Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/7/2022

Police in New Mexico have issued a search warrant for the contents of the cell phone of Alec Baldwin, the Hollywood actor who allegedly shot the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins to death in October of 2021 during the filming of the movie Rust. However, Mr. Baldwin has yet to hand over his phone, according to the latest reports.

In other news, Austria is now requiring skiers to wear masks while they are outside.

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

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

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

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

Financial Crisis
» December Payrolls Huge Miss Again, Just 199k Jobs Added, As Unemployment Rate Tumbles
» Eurozone Inflation Reaches Historic High
» Hungary: Gross Wage Growth Slows to 8.5% in October
» Hungary Jobless Rate Down to 3.7% in November
» Poland’s CPI Hits 8.6 Pct Y/Y in December — Stats Office
» Polish Economy Ranked 6th in the World for Its Handling of the Pandemic
 
USA
» “Huge Numbers” of Children Refusing to Wear Face Masks in School
» “Preserve the Narrative”: The Public Rejects the “Insurrection” Claim in New Polling
» 2,200 Flights Canceled as Winter Storm Pounds Northeast
» 20% of San Francisco Teachers Skip School to Protest Reopening Conditions
» Ahmaud Arbery: Jogger’s Murderers Sentenced to Life in Prison
» Alec Baldwin Still Has Not Handed Over Cellphone to Police Despite Search Warrant: Report
» Alec Baldwin’s Phone Sought in Search Warrant for ‘Rust’ Investigation
» AZ Gov. Ducey: We’ll Give Parents Money to Switch Schools if a School Closes, We’re Not Letting ‘Union Thugs Play Chicago-Like Games’
» Babies Born in Pandemic Have Slight Developmental Lag, Study Finds
» Chicago Cancels School for Third Straight Day Amid Standoff With Teachers Union
» Chicago Thieves ‘Boast’ of Ease of Store Break-ins by Dumping Loot on Democrat Governor’s Lawn
» Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Accuses Teachers’ Union of Holding Students ‘Hostage’
» Citi to Fire All Unvaxx’d Unless They Comply With Mandate by Jan 14
» Congressman Matt Gaetz Starts Posting to Free Speech Social Network Gab
» Despite Sotamayor’s Absurd Lack of COVID-19 Knowledge, Ussc Seems Skeptical of Biden Vaccine Mandates
» Gov. DeSantis: College Students Forced to Learn Online Deserve Tuition Refunds
» Insiders Say MSNBC Race Baiter Joy Reid is Finally Being Taken Off the Air
» Judge Rejects FDA’s 75 Year Delay on Vax Data, Cuts to Just 8 Months
» Julie Kelly’s Book on Jan 6 Heads to the Top of Amazon’s Charts
» Poll: Nearly 80 Percent of Americans Believe US is in ‘State of Decay’
» Report: Omicron Could End Up Being Less Deadly Than Seasonal Flu
» Revealed: Democrat Jan 6 ‘Candlelight Vigil’ Organized by Antifa Radicals
» Rust: Police Obtain Search Warrant for Alec Baldwin’s Phone
» There’s a Warrant for Alec Baldwin’s Phone Over the Rust Shooting
» Tim Pool Claims Police Entered His Property Despite Officers Knowing it Was a Swat Call
» US Copyright Office’s New General Counsel Previously Worked to Protect Disney’s Intellectual Property
» Video: MSNBC Talking Head Compares Jan 6th Footage to Films of Nazi Death Camps
» Video: Ted Cruz Apologises for Calling Jan 6th a ‘Terrorist Attack’; it Was “Sloppy” And “Dumb”
» Washington Governor Jay Inslee Ignores First Amendment, Wants to Criminalize Falsely Claiming Election Corruption
 
Canada
» Quebec Turns Into a Police State as Riot Police Wait to Fine Curfew Protesters
» Record High Debt in Justin Trudeau’s Canada
» Reuters Data Scientist Fired After Nuking BLM Narrative, Exposing ‘Significant Left-Wing Bias’ In Reporting
» What Was it Like When Montreal Police Came Down on Dozens Defiantly Outside After Curfew?
 
Europe and the EU
» Assange Has Spent 1,000 Days in the “Harshest Prison in UK”: WikiLeaks
» Austria Makes Skiers Wear Face Masks Outdoors in New COVID Crackdown
» Belgium: Brussels Airlines Flew 3,000 Empty Flights This Winter, All to Maintain Spots at Major Airports
» ‘Destroying Democracy’ — Polish Govt Takes Facebook to Task for Banning Right-Wing Party
» Italy: New Year’s Eve Sex Assaults on Women in Milan Probed
» Man Arrested for Protesting Forced Jabs Outside UK Health Official’s Home
» Poland: Ruling Camp Maintains Safe Lead in Voter Support Poll
» Spain: Alleged Head of Child Exploitation Ring Accused of Prostituting Own Daughter
» Sweden to Tackle “Misinformation” by “Psychological” Means But Insists it’s Not the “Ministry of Truth”
» Two Convicted After Brutal Beating of French Police Officer by Mob
» UK: Petition to Strip Tony Blair’s Knighthood Nears One Million Signatures
» UK: Watch: Masked Suspect Attacks London Police With Machete
» Wales: Mark Drakeford is an Idiot
» Watch: French Police Van Hit With Molotov Cocktail in ‘No-Go Zone’ Ambush
» Watch: German Police Arrest Anti-Lockdown Protesters
 
