The IDF targeted an office building in the Gaza Strip which it said housed a Hamas command-and-control facility, destroying the offices of the Associated Press and Al Jazeera at the same time. The Israelis issued a warning in advance of the attack that allowed the building to be evacuated. International media companies demanded an explanation from the Israeli government for the destruction of their facilities.
In other news, hundreds of people marched through downtown Ottawa today to protest the coronavirus lockdown.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, LP, 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.
Stumbling Along: U.S. Consumer Confidence Crashes ‘Unexpectedly’
OK, let’s see a show of hands — who actually finds this perfectly obvious news to be “unexpected”?
No one here? Good.
So just how biased and corrupt is even the financial media now?
It’s this biased and corrupt.
Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has unexpectedly decreased in the month of May, according to preliminary data released by the University of Michigan on Friday.
The report showed the consumer sentiment index dropped to 82.8 in May from 88.3 in April. The decrease surprised economists, who had expected the index to rise to 90.4.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Go Back to England” — Prince Harry Elicits Backlash After Criticizing “Bonkers” First Amendment
Prince Harry is still new to North America, and perhaps is still adjusting to some of its customs. For example, the First Amendment, which he dismissed as “bonkers” during a recent interview.
The comments inspired backlash online, with some critics calling for the young prince (who will almost certainly never be king) to “go back to England” in a series of hostile tweets.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Amid all the confusing guidance spewed by the CDC, NIH, and the Administration (from Fauci, Walensky, Biden, Psaki etc) in the last two weeks, one teacher’s verbally-abusive rage against a maskless student in her class sums up the nation’s science-denying (masked or unmasked?), virtue-signalers’ ongoing cognitive dissonance as the pandemic that gave many of them purpose in life is quickly fading from top of mind.
A video of the scene went viral after a Poynette, Wisconsin teacher (with clearly severe comorbodities) blasted a student for not wearing a mask.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Another Weekend, Another Anti-Lockdown Protest (8 Photos)
An anti-lockdown protest at Bellevue Park Saturday afternoon brought out roughly two dozen maskless people to rally against what one speaker characterized as a removal of rights and freedoms.
The speaker told protesters that the first protest in Bellevue Park was sensationalized in the media, with the mayor advising people not to attend. But there are people out there, he said, who can think for themselves.
“They’re coming to the conclusion that these lockdowns have nothing to do with the virus — they have everything to do with removing our freedoms, with removing our rights,” he said.
Sault Ste. Marie Police Service was on hand, mobile command unit in tow. Officers were seen writing up tickets and distributing them to protesters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Attorney General Letitia James Intensifies Gov. Cuomo Sex Harassment Probe
The state attorney general’s office has intensified its probe of Gov Cuomo, issuing subpoenas to former aides who have accused him of sexual harassment, The Post has confirmed.
The subpoenas issued in the last two weeks by Attorney General Letitia James require the four women to provide testimony under oath, indicating the probe, which began in March, has entered a more critical phase.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Admin Sued Over Alleged Discrimination Against Certain Bar and Restaurant Owners
Authored by Janita Kan via The Epoch Times
A Texas cafe owner is taking the Biden administration to court over alleged discrimination that prevents him from receiving COVID-19 relief grants because of his race and gender.
Philip Greer, the owner of Greer’s Ranch Café, has sued the Small Business Administration (SBA), alleging that he would miss out on receiving a Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant because the federal law requires the agency to prioritize awarding grants to women and racial minorities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ex-Ohio State Professor Sentenced for Sharing Work With China
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A medical researcher and professor who pleaded guilty to what prosecutors called a sophisticated scheme to transfer U.S.-backed research to China was sentenced Friday to 37 months in federal prison.
Song Guo Zheng, 58, who had been working most recently at Ohio State University, will also have to pay $3.4 million in restitution to the National Institutes of Health and nearly $414,000 to the college.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FBI Quietly Re-Labels 2017 Shooting on Republican Congressman as ‘Domestic Terrorism’
In a report released on Friday, the FBI changed the classification of the attack on Republican lawmakers in 2017 as “domestic terrorism” from “suicide by cop.”
In a 40-page report entitled “Security Strategic Intelligence Assessment and Data on Domestic Terrorism,” the FBI reclassified the attack on Republican congressmen playing baseball as domestic terrorism. Previously, the shooting of five people during the baseball practice was considered “suicide by cop.” The shooter was later identified as James Hodgkinson, a known far-left political activist who worked on Bernie Sanders’ campaign in 2016.
