Links To End September

As the year reaches its three quarters mark, here are some things going on:

From Voice Of Europe, in Denmark, four migrants are convicted of a truly grizzly act.  (If you read Swedish, read the story at Kvälls Posten.  Reader discretion is advised.)

From The Local ES, a year after their banned independence referendum, Catalans are still deeply divided.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From Severe Weather Europe, the Medicane striking Greece has weakened, but still presents a flooding threat.

From the Sunday Express, former London Mayor Boris Johnson calls Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan "deranged and preposterous".

From the Independent, more Tories condemn the prime minister's proposals.

From the Metro, the prime minister faces a "polite rebellion" from a "significant" number of Tories.

From the Evening Standard, five things to be learned from the Conservative Party conference's first day.

From VRT NWS, starting tomorrow, keep your diesel-powered cars out of Belgium's Capital Region.

From Total Croatia News, the leader of Croatia's Živi Zid party wants his country to leave both NATO and the E.U.

From Ekathimerini, the referendum over the name agreement between Greece and FYROM has been marked by low turnout.

From the Greek Reporter, Bulgaria's prime minister weighs in.

From Sputnik International, Iranian speedboats encounter the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

From Hürriyet Daily News, according to Turkey's ambassador to Venezuela, the two countries enjoy "historic" ties.

From Arutz Sheva, two IDF soldiers are attacked while picking up medicine for a detainee.

From The Times Of Israel, in three years, Russian airstrikes in Syria have reportedly killed 18,000 people, about half of them civilians.

From Dawn, a boy's primary school in Chitral, Pakistan is blown up by an IED.

From the Dorset Echo, illegal migrants are found hiding in trucks hauling onions in Poole, England.  (via Breitbart London)

From The Arab Weekly, Algerian Salafists react to their government's ban on wearing the niqab.

From The Times Of India, police in India bust a fentanyl-making operation run by a chemist known for hating the United States.

From NBC News, the death toll from the earthquake and tsunami that struck Palu, Indonesia has reached 832.

From Gatestone Institute, the E.U. is politicizing the Internet.

From The Conservative Woman, church vandalism is merely "high-jinks" when Muslims are involved.

From Breitbart Texas, almost twice as many people as a year ago are illegally crossing the Arizona border.

From Politico, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark) says that the staff of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Cal) will be investigated to determine if the letter from Dr. Ford has been leaked.

From BizPac Review, another Kavanaugh accuser faces being investigated.

From Medium, Dr. Ford and the Safeway that wasn't.

From Townhall, Kellyanne Conway says that she was the victim of sexual assault.

From Twitchy, Judge Kavanaugh has "many" female supporters.

From the New York Post, President Trump and the GOP could learn something from Mr. Bill's old strategist.

And from Golf, in the Ryder Cup, Europe defeats the United States 17.5-10.5.

Saturday Stuff

As another week reaches its last day, here are some things going on:

From Voice Of Europe, refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos throw away their meals.

From the Hungary Journal, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, the current U.N. migration pact is the worst way to deal with migration.

From Radio Praha, the Great Synagogue in Pilsen celebrates its 125th anniversary.

From Radio Poland, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszszak wants more NATO troops in Poland.

From Sputnik International, Crimean authorities have prepared to receive a visit from members of the European Parliament.

From Iraqi News, tribal fighters ambush and kill two ISIS terrorists near Kirkuk.

From Rûdaw, Syria plans to reopen a border crossing with Jordan.

From Arutz Sheva, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu promises to look at President Trump's peace plan "with an open mind".

From Ekathimerini, more than 6,000 "special category" voters in FYROM cast their ballots in the referendum on the name agreement with Greece.  (The term "special category" includes hospital patients, overseas residents, and prisoners.)

From the Greek Reporter, at least one person has been killed in clashes at the Malakasa migrant camp north of Athens.

From Total Croatia News, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić talks with a Serb member of the Croatian Parliament who had been attacked with food.

From France24, an activist who criticized the Egyptian government for not protecting women from sexual harassment is sentenced to two years in prison.

From Deutsche Welle, some information on DITIB, which manages about 900 mosques in Germany.

From The Times Of Israel, over 100 bombs and grenades were thrown at IDF troops during Friday's riots in Gaza.  (Via Breitbart Jerusalem)

From the Express, the U.K. has three options if Prime Minister May's Chequers white paper is scrapped.

From the Independent, Damian Green, a former deputy to Theresa May, warns conservatives to stop squabbling about Brexit.

From BBC News, the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is struck by an earthquake and a tsunami, killing at least 384 people.

From the Daily Mail, a controversial sheik who once compared uncovered women to pieces of meat is once again the top Islamic cleric in Australia.  (The chirping crickets you hear are the reaction from western feminists.)

