Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/2/2020

The German city of Leipzig has banned the sale of heated alcoholic beverages as part of an effort to mitigate the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus. Meanwhile, the government of Wales announced that it will issue official ID cards for citizens showing their COVID vaccination history.

In other news, two women were stabbed in the neck by a “local man” in a Marks and Spencer store in the English city of Burnley in Lancashire.

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

Thanks to Fjordman, 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
» Australia’s Unemployed Snub Farm Work Offer of $6,000 in Six Weeks — With Most Preferring to Stay on Generous Jobkeeper
» Report: U.N. Climate Projects Swamped With Fraud, Corruption Allegations
 
USA
» “This May be the Most Important Speech I’ve Ever Made”: Trump Slams Election Results in 46-Minute-Long Address
» Betsy Devos Calls Free College and Forgiveness of Student Debt a “Socialist Takeover of Higher Education”
» Breaking: DOJ Sues New York Village Over Orthodox Jew Discrimination
» Candace Owens is Suing the ‘Fact Checkers’
» CNN Threatens Legal Action Against James O’Keefe for Recording Private Meetings
» Defunding Police Backfires in Minneapolis as Shootings, Homicides, And Carjackings Surge
» Democratic Austin Mayor Urged Citizens “Not to Relax… Stay Home” While Vacationing in Cabo
» Dominion Whistleblower Testifies on “Complete Fraud” At Detroit Voting
» Dozens of Body Bags Left in Front of GOP Senators’ Homes
» Facebook Reached Out to Biden to Help With Vaccine Response, Will Push “Authoritative” Content
» Facebook Oversight Board Takes on Its First Case — an Anti-Trump Post That Got Censored
» House Passes Bill Forcing Chinese Companies to Agree to Audit Oversight or Delist From US
» IRS Says Its Own Error Sent $1,200 Stimulus Checks to Non-Americans Overseas
» More Than 2,400 Californians Now Suspected of Voting in Nevada’s Election
» Owner of NYC Bar Arrested Days After Declaring “Autonomous Zone” To Dodge Pandemic Restrictions
» Pennsylvania School Principal Fired After Posting Memes on Facebook is Suing
» Post-George Floyd, a Wave of “Anti-Racist” Teaching Sweeps K-12 Schools Targeting “Whiteness”
» Project Veritas Infiltrates CNN ‘Rundown’ Calls; Execs Trash Trump, Call Tucker Carlson ‘White Supremacy Hour’
» Trump’s COVID-19 Vaccine Czar Says Vaccines Are Safe, Fewer Than 15% of Trial Participants Report Side Effects
» Trump Vows to Veto NDAA Unless it Scraps Section Protecting Big Tech
» Trump Hints at 2024 Presidential Run in Remarks at White House Party
» Twitter Bans Mathematician Witness Who Testified in Arizona
» Video: Obama Admits His Drone Strikes Killed Tons of Innocent People, Defends Them Anyway
» Video: Trump Says “See You in Four Years” To White House Guests
» Wikipedia Bans Newsmax as a “Reliable” Source After Election Coverage
» With a More Conservative Supreme Court, NRA Brings Lawsuit Against New Jersey
» Woman Charged for Attempted Terrorist Attack on Railroad Facility in Washington State Was a Democratic Party Organizer — Reports
 
Europe and the EU
» “The Benefits Far Outweigh the Risks” — Pfizer COVID Vaccine Wins UK Approval
» 100 Welsh Pubs Ban First Minister Drakeford Over Booze Ban
» After Mass Protests, France Backtracks on Controversial Law That Would Ban Filming Police
» Another COVID Sex Ban Triggered for 99 Per Cent of England
» Britons Can See Their Elderly Relatives in Care Homes… If They Test Negative for Coronavirus First
» European People’s Party Gathers Signatures to Expel Hungarian MEP Deutsch
» German City Launches Christmas Drinking Ban in Hope of Fighting Coronavirus
» Leaked Document Proves Connecting EU Budget With Rule of Law is Illegal
» Man Arrested After Woman Stabbed in Neck & Another Seriously Injured in Brutal Attack in England (Videos)
» Massive Police Response After Two Women Stabbed in England Department Store
» Soros Proposed Perpetual Bonds to Circumvent Polish-Hungarian Recovery Fund Veto
» UK Equality and Human Rights Commission Member Alasdair Henderson Criticized by Media for ‘Liked’ Tweets
» Welsh Government Says People Will Get ID Cards to Prove They’ve Been Vaccinated
 
Russia
» Putin Orders Mass COVID Vaccinations to Begin Next Week in Russia
 
Far East
» China Says That Coronavirus May Have Origins in Nine Countries, Czechia Included
» China is Working on a Data and Surveillance Driven “Smart City”
» Hong Kong Activists Joshua Wong & Agnes Chow Jailed for Defying Beijing
» US Ambassador Slams China for ‘Spreading Disinformation’ With Fake Image Insulting Australia and Urges Beijing to ‘Come Clean’ On the Origins of COVID-19
 
