Gates of Vienna News Feed 7/23/2021

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said that unvaccinated people are to blame for the resurgence of the Wuhan Coronavirus. Meanwhile, the British government refused to rule out the possibility that people will need to have vaccine passports to be able to attend church services. Also, a medical health expert on CNN said that unvaccinated people should be kept apart and forced to submit to PCR tests every day.

In other news, in an effort to combat systemic racism, the Cleveland Indians baseball team has changed its name to the Cleveland Guardians.

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

Thanks to Dean, DV, Reader from Chicago, Upananda Brahmachari, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Financial Crisis
» Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Jump 51,000 to 419,000
 
USA
» After More Than a Century, The Cleveland Indians Are Now the Guardians
» Americans Set to Turn Off Olympics as Athletes’ Wokeness Kicks Into High Gear: Poll
» Anti-Vaccine Groups Changing Into ‘Dance Parties’ on Facebook to Avoid Detection
» Billboard Slams Reuters for Conflicting Reporting About Cubans, BLM Protestors Spreading COVID
» Chicago to Enforce Compulsory Masks in Schools Regardless of Vaccination
» CNN: Segregate Unvaccinated, Make Them Pay for Tests Every Day
» FBI Warns Against Illegal Fake Vaccine Cards Ahead of Lollapalooza in Chicago
» Federal Court Rules CDC’s COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium is Unlawful
» Hasbro Whistleblower Suspended for Revealing Company’s Critical Race Theory Training
» Homeless Crack Addict Featured in Hunter Biden’s Memoir Says He Lied About Their Close Relationship
» House Republicans Slam Biden’s Surgeon General for ‘Colluding With Big Tech’
» ‘I’m Not a Cold-Blooded Killer,’ Murder Defendant Drew Blahnik Tells Grand Jury
» Ninth Circuit Rules Against Calif. Gov. Newsom Order Barring Private School in-Person Teaching
» NSA Confirmed to Have ‘Unmasked’ Tucker Carlson in Surveilled Communications
» Peter Daszak and the Virus
» Preliminary Hearing Set for Man Accused of Throwing One Year-Old Daughter Off Cliff
» Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn Says He Wants to Prosecute Fauci ‘To the Full Ability of the Law’
» Senate Armed Services Committee Votes to Force Women to Register for Military Draft
» Surgeon General Says “Equity” Is the Reason COVID “Misinformation” Needs to be Censored Online
» The Weird History of UFO Cults, And How it’s Only Going to Get Worse
» Twitter Bans the Nation of Islam
» University Launches Country’s First Degree Program in ‘Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion’
» Video: Alabama Governor Declares ‘It’s Time to Blame the Unvaccinated for COVID’
» Video: Fauci Says Rand Paul “Totally Distorted Reality” by Accusing Him of Lying to Congress
» Watch: Obama’s Former Doctor Anticipates Biden Will Resign Due to Cognitive Health Concerns
 
Canada
» No Job Creation for Media in $595-Million Canadian Bailout: Report
 
Europe and the EU
» “Keep Leftist, Demoralizing and Indoctrinating Ideologies Away From Our Children!” Warns Polish Education Minister
» 1,250 Clergy Members Warn Vaccine Passports Would Create “Medical Apartheid” In UK
» Czechia: Vaccination Against COVID-19 Will Not be Mandatory Under This Government, PM Babis Promises
» European Commission Drafts New Regulation Allowing Monitoring of Electronic Communications
» Female Suspect Injured Three French Cops in ‘Acid Attack’
» Greek Government to Consider Mandatory Vaccinations
» Six Reasons Why the Central European Recovery Will be Fast
» Sweden: Pregnant Children Found Begging on Street During Police Operation
» UK Government Refuses to Rule Out Vaccine Passports for Church
» UK Working on Plans for Annual Coronavirus Vaccine, Vaccine Passports Confirmed, Says Minister
» UK: Conservative MP Suggests Government Should Consider “Mandating Flu Vaccination” For Young People to Attend Venues
» UK: Khan’s Violence Reduction Unit ‘Not Getting Anywhere’, London on Track for Record Teen Killings in 2021
» UK: Labour MP Apsana Begum Defrauded Taxpayer of £63,928, Court Hears
» UK: Police Warn ‘Raves Will Not be Tolerated’
» UK: Tory Lockdown Sceptic Warns Govt Against Shutting Down UK in Autumn
» We Need a Europe of Strong Nations, Hungarian Justice Minister Says
 
South Asia
» India: Priest of East Udali Mosque in Assam’s Lanka Arrested on Rape Charges
 
Far East
» Crowds Protest Tokyo Olympics During Opening Ceremonies—chants Heard Inside Stadium
» Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Says She Was Briefed About ChiCom’s Race-Specific Bioweapons Program
 
Australia — Pacific
» Billionaires Segregate Themselves on Luxury Private Islands as Ordinary People Told They Can’t Travel
 
Latin America
» Flotilla Leaves Friday From South Florida, Showing Support for Cuba Protesters
 
Immigration
» Austria’s Kurz Vows ‘No Stop’ to Deportations of Afghan Migrants After Latest Attack
» Border Force Detained 400 Migrants Over Last Two Days After 17 Boats Were Intercepted in English Channel Taking Total Number This Year to 8,840
» France Restricts Petrol Sales to Hurt Migrant Smugglers
» Priti Patel’s Radical New Immigration Plan for Brexit Britain Soars Through Commons
» Smugglers Packed Migrants in Car Boots for 250kph Dash Across Greek Border
» Texas Gov. Abbott Begins Arresting Illegals for Trespassing at Border
» UK: Channel Crossings: Smuggling Gangs Put Up Disturbing Ads With ‘Money Back’ Guarantee
» UK: Couple’s Wedding Reception Cancelled Because Hotel is Being Used to House Migrants
 
Culture Wars
» Court Rebukes University for Punishing Christian Student Group for Not Allowing Gay Leaders
» Cybersecurity Experts Encourage System of Reporting Workers to Employers for “Online Abuse”
» New Poll Shows Gen Z Has Most Negative Opinion of Cancel Culture
» UK: Hundreds of Trans Activists Are Threatening to Kill Me, Says J.K. Rowling
 

Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Jump 51,000 to 419,000

The jobs market’s progress appeared to stall last week.

