Customs officials in Czechia discovered 48 illegal migrants in the back of a tractor trailer with Turkish license plates. The stowaways were discovered by officers using X-rays.
In other news, President-elect Joe Biden reportedly plans to use executive orders to reverse numerous Trump policies as soon as Mr. Biden takes office in January.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, 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.
A Fractured America: We’re Being Divided by Our Own Media — and the Country May Never Recover.
I’m worried. I’m worried that we’re being divided and we may never recover. I’ve never been swayed by conspiracy theories or opinions from the far left or far right, but what I’m seeing now has shaken me to my soul. I am worried about our country.
Call me old-fashioned, but I really miss the times before technology showed us how we could manipulate each other. Manipulation between individuals was carried out in-person and up close, and you were either physically or verbally manipulated.
By guilt, words, physical actions, or general intimidation; you had to be up close and personal in order to effectively manipulate someone.
And forget about manipulating large groups of people unless you were a well-spoken politician, snake oil salesman-type evangelist, or a cult leader like Jim Jones or David Koresh.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
American Coup Victims Will Not Go Quietly
This was a Coup. It lacked, at least for the moment, the spilled blood often associated with a classic coup d’etat but make no mistake about it — this was a coup.
A record number of Americans fought an unusual number of hardships to make certain their voices were heard in the selection of our next president. And, given the stark difference in the candidates’ visions for America’s future and the growing national divide, that choice was surely not made lightly.
So, when we on the right observed one “irregularity” after another on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, what we needed were answers and transparency. What we got were evasions and coverups.
Keep in mind that we have endured over the past 4 years a seeming century’s worth of dishonesty, hoaxes, threats, wild conspiracy theories and widespread corruption from those on the left. Indeed, Liberals appear to have made sport of treating Donald Trump and his supporters much like a cat treats a litter-box. And we got the message: There is no limit to just how low they are willing to sink.
[Comment: Recommended reading.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Antifa Smashes Church During Portland Riots
(CBN) Saint Andre Bessette Church in Portland was ravaged by rioters this week amidst election delays. The church is said to regularly provide meals and other supplies for the homeless in the area, and were forced to shut down services because of the violence and destruction.
According to KOIN news in Portland, staff at the church had to “suspend worship services and their outreach programs for the homeless” after someone smashed multiple windows during rioting earlier this week.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Plans Immediate Executive Orders to Reverse Trump’s Policies
Projected President-Elect Joe Biden reportedly plans to sign a series of executive orders soon after being sworn into office on January 20.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago Weekend Violence: At Least 4 Killed, 30 Wounded in Shootings So Far This Weekend
CHICAGO (CBS) — At least 34 people have been shot across Chicago since Friday evening, four of them fatally.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
COVID Surge Getting Worse in Western New York
Health officials are reporting an explosion of new COVID-19 cases nationwide, and Western New York is not immune.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Sadly, modern-day major news broadcasts cannot be trusted to deliver news, much less serve as watchdogs.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Detroit Ballot Tabulators Entered Names of Non-Voters During Count
Two observers who were at the TFC Center in Detroit during the absentee ballot counting process have produced affidavits claiming they witnessed workers create new voter files with information obtained from ballots.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Fox News Pulls “Justice With Judge Jeanine” Over Voter Fraud Claims
The Fox News Channel did not air “Justice” with Jeanine Pirro on Saturday night.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Glitchy’ Dominion Voting Systems Tied to Clintons, Pelosi, Widely Used in Battleground States
A reported glitch in the software of Dominion Voting Systems equipment saw 6,000 votes switched from Republican to Democrat in Antrim County, Michigan on Tuesday. The county clerk caught the issue and it has reportedly been corrected. Similar glitches with the software were reported in Georgia.
“The county clerk [Sheryl Guy] came forward and said tabulating software glitched and caused a miscalculation of the votes,” Michigan GOP chair Laura Cox said. “Antrim County had to hand-count all of the ballots. And all these counties that use this software need to closely examine their results for similar discrepancies.”
The Denver-based company’s Dominion Democracy Suite 5.5 software was used in 69 counties in Michigan on Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
In 30 States, A Computer System Known to be Defective is Tallying Votes
Update (1100ET): Further down the ‘Domminion Voting System’ rabbit-hole, Politico reports that a technology glitch that halted voting in two Georgia counties on Tuesday morning was caused by a vendor uploading an update to their election machines the night before, a county election supervisor said.
Voters were unable to cast machine ballots for a couple of hours in Morgan and Spalding counties after the electronic devices crashed, state officials said. In response to the delays, Superior Court Judge W. Fletcher Sams extended voting until 11 p.m.
The counties use voting machines made by Dominion Voting Systems and electronic poll books — used to sign in voters — made by KnowInk.
Neither Dominion nor KnowInk responded to a request to comment. A spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office also did not respond to follow-up questions about who uploaded the dataset and whether it had been reviewed and tested by anyone beforehand.
