In response to moves to cancel Dr. Seuss’ books for being politically incorrect, the publishing company that holds the rights to his works has ceased publication of six titles. As a result, used or collectible copies of the cancelled books now cost thousands of dollars online. Meanwhile, the Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, Florida is considering closing its Dr. Seuss section.
In other news, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s party Fidesz has finally decided to withdraw from the EPP group in the European Parliament.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, Fjordman, JD, Reader from Chicago, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
The Wave of COVID-19 Bankruptcies Has Begun
A New Albany, Ohio, music school offering piano, guitar and violin lessons racked up under nearly $1 million in loans and $35,000 in credit card debt.
A fine dining restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island, received more than $450,000 in federal small-business funds to help pay workers but still had to close its doors.
A nonprofit overseeing the Kit Carson Home and Museum in Taos, New Mexico, welcomes visitors to learn about the famous frontiersman but listed just $17,000 in assets even after every bone-handled knife, buffalo hide apron and flintlock musket had been tallied.
Nearly a year since coronavirus-related shutdowns began affecting large swaths of the American economy, more businesses are filing for bankruptcy as Chapter 11 filings were up nearly 20% in 2020 compared with the previous year, court records show.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
At Least One-Third of U.S. Military Personnel Refusing to Take COVID-19 Vaccine
A new report has revealed that at least a third of U.S. military personnel are refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine, causing some commanders concern about the potential for spread within close-quartered ranks.
While some have discussed the potential for making the vaccine a requirement for service, doing so would not actually be legal. Current federal law “prohibits the mandatory application of medicines within the military that are not fully licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bill Gates Wants to Realize Global Vision in His Lifetime
Story at-a-glance:
- After years of building a reputation as a “ruthless tech monopolizer,” Bill Gates 2.0 was launched with the creation of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. With this foundation, he reinvented and rebranded himself as one of the world’s most generous philanthropists
- However, Gates’ brand of philanthropy creates several new problems for each one it solves and can best be described as “philanthrocapitalism”
- Today, Gates monopolizes or wields disproportional influence over the tech industry, global health and vaccines, agriculture and food policy (including biopiracy and fake food), weather modification and other climate technologies, surveillance, education and media
- According to Gates, vaccines are phenomenal profit makers, with more than a 20-to-1 return
- Gates is now promoting the technocratic “reset” plan, which includes an aggressive climate change agenda, yet Gates’ extensive travel by private jet makes him a top polluter
[…]
With his land ownership, Gates clearly is in a monopoly position (yet again!) to drive agriculture and food production in whatever direction he desires, and he wants us all to eat as much fake food as possible. As noted in a long and detailed article on Gates’ philanthrocapitalist endeavors by The Defender:
“Thomas Jefferson believed that the success of America’s exemplary struggle to supplant the yoke of European feudalism with a noble experiment in self-governance depended on the perpetual control of the nation’s land base by tens of thousands of independent farmers, each with a stake in our democracy.
So at best, Gates’ campaign to scarf up America’s agricultural real estate is a signal that feudalism may again be in vogue. At worst, his buying spree is a harbinger of something far more alarming — the control of global food supplies by a power-hungry megalomaniac with a Napoleon complex.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Brave to Launch Privacy-Focused Search Engine
Brave, a privacy-focused chromium-based browser, is planning to launch its own search engine. The browser, co-founded by Mozilla’s former CEO Brendan Eich, started out as an alternative browser focused on reshaping the ad-funded internet business, but now promotes itself as a privacy-focused tech company that aims to fix the internet.
On March 3, Brave announced it acquired an open-source search engine developed by Cliqz, an anti-tracking browser and search engine that went offline last April after its main investor, Hubert Burda Media, gave up on the venture. Brave will use Cliqz technology to launch a “big tech-free” search engine in the coming months.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CDC Will Announce Vaccinated Americans May Gather Maskless Indoors
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to issue new guidance as early as Thursday that allows for maskless indoor gatherings, provided that all individuals have been vaccinated.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Company Responsible for Designing CPAC Stage is Owned by a “Very Liberal” Woman
Liberals are claiming that the stage used at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) resembled German Nazi symbols, even though the stage was actually designed by a liberal President Biden supporter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk to Found New City in Texas Called “Starbase”
Billionaire Elon Musk announced Tuesday that he intends to create a new city in Texas called “Starbase” as a center of operations for his SpaceX business.
The tech mogul announced last year that he was moving to Texas due to the continued pandemic lockdowns in California. Musk also said that he was moving the headquarters for his car company, Tesla, to Texas.
SpaceX, which has ambitious plans to create a global satellite internet array, send civilians into space, and put humans on Mars, has its launchpad in Boca Chica, Texas. Musk indicated that the city of Starbase would be “an area much larger than Boca Chica,” but that the location is yet to be announced.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ESPN Analyst Dan Dakich Faces Investigation After Professor Equated His Tweets to “Violence”
The recent trend of equating words to violence in order to shut people down and undermine their argument is one to watch.
A female professor is accusing ESPN analyst Dan Dakich of sexism following a Twitter feud, accusing the analyst’s tweets of being “violence,” partly for using the term “bitching.”
