The heads of the British and American foreign intelligence agencies said today that Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia is a significant achievement. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his gratitude to Romania for the transfer of a Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.
In other news, law enforcement agencies in Kentucky are searching tonight for at least one suspect after several people were shot near an interstate in rural Laurel County.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, JW, LP, Reader from Chicago, Roger, SS, TN, Upananda Brahmachari, 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.
Argentina Analysts Cut 2024 Inflation Forecast to Nearly 123%
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) — Argentina’s monthly inflation rate stood at 3.9% in August and is expected to close the year at an annualized rate of nearly 123%, according to analysts surveyed by the central bank in a poll published on Thursday.
The new forecast marks a reduction of 4.75 percentage points compared to last month’s survey.
Prices are seen rising by 3.5% in September, according to the poll, slowing down after a surge that followed deep spending cuts as well as the devaluation of the peso currency enacted by libertarian President Javier Milei in a bid to reduce sky-high inflation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Plagiarism is Plagiarism” Says Scholar Whose Work Was Lifted by Critical Race Theorist
By Ann Daily Moreno of The College Fix
A recent complaint filed with the University of Washington alleges that Professor Robin DiAngelo, a white critical race theorist and alumnus of the school, plagiarized minority scholars and others, largely within her dissertation to earn a PhD in philosophy.
The 20-page complaint, first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, outlines nearly a half-dozen scholars whose previous writings appear to have not been properly cited in DiAngelo’s work — despite her saying it’s vital to “always cite and give credit to the work of BIPOC people who have informed your thinking.”
Only one of the scholars whose work was allegedly plagiarized by DiAngelo responded to The College Fix’s request for comment — University of Melbourne professorial fellow Bronwyn Davies — whose work with co-author Rom Harré has been found in a couple of sentences within DiAngelo’s writing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A SWAT Team Destroyed Their Home, Now This Family is Going to the Supreme Court
Authored by Michael Clements via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
Vicki Baker was ready to close the sale of her house in McKinney, Texas, in July four years ago. She and her new husband were settling into a new home in Montana. Her daughter, Deanna Cook, lived in the McKinney house pending the sale closing.
She said the future seemed as bright and boundless as the view from her Montana mountaintop home.
On July 25, 2020, the sale was canceled, the house had more than $50,000 in damage courtesy of the McKinney Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics team, and a fugitive was lying dead in what had been Baker’s master bedroom.
Baker, and the public interest law firm, Institute for Justice, have petitioned the U.S Supreme Court to hear Baker’s claim that the damage constitutes a taking under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As such, the city would be obligated to provide Baker just compensation for the damage.
The city of McKinney denies it owes Baker anything because the police were legally exercising their power while responding to an emergency. McKinney appears to have legal precedence on its side.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Amazon has uploaded an image of a sexually suggestive art and design publication called “KINFOLK” instead of the proper cover for Bulletproof: How a Shot Meant for Donald Trump Took Out Joe Biden by Jack Posobiec and Joshua Lisec, the first book about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
The inappropriate cover image first appeared on Friday and was noted by Bulletproof author Posobiec, who tweeted “ATTN: I do not know what is going on but This is NOT the cover for Bulletproof, @Amazon. They are sabotaging the FIRST book every written about the Trump assassination.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Animal Sacrifices on the Rise in Queens With Chickens, Pigs Being Tortured in ‘Twisted’ Rituals
Animal sacrifices are surging in Queens, with chickens, pigs and rats being tortured, mutilated or killed in “twisted” religious rituals in parkland surrounding Jamaica Bay, The Post has learned.
In a little over a month, at least nine wounded animals or carcasses have been discovered in the federally-managed Spring Creek Park in Howard Beach and the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel — including five live pigs with partially severed ears.
Creatures recovered from the revolting scene also include a near-dead baby rat tied up in a bag with chicken bones; a freshly-decapitated chicken head; a live hen in distress; and a dead dog with its neck snapped.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twisted anti-Israel protesters harassed Jewish Baruch College freshmen attending a welcome event this week, cruelly taunting them about the murder of six hostages by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, according to a disturbing video shared on Instagram.
“Where’s Hersh, you ugly a— b—h? Go bring them home,” one protester yelled at students, referring to Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, one of the six hostages killed by Hamas and found dead Aug. 31 in Gaza.
The new students were attending Hillel’s welcome dinner, which was held at the Mr. Broadway kosher restaurant in Midtown, where a mob of about a dozen screamed threats including, “You ain’t going home tonight,” according to a post from the student group.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
As debates over free speech heat up in the United States, former president and GOP contender for the White House Donald Trump announced that he would defend the First Amendment from the federal level, should he gain a second term.
“I will sign an executive order banning any federal employee from colluding to limit speech, and we will fire every federal bureaucrat who is engaged in domestic censorship under the Harris regime,” Donald Trump said at a campaign rally in Wisconsin on Saturday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CDC Pushes for Babies to Get 3 Unlicensed COVID mRNA Shots by 9 Months
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new guidance pushing for babies to receive three unlicensed Covid mRNA shots before they are nine months old.
However, COVID-19 poses virtually no risk to children and infants, vaccinated or otherwise.
In addition, there are no licensed Covid vaccines for children aged 12 and under.
Yet, according to the CDC, nine-month-old babies can only be considered “up to date” if they receive multiple doses of the mRNA injections.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Censorship ‘Ultimately Traceable’ to Ex-WH Official Treated as Biden ‘Intermediary’: Updated Suit
A week after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted senior Biden White House officials “repeatedly pressured our teams for months” in 2021 to remove posts they disliked related to COVID-19, leading Facebook to make “some choices … we wouldn’t make today,” a plaintiff in a newly updated lawsuit says his censorship can be proven “ultimately traceable” to one of them.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Predicts Crewed SpaceX Flights to Mars by 2028, Hopes for ‘Self-Sustaining City’ on Planet
SpaceX founder Elon Musk made bold predictions about human life on Mars in a series of social media posts on Saturday.
