Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/7/2020

Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order today that freed the owner of the beauty salon who was jailed for staying open under the lockdown. Meanwhile, a 77-year-old man in Michigan says he’ll keep his barber shop open until Jesus walks in, or he gets arrested.

Denmark will re-open its malls, restaurants, and cafés next week, but Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced an extension of the lockdown until at least May 28. Also, Britain is expecting the most severe recession in its history because of the coronavirus restrictions.

In non-coronanews, the Department of Justice has decided to drop its case against retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. The plea deal with Gen. Flynn was the greatest achievement of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation.

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
» 3.2m More Americans Filed for Unemployment Last Week, Bringing 7-Week Total to 33.5m
» EU Set for Record Recession, Putting Euro at Risk
» National Debt Passes $25 Trillion, Less Than a Month After Hitting $24 Trillion
» Rand Paul: ‘Reopen the Economy, No More Imaginary Money’
» Stock Market Live Thursday: Nasdaq Positive for the Year, Tech Strength Continues, Dow Jumps 200
» UK Enters Deepest Recession on Record, Bank Warns
 
USA
» “We’ve Got the Cleanest Church in the City”: MA Pastor Again Defies Governor’s Orders, Holds in-Person Service
» 77-Year-Old MI Barber Says Shop Will Stay Open “Until Jesus Walks in or Until They Arrest Me”
» DOJ Drops Case Against Former Trump Aide Michael Flynn
» Georgia Father, Son Arrested, Charged With Murder of Ahmaud Arbery
» Gov. Whitmer Extends Michigan Stay-at-Home Order Through May 28
» Illinois Governor Says Churches May Stay Closed for a Year or More
» I’m Not Scared Anymore
» Killing of Unarmed Black Jogger Caught on Video Sparks Outcry
» Lebron James Claims Black People Are “Hunted Every Time We Step Foot Outside Our Homes”
» Michelle Obama: Having Kids Was a “Concession” That Cost “My Aspirations and Dreams”
» Polar Vortex to Unleash Frigid Air, Snow in Eastern U.S. Over Weekend
» San Antonio City Council Passes Resolution Declaring “Chinese Virus” To be “Hate Speech”
» San Francisco Giving Free Drugs, Alcohol to Homeless People Under Quarantine
» Texas Governor Abbott Issues Executive Order Freeing Salon Owner Shelley Luther From Jail
» Trump Blasts Obama DOJ as “Human Scum” Guilty of “Treason” After Flynn Case Dropped
» Video: As Trump Honors Nurses at White House, Media Accuses Them of Breaking Social Distancing Rules
 
Europe and the EU
» Belgium to Reopen All Shops From 11 May
» Coronavirus: European Leaders Cower in the Face of China
» Denmark to Re-Open Malls, Cafes, Restaurants Next Week
» EU Officials Let China Censor Ambassador’s Letter
» Germany: Domestic Spy Agency Counts 2,000 Islamists as Potential Terrorists
» Greece: Turks Fire Weapons Near Evros Border Again
» Hungary Slams ‘Biased’ Freedom House Reports, Always Say Democracy in Decline When Conservatives in Power
» Lifting of UK Coronavirus Lockdown Could Begin Monday, Says Boris
» Poland Postpones Presidential Elections
» Sweden: Professor: Economic Impact of Lockdown Will Cause More Deaths Than Coronavirus
» Swedish ‘Gangster Rapper’ Kidnapped, Beaten, And Humiliated by Criminals
» UK: Ex-PM Theresa May Blames Nationalism for Coronavirus Crisis, Praises China Backing Who Instead
» UK: Heroic Teenager Jumps Into Canal to Save Toddler From Drowning
» UK: People Who Are Black or From an Ethnic Minority Are Up to Three Times More Likely to Die From COVID-19 Says Study as it is Revealed That Just One Out of 22 Doctors Killed by Virus So Far is White
» UK: Police Chief Who Stalked Dog Walkers With Drones During Lockdown Retires
» ‘Where is Our Freedom?’ Dozens of Dutch Anti-Lockdown Protesters Arrested in the Hague
 
Middle East
» Turkey Plays Down Fighter Jet Harassment of Helicopter Transporting Greek Minister
 
Russia
» Three Russian Doctors Mysteriously Fall From Hospital Windows After Speaking Against Government on Coronavirus, Two of Them Dead
 
South Asia
» Assam: Muslim Neighbours Abuse, Threaten to Kill a Hindu Woman in Nazira District for Watching TV During Ramzan
 
Far East
» Trump “Turbocharging” Plan to Remove China From Global Supply Chain
» UK and US Say China and Others Are Carrying Out Cyber Attacks to Prevent Vaccine Production
 
