The Israeli military has wrapped up major operations in northern Gaza after dismantling Hamas’ military infrastructure there. Its focus will shift to southern Gaza, where it will continue to target Hamas networks.
A woman in her 90s was rescued from a collapsed home in Japan, five days after the 7.5 magnitude earthquake.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, DV, JW, McN, Reader from Chicago, Roger, WRSA, 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.
Apple Blocks Hey Calendar From App Store, Dealing a Major Blow to Big Tech Alternatives
The Hey Calendar app has faced rejection from the App Store, drawing parallels to the previously experienced situation with Hey Email. This decision by Apple has sparked debate, as Hey Calendar, similar to its counterpart Hey Email, operates under the same business model as apps like Spotify. These apps, known as “reader apps” enable access to content or services located off-device.
The rejection of Hey Calendar appears to contradict the App Store’s own guidelines. According to these rules, free apps that serve as standalone companions to a paid web-based tool don’t require in-app purchases. They only need to avoid direct calls for purchases inside or outside the app. This model is precisely what Hey Calendar follows, raising questions about its rejection and Apple’s arbitrary control over the App Store and what it allows people to have on their own iPhones.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Joe Biden’s National Park Service under Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will remove the statue of William Penn from the park erected in 1982 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of his founding of the colony of Pennsylvania. The park is on the site of his original home in Philadelphia.
The park, located in Philadelphia near the Delaware River at Sansom and Second Streets, will be “rehabilitated” and that proposal will include an “expanded interpretation of the Native American history of Philadelphia.” The plan was “developed in consultations with the representatives of the indigenous nations of the Haudenosaunee, the Delaware Nation, Delaware Tribe of Indians, the Shawnee Tribe, and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bill Ackman Says He is ‘No Longer a Democrat’ Amid His War Against Harvard and DEI
Wall Street billionaire Bill Ackman says he is no longer a Democrat and has begun donating to Republican candidates following his ongoing war against Harvard and the acceptance of antisemitism on college campuses.
This comes after Ackman, a Jewish Harvard grad and major donor, has been on a righteous crusade to restore American universities from the radical far-left, specifically taking aim at diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, ever since 34 Harvard student organizations signed an open letter supporting Hamas terrorists and blaming Israel for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Black Woman Charged Over Racist Terroristic Threats Against Mexican Restaurant Amid Food Dispute
On New Year’s Eve, 21-year-old Aiyanna Winstead was arrested in Laurel, Delaware, for a hate crime after she threatened to blow up a restaurant over a discrepancy with the food she ordered.
According to the Delaware State Police, Winstead called and placed an order at Taco Chabelita on Dec. 30, in Laurel. When a 43-year-old relative picked up the food she was “disorderly with the staff about the food order.”
“She initially refused to leave after being asked numerous times but eventually did,” authorities said of the relative.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
LOS ANGELES — A new California law that bans people from carrying firearms in most public places was once again blocked from taking effect Saturday as a court case challenging it continues.
A 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel dissolved a temporary hold on a lower court injunction blocking the law. The hold was issued by a different 9th Circuit panel and had allowed the law to go into effect Jan 1.
Saturday’s decision keeps in place a Dec. 20 ruling by U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney blocking the law. Carney said that it violates the Second Amendment and that gun rights groups would likely prevail in proving it unconstitutional.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
After appearing on the Kill Tony podcast discussing her story from January 6, 2021, elected director of the Santa Ynez Valley Community Services District in California, Karen Jones was arrested on Dec. 14 for citing the pledge of allegiance and entering the capital rotunda.
During the June podcast episode, Davis was asked why they thought she was “a white supremacist.” She said, “They accused me of leading the pledge of allegiance on the capital steps on January 6.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Election Activists Call for an End to Dominion Voting Systems in Georgia
ATLANTA — Election integrity activists want a federal judge to order Georgia to stop using its current election system, saying it’s vulnerable to attack and has operational issues that could cost voters their right to cast a vote and have it accurately counted.
During a trial set to start Tuesday, activists plan to argue that the Dominion Voting Systems touchscreen voting machines are so flawed they are unconstitutional.
Election officials insist the system is secure and reliable and say it is up to the state to decide how it conducts elections.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
PALM BEACH, Florida — Former President Donald Trump told Breitbart News that the recent wave of international populist and conservative victories, from Javier Milei’s win in Argentina to Giorgia Meloni’s victory in Italy and more, show that the international populist conservatives’ movement is “stronger” than it was in 2016.
