Authorities shut down illegal lockdown-violating parties and other gatherings in Dubai, Wales, England, Melbourne, Quebec, and Ontario. Meanwhile, Israel is issuing a “Green Pass” to people who have received the COVID-19 vaccination, which will allow them to attend sports events and patronize restaurants and hotels.
In other news, the French government has banned the immigration-critical group Génération Identitaire.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Fjordman, Insubria, Reader from Chicago, SS, VP, 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.
Better Prospects of Using EU Funds With Draghi — Moody’s
But long-term challenges remain says credit agency
(ANSA) — NEW YORK, FEB 15 — Mario Draghi’s government “improves” Italy’s prospects for an “effective use of the European funds” aimed at helping the economy out of the COVID recession and boosting growth, Moody’s said Monday.
But long-term challenges remain, said the credit ratings agency.
Once the urgency linked to the pandemic eases, it said, the government will likely be faced with “similar difficulties and political opposition to some structural reforms which we have observed with other governments in the past”.
Draghi is aiming to cut stifling red tape and speed Italy’s snail-paced justice system, longstanding brakes on growth and foreign investment, as well as reforming Italy’s byzantine tax system and launching a major programme for green, sustainable development and digital innovation.
These are all areas where EU approval is needed to greenlight an unprecedented amount of COVID recovery funding.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Jobless Rate Rising, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Calls on Her Critics to Show More “Civility”
Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer scolded her critics during a recent address to Detroit business leaders, saying they need to exercise “civility” in their rhetoric.
Whitmer has faced a great deal of criticism for her aggressive lockdown policies that have shuttered businesses for months as a way to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans have gone on the offensive against her as the state’s unemployment rate has spiked to 7.5%. That mark is twice what it is in several other states.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
World Bank: Polish Monetary Policy Will Aid the Recovery After Pandemic
Increased trade and the near-to-zero interest rates in Poland and Hungary will stimulate Central Europe’s economies to grow by 3.6 percent in 2021, according to Franziska Ohnsorge from the World Bank.
The expert responsible for World Bank forecasts is optimistic about the prospects for Central Europe and emerging markets.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Actor Sean Penn Suggests the Pope Should “Impeach” Evangelical Christian Leaders
Hollywood activist and communist sympathizer Sean Penn raised eyebrows Friday night when he attempted to sound off against Christians who support former President Donald Trump, but instead demonstrated a curious understanding of some fundamental aspects of the faith.
Penn appeared to be referencing former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s recent criticism of Trump, in which she intimated that the former president’s influence over the Republican Party would soon wane.
But it was Penn’s confusion over the historic split between Protestants and Catholics, the nature of impeachment, the spelling of Satan, and the denunciation of “sex parties” by a secular entertainer from Hollywood that left people asking questions.
[Comment: What an idiot. And ugly too.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘I don’t think the poorest 80 countries will be eating synthetic meat. I do think all rich countries should move to 100% synthetic beef,’ Gates the MIT Technology Review in an interview on Monday.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Black McDonald’s Owner Sues for Racial Discrimination
A former professional baseball player who was once the largest black McDonald’s operator in the US has sued the company for racial discrimination. Herb Washington said the firm had denied black owners the opportunities it gave to whites, including by steering them to stores to “distressed, predominantly black” areas.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Christian actor Kevin Sorbo has claimed that Facebook deleted his page, which had more than 500,000 followers.
According to Sorbo, Facebook’s control over free speech is a “digital assassination.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Celebrity doctor Drew Pinsky announced on Twitter that one of his YouTube videos that featured a conversation with another physician received a strike on YouTube and was removed.
He said that he presumed people who were not medical professionals are making decisions about what qualifies for accurate medical information.
“Do you trust a 23yr old computer coder with your life?,” he asked.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida, California Took Opposite Approaches to Covid… With Virtually Same Result
How is it that California enacted draconian COVID lockdown measures, yet had nearly identical results to Florida — a state which went out of its way to avoid shackling residents with small business-killing prohibitions and mentally unhealthy isolation?
According to an analysis by the Daily Mail, California Governor Gavin Newsom’s (D) strict lockdowns resulted in 8,499 cases and 130 deaths per 100,000 residents, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s hands-off approach — such as lifting an ordinance preventing people from operating businesses and restaurants — has resulted in 8,306 cases and 117 deaths per 100,000 residents.
Not only that, both states followed roughly the same trajectories for various COVID-19 metrics — with Florida looking better by virtually every measure when adjusted for population, and California looking like Orwellian overlords save for multiple judges which have tossed Newsom’s edicts because the state failed to provide a scientific basis for their decisions— and has concealed their ‘methodology’ that has driven business-killing decisions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Gov. Desantis Blasts Biden for Sacrificing Children’s Interests to Pacify Teachers Unions
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis lit into the Biden administration’s “disgraceful” policies on school re-openings, saying that the president’s capitulation to teachers unions all but guarantees students will not be able to return to classrooms this school year, and “may not even go back in the fall.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Governor Ron Desantis Drafts New Data Privacy Law Bill to Curb Big Tech
Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis has made good on his promise of introducing a new bill in the state that aims to provide its residents better privacy protections, currently under threat by Big Tech.
