Reader’s Links for October 18th, 2022

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Here is a link to the VladTepesBlog social media Mastodon Pod. Please feel free to check it out and sign up for an account if you are sufficiently annoyed with Twitter and Facebook to try something new.

Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

69 Replies to “Reader’s Links for October 18th, 2022”

  2. Researchers at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, are facing criticism after merging different forms of the coronavirus to create a highly-lethal version of the disease, according to a new report from the Daily Mail.

    The researchers, who work for Boston University’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, created the “Omicron s-carrying variant” by adding the Omicron variant’s spike protein to the original Wuhan strain of COVID-19. After creating the strain, the scientists infected 10 test mice with the disease. 8 out of 10 of these mice, or, eighty percent, succumbed to the infection.

    For their testing, the researchers also infected another group of mice with the ordinary Omicron variant in an attempt to see how their bodies responded to the strain compared to those infected with the Omicron s-carrying strain. In this experiment, none of the mice infected with the original Omicron variant died.

    https://theinformedyouth.weebly.com/all-articles/boston-university-researchers-create-new-hybrid-covid-19-variant-with-an-80-kill-rate

  3. There’s a new pre-print that came out on the BioRxiv pre-print server on October 14, 2022 entitled: “Role of spike in the pathogenic and antigenic behavior of SARS-CoV-2 BA.1 Omicron”. A bunch of people at the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories of the Boston University Level III lab did the lab work described in this article.

    I have put my current article on hold to write this summary since it dove-tails so beautifully into my next article. Just to give y’all a hint, it is entitled “Phenotypic mixing, tropism enhancement and recombination”.

    What they have done in this work, as described by their own methods and results, is akin to madness. It is akin to madness because as Byram Bridle correctly points out in his own summary of this pre-print article: they basically created and published a recipe for a deadly pathogen (80% mortality rate in the subjects of their experiments) of their own construction in their lab. By the way, this is precisely gain-of-function research. It couldn’t be more descriptive.

    https://jessicar.substack.com/p/this-new-pre-print-pretty-much-summarizes?r=53evw

  4. China is pursuing unification with Taiwan “on a much faster timeline” than previously expected, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

    Beijing had decided the status quo was no longer acceptable, he said.

    In Sunday’s speech opening the Communist party Congress in Beijing, President Xi Jinping refused to rule out using force to unify with Taiwan.

    China sees the self-ruled island as a part of its territory, but Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the mainland.

    Last month US President Joe Biden said US forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack – despite the official US policy of ambiguity on the issue.

    Speaking at an event at Stanford University on Tuesday with previous Secretary Condoleezza Rice, Mr Blinken said that if Beijing could not achieve unification by peaceful means it would use coercion and possibly force.

    “That is what is profoundly disrupting the status quo and creating tremendous tensions,” he said.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63296105

  5. One of China’s most senior UK diplomats was involved in violence against protesters at the Manchester consulate on Sunday, a British MP says.

    “What we saw was the Chinese consul-general then ripping down posters and peaceful protest,” Alicia Kearns told MPs in the House of Commons.

    MPs in Parliament have privilege, allowing them to speak freely without fear of legal action.

    China has not commented on Zheng Xiyuan’s alleged involvement.

    But the foreign ministry in Beijing defended the actions of consulate staff.

    Spokesman Wang Wenbin said people had “illegally entered” the grounds and any country’s diplomats would have taken “necessary measures” to protect their premises.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-63296107

    • I follow this guy also. He’s great at explaining the situation.

      Why would Poland accept only 46% of the money the EU owes them? Money grifting is pervasive in this war and Zelensky and company are very fortunate as they don’t want this conflict to end.

      Ukraine MSM is telling their people that they are winning the war. And more…

  7. Ghislaine Maxwell, imprisoned on charges of sex traffcking and former fling of the late Jeffrey Epstein, himself a convicted sex trafficker, is speaking up about her relationship with former president Bill Clinton.