Australia — Pacific
» Australian Businesses BOYCOTT China and Refuse to Ever Use Its Products — Vowing to Turn to Home-Grown Suppliers as Trade War Intensifies
» Beijing’s Chilling Threat: Communist Media Warns Australia is ‘Economically Dependent on China’ And That Plans to Diversify Exports Will Never Work
» Calls for Working From Home to be Banned on Mondays and Fridays — as Businesses Struggle With No Customers in Ghost-Town Cbds
» China Attacks Australia With New Cartoons and Warns of ‘Lasting Punishments’ Due to ‘Arrogant Narcissist Scott Morrison’ — But the US Vows to Stand by Our Side
» Coronavirus Vaccine Will be Rolled Out in Australia in March — Four Months After it’s Available Overseas — and There’ll be No Fines for Refusing the Jab
» COVID-19 Vaccine Which Australia Has Ordered 10 Million Doses of is Approved in UK and Could be Rolled Out Next Week — Here’s What it Means for You and Why it Could Change Hotel Quarantine for Returning Travellers
» Daniel Andrews Attempts to Talk Tough on China’s Aussie Soldier Insult — Until Reporters Raise a Very Pointed Question About His Controversial Belt and Road Initiative Deal With Beijing
» How Australia’s Fight With China Could Ruin Our Roaring Economy — With the Trade Surplus Already Plunging by a Chilling 39% in Just Three Months
» ‘Twenty Years Ago We Did No Trade With China and Australia Was a Pretty Good Place’: Senator Says We Can Stand Up to ‘Bullying’ Beijing and Find Other Trade Partners
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Pope Francis Condemns Boko Haram ‘Atrocities’ In Nigeria
» Tanzania: Moderate Sufis Recruiting Youths to Join Jihad Terror Cells in Mozambique
 
Immigration
» Cyprus: Migrant Boat Spotted Off Cape Greco Turned Back (Updated)
» France is Refusing to Stop Cross-Channel Migrant Boats Once They Are in the Water Heading for Britain, Admits Minister, Despite Receiving Millions From UK Taxpayers to Block Life-Threatening Journeys
» Fuming Priti Patel Lists Horrendous Crimes of Murderers and Rapists Who Are Still in Britain After ‘Lefty Lawyers’ Force Flight Sending Jamaican Serious Criminals Home to Take Off With Just 13 of the 57 Deportees on Board
» Germany: Muslim Migrant Attacks Synagogue, Jewish Girl Says She is Muslim to Avoid Assault by Muslim Classmates
» Minister Blasts ‘Morally Reprehensible’ Social Media Giants for Failing to Remove ‘Marketing Material’ For People-Smugglers Ferrying Illegal Migrants to Britain
» Polish Border Guard Stops Illegal Migrants From Turkey
 
Culture Wars
» Actor Ellen Page Comes Out as Transgender
» Studio 10 Host Sarah Harris Apologises to Elliot Page for ‘Brain Snap Reaction’ Where She Used the Wrong Pronouns While Discussing the Actor Coming Out as Transgender
» Supreme Court Denies Satanic Temple Appeal in Case Over Missouri Abortion Laws
» UN Unveils Digital Biometric ID Passes
» World Economic Forum Encourages Plebs to Eat Weeds & Drink Sewage
 

Australia’s Unemployed Snub Farm Work Offer of $6,000 in Six Weeks — With Most Preferring to Stay on Generous Jobkeeper

A renewed push will begin Wednesday to encourage young Australians aged between 18 and 30 to look for regional work and help get fruit, vegetables and grain into supermarkets.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Report: U.N. Climate Projects Swamped With Fraud, Corruption Allegations

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is facing allegations of fraud and corruption linked to the multibillion-dollar Global Environment Facility, the Financial Times revealed Tuesday.

The claims of gross financial mismanagement come just 12 months after the U.N. investigated — and cleared — itself of any and all allegations relating to “fraud, misappropriation of funds, systemic corruption, gross nepotism, and sexual misconduct” in regard to the work of the U.N.’s embattled agency for Palestinian “refugees.”

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

“This May be the Most Important Speech I’ve Ever Made”: Trump Slams Election Results in 46-Minute-Long Address

President Trump slammed the results of the 2020 election in a 46-minute-long speech livestreamed on Wednesday night.

He began the speech with, “This may be the most important speech I’ve ever made.”

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

Betsy Devos Calls Free College and Forgiveness of Student Debt a “Socialist Takeover of Higher Education”

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos called Democrats’ proposals to provide free college and cancel existing student debt a “socialist takeover of higher education” during the Federal Student Aid Virtual Training Conference on Tuesday.

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

Breaking: DOJ Sues New York Village Over Orthodox Jew Discrimination

The US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the Village of Airmont in New York for its enforcement of zoning restrictions targeting the Orthodox Jewish community.

The DOJ alleges that city officials violated the Religious Land Use and Institutilized Persons Act (RLUIPA) b y targeting the Orthodox Jewish community through zoning ordinances restricting religious schools and home synagogues, and did so in a way that discriminated against the group to prevent them from using their property consistent with their faith.

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

Candace Owens is Suing the ‘Fact Checkers’

Candace Owens is suing Facebook ‘fact checkers’ for falsely labeling her posts as fake news, which caused her entire account to be demonetized.

She has a strong case which exposes the ‘fact checkers’ for precisely what they are — parasitical left-wing front groups that exist solely to censor dissident content.

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

CNN Threatens Legal Action Against James O’Keefe for Recording Private Meetings

CNN says it has notified law enforcement after learning of James O’Keefe’s planned release of some of the network’s internal editorial calls, saying that the secret recordings “may be a felony.”

