Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/8/2022

Quebec has redefined the meaning of “fully vaccinated”, and now requires that citizens get a booster shot in order to participate fully in society. Germany has done something similar: citizens must now get boosted or take regular COVID tests.

In other news, according to the latest figures, illegal migrants who cross the English Channel to the UK are costing the British asylum system almost £1 million ($1.36 million) per day.

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

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

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

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

USA
» Austin Sees Hundreds of Sex Offender Cases Removed From Police Officer Supervision Due to Defunding
» Federal Authorities Won’t Say Why Armed Capitol Rioters Disappeared From FBI’s Most Wanted List
» Former GlaxoSmithKline Scientist Pleads Guilty to Stealing Trade Secrets for Chinese Pharma
» Irony: SCOTUS Went Virtual After Triple Vaxxed Lawyer Caught COVID While Arguing Over Vax Mandate
» Joe Rogan: ‘Masks Are Like the Democrats’ MAGA Hat’
» Lockdown Generation: California Students Suffered Academically During Pandemic School Year
» Man Who Purchased AR-15 for Rittenhouse Reaches Plea Agreement
» Mom Sentenced to 3 Months in Federal Prison for Bringing 14-Year-Old Son to J6
» Son of Texas Woman Stabbed to Death by Man Arrested 67 Times and Out on Bail Urges Change: ‘No Accountability’
» Telegram Blocks Elijah Schaffer’s Comment Section for Apple and Google
» The Classroom ‘Should be an Extension of My Home’: Millennial Teacher Charged for ‘Quarantining’ Her Kid in Trunk
» Tucker Carlson: NPR Has Become ‘Insane’ & ‘Unrecognizable’ Since Takeover by Woke Left
» Twitter Flooded With Orange Emojis on the One-Year Anniversary of Trump’s Ban
» Update: Alleged Antifa Member Targeted Florida Rally With a Bomb; More Explosives Found at His House
» Yale Continues to Believe it Can Ban Legal, Off-Campus Behavior
» YouTube Takes Down, Then Reinstates John Ondrasik Video That Criticized Biden Afghanistan Withdrawal
 
Canada
» Maxime Bernier Leads Protest Against COVID-19 Health Measures and Vaccination Mandates
» Quebec to Deny Parts of Society to Those Without a “Booster” Passport
 
Europe and the EU
» Cops Clash With Anti-Vaccine Passport Protesters Across Europe as Countries Tighten Rules to Fight Omicron Wave
» Germany Needs Jabs, Not Omicron’s ‘Dirty Vaccination’ — Health Minister
» Germany: AfD Files Lawsuit to Country’s Top Court After Left-Wing Government Blocks Important Parliamentary Positions
» Germany: ‘Fully Vaxxed’ No Longer Enough, Citizens Must Get ‘Boosted’ or Get Regular COVID Tests
» Hungary’s Top Court Gives Green Light to Child-Protection Law Referendum
» Scotland: You’ll Never Take Our Freedom! Thousands of Defiant Protesters Stage Largest Anti-Lockdown Rally in Recent Months as They March Through Glasgow Against Nicola Sturgeon’s Draconian COVID Restrictions
» ‘Sometimes a Goblin is Just a Goblin’ — UK Jewish Groups Defend Rowling Against Anti-Semitism Accusations
» Spain: Mother Separated From Children After Trying to Flee Country to Stop Vaccination
» Swedish Vaccine Passport Cheaters Could Face Prison
» UK Culture Secretary Boasts About Shadowy “Anti-Disinformation” Unit; “Daily We Have Contact With the Online Providers”
» UK: Queen Refuses to Pay for Prince Andrew’s Pedo Defense, Forcing Him to Unload Chalet in Fire Sale
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Watch: McDonald’s Kiosk Denies Man Service Over Vaccine Status
 