However, Dakich argues that he did not specifically mention her in the tweet with the word and there was a male professor engaging with him in the same tweet.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Far-left rioter John Sullivan has falsely accused Antifa expert Andy Ngo of storming the Capitol building on Jan. 6 and then fleeing the United States to “avoid prosecution” from the federal government “due to his direct involvement in the insurrection.” The alleged photographic evidence that Sullivan points to pictures another Asian man.
“Right-Wing journalist @MrAndyNgo was at the #CapitolRiots then fled to Paris the day after to avoid prosecution from the US Government. It seems like someone is guilty; he needs some accountability,” Sullivan tweeted Sunday morning.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FBI Counterterrorism Official: No Firearms Recovered During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach
Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
An FBI official on Wednesday testified at a Senate hearing that she has no knowledge of any guns being recovered from suspects who were arrested during the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A new survey from Emerson College shows New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s approval ratings are down following the multiple sexual harassment claims and the New York state nursing home scandal.
The New York governor’s approval ratings came in at 38% favorable and 48% unfavorable. Just a year ago, 71% of New Yorkers were backing Cuomo for his work on the coronavirus pandemic.
Cuomo recently released a statement after three women made claims that he has previously sexually harassed him.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
How Democracy Dies: Big Tech Becomes Big Brother
by Leni Friedman Valenta with Dr. Jiri Valenta
Democracy cannot survive in a country where a few technocrats and oligarchs can choose to deny access to information or platforms to candidates running for office. It is simply unacceptable that they alone — unelected, unappointed, untransparent and unaccountable — can deem what is “harmful” to society. The job now for all of us is to prevent the United States from slowly becoming a full-blown tyranny.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Leftists Vow to Continue Wearing Masks Despite Gov. Greg Abbott Ending Statewide Mandate
Numerous Twitter users responded to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement that he would allow business to open 100% and end the statewide mask mandate by vowing to continue wearing masks indefinitely and boycott businesses that don’t enforce them.
Abbott gave a press conference yesterday during which he said all restrictions would be lifted on March 10.
“Too many Texans have been sidelined from employment opportunities,” Abbott said. “Too many small business owners have struggled to pay their bills. This must end. It is now time to open Texas 100%.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lying, Cheating and Stealing, Elected Joe Biden
There was no legitimate way to defeat Trump in 2020 and everyone knew it. It was a mathematical impossibility, and every intelligent honest American knows it, even those who don’t like it. Biden himself admits exactly what they were doing. But even the U.S. Supreme Court wasn’t going to stop the steal.
There had to be fraud and it had to be massive fraud, by every means possible. When you have fraud on such a massive scale, it’s impossible to hide it, even though both political parties and all U.S. “snooze” outlets have worked around the clock to bury the evidence, with the unprecedented help of the US Supreme Court, FBI, and Department of (fake) Justice.
We shouldn’t have to go any further than proving we had more votes than we have legal voters in 2020. That should be enough evidence all by itself, but it isn’t. In fact, not a single Federal Court in the USA has ever agreed to hear evidence concerning massive election fraud, because they all know the evidence is overwhelming. If the courts thought for even a second, that the evidence didn’t exist, they’d be quick to demonstrate that in a hearing, laying to rest all public concerns over corrupted elections. But no…they know the evidence is very real.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
New Research Shows Majority of Academics Are Hostile, Discriminatory Towards Conservative Colleagues
New research shows that conservative academics are regularly harassed and threatened with disciplinary action simply for expressing ideas contrary to progressive orthodoxy.
The Center for the Study of Partnership and Ideology released new research on Monday showing that conservative scholars, including professors and graduate students, are “guaranteed” to face discrimination in academia. The research centered on what is called “academic authoritarianism.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rand Paul: Democrat ‘Class Warfare Wealth Tax Will Destroy Our Country’
Senator Rand Paul has warned that a Democrat proposed ‘wealth tax’ is fundamentally “un-American” and will kill off entrepreneurship.
Appearing on Fox Business, Paul spoke about the ‘extreme’ plan being pushed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, urging that “A wealth tax will destroy our country.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Seattle: Group Target West Precinct With Graffiti Same Day Protective Barrier is Removed
Officers from the West Precinct spent a portion of their shift cleaning the front of the building after protesters targeted the building with graffiti, shortly after the city removed the wall protecting the facade.
Tuesday afternoon the city of Seattle removed the eco-block wall surrounding the front of the building. A group arrived at the West Precinct around 8 PM to protest inequity in policing. While in front of the building, members from the group used spray chalk to write on the building and walkway.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Security at Capitol Being Increased Following Warning of Militia ‘Plot’
Capitol Police announced Tuesday that security is being increased in DC following an intelligence warning that militias are planning a breach on Thursday March 4th.
Capitol Hill is already surrounded by a huge razor wire topped fence, with thousands of National Guard troops still stationed within its perimeters, but apparently that is not enough.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Appears Favorable to Arizona Election Integrity Laws
Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich urged the Supreme Court on March 2 to affirm that his state’s electoral integrity laws were consistent with the federal Voting Rights Act and should be upheld.
The case Arizona’s top prosecutor argued is actually two consolidated cases: Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Arizona Republican Party v. DNC.
