Gates of Vienna News Feed 8/3/2022

German Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach has decided to impose severe new restrictions during the next six months, including mandatory masking and vaccine passports. Meanwhile, Greece is implementing a QR code digital ID wallet to make it easier for citizens to show their ID and vax records.

In other news, four people have died in cost-of-living protests in South Africa. Two of the victims were reportedly shot by police.

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

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

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

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

Financial Crisis
» “I Don’t Feel the Pain of Inflation Anymore” Says Wealthy SF Fed Chair From Ivory Tower
» Fleischer: Dems Are “Counting on the Left-Wing Base That Thinks the World is Going to End in 12 Years”
» Four Dead in South African Cost-of-Living Protests
» Is it a Recession Yet? Services Sector Shrinks Again, Signaling Strong Chance of Third Straight Economic Contraction
» UK: Cost of Living Crisis Riots This Year
 
USA
» Atlanta Cops Negligently Kill Woman — Lie to Parents Saying She Killed Herself
» Authorities Get Played Yet Again in Gun “Buyback” Program
» Blake Masters, Other Trump-Backed Candidates Win Key Primaries Tuesday
» Breaking: Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski, Three Others Killed in Car Crash
» Discovery of Separate Monkeypox Strain Suggests Two Outbreaks Are Happening
» Dr. Mary Bowden is Banned From Twitter, Soon After Criticizing Big Tech-Government Collusion on Censorship
» Florida Outpaces NY in New Business Openings in 2021, Data Shows
» Georgia Parents Can Claim Unborn Child as Dependent for Tax Credit of $3,000
» Gun Sales in Deep Blue Massachusetts Hit Record Levels Beginning in 2020, Sparked by Fear: Report
» Here’s Another ‘Great Reset’ Tool Designed to Wipe Out Good Food
» Highland Park Shooting: Man Accused of Killing 7 People at July Fourth Parade Pleads Not Guilty
» Manchin Bankrolled by Out-of-State Donors, Just 1% of Individual Campaign Donations Are From West Virginians
» Nancy Pelosi’s Husband Enters Plea in DUI Case Following Car Crash
» New Civil Liberties Alliance Joins Lawsuit Against Biden Administration for Big Tech Censorship Collusion
» Poll Finds Only 1 Per Cent of Americans See Russia as a Major Problem
» Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s Message to Liberals
» Seattle Schools Teach Students That Math is ‘Oppressive’
» Senate Approves Admitting Sweden, Finland to NATO
» Teacher Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Turning West Virginia Classroom Into a Place of ‘Torture’
» US Government Started Massive Wildfire That Burned 432 Homes — Now Feds Are Forcing Victims to Pay for it
» Watch: Project Veritas’ James O’Keefe Breaks Down Ongoing Defamation Lawsuit Against the New York Times
 
Canada
» All Three Prairie Provinces Says No to Trudeau’s Starvation Policy
» ArriveCAN Features Expanding to MORE Canadian Airports
» Canada to Review the “Risks” Of Cryptocurrencies After Freedom Convoy Protesters Subverted Crackdown
» Interview: Vaccinated 71-Year-Old Woman Forced to Quarantine for Not Having Access to ArriveCAN App
» More Than Half of Trudeau’s Cabinet Have Zero Business Experience
» YouTube Bans Popular Channel, SteveWillDoIt
 
Europe and the EU
» (Trailer) The Boer: A Dutch Farmer Rebellion
» Ambush of French Firemen, Police With Firebombs and Fireworks Lasted Four Hours
» British Commmunist Who Advocated That Lockdowns Last Forever is Promoted to Lead WHO Technical Advisory Group
» Cyber Attacks Against Poland Up 35% as Russian, Belarusian and Chinese Groups Target Polish Military
» Dutch Farmer Protests Reap Populist Support
» Europe is Isolating Itself, Analyst Warns
» European Journalist Admits He Was Paid by CIA and Others to Lie in Support of War Against Russia
» For the Thrill: French Firefighter Admits to Setting Several Fires Across the Summer
» French Media Outlets Sue Apple for Antitrust Violations
» Germany: Lockdown Returns! Health Minister Agrees New COVID Crazy Restrictions for Next Six Months
» Greece Rolls Out Digital ID Wallet
» Green Fail: Germany to Reconnect First Coal Power Plant to Energy Grid
» Poles Do Not Support Plans to Dismiss PM Morawiecki, Survey Shows
» Spain Bans Air Conditioning Dropping Below 27°c
» Szijjarto Defends Hungary’s Stance on Russian Energy and Border Security on Fox News
» Top Austrian Court Finds Banning Unvaccinated From Hairdressers Was Unlawful
» UK: Tory Hustings Was Hit by Delay as Extinction Rebellion Protesters Launched Demo Outside Venue and Blocked Entrance
» Watch: Police Beat Down Dutch Farmer Protesters With Batons
 
Middle East
» As Iranian Women Are Arrested for Protesting Against Hijabs, Some Make ‘Forced Confessions,’ Activist Says
 
Russia
» Former German Chancellor Says Russia Wants a ‘Negotiatated Solution’
» The Hidden Truth About the War in Ukraine
» Ukraine Says Russia Creating Strike Force Aimed at Zelenskiy’s Hometown
 
South Asia
» Al-Zawahiri Killed at Home of Taliban Lackey New York Times Gave Platform To
» Watch: Reporter Tells White House Security Coordinator ‘You Gave a Whole Country to Extremists’
 
Far East
» As Taiwan Warns Chinese “Maritime & Aerial Blockade” Ensuing, Pelosi Says Real Issue is ‘I’m a Woman’
» Pelosi’s Taiwan Trip Leaves Asian Countries Nervously Awaiting China’s Response
» Rand Paul Calls for “Restrictions on Exporting DNA Technology to Communist China”
 
Australia — Pacific
» Australian Government Rubber-Stamps COVID Jab for ‘At-Risk’ Kids as Young as Six Months
» Microsoft Partners With Banks to Introduce Facial Recognition
 
Immigration
» Alarm Bells Ringing as Thousands of Migrants Slam Austrian Border State
» Germany: Pupils With Migrant Background Now Majority in Nearly 1,000 Elementary Schools
» Italy: July Saw More Illegal Migrant Arrivals Than Entire Year of 2019
» Leaked Email Shows NYC Struggling to Cope With ‘Drastic Influx’ of Illegal Aliens Amid Border Crisis
» NYC Mayor Eric Adams Rejects Border Tour Invite From Texas Gov. Abbott Despite Decrying Migrant Influx
» Swedish Migration Minister Wants to Limit Non-Nordic Population in Troubled Areas
 
Culture Wars
» 10 Promising Signs That the Insidious Mind Control Matrix the Elite Have Created is Starting to Crumble
» Behind the Cancellation of ‘Batgirl’
» Biological Males Beat Out Females for Second Place Finishes, Prize Money at Canadian Skateboarding Competition
» Drag Queen Invites Young Child to Dance for Tips on Stage at Palm Springs Restaurant
» Fighting to Reclaim Comic Books From Woke Left, New Comic Lands First Punch
» Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Says Doctors Who Operate on Minors With Gender Dysphoria ‘Need to Get Sued’
» Health Experts Sound Monkeypox Alarm Over Sweden’s Gay Pride March
» Mom Threatens Texas House Meeting With ‘Ambulance-Chasing’ Lawsuits Over CRT: ‘Ya’ll Are Trippin’
» Oklahoma Protects Integrity of Girls’ Sports by Requiring Students to Declare Their Biological Sex Before Team Play
» Swedish Military Says Supporting Gay Pride Just as Important as Defending Country
 

“I Don’t Feel the Pain of Inflation Anymore” Says Wealthy SF Fed Chair From Ivory Tower

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, who makes $422,900 per year — and scrambled out of dozens of investments last year shortly before the Fed finalized strict new limits on policymakers’ portfolios — just had her ‘Nancy Pelosi Ice Cream” moment, dropping a sidewalk-spattering turd from her ivory tower on the average struggling American.

