The news feed is light tonight. Our American tipsters are probably eating BBQ down at the VFW hall, but I’m not sure where everyone else is.
The weird news story of the day concerns two alligators who were found feasting on a human corpse in a canal in Broward County, in South Florida. According to police, the body had been in the water awhile before the alligators started on it, and it has not been identified yet — it’s not even clear whether it is male or female. The whole thing sounds like the opening sequence in a “Law and Order” episode.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to AF, Dean, JD, KS, MM, 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. We 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.
Ex-CEO of Largest Swiss Insurer Commits Suicide, Three Years After CFO Hanged Himself
In the latest tragic news from the world of finance, earlier today Zurich Insurance, the largest Swiss insurer which employs 55,000 people and provides general insurance and life insurance products in more than 170 countries, reported that Martin Senn, the company’s former chief executive officer who stepped down in a December reshuffle, has committed suicide. He was 59.
[Comment: Suicide? Or suicided? Dead banker list — hedgeaccordingly.com/2015/01/list-of-dead-bankers-2015-conspiracy-update.html]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Arkansas Judge Allegedly Offered Young Men Reduced Sentences in Exchange for Sexual Favors
Once, the judge allegedly asked a man to pose like Michelangelo’s Statue of David in exchange for $300.
He allegedly instructed another man to strip naked and bend over, handcuffed, inside an Arkansas courtroom while he snapped photographs, up close.
And on multiple occasions, he allegedly sentenced men — often young and poor — – to illegitimate “community service” that ultimately led them to the judge’s home or office, posing for more suggestive photographs as “proof” they had completed their work.
“You’re free to go,” the judge allegedly said after the handcuff incident. “Case dismissed.”
These allegations are among dozens of disturbing claims outlined in state documents regarding the year-long investigation into a part-time Arkansas district judge accused of using his authority for the last 30 years to sexually prey on men charged with minor crimes.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Man-Eating Nile Crocodiles Have Made a Home in Florida
The Nile crocodile, a native of sub-saharan Africa, is a fearsome creature. Fully grown males can reach up to 21-feet-long and weigh up to 2,400 lb and will feast on anything and everything from zebras to small hippos-and yes, occasionally-humans. But a small subsect of the Nile crocodile population has its eyes on a whole new kind of prey: Floridians.
While no human inhabitants of Florida have yet fallen victim to the Nile crocodile, DNA tests show that the world’ s second-largest living reptile has managed to travel 6,000 miles and establish a home in the Sunshine State. Between 2010 and 2014, three juveniles have been captured; two swimming in the Everglades and one chilling out on a house porch in Miami.
And not only are these well-travelled reptiles surviving in Florida, but they may actually be thriving. One of the captured crocs was found to have grown 28 percent faster than wild Nile crocodiles in their native habitat.
All of which has University of Florida researchers a tad concerned.
[Comment: Did Obama help this refugee to comen to the USA?]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
New video footage of Harambe the gorilla suggests he was trying to protect a four-year-old boy who fell into the zoo enclosure just minutes before the 400-pound animal was fatally shot.
The clip shows Harambe standing guard over the boy in the corner of the moat, and the two even share a brief moment holding hands.
Witnesses said the gorilla was acting protectively in the tense situation, which may have been aggravated by panicked onlookers who screamed as they watched from above.
Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard confirmed the boy was not under attack, but called it a ‘life threatening situation’ where the gorilla was ‘agitated’, ‘disoriented’, and ‘behaving erratically’.
During a press conference on Monday afternoon, Maynard supported the animal response team’s decision to kill Harambe, and said: ‘Looking back we would make the same decision.’
He also insisted the zoo’s barriers were secure, saying: ‘We all need to work to make sure our families are safe. Do you know any four-year-olds? They can climb over anything.’
The incident, which was captured on a cell phone camera, has sparked an outcry of emotion, with thousands of mourners branding it a ‘senseless death’…
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Rattlesnakes Adjust Venom for Different Types of Squirrels
Did you know that some squirrels have evolved to develop anti-venom proteins that protect them from rattlesnake bites? Did you know that some rattlesnakes have evolved specific venom chemistries depending on which squirrels are predominant in their area? Which are you more afraid of now — rattlesnakes or squirrels?
