Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/18/2020

A gym in New Jersey has reopened in defiance of Governor Phil Murphy’s executive order. Meanwhile, a judge in Oregon voided Governor Kate Brown’s coronavirus restrictions.

Also, Hungary and Slovenia will reopen their mutual border by June 1, while Italy plans to reopen for tourism on June 3, and Spain will do the same by the end of June.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to 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.

Financial Crisis
» ‘Nothing Can Stop it’: Australia is on the Brink of a Great Depression-Style Economic Meltdown That Will Last Two Years — With House Prices to Fall by 50% and Unemployment to Skyrocket, Experts Say
 
USA
» Bill Gates to Invest $6B in “Next-Generation Quarantine Methods” And Symptom Surveillance Tech
» Congressional Candidate Laura Loomer Raises Alarm on Big Tech Ties to Concentration Camps in China
» FBI Discovers Al Qaeda Link in Pensacola Navy Base Attack
» Judge Tosses Out Gov. Kate Brown’s Coronavirus Restrictions in Oregon
» ‘Mask Police’ CNN Reporter Claims She Only Removed Her Mask for 6 Seconds
» Matrix Writer Rage Tweets at Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump for ‘Take the Red Pill’ Tweet
» MLB Prohibits Showering, Spitting in New Safety Proposal
» NJ Gym Reopens in Defiance of Lockdown: “We Will Not Stand Down”
» Oregon Salon Owner: State Sent Child Protective Services to My Home Because I Reopened My Business
» PA Gov. Wolf’s Hillary “Deplorables” Moment
» Principal Who Worked in Elementary Schools for 35 Years Going to Prison for Child Porn
» Sanders: Coronavirus “Silver Lining” Is That it Can Change “Fundamental Tenets” Of America
» Trump Says He Has Been Taking Hydroxychloroquine for a “Couple of Weeks”
» Trump Tweets “Reopen Our Country!”
» U.S. Adults Report Less Worry, More Happiness as States Reopen: Gallup
» US Military’s Mystery Space Plane Rockets Back Into Orbit
» Victorious Cheering as Cop Tells Crowd at NJ Gym it’s Violating Executive Order — But Adds, ‘Have a Good Day’ And Walks Off
 
Canada
» Video: Canadian Air Force Jet Celebrating Coronavirus Front-Line Workers Crashes Into Home
 
Europe and the EU
» Austrian Study Finds ‘Sign of Human Intervention’ In Coronavirus
» EU May Back Down on Fishing Demands While UK Govt Ramps Up No Deal Preparations: Reports
» French Police Clash With ‘Youths’ In Paris Suburb Over Man’s Death
» French Children Confined to Dystopian ‘Play Squares’ As Schools Reopen
» Germany: More Mass Protests Against Lockdown, Antifa Assault Protesters (Video)
» Germany Takes Back Its Sovereignty From the European Union
» German Virologists, Doctors Fear for Their Freedom of Expression
» Ghost Train Services Return to UK With Nine-in-Ten Seats Empty
» Hungary and Slovenia to Reopen Border by June
» Italy to Welcome Back Tourists From 3 June
» New Polish National Strategy Labels Russia as Main Threat to Security
» Public Humiliation: Cafes Make Customers Wear Stupid Hats to Enforce Social Distancing
» Spain Aims to Open Borders for Tourism in Late June
» Statistics Denmark: Two Women Raped Every Single Day
» Telegraph: UK Lockdown a Result of the ‘Most Devastating Software Mistake of All Time’
» UK Govt Medical Officer Warns ‘We May Have to Live With This Virus in the Long-Term’
» UK: Parliament Demands Boris Govt Answer Grooming Gangs Petition
» UK: Residents Voice Opposition to 1,000-Capacity Mosque on London’s Iconic Piccadilly Circus
 
Balkans
» Croatia: Parliament Dissolves Itself, Early Elections Called
 
South Asia
» How Tiktok Ordered Moderators in India to Censor Content Which is “Against Chinese Government”
 
Far East
» China Rejects EU Call for Wuhan Virus Investigation, Whitewashes Responsibility
» Philippines: 3 New Species of Spiders Found in Calabarzon
» Poll: 73% of Americans Say China to Blame for Coronavirus Deaths
» Report: WHO Beholden to Beijing and Should Be Investigated
 
Australia — Pacific
» Escape the City Queue-a-Thon! How Coronavirus Will See Australians Choose a Sea or Tree Change to Escape the Frustrating Sydney and Melbourne Existence After Lockdown is Lifted
» How Coronavirus Will Help Australia: Why Beating the Pandemic Months Before Europe and the U.S. Could be a Boon for Our Exports, Universities… And International Reputation
» How Funeral Homes Are Getting Jobkeeper Support as Demand for Their Services Slumps 50% — Because the Coronavirus Actually Means Far Fewer People Are Dying
» How Mega-Rich Chinese Investors Are Snapping Up Australian Homes for More Than $6 Million Without Even Leaving Their Home Country
» ‘I Have Committed No Offence!’ Infuriating Moment Protester Refuses to Tell Police Her Name as They Fine Her $1652 for Attending a Melbourne Anti-Lockdown Rally
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Report: At Least 620 Nigerian Christians Killed by Boko Haram, Fulani Militants in 2020 So Far
 