During an interview with Reuters broadcast live on Twitter spaces, Daly said: “I don’t feel the pain of inflation anymore. I see prices rising but I have enough… I sometimes balk at the price of things, but I don’t find myself in a space where I have to make tradeoffs because I have enough, and many Americans have enough.”

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

Fleischer: Dems Are “Counting on the Left-Wing Base That Thinks the World is Going to End in 12 Years”

Conservative political consultant Ari Fleischer slammed the Democrats’ relentless and futile efforts to ‘transition’ to a green economy Tuesday, noting that the Party is increasingly seeking to appeal to extreme left wing radicals only.

Commenting on the so called ‘Inflation Reduction Act’, Fleischer asserted “I don’t see how this is a political winner for the Democrats unless they are counting on the left-wing base of the party that just thinks the world is going to end in 12 years.”

He added, “I guess we are down to 10 or 8. For them, there’s no longer sitting on their hands getting out to vote because of the hundreds of billions of subsidies that are going to causes that I suppose they support.”

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

Four Dead in South African Cost-of-Living Protests

Four protesters have reportedly been found dead, with two being shot by police responding to cost-of-living protests in South Africa.

Yesterday, South African protesters took to the streets of Thembisa, lighting tires and even municipal buildings on fire and blockading roads in protest of out-of-control inflation wreaking havoc on the nation.

As reported by Africa News, “There were “two fatal injuries” in the “protest action which took place in the early hours of the morning,” said city police spokeswoman Kelebogile Thepa. “It is alleged that they were shot.”“

By the end of the day, Thepa said that two more bodies had been found dead near the entrance of a burning building — though police are yet to confirm the cause of death.

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

Is it a Recession Yet? Services Sector Shrinks Again, Signaling Strong Chance of Third Straight Economic Contraction

Business activity in the U.S. services sector declined at the fastest pace since May of 2020, a sign that the economy could be in a recession already or teetering on the edge.

S&P Global Market Intelligence said Wednesday that its index of services activity registered 47.3 in July, up slightly from the earlier released ‘flash’ estimate of 47.0, but down from 52.7 in June.

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

UK: Cost of Living Crisis Riots This Year

Most Brits expect cost of living crisis riots this year.

Food, energy and fuel bills soaring to insane levels.

We warned this would happen, and were told to shut up and ‘support Ukraine’.

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

Atlanta Cops Negligently Kill Woman — Lie to Parents Saying She Killed Herself

When Hancock County Sheriff Terrell Primus visited Mary and Marvin Grier last month, he told them their daughter Brianna had been airlifted to Grady Hospital in Atlanta. Brianna, according to the sheriff, had kicked open the door on the patrol car and jumped out while it was rolling. However, according to recently released body camera footage and an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, responding officers never closed the passenger door which led to her deadly fall.

On July 14, her parents and sister had called 911 for help when Brianna had a schizophrenic episode. She was “in the throes of a mental health crisis.” Marvin Grier told WMAZ that this wasn’t the first time Brianna has had a schizophrenic episode. He said usually EMS would come, transport her to Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin and take her to the psychiatric unit, but this time was different. Brianna got guns and badges instead of ambulances and hospital beds.

Instead of EMS, two deputies arrived at the home between 12 and 1 a.m. and put the 28-year-old in handcuffs. Because she was frantic and scared, the deputies thought it would be a good idea to scare her with the taser before putting her in the back of the car.

Body camera footage shows Brianna lying on the ground, manic and frightened. Deputies then grab her by the shoulders and feet and throw her into the back of the patrol car…

Moments after taking off, Brianna, who was alive before getting in the car with deputies, would be dying on the side of the road as the two deputies slapped her and attempted to sit her up.

           — Hat tip: JAS [Return to headlines]
 

Authorities Get Played Yet Again in Gun “Buyback” Program

Because the state is largely economically illiterate and does not have to play by the rules of the market… they will often times create negative or distorted incentives… Perhaps the most popular example of a perverse incentive is called the “cobra effect.”

Economist Horst Siebert coined the effect based on an occurrence during Britain’s occupation of India. The British government wanted to reduce the number of cobra snakes in Delhi and offered their subjects a bounty for every dead cobra they brought in. At first, large numbers of the snakes were brought in but as numbers dwindled, enterprising individuals began breeding cobras for the income.

When the state became aware of citizens breeding snakes it ended the incentive for breeders to have them, which in turn led to the opposite effect of the original incentive. Instead of reducing the population, when breeders freed their now-worthless snakes, the cobra population increased in Delhi.

We are now watching a similar situation unfold in the West as governments implement “gun buyback” programs. Over the weekend, city and county officials in Houston, Texas held a widely publicized gun buyback — touted as a way to reduce violent crime.

Folks who turned in their guns received gift cards worth anywhere from $50 to $200, depending on the type of firearm. Photos from the event showed that many of the weapons were old and broken firearms, likely only turned in to receive a gift card.

While this was bad enough, the “cobra effect” unfolded in a massive way when someone dropped off a box of 62 “handguns” in exchange for $150 gift cards for each one. This person made close to $10,000 for the box of “handguns.”

There was only one problem, however, and it was that these “handguns” were actually 3D-printed uppers, lowers, and outdated “liberator” guns from 2013. In essence, this person started their own cobra farm and sold the state farmed cobras.

           — Hat tip: JAS [Return to headlines]
 

Blake Masters, Other Trump-Backed Candidates Win Key Primaries Tuesday

Blake Masters, who was backed by both former President Trump and his old boss, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, won Tuesday’s Republican primary for the US Senate race in Arizona, according to the Associated Press.

With around 80% of ballots counted, Masters had 39% of the vote vs. challengers Jim Lamon (29%) and state AG Mark Brnovich (18%). As the Wall Street Journal notes, Arizona Republicans see the Senate race as one of their best chances to snatch a seat from the Democrats.

Thiel, a billionaire, pumped $15 million of his own money into a super PAC that boosted Masters, who will take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, in the November general election.

Elsewhere in Arizona, Trump-backed Mark Finchem — who says there was fraud in the 2020 election in Arizona’s Pima County, won the Republican nomination for Secretary of State. Another candidate, former TV anchor Kari Lake who had Trump’s backing, held a slight edge early Wednesday over real estate developer and AZ Board of Regents member Karrin Taylor Robson, who was endorsed by former VP Mike Pence.

