Ten people were arrested during anti-lockdown protests in Toronto, and fines totaling more than $55,000 were issued by police at illegal gatherings in Quebec. Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is being forced to resign over his handling of the Wuhan Coronavirus crisis.
In other news, officials in Amsterdam are attempting to offload their surplus migrants onto neighboring regions that are more rural.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Insubria, 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.
Analysis: More Than Half of Joe Biden’s Twitter Followers Are Fake and Were Just Created in January
Big Tech and Team Biden are working feverishly to manipulate the public into believing the newly sworn in dictator is actually adored by millions.
Twitter appears to be creating fake accounts to follow Biden and give his ostensibly dismal popularity a boost, in yet another pitiful attempt to convince the world that the scandal-plagued Democrat won the presidential election by an unprecedented and unrealistic 81 million American votes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Turns the War Machine Back On
Just days after Biden’s inauguration, U.S. military involvement in the Middle East is already showing signs of escalation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden to Impose His Own “Travel Ban” On Monday
In an effort to slow the transmission of COVID-19, President Biden is expected to sign sweeping travel restrictions on most non-U.S. citizens from multiple countries around the world.
Biden’s travel ban would prevent entry into the United States for non-Americans from countries including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa, and 26 different countries in Europe.
Former President Donald Trump had enacted similar border restrictions during his term, but then ordered their repeal shortly before leaving office. Those restrictions were set to expire on Tuesday, but Biden’s actions will now keep them in place.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden to Sign ‘Buy American’ Executive Order
President Biden will sign an executive order Monday aimed at boosting his “Buy American” efforts, following years of “Buy American, Hire American” initiatives from his predecessor.
The order, which the commander-in-chief will sign this afternoon, aims to increase domestic manufacturing by harnessing the purchasing power of the federal government and closing loopholes for companies taking business overseas.
If the “Buy American” moniker sounds familiar, that’s because President Donald Trump signed multiple executive actions focused on his “Buy American, Hire American” agenda dating back to early 2017.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Joe Biden’s cognitive decline is no laughing matter. An expert claims he is half way gone.
We saw earlier this year how Joe Biden had no idea what was going on. He thought he heard birds or rain and asked the reporters at his campaign ‘rally’ to come in from the rain and they all looked at each other because they were indoors. You could see that they all were very uncomfortable but they said nothing because they would lose their jobs if they did.
We also reported on how an artificial intelligence psychiatric diagnostic filter confirmed old Joe had lost it.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Budweiser to Skip Super Bowl Ad, Spend on Vaccine Awareness Instead
For the first time since 1983, Anheuser-Busch will not be airing its annual Super Bowl commercial to sell its top brand Budweiser. Instead, the company has announced plans to use those funds to push a marketing campaign relating to COVID-19 vaccines.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago Teachers Union Votes to Boycott in-Person Teaching
Chicago Teachers Union has voted to boycott a return to in-person teaching slated for February 1.
Although the city’s private schools have been in-person for months, the union is claiming that it is still unsafe for teachers to return to the classroom.
Some students who were already returning to in-person learning, such as preschoolers and those with moderate to severe special needs, returned to empty classrooms earlier this month due to teachers calling in sick to protest the return for some students. Chicago Public Schools said teachers who did not return to in-person learning would not be paid.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chief Justice John Roberts will not preside over Trump’s Senate impeachment trial.
If was previously reported that Roberts was eager to avoid presiding over the sham impeachment of Trump because he doesn’t want to become a political lightning rod.
Senate President Pro Tempore, Pat Leahy (VT) will preside over the sham trial instead.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Cops Accused of Being “Constitutionally Illiterate” After Arresting Man Over Distasteful Meme
Freedom of online expression and the way it is protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution is an issue highlighted in a recent arrest of a man who posted a fake anti-police photo on social media.
The man, Tennessee-based Joshua Andrew Garton, was arrested for harassment, with the bond for his release set at $76,000 after he shared an image, supposedly showing two persons urinating on the grave of a local police officer killed on duty two years ago.
But the photo uploaded by Garton — in fact a cover of a single released by the band The Rites in 2009, with the image of the officer edited onto the tombstone — is a meme, argues Daniel A. Horwitz, who is described in reports as a specialist in First Amendment litigation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Cuomo Follows Newsom in Easing COVID Restrictions After Biden Inauguration
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has followed Michigan, Chicago and California in announcing plans to ease COVID restrictions, prompting many conservatives to allege that the timing is political.
