Gates of Vienna News Feed 4/9/2021

Police in Ontario raided illegal lockdown-violating parties and handed out thousands of dollars in fines. Meanwhile, demonstrators once again took to the streets of Italy to protest the lockdown.

In other news, Prince Philip, the consort of Queen Elizabeth II, has died. The Duke of Edinburgh was just a few weeks short of his 100th birthday.

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

Thanks to Dean, DV, MC, MM, Reader from Chicago, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Financial Crisis
» Study: Biden’s Tax Raises Will Cost U.S. One Million Jobs in First Two Years
 
USA
» “Football Messed Him Up”: Family of Former NFL Player Who Killed 5 Speaks Out
» 1 Dead, Multiple Injured in Bryan Business Shooting, Suspect Now in Custody
» Amazon Workers Vote Against Unionization
» Biden on Gun Control: “No Amendment to the Constitution is Absolute”
» Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Buys $1.4 Million Home in Area With Just 1.6% Black Population
» CDC Raises Eyebrows for Using Character Image Almost Identical to NPC Meme
» Chicago: Suburban Man Gets 131/2 Years in Prison for Plotting to Help ISIS
» Facebook Says it Won’t Notify the Half a Billion Users That Had Their Data Leaked
» First Results From Fermilab’s Muon G-2 Experiment Strengthen Evidence of New Physics
» Former Chief of Staff Says “Better Than 50-50” That Trump Runs Again in 2024
» Hate Hoax: Black Albion College Student Accused of Racist, Antisemitic Graffiti
» Off-Duty Pentagon Police Officer Charged With Second-Degree Murder in Takoma Park Shooting
» Psaki Says Biden Does Not Believe What He Said About Gun Background Checks
» Richest NYC Residents Face 52% Income Tax in New Hike as Many Top Earners Continue to Leave the State
» Spotify Has Now Censored 42 Episodes of the Joe Rogan Experience
» Tufts U. To Shut Down Confucius Institute After Student Protests
» Twitter Says Archivers Can’t Archive Trump’s Tweets on the Platform
» Victims ID’d in Bryan Mass Shooting; Suspect Being Held on $1 Million Bond
» Video: Imagine the Frothing Hysteria From Leftists if Trump Advocated Blocking Out the Sun
» Video: High School Coach Fired After Refusing to Enforce “Insane” Outdoor Masks During Sports
» Watch How CNN Pressures Lyft CEO Into Taking a Political Stance on Georgia Voting Laws
» YouTube Demonetizes Gun Review Channel Justin Opinion
 
Canada
» B.C. Business Owners Flood Streets of Vancouver to Protest Latest COVID-19 Restrictions
» GraceLife: Day One at Church Barricaded by RCMP for Breaking Alberta COVID Rules
» Kingston Bylaw Officers Issue $6,000 in Fines for Breaking COVID Rules at Gord Downie Pier
» Restaurant Owner Arrested Three Times for Defying Lockdowns; City Puts Sandbags in Front of Entrance
» Sweet 16 Birthday Party Crashed by COVID Cops
» Ticket for Trespassing at Radisson COVID Hotel Tossed (We Think)
 
Europe and the EU
» Britons to be Forced to Pay for COVID Tests to Go on Holiday
» Children Asked to Write Anti-Britain Poetry by Woke National Trust: Report
» Duke of Edinburgh, Queen’s Consort Prince Philip Dies Age 99
» European Court Rejects Czech Parents’ Complaints About Vaccinating Their Children
» German Government Plotting New Powers Over States Under COVID Guise
» Hungarian Foreign Ministry Summons German Envoy Over Fired Football Coach
» Italy: Lockdown Protests Snowball as Europe’s Libertarians Fret About Freedom
» Life Expectancy in Europe, Czechia Included, Declines
» Northern Ireland: Police Use Water Cannons in Belfast as Nineteen More Officers Are Injured After Youths Hurled Petrol Bombs on Seventh Night of Violence in ‘Worst Riots in Years’
» Report: Brits at Pubs Will Have to Register on Government Tracking App, Hand Over Phones
» Spain Drops Face Mask Rule for People Sunbathing and Swimming
» Syrian Brothers Spared Prison for Brutally Beating Swedish Train Conductor
» Techno Party Held in 11th Century Armenian Monastery in Occupied Northern Cyprus
» UK Govt Plays Down Academic’s Claim Nation is on Verge of Achieving ‘Herd Immunity’
» UK: Failed Iraqi Asylum Seeker Who Murdered and Cut Up Exeter Woman Jailed for 20 Years
» UK: Leftists Carrying Champagne Bottles Celebrate Death of Prince Philip Outside Buckingham Palace
» Why Are We Continuing to Imprison Our Population at the Say So of Virological Water Diviners?
 
