Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/16/2021

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told citizens not to cuddle their grandchildren, as Christmas is being cancelled due to the continuing ravages of the Wuhan Coronavirus. Meanwhile, incoming Swiss president Ignazio Cassis said that he would consider a mandatory vaccination, but only as a last resort. Also, elderly French citizens have been informed that unless they get a third “booster” shot, their vaccine passports will no longer be valid.

In other news, Polish border guards rescued a group of illegal migrants from Syria and Iraq who had been stranded in the marshes near the border with Belarus.

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

Thanks to Dean, Insubria, 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
» BIDENFLATION Will Hit US Families to the Tune of Around $3,500 This Year: Report
 
USA
» A National Stand Your Ground Law Would Protect Against Prosecutorial Overreach
» After Delay, Senate Unanimously Passes Uyghur Forced Labor Bill
» American Universities Reimpose COVID Restrictions Over Omicron Variant: ‘Reminiscent’ Of March 2020
» Baltimore Police Officer Shot Multiple Times in Curtis Bay; Currently on Life Support at Shock Trauma
» Biden Admin Proposes Bonuses for Doctors Who Implement ‘Anti-Racism’ Plans
» Breaking: Search Warrant Issued for Alec Baldwin’s Phone
» BuzzFeed Staff Test Positive for COVID Despite Masks, Vaccine Passports & Triple Jabs
» California Leavin’: Residents Flee the State Amid New COVID Restrictions and Skyrocketing Crime
» CEOs of Southwest, American Airlines Question Need for Masks on Planes
» Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Slammed for ‘Disaster Tenure’ After $2.9M Settlement Over Botched Police Raid
» Exclusive: Congressional Republicans Press New Twitter CEO Over Censorship of Free Speech
» Fentanyl Overtakes COVID-19 as Leading Cause of Death for Adults Between 18 and 45
» Kyle Rittenhouse Coming to Phoenix for Conservative Conference Hosted by Turning Point USA
» Kyle Rittenhouse Trial: ‘Tucker Carlson Originals’ Captures Never Before Seen Footage
» Lara Trump Applauds Gov. DeSantis: Many Parents Didn’t Know Their Kids Were Learning Critical Race Theory
» Man Pleads Guilty to Throwing Lit Firework Amid Protest
» Man Who Set Fire to Raleigh Stores on Night of George Floyd Protests Sentenced to Prison
» Nike Executives Funneled Money to Democrat Who Just Blocked Uyghur Forced Labor Bill
» Pandemic Lockdowns Fueled Massive Rise in Gaming and Addiction, Experts Say
» Poll: Majorities of Both Parties Say the Media Isn’t Trustworthy
» San Francisco Police Union: Mayor’s Crime Crackdown is ‘Acknowledgment’ That Defund Police Was ‘Mistake’
» Steven Crowder is Suspended From YouTube Live-Streaming Until the End of the Year
» Ted Cruz’s New E-Book on Critical Race Theory Argues That Seeking Equity in the US is Really Calling for ‘Discrimination’ Against White People
» Texas AG Paxton Wins Injunction Against Biden Vaccine Mandate for Federally-Funded Healthcare Workers
» Trump Hints at 2024 Run, Says He Likes DeSantis ‘A Lot’
» Twitter Bans Political Commentator Melissa Tate After She Shared Joe Rogan Clip
» Waukesha Tragedy Ignored by the Media for Involving Victims of Wrong Race, Political Party: Sean Duffy
» YouTube Censors Bombshell Joe Rogan Interview With Cardiologist Peter McCullough
» Zuckerberg Offered User Data Reports to Fauci to Help Shape Lockdown Policies
 
Canada
» Breaking: Legault Announces New Wave of Restrictions as Province Logs Record Daily Cases
 
Europe and the EU
» ‘A Last Resort’: Switzerland’s Incoming President Cassis on Mandatory Vaccination
» A Popeyes in France? Chain to Open Hundreds of Locations in Upcoming Years
» Austria: COVID-19 Protests: Vienna Considers Daytime Ban on Demonstrations
» Crisis: Italian Citizen Birthrate Fell to Record Lows in 2020
» Dutch PM Tells Public Not to Cuddle Grandkids as Christmas is Cancelled in the Netherlands
» Germany Vows to ‘Defend Itself’ As Police Raid Anti-Vaxxers
» Germany: Berlin: Anti-Vaccine Demo by Youth Party Exceeds Expectations
» Germany: Conservative AfD Politician Attacked by Violent Left-Wing Extremists
» Italy: EU Antitrust OKs Aid to Small, Medium Firms for Broadband
» Italy Extends Coronavirus State of Emergency Until End of March
» Just 15 People With Omicron Are Being Treated in UK Hospitals
» Populist MEP: Antifa Benefits From Complacency of French Leaders
» Survey: Majority of Poles Support Nuclear Power Plant Construction in Poland
» The UK Wants to Make Knowingly Distributing Seriously Harmful Misinformation an Offense
» Three Jab World: Boosterless French Over-65s See COVID Passes Disabled
» UK Health Chief: “A Number of Years” Before COVID Restrictions Can be Fully Lifted
» UK: Have We Learned Nothing?
» UK: Monty Python Legend Cancelled by Old Vic Theater for Recommending Chapelle Special
» UK: Why Are So Many Footballers Collapsing? There Has Been a Worrying Spike in Cardiac Arrests and Stars Retiring With Heart-Related Issues, But Leading Sports Cardiologist Insists it is Not to Do With COVID Vaccine
 
