Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/9/2022

Ontario has dropped its mask mandate, and Alberta has dropped its vaccine mandate for health care workers. However, the health minister of British Columbia has not ruled out a vaccine requirement for health care workers, and progressive businesses in Ontario are keeping their vaccine passport rules.

In other news, French President Emmanuel Macron has decided not to participate in any debates in the first round of the upcoming presidential election.

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

Thanks to Dean, DV, 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
» California City Sued for First Amendment Violation After Cops Arrested Someone for Filming Them
» China Hacked Networks of Six State Governments: Report
» Concordia Professor Suspended Over Blog Post About “Woke-ism” Pushes Back
» Florida to Allow Doctors to Use Off-Label Drugs for Early Treatment of COVID-19
» I&I/Tipp Poll: 56% Blame Biden’s Afghan Debacle for Ukraine Invasion, Fear Putin Will Use Nukes
» IRS Revealed to Have Audited Low Income Earners Five Times More Than Everyone Else
» Justice Clarence Thomas Wants the Supreme Court to Take Up Section 230 Case
» Odysee Launches Android App With Background Play, Tipping, And More
» ‘Stop the COVID Theater’: Gov. DeSantis Hosts Roundtable Discussion With Anti-Lockdown Experts
» Ted Cruz Says Trudeau Abused His Power by Using Emergencies Act to Shut Down Freedom Convoy
» The Curious Case of Stefan Halper, Longtime ‘Zelig’ of American Scandals Who ‘Crossfired’ Trump
» Top Female Scientist Canceled Over 13-Year-Old ‘Michael Jackson’ Halloween Costume
» U.S. Rejects Polish Plan to Transfer Aircraft to Ukraine, Calling it ‘High Risk’
» Video: Energy Industry Heads Call Out Biden Admin’s Misinformation on Record High Prices
 
Canada
» Alberta Drops COVID Jab Mandate for Healthcare Workers
» B.C. Health Minister Won’t Say if Vaccine Mandate Still on Table for Private Health Care
» Breaking: Ontario Drops Mask Mandate for March 21, All COVID Restrictions Scrapped for April 27
» Canadian Banks Champion WEF-Proposed Digital IDs
» Communist Party Supporters Crash Pro-Convoy Rally in Ottawa
» Minister in Charge of CBC Applauds Legacy Media’s Convoy Coverage
» Montreal Symphony Cancels Russian Piano Prodigy’s Performances Over Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine
» Ontario Drops Mask Mandate, Admits to Overcounting COVID Deaths by as Much as 30%
» Ontario Liberal Leader Says Removing Mask Mandate for Kids is ‘Premature’ And ‘The Wrong Decision’
» Some Ontario Churches Not Dropping Vaccine Passports
» Tamara Lich Was Jailed as a Political Prisoner in Canada for 18 Days
» Temp Ottawa Police Chief Considers Taking Action Against Officers Who Donated to Freedom Convoy
» Trudeau Urges Discussion With ‘People We Disagree With’ Just Weeks After Crackdown on Peaceful Protesters
» Watch: Democracy Doesn’t Work Unless Citizens Think for Themselves
» Why Are Some Ontario Businesses Keeping the Vaccine Pass Alive?
 
Europe and the EU
» Arab-Speaking Man Who Spat in French Priest’s Face on Video is ‘Punished’ With Citizenship Course
» At Polish-Ukrainian Border, Matteo Salvini Confronted Over His 2017 Putin T-Shirt
» Czech Police Investigate Former Deputy Supporting Putin and the Invasion of Ukraine
» Ernest Shackleton’s Ship Endurance, Which Sank in 1915 Near Antarctica, Has Been Found
» France: Macron Refuses All Debates Ahead of Presidential Election First Round
» French Digital Minister Tells Big Tech Platforms to Scale Up “Fact-Checking Capabilities”
» Germany: Entire AfD Party Ruled ‘Suspected Threat to Democracy, ‘ Opening Door to Mass Surveillance of Opposition Party
» Is Displaying the Pro-Russian ‘Z’ Symbol Now a Crime in Czechia?
» Majority of Poles Back Ban on Russian Energy Supplies and Higher Taxes for Defense Budget; 4 in 10 Fearful of a Russian Invasion
» More Than One in Ten Austrians Are Defying Mandatory Vaccination Law
» ‘No Plans to Open Everything’ Germany Set to Pass More Coronavirus Rules as Europe Moves on
» The EU Wants to Sanction Spreaders of Misinformation
» Viktor Orban Refuses to Punish Hungarian Families for Russia-Ukraine War
» Wales: Cardiff Philharmonic Removes Tchaikovsky From Programme in Light of Russian Invasion of Ukraine
 
Middle East
» Report: Biden Tried to Ask Saudis and UAE for More Oil But They REFUSED to Take His Calls
 
Russia
» Cloudflare, Akamai Refuse to Pull Services From Russian Citizens
» Internet Backbone Provider Lumen is Ending Service in Russia
» Israel’s Bennett Plays Peacemaker in Ukraine-Russia War
» Latest Developments
» Nuclear Watchdog Says it Lost Contact With Russian-Controlled Chernobyl
» Oliver Stone-Produced “Ukraine on Fire” Moves to Rumble After YouTube Censorship
» Pelosi Says Zelensky Wants ‘The Planes, The Planes, The Planes’
» Questions Remain as Unearthed Document Shows US Link to Ukrainian Bio-Labs
» Russia’s Oldest University to Expel Students Detained at Anti-War Protests — Kommersant
» Russian Commission Backs Nationalization of Exited Western Businesses
» Video: U.S. Intelligence Officials Warn Putin Could Nuke a Ukrainian City
» VPN Use in Russia Skyrockets to All-Time High
 
South Asia
» Pakistan: Seminarian Stabbed to Death
 
Far East
» Ancient Japanese ‘Killing Stone’ Said to Contain Evil Demon Has Cracked Open
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Open Doors: Every Two Hours a Nigerian Christian is Killed for ‘Following Jesus’
 
Immigration
» Czechia Prepares for 250,000 Refugees
» France: Migrants Slam Stolen SUV Into House During Police Chase
» Germany: The Percentage of Foreign Sex Offenders Increased
» Ukrainian Women Being Forced Into Prostitution as Sex Traffickers Prey on Refugees
 
Culture Wars
» Florida Democrats Protest Anti-Grooming Law by Chanting ‘Gay, Gay, Gay’
» Teammate Says Women ‘Are Being Discriminated Against’ By Lia Thomas’ Participation in Women’s Swimming
 

California City Sued for First Amendment Violation After Cops Arrested Someone for Filming Them

The police in the town of Hemet, California are accused of performing a violent arrest of two women, a mother, and her daughter, for filming them.

The March 2021 incident occurred when, according to the victims, the police first searched their car “illegally” only to arrest them for filming this.

What reports say is definitely illegal is preventing people from making videos of the police, if that doesn’t interfere with their work. Federal courts in the US have ruled to this effect on numerous occasions, invoking First Amendment rights.

