Five people were wounded in an explosion today when a man tossed a bomb into a California courthouse in which he was scheduled to be arraigned. The alleged bomber, Nathaniel McGuire, was about to be arraigned on charges stemming from an arrest for carrying a loaded and concealed revolver that was not registered to him.
In other news, Germany’s Green Party co-leaders Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour resigned after their party experienced multiple state election wipe-outs.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, Dora, LP, MM, Reader from Chicago, Roger, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
French Finance Minister Warns of ‘One of Worst Deficits in History’
Finance Minister Antoine Armand has sounded the alarm on the French budget, warning of the “very serious situation” facing France.
Speaking to radio station France Inter on September 24, Armand said: “Apart from one or two years of exceptional crisis in the last 50 years, we have one of the worst deficits in our history. The situation is serious.”
He said he wanted to hold talks with social partners and hash out a plan to restore public finances. Patrick Martin, president of Medef, a major employer organisation, said he and his group were “ready to talk” but under certain conditions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Five people were wounded in an explosion Wednesday after a disgrusntled man tossed a bomb into a California courthouse, where he was scheduled to be arraigned on gun charges that morning, officials said.
The alleged bomber — later identified as 20-year-old Nathaniel McGuire — threw an explosive device into the bustling Santa Maria Courthouse in Santa Maria, a coastal town in Santa Barbara County just after 8:30 a.m., authorities said.
McGuire, of Santa Maria, was set to be arraigned at the courthouse on charges stemming from a July 28 arrest for carrying “a loaded and concealed revolver” that was not registered to him, Santa Babara County Sheriff Office officials said at a press conference streamed by KSBY.
Authorities believe he acted alone and said there is no additional threat to the public. He was booked on charges of attempted murder, using an explosive in attempting to kill someone and possession of explosive devices.
| — Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
99 College Campuses Closed Over the Past Year — Is Yours Next?
Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
Abbey Ballentine, a student from Ohio’s Cleveland area, selected nearby Notre Dame College because it had everything she was looking for. It was a small, friendly campus with competitive Division II soccer and it was close to home.
By late fall of 2023, just a few months into her freshman year, she heard rumors the school had financial problems.
The official closure announcement was made early into the spring semester and the college closed its doors in May.
Campus advisors and administrators helped students quickly find other schools within a reasonable distance that would honor their financial aid packages and accept academic credits. Ballentine chose Thiel College in western Pennsylvania.
She’s still warming up to her new environment. The soccer team is Division III, a lower level than her prior team but also an opportunity for more playing time. The campus is more spread out and further from home. The move also pushed Ballentine out of her comfort zone and challenged her to switch majors from nursing to exercise science, which she has enjoyed.
“I think it’s a good match for me, and I actually like being further away from home, so far,” Ballentine told The Epoch Times. “But it’s only been a month, and I kind of still miss everything about Notre Dame.”
The support provided to Notre Dame College students in such a short window is rare, according to Rachel Burns, senior policy analyst with the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), a research and policy organization.
Burns said 70 percent of private college students who attended institutions that closed abruptly in the past five years received no help in finding a place to continue their academic career.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Alex Jones Supporters Urge Elon Musk to Buy InfoWars and Sell it Back to Him
Fans of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones have taken to X (formerly Twitter), imploring Elon Musk to buy Infowars, the platform Jones founded, and return control of the website to Jones.
On Tuesday, federal Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez stated he would approve the sale of assets belonging to Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems. This is to allow Jones to be able to pay off the $1.5 billion he owes families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for defamation and emotional distress.
The assets include Infowars’ website, social media accounts, broadcasting equipment, product trademarks and some inventory.
Fans of Jones are urging Musk, owner of social media platform X, to buy Infowars, with some even calling for Infowars to be somehow incorporated into X.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ashli Babbitt $30 Million ‘Wrongful Death’ Suit Gets Green Light
A federal judge scheduled a trial date for a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Jan. 6 protester Ashli Babbitt, who died after being shot by U.S. Capitol Police officer Michael Byrd.
The watchdog group Judicial Watch, which is helping in the lawsuit filed by Babbitt’s husband, Aaron, revealed that Judge Ana C. Reyes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia scheduled a trial date of July 20, 2026, for the $30 million wrongful death suit.
Following a Friday hearing on the case, Judicial Watch also said Reyes is considering a request to move the case to California, where Ashli Babbitt’s family lives.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton lawsuit case file has received an amicus brief straight from the Biden-Harris White House, and the gist is an attempt to stretch the First Amendment to cover age verification laws, digital ID laws.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) seems to be using the opportunity to make its voice heard in the case involving the Texas law (HB 1181), in order to pave the way for broader use of online age verification going forward.
The amicus brief thus talks about such laws (plural), as it urges the court to make it clear that the First Amendment “does not necessarily foreclose appropriately tailored age-verification laws.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Commerce Secretary on Trump: ‘Let’s Extinguish Him, for Good’
The Trump campaign is livid over remarks from Biden Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo calling for his opponents to “extinguish him, for good.”
“It’s just another lie. Like, how did we get here? Let’s extinguish him [Trump], for good. We have an answer, we have a remarkably talented candidate,” Raimondo said, referencing Vice President Kamala Harris.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Says ‘For Years Too Little Has Been Done’ on Fentanyl Problem — He’s Been President Since 2021
Speaking to world leaders in New York on Tuesday, President Biden declared that “too little has been done” over the past several years to take action against the fentanyl crisis in the United States. This despite the fact that Biden has been president since 2021, during which time more than 250,000 Americans have died as a result of consuming the synthetic opioids primarily distributed by China.
Biden, 81, painted himself as a leader on the issue while speaking at a symposium at the InterContinental Barclay hotel. He told world leaders in town for the United Nations General Assembly that there has been a modest drop in overdose deathsthis year, but failed to mention that overdose death rates nearly doubled under his administration compared to his predecessor former President Donald Trump, as reported by the New York Post.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bomb Reportedly Explodes at Santa Maria Courthouse
Law enforcement and other emergency personnel converged on the Santa Maria Superior Court complex Wednesday morning after a report that someone threw a bomb in a courthouse building.
The Sheriff’s Office confirmed an explosion and asked people to avoid the area since it was not considered safe.
Emergency radio traffic indicated there may have been injuries, and multiple ambulances were dispatched to the scene.
However, a witness told Noozhawk no one was hurt.
A suspect was in custody as of 9 a.m. and was seen being transferred from the back of a Santa Maria Police car to a Sheriff’s Office car.
The suspect was inside the court building and threw a bag in front of Department 9, which is the arraignment courtroom, Superior Court Executive Officer Darrel Parker told Noozhawk.
Whatever was in the bag, it went off, he said.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Brandeis University President Resigns Following Faculty’s Vote of No Confidence
Brandeis University President Ronald Liebowitz announced his resignation Wednesday, just days after the college’s faculty passed a vote of no confidence in his leadership.
In an email to the campus community, Liebowitz said he made the decision to step down “with mixed emotions.” While he didn’t specify a reason for his departure, Liebowitz explained that he and his wife, Jessica, hope to “build on our experiences to create new pathways for innovation and reform in higher education.”
He added: “I resign knowing that the university will be in good hands.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Texas jury has convicted a violent Dallas Antifa member over her role in an attack outside a children’s drag event in Fort Worth in April 2023.
Meghan Grant, 39 (b. June 13, 1985), of Dallas, was found guilty by a jury on Wednesday of resisting arrest and interfering with public duties following a three-day criminal trial in Tarrant County, Texas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
On Wednesday, the Trump campaign announced that the 2024 GOP presidential candidate’s forthcoming Butler, PA rally will take place at the same venue where in July “he came within a quarter of an inch of losing his life.”