Also ousted was AZ House speaker Rusty Bowers, who testified in June about pressures he faced to overturn the state’s 2020 election results — and was consequently censured and called “unfit to serve.”

Trump-backed candidates in other states also did well on Tuesday, including Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon — who he praised at a rally he headlined in Michigan, before formally endorsing her on Friday after Democrats spent seven-figures trying to knock her off the trail in the final weeks of the primary campaign, Fox News reports.

“Fantastic night in Michigan! Tudor Dixon will be a great Governor,” the former president said on Truth Social, his twitter-like platform.

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

Breaking: Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski, Three Others Killed in Car Crash

Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) died in a car crash in Elkhart County, Indiana on Wednesday, along with three others.

Walorski and two passengers were driving southbound on state Route 19, when a vehicle veering left into oncoming traffic crashed into their car, reports a local news outlet.

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

Discovery of Separate Monkeypox Strain Suggests Two Outbreaks Are Happening

A monkeypox strain has been spotted that is different from the one behind the ongoing outbreak in the West, raising questions about just how long the virus could have been around.

A total of 23,620 confirmed cases of monkeypox were reported globally as of August 1 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of an ongoing global health emergency that scientists are still working to understand.

Monkeypox is a virus first discovered in 1958 in colonies of monkeys kept for research. Since then the virus has remained endemic to West and Central Africa, with only a handful of cases ever discovered elsewhere. Even then, almost all such cases were linked to international travel to countries where the disease commonly occurs or through imported animals.

This year is different, with monkeypox spreading widely across the globe in people with no reported travel links to endemic countries for the first time.

           — Hat tip: JAS [Return to headlines]
 

Dr. Mary Bowden is Banned From Twitter, Soon After Criticizing Big Tech-Government Collusion on Censorship

Dr. Mary Bowden has been banned from Twitter just after launching a $25 million defamation lawsuit against Houston Methodist Hospital.

Dr. Bowden spoke to journalist Emily Miller about the ban.

“This looks like retaliation,” Bowden said. “My tweet yesterday exposing the collusion between Twitter and the CDC had 23,000 likes.”

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

Florida Outpaces NY in New Business Openings in 2021, Data Shows

Eat Florida’s dust, New York.

The Sunshine State saw twice as many new businesses open last year compared to its rival in the Northeast, according to the latest federal data.

The number of newly opened small businesses surged in Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic as the state largely shunned lockdowns and restrictive measures that spurred residents of New York and California to leave.

Floridians last year filed 632,105 applications for new businesses — a 27% increase from the year before, according to federal data.

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

Georgia Parents Can Claim Unborn Child as Dependent for Tax Credit of $3,000

Georgia parents will be allowed to claim an unborn child or fetus as a dependent on their taxes following the implementation of the state’s fetal heartbeat laws, which bans abortion around six weeks of pregnancy once a heartbeat is detected.

The Department of Revenue said parents that claim an unborn child or fetus on their state income taxes will receive a $3,000.00 compensation, according to WSB-TV 2.

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

Gun Sales in Deep Blue Massachusetts Hit Record Levels Beginning in 2020, Sparked by Fear: Report

Gun sales in Massachusetts — a state with historically low firearm ownership — have skyrocketed since 2020, due in-part to people wanting to arm themselves out of fear, according to a new report.

Many customers “haven’t fully grasped the idea of wanting to own a firearm for defensive purposes, but something brought them here,” Cape Gun Works co-owner Toby Leary told local outlet WBUR. “They feel like they’ve been spurred to do it based on what they see, or their own personal feelings about the world.”

Leary said many of his customers during the pandemic and following months told him that they did not like guns, but that fear pushed them to make the purchase, WBUR reported.

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

Here’s Another ‘Great Reset’ Tool Designed to Wipe Out Good Food

Story at a glance…

  • Food Compass rates Frosted Mini-Wheats as three times healthier than ground beef.
  • Food Compass also gives high scores to fries, Lucky Charms, Honey Nut Cheerios, chocolate-covered almonds and almond M&Ms, while rating whole eggs fried in butter, cheddar cheese and ground beef as foods that should be avoided. Based on this tool, you’ll be healthier if you replace whole egg, cheddar cheese and ground beef with candy…

In recent months, I’ve dedicated many articles to exposing the intentional destruction of our food system. The decision of the Dutch government to impose nitrogen pollution restrictions on farmers is but one example of this.

This “green” policy will cut livestock production in the country by 30% in the next year, put farmers out of business, and force them to sell their land.

Since The Netherlands is the largest meat exporter in the European Union, it will also result in meat shortages around the world.

According to Dutch Parliament member Thierry Baudet, this “green” policy is really a thinly veiled excuse for a land grab.

The government is following the script of The Great Reset, he says, which requires weakening the country, making it more dependent on food imports, and diluting nationalism by taking in more immigrants. And, to make room for immigrant housing, they need to take land from the farmers.

At the same time, Bill Gates is buying up high-priced farmland and telling the world to transition from beef to lab-grown meat alternatives. Insect farms to create human protein alternatives are also being set up and promoted, farms and food facilities are mysteriously being burnt to the ground at surprising frequency, and the Rockefeller Foundation is calling for restructuring the whole food system to make it more “fair and equitable.”

These things are not happening by chance… The hidden globalist cabal has been busy undermining health for decades, and if you want an example of what I’m talking about, look no further than the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy’s Food Compass, unveiled in late 2021.

           — Hat tip: JAS [Return to headlines]
 

Highland Park Shooting: Man Accused of Killing 7 People at July Fourth Parade Pleads Not Guilty

Attorneys for Robert E. “Bobby” Crimo III entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment in Lake County Circuit Court Wednesday after a grand jury indicted him on 117 felony counts for the July Fourth mass shooting in Highland Park that killed seven people and wounded dozens of others.

During the hearing, Judge Victoria Rossetti informed Crimo, 21, of the range of sentences he could face, including natural life if he is convicted of first-degree murder. Manacled at the waist, wearing dark blue jail scrubs and a medical mask, Crimo answered in a clear voice that he understood…

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Manchin Bankrolled by Out-of-State Donors, Just 1% of Individual Campaign Donations Are From West Virginians

Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin raised only a fraction of his campaign funds from voters in his home state, according to a Fox News Digital analysis, while out-of-state contributions and corporate donations make up the bulk of his fundraising.

Manchin, who shocked Washington last week after announcing an agreement to advance a green energy and pharmaceutical spending bill called the Inflation Reduction Act, received approximately $6.1 million from individual donors who gave more than $200 in aggregate to his campaign between January 2021 and June 30, 2022, according to Federal Elections Commission (FEC) filings.

Of that total, only about $65,000 donations came from individuals residing in West Virginia, while over $6 million came from individuals in other states. Manchin also received around $176,000 in small dollar donations, but it’s unclear how much of that came from individuals in West Virginia since campaigns are not required to report donor information on contributions under $200.

