Police cracked down on religious services, parties, and other illegal lockdown-violating gatherings in Alberta and Spain. Meanwhile, a minister in UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government said that people in England may be allowed to hug their loved ones as early as next week.
In other news, more than 1,200 “rescued” migrants landed on Lampedusa in a single day.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, Fjordman, 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.
“It’s a Hustle”: Dogecoin Demolished After Musk SNL Snafu
Once upon a time Saturday Night Live was a celebration of acting talent, of impromptu creativity and most importantly, of humor, which is why it launched the careers of too many comedians to count. Alas, over the past few decades, SNL lost its way, and become preachy podium for virtue signaling poseurs, for status quo apologists and for countless people who revel in the “uniqueness” of their identity politics yet can’t cobble together a simple joke if America’s Universal Basic Income depended on it. It’s also why over the past few decades the viewership of SNL collapsed and countless Americans forgot about the show. Well… many got a stark reminder last night when millions turned on SNL for first time in years (or ever) only to be immediately reminded why they never watched it anymore: yet another catastrophically boring, uninspired and trite attempt by a cast of talentless hacks to be funny yet failing miserably.
And then there was Elon Musk.
The world’s 2nd richest man was the main reason why an entire generation of young Dogecoin “traders” turned on SNL for the first time in their lives… only to see their favorite joke of a cryptocurrency (which it is by definition) demolished after weeks of breathless buildups for what Elon Musk had in store. Unfortunately, as with most things Musk, the action was all in the fervent anticipation of the main event… which turned out to be a fiasco.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
3 Bystanders Wounded, Including Child, In Times Square Shooting: NYPD
The victims, who police do not believe are related, suffered gunshot wounds and were taken to Bellevue Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries
Three people were hospitalized Saturday evening after a shooting in Times Square left the youngest victim, a 4-year-old girl, injured and started the NYPD on a manhunt for the gunman responsible.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea confirmed at an evening press conference that the three victims were unintended targets of the shooter and were not related to one another.
[…]
Shots were fired right around 5 p.m. after a reported dispute between a group of men, Shea explained. Nearby witnesses told police the men were arguing when one pulled out a gun and started shooting, striking the innocent bystanders…
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
35 Tons of Garbage, Including 700 Lbs of Human Waste, Removed From La Homeless Camp
This week, Echo Lake Park in Los Angeles California, the location of a former homeless encampment, received a much needed, and long overdue, deep cleaning.
The park was closed last month and since then, city officials have been working to clean and revitalize the park and have reportedly removed over 170 tents and other debris, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Among the 35 tons or 70,000 pounds of garbage, there were literal piles of poop, amounting to 180 pounds of feces and 564 pounds of urine according data from L.A. Sanitation & Environment workers. This did not include excrement collected from portable or permanent restrooms. Other hazardous waste like needles used for drugs, gasoline, and kerosene amounted to 300 pounds of the total trash collected, the LA Times noted.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Apple Provided FBI With Data on Sci-Hub Founder
A woman who has in the past been described as “the spiritual successor to Aaron Swartz” — who was a US web pioneer hounded to suicide by US prosecutors for making academic research available to everyone — has now learned the FBI is investigating her.
Alexandra Elbakyan is the founder of Sci-Hub, that fellow scientists say is “making publicly funded research freely available” — though her detractors have accused her of “copyright infringement and piracy.”
Still, those who support her have praised her work as a “modern Robin Hood who deserves a Nobel Prize.”
In any case, Kazakhstan-born Elbakyan, who, according to available information, lives in Russia (and may, if that’s the case, be well out of reach of the FBI), revealed on Twitter that she received an email informing her that the agency has been requesting her data from Apple.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Authorities: Suspect Opens Fire on Virginia Police Chief
NORTON, Va. — Authorities say a suspect and a southwest Virginia police chief have been seriously injured in an exchange of gunfire.
The shooting took place Friday afternoon in the small city of Norton.
According to the Bristol Herald Courier, Norton Police Chief James Lane was responding to a 911 call about a shoplifter when he pulled into a shopping center parking lot and encountered a man who began shooting into his vehicle.
Lane shot back at the man, while a Norton police officer, who had just arrived on scene, also fired at the suspect, according to authorities. A handgun belonging to the man was recovered at the scene.
