Gates of Vienna News Feed 10/30/2022

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is considering conducting an inquiry into the way the Wuhan Coronavirus was handled. Meanwhile, her government is reinstating healthcare workers who were fired for refusing the vax.

In other news, Matteo Piantedosi, the new Italian minister of the interior, is reviving Matteo Salvini’s policies from 2018 in which migrant “rescue” ships were stopped from offloading their culture-enriching passengers in Italian ports.

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

Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, JW, Reader from Chicago, Roger, 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
» Eurocrat Pensions Go Through the Roof
» Germany Dodges Recession But Inflation Climbs to 11.6%
» UK Tax Burden to Hit Highest Levels Since 1940s, Chancellor Hunt Eyes £25bn in Hikes
» Why Illinois is in Trouble — 132,188 Public Employees With $100,000+ Paychecks Cost Taxpayers $17 Billion
 
USA
» Cell Phone Bans in Public Schools Are Trending Nationwide
» Conservatives Flood Twitter With Memes After Musk Twitter Takeover: ‘Get Your Own Platform’
» Elon Musk Responds to Lebron James’ Tweet About ‘Scary AF’ Racial Slurs on Twitter
» Elon Musk Vows to Review Why Just the News Story Was Censored
» Even the Goodwill Cancels Kanye West, Bans Yeezy Shoes From Stores
» Federal Judge Sides With Bikini Baristas, Rules Dress Code is Unconstitutional
» It Seems a Bit Odd
» Kari Lake Turns Tables on Liz Cheney, Thanks Her for ‘Attack Ads’
» Man Killed After Suspect Fires Into Crowd of People Watching Women Fight in SW Houston, HPD Says
» NYC Issues ‘Halal Guide” Featuring Terror Mosques
» Paul Pelosi’s Alleged Attacker Described by His Neighbor as ‘Left-Leaning Nudist Drug Abuser’
» Sacramento Police: Man Killed Following Crash, Shooting
» Satanic Temple ‘Unbaptizes’ People in Texas
» Snowden Says Platform Censorship Has “Clearly Gone Too Far”
» Twitter Fact-Checks Biden Claim on Corporations Making Billions
» Virginia Public Library Dropped $40k on Speech From 1619 Project Creator
 
Europe and the EU
» Czech Protesters Call for New Government, Direct Gas Talks With Russia
» German Climate Activists Glue Themselves to Dinosaur Display
» Italy to Reinstate Health Workers Who Did Not Comply With COVID Vaccine Mandates
» Italy: Meloni Considers Inquiry Into Handling of Wuhan Virus Pandemic
» Netherlands: Amsterdam Police Arrest 2 Extinction Rebellion Activists Protesting at ING
» Overwhelming Majority of Hungarians Call for Peace Talks in Ukraine
» Poland: Ruling Party Would Win Sunday Election, Poll Shows
» Prices Rocket and Forests Felled as People Turn to Firewood to Heat Homes
» Sweden: Amnesty Angered After Climate Activists Sentenced for Blocking Ambulance
» UK: London Police Release Video of ‘Vicious’ Attack on 19-Year-Old Woman at Notting Hill Carnival
» UK: Woman With Sick Child Shouts at Just Stop Oil Activists for Blocking Roads
» Visitors to the EU Will Soon Have to Give Up Their Fingerprint, Have Their Photo Taken
 
Balkans
» Bosnia: Recount Confirms Pro-Russia Serb Leader Won Election
 
Middle East
» Iran’s Government is Partnering With Mobile Carriers to Track Devices, Documents Show
 
Russia
» Russia Uses Facial Recognition Surveillance Network to Find Draft-Avoiders
» Russia Floats Basis for Putin-Biden Talks at a Moment Most Americans Want Diplomatic Solution
» ‘Too Loud to be True’: Is Russia Setting a Trap in Kherson?
» U.S. Pledges Additional $270+ Million in Battlefield Weaponry for Ukraine
 
South Asia
» India Wants Powers to Veto Social Media Moderation Decisions
 
Far East
» Hunter Biden ‘Part of Chinese Intelligence Mission, ‘ Says Former Acting Attorney General
 
Australia — Pacific
» Watch the Horror Moment a Bloody Brawl Erupts Outside a Melbourne McDonald’s as Entire City is Rocked by a Night of Violence With One Man Stabbed to Death and Seven in Hospital
» Watch the Terrifying Moment a Machete-Wielding Boy Chases and Allegedly Stabs a Porsche Driver Before Stealing His Car — With Cops Fearing it Kicked Off Horror Night of Violence
 
