Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/31/2021

Pope Francis cancelled his visit to the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square, due to fears of the Omicron variant. Meanwhile, the Austrian government announced an extension of the lockdown imposed on the unvaxed until at least January 10, due to fears of the Omicron variant.

In other news, Germany shut down three of its six remaining nuclear power plants today. The other three are scheduled to go offline in 2022.

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

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

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

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

Financial Crisis
» Spain’s Annual Inflation Jumps to 6.7% at End of 2021, Highest Since 1989
» Stock Market News Live Updates: Stock Close Lower in Muted Trade, End Close to Records
 
USA
» Alan Dershowitz Interviewed About Maxwell Verdict, BBC Apologizes
» As Many as 500 Homes, Perhaps More, Destroyed in Fast-Moving Colorado Wildfire
» ‘Buh-Bye S*** Head’: De Blasio Moves Last Press Conference After Being Heckled Mercilessly
» Colorado Governor Steps in to Cut Trucker’s Prison Term by 100 Years
» COVID Antiviral Pills Cause Life-Threatening Reactions When Used With Many Common Meds: FDA
» Fauci Admits Kids Are Not Being Hospitalised From COVID, But Says Vaccinate Them Anyway
» Federal Judge in Texas Orders Halt on Biden’s Vaccine and Mask Mandates
» Ghislaine Maxwell Trial Live — Jeffrey Epstein’s Convicted ‘Madam’ Could Face a 65-Year Sentence as Trump Jr Speaks Out
» Judicial Watch President Says TikTok ‘Permanently Banned’ Him
» Maxwell’s Brother: Ghislaine a ‘Scapegoat’ For Epstein, She Won’t ‘Flip’
» Not the Onion! IRS Wants Its Cut From Looters & Other Thieves
» Ocasio-Cortez Escapes NYC Lockdowns for Sunny Florida: Report
» Parent Mocks Virginia Teachers Union by Posting Letter From Them Correcting Many Errors
» Sarah Palin Hints at Potential Return to Politics: ‘I Want to Serve’
» Six Witnesses Can Link Prince Andrew to Sex Assault Accuser, Say Lawyers
» Suspect in Shooting of Illinois Officers Arrested in Indiana
» Teachers Unions Demand Widespread COVID Testing, Masks, And Reduced Class Sizes for 2022
» The Governor of Missouri Continues to Insist Viewing a Website’s Html Code is a Crime
» The Top 10 Moments of Campus Insanity in 2021
» Twitter Admits ‘Error’ In Suspending Just the News Founder’s Account Over COVID Facts
» Video: After Two Years, CDC Head Admits PCR Tests Produce False Positives
» Watch: Dr. Robert Malone Responds to Being Censored by Big Tech Over COVID Dissent
» Watch: CNN Doctor Says Cloth Masks Need Multiple Layers to be Effective, Criticizes Those ‘Stubbornly Resisting’ Vax
 
Canada
» Former Ontario Privacy Chief Says Never Trust the Government With Coronavirus Cell Phone Tracking
» Jordan Peterson Calls for Civil Disobedience in Face of Quebec’s Curfew
 
Europe and the EU
» A Secret Dutch Deal With the Rothschilds Raises Eyebrows
» Austria to Extend ‘Apartheid’ Lockdown of Unvaccinated Due to Omicron
» Cyprus Police Hands Out 8 Fines Over Violations of COVID-19 Measures
» Former Soldier Felt ‘Safer in Afghanistan’ Than Multicultural Manchester, England
» French Tennis Star Benoit Paire Rages After Testing Positive for COVID for “250th Time”
» Germany Shuts Down Half of Remaining Nuclear Power Plants
» London Will Get Surprise Fireworks Tonight With Restored Big Ben Ringing in New Year
» Peter Thiel Hires Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz as Chief Global Strategist
» Pope Cancels New Year’s Eve Nativity Visit Over Omicron Fears
» Swiss COVID Patients Made Up Three Percent of All Hospitalizations in 2020
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Caroline Glick: The Escalating International War Against Israel
» Israel Votes to Push Social Media Censorship Law
 
