Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/5/2021

The top-level administrative court in France is considering granting Muslims an exception from the Wuhan Coronavirus curfew during Ramadan. Meanwhile, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has offered 3,000 dinars to any citizen who gets vaccinated by May 30.

In other news, the leader of the American Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration praised Joe Biden for increasing the migration limits for refugee resettlement.

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

Thanks to Fjordman, László, Reader from Chicago, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, 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
» ADP National Employment Report: Private Sector Employment Increased by 742,000 Jobs in April
 
USA
» 50 Cent Flees New York for Texas After Complaining About COVID Restrictions, High Taxes
» AOC, Democrats Want to Create ‘Civilian Corps’ To Battle Climate Change
» Biden Coronavirus Relief Prioritizes Funds for Non-White Business Owners
» ‘Break Them Up’: GOP Vows Big Tech Backlash Over Facebook Trump Ban
» CNN Host Says People Who Don’t Take the Vaccine Should be Socially Ostracized by Friends & Family
» Communist Group Touts Plans to Burn Anne Frank’s Diary, Calls Her ‘Bleach Demon’
» Court Rules Snapchat Can be Sued After Teen Crashed Car While Using the App at 123 Miles-Per-Hour
» Feds Detail Ghislaine Maxwell’s ‘Enhanced Security Schedule’ In Prison
» Jim Jordan: ‘The Votes Are There’ To Oust Liz Cheney From House GOP Post
» Judge Strikes Down CDC’s Ban on Evictions Nationwide
» New York Yankees & Mets to Segregate Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Fans
» Proud Boys Reportedly Getting Huge Asian American Support Due to BLM, Antifa Fears
» Republicans Demand Answers From CDC About Emails With Teachers Union
» Seattle Paramedics Left Teen to Die in CHOP Zone: Lawsuit
» States That Went for Biden Lost More Than Twice the Number of Jobs as Trump States During Lockdowns
» Texas Bans ‘Woke Philosophies’ From Being Taught in Classrooms
» Trump Says Facebook ‘Must Pay a Political Price’ For Banning His Account
» Twitter Locks Out News Outlet for Quoting Antifa Activist
» US Fertility Rate Declines for Sixth Straight Year Amid Pandemic
» Video: Kamala Harris Kisses Her Husband While Both Are Wearing Masks
» Watch: Ron DeSantis Commits to Funding the Police in Florida
» WSJ Warns of Facebook’s ‘Secret Rules’ Behind Censorship and Shadow Banning
 
Canada
» Day One: Pastor Coates on Trial for Violating Public Health Orders
» Extinction Rebellion Shove Rebel News Reporter While Police Try and Block Reporting
» Liberal Staffers Say ‘Hard Pass’ To Yoga Class Led by Sophie Grégoire Trudeau
» Toronto City Councillor Calls for Removal of ‘White and Male’ Politicians From Canadian Currency
» Win for Freedom: No Tickets Issued at Hamilton Anti-Lockdown Protest
 
Europe and the EU
» Belgium: Off-Duty Cop Hunted, Beaten by Youth Mob in Brussels
» Facebook Spox Who Hailed Trump Ban is Top Liberal Politician, Former UK Deputy Prime Minister
» Farage Criticises France for Threats to Cut Off Electricity to Jersey in Fishing Row
» France is Edging Toward Civil War, Says Constitutional Scholar
» French Top Court Mulls Curfew Exceptions for Ramadan
» Head of German Police Union Calls for Ban on Anti-Lockdown Protests
» Hungary: Restaurant Criticised for Giving Different Coloured Trays to Non-Immunized Guests
» Hungary: Forging an Immunity Certificate Can Get You Up to Five Years
» Liveleak Shuts Down After 15 Years
» Scotland: Exclusive: The SNP is Pushing Hate Crime Laws to Target Political Rivals, Says Reclaim Candidate Leo Kearse
» Spain: Anti-Lockdown Candidate Wins Big in Madrid Elections
» UK: 64-Year-Old Woman Arrested as Extinction Rebellion Activists Halt Traffic in Berkhamsted and Harpenden
» UK: Extinction Rebellion Activists Targeted Barclays Bank Branches in Trowbridge and Bath
» UK: Seniors in Care Homes Liberated, May Go for Walks Outside Without Needing to Quarantine
» UK: Two More Extinction Rebellion Activists Who Blocked Printing Presses Go Free on Technicality
 
Balkans
» Serbia: Vucic: 3 Thousand Dinars for Anyone Who Gets Vaccinated
 
South Asia
» Australian Stuck in India Takes His Fight to the Federal Court to Overturn the Ban on Citizens Returned From the COVID-Ravaged Country
» Post Poll Violence 2021, Is This Jihadi Take Over of West Bengal?
 