Far East
» NYT Journalist Erases ENTIRE Twitter After National Pulse Unearths Posts Admitting ‘Working’ For the Chinese Communist Party.
» Satirist Jailed for Tweets Cursing Life Under the Ruling Chinese Communist Party
» TikTok Blacklists PragerU
 
Australia — Pacific
» Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Calls for Online “Guard Rails”
» Neighbours at War Over Flying an Australian Flag in Their Garden Will Fight to End to Keep it Despite Some Saying it’s an Eyesore
 
Latin America
» Caribbean Island of Saint Vincent Orders Evacuation as Volcano Erupts
 
Immigration
» Jobless Illegal Immigrants in New York Will Soon Receive $15,600 Each From Taxpayers
» Migrants Will be Required to Speak Swedish to Become Citizens Under New Laws the Country is Expected to Bring in This Summer
» Pandemic Doesn’t Stop Illegal Migrants From Seeking Entry to Hungary
» Republicans Share Videos of Migrants Brazenly Crossing the Border Behind Them and Claim ICE is ‘Too Busy Changing Diapers’ To Guard it: Arizona AG Says Kamala Has Refused His Invite to Visit
» White House’s Border Coordinator Roberta S. Jacobson Resigns as Biden Struggles to Contain the Historic Surge in Migrants
 
Culture Wars
» Anti-LGBT Protesters Demonstrate at Central Florida School Board Member’s Home: Report
» CNN Says Chinese-Style Fonts Are Racist
» Czech TV Violates Objectivity With Reports on Same Sex Marriage, Supervisory Body Confirms
» Gender Fluid Model is First Male Finalist for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
» Lancet Medical Journal: ‘Racism is the Public Health Crisis’
» Progressive News Outlet Status Coup is at Risk Due to YouTube’s Heavy-Handed Censorship Policies
 

Study: Biden’s Tax Raises Will Cost U.S. One Million Jobs in First Two Years

President Joe Biden’s plan to raise taxes on the American middle class and the wealthy is estimated to cost upwards of one million jobs in the first two years of its implementation, according to a newly released study by the National Association of Manufacturers.

Breitbart reports that the study estimates the long and short-term economic damage that Biden’s proposed tax hike plan will cause. The plan includes repeals of former President Donald Trump’s economic policies, which enabled U.S.-based manufacturers to increase the size of their workforce.

In a summarization by Jay Timmons, the CEO and president of NAM, stated that undoing Trump’s reforms will put American manufacturing at “significant risk.”

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

“Football Messed Him Up”: Family of Former NFL Player Who Killed 5 Speaks Out

Authorities are still attempting to figure out the reason behind why former NFL player Phillip Adams shot and killed five victims in South Carolina. Two children, aged 5 and 9, were among the dead.

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

1 Dead, Multiple Injured in Bryan Business Shooting, Suspect Now in Custody

The shooting reportedly happened at Kent Moore Cabinets just before 2:30 p.m.

BRYAN, Texas — An employee reportedly shot and killed one person while injuring multiple people at a business in Bryan, Texas Thursday afternoon, the Bryan Police Department confirmed.

Bryan police say the suspect is in custody and the suspect used a handgun.

The shooting reportedly happened at the Kent Moore Cabinets warehouse, 501 Industrial Blvd., just before 2:30 p.m., police said.

The employee reportedly showed up with a gun and opened fire at the business, Bryan police said.

Bryan police said only four were transported to the hospital in critical condition, one person was transported with a minor injury and a another person went to the hospital after experiencing an asthma attack, police said.

One of the people who was shot later died, police said…

           — Hat tip: MM [Return to headlines]
 

Amazon Workers Vote Against Unionization

A majority of the eligible Amazon employees who voted for unionization have rejected the motion, although those in favor of the union have pledged to contest the results.

As of Friday morning, 1,798 “no” votes had been counted at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, which was a majority of the 3,215 ballots cast. The “yes” ballots were fewer than 800, with roughly 500 ballots contested.

Nearly 6,000 employees were eligible to vote, but only 55% cast a ballot.

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

Biden on Gun Control: “No Amendment to the Constitution is Absolute”

President Joe Biden said during comments on his recent executive actions on gun control on Thursday that “no amendment…is absolute.”

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

Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Buys $1.4 Million Home in Area With Just 1.6% Black Population

Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors has chosen to live in one of the whitest areas of California after purchasing a $1.4 million dollar home in an area that has a black population of just 1.6 per cent.

A report by real estate website Dirt reveals that Khan-Cullors, who started the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag in 2013 in response to George Zimmerman’s acquittal, has purchased a “secluded mini-compound tucked into L.A.’s rustic and semi-remote Topanga Canyon.”

“A winding 15 minute drive from The Commons at Calabasas and a slightly longer and somewhat less serpentine drive from Malibu’s Getty Villa, the pint-sized compound spans about one-quarter of an acre. The property’s not-quite 2,400 square feet is divided between the a three-bedroom and two-bath main house and a separate one-bed/one-bath apartment capable of hosting guests long term with a private entry and a living room with kitchenette,” writes Mark David.

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

CDC Raises Eyebrows for Using Character Image Almost Identical to NPC Meme

The CDC raised eyebrows after it inadvertently used an image to promote the COVID vaccine that looked almost identical to the NPC wojack meme.

“Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is an important tool to help stop the pandemic,” tweeted the CDC’s official account.

Accompanying the text was a cartoon image of a woman wearing a mask receiving a vaccination.

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

Chicago: Suburban Man Gets 131/2 Years in Prison for Plotting to Help ISIS

A north suburban man was sentenced Friday to 131/2 years in federal prison for attempting to aid the Islamic State terrorist group by providing cellphones to an undercover FBI agent to be used as detonators for bombs.

Edward Schimenti and his friend, Joseph Jones, were convicted in 2019 of conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization. Last month, Jones was sentenced to 12 years behind bars.