“It’s essentially a MAGA-Trump movement,” Trump said in a more than two-hour-long interview at Mar-a-Lago just before the end of 2023. “It’s a Trump movement.”
Worldwide, conservative populists are surging into electoral victories. The most recent stunning such win was Milei’s in Argentina, something Trump said Milei told him in a post-win phone call was because of him—even though Trump says he never spoke to Milei before he won the South American nation’s presidency.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
For Third Straight Year, Texas is Top Destination for U-Haul Renters
Texas marked its third year (and sixth time in 8 years) as the top destination for one-way U-Haul truck users in 2023, according to the annual U-Haul Growth Index.
The list is calculated by taking the net gain or loss of one-way U-Haul rentals entering each state in a calendar year. Last year, the calculation was based on more than 2.5 million one-way rentals of trucks, trailers, and U-Box moving containers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Just 1% of Illinois Gun Owners Register ‘Assault Weapons’ Ahead of Ban
Only a tiny fraction of Illinois gun owners registered their AR-15s and similar firearms before the state’s ban officially took effect.
Fewer than 30,000 of the state’s Firearms Owner Identification (FOID) card holders registered firearms recently classified as “assault weapons” by the end of the December 31 registration deadline, according to updated data the Illinois State Police (ISP) released on Tuesday. That means only 1.2 percent of the state’s 2.4 million documented gun owners complied with the state’s terms for allowing continued ownership of AR-15s despite enforcement of the ban beginning on Monday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
LinkedIn co-founder and Democrat billionaire with ties to Jeffery Epstein, Reid Hoffman, recently donated $250,000 to help Nikki Haley in an attempt to keep former president Donald Trump from winning the GOP nomination.
According to the New York Times, Hoffman’s donation came after the chief executive for JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon urged Democrat donors to donate to Haley through the SFA Fund Inc. super PAC.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Man Strips, Jumps Into Fish Tank at Bass Pro Shops in Leeds
LEEDS, Ala. (WBRC) — A man is in custody and facing multiple charges after stripping and jumping into a fish tank in the Leeds Bass Pro Shops.
The incident happened Thursday night when the suspect struck a pole in the store’s parking lot. Police say he then stripped, ran into the store and jumped into a fish tank.
He was taken into custody by Leeds Police and transported an area hospital. While in the police car, he also damaged the back door of the vehicle.
| — Hat tip: WRSA | [Return to headlines] |
MSNBC Host Ridiculed for Crying Over January 6
An MSNBC host faced ridicule after he performatively cried over January 6 in a cringe stunt during his live show.
Jonathan Capehart was talking with former D.C. police officer Michael Fanone about his new book when the incident occurred.
“I’m going to try to get through this…erm…” stuttered Capehart as he appeared to wipe tears from his face.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New York AG Letitia James Wants to Fine Trump $370M, Ban Him From Real Estate for Life
New York’s Democrat Attorney General Letitia James is seeking a $370 million punishment and a lifetime ban from the state’s real estate industry for President Donald Trump.
The sanction, which also targets two of Trump’s former company executives, was requested in post-trial motions submitted on Friday.
The motions were submitted by attorneys representing James in the Trump “fraud” case, NBC News reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A powerful nor’easter impacted parts of the Eastern Seaboard on Saturday, bringing the region’s first major winter storm of the year and a myriad of snow, wind and freezing rain.
Heavy snow fell across Pennsylvania and western Maryland on Saturday afternoon, with an accumulation around 1-2 inches per hour, making for slick roads.
“This is a really fascinating storm system,” said FOX Weather Winter Storm Specialist Tom Niziol. “It’s going to pack a punch.”
Widespread Winter Storm Warnings are in effect for several inches of snow across swaths of the interior mid-Atlantic, Northeast and New England, including Boston and the northern Interstate 95 corridor.
In all, about 35 million Americans from Virginia to Maine are under winter weather alerts.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Paxlovid Does Not Reduce Risk of Long COVID, Potentially Linked to Rebound Symptoms: Study
Authored by Amie Dahnke via The Epoch Times (Emphasis ours)
Paxlovid, an antiviral medication prescribed to treat symptoms associated with COVID-19, does not reduce the risk of developing long COVID in vaccinated people recovering at home.
The report comes from a new study published in the Journal of Medical Virology on Thursday. Conducted by a team of researchers from the University of California—San Francisco, the study also found that more people are experiencing rebounds of their COVID symptoms after taking Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir) than previously reported.