Far East
» Germany’s New Government: Business as Usual With China
» Report: Chinese Communists Target Anonymous Critics on Facebook, Twitter
» Taiwan to Follow the EU on Online Censorship Proposals
 
Australia — Pacific
» It’s the Message of Hope Australia Has Been Waiting to Hear — One of the Nation’s Top Doctors Has Now Confidently Predicted: ‘in 2022, The COVID-19 Pandemic Will End.’
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Catholic Priest Shot Dead as He Left Mass in Southwest Nigeria
» The Omicron Wave is Over in South Africa, And There Was No Major Surge in Deaths
 
Immigration
» Calais: 15 Cops and Three Migrants Injured After Clashes at Camp
» Cyprus: Some 62 Migrants Found After an Operation of the Migration Department
» Italy Receives 440 Migrants, 2021 Total Passes 67,000
» UK: Home Office Splash £100,000 on Fast Food and Supplies for Channel Migrants
 

Spain’s Annual Inflation Jumps to 6.7% at End of 2021, Highest Since 1989

Spanish consumer prices in December rose 6.7% from the same month last year, the fastest annual pace of inflation since 1989, flash data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) showed on Thursday.

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

Stock Market News Live Updates: Stock Close Lower in Muted Trade, End Close to Records

U.S. stocks lost steam in a lackluster trading session on Friday, as major indexes closed the last day of 2021 marginally lower, but still within striking distance of record highs made during a banner year.

The S&P 500 treaded water during the session but closed out 2021 up 27%, marking its third year of double-digit gains. The Dow and Nasdaq wavered, but all indices were close to record highs.

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

Alan Dershowitz Interviewed About Maxwell Verdict, BBC Apologizes

Attorney Alan Dershowitz was interviewed about the verdict in Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial, prompting the BBC to apologize Thursday.

The BBC said that the interview with Dershowitz “did not meet BBC editorial standards” in a statement posted on Twitter, adding that Dershowitz “was not a suitable person to interview as an impartial analyst.” At the end of the statement, they promised “to look into” Dershowitz being brought on to discuss the Maxwell case.

Dershowitz responded, posting his own statement on Twitter. “Following the Maxwell conviction, BBC requested an interview, during which I explicitly stated that I, Prince Andrew and other people have been accused of having sex with Virginia Giuffre. I commented on the prosecution’s wise decision not to use her as a witness because of her lack of credibility,” he said in part.

[Comment: The article further down states that Dershowitz represented Epstein in 2008.]

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

As Many as 500 Homes, Perhaps More, Destroyed in Fast-Moving Colorado Wildfire

The wind-driven wildfire that tore through Colorado has potentially destroyed as many as 500 homes, officials said Friday.

At least seven people were injured in the fire outside of Denver on Thursday, but as of late Friday afternoon, there were no reports of deaths of missing persons, according to the Associated Press.

Residents said they returned to their homes in the early morning to find one house reduced so smoldering ashes while the one next door stood essentially unscathed.

The wildfire erupted in and around Louisville and Superior, neighboring towns about 20 miles northwest of Denver, the wire service also reports.

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

‘Buh-Bye S*** Head’: De Blasio Moves Last Press Conference After Being Heckled Mercilessly

Outgoing NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio had to move his farewell ceremony and press conference indoors after a crowd of protestors gathered outside Manhattan’s City Hall to voice their displeasure with him.

In the video below, one can see at the beginning a sign which is prominently displayed. It features a likeness of de Blasio’s face with a “poop” emoji on top of it. The caption reads “Buh-bye, sh*t head,” and, below it, “thanks for f*cking up our city.”

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

Colorado Governor Steps in to Cut Trucker’s Prison Term by 100 Years

A truck driver who received a 110-year sentence after being convicted on charges stemming from a fatal crash west of Denver will serve just 10 years in prison because Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis stepped in.