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

Facebook Says it Won’t Notify the Half a Billion Users That Had Their Data Leaked

More than 530 million Facebook users had their information exposeddue to some bad actors exploiting a feature on the platform. The Big Tech company, however, chose not to notify users about the leak and how it had exposed their phone numbers, among other information that was made available on the platform.

The details of Facebook users were obtained by misusing a feature prior to 2019 and “scraping profiles.” In a blog post this week, Facebook stated that the data leak took place back in September 2019.

A spokesperson from Facebook said that the company was not sure as to who among its users should be updated or notified about the data leak and hence kept quiet.

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

First Results From Fermilab’s Muon G-2 Experiment Strengthen Evidence of New Physics

The long-awaited first results from the Muon g-2 experiment at the US Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory show fundamental particles called muons behaving in a way that is not predicted by scientists’ best theory, the Standard Model of particle physics. This landmark result, made with unprecedented precision, confirms a discrepancy that has been gnawing at researchers for decades.

The strong evidence that muons deviate from the Standard Model calculation might hint at exciting new physics. Muons act as a window into the subatomic world and could be interacting with yet undiscovered particles or forces.

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

Former Chief of Staff Says “Better Than 50-50” That Trump Runs Again in 2024

The man who served as former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, is saying that the odds are increasingly in favor of the former commander-in-chief running for reelection in 2024.

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

Hate Hoax: Black Albion College Student Accused of Racist, Antisemitic Graffiti

Albion College in Albion, Michigan, told Breitbart News that “the individual responsible for the racist graffiti” in a dormitory on campus “is a student of color.” The incident makes for another hate hoax carried out on a college campus.

A 21-year-old black student allegedly admitted responsibility for most of the racist and antisemitic graffiti that was discovered in a dorm stairwell on campus after Albion police brought him in for questioning on Tuesday, according to a report by MLive.

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

Off-Duty Pentagon Police Officer Charged With Second-Degree Murder in Takoma Park Shooting

Officer David Hall Dixon told police he thought the victims were breaking into a car

An off-duty Pentagon police officer who shot and killed two people in Maryland Wednesday morning has been charged with second-degree murder, police said.

David Hall Dixon, of Takoma Park, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, Takoma Park Police said. He also faces a gun charge and an attempted murder charge for allegedly shooting at the driver as the men tried to flee, police said.

Dixon was taken into custody Friday morning, police said.

The victims were identified as Dominique Williams, 32, of Hyattsville and James Lionel Johnson, 38, of District Heights.

News4’s Aimee Cho reports on a deadly double shooting in Takoma Park involving an off-duty Pentagon police officer.

Dixon told police he saw what appeared to be a car being broken into and confronted the men early Wednesday morning at the Takoma Overlook Condominiums parking lot area in the 7300 block of New Hampshire Avenue, according to police.

The men fled in a car, and Dixon fired his service weapon, police said.

Williams and Johnson, suffering from gunshot wounds, went to Prince George’s Hospital Center where they died, police said…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Psaki Says Biden Does Not Believe What He Said About Gun Background Checks

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in her daily briefing to reporters that President Joe Biden does not really believe the things he said about gun background checks during a recent speech.

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

Richest NYC Residents Face 52% Income Tax in New Hike as Many Top Earners Continue to Leave the State

The top earners in New York City now face a combined income tax of almost 52% after the state senate passed a bill Tuesday to raise taxes on those making more than $1 million a year.

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

Spotify Has Now Censored 42 Episodes of the Joe Rogan Experience

Spotify has now deleted more than 40 shows from ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast.

Rogan himself admitted in a recent interview with guest Fahim Anwar that “there were a few episodes they didn’t want on their platform, and I was like ‘okay, I don’t care.’“ That being said, it isn’t clear if Rogan is aware of the fact that dozens of his podcast interview episodes were being taken down.

Spotify declined to offer any explanation as to why it was removing certain episodes. The platform did not even respond to the enquiries and complaints’ from the show’s fans either.

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

Tufts U. To Shut Down Confucius Institute After Student Protests

Tufts University in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, has announced that it will shut down its Confucius Institute in the wake of student protests. The university, however, said it is ending the Confucius Institute to “focus more on our strong and growing direct relationship” with Beijing Normal University. Student protesters attacked the school’s “shameful collaboration between the university administration and the Chinese Communist Party.”

[Comment: Now THIS is a worthwhile student protest.]

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

Twitter Says Archivers Can’t Archive Trump’s Tweets on the Platform

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), collects and maintains Twitter archives of several Trump administration officials and administrators. Their tweets are collected and made available on the platform for archival and historical purposes.

NARA wanted to collect the tweets made by the former American President Donald Trump during his tenure as the president to make them available on their Twitter handle.

The social media network, however, disallowed NARA from doing so and said that the former president’s tweets cannot be made available on the platform. It is worth noting that Twitter has suspended Trump permanently.

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

Victims ID’d in Bryan Mass Shooting; Suspect Being Held on $1 Million Bond

Authorities on Friday identified the state trooper who was injured and the man who was killed by a gunman who opened fire Thursday at a Bryan cabinet manufacturing facility where he worked.

Larry Bollin, 27, shot and killed Timothy Smith, a 40-year-old Bryan resident, and wounded five others at a manufacturing plant for Kent Moore Cabinets, according to the Bryan Police Department. Bollin, an Iola resident, is charged with murder and remains in Brazos County jail on $1 million bond.

