Virginia Governor Ralph “Coonman” Northam said today that it’s possible that by the middle of this month his serfs, I mean citizens, may be allowed to resume during certain things that they are now prohibited from doing — provided that they wear their face masks and gloves, practice social distancing, and otherwise demonstrate that they are good, compliant citizens.
OK, so I made that last part up. But still…
In other news, Border Patrol agents discovered 36 illegal immigrants hiding inside a tractor trailer in Texas. It is not clear whether the puir wee bairns were able to practice proper social distancing in their confinement.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Diana West, Fjordman, JM, 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.
Jane Fonda Demands Relief Money be Spent Fighting Climate Change
Actress and environmental activist Jane Fonda used May Day to renew calls to end fossil fuels and protect worker rights while she urged against corporate bailouts during the coronavirus pandemic, especially for oil and drilling companies.
Instead, the actress is demanding that the government allot recovery money to green or sustainable energy as well as to efforts to create a “level playing field” for workers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pandemic and Politics Push Hong Kong’s Economy Into Record Slump
(Bloomberg) — Hong Kong’s economy suffered its worst quarter on record, extending the first recession in a decade as the coronavirus pandemic battered a city already weakened by political unrest.
The economy contracted 8.9% in the first quarter from year-ago levels, according to the government. The decline surpasses the previous record of —8.3% in the third quarter of 1998 and a 7.8% contraction in the first quarter of 2009, the two worst readings in data back to 1974, according to the Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong.
The latest decline also marks the third straight quarterly contraction for Hong Kong, the longest such stretch since the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2009. The economy started shrinking from the third quarter of last year amid violent street protests and a government crackdown, political factors that remain unresolved.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“We’re Watching You”: Chicago Mayor Says City Will Cite, Arrest Those Ignoring Stay-at-Home Order
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Friday that the police will issue citations and possibly arrest residents who are not following the stay-at-home orders.
Lightfoot said the police had broken up gatherings between 50 and 150 people on Friday and were tipped off to more on Saturday night.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Apple’s History of Censorship: 10+ Years of Crackdowns on News, Apps, Music, And More
Due to the tight control Apple maintains over its hardware and software, particularly on iPhones and iPads, Apple’s censorship is often far more impactful than the censorship of other big tech companies.
When apps, products, or services are censored by other big tech companies, consumers can usually still visit alternative stores or websites and access the censored goods on their device.
However, if apps, products, or services are booted from Apple’s ecosystem, Apple’s tight grip over the hardware and software make it impossible to access the censored apps on an Apple device.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
by Diana West
Messaging on Twitter in these corona times is revealing all kinds of new fissures. Take the Twitter account of OANN’s Jack Posobiec. Having racked up around 750K followers on Twitter, Posobiec has perplexed some conservatives of late for having come out as an enthusiast for the corona lockdown and for Bill Gates. This is something of a redundancy since Bill Gates is the Big Daddy of Corona Lockdown, at least until the economy is completely dead and the New Vaccine Order begins.
In these same corona times, more tweets in defense of Bill Gates caught my eye — in this case by David Horowitz. This became a little interesting on learning, also via Twitter, that Horowitz was a mentor of Posobiec…
| — Hat tip: Diana West | [Return to headlines] |
City Demands Churches Turn Over Names, Addresses, Phone Numbers!
Governors and mayors across the nation have claimed that their emergency powers allow them to ban large groups during the coronavirus pandemic. They don’t want groups gathering in malls, movie theaters or even churches, despite the constitutional protection of religious rights.
Now one official is moving into extreme territory, demanding churches provide him with the names, addresses and telephone numbers of anyone who shows up to worship.
The move by Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, already is attracting the attention of Liberty Counsel, which has been defending churches amid the coronavirus lockdowns.
Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver noted Kansas City is requiring that churches “submit list of members and attendees along with their names, addresses and telephone numbers to city officials for tracking and surveillance purposes.“
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DNC Chairman Tom Perez on Monday dismissed allegations that Joe Biden had sexually assaulted one of his Senate aids several decades ago, comparing theoretical records of those accusations to “the Hillary [Clinton] emails,” which he claimed did not exist.
Perez made the claim on ABC’s This Week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hundreds of Floridians Put on Boat Parade in Support of President Trump
Hundreds of Florida residents held a boat parade in honor of President Trump on Sunday, beginning in Jupiter, Florida, and traveling to the Intracoastal Waterway.
