Five Countries Will Be Testing Europe’s New Vaccination Card
Five European Union countries are set to pilot the newly developed European Vaccination Card (EVC) next month. Septembers pilot program marks a step toward the continent-wide rollout of the card, according to Vaccines Today. Belgium, […]
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Fire Breaks out at Nuclear Plant After Ukrainian Attack – Governor (Video)
The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has caught fire after being shelled by Ukrainian forces, the governor of Russia’s Zaporozhye Region, Evgeny Balitsky, announced on Sunday. The fire is under control, the official added.
The fire broke out following a Ukrainian attack on the nearby city of Energodar on Sunday and affected the plant’s cooling systems, Balitsky said in a statement. The plant’s six reactors were placed in a state of “cold shutdown” as a precaution, the governor continued, adding that there is “no threat of a steam explosion or other consequences.”
“Emergency workers are working at the scene of the fire, and the sources of ignition have begun being eliminated,”Balitsky said.
According to the governor, radiation levels around the plant are normal and “there is no threat” to people nearby.
The Zaporozhye NPP was seized by Russian forces in 2022, four days into Moscow’s military operation. Six months later, the region of Zaporozhye voted to join the Russian Federation in a referendum. Throughout the first year of the conflict, Russian forces foiled repeated Ukrainian attempts to attack the facility – which sits on the Dnieper River – with landing craft and drones.
Kamikaze drones were used in Sunday’s attack, the facility’s communications director, Evgeniya Yashina, said in a statement. According to Yashina, the attack marked the first time that Ukrainian forces were able to seriously damage the plant’s infrastructure.
Responding to the incident, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to perform “at least some imitation of work” and ensure the plant’s security. Zakharova also condemned the shelling of the plant as a “terrorist” act.
READ MORE: IAEA condemns ‘reckless’ drone attack on Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant
“The terrorists in Kiev, under the leadership of the collective West, destroyed their country, ruined the people of Ukraine, undermined global energy and food security, and now they have begun the nuclear terror of the continent,”she declared.
The IAEA maintains an observer mission at the ZNPP and has condemned the repeated strikes against the plant. However, the UN agency refuses to attribute blame for these attacks, claiming that it does not have “indisputable evidence” of Kiev’s culpability. In a presentation to the UN General Assembly last month, Russia’s deputy representative to the organization, Dmitry Polyansky, displayed wreckage of a Ukrainian drone that hit the facility, accusing Kiev of posing “the only real threat to nuclear facilities in Ukraine today.”
Harris in Trouble with Latinos?
A new poll suggests Kamala Harris may face serious difficulties with Latinos, a key demographic if she hopes to win the election in November.
The new poll, from the LIBRE Institute, shows that Latinos are pessimistic about the direction of the country. 72% of those surveyed said they felt the country was heading in the wrong direction, with 59% disapproving of the job Joe Biden is doing as president, a 12% increase since last year’s LIBRE poll of Hispanic voters. Independent Hispanics had a particularly unfavourable view of Biden.
Just under 50% of Hispanics said they think they’re worse off than they were four years ago. 76% said they thought the economy was in a “fair” or “poor” state. Forty-two percent expected the economy to get worse and 85% said inflation was negatively affecting their lives.
Nearly three-quarters said they still believed in the American Dream, but 88% said it was harder then ever to achieve.
On immigration, 86% said the current system is broken, and 73% said that the southern border needs to be secured.
The polling was conducted between 2 May and 7 May 2024, among 1,200 registered Hispanic voters. As such, it doesn’t take into account more recent events, including the withdrawal of Joe Biden from the race in favour of Kamala Harris, or the assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump.
Even so, the poll suggests clear potential difficulties for Harris with regard to the economy, immigration and optimism about America’s future. Polling conducted more recently suggests that the Latino community is split down the middle with regard to Harris, with 44% holding a favourable view and 43% holding an unfavourable view.
