Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/17/2022

Austria has streamlined its “vaccine” mandate, and will return to an implementation date of February 1. Meanwhile, the Greek government is imposing a monthly fine on citizens over the age of 60 who fail to get “vaccinated”.

In other news, after the hostage-taking at a synagogue in Texas, the Anti-Defamation League warned against reacting to the incident with Islamophobia.

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

Thanks to Fjordman, Insubria, 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.

USA
» After 28 Days on Ventilator, Family Loses Legal Battle to Try Ivermectin, Other Alternative Treatments, For Dying Father
» Apple Tells Employees They Have “Four Weeks to Comply” After Becoming Eligible for Booster Shots
» AT&T to Remove One America News Network From Lineup
» Breaking: Sen. Rand Paul Cancels DirecTV After Company Drops OANN
» Brother of Texas Synagogue Terrorist Reveals Akram Had a Criminal Record, Questions Why He Was Given a Visa
» Convicted Pedophile Funneled Millions in Foreign Cash Into Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Campaign
» Following Backlash, FBI Calls Synagogue Incident a Terror Attack Against Jewish Community
» Glenn Youngkin Defends Ban on ‘Racially Divisive’ Critical Race Theory in Virginia
» Google Mandates US Workers Submit to Weekly COVID-19 Tests, Surgical Masks
» In Wake of Texas Synagogue Hostage-Taking, Anti-Defamation League Warns Against ‘Islamophobia’
» Jeffrey Epstein’s Lawyer Tried to Get Workers to Declare They Never Saw Bill Clinton on Private Island Ahead of 2016 Election
» Jim Jordan on Investigating Fauci: ‘We Are Definitely Going to Do This’
» Michigan Democratic Party Deletes Social Post Claiming Parents Aren’t ‘Client of the Public School’
» Michigan Judge Rules Against COVID Restrictions on Indoor Dining
» NYC Mayor Insists City is Safe After Woman Killed in Shocking Subway Attack
» Party Preferences Flip in One Year Under Biden as Republicans Hold 5-Point Advantage, New Poll Shows
» Rabbi Charged in Connection to January 6 Requests $50 Fine as Sentence
» Rand Paul Wonders if YouTube Will “Kiss My… and Apologise” After CDC Admits Cloth Masks Aren’t Effective
» Rogue Street Art Appears Overnight in D.C., Mocks Biden & Fauci’s COVID Regime
» Seattle Police to Eliminate Most Traffic Stops in the Name of ‘Equity’
» Texas Rabbi ‘Grateful to be Alive’ As Synagogue Hostage-Taking Suspect Id’d
» Texas Rabbi Credits Active-Shooter Training for Surviving ‘Belligerent’ Terrorist
» Union Pacific Bashes LA’s Social Justice Reform, Threatens to Leave City Amid Soaring Train Thefts
» Winsome Sears Rips Critical Race Theory: ‘Our Children Are Not Learning’ In School
» YouTube Suspends Comedian Yannis Pappas
 
Canada
» Old-Growth Logging Protesters in Nanaimo Arrested After Blocking Highway
 
Europe and the EU
» Austria Tweaks Vaccine Mandate Plan, To Come in Next Month
» Austria: 9-Year-Old Disabled Boy Forced to Take Exam Outside in Freezing Weather Because He Didn’t Wear a Mask
» COVID: Most Commonly Used Antibiotic Runs Out in Italy
» Czech President Offers Mixed View on New Government While Slamming it for Orban Remarks
» Eric Zemmour: French Presidential Hopeful Guilty of Inciting Hatred and Ordered to Pay €10,000
» Far-Right Mi Hazank Party Holds Demonstration Against Hungary’s ‘COVID Dictatorship’
» Greek Seniors Face Monthly Fine for Failure to Get COVID Shot
» Hungary: Bookmakers Set Odds for an Orban Victory in Upcoming Elections
» Italy: Leader of Turin Youth Gang Caught
» Leftist Christiane Taubira Announces Her Candidacy for French Presidential Election
» Malta Sees Biggest Protest Yet Against COVID Measures
» Protest in Netherlands Against Coronavirus Measures
» Revealed: UK Court Banned Texas Synagogue Terrorist After Unhinged 9/11 Rant
» Spanish Judge Rules in Favour of Mother Who Blocked Child’s Vaccination
» UK Government Hires Ad Agency to Convince the Public They Don’t Need Privacy
» UK: Boris ‘Plans to Scrap Fines for COVID Breaches’ As Five-Day Isolation Introduced
» UK: Celebrity Chef Puts Sign Above Pub: “Unvaccinated Welcome”
» UK: Facebook Banned Cocktail Expert After He Joked That Peas Should be Illegal
» Unvaccinated Italian Priests Banned From Distributing Holy Communion
» Watch: Rookie Dutch MP Routs PM Rutte, Speaks Truth to ‘Great Reset’ Power
 
Russia
» Video: Biden Admin Says Russia is Going to Carry Out a False Flag Attack on Itself to Justify Invading Ukraine
 
South Asia
» Over 9K Pay 45L in Fines for Ignoring COVID Norms
 
Australia — Pacific
» Poll: More Australians Want PM Deported Than Novak Djokovic
 
