Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/8/2023

Early this morning a truck carrying canisters of flammable toxic chemicals overturned on a motorway in Auckland, New Zealand, causing a fire followed by a series of explosions. Local residents whose properties were contaminated with chemicals were advised to disconnect their water collection tanks and pull up and discard vegetables from their gardens. The oily residue some residents found on their properties is thought to be canola oil.

In other news, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating a series of pipe bomb explosions in the town of Claresholm in southern Alberta.

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

Thanks to Dean, DV, JW, LP, McN, MM, Reader from Chicago, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, 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
» Bank of Canada Holds Interest Rate, Predicts Decline in Inflation
» Private Payrolls Rose by 242,000 in February, Better Than Expected, ADP Says
 
USA
» “Worst Violent Crime Surge in Three Centuries”: Op-Ed Says Philly Dem Voters Owe the City “An Apology”
» 33 Senate Democrats Join Republicans to Block DC Crime Bill
» Adidas Warns of First Loss in Three Decades Following Split With Kanye West
» Amazon Announces Store Closures in High Crime Cities
» Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor Invested in Twitter One Month After Elon Musk Banned Kanye “Ye” West
» Arizona Bill Banning Critical Race Theory in Schools Narrowly Passes in Senate, Goes to Hobbs’ Desk
» Breaking: Kevin McCarthy Rejects Zelensky’s Invite to Visit Ukraine
» Breaking: Former CDC Head Tells MTG COVID Was Likely a Result of Gain-of-Function Research
» Chinese Groups Funding Controversial US School District in Effort to Divide Americans, Expert Warns
» Chuck Schumer Refuses to Go on Tucker Carlson Tonight to Discuss His Demand That Jan 6 Tapes be Suppressed
» Cops Arrest 5 Teens for NJ Mall Brawl, 14-Year-Old Boy Stabbed
» Doctor Called for Unvaxxed to be Rounded Up and Executed
» During AI Hearing, GOP Rep. Mace Delivers Opening Statement Written by ChatGPT
» Elon Musk Puts Chuck Schumer in His Place, Asks Him if He Wants Twitter to Censor Tucker Carlson Video
» FBI Director Wray Again Warns of National Security Threat TikTok Poses
» Hillary Clinton: Women Are ‘Primary Victims’ Of Climate Change; Ukraine Prime Example
» House Votes Down Effort to Pull Troops From Syria
» Jim Jordan Reaches Limit: ‘Fauci Was Trying to Cover His Backside, Everybody Knows It’
» Kevin McCarthy Defends Release of Jan 6 Tapes, Says He Will Give Them to Any News Outlet
» Louisiana High School Brawl Results in Multiple Students Arrested, Officer Injured
» NY Courts Ordered to Rehire Fired Unvaxxed Workers, Give Backpay Plus Interest
» Oklahoma Voters Reject Recreational Marijuana
» Pennsylvania School Graffiti Threatens 5 White Teachers’ Lives Unless ‘More Black’ Staff Hired
» Poll: Congressional Approval Hits Record High Under McCarthy’s Leadership
» Poll: 67% Believed in COVID Lab Leak Before Latest Government Report
» Portland Man Attacks Train Passengers With Rock Amid Citywide Crime Wave
» Rand Paul Drops Hammer: Fauci Behind ‘The Most Massive Cover-Up in Modern Medical History’
» Senior Intelligence Official Warns of TikTok’s Influence on American Children
» Squatters Take Over Chicago Woman’s Home as She Tries to Sell, Claim They’ve Been Scammed Themselves: Report
» Stabbing Suspect in Standoff With Police at Alhambra Home
» Stacey Abrams’ Not-for-Profit Launches Direct Action Against ‘Cop City’
» Teenagers Ransack Queens Seafood Restaurant, Police Searching for Suspects
» Tesla That Crashed Into Firetruck, Killing the Driver and Critically Injuring the Passenger, Was on Autopilot at the Time, Investigation Finds
» Trump Tops DeSantis by 41 Points in New Hampshire Survey
» Utah Introduces Digital Driver’s Licenses, Following Plans to Introduce Online Platform Age Checks
» Virginia County Board Members Advance Plan to Hike Their Pay 45% Amid Cop Shortage, Crime Surge
» West Virginia Train Derailment Injures 3, Rockslide Causes Fiery Diesel Fuel and Oil Spill
 
Canada
» Alberta Introduces Provincial Firearms Act to Push Back on Federal Gun Bill
» Conservative MP Tabling Bill Set to Stop Looming MAiD Expansion
» Gen Z Mental Health Hurt by Climate Change, Says Report
» Liberals Reject Online User Content Protections for Bill C-11
» RCMP Investigating Pipe Bomb Explosions in Southern Alberta Town
» Trudeau Dodges Questions on Beijing Interference in House of Commons
 
Europe and the EU
» Anti-Farmer Great Reset Push Causes Political Chaos in Belgium
» Germany’s Evangelical Church Reports Record Membership Loss Last Year
» German Ambassador Warns Poland Its Continued Request for WWII Reparations is Mistake
» Hungary Gives Nod to Sweden and Finland’s NATO Bids But Warns Them to Stop Telling Lies About Hungary’s Democracy
» Multicultural Malmö: Cars and Building Damaged in Latest Sweden Bombing
» Polish PM Offers Support for John Paul II After Media Attacks on Former Pope Intensify
» Quran Burnings Should Not Prevent Swedish NATO Membership, Says NATO Chief
» Strikes Staged Over Safety Concerns Following Deadly Greek Train Crash
» Swiss President Opposes Supply of Arms to Ukraine, Reiterates Neutrality
» The EU Demands Elon Musk Hire More Twitter Censors
» UK: ‘Jamie You Stabbed Me’: Son Relives His Mother’s Dying Words to Him After He Accidentally Stabbed Her Through the Heart While Fighting Another Man Over £2,000 Drugs Debt — as He is Jailed 19 Years for Manslaughter
» UK: Female Thug, 22, Is Jailed for Four Years After Biting Off Woman’s Fingertip Outside Nightclub and Posing With it in Her Mouth in ‘Grotesque’ And ‘Disturbing’ Snapchat Images
» UK: Is a Predatory Killer Stalking NHS Wards? Police Warn Murderer ‘May Strike Again’ After Grandmother, 75, Bled to Death in Her Hospital Bed After Being Sexually Assaulted
 
Russia
» Russia Says NY Times Report on Nord Stream Attack is Deliberate Disinformation
» Ukrainian Government Denies Involvement in Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage as US and German Media Reports Pro-Ukraine Task Force Was Responsible
» Ukraine’s Bakhmut May Fall in Days, Says NATO Chief, As Russia Claims Victory Over Eastern Half of City
 
South Asia
» Marine Sniper Dooms Biden, Says He Was Denied Permission to Shoot Kabul Airport Suicide Bomber
» Pakistan: 2 Killed in Factory Explosion in Peshawar
» Unfortunately Enough, There is Nobody to Rescue These Dying Minorities Inside Pakistan Every Day
 
Far East
» China’s Relentless Campaign of Industrial Espionage
» Earth’s Carbon Dioxide Super-Emitters Revealed: NASA Map Identifies the Countries Pumping Out Unprecedented Levels of the Greenhouse Gas — With the US and China Topping the List
 
Australia — Pacific
» New Zealand: Residents Near Auckland Truck Explosion Warned to Check Properties
» Outrage Over Council’s Proposed Rubbish Collection ‘Bin Tax’: ‘They Are Just Finding New Ways to Scam Everyone’
» Some Indian Degrees to be Recognised in Australia Under a New Deal Struck by Anthony Albanese
» The $1,400 Fines That Aussies Need to Know About as Hundreds of Drivers Fall Victim to New High-Tech Cameras — and it’s About to Rise Dramatically
 
Immigration
» Afghan Migrants File Compensation Lawsuit Against Polish Border Guard for Wrongful Detention
» Belgium: Underage Girl Sexually Assaulted by Afghan Migrant Near EU Parliament
» Federal Judge Unloads on Biden Border Policies as ‘Divorced From Reality’
» French City Awards Medal to Teen Who Rescued Girl From Migrant Rapist
» Open Borders German Govt Rejects Proposal to Limit Illegal Migration Amid ‘Worst Crisis Since 2016’
» Poland Looking to Recover Money From Ukrainian Refugees — Report
» Polish Opposition MEP Organizes Exhibition in the European Parliament Condemning Poland for Protecting Its Borders
» UK Government Announces New Powers to Detain and Deport Small Boat Migrants
» UK: Gary Lineker is a Moron
» UK: Thousands of Migrants Being Housed in Hotels Could be Moved Into RAF Bases ‘Within Weeks’
 