Bollin is scheduled to appear Friday afternoon before Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Celina Vasquez in Brazos County, a court clerk said.

Bollin also shot Trooper Juan Rojas Tovar of the Madisonville Texas Highway Patrol Office while he fled authorities. The trooper remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition Friday morning, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“We remain hopeful his condition will improve & appreciate the many kind thoughts and prayers,” the agency tweeted.

Two other victims in the shooting at Kent Moore Cabinets remain in critical condition and two more were in stable condition, according to the Bryan Police Department. Police did not name them…

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Video: Imagine the Frothing Hysteria From Leftists if Trump Advocated Blocking Out the Sun

As the likes of the New York Times continue to seriously push calls from Bill Gates funded ‘scientists’ to experiment with dimming The Sun to combat climate change, one commentator asked viewers to imagine the reaction if President Trump had suggested the exact same thing.

Fox News commentator Greg Gutfeld noted that leftists would “freak out” if the scheme had been adopted by Trump.

“I ask you this, what if this had come out of Trump’s mouth in an interview when a reporter says, ‘President Trump, President Trump how would you reduce global warming?’ He’d look at him and he’d go ‘why not block the sun?’ They would freak out! What are you, nuts? You’re nuts!” Gutfeld said.

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

Video: High School Coach Fired After Refusing to Enforce “Insane” Outdoor Masks During Sports

Track and field coach Bradley Keyes told reporters in New Hampshire that he has been fired after he refused to force students to wear masks outside while they were engaged in sporting activities.

Coach Keyes was working at Pembroke Academy when it introduced an outdoor mask policy, which he calls “senseless, irrational, cowardice bullsh*t.”

“I will not stand up in front of the kids and lie to them and tell them that these masks are doing anything worthwhile out in an open field with wind blowing and the sun shining,” Keyes explained in a letter to the school’s athletics director.

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

Watch How CNN Pressures Lyft CEO Into Taking a Political Stance on Georgia Voting Laws

These days, we all know that journalists have turned into activists and don’t even bother to hide how they’re actively working to pressure corporations to censor or take a political stance. But it doesn’t change how shocking it is to continue to see it.

In a recent interview, a CNN anchor seemed to forget CNN journalists should be impartial by pressuring Lyft’s CEO to boycott states that have passed “restrictive” voting laws.

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

YouTube Demonetizes Gun Review Channel Justin Opinion

Justin Opinion, a YouTube channel that reviews guns and related gear, has been told that it’s no longer eligible to monetize its videos because YouTube has deemed them to be “harmful content.”

The channel has been posting to YouTube since 2012 and during that time, it has racked up more than 23 million total views and gained over 84,000 subscribers.

But after spending almost a decade building an audience on YouTube, the popular video-sharing platform pulled the plug on Justin Opinion’s ability to earn ad revenue from its videos.

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

B.C. Business Owners Flood Streets of Vancouver to Protest Latest COVID-19 Restrictions

After covering many freedom protests over the past year in B.C., I still couldn’t believe my eyes when close to 2,000 mostly new faces gathered in protest of British Columbia’s latest COVID-19 restrictions, that will likely bankrupt many of the province’s small and medium-sized businesses.

It was hard to gauge how many attended the rally while reporting, but after looking over our footage, it was clear that close to 2,000 people, many of whom were business owners themselves, came out to support the cause. The protest, organized by Save Small Business BC, began with speeches from entrepreneurs whose businesses have been negatively affected by lockdowns. These included the restaurateurs Federico Fuoco of Gusto and Rebecca Matthews from Corduroy, who have both had their business licenses temporarily suspended after opening their restaurants for in person dining, against B.C.’s public health orders.

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

GraceLife: Day One at Church Barricaded by RCMP for Breaking Alberta COVID Rules

On Wednesday, GraceLife Church was seized by Alberta government in an early morning police operation.

Church security cameras picked up the activity shortly after 6:00 a.m., at which time congregants tipped off Rebel News about the joint police/government seizure of the property. Rebel News had exclusive access to the church prior to Wednesday morning’s events.

A private fencing company, private Paladin security, RCMP and Alberta Health Services executed a dawn raid on the Parkland County area church after a month-long staredown with the provincial government over the lockdown restrictions on places of worship.

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

Kingston Bylaw Officers Issue $6,000 in Fines for Breaking COVID Rules at Gord Downie Pier

KINGSTON — Three people were fined $2,060 each for violating an Emergency Order and visiting the Gordon Downie Pier in Kingston this week.

On March 22, the city closed the beach area of Breakwater Park and Gord Downie Pier to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the community.

The city of Kingston says on Thursday, three notices were issued for violations of the Mayor’s Emergency Order shortly before 8 p.m. at Gordon Downie Pier.

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

Restaurant Owner Arrested Three Times for Defying Lockdowns; City Puts Sandbags in Front of Entrance

Canada has entered a new wave of lockdowns across the country, with Ontario and Alberta the latest provinces to endure further limitations on freedom.

On the very first day of increased restrictions, law enforcement in Alberta took to GraceLife Church in Edmonton, Alberta to occupy the property and erect fencing to prevent worshippers from entering.

Similar tactics have been taken by law enforcement at establishments such as Adamson Barbecue in Ontario, and now California law enforcement has implemented the ‘board-up and vacate notice’ technique.

