White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said that he expects the unemployment rate to exceed 20% sometime in May or June. Meanwhile, a restaurant in Colorado did a record business when it opened on Mothers’ Day in violation of the state’s coronavirus shutdown order. Also, the German newspaper Bild says that the lockdown was a huge mistake.
In other news, the northernmost mosque in the world will be built in the town of Luleå on the north coast of Sweden.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, Fjordman, JD, Reader from Chicago, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Trump Economic Adviser Says He Expects Unemployment Rate “North of 20%”
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Sunday during an interview on CBS News that he believes the unemployment rate will pass 20%, peaking in May and June.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ABC’s Chief News Correspondent Tries to ‘Mask Shame’ John Roberts, Gets Owned
ABC’s Chief News Correspondent Jonathan Karl tried to ‘mask shame’ Fox News’ John Roberts, only for someone to point out to Karl that he didn’t wear a mask when he was out in public last week.
“Almost everybody in the Rose Garden is wearing a mask — almost everybody,” tweeted Karl, along with four images of news reporters in the Rose Garden all wearing masks apart from Roberts.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ben & Jerry’s ‘Happy Cows’ Lawsuit Sent to Pasture by Judge
Breaking moos for ice cream lovers.
A federal lawsuit alleging that Ben & Jerry’s misled consumers by claiming its ice cream comes from “happy cows” was tossed by a court, according to court papers.
Vermont federal Judge Christina Reiss last week tossed the suit brought against the company by environmentalist James Ehlers, who claimed that many of the cows that produce Ben & Jerry’s milk are raised on factory-style farms and are not enrolled in the company’s “caring dairy” program.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Colorado Restaurant Does Record Business on Mother’s Day Despite Health Order
A small Colorado restaurant was overwhelmed with diners after opening its doors on Mother’s Day.
April Arellano, the owner of Castle Rock’s C&C Coffee and Kitchen, said she feared not opening would result in her going out of business.
Though few masks peppered the crowded dining room, and video revealed social distancing was not being strictly observed, patrons did not appear concerned. Lines trailed out the door for most of the day.
The decision by Arellano to open her restaurant may have pleased the public, but it did not please state officials who have kept Colorado under a safer-at-home mandate, which limits restaurants to takeout and delivery services only.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Court: Michigan Man Linked to ISIS Will Not be Released From Prison Due to COVID-19
DETROIT — A federal court denied a request for a Ypsilanti man with ties to ISIS to temporarily be released from prison during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
An FBI counter-terrorism investigation in 2017 sent Yousef Mohammad Ramadan to prison.
Authorities had found unregistered weapons with the serial numbers scratched off in a storage unit that was rented under Ramadan’s name.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Durham, Top Federal Prosecutors Going “Full Throttle” On Russia Probe Review, Sources Say
U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham and top federal prosecutors are going “full throttle” with his review of the Russia-Trump probe during the 2016 election, sources informed Fox News.
U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri Jeff Jensen and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Timothy Shea are assisting Durham with looking at the different components of the initial probe.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Says Tesla is Resuming Production at CA Factory in Defiance of Lockdown Orders
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Monday afternoon that his company is resuming production “today” at their Alameda County, California plant in defiance of local lockdown orders, adding that he will be on the line with Tesla workers and “if anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Floridians Protest Gym Closures With Push-Ups and Squats Outside Courthouse
Approximately three dozen people showed up outside a courthouse in Clearwater, Florida, on Monday and began doing push-ups and squats on the sidewalk to protest gym closures across the state.
On Monday, Florida launched the first phase of the state’s plan to slowly reopen businesses, including barbershops, nail salons, and restaurants. Gyms are scheduled to reopen as a part of the second phase if the governor determines it is appropriate to do so after consulting with state health officials.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former State Department Official Charged With Sexual Assault in Prince William County
The former special agent in charge of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s protective detail is jailed without bond on charges of sexually assaulting a girl in Prince William County between 2011 and 2013.
John Scott Moretti, 58, was arrested Tuesday after special victims detectives concluded an investigation into the sexual assault of a girl between the ages of 10 and 11 at a home in the Manassas area between November 2011 and November 2013, said Prince William County police spokeswoman Renee Carr.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
High Noon: Governors and Mayors vs Sheriffs and We the People
Most of the country has already heard the story of Shelly Luther who owns a beauty salon in Dallas, TX. She reopened her business because her employees were going without food just to feed their children. Another Hussein Obama appointed Democrat judge jailed her. The Texas Supreme Court ordered her released. Our governor then modified his earlier order…
Most field hospitals in $660 million project treated ZERO coronavirus patients: “But most are being dismantled without seeing a single patient.One at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver provided 2,000 beds at a cost of more than $34 million. It saw zero patients.” The spin: We quarantined! No, it was those COMPLETELY WRONG models that were used.
