Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/23/2021

Early this morning news outlets were informed that there was an active shooter event with multiple casualties at Fort Meade in Maryland. Later in the day the public affairs office at Fort Meade amended the story, saying that the incident was in fact a pre-planned drill. Coincidentally, Fort Meade happens to host the headquarters of the National Security Agency (NSA).

In other news, a huge police presence in Melbourne seems to have dampened any major demonstrations planned for the fourth day of protests against the vaccine mandate.

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

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

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

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

USA
» Adam Schiff Suggests ‘Criminal Contempt’ Charges for People Who Won’t Testify Before Pelosi’s Jan 6 Committee
» An Incident Thursday Morning at Ft. Meade Was a Training Exercise
» Biden Pushing for Dishonourable Discharges, Court Martials for Troops Who Refuse Vaccines
» CDC Advisers Recommend COVID Boosters for Older Americans, Those With Chronic Health Conditions
» CDC Quietly Removes Guidance on How Schools Can Phase Out Masks
» CEO of Moderna Says Even Young Will Need to Take Vaccine Booster Shots Indefinitely
» DeSantis Announces Acquisition of Antibody Doses Following Biden Admin Decision to Control Distribution
» Exclusive: Durham Indictment Shows Clinton Likely Worked With Top Google Exec to Fabricate Russia Hoax, Says Google Whistleblower
» Facebook is Silent After Censored Hunter Biden Story is Validated, Won’t Update on Its “Fact-Check Review”
» Fishing and Hunting YouTube Channels Are Being Hit With Arbitrary Bans and Censorship
» Former Police Chief Leads Whitmer in Michigan’s Governor Race: Poll
» Gabbard: Durham-Sussmann Case Shows ‘Elite’ Like Hillary Seek ‘Destruction’ Of Outsiders Like Her and Trump
» Hunter Biden Wanted $2 Million to Unfreeze Libyan Assets in 2015: Report
» Judge Orders Release of Capitol Riot Surveillance Footage Prosecutors Wanted to Keep Under Seal
» Monmouth Co. Assemblyman Wants to Ban Critical Race Theory in NJ
» New York Governor Threatens to Replace Unvaccinated Health Care Workers With Foreigners
» Parents Protest Barry-Eaton School Mask Mandate
» Poll: Trump Has Ten-Point Lead Over Biden, Harris in Potential 2024 Election Bid
» Protests in Negaunee Township as Mask Mandate Takes Effect for Some Marquette County Students
» Public School Students Being ‘Abused’ By Critical Race Theory Education: Carol Swain
» Soros-Backed Prosecutor’s Office ‘Failed’ In Convicted Sex Predator’s Sentencing, Judge Says
» Tennessee: Collierville Police: 13 People Shot, 2 Dead in Kroger Shooting, Shooter Dead After Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound
» TV Veteran John Stossel Sues Facebook Over Censorship With Incorrect “Fact-Check”
» Twitter to Implement Bitcoin Tipping Feature on Platform
» Video: Pathetic Psaki Blames UK Prime Minister for Biden Not Answering Press Questions
» Video: Johnny Depp Calls for People to “Stand Up” Against Cancel Culture
» Zuckerberg Says He Has “Empathy” For Those Censored by “Fact-Checkers” Who Crush Debate, But Doesn’t Suggest Any Changes
 
Canada
» 2021 Canadian Federal Election
» Quebec Passes Law to Make Protesting Outside Schools, Hospitals and Vaccinations Sites Illegal
» Trudeau Liberals’ ‘Censorship Czar’ Will Make Canada’s Internet Among ‘Most Censored and Surveilled’: Advocacy Group
 
Europe and the EU
» Boris Tells France, ‘Donnez-Moi UN Break’ Over Bitter Exclusion From Defence Pact
» ‘EU Absolutely Wants Its Own Army, ‘ Says Farage
» Italy Tells Employers to Withhold Pay for Those With No Vaccine Passport
» Macron Willing to Trade France’s UN Security Council Seat to Brussels in Exchange for an EU Army
» PM Orban ‘Checkmates’ European Commission: Report
» Swedish Minister: Authorities Filed to Tackle Crime Because They Didn’t Want to be Seen as Racist
» The EU is Blackmailing Polish Regional Governments, Says Polish Minister
» UK Communications Regulator Lists “Snowflake, “ “Karen, “ and “Remoaner” As Offensive Terms
» UK: London: Man Falls on Train Tracks After Being Stabbed in Head
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Israeli Study: Fully Vaxxed Are 27 Times More Likely to Get COVID Compared to People With Natural Immunity
 
Australia — Pacific
» Australia Police Goes Door to Door: “Are You Aware of Any Planned Protests or Events Coming Up?”
» Facebook Blocks Aussie Orange Vests From Livestreaming Protests
» Fake Undercover Cops and Arguing Tradies: Extraordinary Messages Expose Why Melbourne’s Protest Fizzled Out on Thursday
» Live Blog: Hundreds of Police Officers and Public Order Response Vehicles on Standby in Melbourne
» Queensland Shut… Forever? Annastacia Palaszczuk Ruins Holiday Plans for Millions as She Rubbishes Our Neighbours, Insists Borders Stay Shut and Even Claims 80 Per Cent Vaxx Rate Takes US ‘Backwards’
» Sydney to Reopen Sooner Than Expected With NSW to Hit 80 Per Cent Jab Target Just Two Weeks After Reaching 70 Per Cent — as State Records 1,043 Cases and 11 Deaths
 