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

Nancy Pelosi’s Husband Enters Plea in DUI Case Following Car Crash

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) husband, Paul Pelosi, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to DUI charges after allegedly crashing his car in California.

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

New Civil Liberties Alliance Joins Lawsuit Against Biden Administration for Big Tech Censorship Collusion

The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) represents co-authors of the Great Barrington Declaration Drs. Martin Kulldorff and Jayanta Bhattacharya, as well as Jill Hines and Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, who have now joined the lawsuit filed by the state of Missouri and Louisiana challenging government-directed censorship of opinions that contradicted the government’s narratives on Covid.

Public statements by government officials and recently revealed emails from the DHS and CDC show that the government directed social media companies to censor certain viewpoints on COVID-19, including through threats of legal action.

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

Poll Finds Only 1 Per Cent of Americans See Russia as a Major Problem

A new Gallup poll has found that a mere 1 per cent of Americans view Russia as a major problem, with far more concern expressed about inflation, bad governance and the state of the economy.

In a revealing illustration of to what degree people have lost interest in ‘the current thing,’ whereas 9 per cent of Americans viewed relations with Russia as the most important problem facing the country back in March, that number has now plummeted.

Broadly in line with how the media has relegated the Ukraine-Russia war to an afterthought (presumably disappointed over naive predictions Russia would be swiftly defeated), Americans have also lost interest.

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

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s Message to Liberals

“Attacks on me, quite frankly, are attacks on science…” — National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, “Meet the Press,” June 9, 2021

It is troubling enough that Dr. Anthony Fauci, our country’s leading public health technocrat and the fiat leader of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — the world’s principal funder of scientific research — would make such a narcissistic and scientifically absurd statement.

The more serious concern is that the majority of my political party — the Democrats — and the mainstream media generally accept Fauci’s assertion as gospel.

Journalists — even science journalists — act as if they believe any pronouncement by Fauci (or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or World Health Organization) should mark the end of scientific inquiry.

My latest book, “A Letter to Liberals — Censorship and COVID: An Attack on Science and American Ideals,” emerged from a congenial and ongoing conversation during the COVID-19 pandemic between myself and my longtime friend and former law partner, John Morgan, a lifelong champion of the Democrat Party and liberal values.

I invited John, who reveres Fauci and accepts the scientific validity of the government’s COVID-19 countermeasures, to reengage his critical thinking skills and accept my challenge to a science-based debate — and he did.

I hope this free book will encourage other liberal Democrats to do the same — because that’s the kind of dialogue we need in order for democracy to function.

           — Hat tip: JAS [Return to headlines]
 

Seattle Schools Teach Students That Math is ‘Oppressive’

Seattle schools have been teaching its students a form of “Math Ethnic Studies,” where students in kindergarten through 12th grade are taught basic mathematics through the lens of oppression and white supremacy.

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

Senate Approves Admitting Sweden, Finland to NATO

The Senate overwhelmingly ratified Sweden and Finland’s applications to join NATO on Wednesday, boosting the two Nordic nations in their bid to join the Atlantic alliance.

The vote comes just over two months after Stockholm and Helsinki first sought to join the 30-member bloc amid Russia’s months-long brutal invasion of Ukraine.

The Swedish and Finnish ambassadors to the US were invited to watch the Senate debate and vote from the chamber’s gallery. A two-thirds majority was required to approve the expansion.

The only member to vote against ratification was Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who claimed that China was the bigger threat.

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

Teacher Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Turning West Virginia Classroom Into a Place of ‘Torture’

A former West Virginia special education teacher has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for physically and verbally abusing special needs students last year.

Nancy Boggs, 67, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to 10 misdemeanor counts of battery stemming from a September 2021 incident involving several special needs students at Holz Elementary School in Charleston, West Virginia, according to WSAZ 3.

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

US Government Started Massive Wildfire That Burned 432 Homes — Now Feds Are Forcing Victims to Pay for it

Tierra Monte, NM — In April of this year, the US government started the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s history. The fires were set by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) — ironically to reduce wildfire risk — but having the opposite of their intended effect. Thanks to several acts of incompetence, neglect, and ignorance, the controlled burn morphed into a catastrophic blaze that engulfed over 530 square miles of mostly privately owned forests and meadows, while destroying 432 homes as well. Now, after burning down their homes and land, the state is demanding the victims pay for the damage themselves — despite previous reassurances that they would be given support.

“Today I’m announcing the federal government’s covering 100% of the cost,” President Joe Biden said after he visited the state in June.

           — Hat tip: JAS [Return to headlines]
 

Watch: Project Veritas’ James O’Keefe Breaks Down Ongoing Defamation Lawsuit Against the New York Times

Project Veritas CEO James O’Keefe gave an update on Wednesday regarding the nonprofit’s ongoing defamation lawsuit against the New York Times.

Project Veritas won a major legal victory after the New York Supreme Court ruled in March of 2021 that the New York Times used “actual malice” and acted with “reckless disregard” in several articles attacking Project Veritas.

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

All Three Prairie Provinces Says No to Trudeau’s Starvation Policy

The Prairie Provinces are in revolt, with the Premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba unanimously rejecting Trudeau’s proposed fertilizer reduction policy.

As previously reported by The Counter Signal, in December 2020, the Trudeau government unveiled their new climate plan, with a focus on reducing nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer by 30% below 2020 levels by 2030. He is now moving forward with the plan — though the government refuses to acknowledge that nitrous oxide emissions can be reduced without drastically reducing fertilizer use and thus crop production.

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

ArriveCAN Features Expanding to MORE Canadian Airports

In recent weeks, there have been increasing calls to scrap the ArriveCAN app as users highlight its bugs and glitches.

On Wednesday, instead of signalling that use of the app is coming to an end, the Trudeau Liberals announced that its features are being expanded to even more airports across Canada.

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

Canada to Review the “Risks” Of Cryptocurrencies After Freedom Convoy Protesters Subverted Crackdown

After freezing bank accounts during the Freedom Convoy protests earlier this year, citizens in Canada began to use cryptocurrency to support the civil liberties protests.

This week, Canada’s Department of Finance launched a review called the Financial Sector Legislative Review On The Digitalization of Money. The purpose of the review is to assess the risks to “monetary sovereignty” posed by cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

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

Interview: Vaccinated 71-Year-Old Woman Forced to Quarantine for Not Having Access to ArriveCAN App

Once again, the ArriveCAN app is becoming a punishing victim. It doesn’t matter if you are vaccinated, if you don’t have the government’s electronic application or you haven’t updated it, not only will the public health officers demand a 14-day quarantine, but they could also give you a hefty ticket of about $6750 or more.

This is an application that once again hinders the rights and freedoms of Canadian citizens but also tourists who come to Canada. Joanne Walsh is a 71-year-old woman who was intercepted at Canadian Customs on her way back from Niagara Falls and was required to undergo a 14-day quarantine even though she had her proof of vaccination and passport.

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

More Than Half of Trudeau’s Cabinet Have Zero Business Experience

After months of dismissing the country’s inflation crisis as a “global phenomenon,” the Trudeau government finally acknowledged the fact that Canadians were struggling with the costs of everyday goods and services. In June, the government unveiled an “affordability plan” to combat inflation — $8.9 billion of government programs.

