With British Prime Minister Boris Johnson floundering due to the “Partygate” scandal, England has scrapped all vaccine passports, mask mandates, and work-from home requirements. Meanwhile, some Dutch museums are offering haircuts and manicures so that they may be classified as salons, which are permitted to remain open under the new lockdown rules. Also, after the recent Supreme Court decision against the OSHA mandates, Starbucks has withdrawn its requirement that employees be “vaccinated” against COVID-19.
In other news, the British government has been warned that 65,000 migrants are likely to cross the English Channel and land in the UK this year.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Insubria, Reader from Chicago, Upananda Brahmachari, 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.
Alec Baldwin Sued for $25 Million by Family of Fallen US Marine
The family of a U.S. Marine killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan is suing Alec Baldwin for allegedly mislabeling his sister as a participant in the Capitol riot Jan. 6, 2021.
The 63-year-old actor is named in a lawsuit seeking $25 million and alleging defamation, invasion of privacy, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
The lawsuit stems from a post that Baldwin shared on Instagram earlier this month after he gave $5,000 to the widow of a fallen soldier to help her with their newborn daughter. Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum was killed Aug. 26 in Kabul in a suicide bombing as he was processing refugees amid the United States’ controversial withdrawal from the country.
When the actor heard of McCollum’s story, he reached out to McCollumn’s sister, Roice, and gave her $5,000 to give to her brother’s widow, Jiennah Crayton. He later called the check a “tribute to a fallen soldier.” However, on Jan. 3, Roice shared a photo on Instagram that clearly gave Baldwin second thoughts about his tribute.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Associated Press raised eyebrows on Monday in a profile highlighting Jill Biden’s first year as the First Lady.
“Her husband campaigned to help unite the country, but Jill Biden says ‘healing’ a nation wounded by a deadly pandemic, natural and other disasters and deep political polarization is among her chief roles as first lady, too,” the AP began its article.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Apple CEO Tim Cook is Reported to Personally be Lobbying the Senate Judiciary Committee on Antitrust
Apple has been lobbying against upcoming legislation focused on reigning in Big Tech companies and Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has personally been contacting and meeting members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to oppose the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, Punchbowl reported.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to meet on Thursday to fine tune the legislation, which was first introduced by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley and Democrat Senator Amy Klobuchar.
The legislation focuses on protecting internet users as well as making sure that Big Tech companies do not continue with their anticompetitive practices.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden’s Voting Bills Defeated by GOP, Setting Up Doomed Vote on Filibuster Change
President Biden’s push to rewrite the nation’s voting laws went down to defeat on Wednesday at the hands of a GOP filibuster, leaving Democrats pledging to hold a doomed vote change the 60-vote threshold.
In a 51-49 vote, the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights failed to garner the 10 GOP votes necessary to pass. Vice President Kamala Harris was on hand to preside over the vote.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democrats’ New Bill Targets “Surveillance Advertising”
A new bill — the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act — has been introduced in US Congress by several Democrats, who frame it primarily as a way to prevent disinformation, discrimination, voter suppression, domestic extremism, racial division, but also, finally, privacy violations.
If passed, the bill sponsored by Congress members Anna Eshoo and Jan Schakowsky and Senator Cory Booker — would usher in major changes to the way companies like Facebook and Google operate their digital ad business, which is the core of their financial might. It also concerns data brokers and their role in the targeted ad market.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dems Plot to Prosecute Trump Over January 6 to Prevent Him Running in 2024
Senate Democrats are plotting to have Attorney General Merrick Garland prosecute Donald Trump over January 6 in a bid to block him from running for president in 2024.
Several Democrat lawmakers believe there is a “good chance” the Department of Justice will act to prosecute Trump, knocking him out of the race before his campaign can even begin.
The move is being plotted despite there being no evidence that Trump (unlike certain federal agents) orchestrated or encouraged the January 6 raid on the Capitol.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DeSantis Proposes Creation of Department to Investigate and Prosecute Voter Fraud
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) proposed last week the creation of an election integrity unit to investigate and arrest those who commit voter fraud.
The proposal calls for the creation of the Office of Election Crimes and Security, which would hire 52 people to “investigate, detect, apprehend, and arrest anyone for an alleged violation” from election security tips of election fraud. The cost of the program would be $5.7 million and must be approved during Florida’s 60-day legislative session.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FBI Agents at Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar’s House, But Won’t Say What They’re Investigating
“FBI agents at Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar’s house, but won’t say what they’re investigating” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
The FBI was on the scene Wednesday near the Laredo home of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar for what authorities described as a court-authorized ongoing investigation.