Polis commuted the lifelong sentence handed to Rogel Aguilera-Mederos after vehicular manslaughter convictions from the 2019 pileup to just 10 years after outcry over the original sentence led to an online petition gathering millions of signatures, the Associated Press reported Friday.

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

COVID Antiviral Pills Cause Life-Threatening Reactions When Used With Many Common Meds: FDA

Authored by Tammy Hung via The Epoch Times

Pfizer’s antiviral oral drug developed to treat COVID-19 can cause severe or life-threatening effects when used with common medications including some anti-coagulants, some anti-depressants, and some cholesterol-lowering statins, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (pdf).

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

Fauci Admits Kids Are Not Being Hospitalised From COVID, But Says Vaccinate Them Anyway

Anthony Fauci admitted Thursday that children are not being hospitalised from COVID, rather the reason for an increase in children in hospital WITH COVID is because of an increase in testing. The kids are being admitted for OTHER reasons. Still, Fauci said to not vaccinate kids wouldn’t make any sense.

Fauci made the admission on MSNBC.

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

Federal Judge in Texas Orders Halt on Biden’s Vaccine and Mask Mandates

Texas leaders on Friday scored a massive victory against the Biden administration’s mask and vaccine mandates after a judge in the US District Court — Northern District of Texas, Lubbock Division, ruled for a halt in the conditions for funding for Head Start programs, which is ostensibly designed to provide education-related services to low-income children.

Buried in the Head Start program is a requirement for school staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and near-universal masking for both children and adults.

Per the ruling, Texas leaders including Gov. Greg Abbott argue that the Act “does not authorise such mandates, that irreparable injury would result from them that [the Department of Health and Human Services] failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act in adopting the conditions, and that the mandates violate various Constitutional doctrines.”

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

Ghislaine Maxwell Trial Live — Jeffrey Epstein’s Convicted ‘Madam’ Could Face a 65-Year Sentence as Trump Jr Speaks Out

PROSECUTORS expect Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty of five out of six counts in her sex trafficking trial, will receive a ‘very significant prison sentence,’ as the heiress faces up to 65 years behind bars.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr weighed in on the case, sharing a post to his Instagram stories that called for others associated with Jeffrey Epstein to be brought to justice.

“Why isn’t the network in his little black book being made public?” said the tweet, originally penned by conservative activist Christian Collins.

Former New York prosecutor Sarah Krissoff reportedly told the BBC that she expects the judge to “impose a very severe sentence” upon Maxwell.

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

Judicial Watch President Says TikTok ‘Permanently Banned’ Him

The president of a conservative watchdog group said Chinese social video company TikTok had “permanently banned” his account.

“No warning” from the “communists” who run the company, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton tweeted Wednesday. The watchdog’s TikTok account remains live but is rarely used.

Fitton’s TikTok page now returns a “Couldn’t find this account” message. The most recent archive of the page is from Dec. 26, showing Fitton had 18,700 followers and 153,900 likes, but it doesn’t show the content of his videos.

TikTok didn’t immediately respond to a request to explain Fitton’s removal, and he didn’t post the notification he received.

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

Maxwell’s Brother: Ghislaine a ‘Scapegoat’ For Epstein, She Won’t ‘Flip’

British socialite and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell has been offered up as a “scapegoat” for deceased millionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, her brother has claimed.

Ian Maxwell, 65, the son of British media tycoon Robert Maxwell and older brother of now-convicted sex-trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, said that his sister is nothing more than a patsy for the sex crimes against children by Jeffrey Epstein, who allegedly killed himself in a New York prison cell in 2019.

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

Not the Onion! IRS Wants Its Cut From Looters & Other Thieves

Authored by Thomas Lifson via AmericanThinker.com

The Internal Revenue Service realizes the rampant crime wave in Democrat-run cities is an opportunity for the tax man. And Fifth Amendment protection from self-incrimination apparently doesn’t apply to filing income tax returns, the IRS seems to believe.