Australia — Pacific
» A Room With a Loo: Sydney ‘Studio Apartment’ With No Wall Between the Toilet and Kitchen is on the Market to Rent for $300 a Week
» Australia’s Proposed ‘Coronavirus Travel Bubble’ With New Zealand Could be Expanded to Take in Three Very Surprising Countries — Including China
» Australian Researchers Project More Deaths From Suicides in Lockdown Than From Coronavirus
» Crocodile Rock! Mother Shares Video of Her Daughter Playing the Saxophone on an Idyllic Beach… But it’s the Ominous Creature Behind Her That’s Caught People’s Attention
» Group of Friends Are Slapped With Massive Fines After Going for Drinks in a Pub That Was Supposed to be Closed Because of Coronavirus Lockdown
» Heartbreaking Past of the Young Mother, 18, Discovered Dead in a Wheelie Bin Just Weeks After Giving Birth to a Son in a Crime That Shocked an Outback Town — as a Teenager is Charged With Murder
» How a Chinese Communist Party- Owned Company is Buying Up Scarce Australian Water in a Drought-Ravaged Region as Local Food Supply is Put in Doubt
» Hunt for Woman Accused of Spitting on a Bus Driver After She Was Told She Couldn’t Bring Her Dog on Board
» ‘Listen to Your Master’: New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Smashes the Chinese Ambassador as Row Over the World Health Organisation Escalates
» Meet the Husband and Wife Team Behind Australia’s Terrifying New Wave of Anti-Vaxxers — and Their Three-Stage Plan to Defy Compulsory Flu Jabs
» Sex Monster Real Estate Agent Drugs Virgin With Rohypnol During Dinner Party and Assaults Her Twice in Her Sleep During 20-Hour Ordeal
» The Great Chinese Exodus: How Beijing-Backed Investment in Australia Plummeted by More Than $10billion in Just a Year
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Muslim Fulani Herdsmen Kill 4 Christians, Shoot Christian Leader and Family in Nigeria
» Somaliland: Three New Species of Buthus-Scorpions Discovered
 
Immigration
» 20,000 Migrants Have Been Expelled Along Border Under Coronavirus Directive
» Afghan Man Who Stabbed His Danish Girlfriend and Threw Her Off a Balcony Sentenced
» Germany: We Have to Help All the Migrants in the Greek Camps
» German Freighter Stranded Off Lampedusa With Migrants on Board
» Illegal Migrants Land on Lesvos as Locals Riot Against Migrant Transfers to Greek Mainland
» Immigration Drives Up UK Population by an ‘Eye-Watering’ 361,000 — Equal to a City the Size of Leicester — to 66.8m Despite Lowest Birth Rate in 14 Years
» Migrants Continue to Storm Italy Despite Coronavirus
» Salvini Slams Italian Government’s Plan to Grant Amnesty to 600,000 Illegal Migrants
» Slovenia: Illegal Migrants Still Making it to EU on Balkan Route
» UK: Nigel Farage Blasts Kent Police Chief Constable in Letter After Two Officers ‘Lectured’ Him at Home Over Politician’s 100-Mile Trip to Make Film About Dover Migrants as He Says it’s an ‘Unwise Use of Officers’ Time and Public Money’
» UK: People Smuggler Who Went on the Run for 10 Months When He Was Stopped Entering the Channel Tunnel With Two Migrants in the Boot of His Car is Jailed for Two Years After Finally Being Caught
 
Culture Wars
» #altCensored Helps Catalog the Videos YouTube Doesn’t Want You to See
» Alarmists: In 50 Years, Billions Will Live in Sahara-Like Temperatures
» David Icke Interview Removed From Spotify After CNBC Complains
» FCC Commissioner Isn’t Happy With Facebook’s New “Speech Police”
» Multimillionaire Celebrities Call for End to Capitalism From the Comfort of Their Luxury Mansions
» Pointless Celebrities Call for World to ‘Not Return to Normal’; ‘Radical Transformation’ of Economies
» Twitter Pressured to Scrub More “Misinformation”
» YouTube CEO Admits There’s a Double Standard When Moderating “Unsubstantiated” Coronavirus Health Information
 

3.2m More Americans Filed for Unemployment Last Week, Bringing 7-Week Total to 33.5m

Another 3.2 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, bringing the seven-week total number of U.S. citizens filing for first-time jobless benefits to a staggering 33.5 million.

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

EU Set for Record Recession, Putting Euro at Risk

The EU is heading for a historic economic recession on the back of the coronavirus pandemic, and a patchy rebound could put the single currency at risk.

The eurozone is projected to contract by 7.75 percent and the EU to be hit by 7.5 percent this year, according to a forecast published by the commission on Wednesday.

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

National Debt Passes $25 Trillion, Less Than a Month After Hitting $24 Trillion

The national debt surpassed $25 trillion on Wednesday, hitting an all-time high as Congress continues to approve massive spending to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The debt passed $24 trillion less than one month ago and reached $23 trillion on November 1, 2019. Overall, the national debt has increased more than $5 trillion during President Trump’s presidency.

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

Rand Paul: ‘Reopen the Economy, No More Imaginary Money’

Senator Rand Paul has called for the economy to be reopened, saying that it is the only solution for recovery.

Appearing on Fox News, a bearded Paul said that Americans need to be allowed to go back to work imminently or there will “continue to be economic calamity.”

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

Stock Market Live Thursday: Nasdaq Positive for the Year, Tech Strength Continues, Dow Jumps 200

The Nasdaq Composite turned positive for the year during Thursday’s session as optimism about the reopening of the U.S. economy sparked a broad market rally. Energy and financials, as well as industrials stocks like Boeing and the airlines, led the Dow and S&P 500 higher as investors snapped up equities on hopes America could be back to work before long.

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

UK Enters Deepest Recession on Record, Bank Warns

The Bank of England on Thursday warned that the UK economy is heading towards its deepest recession on record, as the British economy will shrink by 14 percent this year. The Covid-19 pandemic was “dramatically reducing jobs and incomes in the UK”, it said. Bank governor Andrew Bailey told the BBC there would be no quick return to normality. The EU has forecast an eight-percent contraction for the UK.

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

“We’ve Got the Cleanest Church in the City”: MA Pastor Again Defies Governor’s Orders, Holds in-Person Service

The Adam Square Baptist Church in Worcester, Massachusetts, held an in-person service with more than 10 people on Wednesday, a third defiance of the governor’s stay-at-home order.