    While not absolutely tied to the Epstein scandal, Clinton’s past includes notorious affairs and sexual misdeeds. There are also images of Clinton with Epstein and his name was included on the Lolita’s flight log to Little Saint James. What’s more, Jeffrey Epstein visited the White House on at least 17 different occasions.

    Now, Maxwell is admitting that her friendship with Slick Willy was indeed “special.” Speaking to the U.K.’s Daily Mail in an exclusive interview, Maxwell spilled the beans.

    “It was a special friendship, which continued over the years,” Maxwell said of her association with Bill Clinton. No mention was made of Hillary throughout the interview. “We had lots in common. I feel bad that he is another victim, only because of his association with Jeffrey. I understand that he, like others, can no longer consider me as a friend.”

    https://thebluestateconservative.com/2022/10/18/bombshell-ghislaine-maxwell-discusses-her-special-friendship-with-bill-clinton-in-exclusive-interview/

  9. URGENT: CAN WE PLEASE NOT FREAK OUT ABOUT THE CHIMERIC OMICRON EXPERIMENT
    Alex Berenson
    19 hr ago
    530
    451
    In the last 48 hours, people have been screaming about the news that Boston University researchers stuck the Omicron spike into the original Sars-Cov-2 virus –

    and PRODUCED A VIRUS WITH AN 80 PERCENT MORTALITY RATE WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE DIE DIE HOW COULD THEY DO THIS –

    Stop.

    Just stop.

    I read the paper.

    It says the Omicron/wild-type Sars-Cov-2 combination the researchers created is more lethal than Omicron.

    However, it ALSO says the Omicron/wild type virus is LESS lethal than original wild type. Neither of those findings should be a surprise. Omicron is much less dangerous than the original Sars-Cov-2, so blending the two together produces a virus with intermediate lethality.

    What’s with the 80 percent mortality rate then?

    It’s in mice, people.

    And guess what? The wild-type had a 100 PERCENT mortality rate in mice.

    https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/urgent-can-we-please-not-freak-out/comments?r=1pachj

  10. Summary of Putin’s speech and the situation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He also explains the efficacy of the Russian drone missiles.

    • “We do not strive for high rates of advance, we take care of each soldier and methodically grind down the advancing enemy.”

      Sergey Surovikin gave an interview to the TV channel “Russia 24”. The most important of his statements:

      ?The situation in the war zone in Ukraine is tense. The enemy does not abandon attempts to attack the positions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, first of all, this applies to the Kupyansk, Krasnolyman and Nikolaev-Krivoy Rog directions.

      ?There is data on the possibility of Kiev using prohibited methods of war in the Kherson region, preparing a missile strike on the dam of the Kakhiv hydroelectric power station.

      ?Ukrainian regime seeks to break through our defense.

      ?Every day APU lose from 600 to 1000 people killed or wounded.

      ? Further actions in Kherson region will depend on the evolving military-tactical situation. Surovikin stressed that the situation there is difficult, not excluded the adoption of difficult decisions.

  11. twitter @KateTalksTruth

    CDC is trying to quietly include a vote to add the mRNA C•19 vaccine to the annual childhood immunization schedule.

    This vote takes place in 2 days on October 19th. Here’s why this matters:

    + 58 sec video

    https://twitter.com/KateTalksTruth/status/1582112199635783680

    =======================================
    politico – How Bill Gates and partners used their clout to control the global Covid response — with little oversight

    Four health organizations, working closely together, spent almost $10 billion on responding to Covid across the world.

    But they lacked the scrutiny of governments, and fell short of their own goals, a POLITICO and WELT investigation found.

