Despite COVID restrictions, revelers held illegal parties in Tel Aviv and Scotland. Meanwhile, the British government said that masks are recommended but not compulsory when schools reopen.
In other news, jihadist rebels are suspected of ambushing and murdering the Italian ambassador in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to DR, JD, MC, 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.
“Give My Regards to Your Puppet Master” — Elon Musk to Washington Post Reporter
The Washington Post attempted to put together a hit piece on Elon Musk and failed miserably. In response to questions from the WaPo, Elon Musk shared — “Give my regards to your puppet master.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
President Biden’s nominee to become Health and Human Services Secretary, Xavier Becerra, suffered through a difficult line of questioning from Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) Wednesday. Sasse brought up Becerra’s unprecedented litigation against the Little Sisters of the Poor as California Attorney General.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bacterial Pneumonia Caused Most Deaths in 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Implications for Future Pandemic Planning
The majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone, report researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection. The pneumonia was caused when bacteria that normally inhabit the nose and throat invaded the lungs along a pathway created when the virus destroyed the cells that line the bronchial tubes and lungs.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Administration Culpable for ERCOT’s Inability to Fend Off Freeze
Media distraction tactics went into overdrive by going after Senator Ted Cruz, ERCOT and Governor Greg Abbott as responsible for the fatal effects of the frigid weather that blasted through Texas last week. The finger pointing has one purpose — to send focus as far away from the Biden administration as possible.
The executive order that unveils the real culprit behind the deaths that never should have occurred was posted by Gateway Pundit.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Tosses Trump’s Classical Architecture Order
Brutalists, rejoice!
Former President Donald Trump’s attempt to favor classical architecture got the ax on Wednesday as part of a sweeping scrapping of Trump-era executive orders by President Joe Biden.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In the world of Bill Gates conspiracies, this one isn’t.
The iconic tech entrepreneur used to be all about bettering the world through getting rid of malaria and improving third world education. Now he wants you to only eat “synthetic” beef because he is rich and therefore knows better than you.
Gates — who coincidentally is a primary investor in a synthetic meat company called Memphis Meats and has financial ties with other plant-based companies — wants the U.S. and other “rich nations” to eat only lab-grown meat.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
BLM Report Shows it Brought in More Than $90 Million Last Year
A recent report released by the Black Lives Matter Foundation shows that the movement brought in more than $90 million last year.
The disclosure of the financial report comes after the foundation faced backlash from all sides, including local Black Lives Matter chapters, who said that they had seenlittle financial support from the national organization.
The report revealed that most of the funds raised by the foundation was from small donations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New York Assembly member Ron Kim, a Democrat, and Jessica Ramos, a Democrat, held a rally at City Hall on Wednesday. Kim was joined by fellow elected officials, advocates, and the family members of seniors, to announce a key list of demands from the Cuomo administration. The victims want justice!
FOX News meteorologist Janice Dean spoke at the rally today. Dean lost her inlaws to the coronavirus after the caught COVID in a New York nursing home.
Janice Dean has been leading the charge against the Cuomo administration and their lies to New Yorkers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
On January 6th, 2021, Ashli Elizabeth Babbitt was executed by a Capitol Police Officer who seemed to hold no restraint.
50 days later, the Capitol Police Officer responsible has been identified in photos before and during the shooting.
The Police Lieutenant’s name is being withheld from Ashli Babbit’s attorneys.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California now fulfills Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s nightmare vision in his prophetic masterpiece “The Possessed” as to what unlimited liberalism must inevitably create — if not stopped in its tracks and rolled back.
Where California goes today, the rest of the United States and much of the Western world goes tomorrow. But what we are now seeing in America’s most populous state is the complete internal collapse of the entire liberal progressive civilization and the society that has most frantically tried to fulfill it.
[Comment: Recommended reading. Unfortunately, those useful idiots who voted in the political class are now fleeing to other States and will doubtless vote for the same kind of leftists that ruined the State they just left.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Church Faces ‘Unconscionable and Frightening’ Threat From Authorities: Stop Gathering or Go to Jail
A church in Maine is fighting against the state’s order on its pandemic restriction for houses of worship, wherein Christians are faced with a dilemma of staying away from church or getting charged with a crime.
Pastor Ken Graves of Calvary Chapel of Bangor in Orrington, Maine is fighting a legal battle against Gov. Janet Mills’ order on indoor gathering, limiting attendance of people inside houses of worship. The pastor describes the directive as “unconscionable and frightening,” the Liberty Counsel, via Charisma News, reported.
The order dated Feb. 12, limits churches to accommodate only “5 persons per 1,000 square feet of functionally available space, or 50 persons, whichever is greater.” The state’s order on pandemic restrictions is considered to be the strictest in the country, which has been in place for almost a year already.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CPAC to Feature Atheist Organization as an Exhibitor
As the annual Conservative Political Action Conference kicks off in Orlando, Florida, Thursday afternoon, a new exhibitor is raising eyebrows. Atheists for Liberty, an organization of libertarian-leaning Republicans who profess disbelief in a personal deity, will be part of this year’s event.