Hodgkinson was found with a list of Republican Congressmen in his pocket and only began shooting after asking then Rep. Ron DeSantis and Rep. Jeff Duncan if the people on the field were “Democrats or Republicans.” Hodgkinson was a member of many extremist Facebook groups called “Terminate the Republican Party,” “The Road To Hell Is Paved With Republicans,” and “Donald Trump is not my President.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gianforte Signs Bill to Curb Infrastructure Protests
Gov. Greg Gianforte on Friday signed a bill to add additional criminal penalties to those who trespass on and damage property associated with critical infrastructure projects.
Libby Republican Rep. Steve Gunderson, who sponsored House Bill 481, maintained that his bill keeps protesters’ First Amendment rights intact, and would only kick into effect when people crossed the line from protesting into criminal conduct. During the legislative process, Gunderson used the Dakota Access Pipeline as an example.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Long Island University Prof’s Rant: An ‘Islamophobe’ Behind Every Bush
Long Island University political science associate professor Dahlia Fahmy stated her goal of “breaking the Islamophobia industry” in the April 24 webinar, “Islamophobia & the American Muslim Community.” Her reiteration of hackneyed distortions under the contrived term of “Islamophobia” took center stage at this American Muslim Institution (AMI) event for the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.
AMI executive director Shahid Rahman introduced the panel by claiming that during Ramadan “we have seen our Muslim-American community live up to their reputation as the most charitable of people.” Yet a 2019 Philanthropy Roundtable study found that “Mormons are the most generous Americans . . . Evangelical Christians are next. Then come mainline Protestants. Catholics lag both.” Muslim scholars who studied Muslim-American philanthropy in 2018 found that “U.S. Muslim giving to religious causes and institutions is far behind that of other U.S. religious groups.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Man Dressed as Street Medic During Detroit Protests Charged With Pointing Laser at Police Helicopter
A dangerous incident involving the Detroit police helicopter could have been much worse last summer during a BLM protest.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Muslim Brotherhood Praises Dems for Abandoning Israel in Time of War
The Muslim Brotherhood’s official online mouthpiece offered praise this week to Democratic members of Congress who are publicly criticizing Israel as it defends itself against an onslaught of terrorist rockets.
“Democratic representatives demand the protection of Palestinians from Zionist attacks,” reads a headline in Ikhwan Online, the Brotherhood’s official propaganda site. The jihadist extremist group, which is designated as a terror outfit in multiple countries, highlighted critical remarks about Israel’s defensive operations made by outspoken opponents of the Jewish state—Reps. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), Andre Carson (D., Ind.), Debbie Dingell (D., Mich.), Mark Pocan (D., Wis.), and Cori Bush (D., Mo.), as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New York City: Muslim Mob Screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ Attacks Jewish Man in Midtown Manhattan
The writer below says: “This is not a new conflict of 2021. The outburst of violence and venom we are witnessing is the continuation of the 1948 Independence War that is now in its 74th year.”
Actually, it’s the continuation of a 1,400-year jihad against the Jews.
“Arab Muslim Mob Attack Jew In Midtown Manhattan,” by Avi Abelow, Israel Unwired, May 13, 2021 (thanks to G.).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Lieutenant Fired for Donation to Kyle Rittenhouse Defense Fund
Norfolk, Virginia, police Lt. William Kelly was fired from his job days after it was revealed that he donated to a fundraiser benefitting Kyle Rittenhouse.
Fox News reports that Kelly “was only roughly 10 months from being a 20-year veteran of the department” when he was fired. The Associated Press indicated Norfolk city officials said Kelly was “relieved of duty.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Portland Protests, Homelessness Have Residents Avoiding Downtown, Poll Reveals
Portland, Oregon, residents surveyed about the city’s downtown said they plan to visit less frequently, mainly citing the homelessness and rioting that has plagued the area in the last year, according to a new poll.
Respondents to the poll commissioned by The Oregonian newspaper used words like “dirty,” “trash,” “riots” and “unsafe” to describe the heart of the city, which appears to have deteriorated during the coronavirus pandemic and social unrest of the past year.
Downtown Portland, once a cultural and tourist center, is now rife with homeless tents, smashed windows, graffiti, trash and boarded-up businesses, the newspaper reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Protester Fires Back at Suspect Shooting Outside Women’s Clinic, Saves Woman’s Life
A protester saved the life of a woman who was shot at as she walked into a San Antonio, Texas, women’s clinic on Saturday morning, police said.
Officers responded to gunfire outside of women’s reproductive health clinic around 8:30 a.m. CT. While no one was injured, authorities discovered several gunshots to the Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services building.
