Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A federal appeals court ruled on March 3 against Amish people who challenged New York state’s repeal of religious exemptions to school vaccination requirements.

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concluded that the Amish did not show violations of their constitutional rights.

The law enacting the repeal “is neutral on its face” and “does not target or affirmatively prohibit religious practices,” the unanimous panel said in a per curiam ruling. “The law simply applies New York’s school immunization requirements to all schoolchildren who do not qualify for the law’s medical exemption.”

The panel consisted of U.S. Circuit Judges Jose Cabranes, Eunice Lee, and Richard Wesley.

For years, New York allowed religious exemptions to school vaccination requirements, which include vaccination for measles, polio, and pertussis.

Lawmakers approved an amendment to the state’s public health law in 2019 following a measles outbreak that spread partly among unvaccinated children. The amendment removed the ability to seek and receive a religious exemption. Now, only a medical exemption is available, provided that a doctor certifies that a vaccine “may be detrimental to a child’s health.”

Amish parents and schools sued New York state in 2023, alleging that the repeal of the religious exemption violated their constitutional rights, including their First Amendment right to free expression.

U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford ruled against the plaintiffs in 2024. She pointed to a Second Circuit decision that upheld Connecticut’s law pertaining to vaccination requirements for schoolchildren, which, she wrote, “ is not materially different from New York’s.” The Second Circuit ruled that not allowing religious exemptions to school vaccine mandates was a reasonable way to protect public health.

“However colorable Plaintiffs’ claims may have been at the outset of this action, this Court is bound by the Second Circuit’s intervening decision,” Wolford said.

In their appeal, the Amish argued that the law was motivated by discrimination, pointing to statements made by lawmakers.

The Second Circuit judges disagreed.

The judges said that while a small number of legislators may have offered such statements, the Amish did not show that a sizable portion of legislators held those views. Instead, many legislators put forth statements in support of religious freedom, and about 40 percent of each legislative chamber voted against the repeal.

The judges also rejected arguments that the medical exemption to the vaccination requirements means that New York state is treating secular conduct more favorably than religious beliefs. They said the medical exemption is more narrow because it requires a doctor’s determination that a specific vaccine would be detrimental to a child’s health, and it must be reissued on an annual basis. The religious exemption covered the duration of a child’s time in school and applied to all required vaccines.

“The religious exemption’s sweep had a far greater ability to undermine the State’s interest in preventing the spread of disease,” they said.

Elon Musk revealed on a recent Joe Rogan podcast that SpaceX offered to rescue the stranded Boeing Starliner astronauts on the International Space Station last year, but the Biden administration rejected the offer “for political reasons.” Musk claimed, “There is no way they’re going to make anyone supporting Trump look good” ahead of the November presidential elections. 

“We offered to bring them back early – this offer was rejected by the Biden administration”0

Joe: “Why?”

Elon: “Political reasons. There is no way they’re going to make someone supporting Trump look good.”pic.twitter.com/QXVbpDPgKr

— Donna Marie (@sabback) March 6, 2025

Fast forward to Tuesday, a Washington Post journalist asked the stranded astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, if the Biden administration rejected Musk’s space rescue offer ahead of the election.

Wilmore responded: “I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says is absolutely factual…” He noted that the exact reasons behind the offer being rejected were unknown to him or Williams. 

… and the WaPo journalist was crushed by Wilmore’s response, validating Musk’s claims. 

NEW: Astronaut says Elon Musk is “absolutely factual” after a WaPo reporter asked him about how Musk said his rescue efforts were denied for political reasons.

Musk was condemned by the media for making the comment but it appears the astronauts agree.

Reporter: “Elon Musk has… pic.twitter.com/Qeb8sF8gnT

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 6, 2025

The big revelation by Wilmore, plus Musk’s comments, paints the Biden-Harris administration as reckless for jeopardizing the lives of two of America’s top astronauts. 

