Saturday Miscellany

First, JD Vance, among others, has been speaking truth to European impotence.

Auron MacIntyre sums up the problem clearly and succinctly:

Europeans abandoned the defense necessary for their own sovereignty so they could finance welfare states, which they then destroyed with mass immigration So now they have infinite migrants, bankrupt social programs, and a complete lack of security

Second, yesterday Hamas returned the bodies of small children they had held hostage and had murdered. They were supposed to return the body of their mother, but, as everyone now knows, they did not return their mother’s body.

You might want to know how NPR, funded by our government, covered the event:

It was definitely more somber and much less celebratory on both sides. In Gaza, large crowds gathered in Khan Younis in the South. Masked Hamas gunmen presided over a ceremony on a stage with four coffins draped in black. There were large posters on both sides of the stage in Hebrew and English, one depicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a fanged vampire, another said that if Israel resumed the war, more hostages would come home in coffins.”

Time to take the gloves off and deliver a fatal blow to Hamas.

Third, Ben Shapiro sums it up well:

This is evil. If you side with those who deliberately kidnap babies and hold them for ransom, you are siding with evil. If you demand concessions to those who perform such atrocities, you are siding with evil. From college campuses to the streets of London, from the United Nations to the International Criminal Court, we can see just who sides with evil. And as Israel lays to rest the corpses of the Bibas family, we should be reminded that those who side with evil share its moral consequences.”

Fourth, if you have been following my commentary, you will not be surprised to see that the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia denounced the murders in the strongest terms:

"What we saw today in Gaza is a disgrace to Islam, an act of blasphemy against Allah."

Fifth, a last word from Nicole Lampert, via the Jewish Chronicle:

So, world, what do you think of your “resistance fighters” now?

There they were, masked men handing over the bodies of the Bibas family and Oded Lifshitz, stars of the own sick show. It was monstrous beyond description and should have been recognised for what it was: a tarnish on a world that allowed this to happen.

But they were taking part in live news, given their own chunk of airtime like one side of a “balanced” BBC argument. Here is Hamas, a “legitimate resistance force”, handing over dead babies. Now, cut to the crying Israelis.

Sixth, on the DEI death watch, the new Trump administration policies have now impacted Citibank, reported by Bloomberg:

Citigroup Inc. is ending workplace representation goals and removing requirements to interview job candidates from diverse backgrounds, citing pressure from the Trump administration.

The bank will no longer have “aspirational representation goals” except as required by local law, and abandon a policy for diversity in candidates and interview panels, according to a memo to staff from Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser seen by Bloomberg News.

It will also rename its “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Talent Management” team to “Talent Management and Engagement”, Fraser said.

Seventh, meanwhile free speech is dead or dying in Germany. Nellie Bowles reports for the Free Press:

A Bavarian man had his home raided and tablet confiscated after reposting a meme on X that called the vice chancellor of Germany a “moron.” Court documents read that his post was “punishable as an insult against people of political life” and potentially constituted “incitement of the people.” It’s hard to imagine living in a society where calling a political figure a moron is grounds for arrest. Well, not that hard to imagine. One thinks of Russia, Syria, etc. But Germany?

Eighth, once again some news from Canada. This time, regarding its much vaunted healthcare system, from the Foundation for Economic Education:

In Canada, wait times are unmanageable, access to services is dwindling, and public trust is eroding. Recent data indicate that one in six Canadians lacks a regular family physician, and fewer than half can secure an appointment with a primary care provider within a day or two. This shortage has led to overwhelmed emergency rooms and significant delays in care. In 2023, more than 1.3 million Canadians abandoned emergency room visits due to excessive wait times. Some hospitals have even exceeded 200% capacity, forcing patients into hallways and onto floors.