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

Defunding Police Backfires in Minneapolis as Shootings, Homicides, And Carjackings Surge

Minneapolis has transformed into an inner-city warzone in six months, just like Baltimore and Detroit, with violent crime surging to levels not seen in decades after millions of dollars in police budget cuts.

Minneapolis, or as some say, “Murderapolis,” has witnessed an explosion in homicides and carjacking this year as a severe shortageof police officers has resulted in dwindling patrols.

Minneapolis City Council members defunded the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) back in June, with council members on Monday planning to cut an additional $8 million in police funding and transfer it to other services, a move that could undermine public safety.

In November, more than 500 people were shot this year across the dangerous metro area, the most in 15 years, the local Star Tribune reported. Homicides have also erupted to levels not seen since the 1990s.

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

Democratic Austin Mayor Urged Citizens “Not to Relax… Stay Home” While Vacationing in Cabo

George Orwell’s Animal Farm gave us the useful phrase “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

That book was written as an allegorical warning against communism, but, as PJMedia’s Bryan Preston details below, since COVID struck Democrats tend to use it as a how-to.

The latest case in point is Austin Mayor Steve Adler. Back in November, he told Austin to stay home to stay safe. But he wasn’t at home at all when he said this.

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

Dominion Whistleblower Testifies on “Complete Fraud” At Detroit Voting

A contractor for Dominion Voting Systems who was present during the Nov. 3 election at Detroit’s TCF Center testified at a Senate Committee hearing on Tuesday, telling the panel that she saw fraud throughout the day, as well as on Nov. 4, according to the Epoch Times.

“What I witnessed at the TCF Center was complete fraud. The whole 27 hours I was there, there were batches of ballots being ran through the tabulating machines numerous times, being counted 8 to 10 times. I watched this with my own eyes; I was there to assist with IT,” said Melissa Carone, who added that there were ‘completely untrained’ people working night shift — including a friend she’s known for two decades.

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

Dozens of Body Bags Left in Front of GOP Senators’ Homes

Angry protesters pushing for COVID-19 relief bombarded several GOP senators’ homes with dozens of body bags on Tuesday. This comes after months of gridlock over negotiations in Congress.

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

Facebook Reached Out to Biden to Help With Vaccine Response, Will Push “Authoritative” Content

Facebook is set to assist a potential Biden administration with coronavirus vaccine response. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg did not provide details but hinted that the company would censor vaccine-skeptic content to coincide with the rollout.

In a live-streamed interview with the head of the coronavirus response team Dr. Anthony Fauci, Zuckerberg said that Facebook is trying to help a potential Biden administration respond to the virus.

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

Facebook Oversight Board Takes on Its First Case — an Anti-Trump Post That Got Censored

Facebook’s system of moderation and censorship and the resulting “rules and standards” may have become too complicated for the company itself to understand and live up to.

Various initiatives, designed to appease critics, such as setting up the Oversight Board, don’t look to be very helpful, either. As reports show, critics have not been appeased; and even though the Board’s job is to review appeals on previous decisions to remove content, its work so far does not promise to bring much clarity into the process, or come up with decisions that will do anything but further deepen political and ideological divides on the platform, and accusations of bias.

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

House Passes Bill Forcing Chinese Companies to Agree to Audit Oversight or Delist From US

Not long after a top US intelligence official unveiled the existence of a Chinese intelligence operation, the House passed a bill that, should it become law, would force Chinese companies listed in the US to either adhere to strict American accounting standards, or delist and go elsewhere.

We’ve reported on the push to pass the bill several times. Trump made the issue a high priority this fall as election day neared. The bill targets a loophole that allows Chinese companies to essentially write their own rules when it comes to auditing, something that has led to literally dozens of corporate frauds that have cost American and international investors billions of dollars.

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

IRS Says Its Own Error Sent $1,200 Stimulus Checks to Non-Americans Overseas

The IRS now acknowledges that its own error caused some citizens of other countries to mistakenly receive $1,200 coronavirus relief payments — and that the mistake is likely to happen again if more stimulus money goes out.

When reports of the mistake first surfaced, the U.S government placed the blame on those non-Americans, saying that many noncitizens erroneously received stimulus checks because they had filed incorrect tax returns that made them appear to be American.

But many non-Americans who received stimulus money do not file U.S. tax returns. One of them is Susanne Wigforss, a 78-year-old Swedish citizen who lives in Stockholm.

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

More Than 2,400 Californians Now Suspected of Voting in Nevada’s Election

According to the Election Integrity Project, Nevada, more than 2,400 persons who are registered to vote in Nevada, subsequently registered in California, but voted in Nevada’s November 3 election.

EIPNv had previously reported 1,411 such voters. An expanded analysis, matching mailing addresses and phone numbers, found approximately 1,000 more suspect voters. To lawfully vote in Nevada, one must continuously reside in the state and one’s county for 30 days and one’s precinct 10 days preceding Election Day [NRS 293.485].

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

Owner of NYC Bar Arrested Days After Declaring “Autonomous Zone” To Dodge Pandemic Restrictions

The co-owner of a bar on Staten Island which declared itself an ‘autonomous zone’ after its liquor license was yanked over COVID-19 lockdown violations was arrested and perp-walked out of the business in handcuffs on Tuesday night.

According to Deputy Sheriffs, Mac’s Public House general manager and co-owner Daniel Presti was charged with several offenses, including obstructing governmental administration, for continuing to operate the establishment despite being in an ‘orange zone’ — where indoor dining is not allowed and there is a 10 p.m. dining curfew, according to NY1.

