The wheel of a Boeing 737 fell off shortly after the plane landed at an airport in Argentina. No one was hurt in the incident. Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board issued urgent safety recommendations today warning of potential rudder control system problems on some Boeing 737-MAX aircraft.
In other news, former President Donald Trump said today that he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tomorrow in Trump Tower in New York City.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, JW, LP, Reader from Chicago, Roger, Vlad Tepes, 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.
Major Bankruptcy in Poland, and Tusk is Nowhere to be Found
Rafako’s management board has decided to immediately file a motion to declare bankruptcy. The company announced it is permanently unable to pay its obligations and has thus filed the motion, which it said is the only way to best protect the interests of Rafako as well as its creditors, shareholders and employees.
The company will provide additional information about the submission of the application in a separate announcement, Salon 24 reports.
The company did say it failed to reach an agreement with its creditors that would allow Rafako to regain the ability to obtain external financing for the implementation of future orders.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news
A former FBI specialist who was persecuted for questioning January 6 said during a hearing with lawmakers on Capitol Hill that Americans should stock up on food and prepare for hardship.
Marcus Allen, a former FBI staff operations specialist, told the Judiciary Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government that he was deliberately targeted by higher ups for asking why there were so many federal informants in the crowd at the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
“The FBI questioned my allegiance to the United States, suspended my security clearance, suspended my pay and refused to allow me to obtain outside employment or even accept charity,” Allen testified
The feds came down hard on Allen after he sent an email on September 21st, 2021 which his supervisors claimed contained hyperlinks to “extremist propaganda” from “questionable sources”.
Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who testified alongside Allen, is investigating the FBI’s security clearance and adjudication process, including the targeting of “political conservatives who were seen as loyal to Trump or resistant to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.”
“There are no words strong enough to describe the impact the FBI’s lies about me have had on me and my family,” said Allen during an emotional statement.
“The stress has taken a toll on our health and our children have suffered, traumatized by the thought of our door getting kicked in or Dad not coming home.”
Allen added even more ominously:
“This is a warning, to the American people I say. I personally have no confidence the FBI will reign in its own conduct.”
However, it was Allen’s final comments that raised many eyebrows.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More than two dozen people wound up in cuffs as protesters with the notorious anti-Israel group Within Our Lifetime descended on Manhattan Thursday morning, cops said.
A total of 25 people were taken into custody as demonstrators gathered on First Avenue near East 49th Street in Midtown East, authorities said.
The exact charges they face were not immediately known.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
747,000 Ineligible Voters Removed From North Carolina Registration Rolls
747,000 people have been removed from North Carolina’s list of registered voters over the last 20 months by the State Board of Elections, officials announced on Thursday.
The majority of those removed from the registration rolls were due to moving within the state and not registering at their new address, or because they spent the last two federal elections in inactive status.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Announces $8 Billion in Military Aid for Ukraine
S President Joe Biden announced more than $8 billion in military assistance for Ukraine on Thursday to help Kyiv “win this war” against Russian invaders, using a visit by President Volodymyr Zelensky to make a major commitment.
The aid includes the first shipment of a precision-guided glide bomb called the Joint Standoff Weapon, with a range of up to 130 km. The medium-range missile gives Ukraine a major upgrade to the weapons it is using to strike Russian forces, allowing the Ukrainians to do it at safer distances.
The bomb, capable of striking targets with high accuracy, is to be dropped from fighter jets. Biden will not announce that Washington would let Ukraine use US missiles to hit targets deeper in Russia, a US official said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The current US White House seems to be exploring every possibility that might secure another avenue for what opponents (and quite a few lawmakers) refer to as “collusion” with (Big) Tech.
A new scheme has just been announced, that revolves around the “AI” and “disinformation” buzzwords, and includes the US State Department, Meta, Anthropic, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI.
Looks like quite an “ensemble cast” — or “usual suspects” — right there.
It’s called, Partnership for Global Inclusivity on AI, and it was announced by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken along with a decision to bankroll programs “identifying disinformation using AI” with $3 million.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bill to Prohibit ‘Ethnic Shooting Targets’ for Law Enforcement Vetoed by Gov. Newsom
A bill that would have prohibited the usage of “ethnic shooting targets”, despite no law enforcement agency or department in the state using them, was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 1020, authored by Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), would have required each law enforcement agency and basic course presenter to prohibit the use of ethnic shooting targets. According to the bill, “ethnic shooting targets” would have meant any physical range target that depicts a human form or part of a human form that includes skin colors or facial features from which a person might reasonably discern a race or ethnicity of the person depicted. An “ethnic shooting target” would not have included a silhouette target or a human form target that does not have facial features. In addition, the usage of a realistic training simulator that utilizes live actors or live actors in video playback would not have been prohibited.
Bradford, the California Public Defenders Association and supporters claimed the bill was needed because the usage of such targets would help promote racial bias through shooting practice and training. However, detractors quickly pointed out that realism was needed for training and that departments could likely have to pay more for targets and other training materials to comply with such a broad law. Even worse for supporters, a Senate Committee found in April that no California law enforcement agency or department actually uses such targets.
| — Hat tip: Roger | [Return to headlines] |
Bill Gates Funding Scheme to Promote ‘Climate Change’ Agenda in Corporate Media Reports
Bill Gates and other liberal donors are funding a new scheme that seeks to inject narratives into corporate media reports to promote the globalist “climate change” agenda.
Some of America’s largest liberal organizations are involved in the scheme, including the Microsoft co-founder’s Gates Foundation.
The plan seeks to encourage and reward journalists who push “global warming” narratives in their news reports.
The scheme has been dubbed the Climate Blueprint for Media Transformation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bizarre New Trump Shooting Theory Emerges as Lawmaker Drops Bombshell About ‘Second Bullet’
A Republican lawmaker is floating a bombshell new theory that Donald Trumpshooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was actually shot multiple times.
The revelation of the ‘second bullet’ theory came at the end of a congressional hearing Thursday aimed at investigating the deadly assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Louisiana Republican Rep. Clay Higgins asked Dr. Ariel Goldschmidt, the medical examiner of Allegheny County who conducted the autopsy on Thomas Matthew Crooks, if a second bullet could have struck Crooks.
You stated that there was only one bullet wound,’ Higgins told the doctor. ‘I accept that you had only one observable bullet wound.’
Then he asked a shocking question.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EXCLUSIVE — A school district in Colorado was sued after it revoked the position of a dean of students allegedly for pushing back against critical race theory in its professional development programming, despite originally promising there would be no consequences for open dialogue.