As American Thinker’s Andrea Widburg detailed earlier, when Kyle Becker heard about the “glitchy” computer program in Antrim County, Michigan, the one that tried to give 6,000 Trump votes to Biden, he starting doing research into the system. He ended up finding an amazing amount of highly disturbing information. The Dominion system has been known for some time to be defective, yet 28 states use it. This post is a compilation of Becker’s information, both in his own tweets and in one other person’s tweet, about what’s going on with that system:…
In Texas, Dominion Voting Systems was turned down THREE TIMES for certification in state elections. It listed numerous reasons why the system had major security issues.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Jail Stephen Miller! Slate Joins Media Cry for Revenge Against Trump Supporters
This is just the latest in a growing call from the media and establishment left to criminalize politics, blacklist Trump supporters, and ruin people personally.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Jared Kushner Has Approached Trump About Conceding the Election: Report
“I will not rest until the American People have the honest vote count they deserve and that Democracy demands,” Trump said.
[Comment: Kushner’s loyalty is to the Deep State apparartus.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Update: sitting judges added to the list
The Great Purge was a campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union that occurred from 1936 to 1938. It involved a large-scale repression of wealthy peasants (kulaks); genocidal acts against ethnic minorities; a purge of the Communist Party, government officials, and the Red Army leadership; widespread police surveillance; suspicion of saboteurs; counter-revolutionaries; imprisonment; and arbitrary executions.
Historians estimate the total number of deaths due to Stalinist repression in 1937-38 to be between 680,000 and 1,200,000.
A list from the Great Purge signed by Stalin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Voroshilov, Mikoyan, and Chubar.
The term repression was officially used to describe the prosecution of people considered counter-revolutionaries and enemies of the people by the leader of the Soviet Union at the time, Joseph Stalin.
On Friday Democrat operatives organized the Trump Accountability Project.
Democrats are putting together a list of Trump supporters to punish after they steal the 2020 election.
Please explain how this is different than the communist purges?
We are watching history repeat itself.
Socialist Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is organizing this movement.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Man Shot Dead Near Seattle Biden Victory
A man was shot at the intersection of 10th Avenue and East Pike Street in Seattle early Sunday morning near a victory celebration for President-Elect Joe Biden, according to the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
MSM Plot Exposed: ‘Trusted News Initiative’ Leads Coup Against President Trump
RAIR Foundation USA While Americans were focused on communist-driven violent riots and Chinese coronavirus tyranny, the most powerful players in the mainstream…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Nolte: Backlash Against Fox News Explodes
What’s so awesome about all this is that Fox News is now hated by everyone.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Portland Resident Indicted for Providing Material Support to ISIS
The Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury in Portland returned a five count indictment against Portland resident Hawazen Sameer Mothafar, 31, charging two counts of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization and one count of providing and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339B(a)(1). In addition, the indictment charges Mothafar with one count of false statements in an immigration application in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1546(a) and one count of false statement to a government agency in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(2).
Mothafar had his initial appearance in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Jolie A. Russo yesterday. Due to the fact that Mothafar has physical disabilities and is confined to a wheelchair, the government did not seek detention. Rather, Mothafar was released on conditions including limitations on travel and the use of electronic devices.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
President Trump isn’t going to let Joe Biden and the crooked Democrats steal the 2020 election. He just came out to say that Biden is “rushing to falsely pose as winner.”
The networks are trying to push the narrative that Joe Biden is president because they’re saying Biden won Pennsylvania but there are still many unanswered questions about voter fraud. Supreme Court Justice Alito has also ordered any and all ballot received in Pennsylvania after polls closed to be segregated:
“All county boards of election are hereby ordered, pending further order of the Court, to comply with the following guidance provided by the Secretary of the Commonwealth on October 28 and November 1, namely, (1) that all ballots received by mail after 8:00 p.m. on November 3 be segregated and kept ‘in a secure, safe and sealed container separate from other voted ballots,’ and (2) that all such ballots, if counted, be counted separately.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The only relief that can be sought by the President and Republican candidates in the swing states that will realistically hand the presidency to the legitimate election winner, President Trump, will be in the state legislatures.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Report: Wisconsin Election Clerks May Have Illegally Altered Thousands of Ballots
Poll workers in Wisconsin may have unlawfully altered thousands of mail-in ballots due to unlawful guidance from the state’s election commission, according to a report.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Report: Wisconsin Election Clerks Tampered With Thousands of Ballots
Poll workers handling absentee ballots in Wisconsin received direction from election authorities to illegally alter ballots with missing information. The missing information — by law — made those absentee ballots invalid and ineligible to be included in tabulation.
But a report coming out of Wisconsin reveals that poll workers and ballot counters were given instruction by the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) to write in missing absentee ballot witness information on ballots that were missing that information.