Culture Wars
» Biden Admin Gives Biological Male International Women of Courage Award
» Breaking: Justin Trudeau Declares ‘Trans Women Are Women’ in Honor of International Women’s Day
» California Allows 47 Biological Men to Transfer to Women’s Prison — Approve No Requests of Biological Women to Move to the Men’s Estate
» Canadian Pastor Released on Bail Over Health Condition After Arrest for Protesting Drag Event
» Exclusive Poll Results: Most Americans Worried About Kids’ Exposure to Trans Movement, Say Doctors Should be Held Liable for Child Sex Changes
» ‘Gender Pay Gap Reports’ Mandatory in Future of B.C. Business
» Local Media Cut Feed on Desantis’ ‘Book Ban Hoax’ Stream Due to ‘Explicit Content’
» Loyal Customers Boycott Iconic Australian Swimwear Label Seafolly After it Hired a Non-Binary Activist With a Beard as Its New Ambassador: ‘These Brands Are Mocking Women’
» Newsom Ends California’s Contract With Walgreens Over Abortion Drug Dispute: ‘We’Re Done’
» Notorious Trans Activist Brags About Supplying Illegal Cross-Sex Hormones to ‘Trans Youth’
» Politico’s Banned Word List Revealed: Shows Outlet Urged Writers to Avoid Terms ‘Mankind’, ‘Biological Male’
» ‘Sex Positive’ Fat Activist Says Men With Rape ‘Kink’ Should be Able to Pay to Drug Consenting Women
 

Bank of Canada Holds Interest Rate, Predicts Decline in Inflation

The Bank of Canada held Canada’s interest rate at 4.5%.

The announcement came after the Bank hiked interest rates eight times in a span of roughly a year.

In a Wednesday statement, the Bank says it is responding to a cool-off in inflation, which partly informs the interest policy.

In January, the bank wrote that the string of interest rate hikes would help bring down consumer prices.

While the Bank’s statement said it still expects consumer inflation to fall 2.7% by the middle of this year, Statistics Canada in February reported a record rise in grocery prices.

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

Private Payrolls Rose by 242,000 in February, Better Than Expected, ADP Says

Companies added jobs at a brisk pace in February as the U.S. labor market kept humming, payroll services firm ADP reported Wednesday.

Private payrolls increased by 242,000 for the month, ahead of the Dow Jones estimate for 205,000 and well above the upwardly revised 119,000 jobs gain, from 106,000, in January.

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

“Worst Violent Crime Surge in Three Centuries”: Op-Ed Says Philly Dem Voters Owe the City “An Apology”

A scathing new op-ed in the Washington Examiner this week calls for Democratic voters in Philadelphia to offer up an apology to the rest of the city for helping usher in what is being called the city’s “worst violent crime surge in three centuries of its history”.

The piece was written by Christopher Tremoglie and published yesterday. It opens by calling Philadelphia’s criminal justice policies and reforms “radical” and “incompetent”.

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

33 Senate Democrats Join Republicans to Block DC Crime Bill

Senators on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to block the District of Columbia’s updated criminal code from becoming law, marking the first time in more than three decades that a D.C.-passed bill has been nixed by Congress and the White House.

The Senate advanced the resolution, 81-14, with 33 Democrats voting alongside every Republican and Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.).

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

Adidas Warns of First Loss in Three Decades Following Split With Kanye West

Adidas has warned that it could experience its first annual loss in 31 years, with the sportswear company projecting a full-year operating loss of 700 million euros, or $739 million, for 2023. The bad financial news comes after Adidas ended its lucrative partnership with Kanye West after the rapper and fashion mogul embarked on an anti-semitic media tour.

On Wednesday, Adidas said the majority of its projected losses for 2023 would come from remaining Yeezy products it is holding in inventory, which could end up costing the company 5o0 million euros.

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

Amazon Announces Store Closures in High Crime Cities

Amazon has announced it will be closing several grocery stores in high crime cities like NYC, Seattle and San Francisco, but claims the measure is related to “cost-cutting”.

The retail giant said it would be permanently shutting down eight of its 29 Amazon Go stores, which are designed for maximum convenience as the shopper can just scan the items as they leave, with no staff required.

Criminals can also conveniently jump over the barrier with no one there to stop them.

Despite the cashier-free system helping Amazon’s bottom line, the company claimed it was closing the outlets because they haven’t met profitability expectations.

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

Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor Invested in Twitter One Month After Elon Musk Banned Kanye “Ye” West

Hollywood bigwig Ari Emanuel, who together with the Anti-Defamation League led the charge to cancel Kanye “Ye” West, quietly invested in Elon Musk’s Twitter one month after Ye was permanently banned from the platform.

Emanuel made the investment after Twitter had tanked in value by 56% and Musk was floating a potential bankruptcy.

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

Arizona Bill Banning Critical Race Theory in Schools Narrowly Passes in Senate, Goes to Hobbs’ Desk

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is considering a bill that would, as sponsors say, prevent schools from teaching critical race theory.

Senate Republicans voted 16-14 to pass SB 1305 to prevent racially biased education plans. They sent Hobbs the bill Monday.

The bill, sponsored by State Senator J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, seeks to establish a legal basis to prevent the teaching of critical race theory, a civil rights theory that argues for the existence of white privilege and systemic racism.

CRT has caused an uproar on both sides of the aisle, with many school board meetings turning into heated debates not just in Arizona, but across the country.

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

Breaking: Kevin McCarthy Rejects Zelensky’s Invite to Visit Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Ukraine to no success, with the Republican leader declining the invitation, according to a report by CNN on Wednesday.

The declined invitation comes amid disputes from GOP lawmakers over whether the US should continue to fund Ukraine to the tune of tens of billions.

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

Breaking: Former CDC Head Tells MTG COVID Was Likely a Result of Gain-of-Function Research

Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green spoke during the Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on Wednesday, which focused mainly on the origins of Covid and specifically whether Covid was made in a lab or the result of a leak from the virology lab in Hubei province, China.

Among those invited as witnesses was Dr. Robert Redfield, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under President Donald Trump, who, while speaking with Greene, said that the Covid-19 virus looked as though it was altered in a lab.

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

Chinese Groups Funding Controversial US School District in Effort to Divide Americans, Expert Warns

Virginia’s Fairfax County Public Schools district is no stranger to controversy, but this time the district is in hot water over something aside from its controversial curriculum.

According to Parents Defending Education, Thomas Jefferson High School, a nationally-revered STEM school in the district, has received more than $1 million-worth of donations from Chinese-backed groups since 2014.

But some critics have questioned if those funds have been directly funneled into the district’s support of critical race theory and related sexual education materials.

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

Chuck Schumer Refuses to Go on Tucker Carlson Tonight to Discuss His Demand That Jan 6 Tapes be Suppressed

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday agreed to go on Tucker Carlson’s show, on the condition that he “admits” to “lying” about the 2020 elections and January 6, after his public meltdown over the Fox News host obtaining the footage from the Capitol protests that paints a different story than “insurrection.”

“I was invited on Tucker Carlson’s show,” the New York senator wrote on Twitter. “I will agree to go on after Tucker Carlson admits to his viewers live on air that he has been lying to them about the 2020 elections and about what happened on January 6th.”

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

Cops Arrest 5 Teens for NJ Mall Brawl, 14-Year-Old Boy Stabbed

WAYNE — A 16-year-old boy has been released after being charged with stabbing another teenager in the leg during a fight at Willowbrook Mall.

The brawl involving a large group of teens broke out near the food court entrance around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to Wayne police Det. Capt. Dan Daly.

Cops arrived at the mall to find a 14-year-old boy who had been stabbed in the thigh. He was taken to the hospital where he was treated and later released.

The officers at the scene learned that all of the teens involved, including the victim, were from Passaic. There had been an “on-going issue” between members of the group and Saturday’s fight wasn’t the first time they had come to blows, Daly said.

