Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/17/2021

At least fourteen people were shot today in Baltimore. Two of the victims died of their wounds.

In other news, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he would not rule out mandatory vaccination in France if not enough citizens get the jab voluntarily.

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

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

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

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

Financial Crisis
» Turkey Halts All Stock Trading as Currency Disintegrates, Central Bank Powerless to Halt Collapse
 
USA
» Biden Calls Kamala ‘President Harris’ In Commencement Speech
» Biden Awards Posthumous Medal of Honor to Man Who is Still Alive — and in the Room
» Breaking: Project Veritas Releases Name of CNN Producer Involved in New Pedophilia Scandal
» Breaking: Boeing Becomes Latest US Company to Suspend Vaccine Mandate
» Chicago Mayor Lightfoot to Pump $412 Million More Into Anti-Crime Plan That Doesn’t Work
» CNBC’s Cramer Declares “Government Has a Right to Force You to Obey”
» CNN Doctor: Wear Masks at Home and Take Tests on Christmas Morning
» Facebook Restricts Ads Account of Senate Candidate Dr. Oz
» Federal Appeals Court Allows Biden Vaccine Mandate for Large Companies to Resume
» Florida Sheriff Praises Homeowner for Shooting Home Invader: ‘Only Santa Claus Gets to Come in Your House’
» Fourteen People Shot, Two Fatally, In Baltimore Friday, Police Say
» GOP State Lawmakers Introduce 12 New Bills to Ban Critical Race Theory
» Harvard Won’t Require SAT or ACT for 5 More Years
» Ingraham Guest Warns Vax Mandates at Restaurants Are Government Overreach: ‘People Should be Very Scared’
» IRS Filing Confirms: Zuckerberg Grantee Spent $332 Million for ‘Local Election Administration’ In 2020
» Judicial Nominee Refuses to Say if Crimes Should be Forgiven ‘In Name of Social Justice’ (Video)
» Kim Potter Trial: Defense Rests Case After Former Minneapolis-Area Police Officer Wraps Emotional Testimony
» ‘Kyle Rittenhouse’ Was the Most-Searched-for Person in the US in 2021
» LA District Attorney’s Office Announces ‘Restorative Justice’ Pathway for Youth Charged With Felonies
» Nearly 70% of Voters Oppose New COVID-19 Mandates for Omicron, Poll Finds
» Nicholas Sandmann Reaches Settlement With NBC in Covington Catholic High School Controversy
» NYT Reveals How Ashley Biden’s ‘Inappropriate Showers With Joe’ Diary Made Its Way to Project Veritas
» Report: Establishment Media’s Readership Collapses Up to 48% Without Trump’s Presidency
» Soros-Backed Candidate Smears San Diego DA She Lost to as ‘Alt-Right’
» Top Police Union Slams the NFL for Backing ‘Defund the Police’, Antifa-Linked Groups
» US Contemplates Joining 21st Century as Free Pacer Bill Advances Out of Judiciary Committee
» Video: MSNBC Race Baiters Declare DeSantis’ Anti CRT Legislation is “New Effort to Codify White Supremacy”
 
Canada
» Breaking: Ford to Announce Capacity Limits for Restaurants, Ban on Food and Drink in Sporting Venues
 
Europe and the EU
» British Medical Journal Criticizes Facebook Over “Inaccurate, Incompetent and Irresponsible” “Fact-Check” Used to Censor
» Dutch Lawmaker Thierry Baudet Ordered by Court to Delete Posts Comparing Vaccine Passports to Nazi Germany
» EU Commission Proposals Are Detached From Reality, Says Czech PM Babis
» EU News: Fury Erupts in Brussels Over Bloc’s ‘Leftist Indoctrination’ Plot
» EU, Moderna Agree to Accelerate Vaccine Deliveries to ‘Jumpstart Booster Programs’
» Facebook’s Nick Clegg Complains That UK Censorship Proposals Have an Exemption for Journalists
» France: Macron Keeps Mandatory Vaccination on the Table
» French Regions Ordered to Increase Church Security Over Christmas Terror Fears
» Lockdowns Likely Did Nothing to Improve COVID-19 Numbers, New Data From Austria, Czechia and Slovakia Shows
» Pfizer and Microsoft Sponsored Party of New German Health Minister
» Poland Cannot Give in to EU Blackmail, Says Former Head of Polish Diplomacy
» Police in Wales to Introduce Facial Recognition Technology
» Sweden: Cancel Christmas if You Get Coronavirus Symptoms… Even if You Are Fully Vaccinated
» UK: Boris Johnson Allegedly Attended a Lockdown-Breaking Pizza Party in May 2020, Sources Claim
» UK: Ex-Pro Calls for Investigation Into Footballers Suffering Heart Problems
» UK: Man Receives 14-Year Jail Sentence for Attempting Set Fire to Two Police Vans While Officers Were Inside
» UK: Tories Lose North Shropshire Seat They Held for Nearly 200 Years
» With Days to Go Before Christmas, Denmark Shuts Down Public Places, Citing Virus
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Caroline Glick: Netanyahu and Trump’s Well-Defended Goal
 