America First Legal (AFL) filed the lawsuit against the Cherry Creek School District on Wednesday, accusing the district of violating the First Amendment by having “terminated his employment under false pretenses” after plaintiff Patrick Hogarty expressed his views against CRT during a mandatory diversity training session.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Court Throws Out Manslaughter Charge Against Clerk in Detroit Gas Station Shooting
(AP) — The Michigan Court of Appeals threw out a manslaughter charge against a Detroit gas station clerk who locked the door before an angry customer shot three bystanders, killing one.
Prosecutors have argued that clerk Al-Hassan Aiyash’s actions make him criminally responsible. But the appeals court said an involuntary manslaughter charge doesn’t fit.
It was “not reasonably foreseeable” that the customer, Samuel McCray, would pull out a gun and start shooting, the court said Wednesday.
Aiyash was working behind protective glass at 3 a.m. when McCray’s failed attempt to make a $3.80 electronic purchase turned into violence in May 2023.
Video showed McCray repeatedly cursing and insisting he was going to leave the gas station with the items. Three more people entered before Aiyash pushed a button to lock the door, keeping the four inside.
The door was eventually unlocked. But before anyone could leave, one person was fatally shot and two more were wounded.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
DC Restaurant Takes Down Donkey, Elephant Decor Due to Leftist Outrage
Washington DC’s Political Pattie’s had a lot of free advertising on social media even before the bar opened. Leftists online began attacking the tavern’s logo, that included a Republican elephant and a Democratic donkey.
Shortly after opening Thursday, the owners removed both the elephant and donkey and painted over the “Political” part of the pub’s name but explained on X that they weren’t happy about the backlash, which they described as “mean spirited.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dem Senator Pushes Bill to Pack, Regulate Supreme Court
The Democrats have been threatening to pack the Supreme Court ever since President Donald Trump successfully introduced some more conservative voices to the mix in Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanagh and Amy Coney Barrett. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced a bill Wednesday that will not only enlarge the court but control it by making it more difficult to repeal decisions made by previous justices. Judges would also be audited, the Washington Post reported.
Democrats will sell the bill as a means of “democratizing” the high court while Republicans will see it as an attempt by liberals to control it at a crucial juncture in American history, when the country has been invaded by tens of millions of illegal immigrants.
Wyden, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, told the Post that his goal is simply to make the court popular with the public again and restore its luster, which he apparently believes has been tarnished by political in-fighting.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Israel activists in the Pacific Northwest are using materials provided by Hamas to celebrate “Al-Aqsa Flood Month of Action,” named after the terrorist operation that murdered, raped & tortured over 1,200 civilians on Oct 7, 2023, and kidnapped over 250 more. 101 remain in captivity, including Americans.
According to a website created by pro-Hamas groups, students at the University of Washington, as well as Marxist, Socialist, and other radical groups, the plan is to “honor the sacrifices of our heroic martyrs and uplift the victory of Al-Aqsa Flood” with “events, teach-ins, marches” in the “lead up to a mass mobilization on October 13” to “show the ruling elites that the PNW stands with the Palestinian Resistance.” The website featured an calendar for activists to add events.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A leftist blogger was suspended from X after releasing an internal campaign vetting dossier on Senator JD Vance. Ken Klippenstein, a leftist blogger who worked at the Intercept and The Young Turks, released the 271-page document that it believed to have been obtained by Iran after the government hacked the Trump campaign. The Post Millennial will not be linking to the document as it doxes Vance’s personal and private information.
Klippenstein’s X account has since been temporarily suspected for violating the platform’s rules on hacked materials.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Far-Left, Anti-Cop Activist Next in Line for NYC Mayor if Eric Adams Resigns
Jumaane Williams, a radical left-wing, anti-police activist, would become the next acting mayor of New York City by default if Mayor Eric Adams were to resign over federal criminal charges. Williams, 48, of Brooklyn, NY, cleared his entire schedule on Thursday in the wake of the indictment against Adams.
Williams, who has served as New York City’s public advocate since 2019, has pushed for several progressive social justice causes in his nearly 15-year career in public service. He has held a position of power in the city since 2010 when he was first elected to the New York City Council, as per the New York Times. Despite both being Democrats, Williams’ progressive agenda is starkly different from an administration run by Mayor Adams, a moderate lawmaker with a law enforcement background.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Half-Naked Perv Arrested More Than 50 Times Now Busted for Attempted Rape in NYC Subway Station
A half-naked sex fiend who has 51 past arrests allegedly tried to rape a 21-year-old woman inside a Manhattan subway station Wednesday night, police and sources said.
Homeless career criminal Lamel Batten, 44, allegedly pounced on the unsuspecting woman as she got off a platform bench at the 116th Street — Columbia University subway station around 11:45 p.m.
Batten — naked with his pants down — allegedly threw the victim against a wall in the No. 1 train station before he violently snatched her shirt down and shoved his face between her breasts, sources said.
The perv then allegedly tried to take off her pants, but the victim managed to break away and ran to the mezzanine level of the station, where she told cops about the disgusting attack, according to sources.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Healthy 12-Year-Old Boy’ Left Brain Damaged From Sudden Heart Attack, Doctors ‘Don’t Know Why’
Doctors say they are baffled after a “happy, healthy 12-year-old boy” was hospitalized with brain damage when he suffered a massive sudden heart attack.
A Tennessee family has been left devasted to learn that Sammy Silverman, now 13, is severely brain damaged.
However, the parents said doctors have no idea why their son, who they say was in great health and active, had a sudden heart attack at age 12.
The young teenager was very active and a keen soccer player.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Vice President Kamala Harris was slammed this week after calling on voters to move on from “failed policies” that “we have proven don’t work” during a speech meant to detail her economic plans.
In Wednesday remarks to The Economic Club of Pittsburgh, the Democratic nominee pledged to fight for a “strong middle class” through “bold, persistent experimentation” in the manner of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
“When the middle class is strong, America is strong. And we can build a stronger middle class,” Harris said.
“The American economy is the most powerful force for innovation and wealth creation in human history. We just need to move past the failed policies that we have proven don’t work. And like generations before us, let us be inspired by what is possible.”
Critics jumped on the line about “failed policies,” noting that Harris has been a heartbeat away from the presidency for the past three-and-a-half years and repeatedly sought to boost her profile in the administration.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Vice President Kamala Harris served up what some might consider an “inspired” word salad during her most recent appearance.