Patrick Reilly of the New York Post reports:

Steal any property or deal any drugs this year? Well, the IRS wants it reported as taxable income. (snip)

“If you steal property, you must report its fair market value in your income in the year you steal it unless you return it to its rightful owner in the same year,” the IRS told sticky-fingered Americans.

The agency also reminded those who’ve pocketed any by cash selling narcotics — or through any number of unspecified “illegal activities” — to report their earnings.

“Income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z, or on Schedule C (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity,” the bureau said.

[Comment: Well, the dealing in “illegal drugs” includes making money from marijuana, which, though tolerated by various states, is still illegal under federal law.]

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

Ocasio-Cortez Escapes NYC Lockdowns for Sunny Florida: Report

While COVID-19 cases surged in New York City, Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was pictured vacationing in Florida, National Review reported.

Ocasio-Cortez was spotted drinking cocktails outside of a restaurant in Miami Beach on Thursday while New York City reported a record high number of COVID-19 cases, National Review reported. Ocasio-Cortez represents New York’s 14th congressional district, which includes parts of the Bronx and Queens.

The congresswoman’s appearance in Florida drew commentary because she has criticized leaders for fleeing disasters in the past. In February, when Texas experienced harsh winter weather that left many without power and water, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz visited Cancún, Mexico, which Ocasio-Cortez publicly condemned.

[Comment: Also, Occasional Cortex is a socialist who is enjoying the benefits of a policy created by Republican lawmakers.]

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

Parent Mocks Virginia Teachers Union by Posting Letter From Them Correcting Many Errors

Ellen Gallery, a Virginia parent who was shocked by a poorly-written letter she received, decided to correct the errors and post the corrected version online on Thursday morning to mock them.

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

Sarah Palin Hints at Potential Return to Politics: ‘I Want to Serve’

Ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, former vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin hinted at a potential return to politics in the near future.

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

Six Witnesses Can Link Prince Andrew to Sex Assault Accuser, Say Lawyers

LAWYERS for Prince Andrew’s sex assault accuser claim they have six witnesses who will say the two met — as they labelled Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction “ominous” for the royal.

David Boies urged Andrew to “take responsibility” for his alleged actions as he outlined what Maxwell’s guilt may mean for Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s sex assault lawsuit against him.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, sitting in New York, will decide on Tuesday if Ms Roberts’ civil claim for unspecified damages against the Duke of York can proceed to trial.

It came as her lawyers made eight “discovery requests” of the duke in readiness for a possible longer hearing including proof for his Newsnight claim that he cannot sweat.

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

Suspect in Shooting of Illinois Officers Arrested in Indiana

Authorities say a man suspected in the shooting of one police officer and wounding of another at a northern Illinois hotel has been taken into custody

CHICAGO (AP) — A man suspected in the shooting of one police officer and wounding of another at a northern Illinois hotel has been taken into custody, authorities said Friday.

Darius Sullivan, one of two people suspected in the shooting of the two Bradley police officers, was arrested Friday morning at a home in North Manchester, Indiana, Sgt. Glen Fifield of the Indiana State Police said at a news conference. Sullivan, 25, surrendered to a SWAT team that was assisting the U.S. Marshals with a search warrant for the property about 110 miles (177 kilometers) east of Bradley.

Sullivan’s arrest came a day after Illinois authorities warned that he should be considered armed and dangerous…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Teachers Unions Demand Widespread COVID Testing, Masks, And Reduced Class Sizes for 2022

National Educators United has a public request for the Biden White House as to how schools should be reopened in the 2022 school year.

Earlier this year, it was made clear through FOIA requests that teachers unions dictated to the CDC some of the terms of how to reopen schools across the United States.

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

The Governor of Missouri Continues to Insist Viewing a Website’s Html Code is a Crime

Journalists for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who discovered a severe privacy problem in the coding of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) website are still being treated as “hackers” by the Governor of Missouri.

All the journalists did was right click and select “view source” of the page.