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

Pennsylvania School Principal Fired After Posting Memes on Facebook is Suing

A school principal in Pennsylvania is suing the school district for firing her over posts she shared on her personal Facebook account. Her lawsuit claims the school district violated her First Amendment rights to free speech.

We’re posting a copy of the lawsuit for you here.

In a post she shared on the page “No Left Turn in Education,” Amy Sacks alleged that the Perkiomen Valley School District and its superintendent, Barbara Russel, “decided that the First Amendment Freedom of Speech has no place in public schools and that teachers and administrators are unfit to serve if they hold and express political beliefs that are right of center.”

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

Post-George Floyd, a Wave of “Anti-Racist” Teaching Sweeps K-12 Schools Targeting “Whiteness”

By John Murawski of RealClearInvestigations

The notices to parents began arriving fast and furious in the weeks after the death of George Floyd in late May.

In dramatic, urgent language, K-12 schools across the country — both public and private — professed solidarity with Black Lives Matter and vowed to dismantle white supremacy, as they scrambled to introduce anti-racist courses and remake themselves into racism-free zones.

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

Project Veritas Infiltrates CNN ‘Rundown’ Calls; Execs Trash Trump, Call Tucker Carlson ‘White Supremacy Hour’

Project Veritas has done it again — this time having surreptitiously recorded CNN‘s 9 a.m. morning ‘rundown’ calls for months, during which they recorded CNN president Jeff Zucker and other executives telling their fake news foot soldiers how to spin the news.

The first batch of several upcoming dumps has dropped with the hashtag #CNNTapes, featuring Zucker and other executives suggesting they need to ‘not normalize’ Trump’s behavior, target Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and that Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s show is “white supremacy hour.”

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

Trump’s COVID-19 Vaccine Czar Says Vaccines Are Safe, Fewer Than 15% of Trial Participants Report Side Effects

Pfizer’s and Moderna’s coronavirus vaccines are safe, according to President Trump’s COVID-19 vaccine czar, Dr. Moncef Slaoui. Only 10% to 15% of volunteers reported “significantly noticeable” side effects.

Side effects of the shots can last up to a day and a half. Reported side effects include redness and pain at the injection site, fever, chills, muscle aches, and headaches, although Slaoui said most people have not experienced any noticeable side effects.

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

Trump Vows to Veto NDAA Unless it Scraps Section Protecting Big Tech

President Trump threatened to veto the entire National Defense Authorization Act Tuesday, unless section 230 is completely removed and government protections for Big Tech companies are rescinded.

In a brace of tweets, the President called section 230 “very dangerous & unfair” and “a serious threat to our National Security & Election Integrity.”

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

Trump Hints at 2024 Presidential Run in Remarks at White House Party

President Trump hinted that he may launch a 2024 campaign to return to the White House, as he continues to fight the 2020 election results and refuses to concede to President-elect Joe Biden.

“It’s been an amazing four years. We are trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I’ll see you in four years,” the president told supporters on Tuesday night at a White House holiday party for members of the Republican National Committee. Two GOP sources who attended the function confirmed the president’s comments to Fox News.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Twitter Bans Mathematician Witness Who Testified in Arizona

Twitter’s fight to prevent any debate on the integrity of the US presidential election persists, taking form in labeling of information shared on the platform and in banning people’s accounts.

On November 30, the latter measure of censorship was applied to mathematician Bobby Piton who was suspended.

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

Video: Obama Admits His Drone Strikes Killed Tons of Innocent People, Defends Them Anyway

Hawking a new book, Barack Obama appeared in an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and at one point admitted that the massive amount of drone strikes he sanctioned caused too much “collateral damage”, but defended them anyway.

Obama vastly expanded the Bush drone program, despite the fact that the attacks were far from precise and ended up killing vast amounts of innocent civilians in the name of stopping terrorists, all the while ISIS gained numbers and notoriety.

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

Video: Trump Says “See You in Four Years” To White House Guests

President Trump told a crowd of guests at a White House Christmas gathering Tuesday that he would see them in 2024, if his legal challenges do not succeed.

“It’s been an amazing four years. We are trying to do another four years,” Trump told the gathering of mainly Republican National Committee members.

“Otherwise, I’ll see you in four years,” Trump added, sending the crowd wild.

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

Wikipedia Bans Newsmax as a “Reliable” Source After Election Coverage

Wikipedia is accused of conducting a purge of conservative media outlets, rejecting them as reliable sources of reporting about the integrity of the US presidential election, as it continues to ban these outlets from being used in that capacity.

The latest example is Newsmax, a news platform that has been gaining in popularity after the vote, as President Trump has been critical of some other conservative media reporting about election fraud that he and his legal team claim has happened.

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

With a More Conservative Supreme Court, NRA Brings Lawsuit Against New Jersey

After seeing a large number of its 2nd Amendment cases denied last year by the Supreme Court, the National Rifle Association is looking to try again with the newly reconfigured high court.

On Tuesday, the NRA joined with the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs to file a lawsuit against the state of New Jersey for its concealed carry law.

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

Woman Charged for Attempted Terrorist Attack on Railroad Facility in Washington State Was a Democratic Party Organizer — Reports

Ellen Brennan Reiche, one of two women charged this week in Seattle for allegedly attempting a terrorist attack on a railroad, was reportedly the deputy field organizer for the Democratic Party in Washington state.