Far East
» Coronavirus: South Korea Limits Private Gatherings to Four People
» Exclusive: House Republicans Demand Answers on Apple’s Censorship Policies in China
» Japanese Ministry of Health Warns of ‘Serious Side Effects’ From Vaccines
» South Korea to Use Pandemic as Reason to Boost Facial Recognition AI Tech
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Health Minister Says Hospitalisations & Deaths in South Africa “Remain Low”
 
Immigration
» Biden’s DOJ Drops Plans to Pay Illegal Immigrants $450,000 in Compensation
» Croatia: Activist Must Pay €8,000 for Helping Migrants to Illegally Cross the Border
» Migrants Push Past Outnumbered French Police to Make Perilous Channel Crossing
» Polish Authorities Rescue Group of Illegal Migrants Stranded in Marshes
 
Culture Wars
» Great Grandparents of Baby Girl Murdered by Lesbian Couple Warned Social Services, Told They Were ‘Racist’ & ‘Homophobic’
» Twitter Locked Out Think Tank Policy Director for Opposing “Chemical Castration” Of Kids
 

BIDENFLATION Will Hit US Families to the Tune of Around $3,500 This Year: Report

The Penn Wharton Budget Model on Wednesday released a report containing their new findings, in which it was shown that most US families will need to allocate six percent more of their budget just to cover inflation in 2021.

Even more shockingly, the figure for lower-income families is even slightly higher. They will on average have to spend seven percent more this year to be able to acquire the same amount of goods and services as before.

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

A National Stand Your Ground Law Would Protect Against Prosecutorial Overreach

There are few laws more misunderstood than “Stand Your Ground” — especially Florida’s current version. Stand Your Ground laws have become an anti-gun fundraising issue. They’ve tried to make them synonymous with the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin — even though George Zimmerman never invoked the statute. To be clear, despite mainstream media accounts to the contrary, Zimmerman’s was never a Stand Your Ground case.

The gun-ban industry and their adherents in the media have tried to demonize the statute as a “shoot first,” “make my day,” or “license to kill” law. As with most everything they write about the Second Amendment, these assertions are pure fiction and nothing more than politically motivated fake news.

Now, two Florida Republican Congressmen, Matt Gaetz and Greg Steube, along with five other Republican representatives, have introduced the National “Stand Your Ground Act” of 2021.

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

After Delay, Senate Unanimously Passes Uyghur Forced Labor Bill

After a series of false starts and delays, the Senate passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act by voice vote Thursday.

The bill, sponsored by Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, targets slave labor in Xinjiang and surrounding provinces, where China is conducting a genocide of the Uyghur people. It passed the House by voice vote Tuesday and is expected to be signed into law by President Joe Biden.

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

American Universities Reimpose COVID Restrictions Over Omicron Variant: ‘Reminiscent’ Of March 2020

Several colleges and universities across America are reimposing restrictions on their campuses due to the recent rise in the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Several universities, such as Georgetown, George Washington and Cornell, have decided to either cancel all indoor events or hold them online, among other restrictions.

Georgetown University, for example, is restricting all indoor campus dining to a “grab-and-go” model, where students pick up their food in a dining hall and eat in their private room. The university is also closing fitness centers, and has canceled all events if they cannot be held outdoors or online.

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

Baltimore Police Officer Shot Multiple Times in Curtis Bay; Currently on Life Support at Shock Trauma

A Baltimore Police officer was ambushed and shot while sitting in a patrol vehicle early Thursday in Curtis Bay, the police commissioner said.

At a briefing outside Maryland Shock Trauma, Dr. Thomas Scalea said the officer was shot multiple times and was on life support.

Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said the officer was on-duty but not responding to a call around 1:30 a.m. in the 4400 block of Pennington Ave. when the shooter approached from behind and opened fire. It was not clear how that information had been gleaned.

“We have a coward on the loose in Baltimore that we must and will find,” Mayor Brandon Scott said.

The officer, who was not identified by name or even gender, was found by other officers after their vehicle accelerated and crashed. A video posted to social media of the apparent aftermath showed a patrol car on a playground at Curtis Bay Park…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Biden Admin Proposes Bonuses for Doctors Who Implement ‘Anti-Racism’ Plans

The Biden administration is proposing bonus payments to physicians who incorporate “anti-racism” plans into their practices.

Among the proposed “Clinical Practice Improvement Activities” for calendar year 2022 by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is to “create and implement an anti-racism plan.” Completing a certain number of improvement activities helps physicians qualify for Medicare’s Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).

