Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/17/2021

In a commencement address at Emory University, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how racist American society is. Meanwhile, an estimated 10% of British restaurants have closed down permanently as a result of the coronavirus lockdowns.

In other news, President Joe Biden expressed his support for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

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

Thanks to Dean, DV, JW, LP, MMc, 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
» Greek Unemployment Rate at 16% in January
 
USA
» 48 Shot, Including 2 Police Officers in Another Out of Control Chicago Weekend
» BLM Founder Who Went on Property Buying Spree Complains About “White Supremacy” In the Housing Market
» Gates and Epstein Traded Advice on Bill’s ‘Toxic’ Marriage, Jeff’s Pedo Image Rehab During Secretive “Men’s Club” Gatherings
» GOP Chair Elise Stefanik: Justice Department is “Trying to Block” Maricopa County Audit
» GOP Reps Demand Intel Update From Biden on Wuhan Lab Leak Possibility
» Gov. Cuomo Got $5.1M for COVID Book Despite Nursing Home Deaths
» Lori Lightfoot: Vaccinated Chicagoans Should Still Wear Masks Despite CDC Guidance
» Louisiana Introduces Bill to Ban Teaching of Critical Race Theory Topics Like ‘Institutional Racism’
» Manslaughter Case Against Ex-Minnesota Cop Kim Potter Likely to Go to Trial This Year
» Memphis Police Are Investigating Double Shooting at Cordova Hookah Lounge
» Prosecutor to Discuss Probe Into Fatal Shooting of Black Man
» Republicans Introduce Legislation to Require Colleges to Report All Foreign Gifts
» Sen. Marco Rubio Calls on US to Take UFO Reports ‘Seriously’
» Space Force Officer’s Book on Marxism in the Military Reaches No. 1 on Amazon After Being Fired
» Steven Crowder Gives YouTube Legal Notice, Intends to Seek Injunction Against Deplatforming
» Stockton University Students Must Now Take Two Antiracism Courses to Graduate, Costing Up to $6700
» Supreme Court Rules Warrantless Home Gun Confiscation is Unconstitutional in 9-0 Vote
» Texas Reports Zero COVID Deaths 2 Months After Biden Called Its Reopening Plan as ‘Neanderthal Thinking’
» Trump to Headline North Carolina GOP Convention in June
» Va. Cop Fired Over Kyle Rittenhouse Donation Fights to Get His Job Back
» Video: Fauci Declares Pandemic Has Highlighted How Racist America Is
» WhatsApp Rivals Signal and Telegram Have Almost 1,200% Growth While WhatsApp Usage Declines
» Whistleblower Chelsea Manning Compares Lockdown to Solitary Confinement, Says People Will Take Years to Recover
» WSJ: Facebook ‘Fact-Checkers’ No Better Than ‘Trolls’
 
Canada
» Halifax Residents at Pro-Palestinian Rally Plan to Fight Tickets
 
Europe and the EU
» 10 Per Cent of British Restaurants Closed Down for Good During Lockdown
» 10% of Brits Want Lockdown to Continue Forever
» British Pubs and Restaurants Open Today But the Entire Industry Already Paid a Heavy Toll
» Could the Green Party Crash the German Airline Industry?
» Deportation of ‘Working-Class Enemies’ Began 70 Years Go in Communist Hungary
» Ex-Cops Warn France on the Brink of Collapse
» Flying Confederate Flag Deemed a ‘Hate-Related’ Offence by British Police
» Hungarian Industrial Growth Highest in the EU in March
» John Kerry: Pope Francis is ‘Compelling Moral Authority’ On Climate Crisis
» Malta: Authorities Fined 76 People for Illegal Private Residence Gatherings Last Week
» Poland’s Conservative Government Launches ‘Polish Deal’ To Achieve Comparable Living Standards With the West
» Poland: John Paul II’s Bloodied Cassock is on Display in Krakow
» Prague Castle Raises Israeli Flag in Support of Czechia’s Middle East Ally
» UK: Exclusive Video: Anti-Israel Protesters Clash With Police in London, Chant ‘Allahu Akbar!’, Israel is ‘Terror State’
» UK: Four Arrested After ‘F*** the Jews’, ‘Rape Their Daughters’ Car Protest in London
» UK: Report: Government Scientific Advisors Admit They Used ‘Totalitarian’ Fear Tactics to Control People During Pandemic
» UK: Rochdale Child Rapists Granted Over £2 Million in Taxpayer-Funded Legal Aid
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Israel Strikes Gaza Tunnels as Truce Efforts Remain Elusive
» Israeli Jew Hit by Brick While Driving Home Amid Arab Riots Dies of Injuries
» Jörg Meuthen: “Both-sides-ism” is Out of Place
» The Latest: Biden Expresses ‘Support’ For Gaza Cease-Fire
 
South Asia
» CNN Cuts Ties With Writer Who Praised Hitler for Years
 
Far East
» Beijing Ramps Up Fake Social Media Operation Peddling Pro-China Propaganda Overseas
» China’s Arrest of Tibetan Writers Blocks Dissenting Views: Rights Group
» Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai Pleads Guilty Over Another Unauthorized Assembly
» Hong Kong Civil Servants Resign in Record Numbers Amid Crackdown
 
