s eastern flank but also to command all allied naval forces in the region. This significant revelation came from Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack, the commander of the German Navy.
Recent reports have focused on Germany’s economic struggles and difficulties in adequately funding its own defense and supporting Ukraine militarily. Yet despite these challenges, German officials remain confident in their nation’s role as a European leader.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Charges Two Afghan Men for ISIS-Tied Terror Plot in Sweden Over Qur’an Burnings
BERLIN (AP) — Two men accused of planning an attack in Sweden for an affiliate of the Islamic State group in response to the burning of copies of the Quran have been charged in Germany, where they were arrested earlier this year, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The two Afghan citizens, identified only as Ibrahim M.G. and Ramin N. in line with German privacy rules, were charged with conspiring to commit a crime and violating export laws. Ibrahim M.G. was charged with membership in a terrorist organization and Ramin N. with supporting one.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Turkish Man Arrested After Execution-Style Shooting in Frankfurt Train Station
A Turkish national has been arrested in Germany after a man was shot three times in the head in an execution-style killing in Frankfurt Central Station on Tuesday evening.
A 27-year-old man from Turkey was shot and killed on the platform of the main train station for the German city of Frankfurt at around 9 pm local time on Tuesday night. The man, who was shot three times in the head, died at the scene.
On Wednesday, German authorities said that a 54-year-old man, also from Turkey, has been arrested and brought before a local magistrate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A controversial linen shroud — regarded by some to be the one Jesus was buried in — has baffled the world for more than centuries.
When it was first exhibited in the 1350s, the Shroud of Turin was touted as the actual burial shroud used to wrap the mutilated body of Christ after his crucifixion.
Also known as the Holy Shroud, it bears a faint image of the front and back of a bearded man, which many believers is Jesus’ body miraculously imprinted onto the fabric.
But research in the 1980s appeared to debunk the idea it was real after dating it to the Middle Ages, hundreds of years after Christ’s death.
Now, Italian researchers who used a new technique involving x-rays to date the material have confirmed it was manufactured around the time of Jesus about 2,000 years ago.
They say the fact the timelines add up lends credence to the idea that the faint, bloodstained pattern of a man with his arms folded in front were left behind by Jesus’ dead body.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lithuania Begins Construction of Base for German Troops Near Russian Border
Lithuania on Monday (19 August) began construction of a military base, which will accommodate up to 4,000 combat-ready German troops once completed by the end of 2027, in the first permanent foreign deployment for the German military since World War Two.
Germany committed to deploy troops in the NATO and European Union member, which borders Russia, last year. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius compared the decision to the posting of allied forces in West Germany during the Cold War to defend Western Europe in case of a Soviet attack.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Paris Olympics Fail to Deliver: Retailers and Restaurants Left in the Lurch
The Paris Olympic Games came to an end on Sunday, August 11th. While they were expected to be a windfall for Parisian retailers, restaurateurs, and hoteliers, who were hoping for a massive influx of customers to boost their sales, the accounts reveal a much more mixed picture. For some, the government is even considering compensation.
“Les hôteliers sourient, les restaurateurs pleurent“ (Hoteliers smile, restaurant owners weep) was the headline in Le Parisien the day after the end of the Games. According to the Paris Tourist Office, visitor numbers during the competition were in line with expectations. However, the numbers in terms of profits are not really there.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Competes With Hungary for €2 Billion Electric Vehicle Battery Factory
Samsung SDI is exploring the construction of a new electric vehicle battery factory in Poland, with the potential investment exceeding €2 billion. However, Hungary is also aggressively vying for the project, aiming to position itself as the world’s largest supplier of EV batteries.
According to the business daily Puls Biznesu, the investor is interested in plots of approximately 200 hectares, with a prime location identified near Gdansk. Negotiations for the purchase and development of the site have reportedly been ongoing since late last year.
Poland faces stiff competition from Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban has openly declared his ambition to dominate the global EV battery market. In a recent speech, Orban asserted that “nothing will stand in the way” of achieving this goal.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland: Confederation Party Selects Slawomir Mentzen as Presidential Candidate for 2025 Election
On Tuesday, the Confederation party’s Leadership Council confirmed via social media that Slawomir Mentzen would be their nominee for Poland’s upcoming presidential election.