Protesters who were standing outside the clinic witnessed the shooting, San Antonio police spokesman Chris Ramos said in a press conference. One of them was armed and opened fire on the suspected gunman, who fled the scene, he said.
Authorities don’t know if he was wounded as a result of the protester’s intervention. The protester had a permit to carry a concealed handgun, according to Ramos.
“He absolutely saved this young lady’s life,” he said. “He did something a reasonable person would do and he saw someone engaged in a shooting and he stepped in and intervened and stopped that shooting from occurring.”…
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Stores, States Drop Mask Mandates in Wake of CDC’s Updated Guidance
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times
States and stores on Friday said they were largely dropping their mask requirements after a top U.S. health agency advised that people fully vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19 could stop donning face coverings.
The governors of at least 10 states and officials at a slew of retail giants, like Walmart, announced they would no longer require masks, at least for those fully vaccinated against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
Delaware’s governor, Democrat John Carney, said effective May 21 residents will not be forced to wear masks anytime they are indoors with people they do not live with.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Violence and destruction erupted in downtown Providence overnight which resulted in dozens of arrests, several police officers hurt, businesses looted and a police cruiser being torched.
Gov. Gina Raimondo and other state and city officials held a news conference late Tuesday morning to address what happened. She began by reminding the public how proud she was to be a Rhode Islander after seeing and hearing about the peaceful protests held over the weekend.
“I stand before you disheartened, dismayed, outraged, and angry at the events that we saw last night right here in the city of Providence,” Raimondo said. “Make no mistake about it, what we saw last night was not a protest, what we saw last night was an organized attack on our community at a time when we are already vulnerable.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
University of California Drops SAT Scores for Admission
SAN FRANCISCO — The University of California won’t consider SAT and ACT scores that are submitted with admission and scholarship applications under a settlement of a student lawsuit.
The agreement was announced Friday. The 10-campus system, which has more than 280,000 students statewide, decided not to continue fighting a judge’s injunction issued last fall that barred it from considering the scores for admission even when they were submitted voluntarily.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watchdog Calls for Probe Into Swiss Billionaire’s US Political Spending
A watchdog group is calling for an investigation into Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss’ influence on US elections, according to a complaint filed with the Federal Elections Commission.
The complaint by Americans for Public Trust says there is reason to believe “Mr. Wyss indirectly funded federal electoral advocacy through his nonprofit organizations, the Wyss Foundation and the Berger Action Fund. The intended recipient of these funds was ultimately a variety of organizations whose primary purpose is to engage in electoral advocacy.”
[Comment: This Swiss billionaire is Soros lite.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Wisconsin High School Gives Students Truancy Charges for Anti-Mask Protest
Dozens of high school students in Wisconsin protested the requirement to wear masks even outdoors, and the school board decided to make an example of them.
Multiple students in Wisconsin’s Tomahawk School District have been fined and slapped with truancy charges for an outdoor protest against the school district’s mask policy, according to The Federalist. The policy requires masks to be worn at all times on school property. The kids were fined $98.60 each despite their parents calling the school to excuse their absences. The students are unsatisfied with the school district’s approach to public outcry against the mask mandate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Woke Penn State Will Replace ‘Sexist and Classist’ Words Like Freshman
Pigskin powerhouse Penn State has jumped on the woke wagon.
The sprawling public university will replacepronouns such as he/him/hers with they/them/theirs; replace traditional student designations such as freshman and sophomore with “first year” and “second year” and; replace “underclassmen” and “upperclassmen” with “lower division” and “upper division,” according to Penn State News.
The Preferred Name and Gender Identity Policy was passed by Pennsylvania State University’s Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs on April 27.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Lockdown Protest Marches Through Downtown Ottawa
Hundreds of people marched through downtown Ottawa Saturday afternoon, shouting slogans and waving signs as part of a rally against the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown.
Videos of the rally showed people yelling phrases like “No more lockdowns!” and “Freedom!” with signs brandishing such slogans as “We are all essential” and “Freedom over fear.”
According to police, about 500 protesters took part. While motorists may have experienced some disruptions, roads were not closed, police said.
The protest comes as Ontario has extended its stay-at-home order in an attempt to get COVID-19 levels under control.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
First Muslim Mayor of Major City Slams Anti-Maskers as ‘Thinly Veiled White National Supremacists’
Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi — the same mayor who took the liberty in his position of privilege to give mosques permission to break noise bylaws during Ramadan last year, so that they could broadcast the Islamic call to prayer over loudspeakers — has smeared Canadians who were protesting lockdowns and mask-wearing.