Australia — Pacific
» Brexit Britain Signs Trade Deal With Australia, Righting ‘Historic Wrong’
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» ISIS-Linked Extremists Decapitate Christian Pastor Before Handing His Severed Head to His Wife to Show Authorities in Mozambique
» South Africa: Only 1.7% Hospitalised From Omicron
 
Immigration
» And Still They Come: Freezing Migrants Are Brought Ashore at Daybreak by RNLI as 100 More Men, Women and Children Make Perilous Crossing to Britain Just Days Before Christmas…
» France: Woman Sexually Harassed, Brutally Beaten by Drunk Migrant
» France: Macron Denies ‘Great Replacement’ But Admits Migrant Integration Failures
» Illegal Immigration Ticks Up; DHS Border Numbers Show Worst November on Record
» Parliamentarian Rejects Democrats’ Bid to Stick Immigration Legalization in Budget
 
Culture Wars
» Austria to Allow Assisted Suicide
» ‘Problematic’ Fantasy Race Lore Purged From Dungeons & Dragons
 

Turkey Halts All Stock Trading as Currency Disintegrates, Central Bank Powerless to Halt Collapse

Another day, another collapse in the Turkish lira, only this time there was a twist: as the hyperinflating currency implodes, Erdogan has finally had enough of the relentless pummeling, and is starting to shut down Turkey’s markets.

But first, let’s back up: heading into Friday, the lira accelerated its historic descent, weakening past the 16 per-dollar mark for the first time ever, as the central bank’s pledge to end a four-month cycle of interest rate cuts on Thursday failed to convince investors that inflation can be brought to heel. That was just the start however, and the currency plunge only accelerated crashing as low as 17.14 just hours later, bringing declines this week to 17%. YTD the currency has lost more than half of its value!

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

Biden Calls Kamala ‘President Harris’ In Commencement Speech

During President Joe Biden’s keynote speech at South Carolina State University’s commencement ceremony on Friday, the president slipped up, calling Vice President Kamala Harris “President Harris.”

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

Biden Awards Posthumous Medal of Honor to Man Who is Still Alive — and in the Room

During Thursday’s Medal of Honor ceremony, a White House military aide mistakenly announced a recipient for posthumous decoration who is still alive.

“Attention to orders,” read military aide to the president Marine Lt. Col. William Kerrigan. “The president of the United States of America, authorized by act of Congress March 3, 1863, has posthumously awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to Staff Sgt. Earl D. Plumlee, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry at the risk of his life and above and beyond the call of duty.”

While the citation was read out, Plumlee stood at attention beside President Joe Biden, who then placed the medal around Plumlee’s neck.

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

Breaking: Project Veritas Releases Name of CNN Producer Involved in New Pedophilia Scandal

Project Veritas has released the name of the latest CNN producer to be embroiled in a pedophilia scandal. Rick Saleeby, the staffer in question, is a producer on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”

Project Veritas released the name after ensuring that the family involved was safe, according to a press release.

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

Breaking: Boeing Becomes Latest US Company to Suspend Vaccine Mandate

Aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing has suspended its vaccine mandate for employees. The company threatened to terminate any unvaccinated worker after the vaccine mandate previously in place had been enacted in October.

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

Chicago Mayor Lightfoot to Pump $412 Million More Into Anti-Crime Plan That Doesn’t Work

By Mark Glennon, of Wirepoints

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is planning to pump $412 million into its community safety plan, much of it targeting 15 of the city’s most violent community areas.

But the plan is already a proven failure. Furthermore, it has been subject to little transparency or accountability and its funding is unsustainable.

That’s according to a great column in Thursday’s Chicago Sun-Times, based on crime data being kept by the Sun-Times and experts it interviewed.

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

CNBC’s Cramer Declares “Government Has a Right to Force You to Obey”

CNBC “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer has taken his personal vaccine mandate zeal a step further by declaring to his audience that “the government has a right to force you to obey.”