FBI spokesperson Rosanne Hughes confirmed law enforcement’s presence in the area but did not clarify what authorities were investigating.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard called on the Federal Bureau of Investigation to stop “trying to be woke” by investigating parents at school board meetings and to instead focus on “actual threats” like the terrorist attack at a Texas synagogue over the weekend.
“Instead of trying to be ‘woke’/politically correct and targeting parents who care about what schools are teaching their children, the FBI/Dept of Homeland Security should focus on actual threats like the jihadist who terrorized the Texas synagogue,” Gabbard tweeted Wednesday after, Malik Faisal Akram, a Muslim with radical ties took a rabbi and several others hostage on Saturday while demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani national in prison for trying to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan who was dubbed “Lady Al Qaeda.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House of Representatives Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has made free speech video sharing site Rumble his preferred platform and will be posting exclusive content to his Rumble channel.
McCarthy started posting to Rumble on December 31, 2021 and already has over ten thousand followers. He will be hosting several live streams on his Rumble channel this week, including today and tomorrow.
“I’m the Republican Leader of the House of Representatives, so I know what it means to be on the receiving end of Big Tech’s bias, censorship, and cancel culture,” McCarthy said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
MIT Scientist Finds Vaccines May Trigger Parkinson’s Disease or Similar Neurodegenerative Diseases
01/14/2022 MIT scientist Dr. Stephanie Seneff warning of the possible long term side effects of the COVID vaccines: through the prion-like action of the spike protein, we will likely see an alarming increase in several major neurodegenerative diseases, with increasing prevalence among younger and younger population.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pasadena police have arrested the man suspected of stabbing a UCLA student to death at the LA furniture store she was working at last week.
Shawn Laval Smith, 31, was arrested in the California city a day after the Los Angeles Police Department named him as the top suspect in the random, unprovoked slaying of Brianna Kupfer.
He has not yet been booked, LAPD told DailyMail.com.
Pasadena PD confirmed that Smith was nabbed about 15 miles away from the scene of Kupfer’s slaying. They arrested him after a pedestrian called to report a man matching his description sitting on a park bench, Fox News reported.
He was arrested without incident at a bus stop near Fair Oaks and Colorado Boulevard about 11:50 am, Pasadena Lt. Sean Dawkins told DailyMail.com. It’s not clear if he was armed.
Prior to last weeks slaying, Smith was arrested and charged with violent crimes in at least three states. At the time of Kupfer’s muder, he was free on a $50,000 bond after allegedly firing a weapon toward an occupied vehicle in Charleston, South Carolina in November 2019.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pennsylvania Parents Outraged After School Employee Tapes Mask to Child’s Face
Parents in a Pennsylvania school district have expressed outrage after a photo of a school employee using tape to affix a mask to a child’s face went viral online. The school district has confirmed that the photo is genuine.
“Pro-mask or anti-mask, I hope we can all agree that taping masks to children’s faces crosses the LINE,” the Facebook group North Penn Stronger Together posted online Monday with the photo. “This was not a joke for the child or the parents.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Pfizer-sponsored CDC Foundation has teamed up with Big Tech and Big Pharma giants Facebook and Merck, among others, in order to promote Covid vaccines.
The pressure group calls itself the Alliance for Advancing Health Online and some details about its purpose and organization are revealed in an email sent to the White House and obtained and shared by the Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republican Fundraising Arm Raises Nearly $560 Million in 2021
WinRed, Republicans’ national fundraising apparatus, raised over $550 million in 2021 ahead of the party’s efforts to take back majorities in the House and Senate.
The platform raised $559 million in 2021, The Hill first reported, including a massive $158 million fourth-quarter haul. The outlet noted that nearly $81 million was raised either in state or local donations, while almost $210 million came from first-time donors.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Starbucks Scraps Vaccine Mandate
Employees at Starbucks are no longer required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Roughly a week after the Supreme Court reversed President’s Biden workplace vaccine mandate, the coffee chain is following suit, according to The Associated Press.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Rejects Trump Request to Block Release of Jan 6 Records
With only Justice Clarence Thomas publicly dissenting, the US Supreme Court ruled against former President Trump, rejecting the former president’s claims of executive privilege and refused to stop the National Archives from turning over four tranches of Trump presidential records to the January 6 Committee
The National Archives can now turn over about 800 pages of material, including visitor and call logs, emails, draft speeches and handwritten notes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Issues Rare Statement Refuting CNN/NPR ‘Fake News’ About Tension Over Masks
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,
The Supreme Court on Wednesday weighed in after a report alleged the reason Justice Sonia Sotomayor is participating in arguments from her chambers as opposed to sitting with colleagues is due to Justice Neil Gorsuch’s refusal to wear a mask.