Wisconsin law mandates that an absentee ballot requires a signature from a witness who also lists his or her address. This is to prevent voter fraud. Should a ballot not contain this witness information — including the witnesses address, the ballot is disallowed. It must be returned to the voter so that the witness can provide the required information or be rendered a spoiled ballot and excluded from tabulations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rod Blagojevich: Democrats Have Been Stealing Votes for Years
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich comments on the contested results across several key states in the presidential election match-up between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, and the ‘schemes’ he believes are going on at voting sites. — with Newsmax TV’s Rob Schmitt.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Saturday’s Media Declaration is a Naked Attempt to Silence Republicans, And Nothing Has Changed
Nothing has changed since Friday night.
You might find that strange, given the media stampede to certify the election results for their man, but it’s crucial. The calls made Saturday morning are as arbitrary as they were last Tuesday, could just as easily have waited for Monday, and fly in the face of massive evidence of voter irregularities that, at minimum, should be heard in court before anyone considers calling the election.
Add pending lawsuits and official recounts in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan and Wisconsin, and the conclusion is an attempt by the American media to pick our president and decide our election. The danger comes now, when in concert with Silicon Valley censors they use their own decree to dismiss and silence anyone who says otherwise.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The American People Deserve Explanations for These “Election Anomalies”
The big news networks seem to be pretending that they aren’t there, but the truth is that there are some very serious statistical “anomalies” that really need to be explained. The integrity of our elections is of the utmost importance, and over the last 24 hours I have seen some things that concern me greatly. I think that the mainstream media is assuming that they can just go ahead and declare victory for Joe Biden and that all of these “anomalies” will soon be forgotten, but I don’t think that Trump and his supporters will let this go. The stakes in this election are so high, and it won’t be so easy to sweep things under the rug like we have seen in the aftermath of past elections.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Kafka Election: Finding a Way Out of the Maze
Various irregularities have been reported in five big cities, all in strategic states, and particularly in Detroit, Mich.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Atlanta, Ga.; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Las Vegas, Nev. The allegations range from mysterious ballot drops that seem to show tens of thousands of votes for Joe Biden and zero votes for President Trump, inexplicable record turnouts in late-counting counties (all Democrat-dominated) that far surpass turnouts in counties in other states where the votes were counted on a timely basis; and of course the illegal banning of election observers in those very counties where the most outrageous anomalies are reported.
Democrats tell us that there is nothing to see here, and the compliant media dutifully moves along, unwilling to investigate on its own or even express any concern about potential wrongdoing. Even Fox News has turned into a lapdog for the Democrat Party, calling Arizona for Joe Biden long before anyone could know for sure which way the state would turn.
On Thursday night, as Fulton County was just about to swing Georgia into the Biden column, CNN’s John King arrogantly lectured Donald Trump:
“Guess what, Mr. President? We’re gonna count the votes, and if they favor you, we’re gonna show that. And if they don’t, we’re gonna show that. That’s how democracy works. We’re just counting the votes.”
Um, no, that’s not the way it works. News channels don’t count a damn thing. They just report numbers shipped out by election offices in various counties across the country, and if CNN or any other news outfit were actually doing their jobs, they would be alert for patterns suggesting fraud in the numbers they report. If “just counting the votes” were all that it took to have a democracy, then Vladimir Putin’s Russia would be a glorious example of democracy, as would the Islamic Republic of Iran…
So that brings us to the constitutional solution. This one is more elegant, but it still requires a heady dose of chutzpah. As noted, under Article II of the U.S. Constitution, the state legislatures are solely responsible for determining how each state’s electors are appointed. If a legislature were convinced that the presidential election in that state was tainted, it could convene and pass an emergency resolution declaring the election null and void and then choose to appoint a slate of electors by fiat. Since the claim of misconduct is being made by Republicans against Democrats, you can assume that it would take Republican-controlled legislatures to make such a bold move.
Fortuitously, Republicans do control both houses of the legislature in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and Arizona. Nevada alone among the contested states has a Democratic legislature. If legislators are convinced that the presidency has been wrested out of Republican hands through chicanery or corruption, they could set the matter right by exercising their constitutional prerogative. This is a heavy lift also, but if states intend to ever exercise their authority under our federal system of government, there would be no more appropriate time to do so than when one party seeks to arrogate unto itself power that it has not earned through a free and fair election.
The republic is at stake, and that’s not just a nightmare. It’s reality.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Top Pennsylvania Republicans Urge Gov. Wolf to Immediately ‘Audit’ Election
Top Republicans in the Pennsylvania Legislature called on Gov. Tom Wolf (D) Friday to carry out an “immediate audit” of the 2020 elections.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Lawyer Wants Recount in 28 States With ‘Glitch’ That Flipped 6,000 Votes to Biden
Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden declared himself winner on Saturday based on incomplete results in Pennsylvania, site of an ongoing legal battle over the validity of postal votes received after polling day.
