Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/11/2022

A police official in Chicago said that Sergio Barron, a gang leader who had been released on $1,000 cash bail after his latest offense, was the motive force behind Tuesday’s mass shooting in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Mr. Barron would not be on the streets, according to the source, if he had not been released on bond.

In other news, six migrant men from Ivory Coast have all claimed to be the father of the same child in hopes of being granted legal residency in France.

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

Thanks to Dean, MM, PP, Reader from Chicago, SS, 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
» Inflation Barreled Ahead at 8.3% in April From a Year Ago, Remaining Near 40-Year Highs
» UK: Inflation Crisis: People Facing ‘Real Food Poverty for the First Time in a Generation’ — Supermarket Boss
 
USA
» 368 Democrats and Republicans Vote to Give Ukraine $40 Billion in Aid During 40-Year High Inflation
» Abbott Says it Will be at Least Two Months Before Baby Formula From Shuttered Plant Hits Shelves
» ACLU Says Elon Musk’s Decision to Reverse Trump Twitter Ban ‘The Right Call’
» All Republican PA. Senate Candidates Sign Anti-Critical Race Theory Pledge Youngkin Backed Before Virginia Win
» Biden Disinformation Czar Demands Power to Edit Other People’s Tweets
» Breaking: Alex Jones Exposes the True History of ‘Q’
» California Under-21 Gun Sales Ban Ruled Unconstitutional by US Appeals Court
» Chicago’s Top Cop Blames Mass Shooting in Back of Yards on Release of Convicted Felon
» Congress to Hold First Open Hearing on UFOs in Five Decades Next Week
» DeSantis Notches Legal Win in Battle Over Law Revoking Disney’s Special Tax District
» Far-Left Protesters Threaten Donald Trump Appearance at American Freedom Tour in Austin
» Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Sets a New Monthly Fundraising Record as He Runs for Re-Election
» Gang Leader Who Got $1,000 Bail for a Stolen Gun (4 Days After Getting Out of Federal Prison) is Behind Mass Shooting, Chicago Police Say
» Google Introduces New Wallet With Support for Digital IDs and Vaccine Cards
» Heritage Foundation Promotes Rumble After YouTube Censorship
» Lauren Boebert Calls for Investigation Into Election Fraud Claims Made in Dinesh D’souza’s ‘2000 Mules’
» Michael Avenatti’s Bid to be Sentenced Remotely Denied; Stormy Daniels Quips, ‘See Ya There, B****!’
» Musk Slams Media With Enlightened Brain Meme Over ‘Inaccurate, Slanderous’ Reportage
» Nina Jankowicz, Disinfo Board Chief, Voiced Support for UK Government Setting Standards for Acceptable Speech
» Rep. Jim Banks Tells Pentagon to Preserve Documents on Its NewsGuard “Misinformation Fingerprints” Contract
» TikTok Censors Videos Alleging Inconsistencies in Amber Heard Testimony
» Whistleblowers: FBI Targeted Parents Via Terrorism Tools Despite Garland’s Testimony That it Didn’t Happen
 
Canada
» Exclusive Docs: CBC Managers Promise to Double Down After Racial Checklist Controversy
» Flower Power! Torontonians Can Once Again Visit High Park to Smell the Cherry Blossoms. But There’s a Catch…
» Live Updates: Day Two of ‘Fight Vaccine Passports’ Legal Challenge Being Heard in B.C. Supreme Court
» RCMP Did Not Request the Emergencies Act to Deal With Freedom Convoy
» ‘Tims Camps’ Marginalizing Youth Based on Vaccine Status
 
Europe and the EU
» 30 Million Italians Sign Up for Digital ID System to Access Services
» ‘Berlin Wants to Rule Europe’ — Push to Change EU Treaties Slammed by Polish Conservatives
» Boris Johnson to Visit Sweden and Finland as They Consider NATO Membership
» Elon Musk Supports the EU’s DSA That Fines Platforms That Don’t Censor “Misinformation, “ “Hate Speech”
» European Union Ends Air Travel Mask Mandates
» Former US Ambassador to the Netherlands Pete Hoekstra: More Islamic Death Threats in Europe
» German Left-Wing Government’s Crusade Against the Right Complicated by Data Showing the Left is More Violent
» NATO Country Among 1st to Adopt Law Declaring Russia’s Invasion “Genocide” & “Terrorism”
» Nigel Farage Beats Piers Morgan in TV Ratings After Post-Trump Interview Slump
» ‘Savage Horde’ of Knife-Wielding Youths Storm French Restaurant After Dispute With Owner
» Shock Claim: The EU Needs Just 14 Votes to Change EU Treaties, Says Former EU Commissioner
» Sweden: Large Increase in Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities
» The EU Wants to Scan All Chat Messages, Using the Guise of Combating Child Abuse
» U.K. Set to Join WHO Pandemic Treaty to ‘Tackle the Next Pandemic’
» UK: Extinction Rebellion Vows to Send ‘Millions of People on to the Streets’ In Defiance of New Government Crackdown on ‘Guerrilla Protests’
» UK: Lloyd’s of London Attempts to Shift AGM Online to Avoid Climate Protesters
» UK: Undercover Journalist Infiltrating Far-Right Group Beaten by Antifa in Ambush
» Ukrainian Baby Boom in Polish Hospitals
» US Ambassador to Warsaw: Poland is a Humanitarian Superpower
» World Economic Forum’s Davos Summit Only Accrediting Invited Media
 
Russia
» Latest News in the Russia-Ukraine War
» Russian Oil Billionaire Dies of ‘Toad Poisoning’
» Russia Signals Annexation of Parts of Ukraine and Georgia
 
South Asia
» India Criticizes Big Tech Censorship
 
Far East
» China Censors WHO’s Criticism of Zero-COVID Policy
 
Australia — Pacific
» New Zealand to Fully Reopen Borders in July After Two Years of Lockdowns
» Truckloads of Avocados Dumped Despite Massive Food Price Hikes in Oz
 
Immigration
» Czech Interior Minister Vows to Tackle Refugee Benefit Fraudsters
» Federal Judge Extends Order Blocking Biden Admin From Rolling Back Title 42 Early Ahead of Hearing
» France: Balding, Bearded ‘Minor’ Migrant Drug Dealer Revealed to be Adult
» ICE Bypasses Privacy Laws by Using Data Brokers, Collecting Data on “Majority” of Americans
» Minister Hints at MORE Asylum Deals to Come as He Says Britain’s Migrant Agreement With Rwanda ‘Might Not be the Last’
» Muslim Immigration Heightens Antisemitism in Germany
» Six Migrants All Claim to be Father of Same Child to Obtain French Residency
 
Culture Wars
» Abortion Protests at Churches Show ‘The Democratic Party in a Nutshell, ‘ Author Tells Brian Kilmeade
» Amazon Pulls Sexually Explicit Children’s Clothing From Online Shop
» Feds Formalize Policy Allowing Biological Males to Serve Prison Sentences in Women’s Prisons
» Leftists Lose it Over Joe Manchin Thwarting Dem Abortion Bill
» Montage: Progressive Protests Receive Praise From Media, While Conservative Activists Are Repeatedly Slammed
» Nancy Pelosi’s House Targeted by Pro-Choice Protesters Demanding She Investigate Supreme Court Justices
» Pro-Choice Group to Target All 6 GOP-Appointed SCOTUS Justices’ Homes for ‘Walk-by Wednesday’ Protests
» ‘Sexism’ Row Erupts Over Not Enough Parasitic Worms Being Named After Female Scientists
 
General
» Odysee Announces Its Biggest Ever Performance Upgrade, Promises “No More Buffering”
» Odysee Adds Video Chapters
 

Inflation Barreled Ahead at 8.3% in April From a Year Ago, Remaining Near 40-Year Highs

Inflation rose again in April, continuing a climb that has pushed consumers to the brink and is threatening the economic expansion, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.