The Governor said in a press conference that the situation in relation to new cases and hospitalizations was improving, meaning lockdown measures could be relaxed soon.
“Cuomo didn’t give further details on what type of restrictions he might loosen or what cluster zones might be eliminated or changed,” reports Syracuse.com. “The state Health Department is reviewing data on the zones now and Cuomo said expects to have announcements in the coming days.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Governor Newsom to Lift Stay-at-Home Order Less Than a Week After Biden Inauguration
California Governor Gavin Newsom is set to lift the stay-at-home order across all regions tomorrow based on data that’s not publicly available, leading some to accuse him of playing politics.
“Multiple sources tell me Governor Newsom will lift the stay at home order on all regions in California tomorrow,” tweeted journalist Ashley Zavala. “All counties will go back to the tier system, sources say. Most will return to the purple tier— allowing the reopening of outdoor dining, indoor salons.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House GOP Want to Add Facebook, Twitter to Parler Probe of Capitol Siege
WASHINGTON — Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee want any FBI probe into conservative social network Parler and its involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol siege to also include a look into Facebook and Twitter.
In a letter to Intel chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), the lawmakers say the tech giants were developing a growing alliance with Democrats to “muzzle certain viewpoints, opinions, and perspectives,” Fox News reported Monday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In First Lawsuit Against Biden Administration, Texas AG Paxton Challenges Deportation Freeze
Following through on his promise to sue the Biden administration early and often, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday asked a federal judge to block a new policy that pauses most deportations for the next 100 days.
The policy, which went into effect Friday, was announced by acting Homeland Security Secretary David Pekoske as part of a comprehensive review of immigration enforcement, particularly amid the challenges posed by COVID-19.
The pause, Pekoske said in a Wednesday memo to immigration officials, will let the agency focus resources on its most pressing needs, in particular at the busy southern border “in the midst of the most serious global public health crisis in a century.”
But Paxton said the pause violates federal law and an agreement between Texas and the Homeland Security Department — signed in the closing days of the Trump administration — that requires federal officials to provide 180 days of notice to Texas before immigration enforcement can be changed.
The deportation freeze also carries a safety risk, he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Las Vegas Schools Begin Reopening to Combat Surge in Student Suicides
A surge in student suicides has prompted Las Vegas schools, the country’s fifth-largest district, to begin a phased reopening from coronavirus-caused shutdowns.
Since the school system shut its doors last March, more than 3,100 alerts have been sent to district officials from a warning system that monitors the mental health of students. In the nine months that followed the shutdown, 18 of those young people took their own lives, double the amount of the entire previous year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Martial Law Till March: National Guard to be Kept in D.C. For Trump Impeachment Trial
National Guard troops are to be kept in Washington D.C. until mid March, according to a Politico report, with sources claiming that the soldiers will stay until the Democrats’ second attempt at impeachment of President Trump is complete.
The report claims that 7,000 troops will remain until the trial gets underway in February, after which 5,000 will stay until it condoles, which is likely to be six weeks later.
The official justification for keeping troops around the Capitol is “impeachment security concerns,” according to the report.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More Than 200 Antifa Rioters Start Fires, Smash Windows in Tacoma, WA
A crowd of more than 200 Antifa supporters started a riot in Tacoma, Washington, on Sunday night in response to an incident over the weekend where a police officer hit pedestrians with his vehicle in an attempt to break up an illegal street race.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Newark Police Bust Another Illegal Alcohol Establishment at Soccer Club
NEWARK, NJ — Newark Police Division’s Environmental, Graffiti and Vice Crimes Task Force arrested two men involved in an illegal alcohol and gambling operation on Saturday, one of several that were discovered in Newark this winter.
Authorities responded to reports of a large gathering at the Portuguese Soccer Club at 215 Wilson Ave. around 10 p.m. on Jan. 23. Byron Barraza, 31, José DaSilva, 53, and Victor Pereira, 61, were arrested in connection to illegal possession and sale of alcohol as well as gambling.
Task Force detectives observed Barraza unlock a gate at the location for patrons and found about 50 people inside drinking alcohol, playing cards and using gambling machines. Periera was allegedly seen tending a fully stocked bar offering a slew of beverages, according to authorities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Owner of Illegal Queens Nightclub Fights With Deputies During Raid
The owner of an illegal Queens nightclub tried to fight off deputies conducting a raid early Sunday, authorities said.