DeSantis proposed the bill on Monday during a cabinet meeting, while it will be introduced on March 2, when Florida’s legislature meets.
The governor explained the motives behind it, and had some strong words for the companies that make up Big Tech, and their business models.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gina Carano Reveals Disney Tried to Force Her to Use a Scripted Apology After “Pronoun” Backlash
If you’ve ever wondered why so many “canceled” people resort to publicly denouncing their previous statements, and decide to profusely and abjectly apologize — The Mandalorian star Gina Carano, who was recently fired by Lucasfilm, is now shedding some light on that topic.
These apologies may not be as sincere as they are supposed to sound and may in fact be “scripted” and coming under pressure. In conversation with Bari Weiss, a former New York Times columnist, Carano revealed that Lucasfilm and Disney tried to make her apologize over one of the earlier controversies on social media — when she was attacked online for refusing to add her pronouns to her bio.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kamala Harris is Now Taking Biden’s Head of State Calls
Vice President Kamala Harris has begun taking calls on behalf of President Joe Biden, including those from key world leaders. The White House published a “Readout of Vice President Kamala Harris Call with President Emmanuel Macron of France” on Monday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NAACP Sues Trump, Giuliani, Others for Inciting Capitol Riot
The NAACP filed a lawsuit Tuesday against former President Donald Trump, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and two activist groups, alleging the defendants “conspired to incite” the January 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol building in order to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Oregon Educators: Making Math Students Show Their Work is ‘White Supremacy’
The Oregon Department of Education is seeking to root out white supremacy in mathematics, manifested by emphasis on “getting the right answer” and making students “show their work.”
As reported Monday by the attentive folks at the College Fix, Oregon’s progressive Department of Education has furnished educators with an 82-page training manual titled “A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction: Dismantling Racism in Mathematics Instruction.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Report: National Guard to Stay in DC ‘Through Fall 2021’
A leaked email suggests that there are plans to keep the National Guard in Washington DC beyond the previously discussed deadline of March 12th, and throughout the Summer AND Fall.
A report by FOX 5 cites an internal email seen by reporters that reveals The National Security Council is asking the Department of Defense to engage Capitol Police on planning for post-March 12th support.
The report notes that there will be a meeting for agencies to discuss the matter next Wednesday, February 17th.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Report: California Students Being Kept Prisoner in Tiny Dorms
Students at The University of California-Berkeley have been forced to stay alone in small dormitories without even being able to exercise outside or even go food shopping, according to a report from Campus Reform.
Since the beginning of the month, quarantine measures imposed by the University have mandated that students cannot leave the campus, and must stay inside their rooms at all times, unless there is an emergency.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Satirical Billboards Mock Michigan Gov. Whitmer as “Indiana Businessperson of the Year”
A Coldwater, Michigan, man who runs businesses in both Michigan and Indiana has made waves along the border of the two states by a series of billboards he has put up, satirically mocking Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as being great for business — in Indiana.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sen. Johnson: Capitol Breach Didn’t Seem Like an “Armed Insurrection” To Me
Authored by Janita Kan via The Epoch Times
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said on Monday that he doesn’t think the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol was an “armed insurrection,” while pointing out that the Democrat’s rhetoric was hypocritical.
Johnson made the comments during an appearance on the radio talk show 1130 WISN where he told host Jay Weber that while he thinks the violence at the Capitol was reprehensible, he doesn’t believe the narrative pushed by the Democrats and the media was entirely accurate.
He underscored that the violence was perpetrated by “groups of agitators,” not the tens of thousands of supporters of former President Donald Trump.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The CEO of Parler’s New Host, Skysilk, Criticizes the Power of Big Tech
Parler relaunched on Monday, after finding a new web hosting provider, Los Angeles-based SkySilk. The new web host said that while it “may disagree” with some of the content posted on the platform, it is committed to protecting free speech.
“SkySilk is well aware that Parler has received an aggressive response from those who believe their platform has been used as a safe haven for some bad actors,” SkySilk’s CEO Kevin Matossian said, speaking to NPR. “Let me be clear, SkySilk does not advocate nor condone hate, rather, it advocates the right to private judgment and rejects the role of being the judge, jury, and executioner.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Democrat Congresswoman Calls for ‘Truth Commission’
In the wake of President Trump’s acquittal, a Democratic Congresswoman reiterated calls for a ‘Truth Commission’ Sunday, claiming that America needs “a common narrative moving forward of what we want our country to be”.
