Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that Texas will appropriate an initial $250 million for construction of a border wall. Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that he is sending law enforcement officers to Arizona and Texas to assist with border enforcement.
In other news, Nicholas Kraus, the Minneapolis driver who ran down pedestrians at a demonstration protesting the fatal police shooting of Winston Boogie Smith Jr., killing one of them, had previous DWI convictions.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, Insubria, Reader from Chicago, 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.
Hungary Targets 5.2% GDP Growth for Next Year
The Hungarian parliament approved on Tuesday the country’s budget for 2022, targeting a 5.2 percent growth and a 5.9 percent increase in public debt, daily Magyar Nemzet reports.
The budget was approved with 132 yes and 26 no votes by the 199-seat legislation, translating into an 83.5 percent majority.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
22 States Urge Ninth Circuit to Uphold Repeal of California ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban
After a federal judge overturned California’s ban on “assault weapons” earlier this month, 22 states announced Wednesday that the coalition filed a court brief in support of the decision.
Led by Arizona, the collective is urging the Ninth Circuit to uphold the court’s ruling that the ban had violated the Second Amendment, according to Fox News.
The brief comes as the state moves to appeal the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court, which the federal judge that overturned the ban allowed 30 days to do such.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Today, several antitrust lawmakers held a press conference where they discussed their 16-month investigation into Big Tech and the five antitrust bills that have been unveiled as a result of this investigation.
“These bills will pave the way for a stronger economy, a stronger democracy for the American people by reigning in the power of the most dominant firms online,” Congressman Jerry Nadler said during the first two minutes of the press conference.
Congressman David Cicilline followed up by stating: “These powerful corporations control access to key channels of distribution in the digital economy.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: Biden Snaps at Reporter, Falsely Claims Capitol Rioters Killed a Police Officer
President Joe Biden spoke at a press conference after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, addressing questions as to what the two men discussed, and what penalties there might be for incursions on US sovereignty.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democrat Voters in New York Want More Cops on the Street Amid Skyrocketing Violent Crime: Poll
New polling for the New York City mayoral race shows Democrats want more uniformed police, and say that the primary issue the city faces is crime.
New polling for the New York City mayoral race shows that Democrat voters care more about crime than police reform and that even Democrats think there should be more police in the streets to help fight the new wave of crime. Support for more uniform police is even higher among black voters and low income individuals. Voters are split down the middle when asked if New York is heading in the right direction or the wrong direction.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FBI Operatives Likely ‘Unindicted Co-Conspirators’, Organizers of Capitol Riot: Report
Tucker Carlson dropped several bombshells on his show Tuesday night, chief among them was from a Revolver News report that the FBI was likely involved in organizing the Jan. 6 Capitol ‘insurrection,’ and were similarly involved in the kidnapping plot against Michigan Governor Gretchin Whitmer.
“Why are there so many factual matters that we don’t understand about that day?” asked Carlson.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Fangirl Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for NYC Bomb Plot
An ISIS-obsessed woman from Queens who considered Osama bin Laden a personal hero was sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to a bomb-making charge nearly two years ago.
Before handing down the 198-month sentence, Brooklyn federal Judge Sterling Johnson called defendant Noelle Velentzas the “prime mover” and “brain” behind the plot she hatched with a friend to set off bombs in New York and kill police officers.
“She was the moving force behind this conspiracy,” Sterling added at the remote sentencing hearing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lawsuit: U of Oklahoma Volleyball Player Shut Out of Program Due to Rejection of ‘Social Justice’
A former University of Oklahoma volleyball player is filing suit after she refused to endorse social justice ideology and was removed from the team.
According to a lawsuit filed on May 25, Kylee McLaughlin — a current undergraduate at the University of Oklahoma — is a “Christian and political conservative.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Man Jailed in Fatal Crash at Minneapolis Rally Has Past DWIs
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis police on Tuesday identified the man suspected of driving into a crowd of demonstrators, killing one and injuring three others as a 35-year-old from St. Paul with multiple convictions for driving while impaired.
Police say Nicholas Kraus was booked into the Hennepin County jail on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide. Online jail records show he was arrested early Monday and was being held without bail. He’s also being held on suspicion of driving after a license was canceled and providing false information to police, records show.