Police identified the man as 35-year-old James Dyer Buckland, of Pound, Virginia.
Both Lane and Buckland were flown to hospitals for treatment of serious injuries…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Beverly Hills PD Arrests Masked Bandit Linked to Several SoCal Burglaries
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Beverly Hills Police Department Thursday announced that a man suspected in more than 30 Los Angeles-area burglaries had been arrested.
[Comment: The suspect is a black guy who wore a mask to make himself look like a white guy.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California’s population fell by more than 182,000 people in 2020, marking the first year-over-year loss ever recorded for the nation’s most populous state.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
California Leaving: State Population Declines for First Time
California’s population declined in 2020 for the first time since state officials have been measuring it.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Clubhouse Bans Laura Loomer Hours After Talk About Censorship
Political commentator and congressional candidate, Laura Loomer, has been permanently banned by voice chat-only social media app Clubhouse.
Loomer is no stranger to being banned; she has been permanently banned on most mainstream social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, and describes herself as “most banned woman in the world.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Cuomo Investigation Expanded Amid Reports of Vaccine Politicization
According to Fox News, “The New York State Attorney General’s office has expanded its sexual harassment investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo to include looking at whether one of the governor’s top advisers offered access to COVID vaccines for political connections.”
The advisor in question is Larry Schwartz, Cuomo’s COVID Czar, in charge of “overseeing vaccine distribution across New York.” During six phone calls to executives regarding vaccine allocation, he is alleged to have “asked if they would be calling for the governor’s resignation.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former CNN White House Correspondent Shocked to Hear Governments Would Lie
The long march transforming professional journalistic integrity and the large legacy media outlets they work for to reporters reduced to uncritical mouthpieces for those in power, seems to be progressing without a hitch.
This kind of thing used to be a feature in certifiably undemocratic societies — but now a CNN reporter, Michelle Kosinski, has taken to Twitter to proclaim that “as an American journalist, you never expect […] your own government to lie to you.”
(Tell that to Daniel Ellsberg, he of the Pentagon Papers fame.)
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gov. DeSantis to Sue CDC for Shutting Down American Businesses During Pandemic
On Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke on his early April announcement that he would be suing the Center for Disease Control for exceeding it’s authority in closing American businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically the cruise line industry that is vital to Florida ports.
“Do you want one unelected bureaucracy to be able to have the power to indefinitely shut down a major industry in this country?” said DeSantis, speaking on the continued stalling of allowing cruise ships to run again, and the avoidance of Florida due to DeSantis’ ban on vaccine passports. “They do not have that authority to do it, thats why were suing them.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
McCloskey Prosecutor Kim Gardner Faces Possible Disbarment Over Prof. Misconduct Allegations
A St. Louis-area prosecutor whose initial campaign was partially funded with money from a George Soros-aligned group is facing possible disbarment following growing allegations of professional misconduct in a case involving former GOP Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Never-Trump Senator Mitt Romney was censured Saturday night by Weber County Republicans.
This was after the Utah Republican Party failed to censure Romney at their state convention last weekend.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Most Americans Think Social Media Has Made US More Divisive, Poll Reveals
A majority of Americans blame sites like Twitter and Facebook for dividing the country — even as around the same amount admit to using social media at least once a day, a poll released Sunday shows.
Sixty-six percent of adults say they log into social media at least once a day, while 33 percent don’t, an NBC News poll found.
But 64 percent of Americans said they believe the platforms do more to divide the country — including 77 percent of Republicans, 65 percent of independents and 54 percent of Democrats.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Three Amherst students were suspended after they took a photo off campus on the weekend without masks.
Someone turned them in.
The chance of these three healthy young women dying of COVID is zero percent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: Radical Climate Activists March Through DC, Paint Windows Black to Protest Pipelines
On Friday, climate activists gathered in downtown Washington DC to protest the building of a new branch of pipeline 3.
The protest, which kicked off at 8:30am at a Wells Fargo branch in downtown DC, is part of a global day of action to demand that banks cease funding the new branch of the line 3 pipeline.