Musk commented about this on X:

The astronauts were only supposed to be up there for 8 days and now have been there for 8 months. SpaceX could have sent up another Dragon and brought them home 6 months ago, but the Biden White House (not NASA) refused to allow it. President Trump asked to bring them back as soon as possible and we are doing so.

The astronauts were only supposed to be up there for 8 days and now have been there for 8 months.

SpaceX could have sent up another Dragon and brought them home 6 months ago, but the Biden White House (not NASA) refused to allow it.

President Trump asked to bring them back as… https://t.co/BVsHRn2Ocf

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2025

Bill Ackman chimed in on the conversation:

So not only did Biden not invite @elonmusk to the White House EV summit, Biden would not let Elon retrieve the astronauts from the Space Station. When a president puts our astronauts at risk for his own political benefit, we have reached a new low point in presidential history.

Once again, the Biden-Harris regime stands accused of prioritizing a corrupt political party first over national well-being, this time at the expense of two astronauts who have remained in space for 7.5 months longer than initially anticipated. 

We could see this playing out a mile away. We said last August:  “Additionally, it’s an election year for the Biden administration, which has been on a crusade against Trump and his supporters, but also is very anti-Musk. Any rescue mission by SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is undesirable news flow for Democrats.” 

A Rhode Island US District Judge has indefinitely blocked President Trump’s freeze on federal grants and loans, arguing in his ruling that the White House had “put itself above Congress” and undermined democracy.

In a Thursday ruling, Judge John McConnell Jr., an Obama appointee – prohibited the Trump administration from freezing or otherwise impeding the disbursement of appropriated federal funds, WSJ reports.

The decision is a victory for Trump critics who say he has trampled on Congress’s authority in his effort to cut federal spending and overhaul agencies.

McConnell’s order follows a similar one issued by a different federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25. The judge had previously issued a temporary restraining order, which on Thursday he converted into an injunction, a more permanent form of relief.

“The Executive’s categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government,” wrote McConnell.

“Here, the Executive put itself above Congress,” he continued. “It imposed a categorical mandate on the spending of congressionally appropriated and obligated funds without regard to Congress’s authority to control spending.”

McConnell’s ruling came after 22 Democrat states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit which challenged a directive from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directing them to pause funding while it assessed whether various government programs complied with executive orders issued by Trump which target foreign aid, DEI, and green energy projects.

While OMB then rescinded that directive, the states say that come Congressionally-approved funds were still being improperly withheld – and that the initial OMB policy rollout sowed confusion among state governments, nonprofits, and lawmakers.

McConnell issued an earlier temporary restraining order (TRO), in which he said that the administration couldn’t “pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate” its federal financial-assistance obligations to the states.

According to the judge, state governments face “significant disruption in health, education, and other public services” due to the funding freeze, and as such, “the Court finds that the public interest lies in maintaining the status quo and enjoining any categorical funding freeze.”

Developing…

Update (1130ET): President Trump has confirmed what Howard Lutnick hinted at earlier. In a Truth Social post, Trump noted that Mexico ()not Canada) will be exampt from tariffs on USMCA-compliant goods until April 2nd…

After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement. 

This Agreement is until April 2nd. 

I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum. 

Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl. 

Thank you to President Sheinbaum for your hard work and cooperation!

Sheinbaum replied, thanking the US president:

The peso surged up to two-wekek highs…

What happens on April 3rd?

As a reminder, we are at a critical level on the Trump Tariff 1.0 analog…

Will it be different this time?

*  *  *

US equity markets are rebounding off yesterday’s lows following remarks by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on CNBC that raise the potential fdor exemptions for any goods that are USMCA-compliant:

Trump will decide Thursday on the scope of a one-month exemption on 25% tariffs imposed this month on the US’s two largest trading partners, Lutnick said in an interview with CNBC.

“I think it’s likely it will cover all USMCA-compliant goods and services,” he said.

This comes on the day when the trade balance data shows a record trade deficit overall (as imports surged to front-run tariffs)…

Lutnick said he and Trump would be speaking with their Mexican counterparts later Thursday and that both Mexico and Canada “offered us an enormous amount of work on fentanyl.”