           — Hat tip: LP [Return to headlines]
 

Doctor Called for Unvaxxed to be Rounded Up and Executed

A Florida doctor has been accused of harassing and bullying colleagues and patients over their vaccination status, even calling for unvaccinated Americans to be rounded up and executed.

Complaints have been filed against Dr. Daniel B. Case of the Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Florida over his extremist views regarding vaccines.

At least one of them had a direct altercation with Dr. Case, who suggested medical fascism as the solution for those who choose not to be vaccinated.

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

During AI Hearing, GOP Rep. Mace Delivers Opening Statement Written by ChatGPT

South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace on Wednesday opened a congressional hearing on artificial intelligence by reading a statement written using ChatGPT.

That program is an AI language model that can generate written texts in response to user prompts.

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

Elon Musk Puts Chuck Schumer in His Place, Asks Him if He Wants Twitter to Censor Tucker Carlson Video

Twitter CEO Elon Musk humiliated Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) after Chuck lost his mind over Tucker Carlson airing unseen footage from the Jan 6 riots. Schumer went on the Senate floor and threatened Fox News boss Rupert Murdoch over the footage.

It was not Chuck’s proudest moment because he came dangerously close to violating the constitution with his demands. Chuck took to Twitter and said:

“Speaker McCarthy has held the gavel for less than three months. But by sharing the January 6th security footage with Fox News, he has already done more than any party leader in Congress to enable the spread of Donald Trump’s Big Lie.”

Enter Elon Musk who humiliated the would-be censor by posting a video (you can see it below) from Tucker’s show but with a voice over of a innocent tour guide. Musk captioned the video with:

“Do you want us to remove this video?”

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

FBI Director Wray Again Warns of National Security Threat TikTok Poses

FBI Director Christopher Wray addressed the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday and repeated his warnings that social media platform TikTok poses a national security risk to the United States.

Wray indicated that ByteDance, the app’s Beijing-based parent company, was susceptible to the Chinese government’s data requests, given it is subject to Chinese law, and that likely Chinese access to the app’s user data stood as one of the main concerns.

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

Hillary Clinton: Women Are ‘Primary Victims’ Of Climate Change; Ukraine Prime Example

Women are the “primary victims” of “climate change,” twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said during a discussion Wednesday at the 30/50 Summit in Abu Dhabi, pointing to Ukraine as the prime example.

“Women and children are the primary victims of conflict and of climate change and there is no place that unfortunately, tragically, shows us that more dramatically than Ukraine today,” Clinton despaired to MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski.

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

House Votes Down Effort to Pull Troops From Syria

The House rejected an effort Wednesday to effectively force President Joe Biden to remove roughly 900 U.S. troops from Syria.

The vote split along ideological lines about U.S. military policy and engagement, rather than the typical partisan divide. But even many critics of the specific concurrent resolution on the floor said it was time for a broader review of the 2001 authorization for use of military force enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that has been used as a justification for the engagement in Syrian territory.

The concurrent resolution, introduced by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., pursuant to the expedited procedures in the War Powers Act, would direct Biden to remove U.S. forces from Syria within 180 days. It was not adopted, 103-321.

“If Joe Biden wants to keep us in Syria’s war, then he must explain to the American people why, what the goal is, and what winning looks like,” Gaetz said in a statement ahead of the vote. “America First means actually putting the people of our country first — not the interests of the Military Industrial Complex.”

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

Jim Jordan Reaches Limit: ‘Fauci Was Trying to Cover His Backside, Everybody Knows It’

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) put Dr. Anthony Fauci on notice in a hearing on the origins of COVID. In what may go down as one of the most shameful episodes in our nation’s history, anyone who questioned the company line was censored.

And Fauci was behind pushing the narrative. Now, he says he has an open mind to the lab leak theory but back then he was pushing a different theory behind the scenes. Jordan wants to know why.

Jim said: “Fauci was trying to cover his backside. Everybody knows it. The highest paid guy in our government getting all kinds of money to tell us things that were not accurate.

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

Kevin McCarthy Defends Release of Jan 6 Tapes, Says He Will Give Them to Any News Outlet

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has defended his decision to provide FOX News’ Tucker Carlson with over 40,000 hours of never-before-seen footage from the January 6 riot.

Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, McCarthy emphasized the importance of transparency, and said he’d gladly hand the clips over to any network willing to air them in an honest fashion.

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

Louisiana High School Brawl Results in Multiple Students Arrested, Officer Injured

Ten people were arrested Wednesday following a brawl at a Louisiana high school campus involving students and parents, according to reports.

The fight occurred on the campus of the EBR Readiness Alternative School in Baton Rouge, FOX Baton Rouge reported.

School security officers responded to reports of a disturbance in a courtyard outside the gym around 8:15 a.m. There were reportedly 200 students and parents fighting.

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

NY Courts Ordered to Rehire Fired Unvaxxed Workers, Give Backpay Plus Interest

New York’s Unified Court System has been ordered to rehire workers who were fired for being unvaccinated.

The New York State Public Employment Relations Board ruled that the fired court workers must also receive back pay plus interest.

The board’s February 24 decision requires the Unified Court System to “cease and desist” from enforcing vaccination policies.

The policies mandate that all non-judicial employees must be vaccinated or regularly test for Covid.

The board ruled that court workers “who lost accrued leave, compensation or employment” must be made “whole.”

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

Oklahoma Voters Reject Recreational Marijuana

Oklahoma voters on Tuesday night rejected a proposal to permit the recreational use of marijuana in the state.

The proposal would have allowed adults aged 21 or over to purchase up to 1 ounce of marijuana and subjected recreational sales to a 15% excise tax, according to the Associated Press.

Oklahoma already allows for medicinal marijuana use and roughly 10% of the adult population have a medical license to purchase it.

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

Pennsylvania School Graffiti Threatens 5 White Teachers’ Lives Unless ‘More Black’ Staff Hired

Graffiti threatening a Pennsylvania high school to hire “more Black teachers” or “5 white ones will die” was found in a bathroom, alarming local parents who claim they were not told of the vandalism.

“Y’all better start hiring some more Black teachers or 5 white ones will die,” the message scrawled on the wall of a girls’ bathroom at Upper Darby High School, CITC reported.

Police in Upper Darby, a town about 8 miles outside of Philadelphia, were reportedly alerted to the graffiti back on Feb. 28. Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt told the Daily Times that a parent alerted police to the message, and law enforcement asked the school to confirm its legitimacy.

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

Poll: Congressional Approval Hits Record High Under McCarthy’s Leadership

Voter approval of Congress has hit the highest rates in over 15 years under Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership, a new Rasmussen Reports poll has found.

The national survey, published on Wednesday, found that 28 percent of likely voters think that Congress’ performance is either good or excellent, up from 25 percent in December.

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

Poll: 67% Believed in COVID Lab Leak Before Latest Government Report

A new Rasmussen poll has found that two thirds of Americans believe COVID originated in a Wuhan lab, and that they were not surprised that a leaked Department of Energy report also came to the same conclusion.

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

Portland Man Attacks Train Passengers With Rock Amid Citywide Crime Wave

A Portland, Oregon man has been arrested for allegedly punching and smashing a man’s face with a rock on the MAX light rail train in the latest string of attacks on the city’s public transportation amidst a spike in crime.

According to KATU, Johnny Moan is accused of assaulting a man who was attempting to prevent him from harming another “terrified” passenger on a train at the Lloyd Center Transit Station.

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

Rand Paul Drops Hammer: Fauci Behind ‘The Most Massive Cover-Up in Modern Medical History’

Republican Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has dropped the hammer on Dr. Anthony Fauci by accusing the former top federal health official of orchestrating “the most massive cover-up in medical history.”

Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Democrat President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser, is accused of covering up reports that Covid originated from a lab in Wuhan, China.

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

Senior Intelligence Official Warns of TikTok’s Influence on American Children

U.S. National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone has warned that the Chinese Communist Party-linked social media app TikTok is influencing American children.

During testimony delivered before the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 7, Nakasone said he is concerned about what data TikTok may be collecting on U.S. users.

Nakasone expressed his concerns that the Chinese government is using the app to gather data on American citizens and is specifically targeting children.

Asked by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) about any worries he has about TikTok’s influence on kids in America, Nakasone responded: “TikTok concerns me for a number of different reasons.