Immigration
» After Elections in France and Germany, EU Will Introduce Repackaged Compulsory Migrant Quotas
» Biden Admin Bans Horses at Border After False Claims That Agents Used ‘Whips’ Against Haitian Migrants
» Czechia’s Babis and Hungary’s Orban Criticize EU for Weak Borders
» Czech Party Leaders Clash Over Migration
» Former UK Veterans Minister: We’ve Taken in Afghan Evacuees ‘We Really Shouldn’t Have’
» France to Spend One Billion Euros on Healthcare for Illegal Migrants in 2022
» Germany: Somali Attacker Who Killed 3 Women in Wurzburg Claimed to be 8 Years Younger
» Germany’s Pro-Business FDP Claims Country Needs 500,000 Immigrants Annually, But is That Really True?
» Haitian Migrants at Del Rio Border Were Living, Working in Chile, Brazil Before Biden ‘Opened the Border’
» ‘I Have a Problem With Muslim Europe, France Has Changed My Mind’ — Czech Pirate Party Leader Claims to be Against Migration
» Migrant Channel Crossings Reach a Record High: Number Detained by Border Force Trying to Get to the UK Soars to 16,299 — Nearly Double 2020’s Total
» Polish President Duda at UN General Assembly: Belarusian Regime is Conducting Hybrid Warfare
» Watch: Al Sharpton Heckled During Tour of Haitian Migrant Camp in Del Rio, Texas
 
Culture Wars
» Cardinal Sarah: ‘Western Society is Lost Because it Has Forgotten How to be Silent’
» Marvel Studios May Drop ‘Men’ From X-Men to be More Inclusive
» Oxford College Apologizes After Hosting Christian Conference
» Serb Prez Laments West’s ‘Liberal-Marxist’ Culture Where Instagram Dog Pics Get More ‘Likes’ Than Kids
 

Adam Schiff Suggests ‘Criminal Contempt’ Charges for People Who Won’t Testify Before Pelosi’s Jan 6 Committee

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), a member of the select committee investigating the occurrences of January 6 at the nation’s Capitol, said Wednesday it’s likely formal subpoenas will be issued for witnesses. Schiff also iterated he expects the Biden administration to facilitate the proceedings of their investigation.

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

An Incident Thursday Morning at Ft. Meade Was a Training Exercise

An incident at Ft. Meade in Maryland Thursday morning was in fact a drill, according to a public affairs officer.

Public Affairs at Ft. Meade are investigating why incorrect information was given to media outlets, including CNN.

After multiple news reports surfaced regarding an active shooter at Fort Meade in Maryland, a public affairs officer confirmed to CNN that there was an incident with multiple casualties.

When CNN called back for further information, a different representative at Fort Meade informed CNN that the incident was actually a planned training exercise.

CNN has not been given an explanation as to why the erroneous information was given out by Fort Meade, and why we were not informed this was a planned exercise when CNN initially called…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Biden Pushing for Dishonourable Discharges, Court Martials for Troops Who Refuse Vaccines

The Biden administration is pushing for dishonourable discharges and even court martialing for troops who disobey orders to get COVID vaccines.

GOP Representative Mark Green of Tennessee proposed an amendment this week to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would prohibit “any discharge but honorable” for troops who refuse vaccines.

The White House responded with a statement noting “The Administration strongly opposes section 716,” reasoning that it would “detract from readiness and limit a commander’s options for enforcing good order and discipline when a Service member fails to obey a lawful order to receive a vaccination.”

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

CDC Advisers Recommend COVID Boosters for Older Americans, Those With Chronic Health Conditions

Advisors to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and prevention recommended COVID boosters to older Americans Thursday as well as those with chronic health conditions. This echoes a similar recommendation by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisors from early September.

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

CDC Quietly Removes Guidance on How Schools Can Phase Out Masks

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removed guidelines Thursday on phasing out mask-wearing in schools in their latest school guidance update.

According to Fox News, the CDC made the change when it updated its guidance on universal indoor masking for those in school, both children and adults, regardless of their vaccination status on August 5.

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

CEO of Moderna Says Even Young Will Need to Take Vaccine Booster Shots Indefinitely

The CEO of pharmaceutical giant Moderna says that even younger people will have to get vaccine booster shots at least once every three years, meaning that a two-tier society which punishes the unvaccinated could remain in place indefinitely.

According to Stephane Bancel, the pandemic will continue for at least another year, at which point there will be enough vaccine doses “so that everyone on this Earth can be vaccinated.”

This includes jabs for infants and booster shots for those who require them.