Marco Chacon, 41, attempted to physically restrain deputies after they busted into his basement club on Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside, according to the city Sheriff’s Department.
About 75 people were found boozing and smoking hookahs inside the underground nightspot, which was locked behind heavily fortified doors.
The space was found to be tainted with a high level of carbon monoxide, authorities said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler Pepper Sprays Man Stalking Him at Restaurant
Mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, is in the news today after reports that he had to pepper spray someone who was accosting him at a restaurant.
This comes less than three weeks after he was assaulted by Antifa thugs while eating in a covid compliant tent outside of a restaurant in the ritzy Pearl District. Adding to the absurdity is Wheeler’s dinner guest: Former disgraced mayor and once-suspected statutory rapist, Sam Adams.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Reports: Trump Has Been Talked Out of Creating a ‘Patriot Party’
Reports suggest that President Trump has abandoned the idea of creating a new political party, and that he will instead focus for the next two years on helping Republicans win back the House and Senate.
The notion of Trump abandoning the GOP and creating a ‘Patriot Party’ was floated last week with a report in the Wall Street Journal noting that aides had suggested Trump was considering the idea.
The idea was provided more credence with Trump’s comments during his farewell speech, as he announced that “the movement we started is just beginning,” and that he would be “back in some form”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Report: CDC Missed Chances to Slow Spread of COVID-19 Early in Pandemic
A recent report from Reuters suggests that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention missed chances to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the beginning stages of the pandemic.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republican lawmakers in several states are introducing legislation to overhaul voting after the Democrats stole the 2020 election by flooding states with millions of mail-in ballots.
The Democrats used Covid as a vehicle to usher in mail-in ballots, implement Zuckerberg ballot drop boxes and extend ballot counting for days and even weeks after Election Day in order to steal the election for Joe Biden.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rudy Giuliani Sued by Dominion Voting Systems for $1.3b Over Election Fraud Claims
Rudy Giuliani has been hit with a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit for pushing claims that Dominion Voting Systems rigged the 2020 presidential election, new court papers show.
Giuliani “and his allies manufactured and disseminated the ‘Big Lie,’ which foreseeably went viral and deceived millions of people into believing that Dominion had stolen their votes and fixed the election,” according to the lawsuit filed Monday by Dominion, one of the country’s top voting machine companies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sen. Ted Cruz Proposes Amendment to Impose Congressional Term Limits
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has reintroduced his amendment to impose term limits on members of the U.S. Congress. Cruz offered the same proposal in 2019.
“Every year, Congress spends billions of dollars on giveaways for the well-connected: Washington insiders get taxpayer money and members of Congress get re-elected, all while the system fails the American people,” Cruz said. “It’s no wonder that the vast majority of Americans from every political stripe — Republicans, Democrats, and Independents — overwhelmingly support congressional term limits.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Texas Wannabe ISIS Terrorist Pleads Guilty to Providing Materials to Brutal Group
A 22-year-old Texas man pleaded guilty Monday to providing material support to ISIS, federal prosecutors said.
Jaylyn Christopher Molina, aka Abdur Rahim, of Cost, Texas, appeared in court in San Antonio before U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard Farrer.
Molina pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS and one count of receiving child pornography.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Biden White House Says “Conspiracy Theories” And “Disinformation” Will Not be “Tolerated”
The Biden White House is developing new press pass criteria in consultation with the White House Communications Agency (WHCA) that prohibit what the White House deems to be “conspiracy theories” and “disinformation.”
According to Politico, President Biden’s team is working with the WHCA to outline new criteria for qualifying for a “hard pass” which gives individuals and media outlets access to White House press briefings. Current press pass holders will then have to meet these new criteria to retain their hard passes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tulsi Gabbard Asks Biden: “Have You Declared Martial Law?”
Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard asked Joe Biden if he had declared martial law after it was revealed that thousands of troops stationed in the capital will remain there until March.
As we highlighted earlier, at least 5,000 National Guard soldiers will remain in DC until the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump is completed, a process which won’t be concluded for at least six weeks.
“President @JoeBiden, have you declared martial law? Because that is what it’s starting to look and feel like. Let our troops get back home to their families,” Gabbard tweeted.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: ABC News Compares End of Trump Presidency to End of Nazi Germany
In a frothing display of insanity, ABC News directly compared the end of President Trump’s term in office to the end of fascism in Nazi Germany after World War Two, and suggested that Joe Biden’s administration is akin to the government that formed in Japan after imperial rule there was overturned.
