Gates of Vienna News Feed 8/9/2021

Lithuania is planning to build a 500-kilometer (310-mile) fence on its border with Belarus. The fence is expected to take two years to build, and will cost €150 million ($175 million).

In other news, the University of Wisconsin has removed a huge racist boulder from its campus.

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

Thanks to Dean, DV, LP, 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
» Budapest Stock Index Reaches 50,000-Point Milestone
 
USA
» “He Takes Care of the Little Girls” — Leon Black’s Ex-Mistress Shares Explosive New Details About “Best Friend” Jeffrey Epstein
» “We Disagree” — Florida Set to Appeal Norwegian Cruise’s Preliminary Injunction on Vaccine Passports
» Biden Pentagon to Mandate Coronavirus Vaccines for Military by Mid-September
» Breaking: Two Brothers Charged in Fatal Shooting of Chicago Cop Ella French
» Chicago Cops Turn Their Backs to Mayor Lightfoot at Hospital After Two Officers Shot
» Cuomo Offers Deal in Attempt to Avoid Impeachment
» Deputy Shot Man Who Held Woman at Knifepoint, Attacked Her
» Doctors Warned That They Could Lose Their License for Contradicting CDC Info on COVID Treatments and Vaccines
» Dozens Fill Honolulu Hale to Protest New Vaccine Mandates
» Epstein Fund Has Compensated Victims for a Total of $121m to Date
» Families Protests Potential for Mask Mandates for Students in Boulder County
» Hate Hoax: Baseball Fan Mobbed After Getting Falsely Accused of Yelling Racial Slur at Game
» Healthcare Workers Protest California’s Vaccine Mandate
» Healthcare Professionals App Doximity Promises Crackdown After Doctors Are Accused of Sharing “Misinformation”
» Here’s What Happened When a Law Firm Sued a 20-Year-Old Waitress for Posting a Bad Review on Yelp
» Homeless Encampment Growing at Seattle Public School With Only Weeks to Go Before Children Return to Campus
» Lawmakers: Cuomo Impeachment Process to be Concluded ‘Very Soon’
» NYT Reporter Ridiculed for Fawning “Sophisticated, Vaccinated” Description of Obama Party Guests
» Obama’s ‘Superspreader’ Party Still Hasn’t Ended
» Parents at Bishop Verot Protest Mask Mandate, Push for Enacting Student Opt-Out Plan
» Princeton Offering ‘Black Lives Matter’ Course Taught by Professor With ‘Commitment’ To ‘Critical Race Theory’
» Prisoner Kills Fellow Inmate Who Bragged About Raping a Girl Who Turned Out to be His Sister
» Protests in Fulton County as Schools Begin Classes Amid Mask Requirement
» Rochester Woman Sentenced to Year in Prison for Role in May 2020 Violent Protests
» Roseville Nurses Protest Kaiser’s Vaccine Mandate
» State Department Denies Kerry Took Private Jet to Obama Party Despite Photos Showing Him Exiting it
» Students Protest Mask Mandate for Shenandoah County Schools
» Unmask Our Children: Protests Take Place at Brown County High School
» Video: Fauci Warns That Dakota Motorcycle Rally Will Spread Virus; Doesn’t Mention Mass Immigration or Obama’s Superspreader Party
» Watch: University of Wisconsin Removes ‘Racist’ Boulder From Campus
» Woonsocket RI Mayor is Sued for Censoring Criticism on Facebook
 
Canada
» Activist Criticizes Canadians for ‘Anti-China Sentiment’ And ‘White Supremacy, ‘ Becomes Federal Judge
» Canadian Refused Entry to Own Country Despite Proving Strong Natural COVID Immunity and Negative Tests
» Man Ticketed $2,422 Under Health Protection Act
» Windsor Cemetery in Hot Water Over Pro-Vaccine Sign
 
Europe and the EU
» “New Concert of Europe Likely” Warns Polish Professor Andrzej Nowak
» Cathedral Burning, Priest Killing Migrant Met With Pope Francis in 2016: Report
» France Extends Health Pass Amid Fourth Weekend of Protests
» Greece: Fire in Evia: 1,000 Houses Burned in the Municipality of Mantoudi
» Greece: Residents Join in at the Battle Against the Wildfires on Evia; Fears of Fires Reaching Towns
» Greta Thunberg Asks Public and Media to Push Support for Climate Change Initiatives
» Italy to Introduce Vaccine Passports for Public Transport
» Journalist: “I’m Going to Miss Being Locked Down,” Pines for Another
» Poland: Kaczynski: Non-Vaccinated People Can Expect Restrictions
» Times Columnist Praises Jennifer Aniston for Dropping Unvaxed Friends
» Tory MP Slams ‘Disproportionate’ Vaccine Passports Reportedly Being Considered by UK Govt
» UK: Debank the Right: Rebranded Brexit Party Has Bank Account Closed Down
» UK: Sainsbury’s Stops Ads on Farage Show After Woke Campaign, Despite Topping BBC and Sky in Ratings
 