US Attorney Brian Moran announced the charges, saying that the 23-year-old Reiche and Samantha Frances Brooks, 27, were arrested on Saturday night after they allegedly placed a “shunt” on BNSF railroad tracks in Bellingham, Washington. A shunt is comprised of wire and magnets stretched between the tracks to disrupt the low-level electrical current and can be used to derail a train, cause train cars to decouple or stop safety gates from coming down at railroad crossings, Moran said.

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

“The Benefits Far Outweigh the Risks” — Pfizer COVID Vaccine Wins UK Approval

Arguing that the benefits of the vaccine “far outweigh the risks” from expedited approval, British regulator MHRA — Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency — has become the first in the West to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use, a landmark decision that has once again lifted the market’s mood as the never-ending procession of vaccine news continues.

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

100 Welsh Pubs Ban First Minister Drakeford Over Booze Ban

A group of over 100 local pubs have barred Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford from entering their businesses in response to his draconian decree that banned pubs and restaurants from selling alcohol.

The West Conwy Pubwatch in north Wales said that the left-wing leader of the Welsh government will not be welcome in their pubs for at least 18 months, arguing that Mr Drakeford’s move to ban booze violated the country’s ‘anti-social behaviour’ codes.

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

After Mass Protests, France Backtracks on Controversial Law That Would Ban Filming Police

French President Emmanuel Macron’s government will rewrite a controversial law that would have banned members of the public from filming police officers.

The Macron government walked back the plans to implement the controversial “Article 24” of the “global security” law which would have made it illegal to publish video footage or the identities of officers online after massive protests over the weekend.

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

Another COVID Sex Ban Triggered for 99 Per Cent of England

Non-cohabiting couples under Tiers 2 and 3, covering 99 per cent of England’s residents, are not allowed to stay over each other’s houses after the end of lockdown.

The lockdown is due to end at midnight on Wednesday, with the tiered system to simultaneously come into force. With just three regions of the country in Tier 1, the rest of England will see households mixing indoors banned. Those living in Tier 2 may socialise outside in groups of no more than six, while in Tier 3 mixing is also banned in most outdoor settings.

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

Britons Can See Their Elderly Relatives in Care Homes… If They Test Negative for Coronavirus First

For the first time since March, Britons may visit their elderly relatives inside care homes — provided they consent to take a test for Chinese coronavirus and prove negative.

There have been several stories in the media of seniors and their family members pleadingwith national and regional governments to change the rules allowing visits in care homes, with Britons warning their elderly relatives were deteriorating without their contact. For the past nine months, visits could only be conducted through windows, with no hugging, hand-holding, or kissing allowed.

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

European People’s Party Gathers Signatures to Expel Hungarian MEP Deutsch

Members of the parliamentary group of the European People’s Party (EPP) have started gathering signatures to expel Hungarian MEP Tamas Deutsch (Fidesz), conservative news and opinion portal Mandiner writes based on information of liberal news portal Népszava.

Correspondence viewed by the newspaper reveals that one of the initiators is Othmar Karas, an Austrian MEP. According to Népszava, the MEPs addressed a letter to Manfred Weber, the leader of the faction, which states, “We are watching with surprise and growing impatience the radicalization and verbal attacks of Fidesz MEPs”.

Deutsch reacted in a Facebook message, writing, “Thirty years ago, the communists arrested me in Prague, and now some in Brussels want to expel me. This is what happens when one stands up for freedom and one’s homeland. If such an exclusionary initiative does indeed exist, it is a cruel joke and a perfect example why the penal mechanism that is being prepared should be rejected by all means. They want to do the same against Hungary, which some are now planning against me. They would punish me for political reasons.”

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

German City Launches Christmas Drinking Ban in Hope of Fighting Coronavirus

Leipzig has completely banned the sale of hot alcohol in the city, including mulled wine, as part of new coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

Despite a relatively low number of coronavirus cases, the German city has banned the sale of mulled wine and other hot alcoholic drinks to stop “pop-up Christmas markets” from forming where people could potentially gather.

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

Leaked Document Proves Connecting EU Budget With Rule of Law is Illegal

The European Council and the European Parliament’s campaign to tie EU budget with rule of law has no legal basis, at least according to documents prepared by lawyers belonging to the Council.

The latest document in question has been published by Law and Justice (PiS) MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, who added that although this opinion was written by the end of October 2018, it was concealed and only a narrow group of people were made aware of it.

Fragments of the document were published by the MEP on social media, and the document itself is attached on a Google Drive link provided by the MEP on social media.

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

Man Arrested After Woman Stabbed in Neck & Another Seriously Injured in Brutal Attack in England (Videos)

British police have arrested a 57-year-old after two women were stabbed while shopping in the northern English city of Burnley. The authorities have requested people not to speculate about the man’s motivations.

Lancashire police reported that they were called to an incident at 9:30am local time after two women were stabbed in a Burnley city branch of popular department store Marks & Spencer.

The two victims were taken to hospital with serious injuries, but the wounds are not thought to be life-threatening, according to a police statement. Investigators confirmed that a knife had been recovered.

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

Massive Police Response After Two Women Stabbed in England Department Store

Two women were stabbed in an attack inside an English department store on Wednesday morning, shortly after the national coronavirus lockdown was lifted.

After rushing to the scene of the bloody crime inside the local Marks and Spencer department store, Lancashire Police arrested a 57-year-old “local man” and recovered a knife.