New claims for unemployment benefits soared by 51,000 to 419,000 for the week ended July 17, the Department of Labor said Thursday.

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

After More Than a Century, The Cleveland Indians Are Now the Guardians

On Friday Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team announced that their name has officially changed from the “Indians” to the “Guardians.”

According to Fox News, Paul Dolan, the team’s leader, wrote a statement to the team’s fans, which was placed on a brand-new section of the team’s website:

“Indians will always be part of our history just as Cleveland has always been the most important part of our identity.”

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

Americans Set to Turn Off Olympics as Athletes’ Wokeness Kicks Into High Gear: Poll

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are predicted to be the least watched this century as Americans are showing discontent with athletes flaunting their woke social justice agendas while representing Team USA on the global stage.

The Daily Wire reports that polling from Zeta Global found the majority of Americans are not excited about watching the Olympics. “More than 60% of Americans were unable to express excitement or interest in the summer games, and at least 45% of Americans confirmed they are NOT looking forward to the games in any capacity,” said the polling company.

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

Anti-Vaccine Groups Changing Into ‘Dance Parties’ on Facebook to Avoid Detection

Some anti-vaccination groups on Facebook are changing their names to euphemisms like “Dance Party” or “Dinner Party,” and using code words to fit those themes in order to skirt bans from Facebook, as the company attempts to crack down on misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines.

The groups, which are largely private and unsearchable but retain large user bases accrued during the years Facebook permitted anti-vaccination content, also swap out language to fit the new themes and provide code legends, according to screenshots provided to NBC News by multiple members of the groups.

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

Billboard Slams Reuters for Conflicting Reporting About Cubans, BLM Protestors Spreading COVID

A group dedicated to exposing bias in the mainstream media parked a mobile billboard outside the corporate office of Reuters this week to protest the newsgathering services’ claim that COVID-19 could be spread by Cuban protestors but not by Black Lives Matter demonstrators.

Accuracy in Media got irked that Reuters warned that Cubans protesting against the socialist regime “will increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission” only 12 months after downplaying the likelihood of a spike following Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020.

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

Chicago to Enforce Compulsory Masks in Schools Regardless of Vaccination

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced Thursday all students, teachers and staff must wear masks indoors when classrooms reopen in late August. There will be no exceptions to the rule.

AP reports Chief Executive Officer José Torres said the universal mask policy is based on feedback from local, state and federal public health experts and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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

CNN: Segregate Unvaccinated, Make Them Pay for Tests Every Day

CNN continued its wall to wall broadcasts calling for unvaccinated people to be punished, with analysts again calling for those who haven’t gotten the COVID shots to be segregated from society and forced to pay for tests every single day.

First up was CNN’s resident medical health “expert” Dr. Leana Wen who called for vaccine passports and forever masking.

“I think it depends on the circumstance,” Wen said, explaining “So if you’re going to the grocery store, and the grocery store doesn’t have the capacity to enforce some kind of proof of vaccination, then they have to say that indoor masking needs to apply, because we don’t know who’s vaccinated and who’s not.”

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

FBI Warns Against Illegal Fake Vaccine Cards Ahead of Lollapalooza in Chicago

Creating, using and selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards are considered illegal activities, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Chicago warned ahead of Lollapalooza, one of the city’s biggest summer events.

To enter Lollapalooza, concert-goers must provide a printed copy of the COVID vaccine card, vaccine record or negative coronavirus test within 72 hours of entering.

In a Facebook Live event Thursday, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said the FBI is again reminding residents that using a fraudulent COVID vaccine card to get into the music festival is illegal.

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

Federal Court Rules CDC’s COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium is Unlawful

By Jack Phillips of Epoch Times

A federal court on Friday ruled that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) overstepped its authority by halting evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Cincinnati-based U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously agreed (pdf) with a lower court ruling that said the CDC engaged in federal overreach with the eviction moratorium, which the agency has consistently extended for months. Several weeks ago, the CDC announced it would allow the policy, which was passed into law by Congress, to expire at the end of July.

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

Hasbro Whistleblower Suspended for Revealing Company’s Critical Race Theory Training

An engineer working for a Hasbro contractor has reportedly been pulled from the job by his employer after blowing the whistle on the toy maker’s critical race theory training.

The whistleblower, David Johnson, told Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity he was suspended from working on the Hasbro account as of Monday while an investigation is conducted.

“Your access has been suspended for the moment while the company investigates some sort of issue of breach confidentiality,” Jason Pyle, president of IT contractor Harvey Nash, reportedly told Johnson.

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

Homeless Crack Addict Featured in Hunter Biden’s Memoir Says He Lied About Their Close Relationship

The homeless crack addict whom Hunter Biden talks about in his memoir is hitting back against the book’s depiction of her. She says that President Joe Biden’s controversial son printed several lies about her and their close relationship.

She told the outlet that Hunter printed lies, especially when it pertained to published claims that Rhea had a criminal son on death row. Nor did she live with the younger Biden for five months, the woman said as she was only a cleaner.

