Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/30/2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that the Ukrainian city of Mariupol surrender as a precondition for the end of Russian shelling of the city. Meanwhile, more than ten million Ukrainians have been displaced by the war, with four million of them leaving the country.

In other news, despite the relaxation of COVID measures in most Canadian institutions, the University of Waterloo in Ontario has just fired 49 employees for violating its vax mandate.

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

Thanks to Dean, JW, Nitzakhon, 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
» Germany Inflation Hits 30-Year High at 7.3%, Growth Outlook Dims
» Spanish Inflation Up 9.8% in March, Biggest Rise Since 1985
» US Companies Add 455,000 Jobs in March, ADP Report Shows
 
USA
» 9th Circuit Orders Stormy Daniels to Pay More Than $530,000 in Win for Donald Trump
» A Crisis of Trust
» Academy Awards Begin ‘Disciplinary Proceedings’ Against Will Smith
» Arizona Senate Will Vote on Bill to Eliminate Use of Unmonitored Ballot Boxes
» Boston City Council Passes Ordinance Restricting Protests Outside Residences
» CDC Coordinated With Teachers Unions on COVID Guidance at ‘Unprecedented’ Levels: Report
» Clinton Campaign, DNC to Pay Fine for Concealing Payments for Anti-Trump Steele Dossier
» Congressman Who Claimed DC Elites Invited Him to Orgies Will Face Dressing Down
» Constitutional Ban on ‘Critical Race Theory’ In AZ Schools, Universities is One Vote Away From the November Ballot
» Election Integrity Group Sues New Mexico Officials Over Right to Publish Voter Rolls
» Ex-CIA Official Who Signed Letter Warning Hunter Biden Laptop Story Was Disinfo Proud Trump Lost
» Exclusive: Trump Calls on Putin to Release Info on Hunter Biden’s Dealings With Oligarchs
» Fauci: Americans Should Prepare for Possibility of Fresh COVID-19 Restrictions
» Florida Parental Rights Bill Sponsor Rejects and Returns Disney Donations After Company Protests Law
» GOP Sen. Collins Says She’ll Vote to Confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court
» Hate Hoax: Black Students Responsible for Racist Death Threat at Sacramento High School
» Michigan Gov. Whitmer Kidnapping Plot Trial: FBI Raids Detroit Home Over Threats to Judge, Defense Lawyers
» More Than 20 Per Cent of Post-Lockdown Americans Are “Not Too Happy” For First Time Ever
» MSNBC, CNN, ABC and More Push Critical Race Theory Ideology While Downplaying it Exists
» National Institutes of Health Deleted COVID Info at Wuhan Researcher’s Request, Emails Show
» NCLA Takes on U.S. Surgeon General’s Censoring of Alleged COVID-19 “Misinformation” On Twitter
» New CNN+ Streaming Services Tanks, Layoffs May Happen as Soon as May
» Oregon CRT Teacher Under Criminal Investigation After Allegedly Sending ‘Inappropriate Image’ To Student
» Pennsylvania Judge Boots 5 Dems From School Board Over Mask Mandate
» Video: White House, Pentagon Forced to Explain Yet Another Biden Gaffe About U.S. Training Ukrainian Troops
» Watch: Jordan Peterson and Andy Ngo Discuss Antifa and the Rise of the Violent Left
 
Canada
» Author of Emergencies Act Questions Whether Threshold Was Met for Its Use
» B.C. Human Rights Commissioner Tells Bonnie Henry to Bring Back Masks
» Canadian Politician Out on Bail After Arrest for Backing Freedom Convoy Says ‘Charges Have No Merit’
» Canadian University Terminates 49 Employees Due to Vax Status Despite Relaxing COVID Rules
» Coca-Cola Gets Green Light to Suspend Unvaxxed Workers in Ontario Without Pay
» Former Polish Political Prisoner: Pastor Artur is Right to Protest for Freedom
» Lawyer Chad Williamson Reacts to Ruling That Allowed Rebel Into Leaders’ Debates
» Legacy Media’s Stories About Convoy Attendee Don’t Add Up
» University of Toronto Drops Vaccine Mandate After Being Hit With Human Rights Complaint
» Watch: Trudeau Met With Protests at Liberal Fundraiser Charging $1,675 Per Plate
» What Are the Charges MPP Randy Hillier is Facing?
 
Europe and the EU
» Austria: Private Investigator Behind ‘Ibizagate’ Scandal Convicted of Drug Trafficking
» EU Signs Agreement to Sell Citizens’ Data to the US
» EU Transfers Funds to Hungary After Orban’s Letter
» France: Eight Indicted for Raping and Filming Rapes of Two 13-Year-Old Girls
» Germany Suffering ‘In the Most Brutal Way’ Over Russian Gas Addiction — Minister
» Hungary: Budapest Shuns ‘United’ Front Against Russia
» Mandatory Vax Refuseniks: Just 14 Per Cent of Unjabbed Greeks Have Paid Punishment Fines
» ‘Why Have French Got 56 Reactors and We’ve Got 5?!’ Boris Fury in Brutal Nuclear Jibe
» Zelensky Again Lashes Out at Hungary Just Before National Elections
 
Russia
» Fact Check: Did Ukraine Strike Arms Depot in Russian Military Town?
» Latest Developments
» Report: Russian Special Forces Capture Ukrainians Who Tortured Prisoners of War
» Ukraine War: Putin Demands Mariupol Surrender to End Shelling
 
Australia — Pacific
» Unvaccinated Teachers, Transport Staff to be Allowed Back to Work in South Australia
 
Immigration
» African Migrant Gang Accused of Robbing Ukrainian Refugees in Spain
» Around 100,000 Migrants Could Arrive in Britain This Year, Nigel Farage Predicts
» DeSantis Rails Against Biden Border Polices, Former DA Over Stabbing Death of Married Couple
» From Refugees to Prostitutes? Reports of Pimps Snatching Ukrainian Women at Slovak Border
» Greece’s Watchdog Finds No Evidence of Migrant Pushbacks
» Hundreds of Migrants Reach Canary Islands
» Polish Schools Accept 130,000 Children From Ukraine
» UK: They Don’t Want You to See This: Illegal Migrant Crossings to Dover
» Ukraine Refugee Crisis: More Than 10 Million Flee Homes, 13 Million Stranded
» Ukrainian Women Threatened With Murder, Harassed in Swiss Asylum Center
 