“Reporting that Justice Sotomayor asked Justice Gorsuch to wear a mask surprised us. It is false. While we may sometimes disagree about the law, we are warm colleagues and friends,” Sotomayor, an Obama nominee, and Gorsuch, a Trump nominee, said in a joint statement sent to The Epoch Times by a court spokesperson.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy claimed during a Monday appearance on “Hannity” that President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy and illegal immigration would harm Americans’ image in the event of an alien landing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CNN host Don Lemon declared Tuesday that those who choose not to take coronavirus vaccines are “idiots” who need to be ostracised from “polite society” for the “greater good”.
Referring to a viral rant against the unvaccinated by a Mexican news anchor, Lemon stated “He’s right,” further noting “I’ve gotten criticized for saying that we need to stop listening to the people and they should not be part of polite society, so to speak.”
Lemon continued, “the unvaccinated people in the U.S., they’re key to the reason that coronavirus, the variants are emerging. And that the reason — I’m looking at the stats from the CDC — and the reason why it’s replicating and mutating. It’s because of unvaccinated people, who are doing their own research online!”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Virginia Gov. Youngkin Names CRT Opponent as New Chief Diversity Officer, Cleans House at Department
Virginia’s newly sworn-in Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin is cleaning house at the commonwealth’s diversity and inclusion department and has appointed an opponent of Critical Race Theory to lead the office where changes in “equity” messaging are already being made.
In a Wednesday press release, Youngkin announced that Heritage Foundation policy expert Angela Sailor has been tapped as the commonwealth’s new director of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Waukesha County Judge Rules Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes Not Allowed
Absentee ballot drop boxes, which were used in several communities including Madison last year amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, are not allowed under state law, a Waukesha County judge ruled Thursday.
Judge Michael Bohren also granted a request from the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, which brought the case, to prohibit the Wisconsin Elections Commission from issuing guidance allowing for the use of drop boxes. The ruling means such boxes will not be allowed in the the Feb. 15 spring primary unless the ruling is overturned on appeal.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
300,000 March in Germany’s COVID-19 Protests, Four Times Higher Than News Media Estimates
On Monday evening, the number of participants in the Covid-19 protests in Germany was significantly higher than reported by many media outlets, according to research conducted by German newspaper Junge Freiheit. For example, the Tagesschau.de news outlet’s headline claimed there were thousands of people in the streets, but that is more than an understatement. At best, “thousands” would apply maybe to the counter-demonstrators.
According to research conducted by Junge Freiheit, more than 300,000 people took part in the demonstrations against the Covid-19 measures across Germany. However, the figures from the German state of Hesse are still missing. Numerous media outlets, above all the DPA news agency, wrote that around 70,000 people had taken part in the protests.
On Tuesday, Junge Freiheit asked the relevant police departments in all federal states and city-states about the number of protesters involved, which produced a far higher number than figures being presented by outlets like DPA.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Another Three High Profile Vaccine Victims
Juventus star striker Marco De Graca, Swiss sprinter and Olympic athlete Sarah Atcho and British punk icon Hazel O’Connor are the latest high profile vaccine victims.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian police have demanded parliament lift immunity of prosecution for the leader of the populist Freedom Party (FPÖ) after he did not wear a mask at an outdoor demonstration against Wuhan coronavirus measures.
Police say they wish parliament to grant them a waiver in order to fine populist FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl 500 euros for not wearing an FFP2 facemask at an outdoor protest in the centre of Vienna on December 11th at the Heldenplartz square.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Doctors Are Allowed to Prescribe Ivermectin to Treat the Coronavirus in Finland
On January 15, Kirsi Liukkonen, Group Head of the Finnish Social and Health Licensing and Control Authority (Valvira), confirmed to Iltalehti that doctors are free to prescribe ivermectin to their patients for coronary treatment if they consider it justified and safe.
A few days ago, on social media, Mika Niikko (ps), Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, published a picture of an ivermectin product prescribed for him. According to the local news agency, Iltalehti, Kirsi Liukkonen, Group Head of the Finnish Social and Health Licensing and Control Authority (Valvira), confirmed to Iltalehti that doctors are free to prescribe ivermectin to their patients for coronary treatment if they consider it justified and safe.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Museums Open as Salons to Protest COVID Rules
Famed museums and Amsterdam’s concert hall offered haircuts and manicures, as the cultural sector protested lockdown measures that allow shops, hairdressers and gyms to open — but not cultural venues.
Museums and concert halls in the Netherlands opened briefly on Wednesday to protest their continued closure.
Cultural venues, including famous museums and Amsterdam’s historic concert hall, offered yoga sessions, haircuts and manicures.
Last weekend, the Netherlands eased a month-long lockdown, by allowing gyms, hairdressers and shops to reopen. However, cultural venues were ordered to remain closed to the public.