Far East
» Hong Kong Leader Carrie Lam Announces Upcoming “Fake News” Law
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Muslim Fulani Raiders Attack Christian Church in Nigeria, Killing One
 
Immigration
» U.S. Bishops Praise Joe Biden’s Refugee Resettlement Hike
 
Culture Wars
» Facebook Bans Pro-Life Outlet LifeSiteNews
» How Gender-Neutral Hotel Quarantine Boss Who Was Stood Down for Refusing to Take a COVID Test Once Wrote About ‘Designing a Good Death’ — As Their Morbid Past is Revealed
» Minds Launches End-to-Encrypted Messaging App Minds Chat
» Roger Daltrey: The ‘Woke’ Generation is Creating a Miserable World
» Twitter Introduces “Improved” “Offensive” Tweet Warning
 

ADP National Employment Report: Private Sector Employment Increased by 742,000 Jobs in April

ROSELAND, N.J., May 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Private sector employment increased by 742,000 jobs from March to April according to the April ADP(r) National Employment ReportTM. Broadly distributed to the public each month, free of charge, the ADP National Employment Report is produced by the ADP Research Institute(r) in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics. The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

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

50 Cent Flees New York for Texas After Complaining About COVID Restrictions, High Taxes

Rapper Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson has joined the wave of Americans fleeing New York, announcing that he had moved to Texas after complaining about draconian COVID-19 restrictions and high taxes.

“I love New York, but I live in Houston now,” 50 Cent told his social media followers. “I’ll explain later.”

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

AOC, Democrats Want to Create ‘Civilian Corps’ To Battle Climate Change

AOC wants you!

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats backing the Green New Deal are seeking to create a 1.5 million-strong group of Americans to join a “Civilian Climate Corps” to work on federal projects to battle climate change, Fox News reported on Wednesday.

The New York Democrat and Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts are among the progressive lawmakers who introduced the bill to establish the civilian force that will be tasked with “responding to climate change and transition to a clean economy.”

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

Biden Coronavirus Relief Prioritizes Funds for Non-White Business Owners

Restaurants and venues owned by white men will be last in line for federal relief under President Joe Biden’s “Restaurants Revitalization Fund” (RRF), prioritizing funds for women and minority groups first.

As part of Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is opening the application process by which owners of restaurant, bars, and other venues can apply for federal relief to help make up for the loss of revenue as a result of economic lockdowns spurred by the Chinese coronavirus crisis.

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

‘Break Them Up’: GOP Vows Big Tech Backlash Over Facebook Trump Ban

Break up Big Tech — or regulate it so that major platforms cannot discriminate by viewpoint, Republicans said Wednesday.

Former President Donald Trump’s allies in Congress vowed to strike back after Facebook’s decision to uphold its ban on Trump’s account — especially when the political tide turns, perhaps as soon as 2022.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) accused Facebook of “acting like a Democrat Super PAC” and wrote, “A House Republican majority will rein in big tech power over our speech.”

“Break them up,” tweeted Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a staunch Trump ally and the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.

Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), who leads the conservative Republican Study Committee, wrote, “If Facebook is so big it thinks it can silence the leaders you elect, it’s time for conservatives to pursue an antitrust agenda.”

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

CNN Host Says People Who Don’t Take the Vaccine Should be Socially Ostracized by Friends & Family

CNN’s Michael Smerconish says that people who don’t take the vaccine should be socially ostracized and shunned by their friends and family.

During a segment on his show, Smerconish discussed a suggestion made by prosecutor Michael Stern in a USA Today opinion piece about vaccination uptake.

“We’ve gotta shun folks, we’ve gotta shun people into getting vaccinated,” said Smerconish, agreeing that businesses should make getting the vaccine mandatory as a condition of employment.

However, he also asserted that family members and friends should socially ostracize those who choose not to take the vaccine.

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

Communist Group Touts Plans to Burn Anne Frank’s Diary, Calls Her ‘Bleach Demon’

A communist organization in Colorado bragged online about burning copies of Holocaust victim Anne Frank’s diary while calling her a “bleach demon” and making several anti-Semitic statements online.

The Black Hammer Organization, a communist group that advertises itself as a “symbol of hope for the colonized working class,” posted online that they were burning copies of Frank’s diary to keep warm in the mountains of the Centennial State.

“Y’all [whities] keep asking us how we’re going to keep ourselves warm up in the mountains?” the organization tweeted on Tuesday. “Don’t y’all already know it just takes a good book to burn and some nice wood. And best believe we have plenty of copies to keep us warm all season long.”