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

Soros Proposed Perpetual Bonds to Circumvent Polish-Hungarian Recovery Fund Veto

Less than two weeks after his previous article entitled “Europe must stand up to Hungary and Poland”, Hungarian-born billionaire financier George Soros published another one suggesting that the European Union could circumvent the two countries’ veto by individual member states or a group of them issuing perpetual bonds.

“I have written a lot in the past about the desirability of the European Union issuing perpetual bonds,” Soros says in the article. “But today I am proposing that individual member states should do so.”

The article, entitled “An effective response to Europe’s fiscal paralysis” was published, just like the previous one, on opinion and commentary site Project Syndicate, partly financed by Soros’ Open Society Foundation. It begins with describing the current deadlock, in which Hungary and Poland have threatened to jointly veto the €750 billion coronavirus recovery fund and the EU’s €1.1 trillion seven-year budget should those be linked to the fulfillment of rule-of-law criteria.

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

UK Equality and Human Rights Commission Member Alasdair Henderson Criticized by Media for ‘Liked’ Tweets

One of UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) members, Alasdair Henderson, is now being “exposed” in reports critical of his use of social media.

The Guardian appears to have gone through his Twitter account to discover that Henderson either liked or retweeted a number of messages critical of Black Lives Matter, and also expressed what the outlet considers unacceptable views around misogyny, homophobia, Islamophobia and more.

One of the offending tweets that Henderson liked said the London police were giving BLM protesters preferential treatment by allowing them to organize gatherings that are otherwise illegal under coronavirus regulations in the UK.

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

Welsh Government Says People Will Get ID Cards to Prove They’ve Been Vaccinated

The Welsh government has announced that people who take the COVID vaccine will get immunisation ID cards, raising the prospect that people could need to prove they’ve taken the shot before being allowed to enter venues.

“Wales’ Health Minister Vaughan Gething confirmed on Wednesday that people there will receive a credit-card sized immunisation card which states the type of vaccine and the date it was administered,” reports the Daily Mirror.

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Putin Orders Mass COVID Vaccinations to Begin Next Week in Russia

Just hours after the UK approved the rushed Pfizer vaccine for use in the UK as soon as next week (it remains unclear just who will volunteer first), President Vladimir Putin ordered the start of mass-scale vaccination against coronavirus in Russia by the end of next week with medics and teachers first to get the shot.

In a teleconference on Wednesday, Putin said that Russia’s pharma industry is ready for a large-scale vaccination as the amount of doses of the pioneering anti-Covid “Sputnik V” vaccine already produced will reach two million in the coming days.

The vaccination against Covid-19 will be voluntary, and Russian citizens will be getting the shots free of charge.

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China Says That Coronavirus May Have Origins in Nine Countries, Czechia Included

China is still trying to prove that the new type of coronavirus had its origins elsewhere and now considers India to be the most likely source. However, China also mentions the Czech Republic among the nine countries from which the virus might have possibly emerged, the Daily Mail reports.

According to a recent study by Chinese scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, coronavirus probably originated in India. Researchers claim that the virus first appeared in India in the summer of 2019 and that it was transmitted from animals to humans through contaminated water. Allegedly, the virus was only detected for the first time in Wuhan, China.

The researchers say they used so-called phylogenetic analysis to monitor mutations in the virus. Whenever the virus multiplies, it undergoes minor mutation. According to Chinese scientists, the version of the virus that has the least amount of mutations is most likely the first one.

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China is Working on a Data and Surveillance Driven “Smart City”

China is pushing forward with plans to create a “smart city” out of Xiongan New Area, currently a development hub in the Hebei province, some 62 miles away from Beijing.

Once completed and functional, the city, which now has some 5 million inhabitants, is supposed to take on Beijing’s non essential functions, say reports. Xiongan’s claim to fame is also being the testing ground for China’s new digital identity scheme and for the country’s digital yuan, the central bank’s upcoming “cryptocurrency.”

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Hong Kong Activists Joshua Wong & Agnes Chow Jailed for Defying Beijing

In the latest act of repression from the Hong Kong government, which recently presided over the expulsion of pro-democracy ‘opposition’ lawmakers from its Legislative Council, activists Agnes Chow and Joshua Wong have been sentenced to prison time for their roles in the 2019 pro-democracy movement.

Wong on Wednesday was sentenced to 13.5 months in jail, while Chow was given 10 months. The former student leaders, along with another activist named Ivan Lam, who also received a short prison sentenced, pleaded guilty last week to charges related to a protest on June 21, 2019, just one of dozens of chaotic street protests/skirmishes between demonstrators and the HK Police.

They stood accused of organizing, taking part in and inciting others to participate in an unauthorized assembly. They had faced maximum sentences of five years.

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US Ambassador Slams China for ‘Spreading Disinformation’ With Fake Image Insulting Australia and Urges Beijing to ‘Come Clean’ On the Origins of COVID-19

Arthur Culvahouse accused Beijing of using ‘fabricated images and disingenuous statements’ to conduct diplomacy as he rushed to Canberra’s defence.

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Australian Businesses BOYCOTT China and Refuse to Ever Use Its Products — Vowing to Turn to Home-Grown Suppliers as Trade War Intensifies

A leading businessman has urged Australian consumers and companies to steer clear of Chinese products in the wake of growing hostilities ratcheted up by the authoritarian state.

