Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/23/2021

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair described unvaccinated people as “idiots”. Meanwhile, the Vatican has imposed a vaccine mandate on all its employees, and also on visitors to Vatican City.

In other news, more than 200 migrants who were denied permission to disembark in Malta have been allowed to land safely in Sicily.

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

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

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

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

Financial Crisis
» Biden Extends Pause on Student Loan Repayment Through April
» Hungarian Economic Recovery Will be Faster Than Expected: Finance Ministry
 
USA
» 5 Injured After Suspects Exchange Gunfire at Oakbrook Center, Police Say
» 7 Staffers in Top Pentagon Delegation Test Positive for COVID, Despite All Being Vaxxed
» Aurora Man Charged With Throwing Explosive Device During 2020 Naperville Protest Pleads Guilty
» Biden’s Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors Temporarily Blocked by Judge
» Breaking: Police Seize Devices From Jake Tapper Producer Amid CNN Pedophilia Scandal: Report
» CNN Medical Analyst Demands Biden “Further Restrict the Activities of the Unvaccinated”
» Cook County Joins Chicago in Requiring Vaccine Proof for Bars, Restaurants, Gyms Next Year
» Former Minnesota Police Officer Found Guilty in Death of Daunte Wright
» Grand Jury Indicts St. Cloud Woman on 1st and 2nd-Degree Murder of Her Infant
» Illinois State Senator Carjacked in Suburban Broadview
» Man Arrested for Alleged Kidnapping, Sex With Minor, Gascon’s Office Recommended $0 Bail: California Police
» Minnesota School Board Votes Unanimously to Allow Extra Pay for Non-White Teachers, Racial Segregation of Staff
» New York Lawmaker Pulls Public Health Detainment Bill, Blames ‘Conspiracy Theorists’
» New York’s Putnam County Bucks Biden’s Vaccine Mandates
» Pennsylvania Court Allows Inspection of Dominion Voting Machines in One County
» Portland Antifa Member and Prolific Felony Offender Sentenced to 7 Plus Years for Robbery
» St. Cloud Woman Charged With Intentional Murder of Her Infant
» Steve Bannon: “War on the Unvaxx’d is About to Commence”
» Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Declines to Pardon George Floyd
» Trump Appeals to Supreme Court to Keep House Jan. 6 Committee From Accessing His White House Records
» Two Dead After Shooting at North Hollywood Department Store
 
Canada
» Facebook Says it Was Wrong to Ban Canadian Conservative MP Mark Strahl’s Christmas Message
 
Europe and the EU
» 2021 Word of the Year in Dutch: ‘Jab Regret’
» Greece Makes Face Masks Compulsory for Festive Season
» Not Like That! Greta Thunberg Decries Inclusion of Nuclear, Gas in EU Green Playbook
» Protests as Poland Moves to Restrict Foreign Ownership of Local Media
» Rome Imposes Outdoor Mask Mandate Despite Good Coronavirus News
» RT DE Joins Odysee After Being Censored on YouTube
» Spain’s Catalonia to Reimpose Curfew as COVID Cases Surge
» Swedish Youth Damages Eyesight After Tik Tok ‘Homemade Bomb’ Trend
» UK to Overrule Use of ‘Orwellian’ Non-Crime Hate Incidents in Free Speech Win
» UK: ‘First Omicron Death an Anti-Vaxxer’ Story Falls Apart
» UK: 70 Per Cent of London’s COVID Hospitalisations Diagnosed After Being Admitted for Other Ailments
» UK: Assange Lawyers Launch Appeal Against Extradition
» UK: Ex-PM Tony Blair Brands the Unvaccinated as ‘Idiots’
» Unvaccinated-Only Lockdown Extended in Austria for Another Ten Days
» Vatican Issues Vaccine Mandate for All Employees, Visitors
 
Middle East
» ISIS Beheads Santa in Bizarre Poster Threatening Christmas Shoppers
 
Russia
» ‘The Current Situation Reeks of a New Yalta’ — Polish MEP Warns Over Potential Deal Between US and Russia
 
Far East
» Thousands of Accounts Spreading Chinese State Propaganda Are Evading Bans From US Social Media
 
Australia — Pacific
» Australia’s Chief Pharmacist Says Public Needs to Accept Boosters & Mask Mandates for “Many Years” To Come
» Ex-Aussie PM Tony Abbott Warns: Big Government is Loving Lockdowns and Seizing Personal Freedom
» Watch: Supporters Block Police From Shutting Down Gold Coast Cafe
 
Immigration
» 214 Migrants Denied Entry to Malta Are Offered Port of Safety in Sicily
» ‘Europe Must Work With Turkey to Solve Migration Crisis,’ Say V4 Foreign Ministers
» France: Foreigners Behind 80 Per Cent of Violent Theft 62 Per Cent of Sexual Violence on Paris Transit
» UK: Plea to ‘Toughen Asylum Laws’ After More Migrants Attempt to Cross Channel
 
Culture Wars
» Matrix: Resurrections is a Woke Backlash to Right-Wing Populism
» Norway: Gay Santa: New Commercial Features Santa Claus Making Out With Another Man
» Rutgers Professor Compares School Choice to Child Brides. He Sent His Kids to Private School
» UPenn Transgender Swimmer’s Dominance ‘Grossly Unfair’ To Women: Former USA Swimming Official
» What Have They Done to Us?
 