As the nation’s largest minority group, at just under 20% according to the 2020 census, Latinos are a key demographic in the upcoming election.
Louisiana’s New Law Sparks First Amendment Showdown
Under Louisiana’s new, recently enacted law (HB 173), journalists and other citizens are limited in their right to film the police.
Anyone who finds themselves within 25 feet of an on-duty officer doing that – after being warned to stop or retreat – could face misdemeanor charges.
Now a group of Louisiana-based media companies is challenging the new legislation by suing the state – Attorney General Liz Murrill and two other officials – on First Amendment grounds, seeking an injunction.
The plaintiffs behind the Deep South Today v. Murrill case, brought before the US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, go into the importance of the media being able to cover police activity to ensure public scrutiny and avoid miscarriage of justice.
HB 173, the filing continues, “has grave implications for the ability of reporters and news organizations, including plaintiffs, to exercise their First Amendment rights.”
Although the lawsuit does not specifically mention the consequence the law could have on speech online, given that a majority of videos showing police at work get posted on the internet, the restrictions imposed by the act could also have indirect implications for that form of freedom of expression.
According to the plaintiffs, the law is unconstitutional and enables the police to prevent both journalists and the public from being close enough to document their work.
At the same time, officers are allowed to stop those filming them from approaching, either providing a reason or not, and that includes public gatherings, arrests, and reporting from the scene of an accident.
And, there are no exceptions that would regulate when 25 feet is objectively not close enough for a member of the public or a reporter to document police activity.
Since officers are now given the right to ask those filming them to leave – this means they are able to “effectively silence them” and bypass the constitution, the filing reads.
State AG Murrill, on the other hand, told the press that HB 173 is designed to allow law enforcement to perform their duties “without being threatened or impeded by others.”
Murrill also said she would defend the law as a reasonable response to what she calls past “documented interference with law enforcement.”
Switzerland Mulling ‘Secret Agreements’ with NATO
The Swiss government could revise its security policy by intensifying military cooperation with NATO, representing a significant adjustment to its longstanding policy of neutrality, the Blick news outlet reported on Sunday, citing a draft of a document it reviewed.
According to Blick, on August 29, the Federal Department of Defense led by Swiss President Viola Amherd will present a report from a study commission which is intended to provide “impulses for security policy in the coming years.”
One of the recommendations is to increase cooperation with NATO, which, the commission argues, would “strengthen Switzerland’s defense capabilities.”
“NATO will remain the security guarantor for Europe for the foreseeable future. It is the benchmark for modern Western armies and defines the standards for Western military technology,” the report stated.
Switzerland maintains “permanent neutrality” in accordance with its constitution. Its obligations include refraining “from engaging in wars,” prohibiting shipments of weapons to war zones from or through its territory and providing mercenary troops to countries involved in armed conflicts, as well as ensuring its own defense.
While the commission did not recommend membership in the bloc, it suggested signing “secret agreements” to cover “threats from long-range missiles, extensive cyber warfare against European states, or airspace violations.”
Read more Switzerland rejects Russian claim it’s no longer neutral
The report also says Switzerland should “seriously” prepare for collective defense, including taking part in NATO exercises. The daily noted that this contradicts Swiss neutrality.
The experts also called on Switzerland to revisit the Federal Act on War Materiel, which prohibits the direct delivery of Swiss tanks to Ukraine. The document noted that this policy “causes confusion and frustration among the EU and NATO.”
In conclusion, the experts recommended that the policy of neutrality should be revised to allow the country to “formulate its stance on possible conflicts (China-Taiwan, Russia-NATO) in a timely manner and anticipate possible demands.”
Blick noted that both the Left and the Swiss People’s Party are likely to object to the newly devised strategy and will do everything to prevent “more NATO, more EU, and less neutrality.”
Swiss neutrality has been called into question by Russia; Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Bern of becoming “openly hostile” to Moscow, as it has supported Western sanctions on Russia and has frozen billions in Russian assets.