California Democrat Sara Jacobs made the comments on CNN’s creepy clown show with Brian Stelter, describing the need for a “reckoning with the racial injustice and white supremacy of our past.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: COVID Enforcer Does ‘Happy Dance’ After Shutting Down Brewery
A COVID rules enforcer was caught on camera doing a ‘happy dance’ after she shut down a brewery in California under false pretenses right before the Super Bowl.
The health inspector arrived at 11am last Sunday to close down Bravery Brewery in Lancaster, California because it didn’t have a food truck, preventing the local craft brewery from making any money on one of the most profitable days of the year.
The inspector told owner Bart Avery that he had to cease trading despite the fact that the brewery was only pouring draught beer to go therefore didn’t need a food truck.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Woke’ Teachers Want Shakespeare Canceled: “This is About White Supremacy and Colonization”
Authored by Jonathan Turley
“Too Woke, Or Not Too Woke?”
While the House managers were quoting Shakespeare in their case against President Donald Trump last week, it appears that the Bard may soon be less known than “Poor Yorick” who we once knew so well.
There is a growing campaign by teachers to drop Shakespeare and other Western literature from classes. One group, #DisruptTexts, insists “This is about White supremacy and colonization.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
You Must Eat 100% Synthetic Beef, Says Bill Gates
Bill Gates says westerners must switch to eating 100% synthetic beef while he buys up record amounts of farmland and monopolizes global food production.
“It’s OK when we do it!”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Coronavirus: Richmond RCMP Bust 2 Illegal Karaoke Parties Over the Weekend
Richmond RCMP officers were kept busy over the weekend as people continued to host karaoke parties, in violation of provincial health orders.
Police said they were called to a karaoke bar near the Aberdeen Square Mall in the 4000-block of No. 3 Road at approximately 1 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13.
In total, 34 staff and patrons were inside and were all issued violation tickets of $230 each. The manager was given a $2,300 ticket, police said.
Then, at approximately 2 a.m. on Sunday, officers were called to a commercial building in the 2600-block of Shell Road. When they arrived, police said they heard people singing karaoke and discovered what appeared to be an unlicensed drinking establishment.
In total, 21 people were given tickets for $230 each and the organizer also received a $2,300 ticket.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Group of McGill Students Facing Permanent Eviction From Dorms Over Gatherings
MONTREAL — After being temporarily kicked out of their McGill dorms last month for small gatherings that broke COVID-19 protocols, a group of students is now facing real eviction for the same offences.
The Montreal university is asking the students to leave quickly and without appealing the decision — and if they do so, they won’t risk having the incident on their disciplinary record.
One 18-year-old student says he felt pushed to sign away his residence lease for the rest of the semester.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Film Honors Germany’s ‘Guest Workers’
Facing a labor shortage after World War II, Germany designed a program to bring in so-called guest workers. The documentary “Gleis 11” by Cagdas Yüksel tells their story.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Christian Man Fired in Sweden Over Refusing to Take Off His Cross
An Assyrian Christian lost his job after his employer deemed the cross he wore a security risk.
George Tannouri, 28, had been working at Zalando warehouse, located in Kungsängen north of Stockholm, and run by the company Ingram Micro for three months, when he was asked to remove the cross necklace he wore under his shirt. When he refused, he was told to leave the workplace and therefore lost his probation period, the news outlet Världen Idag reported.
By his own admission, he felt mortified.
“Our people [Assyrians] have been through so much in history, so we come to Sweden and what do we get right here?” Tannouri asked rhetorically.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Cologne Mayor Faces “Hate Speech” Investigation After Sharing an Antisemitic Post to Condemn it
Unlike in the US, many European countries have long had laws criminalizing what they define as hate speech.
Not only can hate speech laws be abused to chill speech in general and promote censorship online and in real world, they can also be used to falsely accuse people in absurd ways, like the case in Germany where reportedly, two people highlighting the problem of antisemitism could now be accused of antisemitism under the country’s hate speech legislation.
Reports out of Germany show how such laws can easily backfire to falsely accuse and harm people of promoting hateful speech — even high profile public figures.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Dutch appeals court has revived the country’s Covid-19 curfew just moments before it came into effect, overturning a ruling handed down hours earlier ordering the government to lift the “illegitimate” measure immediately.
A three-judge appellate panel granted an emergency injunction following a request from the Dutch government on Tuesday, agreeing to vacate the earlier order from a lower court to end the nightly curfew, DW reported. The decision came just moments before the 9pm curfew was set to take effect, with the judges scheduling a full hearing on its legality for Friday.
The appeals judges argued that they wanted to avoid what they called a “yo-yo effect,” referring to public confusion around whether the curfew was still in force, adding that “in this case, the state’s interests weigh more than that of Virus Truth’s,”the activist group that brought the initial complaint against the curfews to court — also known by its Dutch name, Viruswaarheid.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
English Football Club ‘Will No Longer Take a Knee’ Before Matches
English football club Brentford FC have decided to give up kneeling to Black Lives Matter before games, as players “no longer believe that this is having an impact”.