[Comment: I don’t have a problem with this. Further, I’d like to see Styxhexenhammer give a speech at CPAC.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DeSantis Wants State Legislature to Restrict Counties’ Powers to Impose Curfews on Citizens
“Los Angeles isn’t booming. New York City’s not booming. It’s booming here because you can live like a human being…you’re not locked down, people aren’t miserable”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘Equality Act’ Guts Religious Freedom
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House is expected to begin voting tomorrow on HR 5, known as the so-called “Equality Act,” which takes the unprecedented step of eliminating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) as a claim or defense to the application of many federal laws. The bill also includes houses of worship and religious school’s pre-K through college, daycare, shelters (including shelters for battered and sexually abused women), and more.
Religious and nonprofit schools that violate the bill could lose their tax-exempt status and schools could lose accreditation — which means they could not accept student loans and many graduates would not be able to be accepted into graduate schools. The expanse of the bill includes church and college overnight stays with youth and/or students, dorms, sports, bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Five Counties Are Trying to Leave Left Wing Oregon and Become Part of Idaho
When you think of Oregon, you probably think of the left wing riots that have been happening in Portland for months.
It’s easy to forget that it’s a big state and not everyone who lives there is a left wing radical.
Some people there are sick of it, and are trying to make parts of the state leave for Idaho.
It’s happening in five counties.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Boeing is a renowned and respected brand, so what’s going on? Why does it keep finding itself in the news for the wrong reasons?
The overriding theme from several sources is that Boeing has sacrificed standards to boost profit. Speaking to RT.com, aviation author Thomas Gardner said, “The Boeing company you see now is not the same as it was 20 or 30 years ago, Boeing was the bellwether, the gold standard in aviation design.
Over the last hundred years, Boeing developed a stellar reputation for conservatism in aircraft design, marketing and construction.
In the 50s or 60s, if you were hired as an engineering student at Boeing, you were introduced into a climate, a philosophy that oozed conservatism and a certain fairness. They valued their defence contractors, but it overflowed into the commercial aviation market.
But because of all these accusations and mergers with other companies, their core beliefs and the way they do things has become tainted and deluded. Once priority number one was the customer and the product, but the bottom line and dividends became more and more important.”
[Comment: Get rid of all the ex-McDonnell Douglas managers. Elevate Boeing engineers to management positions.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Free Speech Social Network Gab Says it Has Been Refused by Three Banks in the Last Month
The free-speech-friendly social media platform Gab says it has been refused service by three banks in as many weeks. The platform, popular with those who do not appreciate the speech policing by Big Tech,became especially popular after mainstream social media sites permanently banned President Trump in early January.
The platform registered more than 272 million visits in January, more than the visits recorded by popular news outlets such as TMZ, The Wall Street Journal, and NBC News.
However, its popularity has not gone unnoticed by media outlets who, as with most alternative technology, have smeared the platform for its free speech principles.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Frontline Doctor: FBI ‘Broke Down My Door’ In SWAT Team Raid of 20 Men
Dr. Simone Gold related the nature of her arrest, how the distribution of experimental vaccines violates the Nuremburg Code, and why COVID-19 censorship is a ‘crime against humanity.’
In a recent interview with Michelle Malkin, Dr. Simone Gold, founder of American Frontline Doctors (AFLD) discussed the lack of authentic informed consent with regards to experimental vaccines, censorship as a “crime against humanity,” and how she was subjected to a massive swat team raid upon her home by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in order to arrest her for being present in the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6th.
In describing this incident, Gold said, “I was paid a visit by the FBI in a Roger Stone kind of take down moment, which is quite uncalled for. You know, if anybody wanted to get a hold of me, they could have picked up the phone and called. I’m very easy to find. But there were literally twenty guys with guns blazing, [and they] broke down my door,” Gold said.
“It was dramatic and what I want to say is that I weep for our country. If you can pull in a person like me … [and] have the FBI break down your door with 20 guns, shackle you [in] handcuffs [and] drag you off, I mean it was really terrible … I’m telling you America, this can happen to you.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Fry’s Electronics Stores Across the Country Shutting Down Permanently
Fry’s Electronics stores across the country are shutting down for good as the company is going out of business.
The company updated its website, so it now shows the following farewell message:…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Good news!
Catalina Lauf is running for Congress against fake Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger in Illinois.
You may recognize Catalina.
In the fall Catalina Lauf and her sister Madeline were featured in a memorable ad during the first night of the RNC Convention. The two sisters praised President Trump for his leadership and America First ideals.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Health Officials Push Pregnant Women to Get COVID Shots, Despite Known Risks
With no data showing COVID vaccines are safe for pregnant women, and despite reports of miscarriages among women who have received the experimental Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, Fauci and other health officials advise pregnant women to get the vaccine.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
House Passes So-Called Equality Act, Threatening Religious Liberty
The United States House of Representatives unsurprisingly passed the LGBT-promoted Equality Act Thursday, in a move that would redefine sex and gender in American law.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
St. Joseph’s University, a Jesuit institution, suspended Math professor Gregory Manco after he tweeted out against reparations for the ancestors of slavery in the United States.
Slavery was ended by Republican Abraham Lincoln 156 years ago in 1865.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kennedy noted the package that is supposed to provide assistance during the coronavirus pandemic is “chock full of spending porn.” He called the bill a “neosocialist wish list” because it includes money for transit projects, illegal immigrants and more having nothing to do with the virus.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Minneapolis is spending millions to protect the city from leftist rioters during the trial of Officer Derek Chauvin who is accused of killing George Floyd last year during a police arrest.