Immigration
» 151 Illegal Migrants Apprehended at the Hungarian Border
» Brexit Breakthrough: Commons Passes Groundbreaking New Plan to Replace Free Movement
» France: Immigration-Critical Intellectual Harassed by Migrant, Again (Video)
» Pro-Turkish NGO Threatens Greece and Spreads Fake News
» UK: Three Boats With 35 Migrants on Board Intercepted Off Kent
 
Culture Wars
» “I Have Power!”: Trans Twitch Moderator Who Identifies as a Deer Threatens to Censor Critics
» 2 Professors Warn Using Wedding Pictures as Zoom Background is a “Microaggression”
» Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Calls for Western Countries to Regulate the Internet
» Greta the Psychic Warns of Climate Doom in Pearl Jam Music Vid
» Navy Grants 1st Waiver to Transgender Officer to Serve Under Preferred Gender
» Psychotherapist: Lockdown Zealots Are Behaving Like Cult Members
» ‘Snowpiercer’: Climate ‘Deniers’ ‘Doomed Us With Their Lies’
» Twitch ‘Safety Advisory Council’ Member Thinks a Lot of Gamers Are ‘White Supremacists’
» Tyler Winklevoss: YouTube Censors Legitimate Discourse and Benefits From it
» UK Police Force Humiliated for Launching Manhunt for Trucker Who Kissed Woman
» United Nations Claims it’s Politically Incorrect to Say “Husband” Or “Wife”
» YouTube Reinstates John Piper’s “Coronavirus and Christ” Audiobook After Pulling it Last Week
 
General
» 62 Countries Collectively Call for Investigation Into Coronavirus Origin, W.H.O.
 

‘Nothing Can Stop it’: Australia is on the Brink of a Great Depression-Style Economic Meltdown That Will Last Two Years — With House Prices to Fall by 50% and Unemployment to Skyrocket, Experts Say

Financial experts are warning of a deep and sustained property crash triggered by coronavirus but caused by demographic changes, overbuilding and too much debt.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Bill Gates to Invest $6B in “Next-Generation Quarantine Methods” And Symptom Surveillance Tech

Bill Gates, in the past decade or so, has heavily involved himself in work that includes efforts in the direction of disease control. Along the same line, when the coronavirus outbreak came to the US, his flu research program was the one credited for detecting the first COVID-19 case.

Gates has now turned to the research by a South Korean telecommunications operator, KT. Impressed by South Korea’s efforts in containing the pandemic, Gates reportedly grew keen on supporting the efforts of the South Korean organization and is now considering to invest a whopping $6 billion into the research of “next-generation quarantine methods.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Congressional Candidate Laura Loomer Raises Alarm on Big Tech Ties to Concentration Camps in China

Laura Loomer, congressional candidate for Florida’s 21st Congressional District, has raised the alarm on the relationship between Big Tech companies and human rights violations in China.

Loomer — who is one of America’s most censored individuals and is banned from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Medium, GoFundMe, Venmo, PayPal, Lyft, Uber, and more — knows a thing or two about the power of Big Tech.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

FBI Discovers Al Qaeda Link in Pensacola Navy Base Attack

The FBI discovered that the Saudi aviation student who killed three people during an attack on a Florida Navy base last year had been in communication with a suspected al Qaeda operative, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

Second Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani was a member of the Saudi air force who was training with the U.S. military. On December 6, he opened fire in a classroom at Naval Air Station Pensacola, killing three and wounding eight. During the attack, Alshamrani criticized U.S. military actions overseas and fired shots at a picture of President Trump.

In the weeks before the attack, Alshamrani said on social media that he blamed the U.S. for crimes against Muslims and warned on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that “the countdown has started.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Judge Tosses Out Gov. Kate Brown’s Coronavirus Restrictions in Oregon

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A judge in rural Oregon on Monday tossed out statewide coronavirus restrictions imposed by Democratic Gov. Kate Brown, saying she didn’t seek the Legislature’s approval to extend the stay-at-home orders beyond a 28-day limit.

Baker County Circuit Judge Matthew Shirtcliff issued his opinion in response to a lawsuit filed earlier this month by 10 churches around Oregon that argued the state’s social-distancing directives were unconstitutional.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

‘Mask Police’ CNN Reporter Claims She Only Removed Her Mask for 6 Seconds

A CNN reporter who tried to shame Trump administration officials for not wearing face masks was forced to go on the defensive after she was caught removing her own mask immediately after a press briefing ended.