Paxlovid is the first antiviral pill approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat mild and moderate COVID-19 in adults.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pennsylvania Supreme Court is Urged to Find Keyword Search Warrant Unconstitutional
Law enforcement agencies are always seeking innovative but questionable methods to solve crimes. One such method is the keyword search warrant. Unlike conventional warrants, these warrants do not target a person or a place but are based on specific search terms used by individuals on search engines, social media, and other online platforms. In other words, agencies are finding information on everyone who searched for a specific search term.
When law enforcement agencies suspect a crime, they can request a keyword search warrant from a court. This warrant compels tech companies to hand over data on who searched for specific terms. For example, if the police are investigating a burglary, they might ask a search engine for data on who looked up “how to pick a lock” in a certain location.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
SEC Determines Apple Must Allow Free Speech Resolution Proposed by Shareholders to Proceed
This week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) refuted Apple’s plea to veto a “free speech resolution” proposed by shareholders that were concerned about Apple, as a dominant Big Tech giant, to suppress speech.
This proposal, advanced by the American Family Association (AFA), pushes Apple to scrutinize its processes of content curation and to publish a report addressing fears that the corporation’s policies may inadvertently inhibit speech based on differing views.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin has been hospitalized since the first day of 2024, and while Pentagon officials have not said when he will be released, they continue to avoid saying why he went to the hospital in the first place.
Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last Monday, for what Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder described as complications from an elective medical procedure.
On Sunday, Ryder told Fox News that Austin had an elective medical procedure at Walter Reed on Dec. 22, 2023. Austin was on leave at the time of the procedure, and he returned home the next day.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Speaker Johnson Announces $1.66 Trillion Bipartisan Package to Avert Shutdown
House Speaker Mike Johnson told colleagues on Sunday that Congressional negotiators have reached a topline spending figure to avert a federal government shutdown on Jan. 19 for some government agencies, and Feb. 2 for others.
According to a Sunday “Dear Colleague” letter, the topline deal — which mostly adheres to a deal reached between the White House and former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), limits discretionary spending to $1.66 trillion overall. It also secures $16 billion in additional spending cuts vs. the McCarthy deal, and is around $30 billion less than what Senate Democrats wanted.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Teens Survive After Car Crashes, Lands on a Roof of a House
PULASKI, Tenn. — Five people were inside a car when it crashed and landed on a roof in Pulaski, Tennessee, on Wednesday. Officials said they all survived.
The Pulaski Police Department said the car was traveling at a high-speed rate Wednesday night on South Rhodes Street, according to WSMV. The car ended up hitting a utility pole up against a house. That house was vacant at the time of the crash.
Giles County Fire and Rescue said that four out of the five teenagers inside the car had to be extracted from the car. One of them was able to get out of the car by themselves. All patients were transported to an area hospital and appeared to be doing well.
The crash was so bad that the car went airborne and ended up on the roof of a house, WTVF reported.
“If it’s all four wheels on the ground, it’s one thing, but when you have a vehicle at a 45-degree angle on its nose and the rear end on the house, it changes the dynamics a little bit,” said Bill Myers, Giles County’s Director of Emergency Services, according to the news outlet.
The Pulaski Police Department said that speed was a factor in the crash, WTVF reported.
| — Hat tip: Roger | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Calls on Biden to ‘Release the J6 Hostages’
On Saturday, former President Donald Trump called on President Biden to release his supporters who have been unfairly targeted by the federal government for participating in the events that occurred during the Jan. 6 protest at the US Capitol in 2021.
Trump, who is the current Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential primary election, referred to the Jan. 6 political prisoners as “hostages” and demanded their release. The comments were made during a speech in Clinton, Iowa on the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 protest at the US Capitol.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
TSA Director Arrested by US Customs and Border Protection
An official with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been arrested on an outstanding warrant, according to local reports.
TSA Assistant Federal Security Director Maxine McManaman was arrested in Atlanta by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Dec. 28.
McManaman had a warrant for her arrest posted by the St. Lucie County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office, which claimed she and an alleged accomplice named Delroy Chambers Sr. exploited a relative suffering from dementia by falsifying documents in their name, according to Port St. Lucie Police.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Woke NYC Bookstore That Lured Strung-Out Junkies With Freebies Faces Possible Eviction
The woke Lower East Side bookstore that was luring drug addicts to their storefront by pushing free clothing, food and “harm reduction services” — as well as a bathroom where they can shoot up — is facing the first step in the eviction process.
After The Post in October exposed the “zombie apocalypse” that had taken over Suffolk Street between Rivington and Delancey streets as a result of Bluestocking Cooperative Bookstore’s freebies — which also included Narcan, drug-testing strips and a needle drop-off bin — the store was slapped with a 15-day “notice to cure” warning from its landlord.