On Wednesday, authorities handed out enforcement notices to a number of the 70-odd venues that took part in the day-long protest.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
England Ends All COVID Passports, Mask Mandates, Work Restrictions
By Lily Zhou of the Epoch Times
Restrictions including COVID-19 passes, mask mandates, and work-from-home requirements will be removed in England, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday. Johnson also suggested that self-isolation rules may also be thrown out at the end of March as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic becomes endemic.
Effective immediately, the UK government is no longer asking people to work from home. The COVID pass mandate for nightclubs and large events won’t be renewed when it expires on Jan. 26. And from Thursday, indoor mask-wearing will no longer be compulsory anywhere in England.
The requirement for secondary school pupils to wear masks during class and in communal areas will also be removed from the Department for Education’s national guidance.
Roaring cheers from lawmakers could be heard in the House of Commons following Johnson’s announcements on masks.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Off-Duty Copy Stabbed by African Suspect in Botched ATM Robbery
An off-duty police officer was stabbed by an ‘African-type’ male when a trio of suspects tried to rob him at an ATM in France last week, according to reports.
The incident unfolded at around 10:30 a.m. on Friday morning in the Merlan district of Marseille.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The leader of the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, Tomio Okamura, sent a letter to the Hungarian ambassador on Tuesday, apologizing for disparaging remarks made by the Chamber of Deputies Speaker Markéta Pekarova Adamova (TOP 09) about Hungary.
Recently, Pekarova Adamova wrote on Facebook that the Czechs had already expelled their former prime minister, Andrej Babis, in the elections and hoped that the Hungarians will do the same with Viktor Orban.
Her statements provoked criticism from the parliamentary opposition, with the SPD unsuccessfully pushing for the deputies to discuss the statement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The first Ifop-Fiducial political scoreboard for the year revealed considerable gains in public opinion for presidential election candidates, including conservative-populist Marine Le Pen, and leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon, but saw President Emmanuel Macron and his ministers pay the price for a tumultuous year in power.
The survey, produced for Paris Match weekly and Sud Radio, asks a sample of 1,000 French citizens for their opinions on public political figures to ascertain how they are being perceived by the wider public.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Minister Vacationed in Spain While Imposing ‘Infernal’ COVID Measures
Outrage has erupted in France over the revelation that the nation’s Education Minister had announced further COVID measures for schools while on vacation in Ibiza.
French teaching unions have expressed outrage after it was revealed that the nation’s Education Minister, Jean-Michel Blanquer, had announced “infernal” new COVID restrictions for schools while off vacationing on a Spanish island.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Conservatives Look on With Envy After UK Prepares to Abolish BBC’s License Fee
Across the Western world, public broadcasting leans overwhelmingly left, and both Germany and Britain’s conservatives have been well aware of this thorny problem for years. In Britain, in particular, the country’s conservatives have long chafed over mandatory fees that are paid into a massive news media complex that many view as categorically opposed to their values.
Still, the BBC has a storied history and has produced a large catalog of content, documentaries, films, and television series, much of it beloved by the British public, including conservatives. The BBC’s name alone has made it difficult to pull the taxpayer plug on an organization with a firm place in Britain’s establishment.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Court Rules Against “Almost Absurd” Claim That Ad Blocking is Copyright Infringement
German publishing house Axel Springer, which owns national newspaper and tabloid Die Welt and Bild, has lost a copyright infringement case against the company behind Adblock Plus, Eyeo GmbH. In the ruling dismissing the case, the court stated an ad blocking service does not breach copyright.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Once Again Implements Further COVID “Green Pass” Rules
Italy will once again expand its list of active COVID restrictions, with the next set of measures slated to come into force on Thursday.
While England is looking at the sudden relaxation of COVID restrictions, Italy is once again set to expand its own rules.
Having made vaccination against the Chinese Coronavirus mandatory for over-50s earlier in the month, Italy will now implement even more restrictions in the hopes of curbing the disease.
According to a report by La Republica, those wishing to attend a barber, hairdresser or beautician will be required to have at least a standard Green Pass from Thursday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Must Verify Support for Berlusconi President — Salvini
MPs, regional reps start voting new head of State next week
(ANSA) — ROME, JAN 17 — League leader Matteo Salvini said Monday that it will be necessary to verify whether ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi has the necessary support to become Italy’s next president before lawmakers from both houses of parliament and regional representatives start voting for a new head of State on January 24.
Salvini and Giorgio Meloni, the leader of the right-wing Brothers of Italy party (FdI) party, have said they are in favour of the Forza Italia leader and media billionaire succeeding President Sergio Mattarella, whose seven-year term is coming to an end.
But Berlusconi has not confirmed he will stand amid doubts whether he has enough votes among the ‘grand electors’.
The centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and the 5-Star Movement (M5S) have said they will not vote for Berlusconi to be president, saying the head of State should be a more impartial figure.
“It is necessary to verify if Berlusconi has the numbers before the start of voting next week,” Salvini said.
“When the voting starts, the League, as a responsible party of government, now and in the coming years, will make a proposal that I think can be convincing for many people, if not everyone”.
A majority of two-thirds of the ‘grand electors’ is needed to vote in a new president in the first three ballots, after which a simple majority is sufficient.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: BoJo Faces Tory Mutiny Over “Partygate” As Rebellious MPs Demand Leadership Vote
Facing a mutiny organized by a small group of Tory backbenchers, Prime Minister Boris Johnson returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday for another round of PMQs, where he faced numerous calls to resign from members of the opposition and even a member of his own party for allegedly lying to the public about “Partygate”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
University of London professor Angus Dalgleish, who co-authored a paper in summer 2020 after spotting “unique fingerprints” in Covid-19 samples that point to genetic manipulation, says that he’s been the victim of a “disgusting whitewash,” and that anyone suggesting a non-natural origin for Covid-19 has been silenced by peers.
“This goes back to the days of Copernicus and Galileo — it is the death of science,” said the oncologist — who in 1984 discovered how HIV enters and kills cells.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mask mandates are to end in England.
Those whose entire personality is predicated on harassing people in supermarkets for not wearing masks will now have to find a different excuse to inflict their insufferable obnoxiousness on others.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Net Stupid: Sadiq Khan Plans to Charge London Drivers by the Mile
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan plans to implement a new daily charge as well as a ‘pay per pile’ fee on the vast majority of vehicles in London.
London’s socialist mayor Sadiq Khan is considering to once again try and price motorists who use diesel and petrol vehicles out of London, planning an estimated new up to £2 a day “clean air” charge or a new ‘pay per mile’ scheme to encourage drivers to swap to electric cars and public transport. Regular road users could see bills of another £730 a year under the proposed scheme.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Pork Pie Putsch: How Some Tories Are Plotting to Overthrow Boris Johnson
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing a severe threat to his leadership, as a number of Conservative MPs have begun plotting his ouster, it is claimed.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s leadership is under threat, as a number of MPs from the premier’s Conservative Party plot an overthrow.
Ever since news of a number of allegedly lockdown breaking gatherings emerged in the press, Johnson has since been — increasingly desperately — working to recover his party’s popularity as well as his own, deploying so-called “Operation Red Meat” policies to win back wavering voters.
However, another food-based term has entered British politics in recent days — the “Pork Pie Putsch”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Tories vs Labour Latest Polls: Starmer on Course to Win Next Election as Johnson Flounders
Allegations of Downing Street parties during lockdown have caused Boris Johnson’s party to drop even lower in the polls, making Labour the most likely party to win the next general election as it currently stands. Sir Keir Starmer’s party has been ahead in the polls since early December when the first allegations of parties in Number 10 taking place during the COVID-19 lockdown began to emerge.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Woman Who Tried Boris Johnson’s ‘I Didn’t Realise it Was a Party’ Defence Fined £250
Boris Johnson’s excuse that ‘nobody told me what we were doing was against the rules’ does not seem to work for everyone.
Just like the prime minister, Nancy Rush, 23, said she ‘didn’t realise’ a party was going to happen when she went to visit her friend in January last year — during the third lockdown.
When a neighbour tipped police off, officers busted them drinking in the front garden of her friend’s home in Eltham, south-east London.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Man Suffers “Agonizing” Penile Blood Clot Caused by COVID
As it turns out, one man’s bodily reaction to COVID has proven that the virus truly isn’t confined to the throat and upper respiratory tract.
According to a foreign medical journal, an Iranian man has drawn the interest of doctors after reporting “agonizing” pain in his penis that turned out to have been caused by blood clots that seriously threatened the man’s sexual health.
The man, who wasn’t named in the news reports about the incident, had suffered penile pain for three days before being seen by a urologist in Iran, who referred him for tests. Keep in mind: one of the side effects of mRNA COVID jabs is they cause blood clots in the heart.
As it turns out, one man’s bodily reaction to COVID has proven that the virus truly isn’t confined to the throat and upper respiratory tract.
According to a foreign medical journal, an Iranian man has drawn the interest of doctors after reporting “agonizing” pain in his penis that turned out to have been caused by blood clots that seriously threatened the man’s sexual health.
The man, who wasn’t named in the news reports about the incident, had suffered penile pain for three days before being seen by a urologist in Iran, who referred him for tests. Keep in mind: one of the side effects of mRNA COVID jabs is they cause blood clots in the heart.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Orthodox Christians across Europe have been taking the traditional plunge into freezing waters today for the annual Epiphany celebrations.