The consumer price index, a broad-based measure of prices for goods and services, increased 8.3% from a year ago, higher than the Dow Jones estimate for an 8.1% gain. That represented a slight ease from March’s peak but was still close to the highest level since the summer of 1982.

Removing volatile food and energy prices, so-called core CPI still rose 6.2%, against expectations for a 6% gain, clouding hopes that inflation had peaked in March.

The month-over-month gains also were higher than expectations — 0.3% on headline CPI versus the 0.2% estimate and a 0.6% increase for core, against the outlook for a 0.4% gain.

The price gains also meant that workers continued to lose ground. Real wages adjusted for inflation decreased 0.1% on the month despite a nominal increase of 0.3% in average hourly earnings. Over the past year, real earnings have dropped 2.6% even though average hourly earnings are up 5.5%.

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

UK: Inflation Crisis: People Facing ‘Real Food Poverty for the First Time in a Generation’ — Supermarket Boss

The head of major supermarket Tesco has warned that people in the UK are facing “real food poverty for the first time in a generation”.

The warning of “real food poverty” comes as many in the country struggle with the increasing costs of food and fuel due to inflation, with a former chief economist for the Bank of England warning that such inflationary conditions inflicting pain on everyday people could continue for years.

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

368 Democrats and Republicans Vote to Give Ukraine $40 Billion in Aid During 40-Year High Inflation

Three-hundred-and-sixty-eight Republicans and Democrats voted on Tuesday night to grant Ukraine $40 billion in aid while Americans suffer from historic inflation.

The House voted late Tuesday night to pass H.R. 7691, the Additional Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022. The legislation would provide $40 billion in emergency funding to “support the Ukrainian people and defend global democracy in the wake of Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine.”

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

Abbott Says it Will be at Least Two Months Before Baby Formula From Shuttered Plant Hits Shelves

Abbott Nutrition has finally provided a timeline for when new stock from its shuttered Sturgis, Michigan, baby formula manufacturing facility could hit store shelves in the U.S.: At least two months.

“We understand the situation is urgent — getting Sturgis up and running will help alleviate this shortage,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

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

ACLU Says Elon Musk’s Decision to Reverse Trump Twitter Ban ‘The Right Call’

The ACLU came out in support of Elon Musk after he said he would reinstate Trump’s Twitter account.

On Tuesday, Elon Musk said that if he takes control of Twitter, he would like to see Donald Trump’s ban lifted.

While some have criticized his decision, Musk has found an unlikely ally in the American Civil Liberties Union, a group that has long been critical of the former president and his ilk.

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

All Republican PA. Senate Candidates Sign Anti-Critical Race Theory Pledge Youngkin Backed Before Virginia Win

FIRST ON FOX: All five major Republican candidates in the Pennsylvania Senate primary signed an anti-critical race theory (CRT) pledge, as the GOP looks to hold onto a Senate seat in a state former President Donald Trump lost in 2020.

Candidates David McCormick, Kathy Barnette, Mehmet Oz, Jeff Bartos and Carla Sands all tell Fox News Digital they signed the pledge. Created by the group 1776 Action, it’s the same document signed by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin during his 2021 Virginia campaign, which focused heavily on schools and CRT issues.

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

Biden Disinformation Czar Demands Power to Edit Other People’s Tweets

In a newly released video clip, Biden disinformation czar Nina Jankowicz demands that “trustworthy verified people” like her be given the power to edit other people’s tweets, making Twitter more like Wikipedia.

Yes, really.

Asserting that she was “eligible for it because I’m verified,” Jankowicz then bemoaned the fact there are people on Twitter with different opinions to her who also have the blue tick but “shouldn’t be verified” because they’re “not trustworthy.”

“So verified people can essentially start to edit Twitter the same sort of way that Wikipedia is so they can add context to certain tweets,” said Jankowicz.

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

Breaking: Alex Jones Exposes the True History of ‘Q’

Alex Jones went off on a QAnon tirade during Monday’s transmission of “The Alex Jones Show” after a caller asked him to name the person or people behind the anonymous figure Q.

Initially, Jones explained, Q was a group of patriots in the federal government and intelligence agencies who anonymously began releasing information online that was “too hot to handle” in order to “energize the grassroots.”

Jones said Deep State actors shut down the original Q operation within a month and that from then on QAnon has been compromised and used against the real truth movement.

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

California Under-21 Gun Sales Ban Ruled Unconstitutional by US Appeals Court

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday ruled that California’s ban on the sale of semiautomatic weapons to adults under 21 is unconstitutional, a move gun-rights advocates hope will pave the way for similar rulings in other courts.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law violates the Second Amendment and that a San Diego judge should have blocked what is called the “an almost total ban on semiautomatic centerfire rifles” for young adults.

“America would not exist without the heroism of the young adults who fought and died in our revolutionary army,” Judge Ryan Nelson wrote in the 2-1 ruling. “Today we reaffirm that our Constitution still protects the right that enabled their sacrifice: the right of young adults to keep and bear arms.”

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

Chicago’s Top Cop Blames Mass Shooting in Back of Yards on Release of Convicted Felon

CHICAGO — Chicago’s top cop blamed a mass shooting in Back of the Yards on a convicted felon who was recently arrested on gun charges but was released on cash bond despite his violent record. Police Supt. David Brown told reporters Wednesday that Sergio Barron, 28, is behind much of the recent gang violence in the South Side neighborhood.

           — Hat tip: MM [Return to headlines]
 

Congress to Hold First Open Hearing on UFOs in Five Decades Next Week

Congress is set to hold the first open hearing on UFOs, or unidentified aerial phenomena, in more than 50 years next week.

Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Ronald Moultrie and Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray will testify before the House Intelligence Committee’s subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation on May 17.

“The American people expect and deserve their leaders in government and intelligence to seriously evaluate and respond to any potential national security risks — especially those we do not fully understand,” Indiana Rep. André Carson, a Democrat who chairs the subcommittee, said in a statement Tuesday.

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

DeSantis Notches Legal Win in Battle Over Law Revoking Disney’s Special Tax District

A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit challenging Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ law dissolving Disney World’s Reedy Creek Improvement District, rejecting the claims of a Miami lawyer running for U.S. Senate as a Democrat.

In the complaint, three residents of Orange and Osceola counties claimed that S.B. 4-C, the law that eliminates Disney’s ability to operate an independent governmental entity around its Orlando-area theme parks, unconstitutionally threatens residents with higher taxes, abridges free speech rights, and violates a contractual obligation, the Orlando Sentinel reported. William Sanchez, a Miami lawyer and Democratic Senate candidate, filed the lawsuit last week.

