Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/27/2021

In yesterday’s German elections, the Social Democrats edged out the Union (CDU/CSU), getting just under 26% of the vote while the Union received just over 24%. It’s the first time a winning party has ever received less than 31% of the vote.

In other news, Penn State University has suspended 117 students for failing to get their mandated weekly COVID-19 tests.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, 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.

Financial Crisis
» Senate Republicans Block Government Funding, Debt Ceiling Bill
 
USA
» “They Were Seeing Blood”: Bombshell Report Details CIA’s ‘Kidnap or Kill’ Plans Against Wikileaks’ Assange
» Court Strikes Down Bans on Mask Mandates, Critical Race Theory and More
» Despite Over 95% Vaxx’d, Harvard Business School Shifts Classes Online After “Substantial Outbreak” Of COVID
» Dozens Protest Vaccine Mandate at P&G in Cape Girardeau Co.
» Enrollment Drops at Seattle Public School That Houses Violent Homeless Encampment
» FL Sheriff Calls on Armed Homeowners to Blow Suspect ‘Out the Door’ After Weekend Shooting
» Gaetz, Greene Call on FBI to Release 14,000 Hours of Footage From Jan 6
» How Joe Biden Has Damaged Transatlantic Unity
» MasterCard Used Its Dominance to Dictate Online Platform Rules, Then Launched Its Own Digital ID System to Capitalize on it
» New Yorker Hosts Environmental Extremist Calling for Eco-Terrorism, Pipeline Bombings
» No Local Delays Monday Morning After Social Media Call for Nationwide Highway Protests
» Onslow County Facebook Group Protests Mask Mandate in Schools
» Penn State University Suspends Students Who Failed to Get Weekly COVID-19 Test
» Pfizer CEO Says “Normal Life” Won’t Return Without Regular COVID Vaccinations
» Poll: Joe Biden’s Approval Tanks to Record Low; Half ‘Strongly’ Disapprove
» Portage Parents Plan to Protest Mask Mandate for Third Time During Monday Board Meeting
» Protesters Oppose D20 Mask Requirement
» Protesters Against State Vaccine Mandate: ‘My Body, My Choice’
» R. Kelly Found Guilty of Racketeering in Sex Trafficking Case
» Ron DeSantis Orders Investigation of Facebook’s Alleged Election Law Violations
» Ronald Reagan Shooter John Hinckley to Receive Unconditional Release
» Seattle Fire Department Reports Over 900 Homeless Encampment Fires Since Start of the Year
» Suspected Serial Arsonist Charged Over California Fire That Burned More Than 8,500 Acres, Destroyed 41 Homes
» Watch: Beauty Store Gets Ransacked by Thieves in Lawless Chicago
 
Canada
» Breaking: Pastor Artur Pawlowski Arrested Again After Landing at Calgary Airport
» Halifax Mayor Says Rowdy University Partiers Lacked Common Sense in Light of COVID-19
» Tickets, Fines Issued at Large Guelph Gathering on Homecoming Weekend
» Trudeau Liberals to Implement Federal Facial Recognition System for 25 Million Passport Holders
 
Europe and the EU
» ExpressVPN Critics Are Concerned About Ties to Former Intelligence Agents and Adware
» Gere Belongs in Cinema, Not as Migrant Witness: Ex-Italian Minister
» Miss France Pelted With Rocks by Gang of ‘Youths’ In Paris: Report
» Polish Court: Lech Walesa Must Apologize to Historian Who Revealed Walesa Worked for Communist Intelligence Services
» Social Democrats Narrowly Beat Merkel’s Bloc in German Vote
» UK: Climate Protesters Block London’s M25 in Defiance of Court Order
» UK: Extinction Rebellion Campaigner Fined for Roadblock Protest
» UK: Hundreds of Activists Descend on North London Incinerator Demanding End to Rebuild
» Watch: ‘Egg’ Thrown at French President Macron
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» ‘Arab Cities Are Run by Gangs, And the Police Don’t Care’
 
Australia — Pacific
» Bizarre Moment Silent Anti-Vax Health Workers Take Up Camp in a Melbourne Park After Being Told They Need to Get Jabbed or Face the Sack — But at Least They’re Social Distancing
» Brace for Traffic Chaos on West Gate Freeway as Truck Drivers Protest Vaccine Mandate
» Watch: Police Move in to Force Healthcare Workers Out of Protesting in Melbourne
» ‘We’re Never Getting Back to Normal’: Australian Nightmare Intensifies
 
Latin America
» Cuban Artist Freed From Jail, Forced Into Exile. Other Protesters Face Harsh Sentences.
 