    […]

    https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/14/global-covid-pandemic-response-bill-gates-partners-00053969

    =============================

    Pfizer CEO: Developing other vaccines is ‘the lowest-hanging fruit’

    ( 2 min 29 )

    Albert Bourla discusses the outlook for the mRNA platform and vaccine applications

    • Pfizer CEO talks COVID vaccines, vaccine pricing, mRNA technology, and the company’s future

      ( 14 min 30 )

    • Get vaccinated and boosted! | Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton | October 17, 2022

      The pandemic is not over, and we encourage you to get vaccinated and boosted

      (and to encourage your neighbors to do the same),

      not just for you, but for your family, your community, and your faith.

    • ctv news –PHAC eyeing COVID-19 variant evolution as fall resurgence looms

      OTTAWA – Canada’s chief public health officer says she is preparing for “worst-case scenario” COVID-19 variants, as early signs show a fall resurgence of the virus.

      At the House of Commons health committee, Dr. Theresa Tam says the Public Health Agency of Canada is keeping a careful eye on the evolution of Omicron variants, which are the most common subvariants in the country.

      Tam says in the early days of the pandemic the virus would mutate in all sorts of ways, because there was no immunity from previous infection or vaccines.

      Now, she says, the mutations have been constrained as the virus is pressured to find ways to evade immunity.

      Tam says the worst-case scenario is that variants find a way to sidestep the effectiveness of vaccines and treatment with monoclonal antibodies.

      She says there appears to be a slight uptick recently in people opting to get booster shots, now that they offer protection against more recent strains of the virus.

      https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/phac-eyeing-covid-19-variant-evolution-as-fall-resurgence-looms-1.6114248

      Theresa Tam on the vaccines your kids need

      • Are we supposed to believe that nobody ever told this misfit Covid is not a threat to children.

    • OCTOBER 18 2022 – Trudeau told reporters today that a certain percentage of Canadians need to get their flu and Covid shots in order to avoid more restrictions.

  12. CNN – American mercenaries who fought in Ukraine describe being held by Russian-backed forces

    + comments on the YT page

  13. Yuval Noah Harari on Human Superiority and the Unbelievable Stories We Need | Intelligence Squared

    • How much money does the World Economic Forum pay this little, evil creature? Is his husband also on the payroll?

      He has already told us there is no God.

    • IMF – Central Bank Digital Currencies for Financial Inclusion: Risks and Rewards

      Globally, financial inclusion has improved markedly over the past ten years, but almost a quarter of the world’s adult population remains unbanked—without access to financial services and products.

      And the problem of women’s access persists.

      Fewer women than men have bank accounts and they make up a smaller share of borrowers.
      Multiple barriers, like low-income levels, low trust in financial institutions, and high fees for financial services, can adversely impact access to and use of financial accounts.

      Central bank digital currencies could be designed to be affordable, widely accepted, and a safe instrument, which would address some obstacles to financial inclusion.

      ( 63 min )

      Cecilia Skingsley, head of the Innovation Hub at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), agreed with other speakers who said introducing a CBDC is not a “universal solution” and should instead come together with digital IDs, “in a package.”

      Speakers:

      – Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA)

      – Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, IMF

      – Bo Li, Deputy Managing Director, IMF

      – Cecilia Skingsley, Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, BIS

      – Vera Songwe, Co-chair, High-Level Panel on Climate Finance, and Chair, Liquidity and Sustainability Facility

      – Perry Warjiyo, Governor, Bank Indonesia

      – Moderator: Kathleen Hays, Global Economics and Policy Editor, Bloomberg

      + COMMENTS on THE YT PAGE

  14. One-Third Of Ukraine’s Power Stations Destroyed As WHO Warns Of “Brutal” Winter Ahead
    Tyler Durden’s Photo
    BY TYLER DURDEN
    TUESDAY, OCT 18, 2022 – 09:05 AM
    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Tuesday that up to one-third of all power stations have been attacked by Russian missile and drone strikes over the past week, causing “massive blackouts across the country.”

    He called these ongoing strikes against energy infrastructure “terrorist attacks” and said this means there’s “No space left for negotiations with Putin’s regime,” according a tweet.