Middle East
» Hundreds in Lebanon Protest Measures Targeting Unvaccinated
» Instagram Blocked Hashtag #IWillLightACandletoo, Commemorating Iran Missile Strike Plane Victims
» Shock Video: Qatari Soccer Player Collapses From Heart Attack on Field
 
South Asia
» India Won’t Add Merck’s COVID-19 Pill to National Treatment Protocol, Citing Safety Concerns
 
Australia — Pacific
» Farage Backs Djokovic Against ‘Big, Bullying, Nasty Government’
» Mass Formation Psychosis: Jogger Attacked in Park Over Social Distancing ‘Violation’
» Novak Djokovic Faces Third Day in Australian Migrant Detention in COVID Vaccine Furore
 
Immigration
» Channel Migrants Reportedly Staying at UK Taxpayer-Funded Hotels Worth $169 a Night
» Fewer Migrants Arrived on Greek Islands in 2021
» Greece: Opposition Mounting to New Chios Migrant Camp
» Human Traffickers Confirm NGO Contacts With Criminal Organisations
» Illegal Migrant Who Sexually Assaulted Women on English Beach Jailed
» Migrants Crossing Channel in Boats Add £1Million a Day to Cost of Britain’s Asylum System
 
Culture Wars
» Penn’s Lia Thomas Wins Two Races at Tri-Meet, Loses 100-Yard Freestyle to Transgender Yale Swimmer
» Survey: Moral Relativism on the Rise in Poland
» Transgender Contestant Becomes ‘First Woman’ To Win Over $1 Million on Jeopardy
» UK: Parish Councillor Gets Police Visit for Posting “Trans Rights Are Very, Very Boring”
 

Austin Sees Hundreds of Sex Offender Cases Removed From Police Officer Supervision Due to Defunding

Hundreds of convicted sex offenders are no longer being monitored by sworn police officers in Austin, Texas due to the city’s move to defund the police and cut police academy classes.

As of 2019, there were about 1,600 registered sex offenders in Austin according to the state’s sex offender database. There is no law preventing any of them from living near schools or other places where children tend to congregate, according to a local news report. About 650 of those cases were handled by officers who checked in on the registered sex offenders weekly to ensure they were where they reported themselves to be. But three of those officers were sent back to patrol as a result of the decision to defund the police, including slashing three cadet classes at the police academy, in August 2020. Defunding the police forced the department to cut the Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration Unit (SOAR).

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

Federal Authorities Won’t Say Why Armed Capitol Rioters Disappeared From FBI’s Most Wanted List

Federal authorities won’t explain why three men who participated in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, have mysteriously disappeared from the FBI’s Capitol Violence Most Wanted list.

One unidentified man wore an earpiece during the riot and was filmed carrying what appeared to be a concealed handgun on his left hip. The man was pictured on the FBI’s most wanted list for over five months until he was removed without explanation on the same day the New York Times reported an FBI informant was at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

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

Former GlaxoSmithKline Scientist Pleads Guilty to Stealing Trade Secrets for Chinese Pharma

Another Chinese national has been linked to the theft of scientific information or technology developments to benefit a Chinese firm or government.

A former GlaxoSmithKline Plc scientist pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiring to steal trade secrets from the British drug manufacturer to benefit a Chinese pharmaceutical company.

Lucy Xi, 44, entered her plea in Philadelphia federal court, becoming the fourth person to admit to wrongdoing in connection with a scheme to misuse GSK’s trade secrets to benefit Renopharma, which received financial support from the Chinese government.

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

Irony: SCOTUS Went Virtual After Triple Vaxxed Lawyer Caught COVID While Arguing Over Vax Mandate

Three vaccine injections failed to prevent a lawyer arguing against Joe Biden’s OSHA vaccine mandate in the Supreme Court from being infected with COVID-19.

Two lawyers arguing against Joe Biden’s OSHA vaccine mandate in the Supreme Court have tested positive for COVID-19.