From National Review, the Democrats don't just want Brett Kavanaugh to not be confirmed, they want him destroyed.

From Townhall, the Democrats target four Senators in their effort to keep Kavanaugh off the SCOTUS.

From American Thinker, "Kavanaugh and the depth of Democratic evil".

From Breitbart's Big Government, Pamela Geller's organization AFDI wins their free speech lawsuit against the city of Seattle.

From Fox News Insider, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) has his idea of whom the FBI should investigate.  (via LifeZette)

From Tom's Hardware, a beginner's guide to building PCs.

From The Verge, scientists discover a new fish, but miss the shark swimming nearby.

From Twitchy, does "believe all women" include Michael Moore's ex-wife?

And from Twitter, a wheelchair-bound man makes a miraculous recovery.

Marty Balin 1942-2018

Marty Balin, the singer-songwriter who helped found Jefferson Airplane and later joined Jefferson Starship, died yesterday from causes which have not been publicly released.  He had undergone open heart surgery in 2016.

Martyn Jerel Buchwald was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to Joseph Buchwald and the former Catherine Eugenia Talbot.  He attended Washington High School in San Francisco.  In 1962, he changed his name to Marty Balin and recorded some solo music.  In 1964, he was in a folk quartet called The Town Criers.  In 1965, Balin founded Jefferson Airplane, along with guitarist-singer Paul Kantner, lead guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, bassist Jack Casady, singer Signe Anderson, and guitarist Skip Spence, whom Balin persuaded to play drums.  After the release of their first album Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, Anderson and Spence left the band and were replaced by Grace Slick and Spencer Dryden.  (Spence later switched back to guitar and helped found Moby Grape.)  Balin continued in the band, sharing the lead vocals with Slick, and occasionally with Kantner and Kaukonen, until he left in April 1971.  His stay in the band included an episode during the Altamont Free Concert, in which he was beaten unconscious by some Hell's Angels.  In 1973, Balin joined the short-lived group Bodacious DF as their lead singer on their only album.  A year later, he sang lead as a guest musician on the song Caroline on Jefferson Starship's first album Dragon Fly.  In 1975, he joined the band, which had been founded by Kantner, Slick, and some other musicians.  He sang lead on four hit singles, starting with his own composition Miracles, before leaving in 1978.  During the 1980s, Balin released solo material, joined Kantner and Casady to form the KBC band, and participated in a Jefferson Airplane reunion with Kantner, Slick, Casady and Kaukonen.  He also contributed vocals to some later incarnations of Jefferson Starship.

Besides his musical pursuits, Balin also painted for most of his life.  He was married to Victoria Martin, with whom he had a daughter named Jennifer, to Karen Deal, with whom he had a daughter named Delaney, and most recently to Susan Joy Finkelstein, by whom he is survived.  He is also survived by his daughters and his stepdaughters Rebecca and Moriah Geier.

Read more at the Rolling Stone, Variety, The Mercury News, Ultimate Classic Rock and Billboard.

Friday Fuss

According to Twitter, today is #NationalDrinkBeerDay, if you like beer, go drink one, but do so responsibly.
****
Let me offer a bit of reaction to the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings.  If you ask me, the real loser here is Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Cal), who sat on Dr. Ford's accusation for almost two months after learning about it.  I would thus propose a bit of reform.  Congress should set a period of time, after a nomination is announced, for citizens to come forward with any reasons why the nominee should not be confirmed to the designated office, or forever hold their peace.  Senators who receive such objections should bring them to the attention of the appropriate committee within another set period of time.
****
Now that I've put in my $0.02, here are some things going on:

From Voice Of Europe, two Spanish cities with leftist mayors have endured a crime wave by migrants.

From the NL Times, if you can go to Amsterdam and have €1,000 in leftover cash, you can attend a speech by former President Obama.

From Dutch News, more details emerge about the seven suspects arrested yesterday in the Netherlands on terror charges.

From VRT NWS, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel calls for a "sacred alliance" between Europe and Africa.

From France24, the Canadian Parliament votes to strip Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi of her honorary Canadian citizenship.

From RFI, after arson at a French slaughterhouse, tensions rise between farmers and vegans.

From Hürriyet Daily News, Germany's Angela Merkel and Turkey's Recep Erdoğan agree to "revive cooperation mechanisms".

From Deutsche Welle, the meeting between Merkel and Erdoğan is overshadowed by free-press conflict.

From El País, the Spanish federal government will allow regional and local governments to nullify Uber and Cabify licenses.

From the Express, a secret document advised the U.K. government to cover up the realities of E.U. membership.

From the Independent, Boris Johnson does not rule out challenging Theresa May for the leadership of the Conservative Party.

From the Evening Standard, a strike by Ryanair workers results in 250 cancelled flights.

From ANSA, the Milan stock exchange tumbles in response to Italy's higher projected deficit.

