Gates of Vienna News Feed 6/22/2021

More body parts of the late Adam Johnson have been found in yet another location in Minneapolis. However, since Mr. Johnson’s skin color was white, it may yet be determined that his life doesn’t matter.

In other news, more than 100,000 people have signed a petition to prevent Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, from returning to Earth after his trip into space next month.

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

Thanks to Dean, Fjordman, 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.

Financial Crisis
» Hungarian Central Bank Head Criticizes 2022 Budget
 
USA
» 9-Year-Old Minnesota Girl Slams School Board for Violating Its Own ‘No Politics’ Policy With BLM Posters
» A Year After “Defund” Protests, Most Large Michigan Cities Spending More on Police, Not Less
» America’s Frontline Doctors Scrambled for New Host After WebFlow Pulled Support Due to Amazon “Misinformation” Rule
» Billie Eilish Apologizes Over Anti-Asian Slur, Megan Rapinoe Remains Silent on Hers
» Breaking: One Arrested in Loudoun County School Board Protest Over Critical Race Theory
» Breaking: Senate Republicans Block Election Reform Legislation
» Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Claims Homicides Are on ‘Downward Trend’ After Fatal Parade Shooting
» Coming in November: The First English Edition of the Qur’an That Translates ‘Jihad’ As ‘Jihad’
» ‘Critical Race Theory’ Roils Fort Worth School Board Meeting as Texas Braces for Continued Fight
» Damage Control: Portland Takes Out Full Page Ad in the New York Times After Year of Riots
» DC Mayor Falsely Claims There Was Only ‘One Night of Rioting’ In the District Last Summer
» Fact-Checker Poynter Demands Local News Reduce Coverage Crime Stories Because it Fuels “Systemic Racism”
» Gov. DeSantis Signs Civic Literacy Bills, Takes Aim at Socialism, Communism
» Ikea Accused of Racism for Plans to Serve Juneteenth Menu of Watermelon and Fried Chicken
» In Opposing Biden Nominee, Hawley Says Critical Race Theory Has Become Admin’s ‘Animating Ideology’
» Judge Tosses Most Claims Over Clearing Protesters in DC’s Lafayette Square
» ‘Make America Great Again’ Labeled as White Supremacy in Iowa CRT Training for Teachers
» More Body Parts Belonging to Adam Johnson Found in Minneapolis
» Over 100,000 Sign Petition to Prevent Jeff Bezos From Returning to Earth After Space Trip
» Portland Police Union Says Violence Encouraged and Enabled by Elected Officials Led to Riot Response Team Resignations
» Protest Outside Arizona Sen. Sinema’s Phoenix Office Leads to at Least 10 Arrests
» Ricketts Plans Town Halls to Oppose Proposed Health Standards, Critical Race Theory
» See You Tater: CNN’s Brian Stelter Suffers Another Humiliating Ratings Defeat
» Texas Gov. Abbott Calls Special Legislative Session to Begin July 8, To Include Critical Race Theory
» Texas: Muslim Gets 12 Years for Hiding His Brother, Who Murdered His Daughters for Dating Non-Muslims
» Virginia’s Loudoun County School Board Silences Public Comment After Raucous Meeting, 2 Men Arrested
» Washington Post Tried to Smear Me for Criticizing Race Theory — and Failed Spectacularly
» Watch: Joy Reid Asks Founding CRT Scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw ‘Is Critical Race Theory Marxism?’
 
Canada
» Breaking: Bill C-10, Canada’s Internet Censorship Bill, Passes in House After 1:30 Am Vote
» Extinction Rebellion Nanaimo Blocks Access to Nanaimo Assembly Wharf
» Nova Scotia Judge Lifts Injunction That Banned Gatherings During COVID-19 Lockdown
» Police Issue Tickets for Failing to Follow the Health Protection Act
» RCMP Preparing Charges Against Toronto it Worker Who Became ‘Voice of ISIS, ‘ Document Reveals
» Vote to End Calgary’s Mask Mandate Fails, Draws Criticism From Residents
 
Europe and the EU
» Austria: Prison Imam Agitates Against Counterjihad Measures
» COVID-19 Throws Spain Into the Worst Demographic Crisis Since Civil War
» Germany Launches Anti-Trust Probe Against Apple
» Germany: Suspected Arab Clan Shooting in Berlin Results in 27 Shots Fired From Moving Car, 3 Wounded
» More Christian Statues Vandalized in Poland
» Norway: Oslo University Agrees to Four-Year Deal With Communist China’s Fudan University
» Scotland’s New Hate Crime Bill Doesn’t Apply to Muslims
» Spain: Vox Leader Slams BLM Kneeling Gesture, Praises National Football Team for Rejecting It
» Sweden: Islamic State Jihadi Returns to Country, Threatens to Murder Health Care Worker and Her Family
» The German Police State is Cracking Down on Its Own Police Officers
» UK: Anti-Lockdown Westminster Protest: Police Officers Hurt and 14 Arrested
» UK: Amazon Show Plot Featured Fake Virus, Global Vaccine Program to Sterilize World Population
» UK: M&S Launches Lingerie ‘Inspired by George Floyd’
» UK: Tory Councillor’s House Firebombed in Third Attack in Three Years
» Vaccine Passports for Pubs Back on the Table in Britain: Report
 
Middle East
» Dubai Nail Salon Installing Microchips on Customers’ Fingernails
 
South Asia
» Afghanistan: Former President Says US Presence ‘Failed, ‘ as ‘Extremism is at the Highest Point Today’
» India: Kerala Madarsa Teacher Preaches “Kill the Ones Who Leave Islam” While Taking Online Lecture for Class 12 Students
» India: Wikipedia Dismisses Love Jihad as a Conspiracy Theory by Hindus, But Claims Reverse Love Jihad Against Muslims is Real
 