Middle East
» Iran Pouring Fuel on Gulf Waters
 
South Asia
» Man Killed, Four Injured in SW Pakistan Explosion
 
Far East
» Communist Spies Impersonating Hong Kong Refugees to Enter the UK: Report
 
Australia — Pacific
» #FakePoos Trends in Australia After Premier Cites “Non-Existent” COVID-Tainted Sewage as a Reason to Lock Down
» Extinction Rebellion Spray Paints Climate Warning on Parliament House
» Sky News Australia Pressured to Censor Videos From YouTube After Being Accused of “Misinformation”
 
Immigration
» Brexit Britain Must Take Control of Migrant Crisis, Warns Nigel Farage
» Hungary Has Stopped Over 54,000 People Crossing Border Illegally So Far This Year
» Immigrant Suspected of Killing French Priest Who Sheltered Him
» Iraq to Return About 280 Migrants From Minsk in Next Two Days — Iraq Foreign Ministry
» Lithuania to Build 500-Kilometer Wall on Belarusian Border
» Poland Reports Record Number of Migrants at Belarusian Border
» Spain: Paramedics Sexually Assaulted, Stoned During Riot at Facility for Child Migrants
» Sweden’s Murder Rate Rises With Immigration
 
Culture Wars
» Czech Deputies Refuse to Strengthen the Rights of Same-Sex Couples
 

Budapest Stock Index Reaches 50,000-Point Milestone

The milestone level represents a fifty-fold increase over the three decades since its inception, which is a very respectable performance in the long run.

On the last two trading days of the week, the main index of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE), the BUX, exceeded fifty thousand points, and on Friday it closed the day above a record level. With such round numbers, it is worth evaluating the performance of the stock market, which has now developed very nicely both over the past year and over a longer period of time.

When a stock market index rises to a historic high, it is always very good news both for the investors and usually for the economy behind it, as such an event is unlikely to occur if listed companies and the economy in general are not performing well. Now, based on the quarterly reports so far, it can be seen that the listed companies have performed well.

[Comment: I conjecture that a good indicator of the state of a country is its stock market.]

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

“He Takes Care of the Little Girls” — Leon Black’s Ex-Mistress Shares Explosive New Details About “Best Friend” Jeffrey Epstein

A couple of weeks ago, we reported on the latest court filing made by Russian model Guzel Ganieva in her lawsuit against Leon Black. In the filing, she accused him of paying her millions of dollars in money and gifts in exchange for keeping the affair quiet.

But an amended filing released Monday includes even more explosive claims about Black’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Black has already been forced out of Apollo, the private equity giant he co-founded, months earlier than he had originally planned, despite an internal probe finding that his friendship with Epstein didn’t extend beyond his decision to pay him more than $150MM for tax advice. While many have speculated that Black’s explanation was a ruse (and a thin one at that), Ganieva makes several explosive new claims, hinting for the first time that Black knew exactly what Epstein was up to, while not directly accusing him.

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

“We Disagree” — Florida Set to Appeal Norwegian Cruise’s Preliminary Injunction on Vaccine Passports

Update (1142ET): Florida will take a stand against a federal judge’s decision to side with the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. lawsuit challenging the state’s vaccine passports ban, according to a spokeswoman for the Florida governor’s office.

“We disagree with the judge’s legal reasoning and will be appealing to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals,” the spokeswoman said. “A prohibition on vaccine passports does not even implicate, let alone violate, anyone’s speech rights, and it furthers the substantial, local interest of preventing discrimination among customers based on private health information.”

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

Biden Pentagon to Mandate Coronavirus Vaccines for Military by Mid-September

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will make coronavirus vaccines mandatory for all members of the military by mid-September, or “immediately” upon Food and Drug Administration approval, whichever comes first, according to a memo he issued August 9.

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

Breaking: Two Brothers Charged in Fatal Shooting of Chicago Cop Ella French

The main suspects in the weekend traffic stop shooting of two Chicago police officers, in which Ella French lost her life, are two brothers who were out on probation for previous crimes.

The announcement came via a Chicago Police Department media briefing within the last hour. “The young woman that was in the car with the two brothers has not been charged,” they further specified, referring to a third who was in the car with them.

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

Chicago Cops Turn Their Backs to Mayor Lightfoot at Hospital After Two Officers Shot

More than two dozen Chicago police officers reportedly turned their backs when greeted by Mayor Lori Lightfoot late Saturday at the hospital where an officer remains in critical condition.

Chicago Police Officer Ella French, 29, was shot and killed during a traffic stop Saturday night, while her partner fights for his life at the University of Chicago Medical Center. As Lightfoot visited the hospital about midnight Saturday, about 30 officers turned their backs to her when she approached them on the 7th floor, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday morning.

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

Cuomo Offers Deal in Attempt to Avoid Impeachment

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) has offered on Monday to not run for office again if officials drop the impeachment proceedings against him.

Cuomo is currently serving his third term as Governor of New York State, and his current term is up on Dec. 31 2022.

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

Deputy Shot Man Who Held Woman at Knifepoint, Attacked Her

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (AP) — A man holding a woman at knifepoint at a Christiansburg home was shot by a deputy after he began attacking the woman, Virginia State Police said.