The death of George Floyd resulted in mass riots and damages into the billions. Hundreds of Minneapolis businesses and homes were destroyed by the leftist rioters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Leah Hoopes and Gregory Stenstrom were GOP poll watchers in Chester Pennsylvania during the 2020 election.
The far left officials running the elections forced the GOP poll watchers into a small pen where they could not witness the counting of ballots. This was a common tactic used in swing states by far left officials during the 2020 election. GOP poll watchers were abused and prevented from doing their job.
This resulted in massive chain of custody issues across the US — and always hampering Republican poll watchers, never the other way around. This is one tactic Democrats used to cheat and steal the election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Petition to Pressure Amazon to Ban MyPillow Products Reaches Over 90,000
A petition calling on major US retailers to stop selling MyPillow products has gone viral, with more than 90,000 signatures. MyPillow owner, Mike Lindell, is close to former President Trump, and has promoted claims of election fraud.
A petition on change.org titled “Amazon, Walmart, Costco, Bed, Bath & Beyond to stop selling MyPillow products” now has more than 90,000 signatures. The petition was created on January 15, after MyPillow’s owner Michael Lindell was seen visiting Trump.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
During a Senate confirmation hearing Thursday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) blasted Dr. Rachel Levine for avoiding his questions about minors undergoing medical intervention in an effort to change sex.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Robin DiAngelo Diversity Course Instructing People to ‘Be Less White’ Removed From LinkedIn
A course that Coca-Cola allegedly promoted that instructed people to be “less white” was scrubbed from LinkedIn, where it was being offered, after whistleblowers claimed the soft-drink company required employees to undergo the training.
“Confronting Racism,” a coursefeaturing “White Fragility” author and left-wing academic Robin DiAngelo, was no longer available Tuesday on LinkedIn after backlash on social media over the course’s contents, which included instructing students to “be less white.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Say, Why Are House Dems Calling on Biden to Give Up Full Control of Nuclear Weapons?
Which answer do you want first — the fun answer, or the better answer? Let’s start off with the fun answer, but first, let’s specify precisely what House Democrats want from Joe Biden.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Schools Still Closed in California, Blame the Unions
Parents who’ve had their children out of schools for the past year aren’t pandemic-exhausted; they’re sick and tired of a special interest group having far too much sway over important facets of their lives, such as our children’s education.
Look no further than the comments of the CTA advertisement trying to convince the public that they know best. With 94 dislikes and a measly 12 likes, we can already tell that this message didn’t go over well.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
An elite Massachusetts liberal arts college has quietly conceded that there was no truth to allegations of racism made by one of their students that ‘ruined the lives’ of numerous campus workers.
Oumou Kanoute was in the canteen at Smith College on July 31, 2018 when she claimed she was profiled for ‘eating while black’ after a security guard asked her what she was doing.
Kanoute, a psychology undergraduate student, posted video of the incident on social media and claimed that she was the victim of racism.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Suit Blames Saudi Arabia for Attack at Florida Military Base
Victims of a 2019 shooting at a Florida military base and their families are suing Saudi Arabia, claiming the kingdom knew the gunman had been radicalized and that it could have prevented the killings.
The suit, filed Monday, also claims that Saudi trainees knew in advance about plans for the shooting but did nothing to stop it.
The suit centers on the Dec. 6, 2019, shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola in which Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani shot and killed three U.S. sailors. It comes nine months after U.S. officials revealed that Alshamrani, a Saudi Air Force officer, had communicated with al-Qaida operatives about planning and tactics in the weeks leading up to the attack and that he had been radicalized abroad before coming to the U.S. to participate in a military training program.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Somewhere along the way, public servants became the public’s masters. Paternalism is hard to bear even when it’s well-meaning, and benign. But when the paternalists despise the people that they govern-well, that’s where we are now. Two examples will suffice.
At a meeting of the school board of the Oakley Union Elementary School District, a suburb of San Francisco, unaware that they were currently live-streaming to an audience, the board members lit into the parents who pay the taxes that fund those public schools. As a result of what they said, and what the people thought of it, the whole board has had to resign.
In deference to King COVID, the Oakley schools have been closed for months and all the pupils had to be served by “remote learning.” Parents weren’t satisfied with the quality of that education and had begun to grumble.
Well! How dare they? Not realizing that the camera was running and the microphones were on, the board members, employing an unusual amount of profanity for school board members in a public meeting, unloaded on the parents. “They just want their baby-sitters back!” quipped one. “So they can do drugs all day,” added another. Too late, they discovered that suddenly the people who pay for the schools now knew just what their school board thought of them. In just a few days there were 7,000 signatures on a petition calling for the whole board’s ouster. They all resigned before the demand became unanimous.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The U.S. Air Force Just Admitted the F-35 Stealth Fighter Has Failed
$1.5 trillion later…
Via: Forbes:…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Tax Records Turned Over to District Attorney
New York district attorney Cy Vance has former President Donald Trump’s tax records in hand after prosecutors obtained the records on Monday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
As we previously reported at The Gateway Pundit —
A recent hand recount in the Rockingham District 7 NH House Race in Windham, New Hampshire, found that the Dominion-owned voting machines shorted EVERY REPUBLICANby roughly 300 votes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Students Believe Trump, Not Biden, Said Uyghur Genocide a ‘Cultural Norm’ In China
Students at the University of Florida were surprised to discover that Joe Biden recently shrugged off China’s mass genocide of Uyghurs as a different ‘cultural norm,’ with many initially suggesting that it is something that President Trump would say.