General
» Open-Source Cryptomator 2.0 for IOS Makes it Easier to Encrypt Files on the Cloud
 

Biden Extends Pause on Student Loan Repayment Through April

President Joe Biden extended the federal pause on student loan repayments for an additional 90 days, the White House announced Wednesday.

The Biden administration originally stated that its August extension of the student loan moratorium would be the final extension. The pause will now last until May 2022. The U.S. has had the moratorium in place since the earliest days of the pandemic under former President Donald Trump.

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

Hungarian Economic Recovery Will be Faster Than Expected: Finance Ministry

The growth of the Hungarian economy remains one of the fastest in the European Union and is expected to grow at around 4 to 5 percent in the coming years, the Hungarian Ministry of Finance announced in a statement on Wednesday.

Due to the successful restart of the economy following the coronavirus-related economic downturn, Hungarian fiscal policy may return to normal sooner than planned, the statement read. The ministry pointed out that the government will save 755 billion forints (€2.5 billion) in next year’s budget by rescheduling some public investments, thus improving the deficit-to-GDP deficit target from 5.9 percent to 4.9 percent. This will also allow for a faster reduction of the public debt ratio, it added.

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

5 Injured After Suspects Exchange Gunfire at Oakbrook Center, Police Say

A third person involved in the shooting may still be inside of the mall, and SWAT teams are going store-to-store to clear the facility and to ascertain whether the suspect is still inside

Police say that at least five people were injured and at least two suspects are in custody after a shooting at Oakbrook Center on Thursday evening.

According to authorities, a police officer that was working at Nordstrom overheard gunfire at approximately 5:44 p.m. The gunfire originated from a corridor between the store and Ann Taylor, authorities said.

Police say that two individuals were seen firing gunshots at one another, sending shoppers fleeing into stores for cover.

When the officer moved to confront the suspects, they both attempted to run into the Nordstrom store to flee the area.

One of the suspects was taken into custody, and the second individual, whom police say was injured during the shooting, was taken to an area hospital.

A third person involved in the shooting may still be inside of the mall, and SWAT teams are going store-to-store to clear the facility and to ascertain whether the suspect is still inside.

At least three other individuals were struck by gunfire, according to officials. One suspect, a 30-year-old man, was shot three to four times and underwent surgery…

           — Hat tip: LP [Return to headlines]
 

7 Staffers in Top Pentagon Delegation Test Positive for COVID, Despite All Being Vaxxed

Despite the Pentagon recently touting that across armed services and the DoD about 97-98% of all personnel have been fully vaccinated, there’s been a new Covid outbreak among the highest ranks.

“Seven staffers who traveled with Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks last week tested positive for COVID-19, the Pentagon announced,” according to The Hill. She’s the second highest ranking Pentagon official in the United States government, and on that trip last week had traveled to several large US military bases.

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

Aurora Man Charged With Throwing Explosive Device During 2020 Naperville Protest Pleads Guilty

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (WLS) — An Aurora man facing federal charges for allegedly throwing an explosive device at a Naperville police car during a protest in June of last year pleaded guilty Tuesday.

Naperville police said during a protest on June 1, 2020, someone threw multiple explosive devices, causing minor injuries to several officers.

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

Biden’s Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors Temporarily Blocked by Judge

Florida’s request for a preliminary injunction against President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors has been granted by a federal judge.

On Wednesday, US District Judge Steven Merryday granted a preliminary injunction against the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for federal employees, citing the “undemonstrated” necessity of the policy. Merryday also evaluated whether Biden had the authority to issue the executive order.

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

Breaking: Police Seize Devices From Jake Tapper Producer Amid CNN Pedophilia Scandal: Report

Following revelations that Rick Saleeby, a CNN producer for “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” had allegedly solicited sexually explicit photos of an underage girl, Fairfax County police have seized devices from his residence.

An individual close to the investigation told Jack Posobiec at Human Events that the police have seized electronics and hard drives from Saleeby.

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

CNN Medical Analyst Demands Biden “Further Restrict the Activities of the Unvaccinated”

CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen has demanded Joe Biden “further restrict the activities of the unvaccinated,” while Dr. Vin Gupta told MSNBC the unjabbed should be put at the back of the queue for medical treatment.

Brushing aside evidence out of South Africa and the UK confirming the Omicron variant is mild and causes significantly fewer hospitalisations, Wen asserted, “I think what we will see with Omicron is a very large number of infections due to Covid-19.”

Wen said the vaccinated would probably cope well with Omicron, before going on to scapegoat the unjabbed.