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

Breaking: Search Warrant Issued for Alec Baldwin’s Phone

A search warrant has been issued for actor Alec Baldwin’s phone. This comes weeks after Baldwin allegedly shot and killed Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer on the set of “Rust.”

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

BuzzFeed Staff Test Positive for COVID Despite Masks, Vaccine Passports & Triple Jabs

BuzzFeed staff who attended a company party in New York tested positive for COVID despite wearing masks, showing vaccine passports and being triple jabbed.

Whoops.

“Three BuzzFeed employees who tested positive following the party told Insider that they were vaccinated and received their booster shots prior to contracting Covid-19 at the event, and are experiencing mild symptoms,” reports Mediaite.

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

California Leavin’: Residents Flee the State Amid New COVID Restrictions and Skyrocketing Crime

A recent study performed by the California Police Lab shows that 38 percent fewer people are moving into California since the start of the pandemic and 12 percent are moving out.

“Although a lot of the talk has been about ‘Cal Exit’, we think the bigger story is on ‘Cal Entrances,’“ commented Evan White, one of the study’s authors. White went on to comment that the biggest drop in people moving in came from the Bay Area, where a full 45 percent fewer people came to live there.

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

CEOs of Southwest, American Airlines Question Need for Masks on Planes

The CEOs of Southwest and American Airlines are challenging the need to wear masks on airplanes, saying they don’t believe they do much to limit exposure to Covid-19.

Doug Parker, CEO of American Airlines — the nation’s largest carrier — and Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest, made the comments during a hearing about federal financial support received in 2020 and 2021. The comments were in response to a question from Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MI), the ranking Republican on the committee, according to CNN.

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

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Slammed for ‘Disaster Tenure’ After $2.9M Settlement Over Botched Police Raid

Chicago’s former head city attorney slammed Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s “disaster” tenure in a new op-ed after City Council voted on Wednesday to pay $2.9 million to a woman who was handcuffed by police officers while she was naked during a botched 2019 raid on her home.

The unanimous vote to pay Anjanette Young $2.9 million was widely expected, coming two days after a council committee voted to recommend that the full council accept the settlement and after the city’s law department said Young’s attorney had agreed to the amount.

Lightfoot used the settlement at the taxpayer’s expense to “jump-start her reelection campaign,” Mark Flessner, who resigned after the Law Department attempted to withhold video of the raid on the wrong address, wrote in a recent op-ed for the Chicago Tribune.

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

Exclusive: Congressional Republicans Press New Twitter CEO Over Censorship of Free Speech

House Republicans requested information about the content moderation plans of Twitter’s new chief executive officer in a letter Thursday.

“Your transition is an opportunity to right the ship. However, your past comments raise serious questions regarding your interest in re-opening the platform you lead to free expression,” New York Rep. Claudia Tenney and twelve other members wrote to CEO Parag Agrawal.

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

Fentanyl Overtakes COVID-19 as Leading Cause of Death for Adults Between 18 and 45

For the timeframe between January 1st 2020 and December 15th 2021, 53,000 people have died of COVID-19. But as many as 79,000 people have died from fentanyl.

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

Kyle Rittenhouse Coming to Phoenix for Conservative Conference Hosted by Turning Point USA

Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager acquitted of all charges related to deadly shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year, is among the lineup of conservative figures coming to Phoenix beginning this weekend.

Rittenhouse will speak at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, a four-day conference that will bring together conservative politicians, media commentators and musicians to “celebrate America and be thankful to live in the greatest country ever to exist,” Turning Point spokesman Andrew Kolvet said.

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

Kyle Rittenhouse Trial: ‘Tucker Carlson Originals’ Captures Never Before Seen Footage

Tucker Carlson and his documentary team, with special courtroom access, take Fox Nation subscribers behind-the-scenes of the Kenosha courthouse and sit down exclusively with Kyle Rittenhouse during and after the trial in “Tucker Carlson Originals: The Trial of Kyle.”

In the December 16 episode, available now, Carlson’s camera crew captures never before seen footage from one of America’s most infamous trials and gives viewers a new extended look at Rittenhouse’s first sit-down interview with Carlson that you won’t see anywhere else.

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

Lara Trump Applauds Gov. DeSantis: Many Parents Didn’t Know Their Kids Were Learning Critical Race Theory

Fox News contributor Lara Trump on “Fox & Friends” Thursday backed Florida Gov. Ron Desantis’ crackdown on critical race theory being taught in schools and pushed in the corporate sector.

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

Man Pleads Guilty to Throwing Lit Firework Amid Protest

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A 19-year-old man admitted he threw a large firework at the federal courthouse in Portland during mass protests last year.

Gabriel Agard-Berryhill pleaded guilty to willfully using an incendiary device in an attempt to damage the courthouse on July 28, 2020, causing more than $1,000 in damage, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Under a plea deal, his lawyer says he’s expected to be sentenced to time served with two years of supervised release for the felony conviction.