The parade came together via a Facebook event organized by local resident Carlos Gavidia, though one participant called it “as close to spontaneous as it gets.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Men Accused of Raping Children Among 830 Inmates Freed in Massachusetts
Two men accused of raping children are among the nearly 830 Massachusetts inmates that have been freed in the last month over concerns of the Chinese coronavirus crisis spreading in prison facilities.
Convicted child rapist Glenn Christie, 54-years-old, and 29-year-old Matthew Parris, accused of raping two teenage girls this year, have both been released from Massachusetts prisons after the state’s supreme court has ordered the routine release of hundreds of accused and convicted criminals.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
MeWe is Next on the Media’s Hitlist After Allowing Organization of Anti-Lockdown Protests
It has been nearly two months since the order to stay quarantined at home has been issued in the US in a bid to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. But this is something people are for obvious reasons finding ever harder to do, and reports are saying that more and more are now violating the lockdown orders and can be seen in the streets, unable to cope with this prolonged “house arrest.”
Then there are those who are going a step further and are organizing and holding protests against the lockdowns — the organizing bit was being done mostly on Facebook, until the giant, after some initial reluctance, started to censor and ban such groups.
And now Business Insider thinks it’s news that these people are finding other platforms on which to organize themselves. The goal of the article is likely to thwart those efforts, and put pressure on the social networks in question.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
MI Gov. Whitmer Says She Believes Biden: “I’m Very Comfortable That Joe Biden is Who He Says He is”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in an interview on Sunday that she knows Joe Biden and the sexual assault allegation against him is not the person she knows.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Missourians Who “Snitched” On Lockdown Rulebreakers Fear Retaliation After Information Leaks Online
More than 900 Missouri residents who “snitched” on St. Louis County businesses for violating the coronavirus lockdowns in March and April fear retaliation after their private information was published on social media.
The county had encouraged residents to report businesses that were not adhering to the state’s lockdown guidelines. Although many people had asked for their communications to remain anonymous, the terms and conditions included in the online report said that information may be shared publicly.
The names and addresses of approximately 900 residents were published online and then shared by a man named Jared Totsch in a Facebook group with the following caption: “Here ya go. The gallery of snitches, busybodies, and employees who rat out their own neighbors and employers over the Panic-demic.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Northam: Virginia Could Begin Phase I of Re-Opening Plan as Friday, May 15
RICHMOND, Va. (ABC7) — Gov. Ralph Northam said Monday that Virginia could begin Phase I of its economic re-opening as early as next week.
Northam says he plans to extend his executive order that restricted certain businesses and banned gathering of more than 10 people through May 14. He hopes Phase I can begin Friday, May 15.
The stay-home order will be amended to emphasize “safer-at-home,” which “gives us an additional two weeks to watch the data,” Northam said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The speaker of the New York City Council is demanding that the Christian organization Samaritan’s Purse pack up its coronavirus field hospitals and leave the city now that they’re no longer needed to patients, claiming the group’s Biblical views on sexuality are an “affront” to the “values” of New York.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
President Trump Calls for Manufacturing to Return to the United States
In a town hall meeting aired on Fox News yesterday, President Trump took questions from the public on the topic of ‘America Together Returning to Work’. The President emphasized that the Wuhan virus (COVID-19) pandemic has made the vital importance of ending globalization and returning production to America clear.
One questioner asked President Trump what advice he would give future presidents to prevent a similar crisis from occurring in the future. The President was unequivocal, as recorded in the transcript: “We have to bring our product back home, we have to make our product in this country. We can’t be hostage, because that’s what we are. We can’t be hostage to other countries, China in particular, but also to other countries. We can’t ever let that happen again.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The 2020 Pulitzer Prize for commentary was awarded Monday to Nikole Hannah-Jones for an essay in the New York Times that falsely claimed the American Revolution was fought primarily to protect slavery.
The essay, titled “Our democracy’s founding ideals were false when they were written. Black Americans have fought to make them true,” launched the Times‘ controversial 1619 project.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Predicts Coronavirus Vaccine by End of Year
During a Fox News virtual town hall at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, President Trump predicted that a coronavirus vaccine could be available by the end of the year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Now Says Up to 100,000 Americans May Die From Coronavirus
President Trump on Sunday drastically revised upward his earlier estimate of how many Americans will die from coronavirus, claiming that as many as 100,000 may succumb to the disease before the pandemic subsides.