Protestors painted the windows of Wells Fargo branches black to symbolize oil, and rolled oil barrels through the streets of downtown DC yelling “What do we want? Climate justice. When do we want it? Now.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Joe Hall, a Portland man, stood up to protestors on Thursday, and wound up with severe injuries for his trouble. He is now recovering in hospital and has spoken with the press.
Hall took an interview with local media from his bed at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in North Portland, where he commented, “I stood my ground and I would do it all over again.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
On CTV’s Question Period with Evan Solomon, Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault admitted that users with large followings would be subject to federal regulations under the controversial Bill C-10 internet regulation law being proposed in Canada.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Exclusive: Jailhouse Interview With Pastor Artur Pawlowski
Calgary Pastor Artur Pawlowski is still in jail.
He was arrested yesterday in a shocking SWAT team raid, made to kneel in the middle of a busy highway. It was clear from the moment of his arrest that this had nothing to do with a virus, and everything to do with political control.
Since that moment, he’s been treated brutally — thrown painfully into a police car; then forced to sit on a concrete slab, in a jail cell where the lights are never turned off. He is separated from his brother, who was arrested too, but he has no privacy — curious police come to gawk at him like he’s a circus animal.
But incredibly, Pastor Artur hasn’t lost hope — in fact, he’s more resolved than ever.
Our reporter Adam Soos managed to speak with him for five minutes. Here’s the full recording of that call.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Local Business Defies Lockdown Measures to Stay Afloat
Do you remember the story of Mr Greens Novelties? The mom and pop shop is a cannabis accessories retailer in Sudbury, Ontario, owned and operated by Shawn and Daphne Donaldson.
We first met the couple when they chose to reopen their store in defiance of the Ford government’s lockdown on small businesses.
Since they weren’t a big box store, the Donaldsons were relegated to curbside pickup and online order sales. They couldn’t give the sort of in person customer service they think their customers deserve, especially in a new industry like theirs where people have a lot of questions.
Mr Greens was barely surviving the lockdown.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Montreal Officers Claim They Avoid Stopping Minorities Over Fears of Being Vilified as Racists
Several police officers in the Canadian city of Montreal say they increasingly avoid intervening in situations that involve minorities in case they are filmed and vilified as racists on social media.
The officers, some of whom are minorities, all spoke under condition of anonymity and claim they would rather look the other way than have to intervene in a situation involving a “racialised” member of the public, stating that none of the officers wants to risk their career.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Outside of Calgary’s Fairview Baptist Church
For a second straight day, it appears police in Alberta are set to take action against another church for violating the province’s provincial health restrictions.
In a video captured and posted to Twitter by Rebel News’ Kian Simone, two police vehicles can be seen outside of Fairview Baptist Church in Calgary.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Professor Suspended After Writing Blog Post That Said Canada is Not Racist
Expressing the opinion that Canada is not a “systemically racist” country and criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement is no longer safe to do, as Mount Allison University Professor Rima Azar has found out when she got suspended by the school.
Azar, of Middle Eastern origin, made her stance on these issues known in posts published on her personal blog, Bambi’s Afkar.
This caused an uproar among some students, who accused her of being a racist and engaging in discriminatory behavior. Azar, on the other hand, says that these allegations are false and that she is yet another victim of cancel culture.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Church of England Begins BLM-Style Review of Thousands of Monuments for References to Slave Trade
The Anglican Church will embark upon a review of thousands of historical monuments which reference the British Empire or the slave trade, as the Church continues with its Black Lives Matter-inspired agenda.
The Church of England, which campaigned for the abolition of slavery since the early 1800s, is set to issue guidance this week to its 12,500 parishes and 42 cathedrals, calling for a review of supposedly problematic monuments.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Following its coldest APRIL since 1922, England is now on for its coldest MAY since record-keeping began some 362 years ago—since the Maunder Minimum (1645-1715)!
Back in 1659, England was still processing the death of Oliver Cromwell, who, after the execution of King Charles I, had ruled the Commonwealth of England for 5 years. The year 1659 is also the start date of the Central England Temperature (CET) dataset, which has proved an invaluable resource for meteorologists and climate scientists alike. Astonishingly, what the dataset reveals in 2021, in this time of supposed “catastrophic global heating,” is that England is on for its coldest May in more than three and a half centuries (at least).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Free Hugs: Embracing Loved Ones Allowed in England From Next Week, Minister Says
Senior minister Michael Gove has said Prime Minister Boris Johnson should be announcing on Monday that from May 17th, people in England will be permitted to hug their loved ones as part of the next phase of unlocking the country.