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

Man Who Set Fire to Raleigh Stores on Night of George Floyd Protests Sentenced to Prison

A Raleigh man will spend 85 months, or about 7 years, in prison for setting fire to downtown Raleigh businesses during protests of George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.

Richard Rubalcava, 27, pleaded guilty on March 23 of this year to setting fire to the Dollar General Express store on East Davie Street during vandalism and looting that took place during the May 30-31 protests, which began peacefully but turned to chaos after violent standoffs between protesters and police.

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

Nike Executives Funneled Money to Democrat Who Just Blocked Uyghur Forced Labor Bill

Several top Nike executives funneled more than $60,000 to the re-election campaign of Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden over the course of just 16 days in September.

On Wednesday evening, Wyden blocked the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act which the House passed unanimously Tuesday and the Senate was expected to overwhelmingly approve. President Joe Biden vowed to sign the bill once passed by both chambers and work with Congress to “ensure global supply chains are free of forced labor,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

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

Pandemic Lockdowns Fueled Massive Rise in Gaming and Addiction, Experts Say

Authored by Jackson Elliott via The Epoch Times

During the pandemic, nationwide stay-at-home orders handed gaming companies a golden opportunity.

Under restrictive nationwide COVID-19 lockdowns, for many people, gaming was one of the few active recreations, social activities, and creative outlets available.

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

Poll: Majorities of Both Parties Say the Media Isn’t Trustworthy

Huge majorities of Republicans, Democrats and Independents say the U.S. media is biased and its main goal is to advance its own agenda, according to a Thursday poll from the Trafalgar Group and Convention of States.

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

San Francisco Police Union: Mayor’s Crime Crackdown is ‘Acknowledgment’ That Defund Police Was ‘Mistake’

A series of initiatives announced by San Francisco’s mayor to address the spike in crime and open-air drug dealing and substance abuse was met with praise by the city’s police union and cautious optimism from others after years of broken promises from elected officials.

In the midst of a wave of brazen retail thefts by organized groups of thieves coupled with property and gun crimes in some of the city’s most underserved neighborhoods like the Tenderloin, Mayor London Breed on Tuesday called for the deployment of more police officers to strengthen public safety.

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

Steven Crowder is Suspended From YouTube Live-Streaming Until the End of the Year

In a recent episode of Blaze TV’s “Louder with Crowder,” the host, Steven Crowder, claimed his channel had been suspended from YouTube again. The political commentator has been censored by YouTube several times.

Talking to co-host Gerald, Crowder said: “Alright, so last night YouTube sent us the second channel strike.”

He hinted that it was a two week suspension: “So this is going to prevent us from streaming on YouTube for the rest of the year.”

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

Ted Cruz’s New E-Book on Critical Race Theory Argues That Seeking Equity in the US is Really Calling for ‘Discrimination’ Against White People

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is on a mission to “defeat” Critical Race Theory, the study of racial bias in US laws that he says is “taking our schools by storm.”

Though educators say CRT isn’t taught in K-12 schools, Cruz argues the concepts have “infiltrated our education system” in a free, downloadable 10-page e-book exploring the origins of the college-level course, and alleging that it’s tied to Marxism.

“Together, I think we can defeat Critical Race Theory in our schools and make sure that students learn the true history of America—the story of American greatness,” Cruz says in the e-book.

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

Texas AG Paxton Wins Injunction Against Biden Vaccine Mandate for Federally-Funded Healthcare Workers

FIRST ON FOX: A U.S. District Court has granted the state of Texas an injunction against the Biden administration’s move to require healthcare workers to be vaccinated.

The ruling in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas Amarillo Division issued Wednesday granted Texas a preliminary injunction against a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rule mandating healthcare workers in facilities who are federally funded by Medicare and Medicaid to take the coronavirus vaccine.

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

Trump Hints at 2024 Run, Says He Likes DeSantis ‘A Lot’

Authored by Li Hai via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

Former President Donald Trump again hinted at a 2024 presidential run during his “History Tour” with Bill O’Reilly in Orlando on Sunday.

“We won the first time, and the second time we won by even more. And it looks like we might have to think about very strongly a third time,” Trump told O’Reilly before a crowd in the Amway Center.

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

Twitter Bans Political Commentator Melissa Tate After She Shared Joe Rogan Clip

Twitter has permanently banned the account of pro-Trump political commentator Melissa Tate. The Zimbabwe-born conservative was suspended after sharing a video clip from a recent episode from The Joe Rogan Experience featuring Dr. Peter McCullough.

On Instagram, Tate posted: “BREAKING: Twitter just suspended my account with almost half a million followers with no warning for sharing a clip from the Joe Rogan podcast where he is interviewing Doctor McCullough. Twitter said this was ‘harmful information.’“

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

Waukesha Tragedy Ignored by the Media for Involving Victims of Wrong Race, Political Party: Sean Duffy

The liberal media has largely ignored the aftermath of the Waukesha Christmas parade attack and former congressman Sean Duffy pegged their lack of coverage on the Wisconsin town’s demographic.