Harris on Wednesday addressed the Economic Club of Pittsburgh, where she outlined her economic agenda as the Democratic presidential nominee. During her speech, she emphasized the need to guard the spirit of American inspiration.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New York Appeals Court Appears Receptive to Reversing or Reducing $454M Trump Civil Fraud Judgment
Judges on a New York appeals court appeared open-minded and receptive to the possibility of reversing or reducing the $454 million civil fraud judgment in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against former President Trump.
Trump appealed the civil fraud ruling that demanded he pay more than $450 million. The former president’s attorneys called New York Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling “draconian, unlawful, and unconstitutional.”
Engoron ruled that Trump and other defendants were liable for persistent and repeated fraud, falsifying business records, issuing false financial statements, conspiracy to falsify false financial statements, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
A five-judge panel on a New York appeals court in Manhattan heard oral arguments on the appeal on Thursday.
The former president did not attend the oral arguments but was instead represented by his legal team.
Trump attorney D. John Sauer argued that James’ lawsuit stretched New York consumer protection laws and said there were “no victims” and “no complaints” of Trump’s business from lenders and insurers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Newsom Signs Bills Restricting California Oil, Gas Operations
Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 25 signed a series of bills into law that limit oil and gas operations across the state, prompting criticism from a member of the fossil fuel industry who says the measures will lead to higher costs for Californians.
The three bills are aimed at protecting public health and wildlife and empowering local communities to set greater protections around oil and gas activities in their neighborhoods, Newsom’s office said in a statement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NTSB Issues ‘Urgent’ Safety Warning for Boeing 737-Max Rudder Systems
Sept. 26 (UPI) — The National Transportation Safety Board Thursday issued “urgent” safety recommendations warning of the potential for rudder control system problems on some Boeing 737-MAX aircraft.
The NTSB said it issued the warnings to Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration after discovering that rollout guidance actuators, a key rudder control component, were “significantly compromised” in tests on a pair ofBoeing 737-8s, a variant of the manufacturer’s MAX series.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The federal indictment against Mayor Eric Adams includes a June 22, 2021 text exchange that shows an Adams staffer negotiating a price of discount flight to make it appear “somewhat real” with a Turkish Airlines manager.
“How much does he owe?” asked the staffer, according to a screenshot of the exchange.
“Please, let them call me and I will make the payment.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poll: Most Voters Expect Another Assassination Attempt Against Trump Before Election Day
A strong majority of likely U.S. voters believe there will be another assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump before Election Day, a new Rasmussen Reports poll found.
The first assassination attempt against Trump occurred on July 13 during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when Thomas Matthew Crooks shot him in his right ear as he was speaking to the crowd, leaving his face bloodied. The second assassination attempt happened on Sept. 15, after suspect Ryan Wesley Routh was caught poking a gun out of the bushes onto Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have been under intense scrutiny for their handling of both incidents.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The sweeping federal indictment charging Mayor Eric Adams with corruption was unsealed Thursday morning.
Adams — the only defendant named in the 57-page complaint — is the first New York City mayor to face an indictment while in office.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
With under 40 days until Election Day, where GOP nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris will face off, Republicans are in the lead for the first time in the third quarter of an election year for voters who say they identify as or lean toward the Republican party.
Of US Adults, 48 percent said they identified as or leaned toward the Republican Party, while 45 percent said the same of the Democratic Party. The figures are based on Gallup polling averages taken during the third quarter, July to September.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Robby Starbuck Targets Toyota as Anti-Woke Crusade Expands Across Corporate America
Anti-woke crusader Robby Starbuck has been on the front lines, combating the rise of “wokeism” that has infiltrated the nation, primarily through mega-corporations pushing this far-left sinister agenda to undermine the West. This public/private partnership is being achieved through corporations, governments, and large non-governmental organizations to usher in wokeism, or as some experts suggest, ‘21st Century Communism’. Starbucks’ angle of attack has zeroed in on far-left progressives who seized control of managerial positions in corporate America. He has already delivered several notable victories against woke companies, forcing some to nuke their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs or at least reverse these disastrous social experiments.
Starbuck revealed on X that crosshairs have been placed on Toyota, “one of the most trusted brands in America but they’ve gone totally woke.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Starbucks Permanently Shutters Fourth Downtown Seattle Location Since July
Starbucks announced another permanent store closure in downtown Seattle. This time, the famous Seattle-based coffee company is shuttering the prominent location at Fifth Ave and Pike Street, which marks the fourth downtown Starbucks to close since July.
The store is set to shutter on Sept. 30, according to a note posted on the front door from managers at the coffee shop. The posting was first obtained by Komo News reporter Paul Rivera.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The State Department announced Thursday that it is offering a reward of up to $20 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of an Iranian terrorist allegedly involved in a murder-for-hire plot targeting former national security adviser John Bolton and potentially others.
Shahram Poursafi, who is listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the Treasury Department, is believed to be working on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC— QF) to arrange for the assassination of the former Trump administration official, according to the State Department.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Survey: Most Americans Won’t Get New Flu, COVID-19 Vaccines
Most Americans don’t plan to get vaccinated against the flu or COVID-19 this season, a new survey has found.
Fewer than two in five U.S. adults (38%) say they will definitely get a flu jab, and only one in four (26%) say they’ll get the updated COVID vaccine, according to a survey released Wednesday by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Texas Woman Confesses to Drugging Kids to Traffic Them Across US Border
A Texas woman confessed Friday to drugging young girls to traffic them across the US border. She used melatonin gummies to induce sleep in the children. Border Patrol agents have said there have been increasing cases of this occurring, with some children being “recycled” by smugglers crossing the porous southern border.
Vanessa Valadez, 23, of Laredo, TX pleaded guilty to working with other family members to smuggle children under the age of five into the US from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, between August and September 2023, according to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Writing in Spanish, one of Valdez’s co-conspirators sent a message on a picture of an unconscious girl that read, “We knocked her out with some gummies.” Valdez and her family illegally moved at least four girls into the US, HSI officials said, transferring the children from a hideaway in Mexico, drugging them and then using fake birth certificates to pretend the kids were members of their family. CBP agents nabbed the gang on Sept. 21, 2023, during a routine inspection.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tim Walz’s Education Appointee, Macalester Professor Backs ‘Overthrow’ of United States
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s education appointee has called for the overthrowing of the United States. This comes as those surrounding the vice-presidential candidate have fallen under greater scrutiny.