Immigration
» Axios Deletes Tweet Spreading Disinformation That Border Patrol Agents Were ‘Whipping at Haitian Migrants’
» Biden Administration to ‘Take Action to Protect Dreamers’ After Court Rules Against DACA
» Germany Struggles to Cope With Migrant Surge From Belarus
» Macron, Liberal French Government Allocate €1 Billion to Healthcare for Illegal Migrants in 2022
» More Than 17,000 Migrants Have Now Crossed English Channel in Small Boats in Just Nine Months of 2021 — More Than Double the Number for All of 2020
» ‘Over 95 Per Cent’ of ‘Afghans’ In Greece ‘Arrive Without Documents’: Ambassador
» Poland Says it Found Evidence of Extremism on Migrants’ Phones
» UK: Importing Foreign Drivers to Solve Shortages Caused by Reliance on Cheap Labour is ‘Folly’: Migration Watch
» Video: Texas Students Agree With Biden Border Policy, Until They See the Pictures
» Video: Even CNN Calls Out “Patently False” Border Patrol ‘Whipping’
 
Culture Wars
» Swiss Voters Approve Same-Sex Marriage in Referendum
» YouTube CEO Says Celebrating Freedom of Speech is a “Core Value”
 

Senate Republicans Block Government Funding, Debt Ceiling Bill

Senate Republicans blocked a government spending and debt ceiling bill Monday, setting up a dramatic showdown between Republicans and Democrats on whether Congress should raise the debt ceiling while Democrats plan to spend trillions on infrastructure and social spending.

The Senate failed to invoke cloture, 48-50, on H.R. 5305, the continuing resolution (CR). Senate Republicans blocked the CR as House Democrats remain poised to vote on the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill.

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

“They Were Seeing Blood”: Bombshell Report Details CIA’s ‘Kidnap or Kill’ Plans Against Wikileaks’ Assange

A bombshell Yahoo News investigation published Sunday is being called the most important deep-dive exposé in years detailing the lengths the CIA and US national security state went to nab WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange while he was holed up at the Ecuadoran embassy. US officials were even having meetings discussing possible assassination of the man who exposed so many secrets of American military and clandestine actions abroad.

Dozens of US intelligence officials, including many who had served under the Trump administration, are now confirming the CIA considered “options” for kidnapping and/or assassinating Assange and that plans were mulled over at the highest levels of CIA leadership. “More than 30 former U.S. officials — eight of whom described details of the CIA’s proposals to abduct Assange,” are sourced in the report, which further reveals the CIA targeted journalists who worked closely with WikiLeaks, including Glenn Greenwald.

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

Court Strikes Down Bans on Mask Mandates, Critical Race Theory and More

A Maricopa County judge struck down a ban on public schools imposing face mask mandates and a host of other policy changes that lawmakers inserted into the state budget, and with them, may have forced a fundamental change in the way the legislature does business when it passes its annual budget each year.

The ruling comes two days before the mask mandate prohibition and various other changes to state law were to go into effect.

Along with the ban on face mask mandates, the ruling strikes down several other laws pertaining to COVID-19 mitigation measures and the operation of public schools. That includes laws banning “critical race theory” in K-12 schools, barring colleges and universities from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations or testing of students, prohibiting K-12 schools from requiring students to receive vaccines that have received emergency authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and barring cities and counties from requiring “vaccine passports.”

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

Despite Over 95% Vaxx’d, Harvard Business School Shifts Classes Online After “Substantial Outbreak” Of COVID

Is Zero-COVID come to the Ivy League?

Poets&Quants has learned that Harvard Business School (HBS) has moved its first-year and some second-year MBA students to remote learning after an outbreak of COVID.

“In recent days, we’ve seen a steady rise in breakthrough infections among our student population, despite high vaccination rates and frequent testing,” Mark Cautela, head of communications for HBS, told Poets&Quants.

“Contact tracers which have worked with positive cases highlight that transmission is not occurring in classrooms or other academic settings on campus. Nor is it occurring among masked individuals.”

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

Dozens Protest Vaccine Mandate at P&G in Cape Girardeau Co.

CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY, Mo. (KFVS) — Dozens of people were in Fruitland on Monday morning to protest new COVID-19 vaccine rules at Procter & Gamble.