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

77-Year-Old MI Barber Says Shop Will Stay Open “Until Jesus Walks in or Until They Arrest Me”

A 77-year-old barber reopened his shop on Monday in defiance of Michigan’s stay-at-home order.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order currently mandates that salons, barbershops, and other businesses stay closed.

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

DOJ Drops Case Against Former Trump Aide Michael Flynn

The Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning one of special counsel Robert Mueller’s signature cases in his Trump-Russia investigations.

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

Georgia Father, Son Arrested, Charged With Murder of Ahmaud Arbery

Georgia authorities on Thursday arrested Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, and charged them with murder in the February shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery after a video surfaced online showing the event.

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

Gov. Whitmer Extends Michigan Stay-at-Home Order Through May 28

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday extended the state’s stay-at-homeorder through May 28, saying “we are still safer at home.”

Whitmer’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” mandate states that through May 28, Michigan residents cannot leave their homes except to run essential errands, engage in social distancing outdoor activities, or commute to work.

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

Illinois Governor Says Churches May Stay Closed for a Year or More

Illinois churches could be prohibited from meeting for more than year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced on Wednesday.

Pritzker announced a five-phase plan to reopen Illinois that includes guidance for schools, businesses, and churches that outlines when they will be able to reopen. Gatherings of more than 10 people will be allowed to reopen in phase 3, gatherings of up to 50 people will be allowed in phase 4, and gatherings of more than 50 people will be allowed in phase five.

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

I’m Not Scared Anymore

By Servando Gonzalez

I have to confess that a few weeks ago I was scared. Very scared. Not of the coronavirus, which most likely will prove to be just as lethal, or even much less lethal than the flu virus that, coming from Asia, hits us almost every year. No. What I was scared of was the people President Trump appointed to protect us from the virus, particularly Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infection disease expert.

Why was I scared of him? Because after just a perfunctory search on the Internet I found out that Dr. Fauci has been invited at least once to talk to the globalist crowd at the Harold Pratt House in Manhattan, headquarters of the nefarious Council on Foreign Relations. But the CFR is not a simple organization like the National Association for the Protection of Stray Cats. It is actually the visible head of the invisible government of the US, [1] and the globalist conspirators do not invite people at the CFR to hear what they say, but to tactfully suggest to them what they must say if they want their careers to advance.

If you still don’t know it, the Council on Foreign Relations has been, almost from its creation, under the full control of the Rockefellers, known eugenicists fully convinced that the earth is overpopulated and that there is a need to get rid of most of its population asap. The Rockefellers, and some other eugenicists they have recruited, probably the most notorious one is Bill Gates, have invested billions of dollars over the years to push their eugenicist dreams.

On February 18, 2020, Dr. Fauci was invited to the CFR, [2] most likely to get his marching orders about the role he was going to play in the coming health crisis the conspirators were going to create out of the blue. Apparently, he passed his job interview with flying colors, and we have to admit that he is doing an excellent job on behalf of his CFR masters.[3]

So, having in charge of protecting me from the Corona virus a man liked by eugenicists itching to kill most people on this planet gave me the creeps. Frankly, I think that this Fauci guy is much more dangerous than the coronavirus itself.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Killing of Unarmed Black Jogger Caught on Video Sparks Outcry

Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was jogging through a Georgia neighborhood on February 23 when two men — who claim he looked like a suspect from security camera footage who had committed several recent burglaries in the area — armed themselves and gave chase in a vehicle. The two men, Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, attempted to stop Arbery, at which point a struggle ensued over the younger McMichael’s shotgun, and he fired, killing Arbery.

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

Lebron James Claims Black People Are “Hunted Every Time We Step Foot Outside Our Homes”

Basketball star LeBron James claimed in a tweet that black people are “hunted every time we step foot outside our homes.”

Turns out that’s not true.

The tweet was a response to the killing of “jogger” Ahmaud Aubrey who was shot after a confrontation with two white men in Georgia who believed him to be a burglary suspect.

The media has spun the incident as Aubrey being “hunted” down, despite the fact that video of the incident shows him physically charging one of the other men.

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

Michelle Obama: Having Kids Was a “Concession” That Cost “My Aspirations and Dreams”

In her newly released Netflix documentary “Becoming,” former first lady Michelle Obama described having children as a “concession” that cost her “aspirations and dreams”.

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

Polar Vortex to Unleash Frigid Air, Snow in Eastern U.S. Over Weekend

After a relatively mild winter, a polar vortex is set to unleash frigid air across the eastern United States this weekend, bringing snow to areas in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Temperatures in the Upper Midwest to New England regions could drop 20 degrees below average.

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

San Antonio City Council Passes Resolution Declaring “Chinese Virus” To be “Hate Speech”

San Antonio City Council has unanimously passed a resolution that declares the terms “Chinese Virus” and “Kung Flu Virus” to be hate speech.

President Trump and many of his supporters have used variations of both terms as a reminder that COVID-19 did indeed originate in China.

This prompted the media and leftists to claim Trump was being “racist” despite the fact that viruses are routinely named after their place of origin.

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

San Francisco Giving Free Drugs, Alcohol to Homeless People Under Quarantine

The San Francisco Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday that the city is providing alcohol, nicotine, and other drugs to homeless people living under quarantine in rented hotels.