The notice cited violations to Bluestocking’s lease agreement, including “unauthorized use of the premises as a ‘medical facility’“ and creating an “unsafe environment,” according to the document obtained by The Post.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Clarence Square Park in downtown Toronto is, simply put, a disgusting disgrace.
This parkette is now occupied by a homeless encampment that continues to grow. It makes one wonder if the people who purchased pricey condos in this area are suffering from buyer’s remorse. They might also be wondering why they’re paying taxes given that the City of Toronto seems to be doing absolutely nothing to address this festering situation.
Indeed, last summer, a new benchmark vis-a-vis hobo entitlement took place here. As reported in the Toronto Sun: “A work crew at Clarence Square Park — a little parkette at Wellington St. and Spadina Ave. — said they have been installing new water mains to replace crumbling infrastructure for the past few weeks. Two of the workers said a few of the residents of the enclosures in the encampment have come over to voice their displeasure with the workers — for doing their jobs — and become violent and confrontational to the point they had to call police so they could complete their work.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Saskatchewan Stops Collection of Carbon Tax From Households That Keep Warm Using Natural Gas
Saskatchewan has followed through on its threat to Ottawa: exempt natural gas from the carbon tax or else. As of January 1, the province has ceased collecting the tax for ratepayers using natural gas to heat their homes.
The measure is widely considered a retaliation against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who only exempted home heating oil typically used by households in Atlantic Canada last fall. The federal announcement helps homes in Atlantic Canada and not Saskatchewan, according to the provincial government.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Toronto Police Respond to Viral Video of Officers Delivering Coffee to Anti-Israel Protester
Toronto police have responded to a now-viral video showing officers delivering coffee to an anti-Israel protester during a recent demonstration.
The video, initially shared on X by lawyer and investigative journalist Caryma Sa’d, shows a Toronto police officer carrying a box of Tim Hortons coffee and cups and handing them to protesters.
The recipient, dressed in Palestinian garb, explains the delivery was not sent by the police, but someone else who bought the coffee for the protesters attempting an anti-Israel demonstration on a highway overpass. “But police won’t let them in, so the police is now becoming our little messengers between us,” the man says.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
It’s a brand-new year, but the same old vile hatred of Jews continues to fester in our dominion.
The latest affront to civilization: International Deli Foods in northwest Toronto was recently firebombed. As well, the shop had its windows smashed and the walls were peppered with graffiti stating, “Free Palestine.”
Did we mention that International Deli Foods is a Jewish-owned grocery store? Apparently, these days, this factor alone makes a business fair game for vandalism and boycott calls by the usual suspects. We saw this last year when such businesses as Café Landwer and Indigo were targeted.
But the arson attack against International Deli Foods makes for a new low via those “mostly peaceful” pro-Hamas protesters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Adopts “Emergency Airworthiness Directive” After FAA Grounds Boeing 737-9 Max Jets Over Blowout
Shortly after the US Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency order to ground 171 Boeing 737-9 (MAX) jets used by major airlines due to an incident where an emergency door separated from an Alaska Airlines Max jet over Portland on Friday evening, European aviation authorities have adopted the FAA’s directive.
EASA wrote in a statement that “specific configuration” of the 737-9 MAX aircraft will be grounded for immediate inspection following “an event on an Alaska Airlines flight, where an exit panel detached from the aircraft inflight, leading to rapid decompression of the cabin.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Europe Advances Plans for ‘Cashless Societies’
Unelected bureaucrats in the European Union are advancing plans to replace physical money with a “digital Euro” to usher in “cashless societies.”
As Slay News has reported, globalists have been pushing for the introduction of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for some time.
The push is being championed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) with backing from the United Nations (UN), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and globalist world leaders, including Democrat President Joe Biden.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Globalist EU Council President Charles Michel to Step Down and Run in European Parliament Elections
European Council President Charles Michel will step down from his top EU post in order to run for the European Parliament in the upcoming elections, in a move that could have significant ramifications for the direction of the bloc.
Charles Michel, who has served as one of the three presidents of the European Union, leading the European Council since 2019 after being forced out from his previous role as Belgian prime minister, told Flemish media on Saturday that he will be vacating his position in favour of running as a candidate for the liberal Belgian Reformist Movement (MR) party in the EU parliament elections in June.
While it is typically the case that an outgoing Council President would stay on until November when a new College of Commissioners are installed into power, Michel said that he intends to step down as soon as July to take his seat in the parliament if elected.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy’s Foreign Minister Advocates for the Establishment of a European Union Military Force
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani emphasized the need for the European Union to establish its own collective military force capable of contributing to peacekeeping efforts and preventing conflicts, reports Reuters.