Although the justices peppered counsel for Arizona and the state’s Republican Party with at-times hostile-sounding questions, members of the Supreme Court seemed receptive to their arguments. Except for the more liberal members, the justices did not seem convinced that Arizona’s election laws violated the Voting Rights Act.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trans YouTube Star Charged Over Possession of Child Sex Abuse Images
A popular transgender YouTube star has been arrested and charged over suspicion that she possessed child pornography while working at a daycare center with her boyfriend.
Kadence Kristine Pinder, formerly Nelson Christopher Pinder, of Sandy, Utah, is charged with 15 second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor for downloading and possessing more than a hundred child sexual abuse photos. The Utah Attorney General’s Office accuses the 24 year-old of having sexual content featuring boys as young as three or four years old.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Universal Orlando “Evaluating” Dr. Seuss Area of Theme Park
Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, is reportedly evaluating its Dr. Seuss-themed display in the park after a recent licensing and publishing cancellation of some Dr. Seuss books.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Life Expectancy in 2020 Saw Biggest Drop Since WWII
It’s already known that 2020 was the deadliest year in US history, with deaths topping 3MM for the first time. But the latest batch of morbid data is in, and they suggest things are about to get worse on average as life expectancy in the US dropped a full year during the first half of the year.
Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time a baby born today is expected to live. From January through June of last year, that was 77.8 years for the entire U.S. population, down from 78.8 years in 2019. It’s the lowest level since 2006, the report said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Welcome to the Final End of the Green New Deal
The American people were broke and the government was broke. The government had been forced to trade American soil in exchange for defaulted loans to foreign countries, who had called in their debt to the U. S. Much of America had been exchanged for that debt. It was not uncommon to run into foreign soldiers if one accidentally strayed onto land now owned by China, Japan, or even Russia.
Sovereignty, individual rights and the constitution had died sometime during Biden’s 4-year reign of terror. At one point he declared martial law, suspended the Constitution and tightened his grip on power. But it didn’t last. After Biden was driven from office by an outraged electorate and a Congress that finally regained its courage, he, his wife and his children escaped to China, fearing for their very lives in America. The Chinese welcomed them as old friends.
But it was too late for America. Irreversible damage had been done and there was no going back. America, as a once, all-powerful Constitutional Republic, lay fractured and in tatters, a victim of the Biden and the socialist ideology that taken over in 2021.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Zion Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Assist ISIS
A north suburban man was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison Wednesday for attempting to aid the Islamic State terrorist group by providing cellphones to an undercover FBI agent to be used as detonators for bombs.
Joseph Jones and his friend, Edward Schimenti, were convicted by a federal jury in 2019 of conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canada’s Quarantine Hotels Backfire as People Starved
A couple of weeks ago, the Canadian government introduced a new set of rules forcing international air travelers to quarantine in hotels for three days upon arrival; the plan has since backfired, “after a series of endless, chaotic setbacks including food shortages and even alleged sexual assaults,” according to RT News.
Vancouver’s local radio station CKWX reports travelers have become upset at Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto after they waited hours for their meals.
Arunthia Urmi, who traveled outside of Canada to visit her father, said she waited hours for food, only to receive nothing more than a flimsy piece of salmon — barely a meal. She also said:
“There was no water. There was no fork or knife, no utensils. No salt or pepper. Nothing,” Urmi said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police, Protesters Face Off Outside Two Toronto Quarantine Hotels
We returned yet again to the Radisson Suite Hotel Toronto Airport — a property that is anything but “sweet” these days. Actually, it is increasingly looking like a prison camp. The walls are getting higher and the gates are being further fortified. What next? A moat filled with alligators?
Currently, the rank and file of the Toronto Police Service serve as the muscle, and just like previous weeks, the cops were handing out tickets as though they were dispensing confetti at a Super Bowl victory parade.
That’s because once again, several dozen demonstrators gathered outside the property offering guests — or are they “inmates”? — rides home.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Toronto Van Attack: Minassian Guilty of Killing 10 People
A Canadian man who killed 10 people by ploughing a van into pedestrians in Toronto has been found guilty on all 26 charges related to the 2018 attack.
Alek Minassian had admitted the attack, but his lawyers argued he was not criminally responsible due to his autism spectrum disorder.
Justice Anne Malloy has dismissed this claim, saying the attack was the “act of a reasoning mind”.
Minassian faced 10 charges of murder and 16 charges of attempted murder.
Throughout the ruling, Justice Malloy refused to name the attacker, 28, referring to him instead as John Doe, and said she would not give him the notoriety “he sought from the start”.
Ms Malloy accepted his diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but ruled that he was capable of understanding his actions on April 2018 were both legally and morally wrong.
At trial, defence lawyer Boris Bytensky said ASD had left his client without the ability to develop empathy, saying in closing arguments the attacker had no conception of the damage his actions caused.
On Wednesday, Justice Malloy rejected this line of argument.
“Lack of empathy for the suffering of victims, even an incapacity to empathise for whatever reason, does not constitute a defence,” she said…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Women Held at Same Montreal COVID Jail Where Alleged Sexual Assault Occurred Speak Out
Are COVID jails still a conspiracy theory?