It was here that they could see the website had exposed the social security numbers of teachers. Gov. Mike Parson insists that the journalist is a hacker and should be prosecuted.

The St. Louis Dispatch-Post followed the ethical disclosure best practices. It got evidence of the vulnerability, alerted the state to the problem, and did not publish the story about the vulnerability until it had been patched.

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

The Top 10 Moments of Campus Insanity in 2021

College campuses looked different in 2021. Many required students to wear masks or get vaccinated to attend campus, and some are requiring booster shots for all eligible students.

However, one thing did stay consistent this year — the level of left-wing insanity that took place on America’s nearly 4,000 campuses nationwide.

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

Twitter Admits ‘Error’ In Suspending Just the News Founder’s Account Over COVID Facts

Twitter late Thursday acknowledged that Just the News founder and Editor-in-Chief John Solomon’s account was “suspended in error” this week over a post about a COVID-19 vaccine.

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

Video: After Two Years, CDC Head Admits PCR Tests Produce False Positives

CDC head Rochelle Walensky admitted Wednesday that the agency has rejigged its guidance, including cutting COVID isolation times in half, based on the fact that PCR tests are producing massive amounts of false positives.

Noting that PCR tests for COVID can stay positive for up to 12 weeks after infection, Walensky stated “we would have people in isolation for a very long time if we were relying on PCRs.”

Er yeah, that’s been happening for two years now.

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

Watch: Dr. Robert Malone Responds to Being Censored by Big Tech Over COVID Dissent

On Thursday, Dr. Robert Malone, a collaborator on the creation of mRNA vaccines, appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast as a guest, just one day after twitter banned his account.

“They removed you for not going along with whatever the tech narrative is, because tech clearly has a censorship agenda when it comes to COVID in terms of treatment, in terms of the— whether or not you’re promoting what they would call vaccine hesitancy, they can ban you for that, they can ban you for in their eyes, what they think is a justifiable offense,” said Rogan.

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

Watch: CNN Doctor Says Cloth Masks Need Multiple Layers to be Effective, Criticizes Those ‘Stubbornly Resisting’ Vax

Dr. William Schaffner went on CNN on Friday to give what may be considered an update to recommendations to the public regarding the pandemic situation. The panel talked mainly about masks and vaccinations.

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

Former Ontario Privacy Chief Says Never Trust the Government With Coronavirus Cell Phone Tracking

Ontario’s former privacy commissioner Ann Cavoukian has warned that the government cannot be trusted with cellphone tracking amid the pandemic. The warning came after it was revealed last week that a federal agency has been using cellphone data to track the movements of Canadians since the beginning of the pandemic.

“It concerns me enormously that this would enable the government to collect more and more information,” Ann Cavoukian told The Epoch Times.

“I do not want to [see] a trend where the government is consistently doing this and starting now. You can’t trust the government.”

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

Jordan Peterson Calls for Civil Disobedience in Face of Quebec’s Curfew

Dr. Jordan Peterson is calling for Montrealers to resist curfew restrictions that are once again being implemented in Quebec, as cases of the mild Omicron variant continue to skyrocket in the province.

“The cure is far worse than the disease,” wrote Peterson in a Twitter thread posted on Friday, the day that the province is set to impose the measure on its highly vaccinated populace. “Unbelievable. Time for civil disobedience.”

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

A Secret Dutch Deal With the Rothschilds Raises Eyebrows

In the Netherlands, the outgoing culture minister Ingrid van Engelshoven (D66) said that her ministry wanted to make the artwork by a white male “accessible to everyone” again. She had secretly informed all party leaders in the House of Representatives of the cabinet’s plans to purchase a Rembrandt painting. All party leaders were contacted, except FVD leader Thierry Baudet.

It turned out to have been a conscious choice to keep the deal secret: “We had to be sure that the purchase would remain under wraps.” With Baudet there were no guarantees, because of “the way in which he conducts politics with his party”, said the retiring minister. She also claimed not to have been influenced: “I made a decision for myself: the importance of confidentiality weighed more heavily.” But why should such a purchase be kept secret?