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

Sweet 16 Birthday Party Crashed by COVID Cops

Today we are covering another Fight The Fines case, and this one is truly bonkers. A family of 10 celebrating a Sweet 16 in Stoney Creek, Ont. had five police officers crash their “party” — I say “party” because if it’s just your family, is it really a party?

Kendra Bond and Cassandra Martin-Tansley are two of the six adults who were each given $815 fines on March 7, for the crime of singing Happy Birthday, or so it would seem.

Kendra claims she had only her immediate family at her house, when her mother stopped by to drop off a gift and came inside to use the restroom. While inside for approximately five minutes, the Bond family took the opportunity to sing Happy Birthday to their 16-year-old, when five officers showed up out of the blue.

Apparently this family’s neighbours are a bunch of grinches, because they called the police on the Bond family, alleging that there were more than 25 people inside the Bond home. Well, lie or not, the police quickly pivoted from fighting actual crime to come rain on this young woman’s parade.

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

Ticket for Trespassing at Radisson COVID Hotel Tossed (We Think)

For weeks, we have reported on the demonstrators who assemble every Thursday afternoon outside the Radisson Suite Hotel Toronto Airport — a property that is anything but “sweet” these days. That’s because this Radisson is now being used as a federal COVID quarantine facility to imprison — er, house — Canadians returning to Canada.

But inexplicably, on one such occasion, I was charged with trespassing. What did I do? Kick in an emergency exit? Climb up the exterior wall à la Batman? No, I merely walked towards the hotel’s front entrance, whereupon one set of sliding doors opened. Alas, another set of sliding doors remained closed, so I never made it into the lobby. The reason for my visit? To get the Radisson’s side of the story. But since nobody would greet me, my cameraman Mocha and I simply left.

Well apparently, attempting to visit the lobby of a hotel that is supposedly open to the public is… trespassing?

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

Britons to be Forced to Pay for COVID Tests to Go on Holiday

People in England can start thinking about foreign holidays, the transport minister has said. However, there will be mandated covid tests and potentially costly quarantining on return from higher coronavirus-risk nations.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC on Friday that international travel for holidays could resume no earlier than May 17th, and that terms for holidaymakers returning — i.e., whether they need to self-isolate at home or quarantine at a hotel — would be dependent on where the nation is classified in the government’s new ‘traffic light’ system.

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

Children Asked to Write Anti-Britain Poetry by Woke National Trust: Report

Primary school children in England have reportedly been asked by the National Trust to write poems “denigrating” the British Empire, as campaigners attempt to convince the heritage charity to abandon its increasingly woke agenda.

A group of 100 children were led by controversial left-wing professor Corinne Fowler, of Leicester University, on a tour of country houses in order to inspire them to write poems chastising the former owners for their connections to colonialism, according to The Times.

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

Duke of Edinburgh, Queen’s Consort Prince Philip Dies Age 99

The Queen’s consort Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, has passed away at the age of 99, news which shortly follows his return from a stay at King Edward VII’s Hospital in Marleybone, London.

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

European Court Rejects Czech Parents’ Complaints About Vaccinating Their Children

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg has rejected complaints about the mandatory vaccination of children submitted by Czech parents. In the verdict, ECHR stated that the Czech Republic had not violated the parents’ right to private life by insisting on compulsory vaccination.

The court ruled on a total of six complaints, the first arriving in Strasbourg in 2013. In most cases, the objections concerned preschool facilities refusing to accept unvaccinated children.

The Grand Chamber of the ECHR adopted the verdict with a majority of 16 votes against one. The verdict is final.

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

German Government Plotting New Powers Over States Under COVID Guise

The German federal government is planning to pass new legislation to allow it to impose uniform coronavirus restrictions across the country, taking control from the states, a government spokesperson said on Friday.

The country’s 16 state premiers have agreed to new legislation to allow the change, and better fight the surge in COVID-19 cases.

“The federal government plans to introduce draft legislation next week, in close coordination with the states, that includes a binding and comprehensive emergency brake for districts with an incidence of 100 cases and up,” a government source told Reuters.

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

Hungarian Foreign Ministry Summons German Envoy Over Fired Football Coach

Levente Magyar, state secretary at the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, called in the chargé d’affaires of the German embassy in Budapest for talks on Thursday following the sacking of a Hungarian coach by Berlin club Hertha BSC, the ministry said in a statement.

As Remix News reported earlier, German football club Hertha BSC fired its Hungarian goalkeeper coach, Zsolt Petry, effective immediately, for comments that did not conform to the club’s policy of diversity and tolerance. Earlier, in an interview with daily Magyar Nemzet, Petry spoke up against fellow footballer Péter Gulacsi’s Facebook post supporting same-sex marriage.

The ministry called the meeting to discuss the dismissal of Petry, a Hungarian citizen, by his German employer, a situation that has recently become widely publicized, the ministry said in its statement. Magyar also expressed his government’s dismay that in Germany, anyone may face “existential retaliation for communicating their views legally.”

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

Italy: Lockdown Protests Snowball as Europe’s Libertarians Fret About Freedom

On the streets of Rome, frustrations with pandemic curbs boiled over this week as desperate protesters, many of them restaurant owners and small-business owners, complained that restrictions and repeated lockdowns aimed at suppressing the transmission of the coronavirus are ruining them.