Writing on X, Musk made the forecasts in response to a post by Bill Ackman promoting a “Make America Healthy Again” ad posted by Robert F. Kennedy’s former running mate Nicole Shanahan.
“Without our health and that of our children, we have nothing,” Ackman wrote. “And for those who care about our economy, national debt, and deficits, there is no more important initiative.”
Musk used Ackman’s tweet as a jumping-off point to discuss how colonizing Mars could improve humanity.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fire Officials: ‘Do Not Store Guns or Anything Else in Your Oven’
CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT) — Chesterfield Fire and EMS has a warning for residents after an oven exploded: “PLEASE DO NOT STORE GUNS OR ANYTHING ELSE IN YOUR OVEN.”
Firefighters responded to a call on Thursday and found a handgun inside an oven.
“It turns out, someone turned the oven on with the gun inside, the weapon heated up, and five rounds went off,” Chesterfield Fire and EMS said in a social media post. “Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the situation could have turned out much differently.”
| — Hat tip: Roger | [Return to headlines] |
Hegar: Lawsuit Over Texas ESG Ban is ‘Absurd’, ‘Frivolous’, ‘Dishonest’
A new lawsuit filed over a Texas law that went into effect nearly three years ago is “absurd,” “frivolous” and “intellectually dishonest,” Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said.
After the Texas legislature passed a bill that Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law in 2021, the American Sustainable Business Coalition sued last week arguing it violates the First and Fourteenth amendments.
Gov. Abbott signed SB 13 into law after state lawmakers expressed concerns that prominent financial institutions and investment funds targeting the Texas oil and gas industry to financially penalize them in favor of alternative energy based on their compliance with “environmental, social, governance” standards, The Center Square reported. The law prohibits certain state agencies from investing funds in financial companies taking “any action that is, solely or primarily, intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on or limit commercial relations with [an energy company that] does not commit or pledge to meet environmental standards beyond applicable federal and state law.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In Historic Ruling, US Prediction Market Kalshi Scores Huge Win Against CFTC
Late on Friday, a judge ruled in favor of the US-based predictions market Kalshi, overruling the CFTC, and allowing the platform to offer derivatives for betting on the upcoming US election in November, legally and without the use of shady circumvention devices such as VPNs.
The ruling has potentially monumental consequences, as last year US commodity regulator CFTC forbade Kalshi from listing the Congressional control contracts, on the grounds that they would amount to unlawful gaming and would be “contrary to the public interest.” Kalshi then sued, calling the regulator’s decision “arbitrary [and] capricious.”
Fast forward to Friday, when in a ruling handed by Judge Jia M. Cobb, of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, she sided with Kalshi: “For the reasons stated in the Court’s forthcoming memorandum opinion, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment … and DENIES Defendant’s cross motion for summary judgment,” Cobb wrote.
“Defendant’s September 22, 2023 order prohibiting Plaintiff from listing its congressional control contracts for trading is hereby VACATED.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In Pivotal Senate Race, Republican Takes Significant Lead Over Incumbent Democrat
Democrats hoping to maintain control of the United States Senate in 2025 have been jolted by a new poll that shows Montana’s incumbent Democratic senator trailing his Republican challenger by 8 points with under two months to go until Election Day.
The AARP poll found 49% of Montana voters back Republican Tim Sheehy and 41% support incumbent Jon Tester,while the Libertarian candidate takes 4% and the Green Party, 1%. Sheehy appears to be the beneficiary of Donald Trump’s popularity in the state: The former president has a commanding 56% to 41% lead. He won the state by 16 points in 2020 and 21 in 2016.
The Democrats are defending 23 Senate seats in 2024, compared to just 11 for the Republicans.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Keep an Eye on the Sky: Don’t Miss the Imminent ‘Blaze Star’ Explosion This Month
The past year has been littered with can’t-miss space phenomena: the solar eclipse and Aurora Borealis, for example. It isn’t rare to witness some cosmic events. Others, like Halley’s Comet or the Great Conjunction, are so rare that they only come along once in a lifetime. That’s why it’s such big news that T Coronae Borealis, also known as the Blaze Star or T CrB, is headed toward a cosmic explosion that’ll shine brighter than the North Star. It’s an event we may only ever see happen once — and if you blink, you just might miss it.
In February 2016, astronomers began to share the news that T CrB had entered a “phase of unprecedented high activity.” Eight years later, experts are predicting that solar activity could result in a nova event big enough to be viewable from Earth with the naked eye.
In a nova event, a white dwarf star pulls in solar material from a nearby red giant. When the heat and pressure get too high, the result is a thermonuclear explosion. That makes the white dwarf appear brighter in the sky, but it doesn’t disintegrate, and once the explosion dissipates, the star goes back to its original brightness. That massive eruption is a nova.
The nova can be seen with the naked eye for upward of a week after it happens. For that period, it’ll seem like a new star has appeared in the sky. According to NASA, the explosion could happen anytime, day or night, between now and September, although scientists say it may take longer.
What will the Blaze Star nova look like?
Those fortunate enough to be looking at the night sky when the show starts may be disappointed. It won’t look as explosive as it actually is. According to Dr. Elizabeth Hayes, project scientist for the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, someone looking at the sky when the event occurs won’t see anything right away.
“If they keep watching for the next 24 hours, they will see a faint star appear and gradually brighten,” Hayes told CNET. “Of course, someone on Earth will have their view interrupted as the Earth rotates.”
| — Hat tip: TN | [Return to headlines] |
MSNBC Calls for Boycott of Social Media Platform X, Contributor Calls for Elon Musk’s Prosecution
MSNBC has called for a boycott against the social media platform X, claiming that its owner, Elon Musk, has pushed misinformation relating to the upcoming election.
An opinion piece published by MSNBC calling for the boycott cited a recent reportby the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate which claimed to have identified 50 instances where Musk posted false claims about the election. The MSNBC piece also accused Musk of amplifying conspiracy theories and anti-Semitism.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Numerous’ People Shot Near Rural Kentucky Highway, Authorities on Manhunt for Shooter
Law enforcement in Kentucky is on a manhunt Saturday night for at least one suspect after several people were shot near an interstate in a rural area of the state’s Laurel County, according to the sheriff’s office.