Culture Wars
» Americans Overwhelmingly Agree With Florida’s Anti-Grooming Law When Shown the Text: Poll
» Arizona Gov. Ducey Signs Legislation Barring Transgender Females From Playing Girls Sports
» Australia: Genderless Birth Certificates Slammed as ‘Woke Nonsense’
» Drag Queen SNP Campaign Manager Allegedly Took Photos of Man’s Genitals Without Consent
» Finland’s Former Interior Minister Acquitted of Inciting Anti-LGBT Hate Speech
» Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt Signs Law Protecting Women’s Sports
» Thought Splinters (Part I)
» UK: Conservative MP Comes Out as Transgender, Claims to Have Been Raped and Blackmailed
» Video: DeSantis Accuses Disney of “Sexualizing Kindergarteners”
» Video: Babylon Bee CEO, Commentator in ‘Twitter Jail’ Say They Will Not Engage in “Reality Denial”
» Watch: UK Leftist Leader Stumped When Asked if Women Can Have Penises
 

Germany Inflation Hits 30-Year High at 7.3%, Growth Outlook Dims

German inflation surged to a record high since reunification in 1990, official figures published on Wednesday showed, amid soaring energy costs in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Consumer prices rose by as much as 7.3% from a year earlier in March, according to the federal statistics agency Destatis, up from 5.1% in February.

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

Spanish Inflation Up 9.8% in March, Biggest Rise Since 1985

MADRID — Inflation in Spain hit a 37-year high in March, rising to 9.8% over the past year as consumer prices have soared worldwide.

The provisional figure, the highest since May 1985, is an increase over the 7.6% annual inflation rate reported for February, the country’s national statistics office said Wednesday.

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

US Companies Add 455,000 Jobs in March, ADP Report Shows

U.S. companies hired employees at a healthy clip in March, suggesting the labor market is still strong and that businesses are eager to fill a near-record number of open positions, according to the ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday morning.

Companies added 455,000 jobs in March, slightly above the 450,000 gain that economists surveyed by Refinitiv had predicted but below the revised 486,000 increase in February. The latest hiring figures bring the first-quarter jobs total to 1.45 million for the private sector.

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

9th Circuit Orders Stormy Daniels to Pay More Than $530,000 in Win for Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday celebrated another legal win in the libel case Stormy Daniels brought against him after the court ordered she pay the former president a total now exceeding half a million dollars.

Less than two weeks ago, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the adult film actress to pay Trump more than $292,000 in legal fees.

The court “issued yet another attorney fees ruling in my favor against Stephanie Clifford (AKA ‘Stormy Daniels’) this time, awarding me $245,209.67 for my fees incurred in her 9th Circuit appeal of her failed lawsuit against me,” Trump wrote in a press release, which spokesperson Liz Harrington relayed.

“As of now, Ms. Clifford owes me $538,262.00 in this case, not counting attorney fees for her appeal of the trial court attorney fee award, which the 9th Circuit upheld two weeks ago,” Trump said.

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

A Crisis of Trust

But trust in experts is a double-edged sword. And we have a crisis of trust… specifically, too much trust. Childlike, naive trust.

           — Hat tip: Nitzakhon [Return to headlines]
 

Academy Awards Begin ‘Disciplinary Proceedings’ Against Will Smith

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on Wednesday started “disciplinary proceedings” against Will Smith for slapping Chris Rock during the Oscars over the weekend and then refusing to leave the venue when asked.

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

Arizona Senate Will Vote on Bill to Eliminate Use of Unmonitored Ballot Boxes

The GOP-led Arizona state Senate is consider a measure that aims to eliminate the weakest link in the chain of custody for voting ballots.

If passed, the measure would eliminate the use of unmonitored ballot boxes during election cycles, the bill’s primary sponsor says.

The measure passed the state’s Republican-led House earlier this month and appears likely to pass the state Senate.

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

Boston City Council Passes Ordinance Restricting Protests Outside Residences

Boston city councilors on Wednesday passed an amended version of a controversial ordinance filed by Mayor Michelle Wu late last month that would restrict when protesters can hold demonstrations outside private residences.

The 9-4 vote arrived after months of early morning picketing outside Wu’s Roslindale home, where protests initially voiced opposition to COVID-19 mandates issued by Wu early in her administration.

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

CDC Coordinated With Teachers Unions on COVID Guidance at ‘Unprecedented’ Levels: Report

House Republicans are slated to release a report on Wednesday discussing the “unprecedented” levels at which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention coordinated with teachers unions to craft its school reopening guidance, despite earlier claims from the agency that such cooperation was routine and non political.

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

Clinton Campaign, DNC to Pay Fine for Concealing Payments for Anti-Trump Steele Dossier

The Federal Election Commission has fined Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and the Democratic National Committee for disguising payments through a law firm for the infamous Steele dossier that gave rise to the now-discredited Russia collusion allegations, according to a letter made public Wednesday.

The commission found the campaign and DNC made total payments of slightly more than $1 million to the opposition research firm Fusion GPS through its law firm, labeling it as “legal and compliance consulting” when in fact it was for research related to the Steele dossier, according to the letter made public by the Coolide and Reagan Foundation that filed the original complaint.

Investigators “found probable cause to believe” the improper labeling of the expenditure violated federal election law and reached a conciliation agreement, the letter stated.

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

Congressman Who Claimed DC Elites Invited Him to Orgies Will Face Dressing Down

Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn is set to receive a dressing down from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy after he claimed on a podcast that DC elites invited him to sex orgies.

As we highlighted yesterday, Cawthorn made the astounding comments during the Warrior Poet Society podcast when he agreed with the host that House of Cards was more like a documentary than a work of fiction.

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

Constitutional Ban on ‘Critical Race Theory’ In AZ Schools, Universities is One Vote Away From the November Ballot

Republican legislators want voters to make it unconstitutional for Arizona public schools, colleges and universities to teach so-called “critical race theory,” a move that will come at the detriment of quality education, critics say.

