News of the World
09-04-2024, 05:51 AM
USA
EUROPE
So what is Garland's DOJ gonna do now?
Russia might interfere in the elections to make Harris win! 
Who am I kidding? the USAG couldn't care less about that. 
NY Infiltrated
Quote:A former top aide to New York Govs. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Kathy Hochul (D) used her high-ranking position in the state’s government to peddle influence for China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while profiting millions in the process, an unsealed federal indictment alleges.
On Tuesday, federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment against 41-year-old Linda Sun, born in China and a naturalized American citizen, and her husband, 40-year-old Chris Hu. The indictment charges the couple with operating a money laundering and bank fraud scheme thanks in part to Sun’s allegedly acting as an agent of influence for China while working in Cuomo and Hochul’s administrations.
The couple were arrested and arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday.
The 64-page indictment is far-reaching, detailing Sun’s alleged work as an agent for China and her husband’s subsequent illegal business dealings in China. In particular, the indictment lays out how Sun allegedly acted on behalf of the CCP while working for Cuomo, who is called “Politician-1,” and Hochul, who is called “Politician-2.” The indictment states:
The defendant LINDA SUN acted at the order, direction, or request of representatives of the [People’s Republic of China (PRC)] government and the CCP to engage in political activities intended to influence the public, including the [New York State (NYS)] government, with respect to the political or public interests of the PRC government and the CCP.
Sun, in various instances, allegedly prevented Cuomo and Hochul from working, engaging, and speaking with Taiwanese officials. At the same time, Sun allegedly had Cuomo and Hochul make seemingly pro-China statements to appease CCP officials.
During the Chinese coronavirus pandemic in April 2020, for example, the Taiwanese government donated 200,000 masks to New York. When Taiwanese officials pressed why then-Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office had not made any public announcement about the donation, Sun allegedly phoned her contact in the CCP to make them aware that Hochul would be only privately calling to thank such Taiwanese officials for the donation.
“Taipei economic and cultural office donated 200,000 surgical masks. No formal acknowledgment but I will be arranging for [Politician-2] to call their office to thank them. Just wanted to update you,” Sun allegedly wrote to her CCP contact.
That same month, Sun’s CCP contact told her that various China-based organizations would be donating about 1,000 ventilators to New York’s hospital association amid the pandemic. Sun, the indictment alleges, told her CCP contact that she would have then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo call him to thank him for the donation and that she would have him thank China publicly for the donation.
Biden & Harris Oppose Netanyahu's Plan
Biden-Harris Administration Opposes Netanyahu Plan to Hold Gaza-Egypt Border, ‘Philadelphi Corridor’
Quote:The Biden-Harris administration said Tuesday that it opposed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to hold onto the Gaza-Egypt border — known as the Philadelphi Corridor — to ensure weapons cannot be smuggled into Gaza.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a briefing with reporters on Tuesday that the U.S. opposed any long-term Israeli presence in Gaza. He also said that Israel had agreed to a U.S. “bridging” proposal last month that would have required the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to withdraw from “densely populated areas,” which Miller said “includes the Philadelphi Corridor.”
From the State Department transcript:
We’ve made very clear what we believe about the possibility of an ongoing Israeli presence in Gaza, and that’s that we are opposed to it.
I will also say that in the bridging proposal that we put forward, that the Government of Israel agreed to, it did include the removal of the IDF from densely populated areas. That includes the Philadelphi Corridor. Now, there – as I said, there are a number of details that require further negotiation to conclude how the parties will live up to their commitments under the agreement. I’m not going to negotiate on those in public, but that’s what we continue to discuss with the parties.
It remains unclear whether Israel agreed to withdraw from some of the Phildelphi Corridor, or all of it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a length presentation on Monday about why he believed Israel needed to hold onto the Philadelphi corridor to prevent a resurgence of Hamas.
Israeli opposition figures delivered rebuttals on Tuesday in which they largely accepted his argument, but said that Israel could return to the Philadelphi Corridor after withdrawing from it, and questioned his conduct of the war and hostage negotiations generally.