That is up from his earlier estimates of around as few as 60,000 deaths. Experts have variously predicted fewer deaths than that or as many as 1.1 million, depending on the mitigation efforts taken.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Yet Another University Shuts Down Chinese Communist Party-Funded Confucius Institute
The University of California-Davis announced Tuesday plans to close the Confucius Institute on campus.
The institute, which opened in 2013, is set to close effective August 15. The closure comes as U.S. officials debate the proper course of action in holding China accountable after they say the communist regime withheld vital information regarding the coronavirus that could have saved thousands of American lives. U.S. intelligence agencies had previously labeled Confucius Institutes a national security threat, acting as propaganda arms of the Chinese Communist Party.
UC-Davis offered no for-credit courses through the institute, except for a one-credit internship on Chinese culture.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
After Retesting Samples, French Hospital Discovers COVID-19 Case From December
PARIS (Reuters) — A French hospital which has retested old samples from pneumonia patients discovered that it treated a man who had COVID-19 as early as Dec. 27, nearly a month before the French government confirmed its first cases.
Yves Cohen, head of resuscitation at the Avicenne and Jean Verdier hospitals in the northern suburbs of Paris, told BFM TV that scientists had retested samples from 24 patients treated in December and January who tested negative for the flu.
“Of the 24, we had one who was positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 27,” he told the news channel on Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Coronavirus: Theft Suspects Tried in France Over Fake Police Checks
Four alleged fraudsters are being tried in France, accused of conducting fake police checks on people’s permits to leave home during the lockdown.
The woman and three men allegedly posed as officers and robbed victims after asking them to produce the official form people must carry away from home.
It is believed they stole €25,000 (£22,000; $27,000).
The four, who are all Iranian nationals, are being tried as France prepares to ease its lockdown curbs…
| — Hat tip: JM | [Return to headlines] |
Daily Mail Caught Manipulating Photo to Create Rage Bait
Not being social enough used to be a problem, but now with the coronavirus pandemic, shaming those not properly observing social distancing instructions has become a thing. One way to prove and call people out, especially in the media and online, are photos that supposedly prove they are breaking what’s considered a life-saving rule.
But unfortunately, some media outlets are demonstrating that “misinformation” around the crisis is a wider category than you might think at first — and can be simpler to achieve than creating “deepfakes” or complicated conspiracy theories.
Former British athlete, now a commentator, James Cracknell, learned about this the hard way and shared it with Twitter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Extinction Rebellion’s Plot ‘To Sabotage UK Economy’ Revealed
Extinction Rebellion wants activists to stage rent strikes, halt tax payments, and take out bank loans they never intend to repay in protest at an economic system they claim is fuelling a climate catastrophe.
With Extinction Rebellion, the climate change activist group, currently unable to take to the streets to demonstrate in a traditional fashion under the coronavirus lockdown and social distancing measures, they are planning acts of financial sabotage to ‘directly challenge the fundamental principles that govern our national and global economies.’
Internal documents obtained by The Mail on Sunday set out plans for a ‘Money Rebellion’ involving acts of financial sabotage to ‘directly challenge the fundamental principles that govern our national and global economies.’
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Coronavirus Crisis: Le Pen Accuses Macron Downplaying of Face Masks & Test Kits Shortages
FRENCH right winger Marine Le Pen on Sunday accused the centrist government of downplaying the coronavirus threat, saying it was scrambling to cover up the fact it had been woefully unprepared for the deadly outbreak.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Politician Calls for US to Withdraw Nukes From Germany
Rolf Mützenich, the Acting Chairman of the Social Democratic Party’s (SPD) parliamentary bloc, called on the US to withdraw its nuclear weapons from Germany on Saturday.
The stationing of American nuclear weapons on German territory — which have been in the country continuously since the early years of the Cold War — has long been a contentious issue for Germans. Germany has no nuclear weapons of its own, but the presence of US weapons on its soil makes it a potential target for America’s nuclear-armed adversaries, such as Russia, China, or North Korea.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Govt Considering Quarantining Airport Arrivals… After UK Restrictions Lifted
The government will introduce quarantining of airport arrivals to stop the spread of the Chinese coronavirus, but only after the pandemic is under control in the UK — meaning that while millions of Britons remain under lockdown in their homes, 15,000 people continue to arrive into the country every day.