Kaitlan Collins appointed herself chief of mask police when she tweeted on Friday, “At vaccine event in the Rose Garden, POTUS is joined by several officials on stage. Some, like Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci are in masks. Others, like Defense Secretary Esper and HHS Secretary Azar, aren’t.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Matrix Writer Rage Tweets at Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump for ‘Take the Red Pill’ Tweet

One of the writers of The Matrix rage tweeted at Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump after the Tesla and SpaceX CEO tweeted “take the red pill” and the president’s daughter responded.

“F-ck both of you,” Matrix co-writer Lilly Wachowski responded.

Musk had tweeted for people to “take the red pill” on Sunday, which Ivanka Trump quote tweeted saying “taken!” and prompted Wachowski’s outrage.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

MLB Prohibits Showering, Spitting in New Safety Proposal

Major League Baseball players will be prohibited from taking showers at the stadium and spitting during the game, according to the league’s return-to-play guidelines submitted to the players’ association on Friday.

MLB said it believes the 67-page safety protocols will significantly decrease the spread of coronavirus as the league looks to resume the 2020 season at the beginning of July.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

NJ Gym Reopens in Defiance of Lockdown: “We Will Not Stand Down”

A New Jersey gym has reopened in defiance of stay-at-home orders in the state, a decision the owners say the gym staff made in conjunction with the community.

“We will not stand down,” said Ian Smith, the owner of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, adding that he plans to continue opening even if police arrive and shut his business down again. “…Governor Murphy has presented zero plans, and I think my business partner and I have a plan to keep people safe.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Oregon Salon Owner: State Sent Child Protective Services to My Home Because I Reopened My Business

Lindsey Graham, who was fined $14,000 for reopening her Oregon salon against Gov. Kate Brown’s stay-at-home order, said the state dispatched child protective services to her home as a direct response to her actions.

During a conversation with Breitbart News Sunday’s Joel Pollak, Graham detailed the incident in which an agent from the state’s child protective services showed up at her door the same day she reopened her salon for business.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

PA Gov. Wolf’s Hillary “Deplorables” Moment

Americans protesting the actions of politicians who have been abusing their power for months. Americans protesting the destruction of their lives while all those governors live in mansions, three hot meals a day, big salaries and get their hair cuts should be ashamed of themselves? Those Americans fighting for their existence and their God-given right to freedom and going to work should be ashamed?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Principal Who Worked in Elementary Schools for 35 Years Going to Prison for Child Porn

Frank Richard Beyer spent 35 years working in elementary schools in New York and Florida and will now be going to prison for eight years for possessing child pornography.

Beyer, 75, was sentenced to 97 months in prison by a federal judge on Monday for possessing thousands of images of boys under the age 12 being sexually abused.

According to court records, law enforcement had received multiple tips about a user who has been uploading child pornography to various internet platforms. One of the tips that they received included an email address that lead them to Beyer in Ft. Lauderdale.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Sanders: Coronavirus “Silver Lining” Is That it Can Change “Fundamental Tenets” Of America

Twice failed Socialist presidential candidate Bernie Sanders proclaimed Sunday that there is a “silver lining” to the coronavirus, that it can initiate “rethinking some fundamental tenets about the way our government and society works.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Trump Says He Has Been Taking Hydroxychloroquine for a “Couple of Weeks”

President Trump said on Monday that he has been taking anti-malaria drug hydroxychlororquine for a “couple of weeks” to prevent an infection from coronavirus.

“I happen to be taking it,” Trump said during a roundtable event. “A lot of good things have come out. You’d be surprised at how many people are taking it, especially the front-line workers. Before you catch it. The front-line workers, many, many are taking it.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Trump Tweets “Reopen Our Country!”

President Trump tweeted out a message in support of those who are against stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic.

“REOPEN OUR COUNTRY!” Trump tweeted on Monday morning.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

U.S. Adults Report Less Worry, More Happiness as States Reopen: Gallup

A new Gallup poll released Monday shows that U.S. adults are reporting significant improvements in their mental health.

The survey of 8,712 people conducted April 27 to May 10 revealed that 47% of Americans say they worried “during a lot of the day yesterday,” a 12-point decrease from the 59% who felt the same way March 23 to April 5.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

US Military’s Mystery Space Plane Rockets Back Into Orbit

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. military’s mystery space plane rocketed into orbit again Sunday, this time with an extra load of science experiments.

It’s the sixth flight of an X-37B, a solar-powered plane that’s flown by remote control without a crew.

Officials aren’t saying how long the spacecraft will remain in orbit this time or the purpose of the mission. But a senior vice president for X-37B developer Boeing, Jim Chilton, noted each mission has been progressively longer.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Victorious Cheering as Cop Tells Crowd at NJ Gym it’s Violating Executive Order — But Adds, ‘Have a Good Day’ And Walks Off

A few hours after workouts began Monday morning at New Jersey’s Atilis Gym — which is making national headlines for its early reopening in defiance of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s coronavirus shutdown order — police showed up outside the Bellmawr business.