Campus reform asked students which President they reckoned uttered the comments, with the majority guessing it was Trump.
Watch their reactions when they were told it was their dear Democratic leader who defended communist China’s actions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
What’s it Like in “Woke” America
In effect, by illegal immigration and a high birth rate, Mexico accomplishes several things. It relieves itself of the social and economic pressures of politically needed improvement… by using immigration north as a relief valve, it makes Texas and southern California, eventually, into Mexican colonies. These former states will vote as Mexican puppets and thus support the romantic homeland. They feel this is a just cause to regain territories conquered from them in the 1840s. This is the aim of racist groups like La Raza.
What do you see in 2021 as it onslaughts America? I see a president who lacks the intellectual comprehension to understand what it means to live in a ‘fantasy world’. I see a president who wants our borders overrun to completely displace European-Americans out of the country they (we) created.
If we don’t start standing up, speaking out and voting out such people as Pelosi, Waters, Schumer, Omar, Tlaib, Jackson and just about every one of those people who dislike America and American citizens…we’re toast. That’s what I see coming.
What do you see coming in “Woke” America?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Ontario government will spend more on interest costs in 2020-21 than post-secondary education, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan, Canadian public policy think-tank.
“Interest must be paid on government debt, and the more money governments spend on interest payments the less money is available for the programs and services that matter to Ontarians,” said Steve Lafleur, a senior policy analyst at the Fraser Institute and author of Federal and Provincial Debt Interest Costs for Canadians.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
In the aftermath of the 2020 elections, honest Americans are looking to make widespread reforms to the voting systems and procedures used in America.
One America’s Jack Posobiec spoke with a French member of the European Parliament Jérôme Rivière to see whether foreign countries use the same kinds of election practices as the U.S.
Riviere told One America News France banned mail-in ballots in 1975 because it was too easy to cheat. Now the Macron government is pushing early voting through machine voting but the senate refused to pass the amendment. Jerome says, “We don’t find it safe enough.”
Ireland and The Netherlands also banned electronic voting in recent years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Attacks on French Police Officers Have Doubled in 20 Years
Attacks on French police officers have more than doubled in 20 years, with an average of 85 incidents against public authority officials recorded every day.
The statistical services of the French Ministry of the Interior have recorded a 2.3-times increase in the number of attacks in the last twenty years and Interior Minister Gerald Darmamin stated that the development should not be “trivialised.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Brexit Boom: 1,000 EU Financial Firms Set to Open in UK, London Named World’s Top Investment City
The economic future of Brexit Britain has defied doomsday Remainer warnings yet again, as some 1,000 financial firms in the European Union are planning to open up offices in the UK and London has been declared as the top city in the world for investment opportunities.
Despite the economic damage inflicted by some of the strictest coronavirus lockdown measures in the world, the UK is set to defy dire predictions from anti-Brexit actors.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Dear Britain, We Envy You!’: Top German Newspaper Congratulates UK Vaccine Rollout
Europe’s best-selling tabloid Bild has congratulated the British government on its coronavirus vaccine rollout, stating that Germany “envies” the United Kingdom.
The newspaper’s print edition ran the headline “Dear Britain, WE ENVY YOU!” emblazed on top of a Union Jack on the front page of the newspaper’s February 24th edition. It noted the timeline given by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which aims to lift all coronavirus restrictions in England by June 21st at the earliest.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ex-Terror Police Chief Urges New Laws to Tackle ‘Shocking’ Scale of Extremism Currently Legal in UK
An independent review published on Wednesday by the UK Commission for Countering Extremism has revealed that people were able to ‘glorify terrorism’ and vent ‘racial hatred’ online without prosecution due to existing legal loopholes.
The scale of extremism manifest online has left a former UK anti-terrorism police chief “shocked” and urging the swift introduction of new laws to tackle the issue, reported the Independent.
“I have been shocked and horrified by the ghastliness and volume of hateful extremist materials, and behaviour which is lawful. Current legal boundaries allow extremists to operate with impunity,” said Sir Mark Rowley, who led UK Counter-Terrorism Policing from 2014 to 2018.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The MPs argue that the gender inclusive nouns make learning proper French more difficult and could even endanger the entire language.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Launches Coordinated Raids on Suspected Islamic Extremists
BERLIN (AP) — Hundreds of German police officers conducted coordinated raids early Thursday in Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg in the investigation of an organization banned over allegations of Islamic extremism.