In this interview, I speak with Blaze Duff and Britany Green, who were held in the notorious COVID jail in Montreal where a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted and another man was held against his will.
Duff says that she didn’t book a hotel room, and was sent there without needing to pay. Although she requested vegan food and the hotel staff said they gave it to her, she says the food provided to her wasn’t vegan at all. Britany told me that the COVID testing kit provided to her was not sealed, and that the COVID agent gave her different instructions than the ones that came along with the test.
They messaged Rebel News to tell their story, so I went down to the hotel to interview them.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Complete Loss of Trust”: Half of French Home Health Workers Say They’ll Resist Taking Vaccine
Astounding new figures out of France suggest what is no doubt a broader global trend of hesitancy and skepticism when it comes to the current big push to ‘vaccinate all’.
Reuters in covering the country’s vaccine rollout finds that merely around “half of health workers in French care homes do not want to be vaccinated” — even after many of these routinely witness the ravages of COVID-19 on the elderly and infirm.
“There’s a complete loss of trust,” one home health care worker and trade union representative was cited in the report as saying, reflecting resistance to the growing pressure put on often underpaid staff in difficult working conditions who are being ordered to get vaccinated lest they risk the safety of the elderly patients. And another reflected a common answer of “I’m going to wait a bit”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Austria Cannot Depend on EU Alone for Vaccination, Chancellor Kurz Says
Austria cannot depend on the European Union alone in its vaccination strategy, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday, two days before embarking on a visit to Israel together with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
“We cannot depend solely and exclusively on the European Union,” Kurz said. He and Frederiksen will meet Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to discuss possible cooperation in joint research and production of a vaccine against the coronavirus.
“We have to live with the virus and its mutations in the future,” Kurz said. Leading researchers also warn that Austria will need 30 million doses of vaccine a year.
“Therefore, we cannot rely solely on the Union, and together with Israel and Denmark, we are working to be able to achieve results in vaccine research and production on our own,” he added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Eight Injured After ‘Suspected Terror Attack’ in Swedish Municipality
At least eight people are reported injured after an unknown man went on a stabbing rampage in the municipality of Vetlanda before being shot by local police in what officers are calling a suspected terrorist attack.
The incident took place just after 3 pm on Wednesday afternoon and saw a man, reportedly in his 20s, attack several people on the Bangårdsgatan road in the centre of the town of Vetlanda.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Europe Divided Over COVID Passports
European leaders are considering a proposal to introduce a common EU-wide Coronavirus vaccination passport. The so-called Covid passports would permit those who have been vaccinated to travel freely within the European Union without the need for quarantining and testing.
The leaders of several European countries heavily dependent on tourism are pushing for Covid passports to be implemented with immediate effect. Others say that it is far too early to consider such a move, especially because the EU’s Coronavirus vaccine rollout has been dogged by delays and questions about the efficacy of certain vaccines, particularly in light of the virus’s new mutant strains.
The idea of Covid passports has also sparked a heated debate over government overreach and the constitutionality and ethics of vaccine-related discrimination. At the same time, some EU member countries have threatened to act unilaterally and issue their own Covid passports if the EU fails to produce bloc-wide certification.
In short, the Covid pandemic continues to expose fault lines within 27-member EU, which remains more divided than ever.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fears of Censorship as Facebook Begins Fact-Checking in Hungary
Facebook has now launched its fact-checking program in Hungary with the involvement of the AFP news agency, raising fears that Facebook’s anti-conservative bias could lead to more censorship on the social media network.
According to Hungarian news outlet Mandiner, Facebook said the move in Hungary was “part of its fight against misinformation it associates with independent fact-finding organizations around the world that review and evaluate the accuracy of content”.
Unlike many other Central and Eastern European countries, Hungary has gone without a fact-checker for a number of years. A Remix News investigation previously found that eight out of 11 countries in the CEE region feature fact-checkers with ties to George Soros and his Open Society Foundation, which have raised grave concerns about liberal bias.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France Bans Far-Right Anti-Migrant Group Generation Identity
France on Wednesday banned far-right group Generation Identity (Génération Identitaire), which is known to be hostile to migrants, for incitement to discrimination, hatred and violence, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France Bans Far-Right Anti-Migrant Group That ‘Incites Hatred and Violence’
The French government on Wednesday agreed to ban far-right group Generation Identity, which gained notoriety through several attempts to block migrants from entering the country.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin posted the decree dissolving the group on Twitter, saying that the group “incites discrimination, hatred and violence”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France Bans Far-Right, Anti-Migrant Group: Interior Minister
PARIS (Reuters) — France on Wednesday banned far-right group Generation Identitaire, which is known to be hostile to migrants, for incitement to discrimination, hatred and violence, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
“The association ‘Generation Identitaire’ was dissolved this morning at a Cabinet meeting, in line with instructions from the President,” Darmanin said on Twitter.
“As detailed in the decree I submitted, it incites to discrimination, hatred and violence.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany to Spy on Far-Right AfD Party, Reports Say
Germany’s intelligence services have designated the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a suspected extremist group, according to local media.
The nationalist party is already under surveillance in a number of German states, but the decision means its activities can be observed nationwide.
However, MPs and members of the European parliament will be excluded from any operations.