What happened next?

The large group of people outside the gym were angry and hostile, likely believing the officers showed up to shut down the gym, hand out tickets, or even make arrests. Amid the mostly unintelligible hollering, a few phrases rang out clearly:

“You have the right to refuse unconstitutional orders!”

“Freedom!”

“You swore an oath to protect our rights!”

Soon enough the crowd quieted down enough so that one of the officers was able to address them.

“We are and we’re only here for everybody’s safety today,” the officer began. “We planned for the worst, hoped for the best, and it seems like that’s what we have out here today. Formally, you are all in violation of the executive order.”

Then came the officer’s surprising follow-up statement: “On that note, have a good day. Everybody be safe.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Video: Canadian Air Force Jet Celebrating Coronavirus Front-Line Workers Crashes Into Home

A Canadian Air Force jet celebrating front-line coronavirus workers crashed shortly after takeoff into a British Columbia home on Sunday, killing one crew member and seriously injuring another, in an incident caught on video.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Austrian Study Finds ‘Sign of Human Intervention’ In Coronavirus

A scientific study in Austria has found that SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that has led to a pandemic, was likely created in a lab, barring some “remarkable coincidence” that led to the virus naturally evolving to be optimised to attack human cells.

The study was led by Nikolai Petrovsky, a vaccine researcher at Flinders University. The scientists in his team discovered that the coronavirus is optimized for penetration into human cells, rather than animal cells, which means that the theory that it emerged from an animal market and jumped to humans naturally is unlikely.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

EU May Back Down on Fishing Demands While UK Govt Ramps Up No Deal Preparations: Reports

The European Union’s post-Brexit trade negotiators are reportedly planning to back down on its demands for continued access to Britain’s fishing waters. Meanwhile, the British government has returned civil servants to the front line of planning for a ‘no deal’.

Brussels has been pushing for the continuation of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) which sees member-states free to fish in more than 60 per cent of the UK’s territorial waters. Under the CFP, for example, France lands 84 per cent of English Channel cod while the UK is allocated only nine per cent. As well as France, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands back the “maximalist” approach in negotiations over fishing.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

French Police Clash With ‘Youths’ In Paris Suburb Over Man’s Death

PARIS (AP) — Police officers in a Paris suburb have clashed with youths protesting the death of a man in a motorcycle crash, authorities said Monday.

Small fires were set in Argenteuil on Sunday night in anger over the death of the 18 year-old man, police said. He was killed in a crash on Saturday evening in which he wasn’t wearing a motorcycle helmet.

French media reported that friends of the victim blame a nearby police car for contributing to the crash, but there was no elaboration on the cause.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

French Children Confined to Dystopian ‘Play Squares’ As Schools Reopen

Youngsters were assigned dystopian one-child “play squares” at a French school trying to figure out how to maintain social distancing as the national coronavirus lockdown eases.

Pictures shared on social media by Lionel Top, a journalist at BFMTV and RMCinfo, showed a variety of measures in place to try and maintain social distance at the school, with the most striking being a shot of children confined in lonely, chalk-outlined boxes as they played outside.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: More Mass Protests Against Lockdown, Antifa Assault Protesters (Video)

More mass protests against the ongoing lockdown in response to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak took place in cities across Germany over the weekend. Antifa also assaulted a group of men at a protest in Stuttgart in what was believed to be an attempted murder, while the government is warning that “Right-wing extremists” are trying to exploit the chaos for their own ends.

21 protests were reported across Berlin on Saturday, and 19 on Sunday. Police arrested more than 300 people on Sunday alone for lockdown violations.

In a protest in Stuttgart on Saturday, three middle-aged men were attacked for no reason by masked Left-wing extremists, according to a report by Junge Freiheit.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Germany Takes Back Its Sovereignty From the European Union

Germany’s Constitutional Court has issued an unprecedented ruling that directly challenges the authority of both the European Central Bank and the European Court of Justice.

The seemingly obscure ruling, which seeks to reassert national sovereignty over bond purchases by the European Central Bank, has called into question the legitimacy of the EU’s supranational legal and political order.

The European Union is now engaged in a power struggle with its largest member state, Germany. The legal feud threatens to unravel not only Europe’s single currency, the euro, but the EU itself.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

German Virologists, Doctors Fear for Their Freedom of Expression

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed how scientific dissent is not only being suppressed and marginalized in Germany when it comes to climate science but with virology and public health.

The online German national daily Die Welt here writes, “Virologists and physicians fear for their freedom of expression in the Corona crisis.” Climate scientists are getting some company!