According to the National Review, Brian Lozenski, a professor of urban and multicultural education at Macalester College in the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota has called for the “overthrow” of the United States. Walz had tapped Lozenski to create an “implementation framework” for Minnesota’s ethnic studies standards.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Says He Will Meet With Zelensky in Trump Tower
Former President Donald Trump said Thursday he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky amid renewed speculation about the state of their relationship.
“As you know, President Zelensky has asked to meet with me, and I will be meeting with him tomorrow morning at around 9:45 in Trump Tower,” the 45th president told reporters at his eponymous Midtown skyscraper.
The meeting will take place one day after Zelensky met with both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday in Washington — and as some in Republican leadership slammed the Ukrainian president for going to Pennsylvania, a key swing state, with Democratic governor and Harris surrogate Josh Shapiro over the weekend.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Speaks Out on Historic NYC Mayor Eric Adams Indictment
Former President Donald Trump spoke on Mayor Adams’ historic indictment Thursday.
The ex-commander in chief admitted he doesn’t know Adams well — but touched on Hizzoner trying to combat the Big Apple’s migrant crisis.
“I watched about a year ago when he talked about how the illegal migrants are hurting our city, and the federal government should pay us, and we shouldn’t have to take them,” Trump told reporters. “And I said, ‘You know what? He’ll be indicted within a year.’“
“And I was exactly right, because that’s what we have. We have people that use the Justice Department and the FBI at levels that have never been seen before.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video Shows Moment Feds Close in on Son of Would-be Trump Assassin Ryan Routh on Child Porn Charges
Video shows the moment the son of would-be Donald Trump assassin Ryan Routh was busted by federal agents in North Carolina on child porn charges.
Oran Routh, 35, was arrested this week after images of child sex abuse were discovered at his Greensboro home in connection to an investigation not related to his father’s assassination attempt, according to court documents.
Surveillance footage from an auto shop obtained by Fox 8 on Wednesday shows several unmarked law enforcement vehicles swarm into a parking lot and flash their lights on as Routh, dressed in all black, walks through.
Routh puts his hands over his head, turns around and puts his hands behind his back as officers move in and place handcuffs on him, video shows.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video Shows Hacker Overriding Voting Machine, Changing Votes in Seconds
A disturbing video has emerged that shows a hacker using a USB stick to override an election voting machine and change the system’s recorded votes in a matter of seconds.
The process was so fast that the hacker needed to slow down his software to demonstrate what he was doing.
After gaining control of the system, the hacker noted that he could “do anything you want” with the machine and the votes.
The hacker, whose identity wasn’t revealed, provided a live demonstration on Patrick Bet-David’s PBD Podcast.
During the demonstration, he explains that he is using a simple “USB computer” device that can be easily bought online for around $120.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NDP MP Introduces Bill to Criminalize Residential School Denialism
OTTAWA — An NDP MP has introduced a bill that would criminalize residential school denialism, saying it would help stop harm caused toward survivors, their families and communities.
If the bill is passed, people could be charged under the Criminal Code for promoting hatred against Indigenous Peoples by condoning, justifying or downplaying the historical and lasting impact of residential schools.
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Netflix is cutting funding to Canadian arts and culture projects worth $25 million and responsible for the creation of 1200 jobs in response to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Online Stream Act, or Bill C-11. The legislation, passed 17 months ago, forces online broadcasters to meet Canadian content mandates.
In an announcement last week, the company said it would be cutting funding to arts and entertainment training and development initiatives that it invested in since it expanded to the Canadian market in 2017. The decision is a result of the Online Streaming Act’s Canadian content rules that allow the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to extort 5 percent of an online media outlet’s domestic revenue to Canadian projects, True North reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“The Centre of EU Decision-Making Has Become More Right-Wing”: An Interview With Roberts Zile
Roberts Zile, Latvian Minister of Finance from 1997 to 1998, holds a doctorate in economics from the Latvian University of Life Sciences and Technologies. Elected to the European Parliament for the first time in 2004, he became the first Baltic politician to be elected Vice-President of the European Parliament. Head of the Latvian delegation in Brussels, he was re-elected Vice-President on 17 July. Zile is a member of the National Alliance ‘All for Latvia!’—’For Fatherland and Freedom’/LNNK party (Nacionala apvieniba ‘Visu Latvijai!’—Tevzemei un Brivibai/LNNK), which is in the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
All Irish Parties Must Push for Reunification, EPP’s Varadkar Says
All parties in Ireland must promise to push actively for the reunification of the island, the country’s former European People’s Party-aligned Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Leo Varadkar, has said.
Speaking to local paper of record The Irish Times, the former leader of Fine Gael—a member of Ursula von der Leyen’s European Parliament faction—said he did not think the reunification of the north and south of Ireland was “inevitable”, but that it was now a goal that needed to be actively pushed towards by all political parties aligned with the idea of Irish independence.
“For a lot of people, unification is an aspiration, it’s an idea. Whereas I think it needs to become an objective for the next government in Ireland, no matter who’s in that government,” he told the publication.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
At least some appear concerned the shooting of a NATO member Prime Minister by a pro-Ukraine extremist earlier this year didn’t succeed in killing the target, as Slovak’s Robert Fico has a bullet posted to his office.
Constitutional protection officers screening letters addressed to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico inspected a suspicious package on Wednesday, discovering by X-ray it contained a single bullet. Bratislava regional police spokesman, Michal Szeiff confirms his officers have taken over the investigation into the death threat which comes just months after Fico himself was shot repeatedly at point-blank range by a would-be political assassin.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Big Brother Banking? UK’s New “Fraud Bill” Sparks Fears of Financial Snooping
A considerable scandal broke out in the UK under the previous government over a practice dubbed, “debanking” — which saw various public, but not only, figures cut off from financial services as a way of punishing them for their political views.
That also faced a considerable backlash, but the Labor government that took over earlier in the year doesn’t seem to be willing to give up on the core postulates: it appears to be just trying to go about achieving the same end goal in a more “subtle” manner.
The policy is this: give banks spying powers over everybody, but call that a requirement for banks and financial institutions to “share data that may show indications of potential benefit overpayments.”
In order to achieve the stated goal, the whole population’s bank accounts are likely to be monitored.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CJEU Upholds European Parliament’s Decision to Deny Catalan Separatists Leaders’ MEP Seats
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on Thursday (26 September) ruled in favour of the former European Parliament president to deny former Catalan separatist leaders Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comin their MEP seats in Strasbourg in 2019.