Balkans
» US Targets Bosnian Serb Leader on Fear Dayton Peace Collapse
 
Middle East
» Caroline Glick: Israel’s Enemies Keep Their Focus
 
Russia
» Kazakhstan Unrest: BBC Witnesses Apocalyptic Scenes in Main City
» Russia May Sentence Pedophile Rapists to Life in Arctic Prison
 
Australia — Pacific
» Northern Territory Lockdown the Unvaccinated
» NSW Bans Singing and Dancing Again as Premier Flips on Restrictions
» Second Tennis Star Suffers Similar Fate to Novak Djokavic
» Unvaccinated Australians Prohibited From Leaving Home to Work, Exercise Under New Northern Territory Rules
 
Immigration
» Belarus Planning to Take Poland to International Criminal Court
» Greek Islanders Block Ship Delivering Equipment to Build Migrant Center
» Smuggler Tries to Run Over Police Officer at Austrian Border
 
Culture Wars
» Breaking: Twitter Suspends Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh After He Posted Gender Critical ‘Transphobic’ Tweets
» Ivy League Releases Statement Supporting Dominant Male-to-Female Trans Swimmer
» LinkedIn Bans Dr. Robert Malone
 

December Payrolls Huge Miss Again, Just 199k Jobs Added, As Unemployment Rate Tumbles

With everyone bulled up on the December jobs print which was expected to more than double the disappointing November print of 210K to 447K with a whisper of more than 500K, moments ago the BLS reported that in December the US job market deteriorated again, as only 199K jobs were added, a huge miss to expectations, and the lowest number since December 2020.

This was the second consecutive month of big misses in the Establishment Survey relative to expectations.

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

Eurozone Inflation Reaches Historic High

The eurozone’s annual rate of inflation rose further in December, reaching the highest print in history, which was posted more than thirty years ago in July 1991.

Consumer prices rose 5.0% on year in December following a 4.9% rise in November, according to a first estimate released Friday by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency. Consumer prices rose 5.0% on year in July 1991, marking the highest point in history until December 2021.

The main driver of the on-year increase was energy prices, which rose 26.0% on year, although this was slightly less than the 27.5% increase registered in November.

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

Hungary: Gross Wage Growth Slows to 8.5% in October

Year-on-year wage growth in Hungary slowed to 8.5 percent in October from 9.1 percent in the previous month, data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Tuesday show.

The data for businesses and institutions with at least five people on payroll show the average gross monthly wage for full-time employees stood at 431,300 forints (EUR 1,170).

The average net wage was 286,800 forints (EUR 785).

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

Hungary Jobless Rate Down to 3.7% in November

Hungary’s jobless rate was 3.7 percent in November, down from 3.9 percent in October, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Wednesday.

The rate covers unemployment among people between the ages of 15 and 74.

In absolute terms, there were 179,200 unemployed, 9,400 fewer than in October and 10,200 fewer than in the same month a year earlier.

The rolling average jobless rate was 3.6 percent in the three months to November.

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

Poland’s CPI Hits 8.6 Pct Y/Y in December — Stats Office

Prices of consumer goods and services (Consumer Price Index, CPI) increased by 8.6 percent year on year and by 0.9 percent month on month in December 2021, the Central Statistical Office (GUS) reported in a flash estimate on Friday.

Economists polled by PAP Business estimated that October’s CPI would reach 8.3 percent year on year and 0.6 percent month on month.

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

Polish Economy Ranked 6th in the World for Its Handling of the Pandemic

The Polish economy has been ranked joint-sixth in the world for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a table published by UK-based finance magazine, The Economist.

In its ranking of nation states which had handled the pandemic the best, Denmark, Slovenia and Sweden took the podium places with Norway and Chile making up the top five. Poland was placed in sixth alongside Ireland.

The magazine used five criteria when considering its rankings, the first of which was the country’s GDP change since the end of 2019, a key indicator of an economy’s general health. It noted however that in these figures could disproportionately affect economies which were heavily reliant on tourism due to social and travel restrictions implemented over the last two years.

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

“Huge Numbers” of Children Refusing to Wear Face Masks in School

According to education officials, “huge numbers” of children, in some cases as many as 95 per cent, are refusing to wear face masks in school or take COVID tests.

The government instructed schools to make pupils wear masks in classrooms and common areas after a spike in Omicron cases.

However, the move appears to have completely backfired in many areas of the country.

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

“Preserve the Narrative”: The Public Rejects the “Insurrection” Claim in New Polling

Authored by Jonathan Turley

In the day long events commemorating the January 6th, Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a telling statement to her fellow members and the public at large. Pelosi declared “It is essential that we preserve the narrative of January 6th.” Part of that narrative is that this was not a riot but an “insurrection,” an actual “rebellion” against our country. Pelosi’s concern over the viability of that narrative is well-based as shown by a recent CBS News poll.

The majority of the public does not believe that this was an “insurrection” despite the mantra-like repetition of members of Congress and the media. The public saw that terrible day unfold a year ago and saw it for what it was: a protest that became a riot. (For full disclosure, I previously worked as a legal analyst for CBS News).

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

2,200 Flights Canceled as Winter Storm Pounds Northeast

Friday brought more bad news for airlines and their customers with 2,200 flight cancellations as a winter storm blanketed mid-Atlantic and Northeast states and staffing shortages due to COVID-19 infections. Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, and regional carrier SkyWest Airlines are the hardest hit this morning, according to data provided by FlightAware.