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

China Hacked Networks of Six State Governments: Report

Hackers broke into the computer networks of at least six state governments in the US in the last year, according to a report released Tuesday by cybersecurity firm Mandiant. Mandiant said the hackers were working on behalf of the Chinese government.

According to NBC, the firm did not identify which states were affected or the motive for the hacks which began in May of 2021, but the Chinese group APT41, which is believed to be responsible for the breaches has been known for hacking for financial gain and espionage.

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

Concordia Professor Suspended Over Blog Post About “Woke-ism” Pushes Back

Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) suspended professor Gregory Schulz days after he published an article criticizing the university. The administration suspended him without affording him an opportunity to answer to the misconduct allegations, according to Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).

In an article published on February 14 by Christian News titled “Woke Dysphoria at Concordia.” Schulz accused CUW of “coming under the influence of Woke-ism (that is, a potent cocktail of Progressivism, NeoPragmatism, and Marxism).” According to him, that contradicts the university’s Lutheran principles.

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

Florida to Allow Doctors to Use Off-Label Drugs for Early Treatment of COVID-19

Authored by Meiling Lee via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

Repurposed drugs that have been shown to prevent or treat COVID-19 may be prescribed by physicians, the Florida Department of Health said in its new COVID-19 guidance for health care practitioners.

The guidance, published on Feb. 24, says that health care practitioners are encouraged to provide early treatment for COVID-19 patients with federally approved generic drugs that they find will work. That’s in addition to the outpatient treatments granted emergency authorization usage (EUA) for people at risk of developing a serious illness.

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

I&I/Tipp Poll: 56% Blame Biden’s Afghan Debacle for Ukraine Invasion, Fear Putin Will Use Nukes

Americans are deeply unsettled by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade neighboring Ukraine, a just-released I&I/TIPP Poll shows. The March public opinion survey shows Americans fear a widening of the conflict could lead to the involvement of U.S. troops and even the use of nuclear weapons by Putin’s Russia.

President Joe Biden’s White House and its supporters in Congress are telling a story of America boldly stepping up to lead Europe in its response to the threat of an aggressive Russia. It’s been repeated by some in the mainstream media.

But a solid majority of Americans are focused on something very different: They worry that a desperate Putin might resort to nuclear weapons.

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

IRS Revealed to Have Audited Low Income Earners Five Times More Than Everyone Else

Newly released reports have revealed that nearly half of all IRS audits conducted in 2021 targeted the poorest taxpayers in the nation.

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) released a report on Tuesday finding that out of 659,003 audits performed last year, 306,944 were conducted on lowest income wage earners that claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit, those earning less than $25,000 in total gross receipts.

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

Justice Clarence Thomas Wants the Supreme Court to Take Up Section 230 Case

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects tech platforms from liability over what users’ post. The law was crucial to the growth of the modern internet. However, in recent years, both sides of the political spectrum have called for its revision.

Democrats feel that the law allows social media to ignore the spread of “misinformation,” “hate speech,” and other content. On the other hand, conservatives feel the law allows online platforms to unfairly censor their views.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who is a conservative, has called for a review of Section 230 several times. On Monday, he called on his fellow justices to take a case that would provide an opportunity to reduce Section 230’s broad scope.

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

Odysee Launches Android App With Background Play, Tipping, And More

Video sharing platform Odysee has released its highly-anticipated mobile app for Android.

The app is available in the Play Store and has key features from the web app along with some exclusive mobile-centric features.

The top menu bar contains quick links to Odysee’s home feed, search feature, sidebar, and account settings. Your notifications, home feed, “Following” feed, and “Lists” (which include Watch Later and custom playlists) are all available via the sidebar menu. You can also use this sidebar menu to quickly navigate to Odysee’s content categories, manage your account, and see a list of the creators that you follow.

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

‘Stop the COVID Theater’: Gov. DeSantis Hosts Roundtable Discussion With Anti-Lockdown Experts

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (LifeSiteNews) — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis hosted a roundtable discussion with highly credentialed physicians and epidemiologists on Monday with the aim of “ending COVID theater once and for all.”

“Over the past two years, the data has shown us what works and what doesn’t work. It is long past time to stop the COVID theater,” Gov. DeSantis said, according to a statement put out by the governor’s office on March 7.

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

Ted Cruz Says Trudeau Abused His Power by Using Emergencies Act to Shut Down Freedom Convoy

Senator Ted Cruz believes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau abused his power by using the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa.

Speaking to Rebel News reporter Jeremy Loffredo, who has been embedded with the People’s Convoy, the American version of the Freedom Convoy that was seen in Canada, the Texas senator said that governments across the world have been overstepping their authority.

“I think we have seen government officials in countries all over the world abusing power,” the Canadian-born Texas senator said. “Whether it was Justin Trudeau or Joe Biden, they’re both abusing their power and it’s wrong.”

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

The Curious Case of Stefan Halper, Longtime ‘Zelig’ of American Scandals Who ‘Crossfired’ Trump

In the late summer of 2016 Stefan A. Halper met with at least three of Donald Trump’s associates in England and the United States, bragging about his friendship with Russian spies who “can be very helpful to us at this time.”

As they listened to his tales of foreign intrigue and promises of illegal foreign help, what George Papadopoulos, Carter Page and Sam Clovis did not know was that Halper was not who he said he was. He was, indeed, a spy, but his handler was not the Kremlin — it was the FBI. Armed with leading questions and on at least two occasions a hidden tape recorder, Halper had been tasked by the bureau with finding dirt on the Trump campaign.

Halper’s undercover operation, which was documented in a report by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General, would prove largely a bust. Transcripts between Halper and Trump campaign officials would show that none of them took the bait, or appeared to otherwise be soliciting Russia’s help in the 2016 presidential campaign

Even now, it might seem odd that the FBI made Halper, then a septuagenarian Cambridge University professor, a linchpin of its top-secret counterintelligence probe codenamed “Crossfire Hurricane.” But a closer look at Halper’s life and work makes that decision seem inevitable. Stefan Halper is the Zelig of modern American political scandal — a chameleon-like, unusually ubiquitous figure who keeps appearing when mischief is afoot.

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

Top Female Scientist Canceled Over 13-Year-Old ‘Michael Jackson’ Halloween Costume

Highly decorated virologist Julie Overbaugh has been forced out of a position of leadership at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and resigned her faculty affiliate position at the University of Washington School of Medicine due to accusations of racism and investigations involving her decision to wear a Michael Jackson costume to a Halloween party in 2009.

A picture of the 13-year-old incident, in which she is accused of wearing “blackface,” has prompted peers to accuse her of racism despite the fact that her research has focused on aiding Africans for the last three decades.

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

U.S. Rejects Polish Plan to Transfer Aircraft to Ukraine, Calling it ‘High Risk’

The U.S. rejected a Polish proposal to take possession of Soviet-era fighter jets and transfer them to Ukraine to help it fend off Russia’s invasion, a Pentagon spokesman said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Polish counterpart Wednesday that “we do not support the transfer of additional fighter aircraft to the Ukrainian Air Force at this time and therefore have no desire to see them in our custody either,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters.