Latin America
» Trinidad: Police vs Protesters — Crowd Tear-Gassed at Queen’s Park Savannah
 
Immigration
» Crossing Delayed Monday at Manitoba-U.S. Border as Truckers Protest Vaccine Mandate
» Hungarian Authorities Open Fire on Rogue Vehicle Smuggling Illegal Migrants
» Illegal Migration Down 31% in Slovenia Last Year
» Iranian Migrant Attacks Swiss Paramedic, Badly Damages Ambulance
» Lithuania Lifts Border Emergency State as Migrant Flow Stops
» Security Advisor: Illegal Entry Attempts to Hungary Increased in January
» UK: Asylum Seekers ‘Could be Flown to Rwanda and Ghana for Processing’ Under ‘Operation Red Meat’ Plans to Tackle Illegal Migrant Channel Crossings as Boris Johnson Calls in the RAF and the Royal Navy to Deter the Journeys From France
» UK: Boris Johnson Enlists Royal Navy to Stop Channel Migrants as He Launches ‘Operation Red Meat’ In Bid to Stay in No10
» UK: Migrant Crossings: No 10 Policy Chiefs Explored Using Powerful Sonic Weapons to Halt Journeys Across the English Channel
 
Culture Wars
» German Government Hands Out €130,000 to Films About Transgender People and a Feminist Documentary About Clowns
» Supreme Court to Hear Case of High School Football Coach Fired After Praying With Players Postgame
 

After 28 Days on Ventilator, Family Loses Legal Battle to Try Ivermectin, Other Alternative Treatments, For Dying Father

Authored by Nanette Holt via The Epoch Times

A Florida family fighting to give their loved one on a ventilator alternative treatments for COVID-19 have lost another battle—this time in Florida’s First District Court of Appeal.

The wife and son of Daniel Pisano first squared off against Mayo Clinic Florida at an emergency hearing on Dec. 30 in Florida’s Fourth Judicial Circuit. Before that, they’d been begging the hospital to allow them to try treating Pisano—who’s been on a ventilator now for 28 days—with the controversial drug ivermectin, along with a mix of other drugs and supplements, part of a protocol recommended by the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC).

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

Apple Tells Employees They Have “Four Weeks to Comply” After Becoming Eligible for Booster Shots

Apple is one of the first major corporations going on the record and telling its employees that it doesn’t just need to see proof of vaccination, but now it also needs proof of a booster shot.

The company is requiring boosters for store and corporate employees, according to an internal email seen by The Verge.

Employees have “four weeks to comply” once they become eligible for booster shots, or else they will have to take “frequent tests to enter a retail store, partner store, or Apple office starting on February 15th,” the report says.

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

AT&T to Remove One America News Network From Lineup

One America News Network’s (OAN) largest distributor, DirecTV, announced Friday that it will not renew its contract with the outlet, Bloomberg reported.

In an email statement to Bloomberg, DirecTV spokesperson said that “following a routine internal review,” the decision was made to not enter a new contract with Herring Networks Inc., OAN’s owner, once the current contract ends in April. DirecTV made up 90% of the network’s revenue, according to Reuters.

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

Breaking: Sen. Rand Paul Cancels DirecTV After Company Drops OANN

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) announced Monday that he cancelled his at-home DirecTV subscription after the TV provider moved to drop One America News Network.

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

Brother of Texas Synagogue Terrorist Reveals Akram Had a Criminal Record, Questions Why He Was Given a Visa

The brother of Malik Faisal Akram, the UK citizen who was shot and killed after an 11-hour hostage standoff at a synagogue in Texas, has claimed that his brother had a previous criminal record.

Gulbar Akram, the brother of terrorist Malik Faisal Akram, who took four hostages at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas on Saturday, has revealed that his brother had a criminal record in comments to UK media, raising questions about how he was allowed into the United States.

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

Convicted Pedophile Funneled Millions in Foreign Cash Into Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Campaign

Convicted pedophile, UAE adviser and central witness in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, George Nader, has pleaded guilty to his role in helping the UAE funnel millions of dollars in illegal campaign contributions into US campaigns during the 2016 presidential election, according to The Intercept, citing federal court documents filed last month.

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

Following Backlash, FBI Calls Synagogue Incident a Terror Attack Against Jewish Community

An FBI hostage rescue team helped saved lives Saturday night following an all-day stand-off with a British man who had taken hostages at a Texas synagogue. On Sunday, however, the FBI public relations team confused the public for hours after saying that the hostage taker was not targeting the Jewish community.

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

Glenn Youngkin Defends Ban on ‘Racially Divisive’ Critical Race Theory in Virginia

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin defended his decision to outlaw critical race theory in public schools — slamming the controversial philosophy as “racially divisive.”

Youngkin made the remarks following a decision to issue an executive order banning school lessons that define racism as an institutional problem deeply embedded in American society.

“There’s not a course called critical race theory,” Youngkin said on “Fox News Sunday.”

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

Google Mandates US Workers Submit to Weekly COVID-19 Tests, Surgical Masks

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times

Google has mandated weekly COVID-19 tests and surgical masks for employees at its facilities as Omicron infections rise, accounting for over 98 percent of cases in the United States.