“President Trump’s return to Butler will mark his first visit to the site of the attack since he was struck by an assassin’s bullet on July 13th—but was saved in what the world has recognized as an act of divine providence,” the campaign said in a press release.
The rally will take place on October 5th at 5 pm at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In a letter sent to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson urged the world leader to fire Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States after Zelensky appeared alongside Democrat politicians for a visit to a Pennsylvania munitions factory.
“I demand that you immediately fire Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova,” Johnson wrote. “As you have said, Ukrainians have tried to avoid being ‘captured by American domestic politics,’ and ‘influencing the choices of the American people’ ahead of the November election.”
“Clearly that objective was abandoned this week when Ambassador Markarova organized an event in which you toured an American manufacturing site.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: Explosion at Santa Maria Courthouse, 2 Injured, Person of Interest Arrested
An explosion occurred at the Santa Maria Courthouse in California on Wednesday, leaving two people injured. The injuries are reportedly non-life threatening and a person of interest has been detained in connection with the incident, according to Raquel Zick, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Zick, who has provided updates about the ongoing situation on X, the explosion is believed to have been from an “intentionally set improvised explosive device.” Zick also warned the public that the “scene has not been deemed safe” and advised people to avoid the area.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DOJ IG Horowitz Won’t Say How Many Confidential Human Sources Were Among Crowd on Jan. 6, 2021
U.S. Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz on Wednesday would not say how many U.S. government confidential human sources were among the protestors during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, when pressed on the matter by a lawmaker on Wednesday.
Horowitz was asked if he has evidence of the number of confidential human sources that were operating on the Capitol grounds on January 6th.
In response, he said his forthcoming report will include “information in that regard.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Facebook Built a Vip Censorship Pipeline for the White House
In case you thought 2021 was just about ever-shifting “expert advice,” think again. Thanks to America First Legal, we now know that behind the chaotic public health messaging, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Facebook were playing a little game of “whack-a-mole” with your freedom of speech.
Today, new onboarding documents were unearthed, which shows just how cozy Facebook got with the CDC. The social media giant wasn’t merely policing what it thought was “misinformation” on COVID and vaccines; it was operating as the de facto enforcement arm of the US government’s thought control initiative. The Biden-Harris Administration, while trumpeting their “fight for truth,” had essentially deputized Facebook to clean up the messy world of online discourse. And who decides what’s messy? Apparently, anyone with a .gov email address.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Enforcement of San Diego’s Offensive Speech Ordinance
Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times
A federal judge on Sept. 23 temporarily blocked the enforcement of San Diego’s ordinance that bans “offensive or disorderly” conduct in public spaces, including making loud noises and using vulgar language.
Busker William J. Dorsett filed a complaint against the city on July 8 after a park ranger cited him for violating the ordinance when he criticized the ranger for ticketing another person, who was making bubbles for children in Balboa Park without protective equipment.
U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz granted a preliminary injunction after Dorsett claimed that San Diego Municipal Code Section 56.27 violates the First Amendment.
In a nine-page ruling, Moskowitz stated that Dorsett is likely to succeed in proving that the city’s ordinance is “unconstitutionally vague and overbroad.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FTC Commissioner Warns New Report May Hand Big Tech a Censorship Playbook
US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Melissa Holyoak has expressed concerns that the agency’s own report, meant to provide insight into Big Tech surveillance and privacy invasion, might in fact end up enabling more of it.
That’s certainly one way to express a dissenting stance toward the report that has just been published and was commissioned in December 2020.
The document concludes that some of the biggest tech companies — Amazon, Google, Meta, at that time Twitter, ByteDance (TikTok), and Snap — have created what its authors call a vast surveillance operation.
The report — “A Look Behind the Scenes: Examining the Data Practices of Social Media and Video Streaming Services” — slams these companies for anti-competitive behavior, and the use of algorithms to promote content which could be “harmful.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Gaslighting Americans’: Doctors Back Florida Surgeon General in Spat With Feds Over COVID Vax Recs
Americans wary of Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo for his iconoclastic approach to COVID-19 may be surprised to learn that his skepticism of one-size-fits-all recommendations is catching on in the scientific community and is backed by data from a nonprofit health institution second in name recognition to only perhaps the Mayo Clinic.
he science publishing establishment doesn’t want to give the data credence, however, with the corresponding author of the research telling Just the News on Monday the Cleveland Clinic team’s paper was rejected by peer-reviewed journals and its findings are now outdated.
The Florida Department of Health’s updated guidance Sept. 12 for COVID boosters, and Lapado’s Sept. 14 broadside against federal public health agencies for “gaslighting Americans” into thinking they need the “unproven” boosters, stands in stark contrast to federal guidance.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House Judiciary Questions Merrick Garland Over Public Release of Would-be Trump Assassin’s Manifesto
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding the public release of Ryan Wesley Routh’s manifesto, which put a bounty on former President Donald Trump’s head.
The Justice Department included the alleged manifesto in a court filing earlier this week, which outlined Routh’s plan to assassinate the former president, and promised a $150,000 bounty to anyone who “complete[s] the job” if he failed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kentucky Sheriff Accused of Shooting Judge Pleads Not Guilty, Could Face Death Penalty
(WHITESBURG, Ky.) — The Kentucky sheriff accused of fatally shooting a judge in his chambers last week could face the death penalty if convicted, according to a special judge appointed to preside over the case.
Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Stines, 43, made his first court appearance Wednesday, where he pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges.
On Thursday, Stines allegedly killed Kentucky District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, inside his chambers in the Letcher County Courthouse, officials said. The shooting allegedly occurred “following an argument inside the courthouse,” according to Kentucky State Police, and investigators are still searching for a motive.
Stines did not appear to show emotion during the brief hearing on Wednesday, where he appeared over Zoom wearing a jail uniform alongside his public defender, who entered the not guilty plea on Stines’ behalf.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Key Pennsylvania County Flips to Majority GOP for Registered Voters
A county in the battleground state of Pennsylvania that has historically been a Democratic stronghold has flipped to the Republican Party for the first time in over four decades, according to Pennsylvania State Department data released on Monday.
There are now more Republicans registered to vote in Luzerne County than there are Democrats. The GOP currently holds a slim advantage with 87,415 registered voters compared to Democrats with 87,332, data shows.
Additionally, 6,160 residents are registered as third-party voters while 22,414 are unaffiliated voters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Today in ‘total coincidences’ news, the world’s most gifted stock-picking family, the Pelosis, appear to have done it again, selling hundreds of thousands of dollars in Visa stock with what can only be described as timing that is beyond prescient.
Paul Pelosi sold more than $500,000 in Visa stock less than 3 months before the company was hit with federal antitrust charges, according to a new report from the New York Post.
The Post reported that on Tuesday, Visa faced a lawsuit accusing the company of illegally monopolizing the debit card market. The suit follows an extensive investigation by the Justice Department’s antitrust division, spanning several years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mark Zuckerberg Identifies as Libertarian, Hires Republican Strategist: Report
In an effort to reshape his public image amid political controversies surrounding Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly hired a Republican strategist to help his relationship with the right.
Much of the criticism towards Zuckerberg from the right stems from years of censoring and suppressing conservative content, including Facebook’s decision to suspend Donald Trump’s account after January 6, 2021, and the platform’s suppression of the New York Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop story during the 2020 election. Zuckerberg later admitted that he was pressured by the FBI to suppress the laptop story.