The U.S. military deemed the Polish proposal “high risk” and assessed that it wouldn’t “significantly change the effectiveness of the Ukrainian Air Force relative to Russian capabilities,” Mr. Kirby said.

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

Video: Energy Industry Heads Call Out Biden Admin’s Misinformation on Record High Prices

Energy industry heads have hit back at the Biden administration’s efforts to blame them for rising prices, noting that it is a ‘distraction’ from the reality that Executive actions are really to blame for supply chain issues.

Following Jen Psaki’s embarrassing attempts to deflect the energy crisis onto Russia and American oil companies who she claimed “need to drill more,” American Exploration & Production Council CEO Anne Bradbury urged “That accusation is a complete red herring.”

She continued, “It’s really a distraction from the fact that this administration has paused leasing on federal lands, something that we’re concerned about and something that we think needs to continue right away.”

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

Alberta Drops COVID Jab Mandate for Healthcare Workers

EDMONTON, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) — The Canadian province of Alberta dropped a COVID jab mandate for healthcare workers put in place late last year.

“Alberta joins other provinces such as Manitoba and Quebec in lifting vaccination or testing mandates for workers,” the government said in a press release Tuesday.

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

B.C. Health Minister Won’t Say if Vaccine Mandate Still on Table for Private Health Care

British Columbia’s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has put out a new order affecting the province’s private-practice healthcare workers, but it’s unclear whether it is a step closer to mandatory vaccination for the sector or a walkback from it.

Henry had announced on Feb. 9 that the province would be extending its mandatory vaccination policy to include all regulated health care professionals not yet covered, including physicians, surgeons, chiropractors, dentists, midwives, acupuncturists, practitioners of Chinese medicine and many others.

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

Breaking: Ontario Drops Mask Mandate for March 21, All COVID Restrictions Scrapped for April 27

Ontario will be dropping its mask mandate, and will be scrapping self-isolation requirements for people exposed to COVID or symptom screening requirements as of March 21. Masks will no longer be required at the majority of public spaces by March 21.

All pandemic restrictions will be dropped by the end of April, though “users of public transit and all patients, residents, visitors and staff in hospitals, congregate care settings, jails and the long-term care system will continue to be required to don masks until at least April 27,” reports CP24.

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

Canadian Banks Champion WEF-Proposed Digital IDs

As Canada’s digital ID plans move closer, the Canadian Banking Association (CBA) is pushing for a national digital identification system. In a recent whitepaper, the World Economic Forum also argued for dystopian-sounding digital IDs, which could be used to decide who gets access to services, adding that banks should lead the way.

Plastic cards and paper licenses are an outdated technology that should be replaced with a digital identification system, says president and CEO of the Canadian Bankers Association, Neil Parmenter.

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

Communist Party Supporters Crash Pro-Convoy Rally in Ottawa

Two weeks ago, the Freedom Convoy was disbanded, but demonstrations have taken place every week since.

On Saturday March 5, about three hours after the demonstration in support of truckers against the mandates and health measures began, another demonstration took place at Ottawa City Hall. Presumably knowing that the other demonstration was still taking place on Parliament Hill, they opted to march in the opposite direction.

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

Minister in Charge of CBC Applauds Legacy Media’s Convoy Coverage

Liberal Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez has not only applauded legacy media journalists for their skewed coverage of the Freedom Convoy protests but has also hinted they are entitled to even more government funding for it.

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the praise occurred during a webinar last month titled The Future of News, which was hosted by the Liberal-connected Ottawa think tank, Canada 2020. Canada 2020’s executive chair was one of the Liberal Party of Canada’s past presidents.

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

Montreal Symphony Cancels Russian Piano Prodigy’s Performances Over Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine

MONTREAL, Quebec (LifeSiteNews) — The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) has cancelled the contracts of young Russian piano prodigy Alexander Malofeev as a result of the Russian/Ukraine conflict and public pressure that ensued.

According to the OSM in a statement sent out Tuesday to media which LifeSiteNews viewed, the decision to sack Malofeev was done “considering the serious impact on the civilian population of Ukraine caused by the Russian invasion.”

As a result, the OSM said they have announced “the withdrawal of pianist Alexander Malofeev from performances of the concert, ‘Michael Tilson Thomas: Monumental.’“

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

Ontario Drops Mask Mandate, Admits to Overcounting COVID Deaths by as Much as 30%

TORONTO (LifeSiteNews) — As of March 21, most mask mandates in Ontario will be scrapped. Meanwhile, the province admitted that deaths were overreported since early 2020, when the first lockdowns were imposed.

The news was announced by Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Kieran Moore on Wednesday.

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

Ontario Liberal Leader Says Removing Mask Mandate for Kids is ‘Premature’ And ‘The Wrong Decision’

Ontario Liberal leader Steven Del Duca released a video statement on Wednesday condemning the decision by the Ford government to drop mask mandates across the province.

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

Some Ontario Churches Not Dropping Vaccine Passports

A number of progressivist churches in Ontario have decided to continue with proof of vaccination requirements for their congregants despite the province having gotten rid of its vaccine passport system.

The Ontario government lifted proof of vaccination requirements and capacity limits on Mar. 1, with the province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore stating vaccine policies were “no longer necessary.”

Unlike some other provinces including Quebec, places of worship in Ontario were never mandated to require proof of vaccination, although some congregations voluntarily opted to do so.

True North has identified a number of Ontario congregations that have opted to continue restricting the unvaccinated from in-person worship, including three in the Ottawa area.

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

Tamara Lich Was Jailed as a Political Prisoner in Canada for 18 Days

On last night’s episode of The Ezra Levant Show, Ezra discussed the arrest and imprisonment of Tamara Lich, one of the peaceful organizers of the Ottawa Freedom Convoy protest.

Last month, Tamara Lich was arrested on the streets of Ottawa, handcuffed like she was some violent criminal, packed into a police vehicle and taken to jail.

For “inciting mischief”. Really? Really. According to prosecutors, she had told truckers to “hold the line” and that meant keep protesting. And that, apparently, is illegal in both Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Justin Trudeau’s Canada.

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

Temp Ottawa Police Chief Considers Taking Action Against Officers Who Donated to Freedom Convoy

Interim chief of police of the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) Steve Bell said that the OPS was investigating if some officers supported the “Freedom Convoy,” threatening “all possible range of discipline” to those found guilty.

Data breaches targeting the Freedom Convoy and Adopt a Trucker campaigns on the crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo exposed the names of tens of thousands of donors. According to reports by the Toronto Star and CBC, the names of Ottawa police officers were exposed in the data breaches.

“These are serious allegations,” Bell said. “If they are proven to be substantiated we’ll look at appropriate discipline in those circumstances.”