The CJEU ruled that then-European Parliament President and Forza Italia (EPP) party leader Antonio Tajani acted correctly by adhering to the list of elected MEPs provided by Spanish authorities, Euractiv’s partner EFE reported.
The two Catalan separatist leaders refused to pledge allegiance to the Spanish constitution, which led Madrid to omit them from the official list of elected MEPs.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Danish Foreign Ministry Vandalised With Anti-Israel Slogans
AFP — The facade of Denmark’s foreign ministry in Copenhagen was sprayed with anti-Israeli slogans Thursday, police said.
Police told AFP in a statement that they had been made aware early Thursday that a foreign ministry building had been “vandalized with political graffiti”.
Messages such as “Boycott Israel” and “Israel kills children” was spray-painted on the wall in red.
Pictures from news agency Ritzau showed cleaners removing the paint and words. Police said they were securing video images and conducting technical investigations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Journalist Released After Switzerland Arrest While Reporting on Suicide Capsule
Those in the Netherlands in life threatening danger should immediately dial 112 for emergencies, and anyone suffering from depression or contemplating suicide can call 113 Zelfmoordpreventie at any time by dialing either 113 or 0800-0113, or by visiting 113.nl.
The Volkskrant photographer arrested in Switzerland on Monday for reporting on the first suicide via a specially designed “suicide capsule” is no longer in custody. She was released on Wednesday after questioning, the newspaper reported.
A 64-year-old American woman took her own life in the Sarco, a capsule that fills with nitrogen at the person inside’s command, killing them through suffocation, on Monday afternoon. According to the Volkskrant, the woman was legally competent and had been suffering from severe pain due to illness for at least two years. She, therefore, met the conditions under which assisted suicide is not punishable under Swiss law.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Court Dismisses Puigdemont’s 2019 Appeal Over Recognition as an MEP
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismissed on September 26 an appeal brought by Catalan nationalists Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comin against the European Parliament over its failure to initially recognise them as MEPs or grant them immunity.
Judges agreed with the General Court of the EU, a lower court, that the European Parliament’s then-president Antonio Tajani acted correctly when he initially refused to recognise the status of both representatives.
The Spanish Central Electoral Board (JEC) had excluded both pro-independence politicians from the list of MEPs it sent to the European Parliament, saying the two men had not gone to Madrid to declare their allegiance to Spain’s Constitution.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Socialists Reject National Rally’s Pension Reform Proposal, Reviving ‘Cordon Sanitaire’
The French socialist party has announced that it would not vote for the National Rally’s proposal to repeal Emmanuel Macron’s contested retirement law in the name of the republican front —a form of cordon sanitaire that mainstream French parties have long deployed to prevent the normalization of the hard-right in the country.
According to the leader of the Socialists Olivier Faure, the French hard-right party is not being truthful on retirement issues.
“The RN is in deceptive mode on the pension reform: it was not in the streets when we fought against it, and Jordan Bardella himself advocated retirement at 66 during the legislative elections,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More and more heinous details are emerging from the beating death of a 57-year-old man in the Old Botanical Garden in Munich, with video footage revealing that the victim was killed by a kung-fu kick to the head.
Several surveillance cameras recorded the attack, which saw the main perpetrator, 30-year-old Polish national Rafal Artur Pawlak, slapping the victim in the face. After that, another man kicked the Munich man in the butt, which forced him to fall to the ground. Once he got back up, Pawlak is said to have delivered a powerful kung-fu kick directly to the man’s face, according to police.
The man fell to the ground and died days later from the injury in the hospital.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hack of Public WI-Fi Broadcasts ‘Islamophobic’ Message Warning of Terror Attacks Across UK
Users of public access Wi-Fi at 19 major British railway stations were told “the Islamisation of Europe is already happening, and it’s getting worse each day” in what police have called an “Islamophobic” hack.
British Transport Police say they are investigating “Islamophobic messaging on some Network Rail Wi-Fi services” after the default landing page for public internet available at some of the country’s largest railway stations was changed on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the third-party telecoms company which provides public internet access to the Network Rail estate said of how this was achieved: “It has been identified that an unauthorised change was made to the Network Rail landing page from a legitimate Global Reach administrator account… The matter is now subject to criminal investigations by the British Transport Police.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary: Orban’s Party Rises, Opposition Party Takes a Hit as Flood Waters Recede
The Fidesz-KDNP voting base increased by 2-percentage points compared to the week before the flood, while that of Péter Magyar’s Tisza party decreased by the same amount, reports Magyar Nemzet.
Based on the public opinion poll conducted during the flood defense in Hungary, Fidesz-KNDP stood at 47 percent, DK-MSZP-Parbeszéd at 8 percent and Mi Hazank at 6 percent, all increases over the prior polling, while Péter Magyar’s party weakened a bit to 33 percent.
Those parties that used the first days of flood protection for non-political attacks benefitted, reads the recent analysis of the Nézopont Institute.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ireland: 23-Year-Old Soccer Player Dies From Catastrophic Brain Bleed After COVID ‘Vaccine’
The parents of a 23-year-old soccer player are demanding answers after their son died from a catastrophic brain bleed after receiving a Covid “vaccine.”
Roy Butler died just five days after receiving the one-dose Janssen-Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 viral vector injection.
While reporting on his death, local media made no mention of any connection to the Covid shot he’d been given.
The rising soccer star, who resided in Waterford, Ireland, received the one-shot vaccine at a pharmacy on August 12, 2021.
A mere four days later, he suffered a catastrophic brain bleed and died.
Now, Butler’s family is demanding answers and his parents want the rest of the world to know the truth that the corporate media and local news outlets have been refusing to cover.
Butler, a soccer player with lots of promise, and his family are from the Munster province in southern Ireland.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Scientists Raise Alarm as All-Cause Deaths Surge Among COVID-Vaccinated
All-cause deaths are surging among people who have received Covid mRNA “vaccines,” a leading group of Italian researchers is warning.
The scientists have reevaluated previous studies and removed biases that would have suppressed death numbers in official data.
Rather than examine data for deaths listed as being caused by vaccines, the researchers analyzed official government records for all-cause mortality rates.
To identify changes, they investigated data for death rates before, during, and after the pandemic.
Analyzing all-cause mortality data gives a far clearer picture of unusual death surges as it normally remains consistent unless there’s a major event to cause an increase, such as a war or pandemic.