“You have Waukesha — it’s a mostly White, mostly Christian, Republican-leaning county,” he told “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” “So they’re the wrong race, wrong religion, wrong politics.”

On the other hand, Duffy explained, defendant Darrell Brooks Jr. is “anti-White, anti-Jew, anti-Trump” and made the decision to drive his vehicle into a crowd of people. Meanwhile, the media insists on backing their angle on criminal justice and bail reform, even while it involves criminals like Brooks Jr. with a hefty record.

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

YouTube Censors Bombshell Joe Rogan Interview With Cardiologist Peter McCullough

In a move that will come as a shock to absolutely no one, YouTube is censoring clips of Joe Rogan’s interview with cardiologist Peter McCullough wherein the doctor laid out how early treatment of COVID is being actively suppressed by governments and big-pharma in favour of a blind pursuit to vaccinate everyone.

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

Zuckerberg Offered User Data Reports to Fauci to Help Shape Lockdown Policies

In April 2020, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg offered National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony Fauci help in “facilitating” decisions regarding lockdown measures in the US, shows private emails exchanged between the two.

Zuckerberg’s offer referred to aggregating “anonymized” user reports that would help NIAID decide whether to tighten or loosen lockdown mandates.

The emails, which The National Pulse says it has obtained exclusively, show Zuckerberg willing to put Facebook’s gigantic user data trove at NIAID’s disposal in this “user reports” form, and came a month after the pair started communicating directly — a revelation stemming from another batch of government-redacted emails Zuckerberg and Fauci sent to each other in March 2020.

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

Breaking: Legault Announces New Wave of Restrictions as Province Logs Record Daily Cases

Francois Legault did not mince words when he said he had bad news for Quebecers while starting his press conference on Thursday, as the premier said that nearly 4,000 cases of COVID would be announced on Friday.

The premier announced a multitude of restrictions, including cutting capacity limits in half for businesses, bars, restaurants, and places of worship.

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

‘A Last Resort’: Switzerland’s Incoming President Cassis on Mandatory Vaccination

Incoming Swiss president Ignazio Cassis, a trained doctor, said “mandatory vaccination can be useful” but said he would only support the measure “as a last resort”.

In his first comprehensive interview since taking the top job, Swiss President-to-be Ignazio Cassis spoke about the country’s efforts against the pandemic.

Cassis will take the top job from January 1st. Cassis refused to rule out mandatory vaccination, but said trying to convince people to take the jab voluntarily was the more prudent approach.

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

A Popeyes in France? Chain to Open Hundreds of Locations in Upcoming Years

Popeyes has signed a deal with a French restaurant group and plans to open hundreds of fried chicken locations across France in upcoming years.

The company announced an agreement with napaqaro, a leading French restaurant group. It comes on the heels of Popeyes’ recent entry into Spain and the United Kingdom. When Popeyes opened a location in East London in late November, it drew international attention, with reports of people standing in lines for two or three hours.

[Comment: Dear French people, Popeye’s chicken sandwiches are real good.]

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

Austria: COVID-19 Protests: Vienna Considers Daytime Ban on Demonstrations

Protests in Vienna might only be allowed to take place in the evening following several weekends of demonstrations in the capital against Covid-19 measures.

From this weekend, the City of Vienna is considering a new rule that will ban protests or demonstrations from taking place in the city centre until after 6pm.

The reason is to ensure businesses are not interrupted during the last weekend of trade before Christmas, with Vienna city centre expected to be busy with shoppers and motorists.

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

Crisis: Italian Citizen Birthrate Fell to Record Lows in 2020

The birthrate of Italian citizens fell to a record low in 2020, with the country recording just 1.17 births per woman, while the average for all Italian residents was just 1.24 per woman.

In total, the country saw 404,892 during the pandemic year, down 15,000 from 2019 with November and December seeing the largest drops in births at a decline of 8.3 per cent and 10.7 per cent respectively, according to the Italian statistics agency Istat.

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

Dutch PM Tells Public Not to Cuddle Grandkids as Christmas is Cancelled in the Netherlands

Christmas has been cancelled in the Netherlands, with the Dutch prime minister telling the public they cannot cuddle their grandchildren.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte has told the Dutch public that there would be “no cuddling the grandkids” this Christmas after the government effectively cancelled Christmas in The Netherlands.

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

Germany Vows to ‘Defend Itself’ As Police Raid Anti-Vaxxers

Police and special forces staged an operation in Saxony

(ANSA-AFP) — BERLIN, DEC 15 — Germany vowed Wednesday to “defend itself” against radicalised anti-vaccination groups after police launched raids in response to death threats against a top politician backing decisive measures to fight the pandemic. Police and special forces staged an operation in Saxony after an anti-vaccine group targeted the region’s state premier, who has vocally supported national measures against the unvaccinated in one of the areas of the country with the lowest inoculation rates. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who took office last week, said Germany would “not allow a tiny minority of uninhibited extremists to try to impose its will on the whole of society”. The security forces earlier launched the operation in the eastern city of Dresden following threats from an anti-vaccine group against state premier Michael Kretschmer.