“To help prevent the further spread of COVID-19 during this period of heightened risk, we’re implementing new temporary health and safety measures for anyone accessing our sites in the U.S.” a Google spokesperson said, according to Reuters.

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

In Wake of Texas Synagogue Hostage-Taking, Anti-Defamation League Warns Against ‘Islamophobia’

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) claims that its mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people, and to secure justice and fair treatment to all …” So you might think that after an Islamic jihadi stormed a Texas synagogue and took hostages, the ADL would be drawing attention to Islamic anti-Semitism, as well as to the targeting of synagogues by Islamic jihadis in the past. Instead, it once again proves that it is more interested in preserving the Leftist narrative than in combating anti-Semitism: the ADL is very concerned that some of the reactions to the hostage-taking incident have been, in its view, “Islamophobic.”

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

Jeffrey Epstein’s Lawyer Tried to Get Workers to Declare They Never Saw Bill Clinton on Private Island Ahead of 2016 Election

Jeffrey Epstein’s attorney contacted the couple who managed Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in 2016 to request that they sign an affidavit saying that former-President Bill Clinton did not visit Little St. James, Epstein’s private island.

According to the Daily Mail, lawyer Darren Indyke contacted the couple, Miles and Caty Alexander, asking them to state that Clinton had not been on seen on the island, and that Clinton had not been on the island while the couple was absent from the island.

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

Jim Jordan on Investigating Fauci: ‘We Are Definitely Going to Do This’

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) was interviewed on Fox News by Maria Bartiromo and responded affirmatively when asked if he has plans to investigate Dr. Anthony Fauci if the House gains a Republican majority.

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

Michigan Democratic Party Deletes Social Post Claiming Parents Aren’t ‘Client of the Public School’

A weekend Facebook post by the Michigan Democratic Party ignited a hailstorm of criticism, prompting the party to eventually delete the comment Monday.

“Not sure where this ‘parents-should-control-what-is-taught-in-schools-because-they-are-our-kids’ is originating, but parents do have the option to choose to send their kids to a hand-selected private school at their own expense if this is what they desire,” the deleted post read.

It continued: “The purpose of a public education in a public school is not to teach kids only what parents want them to be taught. It is to teach them what society needs them to know. The client of the public school is not the parent, but the entire community, the public…”

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

Michigan Judge Rules Against COVID Restrictions on Indoor Dining

Ajudge in the 46th Circuit Court of Otsego County ruled that the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) restrictions on indoor dining were unconstitutional.

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

NYC Mayor Insists City is Safe After Woman Killed in Shocking Subway Attack

Mayor Eric Adams of New York City (D), made a speech on Sunday saying that the city’s trains are safe for people to ride on, in the wake of the death of a 40-year-old woman who was pushed in front of a train.

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

Party Preferences Flip in One Year Under Biden as Republicans Hold 5-Point Advantage, New Poll Shows

Americans were more likely to support the Republican Party than the Democratic Party towards the end of 2021 than at any point since 1995, a poll released Monday shows.

Forty-seven percent of Americans described themselves as Republicans or Republican-leaning to Gallup between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2021, compared to 42% who described themselves as Democrats or Democratic-leaning, the largest gap the pollster has measured in favor of Republicans since the first quarter of 1991.

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

Rabbi Charged in Connection to January 6 Requests $50 Fine as Sentence

Michael Stepakoff, also known as “Rabbi Mike,” is one of over 700 people charged in connection to the January 6 riot at the Capitol building. His attorneys have requested that he receive a $50 fine as a sentence for Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building, for which he was charged with a misdemeanor. This sentence would be in keeping with those received by protestors inside the Capitol during the hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

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

Rand Paul Wonders if YouTube Will “Kiss My… and Apologise” After CDC Admits Cloth Masks Aren’t Effective

The CDC has revised its guidelines on masks, admitting that cloth masks do virtually nothing to stop the spread of COVID. The move prompted Senator Rand Paul to comment, reminding social media users that YouTube previously suspended him for saying the same thing.

The CDC announced that “loosely woven cloth products provide the least protection.”

Who would have known?

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

Rogue Street Art Appears Overnight in D.C., Mocks Biden & Fauci’s COVID Regime

Authored by Jordan Schachtel via ‘The Dossier’ Substack

I wanted to turn your attention to a handful of premier art masterpieces that have appeared overnight in Washington, D.C.

The artwork is a brilliant Soviet-style mockery of Joe Biden and Anthony Fauci COVID Mania regime. And seeing it appear in downtown Washington, D.C., the home of America’s ruling class and unquestioning COVID compliance, is the perfect setting for these absolute gems.

The first piece showcases an angry Joe Biden holding an OSHA-labeled mallet surrounded by the word “comply.”

The second illustration, labeled, “good kids are compliant kids,” shows a handful of children in red masks looking up to an injection needle-surrounded Joe Biden.

The third shows a sitting Joe Biden holding the coronavirus in his hand, with the caption, “Mandate! Segregate! Subjugate!”

The last piece of artwork, “Trust The Scientism,” shows Anthony Fauci, dressed in clergy attire, possessing a giant hypodermic needle.