Panelist Matthew Dowd made the comparison, also throwing in apartheid South Africa for good measure.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
WaPo ‘Fact Checker’ Admits Team Will Not Bother Checking Biden Claims
The Washington Post spent four years ‘fact checking’ everything President Trump said, and claimed most of it was lies. However, according to the fact checker in chief at the Post, the paper will not even bother to check what Joe Biden says.
The Post told The Daily Caller that it does “not have plans to launch a Biden database at this time,” with the Post’s director of communications Shani George adding that “The database of Trump claims was started a month after Trump became president as a way to not overwhelm our fact-checking enterprise, where the core mission is to explain complex policy issues.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In Pictures: Ten Arrested During Toronto Lockdown Protests
TORONTO, Canada: Ten people were arrested on Saturday during protests in Toronto against the strict Wuhan coronavirus lockdown measures implemented by the Ontario government.
The ten people were all arrested at Toronto’s Yonge and Dundas Square on Saturday, which saw a large crowd first gather at around noon before eventually walking toward the Ontario legislature at Queen’s Park.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Over $55,000 in Fines Handed Out at Illegal Gathering in Laurentians
MONTREAL — People caught partying in the Laurentians over the weekend have to pay a total of $55,656 in fines.
Mirabel police were called to a residence Saturday around 9:30p.m., after they were alerted about an illegal gathering. When they arrived, officers shut down a party of 36 people.
Police stayed about two hours, the time to give each partier a ticket for $1,546.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Vancouver man has received $2,500 in tickets and a potential prohibition on hosting large parties after police busted his “booze-can” this weekend.
The Vancouver Police Department was called Saturday night by a woman who had been invited to a party at a condo downtown on Richards Street. She decided to go to the party and upon arrival discovered about 100 other people had made the same decision.
That’s when she called the cops.
The home was already on the cops’ radar, as they’d received four complaints about social gatherings in the last month, the VPD states in a press release.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Can Hungary’s Pro-Family Policy Help Save Japan From Demographic Disaster?
There is a growing interest in Hungarian family policy measures worldwide, and Japan is no exception, daily Magyar Hirlap reports.
In a significant part of Asia, the problem is not population decline that is plaguing Europe, but that of overpopulation, however, the island nation of Japan has long faced severe demographic challenges. It is the fastest aging society in the developed world, with almost a third of its population over the age of 60. In four years, 30 percent of the population is expected to be above retirement age.
However, the desire to have children is declining rapidly, with the fertility rate at 1.42 in 2020, representing a decline for five consecutive years. The number of marriages has also dropped dramatically in the last 20 years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czech EU Presidency Should Focus on EU Enlargement, Says Czech Foreign Minister
According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Tomas Petricek, the priorities of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2022 will be the enlargement of the European bloc, migration, ensuring stability in the EU neighborhood, and cooperation with Asian states.
“On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I can confirm that one of the priorities will be the Western Balkans and the enlargement of the European Union. Of course, the issue of ensuring stability in the wider neighborhood of the European Union with regard to migration and conflict, especially in Africa, will be another priority.
Furthermore, we talk about cooperation with Asian states,” Petricek said in an interview with the Czech News Agency.
According to him, the coronavirus pandemic has also revealed the importance of strengthening the European Union’s ability to respond to crises.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany to be ‘First Country’ To End Culling of Male Chicks
Tens of millions were culled in the country every year
(ANSA-AFP) — BERLIN, JAN 20 — Germany is set to be the first country to ban mass culling of male chicks in the poultry industry, the government said Wednesday after approving a draft law ending the controversial practice. The measure passed by the cabinet envisages a ban on mass chick killing from 2022 in “a significant step forward for animal welfare,” Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner said in a statement. In many poultry businesses, male chicks are separated from females soon after hatching and shredded or gassed as they do not produce eggs and generate less meat. Tens of millions of males are culled in Germany every year. Animal welfare activists have long campaigned to end the practice but farmers have complained there is no practical, affordable and cruelty-free alternative. But methods to determine the sex of chicks before they hatch are available to farmers, according to the government.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italian PM Conte to Resign Following Pandemic Criticism
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is set to hand in his resignation on Tuesday, following criticism of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 85,000 Italians have died with Covid-19.