According to the health department, the city-rented hotels are for individuals who have either contracted COVID-19 or are at heightened risk of catching the virus, and have no safe place to quarantine. Because some of the residents have substance-abuse issues, the health department is administering drugs and alcohol.

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

Texas Governor Abbott Issues Executive Order Freeing Salon Owner Shelley Luther From Jail

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Thursday retroactively eliminating jail time for citizens who violate the state’s stay-at-home rules, freeing salon owner Shelley Luther, who was jailed for seven days and fined $7,000 for reopening her business against court orders.

Abbott specifically named Luther in his announcement:

“Throwing Texans in jail who have had their businesses shut down through no fault of their own is nonsensical, and I will not allow it to happen. That is why I am modifying my executive orders to ensure confinement is not a punishment for violating an order. This order is retroactive to April 2nd, supersedes local orders and if correctly applied should free Shelley Luther … As some county judges advocate for releasing hardened criminals from jail to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is absurd to have these business owners take their place.”

Shortly after Abbott’s announcement, the Supreme Court of Texas ordered Luther’s release.

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

Trump Blasts Obama DOJ as “Human Scum” Guilty of “Treason” After Flynn Case Dropped

President Trump reacted to the DOJ dropping charges against Michael Flynn Thursday, saying from the White House that the Obama administration officials who targeted his former national security adviser are “human scum” guilty of “treason” who deserve to “pay a big price.”

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

Video: As Trump Honors Nurses at White House, Media Accuses Them of Breaking Social Distancing Rules

As the President hosted a group of frontline nurses and healthcare workers at the White House, a reporter was beset by an overwhelming urge to show that orange man is bad.

“America’s nurses are waging a war against the invisible enemy,” Trump announced, adding “They’re fighting on the frontlines of the battle risking their health to save lives of fellow citizens.”

Trump made the comments as he met with six nurses and the presidents of the American Nurses Association and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, to sign a proclamation in honor of National Nurses Day.

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

Belgium to Reopen All Shops From 11 May

The Belgian National Security Council, where all governments are represented, has decided to reopen all shops from 11 May onward, prime minister Sophie Wilme’s announced at a press conference, adding “only one customer for every 10 square metres is allowed, and this for maximum half an hour”. Bars, restaurants, markets and museums will remain closed. People are also allowed to see four extra people, instead of the current one person.

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

Coronavirus: European Leaders Cower in the Face of China

Australia and the United States are leading a campaign for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Senior officials in both countries are seeking to determine if the virus originated in nature or in a Chinese laboratory. They are also calling on the Chinese government to account for its handling of the initial outbreak in the city of Wuhan.

In Europe, where the pandemic has killed more than 100,000 people and caused economic devastation on a scale not seen since the Second World War, political leaders have been deafeningly silent on demanding accountability from China. While a handful of European officials have agreed in principle that there should be an investigation at some undetermined point in the future, most appear afraid to challenge China directly.

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

Denmark to Re-Open Malls, Cafes, Restaurants Next Week

Denmark is set to reopen shopping malls, cafes and restaurants from next Monday (11 May) when older children will also return to school as the country enters the second phase of easing its coronavirus lockdown, Reuters reported. Daycare centres and primary schools were allowed to open their doors two weeks ago, followed by other small businesses. Daily infections and hospital admission have been steadily decreasing.

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

EU Officials Let China Censor Ambassador’s Letter

It’s now widely regarded that the coronavirus first originated in China but China has been engaging in a propaganda campaign to suggest otherwise.

We all know how Big Tech platforms are censoring content from citizens in the West, deleting their tweets, posts, and videos as “misinformation” — all while allowing Chinese officials to run full-blown propaganda campaigns on the same platforms.

The Chinese Communist Party-backed superpower still tries to subdue anyone from suggesting the virus originated in their country. And the EU is letting them.

In this particular case, the Chinese Communist Party managed to censor an entire line from an op-ed written by the EU ambassador to China. The EU allowed China to censor the part where the op-ed describes the origin of the virus as China.

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

Germany: Domestic Spy Agency Counts 2,000 Islamists as Potential Terrorists

The Office for the Protection of the Constitution — Germany’s domestic spy agency — has announced that there are at least 2,080 Islamists regarded as potential terrorists living in the country.

Thus, the threat from Islamic terrorism is “still high,” a spokeswoman for the Office for the Protection of the Constitution told The RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND). Today’s Salafist scene in Germany is made up of at least 12,150 people, about 1,350 more than were recorded in the summer of 2018.

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

Greece: Turks Fire Weapons Near Evros Border Again

Turkish soldiers along the Greek border once again fired their weapons on two separate occasions this week as Turkey continues to make increasingly provocative moves against its European neighbor.

In the first incident, which occurred Tuesday night, Greek personnel reported hearing shots being fired from the village of Marasia, on the Turkish bank of the Evros River, as reportedby Ekathimerini. The Evros runs along the border.

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

Hungary Slams ‘Biased’ Freedom House Reports, Always Say Democracy in Decline When Conservatives in Power

The Hungarian government has taken aim at the U.S. government-funded Freedom House organisation for claiming Hungary is no longer a “free country”, noting that its reports only say democracy is improving in the country when “Socialists and Liberals” hold office.

The Washington D.C.-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) claimed in its latest Nations In Transit report there had been “a stunning democratic breakdown” in countries in Central Europe such as Hungary and Poland — where, perhaps not coincidentally, traditional conservative governments opposed to globalism and mass migration are enjoying unprecedented electoral success.

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

Lifting of UK Coronavirus Lockdown Could Begin Monday, Says Boris

UK: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the government could begin lifting coronavirus lockdown restrictions from Monday.