Three injections of the COVID-19 vaccines were unable to prevent Ohio Solicitor General Benjamin Flowers from catching the virus. As a result, he will now have to make his case to the Supreme Court virtually.

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

Joe Rogan: ‘Masks Are Like the Democrats’ MAGA Hat’

Podcaster Joe Rogan lambasted Democrats in a December podcast with American surfer Shane Dorian. While discussing the environmental damage disposable masks cause, Rogan opined, “Masks are like the Democrats’ MAGA hat.”

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

Lockdown Generation: California Students Suffered Academically During Pandemic School Year

California’s K-12 students suffered considerable academic setbacks during the 2020-21 pandemic school year, according to data from the state’s Department of Education.

Nearly half of students who took last year’s standardized test failed to meet English language arts standards set by the state. In addition, younger students performed worse than older students, indicating the impact remote learning had on those still developing their literacy skills.

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

Man Who Purchased AR-15 for Rittenhouse Reaches Plea Agreement

The attorney for the man who purchased the rifle for Kyle Rittenhouse signed a plea agreement with the state of Wisconsin to dismiss two felony charges against him.

If the judge signs off, Dominick Black’s plea deal will result in a noncriminal citation, according to court documents filed Friday. He will be required to pay a fine of $2,000.

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

Mom Sentenced to 3 Months in Federal Prison for Bringing 14-Year-Old Son to J6

Left-leaning liberal media outlets like the Daily Beast have loudly complained about the sentences that have been handed down to some of the more than 700 people who have been arrested and charged for their role in the Capitol “insurrection”.

But on Friday, a judge sentenced a woman to three months in federal prison after she was plead guilty to the non-violent misdemeanor of illegally parading in the building. The sentence is one of the longer prison terms that has been handed out since the prosecution began.

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

Son of Texas Woman Stabbed to Death by Man Arrested 67 Times and Out on Bail Urges Change: ‘No Accountability’

Rosalie Cook, a grandmother of six, had just purchased birthday cards when she was stabbed in a Walgreens parking lot

The son of a Houston grandmother who was fatally stabbed in 2020 by a suspect with an extensive criminal record and who was out on bond at the time is pressing to hold judges and the criminal justice system accountable for her death and that of others killed by criminal defendants released back onto the streets.

Rosalie Cook, 80, was walking to her car in a Walgreens parking lot just before 10 a.m. on May 16, 2020 after having purchased birthday cards when Randy Lewis pushed her to the ground and stabbed her to death. Lewis, 38, was shot and killed by police at the scene after having charged at an officer with a knife, police said.

At the time of the killing, Lewis, who had been arrested at least 67 times, was out on two felony personal recognizance (PR) bonds, which don’t require cash to get of jail but impose restrictions such as GPS monitoring or drug testing.

“If I could sue a judge, I would do it,” Cook’s son, Chuck Cook, told Fox News. “There is no accountability. There’s just a lot of fronts that I’m really angry about in terms of the (criminal justice) system.”

Cook, a grandmother of six, was among at least 156 people who have been killed since 2018 by offenders out on multiple bonds in Harris County, Texas, the state’s most populous county, according to Crime Stoppers of Houston…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Telegram Blocks Elijah Schaffer’s Comment Section for Apple and Google

The comments section of BlazeTV host Elijah Schaffer’s Telegram channel has been blocked in the app store versions of Telegram on Android and iOS.

Users that attempt to view Schaffer’s comments section in the App Store or Play Store version of the Telegram app are presented with a message that states: “Unfortunately, this group couldn’t be displayed on your device.”

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

The Classroom ‘Should be an Extension of My Home’: Millennial Teacher Charged for ‘Quarantining’ Her Kid in Trunk

A Texas mother and high school teacher, who was charged with child endangerment for locking her 13-year-old child in the trunk of her car after the kid tested positive for COVID-19, is revealed to have expressed eyebrow-raising remarks about blurring the line between the classroom and home practices.