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

Cook County Joins Chicago in Requiring Vaccine Proof for Bars, Restaurants, Gyms Next Year

Suburban Cook County will join Chicago in requiring proof of vaccination for indoor public spaces like bars, restaurants and gyms in the new year, officials announced Thursday.

The new mitigation, which aligns with Chicago’s mandate, begins at the same time as the city’s, on Jan. 3, the Cook County Department of Public Health announced.

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

Former Minnesota Police Officer Found Guilty in Death of Daunte Wright

Former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter was found guilty of both first-degree and second-degree manslaughter charges in the fatal April shooting of Daunte Wright after roughly 26 hours of jury deliberations.

Potter faces years up to 25 years in prison, according to the New York Times. The jury was comprised of seven white men, four white women, two Asian women and one black woman, according to CNN.

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

Grand Jury Indicts St. Cloud Woman on 1st and 2nd-Degree Murder of Her Infant

St. Cloud TimesFardoussa Omar Abdillahi, 26, of St. Cloud, was indicted Dec. 22 by a grand jury for one felony count of premeditated first-degree murder and one felony count of intentional second-degree murder.

Abdillahi is in custody on $2,000,000 unconditional or $1,000,000 conditional bail, according to a release from the Stearns County Attorney’s Office. The criminal case is suspended pending Rule 20 examination results.

The count of first-degree murder could carry a penalty of life imprisonment and the second count could carry a penalty of no more than 40 years imprisonment.

In Minnesota, a trial for any crimes that have a life imprisonment sentence requires a grand jury indictment.

St. Cloud Police Department, with assistance from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, has been conducting the investigation.

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Illinois State Senator Carjacked in Suburban Broadview

Illinois State Sen. Kimberly Lightford and her husband were the victims of a carjacking in a Chicago suburb Tuesday evening, authorities said.

The Broadview Police Department said three masked people driving a Durango SUV hijacked a black Mercedes Benz SUV with Lightford, the Senate majority leader, and her husband inside just before 10 p.m. in the 2000 block of South 20th Avenue.

Authorities said multiple gunshots were fired during the incident but both the senator and her husband, Eric McKennie, were unharmed.

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

Man Arrested for Alleged Kidnapping, Sex With Minor, Gascon’s Office Recommended $0 Bail: California Police

A 21-year-old homeless man was arrested in Los Angeles County this week on charges of kidnapping and having sex with a minor, according to police.

Simon Lopez was arrested Monday afternoon in a residential neighborhood of Canoga Park, Glendale police said in a press release.

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

Minnesota School Board Votes Unanimously to Allow Extra Pay for Non-White Teachers, Racial Segregation of Staff

The Mankato School Board in Minnesota voted unanimously for a new policy that allows non-white teachers exclusively to be eligible for “additional stipends,” and for teachers to be segregated by race.

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

New York Lawmaker Pulls Public Health Detainment Bill, Blames ‘Conspiracy Theorists’

Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

A New York lawmaker has taken down a 6-year-old bill that would authorize the state to detain infected individuals and their contacts deemed a threat to public health during a pandemic, blaming “conspiracy theorists” of spreading misinformation about his proposal.

The bill in question, known as A416, was first introduced by Assemblyman Nick Perry in 2015, nearly a year after the nationwide panic over a potential outbreak of Ebola in the United States. The Brooklyn Democrat said the measure was prompted by an incident in which a nurse refused to be placed in quarantine after returning from West Africa, where she’d helped treat Ebola patients.

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

New York’s Putnam County Bucks Biden’s Vaccine Mandates

A Republican county in New York voted on Wednesday to ban mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, stating that medical treatment is an individual’s choice and not up to the government.

Putnam County, New York, which lies around an hour north of New York City, voted 8 to 1 on Wednesday evening to block all mandatory vaccinations in the county.

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

Pennsylvania Court Allows Inspection of Dominion Voting Machines in One County

Dominion voting machines in Fulton County, Pennsylvania, will be sent to the state Senate for inspection next month following a ruling by the commonwealth court, according to a press release Thursday by The Amistad Project.

“The court recognized that it was improper to demand that the county — which owns the machines, and has the responsibility of running the election along with the legislature — can’t determine whether the machines worked properly,” Amistad Project Director Phill Kline said. “As the judge noted, there’s no justification for preventing the county from looking at their own machines.”

The inspection was scheduled for Dec. 22, but Democratic Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Democratic Secretary of the Commonwealth Veronica Degraffenreid sued to prevent it. The judge ruled the investigation must go forward, but he allowed a short delay for both sides to determine a formal protocol for the inspection, which is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2022.

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

Portland Antifa Member and Prolific Felony Offender Sentenced to 7 Plus Years for Robbery

An Antifa member pleaded guilty on Tuesday to robbing a Portland-area 7-11 and pointing a gun at the clerk’s head, after having been arrested and released multiple times which resulted in several additional felony crimes.