Antonio Tajani argues that a European military was essential for effective EU foreign policy and highlighted the necessity of such a force to protect European citizens amidst global challenges and powerful nations like the United States, China, India, and Russia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Massive ‘Lost’ Asteroid Won’t Hit Earth in 2024, NASA Says
Crisis averted!
A 54-million-ton “lost” asteroid large enough to devastate regions of the planet will not hit Earth in 2024, NASA says.
The US space agency issued the good news after Britain’s BG News published a report claiming there was a 1 in 10 million chance of 2007 FT3 slamming into the planet on March 3 and a 1 in 11.5 million chance of a collision on Oct. 5.
The 328-yard asteroid was first spotted in 2007 before disappearing from the view of astronomer’s telescopes, but scientists were still able to collect enough information to calculate the risk of 89 potential impacts with the Earth this year, according to NASA data.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
On January 8th, a Number of Roads in Germany Will be Closed Due to a Farmers’ Strike
The farmers’ association plans to block 25 roads around Berlin using tractors and trucks on Monday. The police have agreed to allow the protest only if the barriers for vehicle passage are opened every 30 minutes.
As cited by Bild, farmers contested this decision in the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin and Brandenburg, which sided with them, rejecting the police’s demands. According to the court, the danger posed by the constant opening and closing of the blockade is greater than that of a permanent closure, said Henrik Wendorff, the president of the farmers’ association.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The grieving step-mother of murder victim Jodie Chesney, says London Mayor Sadiq Khan is more interested in ULEZ than acting on knife crime.
It comes just days after 16-year-old Harry Pitman was fatally stabbed at the Primrose Hill fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
Joanne Chesney lost her step-daughter Jodie, 17, in 2019, after she was knifed in an unprovoked ‘drug feud’ attack in a park in Harold Hill, east London.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Bromley Pageant of Motoring Event Cancelled for 2024 Following ULEZ
A popular classic car pageant has been cancelled for 2024 following the ULEZ expansion, after the current venue was deemed as “no longer an option.”
The Bromley Pageant of Motoring has been a popular annual event for the last 40 years for motorists and classic car enthusiasts.
The event, held at Norman Park in Bromley borough, showcases rare and unusual cars, along with displays, and brings together traders and clubs for classic car enthusiasts.
But following the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) the pageant has been cancelled for 2024.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Electric Vehicle Sales Slump to Just a Quarter of New Purchases
Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are defying the combined urging of green lobbyists and government diktat with just a quarter making up new purchases for 2023, UK data reveals.
The consumer rejection of EVs is a challenge to the electric car market and government goals to move towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Figures sourced by the MailOnline revealed individuals bought 71,984 of the vehicles last year — 23 percent of the total of 314,687. But in 2022 they purchased 88,910 — 33 percent of the total.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Nigel Farage Says Rishi Sunak Needs to be ‘Taught an Unforgettable Lesson’ in Next Election
Brexit boss Nigel Farage has said that Rishi Sunak and the Tories need to be “taught an unforgettable lesson” after the prime minister attempted to convince Conservative supporters that a vote for Farage would represent a vote for the left-wing Labour Party in the next general election.
Amid continued struggles in the polls, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak trotted out the played-out political tactic of using the threat of Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party coming into power as a justification for the British public continuing to back his government, despite failures to significantly reduce illegal or indeed legal immigration and the continued economic struggles facing the country.
With the Nigel Farage-founded Reform UK party (previously the Brexit Party) surging to third place in the polls even with Mr Farage — at least for now — standing on the sidelines, there are growing concerns among the Tory top brass that the right-wing populist party will all but ensure their defeat in the next election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Report: Lab Leaks Have Increased by 50% Since COVID Pandemic
The Telegraph reports that it has found a FIFTY PERCENT increase in leaks and accidents at laboratories in the UK since the outbreak of COVID in 2020, warning of “potentially catastrophic consequences” in the future.
The report notes that a Freedom of Information Act request sent to all British universities, government research bodies and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) yielded results showing that “dozens of dangerous viruses and bacteria including anthrax, rabies and Mers (Middle East respiratory syndrome) are being stored close to large populations, potentially placing citizens at risk.”