Far East
» Google Funded Virus Research by Wuhan Lab-Linked Scientist
 
Immigration
» Alarming Flow of Illegal Migrants Through Belarus: Lithuanian Border Guards Detain 58 Persons for One Day
» Bosnia: Members of Border Police Have Stopped Over 2,800 Migrants From Entering BiH
» Finland: ‘World’s Happiest Country’ Seeks Migrants
» Germany Refuses to Expel Syrian Islamist Extremists and Serious Criminals Despite Lifting Deportation Ban
» Italian Border City Sees Daily Inter-Ethnic Migrant Violence
» Mayor of Italian Border City Calls for ‘Night Patrols’ Amid Surge of Violent Migrants
» Migrant Crisis: 3,000 Mostly Moroccan Migrants Still Inside Spain’s Ceuta
» Pandemic and Immigration Form a Vicious Cycle, Says Hungarian Foreign Minister
 
Culture Wars
» Facing International Pressure, Hungary’s Orban Defends Child Sex Change Promotion Ban Laws
» Germany: UEFA Refuses to Light Up Football Stadium in LGBT Colors to Chide Hungary
» Indie Video Creator Matt Orfalea is Censored for Highlighting YouTube’s Censorship
» Instagram Threatens Paul Saladino Md, Carnivore Diet Proponent, With Deletion
» Music Companies Demand Location Data on Users of YouTube Rippers
» Top EU Official Uses Fake News to Condemn Poland Over LGBT Rights
 

Hungarian Central Bank Head Criticizes 2022 Budget

Hungary’s budget for next year is wrong, because its 5.9 percent deficit “unnecessarily introduces significant risks into the working of the Hungarian economy”, Hungarian Central Bank head György Matolcsy writes in daily Magyar Nemzet, announcing at the same time its “fourth campaign” to restore the budgetary balance.

“The management of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) is therefore launching its fourth campaign to restore fiscal balance in order to reduce next year’s general government deficit target to close to 3 percent as soon as possible, i.e. to the 3 to 3.4 percent of GDP ratio,” Matolcsy wrote.

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

9-Year-Old Minnesota Girl Slams School Board for Violating Its Own ‘No Politics’ Policy With BLM Posters

In a Lakeville, Minnesota area School Board meeting, a 9-year-old girl issued a scathing denunciation of the school board over the refusal to take down Black Lives Matter posters despite it’s own rules demanding there would be “no politics in school.”

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

A Year After “Defund” Protests, Most Large Michigan Cities Spending More on Police, Not Less

It was a last-minute, quixotic attempt to make a statement, any statement, about the future of policing in the city of Lansing.

On May 17, just before council members cast their final vote on the budget for the next fiscal year, council member Brian Jackson offered an amendment.

Never mind that he’d already offered the amendment earlier in the day, and it had failed. Never mind that it was non-binding, and both the police chief and the mayor had no plans to follow through. Jackson made the motion anyway.

“Just take two minutes,” he said to his colleagues on the video call, as he explained the purpose of the amendment one more time.

The Lansing Police Department has six unfilled positions for police officers, Jackson said. Some have been vacant for a long time. His amendment would shift some money in the budget, and give the police department the option to hire a social worker for one of the vacant positions instead of a police officer.

“This mere $22,000 shift is kind of a precursor and good faith to see what, if anything, we can work on when it relates to reimagining police,” Jackson said.

The mayor’s proposed budget already called for adding a social worker to the police department — the department’s second social worker. Jackson’s amendment would mean the department could add a third.

But, as expected, it failed.

A spokesperson for the city says the mayor plans to hire officers — not social workers — for all the vacant positions “in order to provide safety and security for Lansing.” On Monday night, the city commission voted to accept a federal grant that will add an additional five police officer positions in the city.

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

America’s Frontline Doctors Scrambled for New Host After WebFlow Pulled Support Due to Amazon “Misinformation” Rule

Amazon could have forced America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS) offline had the organization not acted quickly to look for an alternative. The Big Tech company seems to have taken issue with the organization for claiming COVID-19 vaccines may not be worth it in children.

America’s Frontline Doctors had its website built with WebFlow, which is ultimately hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Amazon, like other Big Tech, deemed the organization’s content to be “misinformation” and issued a notice last month that it should be removed from AWS.

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

Billie Eilish Apologizes Over Anti-Asian Slur, Megan Rapinoe Remains Silent on Hers

Despite Billie Eilish being forced to apologize for an “anti-Asian slur” uttered years ago, U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe hasn’t even bothered to delete a tweet that led to similar accusations being leveled against her.

Pop singer Eilish was in hot water for a video clip made when she was 13 or 14 during which she “seems to mouth an anti-Asian slur featured in Tyler The Creator’s song Fish, released in 2011,” according to Sky News.

Eilish also appeared to affect mocking accents during the clip.

Of course, in a sane world the ‘scandal’ is a complete nothingburger, but we now live in a world where people routinely get canceled for sometimes decades old behavior which is judged by today’s insane woke moral purity standards.

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

Breaking: One Arrested in Loudoun County School Board Protest Over Critical Race Theory

Parents at a Loudoun County schools meeting over critical race theory and transgender student policy erupted into chaos, prompting officials to put the meeting on hold. Police were called, and one parent was arrested.

Virginian parents were protesting the school board’s inclusion of Critical Race Theory in its syllabus when the outbursts were declared an unlawful assembly, as posted by the Daily Caller. A man can be seen being tackled by sheriff’s deputies during the chaos.

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

Breaking: Senate Republicans Block Election Reform Legislation

Senate Republicans have blocked sweeping election reform legislation that Democrats, backed by the White House, paint as crucial to ensuring voting rights but the GOP blast as partisan and power hungry.

The chamber voted 50-50 on advancing the For the People Act, splitting along party lines and failing to obtain the 60 votes needed to pass the proposal.

[Comment: My idea of election reform is: ID required to vote, and mail-in ballots only allowed for those in the military overseas and also for those who are physically handicapped.]

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

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Claims Homicides Are on ‘Downward Trend’ After Fatal Parade Shooting

Despite the fatal weekend in Chicago including the viral Puerto Rican Day Parade attack that left two gun shot victims dead, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that the city is experiencing “a downward trend” in both homicides and shootings.

In just over 48 hours, 65 residents in Chicago were shot, 10 were killed, and one woman was stabbed to death, according to WGN-TV.

Amidst the several dozen incident to occur over the weekend, the most shocking came on Saturday night in Humboldt Park. The fatal shooting was aired on Facebook Live. A video of the attack shows a couple being pulled out of their vehicle by a group of people, before one shoots at the two of them. The couple was coming from the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade in Chicago.