Australia — Pacific
» Next Best Thing to a Cure: Queensland Researchers in Huge COVID-19 Breakthrough as They Find a Way to Kill 99.9% of the Virus in People’s Lungs
» School Where a Teenage Boy, 16, Was Allegedly Stabbed With a Religious Knife Defends Allowing Students to Bring in Traditional Blades to ‘Meet Aspects of Their Faith’
 
Latin America
» Jamaica: Hanover Police Appeal for Conformity to DRMA, Curfew Rules
 
Immigration
» Denmark: Former Minister Asks Syrian Asylum Seekers to Pack Their Things Go Home, And Begin Rebuilding Their Own Homeland
 
Culture Wars
» New Law Proposal Would Allow Children to Change Their Gender and Promote LGBT Rights in Czechia
» Rights Holders Are Cashing in With Content Claims on YouTube
» Supreme Court Abortion Case May Reverse a Key Aspect of Roe v. Wade
 

Greek Unemployment Rate at 16% in January

The Greek unemployment rate eased to 16% of the workforce in January this year, from 16.4%in January 2020, but up from 15.6% in December 2020, the Hellenic Statistical Authority said on Monday.

More specifically, the number of unemployed people totaled 714,809 in the first month of 2021, down 7.4% from January 2020.

The number of employed people totaled 3,760,313, down 4.1% on a year-on-year basis and down 3.1% compared with December 2020.

People not seeking jobs totaled 3,401,682, up 188,842 compared with January 2020 and up 3.6% from December 2020.

The unemployment rate among women was 19.8%, while among men it was 13.1%.

Among the age groups, the 15-24 age group recorded the highest unemployment rate (43.4% in January from 31.9% in January 2020) and the 25-74 age group recorded an unemployment rate of 14.5%, down from 15.5% in January last year.

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

48 Shot, Including 2 Police Officers in Another Out of Control Chicago Weekend

Yet another deadly Chicago weekend has seen shootings soar with as of Sunday mid-evening 48 people shot since Friday night, including 5 killed from their wounds. “A violent weekend in Chicago left at least 48 people shot in separate incidents, including two police officers who were wounded on Sunday morning when they responded to a ShotSpotter detection alert, authorities said,” ABC News reports in a mid-evening update.

Tragically this included a 2-year old girl who was wounded after a vehicle pulled up beside the one she was riding in the backseat of and opened fire. Thankfully she survived the ordeal after being wounded with a bullet to the leg.

This adds to an already record-smashing year as Newsweek observed at the start this month: “In Chicago, 956 people were shot in the first four months of 2021—217 more than the same point in 2020, which was a record-setting year for shootings in the Illinois city.”

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

BLM Founder Who Went on Property Buying Spree Complains About “White Supremacy” In the Housing Market

After going on a personal home buying spree, including one property located in one of the whitest areas of California, BLM co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors is now complaining about “white supremacy” in the housing market.

Cullors recently spent a total of $3.2 million on four homes, including a $1.4 million property in L.A.’s rustic and semi-remote Topanga Canyon, which has a black population of just 1.6 per cent.

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

Gates and Epstein Traded Advice on Bill’s ‘Toxic’ Marriage, Jeff’s Pedo Image Rehab During Secretive “Men’s Club” Gatherings

A former Jeffrey Epstein insider claims that Bill Gates was a regular at the notorious pedophile’s $77 million Manhattan townhouse, where Epstein held “men’s club” — type gatherings for his closest pals (documented by his home’s alleged network of spy cameras, we’re sure).

For Gates, “Going to Jeffrey’s was a respite from his marriage. It was a way of getting away from Melinda” according to one of two insiders, who came forward to the Daily Beast to break what we’re guessing is the first rule of elite pedo-lair club.

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

GOP Chair Elise Stefanik: Justice Department is “Trying to Block” Maricopa County Audit

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who was recently elected as the House Republican Conference chair, said the Department of Justice’s questions about the Maricopa County, Arizona, audit of the 2020 election may be unconstitutional.

On May 5, the Justice Department sent a letter to Arizona Senate leader Karen Fann, a Republican, inquiring about the custody of the ballots under review by a group of private contractors, alleging that the group’s other processes—including the canvassing of addresses—could be considered “voter intimidation.”

“I support that audit,” Stefanik said after being asked about it in a Fox Business interview on May 16.

“Transparency is good for the American people. And again, this should be a nonpartisan issue, whether you are Republican, Democrat, independent, or conservative, transparency is important, and the audit was passed by the Arizona state Senate.”

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

GOP Reps Demand Intel Update From Biden on Wuhan Lab Leak Possibility

GOP representatives on the House Intelligence Committee have demanded an update from the White House and the Director of National Intelligence on the possibility that the coronavirus leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China.

In a letter, the Republicans say that despite submitting evidence to back up the theory, they have not received further information from the investigation, nor have they been provided with adequate explanation as to what led to “seemingly authoritative statements early in the pandemic about the origins of the virus.”

“This casts doubt on the validity of early judgments as well as the analytic integrity of COVID-19-related intelligence reporting,” the letter states, further demanding that all information on the possibility of a Chinese cover up be disclosed.