Fauci’s Follies: US Coronavirus Field Hospitals Shut Down — Most Without Treating a Single Patient — Because Garbage Models Used by US ‘Experts’
Tony Fauci and the Trojan horse of tyranny — W. Scott Magill, M.D., sees a ‘brilliantly engineered coordinated campaign’ against U.S. — He really nails it.
“Is there any reason America, the last great hope for humanity, should fall to a virus with a 99.6% survival rate, even if it’s being manipulated by a well-orchestrated and executed malevolent plan by those with nefarious intentions? America will only fall if Americans continue to nurture their fear and refuse to stand against this stealthy malignancy eating away at the very core of freedom and liberty.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Joe Scarborough Apologizes to Pence and Ted Cruz After Heated Twitter Exchange
Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough issued an apology to Sen. Ted Cruz and Vice President Mike Pence after retweeting a selectively edited clip making fun of Pence.
After feuding with the Texas Republican on Friday, Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida turned media pundit on MSNBC, apologized on Saturday, saying he felt bad about retweeting a deceptive video and then arguing with Cruz about it on Twitter.
“About last night: I gotta work on some things myself. I feel really bad about retweeting the Jimmy Kimmel video,” Scarborough tweeted. “I feel worse about being provoked. I apologize again to Mike Pence, to my Twitter followers, and to Ted. I’ve got to do better.”
Scarborough retweeted a video from Kimmel’s late-night show, which made it seems like Pence was delivering empty boxes of personal protective equipment to a rehabilitation center in Virginia…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Locals Sue San Francisco After Homeless Camps Make Life ‘Insufferable’
A San Francisco law school, business owners and local residents are suing the city to force it to clean up the Tenderloin neighborhood — alleging an almost 300 percent spike in homeless shanty towns, drug dealing and feces-covered sidewalks have made conditions “insufferable.”
The lawsuit, filed in federal court May 4 by a group of plaintiffs led by the University of California Hastings College of the Law, seeks a court order to stop the city from using the neighborhood as a “containment zone” for homeless encampments.
“Open-air drug sales and other criminal activity, plus crowds of drug users and sidewalk-blocking tents, pervade and threaten the health and lives of all of the Tenderloin’s residents,” the lawsuit reads. “What has long been suffered in the Tenderloin has become insufferable.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Long Island Strip Club Owner Sues Gov. Andrew Cuomo Over Business Closures
The owner of a Long Island jiggle joint was stripped of his constitutional right to put skin on display thanks to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s coronavirus shutdown, a new lawsuit claims.
Sean McCarthy, who’s run the Blush Gentleman’s Club in Commack since 1997, filed suit against Cuomo over his executive orders shuttering non-essential businesses amid the pandemic.
“Governor Cuomo is engaged in a huge overstep of executive power,” said Joe Murray, an attorney for McCarthy. “He is infringing on people’s fundamental civil rights far beyond the least restrictive means allowable under the constitution.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Michigan Barber: Whitmer “Has No Concept at All of the Damage She’s Doing”
A Michigan barber staying open in defiance of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order received a cease-and-desist order on Friday after he reopened his shop.
Karl Manke, 77, had opened his barber shop on Monday after increased financial concerns brought on by the extended closure of the state because of coronavirus.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NBC News Under Fire for Deceptive Editing of AG Barr Comments on “Meet the Press”
NBC’s flagship Sunday morning news program Meet the Press has been forced to apologize for running a deceptively edited clip of U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Sunday, which made it appear that the country’s chief legal officer was unconcerned about the rule of law.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Video Shows Ahmaud Arbery at Construction Site Moments Before Death
New video appears to show Ahmaud Arbery wandering around a construction site in Georgia just moments before he was shot dead.
The surveillance footage shows a man in a white T-shirt and shorts — matching the outfit Arbery was wearing in footage that showed him shot and killed by two men — looking around the Brunswick property for less than three minutes before leaving.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed it was reviewing the footage “as part of the active case.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Northwestern Illinois Church Sues Pritzker in Federal Court Over His Stay-at-Home Order
A church in northwestern Illinois added to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s legal woes Thursday, filing a federal lawsuit seeking an immediate injunction that would allow it to conduct worship services.
The church plans to hold such a service Sunday, it says.