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

CNN Doctor: Wear Masks at Home and Take Tests on Christmas Morning

A resident doctor on CNN told viewers Thursday that they should all be wearing masks at home around other family members and everyone should wake up on Christmas morning and rather than open presents, take COVID tests.

Dr. William Schaffner also said that these restrictions should apply to everyone, even those people who are double and triple vaccinated.

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

Facebook Restricts Ads Account of Senate Candidate Dr. Oz

Celebrity surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, who plans to run for Senate in Pennsylvania on the Republican ticket, has accused Facebook of trying to silence him. Dr. Oz claims Facebook put restrictions on his ad account.

“Facebook, also recently known as @Meta put restrictions on my ad account … it has been over 24 hours, and they are still silent and won’t explain why they are doing this,” Oz said in a Twitter post. “Big Tech and the media will not silence me,” he added.

It is not clear why Facebook has restricted Dr. Oz’s ad account.

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

Federal Appeals Court Allows Biden Vaccine Mandate for Large Companies to Resume

A federal appeals court Friday reinstated the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for large companies, dissolving a stay by a separate court that had suspended the mandate.

The decision is the latest event in a continuing battle that will likely soon be decided by the Supreme Court.

The Biden vaccine mandate forces companies with 100 employees or more to require that their workers be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing. The requirement trades effect Jan. 4, 2022.

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

Florida Sheriff Praises Homeowner for Shooting Home Invader: ‘Only Santa Claus Gets to Come in Your House’

A Florida sheriff praised a homeowner for standing his ground and shooting an attempted home invader on Wednesday.

“The homeowner did exactly what he should have,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told WFLA-TV after a man in Lakeland, Florida shot an intruder in his home.

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

Fourteen People Shot, Two Fatally, In Baltimore Friday, Police Say

At least 14 people were shot, two fatally, in Baltimore in five separate incidents Friday, police said, as the city grapples with pervasive violence.

Six people were shot Friday night, with five of the victims in the Penn North neighborhood, Baltimore City police said. A triple shooting in the Broadway East neighborhood and quadruple shooting in the Upton neighborhood occurred within an hour of each other earlier in the day, and a man was shot early Friday morning in West Baltimore.

Both the Penn North and the Upton shootings resulted in one person dying…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

GOP State Lawmakers Introduce 12 New Bills to Ban Critical Race Theory

Republican state legislators have introduced 12 bills to ban critical race theory in K-12 schools since Nov. 8, bringing the total number to 66 in 26 states, according to a free speech advocacy group that tracks them.

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

Harvard Won’t Require SAT or ACT for 5 More Years

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times

Harvard University will extend a move not to require SAT or ACT scores for prospective students until at least 2026, the university announced Thursday.

The Ivy League school initially stopped requiring the tests because of the COVID-19 pandemic, asserting some applicants had limited access to testing sites.

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

Ingraham Guest Warns Vax Mandates at Restaurants Are Government Overreach: ‘People Should be Very Scared’

On Thursday night’s edition of “The Ingraham Angle,” Fox News’ Laura Ingraham spoke with Jo Rose, a woman who was arrested Wednesday night at an Applebee’s restaurant in New York City, where she joined others in protesting the vaccine mandate in place at the business.

Prior to the interview, Ingraham spoke about what transpired at the restaurant, located in the city’s borough of Queens.

Ingraham explained that police “often took a hands-off approach” last year during Black Lives Matter protests in New York and elsewhere, but on Wednesday night in Queens it was a far different story. She explained that the anti-vaccine protest at Applebee’s drew “a small army of police officers.”

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

IRS Filing Confirms: Zuckerberg Grantee Spent $332 Million for ‘Local Election Administration’ In 2020

A compliance document filed with the Internal Revenue Service by the Mark Zuckerberg-funded Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) confirms the nonprofit spent $332 million in “grants and other assistance to domestic organizations and domestic governments” in the 2020 election to “increase civic participation by modernizing engagement between local gov[ernment] and the people they serve.”

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

Judicial Nominee Refuses to Say if Crimes Should be Forgiven ‘In Name of Social Justice’ (Video)

One of President Joe Biden’s district judge nominees repeatedly refused to answer whether some criminal acts should be overlooked on the grounds of social justice when grilled by a Republican lawmaker.

Anne Traum — Biden’s nominee to serve as US district judge for Nevada — would not give a definitive answer to Republican Louisiana Senator John Kennedy at a confirmation hearing on Wednesday, dodging the yes-or-no question for an entire five minutes.

After Kennedy asked Traum a total of nine times whether she believes “that a criminal act should be forgiven in the name of social justice?” she argued that such a question was a “policy issue” and that law is a “highly individualized and fact-specific process for all who are involved.”