“Statements from certain members of the group suggested they might have real weapons and crossbows,” police said, without indicating if any arrests had been made.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Berlin: Anti-Vaccine Demo by Youth Party Exceeds Expectations

“The anti-vaccination demonstration was a complete success. Originally registered for 500 participants, there were at least 600 in the end according to police reports, but according to our estimates 750 to 1000. We were able to make our request heard to defend freedom against increasingly repressive Corona measures.

“Both the German and the international press took notice. We did not expect this echo, this mobilization, especially since we only had a few days to organize this demonstration. We will now take this momentum with us for our further political work and actions.

The Young Alternative [Junge Alternative] is the youth party for freedom. For us, freedom and the right to physical integrity are non-negotiable. A vaccination obligation and all the methods of indirect coercion with which it is being and could be enforced — fines, prison sentence, state-imposed discrimination — are unacceptable to us.”

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

Germany: Conservative AfD Politician Attacked by Violent Left-Wing Extremists

A lawmaker for the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was violently attacked on Saturday by two left-wing extremists over the weekend in Germany’s northernmost state — Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Michael Meister, a lawmaker in the State Parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for the AfD, had been out for a walk on the streets of Rostock when a pair of violent left-wing extremists approached him from behind and began attacking him, according to a report from Junge Freiheit.

During the attack, Meister said he heard the two men shouting: “You AfD Nazi pig!”

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

Italy: EU Antitrust OKs Aid to Small, Medium Firms for Broadband

610 mn euros in vouchers

(ANSAmed) — ROME, DEC 15 — The European Commission has approved an Italian voucher scheme for a total of 610 million euros to help small and medium-sized companies access high-speed broadband services, saying it does not provide undue competitive advantage.

Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, said the plan was conceived to “increase the number” of small and medium-sized businesses with a high-speed internet connection “in areas in which adequate infrastructures are available but they are still not used in a sufficient measure”.

This would contribute to their “development” without “undue” interference with competition, she said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy Extends Coronavirus State of Emergency Until End of March

The Italian government has approved a decree to extend the Wuhan coronavirus state of emergency beyond December 31st until March 31st and quarantine unvaccinated travellers.

The state of emergency, which was set to expire on December 31st, will be extended a further three months as the country faces a possible surge of cases relating to the Omicron variant of the Chinese coronavirus over the winter months.

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

Just 15 People With Omicron Are Being Treated in UK Hospitals

Despite the government claiming there are currently hundreds of thousands of cases, a number that doubles every two days, health authorities have revealed there are just 15 people with Omicron being treated in UK hospitals.

The small number stands in stark contrast to the utter hysteria that is currently sweeping the country, with people putting themselves in lockdown, canceling Christmas plans and leaving the already struggling hospitality industry staring down a barrel.

Dr Susan Hopkins, the UK Health Security Agency’s chief medical adviser, told MP’s, “There are currently 15 people being treated in hospital with Omicron,” reports Sky News.

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

Populist MEP: Antifa Benefits From Complacency of French Leaders

French populist member of the European Parliament Jordan Bardella has claimed that far-left extremist Antifa militants benefit from the “complacency” of French political leaders.

Bardella, a member of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN), made his statements in reaction to those of French Interior Minister Gerald Darmnin who announced on Sunday that the government would be looking to dissolve the right-wing groups Les Zouaves, who are accused of being involved in violence at the first rally of presidential candidate Eric Zemmour.

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Survey: Majority of Poles Support Nuclear Power Plant Construction in Poland

A large majority of Poles want nuclear power, according to a new survey from Danae Research, conducted on behalf of the Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment.

The survey on Polish sentiments on nuclear energy, conducted in November 2021, shows the best results since 2012.

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The UK Wants to Make Knowingly Distributing Seriously Harmful Misinformation an Offense

The UK continues to draft its new law meant to tackle online “harms,” dubbed Online Safety Bill, which many critics see as a massive overreach and a draconian effort that could end up producing harm itself — at the expense of free speech and privacy, and even innovation.

The latest proposal that could make it to the final version, to be presented to parliament in early 2022, seeks to make some portions of the existing draft even more restrictive, using vague language to cast the net wide and leave matters open to interpretation.

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Three Jab World: Boosterless French Over-65s See COVID Passes Disabled

Vaccinated French over-65s who have not yet received a booster vaccine will begin having their Covid passes disabled.

France launched the new, tougher rules on Wednesday, which sees vaccinated French people over 65 who have not received a booster vaccine for the Chinese coronavirus beginning to see their Covid passes disabled, despite once being considered fully jabbed.

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UK Health Chief: “A Number of Years” Before COVID Restrictions Can be Fully Lifted

The UK’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said today that it could be “a number of years” before a ‘variant-busting’ vaccine is developed that would enable COVID restrictions to be lifted for good.

“If I project forward, I would anticipate in a number of years, possibly 18 months, possibly slightly less… we will have polyvalent vaccines which will cover a much wider range [of variants],” Whitty told MPs.