Nenshi is the first Muslim to be mayor of a major Canadian city. Canada is hyper-sensitive, under Justin Trudeau’s government, of “offending” Muslims. To ask questions, to point out that jihad terror and other human rights abuses are sanctioned in Islamic law, earns you the dreaded “Islamophobia“ label, which comes in Canada with possible punitive action.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Halifax Police Make Arrests for Illegal Gatherings Following Court Injunction
Halifax Regional Police have issued 21 tickets under the Health Protection Act and made “multiple arrests” following what they say were two separate illegal gatherings in Halifax, one day after a Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice issued a temporary injunction to stop a weekend anti-mask rally in the city.
Several people were arrested on Citadel Hill Saturday afternoon, where a group called “Freedom Nova Scotia” was scheduled to hold a rally protesting public health measures. About 50 people were in attendance, police said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Despite widespread vaccination availability and even the U.S. CDC saying that vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks, Toronto has decided to cancel an entire summer’s worth of social functions.
The city has cancelled “all major in-person events for a second straight summer,” CBC reported on Friday.
As the city continues to fight off large numbers of Covid cases during the pandemic’s third wave (whatever that even means at this point), it has made cancellations all the way through Labour Day. Previously, provincial officials had been hoping for normalcy beginning in July or August.
That doesn’t look like it’s going to be the case. The city has cancelled events like the Canadian National Exhibition, Taste of the Danforth, the Caribbean Carnival and Salsa in Toronto.
The city is making the decision in May because organizers asked for “as much advanced notification as possible”. So now they have it: Toronto will officially have nothing going on during the summer.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
All Swedish Women Accused of Defamation Connected to MeToo Found Guilty
All of the women charged with defamation after making MeToo-style allegations in Sweden have been found guilty, according to a review of ten defamation cases.
The Swedish television programme Crime of the Week reviewed ten defamation cases linked to MeToo allegations over the last several years and found that in every single case, judges had sided against the women making public allegations of sexual abuse.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Expert: Islamic Extremists Continue to Openly Recruit in Sweden
Swedish terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp has claimed that Islamic extremists continue to recruit and spread their ideology in Sweden despite the defeat of the Islamic State.
Ranstorp says he blames inaction from the Swedish government, which allowed as many as 300 Swedes to travel to the Middle East to join the terror group, with at least 150 of them already having returned to Sweden.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Paris Protest: Riot Police Hurl Tear Gas at Demonstrators as Macron Demands End to Dissent
PRO-PALESTINIAN demonstrators in Paris have clashed with riot police in the streets following attempts by French authorities to ban a march in protest of Israeli military action in Gaza.
Riot police in France have clashed with pro-Palestinian protestors on the streets of Paris after large crowds gathered for a banned rally to protest the actions of Israel in Gaza. Flag-waving protestors took the streets of the French capital following six days of heaving fighting between armed Palestinian militants and the Israeli Defence Force which has seen more than 100 killed and left thousands of people in Gaza displaced.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Muslima Screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ Stabs Police Officer
But remember: if you think this kind of mindset and activity might pose a larger problem for France, you’re the problem.
“French anti-terror investigators notified over police stabbing,” AFP, May 11, 2021.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Antifa Attacks Shop Selling Israeli Delicacies
The left always aligns with the jihad.
“Schorndorf: Antifa attacks Israeli store,” translated from “Schorndorf: Antifa greift Israel-Laden an,” PI News, May 11, 2021 (thanks to Medforth).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Leftist Jewish ‘Journalist’ Tweets: ‘May God Kill All Friends of the Jews!’
Leftism, it’s a powerful drug that transcends all other allegiances and makes even suicide seem appealing.
WDR is Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln, a German public broadcasting entity in North Rhine-Westphalia.
“WDR journalist Beckhardt: May God kill all friends of the Jews!,” translated from “WDR-Journalist Beckhardt: Gott möge alle Judenfreunde töten!,” by Michael van Laack, Philosophia Perennis, May 12, 2021 (thanks to Medforth):
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Masks Off, Poles Cheer Reopening of Bars and Restaurants
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poles pulled off their masks, hugged their friends and made toasts to their regained freedom as restaurants, bars and pubs reopened for the first time in seven months and the government dropped a requirement for people to cover their faces outdoors.
The reopening, for now limited to the outdoor consumption of food and drinks, officially took place on Saturday. Yet many could not wait for midnight to strike and were out on the streets of Warsaw and other cities hours earlier on Friday evening to celebrate, gathering outside popular watering holes. Some brought their own beer to hold them over until they could buy drinks at midnight — though some bars were also seen serving up beers and cocktails early.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More Israeli Flag Burnings in Germany, Thousands Protest in Italy and Chant ‘Allahu Akbar’
The Israeli flag hoisted outside of Düsseldorf’s city hall was set on fire in the latest instance of flag burning in Germany since the start of the conflict in Israel earlier this week, with similar protests in Milan, Italy.