    For more than a week Russia has stepped up an aerial bombardment campaign against dozens of cities and towns which has included widespread use of suicide drones. Ukraine and its Western backers suspect these are Iranian-made drones, cause the EU to threaten new sanctions against Tehran on Tuesday.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/one-third-ukraines-power-stations-destroyed-who-warns-brutal-winter-coming

  16. PayPal’s Scheme To Sanction Users For ‘Misinformation’ Tied To Chinese Contractor

    A PayPal worker based in China was the apparent author of a since-rescinded legal document that said the company could deduct thousands of dollars directly from people’s accounts if it deemed that they engaged in “misinformation.”

    Metadata on the PDF file outlining PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy, which outlines a scenario more fitting for the Communist foreign nation, says it was created using Microsoft Word by a contractor in China.

    The contractor’s profile on an internal PayPal directory, a screenshot of which was reviewed by The Daily Wire, describes them as an “outsourced vendor” based in Beijing. It said the contractor has been with the company since September 2020, and has no profile photo.

    PayPal did not respond to questions from The Daily Wire about the origins of the document.

    https://www.dailywire.com/news/paypals-scheme-to-sanction-users-for-misinformation-tied-to-chinese-contractor

  17. Shortly after he got arrested for speaking out at a school board meeting last year, a Texas father filed a grievance with the school board, which finally put that grievance on the agenda for a meeting last Thursday. Yet after the father waited for nearly four hours for the board to give his case a hearing, multiple members publicly recused themselves and the board declared it didn’t have a quorum to hear the issue.

    “This belongs in a communist country, not in America,” Jeremy Story, a father of seven whose children attend or attended public schools in the Round Rock Independent School District, told The Daily Signal on Monday.

    Story told The Daily Signal that the Round Rock school board dismissed his grievance in order to silence his concerns. Board President Amber Feller denied any such intention in her own remarks to The Daily Signal.

    https://newrightnetwork.com/2022/10/texas-dad-arrested-for-speaking-out-at-school-board-meeting-waits-hours-for-hearing-only-to-be-denied-yet-again.html

  18. Australia on Tuesday reversed a decision of the previous government to recognise west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, saying the status of the city should be resolved through peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people.

    Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said Australia “will always be a steadfast friend of Israel” and was committed to a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestine coexist in peace within internationally recognised borders.

    The government “recommits Australia to international efforts in the responsible pursuit of progress towards a just and enduring two-state solution”, she said in a statement.

    Israel’s Foreign Ministry voiced “deep disappointment” with the decision and said it would summon the Australian ambassador.

    https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20221018-australia-reverses-decision-to-recognise-west-jerusalem-as-israel-s-capital

  20. EU news websites: ‘Pay us or we’ll track you’

    Some leading websites in Europe are giving users the option to pay a monthly subscription to avoid tracking cookies. The option, dubbed “cookie paywall,” could make surfing the internet very expensive for those who want privacy.

    Websites say they are introducing cookie paywalls so that they can comply with the EU’s strict privacy law, the GDPR, and still remain profitable. The General Data Protection Regulation, requires websites to get consent before tracking users. It requires consent to be given freely, but regulators in France and Austria have concluded that cookie paywalls are not illegal.

    https://reclaimthenet.org/eu-news-websites-pay-us-or-well-track-you/

  23. EU tables ‘dynamic price limit’ for gas, new solidarity measures in energy crisis

    The European Commission put forward proposals on Tuesday (18 October) to introduce a dynamic price ceiling for gas imported in the EU, but left the details of how this should be done for later, saying it first needs input from member states, who are still divided on the matter.

    The latest energy crisis measures coming from Brussels include a temporary “maximum dynamic price” on trades at the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) gas hub in the Netherlands, which serves as a benchmark price for gas trading in Europe.

    The upper price limit, which is still to be defined, would be temporary until the EU puts together a new price index to complement the TTF which better reflects the growing importance of liquified natural gas (LNG) on the EU market.