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

Gov. Cuomo Got $5.1M for COVID Book Despite Nursing Home Deaths

Gov. Andrew Cuomo — whose controversial directive for nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients has been tied to as many as 1,000-plus deaths — sold the rights to his best-selling pandemic memoir for $5.12 million, according to tax returns he made public on Monday.

The amount exceeds the $4 million-plus figure that was reportedly the top offer for Cuomo’s “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic,” which was published in mid-October as the public health crisis still raged in New York and elsewhere.

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

Lori Lightfoot: Vaccinated Chicagoans Should Still Wear Masks Despite CDC Guidance

During a Monday interview on MSNBC’s “Stephanie Ruhle Reports,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot revealed she is going to advise vaccinated people in her city to continue wearing masks despite recent CDC guidance saying they are no longer necessary.

According to Lightfoot, it would be “smart” for people to continue wearing masks outside of their homes for the time being.

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

Louisiana Introduces Bill to Ban Teaching of Critical Race Theory Topics Like ‘Institutional Racism’

A Louisiana state lawmaker introduced a bill to ban schools from teaching the “divisive concepts” of critical race theory at state-funded schools.

State Rep. Ray Garofalo (R-LA) filed the legislation, which addresses “certain concepts related to race and sex in elementary and secondary schools and postsecondary education institutions,” on April 2.

The bill bans a litany of “divisive concepts,” including the notions that “one race or sex is inherently superior or inferior to another race or sex,” that “an individual should be discriminated against, favored, or receive differential treatment solely or partly because of the individual’s race or sex,” and that “an individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, bears responsibility or is to be held accountable for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.”

Furthermore, teachers are disallowed from teaching that meritocracy or capitalism inherently originate with any particular race or sex. Educators are not to state that “the concepts of capitalism, free markets, or working for a private party in exchange for wages are racist and sexist or oppress a given race or sex.”

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

Manslaughter Case Against Ex-Minnesota Cop Kim Potter Likely to Go to Trial This Year

The ex-Minnesota cop who fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop is expected to stand trial by the end of the year, a judge said Monday.

“I think it’s to the benefit of everyone to try to expedite this case and try to come to a resolution or trial is as quickly as reasonably possible,” Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu said during a brief hearing.

The manslaughter case against Kim Potter is scheduled to go to trial Dec. 6, Chu said.

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

Memphis Police Are Investigating Double Shooting at Cordova Hookah Lounge

Police said when they got there, they found a suspect had shot one person, then a third person shot the suspect.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Police are investigating after they said two people were shot early Monday morning at a Cordova hookah lounge.

It happened about 12:30 a.m. Monday at the Blow Hookah & Cigar Lounge in the 800 block of Exocet, just off Germantown Parkway.

The victim was taken to the hospital in non-critical, while the suspect was taken in critical condition.

Police have not said what led to the shooting.

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Prosecutor to Discuss Probe Into Fatal Shooting of Black Man

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina prosecutor says he is ready to discuss the results of a state investigation into the fatal shooting of a Black man by sheriff’s deputies. District Attorney Andrew Womble issued a statement saying he will hold a news conference Tuesday morning to talk about what the State Bureau of Investigation found in its probe of the death of Andrew Brown Jr. A bureau spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to an email Monday, nor did Womble. Deputies attempting to serve drug-related search and arrest warrants shot and killed Brown outside his Elizabeth City home on April 21.

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Republicans Introduce Legislation to Require Colleges to Report All Foreign Gifts

Republican Representative Mo Brooks (R-Al.) introduced legislation Thursday that would require colleges and universities to report and disclose any gifts from foreign countries and entities.

The Zero Foreign Influence in Education Act amends Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 which states that higher education institutions are only required to report gifts from foreign sources amounting to $250,000 or more in a calendar year.

The new legislation would “require American universities to report any and all monetary contracts or gifts from foreign countries and entities,” “require universities to publicly disclose the names of all foreign donors,” as well as “require universities to list gift reasons, any gift conditions, and the department, college, or project the money is intended for,” according to a press release.

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

Sen. Marco Rubio Calls on US to Take UFO Reports ‘Seriously’

Sen. Marco Rubio said the US should take the “threat” of UFOs “seriously” in an interview aired Sunday.

The Florida Republican’s comments on CBS’ “60 Minutes” came ahead of a government report on UFO sightings that is set to be released before the end of June.

“Anything that enters an airspace that’s not supposed to be there is a threat,” he told the program.

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

Space Force Officer’s Book on Marxism in the Military Reaches No. 1 on Amazon After Being Fired

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times

A U.S. Space Force officer’s self-published book positing that Marxist ideology and Critical Race Theory is being spread throughout the military reached the top of Amazon’s bestseller list on Sunday after it was learned that he was relieved of his command.

“Irresistible Revolution: Marxism’s Goal of Conquest & the Unmaking of the American Military” by Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier, reached the top of the retail website’s bestseller list on Sunday evening.

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

Steven Crowder Gives YouTube Legal Notice, Intends to Seek Injunction Against Deplatforming

Comedian Steven Crowder has announced that last Thursday (May 14, 2021), his company, Louder with Crowder LLC, gave a legal notice to YouTube announcing its intent to file a lawsuit and seek an injunction to stop YouTube deplatforming his channel.