Some of Netanyahu’s critics say that his stance on the Philadelphi Corridor provoked Hamas to murder six hostages last week, though evidence suggests Hamas was primarily motivated by the desire to prevent the hostages’ rescue.
Hamas has accused Israel of changing its demands for a hostage deal but it has never accepted any deal on the table.
US Presses Charges Against Hamas Leaders
Quote:The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar with terrorism on Tuesday, together with six other members of the terrorist organization — nearly 11 months after the Hamas attack on Israel on of October 7.
Three of the terrorists listed in the criminal complaint are already dead, having been killed by Israel. The dead include former Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, Mohammad Al-Masri (also known as Mohammed Deif), and Marwan Issa. The living ones include Sinwar, Hamas external chief Khaled Meshaal, and foreign relations head Ali Baraka.
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The DOJ said in a press release:
The Justice Department announced today the unsealing of terrorism, murder conspiracy, and sanctions-evasion charges against six senior leaders of Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization. The charges relate to the defendants’ central roles in planning, supporting, and perpetrating the terrorist atrocities that Hamas committed in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 (the October 7 Hamas Massacres), involving the murders and kidnappings of countless innocent civilians, including American citizens, which was the culmination of Hamas’s decades-long campaign of terrorism and violence against Israel and its allies, including American citizens. The defendants are either deceased or remain at large.
“The Justice Department has charged Yahya Sinwar and other senior leaders of Hamas for financing, directing, and overseeing a decades-long campaign to murder American citizens and endanger the national security of the United States,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “On October 7th, Hamas terrorists, led by these defendants, murdered nearly 1200 people, including over 40 Americans, and kidnapped hundreds of civilians. This weekend, we learned that Hamas murdered an additional six people they had kidnapped and held captive for nearly a year, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23 year old Israeli American. We are investigating Hersh’s murder, and each and every one of Hamas’ brutal murders of Americans, as an act of terrorism. The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas’ operations. These actions will not be our last.”
US Seized Maduro's Private Jet
Quote:United States authorities seized a $13 million luxury plane used by Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro on Monday after authorities determined that its purchase violated U.S. sanctions imposed on the rogue regime.
The aircraft, identified as a Dassault Falcon 900EX bearing tail number T7-ESPRT, was seized in the Dominican Republic and flown to an air base in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The plane reportedly flew to the Dominican Republic earlier this year for maintenance, and remained there until it was seized.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a press statement that an investigation determined that individuals affiliated with the Maduro regime allegedly used a Caribbean-based shell company to conceal the purchase of the aircraft from a Florida-based company sometime between late 2022 and early 2023.
The aircraft, according to the statement, was illegally exported from the United States to Venezuela through the Caribbean in April 2023. Since May 2023, the plane was used by the socialist regime to transport Maduro and members of his socialist regime. The plane flew “almost exclusively” to and from a military base in Venezuela.
“This morning, the Justice Department seized an aircraft we allege was illegally purchased for $13 million through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolás Maduro and his cronies,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
“The Department will continue to pursue those who violate our sanctions and export controls to prevent them from using American resources to undermine the national security of the United States,” said Garland.
The United States, during the administration of former President Donald Trump, issued an Executive Order in August 2019 that prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with persons who “have acted or purported to act directly or indirectly” on behalf of the Maduro regime.
“Let this seizure send a clear message: aircraft illegally acquired from the United States for the benefit of sanctioned Venezuelan officials cannot just fly off into the sunset,” Dept. of Commerce Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said. “It doesn’t matter how fancy the private jet or how powerful the officials – we will work relentlessly with our partners here and across the globe to identify and return any aircraft illegally smuggled outside of the United States.”
In addition to transporting Maduro and senior regime officials in the past, the plane was reportedly used by the Maduro regime in December 2023 to fly a group of unjustly imprisoned Americans to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to be exchanged for Maduro’s top money launderer and key financial brain Alex Saab, who was released by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden as part of a prisoner swap deal with the Venezuelan socialist dictator.