Mr Johnson said that he would reveal his “roadmap” on Sunday, and the slow lifting of social distancing measures would occur the following day “if we possibly can”.

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

Poland Postpones Presidential Elections

Poland’s presidential elections are postponed and will likely take place in two to three months after Law and Justice (PiS) party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Agreement party leader Jaroslaw Gowin came to an agreement that would also preserve the government’s majority.

Kaczynski and Gowin released a joint statement that PiS and the Agreement party have created a solution which will guarantee Poles the possibility to participate in fair, democratic elections.

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

Sweden: Professor: Economic Impact of Lockdown Will Cause More Deaths Than Coronavirus

Peter Nilsson, a professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at Lund University, warns that the economic devastation caused by lockdowns will cause more deaths than the coronavirus itself.

Nilsson was commenting on Sweden’s approach to coronavirus, which unlike virtually every other western country in the world didn’t impose a lockdown to fight COVID-19.

The tactic appears to have worked, with Sweden’s ‘R’ rate of infection being roughly the same as the UK’s, a country which did impose a lockdown. The country also now has much more widespread herd immunity and didn’t sacrifice its economy, meaning deaths from poverty will be reduced.

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

Swedish ‘Gangster Rapper’ Kidnapped, Beaten, And Humiliated by Criminals

Einar, a 17-year-old ‘gangster rapper’ from southern Stockholm, has built a career by glorifying the criminal lifestyle. Recently, and perhaps for the first time in his life, he was able to get an intimate look at what that lifestyle really entails when he was kidnapped, beaten, and humiliated by a criminal gang.

Pictures on social media which appear to show Einar being kidnapped in an immigrant ghetto by masked perpetrators surfaced on Monday. According to information extracted from the images, the pictures were taken on Snapchat and were submitted by an “Ali K”, Swedish news portal Samhällsnytt reports.

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

UK: Ex-PM Theresa May Blames Nationalism for Coronavirus Crisis, Praises China Backing Who Instead

The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May blamed the forces of nationalism and populism for the scale of the Chinese coronavirus crisis, saying that countries should instead coalesce around “great multilateral institutions” such as the World Health Organization (WHO).

In an article entitled “Nationalism Is No Ally in This Battle Without Borders” — the ex-prime minister who failed to deliver Brexit said that the pandemic hit the world at a time in which a “US president was elected on a mandate of America First”.

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

UK: Heroic Teenager Jumps Into Canal to Save Toddler From Drowning

A 15-year-old teenager from England is being heralded as a hero after he jumped into a canal to save a toddler from drowning last weekend.

While walking his two dogs in Knottingley, West Yorkshire, Ryley Ferguson saw 15-month-old Reggie Hampton fall into the water. Without hesitation, Ferguson removed his shoes and coat before diving into the canal to rescue Reggie, who was slowly sinking to the bottom.

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

UK: People Who Are Black or From an Ethnic Minority Are Up to Three Times More Likely to Die From COVID-19 Says Study as it is Revealed That Just One Out of 22 Doctors Killed by Virus So Far is White

People from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities are two to three times more likely to die from coronavirus, new analysis by University College London today suggests.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Police Chief Who Stalked Dog Walkers With Drones During Lockdown Retires

The chief of an English police force that became the most criticised and mocked in the United Kingdom over its heavy-handed enforcement of the coronavirus lockdown rules is retiring.

Police Chief Constable Peter Goodman had authorised Derbyshire Police officers to pour black dye into a body of water in a beauty spot in Buxton in late March “to make the water look less appealing” to visitors.

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

‘Where is Our Freedom?’ Dozens of Dutch Anti-Lockdown Protesters Arrested in the Hague

Police arrested dozens of Dutch anti-lockdown protesters in The Hague on the 75th anniversary of Liberation Day, a holiday in the Netherlands celebrating the end of the occupation by Nazi Germany.

On Tuesday, a group of around 200 protesters demanded that the government ease the Chinese coronavirus lockdown measures, waving Dutch flags and carrying placards questioning “Where is our freedom?”

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

Turkey Plays Down Fighter Jet Harassment of Helicopter Transporting Greek Minister

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy has played down an incident over the weekend which involved Turkish fighter jets harassing a helicopter containing Greek defence minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos.

The incident took place on Sunday when defence minister Panagiotopoulos, along with Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff Konstantinos Floros, took an NH90 helicopter to visit Greek military positions on islands in the Aegean sea.

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

Three Russian Doctors Mysteriously Fall From Hospital Windows After Speaking Against Government on Coronavirus, Two of Them Dead

Doctors in Russia are facing immense pressure due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and now mysterious incidents of doctors falling from windows of hospitals have started to emerge. In the last week, three doctors fell from hospital windows in Russia, and two of them have died. As per reports, they committed suicide after they came under pressure to overwork during the times of Coronavirus pandemic.

Reportedly, Similar incidences happened in the last two weeks that are being investigated by the police. But they underscore the strains the health workers are facing due to pandemic.

As per reports, two of the doctors had protested against working conditions and a third was being blamed after her colleagues fell ill due to coronavirus.

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

Assam: Muslim Neighbours Abuse, Threaten to Kill a Hindu Woman in Nazira District for Watching TV During Ramzan

In a shocking incident, two locals, Samiruddin Ali and Mobidul Rahman attacked a poor Hindu woman in Assam’s Nazira district, for ‘watching TV in her house during the month of Ramzan’. The Muslim neighbours prohibited the woman from watching TV, citing Ramzan. After this, they allegedly gathered in large numbers with sharp weapons and started assaulting the woman. They attempted to murder her by strangulating her.