“We can no longer go on like this,” 51-year-old pizzeria owner Ermes Ferrari told reporters. “I just want to work.”

Outside the parliament in the Italian capital, protesters Tuesday called for an immediate end to Italy’s grinding lockdown. At one point they clashed with riot police. The protesters chanted repeatedly, “Libertà, Libertà.”

Many of the protesters, who emphasized they are not COVID-19 deniers, are members of the burgeoning “I’m Opening” movement of bar and restaurant owners, who defy curbs, break rules and incur hefty fines for doing so.

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

Life Expectancy in Europe, Czechia Included, Declines

Life expectancy fell year-over-year in the vast majority of European Union countries last year. Data from the European statistical office Eurostat showed that in nine countries, including the Czech Republic, the indicator fell by one year or more compared to 2019. Only Denmark and Finland saw a slight increase in life expectancy in the EU. In recent decades, life expectancy in Western Europe has grown steadily, with any decline being a very unusual phenomenon since the 1960s.

The highest decline was recorded in Spain, where life expectancy fell by more than a year and a half, Eurostat reported on Wednesday. It also fell by about a year and a half in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland and Romania.

In the Czech Republic, the indicator fell by one year. Czech children born in 2020 should live an average of 78 years and four months. This is the same figure as in 2013. On the contrary, life expectancy has increased by one to two months in Denmark and Finland.

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

Northern Ireland: Police Use Water Cannons in Belfast as Nineteen More Officers Are Injured After Youths Hurled Petrol Bombs on Seventh Night of Violence in ‘Worst Riots in Years’

Violence exploded on the streets on the Belfast again last night, forcing police to use a water cannon — as 19 more officers were injured.

It brought the huge numbers of officers hurt in a week of unrest across Northern Ireland to a total of 74.

Parts of the violence focused on gates which separates nationalist and loyalist areas in west Belfast.

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

Report: Brits at Pubs Will Have to Register on Government Tracking App, Hand Over Phones

According to a report in the London Telegraph, anyone wishing to drink in a pub garden in Britain from Monday (only the outside areas will open) will be forced to hand over their phone to venue staff who must check the individual is registered on the government’s tracking app.

Venues will face fines of £1000 if they are found to be admitting people who have not registered on the NHS Test and Trace app with all their personal details and then scanned a QR code on entry to the outdoor portion of the venue.

The official government guidance notes “should someone choose to check in with the official NHS QR code poster, a venue should check their phone screen to ensure they have successfully checked in”.

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

Spain Drops Face Mask Rule for People Sunbathing and Swimming

Health chiefs have now abandoned strict plans demanding people wear face coverings while they are on the beach, swimming in an outdoor or covered pool, or in the sea. But holidaymakers must wear a mask when they are walking to the beach or using communal facilities. They are also required in outdoor restaurants, cafes or bars — except when customers are eating or drinking.

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

Syrian Brothers Spared Prison for Brutally Beating Swedish Train Conductor

A court in Sweden has convicted two Syrian brothers in a savage attack on a train conductor, but neither will go to prison thanks to lenient sentencing, according to reports.

Mohammed Alsamsam, 21, and his 18-year-old brother, Hamza, both citizens of Syria, were found guilty of assaulting Mattias Nasser during an incident in November.

Nasser encountered Hamza aboard a train in Skåne County. The young man was reportedly speaking loudly on his cell phone in a designated quiet compartment, and Nasser asked him to lower his voice or exit the car.

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

Techno Party Held in 11th Century Armenian Monastery in Occupied Northern Cyprus

Although Turkish desecration of Christian holy sites in occupied northern Cyprus is well established, occupying authorities escalated their provocations by allowing a techno party to be held in an 11th century Armenian monastery.

The Sourp Magar is an 11th century Monastery founded by the Coptic Orthodox Church in memory of Saint Makarios, the hermit of Alexandria, Zartonk reported.

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

UK Govt Plays Down Academic’s Claim Nation is on Verge of Achieving ‘Herd Immunity’

A University College London (UCL) model has claimed the UK will have herd immunity in a matter of days, but the health minister has rushed to pour water on the idea and encouraged the public to listen to the government instead.

The United Kingdom will have achieved herd immunity against coronavirus by Monday, academics from UCL claim in comments to Britain’s Daily Telegraph.

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

UK: Failed Iraqi Asylum Seeker Who Murdered and Cut Up Exeter Woman Jailed for 20 Years

An Iraqi Kurd failed asylum seeker has been sentenced to at least 20 years in prison after being found guilty of murdering a woman, leaving her body to decompose in his flat for over a week as he dismembered and mutilated her remains before disposing of her.

Azam Mangori, 24, was found guilty of the brutal murder of 32-year-old Lorraine Cox last week. The migrant, who had traveled through Turkey, Greece, Germany, and France before arriving illegally in the UK in the back of a lorry, had suffocated Miss Cox with her own t-shirt in his flat above a kebab shop in Exeter, south-west England, in September 2020.

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

UK: Leftists Carrying Champagne Bottles Celebrate Death of Prince Philip Outside Buckingham Palace

A pair of leftists were caught on camera outside Buckingham Palace carrying champagne bottles in an apparent effort to celebrate the death of Prince Philip before hastily retreating when they realized they were being filmed.

YouTuber Mahyar Tousi spotted the vile behavior, tweeting, “A couple of attention seekers with bottles of champagne being disrespectful outside Buckingham Palace.”