In an email recently sent to employees, the company announced it will require workers to be fully vaccinated, get a company-approved exemption or undergo weekly testing for the coronavirus.

We’re told people at Monday’s protest are a mix of P&G employees as well as family and friends.

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

Enrollment Drops at Seattle Public School That Houses Violent Homeless Encampment

Principal Tipton Blish of the Broadview— Thompson K-8 public school in Seattle admitted in an email that classrooms will need to be reorganized to due to plummeting enrollment. The school is currently home to a violent homeless encampment which has been growing for more than a year.

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

FL Sheriff Calls on Armed Homeowners to Blow Suspect ‘Out the Door’ After Weekend Shooting

Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper is calling on armed citizens in his county to “blow [35-year-old Patrick McDowell] out the door” if he targets their home.

McDowell is wanted for allegedly shooting Nassau County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Moyers during a traffic stop Friday. The New York Post reports that Moyers is not expected to survive and is being kept alive “until a match can be found for his organs.”

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

Gaetz, Greene Call on FBI to Release 14,000 Hours of Footage From Jan 6

After reports emerged that the FBI had informants in the crowd during the Capitol riot on January 6, Reps. Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar and Louie Gohmert have demanded answers from that agency as to what that informant’s role was.

Florida’s Gaetz said that he and congressional colleagues are asking for the release of footage from that day, about 14,000 hours of it. Gaetz and Greene have been adamant that those who are being held on charges stemming from that January day should be treated humanely.

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

How Joe Biden Has Damaged Transatlantic Unity

by Ted Galen Carpenter

Expectations were high on both sides of the Atlantic when Joe Biden won the U.S. presidential election that transatlantic comity and cooperation would be restored, and that Donald Trump’s abrasive, destructive diplomacy soon would be merely a painful memory. Biden’s initial statements as president reinforced those expectations. In his inaugural address, the new president stressed that “We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again.”

A month later, Biden amplified that goal and applied it with special emphasis to Washington’s relationship to its European allies in his speech to a virtual version of the annual Munich Security Conference. He stated that “I’m sending a clear message to the world: America is back. The transatlantic alliance is back. And we are not looking backward; we are looking forward, together.” He added: “The partnership between Europe and the United States, in my view, is and must remain the cornerstone of all that we hope to accomplish in the 21st century, just as we did in the 20th century.” In an unmistakable slap at his predecessor, Biden acknowledged that “I know the past few years have strained and tested our transatlantic relationship, but the United States is determined — determined to reengage with Europe, to consult with you, to earn back our position of trusted leadership.”

The sense of relief in European circles after the Trump years was almost palpable. “Biden gave exactly the speech that many Europeans wanted to hear,” wrote Germany’s influential Der Spiegel magazine. It was a widely shared sentiment on the Continent.

In the aftermath of the chaotic and humiliating departure of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, and the reaction of European governments to that episode,” the president’s promises and confident hopes of transatlantic unity have been shaken to their core. Armin Laschet, a leading German politician, described the situation in especially harsh terms. “This is the greatest debacle that NATO has seen since its foundation, and it is an epochal change that we are facing,” he stated bluntly.

[…]

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

MasterCard Used Its Dominance to Dictate Online Platform Rules, Then Launched Its Own Digital ID System to Capitalize on it

Back in April, Mastercard, one of the world’s biggest credit card companies, imposed a new policy on who can use its services, specifically around “illegal adult content.”

Sites that host such content as defined by Mastercard (which, critics said, conflates illegal with all adult content) are required to provide proof of identity and age of those appearing in the streams and videos — and have an appeals process that would let any person appearing in videos request to have them removed.

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

New Yorker Hosts Environmental Extremist Calling for Eco-Terrorism, Pipeline Bombings

In the name of climate activism, The New Yorker has provided a platform for a far-left environmental extremist on its weekly podcast show.

“How To Blow Up A Pipeline” author Andreas Malm, an associate senior lecturer of human ecology at Lund University, was invited on Friday’s episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour, where the professor’s impassioned calls for eco-terrorism were amplified by the establishment outlet’s radio program.

Pontificating on how to save the planet from the fossil fuel industry, The New Yorker guest implored the environmental movement to embrace violence.

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

No Local Delays Monday Morning After Social Media Call for Nationwide Highway Protests

Videos on some social media platforms last week called for a nationwide protest on major roadways during the Monday morning commute, however it didn’t come to fruition in the Miami Valley.

Videos that appeared on TikTok last week called for the #PatriotShutdown, a planned protest by truckers in the name of medical freedom. The protest called for truckers to slow their semitrailers down and come to a stop to block major highways.