The shooting occurred near Interstate 75, about nine miles north of the city of London, where “numerous persons have been shot,” said the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, according to CNN.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republicans Demand Biden-Harris Admin End ‘Subsidization’ of Data Brokers After Massive Hack
Republicans have called on the Biden-Harris administration to end the federal government’s support of data brokers for handling sensitive information for American citizens.
The calls come following a massive hack that exposed the personal information of some 2.9 billion people, including “potentially all Americans.”
National Public Data, a data broker that performs background checks, was targeted in a massive hack in April.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Teen Faces Multiple Charges After Fatal Harford County School Shooting
BALTIMORE— A 16-year-old boy was arrested and charged in the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old boy at Joppatowne High School on Friday.
The teen is charged with murder, first and second-degree assault and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony/crime of violence, Harford County Sheriff announced Saturday afternoon. The teen is being held in the Harford County Detention Center awaiting his initial appearance before a judicial officer.
Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said in a press conference Friday that the 16-year-old student allegedly shot a 15-year-old during a fight inside a men’s bathroom just after 12:30 p.m.
The 15-year-old victim, Warren Grant, was found suffering from a gunshot wound and was tended to by school nurses, staff, and students. He was then taken by helicopter to Johns Hopkins Bayview where he was pronounced dead after arriving.
The release states the 16-year-old suspect fled the school building and was found in a nearby neighborhood. He was taken into custody without incident around 12:52 p.m.
The sheriff’s office said the events leading up to the shooting and the relationship between the victim and suspect are still under investigation.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Top Entrepreneur Warns Democrats Will Destroy America With Anti-Trump Lawfare
Acclaimed entrepreneur Naval Ravikant has warned that the Democrats’ ongoing efforts to attack President Donald Trump with lawfare are threatening to destroy America.
Ravikant, the co-founder, chairman, and former CEO of AngelList, said in an interview this week that he believes the Democratic Party’s weaponization of the justice system will have major implications for the rest of the country.
The American investor, who has millions of followers on social media, made the remarks during an interview Friday with Sirius XM host Megyn Kelly.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Calls Dick Cheney ‘Irrelevant’ After Former VP Backs Kamala Harris
Former President Donald Trump called former GOP Vice President Dick Cheney “irrelevant” after he threw his support behind Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
“Dick Cheney is an irrelevant RINO, along with his daughter, who lost by the largest margin in the History of Congressional Races!” Trumpwrote on TRUTH Social.
He went on to refer to Cheney as the king of “endless, nonsensical wars.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Calls on Big Tech to Help Circumvent Online Censors in Russia, Iran
The White House convened a meeting with representatives of Amazon.com, Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft, Cloudflare and civil society activists on Thursday (5 September) in a bid to encourage US tech giants to offer more digital bandwidth for government-funded internet censorship evasion tools.
The tools, supported by the US-backed Open Technology Fund (OTF), have seen a surge of usage in Russia, Iran, Myanmar and authoritarian states that heavily censor the internet.
OTF’s pitch to tech companies at the meeting was to help offer discounted or subsidized server bandwidth to meet the fast-growing demand for virtual private network (VPN) applications that OTF funds, the organisation’s president, Laura Cunningham, told Reuters.
[Comment: But I don’t see the White House encouraging the by-passing of censorship in Brazil.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Intel Undercuts DOJ’s “Foreign Interference” Claim Used to Smear Conservative Pundits
Authored by Luis Cornelio via HeadlineUSA.com
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) announced Friday that it has not “observed” any foreign interference in the 2024 election, seemingly undermining cynical remarks by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The ODNI’s Foreign Malign Influence Center (FMIC) stated in a 2-page report that the intelligence community “has not observed any foreign actor seeking to interfere in the conduct of the 2024 elections.” Natalie Winters, a co-host of the Steve Bannon WarRoom podcast, first reported these findings.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
WA Board of Ed Looks to Expand Controversial Ethnic Studies Graduation Requirement
The Washington State Board of Education is moving closer to officially updating and expanding a 2021 resolution that established an ethnic studies graduation requirement
Board members discussed “incorporating Ethnic Studies into the legislative platform, and/or addressing Ethnic Studies through the FutureReady graduation requirements initiative,” according to the agenda for Thursday’s virtual board of education meeting.
According to the board’s website, FutureReady — implemented this summer — is an initiative to update graduation requirements to better prepare students for the future.
However, the increasing focus on ethnic studies in all subjects is not without controversy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
AfD Event in German City of Essen Disrupted by Beeps and Protesters
An event organized by Alternative for Germany (AfD) politicians in the western city of Essen was disrupted several times by beeping electronic devices and protesters on Thursday.
Speeches by members of the far-right party, which saw a surge in votes in two eastern German state elections on Sunday, were interrupted by noises from the middle of the audience in Essen’s Philharmonic hall.
Some of the around 200 people in the crowd then started shouting slogans such as “Fascists out” and “Nazis out.”
The protesters were removed from the hall by security staff and an estimated 25 mini-electronic devices were found under seats.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Majority Wants the Netherlands to Boycott Eurovision Over Joost Klein Treatment
In just over a week, Dutch public broadcaster AvroTros has to announce whether the Netherlands will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland next year. An estimated 58 percent of people living in the Netherlands do not want the country to enter the competition after Joost Klein’s disqualification this year, RTL Nieuws found in a survey of its news panel.
“The discussions are still ongoing at the moment,” Eric Dekker of AvroTros told Editie NL when asked about whether the Netherlands will participate. The television company previously said the Netherlands may skip next year’s edition due to the Klein controversy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Immigration, EU, Pay: What Are PM Michel Barnier’s Known Policies?
As the EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is named as France’s new prime minister by President Emmanuel Macron, we look at what is known about his policies and values.