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

Squatters Take Over Chicago Woman’s Home as She Tries to Sell, Claim They’ve Been Scammed Themselves: Report

A Chicago woman found herself embroiled in an expensive and time-consuming legal battle with a squatter she discovered in her family home while trying to sell the property.

Karen Polk told WGN-TV this week that she was tidying up her family’s home in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood in order to sell the property now that her mother had passed away and discovered a squatter had sneaked in and refused to leave.

Polk said the people in the home told her that they paid money several months rent up front to another person and signed a lease. She said she was not sure if that was true or part of a scam, but that she is now stuck in a legal battle trying to figure it out.

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

Stabbing Suspect in Standoff With Police at Alhambra Home

A man believed to be the suspect in the brazen fatal stabbing of a high school student last week is barricaded inside an Alhambra home surrounded by police, authorities said Wednesday.

The man, whose name has not been released, is the suspect in the killing of Xavier Chavarin, 17, who was described by family as a straight-A student and a loving son.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that units from the gang and narcotics division had surrounded the home in the 2300 block of Westmont Drive around 7 a.m. An LAPD SWAT team is responding to the scene, she said.

The suspect was armed with a knife and barricaded alone in the home, the spokesperson said. Police have not made contact with him.

           — Hat tip: MM [Return to headlines]
 

Stacey Abrams’ Not-for-Profit Launches Direct Action Against ‘Cop City’

A Georgia-based voter registration nonprofit founded by Stacey Abrams and dogged by allegations of financial impropriety called for a “National Day of Action Against Police Terror” on Tuesday.

On Sunday, far-left extremists attacked a future police training facility in Atlanta, Georgia, nicknamed “Cop City.” The group, most of whom were dressed in black bloc, set fire to construction equipment and attacked police officers. 23 people, including a member of the Southern Poverty Law Center, were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism in connection with their involvement in the incident.

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

Teenagers Ransack Queens Seafood Restaurant, Police Searching for Suspects

A large group of teenagers ransacked a restaurant in Queens, New York, and the suspects are reportedly still on the loose.

The suspects entered Fish Village in College Point on Saturday morning and began trashing the place without saying anything, the restaurant’s manager told WABC.

“He said he don’t know what happened, why they gonna do him like that. It feels scary,” manager Tony Hu said through a translator.

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

Tesla That Crashed Into Firetruck, Killing the Driver and Critically Injuring the Passenger, Was on Autopilot at the Time, Investigation Finds

U.S. investigators suspect the Tesla that crashed into a firetruck in Northern California on February 18, killing the driver and critically injuring a passenger, was operating on autopilot at the time.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Trump Tops DeSantis by 41 Points in New Hampshire Survey

Former President Trump easily outpaces Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in a hypothetical GOP New Hampshire primary matchup, according to a new survey.

An Emerson College poll released Tuesday showed Trump leading among a group of possible Republican candidates with a whopping 58 percent of the vote in the early primary state. DeSantis came in second with 17 percent, followed by New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu with 7 percent and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley at 6 percent.

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

Utah Introduces Digital Driver’s Licenses, Following Plans to Introduce Online Platform Age Checks

The Utah Department of Public Safety’s Driver License Division (DLD) has introduced an app that allows residents to download signed digital versions of their driver’s licenses. The app can be used as a digital ID and has been launched following the introduction of a bill that would require internet users to show digital ID as proof of age to access online platforms.

After downloading, the mobile driver’s license (mDL) can be used by scanning or tapping, meaning users do not have to hand over their phones.

The mDL can be used at airport security and some grocery stores and banks.

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

Virginia County Board Members Advance Plan to Hike Their Pay 45% Amid Cop Shortage, Crime Surge

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to move forward with consideration of a proposal to give themselves salary increases of up to 45%, even as the county, located just outside of Washington, D.C., faces a shortage of police in the midst of a crime surge.

With inflation still high, county residents are facing real estate taxes that have risen 7% on average. In addition, Virginia counties assess the value of personal vehicles and send “personal property tax” bills that residents must pay each year. These bills are at record levels due to the high values of used vehicles.

The Board of Supervisors voted 8-2 to proceed with consideration of a plan to approve supervisor salary increases from $90,000 per year to between $125,000 and $130,000. The board’s chairman, Jeff McKay, is currently paid $100,000 yearly, according to local media reports. Under the new proposal, his pay would jump to between $140,000 and $145,000.

Residents have a chance to respond to the Board’s action on Tuesday, March 21 at 4:30 p.m., when the proposal comes up for a final vote.

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

West Virginia Train Derailment Injures 3, Rockslide Causes Fiery Diesel Fuel and Oil Spill

A train derailment in West Virginia on Wednesday morning left three people injured and caused a fire after diesel fuel and oil spilled out onto the ground.

CSX said in a statement that four locomotives and 22 empty train cars derailed in Summers County near the New River. The company said that the lead locomotive, carrying a conductor, engineer, and an engineer trainee, caught fire and the crew members suffered non-life threatening injuries.

The company also said that an unoccupied locomotive was left partially in the river after the derailment, adding that oil and diesel fuel spilled. Environmental containment measures were in place after the derailment.

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

Alberta Introduces Provincial Firearms Act to Push Back on Federal Gun Bill

The Alberta government has introduced legislation giving Justice Minister Tyler Shandro the ability to hamper the federal government’s ability to collect restricted firearms as proposed under C-21.

Shandro says Bill 8, the Alberta Firearms Act, defines the role of the province’s chief firearms officer, but it also allows him to enact regulations regarding how the proposed federal legislation is administered in Alberta.

Shandro told reporters at a news conference Tuesday that the bill contains about 60 subclauses outlining areas where he could make regulations.

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

Conservative MP Tabling Bill Set to Stop Looming MAiD Expansion

Conservative MP Ed Fast announced he will be tabling a private member’s bill that will reverse the forecasted expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) legislation to include those whose sole condition is a mental illness.

In light of recently renewed talk about assisted suicide laws in Canada, Fast announced the soon-to-be-introduced Bill C-314— the Mental Health Protection Act — on Parliament Hill, flanked by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

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

Gen Z Mental Health Hurt by Climate Change, Says Report

Most young Canadians say their mental health is upset by the threat of climate change, according to a new report.

In a report from Lakehead University, eight-in-ten Canadians aged 16 to 25 said climate change impacts their overall mental health.

“Evidence increasingly illustrates that young people are particularly vulnerable to climate distress and anxiety,” wrote the authors and researchers Lindsay Galway and Ellen Field.

Among the most common emotions young Canadians reported was fear (66%) and powerlessness (56%), and among the least common emotions reported was optimism (21%).

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

Liberals Reject Online User Content Protections for Bill C-11

The Liberal government has rejected a Senate amendment to Bill C-11, dubbed the Trudeau government’s online censorship law, which would protect the social media content posted online by Canadians from falling under government regulations.

Critic of the law and University of Ottawa Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law Michael Geist said that Ottawa’s actions reveal their true intent with the legislation — the power to regulate what you post online.

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

RCMP Investigating Pipe Bomb Explosions in Southern Alberta Town

Mounties are investigating two separate pipe bomb detonations in the town of Claresholm, Alta., that damaged garbage receptacles.

Officers were called to Amundsen Park on the morning of March 6 after someone spotted a bin that, according to RCMP officials, “had been blown up.”

Security video footage secured from a nearby home showed two people walking in the park shortly after 2 a.m., placing a pipe bomb in the garbage receptacle, lighting the fuse and watching the explosion. The pair — described as a taller male and a shorter person — left the park on foot and were last seen heading in a northeasterly direction.

Following the explosion, RCMP discovered that a second garbage bin near the town’s compost site had been damaged by a makeshift explosive on March 4.

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Trudeau Dodges Questions on Beijing Interference in House of Commons

Despite persistent grilling from Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined to directly answer questions in Parliament Hill’s Question Period Wednesday on foreign interference in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 elections.

“He knew when that committee reported that candidates received money directed by the dictatorship in Beijing,” said Poilievre in the House of Commons. “How much did the Liberal Party get in donations directed from Beijing?”

Two CSIS reports acquired by Global News allege that Chinese officials in Toronto had distributed financial donations to a network aiming to interfere in the 2019 election. The finalized report prepared by the Privy Council Office (PCO) suggests it was read by Trudeau and his advisors.