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

Why Are We Continuing to Imprison Our Population at the Say So of Virological Water Diviners?

Would the ‘COVID pandemic’ have occurred if we had never identified the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its insipid variants?

Our response to danger developed within limits of the five evolved senses, so it would be surprising if the illumination of a microscopic world didn’t somewhat impair our social behaviour.

Whereas the ability to match particular symptoms to particular enemies may be exciting, the uptick in death from COVID is not. Mortality is consistent with a bad bout of seasonal flu (of which there has been suspiciously little). Recent figures from the UK indicate the average age of death due to COVID is 83 years*. British life expectancy overall is 81.

Of course, we can never disprove the assertion that things would have been different if we hadn’t responded by shutting down the developed world. But where proof of the danger lies in a new-found ability to trace a microscopic enemy using macroscopic data sets, it rather begs the question to think that science arrived just in time to prevent another Plague of Justinian.

We are all teeming with things, possibly including SARS-CoV-2, which could kill us. Fortunately we are mostly ‘asymptomatic’ — a neurotic term for what we used to call ‘healthy’.

We need to temper our deference to those at the cutting edge of human discovery. They are rookies by definition and rarely are the paroxysms which follow their breakthroughs any more enlightened or rational than the stoic values which preceded them.

At the height of the Cold War Geoffrey Fisher, the Archbishop of Canterbury, declared that “the very worst the nuclear bomb can do is to sweep a vast number of people from this world into the next, into which they must all go anyway”. Where are these voices of reason now that we are faced with an earth-shattering 0.01% spike in natural mortality?

So, before the scientists find the next pale blue dot to titillate us with our own mortality, I propose a clerical moratorium on access to microscopes, telescopes and that largest Ouija Board devised by man — the World Wide Web. Peering through these instruments of science requires that stoic contempt of the alpha male on Valentine’s Day. Only professed members of sensible religions can be trusted to respond with a sense of proportion to what they encounter.

We hardly need a conspiracy theory to explain that, when we look to a cadre for both answers and solutions, they will make heroes of themselves by playing up the problem. There are too many worldly people I now have to trust in order to take the lockdowns seriously. Most of them have a blatant undeclared interest in maintaining the panic.

Rite and superstition are older and better ways to address the dangers which are beyond our natural perception. So I’m returning to Mount Athos this summer for those cramped, crowded, relic-kissing ten-hour liturgies. And until then, our governments can stick their vaccines where the enlightenment don’t shine.[…]

[Salisbury Review is an organ of fundamentalist (C)conservative thought and philosopy in the UK — well worth reading]

           — Hat tip: MC [Return to headlines]
 

NYT Journalist Erases ENTIRE Twitter After National Pulse Unearths Posts Admitting ‘Working’ For the Chinese Communist Party.

New York Times Director of Cinematography and visual journalist erased his entire Twitter history following a National Pulse exposé that unearthed posts where he admitted to “working” for the Chinese Communist Party.

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

Satirist Jailed for Tweets Cursing Life Under the Ruling Chinese Communist Party

A court in the central Chinese province of Henan has handed down a 14-month jail term to performance artist and online influencer Chen Shaotian after he posted a number of critical comments about life under the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Twitter.

Chen was sentenced to one year and two months’ imprisonment by the Fugou County People’s Court in Henan, which found him guilty of “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble,” a charge frequently used to target critics of the regime.

Chen’s sentence, which was issued on March 25, was based on more than 50 posts he made to Twitter that were deemed to be “hype about major sensitive events in China” and “political attacks.”

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

TikTok Blacklists PragerU

Non-profit organization PragerU, founded by radio host Dennis Prager to produce short informative videos on conservative topics, has been permanently blacklisted from Chinese-owned social media app TikTok.

“Tik Tok has permanently banned PragerU from its platform for ‘multiple violations’ of their community guidelines,” PragerU wrote in a tweet on Thursday. “This is blatant censorship.” The organization started a petition over TikTok’s blacklisting.

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

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Calls for Online “Guard Rails”

When the Davos-based World Economic Forum (WEF) isn’t trying to figure out ways of reinventing the world and society in a “great reset,” the organization pays attention to some other favorite talking points among a certain class of politicians and ideologues.

One of those is certainly the idea of “harmful” online content, and assigning what critics and digital rights groups often denounce as unjustified focus on the concept, while using fearmongering to position powerful tech companies and/or governments around the world as censors and gatekeepers of access to the internet.

Earlier in the week, WEF organized an online panel dedicated precisely to countering harmful content, that saw Mina Al-Oraibi, Julie Inman Grant, Simon Milner, Lene Wendland, and Cathy Li take part.

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

Neighbours at War Over Flying an Australian Flag in Their Garden Will Fight to End to Keep it Despite Some Saying it’s an Eyesore

Julie and Vaughan McLeod have had the national flag on display in the backyard of their unit on Queensland ‘s Sunshine Coast since 1997.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Caribbean Island of Saint Vincent Orders Evacuation as Volcano Erupts

A volcano on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent erupted for the first time since 1979 on Friday morning.