Mr Barnier will likely be best-known to Britons for his role as the chief Brexit negotiator for the EU after the UK’s vote to leave the Union.
However, as the new prime minister, Mr Barnier will still have the task of forming a group that can push bills through the Assemblée nationale despite having no clear governing majority.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Pledges 12 More Self-Propelled Howitzers to Ukraine
Germany will supply Ukraine with 12 more self-propelled howitzers, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Friday at a meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group at the US air base in Ramstein.
Six of the advanced armoured vehicles are to arrive by the end of the year, with the rest to follow in 2025. They have a firing range of 30 kilometres.
The total cost for the 12 howitzers was put at €150 million ($166 million).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took part in the opening session of the meeting in Ramstein and used the opportunity to plead for more weapons.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: XR Activists Chain Themselves to Rijksmuseum Entrance, Museum Closed for the Time Being
Extinction Rebellion activists chained themselves to the tunnel fences leading to the Rijksmuseum’s entrance on Saturday morning. The climate action group wants to prevent visitors from entering the Amsterdam museum. As a result, the museum was closed “until further notice”, local broadcaster AT5 reports. XR wants the museum to end its sponsorship relationship with the ING bank.
The yellow-clad protesters unfurled two large banners with the text “Rijks, say no to ING” and hung up two banners with slogans such as “No art on a dead planet” at around 8:30 a.m. Then some of the XR activists chained themselves to the fences.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands Sends More F-16 Missiles to Ukraine
The Netherlands is providing Ukraine with air-to-air missiles for its F-16 fighter jets, which can be used to shoot other aircraft out of the sky. Minister Ruben Brekelmans (Defense) announced after international consultations on military support for Ukraine that Kyiv will also receive 80 million euros worth of maintenance material for the F-16.
Russian aircraft are attacking targets in Ukraine with cruise missiles and glider bombs, among other things. Civilian targets are often hit, and the Ukrainian power grid is also often targeted by the Russians. The minister explained on the phone from Ramstein in Germany that air defense is “the highest priority” for Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: More and More Minors Involved in Terrorism, Radicalization Through Social Media
Investigations show that more and more underage children are involved in terrorist crimes. The reason for this worrying development is the Internet, where children can freely access content calling for violence and attacks, Het Parool reports.
Public prosecutors and child protection authorities have been observing the trend towards more violence among young people for two years. According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), more and more minors have been named as suspects in dozens of cases of serious violence and terrorism during this period. For Public Prosecutor Dorien Kardol, the number of such cases is alarming.
This phenomenon is not only taking place in the Netherlands, but throughout Europe, according to Europol. The European Union’s police authority, based in The Hague in the Netherlands, has recorded a fourfold increase in attacks and planned attacks. In the last six months alone, two-thirds of the 61 terrorism suspects arrested were under the age of 19. One of the youngest terrorism suspects is a 14-year-old, writes Het Parool.
Attacks by minors have also marked this year’s summer: At the beginning of August, three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna were canceled at short notice due to the threat of terrorism. According to Austrian investigations, a 19-year-old is said to have planned to drive into the crowd of Swift fans in front of the stadium with explosives and a car. According to the Austrian authorities, he had pledged allegiance to the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) online. Last Thursday, an 18-year-old Islamist from Austria planned an attack on the Israeli Consulate General in Munich and fired shots from an old rifle in the area. After an exchange of fire, the German police shot dead the underage attacker.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Organized Crime Groups in Germany Cause Almost €3 Billion in Damage
Organized crime groups caused billions of euros in damage in Germany in 2023, a new report showed on Thursday.
The study by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) said losses amounted to €2.7 billion ($3 billion) last year, more than double the €1.3 billion reported in 2022.
The figure was the highest in the past 10 years, the report said.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and BKA President Holger Münch presented the results of the study in Berlin.
The majority of financial damage was attributed to cybercrime. In one case, a single gang caused losses of €1.7 million by eliciting bank details from unsuspecting victims.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Charges Three Belarusians After 2021 Minsk Forced Landing
Poland on Friday charged three Belarusian officials in connection with the 2021 forced landing of a Ryanair aircraft in Minsk with an opposition Belarusian blogger on board.
Investigators accused the trio of taking control of an aircraft, forced landing and deprivation of liberty, the prosecutor’s office in Warsaw said in a statement.
Next, the authorities plan to request international arrest warrants for the three Belarusians, who are not in Poland.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Scholz, Macron Mull How to Make Europe More Competitive at Evian Meet
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on the European economy at a Franco-German business meeting in Evian in eastern France on Friday, the Élysée Palace said.
After a one-to-one meeting, the two leaders were to discuss the topic of European competitiveness with French and German business representatives, officials said.
Their talks are a follow-up to the Franco-German Council of Ministers held in Germany’s Meseberg in May, which focussed on strengthening Europe and creating a more sovereign economy when dealing with China and the US.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Dutch Government is ‘Future-Proofing’ Its Military in an Increasingly Volatile World
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Netherlands’ defense ministry announced a major plan to “future-proof” the country’s military on Thursday, including buying more F-35 fighter jets and the return of a Dutch tank battalion as it gears up to face a world of expanding threats.
The Netherlands and other members of the NATO military alliance have been looking with new urgency at how to boost their militaries since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered a full-scale war on Europe’s eastern flank.
Gijs Tuinman, the state secretary for defense, called the white paper outlining the investments “the most ambitious military agenda in modern Dutch history.”
The major investments — an extra 2.4 billion euros ($2.66 billion) per year to bring annual defense budget up to 24 billion euros ($266 billion) — come weeks before former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte takes over as NATO chief.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Thousands Rally in France Against New Prime Minister Barnier
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in France on Saturday to protest the appointment of Michel Barnier as prime minister.
Authorities expected around 15,000 people to take part in rallies in over 100 cities across the country, including Paris, Bordeaux and Nantes.
Protests were being organized by the hard-left France Unbowed party, one of the members of the New Popular Front (NPF) alliance which won the second round of parliamentary elections in July.