The White House claimed shortly after the exchange that Saab’s release was part of the Biden administration’s strategy to curb the flow of Venezuelan migrants that continue to enter the United States.
Dominican President Luis Abinader and Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez held a press conference on Monday, where they clarified that the now seized Maduro regime-owned aircraft was not registered under Maduro nor the Venezuelan government’s name,
“We must point out that this airplane was not in the name of the Venezuelan government; it was in the name of a private individual,” President Abinader said, pointing out that some 40 airplanes are presently receiving maintenance in the country.
Foreign Minister Álvarez said that the aircraft was retained in May by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the request of U.S. authorities as part of a criminal investigation process, leading to its seizure on Monday.
Pro-Palestine Protesters Love Smoke Bombs
Quote:An anti-Israel, pro-terror march in Manhattan on Labor Day brought 5,000 demonstrators into the street, chanting radical slogans, setting off smoke bombs, and overwhelming police who tried to control the illegal demonstration.
The Post added that some New York Police Department (NYPD) officers tried to stop the march, but failed.
The protest was a contrast to the vigil the day before by pro-Israel demonstrators, who had gathered to show solidarity with Israel after Hamas murdered six hostages, including U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
The New York Post reported:
A massive mob of rowdy anti-Israeli protesters — including some proudly waving terrorist flags — stormed through the Big Apple on Labor Day, lighting flares and setting off smoke bombs as they marched toward the heart of the city.
The unruly demonstrators, who police sources said may have reached as many as 5,000, gathered at Union Square in Manhattan in the early afternoon and began their raucous march to Washington Square Park.
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The crowd held Palestinian, Syrian, Iranian and Hezbollah flags, chanting “Free Palestine!” and, “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.” Hezbollah is a Lebanese terror group that has been fighting with the Palestinians against Israel in the Gaza war.
In contrast, a pro-Israel vigil on Sunday had been peaceful, with American and Israeli flags prominently displayed.
The Times of Israel noted:
Some 2,000 people gathered at Columbus Circle in New York on a hot and humid night Sunday for a vigil mourning the six Israeli hostages whose bodies were found in Gaza over the weekend, an impromptu gathering of song, prayer and tears about 24 hours after the news of the captives’ death sent Israel and the Jewish world reeling.
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The crowd waved American and Israeli flags, some of them also featuring the yellow ribbon that symbolizes advocacy for the hostages. Some wore other symbols of the fight for the hostages, such as dog tags or shirts reading “Bring them home now.”
Hamas terrorists shot the six hostages in the head late last week before Israeli soldiers could rescue them. There has been silence from pro-Palestinian groups thus far in condemning what was a brutal, cold-blooded mass murder.
Back to School: Columbia's Statue Vandalized
Quote:Pro-Palestinian protesters returned to Columbia University on Tuesday for the start of classes — picketing, calling on students to boycott their classes, and even vandalizing the Alma Mater statue at the center of the New York campus.
The Associated Press reported:
Someone splattered red paint Tuesday on a statue in front of the Low Memorial Library. Outside the gates of the university, a small group of protesters marched on a picket line and urged arriving students and faculty to join them rather than go to class.
“As long as Columbia continues to invest and to benefit from Israeli apartheid, the students will continue to resist,” Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student who represented campus protesters in negotiations with the university, told The Associated Press last week ahead of the start of classes. “Not only protests and encampments, the limit is the sky.”
The vandalism was celebrated by the national parent organization of Students for Justice in Palestine.
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House Republicans, who have led inquiries into antisemitism on college campuses, commented on the renewal of Columbia’s protests.
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Last week, a Columbia task force on antisemitism found that the university had failed to stop antisemitism on campus.
Columbia president Minouche Shafik resigned last month after failing to contain last semester’s protests, which ended with the violent takeover of a university building by anti-Israel rioters.