The proposed constitutional amendment would capitalize on a nationwide GOP movement to demonize critical race theory — a high-level field of academic study about the ways in which racism has become embedded in various aspects of society — and turn it into a catchall term for various race-related teachings, including instruction on “white privilege” and “anti-racism” curriculum.

“We are saying that you cannot guilt a kid because of the color of their skin,” said Sen. Kelly Townsend, R-Apache Junction.

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

Election Integrity Group Sues New Mexico Officials Over Right to Publish Voter Rolls

Voter Reference Foundation (VRF) is suing the New Mexico secretary of state and attorney general to ensure publication of the state’s voter rolls.

The election integrity watchdog filed the First Amendment lawsuit on Monday, asking the U.S. District Court in Albuquerque to assert VRF’s right to publish the voter rolls for taxpayers to view.

The lawsuit alleges that Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver falsely claimed in public statements that VRF illegally published New Mexico’s voter rolls. Oliver has a history of refusing to release public voting records, according to the lawsuit, as she previously did so when former President Trump requested them in 2017.

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

Ex-CIA Official Who Signed Letter Warning Hunter Biden Laptop Story Was Disinfo Proud Trump Lost

An ex-CIA official who signed a letter along with dozens of other former U.S. intelligence officials in the backstretch of the 2020 presidential election warning that stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop being disinformation now says his efforts led to then-President Trump losing reelection.

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

Exclusive: Trump Calls on Putin to Release Info on Hunter Biden’s Dealings With Oligarchs

Former President Donald Trump is calling on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to release any information he possesses on Hunter Biden’s dealings with oligarchs in Eastern Europe.

In an interview with the Just the News television show on Real America’s Voice airing Tuesday, the former president cited a 2020 Senate report that disclosed Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina, then the wife of Moscow’s mayor, provided $3.5 million a decade ago to a company co-founded by President Joe Biden’s son and unanswered questions about why the money was given.

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

Fauci: Americans Should Prepare for Possibility of Fresh COVID-19 Restrictions

White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci is again floating the possibility of COVID-19 restrictions.

On Sunday, during an interview on the BBC, Fauci said that Americans “need to be prepared for the possibility” of restrictions going back into effect amid the emergence of the Omnicron sub-varient BA.2.

“I don’t want to use the word ‘lockdowns,’ “ he said. “That has a charged element to it. But I believe that we must keep our eye on the pattern of what we’re seeing with infections,” he said, responding to the presenter’s question about the potential of a new variant sending the nation back into a restricted state.

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

Florida Parental Rights Bill Sponsor Rejects and Returns Disney Donations After Company Protests Law

A Florida Republican lawmaker who sponsored a controversial parental rights bill that has been publicly opposed by the Disney corporation has announced he is giving back political donations he received from the company.

“What has become clear to me is Disney is no longer the company Walt Disney founded,” Rep. Joe Harding told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “Disney has regurgitated the lies put out by the president and the Democratic Party and regardless of the cost I do not want any association with them. If Disney is now the enemy of parents then Disney is now my enemy.”

Harding said that he will be returning $3,126 in political donations associated with Disney.

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

GOP Sen. Collins Says She’ll Vote to Confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court

Republican Sen. Susan Collins says she’ll will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, guaranteeing President Biden’s judicial nominee at least a slim path toward confirmation.

Jackson will need 51 votes in final Senate vote — with the chamber evenly split among 50 Democrats and 50 Republican. With no GOP support, Vice President Kamala Harris would cast the decisive, tiebreaker vote.

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

Hate Hoax: Black Students Responsible for Racist Death Threat at Sacramento High School

Two black students at a Sacramento, California high school are alleged to be responsible for acts of vandalism found on a wall in a school hallway in what an apparent “hate hoax.”

According to the Sacramento County Sheriff, on March 22, at approximately 5:14 pm, officials at Rosemont High School in the Sacramento City Unified School District reported that they had discovered the “All n*ggers should die” scrawled in pencil on the wall of a second-floor hallway in the school building.

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

Michigan Gov. Whitmer Kidnapping Plot Trial: FBI Raids Detroit Home Over Threats to Judge, Defense Lawyers

The FBI reportedly raided a suburban Detroit home in connection to alleged threats to the federal judge and defense attorneys in the Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping conspiracy trial.

The Detroit News reported that FBI agents raided the home in Hazel Park, south of Detroit, on Friday in connection to an investigation about alleged threats targeting Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker and defense lawyers Josh Blanchard and Christopher Gibbons. Blanchard is representing defendant 46-year-old Barry Croft, and Gibbons is representing defendant 38-year-old Adam Fox.

No arrests have yet resulted from the raid, which happened while the federal trial in Grand Rapids for Croft, Fox and two additional defendants, Daniel Harris, 24, and Brandon Caserta, 33, was ongoing.

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

More Than 20 Per Cent of Post-Lockdown Americans Are “Not Too Happy” For First Time Ever

The long-running General Social Survey has found that more than 20 per cent of post-lockdown Americans describe themselves as “not too happy” for the first time since the survey began in 1972.

Respondents to the survey were asked, “Taken all together, how would you say things are these days—would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?”

“The percentage of Americans saying “not too happy” has been consistently below 20% since the question was first posed in 1972,” writes Noah Carl. “But in the latest survey, something rather concerning happened: there was a dramatic rise in the percentage saying “not too happy” — from less than 15% in 2018 to more than 22% in 2021.”

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

MSNBC, CNN, ABC and More Push Critical Race Theory Ideology While Downplaying it Exists

Jon Stewart’s new episode of his Apple TV show saw the comedian host left-wing guests who took on the topic of race in America, arguing that all White people are on some level inherently racist and uphold the “systems” and “structures” of racism in U.S. law and culture.

It was yet another example of ideology crucial to critical race theory (CRT) receiving a prime media platform, which MSNBC, CNN, ABC, and other mainstream media outlets have pushed consistently while at times denying CRT exists.

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

National Institutes of Health Deleted COVID Info at Wuhan Researcher’s Request, Emails Show

The National Institutes of Health deleted information about COVID-19 genetic sequencing during the pandemic at the request of researchers in Wuhan, China, a move that created consternation in science circles, according to emails obtained by a nonpartisan whistleblower and government oversight group.