U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia Altonaga, whom former President George W. Bush appointed, cited many reasons to dismiss the suit, including the federal court’s lack of standing over state issues and the tentative nature of the plaintiffs’ claims. S.B. 4-C, which DeSantis signed on April 22, will not go into effect until July 2022.

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

Far-Left Protesters Threaten Donald Trump Appearance at American Freedom Tour in Austin

Ahead of former President Donald Trump’s appearance at the American Freedom Tour’s Austin stop, numerous far-left groups are planning protests that will march to the convention center where the event is taking place.

On May 14, Trump as well as a number of other conservative guest speakers will be making a stop on the American Freedom Tour at the Austin Convention Center.

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

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Sets a New Monthly Fundraising Record as He Runs for Re-Election

EXCLUSIVE — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis set a new monthly fundraising record in April, as he runs for a second four-year term steering Florida.

DeSantis hauled in nearly $10.5 million in April, according to figures shared first with Fox News on Tuesday.

The total included $2.297 million raised by his reelection campaign and $8.156 million brought in by Friends of Ron DeSantis, his political committee.

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

Gang Leader Who Got $1,000 Bail for a Stolen Gun (4 Days After Getting Out of Federal Prison) is Behind Mass Shooting, Chicago Police Say

A mass shooting that left one man dead and four injured in Back of the Yards on Tuesday afternoon is part of a weeks-long gang war fueled by a high-ranking gang member who paid just $1,000 to get out of jail for a felony gun case in March — four days after being released from federal prison, according to Chicago Police Supt. David Brown and court records.

After making the revelation during a press conference Wednesday morning, Brown went a step further and identified the alleged gang member by name: Sergio Barron.

Barron, he said, is “driving this violence” in Back of the Yards as retaliation for the murder of his brother last month.

Video of Tuesday’s shooting, tweeted by Chicago Contrarian, shows someone who appears to be a school student running down the block to get away from the shooting as it unfolds behind them.

“Our police officers did their job,” Brown said. “They took a gun off the street [from] a felon who had a violent history. That felon got a cash bond.”…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Google Introduces New Wallet With Support for Digital IDs and Vaccine Cards

Google will be integrating digital ID cards and proof of vaccination cards into a new Google Wallet app that’s set to be released in a few weeks.

Google revealed the new digital wallet app at its Google I/O ‘22 keynote. Sameer Samat, Google’s Vice President of Product Management, said the tech giant is working with US states and governments around the world to bring digital IDs to Google Wallet and that driver’s licenses will be the first type of ID to be digitized in the app.

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

Heritage Foundation Promotes Rumble After YouTube Censorship

Think tank Heritage Foundation has criticized YouTube over censorship of a video featuring former President Donald Trump during an event held in April.

“Unbelievable: @YouTube just informed @Heritage that it has taken down the video of former President Trump’s speech at our event in Florida last month,” Heritage Foundation’s president Kevin Roberts tweeted.

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

Lauren Boebert Calls for Investigation Into Election Fraud Claims Made in Dinesh D’souza’s ‘2000 Mules’

Following the release of Dinesh D’Souza’s new documentary on the 2020 election, Rep. Lauren Boebert called for an investigation into its claims.

Dinesh D’Souza’s new documentary about the 2020 election, “2000 Mules,” premiered this month, and was praised by many in the America First crowd and beyond.

The film caught the attention of elected officials, including Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who said she would call for an investigation into the claims it set forth if Republicans take back the House in the 2022 November midterm elections.

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

Michael Avenatti’s Bid to be Sentenced Remotely Denied; Stormy Daniels Quips, ‘See Ya There, B****!’

A New York judge denied Michael Avenatti’s second request to be sentenced remotely on Wednesday after the former attorney was convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft earlier this year for cheating adult actress Stormy Daniels out of $300,000.

“In the Court’s view, the gravity and significance of the sentencing proceeding would be ill served by a remote proceeding,” District Judge Jesse Furman wrote, according to a filing obtained by Law.com. “His desire to avoid being transported is not a valid reason to forego a public, in-person proceeding.”

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

Musk Slams Media With Enlightened Brain Meme Over ‘Inaccurate, Slanderous’ Reportage

Tesla CEO Elon Musk appeared to fire back Wednesday at proverbial fake news and attacks on him from the press, sharing an adjusted version of a popular meme featuring the human brain.

Musk has been the target of criticism, largely from left-leaning outlets, in the weeks since he announced his bid to buy Twitter for about $44 billion, and bring the social media platform more in line with free-speech principles.

Earlier Wednesday, Musk shared the enlightened-brain meme, featuring three levels of proverbial enlightenment through increasing neural firings.

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

Nina Jankowicz, Disinfo Board Chief, Voiced Support for UK Government Setting Standards for Acceptable Speech

The head of the Department of Homeland Security’s new controversial Disinformation Governance Board recommended the idea of the government setting speech standards during testimony in the UK Parliament last year.

When asked by a lawmaker if the government should set minimum speech standards, like banning misogyny on the internet, Nina Jankowicz agreed.

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

Rep. Jim Banks Tells Pentagon to Preserve Documents on Its NewsGuard “Misinformation Fingerprints” Contract

Congressman Jim Banks, a representative for Indiana’s third congressional district (IN-3) and member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems, has told the head of US Cyber Command, General Paul Nakasone, to preserve documents related to his department’s use of NewsGuard’s “Misinformation Fingerprints” database.

This Misinformation Fingerprints database is maintained by NewsGuard, a company that flags sites for “misinformation.” The database catalogs what NewsGuard describes as “known hoaxes, falsehoods and misinformation narratives that are spreading online.” In a post about its Misinformation Fingerprints database, NewsGuard notes that each “fingerprint” (entry in the database) can be “combined with AI [artificial intelligence] and social listening tools to identify the initial source of the hoax and instances in which the hoax is repeated or amplified on social networks or the open web.”

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

TikTok Censors Videos Alleging Inconsistencies in Amber Heard Testimony

On TikTok, videos mocking Amber Heard, who has been sued by ex-husband Johnny Depp for defamation, have been trending.

However, TikTok has removed several of the videos after music magazine Rolling Stone contacted TikTok, claiming the videos violated the platform’s terms of service.

A user going by the handle @heyitsgingerandpepper, with more than 900,000 follower

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

Whistleblowers: FBI Targeted Parents Via Terrorism Tools Despite Garland’s Testimony That it Didn’t Happen

Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Mike Johnson say they have evidence that the FBI targeted parents who protested schools’ COVID policies despite assurances from Attorney General Merrick Garland that it never happened.

In a letter addressed to the Justice Department, Jordan and Johnson said they have evidence that the FBI labeled dozens of investigations into parents with a threat tag created by the bureau’s Counterterrorism Division to assess and track investigations related to school boards. The evidence comes from “brave whistleblowers” within the Department of Justice, they say in the letter addressed to Attorney General Garland.

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

Exclusive Docs: CBC Managers Promise to Double Down After Racial Checklist Controversy

Tara Henley revealed the existence of the race checklist in a Substack article explaining why she left the CBC:

To work at the CBC now is to accept the idea that race is the most significant thing about a person, and that some races are more relevant to the public conversation than others. It is, in my newsroom, to fill out racial profile forms for every guest you book; to actively book more people of some races and less of others.