Text messages show Rhea asking Hunter Biden for a room, and her eventually getting a set of keys. Beautiful Things as Hunter Biden puts it involved Rhea being blamed for sucking him deeper into addiction

“The relationship was symbiotic. It was two crack addicts who couldn’t find their way out of a paper bag. A one-act crack farce,” Hunter writes.

He paints Rhea as someone that needed to be saved. However her interpretation of him is much less forgiving. “He’s not a friend, talking about me like that. I don’t want to hear that bulls**t. I don’t want to see him.”

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

House Republicans Slam Biden’s Surgeon General for ‘Colluding With Big Tech’

On Friday, House Oversight Committee Republicans issued a letter to the Biden administration’s surgeon general criticizing him for reportedly working with social media companies to “censor” coronavirus disinformation across platforms.

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

‘I’m Not a Cold-Blooded Killer,’ Murder Defendant Drew Blahnik Tells Grand Jury

CEDAR RAPIDS — In 2019 grand jury testimony, Drew Blahnik touted his military combat training — which included knife fighting — but found it difficult to explain why he had dropped the knife he used to stab an “aggressive” Chris Bagley before he had secured Bagley’s gun.

Linn County prosecutors skeptical of Blahnik’s claim of self-defense asked several times during that grand jury testimony whether his training did not point out the importance of securing an attacker’s weapon before walking away. Instead, Blahnik said he had let Paul Hoff, also charged in this case, pick up the knife and gun.

One week after the first-degree murder trial began in Linn County District Court, prosecutors Friday rested their case against Blahnik, 34. He is accused of stabbing to death Chis Bagley inside Hoff’s trailer in December 2018 in a revenge plot hatched by a drug dealer angry that Bagley had robbed him — and them helping bury Bagley’s body.

In the 2019 grand jury testimony read in court Friday, Blahnik said he was in “shock” after stabbing Bagley to death and guessed he had dropped the knife…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Ninth Circuit Rules Against Calif. Gov. Newsom Order Barring Private School in-Person Teaching

The California Ninth Circuit court on Friday ruled against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s coronavirus mandates that barred private school children from receiving in-person teaching.

In a suit brought forward in July 2020 by the Dhillon Law Group, 20 plaintiffs challenged an order by Newsom that barred in-person teaching in 32 counties — a mandate that affected 80 percent of California’s children.

Five of the plaintiffs argued that Newsom overstepped his authority in denying private school parents control over their children’s education.

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

NSA Confirmed to Have ‘Unmasked’ Tucker Carlson in Surveilled Communications

An NSA review confirms Tucker Carlson was unmasked in communications between two third-parties, amidst a whistleblower uproar about the Fox News host being monitored that happened at the end of last month.

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

Peter Daszak and the Virus

Peter Daszak is in many ways typical of the international world of disease prevention. As the president of EcoHealth Alliance, Daszak has spent millions of dollars of grant money from the National Institutes of Health in recent years. His organization’s special focus is on preventing the outbreak of emerging diseases, such as coronaviruses. He was deeply involved with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) because his organization had funded bat coronavirus research that lab was doing when the COVID-19 outbreak occurred in late 2019.

Daszak wrote an email on April 18, 2020, still early in the pandemic’s course, to thank Dr. Anthony Fauci for dismissing the idea that COVID-19 might have originated in a lab, “on behalf of our staff and collaborators.” As we are now aware, that possibility is still very much under current investigation. President Joe Biden has ordered the U.S. intelligence community to investigate the origins of COVID-19 and report back to him within three months.

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

Preliminary Hearing Set for Man Accused of Throwing One Year-Old Daughter Off Cliff

A Sept. 10 preliminary hearing date was confirmed today for a registered sex offender accused of throwing his 1-year-old daughter off a cliff in the mountains south of the Coachella Valley, and also attacking the child’s mother and a good Samaritan.

Adam Slater, 50, of Palm Desert was arrested May 7, 2020, in connection with a spate of crimes — including murder — the previous day that culminated in a rollover car crash on Highway 74 near Pinyon Crest, where he allegedly threw his daughter over “a steep cliff into a ravine,” according to Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Ben Ramirez.

During a status hearing at the Larson Justice Center in Indio on Friday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan conferred with the prosecution and defense about scheduling, and all sides agreed to proceed with the preliminary hearing in September.

The hearing will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant a trial for Slater, who is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

In addition to murder, Slater is charged with attempted murder, assault on a child under 8 years old resulting in death, assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest. He also faces a special circumstance allegation of committing a murder during the commission of a kidnapping, which makes him eligible for the death penalty if the District Attorney’s Office decides to pursue it, and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a weapon — a knife — in the commission of a murder.

According to the sheriff’s department, the series of events began about 14 miles from the crash site in the 41000 block of Washington Street, outside the Southwest Community Church in Indian Wells, where deputies responded to a stabbing call about 8:30 a.m. that was described as a “domestic violence incident…

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn Says He Wants to Prosecute Fauci ‘To the Full Ability of the Law’

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) has no love lost for Dr. Anthony Fauci. In an interview on Wednesday, he expressed his desire to formally prosecute Fauci.

During an interview on Real America’s Voice, the young congressman told “Just the Truth” constitutional law expert Jenna Ellis:

“We want to prosecute this guy to the full ability of the law. And I’ll tell you, to lie to the American people just to get your name in the news, just to get your face on the cover of books, just to get fame and fortune. I’ll tell you, Dr. Anthony Fauci does not deserve either fame or fortune.”

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

Senate Armed Services Committee Votes to Force Women to Register for Military Draft

The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved a proposal to add the requirement for women to register for draft in the annual defense policy bill.