“As a group of players, we have decided we will no longer take a knee before the start of matches,” the team announced in a statement shared on their website.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A French bill designed to stop the spread of radical Islam and defend secular values has been approved by the lower house of parliament. The legislation was proposed after the murder of teacher Samuel Paty by an Islamist attacker.
The bill, aimed at defending “republican principles,” was approved by the National Assembly on Tuesday. According to BFM TV, the legislation will now be moved to the Senate, where it will be considered on March 30.
Although the bill never mentions radical Islam by name, it was introduced by the government in response to a string of high-profile Islamist attacks in France last year. President Emmanuel Macron and other officials view Islamism as a threat to the core values that shape modern French society, including the more-than-a-century-old principle of secularism.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Public Radio Accused of Defaming Poland Over Holocaust-Related Ruling
The Polish government and the public are expressing outrage over French public radio program “France Culture” publishing material claiming Poland is trying to evade its responsibility for crimes committed by the Third Reich.
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek stated that the Polish Embassy in Paris will protest the “France Culture” claim and a Polish legal NGO is threatening litigation against the French broadcaster.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Generation Identity Banned — ‘The French Government Considers it a Crime to be Against Immigration’
On Friday, the French government announced the dissolution of the anti-mass-immigration, identitarian movement Génération Identitaire, also known as Generation Identity in the English-speaking world, after its recent protest action at the French-Spanish border, which had exposed the lack of control of illegal immigration by the French government despite its previous statements to the contrary. Remix News spoke on Monday on the phone with Jérémie Piano, the spokesperson for the organization, which readily calls itself “right-wing Greenpeace” because of its actions devised to attract media attention.
The French Interior Minister wants to dissolve your movement. What reason is given in the notification you received on Friday?
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin wants to dissolve us for two reasons: incitement to hatred and the formation of militias. For his accusations, he relies in particular on the actions that Génération Identitaire has carried out in the Alps and the Pyrenees. For the 2018 Defend Europe mission in the Alps, we were fully discharged by a court of appeal. Concerning our last action, last month in the Pyrenees, the prefect himself acknowledged that we had not done anything illegal. For the charge of incitement to hatred, Gérald Darmanin’s services also rely on the occupation of the roof of the Poitiers mosque construction site in 2012, for which, similarly, we had no conviction. The file is quite empty legally, and if we are judged according to the law, we will win because it is mostly a political move on the part of the government.
It also seems that the French government is resorting to judicial harassment against Génération Identitaire.
That is exactly right.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Slight Increase in Curfew Violations Last Week
Last week, the Dutch police reportedly fined 7,383 people for staying out past curfew., nearly 400 more fines than were distributed for the same offense in the week prior.
454 fines were handed out for forming groups larger than allowed according to the coronavirus restriction rules. 345 people got away with a warning.
Police also broke up 96 illegal house parties in the past week
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nexit: Dutch ‘Only Tolerated EU When UK Was Key Member’
THE EU’s relationship with the Netherlands was thrown into sharp focus following Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic, triggering fears that the member state may leave the bloc, commentators claim.
The Netherlands was one of the founding members of the EU — then known as the European Economic Community — and conducts three-quarters of its trade with the bloc. The nation takes part in every single European programme which has been rolled out, and neighbours one of the bloc’s largest member states, Germany. However, it has found itself at the centre of recent bitter rows between the member states, subsequently prompting concerns that euroscepticism is growing in the Netherlands.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
South Wales Police Fines for Coronavirus Restriction Breaches
AN ILLEGAL birthday party in the Vale was among numerous gatherings broken up by police on the weekend.
South Wales Police dished out 138 fixed penalty notices to people who attended parties or gatherings, or ignored travel restrictions, while Wales is in Alert Level Four lockdown.
Four women celebrating a birthday party in the Vale were fined, and 27 fines were issued due to four separate house gatherings in the Vale and Cardiff.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Clinic in Gothenburg Experiences Second Explosion in a Month
An explosive device detonated inside a care clinic in Gothenburg of Wednesday last week, the Göteborg-Posten reported. Two people were injured during the incident.
According to Sahlgrenska Hospital’s press office, a woman in her 40s was slightly injured while a woman in her 80s suffered severe shrapnel injuries in the explosion inside the care clinic on Första Långgatan, a street in Sweden.
“The bomb protection police department has an opinion, but there is no information we can release at this stage of the investigation,” said Peter Adlersson, police spokesman in the region.
The explosive device must have been more powerful than any sort of firework.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Swiss Referendum Could Force Police to Publish Nationality and Background of Criminals
Swiss locals are set to vote on a referendum that could force local police to release the nationality and background of criminals after the Zurich city police decided to stop publishing the information.
The proposed referendum, which will take place on March 7th, comes after the Zurich police stopped publishing ethnic and nationality data on criminals in 2017, one of the only police forces in the country that does not release such data.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Regulator Stops BLM Registering as Political Party — ‘Likely to Mislead Voters’
Britain’s Electoral Commission has rejected efforts to register Black Lives Matter as a political party on grounds that it would be “likely to mislead voters”.