From the Greek Reporter, speaking at the U.N., Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says that his country is promoting stability in the Balkans.

From Russia Today, Russian leftists oppose a coin honoring a woman who almost killed Vladimir Lenin.

From Sputnik International, Syria expects the delivery of S-300 air defense systems from Russia.

From Radio Poland, military leaders from all 29 NATO countries meet in Warsaw.

From The Slovak Spectator, thousands from the For A Decent Slovakia movement protest around their country.

From Arutz Sheva, according to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Palestinian leader Abbas is not helping his people.

From Rûdaw, security forces cast the first votes in Iraqi Kurdistan's elections.

From The Telegraph, in Kashmir, terrorists fire at police from a mosque.  (If you fire at someone from a house of worship, you're a terrorist.  This Indian website is not to be confused with the British site having the same name.)

From The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a Syrian man arrested in Germany belonged to a cell planning attacks in Israel with chemical weapons.

From Gatestone Institute, Sweden becomes a sanctuary for someone who commits a hate crime against Jews.  (H/T Tim Tapp for Tweeting this story.  It also appears, like the previous two links, on The Religion Of Peace.)

From FrontpageMag, the Christian female victims of Boko Haram and the silence of the left.

From National Review, SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh made a "history changing" speech.

From Townhall, the Kavanaugh hearing became "the Democrats' worst nightmare".

From Breitbart's Big Government, after the Judiciary Committee votes to send Kavanaugh's nomination to the full Senate, Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) wants a one-week delay.

From Life News, there's no point to another FBI investigation of Brett Kavanaugh.

From The Washington Free Beacon, Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) have introduced a bill to fund school security.

From CNS News, the Tanzanian government suspends family planning ads funded by the United States.

From Wired, everything we know about the security breach at Facebook.

From the New York Post, a vote-counting machine used in 23 states still has a flaw first discovered 11 years ago.  (The old saying, sometimes attributed to Joseph Stalin, that it's not he who votes that counts, but he who counts the votes appears to be coming true more and more.)

From Breitbart's Big Hollywood and the "you've got to be kidding" department, the attempted reboot of the 1990s sitcom Murphy Brown will feature a cameo by a recent presidential candidate.

And from The Babylon Bee and the "don't give them any ideas" department, using a new FBI technique, unpleasant facial expressions are admissible as evidence of guilt.

The Ford-Kavanaugh Hearings, And Other Stories

As Dr. Christine Blasey Ford gets her day in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, here are some things going on, related thereto:

From National Review, Dr. Ford's testimony changes everything and nothing.

From American Thinker, Dr. Ford "flunks" as a role model for women.

From The Federalist, the controversy over Judge Kavanaugh's alleged behavior requires more reason and less empathy.

From The Washington Free Beacon, Dr. Ford hoped that the Senate committee would have gone out to her in California.

From Townhall, the 45 "tough, forbidden" questions which a normal person would ask Dr. Ford.

From Twitter, some reasonable questions from conservative journalist Katie Pavlich.

From Breitbart's Big Government, Kavanaugh holds back tears while telling the committee about his daughter praying for Dr. Ford.

From the New York Post, a Senate staffer was sent to get Kavanaugh some tissues.

From Life News, Dr. Ford's only evidence against Kavanaugh are witnesses who disagree with her story.

From LifeZette, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) faults Democrats for ignoring the Judiciary Committee's own investigation.

And from The Daily Caller, anti-Kavanaugh protester Linda Sarsour is arrested near the Supreme Court building.
****
Here are some things going on, in other stories:

From Voice Of Europe, German Chancellor Merkel's failures show that her end is near.

From YLE, a man is arrested for allegedly burning down one of Finland's oldest wooden churches.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From Deutsche Welle, a European court upholds the deportation of a terror suspect from Germany.

From the NL Times, police in the Netherlands arrest seven men allegedly plotting a terror attack.

From Dutch News, a man arrested in The Hague who had a gas bottle in his car has been released without charge.

From VRT NWS, police in Antwerp, Belgium have arrested eight Dutch nationals who allegedly had been attacking cashpoints.

From RFI, French President Emmanuel Macron visits the French West Indies.

From the Express, U.K. Labour leader Jeremy Corbin warns that his party could vote against Prime Minister May's Brexit deal.

From the Independent, British "far-right" activist Tommy Robinson's hearing at the Old Bailey is adjourned.  (He walks free - for now.)

From the Evening Standard, the U.K. Royal Mail issues stamps featuring Harry Potter characters.

From El País, former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont is interviewed on Belgian TV.  (It's been a while since I've found a story about this exiled politician.)

From ANSA, after 21 years, the chapel housing the Shroud of Turin will be reopened.

From Ekathimerini, the president and prime minister of FYROM have different messages for their citizens concerning the upcoming referendum about the country's name.