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

Trudeau Urges Discussion With ‘People We Disagree With’ Just Weeks After Crackdown on Peaceful Protesters

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a keynote address on current geopolitical issues and the state of democracies during his European trip on Wednesday, where he said that “democracy hasn’t exactly been at its best these past few years.”

Trudeau urged that Western countries “recommit ourselves to strengthening our democracy,” and that issues such as “apathy, cynicism, misinformation and disinformation, declining voter turnout, mistrust in our institutions” be tackled.

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

Watch: Democracy Doesn’t Work Unless Citizens Think for Themselves

Dr. Julie Ponesse is joined by law professor and Rights Probe Executive Director Bruce Pardy to discuss the state of freedom in Canada, why autonomy and civil liberties have lost their footing, and where the collectivist approach to law came from.

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

Why Are Some Ontario Businesses Keeping the Vaccine Pass Alive?

As of March 1, Ontario Premier Doug Ford decided it was time for the COVID-19 vaccination passport to be tossed upon the scrapheap of obsolescence. Finally, all Ontarians can now go to restaurants and gyms and movie theatres and arenas without having to show their “papers”; finally, a two-tier citizenship system in Ontario is a thing of the past.

Er, actually, those unvaccinated residents of Ontario hoping to enjoy full citizenship status should be wary of the fine print when it comes to vax passports. Which is to say, inexplicably, some businesses are still demanding QR codes as a condition of service. Failure to provide such proof will, in the words of a certain restaurateur from the Seinfeld TV series, result in: “No soup for you!”

Case in point: the Times Square Diner in Toronto.

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

Arab-Speaking Man Who Spat in French Priest’s Face on Video is ‘Punished’ With Citizenship Course

On Sunday, Feb. 27, a man spat in the face of a French priest who was blessing local vendors with holy water outside Saint-Michel basilica in Bordeaux.

In the video, the man is seen spitting in the priest’s face and saying in Arabic, “F*k your father and f*k your mother’s p*ssy.”

On Sunday, Feb. 27, a man spat in the face of a French priest who was blessing local vendors with holy water outside Saint-Michel basilica in Bordeaux.

In the video, the man is seen spitting in the priest’s face and saying in Arabic, “F*k your father and f*k your mother’s p*ssy.”

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

At Polish-Ukrainian Border, Matteo Salvini Confronted Over His 2017 Putin T-Shirt

The mayor of the Polish border town of Przemysl clashed with conservative-populist leader Matteo Salvini over the pro-Putin shirt the Italian politician had been photographed wearing at the Kremlin in 2017

As the leader of the League party, Salvini, is currently a member of the humanitarian mission of the Italian parliament which is operating as part of the OSCE.

Wojciech Baku, the mayor of Przemysl, a town near the Polish-Ukrainian border, held a joint press conference with Salvini in front of the town’s railway station which hosts a reception point for refugees.

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

Czech Police Investigate Former Deputy Supporting Putin and the Invasion of Ukraine

The Czech criminal police are investigating the statements of the former deputy Lubomir Volný, which concern his approval of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On social media, Volný thanked the Russian army and celebrated President Vladimir Putin, with the police presidium confirming the investigation to the Denik N newspaper.

“Although we have received several suggestions from the public in this regard, we are doing so based on our own monitoring activities,” said Katerina Rendlova, a spokeswoman for the police presidium.

“Europe needs more Putins and Orbans and fewer criminals and terrorists such as EU and NATO criminal organizations,” Volný said while expressing his admiration for Vladimir Putin.

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

Ernest Shackleton’s Ship Endurance, Which Sank in 1915 Near Antarctica, Has Been Found

A team has found the wreck of explorer Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance more than 100 years after the vessel was crushed by ice and sank near Antarctica.

The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust confirmed on Wednesday that the search expedition, known as Endurance22, located the wreck of Endurance at nearly 10,000 feet underwater in the Weddell Sea, located east of the Antarctic Peninsula. The team of researchers, technicians and others worked from a South African vessel.

“We are overwhelmed by our good fortune in having located and captured images of Endurance,” Mensun Bound, director of exploration on the expedition, said in a news release.

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

France: Macron Refuses All Debates Ahead of Presidential Election First Round

French President Emmanuel Macron will not join any debates ahead of the first round of the upcoming presidential election, instead stating he would prefer to debate with the French people.

Macron argued no incumbent French president seeking re-election had done so in the past and he would not change that trend

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

French Digital Minister Tells Big Tech Platforms to Scale Up “Fact-Checking Capabilities”

Telecom ministers from European countries have asked the major online platforms to ensure they have the adequate capacity to handle “misinformation” in Central and Eastern Europe, which they say are the major targets of Russian propaganda.

On March 8, officials from EU governments and representatives from the major online platforms met in France to discuss how to fight disinformation being spread by the Russian government. Initially, the agenda of the informal meeting was the Metaverse, how to bring more women to the technology sector, and environment. The agenda was changed in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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

Germany: Entire AfD Party Ruled ‘Suspected Threat to Democracy, ‘ Opening Door to Mass Surveillance of Opposition Party

In an unprecedented step, a German court on Tuesday evening ruled that German domestic law enforcement can now label the Alternative for Germany (AfD) a “suspected threat” to democracy, which would allow the government to utilize wiretaps on all members and politicians in the party and use informants.

After the ruling from the administrative court in Cologne, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) can now move forward with surveillance measures that are expected to severely restrict the activities and membership interest in the AfD, one of the largest parties in the country.

The court announced that there were sufficient factual indications of anti-constitutional efforts within the AfD, reported German newspaper Die Welt.

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

Is Displaying the Pro-Russian ‘Z’ Symbol Now a Crime in Czechia?

Czech authorities are to receive guidance from the country’s interior ministry on how to police the displaying of the “Z” insignia, a symbol that has become synonymous with support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

National news outlet Neovlivni.cz has reported that Czech authorities are currently investigating dozens of cases where the insignia has been prominently displayed or promoted by individuals who side with Russia following its ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine.

“Lawyers are now dealing with this matter together with experts from the anti-extremist unit,” a highly-trusted source told the new site. “They are inclined to view this in the same way as the swastika. That is, as the promotion and support of the movement to suppress freedoms,” the source added.

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

Majority of Poles Back Ban on Russian Energy Supplies and Higher Taxes for Defense Budget; 4 in 10 Fearful of a Russian Invasion

More than four in ten Poles believe their country is at risk of an invasion by Russia, according to the latest polling.

In a poll conducted by United Surveys for RMF FM radio and the DGP newspaper, 43.2 percent of respondents believed that a Russian invasion of Poland was a possibility — 6.2 percent were of the opinion that it would “definitely” happen, while 37 percent claimed it was “possible.”

On the contrary, 32 percent of those asked believed that Putin would “probably not” attack Poland, with just 6 percent definitively ruling out the suggestion. Another 18.9 percent of Poles did not have an opinion on the matter.