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

DeSantis Announces Acquisition of Antibody Doses Following Biden Admin Decision to Control Distribution

On Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced he had secured additional doses of the lifesaving monoclonal antibody treatments the Biden administration significantly cut to his state. DeSantis said in a press conference he acquired 3,000 doses of Sotrovimad, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

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

Exclusive: Durham Indictment Shows Clinton Likely Worked With Top Google Exec to Fabricate Russia Hoax, Says Google Whistleblower

In the bombshell felony indictment made public this week, Special Prosecutor John Durham alleged that agents of the 2016 Clinton campaign knowingly concocted false allegations that President Donald Trump was receiving secret hi-tech communications from the Kremlin-linked Alfa Bank. The Durham indictment further alleged that Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann intentionally spread that hoax to the FBI, Democrat-friendly media and another undisclosed federal agency under false pretenses.

Moreover, the Durham indictment identifies the mastermind of the operation to create spread and spread the Alfa Bank Hoax as a Big Tech executive, who allegedly “exploited” privately-held data of several large tech companies to create a false “narrative” about Trump-Russia collusion. This person may be Eric Schmidt, the former Executive Chairman of Alphabet, the parent company of Google.

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

Facebook is Silent After Censored Hunter Biden Story is Validated, Won’t Update on Its “Fact-Check Review”

Before the presidential election last year, the New York Post broke a story about Hunter Biden that implied Joe Biden might have abused his power as Vice President in dealings with Ukraine. Facebook put a fact-check label on the story and cut its distribution. Twitter deleted links to it and started suspending users for sharing it — something it later apologized for.

“While I will intentionally not link to the New York Post, I want be clear that this story is eligible to be fact checked by Facebook’s third-party fact checking partners. In the meantime, we are reducing its distribution on our platform,” Andy Stone, Facebook’s policy communications director, tweeted at the time.

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

Fishing and Hunting YouTube Channels Are Being Hit With Arbitrary Bans and Censorship

A YouTuber who has a channel dedicated to fishing and has made the money he earns from it his main source of income has been demonetized, with animal cruelty cited as the reason by Google’s video platform.

Gideon Mettam’s “Gido’s Fishing Adventures” channel with some 100K subscribers that’s been on YouTube since 2014 has now been demonetized for a month.

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

Former Police Chief Leads Whitmer in Michigan’s Governor Race: Poll

A new poll for the Michigan gubernatorial race shows Detroit Police Chief James Craig with a six-point lead over incumbent Gretchen Whitmer.

Released Tuesday, the Trafalgar poll shows 50.4 percent of respondents indicating that they would vote for Craig and 44.4 percent for Whitmer. Only five percent said they were still undecided.

Most notably, 53.4 percent of respondents were Democrats, 35 percent were Republicans, and 11.6 percent identified as Independents. Despite a higher sampling of Democrats in the poll, Craig still beats Whitmer.

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

Gabbard: Durham-Sussmann Case Shows ‘Elite’ Like Hillary Seek ‘Destruction’ Of Outsiders Like Her and Trump

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, fresh off a deployment to Africa as a Major in the Army National Guard, told Fox News on Thursday that President Biden’s Afghanistan and open-border policies have been “a disaster.”

Gabbard added that the recent indictment of Clinton-linked District of Columbia attorney Michael Sussmann by Special Counsel John Durham is another example of how the “elite” like Hillary will seek the destruction of any political outsider — in this case Donald Trump — who endangers their status quo.

On “Special Report”, anchor Bret Baier recounted how Clinton declared Gabbard a “Russian asset” — telling former Obama adviser David Plouffe in a 2015 interview that “they’ve got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and they are grooming her to be the third party candidate — she is a favorite of the Russians.”

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

Hunter Biden Wanted $2 Million to Unfreeze Libyan Assets in 2015: Report

A Business Insider exclusive reveals a series of 2015 emails where Hunter Biden offered to unfreeze Libya’s assets while his father, Joe Biden, was vice president under the Obama administration. These were assets frozen by the Obama-Biden administration, which Hunter Biden asked $2 million in return for his influence.

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

Judge Orders Release of Capitol Riot Surveillance Footage Prosecutors Wanted to Keep Under Seal

A judge has ruled in favor of a media coalition that has requested footage of the Capitol riots used in cases, with the judge ordering prosecutors on Tuesday to release footage relating to a recent Jan. 6 case.

According to Buzzfeed News, the prosecutors initially refused to release the footage, stating that the release to the public could threaten the security of the Capitol Building by revealing the locations of camera that could help “bad actors” in future plots against the building.

US District Chief Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the prosecutors’ arguments were too speculative, writing in a Sept. 15 opinion that their national security concerns were too broad. She wrote that anyone taking a public tour of the building could see the areas shown in the videos in question.

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

Monmouth Co. Assemblyman Wants to Ban Critical Race Theory in NJ

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A Republican assemblyman is introducing a bill to ban critical race theory from being taught in New Jersey public schools.

The state Assemblyman is Gerry Scharfenberger (R-Monmouth), who got his start in politics as a Middletown Township Committeeman and then mayor.

Scharfenberger said he wasn’t aware specifically of critical race theory being currently taught in any New Jersey schools, but said:

“What we’re doing with this is trying to get out ahead of it. We want to keep it from being too embedded. We want real history taught in schools and not opinion, not some kind of woke ideology.”

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

New York Governor Threatens to Replace Unvaccinated Health Care Workers With Foreigners

New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul said Wednesday that nearly 20 percent of the state’s healthcare workers at hospitals and nursing homes refuse to get the COVID vaccine. When New York’s mandate goes into effect next week, they will be replaced — potentially by foreigners.