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

St. Cloud Woman Charged With Intentional Murder of Her Infant

ST. CLOUD — A St. Cloud woman has been charged with the murder of her 3-month-old child, according to a criminal complaint filed in Stearns County court.

Fardoussa Omar Abdillahi, 26, is charged with second-degree murder.

According to court documents, St. Cloud police were called to an apartment building located in the 2000 block of Maine Prairie Road in St. Cloud around 6:30 a.m. Sunday.

Witnesses said Abdillahi called them and said she had killed the infant and put him in the dumpster behind the apartment and they had gone to the residence to try to locate the baby, the complaint said. When they could not find the child they called the police.

Officers found the child’s body inside, knives and bedding inside the dumpster and Abdillahi was arrested, the complaint said. She lived alone with the child, according to the criminal complaint…

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Steve Bannon: “War on the Unvaxx’d is About to Commence”

“Get Boosted or Die!” is the message from The White House that is repeated ad nauseum by every talking head virtue-signaler.

“This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated”“it’s patriotic to get the jab”… and on and on…

And, despite the fact that breakthroughs are common, vaccine efficacy has collapsed, and Omicron is basically a common cold, don’t expect this ‘blame it on the unvaxx’d’ propaganda to stop anytime soon.

In fact, as former Trump White House Chef Strategist Steve Bannon said on his ‘War Room’ show this week, the ‘war on the unvaccinated’ is only just beginning:

“Herd immunity can be upon us if you don’t get in the way of it with a redonkulous, blunt force instrument, which is mass vaccinations,” Bannon said on Tuesday during his War Room Pandemic podcast.

“It’s really the war on the unvaccinated is about to commence and I mean war.”

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

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Declines to Pardon George Floyd

As 2021 draws to a close, loose ends in the case of George Floyd are wrapping up, with the latest deveopment being whether or not the state of Texas would pardon the deceased black man for drug offenses committed in 2004.

While receiving unanimous backing, the Texas board withdrew Floyd’s application over “procedural errors.”

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

Trump Appeals to Supreme Court to Keep House Jan. 6 Committee From Accessing His White House Records

Former President Trump on Thursday appealed to the Supreme Court to block the release of documents from his White House to the House committee investigating the Jan. Capitol riot.

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

Two Dead After Shooting at North Hollywood Department Store

LOS ANGELES — Two people are dead, including the suspect, after a shooting occurred at a Burlington Coat Factory in North Hollywood Thursday afternoon.

Police responded to the department store on Laurel Canyon Blvd. and Victory Blvd. around 11:45 a.m. after receiving calls of an assault with a deadly weapon. According to Stacey Spell with the Los Angeles Police Department Media Relations, while officers were en route to the store they received additional calls of shots fired.

When officers arrived on scene they began searching the area for the suspect. They soon located the suspect who was in the process of assaulting another person. At that time an officer-involved shooting occurred and the suspect was killed on scene.

An additional person was struck by gunfire and pronounced dead on scene; however, it is unclear if officers or the suspect fired those shots at that victim.

The other victim who was assaulted by the suspect was taken to the hospital; the extent of their injuries is unknown at this time…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Facebook Says it Was Wrong to Ban Canadian Conservative MP Mark Strahl’s Christmas Message

Canadian Conservative MP Mark Strahl posted a Facebook ad wishing his Chilliwack-Hope constituents a Merry Christmas.

Facebook banned the post for violating its policies on discrimination.

The ad was reinstated after appeal, with Facebook blaming the mistake on an error in its automated systems.

In the video ad, Strahl said: “From my family to yours, have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!”

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

2021 Word of the Year in Dutch: ‘Jab Regret’

“Jab regret” [prikspijt] has been named Word of the Year 2021 by the famous Dutch dictionary Van Dale. The word received 82.2 percent of the 49 000 votes cast on the Van Dale website.

“That is an overwhelming majority,” agreed editor-in-chief Ton den Boon with reference to the poll on Twitter. “That was done by people who do not want to be vaccinated. It reflects the polarization that is present in society around vaccination and boosting it,” said Den Boon in an interview with the NOS Radio 1 Journaal.

Was the vote fair? “We have found that there were no ‘bots’ involved — those programmed responses that automatically cast a vote. We checked that. But as we have seen on Twitter — and everyone could see that for themselves — there were frequent calls to vote for this word.”

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

Greece Makes Face Masks Compulsory for Festive Season

Greece on Thursday said face masks would be compulsory both indoors and outside to limit the spread of the coronavirus during Christmas and New Year’s gatherings.

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

Not Like That! Greta Thunberg Decries Inclusion of Nuclear, Gas in EU Green Playbook

Greta Thunberg, alongside a host of other climate extremists, has decried the possible inclusion of nuclear and gas in the EU’s green investment playbook.

The possible inclusion of nuclear and gas in an upcoming EU playbook for green investment has prompted outcry from climate activists, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who has accused the union of engaging in “fake climate action”.

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

Protests as Poland Moves to Restrict Foreign Ownership of Local Media

Following the passing of a law that would restrict foreign ownership of media organisations by the Polish parliament, some Poles gathered to demand President Andrzej Duda veto the bill.