While finance minister Chrystia Freeland touted the government’s plan as a means of putting “more money in the pockets of Canadians at a time when they need it most,” many economists pleaded with the government to stop spending, arguing that the burden of lowering inflation is falling on the private sector as the government continues to spend at record levels.

Now with a looming recession, many Canadians are looking to their leaders to steer Canada out of its current economic situation. Is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s gender-balanced cabinet capable of handling a recession? We intend to find out.

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

YouTube Bans Popular Channel, SteveWillDoIt

More and more YouTubers are waking up to find their entire channel was shut down overnight. SteveWillDoIt, a member of the NELK Boys, had his YouTube channel permanently deleted for alleged repeat violations of the platform’s “community standards.” YouTube did not specify what content led to the permanent ban.

The NELK Boys is a group of Canadian-American pranksters, content creators, and businessmen.

It is unclear which pranks landed Steve’s account in trouble with YouTube. The platform only said that the channel violated its community guidelines. Before the account was deleted, it had over 4 million subscribers.

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

(Trailer) The Boer: A Dutch Farmer Rebellion

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, seemingly under the influence of the World Economic Forum, an elitist organization keen on resetting the world as we know it, announced strict measures to reach net-zero emissions. This began in 2019 after there was a declared nitrogen crisis. Farmers would have to cut down nitrogen emissions, in other words, reduce livestock and food production. The farmers, or what they call “The Boer” have spent years pushing back in peaceful protest.

In June 2022, the rebellion grew bigger than ever before, so Rebel News sent U.K. Reporter Lewis Brackpool and Lincoln Jay to the Netherlands to cover these massive protests.

In this Rebel News feature piece, we explore these far-reaching policies from the very beginning and fast forward to our time spent in Holland.

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

Ambush of French Firemen, Police With Firebombs and Fireworks Lasted Four Hours

Police and firefighters in the French city of Limoges were subjected to attacks by Molotov cocktails and mortar fireworks for at least four hours this week after being lured to a “sensitive” area of the city.

The four-hour-long battle between locals and police and firefighters took place over the course of Monday night and early Tuesday morning. The assaults took place in the district of Val de l’Aurence, which is described as being a “sensitive” area, French government jargon for what others in Europe might term a ‘no go zone’.

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

British Commmunist Who Advocated That Lockdowns Last Forever is Promoted to Lead WHO Technical Advisory Group

Susan Michie, a 40-year member of the British Communist Party and a leading participant in the U.K. Government’s Scientific Pandemic Insights group on Behaviour (SPI-B), has been promoted to Chair of the WHO’s Technical Advisory Group for Behavioural Insights and Science for Health.

Last year, when asked how long Britain’s Covid containment measures should last, Michie responded that they should last forever…

On Good Morning Britain, when asked whether her membership in the Communist Party might inform her draconian policy preferences, Michie expressed outrage: “I’ve come on your program as a scientist…” Michie is a behavioural psychologist with no background in epidemiology or infectious disease…

Michie’s promotion also comes just as WHO Director Tedros Adhanom unilaterally declared Monkeypox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern—just weeks after the world’s first-ever global outbreak of Monkeypox happened to appear in the exact week of the exact month predicted by an international biosecurity simulation a year prior.

As the free world continues to be trolled by its ruling class, it’s clear that the World Health cartel certainly knows how to reward its highest performers.

           — Hat tip: JAS [Return to headlines]
 

Cyber Attacks Against Poland Up 35% as Russian, Belarusian and Chinese Groups Target Polish Military

The Israeli cybersecurity company Check Point Software Technologies estimates that, based on data from the first six months of 2022, every week in Poland there are on average 1,100 cyber attacks carried out on any given military or government sector entity, but that the vast majority of them are blocked by cyber security systems which are in place.

The attacks aim to undermine the credibility of a given institution or state and to access strategic data. It is expected that attacks on Polish military institutions will only increase.

According to experts from Google, the Ghostwriter/UNC1151 hackers group has attacked Polish military and government email accounts, and has attempted to steal passwords of Polish and Ukrainian officials.

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

Dutch Farmer Protests Reap Populist Support

Barneveld (Netherlands) (AFP) — Dutch farmers’ rowdy protests against government climate plans have caused a stir at home and abroad, with populists worldwide jumping on the bandwagon and even former US president Donald Trump backing them.

“We take all the support that we can get,” says Jaap Kok, a 62-year-old cattle farmer standing in a meadow full of cows near Barneveld in the central Netherlands’ farming belt.

[Comment: The article is from a lamestream European publication, but it is not that bad of an article.]

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

Europe is Isolating Itself, Analyst Warns

According to analyst András Biró, EU sanctions against Russia are counterproductive.

Biró wrote that while the EU is facing the disastrous outcomes due to its own sanctions policy, according to the latest research by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Russian economy has contracted less than expected, mainly thanks to extra profits from high energy prices. Europe’s voluntary disengagement from Russian energy sources is also a geopolitical shift, as closer cooperation between members of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) grouping is emerging, with Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia recently signaling their intention to join the emerging alliance.

According to Biró, the West is unable to isolate Russia on the international stage through its sanctions policy, but is isolating itself.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

European Journalist Admits He Was Paid by CIA and Others to Lie in Support of War Against Russia

The editor of one of Europes largest newspapers, Udo Ulfkotte, made a shocking confession. After working as an international journalist for 25 years, he came forward with the following statement:

‘I have been a journalist for about 25 years. During that time I was taught to always lie, betray, and never tell the truth to the public. I was paid by the CIA, American billionaires, secret services, etc. to push for war with Russia. Journalists in Europe and all over the world are used to manipulate the public.’

Ulfkotte drew a line when he, and journalists worldwide, were paid to… push for war with Russia.

Ulfkottes testimony was confirmed by Julian Assange, the world renowned journalist and founder of WikiLeaks, who said:

‘Every war of the last 50 years is the result of media lies. Populations don’t want war, they have to be manipulated to support war.’

You can hear these two world famous journalists make these confessions in the following eye opening short documentary, that reveals many examples of how the news media deceives you.

What Ulfkotte confessed, can easily be observed when we look at how media around the world are lying about Ukraine. Look at the following examples…

           — Hat tip: JAS [Return to headlines]
 

For the Thrill: French Firefighter Admits to Setting Several Fires Across the Summer

A 37-year-old volunteer fireman in France has admitted he was behind several fires lit earlier this year in May and July, claiming he committed the acts for the “adrenaline” and to get away from his family.

The firefighter was arrested last Wednesday by French police after being seen near the site of several fires taking place in the commune of Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière and a day later admitted not only that he had set fires in the area in July but had also set fires in May in Saint-Privat.

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

French Media Outlets Sue Apple for Antitrust Violations

Three French media organizations, Le Geste, L’Equipe, and Societe du Figaro, have filed a lawsuit in California alleging that App Store policies violate antitrust laws. These media organizations have mobile apps they use to share digital content.