Rebel News obtained the diversity tally document through access to information to which every guest, contributor, panelist, and even ‘man-on-the-street’ style interviews were subject

In a follow-up investigation to our previous report, Rebel News filed for access to information for CBC management’s response to the disclosure of the race catalogue document.

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

Flower Power! Torontonians Can Once Again Visit High Park to Smell the Cherry Blossoms. But There’s a Catch…

Those visiting Toronto’s beloved High Park are partying as though it’s 2019 these days given that Hogtown’s head honcho, Mayor John Tory, is no longer walling off the park a la post-World War II East Berlin as was the case the past two springs. You see, His Worship didn’t want people gathering in the park during COVID-19 to smell the cherry blossoms, which beautifully bloom for about a two-week period. That would surely be a super-spreader event.

So it was that in 2020 and 2021, not only was the park fenced off, but it was also guarded and patrolled by members of the Toronto Police Service. What a brilliant use of law enforcement resources!

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

Live Updates: Day Two of ‘Fight Vaccine Passports’ Legal Challenge Being Heard in B.C. Supreme Court

Day two of proceedings for the second of four legal challenges against British Columbia’s vaccine passport system is currently underway.

You can see all updates from day one here.

With the help of your generous donations to the Fight Vaccine Passports initiative, Rebel News in partnership with The Democracy Fund was able to launch this challenge.

One of the three plaintiffs in today’s case is Leigh Eliason, the mother, wife and daughter who fought hard to rehabilitate from her rare illnesses.

Drea Humphrey will be providing live tweet updates on the hearing.

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

RCMP Did Not Request the Emergencies Act to Deal With Freedom Convoy

Contrary to statements by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki has revealed that the federal police force did not request the government invoke the Emergencies Act to deal with the Ottawa Freedom Convoy protests in February.

Lucki made the statement while appearing before the parliamentary committee tasked with investigating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s unprecedented use of the law.

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

‘Tims Camps’ Marginalizing Youth Based on Vaccine Status

Shortly after I launched a petition to let all children, regardless of their medical status, attend Tims Camps, the hashtag #BoycottTimHortons was trending on Twitter.

It’s a camp for underprivileged kids, and yet Tim Hortons is discriminating against them if they do not comply with a novel mRNA injection that is showing to have disastrous outcomes as evidenced by the monthly Pfizer drops.

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

30 Million Italians Sign Up for Digital ID System to Access Services

Italy’s digital ID program has reached the 30 million users milestone. According to Ansa, 10 million accounts were registered in the last year alone.

The government claims that the use of the digital ID has increased all over the country. The digital ID is required to access the Public Administration’s online service (SPID). In 2021 alone, more than half a billion service requests were made using SPID, and about 330 million in the first quarter of this year.

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

‘Berlin Wants to Rule Europe’ — Push to Change EU Treaties Slammed by Polish Conservatives

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s call to change the EU treaties, a move that would centralize power in Brussels, has been rejected by Polish conservatives and a total of 13 member states.

She made the proposal during a summit of EU leaders in Strasbourg, where one of the key reforms she put forward is the removal of the need for unanimity in decision-making on foreign affairs — in other words, the removal of veto power from individual member states.

“If the EU is to work effectively the principle of unanimity makes no sense in key EU policy areas,” argued von der Leyen.

If such a proposal were to come to pass, then countries like Hungary, Czechia, and Austria would be potentially unable to veto the EU’s highly controversial proposal to place an embargo on Russian oil, a sanction that many experts have warned could crash the European economy.

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

Boris Johnson to Visit Sweden and Finland as They Consider NATO Membership

No 10 said it was ‘disinformation´ to suggest the PM was seeking to put pressure on them to join the western military alliance.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Elon Musk Supports the EU’s DSA That Fines Platforms That Don’t Censor “Misinformation, “ “Hate Speech”

On Monday, the European Union’s industry chief, Thierry Breton, met with Elon Musk in Texas. The two seemed to agree about the new EU’s social media regulation legislation, called the Digital Services Act (DSA), ahead of Musk’s takeover of Twitter.

Last month, Twitter’s board agreed to sell Twitter to the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, for $44 billion. The move has since sparked speculation about changes in Twitter, especially around the platform’s content moderation policies, considering Musk is a self-described “free speech absolutist.”

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

European Union Ends Air Travel Mask Mandates

BERLIN (AP) — The European Union will no longer require masks to be worn at airports and on planes starting next week amid the easing of coronavirus restrictions across the bloc, authorities said Wednesday.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it hoped the joint decision, made with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, would mark “a big step forward in the normalization of air travel” for passengers and crews.

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

Former US Ambassador to the Netherlands Pete Hoekstra: More Islamic Death Threats in Europe

Dutch MP Targeted Twice

Geert Wilders has dedicated his life to supporting freedom of speech and religious tolerance…

What seems to have earned him these death threats is his unrelenting passion for freedom. To others, it seems, this commitment, is not a plus. Radical cleric Muhammad Abdullah Ahsan, for instance, recently proclaimed: “The rascals like Geert Wilders can’t be stopped by mere condemnation. He must be handed over to Muslims for public execution to ensure world peace.”

“It is no use threatening me, Muslims in Pakistan, Netherlands or anywhere else. Fatwas won’t stop me…. Freedom is my ideology. And no one will stop me.” — Geert Wilders, Twitter, April 15, 2022.

“An Imam who wants a politician dead is—however reprehensible—allowed to say so.” — Geert Wilders, NIS News Bulletin. March 15, 2005.

Islam is the Trojan Horse in Europe.” — Geert Wilders, speech in the Dutch Parliament, September 6, 2007.

“There is no such thing as ‘moderate Islam’. As Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said the other day, and I quote, ‘There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that’s it.”‘ — Geert Wilders, speech in the Dutch Parliament, September 6, 2007.

“We must never give a free hand to those who want to subjugate us.” — Geert Wilders, Middle East Online, May 31, 2011.

“‘I feel that the more Islam that we get in our societies the less freedom we get.’ He opened the press conference with a quote from George Orwell’s preface to Animal Farm: ‘If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they don’t want to hear’“. — Margaret Davis, quoting Geert Wilders, in The Independent, October 16, 2009…

           — Hat tip: PP [Return to headlines]
 

German Left-Wing Government’s Crusade Against the Right Complicated by Data Showing the Left is More Violent

Despite claims from Germany’s left-wing Interior Minister Nancy Faeser that “right-wing extremism is the country’s biggest threat,” new data from the country’s interior ministry points to the opposite conclusion.

German law enforcement registered an increase of almost 420 percent election-related extremism. There were 10,487 crimes, of which nearly 25 percent of them were committed by left-wing extremists and 8 percent by right-wing extremists. The perpetrators with unknown political motivations committed the remaining crimes.

Politically-motivated crimes rose by around 23 percent across Germany last year, according to data provided by the Federal Ministry of the Interior.