Evolutionary biologists at Ohio State University conducted a study of rattlesnakes and squirrels in Northern California in an attempt to figure out how squirrels there manage to survive rattlesnake bites. According to their report in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, they were surprised to also learn how rattlesnakes custom-blend their venoms like master brewers.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Two Alligators Feasting on a Corpse Found in Broward Canal
On Wednesday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission brought six officers to Everglades Alligator Farm in Homestead for training on how to safely handle an alligator. The training coincided with alligator mating season, which has led alligators to wander much closer to homes and backyards the last two months.
Davie police found exactly that when they arrived at 7101 U.S. 27, on the western edge of the town of Southwest Ranches. Two alligators — a big one, and a little one — were eating a corpse that had not been identified. Authorities have not determined if the body belonged to a man or a woman. Nor did police know the cause of death.
“The body has been in the water for a while,” said Capt. Dale Engle, spokesman for Davie police.
After working with trappers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservations Commission to handle the alligators, a dive team pulled the body from the canal late Monday. Officials continue to investigate the death and the person’s identity.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
How to Cure 42,000 Addicts Quickly
How could this medical and social disaster ever be allowed to happen? If authorities had told me that Ontario, just one Canadian province, was treating 400 addicts in methadone clinics, I’d believe them. But, the actual number is 42,000. But how many of these addicts need methadone? And what is the solution for this madness?
Dr. Theodore Dalrymple, is not an arm-chair commentator on addiction. Rather, he’s an internationally renowned expert, a British psychiatrist, and prison doctor who has treated thousands of addicts over years.
In his book, “Romancing Opiates”, he writes that heroin is not as highly addictive as claimed, and withdrawal not as difficult as treating an alcoholic. He claims, “It’s a myth that treating the heroin addiction “cold turkey” causes withdrawal symptoms that are virtually unbearable.”
He adds that, after witnessing withdrawal symptoms in thousands of patients, “they are hardly worse than the flu. Moreover, the sudden withdrawal of heroin is not dangerous.”
To prove his point Dalrymple reports that researchers examined the records of thousands of addicts between 1875 and 1968 who had been taken off heroin. They did not find a single death from withdrawal symptoms.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
300 CEOs Tell the British People: Leave the EU!
In a shocking slap in the face for UK PM Cameron, more than 300 business leaders are calling on Britain to vote to leave the European Union, saying that the country’s”competitiveness is being undermined by our membership.” As The Telegraph reports, the letter, signed by some of Europe’s most senior business executives, claims Brussels “red tape stifles growth” and a Brexit would “create more jobs” exclaiming that “it is business — not government — which generates wealth.”
Perhaps this explains why Cameron, Osborne, Obama, and almost every other establishment politician and lackey has embraced ‘Project Fear’ when it comes to Brexit, proclaimingWorld War 3’s imminence and all the worst parts of the bible will occur should the great unwashed masses exercise their right to vote for democracy (as opposed to a tyrannical superstate).
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Europe’s Endgame: EU Ministers in Secret Meeting to Prepare for Britain Leaving
EU foreign ministers have met in secret to prepare for a British exit from the union, it has been reported in Germany.
Germany’s respected Spiegel magazine said the ever-greater possibility of Britain voting to quit the bloc on June 23 is sending shivers through the corridors of power in Brussels.
The magazine said today: “The foreign ministers of six EU countries have met to discuss the implications of Britain’s possible departure from the European Union. They fear that difficult negotiations over the course of two years could result.
“Foreign ministers from the six founding states of the European Union met last Friday at the Chteau de Val-Duchesse just outside the Belgian capital to discuss possible consequences.”
It went on to claim that Martin Selmayr, the head of cabinet for European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, also held a meeting on Monday with representatives from some EU states to take part in “discrete talks.”
Spiegel reported: “The meetings are considered to be extremely sensitive since nobody in Brussels wants to give the impression that the EU is anticipating the British will vote to leave the EU.
“In reality, however, uneasiness is on the rise at EU headquarters given how even the two sides are according to British public opinion polls.”