Latin America
» Lula Defeats Bolsonaro in Brazil’s Presidential Election
 
Immigration
» Italy: New Interior Minister Reviving Salvini Decrees to Stop Migrant ‘Taxi’ Ships
» Migrant Home Invader Kills Elderly British Couple
» Poland-Belarus Border to be Best Defended in Europe Says Minister
» UK: East Yorkshire Village Hotel is Banned From Housing Asylum Seekers After Council Gets High Court Injunction
 
Culture Wars
» ‘Reconstruction of Child Sexuality’: Philadelphia Schools to Hold Drag Queen Story Hour for 6-Year-Olds
» State Senator Scott Wiener Confronted by Women’s Rights Activist Over Trans Prison Policy
 

Eurocrat Pensions Go Through the Roof

The pension entitlements of EU officials in old age now add up to 122,5 billion euros. This is six billion euros more than at the end of 2020.

According to the Bild newspaper, citing calculations by the EU Commission, the reason for this is the salary increases due to inflation in the EU zone.

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

Germany Dodges Recession But Inflation Climbs to 11.6%

BERLIN, Oct 28 (Reuters) — Germany staved off the threat of recession in the third quarter with unexpected growth but the economy remained in choppy waters as high inflation driven by a painful energy standoff with Russia surged, data showed on Friday.

Consumer prices, harmonised to compare with other European Union countries, were up 11.6% on the year in October, the federal statistics office said. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 10.9%, unchanged on the previous month.

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

UK Tax Burden to Hit Highest Levels Since 1940s, Chancellor Hunt Eyes £25bn in Hikes

The British public will reportedly be on the hook for another £25 billion in tax hikes in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s budget next month, as the tax buden is set to hit its highest level since the 1940s.

The neo-liberal technocratic government of recently installed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, rejected by Conservative party members in September but later installed without an election anyway, is expected to raise taxes yet again.

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

Why Illinois is in Trouble — 132,188 Public Employees With $100,000+ Paychecks Cost Taxpayers $17 Billion

By Adam Andrzejewski of Open The Books substack

So, just who is making all of this money?

Meet the Illinois government employee $100,000 Club. It’s comprised of 132,188 public employees and retirees who earned a new ‘minimum wage’ of $100,000 or more.

While crime skyrockets in the neighborhoods, test scores plummet in the public schools, and inflation decimates private-sector paychecks, the Illinois public employee class is living the good life.

Our auditors at OpenTheBooks.com found nearly 500 educators in the public schools with salaries between $200,000 and $439,000. In small towns, city managers made up to $341,300. Three doctors at the University of Illinois at Chicago earned incomes between $1 million and $2.1 million.

Barbers trimmed off $104,000 at State Corrections; janitors at the Chicago Transit Authority cleaned up $143,634; bus drivers in Chicago picked up $242,812; and suburban community college presidents made $418,677.

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

Cell Phone Bans in Public Schools Are Trending Nationwide

Seven years ago, the former New York City Schools Chancellor said the city’s decision to lift a ban on cell phones in schools was “common sense.”

Last week, the Philadelphia Board of Education approved a contract of up to $5 million with a company that makes locking phone pouches that allow educators to make classrooms phone-free.

The two decisions and the years between highlight the ongoing debate about the proper place for phones in school in the digital era.

Schools across the country continue to struggle with the devices more than 15 years after the release of the first iPhone. Concerns about distractions in class, fights in hallways and other behavior issues have prompted bans in some schools along with statewide legislation to address the issues.

Hopewell City Public Schools, which serve about 4,000 students in Virginia, started using locking phone pouches this fall after years of trying to curtail phone use.

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

Conservatives Flood Twitter With Memes After Musk Twitter Takeover: ‘Get Your Own Platform’

Meme makers on social media flooded Twitter with memes and videos celebrating Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter and criticizing liberals who have expressed anger over the move.

“If you don’t like Twitter, get your own platform,” several of the memes said, poking fun at liberals who have mocked conservatives for voicing complaints about censorship from social media giants in the past.

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

Elon Musk Responds to Lebron James’ Tweet About ‘Scary AF’ Racial Slurs on Twitter

Elon Musk, the new “Chief Twit” at social media giant Twitter, has responded to LeBron James’ concerns about the reported sudden increase in racial slurs being posted on the social media platform.