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

NATO Country Among 1st to Adopt Law Declaring Russia’s Invasion “Genocide” & “Terrorism”

The Baltic country of Lithuania has become among the first NATO member countries to formally call Russia’s military action in Ukraine a “genocide” while legally declaring the invasion state-sponsored “terrorism.”

Its parliament voted unanimously on Tuesday to adopt the motion into law, also calling for future Nuremberg style war crimes trials for top Russian officials — something which most pundits and legal experts agree is likely impossible to practically carry out.

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

Nigel Farage Beats Piers Morgan in TV Ratings After Post-Trump Interview Slump

Brexit leader Nigel Farage has overtaken Piers Morgan in the prime time television ratings in Britain as the former CNN host has slumped following his now-infamous debut interview with former President Donald Trump.

According to the television rating agency BARB, only 58,000 people watched Piers Morgan’s programme on the new Rupert Murdoch venture TalkTV at its peak, while 76,300 viewers tuned in to watch Nigel Farage’s show on GB News on Monday.

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

‘Savage Horde’ of Knife-Wielding Youths Storm French Restaurant After Dispute With Owner

A restaurant in France was stormed by a ‘savage horde’ of young people after the owner asked them to stop disturbing his customers, according to reports.

The incident unfolded on Saturday evening near a park in Montbéliard, a town in the department of Doubs near the Swiss border.

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

Shock Claim: The EU Needs Just 14 Votes to Change EU Treaties, Says Former EU Commissioner

Germany and France are making a new push to remove veto powers from national member states, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling this week for the end to unanimous consent in the EU regarding important policy areas, such as healthcare, foreign policy, and defense.

The radical move, which would arguably lead to a European superstate, has already been rejected by 13 member states, with politicians connected with Poland’s ruling government indicating that it represents a power grab, a threat to national sovereignty, and a sign that “Berlin wants to rule Europe.”

Although the popular consensus is that such a treaty change cannot happen without unanimous consent from all nations, there are those who are claiming otherwise.

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

Sweden: Large Increase in Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities

According to a study published in the Swedish journal Psykologtidningen, a sharp increase in the diagnosis of mild intellectual disability is seen in Sweden. The worst affected is Örebro, where the increase is over 600 percent. At the same time, researchers warn that the IQ is falling in Sweden year by year.

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

The EU Wants to Scan All Chat Messages, Using the Guise of Combating Child Abuse

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has proposed a scanning obligation for messaging providers to combat the spreading of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

The proposal states that, at the request of a government agency, “Providers of hosting services and providers of interpersonal communication services that have received a detection order shall execute it by installing and operating technologies to detect” CSAM.

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

U.K. Set to Join WHO Pandemic Treaty to ‘Tackle the Next Pandemic’

A letter from world leaders published by the World Health Organization in late March 2021 outlines an agenda to “build a more robust international health architecture,” and that “nations should work together towards a new international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response”.

The “renewed collective commitment”, the statement reads, “would be a milestone in stepping up pandemic preparedness at the highest political level.”

In effect, this pandemic treated spearheaded by the WHO will give this one organisation the power to set laws and organise plans in countries that have joined the treat in an effort to “combat the next pandemic”.

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

UK: Extinction Rebellion Vows to Send ‘Millions of People on to the Streets’ In Defiance of New Government Crackdown on ‘Guerrilla Protests’

Extinction Rebellion (XR) has vowed to send ‘millions of people onto the streets’ in defiance of a new Government crackdown on disruptive ‘guerrilla protests’.

The climate change protest group said it is ‘foolish’ for ministers to think announcing new ‘curbs’ will stop people ‘taking to the streets to demand their Government act to ensure a safe future for people in the UK and around the world’, as it set out its intention for action from September 10.

It comes after the Public Order Bill was unveiled as part of the Queen’s Speech, with harsher sentences and new criminal offences for those involved in some types of protest.

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

UK: Lloyd’s of London Attempts to Shift AGM Online to Avoid Climate Protesters

Insurance market Lloyd’s of London is urging members to watch its annual general meeting from home next week, amid fears it will be the latest City event disrupted by climate protests.

The chair of Lloyd’s,Bruce Carnegie-Brown, warned about the potential for disruption at the 19 May AGM back in April, but said in an updated memo that the risk of disruption had significantly increased.

“To ensure the safety and security of our members and to allow the meeting to proceed in an orderly and fair manner, it is with regret that I must now strongly encourage all members attending the AGM to join virtually and not to attempt to enter the Lloyd’s Building on that day,” Brown said in a notice aimed at the market’s close to 100 syndicate members.

The warning comes nearly a month after Lloyd’s was forced to close the doors of its landmark Grade I-listed building at One Lime Street, when more than 60 protesters from Extinction Rebellion (XR) used superglue, chains and bicycle locks to block workers from entering.

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

UK: Undercover Journalist Infiltrating Far-Right Group Beaten by Antifa in Ambush

A recently released documentary from the UK’s Channel 4 shows a journalist who went undercover with far-right group Patriotic Alternative being attacked by Antifa members.

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

Ukrainian Baby Boom in Polish Hospitals

More than 2,500 children with Ukrainian citizenship have been born in Poland since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, compared to 1,090 in the same period last year.

The number of Polish children during the same period has declined drastically on the previous year, with just 68,000 births registered this year compared to 80,100 a year earlier.

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

US Ambassador to Warsaw: Poland is a Humanitarian Superpower

U.S. Ambassador in Warsaw Mark Brzezinski has called Poland a humanitarian power, openly emphasizing its support for Ukrainian refugees.

During a lecture at the University of Warsaw on the conclusions from the conflict in Ukraine for world leadership, he put Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky against each other, stressing that the latter had “redefined the way nations respond to the conflict” due to his close relations with Ukrainians and the way he communicates with his countrymen and leaders of other countries.

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

World Economic Forum’s Davos Summit Only Accrediting Invited Media

The World Economic Forum (WEF)’s flagship event in the mountains of Switzerland is open to media — but only select, invited journalists are allowed to even apply for accreditation.

The WEF’s annual meeting runs May 22-26 in Davos, a resort town in the Swiss Alps. This is the first in-person Davos event since 2020 as Covid restricted travel and large gatherings.

A planned annual meeting in Singapore last summer was rescheduled multiple times before it was cancelled altogether.

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

Latest News in the Russia-Ukraine War

Ukraine: A Russian soldier now in Ukrainian detention will be the first to stand trial for alleged war crimes, Ukraine’s prosecutor-general said.

Officials in Zaporizhzhia accused Russian troops of stealing Ukrainian grain and transporting it to Crimea. In neighboring Kherson, a Kremlin-aligned official said the Russian-occupied region would seek formal incorporation into the Russian Federation.

The company that runs Ukraine’s gas pipelines reduced the flow of Russian gas to Europe through Ukrainian territory, saying it cut off a key entry point in the country’s east because Russian troops there had interfered with gas infrastructure.

The war’s economic effects are rippling around the world. Global gross domestic product will be about $1.5 trillion lower at the end of this year than if Russia hadn’t invaded, according to the U.K.’s leading independent economic research body.

Washington: The House of Representatives voted late Tuesday to approve a nearly $40 billion U.S. aid package for Ukraine, but Republican objections in the Senate could slow the path of the legislation.