The lawsuit was filed by the Thomas More Society on behalf of The Beloved Church of Lena and its pastor, Stephen Cassell. It alleges that the Stephenson County health department delivered a cease-and-desist notice to Cassell on March 31.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Obama Was in on Plot to “Frame” Flynn, Says Attorney
Michael Flynn’s lead attorney Sidney Powell on Sunday accused former President Barack Obama of being involved in a plot to frame the former national security adviser.
During an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Powell said FBI agents “schemed and planned” not to tip Flynn off that he was being investigated.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ohio State Agrees to Pay $40.9m to Victims of Sexual Abuser Doctor
COLUMBUS — Ohio State University will pay out $40.9 million to settle 12 of 23 lawsuits brought against the university for its handling of Dr. Richard Strauss, who is accused of being a sexual predator during his two decades on campus.
OSU will pay an additional $500,000 for administrative costs.
Individual amounts paid to the 162 plaintiffs in the dozen cases will vary and will be determined by a special master. The university said no tuition, taxpayer or restricted donor funds will be used for the settlement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pelosi Promises Vote-by-Mail in Next Relief Bill
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated that the next coronavirus relief bill from Congress will include provisions to vastly expand mail-in and absentee voting in the United States.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pritzker Defends Extended Order, Faces Salon Owner Lawsuit
CHICAGO (AP) — Gov. J.B. Pritzker defended his stay-at-home order and incremental plans to reopen, saying Sunday that Illinois residents have to change the way things are done until COVID-19 is “eradicated.”
The Democrat’s comments on CNN’s “State of the Union” came as he faced a southern Illinois salon owner’s lawsuit, criticism from some Republicans who deem his plans an overreach and aChicago Tribune editorial accusing him of being “cautious to the extreme.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tesla Files Lawsuit in Attempt to Reopen California Factory
Tesla filed a federal lawsuit Saturday in a bid to restart operations in its factory in Fremont, California — a step that came on the same day CEO Elon Musk threatened to move the company’s headquarters out of the state.
Driving the news: The electric automaker’s suit against Alameda County calls local officials’ refusal to allow the factory to reopen a “power grab” that defies Gov. Gavin Newsom’s policies on industry operations and constitutional due process rights.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump: People of Pennsylvania “Want Their Freedom Now”
President Trump on Monday showed his support for Pennsylvania residents who oppose the state’s coronavirus restrictions. He also accused Democratic governors of leaving such orders in place “for political purposes.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Continues Firing at Obama Over “Obamagate”: “Most Corrupt Administration in U.S. History!”
President Trump on Monday continued his attack on former president Barack Obama for allegedly plotting to try and have him removed from office — an event Trump has dubbed “Obamagate,” which the president writes in all caps.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two New Class Action Lawsuits in Minnesota Seek Nearly $19 Million in Returned Union Fees
MINNEAPOLIS (May 11, 2020) — Today, six Minnesota state employees sued two of the state’s largest government unions for an estimated recovery of $19 million in union fees paid by state and local employees. The two class action lawsuits claim that because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it is illegal to require public employees to pay union fees as a condition of employment, past fees should be refunded to workers.
The unions, AFSCME Council 5 and Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE) collected fees for years from workers who did not want to join a union. The lawsuit against AFSCME may net $13 million in recovered fees for 8,000 state and local workers who paid fees to the union prior to the 2018 Supreme Court ruling. The lawsuit against MAPE could recover as much as $5.8 million for state employees.
The two lawsuits, Brown et al., v. AFSCME Council 5 and Fellows et al., v. MAPE were filed today by attorneys from the same nonprofit legal foundations that brought the U.S. Supreme Court case ending forced union fees, the Liberty Justice Center and the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Update: Pence Will Not Self-Quarantine, Plans to be at Work Monday
A spokesman for Mike Pence has denied previous reports that the vice president is self-isolating after one of his aides tested positive for coronavirus.
The spokesperson, Devin O’Malley, said in a statement:
“Vice President Pence will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine.
Additionally, Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Vindicated! DOJ Exonerates Lt. General Michael T. Flynn
Three-star General Michael Flynn never lied to anyone, not VP Pence and certainly not the FBI. The FBI and Department of Justice misused their authority to try to entrap Flynn during an investigation that was utterly without factual merit or legal justification. The special counsel pursued Flynn relentlessly, even though he had done nothing wrong…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Washington Governor Allows 1-on-1 Bible Study After Man Sues State
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee amended his stay-at-home order that banned religious gatherings of any size to now allow Bible studies based at home after one man sued the state.