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

Onslow County Facebook Group Protests Mask Mandate in Schools

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — A Facebook group called Freedom of Choice — Parents of Onslow County gathered Monday to peacefully picket the recent mask mandates in Onslow County Schools.

The group obtained a permit from the City of Jacksonville Police Department to picket outside the Onslow County Schools building. At the protest, there were parents, grandparents, retired school teachers and children, all protesting the required mask mandate.

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

Penn State University Suspends Students Who Failed to Get Weekly COVID-19 Test

Authored by Beth Brelje via The Epoch Times

At Penn State University, 117 students have been placed on interim suspension for failure to comply with the university’s weekly COVID-19 testing requirement.

Students at University Park who are subject to required weekly COVID-19 testing and who have missed at least three weeks of testing have been notified by Penn State that they are out of compliance with the university’s health and safety policies and have been placed on interim suspension through the Office of Student Conduct, a statement from Penn State said.

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

Pfizer CEO Says “Normal Life” Won’t Return Without Regular COVID Vaccinations

The CEO of the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer says that normal life will return within a year, but not for those who don’t have regular COVID-19 vaccinations.

During an appearance on ABC This Week with George Stephanapoulos, Albert Bourla was asked about when he foresaw the end of the pandemic.

“Within a year, I think we will be able to come back to normal life,” said Bourla, although he made it very clear that this statement only applies to those who are prepared to take regular coronavirus booster shots.

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

Poll: Joe Biden’s Approval Tanks to Record Low; Half ‘Strongly’ Disapprove

President Joe Biden’s approval ratings are continuing to suffer, cratering to a record low as half of likely voters “strongly” disapprove of his job performance, Rasmussen’s Presidential Tracking Poll released Monday revealed.

The survey shows Biden’s approval tanking to 40 percent. Of those, 21 percent “strongly” approve.” This marks the first time it has fallen to 40 percent in the survey, although Biden has come close, reaching 42 percent a handful of times throughout September.

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

Portage Parents Plan to Protest Mask Mandate for Third Time During Monday Board Meeting

PORTAGE, Mich. — Parents of students at Portage Public Schools said they planned to protest the district’s mask mandate during Monday night’s school board meeting.

Kelly Sackett, a mom with two children who attend Portage schools, said this would be the group’s third time protesting at the district’s board meeting.

Sackett said she believed whether children were required to wear a mask or not should be up to the child’s parents and that some children were having issues because of them.

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

Protesters Oppose D20 Mask Requirement

Approximately 200 parents, students and community members protested in front of the Academy School District 20 Education and Administration Center Sept. 27 regarding the district’s recently announced mask requirement for all students. D-20 joins Harrison School District 2, Colorado Springs School District 11 and Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 in requiring masks for students.

All faculty, staff and visitors will also be required to wear face coverings while in the presence of others, according to the district.

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

Protesters Against State Vaccine Mandate: ‘My Body, My Choice’

Rochester, N.Y. — Hours before a state vaccine mandate goes into effect, demonstrators gathered outside Strong Memorial Hospital.

They have been doing so every Monday for about a month, saying they disagree with a state requirement for health care workers to become vaccinated or lose their jobs.

Many chanted, “My body, my choice.” Several waved American flags and compared New York State to Nazi Germany.

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

R. Kelly Found Guilty of Racketeering in Sex Trafficking Case

R&B singer R. Kelly was found guilty of nine counts of racketeering Monday in his sex trafficking case in New York following a six-week trial.

The 54-year-old singer reportedly sat motionless in the Brooklyn courtroom after the jury read the verdict that he was guilty on all counts against him, The New York Times reported.

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

Ron DeSantis Orders Investigation of Facebook’s Alleged Election Law Violations

Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis (R) has directed the Florida Secretary of State, Laurel M. Lee, to investigate Facebook for election interference, calling Facebook’s alleged actions “an affront to the basic principles of our republic.”

This follows a report that Facebook exempted certain “elite” users from its terms of service, including high-profile politicians and incumbent government officials.

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

Ronald Reagan Shooter John Hinckley to Receive Unconditional Release

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times

The man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 will be released unconditionally, a federal judge ruled Monday.

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

Seattle Fire Department Reports Over 900 Homeless Encampment Fires Since Start of the Year

The city of Seattle has exceeded last year’s record-breaking number of homeless encampment fires that have since cultivated an extreme risk to public safety throughout the city. According to the Seattle Fire Department, over 900 encampment fires have been recorded this year alone, up from 2020’s recorded number of 825.