The alarming new study has revealed that deaths from all causes are soaring dramatically among those who have received Covid mRNA shots compared to the unvaccinated.
The discovery was revealed in a study by an Italian team of researchers led by Professor Marco Alessandria of the University of Turin and Dr. Alberto Donzelli, M.D. of Italy’s Independent Medical-Scientific Commission.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Michel Demands UN Reform Security Council to be ‘More Inclusive’
European Council president Charles Michel has demanded the United Nations reform its Security Council to make it “more inclusive”.
Speaking at an open debate at the UN, Michel emphasised the body was formed at a time “the world wanted peace at all costs”, and providing certain nation-states with the ability to veto proposals was seen as an acceptable compromise.
“We accepted your right to veto in exchange for securing global peace,” he said. “This was the founding pact between the most powerful nations and the rest of the world, underpinned by the UN Charter and the new multilateral institutions.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Motive for Erasmus Bridge Fatal Stabbing Still Unclear, Rotterdam Mayor Says
It is not yet clear whether the fatal stabbing at the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam last week was an act of terrorism, Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said during his last city council meeting as mayor. Many questions still need to be answered by the investigation, the mayor said, NOS reports. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) is investigating suspect Ayoub M. for terrorism.
On September 19, M. allegedly attacked two men with knives at the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam. He killed Phillip Winter, a 32-year-old German urban planner who moved from Hamburg to Rotterdam earlier this year, and wounded a 33-year-old Swiss man. Witnesses said the man shouted “Allahu akbar,” a phrase meaning ‘God is most great’ used by Muslims in prayers, during the attack.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Orban: Competitiveness the Number One Issue for the EU
European competitiveness and Hungarian economic neutrality were the two main topics when Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held a guest lecture at Ludovika University in Budapest on Wednesday.
“Hungary has taken over the rotating presidency of the EU Council in uniquely hard times,” Orban said. Competitiveness has been at the center of the agenda of the Hungarian presidency, as Minister for EU Affairs Janos Bóka and his team of experts identified the decrease in competitiveness as the number one issue for the European Union today.
A ‘Competitivity Pact’ is expected to be signed by EU leaders in Budapest in early November, he revealed, without going into detail on what that pact will entail.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
n the wake of the recent devastating floods in Poland, government officials have acknowledged the need for improvements in disaster response and building safety assessments.
Krzysztof Paszyk, PSL MP and minister of development and technology, discussed the government’s ongoing efforts to evaluate and repair the damage caused by the disaster during a televised interview with TVN24.
Paszyk confirmed that over 6,000 buildings have already been identified as requiring either renovation or demolition. However, he warned that this number is likely to increase significantly as more inspections are carried out.
“I conservatively estimate that there will be several thousand more objects. I think around 15,000,” he told the broadcaster.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pellegrini: Slovakia Must be Prepared for Nuclear Incident in Ukraine
President Peter Pellegrini told Slovak journalists at the UN on Wednesday that Slovak authorities should increase their readiness to face a possible nuclear incident in Ukraine, according to the TASR Slovak news agency.
Pellegrini was responding to a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who warned of a potential nuclear disaster in Ukraine and accused Russia of planning attacks on Ukrainian nuclear power plants during a debate at the UN General Assembly.
“The authorities of the Slovak Republic should now increase their readiness and be prepared to measure radiation levels at Slovakia’s border with Ukraine regularly,” Pellegrini said. He warned that a possible Russian attack on Ukraine’s nuclear power plants could result in a tragedy similar to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, with radioactive fallout affecting neighboring countries.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland: Trouble Inside PiS: Morawiecki Feels Betrayed, May be Planning to Leave the Party
There is no hiding the fact that Mateusz Morawiecki has recently distanced himself from PiS decision-makers, writes the Salon24 news portal.
He is supposedly still the deputy head of the party, but he is increasingly farther away from party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski. The former golden child and hope for a European opening for PiS is slowly starting to go his own way, a source told the portal.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland’s Conservative PiS Leader Has Clever Trick to Weaken Youth Activists of His Own Party: Report
Poland’s conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) is pushing its party congress to October, but according to Polish news outlet Onet, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the party leader, has a hidden motive for the move designed to weaken the youthful activists who are supposed to reinvigorate the party.
The congress of Law and Justice was to take place on Saturday, Sept. 28 in Przysusze (Mazowieckie Voivodeship). The event was to bring not only changes in party leadership, but also lead to the merger of PiS with the Sovereign Poland party.
According to PiS spokesman Rafal Bochenek, due to the post-flood situation in southwestern Poland and the involvement of parliamentarians, activists and supporters of the party in helping the flood victims, the management of the group decided to move the congress to Oct. 12.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Proposed Solar Farms Spell Disaster for English Countryside
The British government looks likely to fast-track the imposition of solar farms in rural locations, with serious consequences for agriculture and rural communities.
In response, Shadow Energy Security and Net Zero Minister Joy Morrissey declared:
The government must not ride roughshod over our rural communities in pursuit of their mad targets, paving over important green spaces, putting at risk our agricultural industries, and compromising our national food security.
Following its election victory, characterised by winning a majority in parliament from the votes of a small slice of the electorate, Labour accelerated its commitment to Net Zero by approving four of the UK’s largest solar farms.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Reform UK: Starmer is Determined to “Drag the UK Back Into the European Union”
Of all the issues facing “broken Britain,” Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government always finds time to discuss “resetting” relations with the European Union.
Germany welcomed the new Labour foreign secretary for talks on “how the UK can move closer to the EU” just two days after the July general election, and since then, there have been countless reports pointing to the likelihood of Starmer accepting Brussels’ rules while pretending to uphold Brexit—a political project he has always opposed, and which he was once open about wanting to reverse.
“It’s becoming abundantly clear,” a spokesman for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK told The European Conservative, “that Starmer hasn’t changed his [anti-Brexit] colours and he is determined to slowly drag the UK back into the European Union.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Report: Tsunami of ‘Open and Aggressive’ Antisemitism Swamping Germany
A hostile wave of “open and aggressive” antisemitism is swamping Germany with government officials cautioning it has been rising steadily since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7 last year.
“We have experienced a tsunami of antisemitism since October 7th,” Federal Government Commissioner for Anti-Semitism, Felix Klein, said in an interview with the AFP news agency, as reported by Welt.
The deadly Hamas attack “further broke the existing dams regarding antisemitism in our society,” he added.