Musk, who recently acquired Twitter in a $44 billion deal, replied to James on Sunday with a retweet of the response of the company’s head of safety and integrity, Yoel Roth, regarding the reported surge in slurs and derogatory terms posted on the site.

Roth wrote that the increase came over the last 48 hours from “a small number” of accounts posting “a ton of tweets.”

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

Elon Musk Vows to Review Why Just the News Story Was Censored

Twitter owner Elon Musk on Sunday said he would “look into” why a story from Just the News about election ballots was marked as “unsafe” on the social media platform.

“I will look into this. Twitter should be even-handed, favoring neither side,” Musk tweeted early Sunday morning in response to Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, who posted the Just the News article, “Election ‘misinformation’ policing returns as Twitter flags JTN ballot harvesting report.”

“I am grateful that Elon Musk is reviewing this matter,” Just the News Editor-in-Chief John Solomon said.

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

Even the Goodwill Cancels Kanye West, Bans Yeezy Shoes From Stores

Corporate America has spent the last few weeks canceling Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, after antisemitic comments. From social media platforms to shoe manufacturers to retailers to talent agents to entertainment companies — they all severed ties with the rapper who was just kicked off Forbes’ billionaire list.

The latest cancellation comes from Goodwill Industries International Inc., a nonprofit 501 organization that operates over 4,000 thrift stores across the US, that sent out a memo to employees to ban selling Ye’s Yeezy products from its physical and online stores. The Twitter account Daily Loud first reported the notice on Friday.

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

Federal Judge Sides With Bikini Baristas, Rules Dress Code is Unconstitutional

A federal judge ruled a Washington city’s dress code ordinance is unconstitutional, siding with bikini baristas in a lengthy legal battle.

For years, the city of Everett, Washington, has been battling with bikini baristas over an ordinance stating that employees must cover their bodies at work, the Everett Herald reported last week. Several individual baristas and Schuyler Lifschultz, the co-owner of Hillbilly Hotties, filed the original lawsuit against the city over the ordinance.

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

It Seems a Bit Odd

Many observers are pointing to numerous odd inconsistencies surrounding the attack on Paul Pelosi.

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

Kari Lake Turns Tables on Liz Cheney, Thanks Her for ‘Attack Ads’

Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake on Friday fired back at Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney’s attack ad, with a letter sarcastically thanking her for causing donations to “skyrocket.”

Cheney, who lost her GOP primary election to Harriet Hageman in August after losing much of her base due to her devout never-Trumpism, spent $500,000 from her new PAC, The Great Task, to tell Arizona voters to ditch pro-Trump Lake, according to Daily Mail.

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

Man Killed After Suspect Fires Into Crowd of People Watching Women Fight in SW Houston, HPD Says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Houston Police Department is searching for a suspect who fired into a crowd and killed a man in southwest Houston on Sunday.

The shooting happened in the 2500 block of Joel Wheaton Road near Westheimer at around 3 p.m.

Police said two women were fighting with a crowd surrounding them and watching when someone fired into the crowd, striking a man. In response, someone in the crowd fire back.

The crowd dispersed and left the victim on the road, according to police.

Houston police are not sure what the women were fighting about, but they are hoping for witnesses who left to come forward.

Some people in the crowd were on a blue ATV and a red motorcycle.

“We are going to need them to come forward, so we know what happened,” Detective Dustin Davis with Houston Police said.

           — Hat tip: Roger [Return to headlines]
 

NYC Issues ‘Halal Guide” Featuring Terror Mosques

by Daniel Greenfield

Before the 21st anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, New York City issued an official “Halal Guide” to its landmarks and tourist attractions.

The guide, featuring Muslim women in hijabs in front of skyscrapers, informs us that Muslims are “making an indelible mark on the City” and boasts of the “over 275 mosques spread across all five boroughs—more than any other metro area in the US”. That’s almost one mosque for every 9 people murdered in and around the World Trade Center by Islamic terrorists.

The guide, to its credit, begins its Manhattan section with the 9/11 Memorial in its “Must See & Do” section, but that’s probably in alphabetical order. Beyond halal eateries, it seems clueless about what Muslims might want to do in New York City, recommending a visit to an “avant-garde theater” in a warehouse featuring a production of 4:48 Psychosis, a play by a suicidal British playwright who then killed herself. The play was described as a “75-minute suicide note”.