US President Donald Trump’s campaign attorney has demanded recounts in every state using the software that wrongly gave 6,000 votes to Democrats in one Michigan county.
Jay Sekulow’s comments to Fox News on Friday followed revelations that the Dominion Voting Systems vote-tallying machine software that erroneously ‘flipped’ Antrim County in Michigan from the Republicans was being used in at least 28 states — including the key swing states where the result is being contested.
Those states include Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada and Pennsylvania, all key swing states. Democratic party challenger Joe Biden is leading the count in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania by wafer-thin margins of between 7,000 and 35,000.
This week it emerged that the Dominion software crashed voting machines in Georgia’s Spalding and Morgan counties crashed for two hours on election day after the company uploaded an update to them the night before. Spalding County election supervisor Marcia Ridley said the firm “uploaded something last night, which is not normal, and it caused a glitch.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The mainstream media has launched a coordinated effort to proclaim Joe Biden President-Elect.
President Trump and his campaign team have reminded Americans that “legal votes decide who is president, not the news media.”
As Constitutional lawyer, Jenna Ellis explains: “Joe Biden is not the president-elect just because media declares him so.”
Media coordinated efforts are attempting to simply declare Joe Biden the president and ignore the rule of law.
There is no official winner until every legal vote is counted accurately, the states certify results, and all legal challenges are resolved.
As a reminder, here are the official dates that matter (as opposed to what CNN et al. think).
December 8: States are expected to resolve controversies at least six days before the meeting of electors.
December 14: Electors meet in respective states to certify their votes for President and Vice President.
As Trump said earlier, “this election is far from over.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Two Statistical Curiosities That Allowed Biden to Pull Ahead in PA: Please Share
Update With Benford’s Law Criticism
A brief note. I’ve been asked to examine the Pennsylvania votes. That work is ongoing. Update See below for a serious critique of Benford’s law.
I’m showing here (with permission) the one analysis I found most curious.
This is official county-level timed voting data that started at 2020-11-04 11:00:00, a day after the election, to 2020-11-07 11:29:00 which is Saturday night. That is, these are all late vote counts. They start, county by county, where the vote left off on election night.
This is a picture of the running totals by the time the votes were added, summed across all counties, during those time periods. They do not start at 0, but at the totals given after election night.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Alex Jones Goes to Arizona, Confronts Antifa, Joins Pro-Trump Protests
Talk radio and television host Alex Jones received a hero’s welcome in Maricopa County, Arizona when he showed up to lead a demonstration in support of a fair election, as controversy swirls around Democrat candidate Joe Biden’s bizarre jump into the lead in key battleground states in the wee hours of the morning.
Jones’ appearance in Maricopa County was reminiscent of a rock star’s entrance into Woodstock in the 1960s. As far back as the eye could see, the legendary freedom activist mas mobbed and cheered on by thousands of Pro-Trump protesters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Virginia: In Tight Race, Officials Miraculously Find 15,000 Mostly Dem Votes on USB Flash Drive
Amid accusations of massive battleground state election fraud meant to swing the Presidential race for Democrat Joe Biden, outraged voters in the 7th District of Virginia are sounding the alarm after incumbent Democrat Abigail Spanberger was propelled to victory by the discovery of nearly 15,000 early absentee votes stored on a thumb drive in the Richmond suburb of Henrico County.
In a chain of events similar to those that have played out around the country, with roughly 85% of votes reported as being tallied, Republican challenger Nick Freitas, as well as President Donald Trump, led their respective races in the 7th District by a wide margin, only to see those leads evaporate the next day following the ballots’ apparent discovery.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Wait Just a Minute! Some Very Good News May be Coming
This thing is not only not over; it is scary for Biden.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: Biden Supporters Scream ‘F*** Fascist USA!’ at Texas Trump Supporters Singing National Anthem
A group of Joe Biden (D) supporters screamed obscenities at President Donald Trump supporters while they sang the National Anthem on Saturday in Austin, Texas.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Why We Stand With President Trump
The fight over Tuesday’s election is existential. It’s about liberty versus tyranny — in some form and degree.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Wisconsin Clerks May Have Unlawfully Altered Thousands of Absentee Ballots
County and municipal clerks and poll workers across Wisconsin may have unlawfully altered witness statements on thousands of mail-in ballots across the state, “The Dan O’Donnell Show” has learned.
Wisconsin Statute 6.86 provides that an absentee ballot must be signed by a witness, who is also required to list his or her address. If a witness address is not listed, then the ballot is considered invalid and must be returned to the voter to have the witness correct.
Instead, multiple sources tell “The Dan O’Donnell Show,” municipal clerks and vote counters across the state simply filled out witness signatures themselves. Acting on false and unlawful advice from the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC), these clerks may have inadvertently invalidated thousands of absentee votes.