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

Seattle Police to Eliminate Most Traffic Stops in the Name of ‘Equity’

The Seattle Police Department announced sweeping new policies on Friday as to how officers initiate most traffic stops.

Interim Chief Adrian Diaz announced the controversial new policies through the SPD Blotter, explaining that Seattle police officers will no longer be able to treat many violation as a primary reason to initiate a traffic stop. The changes were made for the sake of “equity.”

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

Texas Rabbi ‘Grateful to be Alive’ As Synagogue Hostage-Taking Suspect Id’d

A Texas rabbi taken hostage with three members of his congregation by an armed man demanding the release of a convicted terrorist, posted a message on social media Sunday saying he is “grateful to be alive.”

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker was leading Shabbat services at the Congregation Beth Israel in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Colleyville, Texas, on Saturday when a man interrupted the service and allegedly claimed he had planted bombs in the synagogue, law enforcement officials said.

The suspect, who died in the incident when an FBI hostage rescue team breached the synagogue, was identified on Sunday as Malik Faisal Akram, 44, a British citizen, according to Matthew DeSarno, the special agent in charge of the bureau’s Dallas field office.

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

Texas Rabbi Credits Active-Shooter Training for Surviving ‘Belligerent’ Terrorist

The rabbi held hostage for 10 hours in his Texas synagogue has insisted he and his congregants only managed to flee the “increasingly belligerent” terrorist thanks to regular active-shooter training.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Union Pacific Bashes LA’s Social Justice Reform, Threatens to Leave City Amid Soaring Train Thefts

A top Union Pacific Railroad official threatened to leave Los Angeles over the District Attorney’s progressive measures to lower criminal theft offenses amid a wave of criminal gangs looting rail cars.

Adrian Guerrero, Union Pacific’s director of public affairs, wrote a letter to LA County District Attorney George Gascón, denouncing the local government’s relaxed criminal policies, or rather “well-intentioned social justice goals,” as a catalyst for a wave of rail car thefts.

“We find ourselves coming back to the same results with the Los Angeles County criminal justice system. Criminals are caught and arrested, turned over to local authorities for booking, arraigned before local courts, charges are reduced to a misdemeanor or petty offense, and the criminal is released after paying a nominal fine,” wrote Guerrero.

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

Winsome Sears Rips Critical Race Theory: ‘Our Children Are Not Learning’ In School

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears said the left is using “semantics” in denying that critical race theory was being taught in Virginia public schools, asserting the movement has done damage for its ‘divisiveness.’

“I can tell you that they are using semantics, the other side is.” Sears told “America Reports Monday. “When it comes to CRT, it is definitely being taught in some form or fashion. We know last year the Loudoun County school board spent about 300,000 plus dollars, that’s real money, that’s going to jail money, to bring CRT in some form or fashion, they used a consultant specifically for CRT.”

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

YouTube Suspends Comedian Yannis Pappas

YouTube on Friday suspended a comedian’s channel for — making jokes.

The week-long ban was slapped on the channel of the LongDays with Yannis Pappas satire news podcast, Pappas announced on social media.

In a post on Instagram, the comedian explained that YouTube labeled two episodes of the podcast as violating its rules and removed them — one titled “Fratricide Maybe,” and another called “Adrenochrome Smoothies.”

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

Old-Growth Logging Protesters in Nanaimo Arrested After Blocking Highway

Three members of an anti-logging group were arrested by RCMP Monday after they blocked traffic in Nanaimo.

Another three were arrested at a similar protest in Vancouver.

The blockade by Save Old Growth, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, took place on the off-ramp of the Trans-Canada Highway at Comox Street and Terminal Avenue, near the Saysutshun (Newcastle Island) Ferry Terminal.

Last week, 12 people were arrested in similar protests — seven in Victoria, three in Burnaby and two in Nanaimo.

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

Austria Tweaks Vaccine Mandate Plan, To Come in Next Month

BERLIN — The Austrian government on Sunday presented revised plans for its proposed COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which it said will now apply to all residents age 18 and over, rather than 14 as originally intended. Officials said that a phased introduction will give people plenty of opportunity to comply.

The government announced nearly two months ago that it would implement a general vaccine mandate early this year, becoming the first European country to do so. In early December, it produced a first draft, calling for the measure to be introduced in February and foreseeing fines of up to 3,600 euros ($4,100) for people who flout it.

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

Austria: 9-Year-Old Disabled Boy Forced to Take Exam Outside in Freezing Weather Because He Didn’t Wear a Mask

A 9-year-old disabled boy in Austria was forced to take an exam outside in freezing cold weather as punishment for not wearing a mask.

An investigation is now underway as to ascertain why the student in Voitsberg was treated in such a manner despite having a valid mask exemption.

A photo shows the boy, Jason, sat outside up against the window of the classroom in temperatures of —1 Celsius.

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

COVID: Most Commonly Used Antibiotic Runs Out in Italy

Zitromax used massively over last 2 mts amid Omicron spike

(ANSA) — ROME, JAN 13 — The antibiotic most commonly used against COVID-19 has run out in Italy, pharmacy sources said Thursday.