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

Parents Protest Barry-Eaton School Mask Mandate

CHARLOTTE, Mich. (WLNS) — Despite Michigan eclipsing one million COVID-19 cases, dozens of students and parents protested outside of their school and local health department to oppose a new mask mandate.

As of yesterday, all students in schools in Barry and Eaton counties are required to wear masks starting.

But yesterday, many from Charlotte Public Schools took a stand.

[Comment: One million COVID-19 cases in Michigan despite mass vaccination.]

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

Poll: Trump Has Ten-Point Lead Over Biden, Harris in Potential 2024 Election Bid

The newest polling numbers give former US President Donald Trump the lead over current US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris if a presidential election cycle was held today.

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

Protests in Negaunee Township as Mask Mandate Takes Effect for Some Marquette County Students

NEGAUNEE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WLUC) — Thursday was the first day of a mask mandate for some Marquette County students. The order was issued by the Marquette County Health Department for Pre-K through 6th grade on Monday and took effect Thursday.

Some residents and parents protested the decision Thursday afternoon near the Health Department building in Negaunee Township. They say it’s about having choices.

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

Public School Students Being ‘Abused’ By Critical Race Theory Education: Carol Swain

Critical race theory has infiltrated America’s public school system, forcing parents to re-place their kids in private institutions which former university professor Carol Swain described as a form of “abuse” to young students on “Fox News Primetime.”

“Whether we have children or not in the public schools, we need to stand up and fight for the children who are trapped and left behind,” she said. “They have rights too and right now they are being abused by their curriculum.”

Swain celebrated the fact that parents are pulling their children from public schools, calling it a “wonderful thing” that’s been a long time coming.

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

Soros-Backed Prosecutor’s Office ‘Failed’ In Convicted Sex Predator’s Sentencing, Judge Says

The mother of a sexual abuse victim tells Fox News her underage daughter was robbed of justice after a convicted abuser received a shorter sentence than she originally expected.

The woman, who Fox is not identifying for privacy reasons, is furious with prosecutors in Fairfax County, Virginia, for the way the case was handled.

“I want justice for my daughter. I want to fight for her every day,” said the mother while fighting back tears. The suspect, who plead guilty in May 2021 to multiple years of severe sexual abuse against two young girls, was sentenced on Sept. 20 to 17 years behind bars. The victim’s family tells FOX they were originally told to expect the suspect would serve potentially up to 30 years behind bars.

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

Tennessee: Collierville Police: 13 People Shot, 2 Dead in Kroger Shooting, Shooter Dead After Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound

Thirteen people were shot, two are dead in what Police Chief Dale Lane called “the most horrific event that’s occurred in Collierville history.”

One of the two dead is the shooter, who died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Lane said.

Law enforcement are still working some active scenes, including waiting on equipment to search the shooter’s car and some property of the shooter.

Part of the ongoing investigation is the shooter’s connection to Kroger, Lane said.

“It’s with a broken heart that I have to stand before you today,” Lane said. “Please keep the families in your prayers.”

Dispatchers received the call of an active shooter situation at the Kroger located at 240 New Byhalia Rd. at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The first police car arrived on scene at 1:34, Lane said, and officers began clearing the Kroger, aisle to aisle and room to room.

Lane said he did not know how many people were in the store at the time of the shooting, but that there were quite a few witnesses.

“We found people hiding in freezers and in locked offices,” Lane said. “They were doing what they had been trained to do. Run, hide, fight. I hate that we had to do it here.”

One Kroger employee was rescued from the roof, he said.

Lane would not describe what kind of weapon the shooter had…

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

TV Veteran John Stossel Sues Facebook Over Censorship With Incorrect “Fact-Check”

On Wednesday, veteran TV journalist John Stossel sued Facebook for defamation, for slapping his 2020 post about forest fires and their cause with a fact-check label.

According to the complaint, filed in a federal court in California, Stossel posted a video on Facebook, captioned “Government Fueled Fires.” In the video, he criticized the “sensational media reporting about a so-called ‘climate apocalypse,’ and explored a scientific hypothesis… that while climate change undoubtedly contributes to forest fires, it was not the primary cause of the 2020 California fires.”

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

Twitter to Implement Bitcoin Tipping Feature on Platform

On Thursday, Twitter announced that it would rolling out a Bitcoin tipping feature on its platform.

The new feature will be rolled out globally to all Apple IOS users this week, with Android users being able to access the feature in coming weeks.

According to CNBC, the company introduced a tipping feature back in May as a way for the platform to experiment with its users earning payments from their followers for their content.

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

Video: Pathetic Psaki Blames UK Prime Minister for Biden Not Answering Press Questions

Following yesterday’s demand from the White House press pool for an explanation about why Joe Biden will not answer any questions, Press Secretary Jen Psaki attempted to blame UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for not alerting Biden’s team that he intended to take questions during an Oval office meeting.

Psaki’s pathetic response came after CBS reporter Ed O’Keefe confronted her on press corps members being routinely ushered away from Biden.

O’Keefe noted that “the British Prime Minister in the American Oval Office called on British reporter, and then when American reporters tried to call on the American president, we were escorted out.”