The investigation also found that since January 2020, there have been 156 reports of lab leaks or accidents, around 42 per year. That is a rise of 50 per cent on the years between January 2010 and December 2019, when 286 incidents were recorded in total, approximately 28 per year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Signals it Has Wrapped Up Major Combat in Northern Gaza as the War Enters Its Fourth Month
The Israeli military signaled that it has wrapped up major combat in northern Gaza, saying it has completed dismantling Hamas’ military infrastructure there, as the war against the militant group entered its fourth month on Sunday.
Its spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said late on Saturday that forces would “continue to deepen the achievement” there, strengthen defences along the Israel-Gaza border fence and focus on the central and southern parts of the territory.
The announcement came ahead of a visit to Israel by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Biden administration officials, including Blinken, have repeatedly urged Israel to wind down its blistering air and ground offensive in Gaza and shift to more targeted attacks against Hamas leaders to prevent harm to Palestinian civilians.
In recent weeks, Israel had already been scaling back its military assault in northern Gaza and pressing its offensive in the territory’s south, where most of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians are being squeezed into smaller areas in a humanitarian disaster while being pounded by Israeli airstrikes.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Israel’s military says Hamas has been destroyed in northern Gaza and that the Jewish state will now concentrate on its central and southern regions — with the war set to last at least a year.
The Palestinian terror group’s 12 battalions operating out of north Gaza have been defeated, Israel Defense Forces Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari announced over the weekend.
“We have completed the dismantling of Hamas’s military framework in the northern Gaza Strip and will continue to deepen the achievement,” Hagari said.
He said that while there will continue to be scattered fighting in the north, Hamas has been left “without a framework and without commanders” there.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jeff Bezos’ Employee Was Kidnapped, His Paper Promotes Hamas
On Oct 7, Sasha Troufanov, an Amazon engineer, was abducted by Hamas and his father was murdered. The massive international tech giant has maintained its silence about him despite urgings from Sasha’s fellow employees and family members to speak out.
Andy Jassy, Amazon’s first Jewish CEO, tweeted briefly on Oct 9 that “the attacks against civilians in Israel are shocking and painful to watch” and claimed that he had “been in touch with our teammates there to make sure we do everything we can to help support their family’s (sic) and their safety, and to assist however we can in this very difficult time.”
He also promised to be “in close contact with our humanitarian relief partners on the ground and will be supporting their efforts. Hoping that peace arrives as soon as possible.”
After that glib message, there have been no further updates…
| — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield | [Return to headlines] |
Palestinian Rioters Vandalize Joshua’s Altar, West Bank Holy Site for Jews, Christians
A group of Palestinian rioters vandalized Joshua’s Altar in the West Bank, a site revered by millions of Jews and Christians.
The altar, which is located at Mount Ebal, was damaged after the rioters burned tires on its remains and spray-painted Palestinian flags and Arabic inscriptions on the stones last week, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post.
According to a report from TPS, the site is under joint control with the Palestinian Authority and has been the target of vandalism on numerous occasions, part of a larger problem of attacks on Israeli archaeological sites under Palestinian control.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Delivery of F-16 Fighter Jets to Ukraine From Denmark to be Delayed by Up to Half a Year
Ukraine will reportedly need to wait up to an additional half year before receiving the F-16 fighter jets promised to the war-torn country from the Kingdom of Denmark, according to the Danish defence ministry.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has long lobbied Western powers for American-made F-16 warplanes, will apparently need to wait longer until the first jets are handed over, with the Danish Ministry of Defense announcing on Saturday that the first delivery F-16 jets will be delayed by at least six months.
Denmark became the first power in August to announce its intentions to donate some of its stock of the advanced war planes, promising Kyiv to commit 19 of its own F-16s to help Ukraine with its war with Russia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UN Decries IS-Claimed Deadly Attack on Afghan Religious Minority
Islamabad — The United Nations has urged Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban to bring to justice the perpetrators of an overnight deadly minibus bombing in Kabul that targeted members of the minority Hazara-Shiite community.
Saturday’s attack in the western Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood of the Afghan capital killed at least five passengers and wounded more than a dozen others, a Taliban police statement said. An earlier statement put the death toll at two.
A regional Islamic State affiliate, known as Islamic State-Khorasan, or IS-K, claimed responsibility, saying it detonated an explosive device on the bus carrying Shiite Muslims, whom the Sunni-based militant outfit condemns as disbelievers.
“At least 25 members of Kabul’s Hazara community killed and wounded in last night’s explosion in Dasht-e Barchi,” the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said Sunday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
| — Hat tip: McN | [Return to headlines] |
A Woman in Her 90s Was Rescued From a Collapsed Home, 5 Days After Japan Earthquake
A woman in her 90s was pulled out of the rubble of her collapsed house alive five days after a major earthquake struck western Japan.