“The statute is very, very clear,” said retired Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who worked as a poll watcher in Milwaukee on Election Day. “If an absentee ballot does not have a witness address on it, it’s not valid. That ballot is not valid.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Bad Start: Anti-Brexit Biden Declines Comment to British Media — ‘The BBC? I’m Irish’
British-American relations under a potential Biden presidency are off to a bad start, with the 77-year-old Democrat declining to give comment to the British press, saying: “The BBC? I’m Irish.”
Vote counting in the U.S. continues in some areas and results have not been officially certified, with President Donald Trump alleging fraud and declining to concede — yet much of the mainstream media have declared Mr Biden the winner or at least the projected winner of the election regardless.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Belgian Police Arrest 2 Minors Suspected of Plotting Attack
BRUSSELS — The office of Belgium’s federal prosecutor says two underage people suspected of plotting what it called a terror attack have been arrested.
Aged 16 and 17, they were arrested on Oct. 31 following raids in the cities of Eupen and La Calamine, located in the province of Liege. The prosecutor’s office said they are suspected of “attempted terrorist assassination and participation in a terrorist organization.”
The two minors have been placed in a youth protection center.
According to Belgian broadcaster RTBF, the two suspects had recorded a video of allegiance to the Islamic State group and are suspected of planning a stabbing attack against police officers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Teacher Who Posted Jihadi-Mocking Cartoon Forced Into Hiding by Threats
A Dutch teacher in the city of Rotterdam was allegedly forced to go into hiding after receiving threats when he posted a picture of a cartoon mocking jihadists.
The teacher is said to have received various threats after posting a cartoon of a decapitated man with a Charlie Hebdo t-shirt sticking is tongue out at a jihadist with a bloody sword.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Intelligence Services: Islamic Terrorism Has Never Disappeared From Europe
According to intelligence services, the threat of terrorist attacks in Europe is “long-term.” Radical Islamism has not disappeared in recent years, but most attacks have not become known to the wide public due to the low number of victims. Rather than extensive attacks, the current problem is the terrorist acts of individuals that are difficult to predict.
The murder of the teacher in Paris, the massacre in the church in Nice, and the terrorist attack in the center of Vienna on Monday are just a few examples of attacks in recent weeks. Besides them, there were several other incidents, which have since been forgotten, such as the machete attack in Dresden or violence and murders in the French suburbs.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Salvini and Allies Demand Govt Suspend Taxes in Lockdown Areas
Populist Senator Matteo Salvini’s League, along with their allies Forza Italia, has called on the Italian government to suspend taxes in areas under lockdown to save local businesses.
The two parties have called on the left-wing coalition government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to freeze tax collection in areas declared as “red zones,” which are seeing the strictest lockdown measures enacted to stop the spread of the Wuhan virus.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The European Commission’s Forecast: The Drop in the Czech Economy to be Lower Than Expected
According to the European Commission, the Czech economy is expected to drop by 6.9 percent this year due to the coronavirus crisis, which is an improvement compared to previous estimates.
In its macroeconomic forecast, on the other hand, the EC worsened the prospects for the recovery of the Czech economy next year, when gross domestic product is expected to increase by only 3.1 percent. This is 1.4 percentage points less than in its summer forecast.
The slower economic recovery is related to the second wave of the pandemic due to which the Czech Government, as in the spring, had to enact measures that led to a significant reduction in economic activity, the EC reasoned.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Churchill’s Legacy Considered for Review by Imperial War Museum After Black Lives Matter
The legacy of Britain’s wartime leader, Sir Winston Churchill, is reported to have been under review at the Imperial War Museum, in the latest blow against British history amid the iconoclastic Black Lives Matter unrest.
Churchill has long been a target of ire for the radical leftist movement, which has accused the man credited with defeating Nazi Germany of being racist and a colonialist.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A 33-year-old man received a “life” sentence for a string of gruesome attacks which saw him run over a five-year-old, slash the throat of a 10-year-old boy, and stab a mother walking with her children and a man in his seventies in the head.
Carlos Racitalal was convicted of four counts of attempted murder for his attacks, perpetrated on four separate occasions, at Leicestershire Crown Court, along with three counts of possession of a bladed article, according to an official Leicestershire Police news bulletin.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Pics: Queen, 94, Leaves Isolation to Lay Flowers at Tomb of the Unknown Warrior
Queen Elizabeth II left isolation to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, as Britain attempts to commemorate the fallen despite the coronavirus lockdown.
Britain’s 94-year-old monarch, the only European head of state to have seen some service in the Second World War, training as a driver and mechanic in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, has been following government instructions to “shield” since it began regulating against the pandemic, making few public appearances — but was unwilling to sit out the country’s annual commemorations for “the glorious dead”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Why is it Right to Question the Orthodox COVID-19 Narrative?