From the Greek Reporter, the cyclone Xenophon heads for Greece.

From Total Croatia News, will Croatia become an energy hub?

From The Slovak Spectator, Czechs and Slovaks build a bridge.

From Radio Praha, tomorrow will be St. Wenceslas Day in the Czech Republic.  (According to a certain Christmas carol, King Wenceslas looked out on the Feast of Stephen, which falls on 12/26.  The king's own feast is tomorrow.)

From Russia Today, the speaker of the Russian Duma warns against taking selfies.

From Sputnik International, the Russian government plans to boost trade with China.  (This, of course, could make the Russian equivalent of "made in China" as ubiquitous as "made in China" is in the United States.)

From Hürriyet Daily News, a Turkish boy captured and released by Armenia comes home.

From Arutz Sheva, watch how Hezbollah builds missile-converting factories in Beirut.

From StokeOnTrent Live, a charity-run mosque in Stoke-on-Trent, England allowed a radical imam to preach hate.  (H/T OBFSU for Retweeting this story)

From U.S. News & World Report, a woman is punished by caning in the Malaysian state of Terengganu.

From CNS News, according to a leaked report, the German Catholic Church covered up sexual abuse by at least 1,670 clergymen.

From The Washington Times, a firm in Boston is picked to evaluate medical marijuana dispensary applications.

From TubeFilter, a conspiracy vlogger is arrested for allegedly threatening YouTube employees.  (via The Verge)

From Variety, Tom Hanks dresses to portray Mr. Rogers.

And from Breaking Burgh, Brett Kavanaugh turns up for his hearing with a keg of beer.

A Sasquatch's Triple Dozen

On a sunny day in the middle of the week, if I've counted correctly, here are 36 things going on:

From Voice Of Europe, Swedish churches and media cover up anti-Christian vandalism.

From Radio Poland, Polish MEP Ryszard Czarnecki accuses E.U. politicians of interfering with Poland's internal affairs.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From the NL Times, according to a regulator, some Dutch banks are too lax about money laundering.

From the Express, according to French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan will bring about the "end of Europe".

From the Independent, the E.U. sees May's plans as "managed capitulation".

From the Evening Standard, according to a U.K. think tank, extending Brexit talks may be "essential".

From The Guardian, a no-deal Brexit would stop British farm exports for six months.

From BBC News, a French rapper makes a song so obviously full of anti-white racism that YouTube suspends it.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From France24, Marine Le Pen's party, now called National Rally, wins back half of their previously lost subsidy.

From Deutsche Welle, German Chancellor Angela Merkel again faces predictions that her "era" is over.

From El País, Spanish actor/activist Willy Toledo will be prosecuted for "insulting God and the Virgin Mary" on Facebook.

From ANSA, a director of Human Rights Watch and Italy's interior minister exchange barbs.

From the Malta Independent, the ship Aquarius will bring 58 migrants into Maltese waters.

From Total Croatia News, NGOs fear that media freedom in Croatia is eroding.

From Ekathimerini, about 41,000 Greek taxpayers (out of 3.8 million) owe 90 percent of the back taxes.

From the Greek Reporter, the best Greek islands to visit in October.

From Russia Today, the Russian Duma unanimously passes President Putin's changes to their pension reform bill.

From Hürriyet Daily News, according to Turkish President Erdoğan, "radical groups" have started to withdraw from the demilitarized zone in Syria's Idlib region.

From Rûdaw, after claiming responsibility for the attack in Ahvaz, Iran, ISIS threatens more attacks.

From Iraqi News, 15 ISIS terrorists, after blowing up a car at a checkpoint, are killed by security forces.

From Arutz Sheva, aerial photographs taken by the Luftwaffe during World War II help to locate and preserve Jewish cemeteries.

From the Daily Nation, police in Kenya arrest 11 men for allegedly having connections to Al-Shabaab.

From Reuters, two people in Denmark are arrested for allegedly trying to supply ISIS with drones.

From The Times Of India, a Muslim preacher in Kerala faults Muslim organizations for helping clean up temples and churches after recent floods.

From Gatestone Institute, "help the people of Iran".

From FrontpageMag, a former girlfriend of Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN), whom he allegedly abused, now accuses him of trying to smear her.

From National Review, an obvious truth about confirmation hearings.  (The article uses the term "Kangaroo Court", which these days has become unfair to kangaroos.)

From Townhall, Dr. Ford has corroboration for her accusations against Judge Kavanaugh, or does she?

From Twitchy, Dr. Ford's polygraph test was administered in my neck of the woods.  (How did Dr. Ford, who has claimed to be afraid of flying, travel from California to Maryland?)