Mr Conte hopes to be given a mandate by the president to form a stronger government after losing his majority in the Senate.
Should he fail to do so, the task could fall to someone else and — failing that — fresh elections will be held.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Biden’s Arrival Boosts Project, Shared Agenda — Conte
Long, warm call with incoming president says Pm
(ANSA) — ROME, JAN 18 — Premier Giuseppe Conte said Monday “there is another element that boost our project, and that is the fact that we are looking with great hope to the Biden presidency.
“I had a long, warm phonecall with him and we agreed that we will update each other soon in view of the G20.” Conte, addressing the House ahead of a confidence vote in his government after ex-premier Matteo Renzi triggered a government crisis by withdrawing his centrist Italia Viva party, underscored incoming US President Joe Biden’s “multilateral approach”.
He said “the agenda of the new US administration is our agenda”.
Conte added that after the storming of Capitol Hill by Trump supporters on January 6, for which the outgoing president has been impeached for inciting an insurrection, “we are ever more conscious that democracies must be defended”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: 3 Nuns Probed for Care Home COVID Deaths
Nine deaths eyed at home near Turin
(ANSA) — TURIN, JAN 25 — Three nuns have been placed under investigation over nine COVID-19 deaths at a care home near Turin, judicial sources said Monday.
The three women are accused of culpable epidemic and culpable manslaughter in the deaths at the San Giuseppe Home at Grugliasco.
The three are the legal representative of the home, its director, and the health director.
As well as the nine COVID deaths, the probe is also looking into some 40 cases among residents and health operators at the home.
Police said the home’s risk assessment report was not properly up to date.
They also said personal protective equipment including facemasks were lacking in the facility.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Merkel Sees ‘Much Broader Scope’ For Cooperation With Biden
Chancellor, far more common ground to work together with US
(ANSA-AFP) — BERLIN, 21 GEN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday there was far more common ground to work together with Washington now that Joe Biden has replaced Donald Trump in the White House. Merkel said Germany and Europe were ready to do their part to address a range of issues in the transatlantic in-tray including the coronavirus pandemic, the climate crisis and security threats with the new administration. “There is a much broader scope of political accord with President Biden,” Merkel told reporters, citing his return to the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization and his openness to migration as examples. However she noted that observers expecting them to see eye-to-eye on all issues of transatlantic importance would be disappointed, saying there would of course be “debates about how we can do things well for both countries”.
“Biden represents the interests of the US, I represent those of the Federal Republic of Germany,” she said. But she pledged to heed the calls pre-dating Trump for Germany and Europe to do more to foster global security particularly on defence. “You hear everywhere people rightly saying that Europe will have to take on more responsibility, that means not only militarily but also in the diplomatic arena and many other areas,” she said.
“But the good news is that we in Germany are ready to do that, the EU is also ready to,” she said. Merkel said such debates would now take place on a “broader foundation of shared convictions”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Urges U.S. To Regulate Big Tech, ‘Every Citizen Must be Protected’ From Censorship
Poland’s Deputy Justice Minister has called on the U.S. to protect “every citizen” from Big Tech censorship on social media, as his own country prepares new laws enforcing free speech standards online.
Polish lawmaker Sebastian Kaleta said it was “disturbing” that “Christian or patriotic content” was increasingly being branded as “hate speech” by the Big Tech firms which dominate social media, and that the public discourse should not be controlled by “anonymous moderators”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish President Duda: Central Europe Has Ceased to be a Peripheral Region
In an article for the French news outlet L’Opinion, Polish President Andrzej Duda emphasized that a decade of uncertainty due to the pandemic has just begun. He added that it is also a decade of opportunity for civilizational rebirth in order to create a world that is better, more just, more green and more compatible with the rules of balanced development.
“Central Europe has ceased to be a peripheral region between the West and East, between imperial powers. It has become a structure connected by manifold bonds, conscious of its interests and having an influence over European affairs. The emancipation of Central-Eastern Europe has been reached, we are an element of political and civilizational processes,” the president wrote.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Portugal Reelects Center-Right President De Sousa But Populist Contender Surges
Portugal reelected moderate-conservative Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa as president on Sunday after an election focused on the pandemic and marked by increased electoral support for the populist right, news agency AFP reports.
The current president, a 72-year-old former law professor who became known as a political television commentator, won 60.7 percent of the vote, according to partial results covering almost all constituencies.