The protests took place in various parts of the country, with a few thousand estimated to have gathered outside of the Polish presidential palace to demand that President Duda veto the bill, which was passed on Friday.

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

Rome Imposes Outdoor Mask Mandate Despite Good Coronavirus News

ROME — The city of Rome and the entire Italian region of Lazio have imposed a universal outdoor mask mandate beginning Thursday, despite no spike in deaths or patients in intensive care units.

“I signed the ordinance that provides for the obligation of outdoor masks in the Lazio region,” declared the president of the region, Nicola Zingaretti. “This is a precautionary but essential measure for the protection of our health and that of our loved ones at a time like this. This time as well we are keeping our guard up staying ahead of the virus.”

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

RT DE Joins Odysee After Being Censored on YouTube

In response to censorship on YouTube and being taken off air for operating without a license in Germany, the German version of TV network RT (RT DE) is now on Odysee.

A press release announcing the move said RT DE will begin posting news deserving attention on its Odysee channel and is also broadcasting live.

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

Spain’s Catalonia to Reimpose Curfew as COVID Cases Surge

Spain’s Catalonia will reimpose a nighttime curfew starting Christmas Eve to fight a record surge in COVID-19 infections following a court ruling on Thursday.

The northeastern region is the first to reinstate a nightly curfew in response to the highly contagious Omicron variant.

Catalonia’s regional government earlier this month asked the courts to approve a 1-6am curfew in areas where infection rates surpass 250 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a level recorded in most of the region.

It also sought permission to close nightclubs, cap capacity at restaurants, gyms and theatres, and impose a limit of 10 people per social gathering to try to curb infections over the holidays.

The measures will start on Friday and will last 15 days, affecting most New Year’s celebrations in the region of around 7.7 million people.

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

Swedish Youth Damages Eyesight After Tik Tok ‘Homemade Bomb’ Trend

A Swedish youth has suffered damage to their eyes after taking part in a trend on the social media platform Tik Tok that involved mixing chemicals to make a homemade explosive.

The youth, who was not identified by name or age, is a student of the Dalsjöskolan school in the city of Borås and is said to have damaged their eyesight after making a homemade explosive as part of a trend on Tik Tok.

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

UK to Overrule Use of ‘Orwellian’ Non-Crime Hate Incidents in Free Speech Win

The UK Home Secretary has announced that she will overrule the use of ‘Orwellian’ non-crime hate incidents by police, in a potential win for freedom of speech in the UK, if the minister follows through on her words.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has said that she will overrule the recording of non-crime hate incidents by the police where a person’s freedom of speech is in question.

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

UK: ‘First Omicron Death an Anti-Vaxxer’ Story Falls Apart

The UK hospital where the first Omicron victim died, who according to a caller to a radio show was an ‘anti-vaxxer’ who believed in wild conspiracy theories, has publicly denied that anyone has died in their hospital with or from Omicron.

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

UK: 70 Per Cent of London’s COVID Hospitalisations Diagnosed After Being Admitted for Other Ailments

70 per cent of London’s COVID hospitalisations were diagnosed after the patient had already been admitted for other ailments, it has been revealed.

The figure is important because a so-called ‘surge’ in London hospitalisations for COVID is being used as a justification to lobby for further lockdown restrictions on the British public.

However, as Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson reveals, much of the panic is being driven by cases being counted as COVID despite the patient being admitted for other reasons.

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

UK: Assange Lawyers Launch Appeal Against Extradition

Lawyers for Julian Assange have launched an appeal before Britain’s Supreme Court against a High Court ruling that he may be extradited to the United States, the WikiLeaks founder’s fiancee said Thursday.

The December 10 decision by the High Court in London reversed an earlier judgement by a British magistrates’ court that it would be “oppressive” to extradite the 50-year-old Australian to the US justice system due to his mental health and the risk of suicide.

The United States wants Assange to face trial for WikiLeaks’ publication in 2010 of classified military documents relating to its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The US government has indicted Assange on 18 charges relating to the release of 500,000 secret files on the conflicts.

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

UK: Ex-PM Tony Blair Brands the Unvaccinated as ‘Idiots’

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has labelled the unvaccinated as “idiots” after demanding the UK begin preparations for a fourth shot to stay ahead of the curve.

Tony Blair, 68, said that if eligible people with no health reasons refuse the vaccine they aren’t “just irresponsible”, they are “an idiot”.

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

Unvaccinated-Only Lockdown Extended in Austria for Another Ten Days

Austria has extended its lockdown of unjabbed individuals for another ten days, as mandatory vaccination looms.

Austria’s government extended lockdown measures solely for unvaccinated individuals this week.

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

Vatican Issues Vaccine Mandate for All Employees, Visitors

ROME, Italy — The Vatican has eliminated the possibility of employees presenting a negative coronavirus test to gain access to their place of work, insisting that only proof of vaccination or recovery from the coronavirus disease will be admitted.