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

Surgeon General Says “Equity” Is the Reason COVID “Misinformation” Needs to be Censored Online

In his address on the administration’s concerns about online health “misinformation” surrounding the pandemic, Biden’s Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said the misinformation concerns were focused on “equity.”

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

The Weird History of UFO Cults, And How it’s Only Going to Get Worse

Even if you don’t believe in ETs or UFOs, you can’t help but rub elbows with those who do. They’re all over the place.

We all know the amateurs. They quote Joe Rogan, follow Jeremy Corbell on Twitter, and smoke DMT to contact interdimensional beings. They watch Ancient Aliens on the History Channel, or listen to Coast to Coast AM until sunrise. In the UFO scene, they’re “spiritual but not religious.”

Desert-dwelling saucer-chasers are pretty committed, at least professionally. Conference tickets get expensive, as do quality night-vision goggles. Still, hardcore chasers are more obsessive than religious.

Only serious fanatics join UFO cults. Some do it to summon ETs with magic spells. Others employ alien wisdom to clone human babies. One group cut their testicles off and drank cyanide to escape Earth’s gravitational field. That takes real commitment.

Historically speaking, UFO religion is just getting started. People have seen strange lights in the sky for millennia. But flying saucer sightings weren’t widely publicized until the 1940s. Unsurprisingly, the first major space cults appeared soon afterward.

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

Twitter Bans the Nation of Islam

Twitter appears to be clearly prioritizing topics to be dealt with in its censorship drive, as a group that has long been controversial and challenged since the 1930s and had been on Twitter for 10 years is suddenly getting suspended for breaking the social network’s COVID vaccine rules.

The account in question belongs to the Nation of Islam, a religious movement led by Louis Farrakhan.

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

University Launches Country’s First Degree Program in ‘Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion’

Bentley University will offer an undergraduate degree in “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) this fall, becoming the first college in the United States to offer a major of this sort.

“This fall, students will have the option to pursue a four-year degree to prepare them for careers such as a diversity and inclusion specialist, human resources DEI expert or community organizer,” the College Fix reported Friday.

[Comment: A worthless degree.]

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

Video: Alabama Governor Declares ‘It’s Time to Blame the Unvaccinated for COVID’

The governor of Alabama stated Thursday that it is “time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks” for rising cases of COVID in the state, adding that “These folks are choosing a horrible lifestyle of self-inflicted pain.”

Governor Kay Ivey made the comments during a press briefing, declaring “Let’s be crystal clear about this issue. The new cases of Covid are because of unvaccinated folks.”

“Almost 100% of the new hospitalizations are with unvaccinated folks. And the deaths are certainly occurring with the unvaccinated folks,” Ivey added.

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

Video: Fauci Says Rand Paul “Totally Distorted Reality” by Accusing Him of Lying to Congress

Anthony Fauci was once again provided a platform Thursday by MSNBC to deny any wrong doing on his behalf as regards funding gain of function research in Wuhan. Fauci accused Rand Paul of “slander” after the Senator again clashed with Fauci this week, accusing him of lying before Congress.

As we reported Wednesday, Senator Paul has vowed to seek a criminal referral from the Department of Justice.

“I don’t any take great pleasure, Ari, in clashing with the senator,” Fauci declared, adding “I have a great deal of respect for the institution of the Senate of the United States.”

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

Watch: Obama’s Former Doctor Anticipates Biden Will Resign Due to Cognitive Health Concerns

Former presidential physician Ronny Jackson voiced his concerns over President Joe Biden’s cognitive health in an interview on Thursday evening.

There has long been speculation over Biden’s cognitive decline. Jackson, who is now the representative for Texas’ 13th district, served in both the Obama and Trump administrations, and knows a thing or two about assessing the health of presidents. He assessed Biden’s future on Fox News host Sean Hannity’s show.

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

No Job Creation for Media in $595-Million Canadian Bailout: Report

The Canadian Heritage Ministry admits that a half-billion-dollar bailout to mainstream media and other newspapers did not create jobs as promised.

Despite the massive subsidy, staff counted a continued net loss of thousands of jobs, though publishers claimed increased readership through the pandemic, according to Blacklocks.

“The decrease in advertising revenues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to service reductions and newspaper closures resulting in the loss of more than 2500 jobs,” said a briefing note Improving Federal Support For Journalism. The department said it knew of “the hiring of 342 journalists” but only because their wages were subsidized 100 percent under a $50 million Local Journalism Initiative.

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

“Keep Leftist, Demoralizing and Indoctrinating Ideologies Away From Our Children!” Warns Polish Education Minister

Minister of Education Przemyslaw Czarnek referred on Polish Radio to the draft project of the amendment to the Polish education law. The new laws are intended to increase the role of the state school superintendent.

The amendment mainly concerns lessons being taught by associations and organizations at schools. According to the project, a school’s headmaster will be obliged to receive a positive opinion from the superintendent prior to the initiation of lessons by non-government organizations or associations.

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

1,250 Clergy Members Warn Vaccine Passports Would Create “Medical Apartheid” In UK

1,250 prominent clergy members in the UK have warned that the introduction of mandatory vaccine passports to attend church would create “medical apartheid” and would be “divisive, discriminatory, and destructive.”

As we highlighted yesterday, the ‘mission creep’ of vaccine passports is already expanding, with vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi indicating that the program could be extended further to sporting and business events, music venues and festivals.

When asked by LBC radio host Nick Ferrari whether the scheme could be further expanded to ban the unvaccinated from attending church, business minister Paul Scully responded, “We’re not ruling anything out.”