Crowder has one of the most popular conservative channels on YouTube with more than five million subscribers. However, over the last few months, YouTube has removed his videos, demonetized his channel, and most recently, suspended him from uploading or live streaming for two weeks.

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

Stockton University Students Must Now Take Two Antiracism Courses to Graduate, Costing Up to $6700

Students at Stockton University will now be required to take not one, but two courses on “race and racism” in order to graduate.

According to a Stockton University press release, the measure “Race/Racism Education Across the Curriculum,” was approved by the Stockton University Board of Trustees on May 5 and will take effect during the Fall 2021 semester.

However, the new requirement could create a new financial burden for students who chose to attend the university.

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

Supreme Court Rules Warrantless Home Gun Confiscation is Unconstitutional in 9-0 Vote

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that warrantless gun confiscation from Americans’ homes is unconstitutional, voting unanimously on the side of a Rhode Island man whose firearms were taken by law enforcement without a warrant after his wife expressed concerns that he might hurt himself.

According to Caniglia v Strom, a lower court had previously determined that police confiscating the guns without a warrant fell under the Fourth Amendment’s “community caretaking” exception, but a 9-0 vote from the nation’s top court struck down that ruling.

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

Texas Reports Zero COVID Deaths 2 Months After Biden Called Its Reopening Plan as ‘Neanderthal Thinking’

Texas Governor Greg Abbott caught heat from Democratic lawmakers when he announced on March 2 this year he would fully reopen the state by the next week. Mississippi lawmakers declared a similar reopening plan about the same time.

The idea was to get more people acclimated back to normal life, including businesses at full capacity and sports arenas full of fans again. For Texas, the governor wanted businesses back at 100 percent and placed filled up again, from school halls to dance halls.

President Joe Biden called such reopening plans as “Neanderthals thinking.”

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

Trump to Headline North Carolina GOP Convention in June

Former President Donald Trump will headline the North Carolina Republican Party’s annual convention next month, The Post has learned.

The 45th commander-in-chief will attend the Tar Heel State’s GOP convention in Greenville on Saturday, June 5, before serving as headline speaker for the event’s dinner that evening, Team Trump confirmed when reached by The Post.

The address, first revealed by the North Carolina GOP Monday morning, is separate from the two in-person rallies the former president is planning for next month.

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

Va. Cop Fired Over Kyle Rittenhouse Donation Fights to Get His Job Back

Norfolk, Va., police Lieutenant William Kelly lost his job last month after a data breach at the crowdfunding site GiveSendGo revealed that Kelly had contributed to help the legal defense of Kyle Rittenhouse, the then-17-year-old boy who opened fire amid riots in Kenosha, Wisc., seemingly in self-defense. Rittenhouse faces murder charges in the deaths of two men.

On May 7, Kelly’s lawyers filed a due process grievance against the decision to fire him, demanding a full reinstatement, restoration of benefits and seniority, and more. Kelly had been 10 months shy of 20 years with the department. At that point, he could have received retirement savings without a penalty. When he got fired, he also lost health insurance for himself, his wife — who is sick with cancer — and their three kids.

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

Video: Fauci Declares Pandemic Has Highlighted How Racist America Is

The White House Senior Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci stated Sunday that the coronavirus pandemic has revealed that the US is a fundamentally racist country.

Speaking to graduates of Emory University, Fauci declared that the virus has revealed the “undeniable effects of racism in our society.”

“Covid-19 has shone a bright light on our own society’s failings,” said Fauci, arguing that African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans are all more susceptible to the virus because of pre-existing health conditions stemming directly from social factors including “access to healthcare” and “availability of an adequate diet.”

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

WhatsApp Rivals Signal and Telegram Have Almost 1,200% Growth While WhatsApp Usage Declines

Ahead of May 15 WhatsApp “privacy apocalypse” — or really, just “WhatsApp apocalypse” — other similar messaging apps, touting similar, yet more credible end-to-end encryption features than what Facebook, the tech giant behind WhatsApp is willing to offer or guarantee, are enjoying a surge in popularity.

Telegram and Signal are two among those seeing a huge surge in adoption.

WhatsApp faced wide-spread user discontent early in the year when it said users would have to explicitly sign on to its new privacy policy by May 15, or switch to another chat app.

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

Whistleblower Chelsea Manning Compares Lockdown to Solitary Confinement, Says People Will Take Years to Recover

Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning compared lockdowns to solitary confinement and said that it will take years for people to recover from the psychological impact.

Manning is probably in a good position to make such a comparison given that she spent 11 months in solitary confinement in a maximum security facility.

“And people who are in those conditions, it takes time for them to come back to being social again,” Manning told the ‘Bad Faith’ podcast.

“The long-term effects of this cataclysmic event, and the lockdowns, are going to be years. Like, people are going to take years to recover from this,” added Manning.

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

WSJ: Facebook ‘Fact-Checkers’ No Better Than ‘Trolls’

Facebook’s “fact checkers” are “no better than trolls who pan political adversaries’ books on Amazon without bothering to read them,” writes physicist Steven E. Koonin in a stinging op-ed in Monday’s Wall Street Journal.

Facebook is “spreading disinformation under the guise of ‘fact checking,’“ Koonin writes, in an unscientific effort to protect a single narrative that brooks no opposition or dispute.