An AfD spokeswoman described the decision as “purely political” and said the party would take legal action against the “unjustified classification”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Anarchists Set Up Roadblock, Checked Motorist’s Papers in Hunt for Police Officers
A group of an estimated 100 far-left anarchist extremists formed a checkpoint on the streets of an Athens suburb this week, allegedly checking cars to see if police officers were inside.
The anarchists stopped cars in the Athens suburb of Zografou and demanded to see the identification documents of drivers and passengers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary’s Fidesz Leaves the Increasingly Left-Wing EPP Behind
Today, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban made good on his previous threats to leave the European People’s Party (EPP) after the European parliamentary group accepted new rules drafted at a meeting on Feb. 26.
“I would like to inform the leader of the political group that if the provisions adopted at the meeting between the presidency and the heads of national delegations on Feb. 26 are put to the vote and voted, Fidesz will leave the group,” wrote Prime Minister Viktor Orban in a letter addressed to Manfred Weber on Sunday, the leader of the EPP parliamentary faction, Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In Major Blow to Civil Liberties, German Intelligence Agencies Can Now Spy on AfD Party
One of Germany’s top intelligence agencies has reportedly classified the entire Alternative for Germany party (AfD) as a suspected right-wing extremist group, thus paving the way for allowing state intelligence agencies to monitor party members, including the ability to read their emails and listen to their phone calls.
The chief of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Thomas Haldenwang, informed all state offices on Wednesday that the step was taken on Feb. 25. However, due to legal complications, the BfV is. not permitted to officially announce the new AfD designation to the public.
Given AfD’s status as the largest opposition party in Germany and the harm the new classification could have on the party’s chances in upcoming elections, there are concerns that democratic principles may not apply to the AfD due to its rejection of mass migration and its electoral threat to the establishment parties of the country.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lockdown-Sceptic MP Disturbed by ‘Enthusiasm’ of Britons Embracing Loss of Civil Liberties
Conservative MP Desmond Swayne has said he has found it “unnerving” how Britons have embraced their civil liberties being taken away during lockdowns, expressing hope that public opinion will shift once citizens realise the costs to health, education, and society.
“The most worrying thing I find about the whole last year is the enthusiasm with which people have embraced the diminution of their civil liberties and their ordinary lives.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Majority of Brits Say They Will “Miss” Some or Many Aspects of Lockdown
A new opinion poll in the UK finds that over half of Brits say they will miss either “some” or “many” aspects of lockdown despite the country now having been under some form of restrictions for nearly a year.
Yes, really.
The YouGov survey asked participants, “Do you think you will or will not miss any aspects of lockdown when it is over?”
9 per cent of respondents said they would miss “many” aspects of lockdown while 46 per cent said they would miss “some” aspects of lockdown — a combined total of 55 per cent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mallorca: More Than 50 Sanctioned for Illegal 3-Day Festival in Sant Jordi
At least 50 young people were sanctioned on Sunday for attending an illegal 3-day-festival at a country house on the Ma-5013 in Sant Jordi, which reportedly started on Friday and was supposed to last until Monday night.
The Police were denied judicial authorisation to enter and evict the participants, so Officers from the Alazan Group, Green Patrol along with Ministry of Tourism Inspectors applied plan ‘B’.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Broke Up Illegal Gathering on Mallorca Farm
The Local Police and the National Police broke up a large illegal gathering at a farm on the road to Son Pobre, between Manacor and Sant Llorenç des Cardassar on Sunday after several neighbours reported the event.
30 adults and 10 children from 12 different families who had gathered at the farm with the intention of having a meal together were evicted from the property.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish Justice Minister: I Do Not Recognize the European Court of Justice’s Verdict
Poland’s constitution supersedes any ruling from the European Court of Justice, says Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro following the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) latest verdict on Poland’s legal system.
The Polish justice minister strongly criticized the verdict of the ECJ on the Polish Supreme Court judge selection process, emphasizing its incompatibility with the Polish constitution.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Report: European Women Are Giving Birth to Their First Child Increasingly Later in Life
Europe has been dealing with the issue of troubling demographic developments for several years, and the problem shows no signs of going away.
While one of the solutions for an aging population is higher birth rates. European women are deciding to have their first child much later in life, reports Eurostat.
The largest change occurred in Estonia where the average age women give birth grew by one year from 27.2 years in 2015 to 28.2 in 2019. Similarly, the age of birth in Lithuania and Luxembourg grew by 0.9 years between 2015 and 2019, according to Polish news outlet Forsal.pl.
The lowest changes in ages were recorded in Slovakia (+0.1 years) and Slovenia (+0.2 years).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The chief prosecutor of Sweden’s National Security Case Unit has criticised the country’s terror laws, saying they could create a situation where terrorists flee to the country to escape prosecution in other nations.
Prosecutor Per Lindqvist stated that Sweden could become a haven for members of groups like the Islamic State, as the country’s laws are often much less strict than other European Union member states.
Lindqvist said the country needed tough laws, telling the Sveriges Radio: “It remains an urgent and almost immediate need, I would say.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Eight People Stabbed in Suspected Terrorist Attack, Police Shoot Attacker
Eight people have reportedly been injured in a mass stabbing in a small town near Sweden’s capital Stockholm, news agency AFP reported.