Nervtag, a subcommittee that is connected to SAGE, which advises the government, is even more pessimistic, saying that COVID-19 could “pose a threat to the NHS” (necessitating restrictions) for another five years.

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UK: Have We Learned Nothing?

Our society is being shut down again over a variant that in the UK has hospitalised 15 people and killed just 1.

Is this a proportionate response?

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UK: Monty Python Legend Cancelled by Old Vic Theater for Recommending Chapelle Special

Director and Monty Python legend Terry Gilliam has found himself the latest victim of cancel culture as the Old Vic Theater in London dropped plans for a production of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods after Gilliam merely suggested on social media that people should watch Dave Chappelle’s latest Netflix special.

Essentially Gilliam was canceled by the Old Vic for engaging in wrong think.

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UK: Why Are So Many Footballers Collapsing? There Has Been a Worrying Spike in Cardiac Arrests and Stars Retiring With Heart-Related Issues, But Leading Sports Cardiologist Insists it is Not to Do With COVID Vaccine

CHRIS WHEELER: It feels that barely a week goes by at the moment without news of another cardiac-related incident in the game.

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Coronavirus: South Korea Limits Private Gatherings to Four People

South Korea announced Thursday plans to limit private gatherings in the country to four people from December 18 to January 2 in an effort to curb transmission of the Chinese coronavirus during the winter holiday season.

“South Korea will reduce the maximum private gathering size to four people nationwide and restore a 9:00 p.m. curfew on restaurant and cafe business hours,” South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum told reporters during a government meeting at South Korea’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters in Seoul on December 16.

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Exclusive: House Republicans Demand Answers on Apple’s Censorship Policies in China

Republicans in the House of Representatives are demanding an explanation of Apple’s refusal to engrave certain words on custom devices in Chinese markets.

The letter writers, led by Indiana Reps. Victoria Spartz and Jim Banks, cite researchers from the University of Toronto who found that the tech giant broadly censors political content in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The company’s refusal to engrave certain terms contradicts its public statement on human rights, the Republicans argue, while going beyond what Chinese law requires for content censorship.

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Japanese Ministry of Health Warns of ‘Serious Side Effects’ From Vaccines

After having listed heart problems in the follow-up of a million jabbed Japanese, a group of experts brought together by the Ministry of Health insisted on adding the mention “serious side effects” on the documents attached to the anti-Covid vaccines.

The Japanese Ministry of Health has listed myocarditis and pericarditis — inflammations of the heart muscle and the outer wall of the heart — in young men as possible serious side effects of the Covid Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, NHK reported on December 4.

As of November 14, out of one million men who received the Moderna vaccine, such side effects were reported in more than 81 adolescent men and 48 men in their twenties.

Those numbers were 15 and 13, respectively, for those who had received the Pfizer vaccine. The ministry, which convened a group of experts on December 4 on the issue, proposed to warn of the risk by printing the words “serious side effects” on documents attached to vaccines.

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South Korea to Use Pandemic as Reason to Boost Facial Recognition AI Tech

The pandemic continues to be used as a reason to introduce more and more facial recognition tech in countries around the world, South Korea being one of the recent examples, as it is readying to step up its COVID-justified mass surveillance game this coming January.

And that policy is already one of the most invasive in the world, with contact tracing collecting people’s location from mobile devices, their credit card records, as well as security camera footage.

But now a new pilot will soon be launched bringing together biometric surveillance in the shape of facial recognition, a huge network of CCTV cameras — in excess of 10,000 — and, what’s referred to as artificial intelligence algorithms that will be used to analyze the harvested information.

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Health Minister Says Hospitalisations & Deaths in South Africa “Remain Low”

The Health Minister of South Africa has released a statement saying that the rates of hospitalisations and deaths in the country that saw the first wave of the Omicron variant “remain relatively low.”

The statement is at odds with the reaction to Omicron in western countries, particularly the UK where hysteria is now running rampant despite the variant causing milder symptoms than Delta.

“According to scientific studies, this virus is spreading quicker than in previous waves, but the rates of hospitalisations and deaths remain relatively low,” said Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla.

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Biden’s DOJ Drops Plans to Pay Illegal Immigrants $450,000 in Compensation

Biden’s Department of Justice has withdrawn its plan to pay illegal immigrants $450,000 in compensation after having had their families separated at the border during the Trump administration.

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Croatia: Activist Must Pay €8,000 for Helping Migrants to Illegally Cross the Border

ZAGREB, 15 Dec 2021 — Croatia’s High Misdemeanor Court has dismissed the appeal lodged by Dragan Umicevic, an activist of the Are You Syrious, against a fine of HRK 60,000 imposed on him after he had helped a group of migrants in March 2018 to illegally cross the Croatian border, the Jutarnji List reported on Wednesday.

The ruling of the High Misdemeanor Court was sent to Vinkovci’s Municipal Court that fined Umicevic in 2018 when it found Umicevic guilty of helping a 14-member Afghan family to illegally cross the border from Serbia into Croatia near the town of Strosinci, by sending them light signals from his car about where to cross the border.