The knee-jerk reaction was positive – erasing around half of this morning’s selloff…

The question is – will these be temporary exemptions… or will Trump change his mind again?

Authored by Jennifer Kabbany via The College Fix,

President Donald Trump has drafted an executive order calling for the U.S. Department of Education to be shut down, The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday, citing unnamed “people briefed on the matter.”

A draft of the order “directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to ‘take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department’ based on ‘the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law,’” the Journal reported.

McMahon, during her confirmation hearing last month, had stopped short of saying she would shut the department down, arguing that takes an act of Congress.

However, McMahon told staff in an email Monday — the same day she was confirmed by the Senate — that “Trump and the American voters had ‘tasked us with accomplishing the elimination of the bureaucratic bloat here at the Education Department—a momentous final mission—quickly and responsibly,’” the Journal reported, adding:

Fully unwinding the department would require a filibuster-proof, 60-vote majority in the Senate, legal experts have said. The major programs it administers—including money for students with disabilities and student loans—are codified in law and have significant political constituencies. The draft order doesn’t mention Congress. …

With around 4,500 employees as of last year, the department is the smallest cabinet-level agency. Polls show most Americans are skeptical of eliminating the department, and Democrats have rallied in opposition to the idea.

The federal agency began in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter and currently has an annual budget of about $80 billion.

The department is in charge of, among other things, financial aid and student loans for college students, career and vocational education funding, Title IX regulations and oversight, and the Office for Civil Rights. It also maintains massive data records on all schools in the nation.

The department’s federal student loan portfolio amounts to approximately $1.6 trillion in student loan debt, and it is also responsible for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, program.

Conservatives in Washington D.C. have argued that the federal student loan programs could be moved to the Treasury Department.

McMahon, at her confirmation hearing, said the Office for Civil Rights could be moved to the Justice Department and disabilities support to the Department of Health and Human Services.

As The College Fix previously reported, the Trump team has already taken major steps in the last six weeks to purge the agency of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and employees.

For readers of independent media – or anyone who’s been paying any level of attention for that matter – this is nothing new, but this week marked the first time a sitting US Secretary of State Described the Ukraine-Russia conflict as a proxy war.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a Wednesday interview with Fox News described that “It’s been very clear from the beginning that [President Donald Trump] views this as a protracted, stalemated conflict.”

“And frankly, it’s a proxy war between nuclear powers – the United States, helping Ukraine, and Russia – and it needs to come to an end,” he followed with.

🇺🇸🇷🇺🇺🇦 Rubio just admitted the Ukraine war is a proxy war.

Funny how that used to be called “Russian propaganda,” huh? pic.twitter.com/T5y1bRtUfF

— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) March 6, 2025

He was defending the White House’s ongoing talks and pursuit of a rapid peace deal with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. He also urged others not to sabotage the process, including the Ukrainians.

“President Zelenskyy unfortunately made the decision to challenge the Vice President and start questioning whether diplomacy is even possible; in essence, sabotaging and undermining the President’s plan,” Rubio described of last Friday’s visit to the White House of the Ukrainian leader.

Days prior to this interview, Rubio similarly told ABC he hopes for a ‘reset’ with Moscow. “We have to bring [Russia] to the table. You’re not going to bring them to the table if you’re calling them names, if you’re being antagonistic. That’s just the president’s instincts from years and years and years of putting together deals,” Rubio argued.

Before being tapped as Trump’s top global diplomat, Rubio’s rhetoric was much more hawkish on Russia and Putin, but he’s quickly got on board the president’s plan for peace.

The Kremlin on Thursday responded to Rubio identifying the proxy war nature of the conflict, pointing to a war involving the whole of the Western allies.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “We can and want to agree with it, and we agree with it. That’s the way it is. We have said this repeatedly. We have said that this is actually a conflict between Russia and the collective West. And the main country of the collective West is the United States of America.”