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

More Than One in Ten Austrians Are Defying Mandatory Vaccination Law

Nearly a million Austrian adults are reported to not be fully vaccinated against the Wuhan coronavirus, despite the Austrian government requiring all adults to take the vaccine, threatening fines or even prison.

Austrian Ministry of Health figures suggest that a total of 972,289 adults in the country, 13 per cent of the adult population, are unvaccinated against the Wuhan coronavirus, down from 1.3 million unvaccinated Austrians at the start of February.

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

‘No Plans to Open Everything’ Germany Set to Pass More Coronavirus Rules as Europe Moves on

While Europe may be moving on from COVID-19 lockdown rules, Germany is instead looking to pass even more legislation in the name of Coronavirus.

Germany has announced that it is looking to pass another piece of lockdown legislation that would enable authorities to curb freedoms in the hopes of tackling the Chinese Coronavirus.

This is despite the fact that across much of the rest of Europe, countries are finally returning to normality, with even the likes of Ireland and Austria — which deployed among the harshest lockdowns in the world in the past, severely restricting the freedom of residents— abandoning almost all of the measures aimed at tackling the disease.

However, according to a report by Die Welt, German authorities are not done imposing on their population, now drafting a new law that would give local state authorities the ability to implement hardline restrictions.

This draft law will give authorities the power to reintroduce a host of lockdown rules in local areas, including harsh restrictions banning individuals who cannot present proof of either vaccination or recovery from COVID from venues like restaurants and bars.

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

The EU Wants to Sanction Spreaders of Misinformation

Appearing to be running out of ideas about what fresh salvo of sanctions to fire Russia’s way, the EU has come up with the “ultimate addition” to the ongoing, often absurd, but undeniably harmful “war on disinformation.”

And the solution is to start imposing sanctions on individuals or entities that the EU marks as guilty of spreading disinformation. The sanctions regime against accused purveyors of “disinformation” would include the usual: freezing of assets, travel bans, etc.

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

Viktor Orban Refuses to Punish Hungarian Families for Russia-Ukraine War

Unlike other western nations that have told poor people to swallow the cost of economic sanctions against Russia, Prime Minister Viktor Orban says he will not punish Hungarian families.

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

Wales: Cardiff Philharmonic Removes Tchaikovsky From Programme in Light of Russian Invasion of Ukraine

The Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra has removed Tchaikovsky from its programme of its upcoming concert ‘in light of the recent Russian invasion’.

Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture was due to be included in the orchestra’s upcoming all-Tchaikovsky concert at St David’s Hall on 18 March, but it was considered by the orchestra ‘to be inappropriate at this time’.

The 1812 Overture was written to commemorate the successful Russian defence against Napoleon’s invasion in 1812, featuring cannon fire, chimes and a brass fanfare. The piece was due to be performed alongside another militaristic work by Tchaikovsky: his 1876 Marche slave, written to celebrate Russia’s involvement in the Serbian-Ottoman War. The composer’s Second Symphony was the final piece in the programme.

The orchestra will instead present a programme centred around Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8, with John Williams’s The Cowboys Overture opening the concert, and a performance of Elgar’s Enigma Variations in the second half.

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

Report: Biden Tried to Ask Saudis and UAE for More Oil But They REFUSED to Take His Calls

Joe Biden keeps talking about the U.S. needing to become energy independent, however reports have claimed he attempted to call the Saudi and United Arab Emirates governments to ask for a ramp up in oil production, but they refused to take his calls.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Biden White House has attempted to arrange calls with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the U.A.E.’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan but neither was willing to talk to Biden.

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

Cloudflare, Akamai Refuse to Pull Services From Russian Citizens

US-based cybersecurity startup SOC Prime, which was founded by Ukrainians, appealed to DDoS protection providers Akamai, Cloudflare, AWS and others to stop providing their services to websites in Russia and Belarus. Akamai and Cloudflare have since confirmed they will not be pulling out from Russia.

Akamai said it is no longer advertising in Russia and Belarus and it ended relationships with state-controlled clients in both countries.

But, it “made the deliberate decision” to maintain its “network presence in Russia,” the company said in a statement Monday. The company argued that would allow Russians to access “vital and accurate information.”

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

Internet Backbone Provider Lumen is Ending Service in Russia

Lumen Technologies, a US-based company that owns one of the biggest internet backbones and operates a substantial portion of the world’s internet traffic, announced that it will no longer serve businesses and organizations in Russia. A few days ago, Cogent, another internet backbone provider, also announced an exit from Russia.

According to Kentik, a firm that monitors internet infrastructure, Lumen is the largest foreign transit provider in Russia, serving Russia’s telecom giants TTK and Rostelecom, and the top three mobile carriers MTS, VEON, and Megafon.

Initially, Lumen had said it would not accept new business from Russia. However, on Tuesday, the company said continuing to serve Russians was not justifiable.

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

Israel’s Bennett Plays Peacemaker in Ukraine-Russia War

Naftali Bennett says it is a moral obligation to make every effort to extend dialogue

Early in the morning, as Russia’s isolation grew, a jet took off from Tel Aviv bound for Moscow. It happened in secret, carrying a VIP delegation. The plane touched down with a reverse thrust: a hot blast into Moscow’s dawn while Russia was being frozen out by the West.

This was last Saturday — incidentally the Jewish Sabbath, when tradition says the rest day can be broken to save a life. Onboard were at least two observant Jews working when they normally wouldn’t — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Housing Minister Zeev Elkin, plus four officials. Mr Elkin was there, it was said, to help with the translation. He’s a native Russian speaker, born and brought up in Kharkiv, the Ukrainian city under relentless Russian bombardment. He has close relatives there; now he was going to meet the war’s architect.

The Israelis headed to the Kremlin. Mr Bennett was the first foreign leader to speak to Vladimir Putin in person in response to the invasion of Ukraine. We don’t know much about the meeting, whether they were sat six metres (20ft) apart across that glossy white table (the treatment European leaders got in the run up to war). None of the substance leaked at the time. There was nothing to see and little to hear. An invisible liaison.

But the meeting itself was the story. Could Israel be the unlikely broker in the worst crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War?

News of the meeting was released as it reached its third hour, making global headlines…

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Latest Developments

In Ukraine: A Russian airstrike hit a maternity hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol and buried people including children under rubble, Ukrainian authorities said, as President Vladimir Putin’s forces pressed their offensives across Ukraine.

In the northern besieged city of Sumy, officials said they managed to move about 5,000 residents overnight, although officials reported more shelling in the past 24 hours. One bomb killed 22 people, officials said.

Russia and Ukraine agreed to open evacuation routes in a half dozen Ukrainian cities Wednesday morning. Ukrainian officials said that several towns west of Kyiv had begun moving civilians, mostly women and children, toward the capital. Such corridors have failed repeatedly in the past few days as Russia has pressed its offensive with stepped-up brutality.

In Russia: Production of Lada cars, a symbol of Russia’s self-reliance, ground to a halt as Western sanctions deprived its parent company of the parts and supplies.