The woman in Suzu city, Ishikawa Prefecture, survived for 124 hours after the 7.6 magnitude quake hit the area on Monday. She was rescued at around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
“This is a very rare case, as it is the rescue of a person alive quite a long time after an earthquake. We are fully aware that such cases can happen, so we will carry on looking for others without giving up,” a member of the emergency rescue team told Japanese outlet NHK.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Japan’s Foreign Minister Says Tokyo ‘Determined’ to Support Ukraine
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said on a surprise visit to Kyiv on Sunday that Tokyo was “determined” to support Ukraine, as the second anniversary of Moscow’s invasion nears.
Japan has joined Western sanctions against Russia and provided weapons to Kyiv.
During her first foreign trip of 2024, Kamikawa held a press conference with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in a Kyiv bomb shelter as an air siren rang out.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
NZ Health Boss Wants Controversial Smoking Ban Laws ‘At All Costs’
A leading New Zealand health group, Hapai Te Hauora, has vehemently urged the government to retain the nation’s canned Smokefree laws, using ‘Maori health’ as a key concern.
The organisation’s plea follows the newly-elected government’s proposal to revoke the laws, which were proposed by the previous Jacinda Ardern-led Labour government.
The new conservative government’s repeal of the controversial plan has sparked fierce debates and concerns about its potential impact on public health and personal freedoms.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘A Gory Christmas’: Christians Slaughtered in the Nigerian Genocide
Today, January 7, 2024, marks the Eastern Orthodox Christmas, according to the Julian calendar. It seems an appropriate time to recall that less than two weeks ago, on December 25, 2023, the more familiar Roman Catholic and Protestant Christmas was being celebrated in the West. This winter, however, festivities were cancelled. Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, was a ghost town . “This year,” said Brother John Vinh a Franciscan monk, “without the Christmas tree and without lights, there’s just darkness.” Alas, for many other Christians, Christmas was also just darkness.
While around much of the world, the holiday was being celebrated with peace and joy, in Nigeria, starting on Christmas Eve and into Christmas Day, Muslims massacred nearly 200 Christians.
During this holy time, “well-armed” Muslim Fulani tribesmen hacked, stabbed, riddled with bullets, and burned alive their Christian victims, many of whom were in the process of celebrating Christmas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
WASHINGTON — US Customs and Border Protection watered down the screening process for Chinese asylum seekers amid a record surge of such cases — but experts and lawmakers warn the move risks letting national security threats slip through the net.
The CBP slashed the number of questions its processors were required to ask from roughly 40 to just five following an uptick in monthly border crossings by Chinese nationals in the first quarter of 2023, according to an April 30 email published by the Daily Caller this week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fatal Knife Attack Shakes Altmarkt Square in Bishofsverde, Germany
On Sunday evening, a violent altercation unfolded at Altmarkt Square in Bishofsverde, Germany, resulting in a tragic outcome for a 50-year-old man.
As reported by BILD, at around 2 am, a 44-year-old man from Kazakhstan attacked both his 50-year-old compatriot and an 18-year-old Ukrainian with a knife. Regrettably, assistance reached the 50-year-old Kazakh victim too late, and despite resuscitation attempts, he succumbed to severe injuries in the hospital.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An asylum seeker has been arrested and charged after he allegedly stabbed another to death at a New York City migrant shelter.
The NYPD told Dailymail.com Moises Coronado, 27, was charged with murder for allegedly killing 24-year-old Dafren Canizalez.
The two men were staying at a migrant shelter on Randall’s Island and allegedly got into a fight.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Total Number of Texas Counties That Have Declared Invasion Reaches 50
Three years into the border crisis, 50 Texas counties have now declared an invasion.
The latest to do so are the judges and commissioners of Bandera, Schleicher and Uvalde counties. Officials in Bandera and Schleicher counties signed nearly identical resolutions in November as Crockett County’s. Crockett County declared an invasion after its county judge’s family members were killed by an alleged human smuggler. Uvalde County officials signed their invasion resolution in July, when they also joined a coalition led by Atascosa County Judge Weston Cude.
All 50 county resolutions cite the invasion clauses of the U.S. Constitution, Articles IV, Section 4, which require the federal government to protect states from an invasion. They also cite Article IV, Section 7 of the Texas Constitution, which states the governor has the legal authority to command Texas military forces and call them up to “suppress insurrection and to repel invasions.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Team Canada women’s powerlifter April Hutchinson was initially hammered with a two-year suspension by the Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU) after criticizing a male-born trans-identified powerlifter who competes as a woman.