Umicevic helped them to seek asylum in Croatia, the daily newspaper reported today, adding that the final verdict amounts to the campaign of intimidating activists and NGOs who help irregular and undocumented migrants.

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Migrants Push Past Outnumbered French Police to Make Perilous Channel Crossing

WIMEREUX, FRANCE (REUTERS) — In the early hours of Thursday (Dec 16) on a beach in northern France, a small group of police with torches tries to stand in the way of dozens of migrants heading for the sea carrying a grey dinghy.

It’s tense. The police are outnumbered. The migrants — who hope to make it to Britain on the final stretch of their long journeys fleeing war and poverty — are screaming.

They eventually push past the police, who stand aside.

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Polish Authorities Rescue Group of Illegal Migrants Stranded in Marshes

The Polish Border Guard announced a several hours long operation to save a group of illegal migrants who became stuck in marshes near the Polish-Belarusian border. The four migrants were rescued, but two of them had to be transported to a hospital.

“Yesterday, Border Guard officers from the Michalów and Narewka units carried out a several hours long rescue operation along with Polish firefighters. Four illegal migrants who were Syrian and Iraqi citizens had become stranded in marshes. They were found thanks to a drone which belonged to the Territorial Defense Force. Two persons were transported to a hospital,” the Border Guard wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

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Great Grandparents of Baby Girl Murdered by Lesbian Couple Warned Social Services, Told They Were ‘Racist’ & ‘Homophobic’

The great grandparents of a baby girl who was brutally murdered by a lesbian couple tried to warn social services about the abuse on five separate occasions, only to be told they were being homophobic and racist.

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Twitter Locked Out Think Tank Policy Director for Opposing “Chemical Castration” Of Kids

Twitter temporarily suspended Jon Schweppe, the director of American Principles Project (APP), for encouraging governors to support legislation that would ban the chemical castration of kids with gender dysphoria. Twitter claimed that the tweet violated its rules against hateful conduct.

APP is a pro-family think tank. Its director, Jon Schweppe, took to Twitter to applaud South Dakota’s Gov. Kristi Noem for pressing the state lawmakers to pass a law that will restrict the participation of trans individuals in female sports at the K-12 and collegiate levels.

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7 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/16/2021

  1. https://www.nsk.kp.ru/daily/28370/4520606/

    A memo on behavior in society was developed for migrants in Novosibirsk
    It provides tips on how to behave on the street and in public places.

    It also provides advice on how to and how not to behave in a public place. In particular, migrants are advised to speak Russian in public places, not to address strangers with the “you” (There are two forms of address in Russian – respectful and ordinary), not to laugh loudly, not to smoke, not to drink, and not to litter in public places, and also not to whistle or shout out to women passing by.

    And in public transport, migrants are advised to give up their seats to pensioners, pregnant women and children. Do not talk loudly on the phone, do not occupy the seats with bags and take off your backpacks when entering the transport.

    https://www.nsk.kp.ru/daily/28370/4520606/

    • The advice on backpacks should be universal. It’s appeared on London tube trains recently; previously I’d seen it only on water buses in Venice, back in 2013.

  2. The EU politicians and bureaucrats are delusional, but it gives them transitory power.

    And NY, NY has noting to be proud about.

  3. In the city of Ermolino, Kaluga region, there was a mass brawl with the participation of migrants. According to local residents, the newcomers stuck to the underage girls, they called their friends for help. As a result, one of the migrants allegedly stabbed a 17-year-old boy in the chest twice. The schoolboy ended up in intensive care, the police opened a criminal case. Residents of Ermolino say that they have suffered from migrants for a long time, but the authorities do nothing.

    https://www.gazeta.ru/social/2021/12/17/14327461.shtml

  4. Elena, are you saying that towelheads are making their way through Russia, or are they coming into Russia and remaining there?

    How are they entering? Through Belarus?

    Putin permits this? hmmmmmm

    • Who exactly do you mean? We’ve always had Muslims here.
      Tatars and Bashkirs are quite sane (thanks to the 500-year-old boot of infidels on their throats). There is also the iodine-deficient North Caucasus. There is also a “colonial legacy” from Central Asia – which during the so-called. “genocide” multiplied 10-15 times.
      Some other Kurds and Syrians have appeared. Even in my northern city, blacks began to meet on the street.

      As far as I know, Lukashenka brings in migrants himself by charter flights. But here recently the news came that the Chechens were trying to break through to Poland. Let them go. The Poles flirted with them and even named either the street or the square in honor of the terrorist Dudayev.

      Tatars are generally a special conversation. I know many wonderful secular Tatars. One such blue-eyed Tatar (looking like an Italian aristocrat) sold me a schnauzer puppy a few years ago. There are a lot of cultural figures among the Tatars. Find Aida Garifullina on YouTube and enjoy!

      But recently, revanchist and pan-Turkic sentiments have been fanned among them.

      • Time to bring back good ole Ivan the Terrible, now there was a guy who put the fear of him and God into those godless devil worshiping muslims.

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