Joshua Freed sued the state last month to be allowed to hold a one-on-one Bible study. He was represented by First Liberty Institute and the North Creek Law Firm.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nurses and retail workers are suing their bosses for allegedly subjecting them to unsafe conditions during the coronavirus outbreak.
College students are demanding tuition money and consumers want their cash back from concert ticket vendors, gyms and airlines.
Businesses allege insurance companies are trying to sidestep their coverage obligations and some people say they’re being deprived of stimulus checks.
And that’s only the beginning.
Major catastrophes and downturns can unleash a torrent of lawsuits, and the coronavirus pandemic is no exception. At least 917 federal and state lawsuits have been filed in relation to the pandemic, according to a database run by Hunton Andrews Kurth, an international law firm.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Threatens Legal Counter-Strike Against Germany
The European Commission might open a legal case against Germany in return for a German case against the European Central Bank (ECB), in which German judges recently said the ECB was wrong to buy bonds from pandemic-struck states and firms. “We are now analysing the [German] ruling … we will look into possible next steps, which may include the option of infringement proceedings,” commission president Ursula von der Leyen said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Exclusive: For Britain Leader Anne Marie Waters to Run for Hartlepool Council
The For Britain Movement’s leader, Anne Marie Waters, has announced that she will be a council candidate in the North East town when the postponed English local elections take place next year.
For Britain is the United Kingdom’s party in Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini’s Identity and Democracy group, seeking to fight the European Union’s federalists, improve animal welfare protections, reform family law, introduce a UK constitution to protect free speech and significantly reduce immigration. Irish activist Anne Marie Waters — who started in the left-wing Labour Party — founded For Britain in 2017 in order to speak openly and honestly about Islam and problems in Muslim communities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Facebook Censored Iconic Photo of Soviet Flag Raised Over Reichstag on Ve Day
One of the most iconic images related to victory over fascism in the Second World War — the photo of Russian/Soviet troops hoisting Red Army’s victory banner on top of the German parliament, Reichstag — having previously driven the Nazis back, all the way to Berlin — appeared to be a controversial item on Facebook on May 9.
In fact, so controversial that Facebook censored it, as reports suggested.
Specifically, Facebook was removing a colorized version of the original black-and-white, shot by Yevgeny Khaldei; the retouched version showed the victory banner in its actual color — red.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: ISIS Supporter Arrested With Pipe Bombs; Confesses to Attacks in Bavaria
A 25-year-old German citizen of Turkish descent admitted over the weekend to carrying out four separate attacks on Turkish establishments in the town of Waldkraiburg.
The unnamed male was arrested in Bavaria on Friday at a railway station for failing to pay for a ticket. Police, when searching the suspect’s luggage, discovered several makeshift pipe bombs. As a precaution, police evacuated buildings nearby the suspect’s home after he claimed to have other weapons and explosives stashed back at his home.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s Bild Newspaper Says ‘Lockdown Was a Huge Mistake’
Europe’s best-selling newspaper announced this weekend the lockdown in response to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic was a “huge mistake,” citing a number of public intellectuals critical of the country’s official response.
Reproducing comments from seven well-known intellectuals, Bild underscores the importance of “warning, doubting, and arguing” in the case of a public crisis that involves the suppression of the fundamental rights of citizens.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Summons Ambassadors of 5 Nordic Countries, Demands They Stop Spreading Fake News
Hungary is summoning the ambassadors of five Nordic countries after they criticized Hungary over its state of emergency law designed to protect the country during the coronavirus crisis.
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjartó indicated that Hungary is summoning Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden after their respective foreign ministers sent a letter claiming Hungary was violating the “rule of law” to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejcinovic Buric.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Woman Returns Home After Being Held for 18 Months by African Kidnappers
ROME (AP) — Wearing a surgical mask, disposable gloves and booties to guard against Covid-19, a young Italian woman returned to her homeland Sunday after 18 months as a hostage in eastern Africa.
Silvia Romano lowered her mask briefly to display a broad smile after she stepped off an Italian government plane at Rome-Ciampino International Airport. She hugged her mother and other family members, and touched elbows instead of shaking hands with Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jesuit Cardinal Calls for War on Twin Viruses of Coronavirus and ‘Nationalism’
ROME — The progressive leader of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) has called on Europeans to fight against the twin enemies of coronavirus and nationalism in order to preserve the European Union.
“Let us do battle with the coronavirus and do battle with the virus of nationalism and selfishness,” said the Jesuit Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich (pictured) in an interview this weekend with the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Malta Ambassador Says Merkel Has ‘Fulfilled Hitler’s Dream to Control Europe’
Malta’s ambassador to Finland has had to resign his post after saying that Germany’s Angela Merkel had “fulfilled Hitler’s dream” to “control Europe” on social media.