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

Court Rules Snapchat Can be Sued After Teen Crashed Car While Using the App at 123 Miles-Per-Hour

Parents of a 17-year-old who died in a car crash sued Snapchat and got their case dismissed to only return with a landmark order from an appeals court allowing them to sue the social media platform.

Back in 2017, three boys were riding in a car down a long stretch of road at a whopping 123 miles per hour. That is when the said 17-year-old boy opened his Snapchat and started recording with the “speed filter” which documents the current speed and displays it on the footage. Things, however, took a wrong turn and the boys ended up crashing into a tree and losing their lives.

The 17-year-old’s parents say that Snapchat was partly to blame for the incident and ended up suing the social media app.

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

Feds Detail Ghislaine Maxwell’s ‘Enhanced Security Schedule’ In Prison

Ghislaine Maxwell is woken up every 15 minutes with flashlights by guards at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn because the accused madam is on an “enhanced security schedule” lockup, federal authorities said in court papers Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors detailed the regimen in a letter to Manhattan federal court Judge Alison Nathan, who ordered them to respond to accusations from Maxwell’s defense attorneys that she’s subjected to onerous prison conditions, including sleep deprivation because of the constant wake ups.

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

Jim Jordan: ‘The Votes Are There’ To Oust Liz Cheney From House GOP Post

Rep. Liz Cheney’s days as the No. 3 House Republican may be numbered, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Wednesday.

Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, told “Fox News Primetime” that “the votes are there” to remove Cheney as House Republican Conference chair and added that such a vote “will happen, most likely, next Wednesday.”

Cheney survived a vote to remove her from the leadership back in February.

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

Judge Strikes Down CDC’s Ban on Evictions Nationwide

A federal judge on Wednesday struck down a nationwide moratorium on evictions that was ordered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention amid the pandemic — a policy that was designed to keep Americans in their homes as the coronavirus ravaged the US economy.

In an opinion filed in US District Court in Washington, DC, Judge Dabney Friedrich wrote that the agency did not have broad authority to keep landlords who sued the US Department of Health and Human Services from forcing out tenants who cannot afford their rent.

“The question for the Court is a narrow one: Does the Public Health Service Act grant the CDC the legal authority to impose a nationwide eviction moratorium? It does not,” wrote Friedrich, who was appointed by President Donald Trump.

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

New York Yankees & Mets to Segregate Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Fans

Unvaccinated people are to be segregated from those who have received the COVID-19 jab at New York Yankees & Mets games, it has been revealed.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the news in a tweet, adding that capacities will be reduced to 33% in unvaccinated areas “to comply with CDC social distancing rules.”

All fans will be forced to wear face masks, despite CDC guidelines stating that those who have received the vaccine should no longer have to wear masks outside.

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

Proud Boys Reportedly Getting Huge Asian American Support Due to BLM, Antifa Fears

The right-wing Proud Boys are getting a huge wave of support from Asian Americans who fear Antifa and Black Lives Matter want to bring Communist rule to the US, according to a new investigation.

Recent fundraising efforts for the Proud Boys saw as many as 80 percent of the donations coming from people with Chinese surnames, according to a review of leaked information obtained by USA Today.

The data — as well as a series of experts and supporters — show “significant support” specifically from the Chinese American community as well as expats in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the paper said.

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

Republicans Demand Answers From CDC About Emails With Teachers Union

House Republicans are demanding the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explain its relationship with teachers unions — and whether they have influenced its guidance on school reopenings — following a report in The Post.

The top Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee pointed to The Post’s report from Saturday that showed a flurry of email exchanges among CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, her top advisers and union officials, suggesting that the American Federation of Teachers weighed in on the federal agency’s school opening guidelines released in February.

The emails “raise significant concerns about whether you, as the Director of the CDC, are putting politics over science and Biden-Harris campaign donors over children,” Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) wrote Wednesday in a letter to Walensky obtained first by Fox News.

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

Seattle Paramedics Left Teen to Die in CHOP Zone: Lawsuit

Paramedics are being accused in court papers filed Wednesday of leaving a teenager “to die” after he was shot on the edge of Seattle’s lawless autonomous zone — which was so dangerous, the fire department said it needed a police escort just to enter.

Lorenzo Anderson, 19, was shot several times on June 20 last year right outside of the city’s Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) area — a seven-block “autonomous zone” that sprouted up amid Black Lives Matter protests after the police murder of George Floyd in Minnesota, the claims state.

At the time, the area was overrun with anarchists and self-appointed security guards who were policing the area with semi-automatic weapons and wouldn’t allow police to enter after 10 p.m., the claims state.