The NPF has reacted furiously after French President Emmanuel Macron refused to nominate its candidate as prime minister and this week chose the conservative Barnier to attempt to form a government.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Tony Blair Calls for Global Agreement on Social Media Speech Restrictions
Fresh off the crackdown on so-called “keyboard warriors” over social media posts connected to the recent anti-mass migration riots, leading leftist politicians in Britain are beginning to demand for new speech restrictions on the internet.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose neo-liberal Labour Party government enacted some of the strictest speech laws in modern British history, has joined the chorus of commentators demanding a new crackdown on social media.
Speaking to LBC Radio this week, Blair said: “The world is going to have to come together and agree on some rules around social media platforms.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Website Provides Shocking Snapshot of Daily Knife Violence in Germany
In the first seven days of September, German police responded to more than 100 crimes occurred in which a knife was used. This is according to a new website called Messerinzidenz (Knife Incidence), which analyses police reports daily to create a live knife crime tracker. The frequency and severity of this now-common crime makes clear that ‘isolated incidents’ add up to a chilling reality.
Numerous knife attacks occur on Germany’s streets every day—but most of them are not even recorded by the media. In order to make the number of daily knife attacks more visible, a developer has now published an interactive map of Germany on which new cases are recorded in real time and displayed geographically and with source references.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Freed Hostage Says She Was Forced to Read Lines, Pose With Food for Propaganda Clips
Released Hamas hostage Aviva Siegel on Saturday described the pressures of being forced to make propaganda videos for the terror group while being held in dire conditions in the Gaza Strip, including being coerced to repeat lines and pretend that adequate food was being given to her in captivity.
Siegel told The Wall Street Journal she struggled to remember the lines given by her captors as she was held with limited food and water, and inside tunnels where it was difficult to breathe. Her videos have not been released by the terror group.
“‘You didn’t say that you’re 62.’ ‘You didn’t say that you’re from Kfar Aza.’ ‘You didn’t say that Bibi needs to bring you back,’“ Siegel recounted her captors telling her during filming, adding she would always forget what she needed to say.
Siegel, 62, was abducted along with her husband Keith from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza by Hamas terrorists on October 7. Aviva was released on November 26 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel. Keith remains in captive.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
After Losing a Chunk of Russian Territory to Ukraine, Putin Said it Wasn’t That Important Anyway
Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to downplay the importance of Ukraine seizing hundreds of square miles of Russian territory, claiming it didn’t divert Russia from its mission.
“The enemy’s goal was to make us nervous and worry and to transfer troops from one sector to another and to stop our offensive in key areas, primarily in the Donbas,” Putin said at a forum in Vladivostok Thursday, as reported by Reuters. “Did it work? No.”
The Donbas is the eastern region of Ukraine that is the main front line of Russia’s invasion.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Putin: I Met Telegram Founder Durov Years Ago, Did Not Keep in Touch
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he met the founder of messaging service Telegram, Pavel Durov — who faces possible criminal charges in France — in Moscow a long time ago.
“It was a meeting with entrepreneurs,” Putin said on Thursday at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. “We have not seen each other since then, we have never kept in touch.”
Putin denied meeting Russia-born Durov shortly before his arrest in Paris.
At the same time, he criticized the French authorities’ actions against the billionaire.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Takes New Village Near Hub of Pokrovsk; Drone Debris Hits Outside Ukraine’s Parliament
On Saturday Russia’s defense ministry (MoD) has announced the capture of another village in Eastern Ukraine as its forces close in on the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
Moscow forces “have liberated the village of Kalynove” in the Donetsk region, which is about 16 miles southeast of Ukraine-held Pokrovsk.
Pokrovsk is the crossroads city of some 60,000 people seen as vital to Kiev’s defense efforts. The fears in the West are that if it falls, the whole of Donetsk will be easily taken by Russia, and so will all of the Donbass region.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US and UK Spy Chiefs Praise Ukraine for ‘Audacious’ Russia Incursion
The heads of the British and American foreign intelligence agencies said Saturday that Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia is a significant achievement that could change the narrative of the grinding 2 1/2-year war, as they urged Kyiv’s allies not to be held back by Russian threats of escalation
Richard Moore, the head of MI6, said Kyiv’s surprise August offensive to seize territory in Russia’s Kursk region was “typically audacious and bold on the part of the Ukrainians, to try and change the game.” He said the offensive — which Ukraine said has captured about 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of Russian territory — had “brought the war home to ordinary Russians.”
Speaking alongside Moore at an unprecedented joint public event in London, CIA Director William Burns said the offensive was a “significant tactical achievement” that had exposed vulnerabilities in the Russian military.
…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Western Intelligence Estimates Over 600,000 Russian Soldiers Have Been Killed or Wounded in Ukraine
Russia has seen an estimated 610,000 soldiers killed and wounded in Ukraine since the start of its war, Britain’s defense ministry shared in a Thursday intelligence update.
The staggering casualty figure, the latest Western estimate of Moscow’s substantial losses in Ukraine, underscores Russia’s ability to absorb massive losses as the grinding conflict shows no signs of slowing down.
Last month alone, Russia suffered a daily average of 1,187 killed and wounded, Britain’s defense ministry said in its update, citing Ukrainian military reporting, which Business Insider was unable to independently verify.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Zelensky Thanks Romania for Patriot Air Defence System
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his “deep gratitude” to Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis for the imminent transfer of a Patriot air defence system.
It is a significant contribution to protecting Ukraine “from Russian missile terror and further proof of the genuine friendship and strategic partnership between the two countries,” Zelensky wrote on X.
Iohannis signed a resolution by the Romanian parliament facilitating the transfer, which was announced in June.
Zelensky has repeatedly asked Ukraine’s partners for more air defence systems in order to better protect his people from constant Russian air and missile attacks.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Islamist Rule in Bangladesh: Hindu Procession Attacked in Front of Mosque in Chittagong
“Why are minorities being targeted?” a young Hindu man, injured during the incident, was heard asking in a video shared by the Bangladesh Awami League.