In his post-victory speech, Sousa promised to make the fight against the pandemic a priority and thanked voters for “renewed confidence in much more difficult conditions” than five years ago, when he won his first term.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
There’s About to be a Big Push to Encourage People to Pay With Their Face
Facial recognition technology is often considered as one of the most powerful tools of mass surveillance.
But now, reports show that payment industry is getting in on the game, not only in China — a leader in both developing and using this technology — but also elsewhere around the world, in countries like Denmark, Nigeria — and the US.
The practice of paying for goods and services via facial recognition devices, without the need to use a card, a phone or in any other way prove one’s identity, is already well-established in China.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Lawmakers Consider Reforming or Repealing Destructive “Hate Speech” Laws
The UK is looking for ways to change, or even completely repeal, its sometimes damaging hate speech rules in order to allow more freedom of speech and protect democracy.
In many countries, the trend over these past years has been of introducing sometimes too broadly and poorly defined, and ever-more restrictive and stringent anti hate speech laws at the expense of freedom of expression.
This has been particularly noticeable in the UK, with a recent string of incidents encroaching on people’s right to free speech, sometimes involving police and judiciary intervention.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘Go to the Supermarket’: COVID Cops Threaten Families With Fines for Buying Farm Stand Milk
British police reportedly threatened to fine families for buying milk from a farm stand and told patrons to take their business to supermarkets in order to keep in line with coronavirus restrictions.
Police told families last week attempting to buy milk from a vending machine in Trelogan, Wales, that they would be fined unless they immediately left the farmstand, with officers claiming people should purchase “essential” products from supermarkets or shops.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Covidiots Hosting Hot Tub Party in Back Garden Told Cops They ‘Didn’t Know There Was a Pandemic’
COVIDIOTS hosting a hot tub party in a back garden told cops they “didn’t know there was a pandemic”.
The group were caught by officers in Gosport, Hants and reported for breaching coronavirus restrictions last Saturday.
One of the revellers even told officers they were completely unaware of the global pandemic — and didn’t know they were breaking any rules.
Gosport Police wrote on Twitter yesterday: “Last night persons were reported for breaching COVID-19 regulations, after holding a hot tub party in the back garden.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Govt Extends Lockdown Powers for Local Councils Until July
The government has “quietly” extended local lockdown powers until mid-Summer, according to reports, raising concern of lockdown sceptics over the Conservative government’s overreach of power and the “destruction” of civil liberties.
“The Government has quietly extended lockdown laws”, journalist Christopher Chope wrote in The Sunday Telegraph, revealing that Matt Hancock made changes to the Coronavirus Act earlier this month.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Health Sec Says it’s a ‘Long, Long, Long’ Way Off From End of Lockdown
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said it is still a “long, long, long” way off before the government can lift lockdown measures.
Despite some 6.4 million Britons — almost one in ten, and almost half of the most vulnerable groups — having received their first course of vaccinations and the government appearing on track for its mid-February deadline to reach those groups, Mr Hancock said on Sunday that the number of cases of Chinese coronavirus was still too high to predict an end to lockdown.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A teacher sacked by UK’s most elite school, Eton, for his views on patriarchy, radical feminism, and “toxic masculinity,” says he does not regret voicing his opinions and stands by them, even though they cost him his job.
The teacher, Will Knowland, told the Lockdown TV with Freddie Sayers podcast that his argument presented in a video posted on YouTube was based on “anthropology and psychology” to reject the idea of patriarchy as oppressive against women, as well as the notion that traditional gender roles are the result of a social construct rather than biological differences.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Vicious Paris Gang Attack Leaves Ukranian Teen Yuri in Coma Fighting for His Life
A 14-year-old Ukrainian teenager, known only as Yuriy, was the victim of a vicious gang assault on Jan. 15, 2021, in the 15th district of Paris that has shocked the country, local news portal actu.fr reports.
According to his relatives, the 14-year-old was rushed to hospital in serious condition and then plunged into a coma. The viral video, which was leaked by police, has been seen millions of times in France, and has reignited calls to tackle spiraling violence in France.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lebanon Without Perspectives Amid Lockdown, Crisis, Tension
Over half of the population below poverty threshold
(by Lorenzo Trombetta)
Immersed for the first time in a nearly total lockdown, with a generalized curfew imposed 24 hours a day, Lebanon is slowly sinking into its worst economic crisis in 30 years.