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

States That Went for Biden Lost More Than Twice the Number of Jobs as Trump States During Lockdowns

States that went for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election lost more than twice the number of jobs in the COVID-19 lockdowns as states that voted for Donald Trump, according to a new report on Wednesday.

“Between February and December of last year, states that went for Biden saw the total number of people working drop an average of 6.2 percent, versus a 2.5 percent decline in those voting for the Republican, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of federal jobs data,” the Daily Mail reported. “The 13 states that saw the lowest decline in employment all lean strongly Republican, led by Alaska and Utah which actually saw employment increase by 0.7 and 0.3 percent respectively.”

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

Texas Bans ‘Woke Philosophies’ From Being Taught in Classrooms

Republican lawmakers in Texas are reportedly moving forward with an effort to prohibit teaching of “woke philosophies” such as critical race theory in favor of “traditional history” being taught in schools.

Two pieces of legislation, Senate bill 2022 and House bill 3979, making their way through the legislature would ban teachers from teaching anti-racist material, and from receiving private funding or material for teaching the controversial 1619 Project.

The Senate bill, authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, says that “no teacher shall be compelled by a policy of any state agency, school district, campus, open-enrollment charter school, or school administration to discuss current events or widely debated and currently controversial issues of public policy or social affairs.”

In addition, schools would be barred from requiring “political activism” as part of a course or including as extra credit, and from teaching that people should feel “discomfort” or “guilt” because of their race or sex, according to the bill text. Students also would be prohibited from being taught that “meritocracy” or “hard work” are racist or sexist, the bill says.

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

Trump Says Facebook ‘Must Pay a Political Price’ For Banning His Account

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Facebook and other Big Tech companies that censored him “must pay a political price” — responding to Facebook’s decision to continue a ban on his account.

The Facebook decision added momentum to Republican efforts in Congress to either break up Facebook and other Big Tech platforms, or to outlaw viewpoint discrimination.

“What Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace and an embarrassment to our Country. Free Speech has been taken away from the President of the United States because the Radical Left Lunatics are afraid of the truth, but the truth will come out anyway, bigger and stronger than ever before,” Trump said in an emailed statement.

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

Twitter Locks Out News Outlet for Quoting Antifa Activist

A news outlet’s Twitter account was locked after sharing a headline containing a quote from an Antifa activist.

Media Right News tweeted about a story it covered the previous week titled: “Antifa Hit List, Recordings Exposed by ABC Affiliate: ‘Let’s Kill Some Cops.’“ Twitter, going by just the headline of the story that was mentioned in the article, penalized the news outlet’s Twitter account and said that it engaged in “targeted harassment.”

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

US Fertility Rate Declines for Sixth Straight Year Amid Pandemic

The early days of the pandemic did not result in a baby boom.

Four percent fewer babies were born during 2020 than the year before, as the fertility rate in the US plunged to the lowest in decades, according to new government data released Wednesday.

Women of all races and maternal ages procreated less last year then in 2019, the report said.

“This is the sixth consecutive year that the number of births has declined after an increase in 2014, down an average of 2% per year, and the lowest number of births since 1979,” the National Center for Health Statistics said.

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

Video: Kamala Harris Kisses Her Husband While Both Are Wearing Masks

A video clip shows Vice President Kamala Harris kissing her husband while both are wearing masks, with both also having received the vaccination.

Totally normal.

The clip shows Harris saying goodbye to her husband as she boards a flight, but not before ‘kissing’ him through the fabric of their face coverings.

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

Watch: Ron DeSantis Commits to Funding the Police in Florida

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced a plan to give $1,000 bonuses to first responders in the state.

“They were out there every single day, our police, our fire, our EMTs, and they had to work more than they ever have, not just to deal with protecting us when the pandemic hit, but obviously how the police were treated in many parts of the country last year was a total disgrace,” DeSantis said.

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

WSJ Warns of Facebook’s ‘Secret Rules’ Behind Censorship and Shadow Banning

The Wall Street Journal published an essay Wednesday warning of Facebook’s “secret rules” used to police users’ accounts and remove “offensive” material.

In the article, writer Kirsten Grind notes that social media users can wind up in “Facebook jail” for the strangest of reasons, including “sharing a link to a story in Smithsonian magazine about tribal New Guinea.”

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

Day One: Pastor Coates on Trial for Violating Public Health Orders

Rebel News reporter Sheila Gunn Reid watched and live-tweeting the first day (May 3, 2021) of the trial of Pastor James Coates, who allegedly violated public health orders by not limiting his GraceLife Church congregation.

Coates is represented by Leighton Grey and James Kitchen of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.