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

Kim Potter Trial: Defense Rests Case After Former Minneapolis-Area Police Officer Wraps Emotional Testimony

Former Minneapolis-area police officer Kim Potter took the stand in her own defense on Friday as the defense’s final witness before resting its case in the manslaughter trial against the veteran cop for shooting and killing 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop earlier this year.

Potter, 49, was on the stand for about three hours, beginning just before 11 a.m. local time. Wearing a cream-colored flower-patterned shirt and a light sweater, she grew upset, even audibly crying, at times when shown clips of the shooting and questioned about the moments surrounding the events.

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

‘Kyle Rittenhouse’ Was the Most-Searched-for Person in the US in 2021

Every year, Google reveals its biggest trending search queries over the previous twelve months.

Looking at all searches in the United States compared to last year, Statista’s Martin Armstrong notes that a picture of the people and the topics that were in our thoughts in 2021 emerges.

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

LA District Attorney’s Office Announces ‘Restorative Justice’ Pathway for Youth Charged With Felonies

On Thursday, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office stated that it would be rolling out a “restorative justice” pathway for youths charged with felonies, titled the Restorative Enhanced Diversion for Youth (REDY), which placed these youths in programs to enable rehabilitation while avoiding charges.

In a letter obtained by Fox News’ Bill Melugin, the District Attorney’s office announced that REDY would “expand the types of cases eligible for diversion and reduce the number of filed petitions.”

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

Nearly 70% of Voters Oppose New COVID-19 Mandates for Omicron, Poll Finds

A new poll released this week finds that just over 69% of U.S. likely voters say no new mandates or restrictions are required for the omicron variant of COVID-19 — and that includes a majority of Republicans, Democrats and independents.

The survey by the Trafalgar Group found that 31.1% of voters believe fresh mandates are unnecessary because omicron is not a serious health risk and 38.3% consider mandates unnecessary regardless of the risk from the virus.

Another 30.6% of likely voters believe omicron is a serious health risk that warrants stricter mandates and restrictions, according to the poll, which was conducted for the nonprofit conservative group Convention of States Action.

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

Nicholas Sandmann Reaches Settlement With NBC in Covington Catholic High School Controversy

Nicholas Sandmann settled Friday with NBC-Universal, he said.

The media had lambasted the Covington Catholic High School student from Kentucky, now 19, over a confrontation at the 2019 March for Life in Washington, D.C.

“At this time I would like to release that NBC and I have reached a settlement,” wrote Sandmann on Twitter, adding that the terms were confidential.

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

NYT Reveals How Ashley Biden’s ‘Inappropriate Showers With Joe’ Diary Made Its Way to Project Veritas

Ashley Biden’s diary — over which Project Veritas was raided by the FBI last month — made its way to the whistleblower organization after Ms. Biden left her belongings at a friend’s house, where she was staying after completing a rehab program for addiction, according to the New York Times.

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

Report: Establishment Media’s Readership Collapses Up to 48% Without Trump’s Presidency

The establishment media’s online readership has reportedly collapsed without the aid of Donald Trump’s America First presidency.

The Hill, Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Vox Media have lost a large percentage of monthly unique visitors since Trump led the nation, according to Comscore data cited by the Journal.

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

Soros-Backed Candidate Smears San Diego DA She Lost to as ‘Alt-Right’

Failed progressive candidate Geneviéve Jones-Wright, who ran for San Diego County District Attorney in 2018 and lost to current prosecutor Summer Stephan, is now smearing her former opponent as “alt-right.”

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

Top Police Union Slams the NFL for Backing ‘Defund the Police’, Antifa-Linked Groups

The National Fraternal Order of Police (NFOP) has issued a statement strongly condemning the NFL for backing “defund the police” groups across America.

“The @NFL wants to ‘Inspire Chang’ by funding groups that want to #DefundThePolice and envision a world without prisons and police. Performative displays of wokeness like this are shameful. Maybe Commissioner Goodell @nflcommish should take a timeout and reconsider this decision,” the nation’s top police union tweeted Thursday on the NFL’s social justice program.

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

US Contemplates Joining 21st Century as Free Pacer Bill Advances Out of Judiciary Committee

The Open Courts Act of 2021, which advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee today without noted dissent, was probably always going to become law. The constituency to charge ten cents a page to look at a static PDF on PACER is pretty narrow, after all.

But the appalling bad faith shown by the federal judiciary in fighting to keep its slush fund alive probably didn’t help.