    The aim is to have the new LNG price index “ready by March” in time for the next storage filling season, a senior EU official explained.

    Tuesday’s plan also includes proposals to have at least 15% of the bloc’s gas storage filled by joint purchases ahead of Spring 2023 and a mandatory solidarity mechanism for gas sharing between EU countries during times of emergency.

    “By taking measures now and developing the tools to buy gas together instead of outbidding each other, we can again head into the next heating season with enough gas in storage,” said Frans Timmermans, Commission President in charge of the Green Deal.

    Tense talks ahead on price ceiling
    Details of how the price ceiling would apply still need to be discussed, however, the Commission indicated, saying it will flesh out proposals in the coming weeks, after discussions between EU member states.

    “That would have to be dynamic, because it relates to the global market but it would set that upper level in relation to TTF and other indexes,” a senior EU official explained, refusing to speculate on the price range.

    EU heads of states will meet on Thursday and Friday to discuss emergency measures to lower energy bills for households and businesses.

    But they are still at odds on how to do it, with 15 EU countries calling for a cap on wholesale gas prices and others like Germany and the Netherlands warning that price caps risk cutting Europe from global gas markets.

    A meeting of energy ministers, scheduled on 25 October, is expected to provide the Commission with further guidance on the way forward.

    As things stand, the Commission seems to share the worries of Germany and the Netherlands. At a press briefing on Tuesday, officials said they had ruled out an EU-wide price cap on gas used for electricity generation, which is currently in force in Portugal and Spain.

    “We are ready to discuss that and explore the feasibility of doing it at European level,” the senior EU official explained. However, there are “a number of open questions and issues that require further investigation” before such a mechanism can be extended EU-wide, the official added.

    The risk, according to the Commission, is that the price cap pushes up gas demand further, and acts as a subsidy for cheap electricity exports to countries that don’t have such a mechanism in place.

    https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/eu-tables-dynamic-price-limit-for-gas-new-solidarity-measures-in-energy-crisis/

    ========================================

    EU Seeks End To Energy Price Spat With New Proposals

    The European Commission on Tuesday unveiled its latest proposals to rein in skyrocketing EU energy prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Moscow’s decision to cut off Europe’s gas supply.

    As winter approaches, the EU’s executive has been under intense pressure to tackle soaring heating bills for household and businesses, with some member countries loudly calling for an immediate gas price cap.

    The commission’s latest plan does not include the price cap given the opposition of Germany, which fears scaring off alternative suppliers that have stepped in to replace Russia as the bloc’s main source of gas.

    The commission’s proposals will be taken up at a summit of EU leaders on Thursday. Diplomats warned that the discussions would be difficult due to a lack of ambition perceived by member states that still want a more direct answer to high prices.

    A large group of EU countries, led by Italy, have pushed hard for some form of price cap on gas imports and vented frustration against Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, over its 200-billion-euro ($197-billion) plan to help Germans meet the high prices.

    “As soon as the (EU leaders) agree on these principles, we will flesh them out …. to make it operational,” said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.

    Von der Leyen, a former German defence minister, said the main emphasis would be on joint purchasing among EU countries in order to better command lower prices to refill gas reserves.

    “We know that Europe’s energy demand is very large so it is logical that instead of outbidding each other, member states and the energy companies should leverage their joint purchasing power,” von der Leyen told reporters.

    The commission now wants to negotiate joint deals with “reliable” producers excluding Russia by bringing together EU energy giants in a consortium of buyers.

    The commission also wants to launch a new natural gas index as an alternative to the existing one that is largely based on pipeline gas from Russia.

    While awaiting the new index, the commission proposed to install “dynamic” pricing on the existing one that would limit big fluctuations.

    The EU leaders are expected to approve the proposals during a summit session on Thursday, but leave it to energy ministers to hammer out the details over the coming weeks.

    https://www.barrons.com/articles/eu-seeks-end-to-energy-price-spat-with-new-proposals-01666108207

    =============================================
    Press conference by President von der Leyen & Commissioners Simson & McGuinness – Energy Package

    • europravda – Ursula von der Leyen presents first-ever EU cap to curb excessive gas prices

      The new measures also include joint purchases of gas and automatic solidarity rules to cope with potential shortages.