Last week, reports revealed that the government is considering plans to introduce a 14-day ‘quarantine’ for all arrivals at Britain’s airports after it was revealed that despite the worldwide pandemic and UK lockdown, 100,000 people are still landing, unchecked, in the country every week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Greek Party Leader: We Should Have Destroyed Turkish Jets Harassing Our Defence Minister
Although the Greek government condemned Turkey’s harassment of a Greek military helicopter transporting the Minister of National Defence Nikos Panagiotopoulos, and the Chief of General Staff Konstantinos Floros, the leader of political party Greek Solution (???????? ??s?) suggested a much more drastic response.
Kyriakos Velopoulos, a Member of Parliament and President of the Greek Solution, demanded the shooting down of Turkish fighter jets, such as those that harassed Panagiotopoulos and Floros on Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary: Istanbul Convention Should be Rejected for Promoting Migration, Gender Ideology
Hungary’s Christian Democratic Party (KDNP), which currently governs in coalition with Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party, submitted a policy statement to Parliament today. It states that the Istanbul Convention should not be ratified because it includes measures on migration and gender ideology which contradict the Hungarian government’s own positions on these issues.
The Istanbul Convention, which was put forward by the European Council and then opened for signatories in 2011, is intended to prevent violence against women by framing their protection as a human right. Hungary signed the treaty in 2014, but has yet to ratify it.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Leaders Aim to Drum Up Billions for Virus Vaccine Research
BRUSSELS (AP) — An alliance of world leaders is holding a virtual summit later Monday hoping to drum up billions of dollars to fund research into a vaccine for the new coronavirus as well as develop new treatments and more efficient testing.
Governments have reported around 3.5 million infections and more than 247,000 deaths from the virus, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University. But deliberately concealed outbreaks, low testing rates and the strain on health care systems mean the true scale of the pandemic is much greater.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Scottish Laws on Hate Crimes Against Groups Will Carry Up to Seven-Year Jail Sentence
NEW laws in Scotland will bring in a crime of “stirring up” hatred against groups including the elderly, transgender people and religions.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf announced the measures — with maximum seven-year jail sentences — as part of a long-awaited overhaul of hate crime legislation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
No Evidence Yet of 2nd Coronavirus Wave as Germany Lifts Lockdown
A second wave of coronavirus infections has not yet occurred in Germany, even as the country lifts its lockdown and begins moving back towards a functioning society.
Some had insisted that a recent resurgence of the virus reproduction number in Germany — the measure for how many people with the illness will go on to infect others — indicated that the country was too hasty in lifting its lockdown and that a new wave of victims and deaths would soon materialize.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Orban Praises V4 Success in Coronavirus Fight on Poland’s Constitution Day
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban sent a letter to his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawieczki on May 3, Poland’s Constitution Day, stressing the importance of cooperation within the Visegrad Four group, Orban’s press secretary Bertalan Havasi told national news agency MTI on Sunday.
“The global pandemic is posing severe challenges for all of us and for that reason cooperation and solidarity between our nations is more important than ever,” Orban wrote. “I am glad that the Visegrad cooperation is also proving successful at this difficult time.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish Govt Officials Suggest Election on May 10 Not Possible
Polish government officials on Monday expressed their opinion that it would be rather impossible to hold the presidential election on May 10.
Head of the PM’s Office Michal Dworczyk stated that “it is very likely that we will not be able to prepare the election on May 10, due to existing political tensions.”
In accordance with the Constitution, the election must be held by May 23, at the latest.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Some Belgians Celebrate ‘Fin Du Confinement’
People came out of their homes to drink wine and champagne in the street together, while keeping a safe distance, in some streets in Brussels at 8PM on Sunday to celebrate “the end of the lockdown”. They had previously clapped or rang bells from their windows at 8PM each night in support of medical staff. Belgium is to start phasing out its lockdown in three waves from this Monday onward.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain’s State of Emergency Extension Faces Backlash
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez is facing opposition from regional premiers to the fourth extension of the state of emergency — giving the government extra powers to fight the coronavirus. The state of emergency, imposed on 14 March, has been approved by lawmakers every two weeks. However, support from the main opposition parties (Popular Party and far-right Vox) is not guaranteed this time, El Pais reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Boris to Unveil Strategy to End Lockdown This Week: Report
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a “comprehensive plan” for reopening parts of British society on Sunday.