A Vatican decree Thursday signed by Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin states that the obligation of presenting a vaccine passport (Super Green Pass) to go to work applies to all personnel of the Roman Curia and institutions linked to the Holy See as well as external collaborators, visitors to the Vatican City State, and outside workers.

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

ISIS Beheads Santa in Bizarre Poster Threatening Christmas Shoppers

ISIS has released a terrifying poster where one of its fanatics beheads Santa Claus in a chilling warning to Christmas shoppers.

The horrifying image shows a masked militant brandishing a bloody knife in one hand and holding the severed head of Father Christmas in the other. It sickly mimics many of the vile videos the defeated former caliphate released of it killing hostages.

The text on the poster reads: “We send a message to our monotheist brothers in Europe, America, Australia, Canada, Russia, and other countries of unbelief and apostas.

“We say to you, our brothers, oh monotheists, avenge your brothers and sisters who have been killed and captured by these scumbags.

“Attack the citizens of crusader coalition countries with your knives, run them over in the streets, detonate bombs on them, and spray them with bullets.”

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

‘The Current Situation Reeks of a New Yalta’ — Polish MEP Warns Over Potential Deal Between US and Russia

Russian agency RIA informed that Moscow and Washington have started talks concerning “security guarantees” requested by the Russian Federation, and there are fears that the U.S. may accept such a deal in order to draw Russia away from its alliance with China.

The Kremlin has demanded that the U.S. stop NATO’s eastward expansion. Russia also wants to ensure that no state that was previously a part of the USSR will ever be able to join the alliance. Any bilateral military cooperation with those states is also to be suspended.

Solidarity Poland MEP Patryk Jaki is convinced that Polish politicians must immediately undertake decisive action in context of such alarming news.

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

Thousands of Accounts Spreading Chinese State Propaganda Are Evading Bans From US Social Media

A network of social media accounts spreading Chinese state propaganda is thriving on tech platforms despite social media companies’ attempts to crack down on foreign influence campaigns.

Over 2,000 accounts are involved in a coordinated propaganda campaign to spread Chinese regime talking points on U.S. social media platforms, according to a report from Miburo, a research collective that studies disinformation campaigns. The accounts disseminate false or misleading claims including the denial of China’s ongoing mistreatment of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region of China, as well as criticism of Guo Wengui, a Chinese dissident and financial backer of U.S. social media site Gettr.

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

Australia’s Chief Pharmacist Says Public Needs to Accept Boosters & Mask Mandates for “Many Years” To Come

Australia’s chief pharmacist says the public “just need to accept” they will have to take regular vaccine booster shots and continue wearing masks for “many years” to come.

Asserting that the bio-security police state will become a permanent fixture, Trent Twomey, National President of the Pharmacy Guild, says Aussies will have to get a COVID booster jab “every six months” if that’s what experts tell them to do.

“I think booster shots, just like your annual influenza shot [are] something we just need to accept, its [Covid-19] not going to be with us for many weeks and months, it’s going to be with us for many years,” said Twomey.

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

Ex-Aussie PM Tony Abbott Warns: Big Government is Loving Lockdowns and Seizing Personal Freedom

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott warned Thursday that governments around the world have become accustomed to the increased powers delivered to them by what were initially temporary coronavirus restrictions, adding permanent state controls may well be next.

Speaking on the Australian news show ‘Direct to the People’, the former conservative coalition leader cautioned governments are “becoming addicted to a crisis”, adding all humans are “prone to the temptations of power”, suggesting that “as long as the crisis lasts, officialdom is exulted.”

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Watch: Supporters Block Police From Shutting Down Gold Coast Cafe

A large crowd of supporters have rallied to show their backing for a Gold Coast coffee shop targeted by police over the enforcement of COVID vaccine mandates.

A call was put on social media for supporters of Noego Coffee to ‘take action’ and to defend their right to serve all customers, regardless of vaccination status.

Supporters turned out in force to blockade the venue with police on the scene deciding not to engage with the large crowd.

Cafe owner Daniel Salter said it was important to make a stand for the values that represent his small business.

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214 Migrants Denied Entry to Malta Are Offered Port of Safety in Sicily

A warm Christmas in Sicily awaits 214 people rescued in four operations off Malta by the NGO vessel Sea Eye earlier in December.

The vessel, which had been refused disembarkation in Malta, has finally been offered a port of safety in Pozzallo, a Sea Eye representative confirmed to Times of Malta on Thursday.

Just an hour earlier, the Church in Malta had appealed to the government not to leave these migrants, and another 70 reported stranded by Alarm Phone on Wednesday, at sea, and had even offered them shelter in its homes.

Armed Forces of Malta had turned down the Sea Eye’s request for assistance and said: “Malta is not in a position to provide you with a place of safety.”

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‘Europe Must Work With Turkey to Solve Migration Crisis,’ Say V4 Foreign Ministers

The foreign ministers of the Visegrad Group emphasized the importance of greater cooperation with Turkey regarding the current migration crisis during a press conference on Tuesday following a ministerial meeting.