The Swedish police are investigating a knife attack in the southern town of Vetlanda earlier on Wednesday as a possible ‘terror crime’, the police said on its web page.
According to local media, the police have reportedly shot and neutralised the perpetrator, a youth in his 20s. The attacker is under police custody and has been taken to a hospital with unspecified injuries.
No fatalities have been reported…
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Moves to Protect Academic Freedom After Prof Quits COVID Research Due to Harassment
Authored by Jonathan Turley
We have been discussing erosion of free speech and academic freedom protections at colleges and universities around the United States. Most faculty have been conspicuously silent as their colleagues are attacked, suspended, or even fired for taking opposing views on systemic racism, police brutality, or movements like Black Lives Matter. In Sweden, the response has been quite different after Professor Jonas Ludvigsson, announced that he would stop all further research on Covid-19 after a campaign of abuse and harassment following his study on the low threat that the virus poses to children and teachers. The country is ramping up protections for academics to combat such cancelling campaign.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Children as Young as 10 Attended Illegal South Belfast Party Broken Up by Police
Young children were at an illegal house party disrupted by police, it has emerged.
The shocking news comes as fines of £9,000 were doled out on Tuesday, bringing to £20,000 the total in penalties issued in just two nights, mostly in the Holyland student area of south Belfast.
Officers said there were at least 40 people at Roden Street, off Donegall Road, with both adults and children aged as young as 10 present, flouting Covid-19 lockdown regulations.
Meanwhile, exasperated residents have called on universities to urge their students to go home in the run-up to St Patrick’s Day.
Campaigner Brid Ruddy said it was also time for Belfast City Council to take action to address the situation, which is spiralling out of control ahead of March 17, traditionally a problematic time for Holyland residents.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: London COVID: The Biggest Lockdown Breaches Reported in February
The Met Police had a busy February as parties and raves popped up all over London.
Police gave out thousands of pounds worth of fines at a 100 person rave, nightclubs which refused to close and secretive shisha bars.
At one party alone police issued £50,000 of potential fines while 100 people were found at a rave in Tower Hamlets.
Nightclubs and bars have had to be shut down for regularly breaking Covid restrictions and parties have popped up in strange locations such as barber shops, abandoned tunnels and on boats.
Here is a round up of some of the biggest Covid breaches last month.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Slavery Reparations Approved by ‘Virtue Signalling’ Bristol City Council
The city council of Bristol has approved a motion calling for reparations for slavery as an act of “atonement” for the British port city’s role in the slave trade.
The Labour Party-run council passed the motion by a margin of 47 votes to 12 on Tuesday following a zoom meeting of the councillors. The council agreed to implement “community wealth creation strategies” and to write to the British Parliament demanding the establishment of a commission to determine “how reparations may be delivered”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: The Relentless Raves Bringing Shame — and £84,000 in Fines — to the Students of Sheffield
Almost 200 students have been fined a total of £84,000 for breaching coronavirus restrictions this year.
The eye-watering amount was revealed by South Yorkshire Police as they listed the shocking number of parties held in January and February by students who refuse to stick to the rules.
The mad gatherings and illegal house parties took place in student accomodation across the city of Sheffield. putting lives at risk by blatantly ignoring the rules.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Watford Man Arrested Handing Out Leaflets Criticizing U.K. Lockdown
Last month, Andrew Button was arrested in Watford town centre for the notorious crime of leafleting. I am in no doubt that this arrest was made due to the contents of the leaflet rather than the act of handing them out, as these leaflets were advertising a new movement called ‘Jam for Freedom,’ which is currently touring Britain with the mission of reminding people of how the world used to be before it sleepwalked into atomised insanity a year ago.
The movement, founded by Cambel McLaughlin, is a musical collective which plays live music on high streets up and down the country. Mr. Button, a friend of Mr. McLaughlin’s, came out to support their first event in Watford. As a result, he was surrounded by eight officers and bundled into the back of a van.
Despite this immediate setback, the Jam for Freedom continues touring the country — not allowing themselves to be discouraged by police hostility. For the last two weeks they have been out in London, where Mr. McLaughlin believes he is the first person in history to have their hair cut outside City Hall, in the open air, whilst singing and playing the drums.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Myanmar Faces Internet Shutdowns and Mass Surveillance
The Myanmar military, which took over leadership in a coup last month, is using sophisticated digital tools, some obtained from western countries, to crackdown on online and offline dissent. International laws ban the sale of the dual-use technology the military is using for surveillance to regimes that might use it for the wrong purposes.
For about half a century, since its independence in 1962, Myanmar was under military rule. In 2010, the country held its first democratic election, and got its first civilian leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy party. But the military never truly left; it still controlled some ministries, including the defense ministry.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Purity, Discontent Drive Indonesia’s Illegal Rave Scene
“Were you scared?”
That was the first question that Monkey Man, one of the enigmatic figures behind Slow Death Mobile asked me. He was referring to No Man’s Land, the last rave the group held before COVID-19 restrictions were imposed. While Slow Death Mobile might seem like just another electronic music collective or event organizer in the increasingly crowded scene, in truth, they are anything but.