FlightAware showed most of the canceled flights originated at Northeast airports, such as LaGuardia, Boston Logan International, John F. Kennedy International, and Newark Liberty International.

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

20% of San Francisco Teachers Skip School to Protest Reopening Conditions

Twenty percent of public school teachers in San Francisco skipped school on Thursday to protest the reopening of schools in the district in the midst of the coronavirus wave, and to complain about what they say are inadequate safety measures.

As Breitbart News reported early Thursday morning, nearly 600 teachers had signed an online petition in advance, urging members of the of United Educators San Francisco (UESF) to send a message to the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and to “shut the whole system down.”

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

Ahmaud Arbery: Jogger’s Murderers Sentenced to Life in Prison

A white father and son convicted of killing a black jogger have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A jury found Travis and Gregory McMichael and their neighbour, William Bryan, guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery in February 2020.

Bryan also received the maximum penalty of life, but was offered the possibility of parole in 30 years.

The judge said the McMichaels had not shown remorse or empathy for Arbery.

Judge Timothy Walmsley said he gave them severe sentences in part because of their “callous” words and actions captured on video.

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

Alec Baldwin Still Has Not Handed Over Cellphone to Police Despite Search Warrant: Report

The quest for embattled actor Alec Baldwin’s cellphone has now gone beyond New Mexico, and it has New York authorities enlisted to try to track down what could be a crucial piece of evidence for the high-profile investigation into the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

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

Alec Baldwin’s Phone Sought in Search Warrant for ‘Rust’ Investigation

Alec Baldwin’s mobile phone is in the center of a New Mexico police search warrant for the investigation of the Oct. 21 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the western “Rust.”

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office released the search warrant Thursday that called for the “seizure and search of the cellular phone,” belonging to Baldwin for the ongoing investigation.

According to the court documents obtained by USA TODAY, police are seeking to conduct a “forensic download” of the iPhone that will include text messages, recent call lists, images, videos, calls or other information related to the movie production.

Investigators believe there might be information on the phone “material and relevant to the investigation” stating in the documents that there were “several emails and text messages sent and received” regarding the “Rust” production in the course of police interviews.

Baldwin, the star and a producer of “Rust,” was holding a revolver during film rehearsal when it fired killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza on the Bonanza Creek Ranch film set near Santa Fe…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

AZ Gov. Ducey: We’ll Give Parents Money to Switch Schools if a School Closes, We’re Not Letting ‘Union Thugs Play Chicago-Like Games’

On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Faulkner Focus,” Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) said Arizona is going to give families money to send their kids to a different school if their schools shut down because “we’re not going to let the union thugs play Chicago-like games in Arizona.” And “we want to empower our families, we want to empower our students, not these systems that have been hurting our kids.”

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

Babies Born in Pandemic Have Slight Developmental Lag, Study Finds

Babies born during the early months of the pandemic scored slightly lower on a screening of their developmental skills than those born prior to the pandemic, regardless of whether their mothers had Covid-19 during pregnancy, a study published Tuesday revealed.

The study, in JAMA Pediatrics, followed 255 babies born in March to December 2020 in New York City, which was the U.S. epicenter in the pandemic’s early days.

The infants were screened for social, communication and motor skills at 6 months of age using a standard questionnaire about their ability to roll from their back to their stomach, how often they babble and other milestones.

In most areas, the babies born during the pandemic displayed lower scores compared to those born earlier. That held true whether they were born to mothers who had been infected with Covid during pregnancy or not, the researchers found.

[Comment: The developmental lag is caused by policies, such as mask wearing, instituted during the pandemic.]

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

Chicago Cancels School for Third Straight Day Amid Standoff With Teachers Union

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times

Chicago canceled classes on Friday amid a standoff with the city’s teachers union (CTU), which is refusing to teach in-person.

Parents were told late Thursday that classes were axed for the third straight day as “we continue working to get CTU staff back in our buildings.”

A small number of schools may be able to offer in-person activities because some teachers were bucking the union and have been showing up at schools, Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said.

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

Chicago Thieves ‘Boast’ of Ease of Store Break-ins by Dumping Loot on Democrat Governor’s Lawn

Chicago police have confirmed that a high-end Burberry store on the city’s central Michigan Ave. was robbed no less than two times this week, with the second break-in coming early Thursday morning. The first instance was Tuesday morning, with the burglaries being especially brazen given they took place in daylight hours, or just before dawn. The Tuesday incident involved five men in a White SUV, but apparently with no other leads or identifiers. So naturally they hit the same site again, plus others.

But as CWB Chicago details of the second break-in, it appears the criminals are positively boasting about the ease of mass theft in a seemingly “lawless” windy city: “A group of armed burglars broke into two Lakeview convenience stores, dumped their stolen cash registers in front of Gov. JB Pritzker’s home, and then burglarized the Burberry store on Michigan Avenue early Thursday.”

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

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Accuses Teachers’ Union of Holding Students ‘Hostage’

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) said Wednesday evening the Chicago Teachers’ Union (CTU) is holding students “hostage” by refusing to allow teachers to show up for work on Thursday morning for in-person learning with claims of fears of the spread of coronavirus infection.

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

Citi to Fire All Unvaxx’d Unless They Comply With Mandate by Jan 14

Citigroup has just become the first Wall Street megabank to give the anti-vaxxers among its 70K employees an ultimatum: either get vaccinated (and turn over the appropriate proper documentation), or find somewhere else to work.