The drug, Zitromax, as well as its generic version, have been absent from pharmacy shelves for days, they said.

It is used to treat COVID patients both at home and in hospital, in combination with anti-inflammatory drugs.

The disappearance of the drug has reportedly been caused by a scarcity of the molecule needed to produce it.

The scarcity is linked to the massive use of the drug over the past two months amid the Omicron variant spike in the fourth wave of the coronavirus, sources said.

It may also be linked to hoarding by people who have not contracted COVID but who are scared of getting it.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Czech President Offers Mixed View on New Government While Slamming it for Orban Remarks

Czech President Milos Zeman has offered his thoughts on the new government’s first steps, criticizing ministers for putting the search for a national bird on the agenda and its vague plan to cut the budget.

For the government to fulfill its promises to reduce the state budget deficit, Czechia would have to grow at a rate of 10 percent, and even China is not capable of that, Zeman noted as he critiqued the government’s program statement.

He also expressed his disapproval of a planned search for a national bird, revealing he considers the matter a bit silly. Czechia has had a falcon as its symbol for 200 years, Zeman pointed out.

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

Eric Zemmour: French Presidential Hopeful Guilty of Inciting Hatred and Ordered to Pay €10,000

French far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour was on Monday sentenced to pay €10,000 for inciting hatred and racial abuse.

Zemmour, 63, described unaccompanied migrant children as “thieves”, “murderers” and “rapists” during a September 2020 programme on the CNews television channel, on which he was a pundit.

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

Far-Right Mi Hazank Party Holds Demonstration Against Hungary’s ‘COVID Dictatorship’

Thousands of people marched in Budapest on Sunday at a demonstration organized by the far-right non-parliamentary Mi Hazank party against the ‘Covid dictatorship,’ even though Hungary’s anti-Covid measures are the most lenient in Europe.

The radical party held the demonstration against the epidemiological rules and restrictions, demanding vaccination not to be made compulsory, and also protested against the vaccination of children. (In Hungary, employers were granted the right to require vaccination against Covid-19 as a precondition of employment, but the government has so far been against introducing a general mandate).

[Comment: Viktor Orban is a great man but he is not perfect.]

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

Greek Seniors Face Monthly Fine for Failure to Get COVID Shot

Greece from Monday intends to fine all people ages 60 and over who aren’t vaccinated against Covid-19 as a way to boost lagging inoculation levels and reduce pressure on health care.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has told seniors the simplest way to avoid the levy is to get vaccinated.

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

Hungary: Bookmakers Set Odds for an Orban Victory in Upcoming Elections

Online betting site Unibet on Sunday opened betting for the April 3 general elections in Hungary showing conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban as the clear favorite.

The site gives odds of 1:4 for Orban, while his adversary, independent Péter Marki-Zay running for a ragtag coalition of six opposition parties, has odds of 2:1. Recently, there have been insiders in the opposition complaining about disarray in the election campaign. One source said the opposition has a lack of seasoned campaign staff, conflicts over messaging, and unhappiness about the chosen candidate to lead the opposition.

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

Italy: Leader of Turin Youth Gang Caught

Band has been robbing peers in university area for months

(ANSA) — ROME, JAN 12 — The suspected leader of a youth gang that has attacked and robbed peers in the centre of Turin over the last few months was arrested by police on Wednesday.

The Italo-Moroccan is said to be 20 years old and from the Ivrea area.

He has been charged with two robberies which could see him jailed for up to 20 years, police said.

Most of the gang’s robberies were carried out in the university district of the northern Italian city.

The youths, mostly teenagers, allegedly boasted about their exploits on Instagram.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Leftist Christiane Taubira Announces Her Candidacy for French Presidential Election

The left-wing former French justice minister, Christiane Taubira, has announced her intention to run in the French presidential election in April.

The firebrand socialist confirmed her candidacy on Saturday in a move that will further expand the fragmented field of left-wing candidates, of whom six have already entered the election.

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

Malta Sees Biggest Protest Yet Against COVID Measures

VALLETTA (Reuters) — Malta saw its biggest protest yet against COVID rules on Sunday, with hundreds of people marching in the capital Valletta against new measures requiring production of a COVID certificate for entry to most venues including restaurants, gyms and bars.

Malta has seen one of the biggest take-ups of COVID vaccination jabs in the European Union, and almost three-quarters of adults would have taken the additional booster jab by Sunday, according to Health Ministry data.

But Health Minister Chris Fearne has defended the new rules, which come into force on Monday, saying they are needed to defend against the Omicron variant of the virus, now accounting for well over 90% of new cases.

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

Protest in Netherlands Against Coronavirus Measures

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) — Thousands of protesters packed Amsterdam’s streets on Sunday in opposition to the government-imposed COVID-19 measures and vaccination campaign as virus infections hit a new record.

Authorities were granted stop and search powers at several locations across the city and scores of riot police vans patrolled neighbourhoods where the demonstrators marched with banners and yellow umbrellas.

Regular anti-coronavirus protests are held across the country and Sunday’s large gathering was joined by farmers who drove to the capital and parked tractors along the central Museum Square.