The desperation of the most vulnerable classes is palpable and many have been forced to quickly forget the trauma of the double, devastating explosion at the port of Beirut last August 4.
Over half of the population is living below the poverty threshold, in particular in outlying and rural areas. And hundreds of thousands of families can’t afford more than one warm meal a day.
The pandemic hit the country as it was grappling with the disastrous consequences of an economic crisis. The crisis began in the fall of 2019 and it was formalized last March with the announcement of the State’s financial default. This has devastated the poor healthcare facilities of a country as large as Italy’s Abruzzo region, where basic services are mainly private.
The Lebanese lira in a year lost almost 80% of its value compared to the US dollar, a currency to which it has been linked since the second half of the 1990s. In a Lebanon which has been for years without a new government, as it awaits for various political-confessional leaders to reach an agreement in light of the upcoming swearing in of US President Joe Biden, there are actually three parallel exchange rates: one of the Central Bank, the least advantageous for consumers and investors; one adopted by banks, accused by many of being responsible for the country’s bankruptcy; and the real one, called by some the “black exchange rate” because it is not officially recognized but it is actually used for commercial transactions affecting common citizens.
Although bread and other foods considered essential are still funded by the State, the price of essential goods has doubled in the best of cases. But in the majority of instances, it has increased four of five times prices prior to October 2019.
As prices increased, unemployment also climbed in the private sector and especially for undeclared labor. Job opportunities decreased, also due to the closure of shops, hotels and restaurants in a context of growing domestic instability.
Anti-government protests began in the fall of 2019 and continued intermittently until a few weeks ago. The global effects of the pandemic further stifled Lebanon’s economy also because it was not based on internal agricultural and industrial production but rather on the provision of bank services and on the profit of investments, mainly in the construction and estate sectors. This type of economy, which created an investment bubble and massive debts for years, was not strong enough to deal with financial collapse, domestic tensions and international events.
The war in neighboring Syria, the currency crisis in Syria as well as in Turkey, financial sanctions imposed by the United States as a measure against Iran and Lebanese and Syrian institutional members, did not only give Lebanon the burden of managing over one million Syrian refugees on its territory.
Syrians have been stranded without rights in the most vulnerable areas of the country since 2011. They also accentuated the regional economic stalemate and the interruption of commercial trade in the area.
The new total lockdown imposed for the first time last February is not scheduled to end at least until January 25, although an extension is under consideration.
Lebanon currently has an infection rate of 17.6% with 237,000 positive cases so far ascertained and 1,781 deaths caused by Covid.
Experts say that the death toll is underestimated due to the difficulty of diagnosis in areas that have poor healthcare services. Local authorities have been asking for weeks to increase the small number of intensive care beds, which are nearly full.
In this context, the lockdown has been imposed also to operators of nongovernmental organizations, local and foreign, as well as to charities. Many families and individuals have not been receiving for days the aid they need to survive. And social unrest, in a context of strong confessional and political polarization, with tensions between the United States, Israel, Hezbollah and Iran in the background, is increasing every day.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: New Banknote Without Assad’s Picture
Central bank tries to halt economy’s collapse
(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, JANUARY 25 — A few weeks since the tenth anniversary of the start of Syria’s uprising, the Syrian central bank has issued a new banknote for 5,000 Syrian liras in the latest government effort to support the crisis-hit economy.
For the first time in the Syrian monetary history of the past decades, there is no image of President Bashar al Assad or of his father Hafez on a medium-high denomination banknote.
A statement issued by the central bank, which was quoted by government media, said that the new banknote — which has the largest value circulated so far — was issued to “satisfy the needs of the market, help transactions in cash and reduce their cost”. The Syrian economic crisis was not only compounded by the pandemic but especially by the financial crisis of neighboring Lebanon, by the currency crisis in Turkey and by renewed US sanctions against Syrian and Lebanese political and business entities and personalities.
In this context, the Syrian currency touched an historic low in the summer. Over 80% of the Syrian population lives under the poverty line.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Pandemic Raises Japan Suicide Rate After Decade of Decline
The number of people taking their own lives in Japan rose for the first time in over a decade last year, as the pandemic reversed years of progress combating a stubbornly high suicide rate.
The health ministry said Friday that 20,919 people died by suicide in 2020 according to preliminary data, up 3.7% from the previous year. That compares with 3,460 deaths from coronavirus in the same period.