The Hennepin County jail does not accept messages for people in custody and a phone message could not be left for Kraus. Prosecutors have asked for an extension until noon Wednesday to file charges. It was not immediately clear if Kraus had an attorney to speak on his behalf.
A woman, who family members identified as 31-year-old Deona Knajdek, was killed Sunday night and three other people were injured when Kraus allegedly drove into demonstrators during a rally in Minneapolis’ Uptown neighborhood…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
NASA Abandons Actual Space Mission to Focus on Implementing Critical Race Theory
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) unveiled an initiative called “Mission Equity” on Monday that seeks to “streamline its programs, procurements, grants, regulations and policies to remove systemic inequitable barriers and challenges facing underserved communities.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Report Confirms: Yes, Gov. Cuomo Killed the Elderly
Cuomo’s directive to send elderly people with COVID-19 into nursing homes led to a spike in deaths, reports the non-profit Empire Center for Public Policy, an Albany think tank. The report tied “several hundred and possibly more than 1,000” fatalities to the decision, which was ordered on March 25, 2020, and rescinded less than two months later on May 10.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
T/E School Board Meeting Packed Over Critical Race Theory
TREDYFFRIN TOWNSHIP, PA — As Tredyffrin Township residents packed in for the first in-person TESD board meeting in over a year, most attendees came prepared to express opposition to the district’s policy on equity and related curriculum they say is divisive and harmful because it labels white students oppressors and students of color as victims.
Social media and other posts went out last week alerting parents to show up at the TE school board meeting, posted by “Parents fighting Critical Race Theory in the T/E school district.”
Tredyffrin/Easttown School Board President Michele Burger advised the crowd comments were to be directed to the board, in a spirit of civil public discourse, but she would later in the meeting have to call out some “minor outbursts.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Texans can carry handguns without a license or training starting Sept. 1, after Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed the permitless carry bill into law.
House Bill 1927 eliminates the requirement for Texas residents to obtain a license to carry handguns if they’re not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a gun. The signing was reported by the Texas Legislature’s official website, which tracks the progress of legislation. Abbott’s office has announced a ceremonial signing of the bill and other gun-related legislation at 11 a.m. Thursday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Rand Paul Demands Exclusion of Wuhan Lab Funders From Investigations
Senator Rand Paul urged Wednesday that those involved in funding the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s coronavirus ‘gain of function’ research cannot be allowed to be a part of investigations again.
Appearing on Fox News, Paul said “Here’s the problem. The WHO investigated this the first time, we suggested three people to send to China. They rejected all three and they accepted a guy named Peter Daszak who was the one that funded the lab.”
The Senator continued “So you can’t have the people—like Anthony Fauci or Peter Daszak—who are part of the funding mechanism to send these funds to Wuhan lab. You can’t have them investigating themselves.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Podcast king Joe Rogan issued a stark warning this week concerning the ongoing leftist campaign to defund police departments all over the country, noting that the U.S. could soon resemble Mexico if it continues.
“Cops don’t do anything if someone jumps into someone’s backyard, they don’t arrest them — like, you have to do like $900 worth of theft before they’ll even arrest you,” Rogan said, adding “If they do arrest you, they’ll just put you right back out on the street again.”
Rogan noted that things have gotten worse “after the defunding.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
At least four were killed and four more injured in Chicago’s second mass shooting in four days, police said on Tuesday morning.
Lightfoot pleaded for help from the Biden administration, calling the issue “a national problem.” It was nearly a year ago that Lightfoot refused to allow the Trump administrationto help with the incessant violence in Chicago, which has only escalated since then.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
MOORHEAD — A woman was briefly arrested by police following a scuffle and heated protest during a private conference here about a controversial education theory that’s become another dividing line in a growing culture war.
A physical altercation ensued the evening of Tuesday, June 15, after protesters spoke out as a conference speaker discussed opposition to critical race theory, a school of thought intended to address systemic racism.
The conference, with about 100 people in attendance at Moorhead’s Courtyard by Marriott hotel, was organized by Center of the American Experiment. It was part of the Raise Our Standards tour “to counter the ‘woke’ political movement invading Minnesota’s public schools, turning them into ideological battlegrounds and threatening the quality of our children’s education.”