This is reflected in the police crime statistics for 2023 with around 5,000 antisemitic crimes, half of which were committed after October 7th, and all in the wake of growing numbers of migrants still pouring into the country, the report notes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Swedish’ Organized Crime Spreading to Iceland
After Sweden’s closest neighbors last month sounded the alarm about the country’s rampant gang criminality spreading across the borders, now even Iceland—located over 2,000 kilometers away, as the crow flies—is complaining about being targeted by Swedish gangs.
When justice ministers of the Nordic countries met last Friday, the problem of organized crime topped the agenda—particularly the criminal activity based in Sweden.
“There are criminal groups in Sweden that have sent people to Iceland to commit crimes,” Iceland’s justice minister Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir told Swedish media.
As an example, Hafsteinsdóttir cited an attack directed at a police officer, whose car was set on fire in August of last year—a deed carried out on orders from a Swedish gang.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tusk Blames Beaver for Polish Flood Management Problems
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called for removing beavers from levees in the country, saying they damaged flood embankments.
Tusk made his comments about beavers at a regular televised meeting of the country’s crisis management team, which was responding to Poland’s worst floods in two decades.
“[T]here is a need for changes in flood management to prevent the presence of beavers on the levees,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: The Station Stabbing That Shows Nowhere in London is Safe
On Thursday morning, London’s knife crime epidemic came to my neighbourhood.
News broke that a man had been stabbed at the railway station at Barnes, a leafy, affluent area of South West London—the last place you’d expect something like this to happen.
British Transport Police (BTP) said that, at around 7:10 a.m., they received reports of a “serious assault”:
Paramedics also attended, and a person was taken to hospital with injuries that are consistent with stabbing and are considered to be life threatening.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jerusalem Dismisses Reports of a Possible Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire
News sites around the world are today leading with reports of a possible Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, after a joint statement from 12 Israeli allies called for a 21-day pause in fighting “to provide space for diplomacy towards the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement.”
But despite claims such a deal could be struck within “hours,” a spokesman for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified that he has “instructed the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] to continue the fighting with full force, and according to the plans presented to him.”
The spokesman added that “the fighting in Gaza will continue until all the goals of the war are achieved,” too.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netanyahu Vows to Use ‘Full Force’ Against Hezbollah and Dims Hopes for a Cease-Fire
NEW YORK (AP) — Dimming hopes for a cease-fire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel will continue striking Hezbollah “with full force” and will not stop until all of its goals are achieved. Israel carried out a new strike in the Lebanese capital, which it said killed a senior Hezbollah commander.
Netanyahu spoke as he landed in New York to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting. At the gathering, U.S. and European officials were putting heavy pressure on both sides to accept a proposed 21-day halt in the fighting to give time for diplomacy to avert a potential all-out war.
Hundreds have been killed in Lebanon this week as Israel dramatically escalated strikes, saying it is targeting Hezbollah’s military capacities. Israeli leaders say they are determined to stop more than 11 months of cross-border fire by the militant group, which has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israelis from communities in the north.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Ex-Secret Service Veteran Details ‘Very Atypical,’ Weak Security Protocol for Trump Butler Rally
A former Secret Service agent who served on two presidential details told House lawmakers Thursday that “very atypical” security protocols were in place at the July 13 campaign rally where former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated.
Patrick Sullivan, a 20-plus-year veteran of the agency, told members of the bipartisan task force probing the attempt on Trump’s life in Butler, Pa., that the communications plan and placement of agents sharply deviated from ordinary security protocols.
Additionally, Sullivan said that lawmakers should consider requiring Secret Service officials to be more forthcoming about credible threats against protectees, which he said would have been a “tremendous game-changer” in a recent foiled Iranian assassination plot against the 45th president.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov here and discussed bilateral cooperation and regional issues. Their meeting comes just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the margins of the high-level UN week.
“Met FM Sergey Lavrov this afternoon at #UNGA79. Discussed our bilateral cooperation and regional issues,” Jaishankar said in a post on X.
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Lavrov and Jaishankar discussed key matters on the bilateral cooperation agenda, as well as urgent international matters, including preparations for the upcoming BRICS Summit in Kazan, the Ukraine settlement, as well as the situation in the Asia-Pacific Region in connection with the Western attempts to bring NATO elements into this region.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
CJEU Rejects Orlen Appeal, Allowing Russia to Avoid Paying Penalties in Unfair Gas Pricing Case
From 2011 to 2015, the European Commission (EC) took action on natural gas markets in Central and Eastern Europe, including initiating an investigation against Gazprom regarding gas supplies to eight member states: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.
On April 22, 2015, the EC sent a letter to Gazprom accusing it of abusing its dominant position in the wholesale gas supply market in these countries.
According to the Commission, the company imposed territorial restrictions in gas supply agreements with wholesalers and some industrial customers. These restrictions allowed the Russian company to charge excessive prices in Bulgaria, Estonia, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Missiles, Drones Target Kyiv for Hours, Hammering Ukraine’s Power Grid
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s air defenses battled an overnight Russian aerial attack on the capital Kyiv for five hours, officials said Thursday, as missiles and drones again hammered the Ukrainian power grid.
The Kyiv attack injured at least two people, Ukraine’s Emergency Service said.
A kindergarten, a gas pipe and around 20 cars were damaged in the city, said the Kyiv Military Administration.
In western Ukraine, the air force said, Russia fired three Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missiles — one of Russia’s most advanced weapons — “in the direction of” Starokostiantyniv, a city in the Khmelnytskyi region, on Thursday morning.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Says China is Producing Drones for Russia in Secret Factory
The United States is concerned about a secret drone factory, which is producing drones for Russia in violation of sanctions.
A spokesman for the White House National Security Council (NSC) said there was no indication that the Chinese government knew about these deals. At the same time, he stressed that the Asian power has a responsibility to ensure that its companies are not involved in lethal assistance to Russia.
Based on a report by the Reuters news agency, the Chinese company in question is IEMZ Kupol, which develops drones for use in Ukraine. This move could seriously violate international sanctions and arms treaties.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The wheel of a Boeing 737 fell off shortly after landing in Argentina in the scandal-scarred planemaker’s latest potential safety fail.
The Aerolineas Argentinas flight had just traveled from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires on Monday at 6 p.m. when a left-side rear wheel detached on the taxiway, according to the airline and photos.
“The aircraft…suffered a tire detachment after landing at Aeroparque and while traveling on the taxiway at low speed,” an airline rep told Newsflash Media.