Zuckerberg has reportedly hired Republican strategist Brian Baker, the New York Times reported, to help mend his relationship with the right. Sources who spoke with Zuckerberg recently said that the Meta CEO identifies in private more closely with libertarianism or “classical liberalism.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Minnesota Update: Eighth Circuit Court Strikes Down Minnesota’s Firearm Carry Age Restrictions
The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a mandate on September 20, officially shutting down the Minnesota Attorney General’s efforts to preserve the state’s ban on firearm carry for individuals aged 18 to 20. The decision follows a legal challenge backed by the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), and the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC).
The challenge was brought forward by plaintiffs Kristin Worth, Austin Dye, and Axel Anderson, who argued that Minnesota’s restrictions on carrying firearms for adults under 21 violated their Second Amendment rights. In April 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Menendez ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, but delayed an injunction against the law pending appeal.
In July, a three-judge panel from the Eighth Circuit had unanimously affirmed the lower court’s ruling.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NYC Mayor Eric Adams Indicted by Grand Jury Amid Corruption Probe: Reports
New York City’s Democratic Mayor Eric Adams was indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday night, sources have told the New York Times and New York Post, making him the city’s first sitting mayor to face charges.
The indictment is still under seal, which means the charges have not been released, but it comes amid a federal investigation into allegations that he accepted illegal campaign donations from the Turkish government. The FBI has also expanded its investigation to include five other countries, but the details and names of those countries have not been released so far.
Four officials within Adams’ administration have also resigned recently,amid a handful of investigations into Adams and senior members of his staff.
The indictment is expected to fuel calls for the mayor to resign, and comes after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez called for Adams’ resignation earlier Wednesday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Scared to Eat Prison Food at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn
Sean “Diddy” Combs is concerned that his prison food could potentially be poisoned and is refusing to eat the food provided to him, the Daily Mail reported.
Former inmate, Larry Levine, who served some hard time in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where Diddy has made his home since being busted last week, claims to have a “source” on the inside with the goods on Combs.
“Imagine if someone paid someone off on the inside to poison his food, give him a heart attack and he dies,” Levine told Ashleigh Banfield of NewsNation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Secret Service Knew of Trump Shooter 27 Minutes Before Shots Fired
A U.S. Senate committee’s report on Secret Service failures around the first Trump assassination attemptreveals that the Secret Service found out about Thomas Crooks’ suspicious behavior almost half an hour before he shot the president and killed another man.
The injuries of Donald Trump and multiple rally attendees and the death of Corey Comperatore could all have been prevented had the Secret Service taken the report of a “suspicious person with a rangefinder around the AGR building approximately 27 minutes before the shooting” seriously, the bipartisan reportdemonstrates (read it below). The incompetence, whether deliberate or accidental, of the Secret Service cost a life and changed American politics. Now there needs to be major accountability for those responsible for this and other egregious failures at the Pennsylvania rally.
There are numerous noteworthy findings in the Senate Homeland Security Committee report, but I will list below a number that I found particularly disturbing and significant.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A preliminary report released on Wednesday revealed critical security and operational failures made by the United States Secret Service pertaining to the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. The fatal missteps resulted in the GOP nominee being shot, two of his supporters sustaining serious injuries, and another being killed.
Among the key findings was an agent inexperienced with the C-UAS drone detecting equipment having to call a toll-free tech support hotline to troubleshoot issues with the equipment. This was after a request made ahead of time for additional unmanned assets had been denied. The agent received one hour of informal training on the device itself before being tasked to operate it. Additionally, the technical difficulties resulted in the equipment not being able to be operated until after would-be assassin Thomas Crooks flew his drone, according to the interim report released by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Soros Buys Over 200 Radio Stations Weeks Before U.S. Election
Billionaire activist George Soros has reportedly been approved to purchase Audacy, the second-largest chain of radio stations in the U.S, owning 220 American radio stations in 40 markets and reaching 165 million listeners monthly.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)—the U.S. agency responsible for regulating communications via radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable—last week approved the purchase with the three Democrats on the commission outvoting the two Republicans, according to the New York Post.
A spokesman for the FCC told Fox News Digital that “no decision is final until the Commission releases it, which we have not.”
In February, Soros, the 93-year-old left-wing globalist, bought $400 million of debt in Audacy after the company declared bankruptcy, making him its largest shareholder. The company has since restructured and is currently home to conservative voices like Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and Glenn Beck.
A source told the New York Post,
The idea that George Soros is buying hundreds of local radio stations right before a national election and will keep broadcasting Sean Hannity and other conservative talk radio hosts on Audacy is not credible.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ten Democrats Join Republicans in Rebuking Biden Officials Over Afghanistan Withdrawal
Ten House Democrats voted with Republicans on Wednesday to rebuke senior Biden administration officials over the highly criticized withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
The measure, which passed in a 219 to 194 vote, was introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, and accused the Biden administration of prioritizing “optics” and politics over “security.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A whistleblower has come forward alleging that the Secret Service told former President Donald Trump’s team that it didn’t have sufficient resources to secure a rally the campaign wanted to hold in Wisconsin. Senator Josh Hawley revealed that the whistleblower’s account was provided to his office.
In a letter to Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe, Hawley asked if the denial occurred noting that if so, the Secret Service “effectively forced the Trump campaign to cancel an upcoming event in Wisconsin.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UNGA 2024: Protesters Arrested During Biden’s NYC Visit; Street Closures Continue
New York City — President Joe Biden gave his farewell address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, as conflicts rage in the Middle East and Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine continues.
Biden used his wide-ranging address to speak to the need to end the Middle East conflict and highlight U.S. and Western allies’ support for Kyiv after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
When does Biden leave NYC
The president will remain in NYC for much of the day, hosting meetings and receptions until he departs for the White House tonight — meaning another day of gridlock traffic and possibly another day of protests.
The NYPD made several arrests last night at a protest called “Flood Midtown for Lebanon.” Video showed large crowds gathered along 2nd Avenue near 43rd St.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Walz Blasted for Huddling With George Soros’ Son at NYC Luxury Apartment: ‘Billionaire Nepo Baby’
Minnesota Gov. and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz was blasted on social media this week for visiting the upscale Manhattan apartment of Alex Soros, the son of billionaire liberal mega donor George Soros.
“Honored to host Governor @Tim_Walz at my home in New York City!” Alex Soros, his dad’s successor at the multibillion-dollar Open Society Foundations (OSF), posted on X on Tuesday along with photos alongside Walz in front of the New York City skyline.
The post was widely panned by conservatives on social media who made the argument that Walz’s portrayal as a “rural” moderate was compromised by standing next to one of the most prolific progressive families in the United States.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Wisconsin Republican Calls for Investigation Into 2,000 Duplicate Ballots That Went Out in Madison
Republican Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany on Wednesday called for a local investigation into how 2,215 duplicate ballots mistakenly went out to voters in the state’s capital of Madison.
Madison officials revealed the mistake on Tuesday but said that the duplicate ballots have the same barcode as the original ballots so they cannot be counted twice. The error occurred when officials accidentally merged two identical files, instead of merging two separate lists as intended, according to Fox News.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Wisconsin Mayor Carts Away Absentee Ballot Drop Box, Says He Did Nothing Wrong
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The mayor of a central Wisconsin city who ran for office on his opposition to absentee ballot drop boxes said Wednesday he did nothing wrong when he put on work gloves, donned a hard hat and used a dolly to cart away a drop box outside City Hall.