So, how do we go about evaluating the effectiveness of lockdowns? Where is the evidence that the virus ultimately causes far more deaths in the absence of extreme social restrictions? Where are those countries that followed a different course from countries like the UK (which locked down, but did not suppress the virus) and now have higher death tolls than us? By simply assuming that his counterfactual claim is true, Bramble illustrates our worry that lockdowns risk becoming an unfalsifiable article of faith. In fact, he even asserts that “the science on this is beyond question”. Is it really? If so, all the disease modelers who have made dire predictions concerning the current UK situation will be delighted to hear that their work will be forever immune from critique, even if it turns out that their models have little bearing on reality. And, in any case, none of them would endorse Bramble’s exaggerated claim that, without a lockdown, there would have been “many millions of deaths” in countries such as the UK.
In fact, much about the behaviour of this virus remains unclear, including how the infection rate is influenced by growing immunity within a population. There is no single, homogeneous entity called “the science”. Rather, there are many different and often conflicting perspectives, theories, and claims. Furthermore, this is a complicated, fast-changing situation that impacts on all aspects of human society. Relevant expertise thus encompasses a wide range of academic disciplines and areas of practice. Philosophers should not simply defer to “the experts”; they also have plenty of relevant expertise themselves.
What we do know is that lockdowns are immensely damaging in so many ways. This second UK lockdown will further disrupt the social and emotional development of our children, cause a substantial rise in severe mental health problems, force many elderly people to live out the final weeks and perhaps months of their lives in loneliness and misery, exacerbate and prolong the pain of bereavement by depriving people of interpersonal and social interactions that shape and regulate grief, destroy livelihoods and risk mass unemployment, increase regional social and economic inequalities, reduce the life-opportunities of young people while saddling them with an ever-growing mountain of debt to pay off, suspend much of what gives our lives meaning, deprive people of countless precious, irreplaceable life-moments, and cause deaths due to the numerous resulting impacts on people’s health.
However, the true extent of certain harms, such as the long-term effects of sustained lockdown measures on children’s development, may not become fully clear for some time.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is ready to veto the EU budget and the recovery fund if the payment of funds to individual member states is subject to the rule of law, according to a report from Mandiner.
Hungary’s veto threat comes after the German presidency of the Council of the European Union and the negotiators of the European Parliament reached an agreement on the conditionality of EU funds, which both the conservative governments of Hungary and Poland believe is a serious threat.
According to the draft, if the European Commission detects a breach of the rule of law or a risk thereof in a member state, it can launch the initiation of a sanction mechanism. The sanctions would be decided by the European Council by a qualified majority vote, and thus on the possible suspension of EU funds. In such a scenario, Hungary and Poland would be unable to veto the sanctions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Erdogan’s Jihad on “Infidel Europe”
The jihad against Europe by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is probably based on both ideology and opportunism. Fierce anti-Western rhetoric is an ideological sine qua non for Turkish political Islam; it is also a secure vote-catcher targeting conservative and nationalist masses.
Erdogan’s jihadism is not seasonal or a newfound system of political ideas. It is also not a reflection of peaceful sufism. Erdogan comes from the ranks of Turkey’s militant political Islamism that emerged in late 1960s under the leadership of the ideologue, Necmettin Erbakan, Turkey’s first Islamist prime minister and Erdogan’s mentor. In Erbakan’s rhetoric universal politics is simply about a struggle between the righteous (Islam) and a coalition of Zionists and racist imperialists — all else is just details. In his thinking, the Zionists support Turkey’s membership in the European Union in order to “get Turkish Muslims to melt in a pot of Christianity.”
In a 2016 speech, Erdogan talked of European countries: “These are not just our enemies… Behind them are plans and plots and other powers.” Also in 2016, he said that jihad is never terrorism. “It is resurrection… It is to give life, to build… It is to fight the enemies of Islam.” In 2017, Erdogan added that the German government’s actions resembled those of Nazi Germany.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Our past was in Asia but our future is in Europe!” This was how Mesut Yilmaz portrayed his vision for Turkey in a panel debate in Davos in the 1990s.
At the time, Yilmaz, who died last week at the age of 73, was one of the rising stars of Turkish politics and a generation that seemed destined to complete a revolution that had started in the 1880s in the Ottoman Empire. That revolution had aimed at transforming the moribund empire into a modern Western-style state capable of reversing more than a century of decline that had earned the caliphate the sobriquet of “Sick man of Europe.”
By the start of the 20th century, however, it had become clear that building a modern European-style state, based on the Westphalian principles, required the existence of a nation also in the European sense of the term; an impossible task as long as the Ottoman state remained a multi-national empire whose legitimacy was based on religion which, by definition, excludes the very concept of a nation-state.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
21-year-old Hindu girl Nikita Tomar was shot dead by one Tauseef, who belongs to an influential family of Congress politicians, in broad daylight outside her college on October 26 Monday, allegedly after she refused his proposal for marriage. The family of the deceased, seeking justice for their young daughter who was brutally murdered by Touseef, have now put up posters outside their house stating Tauseef’s motive behind the murder and seeking justice for their daughter’s brutal killing.