Israeli flags had been flown in cities across Germany this week to commemorate the establishment of diplomatic relations between West Germany and Israel, which occurred on May 12th, 1965.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Protests Erupt in Spain Over Nissan Closure as Carmaker Shifts Focus to Brexit Britain
THOUSANDS joined protests in Barcelona this week in fresh anger at the closure of a huge Nissan car factory in the city, as the carmaker shifts its focus to post-Brexit Britain, despite scaremongering from the European Union.
Nissan took the decision last year to shut down its three car-making plants in Barcelona in Spain, prompting anger among its employees. At the same time, Nissan decided to pour millions of pounds of investment into its plant in Sunderland in a huge vote of confidence in Brexit Britain. The closure in Barcelona was postponed until this year, prompting a new wave of anger on the streets this week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Anti-Lockdown Protesters March From St James Park to BBC HQ in London
Thousands of anti-lockdown protesters in central London marched from St James Park to the BBC’s headquarters. Once they arrived at Broadcasting House, many began shouting “shame on you” outside the public broadcaster’s building. Thanks to a rapid vaccination programme and previous lockdowns, the UK is currently emerging from coronavirus restrictions ahead of many other European nations, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the spread of a new virus variant first detected in India could delay plans to eliminate restrictions entirely.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Woke Madness! Oxford University to ‘Decolonise’ Imperial Measurements in New Change
OXFORD UNIVERSITY is planning to ‘decolonise’ imperial measurements such as inch, mile, yard and pound in a new woke move.
This summer, undergraduates have been hired to conduct extensive research into how Oxford’s science curricula to make it ‘less tied’ to Britain’s past. The students — along with scholars — will draw up plans for lecturers to implement recommendations.
It comes amid accusations the mile, inch, yard, pound and ounce are “tied deeply to the idea of the Empire”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Climate Activists, Greta Thunberg ‘Spread Anti-Israel-Propaganda’
Emerging leftist hate…international climate activist group Fridays for Future joins Greta Thunberg in spreading anti-Israel sentiments.
Germany’s most popular daily, among many others, Bild here reports that after climate icon Greta Thunberg shared an anti-Israel message from Canadian Israel boycotter Naomi Klein (51) to her 5 million followers, Fridays for Future also joined in.
The anti-Israel activist Klein accuses Israel of “one war crime after another.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Strikes Gaza Home of Hamas Leader, Destroys AP Office
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel slammed the Gaza Strip with airstrikes, in a dramatic escalation that included bombing the home of a senior Hamas leader, killing a family of 10 in a refugee camp — most of them children — and pulverizing a high-rise that housed The Associated Press and other media.
The Hamas militant group continued a stream of rocket volleys into Israel, including a late-night barrage on Tel Aviv. One man was killed Saturday when a rocket hit his home in a suburb of the seaside metropolis.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Airstrikes Kill 8 Children, Flatten Building Housing Associated Press, Al Jazeera Offices
Israeli warplanes pounded the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least eight children in a refugee camp and flattening a high-rise building that housed the offices of international media outlets, as Hamas unleashed a new barrage of rockets targeting central Israel.
The bombardments — for a sixth consecutive day — fed fears of a return to all-out war between Israel and the militant group Hamas.
U.S. diplomat Hady Amr arrived Saturday in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv to meet with senior Israeli and Palestinian officials to push for calm. Meanwhile, the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that attacks being carried out by both sides may constitute “serious violations of international humanitarian law.”
One rocket hit a neighborhood in central Israel’s Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, where raw footage showed fire and debris in the streets. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said one man died at the scene…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Live Updates: Biden Speaks With Abbas, Netanyahu as Israel-Hamas Conflict Escalates
President Biden spoke with leaders of both Israel and the Palestinian authority on Saturday, as Israel continued to respond to rocket attacks from Hamas by striking key targets — including a high-rise media building that the U.S. ally said was being used by Hamas.
Biden spoke with both Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The President reaffirmed his strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks from Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza,” the White House readout of the call with Netanyahu said. “He condemned these indiscriminate attacks against towns and cities across Israel.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Media Demand Israel Explain Destruction of News Offices
NEW YORK (AP) — News organizations demanded an explanation Saturday for an Israeli airstrike that targeted and destroyed a Gaza City building housing the offices of The Associated Press, broadcaster Al-Jazeera and other media outlets.