Days earlier, Krzysztof Bosak, one of the Confederation’s co-leaders, had expressed his willingness to run in broader opposition primaries. However, if those primaries did not materialize, Bosak pledged his support for Mentzen as the party’s candidate.
Responding to the announcement, Mentzen expressed his gratitude, stating on social media, “I thank Krzysztof Bosak for his support. I calmly await the decision of the Confederation Leadership Council.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Introduces Mandatory Education for All Ukrainian Children
Starting this school year, all Ukrainian children living in Poland are required to attend school under a new mandate announced by Education Minister Barbara Nowacka.
The move ensures access to a Ukrainian curriculum alongside the Polish one, with penalties for non-compliance including fines and potential loss of social benefits.
Previously, Ukrainian students could opt for distance learning in their homeland or follow a mixed model. However, this change integrates them fully into the Polish education system. Minister Nowacka highlighted that estimates vary widely, from 20,000 to 160,000 Ukrainian children potentially enrolling in Polish schools.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish PM Tusk’s Attorney Wants to Strip Licence From Catholic Radio Station
Roman Giertych, an MP from Donald Tusk’s ruling Civic Coalition (KO) and an attorney for the Tusk family has said Catholic radio station Radio Maryja should have its licence revoked for allegedly violating the Concordat between Poland and the Vatican.
The Concordat is an agreement that sets out the rights of the Church in Poland and regulates such issues as the teaching of Catholic catechism in schools, State funding for the Catholic Church and church property rights.
Giertych alleged that the foundation was furnished with public funds during the lifetime of the previous Law and Justice party (PiS) government to the tune of close to €100m and that its partisan political stance was a violation of the Concordat.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Prison Riots Spread in Italy as Police Unions Call for Urgent Measures to Ease Overcrowding
Riots have broken out in Italian prisons one after the other, triggering a worrying chain reaction.
Last week in Turin, and this weekend in Bari and Rome, convicts turned prisons upside down. In Bari, a nurse was taken prisoner by prisoners trying to escape. The guard who rushed to rescue her was seriously injured when she was attacked by prisoners.
The incident sparked calls for the government to urgently find a solution to alleviate overcrowding and create more livable conditions with critics warning the situation will only escalate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spanish Government Stayed Silent After Murder of 11-Year-Old
The Spanish government has been criticized for failing to make any comment for over 24 hours following the murder of an 11-year-old boy that left the nation in shock.
A thirty-hour manhunt and investigation eventually led to the detention on Monday afternoon of the principal suspect in the murder, which took place in the small town of Mocejón.
The little boy was stabbed to death on Sunday morning while playing football in an enclosed pitch in the municipal sports center with other children from the small town of some 5,000 residents. The killer, with his head and face covered by a hoodie and face mask, had also entered the enclosed area. He chased the group of children, and attacked the little boy named Mateo, stabbing him in the throat and then fleeing the scene in a car. Emergency crews arrived quickly at the scene but were unable to save the youngster’s life. Security cameras captured an image of the murderer and his escape vehicle.
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UK Man Jailed After Chanting ‘You’re Note English Anymore’ at Police During Anti-Migration Demo
A 67-year-old man has been jailed after making derogatory remarks about Islam and chanting “you’re not English any more” at police during a London demonstration last month.
David Notley, of Buckhurst Hill in Essex, was jailed by the Inner London Crown Court this week for 20 months after pleading guilty to causing religiously aggravated distress and taking part in violent disorder, the BBC reports.
The court heard that Notley had joined in with the crowd to chant “you’re not English anymore” at police officers outside Whitehall and sang “Who the f*** is Allah?”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Criminals Freed Under ‘Chaotic’ Early Release Scheme Reoffending and Being Sent Back to Jail
Criminals being set free in a bid to reduce overcrowding at a prison are reoffending and being returned to custody, an inspection report released Wednesday reveals.
The early release scheme — known as the end of custody supervised licence (ECSL) — is designed to free up space to ease prison overcrowding.