Markets: U.S. stocks jumped and oil prices dropped, extending a volatile spell as investors track the economic fallout of the war.

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

Nuclear Watchdog Says it Lost Contact With Russian-Controlled Chernobyl

Russian occupying forces have disconnected Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine from the national power grid igniting safety fears at the site, the global nuclear watchdog warned Wednesday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Ukraine had notified it about its loss of control over the site which had been taken by Russian troops.

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

Oliver Stone-Produced “Ukraine on Fire” Moves to Rumble After YouTube Censorship

“Ukraine on Fire,” a 2016 documentary that details historical conflicts in the country, such as the 2004 Orange Revolution and the 2014 overthrow of the Ukrainian government, has been banned by YouTube for violating the tech giant’s “violent or graphic content policy.”

The documentary is directed by Igor Lopatonok, executive produced by acclaimed filmmaker Oliver Stone, and features Stone interviewing former Ukrainian Viktor Yanukovych (who was ousted during the 2014 revolution), Russian President Vladimir Putin, and others.

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

Pelosi Says Zelensky Wants ‘The Planes, The Planes, The Planes’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said she spoke to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky for more than 45 minutes on Wednesday.

“He wants the planes, the planes, the planes. You know that,” Mrs. Pelosi told reporters, around the same time Wednesday afternoon that the Pentagon was making clear that it had scrapped the idea of NATO members providing Soviet-built MiG-29 combat jets to Ukraine.

Though the idea of transferring planes to Ukraine has bipartisan support in Congress, the Biden administration and Poland couldn’t agree on how to get the planes to Ukraine without the U.S. appearing to escalate its military involvement in the crisis.

The House on Wednesday is set to vote on a spending package that would send $13.6 billion to Ukraine and U.S. allies in the region, in both humanitarian and defense aid.

Lawmakers included $4 billion for Foreign Military Fund loan guarantees in the fiscal year 2022 government spending bill released Wednesday. Congressional aides said that while not specific to Poland or the F-16s, the language potentially could allow the U.S. to provide loan guarantees to partners who are purchasing American military hardware.

Mrs. Pelosi also spoke of the bombing of the maternity hospital in Ukraine and said Russian President Vladimir Putin had committed war crimes. “This is the beast that Putin is,” she said.

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

Questions Remain as Unearthed Document Shows US Link to Ukrainian Bio-Labs

(LifeSiteNews) — Unearthed emails show that the U.S. assisted with setting up biosecurity laboratories in Ukraine, as a high-ranking U.S. official acknowledges that the U.S. does have such laboratories in Ukraine, despite former denials.

The National Pulse reported March 8 it had unearthed a since-deleted 2010 article showing that then-Sen. Barack Obama had been involved in setting up a laboratory since 2005 — the Interim Central Reference Laboratory in Odessa.

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

Russia’s Oldest University to Expel Students Detained at Anti-War Protests — Kommersant

One of Russia’s oldest universities will expel at least 13 students who were detained at the anti-war protests that have erupted across the country in recent weeks, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday.

The prestigious St. Petersburg State University is reportedly expected to draft more expulsion orders for students after protests against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued into this week.

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

Russian Commission Backs Nationalization of Exited Western Businesses

Russia’s government legislative commission approved measures Wednesday that pave the way for the nationalization of property of Western companies that are exiting the country.

The commission’s role includes reading and assessing laws that the government intends to propose to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament.

Russia’s dominant political party, United Russia, said on Wednesday that the latest measures seek to prevent bankruptcies and preserve jobs at organizations that are more than 25% owned by foreign entities of “unfriendly governments.”

United Russia has been pushing for the nationalization of operations of Western companies leaving Russia in response to the war in Ukraine.

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

Video: U.S. Intelligence Officials Warn Putin Could Nuke a Ukrainian City

U.S. intelligence officials claimed Tuesday that Vladimir Putin is ‘desperate’ to end the conflict over Ukraine, with some privately suggesting he could set off a tactical nuclear weapon in a Ukrainian city to get the job done.

Heads of the CIA, FBI, NSA, Defense Intelligence Agency and the Director of National Intelligence all spoke at a House Select Committee on Intelligence hearing, and all claimed Putin is frustrated with the slow pace of the invasion.

The intelligence officials also claimed that up to 4000 Russian troops have been killed in the past two weeks.

Fuelled by his disappointments, Putin could resort to using a small nuke, they intimated, as insane as that sounds.

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

VPN Use in Russia Skyrockets to All-Time High

The demand for VPNs in Russia has reached an all-time high after the government announced a western social media ban on March 4. The government banned Twitter, Facebook, and several independent news outlets.

Russia began the censorship on February 24, when it officially started invading Ukraine. The process began by slowing down Facebook and Twitter, and preventing some images and videos from loading.

Last Friday, the government went a step further in trying to limit what information Russians get by blocking Facebook and Twitter and introducing new laws to make contradicting the government’s narrative on the invasion illegal for journalists.

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

Pakistan: Seminarian Stabbed to Death

Islamabad : A 16-year-old student of a seminary falling in the jurisdiction of Kohsar Police Station, has been stabbed to death by three young brothers students of the same seminary on a minor dispute at Sector F-7/4. The police have lodged an FIR under section 302/34 against three the brothers involved in killing of the student and have arrested them, police said.

One, Saleemullah son of Azizullah hailing from Ghizer, Gilgit-Baltistan, lodged a complaint with the Kohsar Police Station, saying that his nephew, Muzammal Qasim, 16, son of Qasim was a student of level-4 of ‘Hifz’ at Jamia Qamia.On 8th March (Tuesday), he received a telephone call from his other nephew, Kamran at about 11 a.m. who told him that three youths — Rahsed, Sajid and Arshad — son of Abdul Rahim attacked at Muzammal and stabbed to injured and Muzammal has been shifted to Polyclinic in critical condition. The complainant said that his nephew had succumbed to his injuries when he reached the hospital.The police, quoting eyewitness accounts, said that the rage initiated and turned to clash when one of then used abusive language against a teacher of the seminary, Abdul Karim and the victim Muzammal asked him not to use such language against elderly man. All the three brother retaliated and attacked at him with daggers and baton, police said and added that they stabbed Muzammal repeatedly and wounded him critically. The locals rushed him to Polyclinic in critical condition where he succumbed to injuries before providing medical aid.

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Ancient Japanese ‘Killing Stone’ Said to Contain Evil Demon Has Cracked Open

As if the world doesn’t have enough problems, people are now worried that an evil demon locked in a rock for almost 1,000 years is on the loose.

The so-called ‘killing stone’ that kept the malevolent spirit imprisoned all this time has split in two, sending believers into a state of panic.

Japanese legend has it that anyone who comes into contact with the rock will die.

According to mythology, the volanic rock — officially called Sessho-seki — is home to Tamomo-No-Mae, aka the Nine-Tailed Fox.