AP journalists and other tenants were safely evacuated from the 12-story al-Jalaa tower after the Israeli military warned of an imminent strike. Three heavy missiles hit the building within the hour, disrupting coverage of the ongoing conflict between’ Gaza’s Hamas rulers and Israel. At least 145 people in Gaza and eight in Israel have been killed since the fighting erupted on Monday night.
“The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today,” AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said. He said the American news agency was seeking information from the Israeli government and engaging with the U.S. State Department to learn more.
Mostefa Souag, acting director-general of Al-Jazeera Media Network, called the strike a “war crime” and a “clear act” to stop journalists from reporting on the conflict. Kuwait state television also had office space in the now-collapsed Gaza City building…
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Near a Mosque, Muslim Stabs Jewish Man Who Was Walking to Synagogue
These kinds of attacks are commonplace. One seldom, if ever, sees comparable attacks by individual Israelis against individual “Palestinians.” That doesn’t, however, stop the international propaganda mill.
“Jew walking to synagogue is stabbed — in Lod,” Arutz Sheva, May 13, 2021 (thanks to The Religion of Peace).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
India: Post-Election Political Violence in Bengal — a Summary Report
Subsequent to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led her party, the Muslim-supported All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), to a thumping re-election victory against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s largely Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Indian state of West Bengal, massive vindictive post-election violence has been unleashed by TMC officials on opposition volunteers. Female opposition polling agents are being gang-raped, offices are being ransacked, and party volunteers being mercilessly slaughtered.
More than 500 BJP volunteers have fled to the neighboring state of Assam, which is setting up refugee camps for the persecuted people. Given the protection granted to TMC officials by the political elites of the state, there is little hope for their rampant violence being curbed by state law enforcement agencies. CM Banerjee has refused to even acknowledge the violence, claiming that the information being circulated on the media is about older agitations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fauci-Funded Researchers Headlined Wuhan Lab ‘Gain of Function’ Conference
Authored by Natalie Winters via The National Pulse
Recipients of grants from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases headlined a Wuhan Institute of Virology conference focusing on “gain of function research and gene editing,” The National Pulse can exclusively reveal.
A press release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology — believed by many to be the source of COVID-19 — recounts the “2nd China-U.S. Workshop on the Challenges of Emerging Infections, Laboratory Safety and Global Health Security.”
The May 2017 event was “co-organized by U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), CAS and Hubei Society for Microbiology.”
According to the Wuhan lab, the event had five academic sessions, the first of which was “gain of function research, gene editing, targeting and delivery and other novel biotechnology.”
Among the Americans in attendance as special guests were Professors Linda Saif, James LeDuc, and David Relman. Together, the three professors have received nearly 200 grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with 75 coming from Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Laos: Christian Pastor Spared Jail on Condition He Doesn’t Preach
A Christian pastor, held in police detention in Laos for a year, was spared jail after he was made to sign documents swearing not to preach until 2022.
A court convicted Sithon Thippavong, 35, in April of “disrupting unity” and “creating disorder” after he was found to have held church services in Savannakhet province without government permission.
The church leader, who started his ministry among villagers in southern Savannakhet in 2011, was arrested on March 15, 2020.
Local sources told Open Doors that Sithon was made to sign a document before his release in which he promised not to preach or organise other Christian activities until March 2022.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Year 10 and 11 students at Como Secondary College in Perth were celebrating after an indoor soccer match at lunch on Monday when the teacher stormed the change room.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A 30-year-old Sydney man alleged to be an Islamic State recruit has been arrested upon his return to Australia, seen sporting a hoodie and beanie hat in handcuffs at the airport.
Mohamed Zuhbi, 30, arrived in Melbourne on a flight from Turkey about 4pm on Saturday and was arrested by counterterrorism authorities at the airport.
He was seen being escorted through the airport by officials in full PPE, himself in a black tracksuit with a hat and face mask.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The crisis continues in Africa, while the woke world shows little concern. In a little over one week in Burkina Faso, over 17,500 people “have been forcefully displaced from their homes” and 45 people murdered by expanding Islamic State and al-Qaeda jihadists.
While the focus on the West remains curbing “Islamophobia,” “the security situation in the Sahel region is fueling one of the fastest growing displacement crises in the world.” And it’s all about the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in the region and ultimately the spread of Sharia globally.