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

Austria to Extend ‘Apartheid’ Lockdown of Unvaccinated Due to Omicron

The Austrian government has announced it will be extending the general lockdown for all unvaccinated residents as the Omicron variant of the Wuhan virus spreads across the country.

On Thursday, Austria’s National Council decided to extend the lockdown for the unvaccinated until at least January 10th. Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein claimed that the government is concerned the spread of the Omicron variant could potentially overwhelm the country’s healthcare system.

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

Cyprus Police Hands Out 8 Fines Over Violations of COVID-19 Measures

Cyprus police handed out 8 fines, 6 to individuals and 2 to owners or managers of establishments for violations of measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic across the island in the last 24 hours.

According to the Police press office in total 2.535 checks were carried out.

In Nicosia, 2 individuals were fined following 1.351 checks, in Limassol 2 establishments were fined following 138 checks, in Larnaca one individual was fined after 313 checks, in Pafos there were no violations after 104 checks, in Famagusta 510 checks resulted in 3 individual fines while in Morphou no violations were found after 56 checks.

At the same time, traffic police carried out 63 checks without fining anyone.

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

Former Soldier Felt ‘Safer in Afghanistan’ Than Multicultural Manchester, England

The Blackley Estate in Manchester, England has been dubbed a “warzone” less “safe” than Afghanistan by a local veteran.

The Manchester suburb has turned into a crime-ridden “warzone” due to gang violence, with police being accused by Manchester residents of having more of a focus on “pronouns and diversity” than tackling crime.

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

French Tennis Star Benoit Paire Rages After Testing Positive for COVID for “250th Time”

Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times

French tennis player Benoit Paire has tested positive for COVID-19 just weeks before the Australian Open gets underway on Jan. 17, 2022.

The sportsman, 32, revealed on Wednesday that he had contracted the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19, and admitted regular quarantining had taken a toll on his mental health.

“Hey my name is Benoit Paire, and for the 250th time I tested positive for Covid!!” he said on Twitter. “Honestly I can’t deal with this Covid s*** anymore.”

“How am I doing? Because of Covid, I got a runny nose but because of all these quarantines spent in a hotel room halfway across the world, I don’t feel good mentally,” he continued.

“Last year was tough, and this year starts exactly the same way!!”

Paire, who is vaccinated, added that he is “100 percent for the vaccine,” but urged people to “just live as before Covid, otherwise, I don’t see the point.”

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

Germany Shuts Down Half of Remaining Nuclear Power Plants

BERLIN (AP) — Germany on Friday is shutting down half of the six nuclear plants it still has in operation, a year before the country draws the final curtain on its decades-long use of atomic power.

The decision to phase out nuclear power and shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy was first taken by the center-left government of Gerhard Schroeder in 2002.

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

London Will Get Surprise Fireworks Tonight With Restored Big Ben Ringing in New Year

The traditional London fireworks display over the Thames and by the seat of government by the Palace of Westminster was cancelled for the second year in a row, but with just hours to go before the new year is rung in, it has been revealed a fireworks display has been planned in secret and will in fact go ahead tonight.

Citing coronavirus concerns, London’s annual firework display — one of many worldwide in major global cities that see the new year in as the earth turns — was cancelled in 2020, and in October the 2021 display was announced to have been cancelled too.

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

Peter Thiel Hires Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz as Chief Global Strategist

Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has been lying low since he was forced out as Europe’s youngest head of state. Now, with the prospect of a criminal prosecution hanging over his head, it seems Kurz is turning to an old ally — Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel.

Kurz is set to take over as chief global strategist at Thiel’s investment firm, Thiel Capital. He’s reportedly set to start with the advent of the new year.

According to Bloomberg, Kurz completely withdrew from politics earlier this month, setting off another change in power. Kurz has denied any and all accusations of wrongdoing, including accusations that he used public money to plant fake opinion polls in the press and bolster his political career.