The emails obtained by the Empower Oversight group show a Wuhan University researcher submitted virus sequence information to the NIH’s Sequence Read Archive in March 2020 — the same month the World Health Organization declared a pandemic and about two months after the virus was detected in Wuhan.

The scientist made an additional submission on the virus in June 2020, according to the emails. Later that day, he asked the NIH to retract the submission, claiming it was made in error.

The NIH responded by saying it preferred to edit or replace submissions over replacing them.

A few days later, the researcher submitted another request to withdraw the genetic sequence from the NIH database, according to the emails.

The NIH agreed to the researcher’s request one day later, and asked for clarification on whether another submission should be deleted.

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

NCLA Takes on U.S. Surgeon General’s Censoring of Alleged COVID-19 “Misinformation” On Twitter

Washington, DC (March 25, 2022) — Mark Changizi, Daniel Kotzin, and Michael Senger each had or have Twitter accounts with tens of thousands of followers or more. Their Twitter platforms provided them with a social network, and an outlet to express their views, to hear the views of others, and to engage with detractors and fans alike. Outrageously, the U.S. Surgeon General and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have directed social media platforms including Twitter to censor alleged “misinformation” about Covid-19. The speech ban has included information the Government later conceded was true but that conflicted with the Government’s messaging on Covid-19 at the time. On March 3, the Surgeon General demanded that the tech companies turn over information about individuals who spread such “misinformation,” a clear intimidation tactic that HHS has labeled a “Request for Information” (RFI). In response to Government pressure, Twitter has permanently banned Mr. Senger, and temporarily suspended Mr. Changizi and Mr. Kotzin.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, has filed a Complaint in the lawsuit, Changizi, et al. v. HHS, et al., in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The lawsuit alleges that Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, whom NCLA has sued in their official capacities, do not have the statutory authority to issue this RFI.

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

New CNN+ Streaming Services Tanks, Layoffs May Happen as Soon as May

CNN’s attempt to enter the streaming scene has not gone according to plan, with some warning that low subscriptions could lead to layoffs.

On Tuesday, CNN launched their new streaming service, CNN+, with high hopes that it would help the network’s tumbling ratings.

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

Oregon CRT Teacher Under Criminal Investigation After Allegedly Sending ‘Inappropriate Image’ To Student

An Oregon middle school teacher is under investigation by local police after he allegedly sent a nude photograph to a student.

Dean Wright, a Judson Middle School teacher, was placed on paid administrative leave this week in response to the incident, District spokesman Aaron Harada said, according to the Salem Reporter.

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

Pennsylvania Judge Boots 5 Dems From School Board Over Mask Mandate

A Pennsylvania judge ordered five school board members who voted at the beginning of the school year to make masks mandatory to be immediately removed from office.

The order is a result of a parent-filed petition to the West Chester Area School District back in February, according to public media organization WHYY. One of the parents, Beth Ann Rosica, argued that under the Pennsylvania school code districts have no authority to require students to wear masks.

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

Video: White House, Pentagon Forced to Explain Yet Another Biden Gaffe About U.S. Training Ukrainian Troops

The White House has spent the past fortnight explaining and walking back idiotic and dangerous statements by Joe Biden, the latest coming on Tuesday after he appeared to admit the U.S. is training Ukrainian troops in Poland.

Biden was asked Monday during a disastrous presser what he meant when he previously appeared to tell U.S. troops that they would be deployed to Ukraine (below).

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

Watch: Jordan Peterson and Andy Ngo Discuss Antifa and the Rise of the Violent Left

On Monday, Jordan Peterson hosted The Post Millennial editor-at-large Andy Ngo on his podcast on an episode entitled: Antifa: The Rise of the Violent Left.

Ngo discussed his past experiences with Antifa, race riots, autonomous zones, and the ‘summer of love’ in Seattle.

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

Author of Emergencies Act Questions Whether Threshold Was Met for Its Use

The former cabinet minister who wrote the Emergencies Act in 1988 has questioned whether the requirements for its invocation were met after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used the extraordinary measure to quash Freedom Convoy protests in February.

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, former cabinet minister Perrin Beatty made the comments on Tuesday while testifying before a joint parliamentary committee investigating the use of the act.

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

B.C. Human Rights Commissioner Tells Bonnie Henry to Bring Back Masks

British Columbia’s human rights commissioner has called on B.C.’s government doctor to require everyone to wear masks again, less than a week after the holdout province lifted the mandate.

Commissioner Kasari Govender published a letter this week that she had sent to B.C. health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on Mar. 16, only five days after the province had lifted its mask mandate for most settings.

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

Canadian Politician Out on Bail After Arrest for Backing Freedom Convoy Says ‘Charges Have No Merit’

PERTH, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — An Anti-lockdown politician arrested for his role in the Freedom Convoy protest released an official statement blasting the Trudeau “regime” after posting bail.

Randy Hillier, an Independent Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in Ontario, released a statement regarding the charges laid against him after being released on bail following his Monday morning arrest. Hillier, who was an avid supporter of the anti-COVID mandate “Freedom Convoy” protest that took place for three weeks earlier this year in Ottawa, has been outspoken against so-called COVID restrictions, including lockdowns and vaccine mandates, for the entire duration of the so-called pandemic.

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

Canadian University Terminates 49 Employees Due to Vax Status Despite Relaxing COVID Rules

WATERLOO, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — As many universities start phasing out their COVID policies, the University of Waterloo has doubled down on its vaccine mandate by 49 firing staff members.

According to CTV News, the University of Waterloo in Ontario terminated 49 staff members last week for not complying with the institution’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy. The enforcement of the policy comes after the province of Ontario decided to drop all COVID-related mandates earlier this month, and after other schools in the province announced their policies will be phased out shortly.

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

Coca-Cola Gets Green Light to Suspend Unvaxxed Workers in Ontario Without Pay

BRAMPTON, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — Ontario arbitrator Mark Wright rendered a decision on March 17 backing up Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited in their quest to oust unvaccinated workers.