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

Suspected Serial Arsonist Charged Over California Fire That Burned More Than 8,500 Acres, Destroyed 41 Homes

30-year-old Alexandra Souverneva of Palo Alto, California, was arrested on Friday and charged with felony arson for her alleged role in starting what is now known as the “Fawn Fire” that has burned over 8,500 acres in the state.

Souverneva, who self-identifies as a “shaman,” was taken for an evaluation and booked into the Shasta County Jail.

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

Watch: Beauty Store Gets Ransacked by Thieves in Lawless Chicago

A recent clip of an Ulta Beauty store robbery in Chicago is making waves across social media. But it’s not an isolated incident. Only the most recent in a crime wave sweeping across the city.

When reached for comment, the person running the 16th & 17th District Chicago Police Scanner account informed The Post Millennial that the incident in the video took place on Saturday, September 25th.

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

Breaking: Pastor Artur Pawlowski Arrested Again After Landing at Calgary Airport

Pastor Artur Pawlowski has just been arrested upon his return to Canada from a months-long speaking tour in the United States.

After landing at the Calgary airport, police rushed onto the tarmac and arrested Pastor Artur the moment he stepped off the plane.

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

Halifax Mayor Says Rowdy University Partiers Lacked Common Sense in Light of COVID-19

HALIFAX — Dalhousie University students who attended a massive party that violated COVID-19 protocols should use more common sense — and stay away from classes for one week and get tested, authorities say.

Last Saturday’s big street party near the university — which led to several arrests — reflected unacceptable behaviour that won’t be tolerated, Halifax Mayor Mike Savage said in an interview Monday.

Halifax is a university town that welcomes students and appreciates that they may want to have some fun while at school, he said.

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

Tickets, Fines Issued at Large Guelph Gathering on Homecoming Weekend

KITCHENER — Tickets and fines were handed out at a large gathering in Guelph over Homecoming weekend.

The gathering was outside an off-campus student housing complex on Saturday night.

The University of Guelph and the city’s mayor both expressed disappointment over the large gathering because of COVID-19 concerns.

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

Trudeau Liberals to Implement Federal Facial Recognition System for 25 Million Passport Holders

Cabinet will fully implement a facial recognition system for 25 million Canadian passport holders within two years, Blacklocks reported. The program would see federal agencies compile a database of millions of Canadian faces.

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

ExpressVPN Critics Are Concerned About Ties to Former Intelligence Agents and Adware

If you can’t beat them, join them, seems to be the motto under which various entities and individuals are worming their way inside some of the world’s best known VPN services, that are supposed to be trusted to protect their users’ anonymity and privacy online.

One of them, ExpressVPN, continues to be riddled with controversies mere weeks after the acquisition by Kape Technologies worth just under $1 billion. Kape is a company that some industry observers are now openly calling “a former malware and adware distributor.”

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

Gere Belongs in Cinema, Not as Migrant Witness: Ex-Italian Minister

Plans for actor Richard Gere to testify against former Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini for abuse of migrants threaten to turn the case into a show trial, the far-right leader said on Sunday.

Gere — a Hollywood star known as a campaigner on Tibet and other rights issues — will testify against him in the so-called Open Arms case, according to remarks Salvini made at a political meeting that were reported by the Ansa news agency.

“If someone wants to turn the trial into a show and wants to see Richard Gere, let him go to the cinema, not to a court,” the head of the populist and nationalist League party said according to Ansa.

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

Miss France Pelted With Rocks by Gang of ‘Youths’ In Paris: Report

A French model and singer says she was attacked by a large group of ‘young guys’ who threw rocks at her and tried to steal her phone in Paris.

Vaimalama Chaves, a contestant on Dancing With the Stars who was previously crowned Miss France in 2019, shared her tale on social media, along with a short video from the attack.

In a recent post on her Instagram page that has since expired, she explained what had taken place, alleging police brushed her off when she called the emergency hotline requesting assistance.

“To start with, they threw rocks at me, ‘as a joke,’“ Chaves wrote. “When I confronted the one who I saw did it, they gathered around me. About fifteen young guys who have no values.”

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

Polish Court: Lech Walesa Must Apologize to Historian Who Revealed Walesa Worked for Communist Intelligence Services

Historian Slawomir Cenckiewicz announced that the Warsaw district court had ordered former president of Poland and “Solidarity” legend Lech Walesa to officially apologize to him for spreading false and defamatory information.