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

Extinction Rebellion Shove Rebel News Reporter While Police Try and Block Reporting

The Vancouver sector of the global climate change activist group known as Extinction Rebellion have begun their five day “Spring Rebellion.” The Rebellion started off this past Saturday, when the group intentionally blocked the Granville and Georgia intersection with their bodies and a bright pink boat with the demand “Tell the Truth” painted on it.

On Monday, my colleague Matt Brevner and I went to cover day three of the Rebellion, when the group planned to sound a climate change alarm by blocking the Lions Gate Bridge, which over 60,000 commuters cross daily.

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

Liberal Staffers Say ‘Hard Pass’ To Yoga Class Led by Sophie Grégoire Trudeau

The Liberal Research Bureau sent an email earlier this week to all Liberal staffers offering a free, one-hour group virtual yoga session with Sophie Grégoire Trudeau that has many of those staffers rolling their eyes at the invitation, the National Post reports.

“We’ve all heard this before, but this last year has been an intense one! One thing that has helped many of us cope with the stress of the pandemic is getting some fresh air and doing some YOGA! So, in this spirit, Madame Sophie Grégoire Trudeau (a.k.a. Sophie) would like to invite you to participate in a virtual yoga class,” said the email invitation.

The invitation noted that “all levels of experience are welcome and there is no judgement!,” and that the yoga class would be led exclusively by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife.

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

Toronto City Councillor Calls for Removal of ‘White and Male’ Politicians From Canadian Currency

Toronto City Councillor Paul Ainslie put forward a motion calling for a change to Canadian money to remove its “white and male” politicians, according to True North.

The “Diversification of Depictions on Canadian Coins and Bills to better reflect a more Heterogeneous and Inclusive Society” motion calls for a more “heterogeneous and inclusive society.”

The motion, Ainslie says, “speaks to our currency being overrepresented by politicians, most of whom are white and male, underrepresenting persons who have contributed to other fields of great importance to our society.”

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

Win for Freedom: No Tickets Issued at Hamilton Anti-Lockdown Protest

This past Saturday on May 1, I went over to Hamilton, Ontario to cover the latest Lockdown March. Organized by MPP Randy Hillier’s No More Lockdowns group, it’s my third continuous week of covering these nationwide protests and this week was high energy.

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets and marched for just over a kilometre in the east end of Hamilton, ending at Battlefield park.

I always keep an eye on police and bylaw activity at these protests, because as it stands currently in Ontario, it’s illegal to protest and punishable with fines of $880 or a court summons with a penalty of up to $100 000.

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

Belgium: Off-Duty Cop Hunted, Beaten by Youth Mob in Brussels

An off-duty police officer was chased down and beaten in broad daylight by a large crowd of ‘youths’ in Brussels on Monday, according to reports.

The cop, who was in plain clothes, was hunted down by a mob of around 40 people as he made his way through Jacques-Franckplein, a public square in the Sint-Gillis neighborhood of Belgium’s capital city, at around 6:45 p.m. on Monday evening.

Some ‘young people’ recognized the officer due to his frequent patrolling in the area, which is known for loitering delinquents, drug dealing, and clashes between rival gangs.

Video footage of the incident shows dozens of young men running after their victim, some armed with blunt objects.

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

Facebook Spox Who Hailed Trump Ban is Top Liberal Politician, Former UK Deputy Prime Minister

Facebook head of global affairs and communications Sir Nick Clegg, who said the firm was “pleased” with the ruling on Wednesday, leapt into the role from his previous post as the deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Liberal Democrat party.

Facebook’s own oversight board, known as the company’s “Supreme Court”, ruled on Wednesday that according to their own rules, the company’s blacklisting of former President Donald Trump was a just decision.

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

Farage Criticises France for Threats to Cut Off Electricity to Jersey in Fishing Row

Brexit leader Nigel Farage has criticised the French government for threatening to cut off electricity to Jersey island over a fishing rights dispute, remarking that “if the French are prepared to behave like this then thank God we left” the European Union.

Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel and, while geographically closer to France, is a British Crown Dependency. Around 95 per cent of Jersey’s electricity is carried by underwater cables from France, with the remaining covered by diesel generators on the island.