In Unifor Local 973 v Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited, 2022 CanLII 20322, Arbitrator Mark Wright decided that the bottling company had the right to suspend employees without pay who refused to take an experimental and abortion-tainted COVID jab.

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

Former Polish Political Prisoner: Pastor Artur is Right to Protest for Freedom

Last Sunday night, at a protest and prayer vigil for then-imprisoned Pastor Artur Pawlowski, I ran into a woman I first met a year ago who told me she had changed her mind about Artur. He was not the bombastic exaggerator about the Nazi-like behaviour of the Alberta government that she thought he was. She confessed to me Art was right all along.

Artur had been in jail at the time for nearly 50 days for offering a sermon of support and strength to truckers who were blockading the border at Coutts, Alberta, in opposition to the remaining COVID restrictions in Canada.

Art was picked up, and denied bail, on charges under the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act and mischief. That evening, pastors from the Edmonton area and supporters had gathered at Canada’s largest jail to offer support and prayers and sing for Artur.

I first met Regina Gorman at a protest at Edmonton’s GraceLife Church after the church was seized by the Alberta government and the pastor, James Coates, was arrested and held for 35 days in the same jail Art was in.

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

Lawyer Chad Williamson Reacts to Ruling That Allowed Rebel Into Leaders’ Debates

It was a great day for freedom of the press in Canada in September 2021 when Rebel News won an emergency injunction against the Leaders’ Debates Commission. The commission had tried to prevent our journalists access to cover the federal leadership debates after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a snap election in the middle of an alleged pandemic. He campaigned across the nation while the rest of us were told to stay home and save lives.

Yet, for the second time in a row, Rebel lawyers went up against the parliamentary authoritarians. And just like in 2019, we had another win. Our Rebel journalists, myself included, were granted access to the media scrum at the debates and Mr. Trudeau absolutely seethed at our questions.

Now that the judge has formally published the reasons for her ruling, I wanted to catch up with one the lawyers who worked on this case — Chad Williamson.

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

Legacy Media’s Stories About Convoy Attendee Don’t Add Up

It’s been more than a month since the Freedom Convoy packed up and left Ottawa. Even so, the convoy and its organizers are still facing attacks by the media. Last week, CBC and CTV ran stories about a man who said he lost his life savings because of the convoy. The stories featured Martin Joseph Anglehart, who said he spent $13,000 on fuel and e-transfers for truckers in Ottawa. In the days since the stories were published, Anglehart has said he was taken out of context, and other convoy attendees have disputed aspects of Anglehart’s account. He joins The Andrew Lawton Show to tell his side of the story and respond to the accusations.

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

University of Toronto Drops Vaccine Mandate After Being Hit With Human Rights Complaint

TORONTO (LifeSiteNews) — Roughly a month after a group of University of Toronto faculty submitted a formal human rights complaint seeking an end to the school’s vaccine mandate, the university announced it will be rescinding its COVID-related policies.

“University of Toronto staff, students, and faculty presented a letter to the University of Toronto’s top administrators on February 16, 2022, prepared by counsel Mr. Courtney Betty and Mr. Glyn Hotz and sent on behalf of individuals affected by the university’s vaccination mandates. The letter outlines claims of the affected parties, many of whom have already been placed on 12-months unpaid leave, intend to make in a pending Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Group Application. These claims are now being filed,” a group of faculty members revealed in a press release earlier this month.

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

Watch: Trudeau Met With Protests at Liberal Fundraiser Charging $1,675 Per Plate

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was met by protestors at his private Liberal event at the Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The prime minsiter travelled to BC for a multi-day visit which includes speaking arrangements with BC Premier John Horgan and meetings with Indigenous groups.

The event, a fundraiser that required a $1,675 donation per plate, was titled “An Evening with the Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau” and included featured guests Harjit Sajjan, Francois-Philippe Champagne, and Seamus O’Regan.

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

What Are the Charges MPP Randy Hillier is Facing?

On a recent Rebel News DAILY Livestream, Sheila Gunn Reid and David Menzies discussed the arrest, imprisonment and subsequent release of Ontario MPP Randy Hillier.

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

Austria: Private Investigator Behind ‘Ibizagate’ Scandal Convicted of Drug Trafficking

The private investigator behind the “Ibizagate” scandal in Austria has been convicted of drug offences.

Julian Hessenthaler — whose video led to the fall of the Austrian coalition government in 2019 — was found guilty of cocaine trafficking and receiving falsified identity documents.

He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison by the regional court in Sankt-Pölten, according to AFP.

NGOs have denounced the verdict as “devastating” and claim that the conviction is an attempt to silence Hessenthaler.

The 41-year-old was at the centre of one of Austria’s most dramatic political scandals.

Hessenthaler shot a hidden camera video on the island of Ibiza of Heinz-Christian Strache, the former Austrian vice-chancellor and leader of the far-right FPÖ party.

In the footage, Strache was heard promising state contracts in exchange for party donations ahead of the 2017 parliamentary elections.

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

EU Signs Agreement to Sell Citizens’ Data to the US

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President Biden have announced an “agreement in principle” on a new EU-US data exchange. In essence it means that the EU is willing to sell the data of its citizens to the Biden administration. EU citizens have not been consulted on this matter.

Austrian lawyer Max Schrems, who had obtained the annulment of the similar Orwellian Safe Harbor agreement in 2015 followed by that of the Privacy Shield in 2020, announced that he would take the matter to the EU Court once again.

Previous attempts had been invalidated by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) because it failed to protect European Internet users from the violation of their privacy by American multinationals.

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

EU Transfers Funds to Hungary After Orban’s Letter

The European Commission disbursed €2.17 billion in loans to three EU member states, including €147 million (approximately 55.8 billion forints) to Hungary under the EU Program for Reducing Increased Unemployment due to the Coronavirus Outbreak; the EU has thus transferred the full amount of the loan to Hungary, the Brussels body said on Tuesday.

The amount disbursed on Tuesday is the eighth tranche of financial assistance from the Emergency Unemployment Risk Reduction (SURE) facility, with Hungary receiving €147 million, Poland €1.5 billion and Portugal €523 million. The money is now expected to also help Hungary deal with the ongoing Ukrainian refugee crisis.