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

Video: MSNBC Race Baiters Declare DeSantis’ Anti CRT Legislation is “New Effort to Codify White Supremacy”

After Florida governor Ron DeSantis introduced legislation Wednesday in an effort to crack down on the teaching of Critical Race Theory and other ‘woke’ ideology in schools and places of employment, MSNBC race baiters declared it to be a “new effort to codify white supremacy for political gain”.

DeSantis announced his Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act (Stop W.O.K.E Act) this week, urging that his state will not tolerate the “elite-driven phenomenon” of “cultural Marxism”.

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

Breaking: Ford to Announce Capacity Limits for Restaurants, Ban on Food and Drink in Sporting Venues

Ontario Premier Doug Ford will reportedly announce new measures for the province on Friday, including the limiting of social gatherings to just 10 people and a 50 percent capacity limit in bars, restaurants, gyms, and retailers.

The restrictions come as the province faces a new wave of COVID, with more than 3,000 new cases being reported on Friday.

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

British Medical Journal Criticizes Facebook Over “Inaccurate, Incompetent and Irresponsible” “Fact-Check” Used to Censor

The editor of The British Medical Journal (BMJ), one of the world’s oldest and most respected medical journals, has written a letter to Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg to bring to his attention an “incorrect” fact-check on one of its reports.

The report was titled: “Covid-19: Researcher blows the whistle on data integrity issues in Pfizer’s vaccine trial.”

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

Dutch Lawmaker Thierry Baudet Ordered by Court to Delete Posts Comparing Vaccine Passports to Nazi Germany

A Dutch lawmaker has been ordered by a court to remove social media posts comparing Dutch Covid measures to Nazi Germany.

He tweeted that those who have not been vaccinated are “the new Jews” and “those who look away from the exclusions” are “the new Nazis.” The Covid rules in the Netherlands block those without a vaccine passport from accessing most public and entertainment venues.

Baudet also posted an image of a Nazi concentration camp and captioned it: “How is it POSSIBLE to not see how history is repeating itself?”

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

EU Commission Proposals Are Detached From Reality, Says Czech PM Babis

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, set to soon leave office, criticized the new proposals of the European Commission, which came up with a set of environmental initiatives. Babis called the plans to gradually end the heating of buildings with gas and other fossil fuels by 2040 as nonsense detached from real life.

Specifically, he described the proposal as “another nonsense with which we fundamentally disagree with.” He also opposed the Commission’s proposal to end subsidies for gas boilers by 2027. He hopes that the plan will not have support at from the European Council.

“This is just another proposal that, in my opinion, would have a dramatic impact on the entire economy of the European Union,” Babis said after arriving in Brussels for the European Council meeting.

The new initiative is to be the next step in the EU’s path to climate neutrality, a state in which all carbon dioxide emissions in the EU countries would be balanced by mechanisms to absorb them.

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

EU News: Fury Erupts in Brussels Over Bloc’s ‘Leftist Indoctrination’ Plot

The European Commission describes the proposal — for 2022 — as looking to a “future that is greener, more inclusive and digital” with maximum participation of youth. It suggests the ‘Year of Youth’ will go “hand in hand” with NextGenerationEU — a guide to maximising recovery on the bloc post-pandemic. However, MEP for Poland Elzbieta Kruk suggested that the initiative could be ‘leftist propaganda”. She said: “Is this going to be leftist indoctrination? Is this going to be an attack on traditional values? During communism, Poland and other European countries suffered under attempts to indoctrination young people with communist propaganda”. and we are seeing the same now with leftism.”

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

EU, Moderna Agree to Accelerate Vaccine Deliveries to ‘Jumpstart Booster Programs’

The European Commission (EC) has agreed on Thursday with Moderna to speed up deliveries of vaccines to countries that urgently need doses for their booster programs, in particular Germany.

“Moderna agreed to anticipate the delivery of 10 million doses to December for Germany. This is the equivalent of 20 million persons receiving a booster — as only half a dose is used for a booster,” the statement read.

Additionally, the pharmaceutical company will deliver 25 million extra doses to Germany in the first quarter of 2022, which is equivalent to 50 million boosters, the EC said. Other countries will also benefit from accelerated Moderna vaccine deliveries at the beginning of 2022, the Commission added.

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

Facebook’s Nick Clegg Complains That UK Censorship Proposals Have an Exemption for Journalists

Facebook is attacking the UK’s by-and-large perplexing Online “Safety” Bill draft from a surprising angle. It’s not that the bill would — like virtually all free speech supporters are saying — introduce more unaccountable online censorship. No — Facebook is trying to argue that by exempting journalists, it would essentially “not do enough.”