Various media outlets have reported that the prime minister will make the announcement three days after the government is required to review the current lockdown restrictions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The government says we may be able to go outside for a picnic…in a month.
Meanwhile, 100,000 people are landing at UK airports from foreign countries every single week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Heathrow Boss Says ‘Social Distancing’ Will Never Work at Airports
Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye warns that ‘social distancing’ measures would never work at airports because queues to board flights would be a kilometer long.
The British public has been repeatedly told that even after the lockdown ends, they will have to practice ‘social distancing’ — standing two meters away from the nearest person — for months or even years into the future.
This is practically impossible in many situations, most notably London’s transport system, which is notoriously crowded virtually all the time.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hearings in the U.S. extradition case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will resume in September after being postponed from later this month because of the coronavirus outbreak, a London court said on Monday.
Assange is wanted by U.S. authorities to stand trial for conspiring to hack government computers and espionage. His extradition case began in February for a week before being adjourned until May 18 for another three weeks of arguments.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Khan’s London: Ahmed Brothers Convicted of String of Sex Attacks
Two brothers from Camden, London, have been convicted in connection with a string of sex attacks and robberies.
26-year-old Nazmul Ahmed (10/07/1993) and 32-year-old Selim Ahmed, (03/07/1987), both from Cromer Street, picked up vulnerable women outside bars in the British capital, sometimes posing as taxi drivers, and then sexually assaulted their victims, often stealing their phones and bank cards and taking substantial sums of money from their accounts as well.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Police Chiefs Tell Cops to Stop Doing ‘Dancing, Rapping, TikTok Challenges’ On Duty
Britain’s police brass have warned frontline constables to stop sharing videos of themselves performing “dancing, rapping TikTok challenges” which do not “show respect for the uniform they wear”.
Police officers, like nurses and other emergency and health workers, have taken to uploading videos of themselves capering around to the youth-oriented social media platforming as the Chinese coronavirus crisis unfolds — but force leaders are concerned such antics detract from the public’s sense that they are serving performing serious and vital functions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Vegan Hit Girlfriend With Bottle Because She Came Home Smelling of Bacon
A “reclusive” vegan who beat his girlfriend with a glass vinegar bottle because she “smelled of bacon” has been sentenced to a community order after pleading guilty to assault.
Christopher Ellam, 22, pleaded guilty at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court to two counts of criminal damage, sending indecent or grossly-offensive messages, and assault by beating of his girlfriend of four years, Bethany Smith, 23.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Libya Captures Notorious Terrorist Who Allegedly Masterminded Egyptian Church Bombings
The Libyan National Army captured the terrorist thought to be responsible for suicide church bombings in Egypt several years ago, the army reports.
Egyptian terrorist Muhammad al-Senbekhti was allegedly caught while fighting among troops supported by Turkey and Qatar in Libya.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mass Protests in Lebanon as Coronavirus Lockdown Causes Widespread Food Shortages
Violent protests have resumed in Lebanon over the crumbling economy and food shortages, leading to vicious clashes between citizens and members of the military in recent weeks.
Lebanon has been dealing with food shortages for months, but they have been exacerbated by the coronavirus lockdowns both there and worldwide. Millions have been laid off from work, as well.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An influential academic who writes for a Chinese Communist Party newspaper has accused Australia of ‘stabbing China in the back’ over its calls for an international coronavirus inquiry.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Intelligence reports show China covered up the impact of COVID-19 to hoard supplies needed to battle the pandemic, which President Donald Trump says proves he wasn’t late in addressing the crisis.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Coronavirus Latest: Italy’s Mortality Rate Rises Nearly 40%
Italy’s mortality rate has risen well beyond the official coronavirus death toll. And a study has found that the German infection rate may be 10 times higher than reported.
a. German researchers estimate that only one in 10 coronavirus cases have actually been diagnosed
b. The number of confirmed infections across the world now exceeds 3.5 million while the death toll from the virus nears 250,000
…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
The United States and China are locked in a race to develop a coronavirus vaccine as fears mount that the latter country would use its success as economic and diplomatic leverage.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Two Separate Reports Confirm ‘Most Intel Agencies’ In US Believe Coronavirus Came From Wuhan Lab
Two separate reports cited a senior intelligence official as confirming that most of the 17 US intelligence agencies believe that the coronavirus originated in the Wuhan Institute of virology.