Peskov added, “So it is absolutely in line with the position that our president and foreign minister have repeatedly expressed. We have said this repeatedly, and yes, we agree that it is time to stop this conflict and this war.”

While not widely acknowledged early in the conflict, the Western mainstream media has in the last year belatedly began covering this proxy war side of it, including the CIA’s covert role even going years prior to 2022.

Last year the NY Times documented a major US program was established a decade ago which three different American presidents. The Times said the CIA program to modernize Ukraine’s intelligence services had “transformed” the former Soviet state and its capabilities into “Washington’s most important intelligence partners against the Kremlin today.”

This included the agency having secretly trained and equipped Ukrainian intelligence officers spanning back to just after the 2014 Maidan coup events, as well constructing a network of 12 secret bases along the Russian border—work which began over eight years ago. 

These intelligence bases, from which Russian commanders’ communications can be swept up and Russian spy satellites monitored, are still being used launch and track cross-border drone and missile attacks on Russian territory. That is, perhaps until this week, as Trump has ordered a halt to intelligence-sharing with Kiev amid worsening relations and a spat with Zelensky, who has been resistant to signing the minerals deal.

The US trade deficit widened to a record in January as companies scrambled to secure goods from overseas before President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on America’s largest trading partners.

The gap in goods and services trade widened 34% from the prior month to $131.4 billion, Commerce Department data showed Thursday. The deficit was larger than all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Source: Bloomberg

The value of imports rose 10% to a record $401.2 billion, while exports increased 1.2%. The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation.

Canada’s trade surplus with the US jumped to a record at the start of the year, driven by exports of cars, auto parts and oil, separate data from Statistics Canada showed Thursday.

But, perhaps most notably, the January flurry of imports was broad and included a surge in inbound shipments of industrial supplies and materials. 

Within that category, imports of finished metal shapes that include gold bullion jumped $20.5 billion, marking a a second month of steep increases.

For an even clearer picture of the magnitude of the shift in bullion imports, we note that the Swiss trade deficit (where all that bullion is coming from) rocketed higher (an order of magnitude from historical norms)…

As we detailed here, while everyone has been distracted by talk of the tariff-driven arbitrage between COMEX and LBMA (London)…

Nothing stops the gold train.

And there it is: gold parked at comex vaults just hit an all time high of 39.7mm oz, surpassing the post-covid panic high…. and instead of slowing down, deliveries are again accelerating! Every day, the big bank shorts get closer to default. https://t.co/QbudVZepTk pic.twitter.com/u9Ijgm5Ati

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 6, 2025

…it appears Americans have been buying bullion direct from the Swiss.

Dear Switzerland, thank you for the gold avalanche. Oh, and all those who incorrectly claimed the physical gold scramble is just “tariff arbing” London and New York, good luck quietly deleting your posts pic.twitter.com/89rhAz7ECT

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 6, 2025

Obviously, by pure math, this is not good at all for Q1 GDP (as we already saw The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNOW forecast crashing). However, complaining about a decline in GDP due to massive imports of precious metals seems ironic at the very least. 

Liesman explaining why soaring gold imports hit GDP lower by 3-4%

Discussed here three days agohttps://t.co/Un8ObwxdJB

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 6, 2025

Furthermore, with tariffs now in place, the ‘front-running’ is over and the trade balances (imports) will adjust accordingly.

While the ECB’s rate cut this morning was not in doubt by anyone, and the ECB did not disappoint, cutting rates for the 6th time in a row by 25bps across the board (Deposit rate to 2.5% from 2.75%; Refinancing Rate to 2.65% from 2.90%, marginal lending to 2.60% from 2.85%)…