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

Anti-Farmer Great Reset Push Causes Political Chaos in Belgium

Green great reset policies aimed at cutting nitrogen pollution in Flanders have thrown the region’s coalition government into chaos, as politicians worry about the impact the measures will have on farmers.

Flanders — the northern, Dutch-speaking region residing within the Belgian state — has seen its ruling coalition government thrown into turmoil, after one of the three parties ruling the region opted to resist the implementation of green agenda changes aimed at curbing nitrogen pollution in farming.

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

Germany’s Evangelical Church Reports Record Membership Loss Last Year

The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) reported 745,000 members left the church last year, the highest figure on record, as increasingly more Germans turn their backs on institutional religion.

A total of 380,000 members made the conscious choice to leave the church in 2022, an increase of almost 36 percent over the previous year, while 365,000 existing members died. The church recorded a total of 170,000 new members, resulting in a net loss of 575,000.

EKD now represents just 19.1 million people in Germany, or 22.7 percent of the population.

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

German Ambassador Warns Poland Its Continued Request for WWII Reparations is Mistake

Germany wants to be a “good neighbor” to Poland, but Poland’s ongoing reparations demands are a “mistake” and risk a future of mutual relations, Germany’s ambassador to Poland, Thomas Bagger, has claimed in a wide-ranging interview with Newsweek.

Berlin’s top diplomat in Warsaw covered issues including ongoing Polish-German relations, the demand by Warsaw for World War II reparations, and the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

On this last, Bagger admitted the construction of the gas pipelines connecting Germany with Russia “was a mistake.”

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

Hungary Gives Nod to Sweden and Finland’s NATO Bids But Warns Them to Stop Telling Lies About Hungary’s Democracy

A Hungarian delegation on official visits to Stockholm and Helsinki this week has given its approval to Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership bids, but asked the countries’ governments to refrain from telling lies about the state of democracy in Hungary.

Csaba Hende, Hungary’s deputy parliamentary speaker and a member of the governing Fidesz party who led the Hungarian delegation in Scandinavia this week, told reporters of the frank exchange between the Hungarian MPs and the Swedish government, in which he urged Swedish lawmakers to stop perpetuating myths about Hungary’s democracy.

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

Multicultural Malmö: Cars and Building Damaged in Latest Sweden Bombing

Several cars and a building in the southern multicultural Swedish city of Malmö were damaged in an apparent bombing as gang violence continues across the country.

The alleged bombing took place early Tuesday morning at a car dealership in Amilonsvägen on the outskirts of the city with police being alerted to the blast at around 2 am.

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

Polish PM Offers Support for John Paul II After Media Attacks on Former Pope Intensify

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki offered a gesture of support for the legacy of John Paul II after media reports into the extent to which the former pope knew about a pedophilia endemic within the Roman Catholic Church have intensified in recent weeks.

The Polish premier changed the background images on his social media profiles to a graphic of the former pope alongside his famous quote, “Do not be afraid.”

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

Quran Burnings Should Not Prevent Swedish NATO Membership, Says NATO Chief

Turkey must not insist on the criminalization of Quran burnings in Sweden before approving the country’s NATO membership, Jens Stoltenberg, the defense alliance’s chief, said on Wednesday.

In an interview with Swedish broadcaster SVT, the NATO boss reminded Turkey that such a condition was not included in the agreement reached between Finland and Sweden, the two countries vying for NATO membership, and existing NATO members at a summit in Madrid in June last year.

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

Strikes Staged Over Safety Concerns Following Deadly Greek Train Crash

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Striking labor unions disrupted mass transit in Greece on Wednesday to protest the deaths of 57 people in the country’s worst train disaster, which exposed major safety deficiencies.

The strikes halted ferries to the islands and shut down bus and trolley car service in Athens, where thousands were expected to attend union-organized protests against the government. Subways ran for a few hours to allow people to get to the demonstration.

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

Swiss President Opposes Supply of Arms to Ukraine, Reiterates Neutrality

Switzerland will continue to oppose the supply of arms to Ukraine as the country retains its constitutional neutrality, President Alain Berset confirmed on Tuesday.

Berset, who assumed the rotating role of Swiss president for 2023, reiterated his country’s commitment to providing humanitarian support for Ukraine and will continue to fall in line with EU-led Russian sanctions. However, he rejected any notion of the country supplying arms directly to Ukraine or permitting the re-export of weapons.

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

The EU Demands Elon Musk Hire More Twitter Censors

The European Union disagrees with Twitter owner Elon Musk’s plans to use volunteers and AI to censor content on the platform. According to a report by The Financial Times, EU regulators have told Musk to hire more human censors and fact-checkers.

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

UK: ‘Jamie You Stabbed Me’: Son Relives His Mother’s Dying Words to Him After He Accidentally Stabbed Her Through the Heart While Fighting Another Man Over £2,000 Drugs Debt — as He is Jailed 19 Years for Manslaughter

A mother who was accidentally stabbed through the heart by her son as he brawled with another man outside a pub told her child ‘you’re a divvy’ before she died.

Jamie Dempsey, 32, plunged the knife into the chest of Karen Dempsey, 55, as she fought to stop her son fighting Brian Flynn in Kirkby, Merseyside.

The blade punched right the way through the grandmother’s heart and out the other side, ending up 1.5 cm into her liver. She bled to death.

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Female Thug, 22, Is Jailed for Four Years After Biting Off Woman’s Fingertip Outside Nightclub and Posing With it in Her Mouth in ‘Grotesque’ And ‘Disturbing’ Snapchat Images

Libby Armstrong, 22, clashed with victim Toni Lough in the toilets of a nightclub in Wallsend, North Tyneside, on September 9 last year.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Is a Predatory Killer Stalking NHS Wards? Police Warn Murderer ‘May Strike Again’ After Grandmother, 75, Bled to Death in Her Hospital Bed After Being Sexually Assaulted

After a post-mortem examination, it was discovered that Valerie Kneale, 75, had bled to death due to being assaulted, possibly sexually.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Russia Says NY Times Report on Nord Stream Attack is Deliberate Disinformation

Russia has claimed that the New York Times report about a ‘pro-Ukraine group’ being responsible for the Nord Stream pipeline attack is a deliberate form of disinformation to distract from the fact that the U.S. was responsible for the blasts.

The NYT said that a “pro-Ukrainian group” had sabotaged the pipelines, using a team with as few as six people involved in the mission, contradicting previous assumptions that only a state would have had the resources to carry out the operation.

The report was very careful to explicitly state that no Americans or Brits were involved in the attack.

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

Ukrainian Government Denies Involvement in Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage as US and German Media Reports Pro-Ukraine Task Force Was Responsible

Ukrainian government officials denied any involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, which sparked an international crisis in September last year, after U.S. media outlets citing U.S. government officials reported on Tuesday the attack was carried out by a pro-Ukraine group.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reiterated on Tuesday the Ukrainian government had “nothing to do with the Baltic Sea mishap and has no information about ‘pro-Ukraine sabotage groups.’“

His remarks follow a report published in the New York Times on Tuesday citing “new intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials,” which suggested a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the gas pipelines last September.

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

Ukraine’s Bakhmut May Fall in Days, Says NATO Chief, As Russia Claims Victory Over Eastern Half of City

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said the hard-fought city of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s Donetsk region may fall to Russian troops “in the coming days.”

His comments followed claims by Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group which said it had taken the eastern part of the city after months of a brutal ground and air offensive.

Fox News Digital could not verify the group’s claims and Stoltenberg did not confirm whether any part of the city has yet fallen to Moscow.

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

Marine Sniper Dooms Biden, Says He Was Denied Permission to Shoot Kabul Airport Suicide Bomber

Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, a U.S. Marine Corps sniper who served in Afghanistan during the debacle in Kabul testified before Congress on Wednesday and said he was denied permission to shoot the suicide bomber in Afghanistan that killed 13 service members and over 170 civilians.

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

Pakistan: 2 Killed in Factory Explosion in Peshawar

Islamabad: Two people were killed in an explosion inside a matchstick manufacturing factory in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday, rescue workers said.

The incident happened in the provincial capital of Peshawar where the factory’s roof partially collapsed following the explosion, trapping the two laborers under the rubbles, Asif Khan, director of operations at the Edhi rescue service in the city, told Xinhua news agency.