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

Pope Cancels New Year’s Eve Nativity Visit Over Omicron Fears

In an attempt to thin crowds amid a wave of Omicron cases, Pope Francis decided to cancel his traditional visit to the life-sized nativity scene in the Vatican City’s St. Peter’s Square. Instead, the pope will hold his traditional vespers service at St. Peter’s Basilica on New Year’s Eve and a small, private mass on New Year’s Day.

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

Swiss COVID Patients Made Up Three Percent of All Hospitalizations in 2020

The Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) found that from January to March 2020, cardiovascular diseases and cancer were by far the most common causes of death. A total of 18 501 people died in Switzerland during this period.

“As in previous years, they mainly succumbed to cardiovascular diseases (27 percent in men, 31 percent in women) and cancer (25 percent in men, 19 percent in women). In March 2020, Covid-19 was the leading cause of death in 10 percent of men who died and 6 percent of women who died. Some 95 percent of those who died of Covid-19 were 65 years of age or older,” according to the FSO in their “Covid-19 analysis” of the cause of death statistics for the months of January to March 2020.

Other data recently published by the FSO are also of particular interest. In the recently published report “Effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on health care in 2020” one learns that despite constant scare mongering, only 3 percent of hospitalizations were from Covid.

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

Caroline Glick: The Escalating International War Against Israel

At the UN General Assembly last week, a large majority of member nations voted to lavishly fund a permanent inquisition against the Jewish state. The member states funded the operation of an “ongoing independent, international commission of inquiry,” against Israel.

The commission, run by outspoken haters of Israel with long records of demonizing the State of Israel and its people, was formed by the UN Human Rights Council in a special session in May. Its purpose is to deny and reject Israel’s right to exist, its right to self-defense, its right to enforce is laws, and its citizens rights to their properties and to their very lives.

The Human Rights Council’s decision to form its new permanent inquisition constitutes an unprecedented escalation of the political war the UN has been waging against Israel for the past fifty years. To grasp the danger, it is necessary to understand how Israel’s foes operate at the UN and how their partners in Europe and Israel itself operate.

We begin with the UN. In 2005, acting on pressure from the Bush administration, then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan disbanded the UN Human Rights Commission. The Bush administration’s chief complaint was that the commission was endemically anti-Semitic.

The UN Human Rights Council was founded in 2006, and its members and UN staff wasted no time making clear that they intended for the new council to be even more anti-Semitic than its predecessor was…

           — Hat tip: Caroline Glick [Return to headlines]
 

Israel Votes to Push Social Media Censorship Law

Earlier this week, the Ministerial Committee on Legislation, of Israel, voted to advance the Facebook Bill, being promoted by Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar. The purpose of the bill is to create a new way to censor online speech.

The bill will give courts the power to demand content removal from online platforms if the content could cause “harm” to the public, a person, or national security.

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

Germany’s New Government: Business as Usual With China

Germany’s new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has had his first telephone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Scholz, who succeeded Angela Merkel as chancellor on December 8, pledged to strengthen economic ties with China, but he failed to mention human rights or the destruction of democracy in Hong Kong.

The telephone call will disappoint those who had hoped that Germany’s new government — a three-way coalition consisting of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) — would break with the past and take distance from Merkel’s policy of appeasing dictators and sacrificing human rights on the altar of financial gain.

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

Report: Chinese Communists Target Anonymous Critics on Facebook, Twitter

The Chinese Communist Party is increasingly using advanced technological tactics to track down China critics on Twitter and Facebook, even when dissidents make use of anonymous accounts, according to a new report in the New York Times.

The report also revealed that Twitter suspended an account used by a Chinese student living abroad that parodied Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, after an effort by Chinese officials to unmask it. Twitter later restored the account without explanation.

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

Taiwan to Follow the EU on Online Censorship Proposals

Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC) unveiled the framework for a new bill, under which Facebook, Google, and other large platforms could face stricter obligations.