Trump on Epstein Client List
Quote:Former President Donald Trump told computer scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman that he would “be inclined” to release the client list of disgraced financier and convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein if reelected president.
“Why do you think so many smart, powerful people allowed him to get so close?” Fridman asked President Trump during Tuesday’s episode of the Lex Fridman Podcast.
“He was a good salesman,” Trump replied. “He had some nice assets that he’d throw around like islands, but a lot of big people went to that island. But fortunately, I was not one of them.”
Fridman noted, “It’s just very strange for a lot of people that the list of clients that went to the island has not been made public,” to which Trump replied, “Yeah, it’s very interesting isn’t it? Probably will be, by the way.”
“So if you are able to, you’ll be–” Fridman said, to which President Trump replied, “I’d certainly take a look at it.”
Trump added that the files on President John F. Kennedy are “Interesting, because it’s so many years ago.”
“You know, they do that for danger too, because you know, it endangers certain people,” the 45th president said. “So Kennedy is very different from the Epstein thing.”
“But yeah, I’d be inclined to do the Epstein — I’d have no problem with it,” President Trump added, to which Fridman replied, “That’s great to hear.”
The podcaster then asked President Trump, “What gives you strength when you’re getting attacked? You are one of the most attacked people in the world.”
“I think you can’t care that much,” Trump said. “I know people that care so much about everything, like what people are saying. You can’t care too much because you end up choking.”
Landslide near Los Angeles
Quote:Hundreds of homes in the coastal Los Angeles suburb of Rancho Palos Verdes have lost power due to a slow landslide that has resulted in several houses being deemed unsafe for occupancy.
NBC Los Angeles reported:
Power was shut off to an additional 105 homes Monday night due to accelerating landslides in a Rancho Palos Verdes neighborhood.
The latest round of shutoffs occurred at 7 p.m. Monday in the Seaview area of the Los Angeles County seaside community overlooking the Pacific. On Sunday, power was shut off in 140 homes in the Portuguese Bend area. Those residents also remain under an evacuation warning.
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Land movement in Ranchos Palos Verdes has increased across 680 acres following rains in spring 2023. The accelerating slides have buckled roads and damaged homes and utilities.
On Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) declared a state of emergency in the community.
Last year, ten local homes fell into a local canyon, and residents of some homes were evacuated after being given just 20 minutes’ notice.
Illinois: Judge Says Concealed Carry Ban Violates 2nd Amendment
Quote:A U.S. District Judge ruled Friday that Illinois’ ban prohibiting concealed carry for self-defense on public transportation violates the Second Amendment.
The judge, Ian D. Johnston, issued his opinion in Schoenthal v. Raoul.
The plaintiffs in the case, Benjamin Schoenthal, Mark Wroblewski, Joseph Vesel, and Douglas Winston, all claimed the ban violated the Second Amendment.
Schoenthal, Wrogblewski, Vesel, and Winston’s case was supported by the Second Amendment Foundation and the Firearms Policy Coalition.
Judge Johnston noted:
In Illinois, openly carrying firearms is unlawful. Under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, an individual with a concealed-carry license may generally carry a concealed handgun in public….This general permission, however, does not extend to a list of prohibited areas, including public transportation.
He then pointed to Bruen (2022), noting that it set forward a framework by which gun controls must be analyzed and tested.
Johnston pointed to opinions by Kimberly Foxx, State’s Attorney of Cook County, who argued in support of the ban. He then noted that “Finally, and decisively, whatever is true elsewhere in the law, Ms. Foxx’s proposed framework contradicts Bruen, which rejects the relevance of place to the threshold question of whether certain conduct is covered by the Second Amendment.”
He ultimately ruled that “the Firearm Concealed Carry Act’s ban on carrying concealed firearms on public transportation, as defined in the statute…violates the Second Amendment,” as applied to the plaintiffs.