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

Tucker Carlson: NPR Has Become ‘Insane’ & ‘Unrecognizable’ Since Takeover by Woke Left

Fox News host Tucker Carlson issued a blistering critique of National Public Radio and its “angry, barren Subaru driver” audience over its massive lurch toward all things ‘woke.’

“Everywhere in this country formally respectable organizations seem to have gone off the deep end. Have you listened to National Public Radio recently? Admittedly NPR was always a little nutty, but in a familiar, non-threatening kind of way. Your average public radio station ran niche cultural programming most of the time. The Celtic music hour or a bluegrass show,” Carlson said Friday on his opening monologue of “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”

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

Twitter Flooded With Orange Emojis on the One-Year Anniversary of Trump’s Ban

Twitter users flooded the Big Tech platform with orange emojis Saturday on the one-year anniversary of former President Donald Trump’s permanent exile.

At the time, Twitter cited “risk of further incitement of violence” as the reason for Trump’s boot off the site in the wake of Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The tech giant’s move came despite the fact Trump called for peace on the day in question, instructing protesters to march “peacefully and patriotically” on the Capitol.

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

Update: Alleged Antifa Member Targeted Florida Rally With a Bomb; More Explosives Found at His House

A man in full black bloc behaving suspiciously near a right-wing rally outside the Pinellas County Courthouse in Florida on Jan. 6 was apprehended by deputies after he tried fleeing on foot. Garrett James Smith, 22, was arrested and found carrying an active pipe bomb, Antifa propaganda and a written document on what to bring for his direct action. He had recently returned from Portland, Ore.

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

Yale Continues to Believe it Can Ban Legal, Off-Campus Behavior

Authored by Matt Lamb via TheCollegeFix.com

Previously said it could tell students in other states to wear masks

Yale University officials continue to insist that its student handbook trumps state and local laws.

The Ivy League university has banned students from eating at legally operating restaurants off-campus.

“Students may not visit New Haven businesses or eat at local restaurants (even outdoors) except for curbside pickup,” the Yale Daily News wrote in a Facebook post Monday.

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

YouTube Takes Down, Then Reinstates John Ondrasik Video That Criticized Biden Afghanistan Withdrawal

A music video produced by famed singer-songwriter John Ondrasik titled “Blood on my Hands” went viral this week before being removed and then reinstated on YouTube Friday.

The video, which used real-world footage depicting atrocities by the Taliban and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, was reportedly flagged as having violated YouTube’s “graphic content policy.”

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

Maxime Bernier Leads Protest Against COVID-19 Health Measures and Vaccination Mandates

MONTREAL — People’s Party of Canada (PPC) leader Maxime Bernier was among the hundreds of Quebecers who braved the cold to denounce vaccine mandates and other health measures put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Montreal’s Old Port on Saturday.

“There is no convincing case for compulsory COVID-19 vaccinations,” Bernier wrote on Twitter. “Mandatory policies are a blunt tool aimed at covering up government ineptitude.”

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

Quebec to Deny Parts of Society to Those Without a “Booster” Passport

The vaccine passport system in Quebec will soon be updated so that it will only work for those who have had a booster shot. The vaccine mandate was also extended to include liquor stores and cannabis dispensaries.

The third dose will be a requirement at a later date when every Quebecer has had a chance to get it, said the province’s Health Minister Christina Dube.

Those without a booster shot will be blocked from some parts of society.

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

Cops Clash With Anti-Vaccine Passport Protesters Across Europe as Countries Tighten Rules to Fight Omicron Wave

COPS have clashed with anti-vaccine passport protesters across Europe as countries tighten up measures to tackle Omicron.

France, Italy, Austria and Germany all saw angry demonstrations against the measures, with some turning violent.

Demonstrators took to the streets of Paris in response to President Emmanuel Macron’s vow to “p*** off” the unvaccinated.