Despite air temperatures plunging below zero in some areas of Russia and eastern Europe at this time of year, many people still took part in the annual religious celebration.
Some people took the plunge into the icy waters on their own, while others took part in the celebration in groups as they remembered the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former Malaysia National Soccer Player Died Five Days After Receiving COVID-19 Booster Dose
On January 12, former Malaysian soccer player Serbegeth “Shebby” Singh, at the age of 61, unexpectedly died of heart attack while cycling. It is known that he received a booster vaccine against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus on January 7.
The doctor said that Shebby’s death cause was 99 percent related to heart attack. The autopsy report showed blockages of Shebby’s three coronary arteries while his other vital organs were in perfect condition, and he did not have any allergic reactions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Vanishing Hindu Temples, Shrines and Heritage Sites of Islamic Pakistan
Tilla Jogian is a hill in district Jhelum (Punjab) in Pakistan. It means the Hill of Jogis or Yogis. It is an ancient place sacred to Hindus for over two thousand years. It houses a big complex of several Hindu temples and built caves of Nath Monastic Order, which are now crumbling. It is told That Guru Nanak alo visted this place and meditated for long 40 days. Local persons tell that until 1947 it was a very busy place and Hindu monks (Nath Yogis) prayed here and looked after it and a large number of Hindu yatris regularly visited this place. The path up the hill was very good and safe, ladies often used horses or mules to travel. In short it was a bustling place. After the upheavals of 1947, Hindus left the area and now place is almost totally abandoned. The stone path is also crumbling. The trail starts from the village Bhet, on the northern side of the hill and goes winding up for almost 3 kilometers, ascending for nearly 500 meters. Now, the place is abandoned and the relics of it are turning almost untraceable under utter negligence of the Pakistan authorities, which could be preserved well as heritage site undoubtedly.
Pakistan’s vanishing Hindu Temples, Shrines and Heritage Sites.
by Upananda Brahmachari
It’s a tragic story that fanatic Muslim people performed their best role to erase Hindu signs from it map after India-Pakistan partition.
In that row the Islamist people destroyed and drove away the Hindu population, degenerated the Hindu culture and heritage and damaged maximum Hindu temples and signs to make a success of the mission of ‘Kafir Free Pakistan’ as a whole. This victimization has been affected upon all other minorities including Hindus and Sikhs.
It was not a new episode to persecute and perish the non-Muslim people in that region of Pakistan on just before and after 1947, according to Islamic history of barbarity every land of Islamic dominance had its own Jihadi tradition to eliminate non-Muslims by forceful conversion or culpable genocide.
Once Pakistan was a land of glorious Hindu and Buddhist antiquity and famed for its rich culture and tradition. Not only Taxila, many places in Gilgit Baltistan. Gandhara. Takht-i-Bahi, Mingora and Swat valley were famous for its Buddhist period. In the same way, research can establish the Hindu inheritance in the lands of Pakistan throughout the regions of Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Part of Pak occupied Kashmir, Part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and even in many places in Karachi and Islamabad. But those Hindu reminiscence merged in the oblivion due to planned operation of Islamic evacuation or in utter negligence to protect those. Though many these Hindu and Bhuddhist civilization got the blow of time and calamity, the Islamic attacks on Hindu and Buddhist people were rampant and abundant for which victim non-Muslim people and their practices were perished pitiably. Many declared heritage sites of Hindu and Buddhist roots are not maintained properly.
The condition of persecuted Hindus are so pathetic in present Pakistan, it is difficult to prepare a list of existing temples in Pakistan with their pictures, location and present situation prevailing there.
Many renowned Hindu sites as mentioned in the pages in the history, annals and gazetteers related to Pakistan have no trace at present and those are not listed in any current record.
As per rough estimation Pakistan had more than mentionable 2500 Hindu temples, shrines and pilgrimages before 1947 which has come down to less than 500 in present days many which luckily survived from the fanatic spate of attacks in 1992 and 1993 after the Babri structure demolition in India. Though the issue of Babri demolition in India was used to be a point of Islamist fury, Hindu religious establishments in Pakistan are always turned as subject to Jihadi attack with fabricated or mere communal causes…
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
China’s Olympics App is Mandatory for Heath Data, Has Privacy Flaws, And a Censorship Blacklist
The Beijing Winter Olympic Games, set to start on February 4, have an official and obligatory-to-use app — MY2022 — but security researchers found that it may not be safe due to poor encryption.
That means that users’ voice audio and file transfer data can be easily compromised, Citizen Lab said in a report presenting the findings of cross-country exposure analysis of MY2022.