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

Czechia: Vaccination Against COVID-19 Will Not be Mandatory Under This Government, PM Babis Promises

Vaccination against coronavirus will not be mandatory under the current government, Prime Minister Andrej Babis announced during his visit in the northeast of the country. The Minister of Health, Adam Vojtech, is of the same opinion.

“Under this government, there will be no compulsory vaccinations, not even for medics. Let the next government run this debate. But I don’t see it that way. There is simply no reason for it. We are trying the method of persuasion,” said Babis on Thursday.

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

European Commission Drafts New Regulation Allowing Monitoring of Electronic Communications

Just a few days ago, the European Parliament adopted a proposal that would allow tech companies to automatically monitor our messages and calls, citing the protection of children. This development did not receive much attention in the international or domestic media. So, let’s take a closer a look.

Domestic and international public discourse has been feverish for days in the Pegasus case — another recent case that has so far escaped public attention, even though it is a far-reaching development. Soon, we may all be in the crossroads of wiretaps in the wake of a new draft EU regulation.

The new draft law, also known as Chatcontrol, allows tech companies to automatically monitor our online conversations and phone calls on a voluntary basis in order to filter out online sexual offenses against children and messages containing such content.

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

Female Suspect Injured Three French Cops in ‘Acid Attack’

Three police officers suffered injuries after a woman allegedly threw caustic chemicals on them in Toulouse, France, according to reports.

The incident unfolded at around 4:30 a.m. on Friday when authorities were called to the scene of a domestic dispute.

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

Greek Government to Consider Mandatory Vaccinations

The Greek government is considering introducing mandatory vaccinations to certain sectors in society, following an amendment introduced by Alternate Health Minister Vassilis Kontozamanis on Thursday.

According to Kontozamanis, the amendment would allow the minister to nominate the sectors and the kind of measures related to mandatory vaccination for Covid-19.

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

Six Reasons Why the Central European Recovery Will be Fast

Speaking at a regional conference, Varga said that the first reason for optimism is that according to the forecasts, the economies of the Carpathian Basin region may expand beyond the pre-epidemic level this year and next. As he said: Hungarian economic growth may be among the first within this, and may reach its pre-epidemic performance as early as this year. This is mainly due to supportive fiscal policies, investment incentives, tax cuts, and job protection.

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

Sweden: Pregnant Children Found Begging on Street During Police Operation

Swedish police took three minors, two of them pregnant, into custody after they were found begging on the streets during an international operation against human trafficking.

Three girls aged 12, 14, and 16 were taken into police care, with the 14— and 16-year-olds both found to be pregnant.

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

UK Government Refuses to Rule Out Vaccine Passports for Church

The UK government is “not ruling out” the use of vaccine passports to gain entry into public venues such as churches, cinemas, and nightclubs, according to the Minister for Consumer and Small Business Paul Scully.

The comments follow a government announcement that COVID vaccine passports will be used in crowded places starting fall.

In an appearance on London-based LBC Radio’s breakfast show, host Nick Ferrari asked Scully about the extent of the government’s vaccine passport use plan.

“Will it apply to theaters and cinemas — possibly church services?” Ferrari challenged.

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

UK Working on Plans for Annual Coronavirus Vaccine, Vaccine Passports Confirmed, Says Minister

Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi confirmed that the government will pursue vaccine passports as a condition of entry to nightclubs and is exploring an annual booster strategy against the Chinese coronavirus.

Addressing the House of Commons on Thursday, Mr Zahawi said that the government will be pursuing the co-administration of seasonal flu and coronavirus vaccines, stating: “The operational plan is to go early — in early September — for both the covid boost and the flu campaign. However, he will know that flu is not in the covid category in that it is endemic. We are hoping to transition covid towards where flu is with an annual vaccination programme, but it is a very different virus to deal with.”

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

UK: Conservative MP Suggests Government Should Consider “Mandating Flu Vaccination” For Young People to Attend Venues

Conservative MP Andrew Murrison asked the UK government’s vaccine minister whether authorities ought to consider mandating the standard flu vaccine before allowing young people to enter crowded venues.

Yes, really.

“22,000 people died from seasonal flu in 2017-18. The modeling suggests this year’s season will start early, be severe and will effect younger people than COVID, a demographic that tends to go to mass events,” said Murrison.

“So have the government also been considering mandating proof of flu vaccination?” he asked.

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

UK: Khan’s Violence Reduction Unit ‘Not Getting Anywhere’, London on Track for Record Teen Killings in 2021

Experts are saying London mayor Sadiq Khan’s violence reduction unit has not even started to make an impact on youth violence in the British capital, as the number of teen killings looks set to reach a record high.

Leading members of the Youth Violence Commission, whose work prompted Mayor Khan to establish a violence reduction unit at City Hall in the first place, spoke out as the number of teenagers stabbed to death in the British capital topped 20, with another killed by a firearm and a 14-year-old dying in an arson attack.

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

UK: Labour MP Apsana Begum Defrauded Taxpayer of £63,928, Court Hears

Apsana Begum, an MP for the left-wing Labour Party, cost taxpayers the equivalent of £63,928 by “deliberately and dishonestly” claiming social housing she was not entitled to, Snaresbrook Crown Court has been told.

Begum, the Member of Parliament for Poplar and Limehouse since 2019 and billed as Britain’s first-ever hijab-wearing MP, is alleged to have “applied to join the social housing register for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets” by claiming she was in an “overcrowded” home with her extended family.

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

UK: Police Warn ‘Raves Will Not be Tolerated’

Police have warned that mass gatherings of unlicensed music events — or ‘raves’ — are ‘unacceptable, put lives at risk, are seriously antisocial and will not be tolerated’.