Their parties are few and far between, without any flashy invitations to flaunt or guest lists filled with a who’s who of the club scene. The most distinctive feature is that Slow Death’s parties are completely unauthorized. Their last rave took place at an undisclosed location in Bandung, in a nondescript venue away from prying eyes. News of the party spread mostly by word of mouth, and guests were required to provide their details on Slow Death’s website. The registration form required guests to acknowledge that the event would be an illegal gathering with the attendant risks.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Different Way China Spies on the West: Malware Infested Android Boxes
Monday morning, I spent eight hours listening in on a hearing for a court case involving Allarco Entertainment and four major Canadian retailers.
Allarco is a company you might better know as Super Channel, and it is currently in a court battle with Canadian retailers over something commonly known as an Android box.
The Canadian retailers selling the Android box involved in the court case are London Drugs, Staples, Canada Computers and Best Buy. These Android boxes are piracy devices available for just a few hundred dollars that allow for free streaming of TV and movie content.
Allarco is taking these four retailers to court for various copyright violations, and since Allarco is based in Alberta, the case is being heard in Edmonton.
Allarco pays producers of content and movies for the right to broadcast them. Then people like me and you, the consumer, pay for Super Channel subscriptions so that we can see the content they’ve paid for.
But in the middle of this come these little Android boxes, these too good to be true streaming devices. And I say too good to be true because there’s a real hitch here for the regular consumer, aside from the financial losses that Allarco is experiencing because of piracy.
This is what Chinese infiltration really looks like on a day-to-day basis.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Zhong Shanshan (pictured), the CEO of bottled water giant Nongfu, entered China’s rich-list in top spot last year with a wealth of $85billion, as the country created 259 billionaires in a single year.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
China’s Xi Jinping: We Are Ready to Deliver Vaccines to Poland
China attaches much importance to relations with Poland and is ready to strengthen them, which includes delivering Covid-19 vaccines to Poland and supporting the import of Polish agri-food goods, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated in a phone call with president Andrzej Duda.
According to reports from Chinese government information agency Xinhua, President Xi underlined that Poland is an important Central European country, essential member of the EU and is connected with China through a strategic partnership.
China’s leader evaluated that in the current situation, China and Poland should strengthen their strategic communication and deepen pragmatic cooperation, as well as jointly respond to different threats and challenges.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Homosexuality Can be Deemed ‘Mental Disorder’ In China, Says New Court Ruling
After the Chinese Communist government previously decriminalized homosexuality in 1997 and removed it from the country’s official list of things deemed mental disorders in 2001, a major court decision in China this week has “shocked” various rights monitors by once again classifying homosexuality as among “common psychosexual disorders.”
According to South China Morning Post, this latest ruling began with a legal dispute over a higher education textbook, namely the 2013 edition of Mental Health Education for College Students, published by Jinan University Press. A lawsuit filed by a student challenged the book given that it—
[…]listed homosexuality under “common psychosexual disorders” — along with cross-dressing and fetishism. It stated that homosexuality “was believed to be a disruption of love and sex or perversion of the sex partner”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jack Ma’s recent woes were triggered by a speech in which he blasted China’s regulatory system, leading to the suspension of his Ant Group’s $37 billion IPO days before the giant’s public listing.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
New Zealand: COVID 19 Coronavirus: Police Prosecute Nearly 1000 Breaches
Police have now prosecuted nearly 1000 Covid-related breaches, but are not being called upon to take action against those defying isolation or testing orders.
Commissioner Andrew Coster says if people refuse to self-isolate or get tested, the police can only act if called in by health officials. However, he says they do pursue alert level violations like illegal mass gatherings and regional border breaches.
Wellington tops the list with 197 prosecutions, followed by Canterbury with 158, then Counties Manukau with 125.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Four Venezuelan Christians were terrorized by eight hooded men who stormed the Restoration House, a church-led drug rehabilitation center in the country.
“The criminals covered our faces and started to beat and stab us,” one of the victims described. “They drew [a cross] on our bodies and forced us to eat the Bible.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Admin Planning for Influx of 117,000 Illegal Youths to US This Year
Internal documents outline that the Biden administration is planning to integrate 117,000 migrant youths and children in 2021, an exponential increase on previous years.
The information, obtained by Axios, also indicates that shelter facilities are expected to be overrun this month, and that Biden will accelerate the release of migrants into the US to avoid worsening the crisis.
The information ‘leak’ is reported to really be part of a media campaign designed to deflect from liberal criticism over the resurgence of ‘kids in cages’ under Biden.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Deadly SUV Crash That Killed 13 Involved Smugglers Taking Illegal Migrants Across Border
A deadly crash that killed 13 people traveling in the same SUV at the Mexico-California border involved illegal aliens who had driven through a hole in an old border fence that day.