Second Amendment Foundation founder and executive vice president Alan Gottlieb commented on the ruling, calling it a “significant victory” in which “the court recognized Cook County Attorney Foxx’s argument that the ban was legal because Illinois is acting as a property owner was ‘breathtaking, jaw dropping and eyepopping,’ and that wasn’t a compliment. It demonstrates how far government will reach in an attempt to justify its effort to restrict Second Amendment rights.”
EUROPE
Wilders on Controversial Imam
Quote:Today, September 2nd, is a historic day. It is the first time ever that an Islamic cleric will have to stand trial for issuing an assassination fatwa.
In a few weeks, it will be 20 years since policemen wearing bulletproof vests and carrying machine guns arrived at my home. They gave me ten minutes to pack, pushed me into an armoured car and drove me off to an unknown destination. The evening of November 4, 2004, was the last time that my wife and I were in our house. Since that moment, we have been forced to live in various safe houses. We have lost our freedom and privacy. Everywhere I go, I am constantly surrounded by bodyguards.
The same thing happened on that ominous evening to my colleague, fellow member of the Dutch Parliament, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a fugitive from Islamic Somalia. We had both been fierce critics of Islam and the Islamization of our country, the Netherlands. As a result of this, Islamic death threats or fatwas ordering the Islamic faithful to kill us had been issued.
Since then, Ayaan has left Dutch politics and emigrated to the United States. I stayed and founded my own party, the Party for Freedom (PVV), which is currently the largest party in the Netherlands and the largest party in the ruling government coalition.
I have always been a firm defender of freedom of speech. It is the bedrock of a free society and a functioning democracy. I will never be silenced. Fatwas, death threats, being on the death list of the Taliban and ISIS, nothing will ever stop me from telling the inconvenient truth.
I realize, however, that the fatwas and death threats against me – rare is the day that I do not receive one in my mailbox – are not just intended to silence me, but also to intimidate everyone else not to be as ‘reckless’ as me in voicing their opinion.
Fatwas are a direct assault on freedom of speech. The Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini has never been taken to court for his 1989 fatwa condemning the British author Salman Rushdie to death, but he should have been.
Today, in Amsterdam, the court case begins against two Pakistani citizens, Muhammed Ashraf Asif Jalali (55) and Saad Hussain Rizvi (29). Although the proceedings will be held in their absence, the trial is hugely significant. Not just for me, the victim, but also for the defence of the freedom of speech of every Dutchman and citizen of the free West.
In May 2015, I was present at a cartoon contest in Garland, Texas, where cartoons of the Islamic prophet Muhammed were judged. Islam forbids the depiction of its prophet, but there is no reason why this prohibition should apply to non-Muslims.
The contest in Garland was won by the American illustrator Bosch Fawstin, a former Muslim, for a picture of Muhammed saying “You can’t draw me!” and the artist replying “That’s why I draw you.” As it happened, two Islamic terrorists attacked the Garland cartoon exhibition with semi-automatic rifles and handguns but were shot by police officers before they could cause much havoc, apart from wounding a guard.
UK on Israel
Quote:The left-wing Labour Party government in Britain announced Monday that it will be suspending dozens of arms export licences to Israel over concerns of UK weaponry being used to violate human rights in Gaza.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the House of Commons that the British government will be suspending 30 of its 350 arms export licences to Israel, including UK-made components used in military drones, helicopters, and aircraft, including fighter jets used by the Israelis.
The move comes after months of protests by left-wing activists and a two-month review conducted by the Foreign Office, The Guardian reports. While the review did not find that British arms exports had contributed to destruction in Gaza, the government found that there was a “clear risk” that they could be used in violations of international humanitarian laws.
Announcing the move, Foreign Secretary Lammy told Parliament: “Facing a conflict such as this, it is this Government’s legal duty to review export licences.
“It is with regret that I inform the House today the assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that for certain UK arms exports to Israel, there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
Lammy claimed, however, that the move to cut around 10 per cent of arms licences to Israel, did not represent an “arms embargo” to the Jewish state.