As Wall Street banks struggle to find a strategy to bring workers back to the office without putting them at risk of getting COVID, the bank has decided that Citi employees who don’t comply with this mandate by Jan. 14 will be placed on unpaid leave, and their last day of employment will come at the end of the month, according to a message to Citigroup staff seen by Bloomberg.

This is by far the most restrictive requirement among Wall Street firms. But whether or not it will help the financial services industry bring workers back to the office more quickly remains to be seen.

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

Congressman Matt Gaetz Starts Posting to Free Speech Social Network Gab

Congressman Matt Gaetz has become the latest elected official in the US to embrace alternative tech this week by posting to free speech social network Gab.

Gaetz started posting to Gab yesterday and already has more than 17,000 followers with his posts getting thousands of likes and interactions. The Congressman also started a Gab account for his “Firebrand with Matt Gaetz” podcast.

Gab CEO Andrew Torba welcomed Gaetz by praising him for being “a staunch supporter of free speech for many years” and “one of the few voices in Congress fighting for the many issues that the American people actually care about.”

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

Despite Sotamayor’s Absurd Lack of COVID-19 Knowledge, Ussc Seems Skeptical of Biden Vaccine Mandates

Update (1446ET): Aside from the utter lack of basic knowledge of Covid-19 exhibited by some of the USSC Justices (see below), the court seemed skeptical of the Biden administration’s claim that it has the authority to force vaccine mandates on over 84 million private sector employees.

“OSHA’s sweeping regulatory dictate,” will “irreparably injure the very businesses that Americans have counted on to widely distribute COVID-19 vaccines and protective equipment to save lives—and to keep them fed, clothed, and sustained during this now two-year-long pandemic,” argued the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) vs. the Department of Labor, in the Court’s first hearing.

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

Gov. DeSantis: College Students Forced to Learn Online Deserve Tuition Refunds

DeSantis called the situation ‘absolutely insane.’

College students who are forced to learn remotely as part of a university’s pandemic response policy deserve full tuition refunds, Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Monday.

The Governor’s remarks come as colleges and universities grapple with the highly contagious, but seemingly less potent, omicron variant.

In many cases, colleges are providing online-only instruction and yet still charging students full tuition costs. Harvard, for example, will go remote for the three weeks of January classes. Alternatively, Stanford will provide two weeks of online-only instruction and will require students to show proof of a booster shot by month’s end.

Other colleges, meanwhile, plan to limit nonessential functions and some are charging a “COVID-19 fee” to unvaccinated students.

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

Insiders Say MSNBC Race Baiter Joy Reid is Finally Being Taken Off the Air

For years now Joy Reid has used her MSNBC platform to peddle outright racism. But no more according to an insider who claims she’s being removed from the airwaves.

John Nicosia of News Cycle Media claims that a Comcast insider says Reid will be off the air come Spring time.

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

Judge Rejects FDA’s 75 Year Delay on Vax Data, Cuts to Just 8 Months

A federal judge has rejected a request by the FDA to produce just 500 pages per month of the data submitted by Pfizer to license its Covid-19 vaccine — and has ordered them to produce 55,000 pages per month. Assuming there are roughly 450,000 pages, that means it will take just over eight months for the world to see what’s under the hood.

Attorney Aaron Siri, who represents the plaintiff in the case, has provided this stunning update via his blog, Injecting Freedom.

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

Julie Kelly’s Book on Jan 6 Heads to the Top of Amazon’s Charts

Conservative commentator Julie Kelly’s new book January 6: How Democrats Used the Capitol Protest to Launch A War on Terror Against the Political Right, an “exposé of the left’s efforts to create violence and then exploit the violence to smear the Republican Party,” is in second place on Amazon’s bestselling new releases chart and is close to taking over the #1 spot as of Friday.

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

Poll: Nearly 80 Percent of Americans Believe US is in ‘State of Decay’

A recent poll has found that around three out of four Americans, regardless of political party, believe that United States society and culture are declining.

A poll from the Trafalgar Group and Convention of States Action published on Thursday revealed that 76.8 percent of Americans, regardless of political party affiliation, believe that “American society and culture is in a state of decay.”

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

Report: Omicron Could End Up Being Less Deadly Than Seasonal Flu

Citing experts at the University of Washington, the MailOnline reports that Omicron’s estimated fatality rate could make it less deadly than the seasonal flu.

“No, don’t say that!” the technocrats cry in unison.

“Some experts have always maintained that the coronavirus would eventually morph into a seasonal cold-like virus as the world develops immunity through vaccines and natural infection,” reports the news outlet. “But the emergence of the highly-mutated Omicron variant appears to have sped the process up.”

Researchers at Washington University now modeling Omicron’s impact say they expect it to kill 99 per cent fewer people than Delta.

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

Revealed: Democrat Jan 6 ‘Candlelight Vigil’ Organized by Antifa Radicals

The January 6 candlelight vigil in Washington, DC to commemorate the “attack on democracy” that occurred on January 6 of 2021 is organized by Antifa radicals including a woman who attempted to disrupt the inaugurations of Presidents George W Bush and Donald Trump.

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

Rust: Police Obtain Search Warrant for Alec Baldwin’s Phone

Police investigating the fatal shooting on the set of the Alec Baldwin film Rust have obtained a search warrant for the actor’s phone.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died and director Joel Souza was injured in October, when Mr Baldwin was rehearsing drawing a prop gun.