“The application to register Black Lives Matter as a political party was refused by the Commission on the basis that the proposed name is likely to mislead a voter as to the effect of their vote,” said a spokesman for the controversial regulator in comments reported by MailOnline.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Anti-Brexit Lawyer Claims He Was Blacklisted by Law Firm After Admitting to Killing Fox
Anti-Brexit lawyer Jolyon Maugham claims he was blacklisted from a law firm after declaring on social media that he had battered a fox to death on the day after Christmas, while wearing his wife’s kimono.
Mr Maugham was known for his involvement in a number of legal challenges against the government to frustrate Brexit, including his work with Gina Miller. However, he attained a different level of fame when he announced on Twitter that he had dispatched an urban fox after it allegedly became entangled trying to get into the chicken coop at the lawyer’s London property.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Boris Wants ‘This Lockdown to be the Last’, But Wouldn’t Rule Out a Fourth
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that he wants “this lockdown to be the last”, but would not rule out a fourth.
The prime minister said that he would present a “roadmap” out of lockdown next week, which should outline “the route to normality” — “even though some things are very uncertain”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: More Than 100 Jobs Created to Encourage Diversity in the ‘Incredibly White’ Environmental Sector
A programme in the UK is looking to offer 118 young people from ethnic minority backgrounds jobs in the environmental sector.
“The UK environmental sector’s failure to recognise climate justice and anti-racism as inextricably linked is, in part, reflective of the exclusion of Black and brown folks from these spaces,” says Larissa Kennedy, President of Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK).
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Merseyside Police Bust Illegal Rave in Woods Near Preston
Drugs, music speakers and a weapon were all seized after police busted an illegal rave in a Merseyside wood.
Around 20 brazen coronavirus rule breakers turned up to the secluded party which ran into the early hours on Valentine’s Day.
Police stormed the rave at Whiston woods, near Cumber Lane, after a tip-off just before 1am on Sunday, February 14.
Organisers has used plastic sheeting for a makeshift venue and speakers were found at the scene. Class A drugs and a knife were also found.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
COPS stormed a packed secret bar nicknamed “The Covid Arms” before being pelted with bottles when breaking up an illegal nightclub gathering just hours later.
Officers from West Midlands Police discovered a garage workshop in Dudley Port had been turned into a bar — complete with a sign on the wall — The Covid Arms.
Officers used their discretion to allow the dozen people in there to leave on Saturday night, but the owner was hit with a £1,000 fine.
Just hours later, dozens of partygoers were caught fleeing via the rooftop on drone footage near Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.
Cops had glass bottles thrown at them as they tried to break up the illegal gathering in the early hours of Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Nottinghamshire Police Officer ‘Punched and Kicked’ After Being Called to COVID-Breaching Party
A police officer was injured after being punched and kicked while attending reports of a party.
Parties and any gatherings involving other households are currently illegal as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.
Despite this, Nottinghamshire Police says officers attended reports of a party in Barnaby Gate, Newark on Sunday, February 14, where an officer was assaulted.
The force says the officer was “punched and kicked” and suffered an injured thumb after entering the property at around 10.40pm.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Number of Pre-Teens Self-Harming Doubles in Six Years
The number of children aged nine to 12 self-harming in the UK has doubled in just six years, with indications that mental health problems are increasing amongst the very young.
According to BBC Radio 4’s File on 4 programme, the number of pre-teens attending hospital after intentionally injuring themselves rose from 221 in 2013-14 to 508 in 2019-20. With population growth factored in, it results in a rate of self-harm for this age-range having doubled.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Sadiq Khan Gave £100k in Public Funding to Group Which Besieged Police Station During BLM Unrest
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been revealed to have given nearly £100,000 in taxpayer money to a Black Lives Matter-style leftist activist group over the course of two years.
A Freedom of Information (FoI) request has revealed that Sadiq Khan’s “Violence Reduction Unit Community Seed Fund” has funded the 4Front Project, a youth organisation established in 2012 to ostensibly take on youth violence, which they claim is driven by “racial inequality” and the criminal justice system itself.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Government insists that the training ‘does not achieve its intended aims’, could make discrimination issues worse, and should be axed by the public sector. But the courses remain popular.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Kosovo: Kurti’s Nationalist Left Wins Elections With 48.1%
Pdk democratic party behind with 17.35%
(ANSAmed) — PRISTINA, FEBRUARY 15 — In Kosovo, with nearly all ballots counted (99%), Vetevendosje, VV (self-determination), movement of the nationalist left led by Albin Kurti has won by a large margin, garnering 48.17% of the vote in early elections held Sunday.