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

Halifax Residents at Pro-Palestinian Rally Plan to Fight Tickets

People ticketed for breaking public health rules during a pro-Palestinian car rally in Halifax say they were shocked to receive a fine while sitting in their car and plan to fight the fine.

The rally, which organizers with the Atlantic Canada Palestinian Society called the Free Palestine COVID-safe car rally, saw more than 200 cars participate.

The group began at Tower Road and Inglis Street, outside Saint Mary’s University, before the long line of cars drove through downtown streets, waving flags and honking.

But multiple people say they were ticketed in the parking lot before the drive began when there was a bottleneck of traffic trying to leave.

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

10 Per Cent of British Restaurants Closed Down for Good During Lockdown

The coronavirus lockdown measures in Britain will be partially lifted on Monday, however, the harsh toll of the economic shutdown has resulted in nearly 10 per cent of all restaurants closing down for good.

While pubs and bars have garnered most of the public attention, analysis suggests that the restaurant industry has been harder hit during the Chinese coronavirus crisis.

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

10% of Brits Want Lockdown to Continue Forever

Government scientists admit they made people “too scared” by using “mind control” techniques that were “unethical” and “totalitarian”.

Their words not mine!

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

British Pubs and Restaurants Open Today But the Entire Industry Already Paid a Heavy Toll

Nearly 10 percent of restaurants in the United Kingdom have gone bankrupt since the coronavirus epidemic hit last spring, a joint survey of business and professional consultancy firms presented by AlixPartners and CGA on Sunday showed, meaning after the industry’s full reopening on Monday, a significantly smaller number of restaurants, bars and pubs will be available than in March last year.

In the UK, from Monday, restaurants, pubs and bars will be able to open their indoor service rooms. The easing also allows the opening of cinemas, theaters, concert halls, museums and stadiums, hotels, and other tourist accommodations in the country.

According to the survey, bankruptcies have hit restaurants the hardest within each category: 4,204 restaurants have closed permanently. This means that 9.7 percent of UK restaurants have closed since March last year. Within the average, the loss was even more severe among restaurants that belonged to the mid-priced, “average” market sector and thus attracted the most populous audience: 19.4 percent of restaurants in this category — almost a fifth — went bankrupt.

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

Could the Green Party Crash the German Airline Industry?

As early as this fall, a Green-controlled Bundestag will impose large taxes on airlines to immediately destroy charters and abolish short-haul flights in the near future. The new government majority will also introduce an obligation for every home to possess solar panels. Without the panels, a permit for construction will not be given out.

This is what we have learned from what is currently the most likely candidate for chancellor of Germany — Annalena Baebrock. The leader of the Greens has chosen cheap flights to Mallorca, beloved by German urban dwellers and pensioners, as her target. Although Mallorca is a part of the Spanish monarchy, it has been under the control of German tourists and residents for a long time.

[Comment: The Green Party would crash all industry if they came to power.]

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

Deportation of ‘Working-Class Enemies’ Began 70 Years Go in Communist Hungary

Seventy years ago, in May 1951, the communist police and secret services began the deportation of those considered “enemies of the working-class”. Almost 14,000 high-ranking officers and politicians of the previous regime along with aristocrats, industrialists and their families, were forced from their homes in the capital and were taken to rural areas where they were lodged with the local population.

By 1948, Soviet-occupied Hungary had finished its transition to a full-blown communist system, with the trio representing the Workers’ Party, Secretary-General Matyas Rakosi, Minister of Interior Erno Gero and Defense Minister Mihaly Farkas, serving as the nation’s supreme leaders.

In the spring of that year, Hungary nationalized all enterprises with more than 100 workers in a government decree. While some aristocrats and former politicians of the previous regime chose to leave the country, many still hoped that the communist rule would be temporary and tried to survive it as best they could.

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

Ex-Cops Warn France on the Brink of Collapse

More alarming news out of France, where a group of 93 former police officers are now warning that areas of the country have become “lost territory” thanks to illegal immigration and rampant criminality.

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

Flying Confederate Flag Deemed a ‘Hate-Related’ Offence by British Police

Police officers in Norwich, England have recorded a “hate-related public order offence” against a local resident who flew the Confederate flag to mark the anniversary of the death of Civil War General Stonewall Jackson.

Last week, Emily Robinson, a 34-year-old teacher — who recently moved back to the small English city from the left-progressive enclave of Brighton — made a complaint to the police about the house flying the Confederate flag.

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

Hungarian Industrial Growth Highest in the EU in March

Domestic industry expanded by 4 percent in the first quarter despite the fact that the automotive industry, which has the highest weight and growth potential in Hungary, fell by 3.6 percent. The overall growth spurt despite the slowdown in automobile production shows that Hungarian industry has a balanced structure and has several strong points.

In addition, the temporary stagnation in the automotive industry did not happen because there were no orders. Instead, the overriding factor is that the global raw material supply chain has serious bottlenecks and delays at the moment, which has had a negative impact on the entire world’s automotive industry, including Hungary.

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

John Kerry: Pope Francis is ‘Compelling Moral Authority’ On Climate Crisis

ROME — U.S. climate czar John Kerry met with Pope Francis in the Vatican this weekend in preparation for the upcoming U.N. climate conference in Glasgow.