Scientific freedom “under threat”

Citing the results of a recent survey, to Die Welt reports “many experts believe that freedom of expression in science is under threat” and “virologists have begun to change their attitude towards the measures taken by the German government.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Ghost Train Services Return to UK With Nine-in-Ten Seats Empty

The United Kingdom’s train operating companies (TOCs) pushed services to 70% of the regular timetable Monday, but enforced social distancing means the equivalent to just 10% of the normal capacity of passengers will be able to travel.

While the number of journeys on Britain’s National Rail Network has fallen to four per cent of normal levels in the wake of the government’s police-enforced coronavirus lockdown, the number of daily trains operating had remained reasonably high, allowing those who still need to travel to do so in near-total isolation.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Hungary and Slovenia to Reopen Border by June

Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on his Facebook page on Monday that Hungary and Slovenia have agreed on reopening their border by 1 June, Reuters reported. “Restarting our economies is not possible without restarting international cooperation,” Szijjarto said, adding that “without jeopardising the protection of health, which is a priority, an easing of restrictive measures imposed at the borders is needed”.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Italy to Welcome Back Tourists From 3 June

Italy said Saturday it would open its borders to foreigners from 3 June and scrap a 14-day quarantine period for new arrivals in a bid to salvage tourist income. “We’re facing a calculated risk in the knowledge that the contagion curve may rise again,” prime minister Giuseppe Conte said on TV. Greece has also opened borders to tourists. Germany predicts normal cross-border travel in the EU from mid-June.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

New Polish National Strategy Labels Russia as Main Threat to Security

Poland has now officially labeled Russia and its neo-imperial policy as its main threat in the new National Security Strategy (NSS) document signed last week by Polish President Andrzej Duda, according to Professor Przemyslaw Zurawski vel Grajewski.

Zurawski vel Grajewski added that the previous document from 2014 had not been precise enough in defining Russia as the primary threat, despite its authors noting the 2008 invasion of Georgia and 2014 occupation of the Donbass region.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Public Humiliation: Cafes Make Customers Wear Stupid Hats to Enforce Social Distancing

A cafe in Germany is making customers wear swimming pool noodle ‘social distancing’ hats while another in Maryland is using “bumper tables” that look like something you’d see in a kindergarten.

Welcome to your new normal.

Cafe & Konditorei Rothe in Schwerin is telling customers they can only use its facilities if they agree to wear straw hats taped with swimming pool noodles.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Spain Aims to Open Borders for Tourism in Late June

Spanish transport minister Jose Luis Abalos said on Monday his country aims reopen its borders from late June to resume tourism. “From late June, we’ll start the tourism activity, I hope […] We must make Spain an attractive country from the health point of view,” he told TVE broadcaster. Tourism accounts for over 12 percent of Spain’s GDP with more than 1.5 million people employed in the sector.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Statistics Denmark: Two Women Raped Every Single Day

Newly released figures from the Danish government have revealed that rapes are more prevalent than ever before in the country’s history.

Statistics Denmark, a governmental agency that’s responsible for producing statistics on Danish society, recently released figures which revealed that a total of 290 women reported having been raped in the first quarter of 2020. That amounts to more than two raped women every day, Den Korte Avis reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Telegraph: UK Lockdown a Result of the ‘Most Devastating Software Mistake of All Time’

The UK’s coronavirus lockdown was caused by “the most devastating software mistake of all time, in terms of economic costs and lives lost,” according to a report by a British newspaper.

The essay is referring to computer modelling by Neil Ferguson and his team at Imperial College London that predicted enormous deaths in the UK and elsewhere and led to draconian lockdown measures.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK Govt Medical Officer Warns ‘We May Have to Live With This Virus in the Long-Term’

Jonathan Van-Tam, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, has warned that the Chinese coronavirus may be seasonal, and that society will likely have to “learn to live” with it for months and possibly “several years”.

Speaking alongside Dominic Raab, the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary who was at the helm of the government’s pandemic response while Prime Minister Boris Johnson was briefly incapacitated by coronavirus, Professor Van-Tam emphasised the good news that the number of patients in British hospital infected with the illness appeared to be in “sustained decline”.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Parliament Demands Boris Govt Answer Grooming Gangs Petition

British parliamentarians overseeing the country’s official petitions process have written to Boris Johnson’s government demanding a real answer to a petition to release a buried report on the ethnicity of grooming gangs.

The petition, signed by over 125,000 people, had demanded that the government release a report announced with great fanfare by the previous Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, which would investigate the ethnic dimension of the grooming gang phenomenon — which typically involves Muslim, usually Pakistani-heritage predators and non-Muslim, usually white working-class victims.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Residents Voice Opposition to 1,000-Capacity Mosque on London’s Iconic Piccadilly Circus

A bid to build a 1,000 capacity “mega-mosque” in one of London’s most iconic buildings has been met with a rash of last-minute objections from locals, with concerns citing its close proximity to the city’s world-famous historic gay quarter.