The plane had two wheels on each landing gear, so nobody was hurt, the airline said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In Argentina, a court has ordered Google to “reach inside” Android users’ devices with its long censorship arm, and remove an IPTV app called MagisTV — provided those devices have Argentinian IP addresses.
The order is considered unprecedented, and so potentially setting a precedent for other countries, while MagisTV is described as a “pirate app” that users sideload, that is, it can’t be found on Google’s Play Store.
Nevertheless, the authorities and Argentina appear to be implementing a multi-pronged approach to act on behalf of copyright holders. The extraordinary court order comes in concert with local ISPs blocking 69 domains, seemingly targeted for reselling MagisTV subscriptions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Opposes Funding Fences as Athens Fears Migration Waves From Middle East
The Greek government plans to proceed with its plan to build a new fence at the border with Turkey to prevent illegal migration, with or without EU funding, while the European Commission insists that smarter solutions should be implemented. Meanwhile, Athens fears that the escalation in the Middle East conflict may cause new migration waves and takes diplomatic initiatives with Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority.
The construction of a fence at the northeastern land border with Turkey started in 2012, and since then, it has been extended using national financial resources.
The issue reemerged after Germany decided to take a stricter stance on migration, and politicians in Berlin called on first-line countries, such as Greece, to step up the protection of Europe’s external borders.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Migrant Shelter Volunteer: Women and Children Were Brought in for the Cameras
Former student volunteer at a Europe Migrant Crisis-era refugee centre relates how the reality on the ground was carefully stage managed for the cameras and how the scales fell from her eyes in 2015.
Caroline Bosbach, a former volunteer at a large Berlin migrant shelter and now a candidate for election in the 2025 Federal votes has told a major German newspaper that she witnessed first-hand manipulation of the media during the 2015 migrant crisis. Describing her own political awakening — after she had previously sworn off a political career, believing it to be antithetical to a happy family life — Bosbach described the shelter where she worked and how it arrived on the day a camera crew arrived.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The German federal government has “miscalculated” billions in welfare payments, known as citizens’ money, with their initial estimate of €36 billion far short of the €46 billion reportedly needed.
In documents obtained by Bild newspaper, the German labor ministry assumes an average of 2.9 million people are in need of welfare parents in the documents for the “2025 budget,” dated from August 2024. However, this document indicates that the expenditure on standard rates and accommodation costs is expected to total €45.6 billion, which is a far cry from the €36 billion set in the 2025 citizen’s allowance budget.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Tren de Aragua gang member was under a deportation order when he and five pals were allegedly caught on video storming an apartment building in Aurora, Colorado last month, according to ICE.
ICE had Niefred Serpa-Acosta, 20, in custody following two arrests for theft — but released him on July 17, despite the fact that a judge ruled he should be removed from the country, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told The Post.
The illegal Venezuelan migrant had also admitted that he was a member of the violent Venezuelan criminal organization — and had the tattoos to prove it, law enforcement sources previously told The Post.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former President Donald Trump mocked Kamala Harris’ planned visit to the border — just her second as vice president — arguing she’s had three years to solve the illegal migrant crisis.
Harris is expected to travel to Douglas, Ariz., on Friday and is planning to make a stop at the border to talk about increasing security.
“Why didn’t she fix it almost four years ago? She’s got no plans, got no talent, got no ability to do it,” the former president said Thursday during a press conference at Trump Tower.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
It’s been reported that a gang-related shooting that took place in Herriman, Utahhas involved “Venezuelan groups,” according to authorities who spoke to a local Utah news outlet. The shooting suspect is a 19-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela.
According to KUTV2 News, police arrested Alejandro Palmar Romero, 19, after a shooting incident took place near the Emerson Apartments in Herriman on Sunday. The shooting incident comes as the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang has been known to be operating in Colorado, just south of the Beehive State. Herriman police said they believe the shooting is “gang-related.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A federal judge this week issued New York Attorney General Letitia James a preliminary injunction that bars her from taking action against pregnancy clinics that promote abortion pill reversal on the grounds it would restrict protected free speech.
The ruling came amid a lawsuit by the Thomas More Society on behalf of two pro-life ministries, Summit Life Outreach Center and the Evergreen Association. The lawsuit argues that James has targeted pregnancy centers with threats of prosecution for sharing information about abortion pill reversal, which she has said is unproven.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Romanian PM Rejects Need to Legally Protect Same-Sex Couples
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has questioned the need to introduce civil partnerships, saying that LGBTQ citizens already enjoy equal rights despite the Strasbourg-based human rights court condemning Romania for failing to protect same-sex couples.
In an interview with Euractiv’s partner Hotnews, Ciolacu was asked to answer a question from a reader who had left Romania, asking why she should return to a country where her relationship was not legally recognised.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Prediction: If/when the next stock market collapse occurs, it’ll bear NO resemblance to the ’29 Crash in two important ways:
1) Unlike 1929, when people were raised to save their money in a bank for the inevitable “rainy day”, today, banks pay little or no interest to savers, making saving financially unprofitable; and people’ve been trained to borrow/spend all their money….and, then, borrow (and spend) more!
2) Because so many banks’ve shifted their operations online—to apps and websites—there may be no physical location to withdraw money from in the event of a financial calamity. Therefore, rather than photos of desperate depositors queuing outside CLOSED banks, the media’ll be chock full o’ pictures of app/website screens with “error” messages, leaving desperate depositors confused and with no option other than to throw their devices out the window.
“Kemmerer, Wyoming will soon be home to the most advanced nuclear facility in the world.” —Bill Gates (10 Jun 2024)
https://www.gatesnotes.com/Wyoming-TerraPower-groundbreaking
“Nuclear energy is far safer than its reputation implies. It’s also clean and reliable–yet power plants are being phased out around the world.” —CNET (Nov 2021)
https://www.cnet.com/science/how-nuclear-power-plants-could-help-solve-climate-crisis/
Prediction: Now that a VIP ‘toddler’s flipped [in favour of] nuclear power generation, The Party’ll likewise flip on their decades-long DESTRUCTION of it. Soon, nuclear power plants’ll begin popping-up across Obamerica faster (and much less dangerous) than mosques.
“Today’s Rhetorical Question: Why’s The Party still fear-mongering clean, safe and reliable nuclear power? (hint: The Party’s got too much of [their] money invested in the “green” energy scam….er, I mean plan)” —posted to fb (July 2021)