It marks the first year-on-year rise in suicides in more than a decade, with women and children in particular taking their lives at higher rates.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Reaffirms Support for Taiwan After China Sends Dozen Warplanes
The United States reaffirmed its support of Taiwan after China sent a dozen warplanes to intimidate the country last week.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said that China sent eight bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons and four fighter jets into airspace southwest of Taiwan. China has repeatedly pressured Taiwan into recognizing the country as part of Chinese territory.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The ABC has defensively backed down from describing Australia Day interchangeably as ‘Invasion Day’ after a complaint from Communications Minister Paul Fletcher.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
MARGARET COURT RUNS A CHARITY HELPING OTHERS, HE HAS ONLY EVER HELPED HIMSELF. NEVER ACTUALLY HELPED ANYONE IN THE REAL PHYSICAL WORLD THE REST OF US LIVE IN.
O’Brien, a legendary ABC reporter with more than 50 years experience, was to be appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia — the second highest honour. But he has now turned it down.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Sue Lines, who is also the deputy president of the senate, is in favour of changing the date from January 26th to allow Indigenous Australians and their allies to mourn instead.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Viral fragments of the virus were detected at Queensland wastewater treatment facilities in Caboolture South, Oxley Creek, Bundamba, Gibson Island, Luggage Point, Maryborough and Pulgul.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Muslim Herdsmen Murder Pastor in Southwest Nigeria
A group of Islamic Fulani herdsman ambushed and killed a Nigerian pastor who was returning home in his vehicle on January 16.
Amos Arijesuyo served as the pastor at Christ Apostolic Church and as a professor at the Federal University of Technology (FUTA) in southwest Nigeria. He was in a vehicle with four other individuals when the assailants fired into his vehicle, killing Arijesuyo and injuring the driver.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
41 Irregular Migrants Rescued Across Turkey
The Turkish Coast Guard on Monday rescued some 41 irregular migrants off the country’s southern and southwestern coasts.
In a statement, the coast guard said 16 migrants were rescued off the Anamur district of southern Mersin after they called for help as their boat started taking on water.
It said two suspected human smugglers were also detained.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Amsterdam Officials Call for Dumping Overflow Migrants on Neighboring Cities
Amsterdam is reportedly facing a severe shortage of housing for ‘asylum seekers,’ prompting some city officials to call for offloading migrants onto neighboring municipalities.
At least 668 migrants are slated to receive government homes in the Dutch city during the next six months, up from 316 during the second half of 2020.
With asylum housing apparently stretched to capacity, officials from the globalist-leftist D66 party say migrants should be placed in nearby towns and cities, AT5 reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Overturns Transgender Military Ban, Approves Use of Gender Reassignment Surgery for Soldiers
President Biden signed an executive order Monday that lifted the Trump administration’s ban on individuals openly identifying as transgender in the military.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Facebook is struggling to remove child porn content, but remains ruthlessly efficient at censoring Bible passages.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter Introduces User Moderation Feature “Birdwatch” To Combat Misinformation
Twitter announced new moderation feature “Birdwatch” on Monday that allows users to discuss and vote on information they deem false or harmful.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter Outsources Determining “Truth” To the Popular Vote
Twitter has announced that random users will now be able to flag tweets for “misinformation” under its new community-based Birdwatch program.
The program is currently being piloted in the US and lets Twitter users create notes that “add context to tweets” via a three-step process.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: BBC Educational Film Tells Children There Are ‘Over 100’ Genders
The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) has come under fire for a programme aimed at prepubescent children which claimed that there are “over 100” gender identities.
The film, entitled Identity — Understanding Sexual and Gender Identities, is currently being presented on the publicly-funded broadcaster’s ‘Teach’ website and is aimed at children between the ages of nine and 12 years old.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Everything the State says is a lie, and everything it has it has stolen.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
to quote Harcourt Fenton Mudd the First, “Everything that I say is a lie, including what I just said.”
The Eton schoolmaster was fired over a video that rejects “the notion that traditional gender roles are the result of a social construct rather than biological differences.” He is in distinguished company. Charles Darwin wrote:
“I am inclined to agree with Francis Galton in believing that education & environment produce only a small effect on the mind of any one, & that most of our qualities are innate.”
holland is a crap hole of muslim invaders. my dutch brother in law absolutely loves those subhumans because he is a liberal, a cop hater and an athiest. He actually thinks they are great people.