From Politico, pro-life organizations respond to Planned Avoidance of Parenthood's spending.  (via LifeNews)

From The Daily Caller, actor Dean Cain, who appears in Gosnell, fires back at people who accuse him of homophobia.  (via LifeNews)

From LifeNews, the FDA is spending $100 million on research using aborted fetal body parts.

From MarketWatch, immigrants could be required to financial status to stay in the United States.

From Accuracy In Media, debunking the attempt by The Washington Post to debunk President Trump's U.N. speech.

From Philly(dot)com, how to vote absentee if you're in Pennsylvania, Delaware or New Jersey.

And from The Babylon Bee, according to a study, a majority of Americans think it's OK to punch a grammar Nazi.

Links For National Voter Registration Day

Today is national voter registration day, so if you are an American citizen, at least 18 years old, not a convicted felon, still alive, and not already registered to vote where you live, you should register so you can make your voice heard this coming November.  While at the registration place, here are some things going on:

From The New York Times, Bill Cosby gets three to ten years in prison.

From the Los Angeles Times, Cosby is old, but is still a sexual predator.

From The Federalist, the above-mentioned New York Times hid key facts in their piece about Brett Kavanaugh's yearbook.

From American Thinker, Kavanaugh runs into sexual McCarthyism.  (I remember reading years ago somebody's observation that when a Republican does something wrong, it's sexual harassment, but when a Democrat does something wrong and a Republican notices it, not only is the Democrat's conduct not sexual harassment, but the Republican is guilty of sexual McCarthyism.)

From National Review, Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four has become reality.

From FrontpageMag, the GOP should stop appeasing the Democrats.

From The Washington Free Beacon, according to a Gallup poll, the GOP has their highest rating in seven years.

From Voice Of Europe, in Sweden, a car plows into a crowd of children and their teachers.  (If you read Swedish, read the story at Kvälls Posten.)

From Radio Poland, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki suggests that the E.U. has broken off dialogue over changes to the Polish courts.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From The Local DK, seven people have been arrested in Copenhagen for alleged involvement in gang violence.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From Russia Today, a Russian plane has been cleared to overfly the United States.

From Sputnik International, shrugging off Russian environmental concerns, Poland starts digging a new canal.

From Hürriyet Daily News, a Turkish organization to fight for gender equality is created by 40 men.

From Arutz Sheva, a recently imprisoned Palestinian teenager admits the real goal of the Palestinian cause.

From Iraqi News, the Iraqi parliament sets a date for their election of a new president.

From Ekathimerini, the European Anti-Fraud Office investigates whether funds to be used for migrants have been mismanaged.

From the Greek Reporter, the Greek and Cyprian foreign ministers meet in New York.

From ANSA, a large wildfire breaks out near Pisa, Italy.

From El País, a man living in a shanty near Madrid is allowed to keep just one of his many cats.

From Dutch News, workers building a modern roadway find the remains of ancient Roman road.

From the NL Times, if you ride a bike in the Netherlands, you might not be allowed to use your mobile phone.

From the Express, an Egyptian papyrus is deciphered, and found to be a magic love spell.

From the Evening Standard, at their party conference, Labour votes to leave the door open for another Brexit vote.

From BBC News, also at their conference, Labour leader Jeremy Corbin will promise more "free" childcare.  (As most on the right will recognize, "free" means "funded by tax payers".)

From Anadolu Agency, Turkish President Erdoğan will inaugurate a mosque in Cologne, Germany.

From International Quran News Agency, a former church in Hamburg, Germany will become a mosque.

From Palestinian Media Watch, a Palestinian archbishop tells Christian Arabs in Jerusalem to not vote in municipal elections.

From Alternet, why The Satanic Verses is still controversial.

From Legal Insurrection, some excerpts from President Trump's speech at the U.N.

From Life News, according to Jimmy Kimmel, if confirmed to the SCOTUS, Brett Kavanaugh should self-bobbitt.  (Should this blog's "humor" label include sick humor?)

From the New York Post, Alaska Airlines will offer VR to their first class passengers.

And from WNCT, prisoners in Texas are being denied dentures.

Monday Mania

As "just another manic Monday" rolls around, here are some things going on:

From Voice Of Europe, on a bus in Germany, a "tanned" man punches a man in a wheelchair.  (If you read German, read the story at NRW-Aktuell.)

From EuroWeekly, according to a survey, the "most welcoming nation for refugees" is Spain.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From the Hungary Journal, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto urges the U.N. to help persecuted Christians.

From The Slovak Spectator, according to Czech police, the Slovak Islamist arrested last year was planning a "lone wolf" attack.

From Radio Praha, illegal employment brokered by "underground agencies" is on the rise in the Czech Republic.

From Radio Poland, the E.U. takes Poland to court over changes to its judicial system.

From Deutsche Welle, police resume evicting environmentalist demonstrators in Germany's Hambach Forest.