The pope “is one of the great voices of reason and compelling moral authority on the subject of the climate crisis,” Kerry told Vatican News. “He’s been ahead of the curve. He’s been a leader. His encyclical Laudato Si is really a very, very powerful document, eloquent and morally very persuasive.”

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

Malta: Authorities Fined 76 People for Illegal Private Residence Gatherings Last Week

A total of 76 people were fined by law enforcement authorities last week after attending gatherings that breached COVID-19 restrictions in private residences.

According to the current regulations in place, gatherings with individuals from more than four households are not permitted.

They were among 1,078 people who were fined between May 10th and May 16th, the vast majority of which were dished out to people not wearing masks.

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

Poland’s Conservative Government Launches ‘Polish Deal’ To Achieve Comparable Living Standards With the West

The most important United Right politicians presented the new program of social-economic reforms named the Polish Deal. The proposals shown by the government are meant to rebuild the Polish economy after the coronavirus crisis and allow Polish society to catch up with Western Europe when it comes to overall standard of living.

Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski spoke about the need for Poland to make a civilizational leap and equalize standard of living compared to the West.

“Poland has to be a country deeply enrooted in our own traditions and has to be a proud country — a country that moves forward and wants to achieve this leap. Yet, if Poland looks further, into the 2030s, it wants to go even further, even higher and all the way up,” he said.

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

Poland: John Paul II’s Bloodied Cassock is on Display in Krakow

Last week, 40 years had passed since Wednesday, May 13, 1981, when the Turkish assassin Mehmet Ali Agca fired at John Paul II on Saint Peter’s Square in Rome.

The pope’s cassock that he was wearing on the day has been preserved, and it can now be seen at Lagiewniki Sanctuary in Kraków.

The article of clothing was moved to Poland thanks to the work of Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz.

“The Holy Father wore the cassock when he was taken to hospital after the attack. Bloodstains and the bullet hole still remain on the outfit,” he said.

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

Prague Castle Raises Israeli Flag in Support of Czechia’s Middle East Ally

Prague Castle, the official residence of the Czech president, raised the Israeli flag in support of Israel. It replaced the flag of the European Union, which usually flies at the castle together with the Czech flag. Last week, President Milos Zeman supported Israel via a diplomatic letter. In a Sunday interview, Zeman also said that Israel has been facing constant attacks from Arab countries since 1948.

In the Middle East, fighting between Palestinians and Jews has erupted in recent days, claiming dozens of lives. Violence has escalated the most since 2014.

According to Zeman, Arab countries do not hide the fact that they want to destroy Israel and even use the expression “erase from the map” in reference to the country. While Israel is a democratic state, the Palestinian Authority, among other things, is not legal, said Zeman.

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UK: Exclusive Video: Anti-Israel Protesters Clash With Police in London, Chant ‘Allahu Akbar!’, Israel is ‘Terror State’

The “Free Palestine” protest against Israel in London descended into violence on Saturday, with activists attacking police officers with makeshift missiles and wooden sticks.

Thousands of demonstrators marched from Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park to the Israeli embassy on Saturday afternoon. The protest was organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Stop the War Coalition, the Friends of al-Aqsa, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, and the Muslim Association of Britain.

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UK: Four Arrested After ‘F*** the Jews’, ‘Rape Their Daughters’ Car Protest in London

Four men have been arrested by London’s Metropolitan Police after footage emerged on social media which appeared to show a motorcade of anti-Israel activists calling for the rape of Jewish people’s daughters.

On Sunday afternoon, a convoy of cars waving Palestinian flags rolled through the St John’s Wood area of London. Footage shared online appeared to show men screaming anti-Semitic abuse, yelling: “F*** the Jews”, “F*** their mothers”, “F*** their daughters”, and “Rape their daughters”.

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UK: Report: Government Scientific Advisors Admit They Used ‘Totalitarian’ Fear Tactics to Control People During Pandemic

Scientists in the UK working as advisors for the government have expressed regret for using what they now admit to be “unethical” and “totalitarian” methods of instilling fear in the population in order to control behaviour during the pandemic, according to a report.

The London Telegraph reports the comments made by Members of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviour (SPI-B), a sub-committee of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) the government’s chief scientific advisory group.

The report quotes a briefing from March 2020, as the first lockdown was decreed, that stated the government should drastically increase “the perceived level of personal threat” that the virus poses because “a substantial number of people still do not feel sufficiently personally threatened”.

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UK: Rochdale Child Rapists Granted Over £2 Million in Taxpayer-Funded Legal Aid

Members of an infamous rape gang have reportedly been given over £2 million in taxpayer funded legal aid, including two who were set to be deported from Britain years ago.

The nine Rochdale grooming abusers have so far received £2,025,363 in legal aid and this bill is set to increase as at least two of the groomers, Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan, are to launch new appeals against deportation to their native Pakistan, according to a reportfrom the Sun on Sunday.

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Israel Strikes Gaza Tunnels as Truce Efforts Remain Elusive

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military unleashed another heavy wave of airstrikes Monday on the Gaza Strip, saying it destroyed militant tunnels and the homes of nine Hamas commanders. International diplomacy to end the weeklong war that has killed hundreds appeared to make little headway.