That might also be a good description of New York City’s decision to issue a Halal Guide…

           — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield [Return to headlines]
 

Paul Pelosi’s Alleged Attacker Described by His Neighbor as ‘Left-Leaning Nudist Drug Abuser’

More details are emerging about 42-year-old David DePape, the man who allegedly broke into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home early Friday morning and attacked her husband. Police responding to a wellness check found DePape and Paul Pelosi struggling on the floor in their underwear with a hammer. According to a neighbor of the suspect, DePape is probably “left-leaning” and is a “nudist drug abuser.”

Journalist Micael Shellenberger published an interview with DePape’s Berkeley, California neighbor, a woman named Trish, who spoke about the bizarre household.

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

Sacramento Police: Man Killed Following Crash, Shooting

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A man is dead after Sacramento police found him with gunshot wounds inside a crashed vehicle Sunday afternoon.

Sacramento police officers were called to the scene of a vehicle that crashed into a fence near Savannah Drive and Phoenix Park Drive just after 12 p.m., the department said in a release. When officers arrived, they found the man had been shot.

Officers began life-saving efforts. However, the man died at the scene of the crash, the department said.

Homicide detectives took over the investigation.

It’s unclear what led up to the shooting. No suspect information has been released by police.

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Satanic Temple ‘Unbaptizes’ People in Texas

The Satanic Temple of Dallas-Fort Worth hosted a booth at the second annual Pagan Pride Fest in Tyler, Texas on Saturday, and invited attendees to an “unbaptism” ceremony.

Independent journalist Tayler Hansen reported on the event and posted video to Twitter, writing, “The Satanic Temple is performing ‘unbaptisims.’ After an upside down cross is drawn on their forehead they chant ‘Hail Satan.’“

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

Snowden Says Platform Censorship Has “Clearly Gone Too Far”

Former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor turned whistleblower, Edward Snowden, who is currently avoiding charges in Russia, said censorship on social media platforms has gone too far.

Snowden made the remarks in response to Elon Musk acquiring Twitter. Musk has previously criticized Twitter for suppressing free speech. On Friday, he tweeted that “the bird is free,” which implied that Twitter will be more free speech-friendly under his ownership.

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

Twitter Fact-Checks Biden Claim on Corporations Making Billions

President Biden on Friday was fact-checked by Twitter for inflating the number of corporations that were making billions.

In a tweet, purporting to give his followers “the facts,” the president asserted that 55 corporations made $40 billion in 2020 and “paid zero in federal taxes.”

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

Virginia Public Library Dropped $40k on Speech From 1619 Project Creator

A Virginia public library forked over $40,000 to the creator of the New York Times‘s 1619 Project to speak as part of its “banned books week,” the Daily Wire reported on Thursday.

The Arlington Public Library paid Nikole Hannah-Jones the princely sum to deliver a speech titled “1619 and the Fight for Democracy.” The talk focused almost entirely on backlash to her project, which claims that the American Revolution was fought to preserve slavery. Historians have criticized Hannah-Jones and the Times for the 1619 Project’s inaccuracies, although the project has not actually been banned.

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

Czech Protesters Call for New Government, Direct Gas Talks With Russia

PRAGUE, Oct 28 (Reuters) — Thousands of Czechs protested in Prague on Friday, demanding the centre-right government step down to allow an early election.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

German Climate Activists Glue Themselves to Dinosaur Display

BERLIN (AP) — Two environmental activists glued themselves to a dinosaur display at Berlin’s Natural History Museum on Sunday to protest what they said was the German government’s failure to properly address the threat of climate change.

The women used superglue to attach themselves to poles holding up the skeleton of a large four-legged dinosaur that lived tens of millions of years ago.

“Unlike the dinosaurs, we hold our fate in our own hands,” protester Caris Connell, 34, said as museum visitors milled around the display. “Do we want to go extinct like the dinosaurs, or do we want to survive?”

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

Italy to Reinstate Health Workers Who Did Not Comply With COVID Vaccine Mandates

Italian healthcare workers who were suspended from their jobs for not choosing to receive the coronavirus vaccine will soon be reinstated, the country’s health officials said. Fines issued to people who decided against the vaccine will also be canceled.

New Health Minister Orazio Schillaci announced Friday that hospitals were suffering from a shortage of medical personnel and that the decline of coronavirus cases should allow for a “reintegration” of penalized workers suspended under rules of the previous administration.