Cenckiewicz, who is the director of the Military Historical Bureau, is not satisfied with part of the verdict, however, and is considering an appeal.

He posted on Friday on Twitter that he had won the protection of personal rights lawsuit against Walesa which started two years ago. He demanded that Walesa stop spreading misinformation that Cenckiewicz had allegedly forged documents concerning Walesa’s secret cooperation with communist authorities under the codename “Bolek”.

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

Social Democrats Narrowly Beat Merkel’s Bloc in German Vote

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s center-left Social Democrats won the biggest share of the vote in a national election Sunday, narrowly beating outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel ‘s center-right Union bloc in a closely fought race that will determine who succeeds the long-time leader at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy.

The Social Democrats’ candidate Olaf Scholz, the outgoing vice chancellor and finance minister who pulled his party out of a years-long slump, said the outcome was “a very clear mandate to ensure now that we put together a good, pragmatic government for Germany.”

Despite getting its worst-ever result in a federal contest, the Union bloc said it too would reach out to smaller parties to discuss forming a government, while Merkel stays on in a caretaker role until a successor is sworn in.

Election officials said early Monday that a count of all 299 constituencies showed the Social Democrats received 25.9% of the vote, ahead of 24.1% for the Union bloc. No winning party in a German national election had previously taken less than 31% of the vote.

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

UK: Climate Protesters Block London’s M25 in Defiance of Court Order

LONDON (Reuters) — Climate change protesters once again blocked London’s busy M25 orbital motorway on Monday, in defiance of a court injunction against the demonstrations that the government had sought to prevent disruption.

Activist group Insulate Britain said that 52 people had defied the injunction, granted by the High Court last Tuesday, and blocked part of the M25.

The group has repeatedly blocked the motorway and also targeted the Port of Dover on Friday, leading the government to seek a further court order.

The group said that injunctions, which mean protesters may face jail time for repeating the protests, would not deter them.

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

UK: Extinction Rebellion Campaigner Fined for Roadblock Protest

AN Extinction Rebellion campaigner from Warrington who staged a one-man blockade on a busy street in Manchester city centre has been fined by a court.

Paul Sheeky, of Wellfield Street in Whitecross, admitted wilfully obstructing a highway with a non-motor vehicle at Manchester Magistrates Court on Wednesday, September 15.

The charge related to an incident on High Street in the city centre on May 1 this year, during which he sat in the road holding a placard bearing the message: “I’m terrified that climate breakdown will kill millions.”

[Comment: Dude, get a grip.]

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

UK: Hundreds of Activists Descend on North London Incinerator Demanding End to Rebuild

More than 200 activists and residents from seven north London boroughs marched in protest at “catastrophic” plans to rebuild the Edmonton waste incinerator.

The crowd marched from Edmonton Green station to the site of the incinerator in Advent Way, stopping traffic on a section of the north circular on the way.

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

Watch: ‘Egg’ Thrown at French President Macron

An individual has been detained after throwing an egg-shaped object at French President Emmanuel Macron.

The incident reportedly took place in the southern French city of Lyon on Monday.

The incident isn’t the first of its kind for the embattled French president, who has faced intense criticism in recent months over the economy and coronavirus-related restrictions.

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

‘Arab Cities Are Run by Gangs, And the Police Don’t Care’

Residents of Umm el-Fahm, an Arab city of some 60,000 residents near Haifa, say crime on the streets is out of control and there is no one to enforce the law and maintain order.

“The gangs are in control of the streets, and they control what goes on in the city, selling drugs and terrorizing residents,” says Kifah Agbaria, who has lost a brother and three relatives to street violence in the past two years. “Every hour, you hear shooting and people acting crazy, and nobody is doing anything about it.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Bizarre Moment Silent Anti-Vax Health Workers Take Up Camp in a Melbourne Park After Being Told They Need to Get Jabbed or Face the Sack — But at Least They’re Social Distancing

Victoria Police have been forced to disband dozens of ‘health workers’ who attended a bizarre silent protest in a Fitzroy Park on Monday against mandatory vaccinations for the health care industry.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Brace for Traffic Chaos on West Gate Freeway as Truck Drivers Protest Vaccine Mandate

Melburnians have been warned to expect some delays on the roads as truck drivers prepare to protest over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

A truck convey is due to converge in the city’s south early on Tuesday morning, blocking the West Gate freeway.

The move is aimed to stop traffic on all lanes between Port Melbourne and Tullamarine Airport.