Additionally, the group claims that the vulnerability also affects passport details, demographic and medical, and travel history, as well as server responses, that could allow a malicious actor “to display fake instructions to users.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Korean Doctor Lee Yeong MI Found Worm-Like Floating Objects in Serum of Vaccinated Patients
On 13 January, Covid-19 Truth-finding Physicians held an emergency press conference at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, South Korea, to release the blood tests of experimental virus recipients, Dr. Lee Yeong Mii, South Korean obstetrics and gynecology specialist, shows the worm-like floating objects found in the serum of vaccine recipients at a press conference.
[Comment: This report has a video. The video seems to corroborate the finding by European researchers of worm-like objects in the serum of vaccine recipients.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The nation of El Salvador, led by pro-life President Nayib Bukele, is handing out COVID medicine packages that contain the controversial but effective treatment ivermectin as well as zinc and other drugs.
The packages are being given to COVID patients, their families, and to people in areas of the high prevalence of infection.
Despite pressure from international medical organizations that have sought to suppress ivermectin usage, the Salvadoran Ministry of Health has continued to include the medication, which has proved to be effective in the early treatment of COVID in many countries.
One elderly COVID patient from Illinois who spent 22 days on a ventilator was discharged from the hospital and made a full recovery after a court order forced the hospital to administer the drug.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Austria and Hungary have agreed to continue sharing intelligence and establishing joint investigation teams where appropriate to tackle border crime and keep their citizens safe, the Hungarian Minister of the Interior Sandor Pintér and his Austrian counterpart, Gerhard Karner, have confirmed.
At a joint press conference in Budapest on Tuesday, the pair assured the public that both countries plan to continue their exemplary cooperation in protecting the borders of the European Union, and revealed the two countries are also working together on police missions in the Balkans, attempting to nullify potential threats before they reach the respective nations’ borders.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A total of 168 migrants crossed the English Channel yesterday, bringing the number of small boat arrivals in the UK to almost 1,000 so far this year.
Six boats were intercepted by Border Force officials and brought to the Port of Dover on Tuesday, according to the Home Office.
One small boat carrying dozens of people, including children, came perilously close to a P&O ferry while making the dangerous journey across the Channel — the world’s busiest shipping lane.
[Comment: Article dated January 19, 2022.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Arrest 29 for Bringing People to EU on Leisure Boats
FOSSALTA DI PIAVE, Italy — Police in Italy, Albania and Greece on Wednesday arrested some 30 people accused of profiteering several hundred million euros to smuggle refugees and migrants into the European Union from Turkey on yachts and other leisure vessels.
The coordinated action is believed to have dealt a serious blow to the lucrative Turkey-Europe sailboat crossings, for which people pay between $6,000 to $10,000 to reach southern Italy, with an eye on northern European destinations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
TSA Reveals Illegal Migrants Flying Without Proper ID Can Use an Arrest Warrant as Identification
The Transportation Security Administration revealed that unlawful immigrants who are unable to obtain proper identification are being allowed to pass through security using an arrest warrant to prove their identity.
Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, had sent a letter to TSA after a whistleblower claimed the agency was allowing ‘unknown migrants’ to board commercial airlines in the U.S.
TSA Administrator David Pekoske responded explaining that certain Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents may be considered acceptable alternate forms of identification, including a ‘Warrant for Arrest of Alien’ and a ‘Warrant of Removal/Deportation.’
[Comment: This article is not from The Babylon Bee.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Govt Warned 65,000 Illegal Boat Migrants May Land This Year
The British government has reportedly been warned that up to 65,000 illegal boat migrants will land on English soil this year, nearly double the record numbers seen last year.
At a planning meeting following the military taking over as a coordinating entity on the migrant crisis in the English Channel, Home Secretary was informed that a “worst-case scenario” would see 65,000 illegals travel to Britain in small boats from French beaches compared to over 28,000 last year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California Agrees to Stop Telling Children to Pray to Aztec Gods in Legal Settlement
California has settled litigation against its inclusion of prayers to Aztec and Yoruba gods that were approved in the state’s ethnic studies “model curriculum” this spring.
The lawsuit alleged that children were expected to participate in these prayers or “face the social implications of declining to participate,” a violation of their free exercise. The plaintiffs claim the California Constitution is stricter than the U.S. Constitution on separation of church and state.
The settlement requires California to remove the “In Lak Ech Affirmation” and “Ashe Affirmation” from the online ESMC and notify “all school districts, charter schools and county offices of education” that the prayers were deleted.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House of Lords Votes to Make Misogyny a Hate Crime in UK
The House of Lords delivered a blow to the UK government on Monday evening, backing making misogyny a hate crime despite the Prime Minister rejecting the proposal in October 2021.