The plans submitted to the City of Westminster Council surround the Trocadero building [pictured, above] on Picadilly Circus in London’s cultural hub in the West End. Under the new design, the basements and part of the ground floor would be converted into a 1,000 capacity mosque.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Croatia: Parliament Dissolves Itself, Early Elections Called

Croatia’s Parliament voted to dissolve itself today, paving the way for early elections to be held in late June or early July.

105 MPs voted in favor of the dissolution, while eight opposed it and four abstained. 76 votes were required for the measure to pass. This was the ninth Parliament to sit since Croatia gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, and it had been meeting since October 2016.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

How Tiktok Ordered Moderators in India to Censor Content Which is “Against Chinese Government”

Much has been uncovered regarding TikTok’s censorship since it took the world by storm a couple of years ago. As it turns out, they’ve been censoring more than just unattractive, overweight people and LGBT content (yes, that happened). According to Twitter user and social media communications strategist Zankrut Oza, they have a political agenda as well.

Oza shared on Twitter a screenshot of an internal memo sent via email from TikTok’s management to India’s content moderation team. The memo highlights “updates to their standards” that are to be implemented immediately.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

China Rejects EU Call for Wuhan Virus Investigation, Whitewashes Responsibility

Chinese President Xi Jinping rejected a European Union demand for an inquiry into the origins of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic today, and attempted to whitewash his country’s role in its spread across the world.

Jinping made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the World Health Assembly in Geneva today, which brings together representatives from 194 member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO). The meeting is being held virtually as a social distancing measure.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Philippines: 3 New Species of Spiders Found in Calabarzon

A father-daughter taxonomists have discovered three new endemic species of jumping spiders found in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region.

In an article recently published by the Philippine Journal of Systematic Biology, the three spiders described as new to science by Dr. Albert Barrion and Dr. Aimee Lynn Barrion-Dupo are Lepidemathis cavinti n. sp., Lepidemathis dogmai n. sp., and Lepidemathis lipa n. sp.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Poll: 73% of Americans Say China to Blame for Coronavirus Deaths

A new Morning Consult poll shows an overwhelming majority of Americans blame China for the coronavirus pandemic.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans — 73% — believe China is either “somewhat” or “very” responsible for coronavirus deaths that have occurred in the United States. That number remains fairly consistent across party lines, with 80% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats blaming the communist country.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Report: WHO Beholden to Beijing and Should Be Investigated

A new report has slammed China and accused the communist state of trying to “cover up” the Coronavirus.

The report by cross-party think tank Civitas: titled; Year of the Bat: Globalisation, China and the Coronavirus, academic experts Dr Niall McCrae and Professor M.L.R. Smith argue that, as the virus proliferated, China tried to cover up the contagion and did little to stop its worldwide spread from the initial source in Wuhan.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Escape the City Queue-a-Thon! How Coronavirus Will See Australians Choose a Sea or Tree Change to Escape the Frustrating Sydney and Melbourne Existence After Lockdown is Lifted

Propertyology’s head of research Simon Pressley said those who could work from home were the most likely to leave overcrowded state capital cities for a sea or a tree change.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

How Coronavirus Will Help Australia: Why Beating the Pandemic Months Before Europe and the U.S. Could be a Boon for Our Exports, Universities… And International Reputation

Experts predict demand for Australian products, services, and universities will soar as overseas markets have confidence in our reliability and lack of disease risk.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

How Funeral Homes Are Getting Jobkeeper Support as Demand for Their Services Slumps 50% — Because the Coronavirus Actually Means Far Fewer People Are Dying

Almost every sector in Australia has been adversely affected by the coronavirus lockdown — even the business of death. One funeral business have lost about half their usual trade.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

How Mega-Rich Chinese Investors Are Snapping Up Australian Homes for More Than $6 Million Without Even Leaving Their Home Country

A wealthy Chinese investor has bought a Sydney property for more than $6 million after viewing the property from Hong Kong using Facetime.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

‘I Have Committed No Offence!’ Infuriating Moment Protester Refuses to Tell Police Her Name as They Fine Her $1652 for Attending a Melbourne Anti-Lockdown Rally

The Melbourne protester filmed the interaction after two officers turned up at his doorstep to confirm her identity and issue a caution in relation to her attendance at the May 10 anti-lockdown rally.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Report: At Least 620 Nigerian Christians Killed by Boko Haram, Fulani Militants in 2020 So Far

At least 620 Nigerian Christians have been killed by Fulani radicals and Islamic terrorists so far in 2020, according to a recent report from a Nigerian civil society organization.

A report from the International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law released Thursday says that militant Fulani herdsmen and terrorists affiliated with Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province have “intensified their anti-Christian violence.”

Fulani radicals have killed more than 470 Christians in the first four-and-a-half months of 2020 and 140 Christians between the beginning of April until May 14. The Boko Haram has reportedly killed 150 Christians since January.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

151 Illegal Migrants Apprehended at the Hungarian Border

Hungarian border police over the weekend apprehended 151 migrants who had illegally entered the country, authorities announced in a press release.