…. what everyone was focusing on was whether the ECB would use the word “restrictive” in the statement. And while it did use it, here is what it said: “Monetary policy is becoming meaningfully less restrictive, as the interest rate cuts are making new borrowing less expensive for firms and households and loan growth is picking up.” True, but one wonders just how restrictive fiscal policy is becoming now that European interest rates are exploding higher at the fastest pace since covid, we’ll find out soon enough. The ECB also said that “a headwind to the easing of financing conditions comes from past interest rate hikes still transmitting to the stock of credit, and lending remains subdued overall.” As a result, the economy faces continued challenges “and staff have again marked down their growth projections – to 0.9% for 2025, 1.2% for 2026 and 1.3% for 2027. The downward revisions for 2025 and 2026 reflect lower exports and ongoing weakness in investment, in part originating from high trade policy uncertainty as well as broader policy uncertainty.” Meanwhile, rising real incomes and the gradually fading effects of past rate hikes remain the key drivers underpinning the expected pick-up in demand over time.

Commenting on its policy stance, the ECB said the following:

• Monetary policy is becoming meaningfully less restrictive (previously it said “monetary policy remains restrictive”)
• ECB will follow a data-dependent and meeting-by-meeting approach to determining the appropriate monetary policy stance.
• In particular, rate decisions will be based on its assessment of the inflation outlook in light of the incoming economic and financial data, the dynamics of underlying inflation and the strength of monetary policy transmission.
• Governing Council is not pre-committing to a particular rate path.

And here is what it said about inflation:

• Governing Council is determined to ensure that inflation stabilises sustainably at its 2% medium-term target, especially in current conditions of rising uncertainty.
• Domestic inflation remains high, mostly because wages and prices in certain sectors are still adjusting to the past inflation surge with a substantial delay.  
• But wage growth is moderating as expected, and profits are partially buffering the impact on inflation.

The ECB delivered the following forecast, cutting 2025 and 2026 GDP, lowering 2025 core inflation while raising 2025 headline inflation. Here are the details starting with HICP inflation:

• 2025: 2.3% (prev. 2.1%)
• 2026: 1.9% (prev. 1.9%)
• 2027: 2.0% (prev. 2.1%)

HICP Core inflation (ex-energy and food)

• 2025: 2.2% (prev. 2.3%)
• 2026: 2.0% (prev. 1.9%)
• 2027: 1.9% (prev. 1.9%)

GDP:

• 2025: 0.9% (prev. 1.1%)
• 2026: 1.2% (prev. 1.4%)
• 2027: 1.3% (prev. 1.3%)

And the visual summary for inflation:

This is what the ECB said about inflation:

Most measures of underlying inflation suggest that inflation will settle at around the Governing Council’s 2% medium-term target on a sustained basis. Domestic inflation remains high, mostly because wages and prices in certain sectors are still adjusting to the past inflation surge with a substantial delay. But wage growth is moderating as expected, and profits are partially buffering the impact on inflation.

Aside from a modest kneejerk reaction, the market was not surprise: as expected and priced, the ECB cut its policy rates by 25bps taking the deposit rate to 2.50% but as noted above, the most pertinent update was the adjustment to language around restrictiveness, with the ECB now saying “monetary policy is becoming meaningfully less restrictive” (prev. “monetary policy remains restrictive”), a tweak which some say opens the door to a pause in the easing cycle, something the likes of Schnabel have flagged in recent weeks, hence the initial hawkish reaction which sent the EURUSD to session highs of 1.082

Given this, traders will be keenly awaiting the press conference from Lagarde for insight into the discussion around the future path for policy, the statement itself maintained a data-dependent and meeting- by-meeting approach.

Today’s statement aside, also look for Lagarde’s views on the recent German fiscal announcements, EU proposals/reports and the significant market reaction to these events and what impact Lagarde thinks it has on their path ahead.

One thing is certain: monetary policy may be becoming “meaningfully less restrictive” but the explosive move higher in yields across Europe just made fiscal policy the most restrictive it has been in years.

Despite strong employment indications from the US PMI sub-components, ADP was a disappointment yesterday, and this morning saw global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas report that U.S.-based employers announced 172,017 job cuts in February, the highest total for the month since 2009 when 186,350 job cuts were recorded. 

Source: Bloomberg

It is the highest monthly total since July 2020 when 262,649 cuts were announced.