“75 years ago we stopped Hitler,” wrote Michael Zammit Tabona in a Facebook post commemorating Victory in Europe Day.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poll Finds That 9 Out of 10 in UK Want Lockdown to Carry on
A new poll has revealed that the vast majority of people in Britain are happy for the government mandated lockdown to continue, with just 4 percent expressing a desire to see it lifted immediately.
According to the Deltapoll survey, published Sunday, the masses are happy to continue to follow orders to stay at home, with close to half saying that they don’t want the lockdown lifted until sometime beyond June.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: “Northernmost Mosque in the World” Planned
Sweden is planning to host what is being billed as “the northernmost mosque in the world.” The mosque is being welcomed by the city of Luleå, which is on the northern Swedish coast in Norrbotten County, the country’s northernmost district.
The city has a population of just under 50,000. The mosque is planned to be built on the island of Hertsön, which is the largest residential area of Luleå outside the city centre.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Govt Lockdown: Enjoy a Game of Tennis, But Don’t Have a Drink in the Clubhouse After
The UK government has announced the first “modest” changes to the lockdown regime to take place this week, where members of the public will no longer be harassed by police for being stationary in public places, but still may not meet with people from outside their own households.
Promising the government was balancing the importance of saving lives with not destroying livelihoods, those in industries where home working is not necessarily viable — for instance in construction and manufacturing — are being encouraged to return to work from Wednesday this week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Govt: Coronavirus is Terrible, But on the Upside the Country’s Carbon Footprint is Falling
The long-term preoccupations of the British government were laid momentarily bare Monday when the Prime Minister’s coronavirus recovery strategy document hailed the partial shutdown of the economy as bringing “significant benefits”.
The United Kingdom has been under government lockdown orders for almost two months, with many businesses shuttered, huge numbers of workers shunted from gainful employment to state welfare through the furlough scheme, and many of those still working forced to do so from home.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Coronavirus: Boris Govt Decides Masks Work After All
Boris Johnson’s government has decided that face-coverings, actively discouraged until now, do in fact work after all, as the coronavirus lockdown begins to ease.
“As more people return to work, there will be more movement outside people’s immediate household,” declares the official guidance accompanying the minor changes to Britain’s pandemic restrictions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Labour MP Tweets Picture of Indian SS Legion on Ve Day
The MP for Bradford West, Naz Shah, has been criticised for a now deleted tweet to celebrate Victory in Europe Day. The Muslim politician probably intended to praise the pre-partition Indian soldiers who fought for Britain and the Allies during the Second World War but included an image of Indian fighters for the Axis Powers instead .
World War Two was a truly global conflict. The Allied Forces would probably have scored the most diversity points with the British Emprie, French colonies and the Americas on side. Winston Churchill praised the Sikh soldiers who “fought in their turbans” for Britain in both world wars and the Nepalese Ghurkha soldiers have always been held in high esteem by the UK. A war memorial for Sikh soldiers in Smethwick was vandalised over a year ago, seemingly by religious fundamentalists.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Mask Wearers Are Littering Streets and Countryside With Used PPE
Anecdotal evidence suggests many people who wear masks to protect against coronavirus are discarding them as litter on the street and countryside with little regard for safe disposal.
A big controversy in the UK ever since the start of the coronavirus lockdown has been the apparent shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), including face masks.
However, a woman in Lincolnshire told LockdownSceptics.org that used PPE is quickly becoming trash and is littering the environment.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The attack caught on CCTV in Ilford, east London on Friday saw the woman just make it inside before they arrived and began battering her door, smashing her car and house windows.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Thousands of People Are Dying at Home Due to the Lockdown
A Guardian analysis has found that there have been thousands of excess deaths of people at home in the UK due to the lockdown.
“The data shows 8,196 more deaths at home in England, Wales and Scotland compared with the five-year average for this time of year, including 6,546 non-Covid deaths,” reports the newspaper.
“It also indicates a drop in non-Covid deaths in hospital, however, leading experts to conclude that many who would ordinarily have been admitted to a ward and died there are instead dying at home.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Proposes Putting Sensors on All Citizens
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested the use of sensors on each citizen to remind them that, despite removing the nation’s quarantine measures, they must maintain social distancing to avoid a new crisis caused by Covid-19.
Israel has been a nation that has spared no expense in an attempt to control the coronavirus spread. Since its first reported case in February, the government has been strict with confinement, becoming the first non-Asian country to completely close its borders and declare quarantine.