Vanessa Renee Clark, 35, an activist and organizer with the Red River People Over Profits Initiative, was put in handcuffs after she and an elderly man briefly scuffled.
“I got arrested for ripping off an All Lives Matter button,” Clark said. “I’m good.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“It’s Not About Health… it’s All Political Repression”: Maxime Bernier on COVID Enforcement
Following the recent arrest of Mr. Maxime Bernier, last Friday, in a small village, Saint-Pierre Jolys, in Manitoba, I went to his hometown, Saint-George de Beauce, in Quebec.
I met the leader of the People’s Party of Canada for a short interview.
During his tour across Canada, the “Mad Max Freedom Tour,” Mr. Bernier was apprehended by the RCMP for a failure to respect the sanitary measures in place.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Another Protest, Another Ticket for Rebel News — But This One is Really Odd
Recently, I received a ticket in Hamilton for a lack of social distancing… which is to say, I got within two metres of a person I was interviewing. That apparently makes me the modern day version of Typhoid Mary when it comes to Hamilton bylaw enforcement. I guess they want me to conduct interviews using semaphore flags. That would maintain that precious six feet of safety, I suppose…
Then again, I should’ve known better when it comes to Hamilton.
My colleague, Efron Monsanto, has received numerous tickets in Steeltown. He’s a serial handshaker, you see, and the authorities in Steeltown don’t care for handshakers.
Now, the funny thing is, when I visited Hamilton to cover a protest at city hall, it was a sad protest indeed. There were fewer than a dozen demonstrators. But unlike Efron, I never encountered any cops or bylaw officers. They were AWOL that day.
Or so I thought.
You see, they were just too cowardly to engage with me. After all, Efron’s videos exposed them to be — what’s the word? — pathetic Karens without a cause.
In any event, just the other day I received an email. It indicated I was being served with a ticket for a whopping $560.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
TAMPA, Fla., June 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Artur Pawlowski, a Polish born preacher and civil rights activist who now lives in Canada, is making the trip South to the United States this weekend, where he will join dozens of healthcare freedom and faith-based activists at Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne’s mega-church for a three-day long Healthcare & Freedom Conference “RALLY TO REOPEN AMERICA.”
Pawlowski, who was born in Communist Poland and reached great success with his construction business in the 80’s and 90’s, eventually lost it all after a years long struggle with suicidal thoughts and alcoholism. After meeting the women who would become his wife, Pawlowski would be introduced to Christianity and has never looked back.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pastor Tim Stephens Will Remain in Prison After Refusing Bail Conditions for New Charges
Pastor Tim Stephens will remain in jail for violating public health orders until at least June 28.
Although Stephens received a bail hearing Monday evening, he refused to sign his conditions of release that would require him to hold socially distant church services that comply with all the current health restrictions on places of worship. He remains in the Remand Centre in Calgary.
Stephens was arrested for the second time Monday afternoon in front of his wife and sobbing children by Calgary police on the controversial May 6 court order issued by Justice Rooke on behalf of Alberta Health Services.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Update: The Whistle Stop Cafe is Heading to the Alberta Court of Appeal
Whistle Stop Cafe owner Chris Scott is taking his fight against Alberta Health Services all the way to the Alberta Court of Appeal.
In January, Scott opened his small restaurant in Mirror in defiance of the lockdown restrictions on sit-down dining service. The Whistle Stop, besides being a diner, is also a campground, and the only gas station and convenience store within 20 km.
Scott and the Whistle Stop faced constant surveillance, inspections, tickets, summonses and even court orders from Alberta Health Services and RCMP. But he didn’t close, and eventually the Alberta government was forced to allow other restaurants to reopen.
However, Alberta was plunged into a third lockdown earlier in the spring, resulting in Alberta Health Services and the RCMP chaining the doors on the Whistle Stop. Then Alberta Health Services sought a secret court order in a Calgary courtroom restraining Scott from holding, organizing or promoting an illegal public gathering. Scott was threatened with jail time for contempt of court if he protested what the government had done to his business.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Britain ‘Frightened’ Into Accepting Lockdown Because of ‘Incorrect’ Scientific Forecasts, Says Ids
Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith claimed that Britons have been “worried and frightened” into accepting lockdown because of “incorrect” scientific forecasts, which did not take into account the impact vaccination would have on the transmission of the Chinese coronavirus.