He said that the rescuers recovered the duo and shifted them to a nearby hospital where they succumbed to their injuries.

           — Hat tip: JW [Return to headlines]
 

Unfortunately Enough, There is Nobody to Rescue These Dying Minorities Inside Pakistan Every Day

The untold story of the unbelievable persecution on Minorities in Pakistan for which International media and so called Human Rights organisations resolved not to pay any attention.

Upananda Brahmachari | HENB | New Delhi | March 7, 2023:: During these two three days, Hindus in India and Hindu-roots in abroad are obviously enjoying the festival of colour with much glory and enthusiasm all over the world along with their friends and neighbors even who don’t belong to Hindu faith in an encompassing mood of joy and friendship.

But the shocking news came through the social media that the minority students in Punjab University were attacked by the radical Islami Jamiat Tulba members to stop the Holi celebrations of the Hindu-Sindhi students in the campus yesterday and even today.

Hindu Rights activist Narain Das Bheel posted a video in which it was clear that even the girl students were also attacked by radical Muslim students when some Hindu-Sindhi girls were celebrating Holi in their department under a grab of cultural invasion by the Islamist over the minority faith. . hardly 30 Hindus students are reading in Punjab University as reported…

           — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari [Return to headlines]
 

China’s Relentless Campaign of Industrial Espionage

The NY Times Magazine published a story today about China’s efforts to steal proprietary information from US (and European) companies. As the story points out, all major countries have spies, but for western countries spying is usually limited to matters of politics and the military. But China doesn’t make a distinction between those areas and the economy, which makes sense if you think about it. From a communist perspective, the state is responsible for everything and everyone. So there is no political or military lane that is separate from the economic lane. Anything that makes China stronger is fair game for spying, especially US technology. And so in addition to cyberattacks, China has worked out a system of appealing to ethnically Chinese people who work in high tech fields in America.

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

Earth’s Carbon Dioxide Super-Emitters Revealed: NASA Map Identifies the Countries Pumping Out Unprecedented Levels of the Greenhouse Gas — With the US and China Topping the List

Earth’s carbon dioxide super-emitters have been revealed in a new NASA map that shows just how much greenhouse gases are being pumped out by more than 100 countries.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

New Zealand: Residents Near Auckland Truck Explosion Warned to Check Properties

Papakura residents discovering oily residue on their properties after yesterday’s truck explosion on the Southern Motorway are being told it is most likely canola oil.

Some items with the oily substance on them, like plants and outdoor furniture, could be washed with soapy water, but water collection tanks should be disconnected and vegetables from the garden thrown out.

A truck carrying canisters of flammable gas and other chemicals burst into flames on the Auckland motorway in the early hours of Wednesday, near Harbourside Drive.

People were evacuated from nearby homes, as explosions, smoke and debris burst from the vehicle, and chemicals spread across the road as well as into nearby properties.

In the aftermath, road workers worked overnight to repair the road, and authorities were visiting affected homeowners to offer advice.

They said an oily residue had appeared on some nearby properties, and was believed to be canola oil.

           — Hat tip: McN [Return to headlines]
 

Outrage Over Council’s Proposed Rubbish Collection ‘Bin Tax’: ‘They Are Just Finding New Ways to Scam Everyone’

A Melbourne council and residents are set to go to war over a proposed new ‘bin tax’ that has enraged residents over the fee that could reach $115.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Some Indian Degrees to be Recognised in Australia Under a New Deal Struck by Anthony Albanese

Australian and Indian graduates will be able to get more out of their degrees, with a new arrangement between the two nations increasing where the qualifications will be recognised.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

The $1,400 Fines That Aussies Need to Know About as Hundreds of Drivers Fall Victim to New High-Tech Cameras — and it’s About to Rise Dramatically

Almost 500 motorists were slapped with a $1,400 fine last year for committing two offences at once in Queensland — but come mid-2023 that fine will jump to more than $2,000.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Afghan Migrants File Compensation Lawsuit Against Polish Border Guard for Wrongful Detention

Three Afghans who illegally entered Poland from Belarus in August 2021 and were transported to the border after being processed by Polish border guards are demanding a total of €51,200 in “compensation for their wrongful detention.” The prosecutor and representative of the Border Guard are seeking the dismissal of the compensation request.

In August 2021, due to the intervention of activists providing humanitarian aid at the border with Belarus, the Afghans did not leave Poland and were taken to a center for foreign nationals. They now reside in Germany and the United Kingdom.

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

Belgium: Underage Girl Sexually Assaulted by Afghan Migrant Near EU Parliament

An ‘asylum seeker’ from Afghanistan was arrested for sexually assaulting a young girl on a tram a short distance from the official seat of European Parliament, according to reports.

The disturbing incident unfolded recently in Strasbourg, France, where the legislative body of the European Union meets monthly.

A 15-year-old girl had just boarded a local train in the city center when a foreign man sat next to her and proceeded to molest her, Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace reports.

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

Federal Judge Unloads on Biden Border Policies as ‘Divorced From Reality’

A federal judge delivered a severe spanking to President Biden over the southern border, ruling Wednesday that there is an illegal immigration “crisis” and accusing the administration of reducing the boundary to “a meaningless line in the sand.”

Judge T. Kent Wetherell, a Trump appointee who sits in northern Florida, said Homeland Security’s approach of catching and releasing massive numbers of illegal immigrants on “parole” is illegal.

He laid the blame for the crisis squarely at the feet of the president and his policies.

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

French City Awards Medal to Teen Who Rescued Girl From Migrant Rapist

The city of Bordeaux has awarded a local teenager an award for heroic behaviour after he prevented a young teen from being raped by an Algerian migrant with a prolific criminal past.

The prefect of Gironde, Étienne Guyot, is set to award 15-year-old Idriss with a medal of honour for his courage and bravery after he prevented a 13-year-old girl from being raped by a 49-year-old Algerian migrant in early February.

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

Open Borders German Govt Rejects Proposal to Limit Illegal Migration Amid ‘Worst Crisis Since 2016’

The German leftist coalition government has rejected calls by conservatives to speed up deportations and do more to reduce illegal immigrant arrivals.

The German centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party, the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) attempted to pass a motion in the German parliament asking the leftist federal government to reduce illegal immigrant arrivals.

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

Poland Looking to Recover Money From Ukrainian Refugees — Report

Polish officials are trying to recover social assistance funds they unduly allocated to Ukrainian refugees after they had left Poland, Rzeczpospolita reported on Wednesday.

According to the outlet, Poland’s Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) paid some two million Polish zloty ($450,000) to Ukrainians within two programs that handed out monthly payments of 300 ($67) and 500 zloty ($112) a month per child despite the refugees having no right to this assistance.

However, the real amount of the aid distributed without valid reason may be even higher, the report says. So far, out of this sum, ZUS is believed to have retrieved only 35,300 Polish zloty ($8,000).

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

Polish Opposition MEP Organizes Exhibition in the European Parliament Condemning Poland for Protecting Its Borders

A Polish opposition MEP has launched an exhibition in the European Parliament which purports to condemn Polish authorities for protecting their borders, accusing officials of inhumane treatment of migrants crossing into Europe from Belarus.

Janina Ochojska, an MEP from Poland’s opposition liberal Civic Platform (PO) and head of the humanitarian charity Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH), has initiated the exhibition titled “Pushback is illegal, helping is legal.” It is an exhibition in the European Parliament covering the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border.

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

UK Government Announces New Powers to Detain and Deport Small Boat Migrants

The U.K. government has introduced new legislation to ban anyone arriving in the country illegally from claiming asylum in an attempt to reduce the record numbers of migrants crossing the English Channel to reach British shores.

The bill will give authorities the power to detain without bail or judicial review anyone who crosses into the country without a right to do so within the first 28 days of entry, and individuals will remain in detention until they can be legally deported.

Migrants will be deported back to their country of origin, or if this is not safe, to a safe third country such as Rwanda with whom Britain has an agreement to deport asylum applicants for processing.

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

UK: Gary Lineker is a Moron

Gary Lineker. Lives in the whitest, least diverse pockets of multi-millionaire suburban luxury and privilege.

Incessantly lectures the British public about wanting basic border controls.

Shut up, you absolute bell end.