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

Coming in November: The First English Edition of the Qur’an That Translates ‘Jihad’ As ‘Jihad’

by Robert Spencer

I’m very pleased to announce that my book The Critical Qur’an: Explained from Key Islamic Commentaries and Contemporary Historical Research is set to be published by Bombardier Books on November 16, 2021, and is available for preorder now.

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

‘Critical Race Theory’ Roils Fort Worth School Board Meeting as Texas Braces for Continued Fight

Even before all the Fort Worth school trustees could take their seats, the chants of “No CRT!” echoed in the room only to be countered by a woman shouting out: “Stop whitewashing history!”

Parents, pastors, teachers and recent graduates packed a routine meeting that quickly transformed into one of the first major conflicts since Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law aimed at keeping “critical race theory” out of classrooms.

Many of those gathered Tuesday night decried the concept, which has become a political lighting rod for conservatives. Others, however, implored trustees to push for honest conversations about America’s often painful past and present.

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

Damage Control: Portland Takes Out Full Page Ad in the New York Times After Year of Riots

After a year that included 120 consecutive nights of rioting, the city of Portland purchased a full-page advertisement in The New York Times in an attempt to repair their image and attract tourists

The ad comes on the heels of the mass resignation of all of the members of the Portland Police Bureau’s riot squad following the indictment of Officer Corey Budworth for allegedly assaulting a photographer during a riot in August 2020 which officers call a witch hunt.

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

DC Mayor Falsely Claims There Was Only ‘One Night of Rioting’ In the District Last Summer

Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has falsely claimed that there was only “one night of rioting” in the district last summer and attempted to sidestep Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson’s questions on the matter.

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

Fact-Checker Poynter Demands Local News Reduce Coverage Crime Stories Because it Fuels “Systemic Racism”

Fact-checking institute Poynter is demanding that local news stations reduce coverage of stories that connect “Black and brown communities” to violent crime because it is fueling “systemic racism.”

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

Gov. DeSantis Signs Civic Literacy Bills, Takes Aim at Socialism, Communism

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a trio of bills that he said will help Florida become the No. 1 state in the nation in terms of civic literacy.

“It’s crucial to ensure that we teach our students how to be responsible citizens,” DeSantis said during a news conference at a Fort Myers middle school. “They need to have a good working knowledge of American history, American government and the principles that underline our Constitution and Bill of Rights.”

Included in the three bills — HB 5, HB 233 and SB 1108 — is a provision that will create a Portraits and Patriotism Library. The purpose, DeSantis said, is to make sure students learn about “real patriots” who came to America after fleeing communist and socialist regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua and Vietnam.

HB 233 will prohibit the State Board of Education from shielding students, staff and faculty from certain speech and requires the State Board of Education to conduct an annual assessment on intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity.

SB 1108 will require state college and university students to take both a civic literacy course and a civic literacy assessment as a graduation requirement.

HB 5 requires that the Florida Department of Education create an integrated K-12 civic education curriculum that includes an understanding of citizens’ shared rights and responsibilities under the Constitution and Bill of Rights, according to a news release. It also further expands required instruction in high school to include a comparative discussion of political ideologies.

At Tuesday’s news conference, DeSantis also attacked universities, saying that the institutions are intellectually repressive environments.

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

Ikea Accused of Racism for Plans to Serve Juneteenth Menu of Watermelon and Fried Chicken

IKEA came under fire on Tuesday after one of its stores in Atlanta planned a menu in honor of Juneteenth that would feature fried chicken and watermelon.

The Scandinavian furniture chain’s Georgia location sent an email to employees last week alerting its staff members that “to honor the perseverance of Black Americans and acknowledge the progress yet to be made,” the IKEA branch is rolling out the special menu on the federal holiday. The store-wide memo also announced that the it will be showcasing videos to observe Juneteenth.

The special Juneteenth menu also included collard greens, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, and candied yams—all traditional Southern comfort food.

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

In Opposing Biden Nominee, Hawley Says Critical Race Theory Has Become Admin’s ‘Animating Ideology’

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., railed against critical race theory, expressing concern that it is influencing the inner workings of the Biden administration as he opposed the nomination of Kiran Ahuja as director of the Office of Personnel Management.

In remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday morning, Hawley accused President Biden of nominating people “who do not believe that the history of this nation is worth celebrating,” but that the U.S. is “systemically racist” and unjust.

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

Judge Tosses Most Claims Over Clearing Protesters in DC’s Lafayette Square

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a majority of the claims filed by activists and civil liberties groups who accused the Trump administration of violating the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed by police using chemical agents from a park near the White House before then-President Donald Trump walked to a nearby church to take a photo.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich said Monday the claims in the suit, which alleged that Trump and then-Attorney General William Barr had conspired to violate the rights of protesters last June, were speculative and it was premature for the court to conclude whether the actions of law enforcement officers were justified.

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

‘Make America Great Again’ Labeled as White Supremacy in Iowa CRT Training for Teachers

Benny Johnson of Newsmax uncovered so-called “anti-racism” training was done in the state of Iowa by the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency.

His main concern was whether or not the state of Iowa would enforce a ban against CRT and postmodernist “diversity” related teachings.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds published a statement in response to Johnson’s findings.

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

More Body Parts Belonging to Adam Johnson Found in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) — Police have located additional remains belonging to Adam Johnson, the 36-year-old man whose dismembered body parts were found in a Minneapolis neighborhood last week.

Minneapolis Police Department spokesperson John Elder said officers received a 911 call around 6:44 a.m. Tuesday of human remains near West River Parkway and Franklin Avenue. Elder said the remains have been identified as Johnson’s.

Some of Johnson’s remains were first discovered last Thursday along the 300 block of Main Street. More body parts were found a short time later near the intersection of 3rd Avenue Northeast and University Avenue, not far from the first site.

Police are investigating Johnson’s death as a homicide…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Over 100,000 Sign Petition to Prevent Jeff Bezos From Returning to Earth After Space Trip

Over 100,000 people have signed petitions stating that once billionaire Jeff Bezos launches himself into space on July 20, they don’t want him to return to Earth.