Namely, the bill contains the fig-leaf provision of exempting “journalists” from the coming censorship. But Facebook’s Nick Clegg had this to say about that: “What do we do about people who declare themselves to be citizen journalists? Tommy Robinson claimed to be a citizen journalist before we kicked him off Facebook.”

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

France: Macron Keeps Mandatory Vaccination on the Table

French President Emmanuel Macron has refused to rule out mandatory Covid-19 vaccination as millions of French people remain unvaccinated despite a rise in cases.

Asked by French TV channels TF1 and LCI on Wednesday whether vaccination for Covid-19 would become mandatory in the future, Macron replied, “This hypothesis exists,” before noting that France was not far off from being fully vaccinated anyway.

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

French Regions Ordered to Increase Church Security Over Christmas Terror Fears

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has called on regional prefects to increase security at local churches over fears of possible terrorist activity during the Christmas holiday season.

Interior Minister Darmanin ordered the prefects on Wednesday to strengthen the security at churches during the Christmas holidays due to possible terrorist threats as well as increase security around shops that may face potential robbery risks.

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

Lockdowns Likely Did Nothing to Improve COVID-19 Numbers, New Data From Austria, Czechia and Slovakia Shows

Although Austria and Slovakia implemented lockdowns and Czechia decided not to, COVID-19 case numbers and deaths have risen and fallen in more or less the same trajectory in all three countries.

The data graphs appear to show that introducing strict lockdowns in Austria and Slovakia did not have a significant impact on the course of the epidemic. This follows from a comparison with the Czech Republic, which did not tighten the measures more significantly during the latest wave of the epidemic.

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

Pfizer and Microsoft Sponsored Party of New German Health Minister

Pfizer and Microsoft, among others, were allowed to sponsor the Social Democratic Party’s latest congress. The SPD’s justification for this form of institutionalized corruption is their shrinking membership.

Therefore, the party stated in their Guideline of the SPD party executive committee on cooperation with exhibitors and sponsors that “sponsorship is a permitted form of party funding”.

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

Poland Cannot Give in to EU Blackmail, Says Former Head of Polish Diplomacy

The conflict between Poland and the European Union over the rule of law continues, and the stakes have never been higher for Poland.

The European Commission has blocked funds from the EU Recovery Fund, which rightfully belong to Poland, and has demanded changes to the Polish judicial system. The condition for releasing billions of euros to Poland from the recovery fund is conditional on the abolishment of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Polish Supreme Court, which the EU has long sought to remove.

Simultaneously, EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton told portal RP.pl that “he did not see a possibility for the funds to be paid out to Poland in 2021.”

He noted that the EU was conducting intense negotiations with Poland to release the funds as quickly as possible.

Former Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski declared that “the European Commission’s actions towards Poland were pure blackmail.”

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

Police in Wales to Introduce Facial Recognition Technology

Police officers in two Welsh regions, South Wales and Gwent, are pioneering the use of facial recognition surveillance tech installed on phones as an app.

The announcement was made on the South Wales police website, immediately raising alarm among several rights groups in the UK.

Meanwhile, the local police force is selling the news as something positive to contribute to confirming the identity of suspects “almost instantaneously.”

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

Sweden: Cancel Christmas if You Get Coronavirus Symptoms… Even if You Are Fully Vaccinated

Swedish Minister for Social Affairs Lena Hallengren has warned residents they should consider abandoning Christmas plans if they show symptoms of the Wuhan coronavirus, and even if they are fully vaccinated.

Minister Hallengren warned that new restrictions to attempt to halt the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus could also be implemented in the coming week as the number of new cases has rapidly increased, including cases of the Omicron variant of the virus.

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

UK: Boris Johnson Allegedly Attended a Lockdown-Breaking Pizza Party in May 2020, Sources Claim

Boris Johnson attended a lockdown-breaking pizza party in May of last year, according to allegations made by sources speaking to the media.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is alleged to have attended a pizza party in No 10 last year, which supposedly broke Covid restrictions in place at the time.

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

UK: Ex-Pro Calls for Investigation Into Footballers Suffering Heart Problems

Former England footballer Matt Le Tissier has called for an investigation into the spate of sportsmen and athletes collapsing with sudden heart problems, asserting that he is not an “anti-vaxxer” and just wants more information.

As we previously highlighted, three more soccer players in the space of one week experienced chest pains or shortness of breath and had to leave the field of play.

Manchester United’s Victor Lindelof, Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski, and Martin Terrier of French club Rennes were all sidelines with heart and breathing disorders.