Christiansburg police officers and Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call reporting a domestic disturbance on Saturday night and found a man in a back bedroom holding a woman at knifepoint, police said in a news release. An officer and deputy tried to negotiate with the man to surrender his knife and let the woman go, but he refused to cooperate. When he began to attack the woman, a deputy fired and struck the man, police said.

The man was flown to a hospital, where he was still being treated for serious injuries Sunday night, police said. The woman was taken to another hospital with serious injuries from being cut by the man, police said.

A 16-year-old girl at the home wasn’t hurt and no law enforcement personnel were injured…

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Doctors Warned That They Could Lose Their License for Contradicting CDC Info on COVID Treatments and Vaccines

The Federation of State Medical Boards, a nonprofit that represents all US state medical boards, warns that doctors who deliberately contradict CDC guidelines on COVID risk losing their license to practice medicine in their respective jurisdictions.

This, they believe, could help curb the spread of what they say is misinformation on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram.

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

Dozens Fill Honolulu Hale to Protest New Vaccine Mandates

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) — Dozens of people showed up at Honolulu Hale Monday morning, protesting new vaccination mandates.

The group was led by former Honolulu Mayoral candidate Bud Stonebraker.

Protesters held signs and started chanting, asking for the mandatory vaccinations and tests to stop across the state.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi did come out with some of his staffers to address the crowd.

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

Epstein Fund Has Compensated Victims for a Total of $121m to Date

The fund set up after Jeffery Epstein’s death by this executors has so far given a total of approximately $121M to his victims to date.

The fund has been operating for the past two years after Epstein was found dead in a Manhattan prison cell where he had been held while awaiting a federal trial.

According to the BBC, Epstein’s total fortune is estimated at $600M, and the executors plan to use it to compensate his many victims. In fact, so far 225 people have gotten in touch with the fund’s administrator, Jordana Feldman. So far, 150 of those 225 people have been determined to have had legitimate claims.

However, not all of those 150 have reached a settlement. An undisclosed minority of them have refused to reach a deal, preferring to leave the option of a lawsuit open.

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

Families Protests Potential for Mask Mandates for Students in Boulder County

BOULDER, Colo. — Protesters gathered at Boulder County Public Health (BCPH) to make a statement against the potential of requiring masks in county schools.

“I think kids have lost probably the most in these last couple of years and I think we’ve put the burden of responsibility on them,” Allison Stransky, parent and protester, said.

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

Hate Hoax: Baseball Fan Mobbed After Getting Falsely Accused of Yelling Racial Slur at Game

A Baseball fan was wrongly accused of yelling a racial slur at a player during Sunday’s game between the Colorado Rockies and the Miami Marlins.

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

Healthcare Workers Protest California’s Vaccine Mandate

LOS ANGELES — Some health care workers are making it known that they do not agree with California’s new mandate that requires all hospital workers to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 30. However, the new order does make exceptions for those with medical or religious reasons.

On Aug.5, the California Department of Public Health announced all workers in health care settings must be fully vaccinated or receive their second dose by Sept. 30.

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

Healthcare Professionals App Doximity Promises Crackdown After Doctors Are Accused of Sharing “Misinformation”

Doctors who take to social media to discuss their opposition to various COVID measures are facing calls for censorship from media outlets.

CNBC says it discovered plenty of vaccine skeptic statements on Doximity, a doctor-to-doctor networking site. While the reports shared on the app are from well-known news organizations and scientific journals, the comments, CNBC says, appear to be full of “misinformation” about vaccination safety, mask use, and natural immunity, among other things.

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

Here’s What Happened When a Law Firm Sued a 20-Year-Old Waitress for Posting a Bad Review on Yelp

If you’re looking for a case study in how not to respond to a bad Yelp review, here it goes.

Twenty-year-old Lan Cai was driving home from her waitressing job last summer when she was hit by a drunk driver. The resulting multicar collision left her with two broken bones in her back. Having never been in a major accident, Cai enlisted the services of the Tuan A. Khuu law firm of Houston to help her navigate the insurance claim and other aspects of the process.

But according to Cai, the experience turned sour quickly.

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

Homeless Encampment Growing at Seattle Public School With Only Weeks to Go Before Children Return to Campus

With just a few weeks until school begins, the homeless encampment at Broadview Thompson K-8 in Seattle is growing, violence is spiraling out of control, drug dealers make regular stops to the site and sex workers work the area and nothing seems to be happening in order to have the encampment removed before the first day of school.

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

Lawmakers: Cuomo Impeachment Process to be Concluded ‘Very Soon’

New York lawmakers will start the process toward impeaching Gov. Andrew Cuomo, leaving the beleaguered Democrat with few options to stay in power amid allegations of sexual harassment and other charges.

State lawmakers will begin reviewing evidence Aug. 16 in a “secure location” and will hold public hearings after Aug. 23 — sesisons that will include experts on both the impact of sexual harassment on its victims and on the impeachment process itself — in New York, which has not impeached a governor in more than a century, Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Lavine told reporters Monday.