The move comes in the aftermath of the discovery of the bodies of six dead hostages in a Gaza tunnel over the weekend. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) claimed that the hostages, who were taken captive by Hamas terrorists during the October 7th attacks on Israel, were killed by Hamas as Israeli forces were closing in on their position so as to prevent their rescue.
Sad News for Ukraine
Quote:Ballistic missiles struck a military academy and a nearby hospital in Ukraine, one of the deadliest single attacks by Russian forces against a Ukrainian city since the invasion started again two and a half years ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed his nation on Tuesday, stating educational buildings at the Poltava Military Institute of Communications and a hospital were hit by missiles, with one university building being “partially destroyed”. People were trapped inside the rubble, he said, and at the time of his statement that 41 people were known killed, and 180 injured. Later, Ukraine revised the death count to 47 and 206 wounded.
UPDATE 1610 BST — Death toll rises again
The death roll has risen again to 49, and 219 injured. The Ukrainian government has also denied the claims made on local social media that the strike hit a parade of military cadets. The Defence Ministry said, per the BBC: “teaching was in progress at the institution… There was no parade or any other event at the time of the airstrike.”
The strike is the deadliest of the year, according to Reuters.
The original story continues below
According to Ukrainian state media, 11 people were pulled alive from the rubble. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said two Russian ballistic missiles hit Poltava and the amount of time between the missiles being detected and an air-raid warning being given and the impact was so short, many of those impacted were caught as they ran to the bomb shelters.
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The strike blew out windows in hundreds of nearby residential buildings, Ukraine stated. When exactly the attack took place has not been confirmed.
President Zelensky responded to the news of the mass-casualty attack by requesting more air defence systems from his Western backers to defend Ukraine against the “Russian scum”. He said, per Ukraine’s own translation of his comments: “once again, we urge everyone in the world who has the power to stop this terror: air defence systems and missiles are needed in Ukraine, not in a warehouse somewhere.”
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called on the international community to take action, saying in a statement: “What Russia is doing in Ukraine is pure evil and terror, driven by the objective to eliminate, kill, and ruin. This crime, like others, demands a strong response from the global community. Not just with statements but with decisions and actions that can push this evil back.”
Germany: Afghan Drives Car Onto Sidewalk
Quote:An Afghanistan-heritage man has been arrested after a car was driven at great speed onto the sidewalk, the suspect allegedly telling police he had acted “on Allah’s orders”.
A man received serious head injuries after a car ran a red light and mounted the pavement in the German city of Darmstadt, colliding with another vehicle before coming to a rest. Pedestrians were able to jump clear, it is stated.
Police are investigating whether the collision may have been deliberate, with the State Criminal Police Office taking over the investigation with amid clashing reports the suspect told police officers he had acted “on Allah’s orders”, or on the instructions of the “almighty”.
A man arrested at the scene is a 24-year-old Afghan heritage male and has been remanded in custody. Alcohol or drug use has been ruled out but a potential mental health history is being investigated, as is a potential extremist terrorism motive, although nothing pertinent has been discovered yet, Welt states.
Nevertheless, the investigations continue “in all directions”. The suspect’s home was raided on Tuesday afternoon, with digital devices and documents seized by investigators.
The Public Prosecutor accuses the suspect of having “at least knowingly accepted the risk of injuring or killing innocent people – in particular the 29-year-old Skoda driver.”
Germany: AfD Wins in Thüringen
Quote:Right-wingers and populists have devastated legacy left-wing parties in two state elections in Germany, even if a “software error” in one state was blamed for changing the initial official results, taking two seats away from the right.
The right-populist anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) has won a state election for the first time, taking 32.8 per cent of the vote in east Germany’s Thuringia. Counts in the AfD’s favour continued to roll in from the evening, building its lead from earlier declarations. The result gives the party 32 seats in the Free State’s 88-seat parliament, the Landtag, far short of an actual majority.