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

Italy: Meloni Considers Inquiry Into Handling of Wuhan Virus Pandemic

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s party has moved to create a commission of inquiry into the prior government’s handling of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, with at least one opposition party also supporting an investigation.

Meloni’s party, the Brothers of Italy (FdI), are said to be working on the formation of a commission along with populist Matteo Salvini’s League (Lega), with the FdI formalizing a proposal for an inquiry earlier this week.

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

Netherlands: Amsterdam Police Arrest 2 Extinction Rebellion Activists Protesting at ING

Climate activists from Extinction Rebellion protested at several ING branches on Saturday to draw attention to the bank’s financing of companies that extract and process fossil fuels. The police arrested two protesters in Amsterdam.

Activists at around 11 different ING branches chained themselves to desks, set off a biologically-safe smoke bomb and poured oil over themselves, according to the AD. In Utrecht, they cordoned off a branch of the bank and told people it was a “crime scene.” The two protesters who were arrested in Amsterdam had chained themselves to the office building and would not leave, according to the police.

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

Overwhelming Majority of Hungarians Call for Peace Talks in Ukraine

92 percent of Hungarians would immediately put an end to the Russian-Ukrainian war and bring the parties involved to the negotiating table, according to an October opinion poll by the Szazadvég Foundation, a Hungarian think-tank. The survey also examined Hungarians’ views on the leading politicians involved and on the attitude of certain countries and political actors towards the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Given that the parties are no closer to ending the war, it is not surprising that the domestic perception of leading politicians directly or indirectly involved in the conflict, and committed to the continuation of the war or sanctions has not changed significantly, and remains clearly negative, reports Szazadvég.

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

Poland: Ruling Party Would Win Sunday Election, Poll Shows

Ruling party Law and Justice (PiS) would win an election on Sunday with 36.4 percent of the vote, a survey by the Estymator pollster has revealed.

Main opposition grouping Civic Coalition (KO) would come second with 28.3 percent, followed by the Poland 2050 party with 11.3 percent.

The Left would get 9.8 percent, the Polish People’s Party (PSL) — Polish Coalition grouping 7.1 percent, and the Confederation Party 5.2 percent.

The Kukiz’15 grouping would fall below the 5-percent parliamentary threshold.

The estimated turnout would be 56 percent, the survey said.

Estymator ran the computer-assisted survey on October 27-28 on a random sample of 1,055 adult Poles.

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

Prices Rocket and Forests Felled as People Turn to Firewood to Heat Homes

The rising price of gas has seen people across Europe turn to firewood as a source of fuel.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Amnesty Angered After Climate Activists Sentenced for Blocking Ambulance

The Swedish branch of Amnesty has slammed the authorities after 12 climate extremists were sentenced for blocking an ambulance from travelling down a road.

Amnesty slammed the sentencing of the activists, who belong to the Restore Wetlands group, claiming that “Even peaceful civil disobedience, such as the climate action on the E4, is covered by the right to demonstrate.”

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

UK: London Police Release Video of ‘Vicious’ Attack on 19-Year-Old Woman at Notting Hill Carnival

London’s Metropolitan Police have belated released video of a “vicious” attack on a 19-year-old young woman at Notting Hill Carnival in an effort to track down the perpetrators.

The video footage, published on the Metropolitan Police website but not, curiously, the force’s social media pages, where they would have a better chance of being seen by a large number of people, shows a mob of mostly or exclusively black people attacking a pixelated but seemingly lighter-skinned victim on the street at the multicultural carnival, which was returning from a long hiatus occasioned by the Wuhan virus pandemic.

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

UK: Woman With Sick Child Shouts at Just Stop Oil Activists for Blocking Roads

Drivers dragged protesters out of the way and a woman shouted that they were stopping her sick child from passing as Just Stop Oil activists blocked two roads in east London on Sunday.

Activists holding banners temporarily blocked traffic by sitting in Commercial Street and Hanbury Street, near Spitalfields Market, in Whitechapel at 12.15pm.

Police had moved them within an hour.

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

Visitors to the EU Will Soon Have to Give Up Their Fingerprint, Have Their Photo Taken

From May 2023, visitors to the EU will have to provide fingerprints and have their face photographed to enter any country that is a member of the European Union or countries in the Schengen Area.

The new system, dubbed the Entry-Exit System (EES), will replace the current passport-stamping system. The system is aimed at registering visitors from non-EU countries, like the US and UK.