The lawsuit alleges that developers and iOS users are forced to use the App Store, which has monopolistic practices that potentially violate antitrust laws. The media organizations blasted Apple for taking an arbitrary commission on app sales and in-app purchases. They also noted that Apple has set the minimum price to sell an app, $0.99.

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

Germany: Lockdown Returns! Health Minister Agrees New COVID Crazy Restrictions for Next Six Months

Germany’s lockdown-loving health minister has reportedly agreed with authorities a package of COVID extremist restrictions to be forced on the population over the next six months.

Forced masking and the use of COVID passes are back on the table for ordinary Germans after the country’s lockdown-loving health minister, Karl Lauterbach, agreed a host of new COVID-crazy measures with his fellow federal bigwigs.

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

Greece Rolls Out Digital ID Wallet

Greece is rolling out a QR code digital ID wallet (Gov.gr Wallet) as a substitute for physical copies of ID cards and driver’s licenses.

“After entering the application environment, the citizen can with a few clicks create and save the digital copy of his ID and/or driving licence,” explains the Greek Ministry of Digital Governance.

“First, he chooses which document he wants to issue, and then he receives a one-time password via SMS, which he enters into the application. Immediately after, the document is created and saved in the application and in the wallet of the mobile phone.”

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

Green Fail: Germany to Reconnect First Coal Power Plant to Energy Grid

In a demonstration of the failure of Germany’s pursuit of so-called “green energy” and its policy of relying on Russian gas in the meantime, a coal-fired power plant will be reconnected to the nation’s electricity grid.

While the economic powerhouse of Europe — so called — scrambles to secure energy sources before the winter months, the previously shuttered Mehrum coal power plant in Lower Saxony will become the first to once again be connected to Germany’s grid.

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

Poles Do Not Support Plans to Dismiss PM Morawiecki, Survey Shows

The majority of respondents do not want Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to step down from his position, according to a poll conducted by United Surveys for the Wirtualna Polska portal.

The prime minister is reportedly under pressure from some within his parliamentary party to resign over his government’s negotiations with the European Commission over releasing Covid-19 recovery funds.

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

Spain Bans Air Conditioning Dropping Below 27°c

Responding to Europe’s energy crisis, Spain has controversially banned air conditioning from dropping below 27°C (80.6°F) in the summer.

The new government decree, which applies to a whole host of public buildings as well as shops, hotels and other venues, will also stop heating from being raised above 19°C during the winter.

“The rules will be mandatory in all public and commercial buildings, including bars, cinemas, theatres, airports and train stations,” reports EuroNews.

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

Szijjarto Defends Hungary’s Stance on Russian Energy and Border Security on Fox News

Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjartó was a guest of U.S. channel Fox News on Tuesday, joining Maria Bartiromo in an interview he shared on his social media platforms.

Szijjartó has formed part of the Hungarian delegation stateside this week ahead of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this weekend. He joined the Hungarian prime minister for a meeting with former U.S. President Donald Trump in Bedminster, New Jersey, before undertaking his media obligations.

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

Top Austrian Court Finds Banning Unvaccinated From Hairdressers Was Unlawful

Austria’s Constitutional Court has ruled that it was unlawful for the government to ban unvaccinated people from hair salons and barbers and also declared that a ban on entering cultural institutions was unlawful.

The Constitutional Court found the government’s restriction on unvaccinated people regarding barbers and hair salons was unlawful as the Covid-19 Measures Act provided exemptions for people not vaccinated against the Wuhan coronavirus for basic needs, which the court stated included getting hair cut.

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

UK: Tory Hustings Was Hit by Delay as Extinction Rebellion Protesters Launched Demo Outside Venue and Blocked Entrance

A coalition of protesters including Extinction Rebellion, People’s Assembly and Stand Up To Racism attempted to block the main entrance to last night’s Tory party hustings.

Footage shared online shows dozens of eco-zealots banging on drums and chanting while forming a human chain at the main gates of the All Nations Centre in Cardiff, Wales.

But while the start of the event was delayed, protestors were too late to majorly disrupt proceedings after both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss had already entered the building.

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

Watch: Police Beat Down Dutch Farmer Protesters With Batons

Police in the Netherlands were filmed forcefully cracking down on a protest from a Dutch farmer group over the removal of an anti-government mural in the city of Almelo on Monday afternoon.

Following an order from Mayor Arjen Gerritsen to remove a mural of the inverted Dutch flag, which has become a symbol of the farmer protest movement as it is seen locally as a show of dissatisfaction with the government, a group of protesters came to defend the mural, which was painted on a wall near the town hall of Almelo, local broadcaster RTV Oost reported.

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

As Iranian Women Are Arrested for Protesting Against Hijabs, Some Make ‘Forced Confessions,’ Activist Says

LONDON — When Sepideh Rashno appeared last month on Iranian state television to apologize to another woman for refusing to wear a hijab in public, longtime observers of Iran’s government viewed her actions as a “forced confession.”

A viral video posted days earlier appeared to show Rashno in public without a hijab, which Iranian women have been required by law since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Rashno appeared to be arguing with a woman who wore a hijab, saying she would send the video of their altercation “to the world.”

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

Former German Chancellor Says Russia Wants a ‘Negotiatated Solution’

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has expressed confidence that Russia would seek a negotiated solution to the Ukraine war. During his recent trip to Moscow, he also met with the Russian President. According to him, the Kremlin would like to negotiate.

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

The Hidden Truth About the War in Ukraine

by Jacques Baud

The cultural and historical elements that determine the relations between Russia and Ukraine are important. The two countries have a long, rich, diverse, and eventful history together.

This would be essential if the crisis we are experiencing today were rooted in history. However, it is a product of the present. The war we see today does not come from our great-grandparents, our grandparents or even our parents. It comes from us. We created this crisis. We created every piece and every mechanism. We have only exploited existing dynamics and exploited Ukraine to satisfy an old dream: to try to bring down Russia. Chrystia Freeland’s, Antony Blinken’s, Victoria Nuland’s and Olaf Scholz’s grandfathers had that dream; we realized it.

The way we understand crises determines the way we solve them. Cheating with the facts leads to disaster. This is what is happening in Ukraine. In this case the number of issues is so enormous that we will not be able to discuss them here. Let me just focus on some of them.

           — Hat tip: JF [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine Says Russia Creating Strike Force Aimed at Zelenskiy’s Hometown

KYIV (Reuters) — Ukraine said on Wednesday that Russia had started creating a military strike force aimed at President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih and warned that Moscow could be preparing new offensive operations in southern Ukraine.

Russia holds swathes of Ukraine’s south that it captured in the early phases of its Feb. 24 invasion, but Kyiv has said it will mount a counter-offensive. It said on Tuesday it had already recaptured 53 villages in occupied Kherson region.

In its regular update on the war in the south, Ukraine’s southern military command described the situation as tense and said Russia attacked along the frontline on Aug. 2.

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

Al-Zawahiri Killed at Home of Taliban Lackey New York Times Gave Platform To

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed at the home of an FBI-wanted Taliban lackey who was once given a platform by the New York Times.