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

UK: Thousands of Migrants Being Housed in Hotels Could be Moved Into RAF Bases ‘Within Weeks’

Thousands of migrants currently housed in hotels could be moved to military bases ‘within weeks’, it has emerged.

The Home Office is negotiating to secure two sites from the Ministry of Defence.

Conversion of the bases to asylum accommodation centres would allow ‘a few thousand’ people to be relocated from costly hotels, government sources confirmed.

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

Biden Admin Gives Biological Male International Women of Courage Award

Marking International Women’s Day on Wednesday, a trans-identified male was awarded an International Women of Courage award during the 17th annual Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award Ceremony.

Introducing Alba Rueda of Argentina to the crowd, the presenter said, Rueda “is a transgender woman who was kicked out of classrooms, barred for sitting for exams, refused job opportunities, subjected to violence, and rejected by her family. But in the face of these challenges, she worked to end violence and discrimination against the LGBTQ plus community in Argentina.”

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

Breaking: Justin Trudeau Declares ‘Trans Women Are Women’ in Honor of International Women’s Day

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has chosen to mark International Women’s Day by issuing a statement declaring that “trans women are women” and that the Government of Canada “will always stand up to hate whenever and wherever it occurs.”

Trudeau began by saying that International Women’s Day celebrates and recognises the achievements of women and girls in Canada and stated that this year’s theme, Every Woman Counts, is a “reminder that all women, from all ages and walks of life, have a place in every aspect of Canadian society.

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

California Allows 47 Biological Men to Transfer to Women’s Prison — Approve No Requests of Biological Women to Move to the Men’s Estate

Since California’s Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Act came into effect in 2021, permitting transgender inmates to be housed in facilities in line with their gender identity, 47 biological males have been permitted to transfer to women’s prisons while none of the 12 requests by biological females to transfer to a men’s facility have been granted so far.

Democratic California Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 132 was enacted in January 2021, granting biological male criminals the right to request transfer to women’s prisons based upon a self-declared female gender identity, as well as the right for these males to request to be searched by female prison staff.

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

Canadian Pastor Released on Bail Over Health Condition After Arrest for Protesting Drag Event

CALGARY, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) — Christian pastor Derek Reimer, who was jailed and charged for protesting a children’s drag queen story time at a public library over a week ago, was released from a Calgary jail late Monday after he decided to sign bail papers to take care of an urgent medical condition.

Reimer, of Mission7 street ministry, was to have remained in jail at the Calgary Remand Centre until at least March 14 after initially not agreeing to bail conditions, which would have prevented him from protesting at future children’s drag queen story time events.

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

Exclusive Poll Results: Most Americans Worried About Kids’ Exposure to Trans Movement, Say Doctors Should be Held Liable for Child Sex Changes

Two new polls have revealed that the majority of Americans believe that doctors and pharmaceutical companies should be able to be held legally liable for potential harmful side effects that arise from minors taking puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, and are concerned about efforts “to expose children to the transgender movement.”

In one poll, conducted by McLaughlin and Associates in partnership with Summit.org, 71 percent of respondents said that they believe “pharmaceutical companies and doctors who promote puberty blockers and cross sex hormones for underage children seeking gender transition should be legally liable for any harmful side effects that arise.” 29 percent said they shouldn’t be held liable.

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

‘Gender Pay Gap Reports’ Mandatory in Future of B.C. Business

The British Columbia government will soon mandate businesses to create and release public “gender pay gap reports.”

The government announced on Tuesday a growing list of businesses will be required to publicly report staff wages, emphasizing in the report the relationship between gender and wage.

“[This] brings us one step closer to reducing the gender pay gap,” said B.C. labour minister Harry Baines.

The mandate will expand once a year, on the first day of November. It’s scheduled to start with businesses that employ more than 1,000 staff.

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

Local Media Cut Feed on Desantis’ ‘Book Ban Hoax’ Stream Due to ‘Explicit Content’

Media outlets were accused of inadvertently proving Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., right after it was revealed that some live feeds to his presentation on the “book ban hoax” were cut for displaying “sensitive” or “explicit” content.

On Wednesday, the governor hosted a video presentation addressing the media narrative surrounding his efforts to remove political and sexual content from Florida school libraries. During what he described as “debunking the mainstream media,” DeSantis featured a video displaying of books that have been banned from school libraries.

After these images were featured, it was reported that local news affiliates cut the live feed, suggesting that they were too explicit to feature on their stations.

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

Loyal Customers Boycott Iconic Australian Swimwear Label Seafolly After it Hired a Non-Binary Activist With a Beard as Its New Ambassador: ‘These Brands Are Mocking Women’

Seafolly, one of Australia’s most celebrated and recognised swimwear brands, is being boycotted after hiring a bearded, non-binary activist as its new ambassador.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Newsom Ends California’s Contract With Walgreens Over Abortion Drug Dispute: ‘We’Re Done’

California is opting not to renew a $54 million contract with Walgreens in protest of the business’s decision to not dispense abortion drugs in certain states, Governor Gavin Newsom announced.

Walgreen’s decision was announced last week after the company was being threatened with legal action by 20 Republican attorneys general if Walgreens sold abortion pills in their states.

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

Notorious Trans Activist Brags About Supplying Illegal Cross-Sex Hormones to ‘Trans Youth’

Trans activist Eli Erlick has openly boasted on social media of operating an illegal drug trafficking operation involving supplying vulnerable minors who identify as transgender with powerful cross-sex hormones, and is actively encouraging others to do the same.

“I’m now a proud criminal in Mississippi for ‘aiding and abetting’ lifesaving medicine for trans youth,” tweeted Erlick Monday. “I realize the risks of posting this but it’s more important to encourage others to share lifesaving medications than guarantee one’s safety (granted I’m in little danger in NY).”

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

Politico’s Banned Word List Revealed: Shows Outlet Urged Writers to Avoid Terms ‘Mankind’, ‘Biological Male’

A recently discovered Politico banned word list sent to staffers in 2022 revealed that the outlet has been policing what language its writers may publish especially concerning transgender issues.

The outlet has instructed its editors and writers to avoid words such as “mankind,” “manhunt,” and even terms like “biological male” and “biological female” in order to avoid “elevating transphobic voices.”

The list, which was proposed in an internal memo in January 2022, also banned other words that could be deemed politically incorrect, such as “Anchor baby,” and “Peanut gallery” — the latter being offensive because it was originally a reference to “the cheapest seats often occupied by Black people and people with low incomes.”

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

‘Sex Positive’ Fat Activist Says Men With Rape ‘Kink’ Should be Able to Pay to Drug Consenting Women

The BBC is receiving backlash for airing a Bill Cosby documentary in which a self-proclaimed “fat sex therapist” argued for allowing men to pay to be able to drug and have sex with women.

“If we actually grappled with the fact that sex negativity is what causes this type of behavior, then we could create a world where in an idyllically sex-positive world, someone is able to pay conscious women to come and be drugged so that I can get my kink out, my fetish on having sex with unconscious people,” Sonalee Rashatwar said in a segment. “There’s a consensual way to do that.”

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

12 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/8/2023

  1. .
    .
    On International Women’s Day, a day established by communists and spread by globalists to sow division between men and women, we members of The Free Sweden (DFS) want to take this opportunity to address all Swedish women who share the dream of a free Swedish future.

    Marxists and liberals on this day will focus on the myth of the wage gap, or modern “progressive” issues of state-funded gender reassignment of children or demands that teachers must say the “right pronoun” to some uppity “trans woman”.

    But are these really relevant issues for free Swedish women? Hardly.

    Ever since the horrific reforms of the 1960s and 1970s, women have been reduced to labor for the state and capital. Biologically, she is still responsible for childbirth, but upbringing and education should preferably be handled by preschools and schools so that their offspring can also become good producers and consumers.

    The woman who instead wishes something else for herself and her family, such as staying at home with the children for much longer than the state-sanctioned first year, is seen either as a gender traitor or as a victim of ‘patriarchal structures’. In feminist ‘equality’ it is taken for granted that the ultimate female liberation is from motherhood, her husband and her family.

    It is when she sells her labor and depends on her boss and the state, and not her husband and children, that she is apparently free.

    So what is the alternative?
    A woman who wishes to work should of course be fully entitled to do so. But for those who want something else, the options must be there, and rules and laws must be changed to make that freedom possible. Being able to choose voluntary joint taxation as a family is a simple step where more people who wish to do so could dare to stay at home longer with their children instead of feeling the stress of returning to work.