Although extreme, these measures did not prevent the infection of more than 16,000 people.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
19 Killed, 15 Injured in Iran Friendly Fire Missile Strike
Nineteen Iranian sailors were killed and 15 were injured in a friendly fire missile strikeduring a training exercise in the Gulf of Oman, according to reports from Iran’s military and state media on Monday.
The Konarak, a Hendijan-clas support ship, was taking part in a training exercise on Sunday, but was too close to the target. The ship had been putting out targets for other ships, and the missile struck the vessel by accident.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An Iranian frigate named Jamaran was test-firing cruise missiles at targets near the port of Jask, in the Gulf of Oman, on Sunday night when it accidentally targeted its own support ship.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
India: Police Use Metal Tool to Grab Social Distancing Dissidents
A video out of India shows police officers using a bizarre metal contraption to grab dissidents who violate coronavirus social distancing rules.
“Hands up!” barks a police officer at a man during a demonstration of the tool, which looks like a kind of cattle prod but presumably isn’t electrified (yet).
The dissenter is then entrapped by the mechanism, which closes around his body like some kind of venus fly trap for humans.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mob of Armed Men Storm Christian Church in Pakistan
A group of armed men raided a Christian church in Punjab, Pakistan, on Saturday, desecrating a cross and demolishing a gate and a boundary wall, L’Observatoire de la Christianophobiereported Monday.
The mob of presumably Muslim men, led by a certain Malik Aun Abbas, stormed the church in Kalashah Kaku (Punjab), a town located some 30 miles from Lahore.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: Hearing and Speech Impaired Minor Christian Girl Abducted and Sexually Assaulted
In yet another horrific incident of attack on religious minorities in Pakistan, a Christian minor girl, Komal Patras, was abducted and sexually assaulted in Lahore’s Shibli town.
In a video that has now gone viral on social media, a mother can be seen crying as she retells the painful incident where her hearing and speech impaired daughter was abducted. She says how when she found out that her daughter was missing, she filed a missing person report. She also said that three men, Alim, Bashar and Asim in the FIR but the police has not taken any action against them. She also alleged that the kidnappers also sent naked pictures of their daughter to her.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
China’s Animal Crossing Players Use Code Words and Middlemen to Circumvent CCP Censorship
Last month, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) banned Animal Crossing New Horizons after some players posted in-game content that was deemed to be “potentially offensive” to the Chinese leaders.
But players in China are finding ways to continue playing the game, despite the censorship measures that have been put in place by the CCP.
The CCP’s censorship measures including banning sales of the game on China’s major ecommerce platforms and locking Switch consoles that are sold in China so that they cannot connect to overseas servers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed violently at an strategic mountain pass in the Himalayas on Saturday. Several troops were injured with soldiers from both sides throwing both fists and stones.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Men’s blood has higher levels of a key enzyme used by the new coronavirus to infect cells, a new study reports, which may explain why they are more likely to die from COVID-19 than women.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
China’s Ministry of Commerce has threatened to slap an 80 per cent import tariff on barley after an 18-month anti-dumping investigation. The plan would seriously harm Australian barley farmers.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Victoria has finally relaxed coronavirus restrictions to allow recreational activities and home visits. The state recorded seven new cases of coronavirus on Sunday.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Venezuela Arrests 3 More Mercenaries, Seizes Attack Boats After Failed Coup
Venezuelan authorities said they busted three more mercenaries and seized three Colombian attack boats tied to a botched attempt to oust President Nicolas Maduro last week.
The capture of the mercenaries — including a former Venezuelan army sergeant and a Bolivian national guardsman — brings the number of combatants taken into custody to 34, among them two ex-US Special Forces members who were leading the failed attempt to kidnap the Venezuelan strongman.
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50 Migrants Fly From Greece to UK for Relocation
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A group of 16 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and 34 adults left Greece Monday morning on a flight to the United Kingdom, where they will be reunited with family members who are already there.
The move is part of a program to relocate about 1,600 unaccompanied refugee children to European countries. So far, Luxembourg has taken 12 children and Germany nearly 50, while Finland is to take about 100 later this month. Government spokesman Stelios Petsas said Monday that a further 22 people are to be relocated to Switzerland.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Migrant Arrested in Copenhagen Stabbing
Two young people were stabbed at a petrol station in Copenhagen on Friday evening. Yesterday, police announced that they had arrested a suspect in the attack who they say is “of an ethnic origin other than Danish.”