From the NL Times, a group claiming responsibility for the attack on a parade in Ahvaz, Iran is based in Delft, the Netherlands.

From Dutch News, Iran accuses the Netherlands of "sheltering terrorists".

From France24, despite its registration being cancelled, the migrant-bearing ship Aquarius heads for Marseille, France.

From ANSA, Italy's cabinet approves a migrants-security decree.

From El País, a former French prime minister runs for mayor in Barcelona, Spain.

From the Greek Reporter, the Greek budget shows a primary surplus of €3.157 billion.

From Russia Today, according to the Russian defense ministry, the Russian Il-20 was downed by a missile launched at an Israeli jet.

From Sputnik International, Russia reportedly may help India launch their first manned space mission.

From AhlulBayt News Agency, the leader of Iran accuses the regimes of Saudi Arabia and the UAE of funding the attack in Ahvaz.

From Iraqi News, six ISIS terrorists are killed in an airstrike in Iraq's Diyala region.

From the Express, in a poll, Tory remainer MPs are told to back Brexit or face a new party.

From the Evening Standard, a no-deal Brexit could lead to flights being grounded.

From Mpasho, a video shows young Muslims dancing in a Western style.

From The Business Times, Saudi Arabia plans to triple the amount of shopping space in Mecca.

From Dawn, Pakistan is expected to become polio-free next year.

From FrontpageMag, why did America leave some of our POWs behind?

From National Review, Brett Kavanaugh's accusers have a hard time meeting "even the lowest standard of proof".

From Townhall, Kavanaugh defends himself, and issues a warning.

From LifeNews, why pro-life people should oppose the character assassination campaign against Kavanaugh.

From Twitchy, journalist Laura Ingram reminds the Democrats that what goes around comes around.

From The Washington Free Beacon, violent crime in the U.S. decreased slightly in 2017.

From TechCrunch, Walmart works with IBM on a food safety blockchain.

From The Washington Post, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will meet with President Trump this Thursday.

From The Dallas Morning News, the Dallas police officer who killed a man after mistakenly entering his apartment has been fired.  (via the New York Post)

And from The Babylon Bee, "America girds itself for another week of news cycles".

Sunday Stuff

I'm back after giving myself a day off.  Also back are the things going on:

From Voice Of Europe, a leading member of the Polish Sejm says that German Prime Minister Merkel "can keep her migrants".

From Radio Poland, in a new poll, Poland's governing party widens their lead.

From Russia Today, Israel denies that its jets downed a Russia Il-20.

From Sputnik International, according to a former German foreign minister, German businesses should have the right to buy Russian gas.

From Ekathimerini, police in FYROM say that they've detained 120 migrants illegally entering from Greece.

From the Greek Reporter, Cyprian President Nicos Anastasiades wants to resume talks on his country.

From Hürriyet Daily News, after their boat capsizes off the coast of Bodrum, Turkey, 16 migrants are rescued, but one other has died.

From Iraqi News, according to a Saudi Arabian newspaper, the leader of ISIS has traveled from Iraq through Iran to Afghanistan.

From Rûdaw, armed opposition groups in Syria are divided over the Russian-Turkish "buffer zone".

From AhlulBayt News Agency, Iran's intelligence minister promises "a crushing response" to the people behind the terror attack in Ahvaz.

From Dawn, don't mess with this Pakistani woman.

From Arutz Sheva, according to MK Ofer Shelah, Russia is redefining the rules to restrict Israel's movement in Syria.  (The acronym "MK" stands for "member of the Knesset, Israel's legislature.  The name "Shelah" goes back to the Old Testament, and was the name of a son of the patriarch Judah.)

From Haaretz, the contradicting Russian and Israeli accounts about the Il-20 downed over Syria.

From Deutsche Welle, German Social Democrats are outraged over the neo-Nazi marches in Dortmund.

From the Sunday Express, Iceland's Katla volcano shows signs of an "imminent" eruption.

From The Guardian, in England and Wales, less than a third of the men aged 18-24 prosecuted for rape are convicted.

From RFI, French President Macron's popularity hits a new low.

From The News, a Moroccan singer is arrested for rape in France.

From Gatestone Institute, persecution of Christians in March 2018.

From Townhall, what will it take for America to wake up?

From The Washington Free Beacon, a look at George Soros's son and his political contributions.

From LifeZette, what happens when you tell the truth.

From Philly(dot)com, convicted sex offender Bill Cosby will be sentenced this week.

From NewsBusters, panelists on ABC's This Week can't understand how anyone can believe Judge Kavanaugh instead of his accuser.  (The story comes via CNS News.  One thing that might negatively affect Dr. Ford's credibility is that no one whom she has named as being at the alleged gathering during which Kavanaugh allegedly assaulted her has any recollection of that alleged gathering.  Not even her then-classmate and lifelong friend Leland Ingham Keyser, who at one time was married to left-wing commentator Bob Beckel.  Thus, Ms. Keyser does not seem to be a right-wing mole.)