Smugglers stuffed 25 people, including children, into the Ford Expedition before they collided with a semi-truck carrying gravel on Tuesday. The smugglers drove the car full of migrants through a 10-foot hole in a border fence that was built in the late 2000s, evading nearby cameras as they did so.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sen. Tom Cotton Confident Republicans Can Stop Biden’s Amnesty Plan
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said in an exclusive interview with Breitbart that he is confident that Senate Republicans have the votes to stop President Biden from passing an amnesty for the millions of illegal immigrants in America.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Archdiocese: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine is ‘Morally Compromised’
As Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine rolls out, the Archdiocese at New Orleans has announced that taking this particular vaccine would be “immoral,” as it uses abortion-derived cell lines in its production process.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Dr. Seuss Books Surge in Popularity, Canceled Titles Selling for Thousands
Americans appear to be attempting to “cancel-proof” their children’s library. If the Amazon best-seller list is any indication, the effort to “cancel” Dr. Seuss over racial insensitivity has caused the popularity of his children’s books to skyrocket.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gay Poly Throuple Makes History, Lists 3 Dads on a Birth Certificate
Jenkins and his partners, Jeremy Hodges and Dr. Alan Mayfield, don’t see their family — which now also includes their son, Parker, 1 — as unusual.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Google to Phase Out Third-Party Cookies, Will No Longer Track Individual Users
Google announced that after it finishes phasing out third-party cookies, it will not be introducing other forms of identifiers to track people as they browse the internet.
The decision was made as scrutiny increases over the way tech companies use consumer data, specifically for personalized advertising. Third-party tracking cookies allow advertisers to follow users with personalized ads from one website to another.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Regional Court in Poland Permits Profanation of Virgin Mary With LGBT Symbols
The judge in a regional court in Poland delivered a “not guilty” verdict for three suspects who were accused of placing pro-LGBT stickers of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa — a venerated icon of the Virgin Mary — on the grounds of Saint Dominic’s Church in Plock in central Poland.
The Life and Family Foundation said that Judge Agnieszka Warchol, who delivered the verdict, displayed prejudice towards persons whose religious feelings were offended and claimed that her justification for finding the defendants not guilty resembled that of an LGBT activist.
The matter concerns events from the night of April 26 and April 27, 2019 when three women posted stickers of the Virgin Mary with a rainbow halo on the grounds of Saint Dominic’s Church. The stickers also appeared on a trash bin and portable toilet.
A few days before this incident, the parish priest, Tadeusz Lebkowski, had stopped two LGBT activists from profaning a Tomb of the Lord with LGBT flags.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lecturers are increasingly facing “transphobia” probes for sharing or even liking posts that counter or critique transgender ideology on social media. These investigations are happening despite many universities having policies that supposedly protect free speech.
Political correctness in colleges, particularly surrounding transgender individuals, is having a chilling effect on free speech. The majority are said to be self-censoring to keep their jobs and secure promotions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
So this lady stopped plucking her, uh, very voluminous eyebrows and also stopped removing her stache and now people are writing articles about her.
Oh also she doesn’t shave her legs anymore.
Why?
So she can feel good about not conforming to society’s standards of femininity. And also it “weeds out conservatives” from her life.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twitch Backtracks After Outcry for Using ‘Gender Neutral’ Term ‘Womxn’
Streaming platform Twitch has backtracked on a new policy to change its spelling of “women” after criticism from transgender communities.
The company had said it would use the term “womxn” in order to be more gender neutral in its language.
But LGBT communities online called the change transphobic because it suggested trans women were not women.
“Womxn” has become a popular alternative word for people who say that the term “women” has patriarchal roots.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
I have little use for the Globalist, Eugenicist and Charlatan Bill Gates. He as do many of the other elites hire expensive PR firms dishing out cash and propaganda elevating themselves to Sainthood.
“The city council of Bristol has approved a motion calling for reparations for slavery as an act of “atonement” for the British port city’s role in the slave trade.”
What a bunch of virtue signalling, leftist, mugwumps. Have they yet determined who will give what and to whom?
Indeed. I believe German reparations for the Holcaust have ended, apart from some looted artworks, and the transatlantic slave trade was much longer ago.
If reparations were still due, then the current governments of all the countries whose former inhabitants profited should pay, including several in Africa and the Middle East.
Touché!
The Victors care not for the opinions of the vanquished and defeated.
“Almost 200 students have been fined a total of £84,000 for breaching coronavirus restrictions this year.”
This sounds like a form of revenue raising rather than a punitive imposition. Considering the fact that it has been levied on students, will the “fines” ever be paid or are the defaulters to be imprisoned?
They should mass default and force the stupid local fascists to have to imprison them with corresponding drain on the city coffers. Demanding jury trials would be even better for bleeding city budgets.
France’s objection to Generation Identitaire is (a questionable assertion) that:
“the group “incites discrimination, hatred and violence””.
There is another widespread group that “incites discrimination, hatred and violence”. Its members gather in their own special Conspiracy Houses. There they are instructed:
Do not take non-members as allies.
Treat non-members with contempt. They are filth.
Between us and them enmity and hatred forever.
This is the Realm of War. Fight them.
Kill them wherever you find them. Strike the neck.
Some of these places have been shut down by the State, but there are thousands of others.
https://gatesofvienna.net/2018/01/instructing-radicalisation/
You will never see a Left/Commie/ Marxist/Democrat saying anything about this particular form of culture enrichment wherein a father feels it is his moral obligation to cut off his daughter’s head because he doesn’t like her boyfriend.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9325637/Dad-cuts-17-year-old-daughters-head-carries-streets-didnt-like-boyfriend.html