Those in attendance included the new Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský and Turkey’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavusoglu.

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France: Foreigners Behind 80 Per Cent of Violent Theft 62 Per Cent of Sexual Violence on Paris Transit

In 2020, non-French migrants were accused of being behind 80 per cent of the violent thefts on the Paris region public transit system and 62 per cent of the acts of sexual violence.

The figures released by the French Interior ministry show the backgrounds of those accused of various crimes on public transit systems in the Ille-de-France region, as well as the rest of the country.

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UK: Plea to ‘Toughen Asylum Laws’ After More Migrants Attempt to Cross Channel

CALLS to push through tough asylum laws were again raised after scores of migrants attempted to cross the Channel.

The Home Office confirmed that on Monday, 82 people on three boats were rescued or intercepted, while the French stopped 86 migrants on four boats. This followed more than 1,000 people attempting to cross from France over four days including last weekend.

More than 27,000 people have sailed to the UK from France in small boats this year.

Tom Pursglove, minister for justice and tackling illegal migration, said: “The Nationality and Borders Bill…will make it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally, and introduce life sentences for those who facilitate illegal entry into the country.”

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

Matrix: Resurrections is a Woke Backlash to Right-Wing Populism

The new Matrix sequel may not live to the high expectations of its fans, and indeed, the creators’ penchant for turning it into a political lesson may severely dampen audience reactions — especially if they’re conservative.

Beyond its portrayal of a futuristic cyberpunk world, as similarly depicted in Masamune Shirow’s Ghost in the Shell and Netflix’s Altered Carbon, The Matrix has always been a product of its surroundings — it’s simply part of the speculative nature of the genre. And yet, in spite of all its pretenses to speculative fiction, the movie may be marred by contemporary, reactionary politics.

The film’s two scriptwriters, Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchell, admitted as much in an interview with the A.V. Club, where they explained Matrix: Resurrection’s political messaging and how their left-wing reactionary views of the world influenced the story.

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

Norway: Gay Santa: New Commercial Features Santa Claus Making Out With Another Man

A four-minute ad by Posten Norge, the Norwegian postal service, and airing on Norwegian TV, shows Santa Claus making out with another man.

The ad is entitled “When Harry met Santa,” and has reportedly been put out to celebrate 50 years of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Norway.

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

Rutgers Professor Compares School Choice to Child Brides. He Sent His Kids to Private School

A Rutgers University graduate school professor argued that it’s in the public’s interest to invest more in public schools and less in voucher programs that allow students to pick their schools, despite sending his own kids to an expensive private school.

Professor Bruce Baker tweeted that parents already have authority over their children’s education and argued that public schools protect societal interests, as schools can protect children from parental interests. Baker used the example of “child brides” as a reason to increase funding for public schools.

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

UPenn Transgender Swimmer’s Dominance ‘Grossly Unfair’ To Women: Former USA Swimming Official

Former USA Swimming official Cynthia Millen called University of Pennsylvania transgender athlete Lia Thomas’s record-setting dominance of collegiate women’s swimming “grossly unfair” Wednesday on “The Ingraham Angle.”

“It’s placing women who can never compete with a man at a gross disadvantage by basically … calling this person a female competitor,” Millen told host Raymond Arroyo. “He’s not. It’s his body that will always be different and always be faster as a competitive swimmer. And it’s this great illusion that somehow, because he feels he’s a female, that he can be a female swimmer. This is grossly unfair to all the women who have worked so hard. Women biologically will never be faster than men.”

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

What Have They Done to Us?

At this point, I’ll take the corona gulag over the hypochondriac paranoid cringe world they’ve built around us.

Happy Christmas, everyone.

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

Open-Source Cryptomator 2.0 for IOS Makes it Easier to Encrypt Files on the Cloud

Cryptomator, an open source tool that encrypts files you upload to your favorite cloud service, has released version 2.0 of its iOS app.

The app remains open source and has a freemium version.

According to its website, Cryptomator “is a simple tool for digital self-defense. It allows you to protect your cloud data by yourself and independently.”

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

18 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/23/2021

  1. Its Christmas Eve here in Oz.

    Alas there is no avenue as yet to post some early Christmas cheer – so come on Baron create one!

    Until I see such a post to record our Christmas cheer, I would like to wish everyone and their families a wonderful Christmas and a New Year that delivers everything that true patriots deserve.

    Hold your heads up high and be proud of your background. Our forebears took 4-500 years plus to achieve what we have now. Lets not allow the descendants of who our forebears fought to take from us what our own people shed blood to give to us.

    Be proud, and more importantly be proud together. Get together. Enjoy the feeling of strength a group of our people feel when together. Let god enter your heart – if he isn’t there already and we will all blossom at the expense of our foes.

    May you all enjoy the privileges that you all deserve. Take this time, to have fun with family and friends. Eat, drink, rest and be merry for next year we will need to work together to re-establish our pre-eminence.