At least two mini-bus loads of Victoria Police officers arrived at a Port Melbourne petrol station, where truck drivers planned to meet, in hopes of stopping the rally before it happens.

[Comment: Productive members of society, such as business owners, transportation workers etc. should go on strike. Shut the economy down.]

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

Watch: Police Move in to Force Healthcare Workers Out of Protesting in Melbourne

Almost fifty frontline healthcare workers rallied today in a Melbourne park to protest the vaccine mandate.

After half an hour, the socially distanced group, many wearing masks and fully vaccinated, were moved on by police. Even though, yesterday, thousands picnicked at the same park, in the same spot.

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

‘We’re Never Getting Back to Normal’: Australian Nightmare Intensifies

The scowling face of Australia’s dystopian COVID nightmare has let slip the truth.

No matter how hard you comply, no matter how much you humiliate yourselves, life is never returning to normal.

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

Cuban Artist Freed From Jail, Forced Into Exile. Other Protesters Face Harsh Sentences.

Cuban artist Hamlet Lavastida, whom Cuba’s state security held prisoner since June, was released this weekend but forced into exile with his partner, writer Katherine Bisquet, another prominent leader of the island artists’ pro-democracy movement.

Another 500-plus Cubans are still under detention in connection with the widespread anti-government protests that shook the Caribbean nation on July 11. Some are facing harsh sentences that could lock them up for several years.

“Cuban State Security imposed exile on both of us as the only option for Hamlet’s release,” Bisquet wrote in a statement published Sunday on Facebook after they were already in Europe, on their way to Poland, where Lavastida has a son. “On several occasions, I heard more than one agent say that it was not convenient for them to have Hamlet imprisoned and that, due to this ‘political rationale’ they decided to release him under the condition that both of us would leave the country.”

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Axios Deletes Tweet Spreading Disinformation That Border Patrol Agents Were ‘Whipping at Haitian Migrants’

Axios issued a correction on Sunday which indicated that they deleted a viral tweet that spread massive disinformation last week, which falsely claimed that border patrol agentswere “whipping at Haitian migrants” on the US Southern border. The disinformation from Axios and other outlets citing the original claim, resulted in the Biden administration harshly condemning border patrol agents and the Department of Homeland Security launching an excessive investigation.

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Biden Administration to ‘Take Action to Protect Dreamers’ After Court Rules Against DACA

The Biden administration announced plans on Monday to recreate DACA, the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. This comes as a Texas court ruled that the policy, which undertakes to fast-track those for citizenship who were brought to the US illegally by their parents as children.

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Germany Struggles to Cope With Migrant Surge From Belarus

Massive police deployment, extensive and strict border controls, and a regular search of forest roads is the new everyday reality in the German state of Brandenburg, which lies at the Polish border. The region is struggling to deal with a wave of migrants sent to the European Union by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, and despite police efforts, there is no sign that the wave is letting up.

Groups of Iraqis, Syrians, and Afghans are now coming to Germany via Poland, and

“There were 40 on Monday, 69 on Tuesday, and 80 on Wednesday,” said Olaf Jansen, head of the reception center in Eisenhüttenstadt.

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Macron, Liberal French Government Allocate €1 Billion to Healthcare for Illegal Migrants in 2022

French President Emmanuel Macron’s France announced last week that the state’s 2022 budget will reserve €1 billion in medical aid for “free” healthcare to illegal immigrants. Since 2015, a year which saw well over a million illegal foreigners enter Europe, the amount of state aid set aside for migrant healthcare costs has doubled.

According to a finance bill put forward on Wednesday by President Emmanuel Macron’s government, €1 billion in medical aid will be allocated from the state’s 2022 budget to cover healthcare costs — of illegal immigrants, not including the costs of emergency care, French newspaper Le Figaro reports.

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More Than 17,000 Migrants Have Now Crossed English Channel in Small Boats in Just Nine Months of 2021 — More Than Double the Number for All of 2020

The number of people who have crossed the English Channel in 2021 so far is double compared to 2020, with three months still left in the year.

At least 17,085 people had made the dangerous journey so far this year in small boats, according to available official Home Office data.

Last year’s total was more than 8,400, meaning this year’s figure to date double the 2020 total.

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‘Over 95 Per Cent’ of ‘Afghans’ In Greece ‘Arrive Without Documents’: Ambassador

The ambassador of Afghanistan’s former Western-backed regime to Greece had admitted that “over 95 per cent” of supposed Afghan migrants in the EU member-state “arrive without documents”.