One petition, titled “Do not allow Jeff Bezos to return to Earth” has gathered 82,000 signatures at the time of publishing. Another, titled “Petition To Not Allow Jeff Bezos Re-Entry To Earth” gathered more than 21,000. Both petitions were created two weeks ago after Bezos announced his plans for spaceflight.

“Jeff Bezos is actually Lex Luthor, disguised as the supposed owner of a super successful online retail store. However, he’s actually an evil overlord hellbent on global domination. We’ve known this for years. Jeff has worked with the Epsteins and the Knights Templar, as well as the Free Masons to gain control over the whole world. He’s also in bed with the flat earth deniers; it’s the only way they’ll allow him to leave the atmosphere. Meanwhile our government stands by and lets it happen,” wrote Jose Ortiz, who created the second petition.

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

Portland Police Union Says Violence Encouraged and Enabled by Elected Officials Led to Riot Response Team Resignations

The President of the Portland Police Association Daryl Turner said on Sunday that the entire Portland Police Rapid Response Team quit because local elected officials “encouraged and enabled some of the violence” that Portland endured for more than 150 consecutive nights of riots following the death of George Floyd.

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

Protest Outside Arizona Sen. Sinema’s Phoenix Office Leads to at Least 10 Arrests

Ten people were arrested during a protest in front of Arizona Democrat Krysten Sinema’sPhoenix office Tuesday, police officials told Fox News.

Dozens of protestors positioned themselves in front of Sinema’s office to demand she support abolishing the filibuster.

After being called to the scene by a property manager, officers from the Phoenix Police Department’s Community Engagement Bureau advised protesters over a loudspeaker to move their activity from the private property to a sidewalk, a spokesperson told Fox News.

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

Ricketts Plans Town Halls to Oppose Proposed Health Standards, Critical Race Theory

Gov. Pete Ricketts is planning a new series of town hall meetings to attack “radical sex education material” now under consideration by the Nebraska Department of Education.

In announcing those plans, the governor also took aim at “critical race theory.”

“Make no mistake: Critical race theory is an attack on our country’s core values,” Ricketts said in a column announcing plans to host a series of yet unscheduled town hall meetings across the state.

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

See You Tater: CNN’s Brian Stelter Suffers Another Humiliating Ratings Defeat

CNN host Brian Stelter’s “Reliable Sources” drew an abysmal 656,000 viewers on Father’s Day, marking the show’s smallest audience size of 2021. The left-wing program has fallen short of the 1 million viewer benchmark for 12 straight weeks.

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

Texas Gov. Abbott Calls Special Legislative Session to Begin July 8, To Include Critical Race Theory

Updated at 8 p.m. with Abbott comments on critical race theory.

AUSTIN — Barely three weeks since the end of the 87th regular session of the Texas Legislature, Gov. Greg Abbott has called a special session to start July 8.

“Agenda items will be announced prior to the convening of the special session,” Abbott’s initial announcement said.

The session, estimated to cost about $1 million, was anticipated after House Democrats broke quorum on May 30 to block passage of a controversial elections bill.

Abbott’s priority election bill is expected to be on the call for the session, which can last up to 30 days. House Democrats were able to kill the bill that would have overhauled election and voting by walking out in the waning days of the regular session, leaving the House without a quorum to consider legislation. Another priority of Abbott’s — changes to bail policies — died in the walkout.

But, later in a campaign call with supporters, the governor said he intends to add contentious legislation on critical race theory, as he had earlier suggested.

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

Texas: Muslim Gets 12 Years for Hiding His Brother, Who Murdered His Daughters for Dating Non-Muslims

When Yaser Said was caught in August 2020, Irving police Chief Jeff Spivey said: “This man brutally murdered — shot to death — his two daughters in his taxi cab. What led him to do that, I think at this point to us, is irrelevant.” And I pointed out that reports at the time of the murders said that Yaser Said murdered his daughters because they were dating non-Muslims. Now, ten months later, comes a mainstream media report that matter-of-factly admits this, albeit many paragraphs down in the story.

“For over a decade, he hid one of the FBI’s Most Wanted. On Friday, Yassein Said was sentenced to 12 years in prison,” by Eline de Bruijn and Jake Harris, WFAA, June 4, 2021.

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

Virginia’s Loudoun County School Board Silences Public Comment After Raucous Meeting, 2 Men Arrested

The embattled school board of Virginia’s Loudoun County cut off public comment during a fiery meeting Tuesday as residents traded barbs over new transgender policy proposals Tuesday following weeks of protests from district parents opposed to some of the measures, which they have criticized as potential left-wing indoctrination and a violation of parental rights.

The policies affect transgender student rights, privacy and restroom accommodations and would require Loudoun County Public Schools employees to use students’ preferred names or pronouns. An official school board vote on the proposal is not expected until at least Aug. 10.

But it has become a hot-button issue in the district, where 259 residents signed up to speak during the public comment session Tuesday and people lining up at the doors early to get seats in the packed auditorium.

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

Washington Post Tried to Smear Me for Criticizing Race Theory — and Failed Spectacularly

By Christopher Rufo

The Washington Post attempted to smear me, the nation’s most prominent opponent of critical race theory — and it backfired spectacularly.

The fight over CRT has consumed American media. Conservatives have rallied against the toxic neo-Marxist ideology that seeks to divide the country into the racial categories of oppressor and oppressed; liberals have defended it as a “lens” for understanding vague buzzwords such as “systemic racism” and “racial equity.”

I’ve been on the cutting edge of this battle. My investigative reporting, including columns for this paper, has exposed CRT in education, government and the corporate world. I’ve shed light on public schools forcing 8-year-olds to deconstruct their racial identities, telling white teachers they must undergo “antiracist therapy” and encouraging white parents to advocate for “white abolition.”

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

Watch: Joy Reid Asks Founding CRT Scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw ‘Is Critical Race Theory Marxism?’

In an interview with MSNBC’s Joy Reid Tuesday, Kimberlé Crenshaw, the activist turned Columbia University law professor who came up with the concept of intersectionality, if critical race theory is Marxism. Crenshaw could not deny it, and chose instead to dance around the question.