The party almost managed the same feat twice in one night, with a photo-finish in Saxony, also in east Germany, seeing it come just one seat behind the legacy-centre-right party the Christian Democrats. Both right-wing parties come away with fractionally fewer seats than initially stated by the election authorities, however, with a computer error blamed for their share dropping overnight. Apparently, the computers which calculated the number of seats awarded to each party from the vote share percentage had inadvertently been programmed to the wrong electoral system.
This is particularly consequential to the AfD, as it no longer has a blocking minority in the state, which could have allowed it to block certain votes like the appointment of constitutional judges, the state auditors, and even a vote to dissolve the parliament. In such instances, votes need a two-thirds supermajority to pass, and now the AfD is one seat short.
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Also performing well — although little heeded in news reports from outside Germany where a total fixation on the perceived right-wing threat dominates — is a new left-populist political force the BSW, led by former communist Sahra Wagenknecht. The economically hard-left but socially conservative and anti-mass migration party came third place in both states and may potentially become a kingmaker.
In both elections, voter turnout was at historically high levels, and in the case of Saxony, it was the highest state election turnout in modern German history. It was the best state election results yet for the AfD, and absolutely devastating for legacy left-wing and centrist parties, with the Free Democrat liberals and the Social Democrats having their worst election results ever in the race.
In Thuringia, the Green party fell so far that it no longer has any members of Parliament, and the hard-left Linke (left) party tumbled from 29 to 12 seats.
In many cases, responses to the state-level success of the AfD in this election have been dismay in the international press, with the label “far right” routinely applied to the AfD, even as such words lose their power through over-use, and allusions to Nazi-era Germany frequently made. Britain’s The Guardian leads with comments from French liberal politician Valérie Hayer, who reflected on the result: “A dark day for Germany is a dark day for Europe. The election result in Thuringia and Saxony is unprecedented. We shall not let Europe give in to racist, antisemitic, misogynist and homophobic movements.”
Putin Prefers Kamala!?
Quote:Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a Russian TV interview on Sunday that Moscow would prefer seeing Vice President Kamala Harris in the White House next year because she is more “predictable” than her opponent Donald Trump.
Peskov’s comments were delivered with a dash of sarcasm, as the Russian government insists it has no preferences in foreign elections and never interferes with them.
Peskov therefore treated the question about who the Kremlin favors in the 2024 U.S. presidential election as laughable. His interviewer, regime-friendly TV personality Pavel Zarubin, also made a point of laughing out loud when he asked the question.
“We have no candidate. But, of course, the Democrats are more predictable. And what Putin said about Biden’s predictability applies to almost all Democrats, including Ms. Harris,” Peskov told Zarubin.
Peskov was alluding to Russian President Vladimir Putin saying in a February interview that he preferred now-defunct President Joe Biden to Trump, because he saw Biden as “a more experienced, predictable person, a politician of the old school.”
“But we will work with any U.S. president who the American people have confidence in,” Putin added, with an unmistakable smirk.
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On other occasions, Putin expressed concerns about Biden’s deteriorating mental health, and also denounced the Democrat Party for using the U.S. court system to wage political warfare against Trump.
On all of these occasions, Putin was careful to insist that Russia has no preference in the outcome of the 2024 election and was equally prepared to deal with any U.S. president.
In his Russian TV interview on Sunday, Peskov complained that the United States has “trampled” on Russia’s interests with heavy-handed sanctions over the Ukraine war, and he saw “no prospects” for relations to improve with either a Harris or Trump administration next year.
Peskov also mocked Trump for claiming he could negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war if he wins the election, even before he is formally inaugurated.
“I know both heads of the countries. I know President Putin very well. I want to see the death stopping. There’s death and there’s destruction. They are destroying the whole fabric of a certain part of the world. I want to get it negotiated, and get it done,” Trump told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview in early August.
During a CNN town hall meeting in May 2023, Trump said he could negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours of being elected.
So what is Garland's DOJ gonna do now?
Russia might interfere in the elections to make Harris win! Who am I kidding? the USAG couldn't care less about that.
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KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