Mirwais Samadi, who remains in Athens in something of a “limbo situation” while the Taliban remain officially unrecognised as rulers of Afghanistan — “but how long that will go on for, no one knows” — made the admission in an interview with the leftist Guardian, in which he decried the right-leaning Greek government’s efforts to discourage “illegal migrant flows” from the Islamic emirate.

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Poland Says it Found Evidence of Extremism on Migrants’ Phones

WARSAW (Reuters) — Poland’s interior minister said on Monday material related to Islamic extremism had been found in the phones of migrants crossing its border with Belarus and he called for a 60-day extension to a state of emergency along the frontier.

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UK: Importing Foreign Drivers to Solve Shortages Caused by Reliance on Cheap Labour is ‘Folly’: Migration Watch

Migration Watch UK has slammed the British government for turning to thousands of foreign drivers to solve shortages which they believe were caused by bosses’ addiction to cheap overseas labour in the first place.

“This problem has been years in the making. Neither party has seen the benefit of training and retaining UK workers rather than taking the cheaper option of foreign drivers,” lamented Alp Mehmet, chairman of the migration sceptic think tank, in comments sent to Breitbart London, of the shortages, which have caused widespread panic-buying of fuel despite industry assurances that there is enough supply to meet demand at British refineries and terminals.

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Video: Texas Students Agree With Biden Border Policy, Until They See the Pictures

Video shot by Campus Reform reveals students at the University of Texas campus in San Antonio lauding Joe Biden’s immigration policies, right up until they are shown pictures of thousands of migrants living in squalor under a bridge in Del Rio.

“That’s more than I was expecting”, one student said, with another proclaiming “That — I do believe it’s a problem.”

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Video: Even CNN Calls Out “Patently False” Border Patrol ‘Whipping’

After a week of the Biden administration and Democrats pushing fake news that border patrol agents whipped migrants, and even removing them from duty, even CNN’s Jake Tapper described the story as “patently false” during an interview with DHS Chief Alejandro Mayorkas.

“Some of the initial descriptions of those images were just patently false,” Tapper said, adding “There’s now video out there that provides more context.”

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Swiss Voters Approve Same-Sex Marriage in Referendum

In a Sunday referendum, the Swiss voted to legalize same-sex marriages, the DPA reported. In total, 64.1 percent of the Swiss agreed to “marriage for all,” with the proposal receiving the support of more than half of the citizens in all 26 cantons. The result, according to the AFP agency, is not surprising.

Switzerland’s parliament approved same-sex marriage last year, but a trio of nationalist and Christian-conservative parties, which collected enough signatures to hold the referendum on the issue, disagreed.

Proponents of same-sex marriage say that approving the law will put heterosexual and same-sex couples at the same level in areas such as children adoption, obtaining citizenship after marriage, and regulated sperm donation, the AP agency wrote.

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YouTube CEO Says Celebrating Freedom of Speech is a “Core Value”

YouTube, whose policies and the way it implements them are more and more often at the center of massive political controversies at home — has chosen to address one that recently happened abroad.

CEO Susan Wojcicki has spoken about the removal of videos of opposition figure Alexey Navalny in Russia, after the Russian government requested this.

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4 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/27/2021

  1. The people are shouting F* Biden. They should be cursing the one behind him — it could well be Obama.

  2. The Bidenistas are now saying the quiet part out loud- the verminous savages who are invading our once great country are disease ridden as well as becoming a cancer on our nation.

    These are the same tyrants who are demanding that hard working American CITIZENS be forced to get the Shot or else be ostracized from society. They hypocrisy would be laughable if it wasn’t so horrific.

    Here in NY we have the Devil Empress Hochul who has fired tens of thousands of health care workers who will be replaced with the National Guard, illegal aliens and anyone else she can get to show up to work in our hospitals and nursing homes. What could possibly go wrong??

    It is truly remarkable that the only person who is calling them out loudly and clearly is President Trump as we saw at his rally last weekend.

    From the article: “DHS Secretary Mayorkas attended the Immigration Law and Policy Conference virtually on Monday. He said that not only did the surge in Delta COVID-19 variant at the southern border take him by surprise but that one in five migrants has “an illness”. He admits there is now a 20% rate of illness at the border now. ”

    https://hotair.com/karen-townsend/2021/09/28/mayorkas-hey-that-surge-in-delta-covid-19-variant-was-totally-unexpected-at-the-border-n418745

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