    May god be with you

    • Hear, hear!
      Thank-you Thedawg
      2nd’d on all those paragraphs.

      Blessing to Baron & family, and this band of commentators, for the wise words, bringing forth further meaning and knowledge, keeping truth to the forefront.

      Thank you, and a Merry Christmas, from another from ‘Down Under’ where it is a sunny summer Christmas morning.
      S1

  2. “Tony Blair, 68, said that if eligible people with no health reasons refuse the vaccine they aren’t “just irresponsible”, they are “an idiot”.”

    An idiot indeed. It wasn’t us who invaded Iraq and tried to make the UK Marxist.

    • As a prize idiot himself, certainly Mr Blair has the requisite qualifications to know what another idiot looks like. In fact, he’s such an idiot that he even misdiagnosed those with well-reasoned scepticism and disbelief of government toadies like himself as fellow idiots.

  3. “In other news, more than 200 migrants who were denied permission to disembark in Malta have been allowed to land safely in Sicily.”

    Does Italy know that there will be no end to the legions of invaders?

    Malta cannot accommodate any more. Is EU going to punish it for not surrendering to Islam?

    Greece has suffered terrible under Ottomans until 1821 – 1829. Just imagine what ottomans did when the obeyed alkulb allah who told them that they will not get hours unless each will massacre 1000 infidels.

    But even now Greece, who, like the Jews have given humanity all type of sublime ideas and peaceful thinking, are hated by turkey. To avoid being massacred by turks again they tried hard to join the EU, as a safeguard against turkey. (sic)

    Although turkey is not theoretically a member of EU, and has an observer status, in actuality, it has more say in EU affairs than Greece. Indeed, it sways and directs all EU policies as turkey wants.

    Greece does not want invaders, but has no choice because EU will kick it out of this devilish, mephistophelian, rascal entity, that will never punish turkey for massaring Cypriots. And how USA and Britain, and Sweden, the false leaders of

    humanity and freedom, never even talk about 18,000 Cypriots buried alive in mass trenches/furrows, apart from those murdered.

    USA, EU little Britain pardon turkey and Pakistan for all their atrocities. No one dare mention Muslim atrocities. not mysterious. Man/ woman / infidels admires his own murderer.

    Proof: Humanist girl rioters in Europe said: I ‘d rather be raped by an invader than listen to a white patriotic racist.

    Racist means anyone who tries to protect his family, society and nation from invaders.

    Is Italy crap or a country? No faith no honor. No conscience. Not aware of their surroundings. Italy’s and Europe’s art, music, literature, painting, all is crap

    if they don’t know how to prevent surrender.

    “WE shall fight them on the beaches, on the hills. We shall never surrender.”

    Or: We shall surrender to them our girls, rivers, cities, countries because we are not conscious.
    To hell with traitors.

    • US cavalry to Europe’s rescue – at least 15 tankers filled with natural gas heading across Atlantic to replenish depleted European supplies, sending gas prices tumbling. Another 11 LNG tankers with US gas also thought to be on their way. Thank you, America.

    • Why you than choose time after time, corrupted crocks to state offices and institutions ?
      What’s happening in Italy right now is all your fault.!
      You are an accomplices to their crimes..like in fall of Rome..” ” bread and Circus” that’s what you Italian are concern..like in the past..Hedonism and Hypocrisy is your old and new Religion..
      If there will not be spiritual, moral, ethical Revival in Italy soon , you are done and dead like cucumber in my salat..

  4. Tony “Iraqnhas WNDs deployable in 45 mins” Blair calling me an idiot …

    Mwaaaaahahahahahahahaha…

  5. The head of Poland’s ruling party, Jarosław Kaczyński, has said Germany is trying to turn the EU into a federal “German fourth reich”.’

    • if he says so, it must be right.
      And it is kind of narcissistic to presume that those ” fourth Reich” people would want to share a nation with any other people, which consequently aligns them with your own point of view. Think about it.

      • I left ( lengthy) opinion on GOV in this regard..But Baron decide to censor it..
        I guess because there were some , not too favorable opinions about Austrian and German State..
        But whole truth about what Germans are cooking again , simmer in the public awareness and conciseness ,disregarding their continues effort to quashed..
        Key moment was 2019 Merkel visit to Moscow and signing Agreement with Putin of unknown content..We in CEE brand it as new Ribbentrop-Stalin Pact 2.0

        • Fortunately for you Pollacks, there is no German military to invade you, I find it ironic that Germany supplies half of the Polish armaments these days. The German military is a paper tiger, starved of funds and equipment since Merkel the commie took over, there is no army or air force and a navy that can’t put to sea as a fleet. As for the Russians, they know if they invade west, they will have everyone jumping on that band wagon to go after them. They are not the old Red Army of old. They could get to the Order River, but that is as far they will get before their supply lines become a problem. So those folks can sign all the pacts they like, it don’t mean a thing, the Vizagrad 4 will do their own thing.

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