The BBC’s Andrew Marr asked Mr Gove on Sunday whether there would be an end to restrictions on people hugging or going into each other’s houses, with the Cabinet Office minister responding, “yes”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Migrant Accused of Setting Fire to Wife Who Wanted to Live Like a French Woman
An Algerian-French dual citizen has been accused of shooting his wife and setting her on fire while she was still alive after she reportedly acted too much like a French woman.
Mounir B., born in Algeria but later becoming a citizen of France, has been accused of murdering his wife Chahinez B., who he had met in Algeria while on holiday in 2015.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Muslima Accused of Being Member of the Islamic State Wins Her Appeal Against Ban on Entering UK
Of course she did. But when Pamela Geller and I appealed against our ban from the UK, on the grounds that we had no criminal records, and had never advocated or condoned any violence or illegal activity, we were turned down. The constant in Lisa Smith’s case and ours is that in both, British officials are terrified above all of appearing “Islamophobic.” So they create fictional “right-wing extremists” out of people who are simply opposing jihad violence and Sharia oppression, and ban them from the country, while finding any possible pretext (Lisa Smith’s dual citizenship, which could easily have been disallowed as a factor on the grounds of the fact that Smith joined an entity that is avowedly at war with Britain) to admit actual jihadis. And the tiny handful of people inside Britain who dare to oppose jihad violence publicly don’t say anything about this anomaly, because they themselves don’t want to be tarred with the “Islamophobe” brush the government used to ban the foreign opponents of jihad and Sharia. Britain is, as we all know, finished.
“Irish woman accused of supporting ISIS wins appeal against ban from UK,” by Paul Carey, The National, May 7, 2021 (thanks to Henry).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Move in Against Parties and Crowds as Germans Take to Parks in Sunny Weather
The summer temperatures over the weekend in Germany brought people flooding into parks, leading to several tense situations as police attempted to enforce pandemic restrictions.
In Munich’s English Garden park youths attacked police with bottles leading to 19 officers suffering injuries, according to a police spokesperson.
Officers had been called to deal with a brawl at an illegal party and responded by using pepper spray and batons.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pro-Independence Parties Secure Majority in Scottish Parliament, Paving Way for New Referendum
The Scottish National Party won its fourth straight parliamentary election on Saturday and insisted it will push on with another referendum on Scotland’s independence from the UK even though it failed by one seat to secure a majority.
Final results of Thursday’s election showed the SNP winning 64 of the 129 seats in the Edinburgh-based Scottish Parliament.
This leaves the SNP short of an overall majority, but the pro-independence camp will cross the line comfortably with Scottish Greens securing eight seats.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Riot Police Shut Down Large Illegal Party in Barcelona
Riot police in Barcelona shut down a large party in the popular Plaça dels Àngels, more commonly known as MACBA. A crowd of up to 2,000 young people had gathered in the square from midnight on Sunday May 9, to celebrate the end of Spain’s coronavirus State of Alarm, which had been in place for six months and featured a night time curfew. However, the autonomous Government in Catalonia still maintains a limit of six people per social gathering, to combat Covid-19. Riot police arrived at around 3:30am local time and dispersed the crowd into nearby areas. Many partygoers were seen without masks despite masks still being mandatory in Spain.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Three More Years: Sadiq Khan Reelected as London Mayor, But Won by Smaller Majority
London will have leftist Mayor Sadiq Khan in power for at least three more years after his victory was announced on Saturday evening, besting Conservative Party challenger Shaun Bailey.