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

Breaking: Bill C-10, Canada’s Internet Censorship Bill, Passes in House After 1:30 Am Vote

Bill C-10 passed last night, 196 to 112.

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

Extinction Rebellion Nanaimo Blocks Access to Nanaimo Assembly Wharf

NANAIMO — A protest against old growth logging in B.C. stymied anyone trying to enter Port Authority lands.

Roughly 20 people blocked the 1 Port Dr. entrance into the Nanaimo Assembly Wharf on Tuesday, June 22 starting at 1 p.m.

While they held up signs and blocked the entrance, activist Howard Breen swam out to a logging freighter being loaded in Nanaimo to inconvenience their operation.

Spokesperson Robert Fuller told the crowd they want an immediate ban on the export of raw logs and the sale of wood waste from old-growth forests, as well as higher taxes on exports from second-growth forests to encourage investments in local mills.

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

Nova Scotia Judge Lifts Injunction That Banned Gatherings During COVID-19 Lockdown

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia Supreme Court has lifted an injunction granted to the province that banned protests and other gatherings during the recent COVID-19 lockdown.

Justice Gail Gatchalian made the ruling Tuesday following a short hearing in Halifax.

The injunction was granted on May 14 and was primarily aimed at two anti-mask protests, but its reach extended to other gatherings and events and also banned their promotion on social media.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has criticized the court order as too broad and its challenge to the original injunction will be heard at a June 30 hearing.

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

Police Issue Tickets for Failing to Follow the Health Protection Act

Halifax Regional Police have issued summary offence tickets for failing to comply with the regulations set out in the Health Protection Act.

On June 20 police received a report of a social gathering at a residence in Halifax that was exceeding the provincially mandated gathering limits. Officers issued summary offence tickets to two men under section 71 (1) (b) of the Health Protection Act for failing to comply with the act and its regulations which carries a fine of $2,422.

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

RCMP Preparing Charges Against Toronto it Worker Who Became ‘Voice of ISIS, ‘ Document Reveals

A former Toronto IT worker, known as the “voice of ISIS” because he narrated its gruesome execution videos, is being investigated by the RCMP for “serious terrorism offences,” a court document unsealed Tuesday reveals.

The RCMP alleged in the top-secret affidavit it had reason to believe Mohammed Khalifa, a Canadian citizen captured in Syria by U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in January 2019, had committed four terrorism offences.

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

Vote to End Calgary’s Mask Mandate Fails, Draws Criticism From Residents

While the Alberta government will remove most public health restrictions on Canada Day, their municipal counterparts believe more debate is needed despite rising vaccination rates.

On Monday, Calgary City Council voted to extend its mask mandate until at least July 5, with Edmonton set to debate its mandate later today. In a motion to repeal Calgary’s mask bylaw to align with the provincial reopening plan, councillors entered a 7-7 tie and lost the vote.

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

Austria: Prison Imam Agitates Against Counterjihad Measures

“One would wish that he would take action against extremism. But sometimes he seems to locate the extremism more with the authorities than with the accused.”

Of course. It isn’t “extremist,” as far as Džemal Šibljakovic, to wage jihad for the sake of Allah.

“Vienna prison imam attacks terrorist investigation,” translated from “Wiener Gefängnis-Imam greift Terror-Ermittlungen an,” by Stefan Beig, Exxpress, June 19, 2021 (thanks to Medforth).

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

COVID-19 Throws Spain Into the Worst Demographic Crisis Since Civil War

The concomitant drop in births and the major death toll from the coronavirus pandemic have thrown Spain in its worst demographic crisis since the Spanish Civil War, daily El Pais writes.

Never have so many people died in Spain in a single year since the National Statistics Institute (INE) began collecting demographic data in 1941, two years after the end of the Spanish Civil War. At the same time, the country has never experienced so few childbirths.

The two concurrent phenomena in 2020 have resulted in a devastating demographic balance, according to the provisional data on the natural movement of the population published last Thursday by the INE.

In 2020, 492,930 people have died, 74,227 more than in 2019, representing an increase of 17.73 percent. Only 339,206 children were born, 5.94 percent less than in the previous year. Thus, the balance of births in relation to deaths is the worst in the entire historical record,. There were 153,167 more deaths than births, tripling the figure for 2019, which was already the worst until then.

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

Germany Launches Anti-Trust Probe Against Apple

Germany’s top antitrust watchdog on Monday launched an investigation into Apple’s business dealings.

The Bonn-based Federal Cartel Office (FCO) wants to determine whether the tech giant abused its market dominance.

How will the FCO conduct its investigation?

As a first step, the watchdog will assess whether the company has a “paramount significance across markets” that stifles competition.

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

Germany: Suspected Arab Clan Shooting in Berlin Results in 27 Shots Fired From Moving Car, 3 Wounded

Berlin’s Wedding district experienced a dramatic night over the weekend, with shooters firing 27 bullets from a moving car on Müllerstrasse, reports the Bild daily. Three people were injured, and one woman suffered from a panic attack, added the Focus weekly.

The perpetrators remain on the run.

Some bullets broke through the restaurant windows and injured three people. A 28-year-old suffered severe back injuries. According to the latest reports, he underwent surgery in the hospital, and his life is not in danger. Another 33-year-old man suffered a hand injury, but he left the hospital that night. The third wounded was a 38-year-old man who escaped the shooting as the bullet “just scratched” him. He refused treatment at the hospital.

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

More Christian Statues Vandalized in Poland

The police are currently investigating graffiti targeting statues Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady Immaculate as well as the church itself, which is located in Szczecin, Poland.

The attack on the church follows a pattern of churches being targeted across Poland and the broader trend of attacks rising across Europe against Christians and their places of worship.

The parish of Our Lady of Jasna Góra in Szczecin announced that the incident took place on the night between last Saturday and Sunday. The figures of Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady Immaculate and their chapel were profaned and vandalized by unknown perpetrators.

Upside-down red crosses were painted on both statues, while the chapel itself was profaned with a reverse pentagram.