The BBC reports a new study shows revealed a quarter of HMP Nottingham prisoners released under the scheme were homeless, leading to “inevitable recalls”, said chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor.
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UK: Has a Key Higher Ed Initiative Betrayed Its Mission to Support Women?
A core institution within British higher education is falling short of its founding ambition of helping female academics and students—and may actually be making matters worse. That’s according to Heather McKee, Convenor of Student Academics for Academic Freedom (SAFAF), in a report published on Monday, August 20th. At the very least, it suggests that mission creep by the organisation means it no longer addresses its original goals—while creating new and unnecessary structural problems.
Setting out at first to increase the role of women in academia, the original charter programme is now subsumed within Advance HE, a charity and professional membership scheme. From this platform, Athena Swan now seeks to advocate for “all gender identities,” while committing “to considering the intersection of gender and other factors wherever possible.” It does so by setting up an extensive framework where a compliant university can volunteer to meet Athena Swan charter benchmarks and, after approximately two years of application and inspection processes, be awarded Bronze— Silver— or Gold-level status.
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UK: Labour Shows No “Huge Commitment” to Tackling Illegal Migration
While Labour’s plans aimed at stopping small boat Channel crossings have left migration analysts unimpressed, they will be music to the ears of those who profit from illegal migration.
Yvette Cooper—the head of the Home Office, which has started labelling illegal migration not as such, but as “irregular” instead—has pledged to deport more than 14,500 people over the next six months. This would be at a higher rate than at any time since 2018 (itself a fairly sad indictment of recent Conservative Party administrations).
In response, Migration Watch chairman Alp Mehmet dismissed Cooper’s announcement as amounting to “no more than giving herself a goal of doing a better job of implementing her predecessor’s plan.”
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London Mayor Sadiq Khan has waded into American politics once again, saying that he is worried about his safety if Donald Trump returns to the White House and that the left-wing Labour Party should openly support the campaign of Kamala Harris.
The far-left Mayor of London, who has a long history of public verbal spats with former President Donald Trump, said in an interview with the globalist New Statesman this week that he has personal fears of the Republican nominee being victorious in the presidential election in November.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Von Der Leyen Insists EU ‘Still Capable of Innovation’ at Taiwanese Chip-Project Launch
Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony for a new Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) project in Germany, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has insisted that the European Union is still capable of innovation.
On August 20, the newly formed European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC) — a joint project between the Taiwanese manufacturer TSMC and a number of European companies — started construction of a new semiconductor plant in Dresden.
At the ceremony marking the start of work on the facility, von der Leyen claimed the project proved that Europe still wanted to innovate on the world stage.
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Hamas, Hezbollah Make IDF Pay for Gaza War; Israel Army Calls Back 15,000 Soldiers to Fight Again
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has recalled 15,000 previously exempted reservists due to a severe manpower shortage caused by ongoing operations in Gaza and on the northern front. The IDF and Defense Ministry are working to boost the reserve of service members, particularly those who served in critical roles.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Moscow Sees One of Ukraine’s Largest Drone Attacks as Fighting Rages in Kursk and Eastern Ukraine
MOSCOW (AP) — Moscow came under one of the largest attacks by Ukrainian drones since the start of fighting in 2022, Russian authorities reported Wednesday, saying they destroyed all of those headed toward the capital.
The drone attacks come as Ukrainian forces are continuing to push into Russia’s western Kursk region. In the past week, they have also struck three bridges, several airfields and an oil depot in a sign they are not letting up on their attacks.
“This was one of the biggest attempts of all time to attack Moscow using drones,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on his Telegram channel. He said strong defenses around the capital made it possible to shoot down all the drones before they could hit their intended targets.
Russia said it downed 45 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 11 over the Moscow region. There was no independent information to verify those figures.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Launches ‘One of Largest Ever’ Drone Attacks on Moscow
Ukraine launched one of the largest ever drone attacks on Moscow on Wednesday (21 August), the city’s mayor said, with Russian air defence units destroying at least 10 drones flying towards the capital.
Some of the drones were destroyed over the city of Podolsk, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. The city in the Moscow region is some 38 kms south of the Kremlin.