The migrants, after being apprehended by border authorities, were escorted back to the countries they had illegally crossed from. In addition to the 151 migrants who were caught inside of Hungarian territory, border guards prevented another 37 from entering at all.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Brexit Breakthrough: Commons Passes Groundbreaking New Plan to Replace Free Movement

BORIS JOHNSON’s flagship points based immigration bill has passed its first vote in the House of Commons.

The proposed system will introduce an Australian style where anyone seeking to come to the UK will need to demonstrate value for a minimum of 70 points.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

France: Immigration-Critical Intellectual Harassed by Migrant, Again (Video)

For the second time in a matter of weeks, Eric Zemmour, an outspoken critic of Islam and mass migration and one of France’s foremost right-wing intellectuals, was harassed by an aggressive Muslim while walking on the streets of Paris.

Similarly to the incident in late April which saw Zemmour followed, shouted at, and spit upon by an aggressive male migrant as he was walking down the street in Paris, this time the French intellectual was recognized by Muslim woman who wore a turban.

Upon recognizing Zemmour as he walked down the sidewalk, the women put two thumbs up in his face and shouted: “Éric Zemmour! Long live Islam! Long live Allah! Long live Mohammed!”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Pro-Turkish NGO Threatens Greece and Spreads Fake News

A pro-migration NGO recently announced that its members are on the lookout for immigrants who illegally entered Greece and were returned to Turkey so that they can help them to sue the Greek government.

The NGO in question, the Consolidated Rescue Group, is a pro-Turkish migration group which spreads fake news about methods used by the Greek government to defend its borders. The group, which posts mainly in Arabic, has about 35,000 followers its Facebook page.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Three Boats With 35 Migrants on Board Intercepted Off Kent

Three boats with 35 migrants on board were intercepted by Border Force officers on Sunday.

The first boat was spotted at about 03:35 BST with 10 men and three women onboard, all saying there were Iraqi or Iranian, the Home Office said.

Thirteen men, who presented themselves as Syrian, Yemeni, Iraqi and Palestinian were picked up at 06:55.

The third boat with nine migrants onboard was intercepted at about 13:15, a Home Office spokesperson said.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

“I Have Power!”: Trans Twitch Moderator Who Identifies as a Deer Threatens to Censor Critics

A transgender Twitch “Safety Advisory Council” member who identifies as a deer (yes, really) bragged on a live stream about having the “power” to censor critics, asserting, “some people should be afraid of me.”

Twitch is a live streaming video platform that has become notorious for its draconian levels of censorship which in many cases outstrip even YouTube.

Last week, transgender streamer “Steph” Loehr, AKA FerociouslySteph, who was born a man and apparently had his genitals removed, was announced as a new member of Twitch’s “Safety Advisory Council,” giving Loehr the power to influence Terms of Service and potentially ban individual users.

Before we get to Steph’s comments on this, let’s get to know xe a little better.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

2 Professors Warn Using Wedding Pictures as Zoom Background is a “Microaggression”

Two officials from public universities have sounded the alarm on what they see as a serious problem emerging from the expanded use of online video platforms: wedding pictures.

Amy Bonomi is the director of Michigan State University’s Children and Youth Institute, and Neila Viveiros serves as an associate vice chancellor for academic operations at the University of Colorado, Denver. Calling virtual services like Zoom and Skype, “a ripe setting for unconscious bias,” the two researchers issued a press release warning of the potential microaggressions transmitted through these platforms.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Calls for Western Countries to Regulate the Internet

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has asked Western countries to start establishing a “clear regulatory framework” for the internet that “can become a standard around the world.”

Zuckerberg made the comments during a conversation with European Union Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton and said that he thinks internet regulation is inevitable.

He warned that if Western governments don’t step in with regulatory frameworks, China’s model will likely become the standard for regulating the internet.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Greta the Psychic Warns of Climate Doom in Pearl Jam Music Vid

Greta Thunberg stars in the music video for Pearl Jam’s environmental doom tune “Retrograde.” The teenage climate alarmist plays a fortune-teller warning of imminent climate destruction, the video’s director revealed.

The animated music video sees a man visit a fortune-teller who presents him with a crystal ball.

As the man gazes into it, he envisions melting glaciers and devastating floods decimating Manhattan, Paris, Seattle, and London, while wildfires sweep across Australia.

In an interview with Variety, the video’s director Josh Wakely confirmed that the psychic was in fact, Thunberg. Wakely added that the band had planned to film live footage but were forced to scrap those plans as a result of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Navy Grants 1st Waiver to Transgender Officer to Serve Under Preferred Gender

The U.S. Navy has granted a waiver to allow a transgender officer to continue serving “in their preferred gender” for the first time since the Trump administration prohibited most transgender troops from serving as anything other than their biological sex.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Psychotherapist: Lockdown Zealots Are Behaving Like Cult Members

Psychotherapist Dr Hugh Willbourn says lockdown zealots are displaying all the classic signs of cult members by doubling down on their beliefs despite having been proven wrong.