Some 800 police, including SWAT teams, were involved in the raids of apartments linked to members of the organization, authorities told the dpa news agency.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Islamophobia: BBC Under Fire for ‘Hostile’ Interview of Muslim Leader
This is what happens when you ask a member of a protected class a tough question. My latest in FrontPage:
The BBC has been up-front about owning up to its sins against leftist orthodoxy, reporting Thursday: “A BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour interview with the first woman to lead the Muslim Council of Britain has been criticised for being ‘strikingly hostile.’“ The government-subsidized far-left British network’s self-incrimination session was prompted by the fact that “more than 100 politicians, writers and other prominent figures have signed an open letter complaining about Zara Mohammed’s ‘mistreatment’ on the show.” What mistreatment? Was Zara Mohammed accused of being a terrorist? Classified as a “hate group leader”? Accused of “bigotry” and “intolerance”? No, nothing like that, but in what was likely the first time ever in Britain, a Muslim leader was asked a challenging question.
It seems that BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour host Emma Barnett asked Mohammed several times how many female imams there were in Britain, and persisted when Mohammad offered double-talk and platitudes in answer to the question.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italian University Wants to Ban Religious Symbols From Students’ Homes
An Italian university is planning to introduce a regulation which would require students to take down crosses from the walls of their homes.
The University of Turin indicates that it wants to adjust its regulations to the times of the pandemic. In addition to regulations meant to make cheating during online classes more difficult, the new rules also include a ban on showing religious and political symbols in the home of students.
Therefore, if a student has a symbol of the Virgin Mary on their wall which can be seen online, then it will have to be taken down. This also concerns the cross.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘It’s Game Over for Them’ — Hungary is the Only EU Nation Regulating Tech Giants’ Ad Revenue
Even as concerns over the power of Big Tech grow across the globe and European governments mull ways to regulate the industry, Hungary is the only nation in the European Union that is taxing international digital giants.
In addition to the European Court of Justice, the Hungarian Curia (Supreme Court) also considered the Hungarian Advertising Tax Act to be appropriate, Secretary of State for Taxation of the Ministry of Finance Norbert Izer told daily Magyar Nemzet in an interview.
He said that tech giants cannot extricate themselves from Hungarian rules, they have to pay taxes in the country they operate in. Using a well-known phrase from video games, he said “for them, this is game over”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Leaked Letter: Global Transport Body Pushing Standardised Vaccine Passport on EU
A leaked internal document reveals that the world’s largest air transport body is imploring the EU to adopt its vaccine passport system as standard across the entire 27 nation bloc, to ensure “evidence-based border restrictions” are implemented.
EURACTIV reports that the letter was sent to EU leaders by The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which has been pushing its vaccine statues based Travel Pass framework for some time now.
The letter, signed by IATA vice-president for Europe Rafael Schvartzman and addressed to European Council president Charles Michel, urges EU countries to “agree on the crucial role of secure digital solutions, such as the IATA Travel Pass”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Owners of UK Beauty Spot Complain That ‘Culturally Diverse’ Tourists Don’t Know to Treat Countryside
Lulworth Estate calls for countryside code after spike in daytrippers led to ‘environmental degradation’
The owners of a landmark attraction on the Dorset coast have blamed “culturally diverse” tourists for “degrading” the beauty spot last summer and have called for a new countryside code to be introduced ahead of lockdown lifting in April.
The Lulworth Estate owns Durdle Door, a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast, which is one of the county’s most famous attractions.
After the lifting of the first lockdown, the estate claims the area was overwhelmed with daytrippers from outside Dorset whose behaviour caused “environmental degradation that has never been experienced”.
In a letter to the Government Petitions Committee, the estate pointed the finger at “the younger and more geographically and culturally diverse cohort” for leaving behind tonnes of rubbish that took weeks to clean up, including human faeces…
| — Hat tip: DR | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: Edinburgh COVID Lockdown Breakers Left Angry Note After Late-Night Parties in Plush Park
A strongly worded note has been left for lockdown rule breakers responsible for holding late-night parties in Edinburgh’s plush Queen Street Gardens.
Police are said to be aware of gatherings of more than six people taking place in the park with patrols being stepped up in and around the gardens as a result.
Notices have also been put up on the gates of the private garden in the New Town area warning those responsible for arranging these events that their key will be confiscated if they are caught.
The notice reads: “Garden users are reminded that outdoor gatherings of over six people are illegal under current Scottish Government legislation.
“The police are now aware of the late night parties which are regularly taking place, and will be patrolling the area . If the key holder who is organising these gatherings is identified the key will be confiscated and if they are a tenant their landlord will be informed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Survey: Poland Still at the Top When it Comes to Hoarding Goods
Poles are most likely to hoard goods in all of Europe, but the British and the Dutch are not far behind, according to a new survey.
“While Poland remains at the top in Europe when it comes to stockpiling goods, the number of consumers who admit to doing so has decreased by 5-percentage points compared to the previous month. Almost half of Poles, the most in Europe, are chasing offers and sales,” the Deloitte Global State of the Consumer survey reads.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Looks Set to Embrace World Economic Forum’s Idea of Immunity Passports
“Don’t forget your passport,” the World Economic Forum recently tweeted — promoting the idea of people having to show documentation to enter gyms, restaurants, and bars.
One country that likes the sound of the idea is the United Kingdom.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Activist on Sadiq Khan’s Woke Statue-Toppling Panel Quits After Anti-Semitic Posts Uncovered
diversity’ has been forced to step down after it was revealed that he had made anti-semitic and racist posts in the past.