Wausau Mayor Doug Diny posed for a picture Sunday to memorialize his removal of the city’s lone drop box that had been put outside City Hall around the same time late last week that absentee ballots were sent to voters. The city’s election clerk, Kaitlyn Bernarde, said she has reported the issue to the Marathon County district attorney a well as the state elections commission.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“If You’re Healthy, Get Off Your A-S-S”: Ford Tells Ontario’s Homeless to Pursue Employment
Ontario Premier Doug Ford did not mince words when telling able-bodied homeless people to find employment in order to get out of encampments.
Ford was asked about the more than 1,000 people currently on wait lists for affordable housing at an unrelated news conference on Monday.
“You need to start working if you’re healthy — bottom line. If you’re unhealthy, I’ll take care of you the rest of my life, your life, we’ll take care of you,” said Ford. “But if you’re healthy, get off your A-S-S and start working like everyone else is. Very simple.”
The comments received an uncommon round of applause for a press conference.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Justin Trudeau Survives Non-Confidence Vote in House as NDP and Bloc Prop Up Liberals
The Conservative Party non-confidence motion went down to defeat Wednesday as the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Quebecois voted to prop up the Trudeau government. The vote was 211 to 120, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returning from his trip to New York City in time to vote against the non-confidence motion.
On Tuesday, Official Opposition and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievere outlined his reasons for wanting to topple the Trudeau government.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Smith Reveals Sneak-Peek Into Upcoming Bill of Rights Amendments to Protect Albertans
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has hinted at further protecting vaccination choice, property rights and legal firearm ownership in upcoming amendments to the Alberta Bill of Rights.
Smith revealed the measures in a post to X on Tuesday, stating that every Albertan will have the right to make their own vaccination and medical decisions. Additionally, no Albertan will be deprived of their property without legal due process and just compensation. The final measure announced was an amendment to defend the rights of all legal and responsible firearm owners.
Smith said that the legislation will be introduced in a few weeks and is intended to protect the rights and freedoms central to the identity of Albertans.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Péter Szijjartó took office as Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs on September 23, 2014, making him Europe’s longest-serving minister. Index wrote up a review of the FM’s career, including some top reasons why many have also found him to be controversial.
The Komarom-born politician and one-time National League soccer player has been a Fidesz member of parliament since 2002. He worked as the communications director of Fidesz between 2006 and 2010, was the minister’s spokesperson for two years from 2010, and then as the state secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade between 2012 and 2014.
Szijjartó then served as deputy minister of foreign affairs and trade from June 2014 to September 2014, after which he became the head of that ministry.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: Brussels Bookshop Axes Conservatives to Protect ‘Inclusive Space’
A Brussels bookshop has reversed its decision to host a Conservative event, in the hope of preserving its status as an “inclusive space”, organisers of the gathering have claimed.
European Union think-tank MCC Brussels had planned to host the launch of its executive director Frank Furedi’s new book at the Piola.libri bookstore, located just a few minutes walk from the European Commission’s Berlaymont building.
Speaking to Brussels Signal on September 25, MCC Brussels said the location had cancelled the launch event for The War Against the Past, citing its desire to remain an “inclusive space”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: “Inclusive Space”: Brussels Bookstore Cancels Conservative Event for ‘Political’ Reasons
Less than a week before the scheduled launch of the newest book by Professor Frank Füredi, the executive director of the leading conservative think tank MCC Brussels, the bookstore that previously agreed to host the event abruptly withdrew its offer, citing concerns about the “political connotation” of collaborating with MCC and the store’s commitment to being an “inclusive space.”
The event was supposed to take place on Monday, September 30th, in the Piola.libri bookstore, just a few minutes’ walk from the European Commission’s headquarters and other major EU institutions.
The think tank was notified of the cancellation in an email on Tuesday, September 24th. “After careful consideration, we have found out that the political connotation of the initiative is more strongly marked than we initially understood,” a Piola.libri representative wrote to MCC. “Our venue has always maintained a line of neutrality, … this choice allows us to ensure an inclusive space that respects all sensibilities.”
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Big Tech Deboosted Millions of Posts During EU Elections
Big Tech platforms limited the spread of millions of posts throughout the period of the European Parliament elections in June, newly released documents have confirmed.
Reports published on September 24 by Meta, Google, and TikTok under the European Union’s voluntary anti-disinformation code showed that all three companies took measures to limit the spread of content deemed to contain “disinformation” by fact-checkers.
Meta explicitly stated that the number of posts it deboosted in such a manner during the election numbered in the tens of millions.
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Britain on the Cusp of New Free Movement-Like Deal With EU
British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, who campaigned against Brexit in the 2016 referendum and later fought for the vote to be overturned, could sign up to a ‘youth mobility scheme’ with the European Union—the likes of which senior Labour figures, such as London Mayor Sadiq Khan, have long advocated for—within months.
Brussels officials have been clear that a “reset” of UK-EU relations, which Starmer’s government is desperately working towards, will come at a cost. Just days after Labour’s shallow election victory, one EU source said that any renegotiated Brexit deal will likely involve a relaxation of freedom of movement rules.
An offer being devised in Brussels—allowing European adults under the age of 30 to remain in the UK (and vice versa) for just two or three years, rather than four, as was previously considered—has been dubbed by Britain’s i newspaper as a “concession.” This line prompted one anti-Brexit campaigner to argue that since the EU is “willing to compromise” by coming down from its previous hope of allowing European adults to stay in the UK for four years, the British government should be “equally flexible”—that is, should again give up on its border.
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Chemistry Giant BASF Considers Closures at Main Plant in Germany
German chemistry giant BASF has said it was contemplating the closure of one in seven facilities at its main plant in Ludwigshafen.
CEO of the company, Markus Kamieth, who took the wheel of the multinational in April this year, is set to present a new mission statement for Ludwigshafen on September 26 at the company’s Capital Markets Day event in the city.
In its severe austerity programme, meant to be shown to a selective group of 200 executives but shared on September 25 by the monthly publication Manager Magazin, BASF is considering deep cuts in its German division.
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Czech Government Crumbles After Regional Election Flop
PM Petr Fiala’s Czech government coalition might be coming apart in the next few months after a heavy blow from the populist opposition party ANO (‘Action of Dissatisfied Citizens’) during last weekend’s regional parliamentary elections. The elections saw ex-PM Andrej Babis-led sovereigntists snatch the most seats in ten out of the country’s thirteen regions, leaving members of the ruling center-right Spolu (‘Together’) coalition victorious in only two.
ANO won its landslide victory with 35.4% of the vote, translating to 292 seats out of the nationwide total of 675, while Fiala’s Civic Democratic Party (ODS), the pack leader of his five-party coalition, came in second with only 106 seats. Establishment parties were let down both on the Left and Right, but both the hard-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and the communist Stacilo (Enough) performed much better than expected, finishing in a tie at fifth place with 32 seats each.
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Embarrassing Gaffe for Belgian EC Candidate Lahbib
Hadja Lahbib, Belgium’s newest European Commissioner candidate, has certainly made an impression at her first General Affairs Council meeting of the Council of the European Union — but maybe not quite the one she intended.
Lahbib confidently took the floor on September 24 and began reading … the wrong text.
She skipped ahead on the agenda, leaving everyone momentarily puzzled. Her adviser had to step in to save the day.
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Environmentalists Value Peat, Smear Finland’s Parliament in Red Paint
Helsinki — Environmental activists sprayed red paint on Finland’s parliament building on Wednesday to protest against the peat industry, sparking strong criticism from politicians.