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

Open Doors: Every Two Hours a Nigerian Christian is Killed for ‘Following Jesus’

The Christian aid group Open Doors revealed Wednesday a Christian is violently killed for their faith in Nigeria every two hours on average, 365 days a year.

“That’s nearly 13 people a day, 372 a month and almost 5,000 a year,” writes Lindy Lowry, the managing editor for Open Doors USA, in an email. “And the reality is that each of these numbers is a man, woman, father, mother, son or daughter.”

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

Czechia Prepares for 250,000 Refugees

More than 100,000 refugees have arrived in Czechia from Ukraine as the country continues to manage new arrivals every day, Prime Minister Petr Fiala revealed on Tuesday.

Fiala indicated that Czechia can handle 250,000 refugees, but the country would be strained with higher numbers.

According to the Czech leader, the country must now decide how best to proceed, with Interior Minister Vit Rakusan announcing that the government wants to extend the deadline for the registration of refugees, in addition to guaranteeing accommodation for those in need and further strengthening the country’s social system.

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

France: Migrants Slam Stolen SUV Into House During Police Chase

Three Kurdish migrants were arrested for stealing a vehicle and leading police on a dangerous chase that ended in a crash at a house in France last week, according to reports.

The incident unfolded on Thursday evening in Rosendaël, a former commune in the coastal city of Dunkirk.

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

Germany: The Percentage of Foreign Sex Offenders Increased

According to sexual crime statistics, Germany is facing a growing problem with its foreign-born population.

Data shows that the proportion of suspected foreigners in sexual offenses has risen significantly in recent years. The share of rapes from this segment of the population grew from 35 percent to 42.44 percent of overall sexual offenses between 2000 and 2020.

Germany’s foreign population is still overall a small share of the country’s population, which means they have an outsized influence disproportionate to their size.

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

Ukrainian Women Being Forced Into Prostitution as Sex Traffickers Prey on Refugees

According to a handful of reports in the British press, criminal gangs are looking to exploit Ukrainian women fleeing the war so that they can be sold into sex slavery.

At this point, some 1.5 million people (mostly women and children) have already fled Ukraine over the past 11 days alone, according to the UN’s numbers. Gangs are looking to manipulate women by first offering them a place to live.

Warnings have come from police and aid workers in Poland, who have warned that sex traffickers are attempting to snatch up vulnerable girls weary from the long, perilous trip.

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

Florida Democrats Protest Anti-Grooming Law by Chanting ‘Gay, Gay, Gay’

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (LifeSiteNews) — Florida Senate Democrats chanted “gay, gay, gay” on Monday to protest the Parental Rights in Education bill.

The legislation has been derided by homosexual activists and the mainstream media as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, though the word does not appear anywhere in the legislation, which passed the full Florida Senate on Tuesday.

“We’ve got one thing to say to our GOP colleagues — GAY!” the Florida Senate Democrats’ Twitter account said Monday.

The video appears to show state senators Loranne Ausley, Janette Cruz, Tina Scott Polsky, and Lori Berman singing “Gay, gay, gay, my daughter’s gay.”

The law, however, is meant to protect parents and students from teachers and counselors who groom kids to identify as homosexual or transgender, meaning gender dysphoric.

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

Teammate Says Women ‘Are Being Discriminated Against’ By Lia Thomas’ Participation in Women’s Swimming

For months as Lia Thomas, a biological male who identifies as a woman and swims on UPenn’s women’s swim team, has broken records and won accolades in the pool. Thomas’ female teammates have had to make do knowing that second place what the highest achievement they could hope for when swimming against Thomas. Now one of her teammates has spoken out. “This is a problem that needs to be fixed,” she told News Nation.

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

18 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/9/2022

  1. Hilarious that the WOKE Ivies suddenly don’t care for men who declare themselves women. ‘Bout time, fools

  2. Hey Soviets !
    Think twice if you want to come and kill our Children, Woman, Mathers , Fathers !
    This is waiting for you !
    For ALL War mongers and Occupiers willing to establish your Hegemony over Slavic people from CEE this picture from yesterday ,should be a good warning , it is a BAD idea..
    ps. Baron..Do not censore this time..SVP ! Let people see and know what reality i/m forced to live thru..i NEVER ask for it !
    But i WILL, Defend no matter what, my Children, Family, Country and Christian Europe with Latin, Christian culture..
    Let this picture be a fair warning for an Evil Man..that there is an other Europe..
    Europe of the real Man..Warrior European Man !
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FNfFoHUWQAYXwf9?format=jpg&name=medium
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FNfFpA8X0AAYykx?format=jpg&name=large

    • A real warrior you are.

      Because everyone knows Poland was also attacked along with Ukraine, and your really just defending Poland instead of satisfying your bloodlust

      Did you remember to steal the wedding ring or cut off an ear as a souvenir?

      Great to see you’re enjoying your new role as one of Soros’s and Schwab’s goons.

      • ..”satisfying your bloodlust”…
        Change your Psychiatrist..
        PS..Baron censuring my responses..
        Hopefully not this one..
        less than 1 mile from me..enjoy

        https://twitter.com/i/status/1502000265490227206
        ..” satisfying your bloodlust”..
        Every night or given day ..( deepens on Wacht) i/m going to sleep with good conciseness , i saved that day countless life and provide save and peaceful future for my Christian Sisters and Brothers in Europe..They can sleep well ,when we are on Eastern Bastion..as was thru , all last 1000 years..Polonia Semper Fidelis !
        Yes..i/m Preliator..by my own choice..Like my Forefathers last 1000 years..and no Shame in me for this..
        We , Western Slaves are , Last Defenders and Bastion of Christian Europe..No Hell will brake our Oath and Commitment to Christ ! and Christian-Latin Culture..Deus Vult !!

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebk877L4DeU

        • What about the “eastern orthodox christian culture”? Are they on the side of evil?

          And on a more “legal” note, what is your “oath and commitment to Christ”? To go to war? You know that some say, that Judas also wanted Jesus to go to war, because he did not understand the Mission of Jesus Christ – that the messiah was not about kingdoms and armies on this Earth?

          • Are you referring to Soviet Russian-Communist ? ..92 % of Russians are Atheist..
            Perhaps you asking for Russian Islamists ?
            Planty of them..
            Russian 8 % Orthodox are run by Patriarch Alexy..Former and present KGB operative..
            Sorry i forget to mention about Orthodox Christian Putin and his followers..
            Funny question posted by Czech Atheist..
            This is Eastern Russian Orthodoxy..indeed..
            Is this site rune by Russian=Czech trolls ?

        • Poland played a crucial role in the defense of Europe from the Ottoman hordes, and Europe wouldn’t exist today were it not for their timely and provident intervention. I worked with Polish soldiers when I was in Afghanistan and I have much respect for their professionalism.

          I also have been to Russia and my wife comes from one of the former Soviet Central Asian republics. I have Russian friends and acquaintances. Undoubtedly there are plenty who are cruel and evil but the ones I know are decent and love their children, are Christian, and have a much more traditional view of family and society that the secular West long ago discarded. There is nothing good in killing those people, who have much more in common with you and I than the secular western european nations or the invasive hordes from Africa and the Middle East.