Mr Baldwin, 63, has insisted he “didn’t pull the trigger”.

The warrant was issued by a Sante Fe court in New Mexico — the state where Rust was being filmed.

It says “there may be evidence on the phone” that could be “material and relevant to this investigation”.

Investigators asked to confiscate Mr Baldwin’s Apple iPhone that is “believed to be in his possession”.

They wanted to look at text messages, emails, web browser history and other information stored on the phone.

It comes two weeks after the star gave his first TV interview about the incident, in which he said he did not pull the trigger, but the gun went off anyway.

“I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them. Never,” he told George Stephanopoulos of ABC News.

Mr Baldwin said he had been told “it’s highly unlikely that I would be charged with anything criminally”…

           — Hat tip: MM [Return to headlines]
 

There’s a Warrant for Alec Baldwin’s Phone Over the Rust Shooting

SANTA FE, N.M. — Authorities on Thursday issued a search warrant for Alec Baldwin’s cell phone, saying it could hold evidence that might be helpful as they investigate a deadly shooting on a New Mexico film set that killed a cinematographer and wounded the director.

Baldwin was holding a revolver during rehearsal when it fired. He has maintained that it was cinematographer Halyna Hutchins herself who asked him to point the gun just off camera and toward her armpit before it went off. Director Joel Souza also was wounded in the shooting on the Bonanza Creek Ranch film set near Santa Fe.

Baldwin has said that at Hutchins’ direction he pulled the hammer back and that it fired when he let go. He has said he didn’t know the gun contained a live round.

Investigators have described “some complacency” in how weapons were handled on the set of the Western “Rust.” They have yet to file any charges and have been working to determine where the live rounds found on set might have come from…

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Tim Pool Claims Police Entered His Property Despite Officers Knowing it Was a Swat Call

Podcaster Tim Pool is “calling bullsh*t” on the police officers that entered his property after his live broadcast had been swatted, saying the cops knew that it was a SWAT call.

“The cops knew we were being SWAT’d and decided to enter my property under ‘exigent circumstances’ anyway,” Pool wrote on Twitter on Friday morning, the day following the swatting. “I’m calling bullsh*t.”

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

US Copyright Office’s New General Counsel Previously Worked to Protect Disney’s Intellectual Property

In an age of streaming services, media consolidation, and reconsiderations about the future of copyright law, much attention is on how copyright law can be used or abused by corporations.

For example, the US Copyright Office has recently floated the question of implementing an upload filter on internet platforms in the name of protecting copyright.

This week, the revolving door between giant corporations and the government spun once again as the US Copyright Office has announced a new General Counsel, who was previously the deputy general counsel for The Walt Disney Company.

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

Video: MSNBC Talking Head Compares Jan 6th Footage to Films of Nazi Death Camps

Just when you thought leftists couldn’t get any more offensive in comparing the infiltration of the Capitol last year to 9/11 or Pearl Harbor, one MSNBC guest managed it.

Historian and TV pundit Douglas Brinkley directly compared the boomers rearranging the furniture in Nancy Pelosi’s office to Nazi death camps.

“It is like December 7th, Pearl Harbor, it is like the 9/11 tragedy,” Brinkley said, repeating the Democratic talking point. But he one upped them.

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

Video: Ted Cruz Apologises for Calling Jan 6th a ‘Terrorist Attack’; it Was “Sloppy” And “Dumb”

After encountering a huge backlash from conservatives for describing the events of January 6th 2021 as a “violent terrorist attack,” Senator Ted Cruz apologised and admitted that his language was “dumb” and “sloppy”.

Cruz appeared on Tucker Carlson’s evening show Thursday, apparently at his own request, and attempted to back track on what he said, claiming that he’d been referring to attacks on police.

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

Washington Governor Jay Inslee Ignores First Amendment, Wants to Criminalize Falsely Claiming Election Corruption

Big Tech platforms have, over the last couple of years, been heavily focused on censoring “misinformation” about elections. But there’s one politician that wants to take things a step further and make it illegal for politicians or political candidates to “lie” about election corruption.

According to Washington’s Gov. Jay Inslee, election candidates and those elected to public offices should not lie about elections.

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

Quebec Turns Into a Police State as Riot Police Wait to Fine Curfew Protesters

Around 9:30 PM at Honoré-Beaugrand station in Montreal, a group of protesters posted their protesting of the provincewide curfew, which was reinstated on December 31. Several dozens of police officers from several districts were present on site.

More than fifty protesters were present with music and megaphones to make as much noise as possible. Just before the fateful hour of illegality, the protesters began marching through the neighborhood’s streets. They were surrounded by the police, and at every corner, there were dozens of police officers waiting.

Toward the end of the march, the riot squad was waiting for them. They were present by the dozens and were just waiting for the right moment to grab the protesters in order to issue them a $1,558 fine each. What’s unbelievable is that there were at least five police officers per protester!

[Comment: The article is in French too.]

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

Record High Debt in Justin Trudeau’s Canada

Per capita debt has reached a historic high in Justin Trudeau’s Canada, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

An individual Canadian’s share of the federal debt is as high as $24 thousand. This means, as soon as a Canadian is born, they owe over 20 thousand to the government.

This is the first time in history that per capita debt has reached this high. It represents a 43 percent increase from the pre-pandemic rate.