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

Revealed: UK Court Banned Texas Synagogue Terrorist After Unhinged 9/11 Rant

The terrorist who held a Texas synagogue hostage for 10 hours before being killed was banned from British court for his rants about the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

According to the Telegraph, Malik Faisal Akram told an usher at a local court that he wished he had died in a plane in 9/11.

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

Spanish Judge Rules in Favour of Mother Who Blocked Child’s Vaccination

A Spanish judge has ruled in favour of a mother who refused to get her child vaccinated against the Chinese coronavirus, agreeing that the risks to the child from the vaccine are higher than the potential benefits.

The case saw the father of the child, a 15-year-old boy, call for the Tenerife court to judicially authorise the vaccination of the boy, while the mother, who is divorced from the father, had argued that the vaccine posed more risks than benefits to her son.

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

UK Government Hires Ad Agency to Convince the Public They Don’t Need Privacy

The UK is stepping up its “war on encryption,” reports are saying, and like in any good old war, propaganda comes first to “prepare the ground.” And a new campaign is expected to launch as early as this month.

In this case, they call it publicity, with the Home Office being behind the effort whose goal is to sway public opinion in favor of undermining the privacy of the very members of that public — using their own money from public funds, to the tune of over half a million pounds.

Meanwhile the “hired gun” is ad agency M&C Saatchi. The Rolling Stone said it had a chance to review documents thanks to a Freedom of Information request, and that what it discovered were “some shockingly manipulative tactics.”

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

UK: Boris ‘Plans to Scrap Fines for COVID Breaches’ As Five-Day Isolation Introduced

The newly introduced five-day isolation period is being followed up with plans to scrap all legal penalties for Covid rule breaches, it has been reported.

A rules update on Monday means people can now stop self-quarantining after five full days, so long as they test negative on the fifth and sixth days.

It comes a day after a Cabinet minister said ‘signs are encouraging’ for the lifting of further restrictions by the end of the month.

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

UK: Celebrity Chef Puts Sign Above Pub: “Unvaccinated Welcome”

British celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson has put a sign above his pub the Greyhound in Oxfordshire making clear that “unvaccinated” people are welcome.

After he put the sign up, which says, “We do not discriminate. Race, gender, age, disability, vaccinated or unvaccinated. Everyone equal here. Everyone welcome,” the TV chef received negative press coverage because the sign was reportedly “made by an anti-vaccination group.”

“I’m doing it [having the sign up] because I don’t want to discriminate against anyone,” Worrall Thompson told the BBC.

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

UK: Facebook Banned Cocktail Expert After He Joked That Peas Should be Illegal

A celebrity cocktail guru was suspended from Facebook for joking about peas. The social media giant said that the account was suspended in error.

Callum Oakley, who presents a cocktail show on Sky called “The Craft Store,” was barred from accessing his Facebook account after joking about peas.

The 33-year-old posted: “Unpopular opinion — peas of all forms should be illegal. Collect them all and set them on fire.”

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

Unvaccinated Italian Priests Banned From Distributing Holy Communion

ROME — Two Italian bishops have banned any unvaccinated priests from distributing Holy Communion at Mass in their respective dioceses in an effort to get all priests inoculated against the coronavirus.

Archbishop Andrea Bellandi of the Salerno archdiocese and Bishop Giacomo Cirulli of the diocese of Teano issued separate decrees this month prohibiting unvaccinated priests from distributing the Eucharist.

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

Watch: Rookie Dutch MP Routs PM Rutte, Speaks Truth to ‘Great Reset’ Power

Authored by Andrea Widburg via AmericanThinker.com

As with other European Union countries, the Dutch government has been reveling in the power COVID bestowed on it. In response, the Netherlands has seen huge and violent protests against those draconian strictures. I’m betting that some of those protesters were among the people who voted for Gideon van Meijeren, a young man newly elected to the Dutch Parliament. This young man, during his first appearance on the floor, managed in just two minutes to completely humiliate Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Watching the video will make your day.

For a long time, the Netherlands has had some of the most restrictive COVID measures in Europe. In November, the Netherlands was one of the countries that announced that the unvaccinated were banned from most public places. The restrictions escalated when the Netherlands, a country in which 85% of the adult population was vaccinated, had an upsurge in COVID cases. These restrictions included putting a curfew on all bars, restaurants, and most stores from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. Immediately after the new year, the government also made it clear that, within a few months, vaccination certificates will be considered void without a booster.

In response to the government edicts, the Netherlands has been roiled by protests. There were massive protests in November, December, and (already) in January. The January protest made world headlines when the police allowed (or ordered?) their dogs to launch brutal attacks against the protesters.

In the midst of this upheaval, a young man named Gideon van Meijeren was recently elected to the Dutch Parliament. It’s very likely that his candidacy reflects Dutch citizens’ increasing disgust with the government’s endless extensions of its newly acquired COVID power over the people.

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

Video: Biden Admin Says Russia is Going to Carry Out a False Flag Attack on Itself to Justify Invading Ukraine

The Biden administration announced Friday that it believes Russia will conduct a false flag attack and blame Ukraine as a pretext for invading the country.

Both Pentagon press secretary John Kirby and White House press secretary Jen Psaki made the announcement.