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

Bosnia: Recount Confirms Pro-Russia Serb Leader Won Election

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — An election recount confirmed a staunchly pro-Russia Bosnian Serb leader´s victory over an opposition challenger.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Iran’s Government is Partnering With Mobile Carriers to Track Devices, Documents Show

The Intercept has received documents that revealed Tehran’s digital surveillance capability. The Iranian government partners with mobile carriers to track mobile devices, as well as monitoring, disrupting, and altering communications.

Following the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s morality police, there have been protests all over the country. The government has responded by restricting internet access and blocking platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram.

The documents leaked to The Intercept provide details about a tool called SIAM, which has provided Tehran with the means to control information flow. SIAM requires the cooperation of mobile carriers to work.

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

Russia Uses Facial Recognition Surveillance Network to Find Draft-Avoiders

Authorities in Moscow have been using the city’s video surveillance system to hunt down and arrest draft evaders (those who refuse to be mobilized to go to the war in Ukraine).

At least seven people have been arrested in the past month after getting flagged by the facial recognition system as “draft dodgers.”

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

Russia Floats Basis for Putin-Biden Talks at a Moment Most Americans Want Diplomatic Solution

On the same weekend that Russia angered the West by pulling out of the UN-brokered grain export deal, which allowed Ukraine to ship its wheat and food supplies to global markets via an internationally monitored safety corridor, the Kremlin has floated a potential basis for “high-level re-engagement”, state media reported on Sunday.

Despite this big step back on what constituted the only diplomatic ‘positive’ of the past months between the warring sides, Putin office spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Rossiya-1 TV channel that talks with the United States remain possible if Washington “pays heed to our concerns.”

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

‘Too Loud to be True’: Is Russia Setting a Trap in Kherson?

Ukrainian troops are expected to make a bid for Kherson, one of four partially occupied provinces Russia annexed.

Kyiv, Ukraine — For days, the Kremlin has been trumpeting the evacuation of civilians from the key part of a southern Ukrainian region.

The Belgium-sized province of Kherson which serves as the gateway to the annexed Crimean Peninsula was seized days after the invasion began.

Bisected by the mighty Dnieper River, Kherson became the first Ukrainian region to be fully occupied by Russia, and Moscow deployed tens of thousands of troops there.

Russia’s control of a chunk of the Dnieper’s west bank is especially important because it offers a chance to advance farther north and west.

But in recent weeks, Ukrainian forces retook dozens of villages and towns on the west bank and struck bridges, ferries and pontoons across the Dnieper and depots with surgical precision.

So, for the past 10 days, Moscow and its puppet “administration” in Kherson have been urging tens of thousands of civilians living on the west bank to leave for Crimea and mainland Russia.

They claimed that some 70,000 civilians evacuated voluntarily — and that they will be issued “certificates” for free housing anywhere in Russia.

           — Hat tip: JW [Return to headlines]
 

U.S. Pledges Additional $270+ Million in Battlefield Weaponry for Ukraine

The Biden White House announced Friday a new weapons package worth $275 million is destined for Ukraine, bringing the total U.S. military aid to Kyiv to more than $18.5 billion since January 2021.

The move follows the European Union’s announcement of a plan of its own to stop the flow of arms from the Ukrainian conflict ending up in the hands of criminals in member states, as Breitbart News reported.

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

India Wants Powers to Veto Social Media Moderation Decisions

On Friday, the Indian government announced an amendment to the IT law passed in 2021 that will see the formation of a committee that will have the power to overrule social media platforms’ content moderation decisions.

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

Hunter Biden ‘Part of Chinese Intelligence Mission, ‘ Says Former Acting Attorney General

Former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said Hunter Biden was “part of a Chinese intelligence mission,” after House Republicans released evidence of how the president’s son’s former business partner was connected to the Chinese Communist Party.

“There is no doubt that Hunter Biden was part of a Chinese intelligence mission that was trying to gather as much information as possible about Joe Biden, Hunter Biden and the entire Biden family,” Whitaker, a former Trump appointee, told Fox News last week.