In the French capital protesters retorted by adopting his slangy wording, chanting “We’ll p*** you off”.

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

Germany Needs Jabs, Not Omicron’s ‘Dirty Vaccination’ — Health Minister

Germany’s Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has insisted that vaccine mandates are the only way out of the pandemic as the omicron variant continues to spread.

Speaking to the Sunday edition of German daily Welt, Lauterbach said gaining immunity through infection was a “dirty vaccination” and not the solution.

“We still need a vaccine mandate. Otherwise, omicron is a dirty vaccination through the backdoor. Counting on everyone getting infected sooner or later and becoming immune … would cause big problems,” Lauterbach said.

The omicron version of the virus is so far appearing to be milder than previous variants. But the health minister warned that “many people would become seriously ill with often permanent damage,” if omicron was left unchecked.

“For our children it would be an absolutely irresponsible experiment,” he said in a tweet earlier this week.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: AfD Files Lawsuit to Country’s Top Court After Left-Wing Government Blocks Important Parliamentary Positions

The AfD parliamentary group has taken legal action against its members not being elected as committees’ chairmen. On Dec. 31, the party filed both a lawsuit and an urgent application to the Federal Constitutional Court, Junge Freiheit reported.

The AfD is entitled to chair three of the 25 Bundestag committees “based on binding agreements between all parliamentary groups,” argues the opposition party. According to the so-called access procedure, the AfD has the right to take over the chairmanship of the interior and health committees and the committee for economic cooperation and development.

But at the constituent meetings of the bodies in mid-December, all three AfD candidates did not succeed. Martin Hess was to chair the interior committee, Jörg Schneider the health committee, and Deitmar Friedhoff the economic development committee. Before the election, contrary to the usual procedure, it was decided to vote in a secret ballot.

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

Germany: ‘Fully Vaxxed’ No Longer Enough, Citizens Must Get ‘Boosted’ or Get Regular COVID Tests

Germany has announced more pandemic restrictions that require double-jabbed individuals to take COVID-19 tests before eating in restaurants and cafes. Triple-jabbed Germans are unaffected by the new rule.

Germany has announced a new set of pandemic restrictions amid a surge in COVID-19 infections, despite more than 70% of their population having been injected with coronavirus vaccines.

The new restrictions require individuals who have received two COVID-19 vaccine injections to take a coronavirus test in order to eat out at restaurants and cafes, according to Franziska Giffey, the Mayor of Berlin, at a federal press conference.

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

Hungary’s Top Court Gives Green Light to Child-Protection Law Referendum

Through the child protection act introduced by Viktor Orban’s government, there are now tougher penalties for child-abuse and radical LGBTQ propaganda is banned from schools, kindergartens and television programs meant for kids. Since the law was introduced, it has been a subject to vicious attacks from Hungary’s left-wing opposition, from EU institutions and gender activist NGOs.

Despite the pushback from the left, Hungary’s government has deemed the legislation necessary, pointing to the radical gender activists who have begun targeting Hungary’s educational institutions with “sensitizing” programs without the consent of parents, which is the same agenda already seen in the Western European and U.S. school system As a result, the Hungarian government proposed a referendum regarding the legislation, where every citizen will have the chance to express their opinion, which could lead to either the withdrawal of the law in case of a negative outcome, or in the opposite case, its democratic legitimization.

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

Scotland: You’ll Never Take Our Freedom! Thousands of Defiant Protesters Stage Largest Anti-Lockdown Rally in Recent Months as They March Through Glasgow Against Nicola Sturgeon’s Draconian COVID Restrictions

Police have been called to manage an ‘unplanned’ anti-lockdown protest in Scotland’s largest city that appears to be one of the country’s largest demonstrations since the pandemic began.

Thousands of protesters gathered at Glasgow Green at 1pm on Saturday as public anger boiled over at First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s latest Covid curbs.