The Daily Caller spoke to one senior official, who anonymously related that “the majority view among the US intelligence community agencies is that COVID-19 is natural and accidentally leaked out of a laboratory in Wuhan.”
The official told the news site that not all agencies are “fully behind the idea” that the spread was due to an accidental laboratory leak, but “most believe that to be the case.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mining magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest and media mogul Kerry Stokes drew widespread outrage for calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to dump an inquiry into the origin of coronavirus.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Chinese property investors are lying in wait to snap up cheap real estate deals in Australia when coronavirus travel restrictions are lifted.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A photo showed the group of officers surrounding the middle-aged woman at Fawkner Park in South Yarra on Sunday around 4pm.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
The Cedar Meats facility in Brooklyn, Melbourne is linked with 34 cases of the deadly disease. Nineteen of the cases were recorded on Sunday.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A 14-year-old girl was allegedly kneed and hit it the head so many times by a teenage ‘girl gang’ that she had a seizure.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Facebook Censors Somali Journalists Critical of Their Government
As if poverty, seemingly endless political and social turmoil, and war weren’t enough, Somalis might have another thing to worry about: Facebook.
Specifically, journalists in this African country, who are now getting censored (“silenced”) on the giant platform, according to Amnesty International.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: Neighborhood Sounds Alarm About Migrant Youth Gang Ruining Anderlecht
Residents of Aviation Square in Anderlecht, in an open letter to the city council, have sounded the alarm about a migrant youth gang that has ruined the atmosphere of the community.
In an open letter to the police and mayor of the city, the local residents say that for weeks now, a large group of migrant youths have been hanging around Aviation Square, taking drugs, robbing, and harassing passers-by, Belgian news portal Bruzz reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered 36 undocumented immigrants inside a tractor trailer during a traffic stop in Texas.
The incident occurred last Thursday when the immigration officers ordered the commercial truck to stop at a border checkpoint on Interstate 35 in Laredo.
According to a CBP statement, the Border Patrol agents questioned the driver, a United States citizen, before performing a non-intrusive scan of the trailer which detected the presence of the several people inside.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Migrant ‘Youths’ Arrested for Filming Gang Rape of a 15-Year-Old Girl
Four ‘youths’ who are charged with gang raping a 15-year-old girl and filming it near a school in Haslev, Denmark appeared in court over the weekend.
The four perpetrators — a 19-years-old, two 18-year-olds, and a 17-year-old — were arrested by police shortly after the rape took place on the night of May 2nd. On Sunday, the four appeared at a court hearing in Næstved. According to a report from the Danish newspaper Den Korte Avis, three of the four perpetrators had foreign backgrounds, while the fourth — the youth who’s believed to have film the rape occur — appeared to be Danish.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark’s immigration ministry says more migrants left Denmark in 2019 than entered, with the minister in charge of the matter calling the official figures ‘wonderful’.
It was the first time since 2011 that net migration — the difference between immigration and emigration — was negative.
Mattias Tesfaye said: ‘Whenever possible, it is only natural for refugees to travel back to their homeland. I am glad that we can give people protection while it is needed. But I’m also happy every time a refugee can return home’.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Saint-Denis Concerned About Hunger Riots
The Prefect of Seine-Saint-Denis, the Parisian suburb which has the highest proportion of migrants, is concerned that “hunger riots” could break out in the area due to a decline in the economic situation as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.
Georges-François Leclerc, the department’s Prefect, voiced his concerns about the risk of starvation threatening the region’s inhabitants in an e-mail he wrote to Michel Cadot, the Prefect of Île-de-France, on April 18, as reported by the news magazine Marianne.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Feminist Attorney: “I Believe” Tara Reade, But “I Will Still Support Joe”
Noted feminist attorney Lisa Bloom on Friday confirmed that she believes Joe Biden accuser Tara Reade’s claims that the former vice president sexually assaulted her years ago, but that she intends to “still support Joe” in the 2020 election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
International Outrage Over Denmark’s Fake Bible: Time to Discard it
The misrepresentation of Holy Scripture by the Danish Bible Society (DBS) has been met with a crescendo of international protest demanding the withdrawal of the falsified Bible.
The March 2020 Danish Bible, for the secular Danish reader’s easy reading, has omitted or replaced the word “Israel” in all but two places of the more than 60 Greek occurrences in the New Testament and in 9% of the Hebrew Bible.