In an article on his website, Willbourn highlights the work of respected social psychologist Leon Festinger, who analyzed the beliefs of a UFO cult in the 1950’s who believed that a flying saucer would rescue them from the apocalypse.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

‘Snowpiercer’: Climate ‘Deniers’ ‘Doomed Us With Their Lies’

These days, the last thing we want to think about is being cooped inside for what seems like forever. Unfortunately for us, that happens to be the plot of TNT’s Snowpiercer which premiered May 17.

Based on the 1982 French graphic novel Le Transperceneige as well as the 2013 movie Snowpiercer, we follow a post-apocalyptic society that doesn’t forget to remind us about the true horror: climate deniers.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Twitch ‘Safety Advisory Council’ Member Thinks a Lot of Gamers Are ‘White Supremacists’

A member of the new Safety Advisory Council at Twitch is a trans “deer-girl” who believes that “a lot” of gamers are white supremacists and can’t wait to use this power against their enemies.

The odd activist, Steph “FerociouslySteph” Loehr, pretends to be a deer on livestreams while being petted by a woman until achieving near orgasms.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Tyler Winklevoss: YouTube Censors Legitimate Discourse and Benefits From it

Tyler Winklevoss, a cryptocurrency and Bitcoin investor and entrepreneur, makes no attempt to hide where he stands on yet another highly charged and divisive topic: the coronavirus epidemic and its consequences, including on free speech and the economy.

Winklevoss, co-founder and CEO of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, went to Twitter with some harsh words, denouncing YouTube and its role in this massive crisis.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK Police Force Humiliated for Launching Manhunt for Trucker Who Kissed Woman

A police force in the UK faced humiliation after trying to enlist the public’s help in a manhunt for a trucker who committed the dastardly crime of kissing a woman on the cheek.

“We are appealing for help to identify a man who kissed a woman on the cheek to thank her for helping when his lorry became stuck under a low bridge,” said the tweet from Derbyshire Police, asking potential witnesses if they were in the location when the incident occurred.

Within hours, the tweet was deleted however, with the force explaining, “The post drew a significant number of comments that were counterproductive to the nature of the appeal.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

United Nations Claims it’s Politically Incorrect to Say “Husband” Or “Wife”

The United Nations has put out a tweet asserting that people shouldn’t use politically incorrect terms like “boyfriend,” “girlfriend,” “husband” and “wife” in order to “help create a more equal world.”

“What you say matters. Help create a more equal world by using gender-neutral language if you’re unsure about someone’s gender or are referring to a group,” states the tweet.

It then lists a number of terms alongside their politically correct alternative.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

YouTube Reinstates John Piper’s “Coronavirus and Christ” Audiobook After Pulling it Last Week

YouTube has reinstated the audiobook version of John Piper’s new book “Coronavirus and Christ” after removing it last week.

The video was suddenly reinstated on Monday morning without explanation from YouTube, a source from Piper’s ministry Desiring God confirmed.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

62 Countries Collectively Call for Investigation Into Coronavirus Origin, W.H.O.

Sixty-two countries have collectively called for an independent investigation into the origin of the coronavirus and the reaction of the World Health Organisation.

A resolution led by European countries and Australia has been backed by every EU country, as well as the UK, New Zealand, Indonesia, Japan, India, Canada, Russia, Mexico and Brazil.

It is set to be presented to the World Health Assembly, the grouping of health ministers that sets policy for the WHO, on Tuesday, where a vote will be held.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

10 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/18/2020

  1. “French Children Confined to Dystopian ‘Play Squares’ As Schools Reopen”
    I remember we had games that kept us standing far enough apart, shame the teachers don’t seem to know those games.
    Particularly one game comes to mind, I have no idea how to call it, it’s a bit like rope jumping, but very different. All you need is rubber band used inside pants, the lenght is up to you. Two kids wrap it around their ankles and stand far enough from eachother so that the band is slightly stretched. A third child then performs a set of steps between the band. If successful, the band gets pulled a big higher (can go all the way on raised hands), if he or she fails, they switch places with another child.
    Other games that comes to mind are police and bandits or hide and seek, with the modification of not touching.
    The teachers at that school in question are either leftists enjoying to see the children like that or they’re incredibly lazy.

  2. The teachers at that school in question are either leftists enjoying to see the children like that or they’re incredibly lazy.

    AK-47, embrace the power of “And.”

  3. Although a judge in Oregon declared part of Governor Kate Brown’s edicts unconstitutional, those which outlawed attendance at religious services, the judge’s ruling was stayed by the Oregon Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ordered both sides to submit briefs by May 22nd, and a date for a hearing before the court is not set. Similar diktats by governors have been overturned in other states.

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