The activists began the unplanned procession by marching through Argyle Street, one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares, during what the campaign group called a ‘Freedom Rally’.

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

‘Sometimes a Goblin is Just a Goblin’ — UK Jewish Groups Defend Rowling Against Anti-Semitism Accusations

A number of Jewish groups in the United Kingdom have backed Harry Potter author JK Rowling against allegations that the avaricious goblin bankers in her novels are anti-Semitic caricatures.

Rowling, once a darling of the left noted for making large donations to the left-wing Labour Party and a comparison of Donald Trump to her fictitious villain Lord Voldemort — and branding of Brexit campaigners as “a bunch of mini-Trumps” — has now fallen foul of the woke movement for her insistence on the reality of biological sex and reluctance to regard “penised individuals” convicted of rape as women.

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

Spain: Mother Separated From Children After Trying to Flee Country to Stop Vaccination

A Spanish court has ruled that a mother who attempted to flee to Portugal to prevent her two children from being vaccinated cannot have any contact with them or approach them.

The mother of the two children, identified as Christine M.C., was released by a court in Seville following her arrest after taking her two children, aged 12 and 14, to neighbouring Portugal in an effort to stop them from being vaccinated.

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

Swedish Vaccine Passport Cheaters Could Face Prison

As Sweden expands its Wuhan virus vaccine passport system, at least 23 people have been accused of cheating the passport by using the documents of others and some could even face possible prison time.

Swedish police say they have received 23 complaints so far of people either using fake vaccine certificates or using the certificates of others in order to enter venues where a pass is required.

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

UK Culture Secretary Boasts About Shadowy “Anti-Disinformation” Unit; “Daily We Have Contact With the Online Providers”

The UK Government’s “disinformation” unit is “working,” the Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said, after she was challenged by the Labour party who said the shadowy unit shut down last year.

In the UK, both the Conservative and Labour governments support more online censorship.

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

UK: Queen Refuses to Pay for Prince Andrew’s Pedo Defense, Forcing Him to Unload Chalet in Fire Sale

The Queen of England is reportedly refusing to pay for Prince Andrew’s legal fees while a US judge decides whether a civil case brought by accuser Virginia Guiffre will be allowed to proceed, according to Newshub.

Giuffre claims that Andrew, son of the Queen and Duke of York, sexually assaulted her when she was 17-years-old after Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell sex-trafficked her.

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

Watch: McDonald’s Kiosk Denies Man Service Over Vaccine Status

Highly vaccinated and “boosted” Israel was among the world’s first countries to impose a vaccine passport requirement on its population, which the government calls a ‘Green Pass’. And yet the pandemic has continued there unabated, and all that average citizens are left with is immensely curtailed freedoms.

As a glaring case in point, Israelis apparently can’t even order a Big Mac from an automatic kiosk at McDonald’s unless their Green Pass status is up to date. Most recently, this means a citizen has to have not just been double-jabbed, but they have to have received the booster. This also as Israel has approved a second booster for the immunocompromised and elderly. Watch the absurdity unfold.

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

Hundreds in Lebanon Protest Measures Targeting Unvaccinated

BEIRUT — Hundreds of people rallied in Beirut on Saturday to protest measures imposed against the unvaccinated, saying individuals should have the right to decide whether to be inoculated or not.

Vaccination is not compulsory in Lebanon, but in recent days authorities have cracked down on people who are not inoculated or don’t carry a negative PCR test.

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

Instagram Blocked Hashtag #IWillLightACandletoo, Commemorating Iran Missile Strike Plane Victims

Meta-owned Instagram blocked content with a hashtag commemorating victims of the Ukrainian plane that was shot down by the Iranian military two years ago.

The tech giant said that the hashtag was blocked by mistake.

Instagram users noticed that the hashtag #IWillLightACandletoo, used in memory of the victims of the plane crash, had been blocked. The Persian version of the hashtag was also blocked.