The incident took place in the Amagerfæledvej area of Copenhagen, according to a reportby Den Korte Avis. The victims were also not of Danish origin.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Migrant Drags Policeman While Running From Traffic Stop
A Chechen migrant ended up dragging a police officer 20 metres down the road as he was trying to escape a traffic stop in the Montereau-Fault-Yonne commune of northern France.
The Chechen, who is nearly 30 years old, was pulled over by two police officers for a routine traffic stop at around noon last Sunday. Such traffic stops are mandated by the ongoing Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown measures. When he was unable to show them either his identity card or driver’s license, one of the officers leaned through his window to inform him that he would have to come with them to the local police station.
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UK: Boris Government Makes Special Deal to Fly in Migrants From Greece Despite Pandemic
Boris Johnson’s government had reached a special deal with Athens to fly in over 50 migrants from Greece, despite the coronavirus pandemic and the country’s flight ban.
Travel between the United Kingdom and Greece suspended in March — by the Greeks — amid the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, leaving some migrants in the Mediterranean country unable to join family members who had already reached British shores one way or another.
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1619 Project Creator Says Series is “Journalism” And “Not a History”
The creator of the controversial 1619 Project, a commentary series highlighting the impact of slavery in America, is defending her work, saying it was meant to be “journalism” and “not a history.”
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Black Mirror Creator Has Stopped Writing Because Society is Collapsing for Real
Charlie Brooker, the creator of Black Mirror, says that he has stopped writing new episodes because he doesn’t think there will be much ‘stomach’ for the dystopian show, given that society is actually collapsing for real.
When Brooker was asked about the potential for a sixth season of Black Mirror he told The Radio Times that “I’ve been busy doing things. I don’t know what I can say about what I’m doing and not doing. At the moment, I don’t know what stomach there would be for stories about societies falling apart, so I’m not working away on any of those [Black Mirror episodes].”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
George Soros: Coronavirus Endangers Our Civilisation
The billionaire investor and philanthropist explains in an wide-ranging new interview how the Covid-19 pandemic puts everything about capitalism up for grabs, how Donald Trump is destroying himself and how the recent German constitutional court ruling could result in ‘the end of the European Union as we know it’
Then again, the current US president does not really represent the values of an open and free society…
SOROS: Well, that is a weakness that I hope will not last very long. Donald Trump would like to be a dictator. But he cannot be one because there is a constitution in the United States that people still respect. And it will prevent him from doing certain things. That does not mean that he will not try, because he is literally fighting for his life. I will also say that I have put my faith in Trump to destroy himself, and he has exceeded my wildest expectations.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Harvard ‘Anti-Homeschooling’ Event ‘Cancelled’ Amid Conservative Backlash
Opponents of a controversial Harvard homeschooling summit claim the event has been canceled, but the Ivy League institution is still tight-lipped as to whether that is indeed the case.
The purpose of the invite-only event, “Homeschooling Summit: Problems, Politics, and Prospects for Reform,”was to “discuss child rights in connection with homeschooling in the United States,” with a focus on “problems of educational deprivation and child maltreatment that too often occur under the guise of homeschooling, in a legal environment of minimal or no oversight.”
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James Damore’s Diversity Lawsuit Against Google Comes to Quiet End
Google and James Damore, an engineer it fired in 2017, have agreed to dismiss his lawsuit against the tech giant, a quiet end to a loud case that began with a controversial memo in which Damore criticized the company’s efforts to improve the diversity of its workforce.
“This matter is dismissed in its entirety,” Judge Brian Walsh wrote in a Thursday order with the Superior Court in Santa Clara, the Silicon Valley county where Google is headquartered, after Damore and Google “agreed to end the case … between them.” Details of the agreement weren’t disclosed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Secularists and Christians Criticise Scotland’s New Hate Speech Laws
The Christian Institute and the UK’s National Secular Society are among the groups objecting to the Scottish government’s proposed bill on “hate crime” on the grounds of free speech.
The devolved government in Holyrood intends to criminalise “stirring up hatred” in a bill introduced by the Scottish National Party’s Justice Minister Humza Yousaf. After lobbying by third-wave feminist groups, instead of making a person’s sex/gender a protected characteristic for everyone, the legislation only makes misogyny a hate crime with no such legal protections for men. This would seem to risk undermining equality under the law.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Stanford Prof Publicly Shamed, Censured for Using Racial Slur in Academic Context
Stanford University’s Undergraduate Senate voted in favor of a resolution to condemn Stanford Assistant Professor of Art History Rose Salseda.
Salseda was censured May 5 for using a racial slur in reference to the name and lyrics of the hip-hop group N.W.A.