“Without getting into too much detail, we do have information that indicates that Russia is already working actively to create a pretext for a potential invasion, for a move on Ukraine,” Kirby stated.

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

Over 9K Pay 45L in Fines for Ignoring COVID Norms

Pune: Over 9,000 citizens were fined by the police and officials from the civic bodies of Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations and in Pune rural for failing to follow Covid rules such as wearing of masks and not spitting in the public places. The special drives were conducted from January 6 to 12 and more are underway.

Data from the district health office said that 95% of the action was taken by the police department, while the Pune civic body fined 300-odd citizens of the 9,267 people. A fine of Rs 45 lakh was collected from the violators.

The data revealed that in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits, around 312 actions were taken by the civic body, while the police department were stricter with around 5,491 actions. The PMC’s action yielded a fine of Rs 1.56 lakh, while the police department’s action yielded a fine of Rs 27.45 lakh.

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

Poll: More Australians Want PM Deported Than Novak Djokovic

More Australians would like to see their Prime Minister, a vaccine fanatic, deported than the world’s top tennis player. This cannot be good news for Scott Morrison just a few months before the federal election.

A survey by Newspoll interviewed a random sample of 5 600 Australian voters, asking who they would like to deport more. “It was a tight contest, but 52 percent of respondents chose Scott Morrison,” said the pollster’s spokesperson Lyle Sims. “That’s 4 percentage points more than Novak Djokovic.”

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

Trinidad: Police vs Protesters — Crowd Tear-Gassed at Queen’s Park Savannah

SEVERAL protesters were detained by police and dozens more were tear-gassed at the Queen’s Park Savannah on Sunday.

The Push Back protest, led by social activist Umar Abdullah of the First Wave Movement, began on Sunday morning with hundreds gathered to march around the Savannah in solidarity against Government’s handling of the covid19 pandemic, including the Prime Minister’s vaccination policy for government workers.

Police asked Abdullah and his supporters to leave, as they did not have a permit from the acting Commissioner of Police to protest. However, the crowd persisted and the march went on.

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

Crossing Delayed Monday at Manitoba-U.S. Border as Truckers Protest Vaccine Mandate

People hoping to cross the border at Emerson are having to deal with a delay Monday morning.

Truckers tell 680 CJOB that a slow-roll protest is delaying trucking and other traffic as some truck drivers protest the vaccine mandate for all truckers that came into effect on Saturday.

Driver Jamie Throp says it took him 30 minutes to reach the border crossing from the start of the protest.

“Truck drivers are circling MB-75 between Emerson Duty Free and the Commercial Inspection station blocking all lanes heading south to the United States and Northbound traffic coming from the USA,” Throp said.

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

Hungarian Authorities Open Fire on Rogue Vehicle Smuggling Illegal Migrants

In the second incident in as many weeks, Hungarian authorities have fired on a vehicle being used to smuggle illegal immigrants after the driver ignored demands to stop for a routine check, according to national police reports.

At dawn on Saturday, soldiers in the village of Ruzsa near the Serbian border tried to arrest a car allegedly being operated by people smugglers. The car did not respond to a signal from soldiers to stop, with its driver even steering the vehicle towards the patrol unit. One soldier jumped aside before firing several targeted shots at the vehicle’s tires, which proceeded to flip over.

Soldiers and police officers on duty detained several individuals for border violations on the spot.

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

Illegal Migration Down 31% in Slovenia Last Year

Slovenian police recorded 10,067 attempts at unlawful border crossing last year, a decrease of 31.2% on the year before. Asylum applications, however rose substantially, official police statistics show.

While the number of migrants from Pakistan, Morocco and Bangladesh, among the top four source countries last year, dropped substantially, migrants from Afghanistan totalled 3,208.

The number of migrants from Turkey more than doubled to 737. There was also a slight increase in migrants from Iran, of whom there were 475, and Kosovo, from 168 to 239.

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

Iranian Migrant Attacks Swiss Paramedic, Badly Damages Ambulance

An illegal migrant from Iran was arrested for injuring a paramedic and damaging an ambulance during a rampage in Switzerland last week, according to reports.

The incident unfolded at around 3 a.m. on Thursday morning in the city of Winterthur.

Police were alerted about a man assaulting an emergency responder and destroying medical equipment near the Cantonal Hospital.

The suspect fled the scene before officers arrived, but was apprehended nearby shortly afterward.

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

Lithuania Lifts Border Emergency State as Migrant Flow Stops

“According to our data, the flow has stopped. The regime is not able to organize it,” Ingrida Šimonyte told reporters on Friday, January 14.

On January 15, the state of emergency on the border of Lithuania and Belarus ended, control of the border will go back to normal.

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

Security Advisor: Illegal Entry Attempts to Hungary Increased in January

Hungarian border police have stopped 4,200 migrants who attempted to illegally enter the country since January 1, 1,000 more than during the first two weeks of last year, the prime minister’s chief security advisor said on Friday evening.

Most of them are helped by people smugglers, but there have been instances when the migrants made attempts in groups of 40 or 50 on their own, György Bakondi told public news television M1.