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

Video: Johnny Depp Calls for People to “Stand Up” Against Cancel Culture

Film star Johnny Depp slammed cancel culture this week, urging people to “stand up” against those who seek to destroy the lives of others with an “instant rush to judgement”.

Speaking at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Depp said “It can be seen as an event in history that lasted for however long it lasted for, this cancel culture, or this instant rush to judgement based on essentially what amounts to polluted air that’s exhaled.”

The Pirates Of The Caribbean star continued, “It’s so far out of hand now that I can promise you that no one is safe. Not one of you. Not anyone out that door. No one is safe.”

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

Zuckerberg Says He Has “Empathy” For Those Censored by “Fact-Checkers” Who Crush Debate, But Doesn’t Suggest Any Changes

It has been many years since Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s infamous Instant Messenger chat log surfaced, showing him express utter disdain for users of his nascent platform (it was that time in 2004 when he called them “dumb s” for trusting him with their data).

His messaging style has changed over the past 16 years, at least publicly — to include claims of empathy, but also still exhibit evidence of hypocrisy.

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

2021 Canadian Federal Election

The 2021 Canadian federal election(formally the 44th Canadian general election) took place on September 20, 2021, to elect members of the House of Commons to the 44th Canadian Parliament. The writs of election were issued by Governor General Mary May Simon on August 15, 2021, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau requested the dissolution of parliament for a snap election.[1]

Though winning the lowest share of the vote of any Prime Minister, Trudeau’s Liberals won the most seats at 159;[b] as this falls short of the 170 seats needed for a majority in the House of Commons, the Liberals are expected to form a minority government with support from other parties.[2][3][4] The Conservatives, led by Erin O’Toole, maintained 119[b]seats and will continue as the Official Opposition. The Bloc Québécois, led by Yves-François Blanchet, won 33[b]seats. The New Democratic Party, led by Jagmeet Singh, won 25[b] seats. The Green Party maintained 2[b]seats but party leader Annamie Paul was defeated for the third[c] time in her riding of Toronto Centre where she placed fourth, but the party lost both voters and its percentage of the popular vote to 390,000 votes nationally and 2.3% share of the vote.[5][6][7] The People’s Party did not win any seats, as party leader Maxime Bernier was defeated for the second time[d] in his riding of Beauce; however, they received close to 840,000 votes nationally, or 5% share of the vote.[8]

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

Quebec Passes Law to Make Protesting Outside Schools, Hospitals and Vaccinations Sites Illegal

The Quebec government has made it illegal to protest within 50 metres of schools, daycares, hospitals, medical clinics, mobile clinics, COVID-19 vaccination sites and testing centres.

Law 105, tabled Thursday morning and adopted that same evening, also makes it illegal to organize or “incite” someone to organize protests at those places.

People who protests or help organize them will be subject to fines of $1,000 to $6,000. Those fines double for anyone who “threatens or intimidates a person who is going to, trying to access or leaving” these types of facilities.

The law also allows Superior Court judge to grant an injunction to either prevent a protest from taking place or stop someone from organizing one.

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

Trudeau Liberals’ ‘Censorship Czar’ Will Make Canada’s Internet Among ‘Most Censored and Surveilled’: Advocacy Group

Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s web regulations would “make Canada’s internet one of the most censored and surveilled in the democratic world,” an advocacy group said Wednesday. Open Media of Vancouver launched a petition drive to counter any reintroduction of two cabinet bills that lapsed in the last Parliament, reported Blacklock’s.

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

Boris Tells France, ‘Donnez-Moi UN Break’ Over Bitter Exclusion From Defence Pact

Prime Minister Boris Johnson broke into Franglais to tell France to “prenez un grip” following the country’s bitter reaction to allegedly being excluded from the UK, U.S., and Australian defence and security union.

French diplomats last week condemned what they perceived as being frozen out from the Anglosphere alliance AUKUS. France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian went as far as calling Austalia’s cancellation of a contract to build submarines “a stab in the back”.

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

‘EU Absolutely Wants Its Own Army, ‘ Says Farage

Nigel Farage has again been vindicated in his predictions that the European Union wanted its own defence force following reports that France was willing to trade its seat on the UN Security Council to Brussels in exchange for an EU army.

France is the only EU member-state with a permanent seat on the council and according to an ally of French President Emmanuel Macron, the seat could be put “at the disposal of the European Union” if the remaining 26 national governments back the Frenchman’s plans for closer military integration in the bloc.

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

Italy Tells Employers to Withhold Pay for Those With No Vaccine Passport

The Italian government recently announced a mandatory vaccine passport for both the public and private sectors and announced that workers that cannot show a vaccine passport will have their pay withheld.

The government decree will force about 23 million Italian workers to get a “Green Pass,” a COVID-19 vaccine certificate issued to those that have been vaccinated, recovered from the virus, or have a recent negative test. Some were concerned that unvaccinated workers would be fired.

However, on Wednesday, the government announced that those who do not comply with the order should not report to work but should not be suspended or fired. Instead, they should be considered to be on an unjustified absence and have their wages or salaries withheld.