From The Daily Caller, law professor John Turley says that neither Kavanaugh nor Dr. Ford is going to land a "takedown".

From the New York Post, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-NC) says that Dr. Ford will be treated respectfully.

And from Fox News, the Six Flags amusement park in Eureka, Missouri will challenge contestants to stay in a scary enclosure for 30 hours.

Friday Links

I now return you to my regular sampling of things going on:

From Voice Of Europe, Italian Interior Minister Salvini tells the migrant-laden ship Aquarius 2 "don't come here".

From Radio Poland, a Swiss exhibition shows how Polish diplomats helped Jews during World War II.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From Radio Praha, Czech workers get up earlier than most Europeans, a legacy that goes back to an Austro-Hungarian emperor.

From The Slovak Spectator, Russia questions the quality of repair work done by Slovaks on Afghani helicopters.

From Russia Today, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that the Balkans shouldn't have to choose between the West and Russia.

From Sputnik International, Kosovo tells Israel, "recognize us, get another embassy in Jerusalem".

From Ekathimerini, 217 refugees have been transferred from Lesvos to the Greek mainland.

From the Greek Reporter, a documentary about the "lost" Jews of Kastoria, Greece will be aired.

From Total Croatia News, Croatia and Slovenia maintain good relations despite their border dispute.

From El País, Spain hopes to get a Brexit deal over Gibraltar during October.

From France24, French President Emmanuel Macron honors Algerians who fought for France in the Algerian war of independence.  (I guess this would be analogous to Britain honoring the American loyalists, known as "Tories".)

From VRT News, Belgian authorities are considering renting a Dutch prison ship to house migrants.

From the NL Times, childcare organizations have stopped using electric cargo bikes after the fatal collision with a train in Oss.

From Dutch News, according to Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the Netherlands is more prepared for a hard Brexit than the U.K. is.

From Deutsche Welle, according to a poll in Germany, the "far-right" AfD is second only to Prime Minister Merkel's conservatives.  (As I might have said previously, if you're opposed flooding your country with unlimited numbers of migrants, you're "far-right".)

From the Daily Mail, in Austria, a bank robber disguises himself with a hijab.

From the Express, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May defends her country.

From BBC News, the city where knives are illegal enforces its laws on a retail store.

From the Metro, a student editor at Durham University is fired for stating an obvious fact.  (via The Blaze)

From the Independent, the British party UKIP proposes Muslim-only prisons.

From the Malta Independent, today is the anniversary of Malta becoming independent.

From NDTV, terrorists in Kashmir kidnap and kill three policemen.

From The New Arab, a geologist who fought against ISIS now tries to preserve antiquities in Mosul, Iraq.

From Gatestone Institute, the OIC's plan to kill free speech.  (The last three links come via The Religion Of Peace.)

From National Review, Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Cal) should be censured.

From FrontpageMag, George Orwell's "newspeak" has become reality.

From The Washington Free Beacon, 75 women express their support for Brett Kavanaugh.

From Breitbart's Big Government, feminists say that proof beyond a reasonable doubt against Kavanaugh is not necessary.  (They're technically correct, since the Senate is not a court of law.  What's the standard of proof?  There's actually 100 such standards, each in the mind of the respective Senator.)

From Philly(dot)com, four reasons against declaring peace in Korea.

From LifeNews, Belgium conceals information about three euthanized children.

From the New York Post, the woman who killed three people at a Rite Aid distribution center in Maryland had a history of mental illness.

From CNS News, the approval rating of Congress is about where you'd think it would be.

From Fox News, in Colombia, 14 sniffer dogs are honored at their retirement ceremony.

And from the Press-Republican, an advocate group for short people objects to Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) using the term "Mimi Me".  (via the New York Post)

A Possible Motive For Kavanaugh's Accuser?

Four days ago, RedState asked a serious and (in my opinion) legitimate question about the woman who has accused SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault when they were both teenagers.  To quote the title of their article, "What does Christine Ford stand to gain by her story?"  Put another way, what would motivate her to make a false accusation, if it is indeed false?  Gateway Pundit has a possible answer, which comes via Natural News.  Dr. Ford, who is a professor at Palo Alto University and has worked at Stanford University, has also worked with the pharmaceutical company Corcept Therapeutics, which makes only one product, mifepristone tablets having the brand name "Korlym".  Mifepristone is also the active ingredient in RU-486, known as the "abortion pill".  Corcept, in fact, warns that their product may cause termination of pregnancy.  (After clicking the link, scroll down to the rectangular box, which has also been reproduced at both RS and NN.)  Thus, a possible motivation for Dr. Ford's accusation could be to protect the profits of a corporation with whom she has worked.  If Kavanaugh is seated on the SCOTUS, he could (as far as some on the left appear to believe) somehow overturn Roe vs. Wade, which would allow states to against regulate and thus restrict abortion, which would decrease the demand for products which contain mifepristone, thus decreasing profits for its manufacturers.  But don't take my word for it.  Click on the links, read the information, and decide for yourselves.