The London Telegraph reports that Toyin Agbetu has quit the commission after posts were highlighted in which he wrote of an “immoral hierarchy of suffering” whereby victims of the Holocaust were “served well by Nazi hunters” in comparison to African victims of the slave trade.
Ooof.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: COVID-19: Almost 70,000 COVID Lockdown Fines Handed Out, With Steep Rise Since Christmas
Police have handed out nearly 70,000 fines to people for breaching COVID-19 lockdown rules since they came into force, with more than 6,000 issued in a single week, new data shows.
Figures published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) on Thursday show that a total of 68,952 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) were issues by forces.
Of this figure, 63,201 fines were handed out in England and 5,751 in Wales between 27 March last year and 14 February.
Fines shot up following the introduction of Tier 4 restrictions before Christmas, as well as the latest national lockdown in England on 4 January — reflecting a move towards quicker enforcement by police.
Provisional figures show that 26,277 fines were processed in the month between 17 January and 14 February.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Govt Says Masks in Schools Are Recommended — But Not Compulsory
The British government is advising that secondary school pupils wear masks when they reopen — but that they cannot be made compulsory. Meanwhile, children as young as five are being told to wear masks at school, a report claims.
“In line with public health guidance, we are also now advising that face coverings should be worn in secondary school classrooms as well as in further and higher education settings unless social distancing can be maintained,” the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, has said, adding: “Again, this is to help reduce transmission. The risk to children themselves is incredibly low. This is a temporary measure to support the return of schools and will be in place until Easter, when it is reviewed.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Clalit Study on Pfizer Vaccine Published in Full
The study of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine which was conducted by the Israeli Clalit health maintenance organization was published on Wednesday in full in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study, which was the first big real-world study to be independently reviewed, shows the shot is highly effective at preventing COVID-19.
The research in Israel showed that two doses of the Pfizer shot cut symptomatic COVID-19 cases by 94% across all age groups, and severe illnesses by nearly as much…
[Of course, these are quoting ‘relative’ effectiveness rather than real effectiveness — if the placebo group gets 4% infection, and the vaccine group gets 2% infection, then by ‘relative’ comparison one can say the vaccine is 50% effective! and (accidentally on purpose) forget to mention the word ‘relative’ — Clalit is a health care provider.]
| — Hat tip: MC | [Return to headlines] |
Flouting Regulations, Crowds Hold Purim Parties in Tel Aviv
YERUSHALAYIM — Hundreds of people participated in an illegal Purim party in Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market Wednesday night and then moved festivities to Rothschild Boulevard after police dispersed revelers.
The event took place a day before a nighttime curfew was set to come into force from Thursday through Sunday between 8:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. in an effort to minimize gatherings during Purim nights.
Members of the crowd were seen celebrating in close quarters without masks and drinking alcoholic beverages on the street as nearby eateries offered take-out services.
Police officers arrived at the scene and handed fines to several businesses for noise and prohibited gathering.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Biden administration has said it will release an intelligence report, largely created by the CIA, that concludes Saudi Arabia’s crown prince approved of the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen who was working as a journalist for the Washington Post at the time of his death.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Bombs Facilities in Syria Used by Iran-Backed Militia
WASHINGTON — The United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting facilities used by Iranian-backed militia groups. The Pentagon said the strikes were in retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition troops.
The airstrike was the first military action undertaken by the Biden administration, which in its first weeks has emphasized its intent to put more focus on the challenges posed by China, even as Mideast threats persist.
“This proportionate military response was conducted together with diplomatic measures , including consultation with coalition partners,” the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, John Kirby, said in announcing the strikes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Islamists Unleash Series of Attacks on Minority Hindus in Mymensingh, Bangladesh
The radical Islamists have carried out a string of brutal attacks in Bangladesh on Hindu minorities in recent times and the frequency of such attacks is increasing with each passing day.
A local Muslim gang of Mohammed Hafizuddin attacked Hindu families at Tarakanda Upazila Mymensingh district of Bangladesh. The goons attacked the family with the intention of evicting them from their land. The family members were badly injured. The attackers did not even spare the women and their houses were also vandalized.
In all cases of attacks on Hindus, Islamists have adopted the same strategy of ransacking and burning houses and places of worship belonging to the minority Hindu community. According to these radicals, the purpose of the attacks is to free Bangladeshi soil from the Hindu community and also to occupy their properties and assets.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Facebook has reversed its controversial ban on Australian news a week after removing millions of posts as a new media law is passed by the government.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
About 10 Year 8 students were seen running wild at the SMYL community college in Rockingham, south-west Perth , on Tuesday after the workers arrived to fix a burst fire hydrant.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Democratic Republic of Congo: Italian Ambassador Killed in Ambush, Jihadist Rebels Suspected
Although no one has claimed responsibility, the brazen assassination of an Italian diplomat was most likely at the hands of the jihadist Allied Democratic Forces.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio to offer condolences, but also to discuss “other shared priorities, including support for a global coalition to defeat Islamic State.” The Allied Democratic Forces have claimed a “loose affiliation” with the Islamic State.