    For us libertarian nationalists, this is an obvious freedom issue, and one that should be close to the hearts of all free Swedish women and men. It is not about coercion; on the contrary, it is about your and your family’s freedom to choose the life you want for yourselves.

    But no such demands will be written on any placards under the red flags today.

    Strong, cohesive and independent families have always been one of the biggest obstacles to totalitarian ideologies. A society filled with “individuals” made dependent on state “security” is a much more favorable terrain for those who wish to micromanage our lives.

    So even though March 8 is far from a day that is usually celebrated by nationalists, for obvious reasons, we would like to take this opportunity to send a loving greeting to all Swedish women who we know are working their butts off to keep their families together despite the state’s constant interference.

    But also to those of you who continue to struggle even though the dream of the family has been shattered under the pressure of the tensions of the modern world, and to those of you who still dream but haven’t found the right one yet.

    You are role models for our daughters and an inspiration for all of us, because you do the best you can with the conditions you have been given. Let’s fight together, as men and women, to improve the conditions for future generations!

  2. .
    .
    Malaysia should spread Islam in Sweden – praised by the Swedish ambassador

    Published March 8, 2023 in Fria Tider

    Malaysia sends 20,000 translated Korans to Sweden – something that is praised by Sweden’s ambassador in the Muslim country.

    – I am personally happy that the Koran, this globally important text, will become more accessible in my home country and in Europe, says the Swedish ambassador Joachim Bergström to Benar News.

    The government of Malaysia has set aside close to the equivalent of SEK 25 million for the project, which involves translating the Koran into different languages.

    The Muslim country will send 20,000 copies of the book to Sweden.

    Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim states that it is, among other things, about countering “Islamophobia” and spreading a better understanding of Islam.

    – It has become a problem because those who are against Islam never read the holy book. So we have to go back to the text or at least the translation to save and enlighten others about the deeper meaning of the religion, Ibrahim told Benar News.

    Joachim Bergström highlights for the newspaper his own fight against so-called Islamophobia.

    – I even own several copies of the Koran myself. I have spent many years of my life living and working in the Muslim world – including as Sweden’s special envoy to combat Islamophobia between 2016 and 2021 – and I am convinced that knowledge and dialogue are the right way to promote understanding and peace, he says.

    • If this is a project to counter “islamophobia”, the translations require significant alterations. Should be interesting to compare with earlier ones, ideally at least 100 years old. Of course we know that hardly anyone of the sheeple will do that, and we know that the Muslims know that, too. It all comes to a grinding halt when they show their true colours. It’s gonna get ugly, who will win? An interesting prospect might be an escalation of the other conflict throwing a monkey wrench in the progress of islamization. With “interesting” I mean of course, just that. It won’t get boring.

    • The West has more become so confused about everything. How in God’s name is it going to survive? Muslims are seriously disturbed by the fight of such a big lump of fresh meat. All those housewives trying like crazy to pee up ropes.

  3. .
    .
    The Wolff of Wall Street SPEZIAL:
    CBDCs & World Economic Forum

    In December 2022, we are at the end of the third year of a global state of emergency. Three processes are responsible for this:

    The highest concentration of wealth in ever fewer hands,
    the highest concentration of power in ever fewer institutions, and
    the historically unprecedented dismantling of democracy that this has enabled.

    Never before have so many authoritarian measures been taken worldwide in such a short time as since the beginning of 2020. The operative word here is ‘worldwide’. All three processes have taken place on five continents in around 200 countries. This is no coincidence, as the driving force behind this does not stop at national borders but has now subjugated the entire planet.

    It is the DIGITAL FINANCIAL COMPLEX of the largest IT companies, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft & Meta and the largest asset managers, BlackRock & Vanguard. They form the largest and most powerful cartel that has ever existed on earth.

    Over the past decades, this cartel has subjugated virtually all areas of life and now controls the entire world economy, international politics, all mainstream media, as well as research, science and, to a large extent, culture.

    https://apolut.net/the-wolff-of-wall-street-spezial-cbdcs-world-economic-forum/

  4. .
    .
    https://www.snaphanen.dk/2023/03/09/hele-corona-helvedet-var-
    et-stort-fupnummer/#more-199404
    (translation LN)

    The whole Corona hell was a big hoax

    LAST UPDATE: 9/3-23 0937
    NO COMMENT – CLICK TO COMMENT!

    “The world will never be the same again”
    (Mette Frederiksen 11 March 2020)

    By Philip Brandt

    Watch this shocking clip from a panel discussion at the “coffee club” World Economic Forum 2020, where Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel boasts that Moderna already had 100,000 doses of c-19 “vaccines” ready in 2019 – and that they were already preparing to scale up production to a billion doses the following year, “because they knew in advance that there would be a pandemic”.

    “So the big news, compared to 2020 where we are today: we have manufacturing capacity. (……) When the pandemic happened, Moderna had manufactured 100,000 doses in 2019 for a whole year. And I remember after hours walked into the office of my second manufacturing lab – and I said: how are we going to make a billion doses next year? And they looked at me a little weird and said “WHAT”? And I said: “Yeah, we’re going to make a billion doses next year; it will be a pandemic”!
    (my transcript, ed.)

    The questions are as follows:

    1. How could Moderna have the c-19 syringe ready already in 2019, the year before c-19 became a global “problem”?

    2. How could Moderna know in advance that there would be a “pandemic” the following year, 2020?

    3. How is it that these highly incriminating statements could be made so nonchalantly at the WEF, with no one apparently taking further notice of the deeply troubling implications of Moderna’s own confession?

    4. What did Denmark’s then Minister of Health do in October 2019 in Washington at the so-called Event 201 – the dress rehearsal for the “pandemic” that was triggered a few months later and sponsored by the wax billionaire and WHO’s main sponsor Bill Gates? What did Heunicke and Frederiksen know when Denmark was shut down on 11/3-2020 with the words “the world will never be the same again”?

    5. What rock has the entire state-funded press corps – also called the “citizen’s guard/fourth state power” – been hiding under since 2020?

    Consider: This is not a conspiracy theory. This is an admission of the greatest conspiracy against humanity ever.

    There is good reason to be very angry with our elected politicians, our media and our authorities who have deceived the people and allowed this crime to develop. This is written as diplomatically as I can.

    But make no mistake: the righteous indignation is also very much directed at the politicians who like to pride themselves on being “citizen’s watchdogs”, while for three damn years they have consistently ignored and mocked all of us who have loyally bombarded them with facts and calls to take action against the abuses.
    No one who has failed in their responsibility in the last three years will be forgotten.

    5


    Dr. Simon Goddek
    @goddeketal
    ·
    Følg
    The CEO of @moderna_tx, Stéphane Bancel, has come forward and confessed that their company manufactured 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine in 2019, before the plandemic even began! It’s a scandal of epic proportions.

    video
    https://twitter.com/i/status/1632709396693172225

  5. ~.
    .
    Quoted from the website snaphanen.dk
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    On the occasion of March 8

    Artist nails his penis to a wooden post
    “Dear Denmark. Dear International Women’s Day, I bring you Uwe Max Jensen’s artwork / interpretation of the woman’s power over the submissive Danish man, which you are about to replace with another one.” (So far only visible to Facebook users.)

    Also remember that the International Day of Struggle is a Soviet communist invention.

    https://www.snaphanen.dk/2023/03/08/i-anledningen-af-8-marts/

  6. So, now explosions in New Zealand.

    I know I sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I have the impression that there are a lot of explosions happening right now.

  7. Canola is TOXIC if you eat it. Unsaturated oils are touted as being healthier than saturated but epidemiological data correlates with an increase in heart disease with the increased consumption of seed oil. The reason is the oil oxidises (double bond broken ) inside the body producing toxins.
    DO NOT EAT SEED OILS
    “Like smoking, seed oil consumption also induces oxidative stress, induces insulin resistance, damages the arterial endothelial wall, and increases oxidized LDL – a common mechanism that causes heart disease.”
    https://www.zeroacre.com/white-papers/seed-oils-as-a-driver-of-heart-disease#:~:text=Like%20smoking%2C%20seed%20oil%20consumption,mechanism%20that%20causes%20heart%20disease.

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