According to the report by Swarajya journalist Swati Goyal Sharma, the family who has been mourning the untimely death of their daughter, have put up two large posters on the entrance of the house. One reads: “Laado hum sharminda hain tere kaatil zinda hain. Haryana sarkar hosh mein aao. Hatyaron ko faarsi do. India wants justice for Nikita Tomar (Dear, we are ashamed that your killers are still alive. Come to senses, Haryana government. Hang the killers. India wants justice for Nikita Tomar”.)
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Largest State-Run Chinese Newspaper Laughs at Trump in First Reaction to Biden ‘Win’
Within mere minutes of major US networks in what appeared a coordinated effort declared Joe Biden President-Elect the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party issued it’s first reaction which took the form of gleeful mockery.
“HaHa,” tweeted the People’s Daily, the largest state-owned newspaper in China. Two laughing emoji were also included in the message.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Study Offers More Proof That UV Light Kills Coronavirus
Regular UV light is widely used to eliminate germs on surfaces, but has a wavelength of 254 nanometers, an intense UV exposure which scientists say can actually penetrate the human body. However, a team at Hiroshima University found Ultraviolet C light with a wavelength of 222 nanometers offers a safer but still effective way to kill SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, without harming human cells.
While 254-nm light can break through the outer layer of dead cells on the skin and eyes, irradiating human tissue, the Far-UVC light cannot penetrate human skin or eyes. Not only that, but after just 30 seconds of exposure, researchers discovered 222-nm light kills 99.7% of the virus.
The findings offer hospitals safer ways to sterilize work areas while keeping staff and patients out of danger.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The COVID-19 pandemic saw an influx of southerners making the move north, driving rental prices up and availability down to next to nothing.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Farmers in parts of Queensland, NSW, Victoria and SA claim they have to plough their bumper crops into the ground due to a critical shortage of fruit pickers in the peak season.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
As COVID-19 cases continue to dwindle, Professor McGorry cited predictions from more recent scientific models that Australia would face a ‘second curve of mental ill-health and suicide’.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Mexican President: Imprudent to Congratulate Biden Before Election’s Legal Issues Resolved
Mexico’s President said it is too early to congratulate any of the U.S. presidential candidates since the elections still have several pending legal issues. In an effort to be respectful to the process, he will wait until all legal matters are resolved before congratulating the winner.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Afghan Migrant Who Brutally Beat 76-Year-Old Nun in Austria is Arrested by Police
Austrian police have arrested an Afghan migrant who brutally beat a 76-year-old Catholic nun in the multicultural city of Graz. The assault is only the latest in spate of barbaric anti-Christian attacks to take place across Western Europe in the past month.
The 19-year-old migrant attacker, who was known to authorities for previous drug and assault offenses, hit the elderly nun in the face, knocking her to the floor, as she traveled on the bus with another religious sister on Saturday afternoon. Shortly after, the perpetrator fled the scene. Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung reports.
After reviewing captured video footage from the bus, the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counter Terrorism promptly identified the Afghan-born assailant and arrested him. Shortly after his arrest, upon being interrogated by police, the Afghan migrant confessed to the crime. According to police, the motive for the attack is still unclear.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canary Islands See 1,600 Migrants Arrive Over Weekend
More than 1,600 African migrants have been rescued at sea or reached Spain’s Canary Islands over the weekend, Spanish emergency services said.
About 1,000 arrived on Saturday alone, setting out on about 20 barely seaworthy boats.
One person was flown to hospital by helicopter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czech Customs Officers Detain a Turkish Truck With Dozens of Migrants
On Thursday afternoon, Czech customs officers stopped a truck transporting 48 migrants in the South Moravian Region after an X-ray detected people in the semi-trailer.
Customs spokeswoman Lada Temnakova said that this was a usual inspection in which customs officers on the D2 highway stopped and inspected a tractor with a semi-trailer. “It had a Turkish license plate. There were two drivers inside, and according to the documents, they were supposed to be transporting tiles,” said the spokeswoman.
However, a large-object X-ray by the customs officers revealed people inside the trailer. The customs officers thus made the truck park near the small town of Podivin, and around 5 p.m., people gradually started coming out of it with the assistance of police officers. “They are young men and one woman; there is no child among them. They said they were from Syria and headed for Germany,” the spokeswoman added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Mayor Blames Crime on ‘Right-Wingers’ That Was Actually Committed by Muslim Migrants
Here is the disconnect between the establishment narrative regarding the “right-wing” threat and “Islamophobia” on the one hand, and reality on the other.
“Egyptians carry out attacks on Syrians,” translated from “Ägypter verübt Anschläge auf Syrer,” by Sven Hadon, Bild, November 4, 2020 (thanks to Medforth).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Migrant Crossings: Eight Migrants Brought Ashore by Border Force
Eight migrants have been brought ashore by immigration officials after almost 100 made the journey in just two days.