Activists from Extinction Rebellion Finland and Swedish organization Aterstall Vatmarker (Restore Wetlands) smeared several granite columns at the building’s main entrance in red paint resembling blood.
They told AFP they were protesting against the Finnish state-owned company Neova mining peat in Swedish wetlands.
Peat extracted from wetlands is often used as an energy source or for farming purposes, emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide.
In their natural state, peatlands store large amounts of carbon dioxide.
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Explained: Why PM’s Sacking of Pirates Leader Has Czech Politics in Turmoil
The current Czech government coalition is in turmoil after Prime Minister Petr Fiala unexpectedly announced his plans Tuesday to sack Ivan Bartos, head of the government coalition Pirates party and deputy prime minister for digitalization. He is also the minister of regional development.
There are now talks that the current, five-party incumbent coalition may change drastically ahead of the general election in 2025.
What is the current composition of the Czech government?
Since September 2021, a five-party coalition has ruled Czechia. This consists of the Spolu (Together) alliance — comprising the Civic Democrats (ODS), Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), and TOP 09 — the Mayors and Independents (STAN), and the Pirates party.
Fiala leads the ODS, which is the coalition’s largest party by seat numbers. The Pirates have the fewest seats.
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Farage: Britons Will ‘Rebel’ Against Labour Gov’t ‘Fun Police’ Restrictions on Pubs
The British public will not stand for “fun police” nanny state regulations by the leftist Labour Party, Reform UK’s Nigel Farage said, predicting voters will “rebel” if the government attempts to limit pub hours.
Mr Farage, a proud pub-goer who is often seen with a pint in hand and a cigarette hanging from his lips, has warned that Sir Keir Starmer’s “all out war against happiness” will spark a backlash from the British people.
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French Far-Left MP Sophia Chikirou Indicted for Aggravated Fraud in 2017 Mélenchon Campaign
Sophia Chikirou, a prominent MP for the left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI) and close ally of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, was indicted on Tuesday for aggravated fraud and abuse of corporate assets in connection with the 2017 presidential campaign accounts of Mélenchon.
The indictment was confirmed by judicial sources and comes after years of investigation into alleged financial misconduct surrounding Mélenchon’s campaign.
At the heart of the investigation is Mediascop, a communications consulting firm owned by Chikirou, which is accused of overcharging for services provided during the campaign. Chikirou, a 45-year-old MP for Paris, denies the allegations.
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Germany: Hamburg Court Upholds Ban on Media’s False Claims About Potsdam Meeting
A court in Hamburg has upheld the ruling of a lower court which prohibited German public media from spreading false information about the so-called ‘Potsdam meeting.’
As we reported earlier, a ruling in July by the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg prohibits public broadcasters from repeating the false allegation that participants at a meeting in Potsdam last November discussed the expulsion of German citizens of foreign origin.
After an appeal by public broadcaster NDR, the Regional Court of Hamburg also issued the decision on Monday, September 23rd, that NDR and its flagship news programme Tagesschau must stop repeating the false claims originally made by the state-funded left-wing investigative website Correctiv.
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Germany: Frankfurt Train Station Riddled With Criminality
1,092 crimes were recorded at Frankfurt Central Station in just the first six months of 2024. That’s equivalent to about six crimes per day.
The figures, quoted by German news media company Apollo, were released by the federal government in response to a request from the AfD parliamentary group. They show that a very high proportion of the criminal suspects are foreign nationals.
A report produced this month by the Bundestag reveals that, for example, non-Germans were involved in 123 cases of violent crime at the station in the first half of this year. By comparison, German citizens were involved in 84 cases. In five cases, the nationality of the suspect was “unclear.” It was “unknown” in 57 others.
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Germany’s Green Party Leadership Resigns After Election Wipe-Outs
The leadership of the German Greens have announced their resignations after their party experienced multiple State election wipe-outs.
Co-leaders Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour both released statements on September 25 declaring that the entirety of the party’s executive board would resign over the result of the Brandenburg elections on September 22, which saw the Greens fall to zero seats in the state.
Writing on X, Lang said the result was evidence that the Greens were now facing the “deepest crisis” it had had “in decades” and that the party must work to rescue itself in time for Germany’s national elections next year.
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German Coalition: Green Leaders Resign for ‘Fresh Start’ Ahead of Election
Following a poor result in September’s regional elections, the leadership of the Greens, one of two junior partners in Germany’s coalition government, resigned on Wednesday (25 September), citing the need for new faces ahead of next year’s national elections.
The Greens were voted out of the assemblies of Brandenburg and Thuringia, and in Saxony, they received just 5.1% of the vote. Nationally, they are now polling in the single digits for the first time in seven years, according to a new Insa poll.
“Sunday’s election result in Brandenburg is testimony to the deepest crisis our party has faced in a decade,” said party leader Omid Nouripour in Berlin on Wednesday. “We have come to the conclusion: We need a fresh start.”
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Remix News has been included on a list of websites accused of being used in a Russian propaganda operations, according to a controversial report from the powerful Office of the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), although Remix News has no ties to Russia.
The report, labeled “Doppelgänger,” made headlines across Germany due to its claims that certain media outlets were pushing Russian narratives or producing news reports that the Russians could use to promote propaganda campaigns. As a result, many of these media outlets, including Der Freitag, Junge Freiheit, and Berliner Zeitung successfully sued the BfV concerning a passage in the report which stated that “from the perspective of the actor, the content in question supports the Russian narrative.” The Bavarian BfV further wrote, “For this purpose, some of the articles were deliberately taken out of context.”
The report describes how Russia was allegedly using a number of news websites to promote its own narrative on social media platforms, and even in some cases, created duplicate news websites that appeared to be authentic to end users.
The lawsuit was successful and the secret service was forced to change part of the report, which then was updated to read: The BayLfV does not explicitly assume that those responsible for the websites listed here are spreading Russian propaganda or are aware of it or approve of their content being disseminated as part of the ‘doppelgänger’ campaign. Furthermore, the BayLfV does not make any assessment of the content of the websites in question.”
While Remix News is not among the websites mentioned in the actual main body of the report, it is instead included in a table at the end of the report along with about 350 news websites. Many of the news website are smaller, but Reuters, Zerohedge, Newsweek, and top German news outlets, such as Welt, Berliner Zeitung, and.Junge Freiheit, are also included.
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Google Accuses Microsoft of Stifling Cloud Competition in Fresh Antitrust Complaint
Google is accusing Microsoft of anti-competitive licensing practices in cloud computing contracts in an antitrust complaint lodged with the European Commission, according to a press release on Wednesday (25 September).
Microsoft is trying to lock European customers into its Azure cloud platform, preventing them from moving work to competitor’s cloud services, Google said in its press release. It is the only cloud provider to use such tactics, Google said.
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Hackers Target Austrian Political Parties With Cyber Attacks as Elections Near
The websites of several Austrian political parties have been targeted by hackers as elections loom.
The unknown assailants launched so-called DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks on September 23 and 24, designed to create surges in website traffic to overload victims’ networks and cause outages. Austria’s national elections take place on September 29.
The targets included the Conservative Party (ÖVP), the Social Democrats (SPÖ), and the Communists (KPÖ). Other institutions such as the Chamber of Commerce of the State of Lower Austria were also attacked.
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Hard-Hit Hungary Unlikely to Receive EU Flood Funds
Last week, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, mentioned five flood-affected member states that could receive EU support, but Hungary was not among them. A spokesman for the committee reacted quickly to the president’s “mistake,” stating that Hungary could also benefit from the help offered by the European Union to the member states affected by the floods.