The Brexiteer and lockdown sceptic quoted recent government figures that claimed current vaccines are “highly effective against hospitalisation” from the Indian strain of coronavirus, also referred to as the Delta variant. Public Health England (PHE) found vaccines were up to 96 per cent effective after two doses and between 71 and 94 per cent effective after one dose, depending on the vaccine brand.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Cyberattacks Against Poland Are a Growing Concern for Parliament
Cyberattacks are targeting Polish politicians and even their family members, and the country’s parliament is beginning to take notice.
The Speaker of the Sejm has called a confidential meeting of the whole Polish Parliament on Wednesday, which will consider security information on a series of cyberattacks launched against Polish public authorities after a key minister’s private email account, which was hacked.
The confidential meeting had been requested by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Since parliament will receive sensitive security information, the session will be held in confidence without media coverage.
Last week, Minister Michal Dworczyk, who serves as the head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, had both his and his family’s email accounts hacked.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
European Court of Human Rights Rules Against Employer Who Fired Woman for “Like” on Facebook Post
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled in a case brought by a former Turkish public sector worker against the state, after she was fired from her job for liking a number of Facebook posts.
The judgment in the Melike v. Turkey case found that the Turkish authorities had violated Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights, and specified that the ECHR’s position is that liking a post on social networks does not carry the same weight as publishing or sharing content.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Teen Lifeguard Sexually Assaulted by Migrant as Bystanders Looked on
Two men, one a migrant with a deportation order, sexually assaulted a teenage female lifeguard on a French beach while bystanders reportedly did nothing to help.
The sex attack took place on Saturday afternoon on the Escale Borély beach in Marseille, when two men, 25 and 28, climbed the ladder of the lifeguard’s lookout chair.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s Failed Hezbollah Ban
One year after Germany banned Hezbollah from operating on its soil, the Iran-backed, Lebanon-based Shiite terrorist group’s presence in Germany is stronger than ever.
In the twelve months since the ban entered into effect, Hezbollah’s propaganda and fundraising activities in Germany have continued apace; the number of its followers in the country has increased; and the Hamburg mosque which serves as Iran’s main base of operations in Germany has gained in influence.
In retrospect, Germany’s much-vaunted Hezbollah ban appears to have been little more than a publicity stunt aimed at silencing critics of the German government’s pro-Iran foreign policy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Bucks Trend With Coronavirus Lockdown End Birth Rates Surge
Germany has bucked years of birth rate decline with a sudden ten per cent surge in new children coming nine months after lockdowns ended and bars reopened in summer 2020.
Births in Germany hit a 20-year-high in March 2021, the latest release from the national statistical agency (De Statis) reveals, with 65,903 children born in the month. This represents a massive ten per cent rise on March 2020 and is the highest level of March births since 1998.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary’s Ruling Conservative Fidesz Maintains Comfortable Lead Over Opposition Parties
Just as members of parliament are wrapping up the spring session of legislation, Hungary’s ruling conservative Fidesz party has maintained its uninterrupted lead over the combined popularity of all opposition parties, a recent poll by the Nézopont Institute showed.
The latest poll, from June 7 to June 9, indicates that should Hungary hold elections this weekend, the ruling Fidesz would get 52 percent of the votes compared with 43 percent for opposition parties.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Least Violent Country in EU Says Rights Agency
Just 3% have experienced violence in last five years — report
(ANSA) — ROME, FEB 19 — Italy is the least violent country in the European Union along with Malta, according to a report by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights that was released on Friday.
The report said only 3% of the people it surveyed in Italy said they had experienced physical violence in the last five years, compared to an EU average of 9%.
The rate was highest in Estonia (18%), Finland (16%) and the Czech Republic (16%). It said 17% of people in Italy had experienced acts of harassment in the last five years, compared to an EU average of 41%.
However, the report said that 70% of the women who suffered harassment did not report it.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Gang That Gave Islamist Terrorists Fake Docs Busted
Group helped around 15 terrorists
(ANSA) — ROME, JUN 11 — Italian police said Friday that they have busted a gang that supplied false documents to Islamist terrorists and foreign fighters, arresting seven people in Milan and other cities in Lombardy.