“UN says armed attacks in Burkina Faso displace over 17,500 in past 10 days,” Reuters, May 7, 2021.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Congo: Muslims Raid Village, Killing Female UN Peacekeeper and Five Villagers
Last month, Jihad Watch reported that the Islamic State was flourishing in the Christian-majority Democratic Republic of the Congo, perpetrating a mass slaughter of Christians. But the murders were mostly ignored worldwide. Why? Because Muslims were those who were doing the killing. Now comes the latest: a female UN peacekeeper, along with five villagers were killed in an attack by a jihadist militia in the North Kivu province of eastern Congo. It happened during an attack on the village.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Maduro Regime Seizes Office of One of Venezuela’s Last Independent Newspapers
The Maduro regime has taken over the offices of one of Venezuela’s last remaining independent newspapers — a move that throws the country’s efforts to cozy up to Washington into disarray.
Venezuelan national guardsmen decked out in bulletproof vests raided El Nacional late Friday, acting on a high court order to take the property as part of a $13 million judgment against the media outlet, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
The headquarters was almost empty as staffers have been working from home and it’s an online publication.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Judge Rules Salvini Should Not Stand Trial in Migrant Ship Case
ROME, May 14 (Reuters) — Matteo Salvini, the head of Italy’s right-wing League party, should not stand trial over allegations he kidnapped a group of migrants by refusing to let them disembark from a ship, a judge in the Sicilian city of Catania ruled on Friday.
The case centred on an incident in July 2019, when Salvini, then interior minister, blocked more than 100 people aboard the Gregoretti coastguard ship for six days as he waited for European allies to agree to resettle them.
The Catania case is similar to a separate investigation in the Sicilian capital of Palermo over migrants who were kept aboard another boat a month after the Gregoretti incident.
However, in a completely contrasting decision, a judge in Palermo last month ordered that Salvini should stand trial over the allegations. He could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: Pics: Police Release Illegal Migrants From Immigration Enforcement Following Protests
Police Scotland released two illegal migrants who had been detained by Immigration Enforcement after the Home Office van holding them was surrounded by a mob, citing “safety, public health and well-being”.
Noting on social media that “Police Scotland doesn’t assist in the removal of asylum seekers”, local commander Chief Superintendent Mark Sutherland said officers were called the scene by Immigration Enforcement after “a group of protesters gathered at the address where UKIE [United Kingdom Immigration Enforcement] staff were in attendance”.
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UK: Channel Crossings: Nigel Farage Predicts 20,000 Illegal Migrants Will Make Journey in 2021
NIGEL FARAGE has predicted that 20,000 migrants will cross the English Channel in 2021, a huge jump from last year’s figures.
His comments come after nine boats carrying almost 200 migrants made the journey in one day this week. The Home Office said that a further 53 people were prevented from making the journey by French authorities on Thursday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
JW Player Drops PragerU Over “Misinformation”
The proprietary JW Player has gone “full woke” and is kicking out platforms it disagrees with, or is forced to disagree with, from remaining viable in its main, corporate profit market.
And nobody saw that coming, right. /s
Well, maybe in the tech-oriented and monitoring free software and free speech communities some people did — but it seems that those like PragerUniversity (PragerU) who might still have believed tech tools are simply an agnostic way to deliver your message to the world on the internet, might now be a little frazzled when they got kicked off JW Player’s platform, with their videos over the last decade amounting to more than 5 billion views there.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Law Student Faces Expulsion From Scottish University for Simply Stating That Women Have Vaginas
Lisa Keogh, a 29-year-old student completing her law degree at Abertay University in Dundee, Scotland, is now facing disciplinary action by the institution after making allegedly “discriminatory” comments.
Some of her fellow students took offence to Keogh’s saying that “women have vaginas” or that “the difference in physical strength of men versus women is a fact.”
Keogh, a mother of two children, is close to graduating from law school at Abertay, and told reporters that she thought people were joking at first, when she started receiving emails from people telling her she was “transphobic,” according to the Scottish Sun.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The organizers of the New York City Pride March are “taking steps” to ensure police officers are not included in the parade.
NY Pride organizer have told the NYPD that all police officers must stay at least one city block away from the Pride March this year. Instead, the Pride organizers have decided to contract “all aspects of first response and security that can be reallocated to trained private security, community leaders, and volunteers” reads a statement from NYC Pride.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex face questions over their partnership with an American cosmetics firm that makes tens of millions of pounds a year selling ‘racist’ skin-whitening creams.
Meghan and Harry last week announced their Archewell Foundation had signed a ‘global partnership’ with US multi-national Procter & Gamble (P&G) to ‘build more compassionate communities’.
