#49: BIDENS IMPLICATED IN ROMANIAN CORRUPTION SCANDAL
Macron defends artwork accused of promoting pedophilia + Germany prohibits transwomen from dodging military service + Brazil's Lula demands release of Julian Assange + MORE!
ROMANIAN CORRUPTION SCANDAL IMPLICATES BIDENS
At a press conference on Wednesday, the US House of Representatives’ oversight committee Republicans alleged that US President Joe Biden received money from a Romanian businessman, Gabriel “Puiu” Popoviciu, who was found guilty of bribery charges six years ago.
They also disclosed a document of 36 pages, which demonstrates that Bladon Enterprises, Popoviciu’s company, sent payments amounting to three million dollars over two and a half years to Robinson Walker LLC, a business partner of the president’s son, Hunter Biden.
The Romanian payment matches a similar sum of around three million dollars, which came from the Chinese firm CEFC China Energy in early 2017, and a third of it was shared among Hunter, Hallie and other relatives of the Biden family.
Past reports also indicate that Hunter Biden had attempted to intervene on behalf of Popoviciu when he was facing the charges.
MACRON CONDEMNS VANDALISM OF ART ACCUSED OF PROMOTING PEDOPHILIA
French President Emmanuel Macron recently denounced the vandalism of a painting by artist Miriam Cahn at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, calling it an attack on freedom of expression and cultural creation.
The painting, titled “Fuck abstraction!”, was sprayed with paint on Sunday by an elderly man who claimed to be offended by its depiction of a child and an adult in a sexual act. The man was arrested by security guards and taken into police custody.
“On May 8, when we celebrate the victory of freedom, I condemn yesterday's vandalism at the Palais de Tokyo. Attacking work is attacking our values. In France, art is always free and respect for cultural creation is guaranteed,” tweeted Macron.
"The perpetrator of the spray-paint attack, described as elderly according to a source close to the case, was 'unsatisfied with the sexual image of a child and an adult depicted in the painting,'“ reports claimed.
The painting, which is part of a retrospective of Cahn’s work that runs until May 14, has been the target of controversy and legal action by children’s rights activists who accused it of promoting pedophilia.
It depicts a figure receiving fellatio from what looks like a child.
However, Cahn and the museum have explained that the painting was a protest against war crimes and human rights violations in Ukraine.
France’s Supreme Court ruled in April that the painting could remain on display after a legal challenge by a children’s lawyers group.
GERMAN LAW PROHIBITS TRANS WOMEN FROM DODGING DRAFT
Germany’s proposed “Self-Determination Act,” which would allow people to change their legal gender and name without the need for surgery or expert reports, has sparked controversy over its implications for military conscription.
The act, is intended to provide uniform treatment for transgender, intersex, and non-binary people who want to change their gender and name at will.
Under the act, adults would be able to declare their change at a registry office, while children aged 14 and over would need permission from their parents or legal guardians.
However, the law has come with a few surprises for the LGBT community, including a prohibition on identifying as a woman in order to avoid military conscription.
Additionally, the law allows spa and sauna operators to deny trans women access in order to take into “account the natural need for protection of privacy and fear of sexual harassment.”
FRANCE TO ENFORCE GENDER PROPAGANDA FOR 3 YEAR OLDS
France’s Center for Information on Women’s Rights (CIDFF) has announced that it will distribute a package of teaching aids on deconstructing gender stereotypes for 3 to 6 year olds across the country.
The package, which was developed in collaboration with other government bodies consists of books, posters, games, and videos that aim to challenge the traditional notions of masculinity and femininity and promote diversity and inclusion.
"(It’s about) deconstructing gender stereotypes, educating children about equality, promoting living together and respect for others,” claimed CIDFF director Karine Bonne.
However, the package has also faced criticism from conservative groups and some parents who argue that it is inappropriate and harmful for 3 year olds to be exposed to such topics. They say that the package will confuse and indoctrinate children and undermine their natural development.
Another “learning trunk” has been prepared for 7 to 10 year olds on the same subject.
BRAZIL’S LULA CRITICIZES U.S FOR ASSANGE IMPRISONMENT
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has criticized the US and the UK for their treatment of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who faces being extradited to America for charges under the Espionage Act.
While attending the coronation of King Charles III, Lula said he was embarrassed that a journalist who exposed was arrested and condemned to die in jail, while the press does nothing to defend him.
“It is a shame that Assange, a journalist who denounced fraud by one state against another, is in prison and we do nothing to free him,” tweeted Lula on May 6.
“I think there needs to be a worldwide press movement in defense of his freedom, but also the freedom to denounce things.”
Lula himself has faced his share of criticism for clamping down on press freedom. Journalist Glenn Greenwald criticized the president for being in cahoots with the corporate media in Brazil.
“Lula, today in the UK for that laughable pageant, denounces the US and UK for one of the world's most severe attacks on press freedom: Assange. In Brazil, Lula's party is joined with the largest media corporations in support of an internet censorship law. But this is strong,” tweeted Greenwald.