Seven men and one woman were seen huddled in a dinghy before they were picked up and taken to Dover by Border Force on Saturday.
The Home Office said 56 people made the crossing on Thursday, while a further 40 arrived on Friday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Migration Watch: Number of Freed Foreign Criminals Has Doubled Since 2012
A report from a mass migration sceptic think tank has revealed that the number of convicted foreign criminals freed to roam the streets of Britain has doubled since 2012, and warned that the increase poses a growing risk to families.
The Migration Watch UK analysis found that some 9,400 foreign national offenders (FNOs) are living free in communities across the United Kingdom, up from under 4,000 in 2012.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Information War? Internet Archive to Rewrite History With Alerts for ‘Fact-Checked’Sites
According to an Archive.org blog post, you will now know if a page was pulled down or received an alert over what “fact-checkers” consider “misinformation.”
This also includes “dead” web pages that were archived. The Internet Archive has started adding fact checks and context to Wayback Machine pages to explain just why the pages were removed. If a page was part of a disinformation campaign or pulled due to a policy violation, a distinct yellow banner will explain why.
The fact checks will come from a variety of mainstream outlets, including FactCheck.org, Politifact, the Associated Press, and the Washington Post. Which absolutely in no way will be manipulated, right?
Of course, that’s obvious sarcasm, as those controlling what is and isn’t disinformation will be the wolves guarding the hen house so to speak. A good question to ask is how does Archive.org treat verifiable information like the Bush administration lying about WMDs, the Al-Nayirah testimony lie that almost sunk us into a war with Afghanistan or the validated conspiratorial facts surrounding 9/11, like the hijackers being given Visas from the Saudi Arabia consulate, as documented by Michael Springmann, who worked as the Head of the Visa Department at the CIA’s consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
[Comment: Commies are continuouslt rewriting history everywhere. Orwell 1984 has come to life.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Pope’s New Encyclical: A Surrender?
The Pope’s Encyclical “Fratelli Tutti” (“Brothers All”) sadly seems more a massive and unwieldy political document than a religious guide to the Catholic faithful. The encyclical’s intended audience appears to be secular world rather than people of faith. The 43,000-word tome contains almost no discussion of Catholic dogmas. Although the Pontiff’s diagnosis of the world’s ills seems accurate enough, unfortunately his proposed antidotes — equality of result rather than equality of opportunity and individual liberty, the bedrocks of Western democracies — would seriously threaten freedom.
The Pope, for instance, implies that the twilight of the planet’s centuries old diplomatic nation-state system has arrived, prompting the need for a more globalist political system. Regrettably, that usually brings with it no transparency, no accountability and no recourse. Think of the United Nations, the UN Human Rights Council, the International Criminal Court or the European Union.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“FRANCE: BURN TILL YOU LEARN!”
Older video, and I’ve posted it before, but the last third in particular is very informative on the origins of the Post-Modernist movement.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/TNyVcP0e5hw/
Peterborough mosque wants daily calls to prayer played through loudspeaker
https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/people/peterborough-mosque-wants-daily-calls-prayer-played-through-loudspeaker-3027860
https://twitter.com/Holbornlolz/status/1325475152226881537
I’m not a Catholic so I wouldn’t know, is there any way for a Pope to be removed other than resignation like Pope Ratzinger?
I have read that there have been quite a few who have been removed by a variety of untimely ends including poisonings, beatings, starving, stabbing, and beheading to name a few.
Since they are supposedly elected for life without any other means of removal, it shouldn’t be too surprising that ones who have made a nuisance of themselves should be shuffled out of office in such a manner.
some had mental illnesses. and one was the bastard son of the medicis.
Avignon: an Algerian gets a 6 month suspended prison sentence for sexual assault on a 14-year-old disabled girl
https://www.fdesouche.com/2020/11/09/avignon-84-un-algerien-en-situation-irreguliere-condamne-a-6-mois-de-prison-avec-sursis-pour-une-agression-sexuelle-sur-une-jeune-fille-handicapee-de-14-ans/
Hi Mason,
good to see someone reading fdesouche. I am no more an avid reader, too many ” bullies” there. I like GoV much more.Your Topic: it seems to be their prefered way of procreation, hence the devastating genetic results.
just read the article , sarc. on: 6 months on probation is an outrage of terror justice! The girl is 14 and his religion established the age of consent at 9 years. How could he know better? The mother too was under supervision of authorities, I learned. That is some pedigree…..son of a gun.
‘We have a lot to do’: Macron congratulates Joe Biden on winning US presidential election
https://www.thelocal.fr/20201107/we-have-a-lot-to-do-macron-congratulates-joe-biden-on-becoming-us-president
Deal Struck to End Nagorno-Karabakh War
Moscow confirms peace deal signed for immediate and “complete cessation of hostilities.”
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/11/09/armenian-pm-announces-end-to-nagorno-karabakh-hostilities-a71997