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

France: Eight Indicted for Raping and Filming Rapes of Two 13-Year-Old Girls

Eight suspects have been indicted by a French court in connection with allegations that two 13-year-old girls had been lured on social media, locked in a cellar, and gang-raped, with some of the abuse also being filmed.

The gang rapes of the two young teens are said to have taken place at the end of October of 2020 when the teens were lured on the social media platform Snapchat to Paris and then to the Parisian suburb of Sarcelles.

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

Germany Suffering ‘In the Most Brutal Way’ Over Russian Gas Addiction — Minister

Germany’s addiction to Russian gas has come to backfire on the European state, with one minister saying that the country is now suffering ‘in the most brutal way’ thanks to the policymaking of previous administrations.

Annalena Baerbock, a senior member of Germany’s Green party who is now serving as the country’s Federal Foreign Minister, has said that her nation is now suffering “in the most brutal way” as a result of its addiction to Russian gas.

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

Hungary: Budapest Shuns ‘United’ Front Against Russia

Hungarian President Orban has once again contradicted Ukrainian President Zelensky’s call for a united EU front against Russia. Orban also emphatically rejected arms deliveries to Ukraine via Hungarian territory.

Recent flight maps also revealed that no flights from Turkey to Ukraine had dared cross Hungarian territory, suggesting that Turkish TB2 Bayraktar drone deliveries to Ukrainian forces were not welcomed by Budapest.

“Hungary is on Hungary’s side in the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Orban said after the EU-NATO summit in Brussels. His country helps everyone who is in trouble, but also wants to assert and protect its own national interests. Hungary must always stand up for its national interests in every international forum, said Orban, and: “That’s why it doesn’t matter which government Hungary has. Whether it has a government that supports national interests or one that takes on a submissive role and swims with the big countries that exude authority.”

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

Mandatory Vax Refuseniks: Just 14 Per Cent of Unjabbed Greeks Have Paid Punishment Fines

Of the over 300,000 Greeks who have been fined by the Greek tax authority for being unvaccinated in contravention of the mandatory order, just 14 per cent have actually paid their fines by the deadline.

A total of 317,962 Greeks over the age of 60 have been notified by the Greek tax agency to pay the €50 fine for the month of January when the government implemented its vaccine mandate for all residents above 60 years old.

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

‘Why Have French Got 56 Reactors and We’ve Got 5?!’ Boris Fury in Brutal Nuclear Jibe

The Prime Minister has told a committee of MPs that Labour was to blame for the UK not having more nuclear power stations. Boris Johnson lamented the fact Britain lags behind France on the number of nuclear power plants during an appearance before the Liaison Committee on Wednesday.

Mr Johnson told the MPs: “This is the country that split the atom!”

He added: “Why have the French got 56 nuclear reactors and we’ve got barely six.

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

Zelensky Again Lashes Out at Hungary Just Before National Elections

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has again lashed out at Hungary for its position not to send weapons to Ukraine and opposing a total ban on Russian oil and gas.

“Everyone knows exactly who is facing humanity and common sense in the EU, who is doing nothing for the peace of Ukraine. It must end, and Europe can no longer listen to Budapest’s objections,” Zelensky said in a video message to the Danish Parliament on Tuesday.

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

Fact Check: Did Ukraine Strike Arms Depot in Russian Military Town?

Explosions in the Russian military town of Belgorod, just a few miles away from the border, were caused by shelling from the Ukrainian side, a number of Ukrainian and Russian outlets reported late on Tuesday.

The Claim

Videos and images of the explosions and ensuing fire were shared extensively on Twitter and Telegram, alongside claims that it was caused by a rare counteroffensive strike by Ukrainian forces with an OTR-21 Tochka, or “Tochka-U,” a Soviet-made tactical ballistic missile.

“Ukraine carried out a precision strike with the Tochka-U missile on an ammunition warehouse in the village of Oktyabrskoe, near Belgorod, Russia. Russia supplies its artillery attacking Ukraine with rockets and missiles stored at the facility,” Yury Butusov, a Ukrainian journalist, wrote on Tuesday night on his Facebook page.

“Judging by the explosion and the distance of the warehouse, the 19th missile brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has conducted an effective effort to demilitarize and denazify Russia,” the military correspondent added, citing Ukrainian media sources.

Russian and English-language media outlets repeated the claim in their initial reporting of the story, with TASS, the Russian state news agency, writing that “preliminary analysis suggests the missile strike originated in Ukraine.”

“The missile landed on the territory of a small military training camp in the Belgorod region, wounding four military personnel,” the report said, noting that initial data indicates the strike came from Ukraine.

Multiple social media posts featuring the video of the fire also placed the blame on Ukrainian forces, while others celebrated the strike as a military win for Kyiv…

The Facts

While it is extremely challenging to verify and corroborate wartime footage and reporting, most recent claims from both sides appear to suggest that the explosion was the result of an accident, rather than hostile fire.

“The explosion near Belgorod happened as a result of a fire that broke out at the ammunition depot,” Interfax, another Russian state-linked news outlet, reported on Wednesday morning, citing local officials.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region, wrote on his Telegram channel that while they are “awaiting official confirmation from the Russian Defense Ministry, unconfirmed reports suggest that there was a fire at the ammunition depot” and that “the situation is now under control.” He added that no one was hurt in the incident.

Butusov, who originally cited Ukrainian media as the source of the claim about a Tochka-U strike, soon edited his Facebook post to now cite the Russian media…

           — Hat tip: JW [Return to headlines]
 

Latest Developments

In Ukraine: Moscow dampened hope that a breakthrough in the latest peace talks had been achieved as Russian forces hit targets around Kyiv despite saying they would limit attacks there. They also stepped up ground and air assaults in eastern portions of the country.

Cease-fire talks: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dispelled the idea that Tuesday’s talks in Turkey between Ukrainian and Russian delegates had represented a turning point. “No one said that the sides have made headway,” he said. “We can’t point to anything particularly promising.”

Refugees: More than four million people have fled the war in Ukraine, the United Nations said, exceeding the organization’s initial estimates of the scale of refugee numbers that would be created by Russia’s invasion.