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

France is Edging Toward Civil War, Says Constitutional Scholar

The onset of civil war is only a matter of time, says think-tank head Grégor Puppinck

The question is not whether a civil war will break out in France, but when, Constitutional lawyer Grégor Puppinck, the head of the French European Center of Law and Justice (ECLJ), told Magyar Hírlap in an interview, warning that tensions between parallel societies in the country are growing.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

French Top Court Mulls Curfew Exceptions for Ramadan

The French Council of State, the country’s top administrative court, is considering giving Muslims an exemption from the Wuhan coronavirus curfew during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The consideration is coming in response to a request made by the Grand Mosque of Paris. Its rector, Chems-Eddine Hafiz, has asked for the curfew to be lifted for five hours between 9 pm and 2 am on the 27th day of Ramadan so Muslims can celebrate the Laylat al-Qadr (“The Night of Destiny”), which is set to take place on the 9th of May.

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

Head of German Police Union Calls for Ban on Anti-Lockdown Protests

The head of the German Police Union has called for a total ban on all anti-lockdown protests because participants are not wearing masks or practicing social distancing.

Well, duh.

After numerous hugely attended protests across Germany in recent months, Rainer Wendt has had enough and wants the government to criminalize them before they can begin.

“In these demonstrations, the violation of the law is preprogrammed and takes place permanently and thousands of times because the participants do not wear masks and do not keep the minimum distance,” Wendt told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung.

“You have to act much more rigorously against it,” he added.

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

Hungary: Restaurant Criticised for Giving Different Coloured Trays to Non-Immunized Guests

[Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)]

Several commenters were upset by the measure of a restaurant in Veszprém, which was introduced after the reopening: the immunity card goes with a brown tray and you can eat inside, while those without a card get a white tray and can only eat on the terrace — writes Blikk.

This is explained in a photo on the restaurant’s Facebook page, modelled on government advertisements. According to Blikk, a riot broke out in the comments section under the photo, accusing the restaurant of tray racism and of participating in dividing the “Hungarians”.

Meanwhile, the restaurant has published a new post on Facebook, responding to the almost two thousand comments on their previous post, which contained a brown tray and a white tray. They write that the fines for violating the health restrictions are very expensive, but their restaurant is self-service, so they cannot afford to keep only their terrace open. And they don’t want their customers to be checked while they are eating, they don’t have the resources. (…)

           — Hat tip: László [Return to headlines]
 

Hungary: Forging an Immunity Certificate Can Get You Up to Five Years

[Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)]

Anyone who forges or uses an immunity certificate or modifies or deletes any data from the information system could face up to five years in prison, according to a Hungarian Official Gazette published on Saturday.

The government decree on “combating the misuse of immunity certificates” stipulates that anyone shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of up to five years who forges a false public or private document; falsifies the contents of a public or private document; uses a false, forged or genuine public or private document in the name of another person; enters, alters, deletes or makes inaccessible data in the information system without authorisation or in violation of the limits of his or her authorisation.

It is also a criminal offence to circulate or trade a public or private document, or create, issue on the market or trade in a password or computer program which is necessary or facilitates the creation of a criminal offence.

The government decree, signed by Viktor Orbán, penalising the misuse of the immunity certificate, will enter into force on Sunday 2 May.

Gergely Gulyás, the minister in charge of the Prime Minister’s Office, announced at the government briefing on Thursday that the Criminal Code will be amended and that forgery of immunity certificates will become a qualified offence. He also stressed that businesses that fail to check the existence of plastic cards could be fined from 100,000 to 1 million forints or even imprisoned for a year.

           — Hat tip: László [Return to headlines]
 

Liveleak Shuts Down After 15 Years

Video-sharing platform LiveLeak, popular for hosting footage on politics, war, and other newsworthy events around the globe that would be censored on other platforms such as YouTube, has shut down.

LiveLeak was founded in 2006 by Hayden Hewitt, from Manchester, England. It rose to prominence in 2007 for hosting footage of the execution of Saddam Hussein.

The video-sharing platform also hosted the 2008 Quran-critical film Fitna, created by Geert Wilders, a Dutch politician.

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

Scotland: Exclusive: The SNP is Pushing Hate Crime Laws to Target Political Rivals, Says Reclaim Candidate Leo Kearse

In an exclusive interview with Breitbart London ahead of Thursday’s elections in Scotland, Reclaim Party candidate and stand-up comedian Leo Kearse warned that the impending hate crime legislation will be used to target political rivals of the Scottish National Party (SNP).

The proposed Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill, which is being spearheaded by Scottish Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf, seeks to criminalise speech determined to fall under the non-specific “stirring up hatred” classification.

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

Spain: Anti-Lockdown Candidate Wins Big in Madrid Elections

Madrid premier Isabel Diaz Ayuso, a fierce critic of Covid-19 lockdowns, secured a major victory in Spain’s regional elections, prompting the head of the left-wing Podemos to end his political career after taking fifth place.