Sussex Police say anyone who attends or organises an illegal rave can expect to face ‘robust action’.

The tough warning comes after two high profile ‘raves’ recently in Sussex which required a large police response.

One of the events in Steyning was described as one of the largest unplanned operations undertaken by the force in recent years.

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

UK: Tory Lockdown Sceptic Warns Govt Against Shutting Down UK in Autumn

Steve Baker MP has warned the government not to consider shutting down the UK again in the Autumn after the government confirmed it would be reviewing its Covid-19 response in September.

Mr Baker, the deputy chairman of the Covid Recovery Group (CRG), had asked last week to clarify the date when the government planned to review Chinese coronavirus restrictions “to assess the country’s preparedness for autumn and winter 2021” and “what the format of that review will be”?

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

We Need a Europe of Strong Nations, Hungarian Justice Minister Says

In contrast with a strong cooperation between strong member states, there is a supranational aspiration that transcends states, with the goal of weakening natural communities, family, nation, and identity, Justice Minister Varga said at the Satoraljaújhely event in northern Hungary.

That is why some are starting to try to relativize and ridicule the concept of family and nation, considering it dangerous, often confusing it with old historical times, said Varga, adding that it is important to “put our opposite, alternative position on the table everywhere”.

Regarding the protection of minorities, she said that it is mostly interpreted “relatively and discriminatively by the current Brussels administration”.

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

India: Priest of East Udali Mosque in Assam’s Lanka Arrested on Rape Charges

According to reports, the incident occurred when the mother of the minor girl was away from the house in order to fetch the goats.

GUWAHATI: A minor girl was allegedly raped by an Imam (priest) of a mosque in Lanka’s Udali area on Friday. According to reports, the incident occurred when the mother of the minor girl was away from the house in order to fetch the goats. Further, taking advantage of the situation, the imam identified as Abdul Samat went inside the house and committed the heinous act. The accused Abdul Samat is the Imam of East Udali Mosque.

           — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari [Return to headlines]
 

Crowds Protest Tokyo Olympics During Opening Ceremonies—chants Heard Inside Stadium

On Friday night, crowds gathered outside the National Stadium in Tokyo, chanting and protesting against the Olympic Games themselves while the opening ceremonies were taking place inside.

It appears that protesters in Tokyo are upset about the fact that the Olympic Games are continuing, despite a spike in COVID-19 cases in the city.

According to the Daily Wire, “Olympic protesters joined a march through Tokyo Friday, calling for the Games to be canceled in light of a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases in Tokyo, Japan. The march ran along one side of the massive Olympic stadium, meant to hold 70,000 but now sitting mostly empty, even during the typically packed Olympic opening ceremonies.”

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

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Says She Was Briefed About ChiCom’s Race-Specific Bioweapons Program

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) warned that Communist China has a biological weapons program aimed at targeting specific races of people, according to a briefing she received.

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

Billionaires Segregate Themselves on Luxury Private Islands as Ordinary People Told They Can’t Travel

News that billionaire Google co-founder Larry Page has been hiding out on and buying isolated private islands in Fiji to avoid tourists who aren’t allowed in once again underscores how the elite is using the fallout from the pandemic to segregate themselves from the general public.

Page has been living off grid for over a year and forced a state-owned news website to remove an article about his activities that was also de-listed by Google in an apparent effort to conceal his location.

“He has spent months in Fiji during the coronavirus pandemic — mostly on the island of Tavarua — and it has been rumored the billionaire has bought at least one island in the country’s Mamanuca archipelago,” reports the Daily Mail.

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

Flotilla Leaves Friday From South Florida, Showing Support for Cuba Protesters

A group of Cuban American boaters took to the waters Friday from South Florida in an effort to show support to their homeland.

The flotilla left from the Bayside marina Friday morning, planning a stop in Key West to refuel and have their vessels checked for safety regulations by the United States Coast Guard before arriving at a proposed point in international waters outside of Havana.

“The plan is to shoot a lot of flares up in the air. Shoot some fireworks up in the air and let them know that we’re there to support them,” said Osdany Veloz, one of the organizers of the flotilla.

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

Austria’s Kurz Vows ‘No Stop’ to Deportations of Afghan Migrants After Latest Attack

Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has pledged to continue deporting asylum-seekers back to Afghanistan, after a police officer was attacked at a detention center in Vienna.

“I wish the injured policewoman a speedy recovery,” Kurz said after the attack on Wednesday, as quoted by Austrian media.

It’s unacceptable when people come to us for protection, but neither abide by our laws nor accept our values. Incidents like this show why there must be no stop to deportations to Afghanistan.

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

Border Force Detained 400 Migrants Over Last Two Days After 17 Boats Were Intercepted in English Channel Taking Total Number This Year to 8,840

Nearly 400 migrants were detained by Border Force officers in the last two days alone according to new Home Office figures.

On Wednesday 219 people in 11 boats were intercepted and 175 were picked up in six incidents on Thursday.

It takes the number of migrants to have been detained after reaching the UK in small boats to 8,840 — with nearly 3,000 arriving so far in July alone.

[Comment: Article dated July 23, 2021.]

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

France Restricts Petrol Sales to Hurt Migrant Smugglers

Towns along France’s north coast have limited takeaway sales of fuel to 10 litres per customer to tackle illegal migration across the Channel, a local newspaper reported.

“Buying or selling more than 10 litres of fuel — petrol or diesel — in hand-carried containers is prohibited,” the order issued on Thursday said, according to La Voix du Nord daily.