  25. UPDATE: Biden Regime Sends Out Request to Volunteers from ALL GOVT. AGENCIES to Help with Menial Labor at Open Southern Border — HIDE THIS FROM AMERICAN PUBLIC
    By Jim Hoft
    Published October 18, 2022 at 12:00pm
    Comment

    It’s worse than we thought.

    on Monday TGP reported the US military is looking for volunteers to travel to the open US border with Mexico and run errands and clean homes for illegal aliens.
    The volunteers will be assigned to menial work for 60-day deployments.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/10/update-biden-regime-sends-request-volunteers-govt-agencies-help-menial-labor-open-southern-border-hide-american-public/

  27. Dr. Jill Vets Joe Biden’s Staffers, Rages at Aides, Limits Her Husband’s Public Appearances
    By Cristina Laila
    Published October 18, 2022 at 11:43am
    296 Comments
    Dr. Jill, Joe Biden’s nurse and handler, vets her husband’s staffers and rages at aides, according to a new report by The New York Times

    Jill Biden also limits her invalid husband’s public appearances to avoid gaffes and ‘senior’ moments because Joe Biden has dementia.

    Advertisement – story

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/10/dr-jill-vets-joe-bidens-staffers-rages-aides-limits-husbands-public-appearances/

  30. Lt. Col. Dr. Theresa Long, MD: “Hell No” to Any COVID-19 Vax, Lt. Col. Theresa Long is a Medical Doctor at Fort Rucker who is one of the U.S. Army’s top Flight Surgeons and an expert on public health. + Source 1, Source 2 links
    Dr. Paul Alexander – August 14, 2022
    https://palexander.substack.com/p/lt-col-dr-theresa-long-md-hell-no

    And Now Source 3:
    Army LtCol Theresa Long MD – Full Testimony 09/17/22
    https://rumble.com/v1lbl6l-army-ltcol-theresa-long-md-full-testimony.html

  31. ( funny, they forgot some words …like … migrant …Muslim… Somali …)

    DEUTSCHE PRAVDA – Two killed in knife attack in German city of Ludwigshafen

    The suspected perpetrator of the attack was injured by gunfire from police before his arrest.

    The motive behind the incident is still unclear, with authorities carrying out an investigation.

    At least two people were killed and one person was severely injured in a knife attack in the western German city of Ludwigshafen on Tuesday, a police spokesperson in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate said.

    The suspected perpetrator of the attack was injured from police gunfire before his arrest. He was taken to the hospital after he was brought into custody.

    The motives behind the attack in the neighborhood of Oggersheim are still unclear and a wide-ranging investigation is behind carried out, the spokesperson added.

    “There is no current danger to the public,” the spokesperson said. “We are currently collecting secure information and will report in a timely manner on the current status of investigations.”

    https://www.dw.com/en/germany-2-killed-in-knife-attack-in-ludwigshafen/a-63479124

    ======================================

    the local – Two killed in knife assault in Germany

    Two people were killed on Tuesday and one person was seriously injured in a stabbing assault in western Germany, police said, adding that the perpetrator was in custody.

    The motive was unclear, said police of the incident in the city of Ludwigshafen in Rhineland-Palatinate.

    Officers had fired shots at the suspect before arresting him, a police spokeswoman said.

    First accounts indicated that “an individual had attacked another with a knife”, said police in a statement.

    The crime scene in the Oggersheim area has been cordoned off and there is no danger to the public, they added.

    Germany has been hit in recent years by deadly knife attacks, some carried out by extremists and others by people suffering from serious psychological problems.

    https://www.thelocal.de/20221018/two-killed-in-knife-assault-in-germany/

    ============================================