Aditi Das | HENB | Dhaka | Sept 8, 2024:: On Friday, September 6, a procession of Hindu devotees carrying the idol of Lord Ganesha was attacked in front of Kadam Mubarak Mosque in the Cheragi pahad area of Chittagong city, Bangladesh.
The incident occurred on the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in the city, when members of the ‘Batargalli Dhwapara Sarbajanin Puja Committee’ were transporting the idol of Lord Ganesha in a van from artisan Uttam Pal’s factory to the procession site.
As the procession passed by Momin Road, hot water was hurled from the rooftop of a high-rise building, targeting the Lord Ganesha idol and the Hindu devotees below. Notably, the building is situated near the Kadam Mubarak mosque, raising concerns about the motivations behind the attack.
The unprovoked attack sparked a heated altercation between the Hindu devotees and the residents of the building, further escalating tensions in the area.
Eyewitnesses reported that bricks were also thrown at the Hindu procession, resulting in injuries to several devotees. A young Hindu man, who was himself hurt in the attack, revealed that another devotee suffered severe head injuries. In a video shared by the Bangladesh Awami League in its Facebook page, he emotionally asked, ‘Why are minorities being attacked?’ — a poignant question that highlights the growing concern about religious intolerance in the region.
Upon learning of the attack, hundreds of Hindus gathered on Momin Road and in the Jamal Khan ward of Chittagong, staging a massive protest against the violence. In response, a large contingent of police and armed forces was swiftly deployed to the Kadam Mubarak area to maintain order and prevent further escalation of the situation.
Following the deployment of security forces, a thorough room-by-room search was conducted in the high-rise building from which the accused had launched the attack on the Lord Ganesha idol procession. The search aimed to apprehend the culprits and gather evidence related to the incident.
Bangladesh has witnessed a surge in attacks on Hindus, with the latest incident involving a targeted attack on a Ganesha idol procession in Chittagong. The ‘Batargalli Dhwapara Sarbajanin Puja Committee’ has expressed outrage and disappointment over the malicious attempt to hurt Hindu religious sentiments. This incident follows the recent lynching of Hindu boy Utsab Mandal by a Muslim mob in Khulna city, allegedly over blasphemy accusations (The boy is still alive as claimed by the Bangladesh Army). Furthermore, there have been reports of Muslim students coercing more than 50 Hindu teachers, professors, and government officials into resigning from their positions, highlighting a disturbing trend of religious intolerance and persecution.
Following the ousting of Sheikh Hasina as Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the country has witnessed a significant escalation in attacks on Hindu places of worship, businesses, and properties, with at least 20o incidents reported. This alarming trend suggests a growing climate of religious intolerance and persecution, raising concerns about the safety and well-being of the Hindu minority in Bangladesh.
Despite the alarming rise in communal attacks on Hindus, Professor Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh’s Interim Government, has downplayed the incidents, attributing them to ‘political mischief’. This stance has been criticized for potentially shielding the Islamist perpetrators responsible for the violence against minority communities.
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
Study Links COVID mRNA Shots to Blood Cancer Surge
A group of leading medical researchers has uncovered evidence linking Covid mRNA shots to a recent surge in cases of lymphoma.
Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that affects the immune system.
It specifically impacts white blood cells called lymphocytes, which are an important part of the body’s immune system.
Lymphoma affects the immune system by causing lymphocytes to develop abnormally and multiply out of control.
It is also called a cancer of the lymphatic system, or lymphatic cancer.
The team of researchers led by Zhentao Cui and Juan Cheng, both with Lanzhou University First Hospital in China’s Gansu province, conducted a study to identify the source of the recent surge in the once-rare blood cancer.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Widen Search to Overseas for Alleged Suspect Who Scalded Baby at Brisbane Park
Police are working with international agencies in the search for the suspect who allegedly threw hot coffee on a nine-month-old at a park in Brisbane.
The baby boy is in hospital after he was scalded at Hanlon Park in Stones Corner about midday on August 27 but the man remains missing.
Today, police confirmed they are now looking overseas.
“Detectives are continuing to investigate the matter and are working with interstate and international partner agencies to progress the investigation,” a police spokesperson said.
“An update to media will be provided on Monday.”
The nine-month-old and his mother were having a picnic at the park when they were allegedly confronted by a stranger.
An off-duty nurse heard the mother’s screams and ?came to her aid and took her to her home for a shower.
Police alleged a man “approached them and poured a hot liquid onto the child, before leaving the scene”.
[…]
The man is described as in his 30s or 40s and of a proportionate build with tanned skin.
He was wearing a black hat, glasses, a shirt and shorts at the time.
Meanwhile, the nine-month-old baby is back in hospital after undergoing four surgeries for burns to his face, arms and legs. ?
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Bolsonaro Leads Massive Free Speech Protest in Brazil After Supreme Court Bans X
Thousands of Brazilians flooded city streets on Saturday to protest against the government’s censorship crusade against Elon Musk’s ‘free-speech’ X platform.
The demonstration, held Saturday on Independence Day, was led by former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro — who said in response to Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes: “I hope that the Federal Senate puts the brakes on Alexandre de Moraes, this dictator who does more harm to Brazil than Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva himself.”
Several notable X accounts, including journalist Michael Shellenberger, are reporting from Sao Paulo’s main boulevard, where tens of thousands have gathered today in opposition to far-left Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes that recently blocked X nationwide.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Colorado City Overrun by Venezuelan Gangs Considers Turning Elementary School Into Migrant Shelter
An elementary school in Colorado could be turned into a shelter for migrants as they continue to flood across the country’s southern border.
The building which is currently standing empty in Denver has been floated as an option and is being considered by the city’s Democratic Mayor.
The specific school property involved, which is owned by Denver Public Schools, has not been made public, but city officials say they are making contingency plans to turn it into emergency accommodation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Introduces Bill to Speed Up Deportations, Reduce Knife Crime
Germany’s coalition government on Saturday presented a package of measures to speed up deportations and reduce knife crime, two weeks after a deadly stabbing in the western city of Solingen reignited debates on the country’s immigration policies.