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

Norway: Oslo University Agrees to Four-Year Deal With Communist China’s Fudan University

The University of Oslo in Norway has agreed to a four-year deal with the Chinese Communist Party-controlled Fudan University to establish a European Centre for China Studies on Norwegian soil, despite Hungary shelving similar plans after weeks of protest in Budapest.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Scotland’s New Hate Crime Bill Doesn’t Apply to Muslims

As a result of having had an incompetent Pakistani Muslim, Humza Yousaf, as Justice Minister, Scotland now has legislation in place that allows us to be arrested for dinner conversations we might have in our own homes, if anyone feels there is “hate” involved. This is all done under the guise of allowing everyone to get along. The reality is that the bill is nothing more than a gag order against people who are unwilling to put up with the human rights violations that all too often occur when living next to Pakistani Muslims. Rather than adapt and fit in, many Muslims want us silenced so we can’t criticise them.

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

Spain: Vox Leader Slams BLM Kneeling Gesture, Praises National Football Team for Rejecting It

Santiago Abascal — the leader of Spain’s right-wing populist Vox party — has slammed the use of the Black Lives Matter kneeling gesture at the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament, and lauded the Spanish national football team’s decision not to participate.

Before Spain’s opening match against Sweden, Abascal took to social media, writing: “Disguised as a gesture against racism, some are determined to bring nations to their knees. We are seeing it in sport.”

“Spain must not kneel before those who insult our history and the legacy of a nation that never looked at the color of its skin,” the populist leader added with an image which states: “Spain Does Not Kneel.”

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

Sweden: Islamic State Jihadi Returns to Country, Threatens to Murder Health Care Worker and Her Family

Celebrate diversity! Not to have let this jihadi back into the country would have been racist!

“IS-Terrorist Sentenced for Death Threat Against Health Care Worker,” translated by Gary Fouse from “IS-Terrorist Döms För Dödshot Mot Vårdanställd,” Samtiden, June 17, 2021.

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

The German Police State is Cracking Down on Its Own Police Officers

This month, German and international news have announced the disbanding of the Frankfurt special police task force known as SEK. The bold headlines have informed about the uncovering of a right-wing extremist group, chat rooms with far-right content, and quoted the political decision-makers as saying that there was “no other choice” than to disband the “unruly” police unit with immediate effect.

When he spoke about an immediate effect, the state of Hesse’s interior minister, Peter Beuth (CDU), was not exaggerating. As he put it “regardless of the outcome of the investigation, it is clear to me that none of these people will work for a special unit in Hesse.”

He would never tolerate such a misconduct, added Beuth.

In the political atmosphere of Angela Merkel’s Germany, such a statement might not even raise an eyebrow among the country’s citizens, but when a state minister is free to disband a police unit “regardless of the outcome of an investigation”, this raises serious questions not only about the principle of presumption of innocence, but about the state of democracy in Germany.

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

UK: Anti-Lockdown Westminster Protest: Police Officers Hurt and 14 Arrested

Three police officers have been injured and 14 people arrested during an anti-lockdown protest in central London.

The Met Police said protesters were becoming “obstructive and hostile” towards officers during the demonstration in Westminster earlier.

The force said people were arrested for offences including assaulting an emergency service worker, public order offences and obstructing the highway.

It said the police officers had not been seriously injured.

The protest comes on the earliest day it had been planned for Covid-19 restrictions to be further eased in England, however the government has delayed this date by up to four weeks amid concern over the Delta variant.

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

UK: Amazon Show Plot Featured Fake Virus, Global Vaccine Program to Sterilize World Population

An Amazon series released at the height of the COVID pandemic revolved around a plot where a virus is deliberately released and then a vaccine offered to a terrified public as a form of population control.

Utopia is a remake of the UK Channel 4 series originally released in 2013 and stars Jessica Rothe, Rainn Wilson, and John Cusack.

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

UK: M&S Launches Lingerie ‘Inspired by George Floyd’

UK department store M&S has launched a new line of ‘inclusive’ underwear inspired by George Floyd.

Because there’s nothing that says female empowerment more than celebrating a criminal who robbed a pregnant woman at gunpoint.

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

UK: Tory Councillor’s House Firebombed in Third Attack in Three Years

A Conservative councillor in Scotland had his home and cars firebombed by suspected gangsters in a third attack on the Tory politician in as many years.

In what is believed to be a product of organised crime, Avondale and Stonehouse Tory Councillor Graeme Campbell’s property was set ablaze in Strathaven, Lanarkshire in the early hours of Saturday.

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

Vaccine Passports for Pubs Back on the Table in Britain: Report

Boris Johnson’s government has reportedly put the idea of using coronavirus passports in pubs back on the table should cases of the virus spike later this year.

While the government has seemingly backed away from the idea of using vaccine passports for restaurants, pubs, and other indoor public meeting spaces, the plan is said to have gained steam as an alternative to shutting down the businesses again during the winter months.

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

Dubai Nail Salon Installing Microchips on Customers’ Fingernails

A beauty salon in Dubai is carrying out “microchip manicures” where tiny microchips that act as digital business cards are planted on a customer’s fingernail, with the chip eventually intended to be used for contactless payments and digital menus.

“We install the information that you want, like your name, your mobile number, your social media accounts and website as well,” Lanour Beauty Lounge founder Nour Makarem told CNN.

The COVID-19 pandemic has evidently helped generate interest in the procedure, with the beauty parlor already claiming it has marked 500 customers with the chip.

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

Afghanistan: Former President Says US Presence ‘Failed, ‘ as ‘Extremism is at the Highest Point Today’

By Robert Spencer

Karzai is correct. But no one in Washington is going to face the reality of why the U.S. military misadventure failed. It failed because it was wrongly conceived, with no understanding of the importance of Sharia for the majority of Afghans, and of the significance of their attachment to it. So the Bush administration that Afghanistan could be turned relatively easily into a Western-style democracy, with full equality of rights for women and religious minorities. The Taliban were able to counter this by presenting themselves as the defenders of Islam as well as of the invaded nation, so the U.S. presence doubly aided the Taliban even as the group was temporarily driven from power.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

India: Kerala Madarsa Teacher Preaches “Kill the Ones Who Leave Islam” While Taking Online Lecture for Class 12 Students

In an undated video that has gone viral on social media, Shafi Saadi Kumaramputtur a teacher of Samastha Kerala Sunni education board preached that anyone who leaves the religion of Islam should be killed.