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Beijing’s Chilling Threat: Communist Media Warns Australia is ‘Economically Dependent on China’ And That Plans to Diversify Exports Will Never Work

The Global Times said that Beijing can easily replace Australian wine and other products like barley — which have been hit with heavy tariffs.

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Calls for Working From Home to be Banned on Mondays and Fridays — as Businesses Struggle With No Customers in Ghost-Town Cbds

Giuseppe Petroccitto, who runs a chain of bars, restaurants and cafes in Brisbane, says business on Mondays and Fridays is dire because everyone stays home to get a long weekend.

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China Attacks Australia With New Cartoons and Warns of ‘Lasting Punishments’ Due to ‘Arrogant Narcissist Scott Morrison’ — But the US Vows to Stand by Our Side

The Global Times, a mouthpiece for the communist government, has published multiple editorials taking aim at Australia and its fast deteriorating trade relationship with Beijing.

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Coronavirus Vaccine Will be Rolled Out in Australia in March — Four Months After it’s Available Overseas — and There’ll be No Fines for Refusing the Jab

Australia is on track to roll out the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine in March, Health Minister Greg Hunt said today.

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COVID-19 Vaccine Which Australia Has Ordered 10 Million Doses of is Approved in UK and Could be Rolled Out Next Week — Here’s What it Means for You and Why it Could Change Hotel Quarantine for Returning Travellers

Australia has 10 million doses of the vaccine on order but the drug is still waiting for the green light from health regulators to be used Down Under.

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Daniel Andrews Attempts to Talk Tough on China’s Aussie Soldier Insult — Until Reporters Raise a Very Pointed Question About His Controversial Belt and Road Initiative Deal With Beijing

The Victorian premier spoke out on Wednesday, condemning the actions of China’s foreign ministry spokesman — but refused to back of his trade deal with the nation.

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How Australia’s Fight With China Could Ruin Our Roaring Economy — With the Trade Surplus Already Plunging by a Chilling 39% in Just Three Months

Australia’s status as a net exporter of goods is under threat following a series of trade sanctions from China. The current account surplus during the September quarter plunged by 39 per cent.

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‘Twenty Years Ago We Did No Trade With China and Australia Was a Pretty Good Place’: Senator Says We Can Stand Up to ‘Bullying’ Beijing and Find Other Trade Partners

Queensland Senator Matt Canavan said Australia did not need trading partners who were ‘bullies’.

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Pope Francis Condemns Boko Haram ‘Atrocities’ In Nigeria

ROME — Pope Francis denounced the massive slaughter of rice farmers by Islamist terrorists that occurred this past weekend in northeastern Nigeria.

“I want to assure my prayers for Nigeria, where blood has unfortunately been spilled once more in a terrorist attack,” the pontiff said following his weekly general audience in the Vatican Wednesday.

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Tanzania: Moderate Sufis Recruiting Youths to Join Jihad Terror Cells in Mozambique

Contrary to popular belief, the Sufis do not reject violent jihad. Their towering figure, al-Ghazali, taught it, and Sufis have been at the vanguard of the Chechen jihad. Hasan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, which in turn gave birth to Hamas and Al-Qaeda, was strongly influenced by Sufism. In 2009, Iraqi Sufis meant with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and boasted of their jihad activity in Iraq. Izzat al-Douri, a Sufi leader, was instrumental in the formation of the Islamic State.

“Tanzania arrests youth recruited by Somali militants,” by Christopher Kidanka, The East African, December 1, 2020 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

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Cyprus: Migrant Boat Spotted Off Cape Greco Turned Back (Updated)

Marine police on Wednesday turned back a vessel carrying 35 migrants spotted off Cavo Greco at lunchtime.

The Cyprus News Agency said the vessel carried 20 men, eight women, and seven children. It was spotted sailing off Cavo Greco in the Famagusta district at around 1pm.

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France is Refusing to Stop Cross-Channel Migrant Boats Once They Are in the Water Heading for Britain, Admits Minister, Despite Receiving Millions From UK Taxpayers to Block Life-Threatening Journeys

They pledged to make the route ‘completely unviable’ for people smuggling gangs.

But facing the Home Affairs Committee this morning, Immigration Compliance Minister Mr Philp admitted that it once migrants were on the water they could not currently be stopped heading for Britain.

Tory MP Tim Loughton asked: ‘Is it not the case that no agreement still has been reached with the French government about the French government proactively turning back the boats, intercepting them, once they get into the water, and without that we will still continue to see a flow of people taking their chances at the hands of people smugglers coming across the channel in those small boats in whatever numbers?’

Mr Philp replied: ‘That is currently correct. The French operational posture on the water is that they don’t forcibly intercept migrant boats.

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Fuming Priti Patel Lists Horrendous Crimes of Murderers and Rapists Who Are Still in Britain After ‘Lefty Lawyers’ Force Flight Sending Jamaican Serious Criminals Home to Take Off With Just 13 of the 57 Deportees on Board

Priti Patel has lashed out at ‘lefty lawyers’ after a flight deporting serious criminals from the UK to Jamaica finally took off last night with just 13 out of 57 on board — leaving murderers and rapists behind.

Scores were hauled off the plane at the last minute after legal challenges by what the Home Office said were human rights solicitors ‘on the phones to judges in their pyjamas’.

Campaigners had been trying to halt the scheduled deportation flight to the West Indies amid ongoing concerns over the Windrush scandal.