The jihadist, one of the planners of the Sept. 11 attacks, was taken out by a CIA drone strike Sunday morning at a Kabul home belonging to senior Taliban official Sirajuddin Haqqani, according to initial reporting by the Gray Lady herself.

The publication infamously published an op-ed penned by Haqqani — the leader of the insurgent Haqqani Network in Afghanistan linked to brutal and deadly attacks — to ask for a peace agreement between US and Afghan leaders in 2020.

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

Watch: Reporter Tells White House Security Coordinator ‘You Gave a Whole Country to Extremists’

White House Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council John Kirby was confronted Tuesday by Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy over the revelation that Al Qaeda has resestablished itself in Afghanistan following the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from the country, handing it back to Taliban extremists.

Doocy first raised the issue of the administration claiming they knew Al Qaeda has a presence in Afghanistan despite Joe Biden’s claim last year that the terrorist organisation was “gone” from the country.

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

As Taiwan Warns Chinese “Maritime & Aerial Blockade” Ensuing, Pelosi Says Real Issue is ‘I’m a Woman’

Update(1545ET): During Nancy Pelosi’s brief visit to the self-ruled island of Taiwan, China’s government issued an alert telling commercial airlines to avoid airspace near Taiwan as it kicked off live military drills that essentially choked off maritime areas surrounding the island — drills coming even within 12 nautical miles of the Taiwan coast (conventionally considered “terrotorial waters”). State-run Xinhua also reported that China is conducing joint Navy, Air Force and rocket drills just off Taiwan. And more ominously Global Times said the PLA is preparing to send rockets over the island of Taiwan. As also Axios recapped:

The alert describing six areas in the region as “danger zones” notifies airlines of flight restrictions due to the military exercises from Thursday at 12 noon until 12 noon Sunday Hong Kong time, per Bloomberg, as officials in Japan also expressed alarm at Beijing’s plans.

China’s government also moved to block imports of citrus fruits and frozen mackerel from Taiwan in retaliation for Pelosi’s trip, AP reports.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry described the latest PLA actions as essentially a “maritime and aerial blockade.” Meanwhile, Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson observes that “48 Chinese military aircraft, mostly fighter jets, have now buzzed Taiwan over the past two days.” A little less than half of these were reported by Taiwan’s defense ministry as having crossed the “median line” — which it should be recalled Chinese state mouthpiece Global Times said has now ceased to exist.

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

Pelosi’s Taiwan Trip Leaves Asian Countries Nervously Awaiting China’s Response

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived late Tuesday night in Taiwan, its tallest building — iconic landmark Taipei 101 — lit up with words of welcome, blinking “Thank you” and “TW ? U.S.”

While Pelosi’s visit delighted people in Taiwan, it enraged Beijing and set the region on edge over what China might do in retaliation. From the Philippines to Singapore, countries are worried the status quo could turn from tension to conflict.

“What countries in this region know is that China cannot do nothing — it will look weak,” says Singaporean veteran diplomat and academic Kishore Mahbubani. “China has no choice but to react,” he says, adding, “at the same time, China doesn’t want to start World War III.”

China views Taiwan as a breakaway island that should be ruled by the mainland. The U.S. follows an intentionally vague “One China” policy, which views Taiwan as an independent entity that should eventually be integrated into China.

Pelosi has long been a critic of China and an advocate for Taiwan’s democracy. She was the first House speaker to visit in 25 years, as U.S. officials generally avoid any moves that could touch off a military conflict — China versus Taiwan, and possibly, the U.S…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Rand Paul Calls for “Restrictions on Exporting DNA Technology to Communist China”

Senator Rand Paul has called for restricting the exporting of DNA technology to China in the same way nuclear technology to the Communist regime is restricted.

Speaking on Fox News Tuesday, Paul was explaining the intentions of his Senate Health Committee Gain of Function hearing, which begins today.

“Before we even get whether the virus came from a lab we have to explore, were they doing gain-of-function research?” Paul said.

The Senator continued, “Were they taking viruses, mixing them with unknown viruses and creating more lethal viruses or viruses that were more infectious or transmissible. I say without question they were doing this. Anthony Fauci says they weren’t.”

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

Australian Government Rubber-Stamps COVID Jab for ‘At-Risk’ Kids as Young as Six Months

Children aged from six months to five years will now be able to receive the Moderna vaccine under an ATAGI recommendation for ‘at-risk’ kids.

The vaccine will be available for around 70,000 children with imunocompromise, disability or complex health conditions that increase the risk of developing severe illness from Coronavirus.

The Anthony Albanese Government rubber-stamped the recommendation from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) on Wednesday.

Health and Aged Care minister Mark Butler said Australia will be “one of the first countries in the world” to roll out a vaccine program for kids under five.

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

Microsoft Partners With Banks to Introduce Facial Recognition

Microsoft has announced a five-year partnership with the National Australia Bank (NAB) to develop and invest in NAB’s and Bank of New Zealand’s multi-cloud technology. The two organizations are looking into ways of identifying customers using facial recognition.

The partnership will see the development of a multi-cloud ecosystem that will host 1,000 of NAB’s apps on Microsoft Azure as the primary cloud service, and other cloud services as the secondary cloud if needed.

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

Alarm Bells Ringing as Thousands of Migrants Slam Austrian Border State

Thousands of migrants have poured into Austria in recent weeks, prompting authorities to sound the alarm as another migration wave crashes over Europe.

Nearly 600 migrants were apprehended on Saturday alone in Burgenland, an Austrian state which lies on the borders of Hungary, Slovenia, and Slovakia.

More than 2,400 migrants were taken into custody in Burgenland last week, in addition to 2,029 the week prior, nearly all of whom entered from Hungary, Krone reports.

In contrast, only 549 migrants were caught in the same area during the final seven days of April.

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

Germany: Pupils With Migrant Background Now Majority in Nearly 1,000 Elementary Schools

Just under 1,000 elementary schools in a single region of Germany are of a migrant background, official data has revealed.

Children with a migrant background now make up the majority of students in just under 1,000 schools in a single region of Germany, a considerable proportion of all the schools there, official statistics have revealed.

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

Italy: July Saw More Illegal Migrant Arrivals Than Entire Year of 2019

The month of July saw more illegal immigrants arrive in Italian territory than the entire year of 2019, as landing continue in areas like the overwhelmed island of Lampedusa.

In 2019, just 11,471 migrants arrived in Italy during the entire year but statistics from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have revealed that in the month of July alone a total of 13,197 migrants landed, the highest monthly arrival rate since June of 2017.

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

Leaked Email Shows NYC Struggling to Cope With ‘Drastic Influx’ of Illegal Aliens Amid Border Crisis

Authored by Michael Washburn via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

An email recently sent from New York City’s Human Resources Administration (HRA) to all names on its distribution list, and obtained by The Epoch Times, urged all staff who can work overtime to do so, to deal with a “drastic influx of asylum seekers” in Manhattan and the outer boroughs.

The internal request came about a week after the city’s Mayor Eric Adams described the growing stream of illegal aliens coming into the Big Apple as a “real burden on New Yorkers,” adding that the city already had “an overburdened shelter system.”