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

Reuters Data Scientist Fired After Nuking BLM Narrative, Exposing ‘Significant Left-Wing Bias’ In Reporting

On Tuesday, we republished a column from a journalist who resigned from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation because the network exhibited such extreme left-wing bias and propaganda that she couldn’t be a part of it any longer.

Today, bring you the story of Zac Kriegman, a former Reuters data scientist who was fired after performing a statistical analysis which refuted claims by Black Lives Matter, and spoke out against the company’s culture of “diversity and inclusion” which unquestioningly celebrated the BLM narrative.

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

What Was it Like When Montreal Police Came Down on Dozens Defiantly Outside After Curfew?

On a recent Rebel News DAILY Livestream, Katherine Krozonouski and Nat Biase were joined by Yanky Pollak to discuss his recent reporting on the streets of Quebec during the newly-reimposed curfew, where dozens were arrested for walking the streets at night.

You can watch the full reports from our team on the ground in Quebec at LockdownReports.com.

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

Assange Has Spent 1,000 Days in the “Harshest Prison in UK”: WikiLeaks

Authored by Brett Wilkins via Common Dreams

Press freedom campaigners on Wednesday marked Julian Assange’s 1,000th day of imprisonment in London’s Belmarsh Prison with renewed demands for the WikiLeaks publisher’s freedom ahead of his looming potential extradition to the United States.

Assange’s partner Stella Morris said in a statement: “It will be 1,000 days this Wednesday that Julian Assange has spent in the harshest prison in the U.K. His young children, ages two and four, have no memory of their father outside the highest security prison of the U.K.”

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

Austria Makes Skiers Wear Face Masks Outdoors in New COVID Crackdown

Austria is forcing skiers to wear face masks outdoors as it follows other European countries in bolstering draconian COVID restrictions in response to Omicron.

From Saturday onwards, face masks must be worn outdoors when social distancing of 2 meters cannot be maintained.

“This will affect Austrian ski resorts, where social distancing of this sort is difficult,” reports the Telegraph. “Proof of vaccination will be also required in all shops in Austria from next week.”

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

Belgium: Brussels Airlines Flew 3,000 Empty Flights This Winter, All to Maintain Spots at Major Airports

Investing question: how “ESG” is it for an airline to operate to the tune of 3,000 unnecessary flights, all of which are burning jet fuel, simply to keep take-off and landing rights at major airports?

Because that’s exactly what’s going on with Brussels Airlines, according to news from Belgium’s The Bulletin.

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

‘Destroying Democracy’ — Polish Govt Takes Facebook to Task for Banning Right-Wing Party

Poland’s government has taken Facebook (now rebranding as Meta) to task for blacklisting a eurosceptic party with representation in the Polish parliament from Facebook.

“Today Meta announced that it would block the official Facebook page of Konfederacja, a political party which has representatives in the Polish parliament,” wrote Janusz Cieszynski, the Secretary of State for Digital Affairs in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland, in a letter to the Mark Zuckerberg led social media giant dated January 5th.

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

Italy: New Year’s Eve Sex Assaults on Women in Milan Probed

At least 5 cases of women attacked in Piazza Duomo

(ANSA) — ROME, JAN 7 — Italian police are investigating at least five cases of sexual assault on women in Milan’s Piazza Duomo on New Year’s Eve in a case echoing that which occurred in Cologne in 2016, sources said Friday.

Police have posited charges of group sexual violence because the young men who allegedly committed the assaults acted as a gang.

Police described the alleged assaults as “extremely serious”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Man Arrested for Protesting Forced Jabs Outside UK Health Official’s Home

A 60-year-old Briton was charged with criminal damage after a protest was staged outside the London home of Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

The activist accused Javid of “threatening people to come to our houses armed with jabs.”

According to the Metropolitan Police, protester Geza Tarjanyi was arrested in Fulham on Monday. A video has since emerged online purportedly showing him as he delivers a letter with an anti-vaccination message to Javid’s house, and saying that the official is “personally on notice” for harming people with vaccines.

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

Poland: Ruling Camp Maintains Safe Lead in Voter Support Poll

Poland’s ruling United Right coalition would be supported by 38 percent of voters if elections were held now, outstripping its main rival, the centrist Civic Coalition (KO), by 14 percentage points, a new poll has found.

According to a Social Changes poll for the right-wing website wPolityce.pl, the United Right, composed of its backbone party Law and Justice, Solidary Poland and the Republicans, has increased its support from the previous survey by 2 percentage points while KO has lost 1 percentage point and is now backed by 24 percent of respondents.

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

Spain: Alleged Head of Child Exploitation Ring Accused of Prostituting Own Daughter

An accused leader of a child exploitation ring in Spain has been accused by authorities of prostituting his own daughter while presenting her as an adult on sexual websites.

The man is believed to be one of the heads of a child exploitation network and is one of 37 people arrested by the Spanish national police on charges of sexual abuse of minors, corruption of minors and other crimes relating to the sexual exploitation of children.

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

Sweden to Tackle “Misinformation” by “Psychological” Means But Insists it’s Not the “Ministry of Truth”

Sweden is taking a new approach to fight “misinformation.” The government launched the “Psychological Defence Agency” which they say will fight misinformation, propaganda, and psychological warfare.

The mission of the new agency will be identifying misinformation and “educating” the community to be resilient against harmful misinformation campaigns. The agency is headed by Henrik Landerholm, a diplomat, The Record reported.