Israel has said it will press on for now with its attacks against Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the United States signaled it would not pressure the two sides for a cease-fire.

The latest attacks destroyed the five-story building housing the Hamas-run Religious Affairs Ministry, a building Israel said housed the main operations center of Hamas’ internal security forces. Israel also killed a top Gaza leader of Islamic Jihad, another militant group whom the Israeli military blamed for some of the thousands of rocket attacks launched at Israel in recent days. Israel said its strikes destroyed 15 kilometers (9 miles) of tunnels used by militants.

At least 200 Palestinians have been killed in the week of airstrikes, including 59 children and 35 women, with some 1,300 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Ten people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy and a soldier, have been killed in the ongoing rocket attacks launched from civilian areas in Gaza toward civilian areas in Israel…

           — Hat tip: JW [Return to headlines]
 

Israeli Jew Hit by Brick While Driving Home Amid Arab Riots Dies of Injuries

A 56-year-old Israeli man died Monday of wounds he suffered last week when he was hit in the head by a brick hurled by Arab rioters in the flashpoint town of Lod, according to reports.

Yigal Yehoshua, who is Jewish, was driving home Tuesday evening when he was swept up in the middle of violent protests after the death of Moussa Hassouna, a local resident who was shot during clashes between Arabs and Jews the night before, Haaretz reported.

After the attack, young Arabs told the news outlet that “this is the blood vengeance they were looking for in exchange for the death of Hassouna.”

An initial investigation found that Hassouna was standing dozens of feet from the Jewish suspects when he was shot, the Times of Israel reported.

Four Jewish suspects in the fatal shooting were ordered released Thursday after the suspicion against them was lowered from murder to reckless manslaughter, according to Haaretz.

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Jörg Meuthen: “Both-sides-ism” is Out of Place

The massive attacks against Israel by the Islamist terrorist group Hamas are aimed specifically at the civilian population: The rockets hit residential areas, schools and kindergartens, not military facilities. The fact that the number of injured and killed is not even higher is only due to the effective missile defense of the Israeli army. It does not reduce the terror and suffering to which the Israeli civilian population is exposed, as a result of the rocket attacks.

The fact that German Foreign Minister Maas has called on ‘both sides’ to exercise moderation in view of this situation shows that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 2008 vow that ‘Israel’s security is not negotiable’ means little. There can only be security for a country if it can protect itself against terrorism and put an end to ongoing attacks as quickly as possible.

We are shocked and angered by the reports of anti-Semitic riots and flag-burnings on German streets. This is the result of “Both-sides-ism” and a misguided immigration policy which puts Jewish life in Germany at risk. The German government must act immediately with the full force of the law, and show the door to anyone who comes here to spread anti-Semitism and campaign against Israel.

           — Hat tip: MMc [Return to headlines]
 

The Latest: Biden Expresses ‘Support’ For Gaza Cease-Fire

WASHINGTON — The White House says President Joe Biden has expressed “support” for a cease-fire during a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A statement says the leaders spoke Monday, which was the eighth day of Israeli-Palestinian fighting.

Biden’s move signals U.S. concern for an end to Israel’s part of hostilities with Hamas, although it falls short of joining growing Democratic Party demands for an immediate cease-fire.

The White House says the president reiterated his firm support for Israel’s right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks…

           — Hat tip: LP [Return to headlines]
 

CNN Cuts Ties With Writer Who Praised Hitler for Years

CNN says it cut ties with a writer who took to social media to praise Adolf Hitler, but his admiration for the Nazi leader who killed more than six million Jews was well-established prior to this weekend’s post.

Adeel Raja, a Pakistani-based CNN contributor whose byline has appeared on the network’s website at least 54 times, wrote on Sunday in a now-deleted post, “The world today needs a Hitler.” CNN said Sunday night that due to Raja’s “abhorrent statements,” he would “not be working with CNN again in any capacity.”

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Beijing Ramps Up Fake Social Media Operation Peddling Pro-China Propaganda Overseas

China has been using social media networks like Twitter to spread positive propaganda about the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since the start of the pandemic, according to a report published by an international press group.

“China successfully activated existing media infrastructures to seed positive narratives globally amid the Covid-19 pandemic,” the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said in a report published on May 12.

The survey of journalists’ unions in 50 countries found that the CCP activated “existing infrastructure” in the wake of the pandemic, including training programs and sponsored trips for journalists, content sharing agreements feeding state-sponsored messages into news networks in other countries, and ownership of publishing platforms.

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China’s Arrest of Tibetan Writers Blocks Dissenting Views: Rights Group

The arrest in recent months of at least seven Tibetans apparently on charges of anti-state activity underscores Beijing’s continuing drive to destroy the influence of men and women whose views of life in Tibetan regions of China go against official narratives, a Tibetan rights group in India says.

“If these intellectuals can no longer influence the Tibetan public, that public can be more easily manipulated and fooled,” says Pema Gyal, a researcher at the Dharamsala, India-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.

Beginning in 2008—when widespread protests against Chinese rule swept Tibetan regions—and until 2010, nearly 60 influential Tibetan poets, writers, and other literary figures and academics were arrested by Chinese police, with the whereabouts of many still unknown, Gyal said.