“We anticipate that this process will be concluded very soon. When I say ‘very soon,’ I’m talking about several weeks,” Lavine, a Democrat, said. He did not provide a timeline for the undertaking to be completed but noted that Cuomo has 30 days to respond to articles of impeachment, should the required simple majority of the full Assembly indeed impeach the three-term governor.

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

NYT Reporter Ridiculed for Fawning “Sophisticated, Vaccinated” Description of Obama Party Guests

NYT White House correspondent Annie Karni faced ridiculed for describing the guests who attended Barack Obama’s maskless super spreader party as “sophisticated, vaccinated.”

During an appearance on CNN, Karni said that attendees represented a “sophisticated, vaccinated” crowd, and guests were “following all the safety precautions,” while claiming criticism of the party was “overblown.”

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

Obama’s ‘Superspreader’ Party Still Hasn’t Ended

Despite claims that the event would be ‘scaled back’, Barack Obama’s massive party has continued for three days straight, prompting more accusations of hypocrisy and ‘one rule for thee and another for me’ from everyday Americans who are not allowed to hold gatherings with their own friends and families.

As noted at the weekend, Obama was seen partying with hundreds of people, the vast majority ignoring any kind of restrictions as the Secret Service set up a no-fly zone over his mansion.

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

Parents at Bishop Verot Protest Mask Mandate, Push for Enacting Student Opt-Out Plan

More than a dozen parents of students in the Diocese of Venice school system stood peacefully outside Bishop Verot Catholic High School on the first day of classes Monday to protest a diocesan mask mandate.

The issue became heated for some parents Thursday night after the diocese’s Bishop Frank J. Dewane issued a statement saying the previous optional mask policy needed to be changed in light of the spread of the Delta variant. He said masks would be mandatory for students in all 15 diocesan schools.

Lee County schools also set a mask mandate in motion Sunday evening but allowed parents to opt-out their children.

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

Princeton Offering ‘Black Lives Matter’ Course Taught by Professor With ‘Commitment’ To ‘Critical Race Theory’

Princeton University is offering a “Black Lives Matter” class to students that includes readings from a former communist party leader who once made the FBI’s Most Wanted List.

The course, which promises to explore the “historical roots and growth of the Black Lives Matter social movement,” will be offered to students starting this Fall semester. The course features readings from former Black Panther member Angela Davis, a two-time vice-presidential candidate of the Communist Party.

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

Prisoner Kills Fellow Inmate Who Bragged About Raping a Girl Who Turned Out to be His Sister

Shane Goldsby wound up with the man who raped his younger sister as his cellmate, and when the man, Robert Munger, bragged about it, Goldsby killed him.

The incident occurred in the Airway Heights Corrections Center in Washington State. Goldsby’s rage got the best of him and he hit Munger repeatedly many times, then stomped repeatedly on his head and kicked him. Munger wound up dying of his injuries later.

According to local outlet KHQ, Goldsby was at the time serving a sentence for stealing a police car and starting a prolonged high-speed chase, which ended in a crash that injured a Washington State Trooper.

Munger, who was serving a 43-year sentence for multiple counts of child molestation, apparently kept bragging about his crimes to Goldsby.

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

Protests in Fulton County as Schools Begin Classes Amid Mask Requirement

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Dozens of parents came to Milton High School over the weekend to protest Fulton County School System’s decision to mandate mask-wearing.

They call it an infringement of freedom. Some parents are going as far as withdrawing their children.

The district, the fourth-largest in the state, began classes for 94,000 students on Monday in Fulton County.

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

Rochester Woman Sentenced to Year in Prison for Role in May 2020 Violent Protests

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — A Rochester woman was sentenced to one year in prison for her role in the May 2020 violent protests downtown that saw a car on fire, looting, and more damage, federal officials announced Monday.

U.S. Attorney James Kennedy announced 20-year-old Mackenzie Drechsler of Rochester, who previously pleaded guilty to rioting for her role in the protests, will serve one year and one day in prison, plus two years of supervised release, and she was ordered to pay restitution of $8,674, $3,775 to the City of Rochester, and $4,899 to the N.Y. State Attorney General’s Office.

According to federal officials, “Dreschler assisted others in attempting to light fabric on fire. The fabric was stuffed into the gas tank of a parked car belonging to the City of Rochester Family Crisis Intervention Team (FACIT). At approximately 6:20 p.m., the FACIT car began to smoke and shortly thereafter became engulfed in flames. The car was a total loss. Dreschler also set fire to an official vehicle owned by the New York State Attorney General’s Office, after crouching down, placing cardboard inside the vehicle and then walking away. Approximately one minute later, smoke began billowing from the car, and as the fire grew, the car became engulfed in flames. The car was a total loss. Following her actions in the burning of the two cars, Drechsler also participated in breaking glass during looting that took place.”

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

Roseville Nurses Protest Kaiser’s Vaccine Mandate

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (KTXL) — More than 1,000 people gathered outside of Kaiser Permanente in Roseville to protest a mandate requiring COVID-19 vaccines for all health care workers.

Organizers say it was an unprecedented turnout. Hundreds of signs, flags and scrubs from several health care networks could be seen all along Rocky Ridge Drive and Douglas Boulevard during a protest with a theme of “freedom not force.”