The incident has been reported from Nazira, a small town in Sivsagar district, about 310 kilometres from the state capital, Dispur.

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

Trump “Turbocharging” Plan to Remove China From Global Supply Chain

President Trump is allegedly leading a project to remove global supply chains from China as a response to the country’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic that originated there.

“This moment is a perfect storm; the pandemic has crystallized all the worries that people have had about doing business with China,” a top U.S. official told Reuters. “All the money that people think they made by deals with China before, now they’ve been eclipsed many fold by the economic damage [from the pandemic].”

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UK and US Say China and Others Are Carrying Out Cyber Attacks to Prevent Vaccine Production

We don’t know who is behind the reported malicious cyber attacks on US — and UK — “Covid-19 (vaccine) labs” — and due to how cyberattacks are carried out, as any cybersecurity expert worth their salt will tell you — even if these attacks have occurred, we will never actually know who carried them out.

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A Room With a Loo: Sydney ‘Studio Apartment’ With No Wall Between the Toilet and Kitchen is on the Market to Rent for $300 a Week

This cramped studio apartment in Sydney’s inner west brings a whole new meaning to the term ‘kitchen wipes’.

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Australia’s Proposed ‘Coronavirus Travel Bubble’ With New Zealand Could be Expanded to Take in Three Very Surprising Countries — Including China

Neville Power, the chairman of the government’s COVID-19 recovery taskforce, has suggested resuming travel ties with China. He used to run iron ore exporter Fortescue Metals.

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Australian Researchers Project More Deaths From Suicides in Lockdown Than From Coronavirus

Researchers in Australia projected Thursday that more deaths may come from suicides in lockdown than from coronavirus itself, according to modeling conducted by Sydney University’s Brain and Mind Center.

The model predicts “an additional 750 to 1,500 suicides per year for up to five years as a result of the impacts of the pandemic and economic shutdowns,” the UK Telegraph reported.

Former Mental Health Commissioner of the Brain and Mind Center Ian Hickie said the annual suicide rate could increase up to 50%.

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Crocodile Rock! Mother Shares Video of Her Daughter Playing the Saxophone on an Idyllic Beach… But it’s the Ominous Creature Behind Her That’s Caught People’s Attention

Stephanie Henry was filming her daughter at East Point, an inner northern suburb of Darwin in the Northern Territory on Wednesday when something appeared in the water.

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Group of Friends Are Slapped With Massive Fines After Going for Drinks in a Pub That Was Supposed to be Closed Because of Coronavirus Lockdown

Limestone Coast Police attended a licensed premises in the state’s south-east on Tuesday night following a tip-off from the public.

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Heartbreaking Past of the Young Mother, 18, Discovered Dead in a Wheelie Bin Just Weeks After Giving Birth to a Son in a Crime That Shocked an Outback Town — as a Teenager is Charged With Murder

Britney Watson, 18, was dragged to Newman Hospital in northwest Western Australia inside the bin with fatal injuries, just weeks after giving birth to her second child.

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How a Chinese Communist Party- Owned Company is Buying Up Scarce Australian Water in a Drought-Ravaged Region as Local Food Supply is Put in Doubt

Unibale Pty Ltd — a subsidary of Chinese agriculture company COFCO Corporation — has taken ownership of 7,000 megalitres of water in the north of New South Wales’ Murray-Darling Basin.

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Hunt for Woman Accused of Spitting on a Bus Driver After She Was Told She Couldn’t Bring Her Dog on Board

The woman boarded a bus with her brown and white dog after it stopped at Eddy Avenue at Haymarket in Sydney’s CBD about 5pm on Wednesday.

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‘Listen to Your Master’: New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Smashes the Chinese Ambassador as Row Over the World Health Organisation Escalates

The debate over Taiwan’s place within the World Health Organisation has escalated with New Zealand’s foreign minister Winston Peters taking aim at the Chinese ambassador.

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Meet the Husband and Wife Team Behind Australia’s Terrifying New Wave of Anti-Vaxxers — and Their Three-Stage Plan to Defy Compulsory Flu Jabs

Anthony Golle and his wife Kate launched Facebook group ‘Empowered Lifestyle Revolution’ about two weeks ago and have already garnered more than 17,000 members.

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Sex Monster Real Estate Agent Drugs Virgin With Rohypnol During Dinner Party and Assaults Her Twice in Her Sleep During 20-Hour Ordeal

Steven Chen, 48, pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and stupefying in order to commit indictable offence in Southport District Court on Wednesday.

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The Great Chinese Exodus: How Beijing-Backed Investment in Australia Plummeted by More Than $10billion in Just a Year

The Foreign Investment Review Board’s annual report shows the value of Chinese investment approvals across all sectors fell from $23.7 billion in 2017/18 to $13.1 billion in 2018/19.

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Muslim Fulani Herdsmen Kill 4 Christians, Shoot Christian Leader and Family in Nigeria

Muslim Fulani herdsmen shot and wounded a Christian high school administrator and his family just two days after killing four Christians in the Plateau state of north central Nigeria, sources told Morning Star News.

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Somaliland: Three New Species of Buthus-Scorpions Discovered

Somalilandsun: Frantisek Kovarik and co-workers have recently published a new article in their series of articles on the scorpions of the Horn of Africa. This time materials from Somaliland revealed three new species from this country.