          I do not apologize for the actions of Putin and would have preferred that diplomacy had been tried much harder before resorting to war. Have you ever stopped to wonder why NATO has been flooding your unit with modern high tech weaponry and extremely expensive Stingers? There are wheels within wheels in the plans of the globalists and you’re just one of the willing cogs. No one in any of the NATO countries ever cared when hordes of Africans and Mid-Easterners started invading Europe. In fact, they spent the last five or six years trying to force Poland and the Visegrad nations under threat of legal action and withholding money to take in the invaders. And that effort hasn’t stopped. Yet the same nations are falling over themselves to provide highly lethal and advanced weaponry to Ukrainians and it’s mercenaries in order to kill Russians.

          Tell me, what do you think will be the end game of all of this? At the very least the war will be prolonged and far more innocents and soldiers on both sides will die. But that is a highly desirable outcome to your masters since all the dead will be white, Christian and mostly male in several non-woke Slavic countries that can ill-afford the untimely deaths of a substantial part of their younger demographic. If Putin is defeated or forced to withdraw the most likely outcome will be his removal from power and quite possibly a breakup of Russia itself or even a forced occupation of the country although a civil war with weapons supplied by funds from globalists being highly likely. Anything to ensure white people are killing one another.

          I don’t doubt your personal heroism and were we to meet in a bar under different circumstances I am sure we would be able to share a beer or a shot of Belvedere and trade war stories. But you really need to think about just who you are serving and to what end. And sharing photos of the dead is really uncouth and shows low class. Those people, even if they were enemy soldiers deserve some respect and were it you who fell in battle you would not want your wife, son, and parents to see your remains gleefully displayed on message boards as trophies.

          • ..”I do not apologize for the actions of Putin “..
            As you didn’t apologize for Stalin, Lenin, Beria, and others mass Murders and Genocides , take place last 100 years..and continue as i speak..
            Germans, Brits are not better..
            Mentioned people and yours like are Abominations, Aberrations in History of Human race..
            You ether Us.. No room for compromise..
            Any polemic with you is pointless..
            Do not engage yourself in any polemic with me anymore..
            I know who you are..
            Feel sorry for Baron. Old , good willing chap, doesn’t know whom hi is harbouring on his blog..

          • Soldiers have been taking trophies for centuries my friend, we have done far worse than ole Mahooey has done.

      • ..”steal the wedding ring or cut off an ear as a souvenir?”..
        ..” your new role as one of Soros’s and Schwab’s goons.”..
        When you preaching me yours Western, Anglo-Saxon morality, from your own comfy armchair,
        My Wife and 17 years son, waiting for my phone ring every night or day..
        Before they pick it up , they do not know if it’s me or my Commander in ranks..So far they can hear my voice..The same time they know, it may be last time they hear me..
        My beloved Wife ( anglo-saxon Canadians, Irish pure blood) know why i/m here..
        My son already is preparing himself after college in Cadet Volunteers School to be ready to take my place if i fallen..

        Try to imagine..
        There are some people in this World , following different sense of Virtues and perception of Life Duties, Principles and sens of Responsibilities than yours..
        You never faced or look directly in the Evil face..
        I do every-night recently..It’s Real..
        I do not fear of your Judgment..
        I only fear my Creator and His Judgment..that’s why i choose to Live the way i do..

  3. Read this again !

    BREAKING:

    The European Parliament just passed a resolution demanding the European Commission imposes immediate economic sanctions on… Poland and Hungary.

    478 MEPs voted for, 155 against.

    Poland took in 1.4 mln refugees in 2 weeks and is struggling with the economic costs…

    German imperialism with silk gloves. It has very concrete plans for how the eastern region is about too look and what purpose its about so serve in the german industry.
    Poland mainly, disturbing German/French pro-Russia politics.
    There is no substance to the accusations, nobody cares to research. They are using the war as a perfect timing to put more pressure on the government so that they can overthrow it with one they’ve prepared.

  4. Yeas..We have our Fallen…War is indiscriminately in Sudden Dead Dance..
    That’s how i feel today..
    My wife send me this song and video sometime ago…

    https://youtu.be/pLcQmoj2cfo

    I love you and Im trembling
    Said the woman To her soldier
    Who wouldn’t be coming back
    Her plaintive voice
    Was carried by the wind
    Across the chilling snow
    To where her soldier fought

    Im trembling and I love you
    She whispered as she cried
    And in the darkness of the room
    Somebody laughed In conquest of the fear
    That this love was about to end

    But sweet memories can betray you
    The soldier doesn’t feel anything anymore
    Too late, his enemy strikes
    Suddenly From behind
    Who, strangely, was speaking
    Of roses, of wine, of life other joys

    That were promised him in another life
    Oh, how many brides
    Will war take away
    From that first nights warm embrace

    Im trembling and Im cold
    Said the soldier
    To his enemy, a man, just like himself
    His voice hung motionless in the wind
    Heard by the silent audience of those that fell before him.

    Regards from Polish Soldier ( soulless, described man) on the Front of Eastern Wall.
    God have Mercy upon my Soul…

  5. My reflection about Western Man..
    I live among you most of my life..
    38 years to be precise..Hard time..Few time , your ” culture” of Death and Depravation almost brook me..and believes and virtues i been entrusted by my parents..
    But Chris help me get back on right path every time..
    I wonder many times thru this years, if there is a single pivot point , your Culture is based upon..
    In my opinion it is..
    Ever present in all aspect of your Life..COWARDICE..and lack of DEVOTION
    Lack of COURAGE ..is so prominent that you are killing from a FEARS without any cause..
    Let mi remind , what you already forgot :

    https://youtu.be/0EwkJfORxL0

  6. Warsaw alliance dissolved. Danger gone. NATO remained, actually strengthened, why? What malignant intention behind that?

    Eastern European countries were forced to join, but when Russia offered to join, it was rejected. Why? what was the intention?

    NATO messed up in Libya, Iraq. And disgraced and routed in Afghanistan.

    NATO is a lion but a hare when confronting muslims.

    Leave Ukraine neutral . . . no crisis no wars.

    Force Ukraine to antagonize Russia and now talk about freedom.

    Ukraine cannot make its own decisions. It’s not independent. Decisions are made by USA and Germany for it.

    morals: even if Ukraine asks to join, NATO should show some morals and say, “no because every country, including Russia must have security.

    Love your neoghbor as yourself. Safety for one, safety for all.

    Russia surrounded by enemies as Israel is.

    Jews lived a terrible life ( those who survived) massacres.
    They were so hated they were kicked from Arab and muslim and European countries and went to their ancestral lands.

    Now they are hated because they are there.

    Turks usurped Asia Minor wholly and the whole world is happy. That’s is not occupation.

    And who will dare mention its massacres. Numerous.

Comments are closed.