“The air defence systems of the defence ministry continue to repel enemy UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) attacks,” Sobyanin said on the Telegram messaging app at 4:43 a.m. (0143 GMT).
“This is one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow using drones ever. We continue to monitor the situation.”
He said that according to preliminary information, there were no injuries or damage in the aftermath of the attacks.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan National Arrested for False News Article, Accused of Triggering UK Riots
In Lahore, Pakistan, federal authorities have apprehended a local man, Farhan Asif, alleged to have disseminated misinformation that has been accused of inciting recent riots seen in the UK.
This development came to light on Wednesday as the radical fallout of a tragic incident that took place more than a week prior in Southport, UK, where three young girls were fatally stabbed, sparking large-scale unrest.
Prompted by claims that one Pakistani-based website was the breeding ground for such misrepresentations, law enforcement conducted an in-depth investigation. Media outlets from across the UK singled out a platform by the name of Channel3Now as the epicenter of the false news story, wherein it was inaccurately stated that the main suspect, a 17-year-old UK native, was an immigrant of Muslim faith who had entered the country by boat.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
China Launches Anti-Dumping Investigation Into EU Dairy Products
Trade tensions between Brussels and Beijing appear to be deteriorating, with China opening an anti-dumping investigation into European Union subsidies for certain dairy products.
China’s Ministry of Commerce announced the probe on August 21, with the body specifying it will focus on products including cream cheese, curd, blue cheese, and certain types of milk and cream.
China is investigating seven separate subsidies provided under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as well as other subsidies provided by individual Member States.
The inquiry is set to conclude within 12 months, although it may be extended by an additional six months, according to the ministry.
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Australia’s biggest solar farm has been approved with the potential to power three million homes, many of them expected to be in a foreign country.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A young boy who was allegedly raped at knifepoint in a Sydney park begged passers-by for help after the terrifying attack, a court has heard.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Gamilaroi Elder Rex McGrady has voiced his opposition over plans to hand over 210ha near the NSW and Queensland border to an Indigenous group.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Nicaragua Shutters 1,500 NGOs as Crackdown Continues
Nicaragua on Monday (19 August) shuttered 1,500 NGOs, bringing to more than 5,000 the number of such entities scrapped in a crackdown on opponents by President Daniel Ortega.
The government has jailed hundreds of critics, real and perceived, since protests against his regime in 2018 that were met with a crackdown the UN said left more than 300 people dead.
Monday’s announcement was the single-largest targeting of NGOs to date, bringing the total to more than 5,100.
Charges against the latest batch of entities, most of them religious, are that they had failed to declare their income, according to a government notice.
They will have their assets seized.
Ortega’s government considers the 2018 protests an attempted coup d’etat promoted by the United States and backed by the religious community.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House Judiciary Releases Report on Four Venezuelan Migrants Who Allegedly Attacked Chicago Man
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday released an interim report detailing how four Venezuelan illegal immigrants allegedly attacked a Chicago man on a train in February.
The report was the latest in the committee’s “Consequences of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Open-Borders Policies” series, which highlights the criminal activity carried out in the United States by migrants who are in the country illegally.
Lawmakers alleged the four Venezuelan migrants attacked and robbed a 49-year-old man of $400 and his cellphone while on a Chicago Transit Authority train in February. The man was allegedly threatened with a knife and placed in chokehold that caused him to pass out.
Three of the four men, who have been identified as Carlos Carreno-Carreno, Yonnier Guasamucare-Garcia, Johandry Loyo-Rodriguez, and Wilker Gutierrez Sierra, were previously arrested for shoplifting.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ICE Arrests Chinese National in Massachusetts Facing Multiple Sex Crimes Charges
A Chinese national facing multiple indecent assault charges spanning years was arrested on an immigration detainer, ICE said in a release Tuesday.
“Yao Zhang has been charged with some serious and disturbing crimes against inhabitants of our Massachusetts neighborhoods,” said Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “He represents a threat to residents that our officers cannot allow to continue.”
Zhang, 43, was arraigned on three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years old in Dedham District Court on May 6, 2022.