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

Macron Willing to Trade France’s UN Security Council Seat to Brussels in Exchange for an EU Army

President Emmanuel Macron is willing to trade control of France’s permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council to Brussels in exchange for European Union member states backing his plan to forge an EU Army, an ally of the French leader has said.

Macron, who at the start of his presidency declared that he wished to govern like the Roman God Jupiter, is set to become the European Union’s most influential leader with Chancellor Angela Merkel set to step down after Sunday’s elections in Germany.

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

PM Orban ‘Checkmates’ European Commission: Report

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made sure that Hungary will have enough financing to launch its own recovery program despite the row with the European Commission, Romanian daily Evenimentul Zilei writes.

“Hungarian Prime Minister won’t make political compromises. He announced that ‘regardless of what Brussels does,’ Hungary will have a solid enough financial basis to launch all recovery programs citizens need in the wake of the COVID pandemic,” reads the paper.

If Hungary’s government does not receive the money due for its National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) from the European Commission “for political reasons”, Hungary will go it alone to international markets to compensate for its lack of resources, the Hungarian prime minister announced.

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

Swedish Minister: Authorities Filed to Tackle Crime Because They Didn’t Want to be Seen as Racist

Swedish Interior Minister Mikael Damberg has admitted that some of the country’s burgeoning gang-related problems were not properly tackled before due to the authorities’ fear of being seen as racist.

The recent uptick in gangland violence, setting Sweden apart from its EU peers, has triggered a national debate on immigration amid reports that highlighted immigrants’ overrepresentation in crime.

“Before, there was an anxiety to describe some problems, they did not want to be seen as racist and so on”, Damberg told the newspaper Aftonbladet.

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

The EU is Blackmailing Polish Regional Governments, Says Polish Minister

The European Commission is using the issue of LGBT to restrict funding to Polish municipalities that have adopted “Family Rights cards”, which are laws promoting family values and restricting LGBT ideology in government and the education system.

In order to appease the European Commission and ensure funding, Polish authorities are suggesting changes to local governments concerning the Family Rights cards. The move is generally seen in Poland as Brussels imposing its will on Poles and their democratically-elected representatives. In general, Poles have a far more conservative stance on LGBT issues than those in many Western European countries. For example, polling shows 64 percent of Poles are opposed to same-sex marriage, while only 27 percent support it.

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

UK Communications Regulator Lists “Snowflake, “ “Karen, “ and “Remoaner” As Offensive Terms

UK’s media regulator Ofcom has included new words to its list of potentially offensive language, including “Karen” and “Snowflake.” The regulator has not banned the use of the phrases but advises outlets to be more cautious about their use.

Ofcom recently conducted a survey where it put out a list of “potentially offensive” phrases based on complaints it has received in recent years and asked respondents to rank the phrases on how offensive they were. Topping the list was “Karen,” a phrase that refers to an entitled middle-class white woman, and “gammon,” used to refer to a conservative pro-Brexit man.”

Other phrases joining the list were “snowflake,” which refers to someone who’s overly sensitive and easy to offend, “remoaner,” used for people who often complain about Brexit, “boomer,” used for baby boomers who are supposedly stuck on old ways, and “libtard,” used for a liberal who’s overly politically correct and easily offended.

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UK: London: Man Falls on Train Tracks After Being Stabbed in Head

British police say they are seeking a male suspected of stabbing another man in broad daylight at a train station in London, causing the victim to fall onto the tracks.

The incident unfolded at Waltham Cross railway station on September 6 but authorities just released information about the attack and images of the suspect this week.

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Israeli Study: Fully Vaxxed Are 27 Times More Likely to Get COVID Compared to People With Natural Immunity

A new study out of Israel, pending peer review, has found that “fully vaccinated” people are 27 times more likely to get infected with COVID-19, develop symptoms, and 8 times more likely to experience hospitalization than unvaccinated people with natural immunity.

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Australia Police Goes Door to Door: “Are You Aware of Any Planned Protests or Events Coming Up?”

A trio of Australian police officers visited a man claiming they are doing “welfare checks” to ask residents if they plan on participating in the ongoing protests against COVID-19 mitigation efforts. The man in this video was asked if he has plans or if he knows anyone who has plans to protest and if he has participated in protests in the past.

“Have you gone to any protest in the past?” the policeman asked.

“No, I’m not going to answer that, you guys wouldn’t be here otherwise,” the man says.

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Facebook Blocks Aussie Orange Vests From Livestreaming Protests

An Orange Vest demonstrator in Australia claims Facebook is deliberately preventing activists from livestreaming protests.

Melbourne has been rocked with unrest all week after a construction workers union demanded that all employees get the mandatory jab or face losing their jobs.

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Fake Undercover Cops and Arguing Tradies: Extraordinary Messages Expose Why Melbourne’s Protest Fizzled Out on Thursday

The online bickering ultimately led to demonstrators failing to pull off a mass rally in the Victoria’s capital city on Thursday.

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Live Blog: Hundreds of Police Officers and Public Order Response Vehicles on Standby in Melbourne

Hundreds of police officers and public order response vehicles are patrolling Melbourne on Friday morning ahead of another reported protest over the COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

Riot police and plain-clothed officers have been spotted at Queen Victoria Market and on surrounding streets questioning residents.