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

Jobless Illegal Immigrants in New York Will Soon Receive $15,600 Each From Taxpayers

The state legislature of New York has passed a budget agreement that includes a $2.1 billion fund for illegal immigrants in the state. The agreement involves a one-time payment of $15,600 to illegal immigrants who lost their job during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

Migrants Will be Required to Speak Swedish to Become Citizens Under New Laws the Country is Expected to Bring in This Summer

Migrants entering Sweden will be required to speak Swedish in order to become citizens under new laws the country is expected to introduce this summer.

A bill has now been submitted by Sweden’s centre-left government after proposals were drawn up in January this year.

Under the new laws, anyone seeking permanent residency in the Scandinavian country will be required to prove that they can speak the language, as well as prove that they can support themselves while living in the country.

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

Pandemic Doesn’t Stop Illegal Migrants From Seeking Entry to Hungary

Unlike last spring, when strict border closures at the onset of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic brought illegal immigration to a temporary standstill, official police data from the first three months of the year show that numbers are rising again.

Weekly data show that in March the number of prevented illegal border crossings, the number of immigrants apprehended and processed, was well over 1,000 every single week and even approached 2,000 in the 13th week of 2021. Another interesting fact is that this year, the fewest illegal border-crossing attempts happened during the period when Hungary was just past the second wave of the epidemic while the third wave had not yet begun.

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

Republicans Share Videos of Migrants Brazenly Crossing the Border Behind Them and Claim ICE is ‘Too Busy Changing Diapers’ To Guard it: Arizona AG Says Kamala Has Refused His Invite to Visit

Arizona’s Republican attorney general said Thursday Kamala Harris has not responded to his requests to visit the crisis-hit border, as Republicans released video of migrants crossing the Rio Grande just a few feet behind them.

‘I guess if you were a philosopher you would say no response is a very loud response because we’ve not received any response,’ Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in an interview with Fox.

Harris was named border czar last month by President Joe Biden as the administration faces a growing emergency with record numbers of illegal immigrants arriving in the U.S. and border facilities quickly becoming overcrowded and understaffed.

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

White House’s Border Coordinator Roberta S. Jacobson Resigns as Biden Struggles to Contain the Historic Surge in Migrants

The White House’s border coordinator will resign at the end of the month amid a historic surge in migrants at the southern border.

Roberta S. Jacobson, the former ambassador to Mexico who was Biden’s border ‘czar’ on the National Security Council, announced the move in an interview with The New York Times.

She praised Biden’s efforts to ‘repair and recast’ the nation’s immigration system and slammed Donald Trump.

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

Anti-LGBT Protesters Demonstrate at Central Florida School Board Member’s Home: Report

The vocal demonstrations of a group opposed to LGBTQ rights in Brevard County public schools took their protestations to the home of one of the county school board members.

Protesters stood outside the home of newly elected member Jennifer Jenkins in Satellite Beach on Thursday evening, according to a report in Florida Today.

A similar group of protesters were on hand at at March 9 meeting of the school board, during which the the board discussed new accommodations for LGBTQ students adopted by the school district, including allowing the use of bathrooms by students by whichever gender they identify.

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

CNN Says Chinese-Style Fonts Are Racist

CNN has added another entry to the ever-expanding list of things now deemed to be racist, publishing an article asserting that Chinese-style fonts are offensive because they perpetuate “crude” stereotypes.

Author Anne Quito claimed that “chop suey fonts to communicate “Asianness” in food packaging, posters and ad campaigns” are further evidence of “discrimination and systemic racism.”

Yes, really.

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

Czech TV Violates Objectivity With Reports on Same Sex Marriage, Supervisory Body Confirms

The Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting (RRTV) agreed with the Alliance for the Family complaint, stating that public Czech TV had conducted a biased and unbalanced broadcast. The Alliance for the Family has long argued that Czech TV prioritizes views calling for the legalization of same-sex marriage and, on the contrary, crowds out those who seek the constitutional protection of traditional unions.

Petitions were created in support of both a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage and a proposal asking for the constitutional protection of traditional marriage. In the autumn of 2018, both petitions were discussed at a public hearing in the Chamber of Deputies, and Czech TV reported on this in one of its programs.

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

Gender Fluid Model is First Male Finalist for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

The famous Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition may soon make “diversity history” by featuring a male model who identifies as “gender fluid” on its pages. Lewis Freese beat out thousands of other candidates to be named one of the 15 finalists for a spot in the yearly magazine issue.

[Comment: Boycott Sports Illustrated. Also, I find excellent sport analysis online.]

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

Lancet Medical Journal: ‘Racism is the Public Health Crisis’

The woke Lancet medical journal praises the Black Lives Matter protests in its latest issue, urging greater activism to overcome white supremacy.

In an article titled “Racism Is the Public Health Crisis,” UK-based Professor of Black Studies Kehinde Andrews asserts that the Black Lives Matter movement “needs to be seen in the wider context of the mobilisations during the 20th century, ranging from civil rights and Black Power to the Third World movements across the globe.”

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

Progressive News Outlet Status Coup is at Risk Due to YouTube’s Heavy-Handed Censorship Policies

Once again YouTube has taken to making lives of independent creators and media who choose it as their distribution platform quite difficult, by removing content and threatening further restrictive action.

This time the policy of non-transparent removals hit Jordan Chariton, a progressive journalist, and an outlet he helped co-found, Status Coup.

In a tweet, Chariton said that between seven and 10 videos reporting about Trump supporters’ election rigging claims had been deleted from the YouTube channel.

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

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