“Italian Ambassador to Democratic Republic of Congo Killed in Ambush Monday,” VOA News, February 22, 2021.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden’s HHS Secretary Nominee Advocates for Healthcare Benefits for Illegal Immigrants
According to a report in Politico, President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Attorney General of California Xavier Becerra, is looking at plans to provide undocumented immigrants with taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits…
Reportedly, those closest to Becerra say that he is potentially interested in pursuing executive policy initiatives as HHS Secretary that would provide undocumented immigrants with healthcare.
An aide to outspoken Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark), who has been lobbying colleagues against Becerra’s nomination as HSS Secretary, said in a statement:
“His interest is in trying to get illegal aliens on government-subsidized health care options. if he was confirmed, he could weaponize HHS as a mechanism to push for open borders and legitimize the illegal alien agenda that he’s pushing for. That has gotten some attention on the Hill.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
EU Court Urged to Rule Against Hungary’s Asylum Policy
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The advocate general for European Union’s highest court on Thursday urged the court to rule that Hungary violated the bloc’s laws on asylum when it passed legislation narrowing the possibilities for asylum-seekers to receive international protection.
The non-binding opinion from the European Court of Justice’s Advocate General, Athanasios Rantos, states that the 2018 amendments to Hungary’s asylum laws — which prohibited asylum-seekers who passed through safe countries en route to Hungary from receiving international protection — violated EU law.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fears of People Traffickers Cynically Endangering Pregnant Migrants to Access Europe
People traffickers in the Mediterranean sea are allegedly using pregnant women as “weapons” to encourage public sympathy for mass migration.
In the last few weeks, pregnant women have been present on several migrant boats, particularly those landing on the Italian island of Lampedusa.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Court Sentences Syrian Asylum Seeker to 4.5 Years in Prison
On Wednesday, the court in the German town of Koblenz convicted former member of the Syrian secret service Eyad Al-Gharib of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to 4.5 years in prison. The verdict is groundbreaking as the 44-year-old former Colonel Al-Gharib is the first representative of Bashar Assad’s regime to be convicted of such acts.
Paradoxically, after fleeing Syria, Gharib was granted asylum in Germany.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Orban: EU’s Permissive Stance on Migration Has ‘Turned the Mediterranean Into a Cemetery’
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has defended his strong stance against mass migration, saying the European Union’s relaxed attitude towards illegal border crossings “has turned the Mediterranean into a cemetery”.
The national conservative leader offered his characteristically robust take on EU immigration policy in an interview with the German news outlet FOCUS, a translation of which has been seen by Breitbart London.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Psaki on Unaccompanied Minors Kept in Containers at the Border: “We Only Have a Couple of Options”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki dodged questions about immigration control during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, deflecting questions from Fox News reporter Peter Doocy about the administration’s decision to temporarily house children in detention facilities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘This is No Longer Asylum. This is What I Call Migratory Invasion, ‘ Says French Philosopher Zemmour
Modern French and European jurisprudence has usurped the original idea of asylum rights, initially meant to protect those fighting for liberty, said popular French author and philosopher Eric Zemmour on French television channel CNews’ political talk show Face a l’info.
“It began with an idea linked to [French writer] Victor Hugo and [Soviet writer] Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, prestigious individuals and great freedom fighters who demanded asylum,” Zemmour said. He was referring to the French writer who was exiled from France between 1851 and 1870 as a fierce opponent of the second rule of Emperor Napoleon III. He spent most of those years on the British island of Jersey and later Guernsey.
“In the 1950s, it was a few hundred Soviet families who fought against communism, while in the 1960s it was Argentinians and Chileans who fled their respective dictatorships. Until the 1960s, we are talking about several thousand people at most,” he said. “Now the numbers have become enormous: 100,000 to 130,000 people a year, and in 2019, 170,000 people. This is no longer asylum. This is what I call migratory invasion”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More Americans than ever identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) according to a survey of sexuality, with one in six people under 23 saying they are something other than heterosexual.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Amazon Quietly Ends Sales of Books it Labels ‘Hate Speech’
Retail giant made policy change sometime prior to purging from its store “When Harry Became Sally,” a book criticizing transgender ideology.
Sometime before this week, when it removed from its digital shelves a book critical of transgender ideology, Amazon altered its content policy to explicitly forbid books that promote “hate speech,” a major rule change that could be used to rationalize action against a broader range of books sold by the digital retail giant.
Amazon this week yanked “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Movement” from its main web store, its Kindle servers and its audiobook lineup with no explanation, even as the book had been available on the site for three years with no apparent controversy.
In the 2018 book, author and political philosopher Ryan Anderson draws on years of scientific research and data to criticize the prevailing approach to transgender issues in modern medicine. The book “exposes the contrast between the media’s sunny depiction of gender fluidity and the often sad reality of living with gender dysphoria,” according to its sales blurb.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Amazon Stops Accepting Indie Documentaries
In the past, Amazon has pulled documentaries from the platform that don’t adhere to its preferred political narrative — most notably Hoaxed by Mike Cernovich and Who Killed Michael Brown? by Shelby Steele. But now Amazon is going a step further to ensure narrative cohesion.