On Wednesday, the NCC unveiled the digital communications bill at a press briefing in Taipei. The commission said that the purpose of the bill was to regulate online platforms, caching service providers, and internet service providers.

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It’s the Message of Hope Australia Has Been Waiting to Hear — One of the Nation’s Top Doctors Has Now Confidently Predicted: ‘in 2022, The COVID-19 Pandemic Will End.’

Former deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth says vaccination jabs and the spread of the mild Omicron strain will finally make the world immune to Covid.

His welcome words have come as Australia again hit record new case numbers across the country — but thankfully ICU numbers remain stubbornly low.

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Catholic Priest Shot Dead as He Left Mass in Southwest Nigeria

Unknown gunmen killed parish priest Father Luke Mewhenu Adeleke as he left Mass on Christmas Eve in Ogun state, southwest Nigeria, Vatican News reported Thursday.

Thirty-eight-year-old Father Adeleke was returning to his residence at St. Anthony Ijemo-Fadipe Parish of the Abeokuta Diocese after celebrating midnight Mass at Ogunmakin, an outstation of the parish, when he was accosted by gunmen.

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The Omicron Wave is Over in South Africa, And There Was No Major Surge in Deaths

South African authorities say their Omicron wave has come and gone without a major spike in deaths from COVID-19.

The wave of cases took about four weeks to peak, the South African Medical Research Council said, and two more weeks to subside. Deaths only increased at a fractional rate of cases and didn’t approach surges from previous waves of the virus, according to data from The New York Times.

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Calais: 15 Cops and Three Migrants Injured After Clashes at Camp

At least fifteen French police officers were injured Thursday morning after they attempted to clear a makeshift migrant camp and met physical resistance from the migrants living in the camp.

The clashes between the police and the migrants took place at around 9:20 am on Thursday as around 40 officers made an attempt to clear the makeshift camp where around a hundred migrants were camping near a local railway track.

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Cyprus: Some 62 Migrants Found After an Operation of the Migration Department

A coordinated operation took place yesterday by the Migration Departments of Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca, the Police Department of Pera Chorio Nisou and officers of the Deputy Ministry of Social Care.

The operation occurred at an establishment in the industrial area of Nisou where 62 foreigners have been found, 60 of who are asylum seekers, one person who submitted a request for asylum and one man who was arrested for illegal entry into Cyprus.

The said establishment was evacuated and the 60 asylum seekers were taken to Kofinou while one person to Pournara reception center.

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Italy Receives 440 Migrants, 2021 Total Passes 67,000

A rescue ship carrying 440 migrants has been allowed to disembark in Sicily, its operator said on Friday, capping a year that saw more than 67,000 arrive on Italy’s shores.

‘The Italian authorities have assigned the port of Pozzallo, Sicily as place of disembarkation for the Sea-Watch 3 (ship),’ the German non-governmental organisation that runs it, Sea Watch, announced on Twitter.

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UK: Home Office Splash £100,000 on Fast Food and Supplies for Channel Migrants

HOME Office officials splashed out £100,000 on fast food and supplies for the record breaking migrants crossing the Channel last year.

Over 28,000 people made the perilous journey in 2021, immigration staff splurged cash on Domino’s Pizza, Subway sandwiches and local takeaways when the Tug Haven processing centre in Dover became swamped.

Over £50,000 was spent on food from May 2021, while another £49,000 was spent on clothes and sun-hats for new arrivals.

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6 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/31/2021

  1. Fear of Omicron? The clown (he put on a red clown nose in St Peter’s square look it up) is a slave to the ruling class Covid hoax. Woke Pope Francis will be dead within a few weeks from colon cancer and then for him the judgment. Omicron is the least of his worries.

    • The Pope belongs in Caracas or Havana with his Latin American murdering Communists amigos.

  2. Agree! Fear of Omicron…faith?
    Plays being called from the ground zero of Wokeism..and all nonsense.
    Meg from land of O

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