“This is the first step that we can do, next to getting legal representation, which is what we will do if we have to,” said registered nurse Sella Garza.

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

State Department Denies Kerry Took Private Jet to Obama Party Despite Photos Showing Him Exiting it

Claims that White House Climate Envoy John Kerry arrived at Barack Obama’s birthday bash via a private jet have been denied by the State Department, despite a photo being published showing Kerry exiting the plane.

“Secretary Kerry lives on Martha’s Vineyard, he did not travel there for a party. He took a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard, he did not fly (commercial or private.),” said a spokesperson in an email.

However, the Daily Mail published a photo of Kerry disembarking from a private jet alongside the caption, “Presidential envoy for climate John Kerry took a private jet to the island of Martha’s Vineyard.”

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

Students Protest Mask Mandate for Shenandoah County Schools

Approximately 95 Shenandoah County high school students took part in protests against the new mask mandate that began Monday for students, teachers and all who enter the schools.

Central had the largest number of protesters, with approximately 50. They had a tent set up on the school parking lot and played music. Unlike at the other two high schools, Central’s students did not return inside for classes after walking out at around 9:30 a.m.

Sophomores Russell Allen, Destiny Ogle and Noah Teets said they were the leaders in organizing the walkout at Central.

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

Unmask Our Children: Protests Take Place at Brown County High School

Within the first three days of school, four students at Helmsburg, Brown County Middle and Brown County High schools tested positive for COVID-19, prompting quarantines of up to an entire classroom.

Over the weekend, new Brown County Schools Superintendent Emily Tracy sent out a parent phone call: Masks were coming back.

Everyone in Brown County schools is now required to wear masks indoors when social distancing cannot happen, regardless of vaccination status.

On Monday morning, students and parents gathered outside Brown County High School to protest.

Lisa Patrick, a parent to a Brown County High School senior and junior, organized the protest as a Facebook event, in addition to a petition on Change.org that has more than 600 signatures.

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

Video: Fauci Warns That Dakota Motorcycle Rally Will Spread Virus; Doesn’t Mention Mass Immigration or Obama’s Superspreader Party

According to Anthony Fauci, if you attend the Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota you are complicit in spreading death. However, untested and unvaccinated migration en mass at the southern border, as well as elite gatherings of hundreds of people are apparently not a concern.

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

Watch: University of Wisconsin Removes ‘Racist’ Boulder From Campus

Crane operators on Friday removed a boulder from the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus that some claimed was a symbol of the university’s racist past.

“Chamberlin Rock, named for former university president and geologist Thomas Crowder Chamberlin, was at least once referred to as a ‘n*****head’ rock in a 1925 Wisconsin State Journal story. University historians have not found any other time that the slur was used,” the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

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

Woonsocket RI Mayor is Sued for Censoring Criticism on Facebook

After being banned from Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt’s Facebook page, two Woonsocket Rhode Island men have issued a federal lawsuit.

Baldelli-Hunt is a former Democratic member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives.

Greg Duhamel had slammed the development of a skateboard park on the mayor’s Facebook page in May. Thomas Dubois asked a question about the construction.

In response, both men had their remarks deleted from Baldelli-Hunt’s Facebook page and, eventually, they were banned from the page entirely, The Providence Journal reported.

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

Activist Criticizes Canadians for ‘Anti-China Sentiment’ And ‘White Supremacy, ‘ Becomes Federal Judge

A legal activist who lamented the “shameful history” of John A. Macdonald and opposed citizenship tests is now a federal judge. Avvy Yao-Yao Go had been director of a Toronto law clinic that criticized Canadians for “anti-China sentiment and white supremacy.”

Justice Go, in a 2020 commentary in the Globe & Mail, described herself as a lawyer “fighting for social justice” and cohesion. “The past several years of turmoil both in the United States and Canada have taught us our democracy is fragile and that structured racism, if left unchecked, poses a serious risk to social cohesion,” wrote Go.

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

Canadian Refused Entry to Own Country Despite Proving Strong Natural COVID Immunity and Negative Tests

A Canadian writer who flew home from Europe to visit her mother was refused entry and sent back because she wasn’t vaccinated, even though she presented detailed proof that she has strong natural immunity to COVID after having recovered from the virus.

Rachel Marsden detailed her experience in an op-ed last week, noting “Canada tried to force me into a Covid detention facility threatening fines and police action as they don’t recognize my natural immunity. I had no choice but to immediately fly back to Europe.”

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

Man Ticketed $2,422 Under Health Protection Act

Halifax Regional Police have handed a man a $2,422 ticket under the Health Protection Act.

Police were called to a party at a residence Saturday night they say exceeded the province’s mandated gathering limits.

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

Windsor Cemetery in Hot Water Over Pro-Vaccine Sign

A sign in Windsor, Ontario, about COVID vaccines has been removed at a local cemetery after it sparked controversy and public outcry.

A Windsor Memorial Gardens sign read, “Not vaccinated yet? You may be here soon.” General manager Ed Shabsove said he posted the message on Wednesday to educate the public on the importance of getting vaccinated, reported CTV News.