Another demonstration was reportedly set to kick off from 10am at the corner of Bourke Street and Elizabeth Street, according to organisers, but by midday it was still largely quiet.

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Queensland Shut… Forever? Annastacia Palaszczuk Ruins Holiday Plans for Millions as She Rubbishes Our Neighbours, Insists Borders Stay Shut and Even Claims 80 Per Cent Vaxx Rate Takes US ‘Backwards’

Queensland’s premier has claimed residents would rather travel within their own state than the rest of Australia or the world as she keeps borders to the rest of the country closed.

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Sydney to Reopen Sooner Than Expected With NSW to Hit 80 Per Cent Jab Target Just Two Weeks After Reaching 70 Per Cent — as State Records 1,043 Cases and 11 Deaths

New South Wales has recorded 1,043 Covid-19 cases and 11 deaths with Sydneysiders expected to soon find out what life will look like once 80 per cent are double vaccinated.

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After Elections in France and Germany, EU Will Introduce Repackaged Compulsory Migrant Quotas

Vice-President of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas has revealed that member-states are expected to come to a final agreement regarding the EU Pact for Migration and Asylum unveiled a year ago. As he put it, “We are very close to the German election, soon after, we will have a process of months to form a government that will essentially coincide with the election campaign for the French presidential election.”

The commissioner believes that “immediately after the French elections, we will enter into a very rapid process of convergence and final agreement.” According to Schinas, “the time, the political momentum for this agreement is now.”

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Biden Admin Bans Horses at Border After False Claims That Agents Used ‘Whips’ Against Haitian Migrants

The Biden administration confirmed Wednesday it has banned the use of horses at the southern border after false claims that Border Patrol used “whips” against Haitian migrants. Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the images of border agents on horseback “horrible and horrific” and noted that an investigation is ongoing.

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Czechia’s Babis and Hungary’s Orban Criticize EU for Weak Borders

On Wednesday, the Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban jointly criticized the European Union, which, according to them, does not sufficiently protect its borders from illegal migration. Together, the two prime ministers visited a fence on the Hungarian-Serbian border near the Röszke crossing, which Hungary had built in 2015 at the height of the migration crisis.

“The European Union lacks the will to protect borders,” Orban said, adding that Brussels did not provide funding to protect the Schengen area.

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Czech Party Leaders Clash Over Migration

Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) chairman Tomio Okamura and interior minister and Social Democratic Party (CSSD) chairman Jan Hamacek clashed in a pre-election debate on Prima CNN News over migration. In the discussion, all politicians, including other party representatives from the Communist Party (KSCM) and the ANO movement, agreed on anti-immigration policies

However, the half-Japanese, half-Czech Okamura, perhaps more than any other major politician in Czechia, has made immigration central to his party’s message. He criticized the government’s reception of refugees from Afghanistan, according to a news report from Echo24.

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Former UK Veterans Minister: We’ve Taken in Afghan Evacuees ‘We Really Shouldn’t Have’

Former British defence minister Johnny Mercer has warned that Boris Johnson’s government has evacuated some Afghans “we really shouldn’t have”, while many deserving cases have been abandoned.

Mercer, a former Captain in the 29th Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery who served three tours of duty in Afghanistan, made the remarks in the context of the Ministry of Defence admitting to a second leak of vulnerable Afghans’ personal information by email.

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France to Spend One Billion Euros on Healthcare for Illegal Migrants in 2022

The French government has announced that it will be allocating €1 billion for the healthcare of illegal immigrants in its 2022 budget, a figure that has doubled since 2015.

The draft finance law was presented by the government of President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday and will see €1 billion (£860 million/$1.17 billion) allocated for healthcare for illegals, up from €990 (£850 million/$1.162 billion) in 2021. The budge does not include emergency care.

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Germany: Somali Attacker Who Killed 3 Women in Wurzburg Claimed to be 8 Years Younger

In June, a Somali attacked in Würzburg killed three women with a stolen knife and injured several others, some of them severely. Now, new details about the killer have come to light. Instead of 24, as he claimed, the migrant first registered in Germany in 2015 is reportedly 32 years old.

The memory of the terrible act is still fresh, writes Austrian news outlet eXXpress.at. In June, in the middle of downtown Würzburg, the Somali attacker killed three women with a knife he had stolen from a local shop. One woman was killed in a department store while protecting her 11-year-old daughter, who observed her mother stabbed to death in front of her. Three months later, new details about the perpetrator, originally assumed to be 24 years old, have become known. As with many other migrants who entered Germany, the man lied about his age when he entered the country, and is older than authorities first believed.

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Germany’s Pro-Business FDP Claims Country Needs 500,000 Immigrants Annually, But is That Really True?

The liberal, pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) is claiming that half a million immigrants need to come to Germany each year for the country’s pension system to remain viable in the future.

Amid an increasingly contentious debate over the country’s pension system that has taken place ahead of Germany’s federal election this weekend, Free Democratic Party MP Christian Dürr is arguing that the government must “fundamentally rethink its migration policy” while an increasing amount of Germans edge closer to retirement age, NTV reports.

“If we manage to make Germany an open, modern immigration country and at the same time stabilize pensions, we as a society will gain more than we can imagine today,” Dürr claimed, while also criticizing the CDU/CSU and the SPD for having placed financing of pension system on the back burner.