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20,000 Migrants Have Been Expelled Along Border Under Coronavirus Directive

The Trump administration announced on Thursday that officials at the southern border have summarily expelled more than 20,000 unauthorized migrant adults, families and children from the U.S. under a broad public health order issued in late March in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Afghan Man Who Stabbed His Danish Girlfriend and Threw Her Off a Balcony Sentenced

A Danish court has sentenced an Afghan migrant to seven years in prison for attempting to murder his Danish girlfriend.

After finding 38-year-old Sulaiman Mizan guilty of having stabbed his girlfriend several times before throwing her from a balcony, a Court in Kolding handed him a seven year jail term. Mizan, however, cannot be deported since he’s a Danish citizen, Den Korte Avis reports.

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Germany: We Have to Help All the Migrants in the Greek Camps

Although Germany has been taking in children from the migrant camps on the Greek islands in recent weeks in order to relieve overcrowding, the country’s Development Minister, Gerd Müller, thinks they need to help all of the migrants there. Additionally, Thuringia’s Green Party wants to start bringing them to Germany.

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German Freighter Stranded Off Lampedusa With Migrants on Board

The 13 crewmembers of the German-owned container feeder Marina are stranded off the coast of Lampedusa, awaiting permission to disembark 79 rescued migrants.

“The master advises that the situation is serious . . . They do not have enough food and water to get them past the next 24 hours and six of the migrants require urgent medical attention. Neither do the crew have sufficient personal protective equipment for the migrants and the situation on board is now very difficult,” shipowners’ representative Ann Fenech told Times of Malta.

According to Fenech, the situation on board has grown tense. A group of migrants were reportedly involved in an onboard knife fight, and the crew took measures to isolate themselves in order to ensure their own safety. The incident ended without any injuries.

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Illegal Migrants Land on Lesvos as Locals Riot Against Migrant Transfers to Greek Mainland

Around 50 illegal boat migrants successfully landed on the Greek island of Lesvos on Wednesday amid strict lockdown measures that are in place across the country. Days earlier, locals on Greece’s mainland prevented buses filled with migrants from transferring the migrants to their new accommodations.

According to a report from the Greek City Times, it’s the first group of migrants to illegally reach the Greek shores since April 1st.

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Immigration Drives Up UK Population by an ‘Eye-Watering’ 361,000 — Equal to a City the Size of Leicester — to 66.8m Despite Lowest Birth Rate in 14 Years

Immigration helped boost Britain’s population to nearly 66.8 million despite the country seeing its lowest birth rate in 14 years, figures reveal.

New arrivals were a significant factor in a population increase of 361,000 by the end of June 2019, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.

But despite the increase — roughly equivalent to the size of Leicester — the country’s population grew at its slowest rate for 15 years between the middle of 2018 and 2019 due to the lowest number of births for 14 years, along with an increase in emigration.

Net migration had dropped to 231,000 — a reduction of 44,000 — but still accounted for roughly 64.2 per cent of the population rise.

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Migrants Continue to Storm Italy Despite Coronavirus

Despite the continuing coronavirus outbreak, Italy has seen a surge in migrants at its northern border and on the island of Lampedusa, which is becoming overwhelmed, authorities say.

Lampedusa saw at least 200 migrants arrive in two days, with three landings taking place in the span of just a few hours between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

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Salvini Slams Italian Government’s Plan to Grant Amnesty to 600,000 Illegal Migrants

Senator Matteo Salvini, the leader of the populist League party in Italy, has slammed Italy’s leftist-establishment government’s plans to grant amnesty to some 600,000 illegal migrants.

According to a report from the Milan-based newspaper Il Giornale, the plan — put forward by Italian Agriculture Minister Teresa Bellanova — would allow the government to issue six-month, renewable residency and work permit to the 600,000 illegal migrants

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Slovenia: Illegal Migrants Still Making it to EU on Balkan Route

Some illegal migrants are still managing to break through the European Union’s borders by coming through the Balkans, in spite of ongoing border closures and national lockdowns.

In the previous month, the Slovene police have reported a total of 111 illegal migrants who have been arrested, according to a report by Nova24TV.

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UK: Nigel Farage Blasts Kent Police Chief Constable in Letter After Two Officers ‘Lectured’ Him at Home Over Politician’s 100-Mile Trip to Make Film About Dover Migrants as He Says it’s an ‘Unwise Use of Officers’ Time and Public Money’

An unrepentant Nigel Farage has today hand-delivered a letter of complaint to Kent Police after two ‘sheepish’ officers turned up on his doorstep to chide him over his trips to Dover to highlight the numbers of migrants arriving in Britain by boat.

It came as he returned to the Kent coast where 11 migrants were picked up — with more than 1,000 having now having made it to Britain this year.

Law enforcers ‘advised’ the ex-MEP about lockdown rules and essential travel on Tuesday after a complaint was reportedly made following a trips to the Port of Dover he’d made to report on the UK’s ‘illegal migrant scandal’.

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UK: People Smuggler Who Went on the Run for 10 Months When He Was Stopped Entering the Channel Tunnel With Two Migrants in the Boot of His Car is Jailed for Two Years After Finally Being Caught

A people smuggler who tried to bring two illegal immigrants into the UK through the Channel Tunnel in the boot of his car has been finally jailed for two years after going on the run for more than 10 months.

Adam Raynor, 33, was initially arrested at the French terminal of the tunnel by Border Force officers in June 2019 after the Chinese and Vietnamese nationals were found in the back of the car.

The two migrants were handed over to French authorities.