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

“New Concert of Europe Likely” Warns Polish Professor Andrzej Nowak

In an interview for “Sieci” weekly, professor Andrzej Nowak of Jagiellonian University in Kraków commented on Joe Biden’s capitulation in Europe and the rapprochement between Germany and Russia, which some fear could be a repeat of the 1938 Munich Conference.

The professor referred to the words of Civic Platform (PO) Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who several years ago compared Nord Stream 1 to the 1939 Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, describing it as a threat to Polish independence. He noted that Sikorski later cooperated with the countries participating in the pipeline’s construction.

“Thankfully war hasn’t broken out yet, although the ties between Berlin and Moscow are tightening and may tighten around Poland’s neck,” Nowak said.

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

Cathedral Burning, Priest Killing Migrant Met With Pope Francis in 2016: Report

Emmanuel Abayisenga, the Rwandan migrant who confessed to setting fire to the Nantes Cathedral and to the murder of a 60-year-old priest, has been revealed to have met with Pope Francis in 2016.

An investigation from the French Catholic newspaper La Croix identified the Nantes Cathedral arsonist as having met with the pope during a trip to the Vatican in 2016.

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

France Extends Health Pass Amid Fourth Weekend of Protests

First announced in July, an official health pass in France was extended on Monday amid a fourth weekend of protests.

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

Greece: Fire in Evia: 1,000 Houses Burned in the Municipality of Mantoudi

The fire in Evia has left behind 1,000 burned houses in the Municipality of Mantoudi alone, according to the Deputy Mayor, Georgios Stamoulos.

Speaking to ANT1, Stamoulos pointed out that in the Evian Municipality of Mantidi, more than 450,000 acres of land has been reduced to ashes, ie more than 80% of the total 550,000 acres of the Municipality.

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

Greece: Residents Join in at the Battle Against the Wildfires on Evia; Fears of Fires Reaching Towns

Firefighters from Greece and abroad, including volunteers and Evia residents, were trying to prevent the fire on the island from reaching towns on Monday evening.

At a large front of the wildfire, between the villages of Galatsades and Avgaria, the fire is out of control, raising fears that it will reach the resort town of Edipsos on the northwestern corner of the island, or Orei. The residents keep asking for more ground and air forces, but the strength of the fire has not diminished.

Residents from other areas of Evia have arrived to help, as people in threatened villages are trying to keep the flames out of their courtyards. “The villages are being evacuated,” Regional Director of Central Greece Fanis Spanos told Athens-Macedonian News Agency, “but staying behind are those who can help, and up to now they have offered invaluable help — without such people, a lot of villages would have been burned.”

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

Greta Thunberg Asks Public and Media to Push Support for Climate Change Initiatives

Greta Thunberg, the teen climate activist, said she would attend this year’s global climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland after a UN report called for “massive” pressure to combat climate change. The report on Monday warned the planet was dangerously close to escalating climate change beyond the limits countries previously discussed and accepted.

“I hope that this can be a wake-up call, in every possible way,” said Thunberg. “When these extreme weather events are happening, many say, what will it take for people in power to start acting? What are they waiting for?”

She added that it would take incredible pressure from the public and the media to facilitate change.

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

Italy to Introduce Vaccine Passports for Public Transport

In the midst of continuous demonstrations over the new Health ID, Italy has made vax passes mandatory for public transport passengers.

As outrage over the introduction of the new health pass overflows onto city streets across the country, Italy has increased the list of routine activities that will now require a vaccine passport.

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

Journalist: “I’m Going to Miss Being Locked Down,” Pines for Another

Journalist Michael Venutolo-Mantovani wrote an article for the Guardian in which he said, “I’m going to miss being locked down,” while pining for another.

Yes, really.

“When I walked out of my town’s massive conference center in early April, a second Pfizer shot fresh in my arm, a flood of emotions swelled in me. Creeping behind the feelings of joy and anticipation, I felt a strange bit of sadness that, all the way home, I could not shake. When I walked into my house and my three-year-old dashed into my arms, it hit me,” wrote Venutolo-Mantovani.

“I think I’m going to miss being locked down, I realised, in disbelief.”

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

Poland: Kaczynski: Non-Vaccinated People Can Expect Restrictions

The leader of Law and Justice (PiS) and deputy PM responsible for state security Jaroslaw Kaczynski recently discussed the vaccination process in Poland, as well as the situation concerning Poles who refuse to get a vaccine.

Kaczynski assured that, having gotten two jabs, vaccinations are safe and painless, and he did not suffer any side effects. He emphasized that the refusal to get vaccinated did not stem from the issue of a person’s freedom.

“This is pure egoism. The boundary of freedom is the rights of other people. The health and lives of others cannot be put at risk,” he said.

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

Times Columnist Praises Jennifer Aniston for Dropping Unvaxed Friends

Times columnist Hilary Rose has praised Friends star Jennifer Aniston for dropping actual friends and acquaintances who will not disclose their vaccination status, saying: “Hear, hear, Jen, and respect for speaking out.”