While taking an online session of class 12 students, Shafi Saadi can be heard saying, “If someone quits Islam/religion then what is his fate? Islam asks him to repent, still, if he does not repent then he needs to be killed by the ruler or who is responsible.”

“Is that violence? No. But it is to remind the followers of Islam that what is the consequence of leaving the religion and how he will be treated after death. He will go to hell,” Shafi Saadi preached further.

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

India: Wikipedia Dismisses Love Jihad as a Conspiracy Theory by Hindus, But Claims Reverse Love Jihad Against Muslims is Real

For thousands, if not lakhs of non-Muslim women in India, Love Jihad is a grim and disconcerting reality, but not for online platform Wikipedia that intends to wish away the sufferings of these women as a fictional concept. In another incidence of misinformation spread by leftist online encyclopedia, Wikipedia dismisses the phenomenon of Love Jihad as “a conspiracy theory developed by the proponents of Hindutva that has been used to invoke prejudice against Muslims”.

“The conspiracy theory purports that Muslim men target Hindu women for conversion to Islam by means such as seduction, feigning love, deception, kidnapping, and marriage, as part of a broader “war” by Muslims against India, and an organised international conspiracy, for domination through demographic growth and replacement,” read the distorted definition of Love Jihad published on Wikipedia.

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

Google Funded Virus Research by Wuhan Lab-Linked Scientist

After spending much of the past year suppressing information related to the Wuhan lab leak, it has now emerged that Google funded virus research carried out by Wuhan-linked scientist Peter Daszak.

Yes, really.

Until recently, those who dared voice their contention that the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology found themselves being censored and in some cases banned by Google-owned YouTube.

Now we realize why.

Google had been funding the Wuhan lab-linked organization led by Daszak — EcoHealth Alliance — for over a decade.

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

Alarming Flow of Illegal Migrants Through Belarus: Lithuanian Border Guards Detain 58 Persons for One Day

In the past 24 hours, three groups of illegal migrants were detained by border guards; the foreigners attempted to enter the country from the territory of Belarus, the Lithuanian border service reported on Tuesday morning.

58 foreigners were detained on June 21-22, including 54 Iraqis and 4 Sri Lankans. All of them are seeking asylum in Lithuania.

Since the beginning of the year, a total of 498 illegal migrants have come to Lithuania through the Belarusian-Lithuanian border, which is six times more than for the whole year of 2020. Last year, 81 illegal migrants were apprehended by Lithuanian officers, in 2019 — 46. The Lithuanian authorities even started to consider erecting a fence on the border to strengthen the defence.

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

Bosnia: Members of Border Police Have Stopped Over 2,800 Migrants From Entering BiH

In the last 24 hours in the Zvornik area, 40 people were deterred from trying to cross the state border illegally.

Since the beginning of this year, members of the Border Police (BP) of Bosnia and Herzegovina have deterred more than 2,800 people from trying to cross the state border illegally, most of them citizens of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Morrocco and others, Border Police BiH spokeswoman Franka told Fena. Vican.

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

Finland: ‘World’s Happiest Country’ Seeks Migrants

Repeatedly dubbed the happiest nation on the planet with world-beating living standards, Finland should be deluged by people wanting to relocate, but in fact it faces an acute workforce shortage.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Germany Refuses to Expel Syrian Islamist Extremists and Serious Criminals Despite Lifting Deportation Ban

Despite having lifted its ban on deportations at the beginning of this year, Germany’s ruling liberal government has so far refused to repatriate Islamist extremists and serious criminals from Syria back to their homeland.

The ban on deportations of Syrian migrants, which first came into effect in 2012, was officially ended on Jan. 1, 2021 after federal and state interior ministers in Germany failed to agree on terms that would have seen the ban extended. Despite the ban having been lifted, however, the federal government reported earlier this month that not a single radical Islamist or serious criminal from Syria has been repatriated, Junge Freiheit reports.

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

Italian Border City Sees Daily Inter-Ethnic Migrant Violence

The Italian city of Ventimiglia along the French border sees daily incidents of inter-ethnic migrant violence as hundreds attempt to cross into France.

Inter-ethnic brawls between migrants often take place at night and are almost always fueled by the consumption of alcohol, with most of the conflicts taking place around the city’s train station.

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

Mayor of Italian Border City Calls for ‘Night Patrols’ Amid Surge of Violent Migrants

Illegal migrants are wreaking havoc in the small Italian city of Ventimiglia, prompting the mayor to request ‘night patrols’ to mitigate frequent violence, according to reports.

A build-up of migrants making their way to France has sparked chaos in the seaside city of approximately 55,000 inhabitants.

Ventimiglia Mayor Gaetano Scullino has issued a request to provincial authorities to deploy extra police officers and resources due to frequent attacks by migrants upon locals, as well as each other, ANSA reports.

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

Migrant Crisis: 3,000 Mostly Moroccan Migrants Still Inside Spain’s Ceuta

A month after more than 10,000 people surged across the Moroccan border into Ceuta, around 3,000 of them are still inside the Spanish enclave, the city’s top official said Thursday. “We calculate that 3,000 people are still here — both adults and minors — of the 12,000 who entered our city unlawfully on May 17 and 18,” Juan Vivas told reporters. Of that number, 830 were unaccompanied minors, he said. Almost all of those who crossed were Moroccans and most were quickly sent back.

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

Pandemic and Immigration Form a Vicious Cycle, Says Hungarian Foreign Minister

The epidemic and migration form a vicious cycle, as the more places an epidemic occurs, the more people try to migrate, and the more people who try to migrate, the greater the risk of the epidemic spreading, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjartó said in Luxembourg on Monday during a one-day meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU member states.

Speaking to Hungarian journalists during a break, Szijjartó emphasized that it is clear that the world is about to experience a fresh outbreak of migration, as all the processes that sparked migration waves in the recent period have intensified.

“We have only one task: to protect our own citizens from the dangers of the new waves of migration, and we must seize all the means at our disposal to stop the migration processes,” Szijjartó said.

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

Facing International Pressure, Hungary’s Orban Defends Child Sex Change Promotion Ban Laws

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has defended new anti-paedophile laws including a ban on institutions promoting transgenderism and homosexuality to under-18s, insisting that decisions about such education are up to parents.