Poland: Fears that Ukraine’s neighbor could become a target of Russian aggression have led some residents to ask whether they should be updating their Cold War-era bomb shelters.

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

Russian Oil Billionaire Dies of ‘Toad Poisoning’

Oil billionaire Alexander Subbotin on Sunday became the sixth Russian oligarch to die under mysterious circumstances since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

According to Moscow police, Subbotin was laid low by a toxic toad during a hangover cure administered by a shaman.

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

Russia Signals Annexation of Parts of Ukraine and Georgia

Russia’s state-run Tass news service on Wednesday reported that the breakaway areas of Kherson in Ukraine and South Ossetia in Georgia will ask to be incorporated into Russia.

South Ossetia’s “President-elect” Alan Galoyev said his government is ready to hold a referendum on joining Russia as soon as Moscow gives it the green light.

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

India Criticizes Big Tech Censorship

India has criticized Meta’s Facebook and Instagram as well as Twitter for suspending accounts. The move is rather ironic considering the government has sent multiple content removal notices to social media platforms and represents a major turnaround for the country.

In a complaint filed this week, India’s Ministry of Information Technology claimed that the suspension of the Twitter account of Sanjay Hedge, a lawyer, violated free speech rights under the Indian constitution, reported the Times of India.

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

China Censors WHO’s Criticism of Zero-COVID Policy

In a press briefing on Tuesday, the World Health Organization’s Director-General Tedros Adhano, Ghebreyesus, referring to China’s zero-Covid policy, said: “We don’t think that it is sustainable considering the behavior of the virus and what we now anticipate in the future.”

The United Nations posted his comments, translated to Mandarin, on its Chinese social media accounts.

The UN’s post on Twitter-like Weibo was removed shortly after it was published. WeChat restricted users from sharing a similar post by the UN on its platform.

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

New Zealand to Fully Reopen Borders in July After Two Years of Lockdowns

Following two years of suffering under some of the strictest lockdown measures in the Western world, New Zealand will finally lift its Chinese coronavirus border restrictions in July, leftist Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Wednesday.

New Zealand’s borders will be fully reopened on July 31st, two months before the government had previously planned as the economy inches closer to a recession.

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

Truckloads of Avocados Dumped Despite Massive Food Price Hikes in Oz

Australian consumers were flabbergasted to learn that thousands of avocados were being dumped amid the highest food price inflation in years. A Queensland resident described the discarded mountains of fruit as “tonnes and tonnes and tonnes of avocados going to waste”.

But farmers have defended the waste, saying it was the only way to secure a profit. Jan De Lai, a resident of Atherton in far north Queensland, said the fruit were perfectly fine but left to rot on a waste dump.

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

Czech Interior Minister Vows to Tackle Refugee Benefit Fraudsters

The assistance system for refugees from Ukraine in the Czech Republic is likely to change, with the interior ministry wanting to tighten passport controls for people coming from Ukraine or change the form of benefits.

The steps respond to the problems associated with the migration of Roma from Ukraine. Some run so-called social benefits tourism in the Schengen area or have Ukrainian and Hungarian passports, an issue which Interior Minister Vit Rakusan intends to discuss with his Hungarian and Ukrainian counterparts.

More than 300,000 refugees have arrived in the Czech Republic since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Rakusan emphasized that dishonesty concerns only the absolute minimum of them and is only in the hundreds of individuals.

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

Federal Judge Extends Order Blocking Biden Admin From Rolling Back Title 42 Early Ahead of Hearing

A federal judge on Wednesday extended a temporary restraining order that prevents the Biden administration from rolling back the use of the Title 42 public health order to expel migrants at the border, ahead of its May 23 end date and a hearing on a request for a preliminary injunction later this week.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced last month that it would end the public health order, which has been used to expel a majority of migrants at the southern border since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, at the end of May.

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

France: Balding, Bearded ‘Minor’ Migrant Drug Dealer Revealed to be Adult

An illegal immigrant who claimed to be a minor after being arrested for possession of cocaine with the intention to sell has been revealed to be an adult after a medical examination.

The man, a Moroccan national, had claimed to be just 17-years-old despite sporting a beard and appearing to be partially balding, but a medical forensic examination of his bones and teeth confirmed that he was lying about his age to French authorities.

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

ICE Bypasses Privacy Laws by Using Data Brokers, Collecting Data on “Majority” of Americans

According to a report published Tuesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been using data brokers to spy on millions of Americans.

The report, titled the “American Dragnet: Data-Driven Deportation in the 21st Century,” was prepared by a group of researchers at Georgetown Law Center. It alleges that the agency has been able to obtain hundreds of millions of Americans’ private information through deals with data brokers. By using data brokers, the agency is able to avoid accountability for potentially violating the Fourth Amendment and can access data on the majority of Americans.

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

Minister Hints at MORE Asylum Deals to Come as He Says Britain’s Migrant Agreement With Rwanda ‘Might Not be the Last’

Britain’s migration deal with Rwanda could be the first of a number of such agreements struck around the world, a Home Office minister suggested today.

Under the £120m scheme with Kigali, any adult who enters the UK illegally can now be sent on a one-way ticket to Rwanda to have an asylum claim processed.

The plans have been touted by ministers as a means of clamping down on migrants making perilous journeys across the Channel in small boats.

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

Muslim Immigration Heightens Antisemitism in Germany

As Muslim immigration increases across Germany, the country has seen a growing rise in antisemitism, data published by the German Allensbach Institute suggests.

Representative research conducted by the institute found that Muslims are far more likely to agree with antisemitic stereotypes than society in general, and more right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) voters have similar views than supporters of other parties.

The data, reported on by Germany’s Tagesspiegel newspaper, found that 22 percent of German society as a whole agrees with antisemitic statements compared to 46 percent of the Muslim community.

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

Six Migrants All Claim to be Father of Same Child to Obtain French Residency

Six migrant men from the Ivory Coast have all claimed to be the father of one child in the northern French department of Manche in order that they would each be able to claim residency in France.

The court of Coutances in Manche discovered that at least six men had claimed to be the father of the child, who was born in 2012 to a French mother who had become pregnant after leaving home at the age of eighteen to be with a man from the Ivory Coast.

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

Abortion Protests at Churches Show ‘The Democratic Party in a Nutshell, ‘ Author Tells Brian Kilmeade

Author Batya Ungar-Sargon said Wednesday pro-choice protests are showing the Democratic Party in a nutshell, specifically demonstrators showing up at churches last Sunday.

“If you want to understand the Democratic Party right now, you could not have asked for a better image than a bunch of overeducated, White, radical, liberal young women invading a Hispanic church and screaming at people who are at prayer,” the Newsweek deputy opinion editor told “The Brian Kilmeade Show.”

Ungar-Sargon said she’s “on the left,” but opposes the woke politics that have taken over the Democratic Party.

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

Amazon Pulls Sexually Explicit Children’s Clothing From Online Shop

Amazon has removed children’s clothing items that contain explicit sexual messages.

CBC News reports that the items, which were sold by third-party sellers, included t-shirts and other clothing items that showed the message “I LOVE C*CK” on them, with a heart emoji.

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

Feds Formalize Policy Allowing Biological Males to Serve Prison Sentences in Women’s Prisons

Biological men who identify as women are now officially allowed to transfer into women’s correctional institutions if they request to do so.