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
Mystery of the Mongol Hordes’ Retreat Finally Solved
It’s one of the greatest unexplained mysteries in military history. In 1241, the mighty Mongol army, which forced the word ‘horde’ upon the world, stormed into Hungary, defeated the Hungarian and Polish armies, dethroned the King of Hungary and set their sights on conquering the rest of Europe. Instead, less than one year later, they turned around and retreated without so much as a goodbye note or an explanation. Today, we at least have an explanation.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Girl Put in Care for Eight Months After Social Worker Error
Former nursery school headteacher Angela Milnes was distraught when council officials wrongly labelled her as mentally ill and threatened to have her young daughter Sylvia adopted.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
50,000 Women and Children to be Human Shield for ISIS Cowards in Fallujah
THE IRAQI army has entered the city of Fallujah — one of the last Islamic State strongholds in the war-torn nation, sparking fears ISIS cowards will hide behind a human shield of 50,000 civilians.
A spokesman for Iraq’s elite counter-terrorism agency confirmed ISIS had all but collapsed in Fallujah troops and soldiers had broken through ISIS crumbling defences.
50,000 civilians are currently at the mercy of the twisted death cult in the city — but authorities say the assault by government forces marks a new phase in the fight against jihadist groups.
Forces loyal to Baghdad attacked the city on three fronts in a major dawn offensive joined by counter terrorist forces.
The leader of the operation, General Abdelwahab al-Saadi, said: “Iraqi forces entered Fallujah under air cover from the international coalition, the Iraqi air force and army aviation and supported by artillery and tanks.
“Counter-terrorism service (CTS) forces, the Anbar police and the Iraqi army, at around 4am (1am GMT), started moving into Fallujah from three directions.
“There is resistance from Daesh.”
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
Iraqi Refugee Children Make First Communion in Erbil Camp
Erbil, Iraq, May 28, 2016 / 05:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday, the first of three rounds of displaced Iraqi children made their First Communion in a refugee camp in Erbil, providing a silver lining to an otherwise bleak situation.
Out of the 5,500 people living in Erbil’s Aishty 2 camp for the displaced, the majority — more than 2,000 — are children. Of these, 470 will make their First Communion in the coming weeks.
The number of children receiving the sacrament is up from last year’s class, which numbered about 400.
Since this year’s number of recipients is so high, the children have been divided into three groups. The first, numbering around 175, made their First Communion on Friday, May 27.
Next Friday, June 3, a second group of about 145 will receive the Eucharist, while the third and final group of about 150 will receive the sacrament Friday, June 10.
All of the children are from the Syriac-Catholic rite, and most fled the city of Qaraqosh, the former Christian capitol of Iraqi Kurdistan, with their families when ISIS militants attacked the night of Aug. 6, 2014.
The May 27 Mass for the first group was celebrated by Syriac-Catholic Archbishop of Mosul Yohanno Petros Moshe in the camp’s large, prefabricated church…
| — Hat tip: KS | [Return to headlines] |
Angelina Jolie Pitt: ‘Don’t Brexit, And Keep Your Borders Open to Migrants’
Angelina Jolie Pitt today told Britain to stay in the European Union, that European states should keep borders open to millions of migrants, and blamed citizens’ concerns about mass migration on politicians “preying on…fear”.
She also believes that objections by European voters to the relocation of millions of people from the Third World to their continent is due to a failure of their politicians to explain the migrant crisis “in a clear way”.
[Comment: Seeing your daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers being raped seems pretty clear to me.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Brexit Warning: Migrant Crisis to Get Worse and EU to Cost Britons Billions if We Stay
THE migrant crisis will get worse and the European Union (EU) will continue to cost Britons thousands of pounds a week extra if we remain in the UK, Brexit campaigners have claimed.
The harsh reality of staying in the union has been laid out by the Leave camp as they retaliate against Remain campaigners accusing them of having no details to offer voters ahead of the June 23 referendum.
Leave campaigners said today the UK will continue to send £350m to Brussels every week if we stay.
They said the free movement of people will “continue permanently” and will only get worse when Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey join the EU.