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

Two Convicted After Brutal Beating of French Police Officer by Mob

Two men have been sentenced to several years in prison after taking part in the beating of an off-duty police officer in the city of Lyon in the summer of 2020.

The two men were sentenced to five years in prison, with 30 months suspended and a probation period of three years, after the conviction for their role in the attack on the officer.

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

UK: Petition to Strip Tony Blair’s Knighthood Nears One Million Signatures

A viral petition to strip former Labour prime minister and Iraq War architect Tony Blair of his knighthood is closing in on one million signatures, and shows no signs of slowing down.

The 68-year-old’s decision to plunge the country into war in search of what turned out to be highly elusive “Weapons of Mass Destruction” in 2003 famously brought a million citizens onto the streets to oppose him in what was believed to be Britain’s biggest-ever political demonstration — although ‘people power’ proved to be no obstacle to him getting his way then and may prove equally fruitless now, given the establishment’s silence on the petition.

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

UK: Watch: Masked Suspect Attacks London Police With Machete

Police in London came under attack by a masked man wielding a machete in broad daylight last week, according to reports.

The harrowing incident unfolded at around 10 a.m. on December 30 in Croydon, a town in South London, England.

Officers pulled a motorcycle rider over for a traffic stop when he became aggressive and brandished a large blade.

Footage of the ensuing battle was captured by an eyewitness.

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

Wales: Mark Drakeford is an Idiot

Mark Drakeford boasted about how stricter lockdown measures have put Wales in a better place than England.

Case numbers in Wales have risen three times faster than England since the restrictions were imposed.

Is Drakeford blind, a liar or just a complete idiot?

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

Watch: French Police Van Hit With Molotov Cocktail in ‘No-Go Zone’ Ambush

A police van was hit with a Molotov cocktail during an ambush in France last week, according to reports.

The harrowing incident unfolded just after midnight on December 30 in Val-Fourré, a de facto ‘no-go zone’ in the commune of Mantes-la-Jolie.

Authorities were alerted about multiple vehicle fires in the area.

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

Watch: German Police Arrest Anti-Lockdown Protesters

Opponents of lockdowns and vaccine mandates marched in cities across Germany on Monday, decrying the government’s tough Covid-19 policies. Officers were filmed detaining several people in the eastern city of Bautzen in Saxony.

Police in the region said they stopped several processions in the city on Monday, including a march of around 250 people.

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

US Targets Bosnian Serb Leader on Fear Dayton Peace Collapse

Because of his secessionist moves

(ANSA-AFP) — WASHINGTON, JAN 6 — The United States on Wednesday slapped sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and a television network close to him, ramping up pressure on fears his secessionist moves will undo a fragile 25-year-old peace. “Milorad Dodik’s destabilizing corrupt activities and attempts to dismantle the Dayton Peace Accords, motivated by his own self-interest, threaten the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire region,” Brian Nelson, the under secretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. Dodik, a former social democrat turned nationalist with ties to Russia, has increasingly made good on longstanding secession threats of the Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb entity created under the US-brokered 1995 Dayton Accords that ended the former Yugoslav republic’s brutal war.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, vowing to back the “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Bosnia, also announced that the United States would ban visas for two other leaders over corruption allegations.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Caroline Glick: Israel’s Enemies Keep Their Focus

Something happens almost every day that tells us Israel’s enemies are preparing for war. Israel’s responses to these events indicate that Israel is not preparing for war.

Three separate events this week exposed this distressing state of affairs.

First, on Monday, Iran and its proxies in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen marked the second anniversary of the US assassination in Iraq of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force Commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani. At a ceremony in Tehran, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi pledged to kill former president Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Not only did the Biden administration not condemn the Iranian regime for threatening the life of a former president and secretary of state. On the day Raisi threatened to murder Trump and Pompeo, President Joe Biden’s nuclear negotiators were in Vienna beginning another round of nuclear talks with Raisi’s emissaries. US officials told reporters ahead of the talks that they expect to close a deal with the Iranians, perhaps a partial one, in the near future.

To go by the reports of the negotiations, a deal means nothing less than complete US capitulation to Iran’s demands. Last week, Britain’s Spectator published a report titled “Inside Joe Biden’s Disastrous Negotiations with Iran.” It described how the Western position has collapsed due to the radical pro-Iranian posture of the US team led by Robert Malley.

British and other negotiators characterized Malley as “the most dovish official we’ve ever seen.”

One official said that Malley bent over backwards so far that “he now speaks to Tehran between his legs.”…

           — Hat tip: Caroline Glick [Return to headlines]
 

Kazakhstan Unrest: BBC Witnesses Apocalyptic Scenes in Main City

Kazakhstan’s biggest city Almaty looks like something from an apocalypse film.

Driving around early on Friday morning, the smell of burnt vehicles was still in the air. Few people were about, many too afraid to come out into the streets.

The army and police are blocking key sites in the city, which has been the focal point of nationwide protests against the government.

When we approached soldiers at the main square they shouted at us and fired warning shots in the air, warning us not to come close.

I’ve been coming to Almaty for years. It’s normally a bustling city, with lots of greenery and places to eat out and drink.

Now though shops and banks have been looted or destroyed. It will take some time for them to recover.