In Europe: European countries aiming to tighten sanctions on Russia are considering targeting more banks, broadening the net to additional family members of oligarchs and strengthening curbs on the use of cryptocurrencies to evade financial restrictions in coming days, according to diplomats and officials familiar with discussions.

In the U.S.: The Biden administration is divided over whether to impose sanctions on Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity giant that officials warn could be used by the Kremlin as a surveillance tool against its customers. In a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, President Biden said the U.S. would provide $500 million in budgetary aid to Ukraine to be used for expenses like paying salaries and maintaining government services.

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

Report: Russian Special Forces Capture Ukrainians Who Tortured Prisoners of War

Russian Special Forces have captured some of the individuals who tortured captured Russian prisoners of war by shooting them in knees and watching them die in agony while filming it all on video, it has been claimed.

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

Ukraine War: Putin Demands Mariupol Surrender to End Shelling

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that shelling of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol will only end when Ukrainian troops surrender.

Mr Putin made the comments during an hour long phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday night, the Kremlin said in a statement.

But French officials said the Russian leader had agreed to consider plans to evacuate civilians from the city.

It comes as new satellite photos showed the destruction caused by the shelling.

The images, released by the Earth observation company Maxar, showed that residential areas have been reduced to rubble and highlighted Russian artillery cannons in firing positions on the outskirts of the city…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Unvaccinated Teachers, Transport Staff to be Allowed Back to Work in South Australia

After a year of anti-vaccine mandate protests and staff resignations, South Australia has announced that it will allow unvaccinated transport workers and teachers to return to their jobs. This will also include taxis and rideshare services like Uber.

From today, unvaccinated staff have been allowed back into their places of work after Grant Stevens, the South Australia Police Commissioner, explained the change.

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

African Migrant Gang Accused of Robbing Ukrainian Refugees in Spain

Spanish police have arrested one man and identified others who are believed to be part of a North African gang who preyed on Ukrainian refugees travelling along Spanish highways after escaping the Russian invasion of their country.

The Spanish Civil Guard arrested a 47-year-old man — identified only by his initials RMJ — and identified another person as being behind at least eight thefts and three counts of damage to vehicles located in rest stops on Spanish highways. Both men are said to be part of a larger North African criminal gang.

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

Around 100,000 Migrants Could Arrive in Britain This Year, Nigel Farage Predicts

Nigel Farage has predicted as many as 100,000 migrants could arrive in Britain this year.

The UK authorities brought 386 people ashore from 12 boats on Monday, while another 162 people on seven boats were intercepted by the French, which includes one boat on Sunday.

This means that more than 4,500 people have been brought to the UK since the start of the year, according to figures collated by the PA news agency.

And Mr Farage predicts numbers will increase massively in the summer.

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

DeSantis Rails Against Biden Border Polices, Former DA Over Stabbing Death of Married Couple

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday said President Biden’s handling of the border and soft-on-crime prosecutorial policies resulted in the stabbing death of a couple earlier this month by an undocumented immigrant with a previous drug-related arrest.

Jean R. Macean, a citizen of Haiti, faces two first-degree murder counts for the killings of Terry Aultman, 48, and Brenda Aultman, 55, who were found dead in Daytona Beach, where they were celebrating Bike Week in early March.

Macean is being held without bond. The Aultmans were riding their bicycles in the early morning hours of March 6 when they were stabbed multiple times. At the time, Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young said it was one of the “most vicious and gruesome incidents that I’ve witnessed in my 20 years.”

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

From Refugees to Prostitutes? Reports of Pimps Snatching Ukrainian Women at Slovak Border

Reporters from the Czech Seznam Zpravy news outlet have collected several witness testimonies on the Slovak-Ukrainian border describing how refugees unknowingly got into the cars of pimps and other fraudsters. Ukrainian refugees were reportedly most in danger of being snatched by human traffickers in the first days, especially young women.

“It was huge chaos in the beginning. People came to the border to choose young girls and take them who knows where. These were cars from foreign countries, rarely from Slovakia. I don’t know how they [the human traffickers] managed to organize so quickly,” described the head of the local Catholic charity Pavol Vilcek.

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

Greece’s Watchdog Finds No Evidence of Migrant Pushbacks

An investigation by Greece’s national transparency watchdog has found no basis for reports of migrant pushbacks by Greek authorities, it was announced on Tuesday.

The independent National Transparency Authority (NTA) announced that an in-depth investigation into claims that Hellenic Coast Guard authorities were involved in illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers had found no evidence to support the allegations.

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

Hundreds of Migrants Reach Canary Islands

Hundreds migrants from Africa flooded Spain’s Canary Islands during a busy stretch spanning Friday to Monday, according to reports.

A group of 52 migrants was brought to the island of Lanzarote by Salvamento Maritimo, the Spanish coast guard, on Monday morning, adding to nearly 250 that reached the archipelago near Africa over the weekend.

“In the last 24 hours, a total of 238 people have arrived in the Canary Islands in five small boats and there has been one death,” Canarias 7 reported on Sunday night.

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

Polish Schools Accept 130,000 Children From Ukraine

Already 130,000 children of Ukrainian refugees have been accepted into Polish schools as of Tuesday, stated Minister of Education and Science Przemyslaw Czarnek.

According to the ministerial data, 20,000 Ukrainian children are in preschool, 85,000 are students in primary school and the rest of the children are receiving education in secondary schools. Television channel Polsat reported that as many as 10,000 Ukrainian children are now entering the Polish education system every day.

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

UK: They Don’t Want You to See This: Illegal Migrant Crossings to Dover

In this report, I catch up with Steve Laws, a citizen journalist and former UKIP candidate for Southend-on-sea. Having recently been banned from social media without warning, Steve’s journalism focuses on the illegal crossings of immigrants from Calais, France to Dover, England. Something he has been documenting for the past two years.

I followed Steve and watched how he reports and documents the crossings, even witnessing an illegal crossing for myself.

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

Ukraine Refugee Crisis: More Than 10 Million Flee Homes, 13 Million Stranded

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugess (UNHCR) announced Wednesday that more than 10 million have fled their homes in Ukraine while an estimated 13 million remain stranded since Russia invaded last month.