Two years later, he was arrested under the same charge and arraigned in Cambridge District Court on April 3, 2024.
The charges related to alleged assaults during massages given by Zhang, a Norfolk County DA spokesperson and Boston Globe reporting stated.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Illegal Migrants Taking New, Less-Guarded Routes to Greece
Illegal migrants hoping to get to Greece are opting increasingly for longer routes, involving Turkey and elsewhere, by targeting areas where Coast Guard patrols are—for now—more relaxed.
Authorities detained 76 migrants on the southern Greek island of Crete in the early hours of Tuesday, August 20th, after they arrived on just three boats. That’s an average of 25 migrants per boat.
The groups—including six children—had travelled from Syria, Egypt, Sudan, and Bangladesh.
Local media reports that one boat arriving in recent days was carrying a total of 72 people.
More than 28,000 illegal migrants have arrived in Greece so far this year, according to official figures—and that’s after a reported easing of crossings. The figure puts Greece just behind Italy and Spain.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Utrecht Tells Ukrainian Refugees to Find Own Shelter, Possibly in Another Country
Several Ukrainian refugees who arrived at the shelter in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht on Tuesday received a letter advising them to find shelter themselves. “If this is not possible, we advise you to try in another country,” the letter from Veiligheidsregio Utrecht said, according to NOS. The Jaarbeurs shelter closed due to overcrowding. The letter is no longer being distributed.
The Jaarbeurs HUB in Utrecht was the first point of arrival for Ukrainian refugees. They could stay there for a short period — the intention was 24 hours — to catch their breath before moving on to other, longer-term shelter. But the available long-term shelter has dried up, and the flow from the Jaarbeurs has halted. The Utrecht arrival shelter has been at or above capacity for months. For that reason, it has only accepted “vulnerable” refugees — children, women, families with young children, people with disabilities or illnesses, and the elderly — since February.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spanish PM Sanchez Breaks Holiday for Africa Trip Amid Record Migrant Surge
With numbers of migrants from Africa to Spain more than doubling in the first half of August, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a three-day visit to the continent, bowing to pleas from regional executives to “take two hours out of his holidays to help them.”
Tens of thousands are reaching Spain, with around 300,000 more sub-Saharan Africans currently waiting in Mauritania for improved sea conditions to attempt the crossing to the Canary Islands, according to Fernando Clavijo, governor of the Canary Islands.
Migration rose by 143 per cent in the Spanish autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla on the North African coast from a year before, and was up by 126 per cent in the Canary Islands, according to data from Spain’s interior ministry covering the August 1-15 period.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Texas AG Ken Paxton Launches Probe of Groups Allegedly Registering Non-Citizens to Vote
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced Wednesday that his office has launched an investigation into organizations allegedly registering non-citizens to vote.
The AG’s Election Integrity Unit found that multiple nonprofit organizations have opened booths outside Texas Department of Public Safety Driver License offices to assist with voter registration. U.S. citizens have the opportunity to register to vote at the offices when they are being issued or renewing their driver’s license or identification card.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden-Harris Official Calls for ‘Queering Nuclear Weapons’ to Comply With DEI Agenda
In an announcement that will likely have America’s adversaries rubbing their hands together with glee, a top official in the Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Energy (DOE) is calling for the government to begin “queering nuclear weapons.”
While it’s not immediately clear what is involved in “queering nuclear weapons,” the call seeks to further weaken the United States’ military might in order to align with the radical “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) agenda.
The call was made by DOE official Sneha Nair, a special assistant at the National Nuclear Security Administration.
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Judge: Virginia School District Must Allow Transgender Student on Girls’ Tennis Team
Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times
A federal judge has ruled that a Virginia school district may not prevent a transgender student from playing on a girls’ middle school tennis team while the student’s lawsuit against the school board continues.
Judge M. Hannah Lauck of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia handed down the ruling against Hanover County Public Schools on Aug. 16.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pro-Life Group Files IRS Complaint Against Planned Parenthood Over Free Abortions at the DNC
A pro-life group on Wednesday filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) against Planned Parenthood, claiming its offer of free abortions and vasectomies at the Democratic convention violates its status as a nonprofit.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Slovak Ministers Slam Presence of Children at ‘Erotic Aid’ Play
A “perverse” play performed at a Slovakian festival has prompted government uproar, with many senior officials expressing fury at children being present at the show.