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) made the policy clear in a directive from the Commissioner on Wednesday that the transfers would take place regardless of the inmate’s anatomical sex.

The document — Commissioner’s Directive 100 Gender Diverse Offenders — lays out the transfer process and also mandates gender diversity training to staff and correctional officers.

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

Leftists Lose it Over Joe Manchin Thwarting Dem Abortion Bill

Liberal pundits and celebrities tweeted against Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on Wednesday, after saying he’d vote against his party’s abortion bill.

The moderate Democrat told reporters he would oppose The Women’s Health Protection Act when it came to a procedural vote, saying it doesn’t codify Roe, but actually “expands abortion” by wiping out hundreds of state laws on abortion.

He later blocked the legislation formally.

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

Montage: Progressive Protests Receive Praise From Media, While Conservative Activists Are Repeatedly Slammed

Progressive media pundits have often bashed conservative political demonstrations over the past few years, but when it comes to liberal protests, anchors and reporters have largely praised or downplayed violence among left-leaning groups.

On Wednesday, an MSNBC blogger published a piece slamming a Senate bill designed to protect the family of Supreme Court Justices from harassment, threats and violence, calling it a “cowardly response” and an “embarrassment.”

Ja’han Jones stated that the bill, supported by Democrats, shows that the party is caving to “right-wing pressure” and feeds into “unfounded claims” that pro-choice protesters are engaging in “lawlessness.”

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

Nancy Pelosi’s House Targeted by Pro-Choice Protesters Demanding She Investigate Supreme Court Justices

Pro-abortion activists that have been protesting at churches and the homes of Supreme Court justices over the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade have a new target on the agenda: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The left-wing group Ruth Sent Us announced Tuesday that protesters from multiple pro-abortion groups are descending on Pelosi’s San Francisco home Tuesday evening to demand that she “investigate the corrupt justices” and “save abortion.”

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

Pro-Choice Group to Target All 6 GOP-Appointed SCOTUS Justices’ Homes for ‘Walk-by Wednesday’ Protests

A pro-choice group is planning protests outside the homes of all six Republican-appointed justices of the Supreme Court — Justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — in what the group is calling “Walk-by Wednesday.”

The far-left group known as “Ruth Sent Us” has repeatedly targeted conservative justices’ homes as part of an ongoing left-wing pressure campaign aimed at influencing the court to uphold Roe v. Wade, after a leaked draft opinion suggested the court is on the verge of overturning its verdict in the 1973 case.

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

‘Sexism’ Row Erupts Over Not Enough Parasitic Worms Being Named After Female Scientists

A sexism row has erupted over concerns that not enough newly discovered species of parasitic worms are named after women.

Yes, really.

Concerns are being raised as to whether “gender bias” has played a role in naming the creatures after a team of scientists led by parasitologist Robert Poulin “scoured studies in eight journals published between 2000 and 2020,” reports Sky News.

“Of the 596 species named after eminent scientists, only 111, or 19%, recognised women, according to the experts from New Zealand’s University of Otago.”

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

Odysee Announces Its Biggest Ever Performance Upgrade, Promises “No More Buffering”

Decentralized video sharing platform Odysee has deployed the biggest performance upgrade in its history and promises that there will now be “no more buffering on Odysee.”

The upgrade has been made to address user feedback about playback performance.

“We know many of you have complained about playback performance so we’re glad to be able to finally bring you this news today,” Odysee wrote in its announcement.

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

Odysee Adds Video Chapters

Video sharing platform Odysee has added a new feature that makes it easy to jump to key moments in long videos — video chapters.

Creators can add video chapters to any of their videos by putting timestamps in their video description in the format “[timestamp] — [chapter title].” For example, adding “[1:30 — Chapter 1”] to a video description will create a “Chapter 1” timestamp in the video at 1:30.

After a creator has added chapters to their video, creators can click or tap the timestamps in the description to jump to specific chapters. These chapters are also highlighted in the video playback bar.

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

11 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/11/2022

  1. I think that Germany suffered a lot economically. I have a very small private business. In my work I use materials from Germany. Now they have doubled in price, despite the fact that the ruble-euro-dollar has stabilized. And all because there is no logistics. There are Korean and Chinese analogues of these materials, but they are worse and supplies need to be arranged, which will probably be done.

    I also read in the news that a number of German enterprises whose products were oriented to the Russian market were closed. Who benefits from this? Who needs to bring down the German economy?

  2. PALUDAN

    On Thursday morning, politician Rasmus Paludan began his new election tour in Sweden. Samnytt will post the live broadcasts here.

    A large crowd has gathered at Frölunda square chanting “Allahu akbar” and “no racists on our streets”. One person has climbed over the fence and tried to run towards Paludan.

    video https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=713035546787552

    Demonstrating all week
    On Thursday afternoon, Paludan will demonstrate in Borås and Trollhättan. The police changed Paludan’s choice of locations from so-called vulnerable areas to locations centrally located in municipalities.

    Borås
    Stadsparken 14.00-16.00

    Trollhättan
    Slussområdet (northern part of Åkersbergsvägen)
    18.00-20.00

    13 May Örebro and Västerås.

    Vivalla will be the central location, Örebro 12.00-15.00
    Bäckby becomes central, Västerås location 16.30-19.30

    14 May Uppsala and Stockholm

    Uppsala mosque 10.00-12.00
    Gottsunda, Uppsala 12.00-16.00
    Husby, Stockholm 17.30-18.30
    Hallunda, Stockholm 19.00-20.30

    15 May Norrköping and Linköping.

    Navestad, Norrköping 11.00-14.00
    Skäggetorp, Linköping 15.30-18.30

    SEE ALSO: VIDEO: Samnytt meets Paludan – “Sweden has had the first intifada”

  3. CAVEO

    According to an April document leak, the European Commission plans to give lawmakers the ability to monitor and scan EU citizens’ text messages and images, officially to “combat child sexual abuse”. However, there are fears that it is about more than that.

    A new legislative proposal called “chat control” is expected to be published in May by the European Commission. The draft will allow lawmakers to use AI-based surveillance, mass eavesdropping and scanning of all messages and images directly on users’ devices.

    EU wants to read ALL your messages and emails

    A number of organisations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the German Bar Association, European Digital Rights (EDRi) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), have all been working to raise awareness of this invasive legislation. They have also written to the EU and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other EU leaders.

    EDRi points out that previous legislation on a similar theme “would (and did) allow companies to spy on everyone’s communications”.

    Chinese style
    MEP Patrick Breyer, representing the German Pirate Party, describes the EU legislation as “a Big Brother attack on our mobile phones by error-prone termination machines” and fears that it is “a first step towards a Chinese-style surveillance state”.

    – Will the next step be for the Post Office to open and scan all letters?” Breyer asks.

    Now the government wants to be able to read your messages in Messenger too

    – Indiscriminately searching all correspondence violates fundamental rights and will not protect children.

  4. The Riksdag today voted against heavily criticised proposals to restrict press freedom in Sweden. This after the Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Centre Party put their foot down. Matheus Enholm is one of the Sweden Democrats’ representatives on the Constitution Committee.
    – We cannot support what has been put forward now, he tells Samnytt.