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

Shock Video: Qatari Soccer Player Collapses From Heart Attack on Field

A Qatari soccer player collapsed on the field during a match Saturday as a result of a heart attack, according to the Al-Wakrah Sport Club.

Disturbing video from the Al Wakra Club match against Al Rayyan shows player Othman Coulibaly collapsing and seizing up on the field at the Al-Gharafa Stadium.

The Qatar Stars League (QSL) issued a statement saying Coulibaly suffered a heart attack and is receiving medical care.

“During the 2021-2022 season QNB Stars League match between Al Rayyan and Al Wakrah at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Saturday, Al Wakrah player Ousmane Coulibaly suffered a heart attack which required the intervention of medical and ambulance staff present at the venue. It may be noted that the player is currently receiving necessary medical care and attention,” QSL stated.

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

India Won’t Add Merck’s COVID-19 Pill to National Treatment Protocol, Citing Safety Concerns

Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times

India’s top health research body announced on Wednesday that it won’t be adding Merck’s COVID-19 antiviral pill molnupiravir to its national treatment protocol, citing concerns over its safety.

The state-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said it had become aware of “major safety concerns” that prompted the decision, despite India’s drug regulator in December approving the drug for emergency use.

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

Farage Backs Djokovic Against ‘Big, Bullying, Nasty Government’

Brexit champion Nigel Farage has backed tennis ace Novak Djokovic against “big, bullying, nasty government” in Australia, where the Serbian athlete is currently being detained in a hotel.

The world tennis number one, dubbed “Novax Djokovic” after appearing to express scepticism about coronavirus vaccines, travelled to the former British colony at the invitation of Tennis Australia to participate in the Australian Open with, he has argued, an exemption.

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

Mass Formation Psychosis: Jogger Attacked in Park Over Social Distancing ‘Violation’

Footage shot in a Melbourne city park shows a man physically assaulting a jogger for violating social distancing guidelines, as Covid hysteria reaches new heights.

Video filmed by a bystander shows a man arguing over a fence post with jogger “Simone.” The angry man next steps over the post and proceeds to beat the jogger, as the angered man’s wife screams and begs for him to stop.

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

Novak Djokovic Faces Third Day in Australian Migrant Detention in COVID Vaccine Furore

Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic began a third day in Australian immigration detention on Saturday, joined by Czech women’s player Renata Voracova as a blame game between Australian authorities over handling of Covid-19 vaccine exemptions gathered steam.

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

Channel Migrants Reportedly Staying at UK Taxpayer-Funded Hotels Worth $169 a Night

Last year, a record 28,431 migrants crossed the English Channel to illegally enter the UK, triple the figure for all of 2020.

Some Channel migrants are staying in four-star hotel rooms in the UK worth £125 ($169) a night, paid for by British taxpayers, according to leaked data obtained by The Sun.

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

Fewer Migrants Arrived on Greek Islands in 2021

The number of migrants and refugees arriving on the Greek islands in 2021 is the lowest level since the start of the 2015 refugee crisis, according to the InfoMigrants website.

Based on Thursday’s UNHCR data report, 4,109 people crossed from Turkey to the Greek Islands in 2021, as opposed to 9,714 in 2020 and just under 60,000 in 2019.

At the height of the refugee crisis in 2015, 856,723 people took this route and arrived on the islands of the Eastern Aegean Sea, Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros, according to InfoMigrants.

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

Greece: Opposition Mounting to New Chios Migrant Camp

A growing number of residents on the eastern Aegean island of Chios are opposing the planned creation of a closed camp for migrants. Reactions culminated during Thursday’s public holiday, when several hundred residents gathered at the port to prevent machinery that will by used by the construction contractor (GEK Terna) from being unloaded from a ferry.

The political fallout could prove costly for the government, as Chios will most likely elect a single deputy to Parliament as of this summer, according to the recent population census.