With more than 99% of the ballots counted late on Tuesday night, Ayuso’s People’s Party took 45% of the vote, or 65 seats in the regional legislature, just four shy of an outright majority. Doubling its share of the vote compared to the last race in 2019, the People’s Party is expected to enter into a coalition with the right-wing Vox Party, which itself took fourth place with 9% of the vote.

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UK: 64-Year-Old Woman Arrested as Extinction Rebellion Activists Halt Traffic in Berkhamsted and Harpenden

An Extinction Rebellion activist from Berkhamsted was arrested after blocking a road for the cause in Harpenden on Saturday, May 1.

At 11am, on Saturday, lone climate activists blocked roads in Harpenden and Berkhamsted to divert traffic and get their message of the climate crisis across.

Over 200 activists took part at the same time, on the same day. Extinction Rebellion is aiming to draw attention to the Government’s refusal to support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill, drafted by climate experts, which it says would set a template for real, impactful, and immediate action.

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UK: Extinction Rebellion Activists Targeted Barclays Bank Branches in Trowbridge and Bath

CLIMATE activists staked out Barclays branches in Trowbridge and Bath on Wednesday morning as part of a nationwide protest against the bank’s continued financing of fossil fuels.

The action was timed to take place during Barclay’s Annual General Meeting as protesters throughout the UK warned the bank that actions would continue until they ceased further investments fuelling climate breakdown.

Bradford on Avon environmental campaigner Chrissie Aslett said: “We want Barclays’ customers to know the dirty truth about their bank.

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UK: Seniors in Care Homes Liberated, May Go for Walks Outside Without Needing to Quarantine

UK senior citizens living in care homes are now allowed to go for walks outside or visit their family’s garden without needing to quarantine for two weeks on return.

However, seniors will still have to take that walk outside with a nominated visitor or care worker, cannot meet in groups, and abide by social distancing rules.

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UK: Two More Extinction Rebellion Activists Who Blocked Printing Presses Go Free on Technicality

Two more Extinction Rebellion protesters who blockaded a printing press and prevented millions of newspapers from being delivered have walked free from court on a technicality.

Three other activists were acquitted last week after a judge said it was unclear if they had staged their protest on private land.

The failure of both prosecutions means it is increasingly unlikely that any of the demonstrators who parked a yellow boat and blue van at the entrance to the Knowsley print works in Merseyside will face punishment.

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Serbia: Vucic: 3 Thousand Dinars for Anyone Who Gets Vaccinated

[Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)]

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday that every Serbian citizen over 16 years of age who gets vaccinated by May 30 will receive a subsidy of 3,000 dinars, the RTS website reports.

The head of state also said that those who have already been vaccinated will also receive the money and added that those who get vaccinated but contract the virus through no fault of their own will be entitled to paid sick leave, while those who have not received any dose of the vaccine but contract the virus will only be able to take unpaid sick leave.

Vucic also said on Pink TV that Serbia has had a very successful year, as the gross domestic product (according to his calculations) will reach 50 billion euros this year, which is a 50 percent increase compared to 2011.(…)

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Australian Stuck in India Takes His Fight to the Federal Court to Overturn the Ban on Citizens Returned From the COVID-Ravaged Country

A 73-year-old Australian stuck in India has asked the Federal Court to overturn Health Minister Greg Hunt’s ban on citizens returning from the COVID-ravaged country.

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Post Poll Violence 2021, Is This Jihadi Take Over of West Bengal?

Massive Jihadi violence broke out in 2021 post poll scenario in West Bengal under TMC patronage as mini Hindu carnage.

Upananda Brahmachari | HENB | New Delhi | May 4, 2021:: Jihadi Violence broke out in parts of West Bengal since Sunday evening even as trends and results poured in from the assembly election. Houses and vehicles of some BJP candidates were allegedly attacked and a party office at Arambagh (Hoogly districr) was set ablaze. The vehicle of Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated the TMC Supremo in Nandigram, was also attacked.

TMC leaders, however, denied connection with any violence and urged people to maintain peace and follow COVID-19 protocols. At Natabari (Cooch Behar), BJP candidate Mihir Goswami’s car was also damaged. Goswami defeated senior TMC leader Rabindranath Ghosh there by a margin of 23440 votes. Even then Goswami was attacked by Jihadi gang of TMC as instigated by their Supremo Mamata Banerjee in most of her election campaign…

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Hong Kong Leader Carrie Lam Announces Upcoming “Fake News” Law

Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam said that the government was working on a “fake news” law to fight “misinformation, hatred and lies.” The announcement is more proof of Beijing reigning in on the autonomous city and puts freedom of the press in jeopardy.