As reported by the electoral commission in Pristina, behind the winner with 17.35% of the vote is the Democratic party of Kosovo (Pdk), the formation of outgoing president Hashim Thaci and of other leaders like him of Uck who were arrested on war crime charges and who are currently detained in The Hague. In third place comes the Democratic League of Kosovo (Ldk, center-right) of outgoing premier Avdullah Hoti, that obtained 13.18% of the vote while the alliance for the future of Kosovo (Aak) of former premier and ex-leader Uck Ramush Haradinaj garnered 7,42%. Nisma of Fatmir Limaj stopped at 2.59% of the vote, failing to reach the 5% threshold.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Hamas and Palestinian Authority Agree on Vote
Cairo talks a success, elections on May 22 and July 31
(ANSAmed) — GAZA, FEBRUARY — Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday called Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas to congratulate him on the success of inter-Palestinian talks in Cairo.
The talks came to a close on Tuesday with a detailed agreement between the various factions involved on how parliamentary (May 22) and presidential (July 31) elections will be held.
Local media reported the news, noting that both Hamas and Fatah appeared optimistic.
One Hamas leader, Ghazi Hammad, told the television station al-Ghad that his movement was prepared to enter a future Palestinian Authority government even if its positions have not changed.
He stressed that Hamas continues to oppose any Palestinian recognition of Israel and any security coordination with it.
Fatah’s Jibril Rajub noted that the elections are an important step towards the establishment of an independent state.
On the agreement reached on Tuesday with the other factions involved, Rajub noted that “this is a sad, bleak day for the fascist government under (Israeli prime minister Benyamin) Netanyahu), while for us it is a day of happiness”.
The Islamic Jihad noted that it will neither take part in the elections nor hinder them in any way.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Israel to Allow ‘Green Pass’ Holders to Access Public Spaces
Israel will soon allow ‘Green Pass’ holders who have taken the COVID-19 vaccine to access public spaces including sports events, restaurants and hotels while those who haven’t had the shot will remain on lockdown.
The two tier system will go into effect from Sunday onwards, when those who have had two doses of the vaccine or can prove they’ve recovered from the infection will display the certificate on their phone which will allow them to resume normal life.
“With some 43 percent of Israeli citizens inoculated with at least one shot of the jab developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, the cabinet moved to permit malls, open-air markets, museums and libraries to reopen next weekend, gradually scaling back controversial restrictions brought in late December,” reports RT.
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Turkey Investigates Dutch Politician Wilders Over Erdogan Comments
ANKARA (Reuters) — Turkish prosecutors launched an investigation on Tuesday into remarks about President Tayyip Erdogan by Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders, Turkish state media reported.
Wilders called Erdogan a terrorist on Twitter on Monday and urged Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to expel the Turkish ambassador to the Netherlands. He also called for Turkey to be expelled from NATO.
Prosecutors in Ankara launched an investigation into Wilders over posts on Twitter including photographs and written insults against Erdogan, the state-run Anadolu news agency said, citing the prosecutor’s office.
Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party in the Netherlands, is one of Europe’s most prominent far-right politicians and has been a key figure in shaping the immigration debate in his country, although he has never been in government.
His comments drew a backlash from Turkish officials.
“This fascist who attacked our President would have been a damn Nazi if he had lived during World War Two. If he were living in the Middle East right now, he would be a Daesh murderer,” Omer Celik, a spokesman for Erdogan’s AK Party, said on Twitter, using another name for Islamic State.
Wilders was acquitted in a hate speech trial in 2011 for remarks likening Islam to Nazism and calling for a ban on the Koran. In September 2020, he was acquitted by an appeals court of discrimination, although the court upheld a conviction for intentionally insulting Moroccans.
Erdogan last year filed a separate criminal complaint in Turkey against Wilders over a cartoon image of him captioned “terrorist” and a separate image of a sinking ship with a Turkish flag.
The prosecutor’s office could not be reached on Tuesday to say whether that complaint had led to an investigation.
Rutte has criticised Turkish legal action against Wilders, saying the politician was exercising his right to free speech.
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Hakan Aysal, 40, posed with his heavily pregnant wife for a romantic photo on top of a cliff moments before he allegedly threw her to her death in Turkey so he could claim life insurance money.
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Video: UAE Tourism Camp Operator Fined Dh50,000 for Illegal Gathering
A tourism camp operator has been fined Dh50,000 for violating precautionary measures put in place to limit the spread of Covid-19.
Dubai Police announced it had ordered the closure of the camp for a month and penalised the organiser with the hefty fine.
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Bangladesh Avijit Roy Murder: Five Sentenced to Die for Machete Attack on Blogger
A court in Bangladesh has sentenced five men to death and one to life in jail for hacking a secular blogger to death six years ago in Dhaka.
Avijit Roy, based in the US and of Bangladeshi origin, was attacked with machetes as he left a book fair in the capital in February 2015.
It was one of a spate of attacks on secular figures, which were blamed on Islamist militants.