April was accused of harassment and “misgendering” after taking to social media to complain that a biological male, who goes by Anne Andres, had been allowed to compete against female competitors.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canada: Media Ignores 24-Hour Protest Camp Opposing Gender Ideology in Schools
One hundred days. That’s how long state-choice media has been ignoring a group of parental rights protesters who are committed to raising awareness about the sexualization of school kids in Abbotsford, British Columbia’s schools.
But the grassroots group of concerned parents who’ve been gathering on the corner of South Fraser Way and Clearbrook Road have not been deterred. They are continuing to raise awareness about their demands and efforts to stop the province’s controversial sexual orientation identity program taught in schools, known as SOGI 123.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nolte: ‘Existential Crisis’ as Woke Hollywood Loses 20% of Moviegoers
The start of the COVID pandemic is about four years in the rearview and still being blamed for Hollywood losing 20 percent of moviegoers.
“One out of every five moviegoers has vanished since the pandemic, according to research compiled by one Hollywood studio,” reports the far-left Hollywood Reporter. “Whether they’ll ever return to see a film on the big screen is anyone’s guess — and, if they do, when.”
Compared to the last pre-pandemic year of 2019, the domestic box office is down 21 percent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
What a curious and very revealing discussion on a forum of ex-Muslims.
A white girl, ethnic British, whose mother married a Muslim, tells about an incident in her life.
And this despite the fact that her stepfather seems to be a good man and in his own way genuinely cares for her.
https://www.reddit.com/r/exmuslim/comments/1909lis/muslims_women_are_honoured_and_treasured_in_islam/
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“THE MAN AND THE BOOK” –
NOTHING BUT HUMBUG!
Verryly,
worse [bovine solid waste] than that Mohammedan doctrine
does not exist.
Wipe the crap out of human existence
once for all.
Get help from Ray Smith
/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EaopH_EPfc /
– 2:30 h of must see. A TRUE PLEASURE.
[Are Nøstvold, did you ever listen to Jay – or did you think you knew better?]
https://swebbtube.se/w/d95dw1CXus1A9UoSZLJtu9
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8 January 24 – SNAPHANEN.DK
Swedish videos.
There is a genocide going on against the Swedes II
https://youtu.be/-TMh5CKFAnA
A population change is underway. Why am I writing?
“genocide?”
It’s not to dramatize. Firstly, because Tobbe Larsson uses the word here. Secondly, because 8 years ago, in February 2016, I wrote Genocide is ongoing among the Swedes, and I did so because what is happening is covered by almost all UN legal definitions of genocide that we know of.
The new government has meant nothing. During the last 10 years, Sweden has received 1.4 million immigrants. In the last twenty years, Sweden has received 2.25 million. In the last 40 years it is over 3 million and it continues unhindered.
It is a population exchange on such a scale that we see a small people disappearing even quite quickly, and that is genocide.
The integration children
Sweden turns the “integration” on the children with forced removal from schools
“Swedish children must break segregation.” It is a revealing report Kent Ekeroth has made. He walks around a snow-covered, littered Sandviken north of Stockholm and most people don’t want to talk to him. Of those who do, almost none show their faces. A clearly irresponsible immigration project has finally run into the ditch, and now the accident is parked with the children.
The school people we see play comedy: “It’ll work out, even if it’s to hell,” it oozes from them. However, they won’t be talking to Ekeroth right now. “Send an email and we’ll arrange an interview.”
https://youtu.be/K-ilZZTbRi8
“Swedish children must teach the immigrants Swedish.” But one cannot avoid thinking about the responsibility of adults, Swedish citizens, for the situation.
During four or five decades they have had time to think about what would happen and protest against it, but they have not done it. Living in a democracy – whether it works or not – comes with a responsibility, and if you look at the turnout in elections over all those decades, they haven’t lived up to it.
It is their inaction that has contributed to many now moving, as they say they want. I write “participated” because I don’t particularly think they could have influenced the madness of the politicians via the ballot.
The transfer of power has, just like in Denmark and the rest of Europe, happened over their heads. It is not a good idea, one can calmly promise the politicians. They still end up with the monkey in the end, even though no one at the time helped start the accident.
REPORTING: The Social Democrats force Swedish children to move for “integration”:
https://samnytt.se/dokumentar-socialdemokraterna-tvangsflyttar-svenska-barn-for-integration
****
The Danish original can be found here:
https://www.snaphanen.dk/2024/01/08/integrationsboernene/#more-201006