A Shooting In Maryland, And Other Stories

Just after 9 a.m. this morning, a woman shot and killed three people at a Rite Aid distribution center in Harford County, Maryland.  The location is south of Aberdeen and about 30 miles east of Baltimore.  She reportedly wounded several other people before shooting herself in an apparent unsuccessful suicide attempt.

Read more at WBAL, The Baltimore Sun, CBS Baltimore and CNN.

UPDATE:  The suspect has died.
****
In other stories:

From Voice Of Europe, British journalist Katie Hopkins likens Warsaw to Paris "in the good years".

From ANSA, a Pakistani woman studying in Italy, who had been forced by her family to leave Italy for an arranged marriage, is returning to Italy.

From Migration Watch UK, about 70,000 illegal aliens arrive in the U.K. every year.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From Radio Poland, according to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland wants a breakthrough in the Brexit talks.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From Radio Praha, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is disappointed with the E.U. talks on migration.

From Russia Today, the leader of the Russian Liberal Democratic Party says that people who run in cancelled regional elections due to violations should be barred from running again.

From Ekathimerini, the IMF wants Greece to go through with its pension cuts.

From the Greek Reporter, some Greek archaeologists claim that their government is planning to privatize some archaeological sites.

From Hürriyet Daily News, Turkey's energy minister says that his country will protect its energy rights in the Mediterranean.

From Rûdaw, Syrian Kurds hand over a woman suspected of being a member of ISIS to Sudan.

From Arutz Sheva, high-ranking officials of the Russian and Israeli air forces meet in Moscow.

From Total Croatia News, Croatia needs workers.

From El País, hundreds of young people pay their respects to recently murdered Spanish golfer Celia Barquín.

From France24, French politician Marine Le Pen has been ordered to psychiatric testing because of her Tweets showing violence by ISIS.

From VRT NWS, a look at the migrant camp in Maximilian Park in Brussels.

From the NL Times, four children are killed when a train hits a trike in Oss.

From Dutch News, the man accused of killing an 11-year-old boy at a camp in 1998 has not confessed.

From Deutsche Welle, journalists and rights groups plan to protest a visit to Berlin by Turkish President Erdoğan.

From the Express, British and French military jets are scrambled to monitor Russian bombers over the North Sea.

From the Independent, two 15-year-old boys in Ramsgate are arrested for allegedly plotting a "far-right terror attack".

From the Evening Standard, workers at three restaurant chains in the U.K. will launch a joint strike.

From Coconuts KL, the Indonesian state of Kelantan will hold a sharia-compliant men's body building competition.  (via Yahoo News)

From The Times Of India, Pakistan commemorates terrorists on stamps.

From Asia News, a Pakistani Christian dies from a acid attack from a Muslim who resented his higher position in their workplace.

From National Review, to the Democrats, some violence against women is more equal than others.

From Townhall, the Republicans are not silencing Judge Kavanaugh's accuser by inviting her to testify.

From FrontpageMag, what the Republicans should do next concerning the Kavanaugh nomination.

From Accuracy In Media, the sexual abuse complaint that the media won't tell you about.

From LifeNews, abortion activists trash Kavanaugh are "panicked" over abortion.

From The Roanoke Times, former Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer will receive an award named after Bear Bryant.

And from The Babylon Bee, Pope Francis apologizes for the carbon dioxide emissions produced by burning heretics at the stake.

On The Road In Pennsylvania - Part 2

After viewing Williamsport from an overlook along U.S. 15, I drove downhill into the city to find some food and a place to stay the night.  The next morning, I headed westward to Lock Haven and then northward, generally following the West Branch Susquehanna River upstream to an unincorporated place named Hyner.  Following some signs, I drove uphill to Hyner View State Park.  Here's a view looking back down at Hyner and the river, which was certainly hazier than I'd like.  Somewhere behind the haze and further upriver is a placed called Renovo.

On The Road In Pennsylvania - Part 1

I recently decided to take the new Bigfootmobile out for a spin, northward into Pennsylvania, where I've taken just about every vehicle I've ever owned.  As I've done on other trips, I made a stop at McKee's Half Falls, a rest stop on the northbound side of U.S. 11 and 15.  These two highways run together along the Susquehanna River between Harrisburg and Shamokin Dam.  The half falls is really a set of rapids where the river runs over two roughly parallel rows of rocks.  Here's one of them, but most of the rocks are underwater due to the high level of the river.