Critics of the Hungarian legislation and mainstream media outlets, including the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), have compared it to the notorious Russian legislation “for the Purpose of Protecting Children from Information Advocating for a Denial of Traditional Family Values” passed in 2013 — the so-called “gay propaganda law”.

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

Germany: UEFA Refuses to Light Up Football Stadium in LGBT Colors to Chide Hungary

UEFA has refused a request by the city of Munich to light up the Allianz Arena in LGBT rainbow colors after authorities insisted it would be a way to oppose Hungary’s new law which forbids promotion of homosexuality and transgenderism to children.

As we highlighted last week, the new law bans showing children under the age of 18 being shown material related to homosexuality or transgenderism in education, on television, movies or in advertisements.

The bill was passed by the Hungarian parliament partly as a way of ensuring that children are not exposed to any information that encourages them to attempt to change their gender.

This infuriated authorities in Munich, and with Germany set to face Hungary in Euro 2020 tomorrow, Mayor Dieter Reiter attempted to have the whole stadium lit up with rainbow colors.

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

Indie Video Creator Matt Orfalea is Censored for Highlighting YouTube’s Censorship

Matt Orfalea, an independent video creator, who often covers politics, was censored for covering YouTube’s censorship of ivermectin. YouTube punished him for private uploads of clips.

YouTube has been censoring content suggesting ivermectin could be effective against COVID-19 for violating its policies on “medical misinformation.”

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

Instagram Threatens Paul Saladino Md, Carnivore Diet Proponent, With Deletion

Paul Saladino MD, the host of The Fundamental Health Podcast, has informed his followers on Instagram that his account may soon be deleted by the Facebook-owned company.

In a post accompanied by a screenshot of the warning message he received, Saladino said that he was not aware of why Instagram found his content objectionable, but assumed it had to do with his stance on Covid.

The notice cites two instances — one from June this year and one from November 2020, that Instagram believes didn’t follow its guidelines.

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

Music Companies Demand Location Data on Users of YouTube Rippers

A copyright lawsuit filed by several record labels, including Sony, against YouTube rippers is in the discovery process, where the plaintiffs are demanding logs of users location and content downloaded. The operators of the sites claim to not keep such logs, but could be forced by the court to begin doing so if companies like Sony get their way.

Record labels, especially big ones, see YouTube rippers as a major threat, as they allow users to “own” their music without buying or streaming it. To fight this threat they have taken several measures, including taking site operators to court.

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

Top EU Official Uses Fake News to Condemn Poland Over LGBT Rights

False news reports about “LGBT-free zones” in Poland — areas where LGBT people are allegedly not allowed to enter — has raised its ugly head again, this time being used by a top EU official to condemn the country.

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

One thought on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 6/22/2021

  1. Aron Flam is acquitted of copyright infringement
    Domestic

    Today, the Stockholm District Court announced a ruling in the high-profile case concerning the comedian Aron Flam’s book “This is a Swedish tiger”. It was last summer that the Public Prosecutor’s Office prosecuted Flam for copyright infringement due to the image that adorns the cover: “A Swedish tiger” is reproduced there but modified with a swastika bracelet and a Sieg Heil greeting. But on Friday, the district court acquitted the author.

    Flam was charged with intentionally or with gross negligence infringing the work’s copyright. It is the Emergency Management Museum that owns the rights to “A Swedish tiger” and it was they who reported him. The original picture was made by the artist Bertil Almqvist where the tiger is blue-yellow-striped.

    This summer, the police broke into the comedian’s attention-grabbing forms and confiscated his stock of books, a seizure later claimed by the Patent and Market Court.

    The book is about Sweden’s role during World War II and criticizes the country’s attitude and actions towards Nazi Germany.

    Exceptions for parody
    The district court acquits Flam with reference to the so-called “parody exception”:

    In its decision, the district court writes, among other things:

    A Swedish Tiger is a work of visual art that was created in the early 1940s by Bertil Almqvist. The work was added after an initiative from the Armed Forces about a so-called vigilance campaign. The campaign aimed to strengthen the security awareness of Sweden’s population.

    According to the Patent and Market Court’s assessment, it is clear that Aron Flam’s use of a tiger has been a parodic element in his communication, with the cape aimed at what Almqvist’s tiger has become a symbol of, rather than the original work itself as such. The tiger has been put in a new context that noticeably distinguishes it from the original work and it carries a clear and ridiculous message. [..] The dispositions thus fall under the parody exception.

    ==========================================

    The Court of Appeal states: satire by a Swedish tiger is not a copyright infringement
    Domestic

    June 23, 2021

    at 21.15

    To make a satire on “A Swedish tiger” is not a violation of copyright law. The Court of Appeal now also rules after the acquittal in a lower instance has been appealed.

    Comedian and social debater Aron Flam attracted a lot of attention with his book “This is a Swedish tiger” about the chapter in Swedish social democratic (and also bourgeois) history that the parties prefer to forget – about how to stay out of World War II by collaborating with Hitler -Germany.

    READ MORE: Aron Flam reveals the dark secrets of the Social Democrats: “Sweden tried to reject the Allied victory over Germany”

    Inconvenient book for several parties
    The book’s digging into the dark past of the Swedish parties was not appreciated by everyone and by accusing Flam of copyright infringement for the satirical version of the famous “A Swedish tiger” where the tiger completely introduced Nazi armband could persuade the police to confiscate the entire printed edition.

    In the district court, Flam was acquitted of the criminal charges and the seizure of the books was lifted. A further attempt was made to keep the book off the shelves and the Swedish people were made by appealing the acquittal.

    READ MORE: The prosecutor appeals the acquittal to Aron Flam

    Receives praise from the Court of Appeal
    But on Tuesday, the Court of Appeal / Patent and Market Court of Appeal announced. The district court’s acquittal is upheld. Flam has not infringed copyright. The image has its own work height and also constitutes satire, for which there is extra scope in copyright legislation.

    The court writes in its summary in praiseworthy terms that Flam “expressed his creativity in an original way and that it is clear that the image is to be judged as an independent work of art in relation to the original work”.

    Author of the text

    Mats Dagerlind

Comments are closed.