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

UK: Man Receives 14-Year Jail Sentence for Attempting Set Fire to Two Police Vans While Officers Were Inside

A 25-year-old man that played a large roll in the destructive Bristol riot in March that attempted to set fire to police vehicles while officers were inside has been sentenced to jail for 14 years.

According to the Avon and Somerset Police Department, Ryan Robert was the first person to be convicted of the offense of riot by a jury in the South West following his trial held in October.

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

UK: Tories Lose North Shropshire Seat They Held for Nearly 200 Years

The Conservatives have lost the North Shropshire seat they held for nearly 200 years to the Liberal Democrats in a by-election blow to Boris Johnson.

Winner Helen Morgan overturned a Tory majority of almost 23,000, declaring that the “party is over” for the PM.

The result follows a torrid week for Mr Johnson, who has faced criticism over Downing Street parties and a rebellion by his own MPs over Covid measures.

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

With Days to Go Before Christmas, Denmark Shuts Down Public Places, Citing Virus

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s prime minister announced Friday that theaters, cinemas, concert halls, amusement parks, museums and art galleries across the country will be closed down under new restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the measures also require stores smaller than 2,000 square meters (21,528 square feet) and restaurants to limit their number of customers. Restaurants must serve their last meals and alcoholic beverages at 10 p.m. and close at 11 p.m.

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

Caroline Glick: Netanyahu and Trump’s Well-Defended Goal

How are we supposed to understand journalist Barak Ravid’s dramatic exposes regarding former U.S. President Donald Trump’s relations with Israel’s former Prime Minister and current Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu?

Ravid’s initial revelation — which was splashed across Yediot Ahronot’s front page last Friday —had Trump cursing Netanyahu in the coarsest possible language for his belated congratulatory message to Joe Biden after Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential race. Although jarring, Trump’s expletive-laced tirade against Netanyahu was easy enough to explain because it was textbook “Ravid” journalism. Barak Ravid is more of a left-wing activist than a reporter. And to advance his personal war against the right, he has a knack for making marginal bloviations the heart of his stories and for reducing major events into idle gossip.

In just one memorable example of “Ravid” journalism, in the summer of 2019, the Netanyahu government barred Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from entering Israel. The dramatic decision stemmed from the announced goal of their trip. Omar and Tlaib, who both reject Israel’s right to exist, intended to use their trip to advance the anti-Semitic BDS campaign against the Jewish state.

The government’s decision was a watershed event in the fight against progressive/Islamic Jew hatred. But for Ravid, it was nothing more than schoolyard politics. Ravid reported that the only reason Netanyahu barred the two women from entering the country is because Trump pressured him to do so…

           — Hat tip: Caroline Glick [Return to headlines]
 

Brexit Britain Signs Trade Deal With Australia, Righting ‘Historic Wrong’

Britain has finalised its first post-Brexit trade agreement, righting a “historic wrong” by signing a deal with Australia.

While it was part of the European Union, Britain’s international trade policy was controlled by Brussels, which imposes a Common Commercial Policy on member-states.

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

ISIS-Linked Extremists Decapitate Christian Pastor Before Handing His Severed Head to His Wife to Show Authorities in Mozambique

Suspected ISIS-linked extremists have decapitated a Christian pastor before handing his severed head to his wife to show authorities in Mozambique.

The killing, reported by local news, took place in the country’s gas-rich northern province of Cabo Delgado.

Last Wednesday, the man’s widow carried a sack containing the head of her husband to the district police headquarters, according to the BBC who cited military sources.

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South Africa: Only 1.7% Hospitalised From Omicron

South African Health Minister Joe Phaahla said today that only 1.7% of COVID cases in the current Omicron wave are being hospitalised compared to 19% in the previous wave and that the vast majority of cases are “fairly mild.”

“In the current wave, only 1.7% of Covid cases are being hospitalized, an average of fewer than 350 cases daily over the past two weeks, versus an average of more than 800 in the previous wave, at an average of 19%,” reports Business Tech based on Phaahla’s statement.

Gauteng, the province that includes Johannesburg, has also seen a decline in positivity rate to 25%, meaning the Omicron wave could be past its peak in that region.

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

And Still They Come: Freezing Migrants Are Brought Ashore at Daybreak by RNLI as 100 More Men, Women and Children Make Perilous Crossing to Britain Just Days Before Christmas…

as number of migrants reaching UK by boat nudges 27,000

Around 100 more migrants have already arrived on Britain’s shores this morning — just days before Christmas.

Tired and freezing from the winter cold, at least 30 people, including men, women and children, were seen without lifejackets stepping on to dry land Dungeness in Kent at around 7am after being picked up in the English Channel by the RNLI.