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#altCensored Helps Catalog the Videos YouTube Doesn’t Want You to See

If you’re old enough to remember when Google first emerged in your online/computing consciousness as the most exciting new thing — then that means you may just be old enough to actually easily understand the context of technology and its “long arm,” the internet.

It means you have a power that people who haven’t been there don’t: to have seen this thing, Google, first flicker on your computer screen in the late 90s to replace AltaVista and Yahoo as an actually exciting alternative — yes, Google was the internet’s original “alt-tech” — and then, to watch it devolve into a tool of vicious politicking and censorship.

To cut the long story short: it’s sad. And also — if you want to get a condensed view of exactly how sad it is — and a second chance to actually see videos that have been censored, because they are sill accessible and searchable there — look no further than altCensored.com — that shows you what one of Google’s prime properties, the video giant YouTube, very much wants to hide.

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Alarmists: In 50 Years, Billions Will Live in Sahara-Like Temperatures

A team of researchers has used climate models to project that in 50 years one-third of the earth’s population will be living in an extremely hot environment, comparable to the Sahara Desert.

The authors of “Future of the human climate niche,” published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, claim to “demonstrate” that “over the coming 50 y, 1 to 3 billion people are projected to be left outside the climate conditions that have served humanity well over the past 6,000 y.”

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David Icke Interview Removed From Spotify After CNBC Complains

The thoughts of David Icke — a British commentator considered a leading conspiracy theorist — concerning the global coronavirus pandemic crisis have been kicked off of Spotify.

The world’s biggest audio streaming platform did this by removing a podcast interview Icke had done for London Real about a month ago.

The interview got a lot of negative traction among corporations, who one by one controversially deplatformed it back when it first came out.

The title of the episode was, “How Covid-19 will seize your rights & destroy our economy.”

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FCC Commissioner Isn’t Happy With Facebook’s New “Speech Police”

It’s not uncommon to hear people say, only half-jokingly, that due to their financial and other powers, Big Tech companies are becoming “states” right before our eyes. As they rob their users of sovereignty, these companies are working to build more of their own.

Facebook attempting to basically introduce its own (digital) currency, Libra, raised some red flags in the not so distant past. And in that same context, it’s unlikely that the choice of words when informally describing the giant’s Oversight Board as “Facebook Supreme Court” was accidental.

Just as Libra before it, the Oversight Board is now coming up with some pushback from high places. A commissioner with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday even went as far as to describe the Board as “your new speech police.” (Would be interesting to know what is considered the “old” speech police.)

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Multimillionaire Celebrities Call for End to Capitalism From the Comfort of Their Luxury Mansions

Multimillionaire celebrities have signed a petition calling for an end to capitalism from the comfort of their luxury mansions.

The petition, called ‘Please, let’s not go back to normal’, says the COVID-19 pandemic is a “tragedy,” but that the “ongoing ecological catastrophe is a meta-crisis.”

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Pointless Celebrities Call for World to ‘Not Return to Normal’; ‘Radical Transformation’ of Economies

Millionaire celebrities, who still do not seem to realise that the world does not revolve around them, have rallied behind a call to ‘end consumerism’ and not to allow the world to go back to how it was before the virus outbreak.

Over 200 famous people have signed a ‘plea’ titled Please, let’s not go back to normal,that calls for ‘radical transformation’ of economies and for humanity to ‘examine what is essential’.

Those who have added their names to the proposal include Madonna, Robert de Niro, Cate Blanchett, Jane Fonda, Marion Cotillard and Monica Bellucci.

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Twitter Pressured to Scrub More “Misinformation”

While a better part of the world has its guard down due to the pandemic, media organizations and tech companies are working hard to reduce any “misinformation” floating on the internet.

At such a juncture, social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter are being tasked to play a key role in curbing the spread of information that goes against authorities.

And while you may think that everywhere you turn, information is being scrubbed from the internet for “violating policies” of tech giants — there are some out there who think platforms aren’t doing enough to crackdown on conversations that differ from “authoritative sources”.

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YouTube CEO Admits There’s a Double Standard When Moderating “Unsubstantiated” Coronavirus Health Information

YouTube’s coronavirus rule changes have created a double standard on the site with independent creators getting suppressed for mentioning the virus and mainstream media outlets being elevated and promoted when covering the same topic.

While many users of the platform observe this double standard and know that it exists, YouTube executives don’t often come out and admit to it directly and instead frame coronavirus policy changes as a way to keep users safe from “misinformation” or “harmful information.”

But now, in a rare direct acknowledgment of this, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has actually admitted “unsubstantiated medical information” about the coronavirus is judged by a different set of rules than other health information that YouTube deems to be unsubstantiated.

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12 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/7/2020

    • This vaccine (according to your link) wasn’t properly tested, Joel. Not a good basis for your case.

  1. “Immigration drives up UK population by an ‘eye-watering’ 361,000 – equal to a city the size of Leicester – to 66.8m despite lowest birth rate in 14 years”

    Huh, so much for the Conservative Party saving the country.

  2. Afghan who stabbed girlfriend 20 times in Germany stopped by Czech police after German police warned them.

    https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/05/czech-police-arrest-afghan-migrant-who-stabbed-his-girlfriend-20-times-in-germany-video/

    Woman in question supposedly German, on the other hand the only news stories I could find identified the woman as having “German citizenship”……hmmm, I think shes a “new German” too, the German police wouldn’t get this worked up otherwise.

  3. Rise and shine! Wipe out now! Show ‘em how it’s really done! Save lives!

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