The local authorities said the measure was necessary given a “growing presence” of migrants seeking to cross illegally to Britain. The decree noted that petrol-fuelled outboard motors were “one of the main ways” of powering boats making the perilous voyage.

The measure, valid for two months, calls for a fine of €135 ($160), which could rise to €3,700 for several offenders.

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

Priti Patel’s Radical New Immigration Plan for Brexit Britain Soars Through Commons

MPs voted by 366 to 265 to adopt the Nationality and Borders Bill at its second reading. The Home Secretary believes the new legislation will help put a stop to migrants making the dangerous crossing across the English Channel from France on a daily basis.

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

Smugglers Packed Migrants in Car Boots for 250kph Dash Across Greek Border

People smugglers in high-end cars drove at speeds of up to 250 kilometres an hour to race through the Greek border region with migrants packed in the boot, police said on Friday.

Officers from three countries along the lucrative smuggling route joined forces to tackle the gang.

Twelve suspects were arrested in Bulgaria, Greece and Hungary and 25 vehicles were seized. The gang is alleged to have smuggled people from Turkey into Greece along the Evros border region, charging between €2,000 and €2,500 ($2,350 and $2,930).

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

Texas Gov. Abbott Begins Arresting Illegals for Trespassing at Border

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has begun ordering the arrest and jailing of illegal immigrants along the border while the Biden administration accelerates its “catch and release” program.

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

UK: Channel Crossings: Smuggling Gangs Put Up Disturbing Ads With ‘Money Back’ Guarantee

People smugglers are putting up adverts for two or three days before the boats get booked out, reports suggest. The gangs are said to be using Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok to reach their audiences.

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

UK: Couple’s Wedding Reception Cancelled Because Hotel is Being Used to House Migrants

The Home Office has said it had no choice but to book hotels for migrants despite weddings having to be cancelled, it has been reported.

It comes after reports that a bride and groom saw their wedding reception cancelled 11 days before so a hotel could house migrants.

According to The Times the department has paid out large sums to block book rooms to cope with an influx of people crossing the Channel.

But this has led to cancellations for some at short notice with people having to change their nuptial plans.

The Sun reports that one couple Claire Chapman, 42, and Anthony Osborne, 41, were left devastated when the venue cancelled their celebration which was to be attended by 75 family and friends.

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

Court Rebukes University for Punishing Christian Student Group for Not Allowing Gay Leaders

University officials cannot be exempt from punishment for their decision to punish a Christian student group after it refused to allow an openly gay student to hold a leadership role.

The July 16 decision from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a September 2019 decision that found University of Iowa administrators violated the First Amendment rights of InterVarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship. The students were represented by the nonprofit Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

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

Cybersecurity Experts Encourage System of Reporting Workers to Employers for “Online Abuse”

A new initiative launched by cybersecurity experts encourages companies to create a system that makes it easier for people to be reported to their employers for “online abuse.”

The new program is called Respect in Security and was created by Trend Micro’s Rik Ferguson and Red Goat Cyber Security’s Lisa Forte.

According to Forte, the current system, which is largely based on a combination of AI and human reviewers working for social media companies, is a “no man’s land” and not very effective.

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

New Poll Shows Gen Z Has Most Negative Opinion of Cancel Culture

A new Morning Consult poll reveals a quite surprising result — the most ardent generational opponents of ‘cancel culture’ is Gen Z.

While one would have expected boomers to be cancel culture’s most vehement adversary, it actually turns out to be the youngest generation.

The poll shows that 55% of Gen Z, those born between 1997 and 2008, have an overwhelmingly negative opinion of cancel culture compared to just 8% in the same age group who think the opposite.

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

UK: Hundreds of Trans Activists Are Threatening to Kill Me, Says J.K. Rowling

The author of Harry Potter books, J. K. Rowling, has become the target of threats from trans activists. The threats follow her concerns about transgender women, namely that their identity is not obvious at first glance. People threatened her with death on social media, the writer, who is otherwise known for her left-wing views, said. However, for some progressivists, Rowling is not revolutionary enough.

On Twitter, Rowling wrote that she was the victim of serious threats because of some of her comments.

“Hundreds of trans activists have threatened to beat, rape, assassinate and bomb me,” the writer wrote in her post.

“I wish you a very nice pipebomb in mailbox,” @queerqegaard wrote to the author after she made several comments about the trans community in recent months.

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

26 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 7/23/2021

  1. The first baseball game I ever attended was between the Oakland A’s and the Cleveland Indians. I must have been about 11 or 12 at the time. I remember rooting for the Indians because it was Oakland and almost everyone there was an A’s fan. I was contrary for the heck of it even back then.

    That’s the problem with getting older; that everything changes and all of one’s memories are corrupted and perverted by “progress” until one feels that they no longer belong anymore.

    • It’s a good time to BOYCOTT wokeness, Narcissism, unequal protection of the laws, athletes-lite, and the endless attacks on the Natural law and Christianity.

      • Very obviously we are in the middle of the reaping season. Time to prepare for a new crop based on a naturalherbes flow.

    • I am from Cleveland, and I am devastated by this name change. Guardians sounds like a drug store or a security system. And their great Indian logo will be gone too. Such a shame, in a context where many Indians probably valued being recognized as a cultural icon.

  2. I have never been a big “sports fan” to be honest, but the Olympic Games today? The olymic farce for the TV screens – with no real fans in the stadiums – what a joke, really!

  3. Acid attacks on police are normal in France. What else could anyone expect from a country where Blacks and Arabs make up nearly half of the next generation?