Since Beijing enacted the national security law in Hong Kong, most of the freedoms once enjoyed in the global financial hub, such as freedom of expression, have gradually disappeared. Now, it seems Beijing is focused on the freedom of the press. It started by imposing an inexperienced bureaucrat as the head of the public broadcaster RTHK, which has been followed by an announcement about a “fake news” legislation.

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Muslim Fulani Raiders Attack Christian Church in Nigeria, Killing One

Armed gunmen raided a Sunday morning service last week at Haske Baptist Church in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, killing one and kidnapping at least four others, the Barnabas Fund reported Tuesday.

The April 25 attack took place in Manini Tasha village, in Kaduna State, where Fulani raiders have carried out ongoing targeted attacks on the Christian population.

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U.S. Bishops Praise Joe Biden’s Refugee Resettlement Hike

The leader of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Migration said Tuesday that President Biden’s decision to quadruple the cap on the number of refugees eligible for resettlement in the United States is a “step in the right direction.”

Under pressure from pro-immigration groups, the Biden Administration announced Monday it will increase the number of refugees eligible for resettlement in the United States during the current fiscal year to 62,500, a reversal of his prior position to leave the ceiling at 15,000.

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Facebook Bans Pro-Life Outlet LifeSiteNews

Facebook has permanently removed LifeSiteNews’ page, for what the social media company deemed COVID misinformation. The pro-life, faith-based, and conservative news organization was also recently permanently removed from YouTube for its coverage of the pandemic.

In the notification email of the ban, Facebook claimed that LifeSiteNews published “false information about COVID-19 that could contribute to physical harm.” The social media company also accused the news outlet of publishing “vaccine discouraging information,” which is against its policies. It cited an article posted on April 10, titled “COVID vaccines can be deadly for some.”

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How Gender-Neutral Hotel Quarantine Boss Who Was Stood Down for Refusing to Take a COVID Test Once Wrote About ‘Designing a Good Death’ — As Their Morbid Past is Revealed

Matiu Bush — who prefers to be referred to as ‘they’ or ‘them’ instead of ‘he’ or ‘him’ — was stood down on Wednesday after it emerged they refused a Covid-19 test.

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Minds Launches End-to-Encrypted Messaging App Minds Chat

The creators of the alternative social network Minds have launched a new feature-rich, decentralized, end-to-end encrypted messaging app — Minds Chat.

“This product is a major milestone for Minds and takes us all a giant leap ahead with regards to providing decentralized tools that respect your privacy and freedom,” Minds said.

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Roger Daltrey: The ‘Woke’ Generation is Creating a Miserable World

The Who legend Roger Daltrey says the ‘woke’ generation is creating a miserable world that serves to stifle the kind of creative freedom he enjoyed in the 60s.

The iconic frontman made the comments during a recent appearance on Zane Lowe’s Apple Music 1 podcast.

“I don’t know, we might get somewhere because it’s becoming so absurd now with AI, all the tricks it can do, and the woke generation,” said Daltrey.

“It’s terrifying, the miserable world they’re going to create for themselves. I mean, anyone who’s lived a life and you see what they’re doing, you just know that it’s a route to nowhere,” he added.

The singer noted how he was lucky to have lived through an era where freedom of speech was encouraged, not silenced.

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Twitter Introduces “Improved” “Offensive” Tweet Warning

Twitter has updated the “offensive” tweet warning, which pops up when a user is about to post something that it thinks would be considered offensive. Now, it will take into account your relationship with the user you are replying to and is more aware of phrases that have been “reclaimed by underrepresented communities.”

In February, Twitter re-introduced the controversial “potentially harmful or offensive” reply warning, which was first tested in May 2020.

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

  1. “CNN’s Michael Smerconish says that people who don’t take the vaccine should be socially ostracized and shunned by their friends and family.”

    If anyone still takes any notice of CNN and its overpaid hacks and falsifiers of facts, then I am lucky I don’t live in the USA.

    I have no intention of allowing anyone near me with one of those vile concoctions they pass off as vaccines. At my age, I am 77, I am susceptible to blood clots and similar afflictions and I do not want to take the risk of any experimental drugs being tried out on me. If any Government has a problem with that they know what they can do.

  2. ALL the churches are making billions Resettling refugees through their community welfare agencies. Welfare business is booming and the poor taxpayer is funding it unable to afford children of their own but paying for their new citizens to breed uncontrollably. I have seen the refugees from Africa crowding the IVF services trying to have more and more children because they get paid for more. I went to the Royal Women’s hospital 20 years ago and saw it.
    For a while I couldn’t understand why christians would be lobbying for more Muslims who will destroy them but I think it is just about the money it brings in. Short term gain for long term pain.

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