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

UK: Asylum Seekers ‘Could be Flown to Rwanda and Ghana for Processing’ Under ‘Operation Red Meat’ Plans to Tackle Illegal Migrant Channel Crossings as Boris Johnson Calls in the RAF and the Royal Navy to Deter the Journeys From France

Asylum seekers could be flown to Ghana and Rwanda under Government plans to deter migrant Channel crossings, it was claimed today.

Ministers are said to be drawing up proposals which would see people arriving illegally in the UK sent abroad for processing and resettlement.

Home Secretary Priti Patel and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss are in talks about ‘outsourcing’ the asylum process to other countries, according to The Times.

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

UK: Boris Johnson Enlists Royal Navy to Stop Channel Migrants as He Launches ‘Operation Red Meat’ In Bid to Stay in No10

EMBATTLED Boris Johnson is to enlist the Royal Navy to help combat migrant Channel crossings as he launches a policy blitz in a bid to cling on to his job.

The PM also plans to ban boozing in Downing Street and fire failing advisers as he attempts to draw a line under partygate as part of his “Operation Red Meat” initiative.

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

UK: Migrant Crossings: No 10 Policy Chiefs Explored Using Powerful Sonic Weapons to Halt Journeys Across the English Channel

No 10 policy bosses have explored the use of powerful sonic weapons to force migrants to turn around in the English Channel, amid a growing row over how to handle the situation.

The Long-Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD) are already installed on two Border Force vessels but are used to issue voice commands. They were purchased by the Ministry of Defence for use as loud-speakers during the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

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

German Government Hands Out €130,000 to Films About Transgender People and a Feminist Documentary About Clowns

Film funds in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein will contribute €130,000 to six film projects, all of which must meet a “diversity checklist.”

Among them is feminist docu-fiction “Clownesse” about the life of contemporary “clowns.” It was refunded with €30,000. The film “Ich kann unsichtbar sein” (I can be invisible), a short documentary about a 40-year-old trans man, also received funding of €12,500.

Projects that apply for funding must fill out a so-called “diversity checklist.”

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

Supreme Court to Hear Case of High School Football Coach Fired After Praying With Players Postgame

On Friday, the Supreme Court announced that it will hear oral arguments in the case of former Washington high school football coach Joe Kennedy, who was fired in 2015 after praying postgame with players on the team.

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

8 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/17/2022

    • Agree. Same with all MSM.

      But it’s just desperate rhetoric in response to the Supreme Court ruling against the mandates. It will never happen.

      Although the White House recently touted 80% of US adults are at least partially vaccinated, fully vaxed numbers are 10% lower and in over half the states the average is below the average.

      Don’t know the exact numbers for Utah but it’s below the national average and neighboring Idaho has only 58% of adults that are at least partially vaxed and in Wyoming only 54% are partially vaxed, with less than half their states’ adults fully vaxed. You can’t successfully house arrest over half of a state’s adult population.

      Even if a state had the national average of 70% adults fully vaccinated, there is no state’s national guard (which are mostly part time) that’s nearly big enough to house arrest nearly 1/3 of a population. And given that many of those 1/3 will have vaccinated spouses and other family members and allies who were pressured due to jobs etc who will oppose such measures it would be political suicide to even try.

      It’s basically a commie/Nazi editorial board lashing out with their last gasps of breath on the effort as they see the chance to force vaccinate everyone in the US spiral down the drain, thank goodness.

  1. We know the Wuhan Lab continues gain of function research, tht their plague helped remove Trump and that more deadly viruses will be unleashed….as governments in the West remain like the 3 monkeys.

  2. Austria Tweaks Vaccine Mandate Plan, To Come in Next Month-
    which is quite beyond comprehension-the most detailed evidence yet of the damage the vaccine can do was presented a week ago at an online symposium on Covid science organised by Doctors for Covid Ethics. This is an international group that has long opposed the mass rollout of the Covid jab, arguing in particular that the immune system may attack our own tissues when it detects the presence of the spike protein.
    Thousands of deaths have been reported in the wake of the jab, but regulators claim most of these are coincidental, and have neglected detailed investigation of whether or not the vaccine was responsible. Nevertheless INJECTING millions of people with countless copies of a gene that instructs the body to produce a toxic protein might not seem very sensible, so why do it? What is Austria expecting to gain from such action?

    • And then there is the case in France of a man who died of the vaccine whose insurance company refused to pay out because “the side effects of the Corona jabs are known and published. They argue that the deceased took part in an experiment at his own risk. Covid-19 in itself is not classed as a “critical illness…The insurance company justified the refusal of payment to the family by stating that the use of experimental medication or treatments, including Corona injections, is expressly excluded from the insurance contract.” There is the conundrum: an insurance company and a court have proclaimed the vaccine to be experimental. I suppose crossing the border to Austria makes the same vaccine non experimental. Austria has lost its mind. If/when someone dies as a result of this mandated vaccination who will be sued?
      And another thing, what has happened to the Schengen agreement which says: Free movement of persons enables every EU citizen to travel, work and live in an EU country without special formalities. Schengen underpins this freedom by enabling citizens to move around the Schengen Area without being subject to border checks. Guess that is just a faint memory.

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