“Of course, EU support is due to all affected member states, including Hungary,” the spokesperson stated, adding that at the time of the statement in question, data on damages had only been received from the five countries mentioned — Austria, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland and Slovakia.
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Iranian Hackers Attempted to Destabilise Sweden After Quran Burnings
Sweden has revealed it was the target of a coordinated cyberattack by the Iranian security services in 2023. In August last year, hackers took over a short messaging (SMS) service and urged recipients to “take revenge” on people who had burned Qurans in the country.
Approximately 15,000 messages were sent.
The announcement on Tuesday, September 24th, adds a new dimension to events that occurred in the tense summer of 2023. Sweden’s government and police condemned the Quran burnings, which ultimately enjoy protection under freedom of expression laws.
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Martin Bosma’s Dissertation on Netherlands Involvement in Anti-Apartheid Rejected Again
Tweede Kamer president Martin Bosma will not be awarded his doctorate by the University of Amsterdam. A doctoral committee rejected the PVV parliamentarian’s dissertation on Dutch involvement in South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle for the second time, Bosma’s supervisor Jean Tillie confirmed to the Volkskrant.
Bosma has been trying to earn a doctorate with his unconvential view of South Africa’s history for years. He already published a book about this theory, titled Minderheid in eigen land, in 2015. According to Bosma, anti-apartheid fighters are accomplices of the ANC, and the “disadvantaged” position of white South Africans is a harbinger of what could happen to white Dutch people in the future. In an earlier interview with Trouw, Bosma called white South Africans “the first Western guinea pigs in a multicultural laboratory.”
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Polish Government Was Warned About Flood Danger Days Before But Critics Say it Failed to Prepare
Yesterday, opposition MPs from the Law and Justice (PiS), Kacper Plazynski and Jan Mosinski, gave a press conference about the results of the inspection by Poland’s Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW). According to their report, warnings about possible flooding had been coming for several days, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk had access to them.
“After an inspection at IMGW, we know that warnings about very dangerous weather phenomena that were brewing in Poland were sent directly to Donald Tusk already before 3 p.m. on Sept. 10 this year,” said Plazynski.
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UK Labour Conference Ends in Humiliation for Battered Prime Minister
The British Labour government’s decision to scrap winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners has now been attacked not only by the opposition Conservative Party and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, but by the membership of the Labour Party itself.
Far from succeeding in rekindling faith in the government amid a donations scandal exploding, the most memorable moments of Labour’s first conference in government in 14 years have seen ministers debate forcing pubs to close early, and prime minister Sir Keir Starmer inadvertently calling Israeli hostages in Gaza “sausages.”
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UK: Labour Minister Says “Nagging” is the Only Way to Improve Health
During COVID, the British government used so-called ‘nudge’ tactics—which one behavioural scientist later said “violate[d] some core ethics in psychology”—to boost compliance with lockdown rules.
Now the threat of the virus has gone, officials appear to be lining up to use another tactic to improve the nation’s health: nagging.
Talking at Labour’s first conference in government in more than a decade on Tuesday, public health minister Andrew Gwynne suggested that “nagging” gets people to look after their health:
Even if I’ve got my arm half hanging off, it’s only the nagging of my wife that I need to go and see a doctor that means I give in and see a doctor.
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Rape is Resistance and Beepers Are Genocide
The myth that Israel’s tactics not its existence is at issue died with the murdered Jewish families on Oct 7 and the Hezbollah terrorists taken out by pagers on September 17 and 18.
No sooner did the encrypted communications devices handed out to members of the Islamic Jihadist group begin exploding than human rights experts and the UN began condemning the single greatest targeted attack on a terror group as a violation of international law. Those same organizations and activists had nothing to say about the Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israeli towns and villages that turned tens of thousands of Jews into refugees in their own country.
There is no legitimate way for Israel (or any non-Muslim country) to take out an Islamic terrorist. No amount of warnings, phone calls and dropped leaflets and roof knocking warning bombs were enough of a precaution. Even hostage rescue operations were condemned for killing terrorists who in the usual Hamas medical department parlance turned into innocent children.
And there’s also no such thing as an illegitimate Muslim way to kill Jews. Oct 7 proved that. Nearly a year later, Islamic groups are celebrating the orgy of butchery, kidnapping and rape. The Democratic Socialists of America, which boasts 5 allied members of Congress including Rep. Rashida Tlaib, has taken to arguing in favor of “armed resistance” and Hamas.
More Democrats have taken to social media to condemn a Detroit News cartoon which implied that Rep. Tlaib’s support for terrorism may have led her to worry about her pager than two recent Muslim terrorist plots to massacre Jews in synagogues in Vegas and New York City. The Democrat political establishment can’t seem to get around to condemning the Islamic groups attacking synagogues and marching through the streets praising the rape and murder of Jews.
The liberal establishment accepts the Islamic terrorist cause but rejects the Israeli one.
| — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield | [Return to headlines] |
Armed Russian Research Vessels Regularly Spying on Infrastructure in North Sea: Report
Russian research vessels carrying armed soldiers are systematically spying on infrastructure in the Baltic and North Seas, according to international research by Pointer and journalists from six other countries. In the case of the Netherlands, Russian ships behaved suspiciously around wind farms off the Dutch coast multiple times.
The researchers analyzed intercepted Morse code messages and public location data from 72 Russian research vessels and ships linked to espionage or sabotage. In total, these vessels made 428 voyages since the start of the war in Ukarine. On at least 54 voyages, the ships behaved suspiciously within a European country’s exclusive economic zone (EZZ, an area up to 370.4 km from the coast), sailing extremely slowly, following conspicuous zigzag patterns, or stopping completely.
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EU and Allies Look to Tighten Russian Oil-Price Cap
The European Union and 12 partner nations gathered in Brussels on September 24 to assess the impact of Western sanctions on Russia. At the meeting, they also looked into ways to strengthen the G7 price cap on Russian oil, according to the European Commission.
In collaboration with the EU, the G7 imposed a price cap in late 2022, limiting access to Western shipping services and insurance for oil purchases exceeding $60 per barrel. The aim was to curtail Moscow’s financial capacity to sustain its war in Ukraine.
Its effectiveness has diminished since late in 2023, as Russia established a “shadow fleet” of hundreds of tankers, with backing from third-party nations. In response, the EU and Western powers began sanctioning vessels directly, attempting to bring the trade back under control.
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Key Ukrainian Stronghold About to Fall to Russia as Zelensky Touts ‘Victory Plan’ in D.C.
Having been in the United States since Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is about to present his ‘victory plan’ to President Biden, as well as VP Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, likely in that order as the meetings unfold this week.
He said in an ABC News interview published Tuesday, “I think that we are closer to peace than we think.” But he caveated this by saying this will only be assured if Ukraine comes from a “strong position” with the help of Western backers.
He described his so-called victory plan as not being focused on seeking to negotiate with Russia, but rather it is “a bridge to a diplomatic way out, to stop the war.”
We just have to be very strong, very strong,” Zelensky said, and this is largely dependent on the “quick decisions”. He has also of late said that “bold” decisions must be made by Washington, in reference to the request for NATO to greenlight long-range missiles strikes on Russia.
“Everybody’s looking up to [Biden], and we need this to defend ourselves,” he told ABC, in an obvious effort to increase pressure on a somewhat hesitant White House. Ukraine also wants a firm path to NATO membership.
He further said his plan is about “the strengthening of Ukraine, Ukrainian army and Ukrainian people. Only in the strong position we can push [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to stop the war — diplomatic way.” He emphasized: “That is why we are asking our friend.”