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

NYC Mayor Eric Adams Rejects Border Tour Invite From Texas Gov. Abbott Despite Decrying Migrant Influx

New York City Mayor Eric Adams rejected an invitation from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to visit the U.S.-Mexico border despite decrying an influx of migrants overwhelming homeless shelters in the Big Apple.

In a letter addressed to Adams and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser on the first of the month, Abbott, a Republican, said Texas has spent over $3 billion in the past 18 months “to curtail the devastation felt by our communities large and small.”

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

Swedish Migration Minister Wants to Limit Non-Nordic Population in Troubled Areas

Swedish Migration Minister Anders Ygeman has suggested that Sweden should follow the example of Denmark in seeking to place a limit on the population of non-Nordic migrants living in troubled areas.

In an interview with Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper, Ygeman acknowledged that ghettos where migrants have congregated with seemingly little desire to integrate have caused huge problems.

His solution is to implement a similar policy to Denmark, which has started demolishing parts of migrant ghettos and moving people elsewhere in a bid to put a stop to ‘parallel societies’ that breed crime and social dislocation.

Under the proposed new policy, a minimum of 50 per cent of residents of any area would have to be Swedish or from Denmark, Iceland, Finland, or Norway.

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

10 Promising Signs That the Insidious Mind Control Matrix the Elite Have Created is Starting to Crumble

Are we witnessing the start of some sort of a mass awakening in the western world? For years, I have been writing about the extremely complex systems that are designed to shape and control what we think. Today, the vast majority of the “news” and “entertainment” that most of us consume is controlled by just a very small handful of immensely powerful corporations. And of course those corporations are ultimately owned and controlled by the elite of the world.

To a very large degree, the elite have been able to determine what we focus on, what we think about current events, and how we feel about the world around us. For such a long time, most of the population would take whatever narratives that were pushed upon them by their corporate overlords as the gospel truth, and that always greatly frustrated me. Fortunately, there are indications that times are changing.

           — Hat tip: JAS [Return to headlines]
 

Behind the Cancellation of ‘Batgirl’

On Tuesday, Batgirl filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were in Morocco, where they had recently celebrated El Arbi’s wedding at a bash attended by guests such as their Bad Boys for Life star Will Smith. In the afterglow of the happy occasion, they received the stunning news that their upcoming DC film Batgirl would be shelved, despite it being deep into postproduction ahead of a planned HBO Max bow. The filmmakers are said to have been given a heads-up shortly before articles circulated online.

“We are saddened and shocked by the news,” the filmmakers wrote in a statement Wednesday. “As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves. Maybe one day they will insha’Allah.”

[Comment: There’s a rumor that the Batgirl movie did poorly in test screenings, so the studio decided to cancel the film in order to get a tax write-off. Go woke, go broke.]

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

Biological Males Beat Out Females for Second Place Finishes, Prize Money at Canadian Skateboarding Competition

The Canada Skateboard Open, sponsored by Slurpee, has seen a number of biological males compete against and beat biological women at stops across the country.

Back in June, transgender skateboarder Violet Whyte came in second in the Edmonton stop of the tour, beating out Madeline Kuss for the second place prize money of $500.

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

Drag Queen Invites Young Child to Dance for Tips on Stage at Palm Springs Restaurant

Popular social media account Libs of TikTok shared a video on Tuesday of a young child dancing on stage at a “family-friendly” drag queen brunch event. Members of the audience threw money at the child as one of the hosts of the drag show danced around her in an outfit exposing their buttocks. When the song ends, the drag queen pointed to the dollar bills on the ground and said to the young girl, “Look at all that money you just made!”

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

Fighting to Reclaim Comic Books From Woke Left, New Comic Lands First Punch

As consumers of pop culture are increasingly aware, the world of comic books and superheroes has gone woke. Superman no longer fights for “the American Way,” and Captain America’s archnemesis, Red Skull, is now a Jordan Peterson analog.

For the fans who just want a good story free from the political moralizing the left foists on us daily, alternative options are far and few between.

Enter “Isom,” a new comic book series created by Eric July as an antidote to what he sees as a push by popular media to “beat people over the head with stuff like social justice.”

The series focuses on a man named Avery Silman, a Texas rancher who briefly worked as a superhero codenamed Isom.

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

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Says Doctors Who Operate on Minors With Gender Dysphoria ‘Need to Get Sued’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called for doctors who perform gender reassignment surgeries on minors to be sued at a Wednesday press conference.

“They talk about these very young kids getting gender-affirming care,” DeSantis said, who used air quotes while using the phrase. “What they don’t tell you what that is is that they are giving very young girls double mastectomies, they want to castrate these young boys — that’s wrong.”

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

Health Experts Sound Monkeypox Alarm Over Sweden’s Gay Pride March

Infectious disease experts in Sweden have criticized the country’s gay pride parade organizers for failing to provide any information on monkeypox ahead of a march that they warn could be a ‘super spreader’ event.

Thousands of people are set to gather in the capital city for Stockholm Pride, although medical experts are concerned after previous monkeypox outbreaks, which almost exclusively effects gay men, were recorded at similar events in Gran Canaria and Belgium.

Noting that there was no information about monkeypox on the organizer’s official website, Rolf Gustafson, assistant professor in infectious diseases at the Karolinska University Hospital, expressed his concern.

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

Mom Threatens Texas House Meeting With ‘Ambulance-Chasing’ Lawsuits Over CRT: ‘Ya’ll Are Trippin’

EXCLUSIVE — A mom who threatened a Texas House of Representatives education meeting with lawsuits if her daughter is taught critical race theory spoke about her frustration with public education in an interview with Fox News Digital.

“If my daughter is taught CRT at all, I will sue you. If my daughter is taught [social and emotional learning] at all I will sue you. I am encouraging every parent I know to sue you; to sue every teacher, every principal, every system, everybody up the chain… because we’re tired of y’all,” said a mother named Gabrielle Clark on June 26 at a public education hearing.

“I’m an atheist, bisexual, bi-racial, homeless person… I do not want my child to be taught that just because she is Black and a woman she ain’t gonna make it. I do not want my daughter to be taught that she needs to express herself sexually in her classroom.”

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

Oklahoma Protects Integrity of Girls’ Sports by Requiring Students to Declare Their Biological Sex Before Team Play

Public schools in Oklahoma will now require students in kindergarten through college to complete an affidavit stating their biological sex to be allowed to participate in school sports.

One of these affidavit forms, from Woodall Public Schools, circulated on social media after Erin Watson, executive director at the reproductive justice group Reproaction shared the form on her Twitter page.

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

Swedish Military Says Supporting Gay Pride Just as Important as Defending Country

The Swedish military has asserted that supporting gay pride parades is just as important as defending the country from foreign attack.

Yes, really.

The Swedish Armed Forces launched a campaign proclaiming gay pride festivals to be “more important than ever” and one of the “core values” of the military in “uncertain times.”

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

One thought on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 8/3/2022

  1. Swedish Migration Minister Wants to Limit Non-Nordic Population in Troubled Areas

    Maybe in Denmark this idea will come true, but in Sweden it is doubtful. Unless the Swedes themselves, together with the migrants, are forced into the same ghetto.

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