Election of Milei, Wilders and Cogswell Has the Left Worried

Is there a disturbance in the force? I think there might be. In just the last week, the chainsaw-wielding “anarcho-capitalist” Javier Milei won the presidential election in Argentina, the Freedom Party of Islamo-realist Geert Wilders trounced its opponents in the snap general election in the Netherlands, and, here at home, a Republican was elected mayor of Charleston for the first time since 1877. The Zeitgeist would seem to be awake and on the move. What is it waking from? I agree with those who say it is waking from wokeness.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"extremists"

Three Palestinian men shot in Vermont

Three Palestinian men were shot and injured near the University of Vermont on Saturday in what authorities suspect could be a hate-related crime.

The Burlington Police Department said in a press release that two of the three victims are in stable condition while the third sustained “much more serious injuries.” The three men, who are each 20 years old and of Palestinian descent, were visiting the home of one victim’s relatives in Burlington for the Thanksgiving weekend and were walking along a street when they were confronted by a white man with a handgun.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Oct 7 2023", USA

Greta Thunberg chants ‘crush Zionism’ outside Israeli embassy in Stockholm

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg took part in a demonstration outside the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm on Oct. 22 in which she chanted “crush Zionism” along with hundreds of other anti-Israel protesters.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Environmentalists"

Conservatives lead by 15; Liberals and NDP tied outside of Quebec.

From November 15 to 22 2023, Abacus Data conducted a national survey of 3,450 adults that asked Canadians how they would vote if an election was held at the time of the survey as part of our regular national omnibus surveys.

In this report, we share results of that survey and take advantage of the large sample size to explore demographic, regional, and socio-economic factors correlated with vote in more detail than usual.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada

With millions of mortgages coming due, finance minister expects banks ‘to work with’ Canadians

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland expects banks will follow a new series of rules and guidelines designed to protect Canadian homeowners, millions of whom are set to renegotiate loans at potentially higher rates.

“The thing that I hear the most right now is people are concerned about interest rates, especially people who have mortgages and are concerned about the renewal of their mortgages,” Freeland said in an interview airing Sunday on Rosemary Barton Live.

“And I think that is very understandable,” she told CBC’s chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton.

I don’t think Banks are going to be into the “feels” of “working with you.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis"

Jamie Sarkonak: Fed up with climate zealotry and immigration, the Dutch lurch to the right

The North American left might idolize the Netherlands for its embrace of socialist policies and progressive political culture, but actual citizens of the country are losing their patience. Right-wing parties that were once on the fringes are increasingly going mainstream.

The most recent seismic shift happened Wednesday, when Geert Wilders, a pro-tax-cut, pro-tough-on-crime, anti-green-agenda, anti-Islam politician won a plurality of seats in the Dutch parliamentary election. He probably won’t be the prime minister, but more on that later.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inGeert Wilders

Germany’s Reichsbürger movement is anything but a joke

They don’t believe the German state exists, they make their own passports and they want the German monarchy restored. It’s tempting to dismiss the so-called Reichsbürger movement as a bunch of deranged conspiracy theorists. But the movement is growing, increasingly well-connected and willing to use violence to overthrow the state.

In their latest crackdown on extremist Reichsbürger circles, the German authorities on Thursday conducted a coordinated raid involving around 280 police officers in eight of the country’s 16 states. They targeted 20 residences, involving people aged between 25 and 74 who are suspected of having formed a group around a 58-year-old Bavarian man. He had been arrested before, in November 2021, and is accused of running a Telegram channel through which he incited his 22,000 subscribers to commit crimes. Police officers, for instance, may be ‘summarily executed,’ according to the man. He also pronounced ‘death sentences’ against German ministers of government.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"far right", Germany

OpenAI Tried to Fire Altman Because He Was About to Wake Up the Monster

“… Open AI researchers warned the board of directors about a powerful AI breakthrough that could pose threats to humanity, before the firing and rehiring of its CEO Sam Altman.

Several staff researchers sent a letter to the OpenAI board, warning that the progress made on Project Q*, pronounced as Q-star, had the potential to endanger humanity, two sources familiar with Altman’s ouster told Reuters.

The previously unreported letter ultimately led to the removal of Altman, the creator of ChatGPT, and the ensuing chaotic five days within the startup company.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"AI - Artificial Intelligence"

Ukraine fatigue risks leaving Volodymyr Zelensky out in the cold

U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin made a surprise trip to Ukraine this week to tell that country and the world that the United States has not forgotten about the war that still rages there. Mr. Austin tried his best to reassure President Volodymyr Zelensky that America still has his back. But with a critical military aid package for Ukraine facing major roadblocks in the U.S. Congress, and “Ukraine fatigue” setting in across the West, the U.S. defence chief’s words rang hollow.

A big part of the fatigue in Canada is due to Trudeau and Freeland attempting to link support for Ukraine with support for the Liberal party and its policies.

At one point a tone deaf Freeland spoke of how Canadians were happy to sacrifice for Ukraine by paying the hated carbon tax. Uh no. Never entered my mind.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia", Canada

Success of Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV raises fears for Dutch climate policies

 

The shocking success of Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV party in Dutch elections has left climate activists fearful of a drastic shift to fossil fuels and a rollback of climate policies if it manages to form a government.

Best known abroad for its rhetoric against Muslims, the PVV, which came first in Wednesday’s election but may struggle to find coalition partners, has taken a hard line on policies to stop the planet getting hotter.

The party wants to extract more oil and gas from the North Sea and stop building wind turbines and solar farms. It also wants to abolish the Dutch climate law and leave the Paris agreement on climate change.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inGeert Wilders

Don’t Dismiss Trump II

“He is dangerously close to getting re-elected!” This is how, in a recent issue, the London weekly The Economist presented Donald Trump’s chances of returning to the White House next year. This was based on a few polls indicating that, if nominated, Trump would have a chance of winning next November.

One must always be careful about predictions, especially by the press.

The Economist put Indonesian’s ruler General Suharto on its cover and predicted he would emerge as the most powerful leader in Asia. Less than a year later, Suharto was swept away by a popular uprising.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inPresident Trump