Rose, who has been with the British newspaper of record since 1996, backed the 52-year-old actress in a column titled ‘I’m like Jennifer Aniston — I can’t be friends with antivaxers either’ — although her article was clear that she is cutting out “ditherers” as well as committed sceptics.

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

Tory MP Slams ‘Disproportionate’ Vaccine Passports Reportedly Being Considered by UK Govt

A leading lockdown sceptic Conservative MP has branded “disproportionate” plans being considered to pressure nightclubs to use vaccine passports during “Covid surges” as the price for staying fully open.

Last month on so-called Freedom Day, Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the shock announcement that his government would introduce domestic vaccine passports for entry to nightclubs from September, in a bid to pressure young people to be vaccinated.

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

UK: Debank the Right: Rebranded Brexit Party Has Bank Account Closed Down

Nigel Farage’s former Brexit Party, which has been rebranded following departure from the European Union as the Reform Party, has had its bank account shut down.

Metro Bank has informed the Reform UK by letter that “after careful consideration, we are unable to continue to act as your bankers”.

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

UK: Sainsbury’s Stops Ads on Farage Show After Woke Campaign, Despite Topping BBC and Sky in Ratings

Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s stopped advertisements on the centre-right upstart GB News network after a woke pressure campaign against prime time host Nigel Farage, despite his show being a ratings success.

The left-wing activist group Led by Donkeys launched a Sleeping Giants-style campaign against GB News, pressuring Sainsbury’s to drop their advertisements with the recently founded anti-woke news network.

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

Iran Pouring Fuel on Gulf Waters

If Islamic Pakistan can become China’s poodle, why can’t Islamic Iran become Beijing’s pet panda?

Following an unprecedented act of cyber warfare on the seas, at least six ships off the coast of the United Arab Emirates broadcast simultaneous warnings on Tuesday that they had lost control of their steering under unclear circumstances, as British authorities reported “a potential hijack” was underway in the area off the coast of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman.

According to Reuters, which quoted two security maritime sources, Iranian-backed forces were believed to have seized one of the tankers.

The question that struck everyone was this: How did Iran develop the capability of disarming large oil tankers without any physical intervention?

My sources in Washington and among Iranian expatriates have suggested China’s hand in equipping Tehran for cyber warfare. This transfer of technology was part of the Iran-China 25-year deal signed in March this year.

The Iran-China deal calls explicitly “for joint training and exercises, joint research and weapons development and intelligence sharing.” With a Chinese naval base in the nearby strategic Balochistan port of Gwadar, the Gulf of Oman at the mouth of the Persian Gulf is today under the China-Iran-Pakistan axis…

           — Hat tip: LP [Return to headlines]
 

Man Killed, Four Injured in SW Pakistan Explosion

Islamabad, Aug 10 (UNI/Xinhua) A man was killed and four others were injured in a hand grenade attack on a shop in the capital city Quetta of Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province late Monday night, officials and sources said.

Waseem Baig, Media Coordinator of Balochistan Health Department, said in a statement that the injured had been shifted to the Civil Hospital of the city, where one of them is in critical condition.

Meanwhile, intelligence sources from the province told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the shop was selling national flags and festive items for the forthcoming Independence Day falling on Aug. 14.

The sources said that it was the second attack on the sellers of the national flags over the last two days in the city.

Earlier on Sunday night, a man selling the flags on a stall was injured when unknown militants hurled a hand grenade on him and fled the scene…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Communist Spies Impersonating Hong Kong Refugees to Enter the UK: Report

Communist spies from mainland China are impersonating Hong Kong refugees to infiltrate the United Kingdom through the resettlement scheme offered by the British government.

Following the Chinese Communist Party’s imposition of a draconian national security law on the former British colony of Hong Kong, the British government opened up a path to citizenship for British National (Overseas) holders in the city.

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

#FakePoos Trends in Australia After Premier Cites “Non-Existent” COVID-Tainted Sewage as a Reason to Lock Down

Australians just found out the reasoning for their archaic-style lockdowns is worse than they thought.

The ugly truth came to light this week when Victoria Premier Dan Andrews admitted that he cited “non-existent coronavirus-tainted sewage” in his reasoning to lock down the state, RT reported.

In other words, Andrews faked that Covid was being carried in poop to justify a lockdown.

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

Extinction Rebellion Spray Paints Climate Warning on Parliament House

Extinction Rebellion protesters have sprayed the message “climate duty of care” on the concrete outside Parliament House.

A local member of the group set fire to a pram which was glued to the forecourt in front of Parliament House. She said it was to signify her dismay for the future generation.

They have also spray painted graffiti on the walls of the Lodge.

Several members were arrested outside the Prime Minister’s Canberra residents on Tuesday, after police arrived just after 9am.

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

Sky News Australia Pressured to Censor Videos From YouTube After Being Accused of “Misinformation”

After having its YouTube channel blocked for a week and facing a government investigation, Sky News Australia has been pressured into deleting videos on YouTube and its website that include what mainstream outlets say is COVID-19 misinformation.

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd shared screencaps of recordings that had been removed from the Sky News Australia website and replaced with a “page not found” message on Sunday.