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

Human Traffickers Confirm NGO Contacts With Criminal Organisations

The Italian public prosecutor’s office is investigating NGOs who illegally bring people from Africa to Europe by ship. Statements from these smugglers now underpin the Italian investigations that some NGO ships are also in close contact with human traffickers from North Africa.

The Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung spoke to three Libyan smugglers who confirmed to the journalists that there were contacts between human traffickers and NGO ships.

The smugglers’ statements also supported the investigations of the public prosecutor’s office in Trapani in Sicily, which collected 650 pages of evidence to prove a cooperation between the NGOs and the human traffickers — including images, internal e-mails and WhatsApp communication, tapped phone calls and conversations from the navigation bridges of NGO ships.

As the Swiss daily Blick reported, however, large NGOs such as Médecins sans Frontières or Save the Children have been denying such cooperation. However, the SonntagsZeitung reported on at least a dozen cases of direct deliveries from migrants by the tugs to these NGO ships. The empty tug boats then returned to Libya.

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

Illegal Migrant Who Sexually Assaulted Women on English Beach Jailed

An illegal migrant who sexually assaulted two women in separate attacks on a packed British beach has been jailed.

Kuku Machhal, 31, who sexually assaulted two women swimming at Bournemouth beach 0n the 23rd of July 2021, has been sentenced to 18 months at Portsmouth Crown Court — although criminals in Britain do not usually serve their full terms behind bars before being released on licence.

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

Migrants Crossing Channel in Boats Add £1Million a Day to Cost of Britain’s Asylum System

MIGRANTS crossing the Channel in boats add almost £1million a day to the cost of Britain’s asylum system, figures show.

The 28,431 people who made the perilous voyage in 2021 have landed taxpayers with a bill of £336million to process their claims.

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Penn’s Lia Thomas Wins Two Races at Tri-Meet, Loses 100-Yard Freestyle to Transgender Yale Swimmer

University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas won the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle and finished in fifth place in the 100-yard freestyle during the school’s tri-meet with Yale and Dartmouth.

Thomas finished about two seconds ahead of her opponents with a time of 1:48.73 in the 200 freestyle. She missed out on setting an NCAA record held by Olympian Missy Franklin, who finished the event in 1:39.10 in 2015. Thomas wasn’t as dominant as she was at the Zippy Invitational at Akron last month.

[Comment: This article is not from The Babylon Bee.]

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Survey: Moral Relativism on the Rise in Poland

The rise in moral relativism in Poland concerns people from many ways of life, even those who declare themselves believers, deep believers or regular practitioners.

Only 19 percent of respondents expressed the view that one should have clear moral rules and never stray away from them, while 41 percent of respondents stated that while clear moral rules were desirable, they should be omitted if a situation demanded doing so.

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Transgender Contestant Becomes ‘First Woman’ To Win Over $1 Million on Jeopardy

Jeopardy!‘s trans champion Amy Schneider, who was given the title of the game show’s highest-earning “female” contestant, has won more than $1 million on the iconic franchise and is now being touted as the “first woman” to do so.

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UK: Parish Councillor Gets Police Visit for Posting “Trans Rights Are Very, Very Boring”

Two police officers visited the home of a parish councillor to warn him that he could be arrested over a Facebook post he shared. The parish councillor criticized the move, noting that even censorship-prone Facebook did not remove the post.

Parish councillor for Surrey Heath Andrew Willgoss shared an image of trans campaigners holding signs at an LGBT conference at Westminster last October with the wording on the placards altered.

The original placards read “trans rights are human rights.”

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

  1. Does anybody bet against me that the definition of fully vaccinated will be changed – and changed – and changed – so that nobody is ever fully vaccinated and needs at least one booster shot more to be fully vaccinated?

  2. Mr Albert Bourla of Phizer said that the pandemic will last for the next 10 years so the shots will continue.
    Another news.
    The Omicron variant came from a lab in South Africa.

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