The group allegedly provided fake documents to around 15 terrorists and sold them to many others.
It was allegedly headed by Turko Arsimekov, a 35-year-old Chechen who was arrested in Varese last year and is linked to Kujtimi Fejzulai, the gunman who killed four people in a shooting spree in Vienna on November 2.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Populist Senator Salvini: Vaccines for Those Not at Risk ‘Is Not Good’
Populist Italian Senator Matteo Salvini has come out against vaccinating people he says are not at risk of serious complications of the Wuhan coronavirus, stressing that Italy must ease lockdown restrictions.
Salvini, who leads Italy’s most popular political party, the League, told reporters this week in Rome: “I think that vaccinating those who are not at risk is not good.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Meghan Markle’s ‘The Bench’ Book Fails to Make UK’s Top 50 Bestsellers List, Selling 3,212 Copies
Meghan Markle’s first children’s picture book failed to hit the UK Official Top 50 chart in its opening week of sales, with The Bench selling just 3,212 copies on release with an average rating of four stars.
The Daily Mirror reports the tome was beaten to the top of the sales charts by a volume from footballer Marcus Rashford.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tymoteusz Zych, the rector of the Collegium Intermarium, said he was not surprised that he was being attacked in the media even before the university he is in charge of opened its doors.
In an interview with Solidarity’s longstanding weekly “Tygodnik Solidarnosc”, he said this was because “universities are currently dominated by left wing views”. He said that he understood this could not be changed overnight and that it could not be done by “shutting ourselves in ghettoes”. It has to be done by “providing young people with an alternative to the leftist mainstream”.
He said that his institution would base itself on traditional values which have shaped Europe, but from which the continent has abandoned. It would also be based on promoting learning and free debate rather than ideology.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish Parliament United Against Russian-German Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline
In a rare show of unity, the Polish Parliament voted 452 to one for a resolution which called on the European Union, NATO and Germany to halt the construction of the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
“The Polish Sejm, in solidarity with our Central European neighbors threatened by Russia expansionism, especially Ukraine, calls on the EU and its member states, in particular Germany as our NATO ally and partner in the EU, to withdraw support for the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project and to take steps to stop its construction,” the text of the resolution reads.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poll: Clear Majority of Brits Think COVID-19 Was Leaked From Wuhan Lab
A new poll which included over 2,000 participants finds that a clear majority of Brits — 54 per cent — think COVID-19 was leaked from the Wuhan lab, with just 25 per cent saying they don’t believe that to be the case.
The survey, which was was conducted by JL, found that an additional 21 per cent say they don’t know where the virus originated.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Portugal: Why Ronaldo Hates Coca-Cola
Ronaldo’s rejection of Coca-Cola served as a refreshing reminder of how evil and harmful the company’s trash product really is.
The stunt wiped billions off Coca-Cola’s market value, but why did Ronaldo do it?
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Study Finds Lockdown Curfew May Have Increased Spread of COVID-19 in Greece
A new study out of Greece has found that the country’s lockdown curfew may have increased the spread of COVID-19 because it reduced shopping hours and caused more crowding in stores.
Analysts looked at data from two regions of the country, one from where a curfew had been imposed from 9pm and another, the Attica region which includes Athens, where a 6pm curfew was imposed in February.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Swiss Police Threaten to Arrest Trump Supporters at Biden-Putin Summit
Authorities in Switzerland threatened to arrest activists who staged a pro-Trump demonstration on Lake Geneva ahead of the Biden-Putin summit this week.
Organized by writer and commentator Noor Bin Ladin, the ‘boat flotilla’ was shut down mere moments after banners announcing “Trump Won” were unfurled in view of international media and tourists.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two in Three 30-Year-Old Greeks Live With Their Parents
Two out of three Greeks aged 18-34 live with their parents, according to recent Eurostat data. Greece ranks 6th in a list of 35 European countries where young people live under parental care.
According to a recent survey by the European Statistical Office (most data date back to 2019), the average number of young people aged 18-34 living with parents in European Union countries is close to 50%.