Despite months of polling predicting a landslide victory for Labour Party’s Sadiq Khan in the London mayoral election, Mr Khan only edged out the relatively unknown London Assembly Member by a margin of 40 per cent to 35.3 per cent in the first round of London’s preferential voting system.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Islamic Republic of Iran: Muslim Family Beheads Man for Being Homosexual
A hadith depicts Muhammad specifying the punishment for homosexual activity: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Whoever you find doing the action of the people of Loot, execute the one who does it and the one to whom it is done.’“ (Sunan Abu Dawud 4462)
Will gay rights advocates say a word about this? Of course not. It has long been established that in the hierarchy of politically correct causes, Islam trumps gay rights. When AFDI ran ads highlighting the mistreatment of gays in Islamic law, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors issued a resolution condemning not that mistreatment, but our ads. Gay advocates such as Theresa Sparks and Chris Stedman attacked us for daring to call attention to the institutionalized mistreatment of gays under Islamic law. It was that, or risk not being invited to the best parties.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Afghanistan: Muslims Murder at Least 55 People, Injure 150, In Jihad Bombing at Girl’s School
Those who are in favor of endless wars will use this incident to claim that American troops simply have to stay in Afghanistan longer, or else women will suffer. The unfortunate reality is that women were suffering under Sharia in Afghanistan before we got there, and will still be suffering under Sharia long after American intervention isn’t even a possibility. Also, the fact that this took place in a Shi’ite neighborhood points to its being another episode in the Sunni-Shi’a jihad, which has been going on for 1,400 years, long before there was a United States of America at all.
“Afghanistan: Children among at least 55 killed in bomb attack on Kabul school,” Sky News, May 9, 2021.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rocket Debris Lands Off Maldives as NASA Blasts China’s “Failing to Meet Responsible Standards”
update: Early Sunday it’s been confirmed that China’s huge Long March 5B rocket made its out-of-control entry and plunged into the Indian Ocean Saturday night near the Maldives.
China’s Manned Space Engineering Office sought to emphasize in an announcement that most of it burned up when it reentered the atmosphere before coming down somewhere west of the Maldives — the nation of archipelagic islands which lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, some 700 kilometers off the Asian continent.
US Space Command also confirmed it had reentered Earth over the Arabian Peninsula. NASA immediately blasted China forfailing to “meet responsible standards” of space activity and operations. “Spacefaring nations must minimize the risks to people and property on Earth of re-entries of space objects and maximize transparency regarding those operations,” NASA Administrator Sen. Bill Nelson in a statement published early Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Chinese Communist Party newspaper said Beijing should retaliate with ‘long-range strikes’ if Australia gets involved ‘once a military conflict breaks out in the Taiwan Straits’.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
China Aims to Become the World’s Leading Space Power by 2045
Shortly after becoming president in March 2013, Xi Jinping made his ambitions for China’s space power clear. “Developing the space program and turning the country into a space power is the space dream that we have continuously pursued”, he said. “The space dream is part of the dream to make China stronger”. China aims to become the world’s leading space power by 2045: “China will become an all-round world-leading country in space equipment and technology. By then, it will be able to carry out man-computer coordinated space exploration on a large scale,” wrote China Daily in 2017.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chinese spies could be able to access “sensitive” information in Belgium through investments made into the Liège Airport by the Jack Ma-owned e-commerce giant Alibaba, the country’s justice minister admitted this week.
Appearing before a hearing of the House Justice Committee, Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said that “Chinese intelligence service agents could have access to sensitive and secure areas of the airport”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mohamed Zuhbi, 30, arrived in Melbourne on a flight from Turkey about 4pm on Saturday and was arrested by counterterrorism authorities at the airport.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
As the virus continues to wreak havoc on India, Europe and the United States, Australia’s Prime Minister vowed to maintain his tough stance on borders.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
The prime minister said Australians had come to accept local lockdowns as ‘part of living with Covid-19’ and that residents did not have ‘an appetite’ for change.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
The US Will Join the Christchurch Call to Eliminate “Extremist” Content Online
In a departure from the policy of the previous administration, the United States has announced that it has joined an initiative to bring about tighter policing of online content, launched in the wake of the March 2019 Christchurch, New Zealand mosque massacre.
The initiative, known as the Christchurch Call to Action to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online, was unveiled in May of the same year, with New Zealand and France driving it.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
This is a near-daily occurrence in Nigeria. By now it is clear that the jihadis are doing what the Buhari government wants them to do, as despite repeated promises and protestations, the Nigerian government is doing nothing to stop the jihadis.