“Even today, the state has to subsidize pension insurance with large sums, said Dürr. “We cannot afford that in the long run. If we want to stabilize our public finances and reduce the level of debt, our country needs at least 500,000 immigrants a year.”

Is Dürr right?

[Comment: Heck no. They just want cheap labor. And in the long run there will be increased costs to society.]

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Haitian Migrants at Del Rio Border Were Living, Working in Chile, Brazil Before Biden ‘Opened the Border’

Evidence shows the mass congregation of Haitian migrants camped under the International Bridge across the US-Mexico border in Texas previously lived and worked in Latin American countries as refugees, mainly Chile and Brazil. They generally had access to housing and gainful employment, but decided to move to the US for opportunity there.

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‘I Have a Problem With Muslim Europe, France Has Changed My Mind’ — Czech Pirate Party Leader Claims to be Against Migration

On Wednesday, Czech Pirates chairman Ivan Bartos said that he had a problem with Muslim Europe as other countries such as France showed that if there are too many foreigners, it is a problem for integration.

“No-go zones are being created. Let’s not close our eyes to that,” he said in an interview for Radio Impuls, with Bartos referring to the migrant neighborhoods in areas like France and Sweden where police fear to enter.

Twelve years ago, Bartos made it known that he had no problem with what he called “Muslim Europe” and that he wished “a life without borders and in peace.” At that time, however, according to him, there was no migration crisis, which subsequently changed his view of migration issues.

[Comment: That dude has dreadlocks. Never judge a person by their hair style, I guess.]

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Migrant Channel Crossings Reach a Record High: Number Detained by Border Force Trying to Get to the UK Soars to 16,299 — Nearly Double 2020’s Total

The number of migrants detained by Border Force crossing the Channel by small boats has now reached 16,299 this year — nearly double the number who arrived in the whole of 2020.

It comes after 459 people in 14 separate incidents arrived on Wednesday, according to the Home Office, making September the busiest month on record.

Official Home Office statistics show 3,872 have arrived in 113 incidents so far this month — breaking the 3,509 who made the dangerous journey in 117 boats in July.

In 2020 there were a total of 8,410 were detained in small boat incidents.

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Polish President Duda at UN General Assembly: Belarusian Regime is Conducting Hybrid Warfare

At the 76th United Nations General Assembly, Polish President Andrzej Duda accused Alexander Lukashenko’s government in Belarus of carrying out an attack against European Union and NATO Eastern flank countries, as well as using illegal migrants as a weapon.

“For many weeks Belarus has been bringing in tens of thousands of desperate Middle Eastern inhabitants who under the threat of physical abuse are forced to cross our borders to create an artificial humanitarian crisis. These people are then stranded on the border and the regime is deaf to our offers of humanitarian aid. Those migrants are treated like pawns in a political game; their dignity and basic rights are being insulted,” Duda said.

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Watch: Al Sharpton Heckled During Tour of Haitian Migrant Camp in Del Rio, Texas

Al Sharpton faced backlash from protesters Thursday at the Del Rio encampment where Haitian migrants amassed earlier this week.

Sharpton’s group the National Action Network claimed the tour was to “meet and pray with refugees in the wake of the humanitarian crisis.”

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Cardinal Sarah: ‘Western Society is Lost Because it Has Forgotten How to be Silent’

Catholic Cardinal Robert Sarah warns that Christianity is on the decline and western society is “lost” because people have ‘forgotten how to be silent.’

Sarah’s comments were posted to Twitter by the Catholic Arena account.

“In our churches there is too much noise, so it’s not a place where you can encounter God silently,” said Sarah, adding that “silence makes man more similar to God because God is silence, he talks in silence.”

The Cardinal went on to assert that the number of people holding the Christian faith in the west is falling because people spend too much time “talking” and “there is no silence.”

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Marvel Studios May Drop ‘Men’ From X-Men to be More Inclusive

X-Men may soon be getting a makeover as Marvel Studios reportedly feels the name is not inclusive. According to We Got This Covered, Marvel Studios’ new President of Physical, Post Production, VFX, and Animation, Victoria Alonso, has suggested a possible name change.

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Oxford College Apologizes After Hosting Christian Conference

Oxford University’s Worcester College issued an apology this week after the school hosted a Christian conference, one of whose speakers counsels people dealing with gender confusion.

“We deeply regret the distress caused to students, staff and other members of the college community by the presence of the Wilberforce Academy conference,” said a spokesperson for Worcester College in a public apology.

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Serb Prez Laments West’s ‘Liberal-Marxist’ Culture Where Instagram Dog Pics Get More ‘Likes’ Than Kids

The West is being subjected to “liberal-political Marxism” theories which threaten its very survival on the most fundamental level because ever greater numbers of people have been successfully convinced to stop having children, the Serbian president warned at the biennial Demographic Summit.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic made the remarks at the Budapest-hosted conference— the fourth of its kind — alongside other key pro-family politicians and influencers from around the world, including former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and French pro-life conservative Marion Maréchal-Le Pen. President Vucic said his country was already putting in place financial measures to help families, which, he said, was in emulation of the already successful policies in Hungary.

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