They walked up the vast shingle beach escorted by police before being taken to be processed.

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

France: Woman Sexually Harassed, Brutally Beaten by Drunk Migrant

A middle-aged woman was savagely attacked in France by a drunk migrant after he sexually harassed her, according to reports.

The disturbing incident unfolded on Tuesday in the 8th arrondissement of Lyon.

The victim, a 41-year-old female, was accosted by a drunk man who demanded ‘sexual favors’ from her.

When she refused, the 33-year-old man attacked her, punching her repeatedly in the face.

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

France: Macron Denies ‘Great Replacement’ But Admits Migrant Integration Failures

French President Emmanuel Macron has denied the existence of the “Great Replacement” and claimed France is a country of immigrants, but has admitted migrant integration failures in recent decades.

The French president said he did not believe in the Great Replacement, a theory coined by writer Renaud Camus to describe the ongoing rapid demographic shifts taking place in Europe and elsewhere as elites in business and politics view human beings as interchangeable, replaceable things. The theory has become a major talking point in France in recent weeks.

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

Illegal Immigration Ticks Up; DHS Border Numbers Show Worst November on Record

The Biden administration oversaw the worst November on record for illegal border activity, with Customs and Border Protection recording nearly 174,000 encounters with illegal immigrants.

That’s more than twice what was recorded in November 2020 and more than five times the rate from November 2019, both of which were under President Trump.

November’s numbers also showed an uptick of 5% compared to October. Usually, illegal border crossings decline at that point, as the cold weather and holiday season begin to tamp down on activity.

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

Parliamentarian Rejects Democrats’ Bid to Stick Immigration Legalization in Budget

The Senate parliamentarian ruled Thursday that Democrats can’t stick a legalization program for illegal immigrants into President Biden’s budget bill, putting the party in a political bind as it tries to move forward.

Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Democrats’ lead immigration negotiator, said the parliamentarian found the plan extended “just too many rights” to illegal immigrants to be able to pass muster under the rules of the budget.

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

Austria to Allow Assisted Suicide

On Thursday, Austria’s parliament passed a law allowing assisted suicide for people with very serious or incurable diseases, joining a wave of other EU countries moving towards legalizing assisted suicide.

Austria’s new law is a reaction to a year-old ruling of the Austrian Constitutional Court, according to which the current definition of the country’s criminal code on assisted suicide is unconstitutional and violates fundamental rights.

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

‘Problematic’ Fantasy Race Lore Purged From Dungeons & Dragons

A plethora of descriptions regarding various races in the Dungeons & Dragons universe have been scrapped from the guidebooks in an effort to make the tabletop RPG more “welcoming and inclusive.”

The push for representation and inclusivity in Western culture has not ignored the tabletop gaming scene, where publishers of some of the most-played games have been updating their releases to appeal to progressive social justice activists.

In a recent blog post, Jeremy Crawford, the principal rule designer for the legendary RPG Dungeons & Dragons, revealed that there had been a mass removal of “problematic lore” from several D&D books throughout the year, and these changes will be reflected in both the newly printed editions and the online PDF versions.

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

8 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/17/2021

  1. Quote:
    French President Emmanuel Macron said that he would not rule out mandatory vaccination in France if not enough citizens get the jab voluntarily.

    Does he not understand the meaning of “voluntary”?

  2. It’s been a while since you’ve passed the hat around. Have you looked at
    Give Send Go?

  3. For those of you who are lucky enough to live in a Free State, count your blessings.

    The evil Satanic vermin that run my state will be voting on what is otherwise known as the Gulag Bill. New York = New Australia.

    On January 5th, 2022, the New York Senate and Assembly will vote on a bill that would, if passed into law, grant permissions to remove and detain cases, contacts, carriers, or anyone suspected of presenting a “significant threat to public health” and remove them from public life on an indefinite basis.

    https://thenationalpulse.com/news/new-york-legislation-provides-for-indefinite-detention-of-unvaccinated-at-governors-whim/

    • Is there not something like the constitutional rights in New York? Habeas Corpus or something like that?

  4. Please consider my idea carefully. One of Woody Allen movies, Bannanas, portrays a Central American Communost dictator. In one scene he requires his loyal followers to wear underware ( apparently in this promitive society, the don’t). However, in order to make sure that they do, they have to wear it outside the pants. This is from the seventierh, but it is predicting the mask mandate 50 years before it actually had happened. This movie shoul become our next “Let’s go Brandon” battle cry. It is not only Biden, it is the whole rgime!

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