Despite this optimism about Ukraine’s battlefield chances from Zelensky, Reuters on Tuesday has more bad news for Kiev, centering on rapid gains in Donetsk as another key town is about to fall.
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Lukashenko’s Political Prisoners Releases Reflects Strategy for Regime Survival
Belarus’ recent release of political prisoners appears to be part of a disinformation campaign aimed at repairing relations with the EU ahead of the 2025 presidential elections.
In July 2024, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree releasing 15 political prisoners, marking the largest release since the post-election crackdown of 2020. “We treat everyone humanly,” Lukashenko said before the release.
This was followed by additional pardons of 30 prisoners in August and 67 in September, which Lukashenko’s presidential office called “another gesture of humanism on the part of the state towards those who made a mistake.”
Belarusian pro-regime political analyst Yuri Voskresensky referred to Lukashenko’s actions as “acts of mercy” and hinted that more releases could follow if dialogue with the West, particularly the EU, were established.
Lukashenko’s openness to release political prisoners, however, appears to be part of an effort to restart relations with the EU ahead of the 2025 presidential campaign, which, according to BELPOL, will take place in February 2025.
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Putin Lowers Threshold for Possible Nuclear Attacks Against the West
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday issued stark new warnings of a possible nuclear response against the West if any Western nuclear-capable country supported an attack on Russia.
The warning appears aimed at dissuading Europe and the United States from supporting Ukraine in its third year of conflict with Russia, as Ukraine seeks to use long-range missiles to attack military targets deep within the former Soviet country.
Putin said the proposed changes to the nuclear doctrine will also allow Russia to use nuclear weapons on any country that launches a “massive” air or space attack against them, or if Belarus were attacked.
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Russia’s Adaptability to US Sanctions Stymied Their Effectiveness, Economists Say
WASHINGTON (AP) — Waves of sanctions imposed by the Biden administration after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine haven’t inflicted the devastating blow to Moscow’s economy that some had expected. In a new report, two researchers are offering reasons why.
Oleg Itskhoki of Harvard University and Elina Ribakova of the Peterson Institute for International Economics argue that the sanctions should have been imposed more forcefully immediately after the invasion rather than in a piecemeal manner.
“In retrospect, it is evident that there was no reason not to have imposed all possible decisive measures against Russia from the outset once Russia launched the full scale invasion in February 2022,” the authors state in the paper. Still, “the critical takeaway is that sanctions are not a silver bullet,” Ribakova said on a call with reporters this week, to preview the study.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine’s Zelensky Tells U.N. Security Council Russia Must be ‘Forced Into Peace’
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has made an appeal to the U.N. Security Council and “global south” nations to force Russia to peace, accusing the country of “international crimes” and of targeting nuclear power stations.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected the utility of talks to resolve the Ukraine War, saying all the nations of the world to come together to “force” Russia into peace. Addressing the U.N. Security council in a punchy speech, President Zelensky told its members — Russia is a permanent member of the council — that: “we know some in the world want to talk to Putin… but what could they possibly hear from them, that he’s upset because we are exercising our right to defend our people?”.
The Ukrainian leader accused Russia of “international crimes” including razing cities and villages, and said “have have proof” that Russia is targeting Ukrainian nuclear power plants, potentially an extremely serious outcome.
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Julian Assange to Make First Appearance Since Being Freed Next Week
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will make his first public appearance since being released from a British prison at a Council of Europe hearing next week.
Assange was released from prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose U.S. national defense information in June. The plea deal meant he would not serve any time in an American prison, and he has since returned to Australia.
Wikileaks announced the appearance on Wednesday, which will take place in France on Oct. 1. The hearing is related to a report from the Council of Europe that found Assange was a political prisoner, and called for the United States to look into whether he was exposed to inhumane treatment while in prison.
The hearing will be conducted by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights.
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Argentina: Two People Shot and Another Stabbed as 30-Man Brawl Breaks Out at Racecourse
A MASS brawl and shooting at a racecourse in Argentina has left three people hospitalised.
Two people sustained gunshot wounds while another was stabbed at the La Plata Racecourse, located in the city of La Plata on the north-east coast around 31 miles away from Buenos Aires.
It came after a brawl broke out at the racecourse following a dispute between the racecourse and jockeys over the payments of prize-money and working conditions.
The jockey’s union was set to meet with racecourse staff before the days 11-race card.
However, some of the members had already gone on strike and forced the meeting to be abandoned, with tensions boiling over into violence shortly after.
| — Hat tip: Roger | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary May Comply With EU’s Asylum Ruling — But Won’t Pay Accumulated Fines
Following months of deadlock, Hungary’s European Union affairs minister Janos Bóka confirmed on Tuesday, September 24th, that the country is willing to implement the June ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and reform its asylum rules, but won’t pay the fines accumulated to date for non-compliance.
Three months ago, the Court found that Hungary violated the EU’s common asylum rules by requiring migrants to apply for protection at Hungarian embassies before entering the country and deporting those found to have entered illegally. Both measures aim to prevent failed asylum seekers from disappearing in the Schengen zone—one of the problems member states most cite regarding Brussels’ current migration rules.
The ECJ issued Hungary an unprecedented fine of €200 million and an additional €1 million for each day until the ruling has been implemented. So far, the accumulating total now amounts to an extra €93 million on top of the original fine.
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ICE Arrests Illegal Migrant Convicted of Possessing Child Porn in Massachusetts
BOSTON (TND) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on Monday announced the arrest of an illegal Dominican migrant convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material in Massachusetts.
Enrique Alberto Ortiz-Brito, 25, legally entered the U.S. via Boston on Dec. 16 2016. However, he later “violated the terms of his lawful admission,” according to ICE.
Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) agents filed an immigration detainer against Ortiz-Brito after he was arrested by the Boston Police Department on child sexual abuse material charges. That detainer asked officers to hold the migrant while ICE weighed deportation.
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Italian Opposition Accelerate Plans to Ease Citizenship Rules
Pro-immigrant groups and opposition parties have collected enough signatures to trigger a referendum on easing Italy’s stringent citizenship laws for foreigners, government data showed on Tuesday 25.
The promoters of the cause want to reduce to five years from 10 the period of residence required to apply for citizenship by naturalisation, and to allow beneficiaries to pass on their new nationality immediately to their children.
An online register curated by the Justice Ministry said the organisers had gathered the 500,000 signatures needed to instigate a popular vote and bypass parliament, where political gridlock has stymied efforts to revise the 1992 citizenship law.
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Loudoun County, VA High-School Student, Gun-Toting Illegal Immigrant, Linked to MS-13 Gang: Report
An illegal immigrant minor was arrested last year for carrying a gun and allegedly threatening to kill a fellow Virginia middle school student. A new report revealed that the suspect has an alleged affiliation with the brutal international MS-13 gang, sources with knowledge of the matter told ABC 7 News.
The student, who came to the country illegally, is now enrolled at Loudoun Valley High School, despite his May 2023 arrest connected to the incident at Blue Ridge Middle School. Parents are concerned about the situation and the school district has not been transparent. However, the sheriff’s department asserted it was taking the matter seriously and confirmed there’s MS-13 activity in the county, but indicated the situation is complex.
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Migration Top Concern for Austrians Ahead of Sunday’s Election
Migration and crime top the list of topics that Austrians are most concerned about, a newly released survey reveals. The findings coincide with a legislative election campaign that has focused on the negative consequences of mass migration and how to deal with it.