“We are confronted with the realities of a massive humanitarian crisis that is growing by the second,” the UNHCR tweeted.

More than 4 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Feb. 24, with the bulk of them — 2.3 million — going to neighboring Poland, according to the UN agency.

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

Ukrainian Women Threatened With Murder, Harassed in Swiss Asylum Center

Switzerland now hosts more than 12,000 Ukrainian refugees, but many of them living in asylum centers say they do not feel safe. A number of these refugees revealed to the Blick news outlet the difficult living conditions in the Chevrilles asylum center and the racist violence they are enduring along with bureaucratic headaches.

“We don’t feel safe in this place. It is impossible to leave your belongings in the room. Thefts are common. We’ve been here for a month but only got a translator yesterday. No school solution for the children was presented to the parents, who are themselves traumatized. We were sometimes victims of racist violence from other refugees, in front of security guards who remained unmoved,” one Ukrainian refugee told the Swiss newspaper.

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

Americans Overwhelmingly Agree With Florida’s Anti-Grooming Law When Shown the Text: Poll

The results of a recent survey conducted by the Public Opinion Strategies group show that a majority of Americans agree with Florida’s recently approved law that’s been mislabeled “Don’t Say Gay” by activist critics.

Overall, the results show that 61 percent of voters believe it’s inappropriate to include discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity within classrooms ranging from kindergarten to the third grade, and only 26 percent oppose the exacts of the legislation.

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

Arizona Gov. Ducey Signs Legislation Barring Transgender Females From Playing Girls Sports

Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law Wednesday a pair of bills, one that prevents transgender girls from participating in female school sports and another that prohibits gender reassignment surgery for minors in the state.

The two “common-sense” measures — Senate Bill 1138 and Senate Bill 1165 — were signed in an attempt to ensure “that the girls and young women who have dedicated themselves to their sport do not miss out on hard-earned opportunities,” according to the governor.

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

Australia: Genderless Birth Certificates Slammed as ‘Woke Nonsense’

The NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry has removed gender from commemorative birth certificates to ‘empower LGBTQ+ people’.

‘Rainbow birth certificate to celebrate diversity in NSW’, announced the official website on March 2.

The colourful certificates, which feature custom-designed ‘genderless’ cartoon animals — have been heavily criticised as ‘woke nonsense’.

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

Drag Queen SNP Campaign Manager Allegedly Took Photos of Man’s Genitals Without Consent

Drag queen and former Scottish National Party (SNP) campaign manager Nathan Sparling stands accused of indecently photographing a man who was passed out in his apartment. At the time of the incident Sparling was chief executive of the charity HIV Scotland, but he later stepped down in December 2020.

Last Friday, Sparling was in an Edinburgh courtroom for a trial over his purported “voyeurism.” BuzzFeed previously called this same person a symbol for the progress of LGBT rights in Scotland.

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

Finland’s Former Interior Minister Acquitted of Inciting Anti-LGBT Hate Speech

A Finnish court has cleared the country’s former interior minister of inciting anti-LGBT+ hate speech.

Christian Democrats MP Päivi Räsänen had been accused of describing homosexuality as a “disorder of psychosexual development”.

Räsänen — a doctor and former leader of the party — had also allegedly described homosexuals as “dysfunctional”.

The Helsinki District Court said that while some of her public statements may have been offensive, they did not constitute hate speech and didn’t fall outside freedom of speech laws.

The trial related to Räsänen’s Twitter post in 2019, when she criticised the Finnish Lutheran Church for associating itself with a Gay Pride event.

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

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt Signs Law Protecting Women’s Sports

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill Wednesday banning males from participating in women’s sports. The rule applies even to biological males who identify as women.

Referring to the legislation as “common sense,” Stitt told a crowd of female students and athletes supporting the bill, pointing out the obvious physiological advantages of biological males over women, and thanked state legislators for putting their work into defending girls and women in sports.

“When it comes to sports and athletics, girls should compete against girls,” he said. “Boys should compete against boys. And let’s be very clear. That’s all this bill says.”

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

Thought Splinters (Part I)

Thought Splinters are not bazookas attempting brute-force penetration — but rather minor irritants that slip through cracks in the shield; once in, they fester and irritate until they are taken out and examined.

           — Hat tip: Nitzakhon [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Conservative MP Comes Out as Transgender, Claims to Have Been Raped and Blackmailed

Conservative Jamie Wallis has become the first Member of Parliament to come out as transgender in an extraordinary post on social media in which he also claimed to have been raped and blackmailed. The Tory MP said that the trauma of the events led him to suffer from PTSD which he linked to his decision to flee from a car crash in November.

A little before 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, the 2019-intake Tory MP for Bridgend and Porthcawl said that it was “time” to come out as transgender.

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

Video: DeSantis Accuses Disney of “Sexualizing Kindergarteners”

Florida governor Ron DeSantis openly accused Disney of being obsessed with sexualising children Tuesday, questioning why the company is choosing “the hill to die on” as having “transgenderism injected into kindergarten classrooms.”

Appearing on Tucker Carlson’s show, DeSantis was reacting to Disney’s public rebuke of his “Parents Rights in Education” bill which prevents children as young as kindergarten age being taught about transgender and gay sex issues in schools.

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

Video: Babylon Bee CEO, Commentator in ‘Twitter Jail’ Say They Will Not Engage in “Reality Denial”

Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon spoke to conservative commentator Charlie Kirk Monday regarding their ongoing suspensions from Twitter, with both still refusing to “bend the knee” and engage in “reality denial” by deleting the tweets that landed them in ‘Twitter jail”.

As we covered previously, the Babylon Bee was suspended by Twitter for for promoting a parody article about transgender Biden Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine being the “man of the year.”

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

Watch: UK Leftist Leader Stumped When Asked if Women Can Have Penises

The leftist leader of the UK labour party was left stumped after being asked whether or not women can have penises.

A question on whether or not women could have penises left the leader of Britain’s leftist Labour Party, Keir Starmer, stumped during a radio interview on Monday.

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

3 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/30/2022

  1. Who is supposed to surrender Mariupol? The mayor has long been gone, and the bureaucrats. Sounds like a strange piece of news.

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