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Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai Pleads Guilty Over Another Unauthorized Assembly

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai and nine other defendants behind Hong Kong’s social turmoil pleaded guilty on Monday to organizing and taking part in an unauthorized assembly on October 1, 2019.

Earlier, Lai’s assets were frozen under the national security law for Hong Kong and his Apple Daily’s Taiwan branch ceased its print edition.

Experts noted that recent actions against Lai show that the legal pursuit and punishment for head secessionists behind Hong Kong’s yearlong social turmoil will be thorough.

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

Hong Kong Civil Servants Resign in Record Numbers Amid Crackdown

Civil servants in Hong Kong have been resigning at record rates since the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) imposed a national security law on the city, and the city government required them to pledge an oath of loyalty.

More than 1,800 civil servants resigned during the year ending April 2021, the Civil Service Bureau said in documents submitted to the city’s Legislative Council (LegCo), around one percent of the entire government payroll, government broadcaster RTHK reported.

A further 6,000 civil servants retired during the same period, three percent of the total payroll, including nearly 150 department heads, around 10 percent of the total at that pay grade, according to the Economic Times newspaper.

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

Next Best Thing to a Cure: Queensland Researchers in Huge COVID-19 Breakthrough as They Find a Way to Kill 99.9% of the Virus in People’s Lungs

Australian scientists at Griffith University have developed an antiviral therapy that works like a ‘heat-seeking missile,’ killing Covid-19 in its tracks.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

School Where a Teenage Boy, 16, Was Allegedly Stabbed With a Religious Knife Defends Allowing Students to Bring in Traditional Blades to ‘Meet Aspects of Their Faith’

A principal from Sydney’s north-west has written to parents to defend a loophole which permits students to bring religious knives to school to ‘meet aspects of their religious faith.’

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Jamaica: Hanover Police Appeal for Conformity to DRMA, Curfew Rules

Western Bureau:

Superintendent Sharon Beeput, the police commander for the Hanover Division, is appealing to residents of the western parish to comply with the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA) requirements, especially in the observance of curfews, which are designed to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Beeput, who was addressing last Thursday’s sitting of the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC), called for the law-abiding residents of the parish to continue their support as it relates to passing on information to the police whenever they observe any breaches, so that the law can be enforced against offenders.

According to Beeput, it is important that the ongoing partnership between law-abiding residents and the police continue, as the aim is to blunt all types of lawlessness in the parish.

The police commander expressed disappointment that some residents are continuing to stage illegal parties, noting that to date, over 580 persons have been prosecuted in the division for staging and attending illegal events.

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

Denmark: Former Minister Asks Syrian Asylum Seekers to Pack Their Things Go Home, And Begin Rebuilding Their Own Homeland

Inger Støjberg, Denmark’s former migration minister and current MP for the Liberal Party, has requested that Syrian asylum seekers — many of whom have lived in the Scandinavian country for nearly a decade now — begin making arrangements to leave the country. She also asked that the asylum seekers to kindly give thanks to the generous Danes who ensured their well-being when they needed it most.

In an open letter posted to Facebook which garnered more than 21,000 shares, the former Danish migration ministered directly addressed Syrian asylum seekers currently residing in her country, stating that now is the time for them to pack their belongings, go home, and begin rebuilding their own homeland, Jyllands-Posten reports.

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New Law Proposal Would Allow Children to Change Their Gender and Promote LGBT Rights in Czechia

A whole raft of changes could be coming to Czechia, including allowing children to officially change their sex, the legalization of same-sex marriage, and changes to the criminal code to better punish attacks against the LGBTI+ community.

These are some of the proposed changes presented in the “Government Strategy for Equality and Removing Barriers to a Dignified Life of LGBTI+ People in the Czech Republic 2021-2026” under the leadership of the Government’s Commissioner for Human Rights Helena Valkova. The strategy is currently under comment procedure, however, criticism is already rising against these progressivist steps, mainly from the right and center parties. According to them, some proposals are unconstitutional and even inhumane.

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

Rights Holders Are Cashing in With Content Claims on YouTube

“Rightsholders choose to monetize 90% of all Content ID claims, opening up a multitude of new revenue streams for themselves. In the music industry, rights holders choose to monetize over 95% of Content ID claims” — YouTube’s Global Director of Business Public Policy Katherine Oyama told the US Senate recently, revealing that a huge majority of copyright claimed videos on YouTube are not removed, but monetized instead.

If these videos had indeed been taken off, billions in (ad) revenues would have been lost. Instead, the revenue resulting from these warnings handed out to YouTube creators means that not only Google as the platform’s owners make a pretty buck just sending out threats — thanks to YouTube’s Content ID system and its strong monetization tools. The system seems to be well crafted and rigged to support a copyright-claims-exploiting industry, such as entertainment, music, or gaming.

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

Supreme Court Abortion Case May Reverse a Key Aspect of Roe v. Wade

On Monday, the Supreme Court announced its decision to take up a case challenging a key aspect of the alleged right to abortion under Roe v. Wade (1973).

The Court will take up Thomas Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, specifically focusing on Question 1 in the petition for the writ of certiorari. That question concerns “whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional.”

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

3 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/17/2021

    • that guy looks like a savage ape. his behavior is typical of the black criminal. culture in America.

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