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Germany: Muslim Migrant Attacks Synagogue, Jewish Girl Says She is Muslim to Avoid Assault by Muslim Classmates

Celebrate diversity! The Jews in the Qur’an are called the strongest of all people in enmity toward the Muslims (5:82); they fabricate things and falsely ascribe them to Allah (2:79; 3:75, 3:181); they claim that Allah’s power is limited (5:64); they love to listen to lies (5:41); they disobey Allah and never observe his commands (5:13). They are disputing and quarreling (2:247); hiding the truth and misleading people (3:78); staging rebellion against the prophets and rejecting their guidance (2:55); being hypocritical (2:14, 2:44); giving preference to their own interests over the teachings of Muhammad (2:87); wishing evil for people and trying to mislead them (2:109); feeling pain when others are happy or fortunate (3:120); being arrogant about their being Allah’s beloved people (5:18); devouring people’s wealth by subterfuge (4:161); slandering the true religion and being cursed by Allah (4:46); killing the prophets (2:61); being merciless and heartless (2:74); never keeping their promises or fulfilling their words (2:100); being unrestrained in committing sins (5:79); being cowardly (59:13-14); being miserly (4:53); being transformed into apes and pigs for breaking the Sabbath (2:63-65; 5:59-60; 7:166); and more. They are under Allah’s curse (9:30), and Muslims should wage war against them and subjugate them under Islamic hegemony (9:29).

Welcome to Merkel’s new Germany!

“Iranians arrested after attacks on Essen synagogue,” translated from “Nach Attacken auf Essener Synagoge: Iraner festgenommen,” Wochenblick, November 25, 2020 (thanks to Medforth).

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Minister Blasts ‘Morally Reprehensible’ Social Media Giants for Failing to Remove ‘Marketing Material’ For People-Smugglers Ferrying Illegal Migrants to Britain

Social media giants were blasted today for failing to remove ‘marketing material’ posted by ‘ruthless’ people-smugglers to entice people to cross the Channel illegally.

Chris Philp said it was ‘morally reprehensible’ not to remove such material very quickly, as he faced questions from MPs about cross-channel immigration.

The Immigration Compliance Minister said social media giants had an ‘obligation’ to help prevent people from making the hazardous and dangerous journey from France.

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Polish Border Guard Stops Illegal Migrants From Turkey

The Polish Border Guard announced that its officers in the Hrubieszów district in eastern Poland have detained three illegal migrants from Turkey last week. The men crossed the border between Ukraine and Poland on foot and tried to hide from the officers in the logs of fallen trees. Both modern surveillance equipment and police dogs were used in the search.

The men, aged 44, 28 and 19, all admitted to illegally crossing the Polish border and said they wanted to reach France.

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Actor Ellen Page Comes Out as Transgender

Actor Elliot Page, previously known as Ellen Page, announced on Tuesday that she now identifies as a man.

“I feel overwhelming gratitude for the incredible people who have supported me along this journey,” Page wrote in a letter published on Twitter. “I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self. I’ve been endlessly inspired by so many in the trans community.”

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Studio 10 Host Sarah Harris Apologises to Elliot Page for ‘Brain Snap Reaction’ Where She Used the Wrong Pronouns While Discussing the Actor Coming Out as Transgender

Sarah Harris has apologised for using the wrong pronoun when referring to Elliot Page while discussing the actor coming out as transgender on Wednesday.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Supreme Court Denies Satanic Temple Appeal in Case Over Missouri Abortion Laws

The Supreme Court has opted not to hear a case brought by The Satanic Temple that challenged the state of Missouri’s informed consent abortion laws.

Missouri regulations require that a woman pursuing the abortion of her unborn child first obtain an informational booklet and an ultrasound before being allowed to end the child’s life. The Satanic Temple had challenged those laws on the basis that it violated the religious belief that a woman’s “body is inviolable and subject to her will alone.”

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UN Unveils Digital Biometric ID Passes

There was a time not so long ago when the United Nations (UN) was viewed by many as an obsolete and ineffective organization, that had trouble collecting funding from its members or imposing itself as a relevant player.

None of that may have changed in reality, but the UN has found a new foothold when national governments decided to give it and its WHO agency the leading role in the unprecedented disaster than has been the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Perhaps emboldened by that, but still mostly under the radar, the UN now continues to churn out controversial initiatives, such as so-called digital biometric wallets and work on a system of international digital travel credentials.

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World Economic Forum Encourages Plebs to Eat Weeds & Drink Sewage

The World Economic Forum published two articles on its website which explored how people could be conditioned to get used to the idea of eating weeds, bugs and drinking sewage water in order to reduce CO2 emissions.

Yes, really.

“Finding new plant-based foods is becoming increasingly urgent with the world’s population forecast to grow by two billion in the next 30 years,” states an articleauthored by Douglas Broom published on the official WEF website

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8 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/2/2020

  1. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and
    Swims like a duck IT’S A DUCK!

  2. Note, on the Leipzig deal…it’s a ban from 10 PM to 6 AM on the gluhwein or heated wine story. Part of this….goes back to street fights between students, revolutionaries and the police. The city doesn’t want drunken idiots starting fights. You can still drink all the gluhwein you want….up until 10 PM.

  3. In times like these are so many blessings. Especially sound proven health practices and even soldiering experience.. God is ever present “Pick up thy musket Sam”.

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