But the deal has thrown a spotlight on P&G’s hugely controversial sale in Asia and Africa of skin-lightening creams, which reduce the concentration or production of melanin — the natural pigment that gives human skin its colour.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Brave Now Offers Support for Unstoppable Domains
Privacy-focused browser Brave becomes the second major browser to integrate full support for blockchain-based decentralized domains provided by Unstoppable Domains. Opera introduced full support for Unstoppable Domains across all platforms a few weeks ago.
On Thursday, Brave announced that its desktop and Android browsers now have native support for .crypto websites and other blockchain-based decentralized websites. Blockchain-based websites do not rely on the traditional Domain Name System (DNS), which comes with security and privacy risks such as phishing attacks and denial-of-service attacks, and are not stored by custodians such as Google.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Holy Month of Ramadan Registers an Upsurge in Jihad Terror Attacks: A Study
Muslims worldwide are celebrating Eid al-Fitr as I write this article. Many Muslims, joined by their liberal well-wishers, are also cursing Israel and mourning over “Palestine” in light of the escalating Israel-Palestine conflict.
Eid, a joyous celebration in the Muslim world, follows a month-long period of fasting (one can eat only from sunset to sunrise during this time) known as Ramadan. During Ramadan, which Muslims consider to be a holy month, we are told that Muslims are expected to renew and redouble their efforts to follow the teachings of Islam by refraining from human vices including envy, anger, greed, lust and so on. This sounds like it could provide some relief not just for the Muslims, but for the whole world.
However, there is always an upsurge in jihad terror activities and violence by Islamic groups during this time of the year, incited by exploitation of the religious sentiments of Muslims. This results in riots, bloodshed, and anarchy worldwide. The latest Israel-Gaza conflict is one of the premier examples of this. Still, one may argue that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a recurring crisis and so it would not be fair to link it with Ramadan. So let’s look at other instances.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hundreds Gather for Anti-Lockdown Protest in Victoria Park
LONDON, ONT. — Hundreds of people are currently gathering at Victoria park, as part of an anti-lockdown protest.
The majority of people are not wearing masks and physical distancing measures are not being practiced.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“https://www.jihadwatch.org/2021/05/india-post-election-political-violence-in-bengal-a-summary-report” – for decades MSM insist on calling India “the biggest democracy on Earth, etc etc. Some 5-6 years ago local elections in a single state (was it Karnataka) ended up with riots leavings dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded, voting places destroyed etc. Nobody even mentioned such elections could be unfair. They coincided in time with Russian elections…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9582709/Prince-Harry-Meghan-Markle-facing-storm-deal-firm-Procter-Gamble.html
No worry, Harry will compensate by using behind-blackening cream.
At least Israel targets.
I’m an Arc Light type of gun myself, when you absolutely have to destroy it overnight.
so Hamas, Associated Press, and Al Jazeera were in the building together. No surprise, they’ve been in it together for years now. Ha masses, Al jeers and A p’s.
Okay, moderate the last sentence.
Unfortunately A bleats as well.
Ass. Press was the lying group that tried to force us to believe that they declared joe biden for pres. YOUTUBE tried to force us to believe that crap.
French language news: In Sarcelles, France a pro-Palestinian demonstration results in Jewish shops being looted, synagogue attacked.
https://www.fdesouche.com/2021/05/16/sarcelles-la-manifestion-pro-palestine-interdite-degenere/
French migrant transport NGO restarts operations in the Mediterranean with a new ship.
https://www.fdesouche.com/2021/05/16/migrants-medecins-sans-frontieres-msf-relance-ses-activites-en-mediterranee-avec-un-nouveau-navire/
Pro-Palestinian demonstration in Stockholm (Sweden): Israeli flags burned with “Allah akbar” shouts
https://www.fdesouche.com/2021/05/16/manifestation-pro-palestinienne-a-stockholm-suede-des-drapeaux-israeliens-brules-aux-cris-allah-akbar/
Toronto (Canada): on the sidelines of a pro-Palestinian demonstration, a Jewish man violently attacked with the cries of “Allah Akbar”
https://www.fdesouche.com/2021/05/16/toronto-canada-en-marge-dune-manifestation-pro-palestinienne-un-homme-juif-violemment-attaque-aux-cris-dallah-akbar/
Kahina Bahloul, the first Imame woman in France: “The veil is not the symbol of Muslim women. The veil is patriarchal. ”
https://www.fdesouche.com/2021/05/16/kahina-bahloul-premiere-femme-imame-de-france-le-voile-nest-pas-le-symbole-de-la-femme-musulmane-le-voile-est-patriarcal/
“6 million French people of Algerian origin” (Le Parisien)
https://www.fdesouche.com/2021/05/15/6-millions-de-francais-dorigine-algerienne-le-parisien/