“Herdsmen Kill Christians in Nigeria’s Nasarawa, Plateau States,” Morning Star News, May 6, 2021.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Caitlyn Jenner Backs Amnesty for Illegal Aliens: ‘Absolutely’
Caitlyn Jenner, a transgender woman who is now a California gubernatorial candidate in the likely recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom, said in an interview that illegal aliens should have a pathway to citizenship.
“I am for legal immigration, okay,” Jenner said in an interview with Dana Bash set to air on CNN on Monday night. “What’s been happening on the border was honestly one of the reasons I decided to run for governor.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More Than 1,200 Migrants Reach Italian Island, Highest Number in Single Day All Year
ROME (AP) — More than 1,200 migrants in several decrepit, overcrowded fishing boats on Sunday reached a tiny Italian island in a span of 12 hours, as human traffickers exploited calm seas and warm weather to launch multiple vessels, the mayor said.
The first of the migrants arrived at 5 a.m., Lampedusa Mayor Salvatore Martello told Sky TG24 TV at 5 p.m. It was the biggest number of migrants to come ashore this year in a single day at an Italian port this year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The LGBT Revolution is Being Presented as a Recipe for Economic Success, But it’s Simply Not True
A few days ago, the international organization Open for Business published a report which claims that Poland, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine lose billions of dollars each year due to certain laws which hinder economic development. The report concludes that if these supposed disadvantageous laws were to be changed, then these states could increase their economic growth by even 1.7 percent of their GDP (in the case of Poland).
Perhaps many of you do not know what Open for Business actually is, so let me explain. This organization introduces itself on its website as a “coalition of leading global companies which promote LGBT+ integration.” The organization’s mission is “presenting business justification concerning a worldwide introduction of LGBT+”. The lobby group claims that a condition for achieving economic success is the fulfillment of the demands of the LGBT movement. The partners of the initiative are, among others, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Mastercard, IKEA, and other global companies.
Basically, everything becomes clear after you know what Open for Business is all about.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Persecution of Political Speech From Christians in the West is Intensifying
The trial against Finnish Christian politician Päivi Räsänen, accused of hate speech towards minorities for citing the Bible concerning gay people, may be a new step in the intensifying persecution of Christians in Western democracies.
A few facts prove this to be true.
The first one is that this is the first time when a politician of such high status is being prosecuted for expressing Christian doctrine concerning human sexuality.
Räsänen is the former head of the Finnish Christian Democrats and a former minister of the interior. She is now an MP and was chosen to her country’s parliament in 1995. She is one of the most prominent conservative politicians in Finland, and it seems that her lawsuit has a political dimension.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Woke’ Starbucks May Depart From Facebook Over Numerous ‘Insensitive’ Comments on Posts
Facebook is fighting to keep one of its largest accounts on the platform after coffee giant Starbucks has begun evaluating its facebook presence in the wake of receiving a copious amount of negative feedback on its social media account.
Facebook employees told Buzzfeed News that the coffee chain has become increasingly “frustrated by the hate and intolerance on the platform,” and is looking at potentially separating front he social media giant altogether.
If the company decides to do so, it would be one of the “largest companies ever to sever ties with Facebook.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Even Starbucks coffee tastes bad. FB is right for once.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCl8RrHB_Wk
This is incredibly funny!
Previously, the leaders of world powers came to Putin for the victory parade. And this year only one arrived (!!!). President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon. Which the host of the central channel called Emmanuel.
Tajikistan is a country that has been regularly selling surplus population to Russia for 20 years. Here they work as slaves, but they do not create political tension for the authorities in their place of origin.
Putin kissed the chief Tajik for his loyalty.
The Russian authorities are doing everything to make migrants from Tajikistan feel comfortable in Russia, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon in Moscow.
“I know that this is a question (about labor migrants) that is sensitive for Tajikistan,” the Kremlin’s website quoted Putin as saying. “We are doing everything to make people feel comfortable, especially since we currently do not have enough working hands in entire sectors of the economy.”
The head of the Russian state noted that “people send a large enough amount to support families from Russia to their homes.” “I think this is an absolutely positive process,” Putin summed up.
Can you imagine? He considers the withdrawal of money from the country to be a positive process.