“We have delivered,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told dpa in Berlin. “We are providing more protection against Islamist terror, stricter deportations of violent offenders, bans on knives and facial recognition of criminals,” she added.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann earlier said Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition had agreed on the details of the package, aimed at strengthening security in the wake of the attack in Solingen which saw three people killed by a 26-year-old Syrian suspect.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s Scholz Says Government Backing Cross-Party Migration Talks
Germany’s coalition government will play its part in ensuring the success of cross-party talks on curbing migration, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday amid an increasingly heated atmosphere in the country over the issue.
“It won’t be our fault if they don’t work out. I hope that they do work out, because it would be good for society and peace,” he told meeting in his Teltow constituency in the eastern state of Brandenburg near Berlin.
The three coalition parties and the conservative opposition are to meet along with the leaders of the country’s 16 federal states on Tuesday to hammer out a joint position.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
At the start of the year, many months after we first pointed out that the biggest untold story of the US labor market was the “great replacement” of native born workers with foreign-born workers (most of whom we subsequently learned were illegal aliens), we asked how is it, that the ongoing replacement (because that’s what it is) of US workers is “not the biggest political talking point right now” considering that “since October 2019, native-born US workers have lost 1.4 million jobs; over the same period foreign-born workers have gained 3 million jobs”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New York Governor Kathy Hochul is reportedly facing pressure from New York City Council members to temporarily waive the city’s “sanctuary city” laws in response to growing concerns over the threats posed by migrants, particularly fears of terrorism.
Council members Robert Holden (D-Queens), Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island), and others in the “Common Sense Caucus” sent a letter on Wednesday, stating, “New York City is a prime target for terrorism, and we cannot afford to be complacent in the face of such threats.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two Venezuelan Gang Members Released on $1,000 Bond After Aurora, CO Shooting: Report
Two suspected Venezuelan gang members have been released after being arrested in connection to a shooting in Aurora, Colorado. The shooting took place near an apartment complex that has been reportedly infiltrated by the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. The two came into the US using the Biden-Harris administration’s CBP One app.
According to the New York Post, Venezuelan brothers Dixon Azuaje-Perez, 20, and Nixon Azuaje-Perez, 19, who have been charged with attempting to tamper with evidence in the July shooting, were released after they both posted $1,000 bond in the case. This is despite Immigrations and Customs Enforcement issuing ICE detainers for their arrest. They are two of four arrested in connection with the shooting; the other two are Jhonnarty Dejesus Pacheco-Chirinos and Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirinos, both are documented Tren de Aragua gang members.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Slovak National Party Pushes Anti-LGBTI+ School Bill, Echoing Hungarian Controversy
Members of the ruling Slovak National Party (SNS) have bypassed Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Hlas-SD/NI) to introduce an anti-LGBTI+ bill aimed at schools, despite the European Commission currently taking Hungary to court over similar legislation.
Four SNS MPs, led by party leader Andrej Danko, submitted the proposed amendment to the Education Act to parliament that seeks to establish a clear definition of what they call ‘non-traditional sexual orientation’, ban its ‘promotion’ and the dissemination of related ideas in schools. Schools found to be in breach of the law could be fined up to €30,000.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
___________________________________________________________
This is, as usual, one from the “Newsfeed” and its “Replies” completely independent translation of a text , hopefully as readable (as well as worth reading), as those published elsewhere by Messrs Brunhilde, Gary Fouse and not to forget, Hellequin GB.
___________________________________________________________
Karl-Olov Arnsberg is a Swedish ethnologist (former professor of ethnology at Stockholm University), author and debater. He has written several well-known books, including Typically Swedish. Arnstberg is known as a debater and commentator on issues related to, among other things, political correctness, the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory cultural Marxism, criticism of Roma and Sweden’s migration policy.
___________________________________________________________
Sunday Chronicle:
The executive elite
Published on September 8, 2024 by Karl-Olov Arnstberg
In every known human society there has always been a ruling elite. For the West, in historical times we can see three different types of elites replacing each other. The first is the land-owning elite, the landed aristocracy, which goes back to the Roman Empire and probably even further. In Sweden we have the nobility with their large mansions. The properties are inherited and the owners almost always know their ancestors and respect them; just as they see their duty to future generations. They also protect the local community. Everyone knows who the lordship is and that
The land-owning nobility naturally remains during the industrial revolution, but the Western world gains a new dominant elite, the industrial oligarchs. Their early days were often a nightmare for the working class, but eventually a resistance emerged both in the form of strong trade unions and political parties. The industrial oligarchs were forced to share the wealth and ensure some social stability. While the landed aristocracy was tied to their estates and farms, the industrial oligarchs tended to identify strongly with their own nation and several became famous philanthropists, such as Alfred Nobel with the Nobel Prize and in the United States the Carnegie Libraries, which still exist in American cities and communities.
The third dominant elite, the one that now controls the Western world in particular, has neither country estates nor factories as its base. It is almost invariably university-educated and bases its elite position on competence and social belonging. It is of course about the high tech and financial elite, but also to a large extent about a managerial competence, which is not only for leading large companies but also for leading organizations, states behind the scenes, and their authorities. It is an urban, globalized and ahistorical elite of bureaucrats and technocrats. It achieves its status precisely by being detached from the place and by not creating any cultural ties to the working and lower classes. At the same time, it loudly expresses its commitment to equality and downplays its elite affiliation.
What gives the chief elite status rather than “ownership” is leadership qualities. The elite are not just “the rich”, although many are; it is those who have high social status, because they possess the social and educational competencies necessary to navigate a world bereft of stabilizing norms.
The emergence of this chief elite was first seen by the American sociologist James Burnham. In 1941 he described it in his book The Managerial Revolution. Burnham envisioned that those with planning, information and data management, political expertise, and increasingly abstract reasoning would replace the old industrial oligarchs in control of wealth, opportunity, and status. In their place would emerge the people specifically identified and trained to “manage” public policy and the private production sector: engineers and economists, business managers and the consulting class, and financiers and the investment sector. The skills required to manipulate abstract information, design systems, and direct policy would become the new elite’s most important tools and, at the same time, the source of the new elite’s power, wealth, and status.