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

Russia May Sentence Pedophile Rapists to Life in Arctic Prison

Repeat child sex offenders in Russia could be sent to hard labor penal colonies in the Arctic, where they would be forced to work in Siberian mines, according a plan floated by Parliamentary Speaker, Vyacheslav Volodin.

The new legislation was presented after the horrific murder of a five-year-old girl, who was abducted by a serial pedophile and his lover, before being raped and stabbed to death.

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

Northern Territory Lockdown the Unvaccinated

The Northern Territory is a long way from ‘living with Covid’ as unvaccinated residents prepare for a four-day mandatory lockdown with only a few hundred active cases in the community.

According to officials, ‘unvaccinated’ includes people who have received one dose of the vaccine.

Starting at 1pm on January 6, ‘unvaccinated’ residents will only be allowed to leave their homes for three approved reasons: essential food shopping, emergency medical treatment (including to receive a vaccination), or to provide care.

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

NSW Bans Singing and Dancing Again as Premier Flips on Restrictions

New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet is poised to flip on the state’s Covid restrictions as Omicron spreads. Discussions on Thursday have already resulted in significant changes to Health Orders, with more predicted to follow next week.

Perrottet has announced that nightclubs will be shut, while singing and dancing are to be banned in pubs. Friday will also see elective surgery suspended — which is terrible news for those waiting in a lengthy backlog caused by earlier shutdowns.

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

Second Tennis Star Suffers Similar Fate to Novak Djokavic

A second tennis star has suffered a similar fate to Novak Djokavic after her visa was cancelled and she was forced to isolate in a quarantine hotel having thought she had secured a vaccine exemption.

World number 1 Djokavic is currently trapped inside what his mother called a “flea ridden” hotel full of illegal immigrants after he was refused entry despite having secured a vaccine exemption to compete in the Australian Open.

The exemption was approved by two separate medical boards, but Djokavic was interrogated for 8 hours upon landing and threatened with deportation after officials claimed his visa paperwork wasn’t in order.

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

Unvaccinated Australians Prohibited From Leaving Home to Work, Exercise Under New Northern Territory Rules

Australia’s Northern Territory is placing a new round of restrictions on Aussies who refuse the jab.

In a push to force vaccine-hesitant people to take the shot, the anti-government has announced lockdowns that prohibit unvaccinated Aussies from going outside to exercise or even travel to work.

The government is effectively imprisoning unvaccinated citizens in their own homes. The onerous measure rivals restrictions placed on unvaccinated citizens in Austria.

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

Belarus Planning to Take Poland to International Criminal Court

Belarus is preparing to take Poland to the International Criminal Court in the Hague, a senior Polish security official has claimed, citing Belarusian media sources.

Stanislaw Zaryn, the director of the National Security Department, said the charges were based on the testimony of a Polish military deserter to Belarus, who had been posted on the Polish-Belarusian border during the migrant crisis.

The man later appeared in the Belarusian media and accused Poland of “crimes” in their treatment of migrants trying to get into Poland.

Zaryn took to Twitter on Friday to lambast Belarus’s apparent plans.

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

Greek Islanders Block Ship Delivering Equipment to Build Migrant Center

Residents of Chios successfully prevented a cargo ship from delivering equipment for the construction of a new migrant center on the Greek island, according to reports.

In a stunning rejection of the Greek government’s agenda, Chios locals and officials gathered at multiple ports on the island to drive off a ship named “Pelagitis” as it attempted to dock and unload heavy machinery and materials for the planned “Closed Controlled Access Center.”

Footage of a blockade at the main port of Chios was published by local media 0n Thursday.

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

Smuggler Tries to Run Over Police Officer at Austrian Border

On Thursday at the Austro-Hungarian border near Harka, the driver of a pickup truck carrying migrants almost ran over a police officer who wanted to check his papers. His colleague then fired warning shots as he crossed the border into Austria. There were 30 migrants in the vehicle.

This article was originally published on our sister-site, Ungarn Heute. Translated by Júlia Tar.

A Hungarian police patrol checked the occupants of a passenger car with Lithuanian license plates near the Austrian-Hungarian border crossing Harka on Thursday at 1:45 pm when they alerted their colleagues. Shortly after, police officers noticed a small truck in the municipality driving at high speed towards the border and alerted their colleagues at the border.

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

Breaking: Twitter Suspends Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh After He Posted Gender Critical ‘Transphobic’ Tweets

The Daily Wire host and political contributor Matt Walsh has been suspended from Twitter over his tweets about transgenderism.

On Friday night, Twitter issued a suspension on Walsh’s account after he made a series of tweets about recognizing biological realities over “gender identity.”

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

Ivy League Releases Statement Supporting Dominant Male-to-Female Trans Swimmer

The Ivy League has released a statement defending the University of Pennsylvania’s decision to allow male-to-female transgender athlete Lia Thomas to represent the university on the women’s swimming and diving team.

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

LinkedIn Bans Dr. Robert Malone

LinkedIn has followed Twitter in banning mRNA vaccine technology pioneer Dr. Robert Malone.

“…last night Linkedin decided I was not a fit human to be on their platform,” Dr. Malone wrote on Substack.

“In another blink of an eye of big tech, Linkin (sic) flushed my 30,000 connections and de-platformed me.”

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

3 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/7/2022

  1. Baldwin will probably produce his own mini-series about himself shooting his own director. During production, he will actually shoot his own director, and then, produce a mini-series. Rinse, repeat. He’ll just keep shooting directors. No one will catch on.

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