  4. A useful and timely (better late than never) essay exploring the Islamo-left from the excellent Policy Exchange think-tank;
    ‘This paper seeks to consider the question of the relationship between Islamism (in all its forms) and parts of the Left, not just in France but more broadly. It proceeds from the assumption that such a relationship exists and is not simply tactical.’
    https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Islamism-and-the-Left.pdf

  5. ‘UK: Hundreds of Trans Activists Are Threatening to Kill Me, Says J.K. Rowling’

    In Scotland and the wider UK we have reached an age of such intolerant absurdity that renders satire all but redundant, (death threats, physical intimidation and apparently false allegations in order to intimdate by police proxy – if successful anther acadademic cancelled by itolerant misogynist trans (D.Murray noted of one group of trans protestors the sheer pathalogical envy and hatred of REAL women).
    Questioning counter-factual goverment and pc affiliates’ statements regarding trans ideology (among much else, not least all things Islamic) can lead to police charges and court cases.
    I offer several examples randomly picked but loosely connected.

    FIRSTLY: a women is to appear in a Scottish court for wrapping ribbons around a tree a la the Suffragettes.
    Police Scotland investigated because an irony-proof, quite possibly blind ‘activist’ decided it was actullly a noose!

    SECONDLY: A Freedom of Information request to Police Scotland revealed that if a man committed the penetrative rape of a female, however if the male rapist said he idenitified as a woman then the crime would be recorded as a woman raping a woman.
    Presumable he would then face justice as a woman, (often lighter sentences and also presumably he’d be sent to a women’s prison – what could possibly go wrong placing a predatory male rapist, sorry a ‘woman’ with a penis is incarcerated in a women’s prison?
    Already several reports of trans predators (no I don’t think every trans is a potential abuser in prison, however compared to the pop. at large the percentages are quite high).
    A recent senior prisons overseer said while there would be some increased risk to women it was apparently acceptable.
    Considering a majority of women in prison have suffered violence and sexual violence this isn’t just tone-deaf it seems deliberately provocative and mysoginist.

    THIRDLY: the head of the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre is a man, sorry transwoman who has apparently not actually transitioned – due to the delicate nature of the work, senior staff would quite reasonably expected to be women, not least in a organsiation run by women, for women who are often dealing with traumatic events.
    FOUTHLY: and here’s the kicker;
    ‘Nicola Sturgeon’s Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 defines women as a person who ‘is living as a woman and is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of becoming female.’’
    BECOMING FEMALE: WOW! just think about that for a minute!
    Of the anti-science nonsense that absurd statement illuminates, the self-declared SNP progressives have declared males CAN become female.
    Never-mind the billions of years of biology and modern medical biology that in the words of Dr. Paul McHugh the head for decades of John Hopkins Hospital that pionereed experiments with so-called sex-changes.
    McHugh states “It Is Starkly, Nakedly False That Sex Change Is Possible”.
    All procedures were later stopped at JHH and are no longer offered, why? ‘because the clinical outcomes were horrendous’.
    Huge disparities in suicide rates for those transition opposed to thiose who did not were a reportedly an astonishing 40% higher – a stat rarely to never mentioned when supposedly weighing the pros and cons of powerful hormone drug regimes, followed by surgical intervention when carried out especially among children can leave them with infertility and life-long physical and mental health problems.
    That as many as 80% of trans-curious teens change their minds, as teenagers often do as they mature, (perhaps after all these sacrifices only to discover trans cannot change sex, instead incurring huge debts opposed to trans who did not have surguical intervention but rather took CBT-based therapy and have more successful clinical outcomes.
    All of this one will rarely to never hear omn any MSM ‘debate’ re. trans.

    http://cnsnews.com/commentary/paul-mchugh/johns-hopkins-psychiatrist-it-starkly-nakedly-false-sex-change-possible

    How all this plays with the SNP’s Islamist fellow travellers, who knows but as (hugely convoluted) intersectional faultlines that are breaking the surface with more frequency one can’t but imagine at some point it will produce a full split.

    • Do your homework. You would need to alter the shape of the pelvis and reorient the vertebrae of the lower lumbar/sacral region of the spine so the body can be able to carry around 50 extra pounds for 5 to 6 months.
      Of course, no doctor would be willing or able to perform such a surgery.

    • 1) Let those Trans-activists meet the Sharia Patrol.
      Who do you think will cave in faster then you can say hello?
      (Hint: It wont be the muslims…)

      2) Does anybody think that Trans-vaxxites will be given the same free pass as the Trans-women/-men/-…(whatever)?

    • Dear God! Please resurrect ole Edward the Longshanks, for he knew how to deal with the bloody Scots.

  6. Oh one more pice of unwelcome news, it’s behind a Telegraph pawall but I’m sure it’ll filter down to the Mail etc.
    “Tommy Robinson ordered to pay £100,000 to Syrian refugee after losing libel case ”

    We can debte the merits of ever going near schools and playgounds when under 18s are part of the reports (unless of course it turns out the balding 16 year old Middle-Eastern is in fact 42 years old.
    Which wasn’t the story I belive in this case.

    • Tommy needs to flee Britain before the so called higher authorities eliminate him. This is just another attempt to break him by bankrupting him.

  7. Maybe there is Cummings out there who can catch Boris in the act? No wait. That’s already been done dozens of times.

  8. Baseball? I put away childish things.
    Survival is the only sport that matters in Wokekanda which is occupied enemy territory.

  9. The world gets crazier and crazier every day. I am so glad I live in the middle of nowhere so I do not have to deal with any of it.

    Mariadee

    • “In the middle of nowhere” is the land of opportunity for marauders advancing or retreating.

      • Nowadays, marauders fear the boonies. Snakes! Bears! Bats! Yikes! Plus locals always have the terrain advantage.

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