    Is press freedom too free in Sweden? There are those, especially politicians on the left, who think so. Ever since the change of power in 2014, the government has tried to restrict press freedom in various ways.

    The attempts have met with massive criticism from a number of heavyweight referral bodies. The Publicist Club, the Chancellor of Justice, the Swedish Ombudsman, the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Stockholm District Court, the Court of Appeal of Skåne and Blekinge, the Swedish Journalists’ Association, newspaper publishers, Swedish Radio and Swedish Television are some of the actors who have protested.

    Some of the government’s proposals have been likened to censorship.

    Restriction stopped
    Some restrictions on press freedom have already been pushed through by the government, with support from the right-wing parties. Other proposals have instead been stopped.

    One of those proposals, which would have further restricted Swedish press freedom and freedom of expression, was voted down on Wednesday. This after the Christian Democrats decided in January this year, following a review by Samnytt, to join M, SD and C in saying no.

    READ MORE: KD can say YES to government’s CENSORSHIP LAW: “Nothing is out of the question”

    READ ALSO: KD says no to censorship law after Samnytt review

    What the right-wing opposition is saying no to today is an exception in the constitutional protection for publications “relating to convictions in criminal cases or offences involving crimes or related decisions on detention and other coercive measures of criminal procedure.”

    Freedom of expression expert Nils Funcke is one of those who warned against the changes. He has said that such an exception could mean that journalism aimed at exposing criminals and corrupt politicians would lose its constitutional protection. In the worst case scenario, it could lead to journalists ending up in prison.

    READ MORE: Government’s new censorship law: journalists who expose corrupt politicians risk jail

    READ ALSO: Expert on government’s new censorship law: ‘They should shut down’

    Legal databases
    Wednesday’s big issue was legal databases, such as Lexbase, which the government wants to ban on the grounds of privacy. The Left Party, the Green Party and the Liberals share the government’s view.

    However, M, SD, KD and C voted against the government in the Constitutional Committee, and on Wednesday got their own proposal through Parliament.

    Matheus Enholm, a member of the Swedish Democrats, is on the Constitution Committee. He was one of those who voted in favour of the KU’s proposal on Wednesday, thereby rejecting the government’s proposal at the same time.

    – In principle, I am in favour of regulating the legal databases in some way. But to ban them, to remove them, I don’t think is the right way to go, he says in a comment to Samnytt.

    Pressure from the EU
    According to Enholm, the EU has put pressure on Sweden to pass the constitutional amendment.

    – We have had a meeting with representatives from the EU where they explained the seriousness and how important it is that this goes through now, he says.

    READ ALSO: Moderates refuse to give information on Löfven’s new censorship law

    READ ALSO: Government’s new proposal: ban ‘racist’ newspapers

    – I think it’s a dangerous path when the EU goes in and starts to decide on our constitutions. If we want to make this change, we should certainly do it, and I have great understanding for the privacy aspect, but then it should be done in a proper way. We cannot support what is on the table now.

    In what way is it a dangerous path?

    – Over-nationalism and the EU deciding what our constitutions should look like. We have had constitutions for very many years that have worked very well and served us well in our country. Then the EU comes along with a big hammer and says, ‘You can’t do that. You have to change your constitutions’.

    – That does not mean that it is always a bad thing, but in such cases it is a path we should take because Sweden wants it, not because the EU wants it.

    Agree about censorship
    Court of Appeal judge Katarina Rikte has previously compared some of the changes to constitutional protection that the government has tried to push through to censorship. It’s a comparison Enholm agrees with.

    – Yes, but that’s what it becomes. In substance, she is right. Then someone else decides what can be published and who can publish,” he says.

    However, he does not want to comment on whether the Swedish restrictions on press freedom can be compared with the criticism levelled at countries such as Poland, Hungary, Russia and Belarus.

    – I can’t comment on that at the moment. That’s not what we’ve been looking at when we’ve been working on it,” says Enholm.

    READ MORE: Morgan Johansson: “There are plenty of full and half Nazis in SD”

  5. ** Subbotin was laid low by a toxic toad during a hangover cure administered by a shaman. **

    The evil hand of Putin could NOT be more clear.

    • If he did take the alleged “treatment” voluntarily, and has no children, he shoud qualify for a posthumous Darwin Award!

      Good to hear from you again, Colonel.

  6. Racism
    Racism is when a person is treated worse, excluded, disadvantaged, harassed, bullied, humiliated or degraded because of their race or ethnicity.

    At an organisational level, it can also be the collective failure to provide an inclusive and professional working environment to people because of their race or ethnicity*. This is sometimes described as ‘institutional racism’, based on the definition recommended by Sir William Macpherson in the 1999 Lawrence report (UK).

    *Race or ethnicity includes people’s colour, and nationality (including citizenship) ethnic or national origins.

    Former Estonian president: „Eastern Europeans are the only nations towards whom racism is politically correct”
    Recently “westplaining” has become a very fashionable term. It concerns the problem of patronizing the Eastern European states by Western politicians. Anne Applebaum stated that “American and European leaders’ profound lack of imagination has brought the world to the brink of war”. Will the Russian invasion of Ukraine change the attitude of looking at Eastern policy through the Western prism?

    For me, westplaining is mostly germansplaining and the shock of the February 24th invasion was enough to lead chancellor Scholz to revise 50 years of Ostpolitik. We could also see that the German president Steinmeier has announced his regrets on his position. I think that, until now, there has been a general inclination to always believe the Russians and to look down on and disregard the views of the countries who have experience in dealing with Russia.

    I was saying for years that there is an anti-empirical bias among West Europeans and Americans. You have experience with Russia and instead of listening to your experience, they write you off as being biased. That willingness to believe a Russian narrative always before an Eastern European narrative is something that we have had to deal with for a long time.

    Sometimes it comes up in really obnoxious ways. Last year’s defense of building Nord Stream II on the part of Steinmeier for example. He basically said that Germans owe it to the Russians because of all of the suffering they inflicted upon them, forgetting about the fact that far more people, not only proportionally but even in absolute numbers, suffered in Poland, Belarus and Ukraine than suffered in Russia….verte..

    • pat 2..I think that this kind of attitude will not go away. I do not want to focus only on Germany. After the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008, former Finnish president Tarja Halonen, trying to explain why Estonia was so concerned about Russian actions, said that Estonians suffer from post-Soviet traumatic stress syndrome. And nothing has changed since then. Recently she was asked why did Estonia join NATO and Finland not. She answered that Estonians were in the Soviet Union so they always liked collective defense.

      To borrow from Edward Said’s famous book, it is a case of orientalism. The only people left in the world toward whom it is politically correct to act like a racist are Eastern Europeans. You cannot do it toward Russians because then you are Russophobic.

      There is a book by Robert Kaplan, “Balkan Ghosts”. He writes there about “primitive tribal hatreds” of the Eastern Europeans. What could be more racist than that? It is just like during a massive cyber-attack against Estonia in 2007. We Poles went to NATO to talk about it, and the response was „you are just being Russophobic”. And that is from countries all far less advanced digitally than we are. None of these people had a clue about anything digital. Will we see a change in 30 years of this smug, patronising behaviour? It’s too early to tell.

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