According to an Ipsos survey, migration is the number one cause for concern for 43% of Austrians. In second place is crime, which is closely linked to migration, with 34%. That is followed by healthcare (32%), inflation (26%), and climate change (20%).
Migration was named as the biggest worry by only 29% of respondents in a survey conducted a year ago.
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Poland’s State Auditor Claims 366,000 Visas Issued Illegally
A Polish state audit office (NIK) report, leaked to the liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza, has alleged mass irregularities in the granting of 366,000 visas to Asians, Africans and Russians by the previous Conservative (PiS) government.
NIK claimed in the report seen on September 24 that “the actions taken by the foreign ministry in the area of supervision over the visa component of consular activities were unlawful, inappropriate and unreliable, and resulted in the mismanagement of public funds”. It added this “caused a significant and unprecedented threat to the interests of Poland and the security of citizens”.
The audit office stated that between 2018 and 2022, Poland issued around 6.5 million visas including some 366,000 for what it described as people from “Muslim and African states” — countries which PiS had always argued posed a risk in terms of security and their nationals’ limited ability to integrate.
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Previously Convicted Illegal Immigrant Under Deportation Orders Arrested for Vicious Paris Killing
At a time when the new French government is trying to find its way on security and immigration issues, a new tragedy has shaken French public opinion: the murder of Philippine, a 19-year-old Catholic student who was savagely killed and buried in the Bois de Boulogne, just outside Paris. The suspect is a Moroccan illegal immigrant with an OQTF (obligation to leave French territory), who had already been convicted of rape.
The violent crime, which occurred late on Friday, September 20th, is accompanied by a sense of déjà vu.
The victim, a 19-year-old student at Paris-Dauphine University in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, was last seen alive by her fellow students early last Friday afternoon as she was about to catch the suburban train to join her parents. She never arrived home.
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Union Makes Shock Claim: Colorado Meat Factory Involved in “Mgmt-Led Human Trafficking” of Haitians
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) has urged federal, state, and local authorities to investigate JBS SA’s meat processing plant in Greeley, Colorado, for alleged human trafficking violations involving Haitian migrants. Similar accusations have been made regarding human trafficking networks exploiting migrants at factories in Springfield, Ohio, and Charleroi, Pennsylvania.
UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova said these Haitians and other foreigners came into the country legally and were quickly exploited for cheap labor in a possible human migrant trafficking scheme.
Here are more shocking revelations from the union:
Information gathered from UFCW Local 7 members who work at the JBS plant in Greeley, outlined in detail below, includes numerous cases of abusive practices both within and outside of the workplace, including management-led human trafficking utilizing the social media platform TikTok; charging immigrant workers for company-provided rent in squalor conditions, job applications, and transportation; threats and intimidation against workers and their families abroad; dangerously high production line speeds; and withholding mail including medical bills and important paperwork.
UFCW explained, “As many as 500 or more Haitian and Benin workers, who are in the country legally through work visas or asylum, may have been subject to potential crimes and workplace violations. “
“The company knew about these tactics — and in fact paid for workers to live in squalor conditions at a local motel — and turned a blind eye until they were questioned by the press,” said Cordova, adding, “One of the main individuals involved in this terrible treatment is still employed by JBS.”
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ECHR Claims Poland ‘Violating Human Rights’ for Not Recognising Same-Sex Partnerships
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that the lack of legal recognition for same-sex partnerships in Poland violates the human rights of such couples.
The case against Poland was brought by four Polish women—one of the couples got married in the United Kingdom, the other in Denmark. Their request to have their foreign marriages registered in Poland was refused on the basis that that would violate the constitution, which defines marriage as “a union of a man and a woman.”
The women complained that they were being prevented from benefiting from spouses’ rights under Polish law to make tax-free donations to one another, to file joint tax returns, to receive benefits for caring for one another, and to extend health insurance to one another.
After losing all legal battles in Poland, the women turned to the Strasbourg-based ECHR, a 46-member European court that deals with human rights cases.
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Inmate Who Strangled 11-Month-Old Will Get Taxpayer-Funded Gender Surgery, Judge Rules
NDIANAPOLIS (TND) — Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita condemned a federal rulinglast week which supported a prisoner’s right to transgender procedures while incarcerated.
The ruling by federal Judge Richard Young sided with inmate Autumn Cordellionè, who sued in 2023 to reverse a state law denying transgender people certain medical procedures while incarcerated. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana claimed in a press release at the time that the taxpayer-funded medical services were “necessary and even lifesaving.”
Judge Young’s ruling declared that Cordellionè “requires gender-affirming surgery to prevent a risk of serious bodily and psychological harm.” Taking to X, Rokita explained he planned to appeal the ruling as soon as possible.
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Spain Considers Giving Special Protection to Apes
The Spanish government is considering giving increased “rights” to great apes based on their cognitive abilities and genetic closeness to humans—while at the same time refusing to extend human rights to unborn human babies.
The proposed law, drafted under the Ministry of Social Rights, would grant special protections to apes such as gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans.
The law, which is an extension of the 2022 Animal Welfare Act, aims to prohibit harmful experimentation on great apes, restrict their use for commercial purposes, and establish stringent guidelines for their care and custody.
However, critics point out that the move to protect animals coincides with Spain’s socialist government refusing to protect unborn children.
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Wikipedia Employs Left-Wing Groups to Edit Controversial Topics
We all know Wikipedia is a free-for-all in which competing groups keep editing controversial topics to ensure that their spin dominates the open encyclopedia.
By now, even though we all use it to get up to speed quickly on topics, we know that any entry on sensitive topics are likely spun wildly to echo a narrative, usually one that benefits the left. Given that the left has hordes of people who spend their lives trying to brainwash the public into believing falsehoods and hoaxes, they will keep winning the information war.
They own academia, the mainstream media, the “fact checkers,” and the nonprofit sector.
But what you may not know is that the Wikimedia foundation, the nonprofit to which you may even have donated to help Wikipedia keep going, actually hires left-wing activists to curate sensitive topics.
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Although it was wrong of Mr McGuire to bomb a courthouse, the charge on which he had been arrested should not be a crime. I can find no mention of firearms registration in the Second Amendment, and the very concept of it would have been an anathema to the Founding Fathers. Mr McGuire was exercising his rights as an American citizen and de facto member of the militia.
“The indictment makes Mr. Adams the first sitting mayor of New York City to be charged with a federal crime.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/25/nyregion/eric-adams-indicted.html
“I would like to issue a warning:…Collectivism and moral posturing, of the woke agenda, have collided with reality and no longer have credible solutions to offer to the world’s real problems. In fact, they never had them…We cannot pretend to persist in the mistake by redoubling the bet on an agenda that has failed. The same thing always happens with ideas coming from the left: they design a model according to what human beings should be—according to them—and when individuals—freely—act otherwise, they have no better solution than to restrict, repress and restrict their freedom.” —Javier Milei, President of Argentina (24 Sep 2024)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw2UMwLbMCE&t=609s
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Islam’s BIG Secret! They Don’t Want To Even TALK About It!!!
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https://gatesofvienna.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/kindergartenmadrassa.jpg
https://youtu.be/zj1S1kWRncA?si=N_FKvaT077RALRZD
James Kaddis
439,060 views – Aug 21 2024
On this episode of Countdown 2 Eternity, Pastor James and Dr Jay Smith will discuss the shocking truth about the “Mohamed” of Islam! Here’s the question…is he the Mohamed of Islam or is he the MHMD of Christianity? What does that mean? Stay tuned for the shocking truth!!!