On May 3, Stanford student Kobe Hopkins, serving as the undergraduate senate’s treasurer, filed a resolution calling on the body to “condemn classroom racism and anti-blackness.” In the resolution, Hopkins complained that as a guest lecturer in an “Introduction to Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity” class, Salseda used the n-word while reciting lyrics to the song “F**k tha Police” from NWA’s critically-acclaimed album “Straight Outta Compton.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter Announces New Labels for Tweets With Misleading Information About Coronavirus
Twitter announced on Monday that it will be introducing new labels to mark tweets with misinformation about COVID-19. The labels aim to make it easier to tell if a tweet has misleading information and to point users toward resources about the pandemic.
Twitter said it may also apply the warning if a tweet conflicts guidance from public health experts. It may cover the tweet, prompting users to click the tweet before they can view it.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter Starts Hiding Some Tweets That Contain “Disputed” Coronavirus Claims Behind a Warning Label
As part of its ongoing crackdown on tweets that deny “expert guidance” on the coronavirus, Twitter has announced a series of changes which include hiding some tweets that contain a “disputed claim” about the virus behind a warning and labeling tweets that discuss the origins of the coronavirus.
In its announcement, Twitter wrote that if the accuracy, truthfulness, or credibility of a claim about the coronavirus is “contested or unknown” and Twitter decides that it has a “severe” propensity for harm, it will be hidden behind a warning label that states: “Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet conflicts with guidance from public health experts regarding COVID-19.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Too bad, Sweden. Even leaving aside the Russian Mosque mentioned by Voice of Europe, there are multiple Mosques in Tromsø of Norway, further north than anywhere in Sweden.
Speaking of Sweden, here is more enrichment from that country.
https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/05/sweden-bombing-at-block-of-flats/
https://www.facciabuco.com/idolo/silvia-romano/
Italians have very big doubts about Sylvia Romano.
“A honeymoon for 4 million Euros at the expense of taxpayers” – this is how they comment.
https://cdn-img-p.facciabuco.com/5/vgz90ydcti-vaccata_a.jpg
https://cdn-img-p.facciabuco.com/63/trefyui1nd-satira_b.jpg
“Neither surgical nor cotton masks effectively filtered SARS–CoV-2 during coughs by infected patients.”
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1342
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/12/what-the-german-court-decision-against-the-ecb-means-for-the-euro.html
Germany behaving like a sovereign nation-state for the first time in awhile.
http://www.contre-info.com/cherbourg-le-president-de-lassociation-pro-migrants-tue-par-un-migrant-afghan
Cherbourg: the president of the pro-migrant association killed by an Afghan migrant.
https://twitter.com/BasedPoland/status/1260252489561124865
Belgium is lost.
https://twitter.com/terra_logos/status/1259938548192612356
Spot the females.
>Grooming gangs are nothing to do with Islam
>Islam does not teach anything about grooming girls
>Booze and drugs are haram in Islam so how are these men acting Islamically when they are using booze and drugs?
>You don’t care when middle aged white pedophiles abuse girls and go abroad to East Asia to rape and groom you only care when brown men with beards are doing it
>Why are so many white British girls roaming the streets looking for older men to supply them with drugs? Don’t Brits care about their daughters? Why are they not raising them correctly?
Ah relativism….quislings like this are darting around all over England making excuses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0zgrUEQsDw
Afghan attack: Babies killed as gunmen storm maternity ward
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52631071
https://twitter.com/B32Boo/status/1238428551419957250
Dutch Freedom Party Member ended her life after gang rape (two months ago)
https://europeansworldwide.wordpress.com/2020/05/12/uk-will-not-deport-migrant-criminals/
U.K. will not deport migrant criminals.
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/05/netherlands-muslim-migrant-smashes-windows-of-kosher-restaurant-in-amsterdam-for-second-time?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the_2020_05_12_jihad_watch_daily_digest&utm_term=2020-05-12
Migrant in the Netherlands attacks Kosher restaurant a second time.
I’m not sure when Willie Dille committed suicide, but Vlad and I subtitled her farewell video in August of 2018: https://gatesofvienna.net/2018/08/suicide-by-islam/
Contrary to what you found on Twitter, it didn’t happen 2 months ago.
I see, I only watched the link through twitter at first.
Baron,
You forgot an item. Bill and Melinda have completed the construction of their chateau in the Austrian Highlands and will be moving into in this Midsummer’s Eve. They will hitherto be known as the ‘Gates’ of Vienna.
Nice! I’m sure Elisabeth S-W will be over to welcome them soon.
welcome them with what?
Heh! You’d have to ask her. Though I’m sure she’d be polite…