Indie documentaries are apparently no longer welcome on the Amazon Prime Video Direct platform — and the way the giant has gone about rejecting any new submissions has been decried as “dystopian” by critics.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California Judge Names Homosexual Male “Throuple” As Legal Parents of 2 Children
A California judge has ruled in favor of three men being listed as the legal parents of two children born to surrogate mothers using donor eggs.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Conservatives Need to Start Taking No Prisoners and Claiming Scalps
One reason conservatives never saw a culture war they couldn’t lose is that they insist on using Queensberry rules, even as the Left fights no-holds-barred. Consider, for example, two scenarios.
When leftists discover someone “committing conservatism” — such as when former Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich was found to have donated $1,000 to California’s Proposition 8 — they accept nothing less than the person’s termination. In fact, they never want him to work again. Ergo “cancel culture.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
DOJ Withdraws Support From CT Lawsuit Brought by High School Girls Over Transgender Athletes
President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice has withdrawn department support for a lawsuit brought by three female athletes in Connecticut seeking to prohibit biological males from competing in female sports in the state.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dramatic Shift: 1 in 6 Young Americans Now Identify as LGBT
Gallup’s most recent update on LGBT identification in America shows a massive increase in the number of young people who claim an LGBT identity. Almost one in 6 adult members of Generation Z (which would include those aged 18 to 23) claim to be something other than heterosexual.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Glenn Greenwald Called “Transphobic” For Commenting on Results of Gallup LGBT Survey
Journalist Glenn Greenwald was called “transphobic” for pointing out that although a new Gallup survey shows a surge in the number of Americans identifying as LGBT, almost all of the increase comes from those identifying as trans or bi, not gay or lesbian.
The poll found that one in six people under the age of 23 now say they are something other than heterosexual.
5.6 percent of Americans now identify as LGBTQ, up from 4.5 percent in 2017.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mr. Potato Head to Become “Gender Neutral” To Allow Kids to Create “Same-Sex Families”
Toy giant Hasbro has announced that Mr. Potato Head will become gender neutral ‘Potato Head’ in order to encourage kids to create “same sex families.”
Yes, really.
The company is dropping “Mr.” from the name in a move “designed to break away from traditional gender norms, particularly when it comes to creating Potato Head families,” according to Fast Company.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Public Health Officials Are Lying About Lockdowns
Story at-a-glance:
- Initial modeling predicted COVID-19 would have a fatality rate of 2% to 3%. In reality, it’s nowhere near that, except for the elderly. One research team puts the overall infection fatality rate for all age groups at 0.32%
- Modelers were also incorrect when they predicted that 70% to 80% would get infected before herd immunity would naturally allow the spread of infection to taper off. More than a dozen scientists now claim the herd immunity threshold is below 50%, perhaps even as low as 10%
- Since lockdowns are a public health intervention aimed at saving lives, both the benefits and the costs of this strategy must be calculated and taken into account
- The cost for lockdowns in Canada, in terms of Quality Adjusted Life Years and Wellbeing Years, is at least 10 times greater than the benefit. In Australia, the minimum cost is 6.6 times higher, and in the U.S., the cost is estimated to be at least 5.2 times higher than the benefit of lockdowns
- Researchers have estimated that in order to “break even and make a radical containment and eradication policy worthwhile,” the infection fatality rate of SARS-CoV-2 would need to be 7.8%
As Ivor Cummins demonstrates in the video above, available data reveal lockdowns have been completely ineffective at lowering positive test rates, while extracting a huge cost in terms of human suffering and societal health. All of the reports and studies reviewed in his video are also available on his website, TheFatEmperor.com.
To that long list of evidences, we can add yet another report from Canadian pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Ari Joffe, which shows lockdown harms are about 10 times greater than the benefits.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK’s NHS Criticized for Telling Employees to Put Pronouns in Email Signatures
The NHS is being blasted for telling employees to add their pronouns to the email signature to avoid “misgendering.” Critics claim the UK’s publicly funded health organization should be focusing on more important things.
The NHS Health Education England (HEE) chose to focus on the issue of misgendering. The HEE tweeted:
“Today, we’re focusing in misgendering, which is one of the most common unintentional blunders made by cisgender people. Why not try adding your pronouns to your email signature, which provides clarity and encourages others to do the same.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
tbh the throuple might not chemically chastrate their kids before they make teir own call.
a throuple might be more open to normality than a crazed couple looking for internet status.
If they were looking for normality, they would not showcase their throupleness. How is three pervs better than two?
Video of today’s namaz in Moscow. Muslims are deliberately praying among the puddles, because the Moscow authorities do not want them to build mosques.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5ombwQZPRM
==============
In Russia, there has been a lot of news recently on our topic. But I don’t have time to cover them, plus the difficulties of translation.
Almost every day, migrants, roommates or husbands of Russian women, rape their underage daughters. Many terrorists are being arrested. A lot of violence … I think we are on a par with India, Germany and Sweden. There are, of course, fewer murders than in Germany. Until…
The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on the justification of terrorist activities after publications in the VKontakte public.
https://www.mskagency.ru/materials/3090561
“The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under Art. 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Public calls to carry out terrorist activities, public justification of terrorism or propaganda of terrorism”). It was established that in May 2020, a 23-year-old VKontakte user posted messages with linguistic and psychological signs of justifying the shooting of Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, ”the agency’s source said.
What I do like about you Russians is that you are not afraid of eliminating as many muslims as it takes. Those bloody savages always disappear.