A rendition of Little Gem performed at a small village festival on August 18 was reportedly disrupted personally by Slovak environment secretary Štefan Kuffa over its content, which he has claimed is unsuitable for those under 18.
Written by Irish playwright Elaine Murphy, the original play centres around three working-class women from North Dublin and their experiences with sex, drugs and daily life more broadly.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In an opinion piece published by Fox News Wednesday, four female Connecticut track athletes who began the fight against biological males in women’s sports wrote on how the two biological male track athletes they competed against in high school have “completely reshaped girls’ track.”
“When we first spoke about it, we were really the only ones doing so. Now, it’s one of the most talked about cultural and political issues of the day,” Selina Soule, Chelsea Mitchell, Alanna Smith, and Ashley Nicoletti wrote. The four girls launched the first-of-its-kind federal lawsuit challenging the state’s law allowing biological males to compete on the girls’ team four years ago.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
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Sweden an intellectual desert: “deplorable collection”
June 29, 2024 – Main news – swebbtv.se
Sweden’s so-called intellectuals are a “smooth crowd”, a “deplorable collection” who don’t even dare to open their mouths to try to stop a third world war. This is explained by ethnologist Karl-Olov Arnstberg in a new Swebbtv column.
Karl-Olov Arnstberg, former professor of ethnology at Stockholm University, is not impressed by the “intellectuals” that Sweden has managed to produce.
He says so in a new column.
Not even when a new world war threatens do the “intellectuals” in Sweden dare to oppose.
– For most of my life I have been a researcher and teacher in the humanities and social sciences at Stockholm University. When I look back on that life, I am not impressed by the quality of the research that was conducted, says Arnstberg in Swebbtv.
With few exceptions, the so-called researchers were a “smooth crowd” who took absolutely no risks,” he points out.
– Today, with the political correctness and a woke virus spreading among the students, it is even worse, continues Karl-Olov Arnstberg. Sweden’s intellectuals are a pitiful bunch who do not make their voices heard, even in the face of the risk of a third world war with nuclear weapons.
– In Sweden, there are only two varieties. An overwhelming majority who either shut up or join the warmongers. And then there is perhaps a tiny minority who cheer for the other team, the Russians. But where in the opinion corridor is the third category, those who do not take sides but who propagate peace negotiations and an end to the war?
See the entire program in Swedish HERE:
https://www.swebbtv.se/w/jZpvE3YJzcBsFPcQdshvgS
But where in the opinion corridor is the third category, those who do not take sides but who propagate peace negotiations and an end to the war?
imho – they are being actively silenced by the military industrial complex
and the complex has decades of experience, how to deal with the troublesome peace makers.
Re: “In other news, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that he is worried about his safety if Donald Trump is re-elected as president of the USA.”
Mayor Khan is always free to resign from his position anytime the demands of the job are too much for him. Compassion must always be foremost in our minds!
Apropos of his statement, isn’t it a bit paranoid? Or does the good Mayor have problems with his conscience for some reason?
Terrorist as victim
“Czech Senator Says Artillery Shells for Ukraine Are Overpriced”
Well, yes, of course they are. I would refer anyone to the book “War is a Racket” to understand why and how it is done the way it is done.
Our Ukrainian Prime Minister one day stepped in front of the camera and said: “We are gonna buy all ammunition we can, we have X billion crowns to fund it!”
So the military industrial complex salesmen and women knew upfront, how much our Ukrainian government gonna spend, and arranged for it.
Word is – Russians bought most of the ammunition immediately after prime minister Fiala’s announcement. But – how can you be sure, if you advertise upfront how much you gonna spend?
So – that’s the way it goes. Our Ukrainian Prime Minister is already suspect in shady banking accounts in shady banks that finance Ukraine.
But to be completely honest – he is controled from Germany, which is controlled from the USA – so all this is Biden’s fault, by a short stretch of imagination 🙂