With a significant majority of 242 to 185 votes, the House of Lords backed making misogyny a hate crime, returning the legislation to the House of Commons for MPs to consider the amendment.
If misogyny was made a hate crime, judges would be given the ability to hand down harsher punishments to those convicted of prejudice against women. It would also require police to make it known on criminal records if offences were motivated by the hatred of a person’s gender.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
J.K. Rowling: Trans-Activists Who Doxxed Author Will Not be Prosecuted
Trans-Activists who reportedly doxxed J.K. Rowling and her family will not be prosecuted by Scottish police.
Three trans activists who staged a protest outside J.K. Rowling’s house will not be prosecuted, despite an image the group posted on social media reportedly revealing the property’s address.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Major New Report Finds Online Censorship is Self-Defeating
A major new report by the esteemed Royal Society finds that online censorship is self-defeating and only causes individuals to distrust authorities even more.
Of course, the more cynical observer would assert that online censorship isn’t driven by the benevolent motivation to halt “dangerous misinformation.”
But by the very malevolent motivation to bury the truth.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Parents Outraged as More Schools Push Transgender Materials on Three-Year Old Kids
Parents watchdog group Parents Defending Education (PDE) has warned that a school district in Minnesota is pushing transgender and “pride” books and materials on to children as young as three years old.
The group warns that Saint Paul Public Schools is allowing two separate organisations, called AMAZE and OutFront Minnesota, to push the materials in their schools.
The PDE shared a document that shows books titled “When Aidan Became a Brother,” (image below) “I Love My Colorful Nails” and “My Princess Boy” being given to pre-schoolers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Freezing for Their Faith: Orthodox Christians Plunge Into Icy Waters for Epiphany Celebration Despite Sub-Zero Temperatures
Yekaterinburg priest during the blessing of water remembered Winnie the Pooh and called him a “theologian”
“Remember how the undeservedly forgotten “theologian” of the 20th century named Winnie the Pooh once said: “poetry is not what you go and find, like mushrooms on the road, poetry is what finds you, but you can only come and stand on this place where you can be found.”
https://www.gazeta.ru/social/news/2022/01/18/17156521.shtml
I don’t like Orthodox, but this one is pretty nice.
UK: Tories vs Labour Latest Polls: Starmer on Course to Win Next Election as Johnson Flounders.
God help us all if Starmer were to become Prime Minister-let it not be forgotten that Starmer also had a drinks party in his HQ whilst the UK was in lockdown-nothing heard of this by main stream Media apart from Daily Mail.
The saying; better the devil you know than the devil you don’t-hang onto Johnson for the moment. The Labour Party are controlled by women and its unlikely in that case that Kier Starmer would ever become Prime Minister.
You silly, stupid, tea drinking, crumpet eating Brits actually think you can vote your way out of this mess? Actually electing that commie Starmer wouldn’t be a bad idea, he would drive Britain into the abyss faster.
If Starmer’s a commie, I’m a Dutchman. I’d likely vote for him, but never for his predecessor Corbyn, who was somewhat closer to being one; it seems such subtleties are lost on you.
Marky ole boy, let me inform you old son, that all those of any political party currently in once Great Britain are all traitors to their own, if you think labor will give you more free stuff so you vote for them, get doing what you have always done, vote for people who will kill you in the end. There is a reason the aristocracy in Britain developed weak chins and are spineless jelly fish these days. [insult redacted]
So now Mr. Johnson is Boris Goodenough. Rocky and Bullwinkle would be proud of him.
Russia is a Sharia country.
A criminal case has been opened in Moscow for insulting the feelings of believers after a candid photo session at the cathedral mosque.
The case was initiated on the grounds of a crime under Part 1 of Art. 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion, expressing clear disrespect for society and committed in order to offend the religious feelings of believers”), the UK explained.
“According to the investigation, a group of persons, being near Vypolzov Lane in the city of Moscow, pursuing the goal of desecrating a religious shrine revered by believers – a Muslim mosque, publicly committed actions expressing clear disrespect for others, in order to insult the religious feelings of believers,” the report says. departments.
The identity and whereabouts of the suspect born in 1981 have been established. In the near future, she will be delivered to a subdivision of the Investigative Committee, Ivanova noted.
Investigators will also interrogate other participants in the shooting, their actions will be given a legal assessment.
Photo session at the mosque
A video with a fragment of a photo shoot on January 20 was published by the Instagram account Kavkaz_pravda. The footage shows how one of the girls is standing half-naked – in a balaclava, in stockings and underwear – against the backdrop of a mosque. The second girl is photographing her.
https://rtvi.com/news/ugolovnoe-delo-vozbudili-posle-otkrovennoy-fotosessii-u-moskovskoy-sobornoy-mecheti/