Roy, an atheist, had angered hardliners with his writings on religion.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A 22-year-old Indian activist was arrested after allegedly helping to edit and pass around a “toolkit” giving tips on how to support ongoing farmers protests in the country, previously shared by climate crusader Greta Thunberg.
Disha Ravi, a young activist from Bangalore, was taken into custody over the weekend and charged with sedition and criminal conspiracy on grounds that she was a “key conspirator” in creating and disseminating the toolkit, which police say advocated “disaffection with the Indian state” and “economic, social, cultural and regional war against India.”
While Ravi insisted at a court hearing that she only edited two lines in the document, police believe she had a bigger role in producing it and at some point forwarded it to Thunberg. The Swedish teen activist would later post the doc to her own Twitter account, stoking intense public backlash as critics accused her of taking part in a ‘foreign plot’ to fan unrest in India. The outrage only worsened after Thunberg replaced the toolkit with a hastily “updated” version, now devoid of most specific instructions featured in the original.
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Pakistan: Honor Killing? Man Chokes Sister to Death After She Quarrels With Husband
FAISALABAD: Causing crippling dent to humanity, Police said Thursday a man has allegedly killed his sister in the name of honor after she came to live with her parents following a dispute with her husband, ARY News reported.
According to the police, the accused Liaquat killed his sister by choking her with bear hands after he took her out of their parents’ house ‘to drop her to husband’.
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Report: China Gives Vatican ‘Slap in the Face’ Over Naming of Bishops
ROME — China has eliminated any role for the pope or the Vatican in the appointment and consecration of Catholic bishops in its newly published norms for religious clergy.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which renewed its secret agreement on the naming of Catholic bishops in the country last October, has apparently reneged on its deal, according to the online journal Bitter Winter, which has published an English-language translation of the Administrative Measures for Religious Clergy, which will go into effect on May 1, 2021.
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Federal parliament has renewed the contract of a 49 per cent Chinese owned company which is storing Australia’s military secrets for the defence force until 2025.
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A man who murdered his own daughter and her husband in a suspected honour killing has pleaded guilty to the shocking crime.
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Professor Lindsay Grayson said Victoria’s system is placing the whole country at risk, even after the quarantine program was rebooted following a deadly second wave.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Waititi, who is currently in Sydney filming the new Thor instalment, took to Instagram to share his glee on the anniversary of the British explorer’s death.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Officers were seen swarming Al’s Gym in Campbellfield in the city’s north on Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
‘No benefits’: Prime Minister Scott Morrison moved a step closer to scrapping controversial Victoria’s Belt and Road agreement with China, sending a blunt message on its future.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
The state was plunged into a five-day-long lockdown on Friday at midnight, with the rules set to end at 11.59pm on Wednesday night.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Partygoers in Fremantle, Scarborough and Northbridge took to licenced venues wearing masks, but wasted no time in taking them off at 12.01 on Sunday morning as restrictions were lifted.
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Sent from my iPad=
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Somaliland: Christians Arrested for Spreading Christianity
On 21 January, police in Hargeisa, Somaliland arrested Mohamed and Hamdi and their new born baby. The same day an Ethiopian woman, Aster, was taken into custody.
Police searched Mohammed and Hamdi’s house the following day. Besides confiscating material belonging to the couple, they arrested Hamdi A, a woman living with Mohamed and Hamdi. All four, and the baby, remain in police custody.
On 25 January they were brought before a judge and informed they are suspected of spreading Christianity. At a 10 February court appearance they were told the investigation period is being extended. (The law allows the prosecutor up to 45 days from the day of arrest to finish his investigation and file charges.)
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trinidad: Police Shoo Entertainers Dancing to Music on Pavement
Entertainers Nikki Crosby, Terrin “Jaiga TC” Callendar, Rodell “Ro’dey” Cumberbatch, and Abeo Jackson, along with four friends and family members, were moved along by police as they danced in costume along Tragarete Road on Tuesday morning.
Crosby said she, along with Callendar, Cumberbatch and Jackson had just left work after their OJO Breakfast Party segment at 96.1 WE FM radio station, when they decided to dance to the music coming from the speakers of a nearby outdoor restaurant.
“Some of us were already in costume from being in the studio. There were four of us on either side of the street, we were all socially distanced and wearing masks, because we were aware of the covid19 regulations.
“A few police cars passed us and waved. One stopped so we asked if we were breaking the law and they said no, but we should make sure not to block the street.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s New Book is a Damning Verdict on European Immigration Policy
Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s new book, entitled Prey: Immigration, Islam, and the Erosion of Women’s Rights, published in February this year, offers a detailed and shocking description of how European women’s everyday lives have been impacted by the sudden influx of millions of Muslim migrants.
Hirsi Ali, who has been living under armed guard for over a decade as a result of her critical views on Islam, is describing the arrival of archaic cultures into Europe which do not treat women as equal partners, resulting in communities where violence against women is endemic.