In Greece and Italy the corresponding percentage is 69.4% — an increase of 8.7 points from 2011 — while in the lowest rates are the Scandinavian and Northern European countries, such as Denmark with 17.2% and Finland with 19, 5%.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: London Antisemitism Attacks at Highest Since 1980s: Report
Reports of antisemitism in London have hit a record high in May, according to a Jewish charity which said that almost all were related to the conflict between Israel and Palestinian terror group Hamas.
The Community Security Trust (CST) said there were 201 antisemitic incidents reported in London, where two-thirds of the UK’s 300,000 Jewish people are said to live, and that there had been a five-fold increase in incidents since the beginning of the Middle East conflict.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Report: Perspex Screens Installed to Stop COVID May Have Actually Increased Its Spread
A leaked Whitehall document seen by Politico suggests that perspex screens installed to stop the transmission of COVID-19 may actually have increased its spread.
Businesses and schools were told by the government to install the screens as a condition of re-opening after the first lockdown and they were widely used by ‘essential’ shops throughout the entire period.
Politico’s Alex Wickham writes that the perspex screens could be about to be scrapped given new information the government has received on their efficacy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sister who worked at leper colony refused visa extension
(ANSA) — VATICAN CITY, JUN 11 — Iran on Friday expelled a 75-year-old Italian nun who worked for 26 years in a leprosy colony there.
Sister Giuseppina Berti has been told she must leave the country in a few days.
Berti is living as a pensioner at the house of the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity at Ispahan, after leaving the lepers’ colony at Tabriz.
Her companion, Austrian nun Fabiola Weiss, 77, has had her visa renewed for a year while her own has not been extended, Vatican media reported.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Russia-US Summit Begins in Geneva as Putin, Biden Sit Down to Start Talks
Discussions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart, Joe Biden, have begun in the Swiss city of Geneva, where the two are meeting for the first time since the US leader’s inauguration in January.
On Tuesday, the day before the summit, Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, revealed that the heads of state are planning to touch on a wide range of topics, including Covid-19, climate change, and the fight against cybercrime.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Former CDC Head Doubles Down, Says Coronavirus Came From Wuhan Lab
Former CDC Director Robert Redfield has doubled down on previous statements he made confirming his belief that the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Appearing on Fox News earlier this week, Redfield said in regards to the lab leak theory “my professional opinion, as a virologist, is that’s the hypothesis that I support.”
Redfield explained, “I had a very high-security clearance to work with the State Department and the national security group, including the secretary, Pompeo, where we reviewed material together to try to understand, help him understand what it meant scientifically.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Used COVID Tracing Data in Criminal Investigations (After Promising They Never Would)
Ever since contact tracing apps started to be implemented around the world as a way to keep the Covid pandemic at bay, privacy and civil rights advocates have been warning that this type of personal data collection could easily prove prone to abuse.
And as the example of Australia’s Western Australia state shows, not only have false promises been made that data collected by the SafeWA app would be used only for infectious disease tracking — the app was released and used nearly 250 million times before it was legally defined through a bill.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dominican Republic: Several Businesses Close for Breaking Curfew in La Romana
LA ROMANA — Authorities reported the temporary closure of at least three entertainment establishments allegedly holding “teteos” or clandestine parties in El Seibo, La Romana, and Villa Hermosa municipality.
In this sense, the National Police arrested the owner of a business located in the Gato batey, district 10 of Cumayasa, in Villa Hermosa municipality; a woman in El Seibo; and Privity Los Caraduras VIP, Rio Salado sector, in La Romana, last weekend.
In the intervention carried out in Gato, José Evangelista Boyer Candelario (a) Güario was arrested, and a sound system that caused noise pollution was seized.
The authorities have warned that they will not tolerate clandestine parties and the so-called “teteo” in any of the sectors or neighborhoods of the country.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
33 Migrants Found Close to Death Inside Texas U-Haul Truck
Border Patrol agents uncovered a human smuggling operation last Thursday in Van Horn, Texas, after rescuing 33 migrants crammed inside of a U-Haul truck.
Acting on a tip, agents found a locked U-Haul truck near a Van Horn McDonald’s. Upon further inspection, agents discovered that 33 migrants were in the back of the truck “who were close to perishing due to excessive heat,” according to KVIA.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dozens of migrants including young children and a baby have been picked up in the English Channel this morning after it was revealed the number arriving in the UK since January has topped 5,000 — more than double the same period last year.