Protests started on April 21 with the Danish author Jan Frost, who, in a video, first revealed the changes and took the Danish Society to task for them.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Oxford University’s student union have voted to ban ‘ableist, classist and misogynist’ readings lists, leading to academics hitting out at the body.
Students from the prestigious university voted to prohibit reading lists containing the aforementioned themes, claiming that they should not be made to engage with any ‘harmful material’.
A policy adopted by the student union went on to state that students should not be required to take part in lectures, tutorials or seminars or undertake exams that involve ‘hate speech’.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mass surveillance by means of abusing the capabilities of mobile hardware and software and with the help of tech corporations is not exactly a new thing; after all, didn’t Edward Snowden make a whole kerfuffle about it back in 2013.
One of the perhaps most striking results of the Snowden revelations was how quickly the idea of unwarranted, and all too often warrantless, snooping on regular citizens got normalized, and accepted by most of them.
With the coronavirus pandemic, the talk of mass surveillance “for the greater good” — and when is it supposedly ever not? — is resurfacing again.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Security Agency Blacklists the Terms “Blacklist” And “Whitelist” To “Stamp Out Racism”
The term “blacklist” has been blacklisted by UK’s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), whose parent organization is the GCHQ. That’s like the equivalent of the USA’s NSA.
The purpose is to fight racism appearing in technical documentation. That’s the simplest way of putting it, now that blacklisting — and whitelisting — apps, websites, etc., from the outfit’s online documentation has been outlawed, and the decision explained.
As the world is struggling with the coronavirus lockdowns and finding ways to get lives and economies back on track, one of NCSC’s “customers” had other things to worry about: perhaps to take their mind off the huge global crisis for a minute, and amuse it with something else, the “customer” opted for policing language and imposing political correctness onto it.
And when they made the request to drop the words blacklisting and whitelisting, NCSC obeyed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
https://twitter.com/DVATW/status/1257626809279143937
Just your friendly neighborhood enrichers…
As of Today, QE is no more. The EU is totally, completely FINISHED. QE is literally the only thing to keep everything going. Without that is every man for himself. Thank you Germany.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/05/german-top-court-says-ecbs-qe-partially-violates-law.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-05/german-judges-in-ecb-case-say-some-actions-unconstitutional
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-05/eu-court-faces-declaration-of-war-from-germany-s-top-judges
Big news if this goes anywhere.
Well, if Jane Fonda is demanding something we better get on it!
https://twitter.com/JohnTory/status/1257665821670871040
The way things are going, the Netherlands will need liberating again….only there won’t be any white men in Canada left to do it.
https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/1257699327180406784
Further proof the “Conservative” party is a Blair-ite mess.
https://twitter.com/DVATW/status/1257722191048847363
Call to prayer London
“Greek Party Leader: We Should Have Destroyed Turkish Jets Harassing Our Defence Minister”.
He is right,and not only destroying the Turkish jets but send our air force over Anatolia to teach the bastards a lesson.
We very much want to see that but,our”very brave” prime minister,first must call Merkel and then act,and this “sweet woman”said NO do not dare to harm my favorite Turkey.
Because she knows that we can give Erdogan something that he will never forget.
If we had a patriotic parliament in one week time we could be in Konstatinople.
Hear, hear!
Time to make Istanbul Constantinople again!
I hope to live long enough to see that,to go to Hagia Sofia to pray and then i do not mind if i die.
You are too optimistic. Right now Russins are building a few huge nuclear reactors for Turkey. Try to guess what will the Sultan do with their output.
The Russians have always been the turks mortal enemy. The Russians love to sell the turks things, but they have always had their eye on the prize of the straights. So don’t be fooled by the Russians being nice to the turks, it never lasts for long.
Insane! I’m not against nuclear plants, but they should not be in geologically unstable areas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYwhxz1OLOU
Nice, I think we should bring this style back! To fit the times however it should be a djellaba and burqa, and come with a free prayer rug add on of course.
https://mobile.twitter.com/StefanMolyneux/status/1257744394033168387
The answer is infinity…and beyond!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8287311/Australias-largest-mosque-begin-broadcasting-Muslim-call-prayer-end-Ramadan.html
Someone should sue for the discrimination that “Allah is the only god, highest of all etc” represents to get it shut off. There is legal precedent for this, as the events of two years ago in Oer-Erkenschwick prove.