Hirsi Ali, who was born in Somalia and immigrated to the Netherlands, has faced enormous pressure to remain silent about her view. A video interview with the Commonwealth Club, in which she was invited to speak about her new book, was almost cancelled due to protests and threats from left-wing activist who regard her views as Islamophobic. During the discussion, she had stated that in her view, the single most harmful decision for women taken in Europe was ironically made by a woman. She makes no qualms about naming this person as Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel. In her view, Merkel, in a moment of thoughtlessness, had decided to open the gates of Europe to masses of immigrants without a plan or means for successful integration.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: Migrants Once Again Occupy Catholic Church in Brussels
They’re hoping to “negotiate directly with the Belgian federal government in order to stay in Europe,” and “the pope is constantly mentioned.”
That’s a canny move, as the Pope has many times tried to shame Christians into supporting mass migration in Europe by claiming that it is a manifestation of the Christian obligation to welcome the stranger. This is nothing less than sinister. Christians do not have and never have had an obligation to welcome those who are determined to conquer and subjugate them, as many of the migrants have made clear is their ultimate objective in accord with Islamic texts and teachings. Will there be any screening done of the migrants in this church to try to determine if they have jihadist sentiments? Of course not. That would be “Islamophobic.”
“We visited a church in Brussels occupied by migrants + video,” translated from “A migransok altal elfoglalt brüsszeli templomban jartunk + videó,” by Judi Tamara, Magyar Nemzet, February 4, 2021.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French ‘Crimes Against Humanity, Genocide, War Crimes’ Body to Investigate Anti-Migration Protest
A public prosecutor has turned over an investigation into an anti-mass migration protest in the French Pyrenees to the office tasked with fighting genocide and war crimes.
The prosecutor’s office in Saint-Gaudens handed over an investigation into a January 9th protest along the Franco-Spanish border by the activist youth group Generation Identitaire to the Central Office for Combating Crimes Against Humanity, Genocide, and War Crimes (OCLCH).
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Greece: Migrant Drug Dealers Beat Man, Steal His Dog
A young man’s dog was taken from him while he was beaten and robbed at knifepoint by a gang of Algerian drug dealers in Athens last week, police say.
The 20-year-old victim was walking his pit bull on Thursday evening on Strefi Hill, a park in the Greek capital, when he was approached by a gang attempting to sell him drugs.
When he refused and tried to walk away, the men set upon him.
“Then the perpetrators rushed at him, beat him savagely and snatched 50 euros that he had on him and his mobile phone while their leader held a knife at the neck of the 20-year-old,” Proto Thema reports.
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Greece: Evros Residents Refuse to Sell Land for Expansion of Migrant Camp
Residents of the Fylakio community in Evros on the Greek-Turkish border are opposed to the possibility of expanding the Orestiada Outpost migrant camp.
The president of the community, Christos Tympakis, said to Sputnik Hellas that residents are “upset and angry” and stressed that they are not selling their plots of land for the new facilities.
Residents of the region are strongly opposed to the expansion of the migrant camp at the Identification and Reception Center (KYT) at the Orestiada Outpost on the Greek-Turkish border.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Violence From Migrants Has Train Operator Threatening to Cancel Service in Certain Areas
Afghans, Somalis, and Eritreans have been singled out as those responsible for a number of threatening incidents and violence that has befallen the Swedish town of Kumla and which makes SJ, the Swedish government-owned passenger train operator, consider stopping its trains in the city.
The Samhällsnytt daily talked to the police, SJ, entrepreneurs, and citizens of Kumla about the situation in the town.
On, Jan. 29, SJ issued a press release stating that due to “serious problems with order” in Kumla and Hallsberg, the train company considers completely avoiding two stations and letting trains pass instead. So far, the trains stop in both Kumla and Hallsberg, but according to the press release, this position could quickly change.
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Italy: League Senator Cleared of Defaming Gay Group on Appeal
Simone Pillon had been fined, ordered to pay damages
(ANSA) — PERUGIA, FEB 15 — League Senator Simone Pillon, known for his ultra conservative pro-life, pro-family and anti-gay stances, was cleared on appeal Monday of defaming Perugia gay group Omphalos LGBTI by saying their initiatives in schools were a front for “initiating” them into gay sex.
At the first instance trial almost two years ago, Pillon was fined 1,500 euros ordered to pay Omphalos 30,000 euros in damages for the allegation, made before he became a Senator.
The Senator for the far-right nationalist League claimed Omphalos was pushing a gay agenda in schools and trying to assert gender theory.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Engineering and other maths related fields might be less inclined to hire a group if the perception is that they didn’t have to do well in math. I don’t think this will benefit black people who are intelligent.
Scott Morrison might have now demonstrated why he has not been the subject of a media witchhunt. His predecessor was subject to trump-like press in Australia.
Some countries must be harsh to stop little t satanic raitors like this :
https://barenakedislam.com/2021/02/14/what-kind-of-parents-would-allow-their-9-year-old-son-to-convert-to-islam/