“Private companies announced plans to shed thousands of jobs last month, particularly in Retail and Technology. With the impact of the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] actions, as well as canceled Government contracts, fear of trade wars, and bankruptcies, job cuts soared in February,“ said Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President and workplace expert for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The Government led all sectors in job cuts in February. Challenger tracked 62,242 announced job cuts by the Federal Government from 17 different agencies last month. So far this year, the Government has cut 62,530, an increase of 41,311% from the 151 cuts announced through February 2024.

Retailers followed with 38,956 job cut plans for a total of 45,375. This is a 572% increase from the 6,751 Retail job cuts announced in the first two months of 2024.

So far this year, the East region has experienced a steep increase in job cuts, primarily due to the cuts recorded for Federal Agencies. The East experienced a 109% year-over-year increase from 51,186 to 107,109. The District of Columbia saw the largest increase from 60 in 2024 to 61,795 in 2025.

Source: Bloomberg

In fact, Challenger, Gray, & Christmas report that “DOGE Impact” leads job cut reasons this year and was attributed to 63,583 layoffs, both directly to the Federal workforce and to contractors.

None of which should be a surprise, but when we look at the government-supplied data, things look a little different?

The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the first time slowed last week…

Source: Bloomberg

Adding to that peculiarity, jobless claims in the DC area fell last week??

Source: Bloomberg

But New York saw initial jobless claims explode higher…

However, year-to-date, DC dominates the rise in jobless claimants…

Continuing Jobless Claims rose back up near 1.9 million Americans…

Source: Bloomberg

Given the number of lawsuits desperately trying to slow/delay the firing of government workers (we use that term loosely), we would expect to se the number of initial claims in DC (and therefore the nation) accelerate further in coming weeks as ‘judges’ are forced to allow Trump and Musk to do what ‘we, the people’ asked them to do…

At least three Serbian MPs were injured in a chaotic incident wherein opposition Leftists threw smoke grenades inside the country’s parliament on Tuesday.

“Serbia is rising up for the regime to fall,” read a banner which was unfurled on the chamber floor amid the mayhem. The dangerous action was supposedly in protest against the government under President Aleksandar Vučić and support of demonstrating students on the streets in major cities.

There were several injuries, including one member of parliament who suffered a stroke during the scuffle, which saw politicians clashing with security guards and with each other. The lawmaker was said to be in critical condition.

The law which was about to be voted on before the smoke bombs went off would have increased funding for university education, and the opposition charged that the ruling majority was going to use this to ram down several controversial new laws.

“We believe that only one item can be on the agenda, and that is the fulfillment of the student demands,” Radomir Lazovic from the Green-Left Front stated in front of parliament.

Regional media describes that this was jut the latest in months of raging student-led anti-Vucic protests:

Mass protests sparked by the Novi Sad railway station disaster in November, which left 15 people dead, have continued for three months. Protesters say the disaster highlighted official corruption and the government’s disdain for the population.

The ongoing protests represent the most powerful challenge to President Aleksandar Vucic’s rule since he came to power, and have already claimed the resignations of several senior officials.

JUST IN: 🇷🇸 Chaos in Serbian parliament as opposition sets off smoke grenades and tear gas to protest against the government. pic.twitter.com/DBtOluCmSU

— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) March 4, 2025

Serbia is another one of those East-West fault line countries in which Europe and NATO would like to see a government which moves away from friendly relations with Russia under Vladimir Putin.

“This is just a Tuesday in a Balkan parliament, shall we continue?” Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin said in the aftermath of the scuffle.

More scenes from the Tuesday effort to disrupt parliamentary votes…

🇷🇸 Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin says, “This is just a Tuesday in a Balkan parliament, shall we continue?” pic.twitter.com/N3KpVBlNWR

— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) March 4, 2025

As it turns out, after the smoke cleared (literally), the lawmakers actually continued to convened and worked in a session until early evening as normal. Just another Tuesday in a Balkan parliament indeed.