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

Brexit Britain Must Take Control of Migrant Crisis, Warns Nigel Farage

Writing in the Daily Express the former Brexit Party leader slammed France and the EU for failing to “lift a finger” to prevent the dangerous crossings. And he challenged Brussels and French President Emmanuel Macron to agree to a summit otherwise many lives will be lost and British communities will continue to suffer.

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

Hungary Has Stopped Over 54,000 People Crossing Border Illegally So Far This Year

Authorities in Hungary have prevented over 54,000 people from crossing the border illegally since the beginning of this year and prosecuted over 500 smugglers, the Chief Security Advisor György Bakondi has said.

According to him, such figures mark a huge increase from the same period one year earlier when a total of 17,000 illegal immigrants were caught by the police officials in Hungary, and 200 people smugglers were prosecuted.

“People smuggling is a thriving business,” Bakondi pointed out, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

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

Immigrant Suspected of Killing French Priest Who Sheltered Him

Paris: A Rwandan immigrant in France already under investigation for setting the Nantes cathedral on fire last year has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a Roman Catholic priest, prosecutors said.

The 40-year-old man surrendered to police mid-morning on Monday, local time, and admitted to killing the head of the religious congregation where he was staying as he awaited trial for the cathedral fire.

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

Iraq to Return About 280 Migrants From Minsk in Next Two Days — Iraq Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/. Iraqi passenger airlines will transport about 280 Iraqi migrants from Minsk in the next two days, Iraq’s Foreign Ministry Official Spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahaf reported on Monday.

“The Fly Baghdad company will perform a flight from Minsk to Baghdad today with more than eighty passengers on board,” the Ministry’s official Facebook page quoted him as saying. The spokesman added that another evacuation flight will be carried out on Tuesday. “According to current data, about 200 people will be transported from Minsk to the Iraqi capital,” he said.

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

Lithuania to Build 500-Kilometer Wall on Belarusian Border

Lithuanian parliament passed a draft bill concerning the construction of a 500-kilometer fence on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border in an extraordinary move. According to the bill, the fence will be finished within 2 years and will cost EUR 150 million.

Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte underscored that the bill being a separate and special project emphasized its uniqueness and importance.

The fence will be comprised of two elements. The first is concertina wire, which will be layered on three levels in the shape of a pyramid. The second element is a Y-shaped fence at the top of which concertina will be installed. Parts of the fence will also be dug in.

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

Poland Reports Record Number of Migrants at Belarusian Border

WARSAW (Reuters) — A record number of migrants have crossed the Polish border with Belarus since Friday, the Border Guard said on Monday, amid accusations Minsk is using illegal crossings to pressure European Union states.

Poland and Lithuania have seen a surge in illegal migration in recent weeks that is so severe the countries have appealed to the EU for help, with the parliament in Vilnius planning an extraordinary session on Tuesday to discuss the issue.

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

Spain: Paramedics Sexually Assaulted, Stoned During Riot at Facility for Child Migrants

An emergency medical team came under attack from a horde of illegal aliens while trying to rescue an injured minor at an asylum center for ‘child migrants’ in Melilla, Spain, according to reports.

Paramedics were called to the Purisima juvenile detention in the autonomous city, one of two controlled by Spain on the African continent.

Upon arrival, technicians discovered a male “minor with injuries to the clavicle” surrounded by around 50 unruly migrants living at the facility.

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

Sweden’s Murder Rate Rises With Immigration

Sweden is at the top of Europe — when it comes to the number of deaths caused by firearms. Sweden’s rate is two and a half times the European average. The vast majority of victims are men between the ages of 20 and 30. In the past, the country did not experience such numbers at all. Immigration is to blame, even though the police do not officially disclose the identity of the victims.

At the end of May, a clash of about a hundred young immigrants from African and Middle Eastern countries broke out on the outskirts of Sweden’s second-largest city, Gothenburg.

A man in a grocery store was killed by a bullet in the back of his head. Then there was the violent death of a police officer in the suburb of Biskopsgarden took place. A few days later, a man was murdered in a hairdressing salon on the outskirts of Frolund.

The Economist adds another event to the list of violence from recent months. Two weeks ago, two young children survived crossfire between quarreling gangs in a suburb of Stockholm.

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

Czech Deputies Refuse to Strengthen the Rights of Same-Sex Couples

The Czech Chamber of Deputies did not approve the proposal of MP Karla Šlechtova, who herself belongs to a sexual minority, on whether a child could be entrusted to joint foster care of two people who are not spouses. That is, both to unmarried couples as well as to registered partners. Deputies rejected the proposal by only three votes.

Overall, 54 out of 113 MPs present voted in favor of the proposal. However, 57 votes were necessary to get the motion approved.

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

5 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 8/9/2021

  1. It’s good to see Epstein’s victims each getting @ a million bucks.

    Maxwell’s got $$, too.

  2. Build the wall ASASP!!, don’t let this illegal terrorist to Western Europe, Europe is full !!, I wonder who will stay behind in this 3th. World countries, everybody is leaving , soon We have to move over there..

Comments are closed.