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

Watch the Horror Moment a Bloody Brawl Erupts Outside a Melbourne McDonald’s as Entire City is Rocked by a Night of Violence With One Man Stabbed to Death and Seven in Hospital

A horror night of violence across Melbourne’s CBD has left one man dead and two others fighting for life as police investigate whether two separate stabbings are related.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Watch the Terrifying Moment a Machete-Wielding Boy Chases and Allegedly Stabs a Porsche Driver Before Stealing His Car — With Cops Fearing it Kicked Off Horror Night of Violence

Horrifying footage has captured a machete-wielding boy and his friends chasing a driver before allegedly stabbing him and stealing his Porsche before Melbourne descended into chaos.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Lula Defeats Bolsonaro in Brazil’s Presidential Election

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, has defeated the incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro in the presidential election Sunday.

According to Reuters, “Lula had 50.8% of votes compared with 49.2% for Bolsonaro with 99.1% of voting machines counted, which the Supreme Electoral Court said was enough to ‘mathematically define’ the outcome of the race.”

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

Italy: New Interior Minister Reviving Salvini Decrees to Stop Migrant ‘Taxi’ Ships

Italy’s new Minister of the Interior has announced he will be looking to stop migrant taxi NGO ships ferrying illegal aliens to Italy, stating he will use the decrees previously enacted by populist League leader Matteo Salvini when he held the post.

Matteo Piantedosi initiated a directive against two migrant “taxi” NGO ships, the Humanity 1 and the Ocean Viking, based on the security decrees enacted by League (Lega) leader Matteo Salvini in 2018-19 when he was Interior Minister, which were credited with reducing illegal immigration to Italy and drownings at sea during his tenure.

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

Migrant Home Invader Kills Elderly British Couple

A migrant from Romania killed an 86-year-old woman and left her 88-year-old husband requiring round-the-clock care until his death months later.

34-year-old Vasile Culea broke into the home of Kenneth and Freda Walker in the suburbs of Shirebrook, Derbyshire, in January, after having “heard the couple had a significant amount of money in the home they had shared for more than 60 years,” according to an official police press release.

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

Poland-Belarus Border to be Best Defended in Europe Says Minister

The Polish-Belarusian frontier will be the most secure external border of the Schengen zone, a deputy interior minister has claimed owing to a new fence that now separates the two countries.

The construction of the barrier came in response to a migration crisis which started in the spring of 2021 and saw thousands of migrants trying to get into Poland.

Warsaw has claimed that Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, manufactured the crisis in an attempt to destabilise Poland and the EU in retaliation for sanctions imposed by Brussels.

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

UK: East Yorkshire Village Hotel is Banned From Housing Asylum Seekers After Council Gets High Court Injunction

A hotel in East Yorkshire has been told it can no longer house asylum seekers after a council was successful in securing an interim High Court injunction.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council today confirmed that it had gone to the High Court to prevent the Hull Humber View Hotel in North Ferriby from being used for asylum seekers temporarily.

The October 28 injunction, which was been seen by the BBC, and is attached to the front of the hotel, suspends any asylum seekers from staying there until a November 7 hearing.

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

‘Reconstruction of Child Sexuality’: Philadelphia Schools to Hold Drag Queen Story Hour for 6-Year-Olds

Philadelphia parents are outraged as their children’s school is planning to host drag queens for six-year-olds.

Parents were sent a notification telling them their first-graders were to be subjected to grown men in dresses reading them stories at Albert M. Greenfield School.

“Your child’s classroom will be participating in the Drag Queen Story Hour!” an email sent to parents read.

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

State Senator Scott Wiener Confronted by Women’s Rights Activist Over Trans Prison Policy

Women’s sex-based rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen last Saturday confronted Democratic state senator Scott Wiener, whose Senate Bill 132 allows for transgender-identified males to be incarcerated in women’s prisons.

“Why do you got male rapists in women’s prisons,” the British activist yelled at Wiener, who prompted a federal lawsuit against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation when four incarcerated women objected to being housed with transgender-identified male convicts.

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

4 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 10/30/2022

  1. Re; The Pelosi caper or incident. So far the reports do not pass the smell test. Be prepared for more Fary Tales in the elitist controlled MSM.

  2. According to some of the current talking heads in left wing media land it is some how Trumps fault or Trump,s followers fault that Nancy Polosi 72 year old husband was playing grab ass with a known male prostitute at 2 am in his own personal home and the fun and games got out of hand. How many millionaires invite homeless drug addicts rent boys up to their homes for a friendly chat when both strip down to their under roos and play wack a mole with a hammer? Yes it is a grim fairy tail it will be hard to spin this one!

  3. Regarding Meloni and the inquiry:

    Anybody betting against me that there will be an “accident” if she doesnt scrap that inquiry?

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