An important reason for this transfer of power and authority was the growing importance of the state. It mattered less who ‘owned’ the materials than who controlled the overall distribution and value, through public and quasi-public policies. Burnham foresaw the creation of a gap between ownership and control and that the elite would increasingly see the advantages of not having direct ownership of the key means of production. Instead, the control of the state and quasi-public institutions such as the media, educational institutions, the non-profit sector and corporate boards would become the goal of the new class. The control over the means of production will merge in the boss society with the political-economic apparatus.
This elite of our time strives to eradicate privilege, especially within the elite institutions, and engages in an almost pathological self-deception about its own position. In universities, they are zealots for activism against inequality, especially inequality perceived as manifested against members of various disadvantaged identities focusing on race, gender, transsexuality, disability and sexual orientation. Countless incidents have taken place at a number of our most prominent universities where students, faculty, staff and administrators have protested against speakers or incidents perceived as prejudiced and bigoted.
part one of free
– – – – –
2.
One example among many is the protests that met social scientist Charles Murray at Middlebury College in March 2017. Before Murray had said a word, he was met with twenty minutes of non-stop condemnation from dozens and perhaps hundreds of students in the audience. It was not the topic of Murray’s lecture that sparked the protests, but those related to Murray and Richard Herrnstein’s 1994 research paper The Bell Curve. According to the professor who invited him, Allison Stanger, some of her colleagues publicly admitted that they had not read a single line of what Charles Murray has written. They still knew everything they needed to know.
The protests led to the decision to move the discussion to a studio where it could take place. The students pounded on the walls and windows of the studio and as Murray and Stanger left the studio they were attacked by a large crowd who pushed and grabbed Murray and Stanger, causing Stanger to suffer a neck injury and a concussion. The students who prevented Murray from speaking came mostly from what Murray calls “HPY (Harvard, Princeton and Yale) bubbles,” in other words would-be members of the executive elite.
The French geographer Christophe Guilluy describes this ruling class as enclosed in “new citadels”, whose inhabitants engage in self-segregation through a “uniform style of thinking and speaking”. Citizens enjoy a monopoly on the benefits of globalization while draped over their privileges with a “diversity fig leaf.” They try to portray their commitment to a “false equality”, while in reality they despise the working and lower classes: “the backward, the unqualified, the weak-minded”. They are particularly characterized by an obviousness that was a source of deep concern for every previous elite: an almost total absence of serious reflection on their relationship to the lower and working classes. Christophe Guilluy writes: “A society that believes it is open to the world turns out to be in fact just the opposite.” While the members of this elite often regard those who have not left their homelands as backward and narrow-minded, they themselves are remarkably narrow-minded and selectively “multicultural” with those who share their culture denial.
What Guilluy describes as the sociological condition of France is found in almost all advanced liberal nations. This is not to say that there is a lack of expressed commitment to the oppressed. It is a visible and pronounced feature of the new elite. Diversity and inclusion become empty phrases and mantras for an elite who believe that improvement occurs through the singling out of disadvantaged groups.
Members of this elite marry late and rarely have more than one or two children. But by sticking together they ensure their monopoly on wealth and social capital. In this way, they achieve a certain continuity from generation to generation. They cluster in selected urban geographic enclaves, where they exclude the local and traditional culture that may have distinguished these places.
The ruling elite are “modern people” who usually distance themselves from the inherited status that characterized the old aristocracy. They are politically democratic and liberal, preferably on the left, affirm society’s value base and see both anti-racism and human rights as important. As the Chefelite actively strives to transcend arbitrary geographical boundaries, it has become highly critical of any remaining form of “nationalism”, which it sees as a form of prejudice and bigotry. To a large extent, it is a moral elite, which stands in sharper contrast to ordinary people than the two older elites. The political endorsement of immigrants and refugees serves as a veil of egalitarian self-aggrandizement while offering the chief elite a steady supply of cheap labor.
The managerial elite endorses identity politics, which it learns at the universities and other elite schools where it is formed, builds up its social networks and receives its credentials. It is above all law, economics and STEM educations that count (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The members may well be sympathetic to both political correctness and the woke, but a gender education does not open doors for this elite.
– – – –
3.
Future historians will be able to tell of the elites of the 21st century, who no longer sought to justify their position by invoking their superiority, as patricians. Instead, they presented themselves as belonging to a society of equality. At the same time, more single-mindedly than perhaps any previous elite, they cultivated their contempt for the working and lower classes. In this truly unique new form of elite rule, the powerless were singled out as oppressors and the powerful—often graduates of the world’s most elitist academies—often saw themselves as victims. Another peculiarity is that they saw it as a main task to defend democracy against the authoritarian threat that they were convinced populism posed, that is, the political revolt of the citizens against the misrule of the chief elite.
Karl-Olov Arnstberg
All texts are © on this blog. It is permitted to spread the texts on the condition that you always link to the source here on the blog.
https://morklaggning.wordpress.com/2024/09/08/sondagskronika-chefeliten/
(from Swedish by L
If you have an hour and a quarter, you’re not going to regret watching this highly spirited interview session streamed on Sep 6, 2024 with Scott Ritter and Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy about the Russia situation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ApMKgSFygE
In case something happens to the linked video, the publishing channel’s own address is https://www.ddgeopolitics.com/
Since the powers that be want the “war in Ukraine” to continue, they should stream live video and put it on pay-per-view. Maybe do a deal with ESPN or Amazon, just like TV rights for NFL Football games. Also, Blackrock and Vanguard should offer shares in Ukraine real estate fund to investors. Plus, Zillow can post listings for “renovation-ready” (completely destroyed) and “fixer-upper” (slight artillery damage) homes in Ukraine’s war-torn neighborhoods.
Re:Romania helping Ukraine with weapons systems , I had no idea till today Romania was part of NATo, sneaky or what?