The latest arrivals included toddlers who, if unaccompanied, will be relocated to other local authorities by the Home Office after Kent County Council said it could not accept anymore unaccompanied asylum seeking children from Monday.
Around 100 migrants have been intercepted so far today, according to eyewitness estimates, with more making the crossing set to be detained this afternoon.
[Comment: Article dated June 16, 2021.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Algerian Suspected of Raping Woman He Tried to Force Into Marriage for Citizenship
French prosecutors have indicted a 29-year-old Algerian migrant on suspicion of raping a woman and attempting to force her into marriage.
The Algerian migrant had initially approached the alleged victim several months ago, persuading her to go through with a sham marriage in exchange for €15,000 (£12,918/$18,163) so he could acquire French citizenship.
The woman told investigators that in the past, the Algerian had physically abused her and raped her, resulting in her becoming pregnant. She also told investigators that they had both made an appointment to get married with a civil registrar in Puy-en-Velay, Le Figaroreports.
The latest act of violence against the woman occurred last week when the Algerian assaulted the woman on the street in Le Puy-en-Velay, resulting in bystanders getting involved. Police later arrested the migrant.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gov. Greg Abbott Announces Texas is Providing Initial $250 Million “Down Payment” For Border Wall
Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday announced some new details of his plan for Texas to build its own border wall, starting with the hiring process for a program manager and providing $250 million in state funds as a “down payment.”
“Texas will build a border wall in our state to help secure our border,” Abbott said.
The governor did not specify how long the wall would be, where it would be built or the total cost of the project, saying that those decisions will need to be determined by a program manager. On Wednesday, Abbott directed the Texas Facilities Commission to hire a program manager to begin that work.
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Gov. DeSantis Sends Florida Law Enforcement to Assist at US-Mexico Border, Slams Biden Admin
The Biden border crisis hasn’t gone away as record arrivals for the months of March and April indicate. States are taking matters into their own hands and not waiting on the White House to come and rescue them.
As highlighted by The Daily Wire, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is sending Florida’s law enforcement officers to aid Texas and Arizona at their southern border.
In the press release announcement, DeSantis gave credit to former President Donald Trump for his strong efforts to curtail illegal migration.
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Greece: Departures of Illegal Migrants Double the Number of Arrivals in Jan-May
The departure of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants from Greece were double the total number of arrivals in the first five months of 2021, according to migration and asylum ministry figures released on Wednesday.
Specifically, 4,951 asylum seekers and illegal immigrants left either for other European countries or were sent to non-EU countries via the deportation and return mechanisms for third-country nationals.
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How Gmail Controls What Users See
Google’s Gmail not only sees what you are doing while using the service but it can also limit what you are allowed to see.
And the way it filters content proves that there is likely not a single segment of the tech juggernaut’s business that is fully respectful of its users privacy, and excluded from moderation/censorship policies.
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“The Routledge Handbook of Vegan Studies” is a 2021 scholarly anthology that analyzes veganism in relation to anti-racism, feminism, queer theory, anti-capitalism, religion, and posthumanism.
The 444-page book retails for $250 and includes chapters like “Radical recipe: veganism as anti-racism,” “Vegan studies and queer theory,” and “Vegan literature for children.”
Western Carolina University literature professor Laura Wright, who researches women’s literary history, “ecofeminism,” and postcolonialism, edited the publication. She first proposed vegan studies as a distinct academic discipline through her 2015 book “The Vegan Studies Project,” in which she argues that veganism is an “identity category.”
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Alt-tech platforms such as the decentralized, blockchain-based YouTube alternative Odysee are growing rapidly and are constantly adding new creators to their roster. However, as these alt-tech platforms grow, it can be difficult to stay up to date with which creators have embraced alt-tech and which are still only on YouTube.
This open-source “Watch on Odysee” browser extension has come up with an innovative solution to this problem.
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Swedish PM faces crisis as Left Party weighs no-confidence vote
https://www.reuters.com/article/sweden-politics-idUSL5N2NZ1I9
Today, I made a donation to Gov. Abbott to build the wall. It makes me feel as if I have contributed to save our country from the illegal criminals.