According to a poll published in March, around 91% of the Swiss population say the country should remain neutral.
Walz’s Battalion Commander Shreds Him in Facebook Post
Tim Walz’s battalion commander shredded Tim Walz in a long Facebook post, saying that he does “not regret that Tim Walz retired early” from the National Guard to avoid a deployment to Iraq.
John Kolb became lieutenant colonel of Walz’s battalion of the Minnesota Army National Guard in 2005, not long after Walz retired.
“Feeling a need to say this,” Kolb began his post.
“I do not regret that Tim Walz retired early from the Minnesota Army National Guard, did not complete the Sergeants Major Academy, broke his enlistment contract or did not successfully complete any assignment as a Sergeant Major. Unwittingly, he got out of the way for better leadership”
Kolb then went on to praise the man who replaced Walz.
“Thomas Behrends was the right leader at the right time. He sacrificed to answer the call, leaving his family, business and farming-partner brother to train, lead and care for soldiers. He earned the privilege of being called Command Sergeant Major. Like a great leader he ran toward and not away from the guns.”
The post didn’t end there.
“I have no opinion of Mr. Walz’s decision to leave service at the time he did,” Kolb continued. “It was his right to retire early. I also have no criticism of his service as an E7 and E8 in the MNARNG. By all accounts and on the record, he was a competent Chief of Firing Battery/Gunnery Sergeant and First Sergeant. I cannot say the same of his service sitting, frocked, in the CSM chair. He did not earn the rank or successfully complete any assignment as an E9. It is an affront to the Noncommissioned Officer Corps that he continues to glom onto the title. I can sit in the cockpit of an airplane, it does not make me a pilot. Similarly, when the demands of service and leadership at the highest level got real, he chose another path. #notmyCSM.”
Holy shit, Tim Walz’s Battalion Commander absolutely destroys him over his Stolen Valor. How long is the leftwing media going to keep ignoring all of this? pic.twitter.com/eyu2tnMOUs
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 11, 2024
A separate denunciation was posted on Facebook by the man Kolb praised as Walz’s replacement, Thomas Behrends, who has previously spoken out against Walz.
“Traitor, Deserter, Military Imposter, Kamelaeon Party Leader Tim Walz has been drug out of his outhouse and into the light, so we the American people can conduct an archeological dig of what lies below. As we descend into the depths of lies and deceit, who knows how deep the disgusting and despicable pit goes? I’m guessing that we will be digging for many moons, and when we think we have hit bottom, we will pop out in China. A picture of who he thinks he is, and another of who he really is.”
Image: Facebook
In an interview with Alpha News in September 2022, Behrends said of Walz, “The public needs to know how pathetic his leadership was as a National Guardsman.”
“He abandoned us. What the hell kind of leader does that? As soon as the shots were fired in Iraq, he turned and ran the other way and hung his hat up and quit.”
Since being chosen as the Vice President’s presumptive running mate for the presidency, Governor Walz has come under intense scrutiny for his radical policies as governor and also for misleading comments about his military record, made over many years.
Newly resurfaced video from a hearing in 2008 shows Minnesota Governor Tim Walz implying heavily that he suffered PTSD from deployment to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Walz was speaking to the family of a Gold Star veteran at the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Veterans and Mental Health when he made remarks that suggested he had personal experience of PTSD after serving in Operation Enduring Freedom in 2004 with the National Guard.
“I can tell you this, having been one of those that came back. We were in support of OEF [Operation Enduring Freedom]… when we came back, they showed us the horse whisperer and told us to be nice when we went home. And that was the extent of it. That was in 2004.”
Walz has been accused of “stolen valor” for inflating his rank and the importance of his operational deployments. Walz never took part in Operation Enduring Freedom, the name for US operations directly in and above Afghan territory, but was posted to Italy with the National Guard in a support role.