In 2015, 270,000 persons came to the UK from the EU, the equivalent of the population of Newcastle.
Net migration was 184,000, the equivalent of adding a city the size of Oxford to the UK population each year, official data reveals
If the five eastern European countries hoping to join the bloc are successful, their 88m citizens will be able to enjoy the same free movement current EU members have.
And bureaucratic EU regulation will continue to cost British companies over £600 million each week after the Treasury admitted bids to protect particular aspects of the economy has brought costs, with “expensive subsidies”.
The report said tariffs, quote and “unjustifiably restrictive standards could cost Europe’s consumers up to seven per cent of EU GDP”.
Campaigners said the UK will continue to be unable to remove criminals and terrorists whose presence in the UK “is not conducive to the public good”.
They said the EU law which prevents designated terrorists from being deported will put the British public at risk of terror attacks.
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
Migrant Madness: UK Has Just Three Boats to ‘Stop’ Migrants — Italy Has 600, France 40
ITALY has 600 border patrol boats scouring its coastline and is bent on catching migrants attempting to sneak into Europe. France has 40 such craft to vigilantly tackle people traffickers’ assaults on French — Britain has three.
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey will abandon a deal with the European Union to reduce migrant flows if its citizens are not granted visa-free travel to most of the continent.
With the two sides locked in an increasingly-bitter standoff, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said it was ‘impossible’ for Ankara to change anti-terror laws that Brussels wants to see narrowed in exchange for the visa-free travel to the Schengen zone.
‘We have told them ‘we are not threatening you’ but there’s a reality. We have signed two deals with you (the EU) and both are interlinked,’ Cavusoglu told a small group of journalists.
‘This is not a threat but what is required from an agreement,’ he said.
Building on a threat by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, Cavusoglu said Turkey would use ‘administrative’ measures to block the deal if needed.
There have been growing concerns that Turkish nationals will not be given visa-free travel by the end of June, the target date, putting the future of the migrant deal at risk.
EU leaders are insisting that Turkey meet 72 conditions before the visa exemption is approved, including narrowing its definition of terror to stop prosecuting academics and journalists for ‘terror propaganda’.
The EU reported progress on three of five outstanding issues on Monday, but said the anti-terror legislation and technical standards on biometric passports remained an issue.
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
117 Million Stolen LinkedIn Emails and Passwords Are Up for Sale
A hacker known as “Peace” is selling what is reportedly account information from 117 million LinkedIn users, reports Business Insider. The stolen data includes emails, passwords, and so on.
The hacker says the credentials were obtained during a LinkedIn data breach in 2012 that saw 6.5 million encrypted passwords posted online, according to Motherboard. Peace is selling the data for about $2,200 (5 bitcoin) on the “dark web,” the part of the internet accessible only with a special browser that masks user identities.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Animated Map Shows How Five of the Biggest Religions Spread Across the World
Did Christianity develop out of Judaism? When and where did Islam, the second-largest religion, originate? How did Hinduism, the world’s oldest organized religion, followed by over 950 million people, grww and spread without a founder? Was Buddhism a government-sanctioned religion?
This 2-minute video by Alex Kuzoian shows how five of the biggest religions in the world spread around the globe — through countless conflicts, conquests, missions abroad and simple word of mouth.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
American alligators seem very considerate, Australian crocodiles don’t wait for people to die before they start lunch.
From talking to junkies and reading the biographies of jazz musicians, I
also arrived at the conclusion that ‘kicking the habit’ is unpleasant but far from dangerous. Having ‘bad flu’ was the phrase one successful ex-addict used. Jazzmen often just used to stay in a room until the craving had gone. The problem as with all addiction, is the temptation to go back when things are tough.
Sweden’s Migrant Rape Epidemic
Where did peaceful, low-crime Sweden go? Why does Sweden now have the second-highest number of rapes in the world, after only Lesotho? Here is Ingrid Carlqvist of is Gatestone Institute…
https://youtu.be/sdGPPLmR5Bc
Swedes Blame Their “Alcohol Culture” For Skyrocketing Rape and Assault Rates
Styxhexenhammer666
https://youtu.be/ulBfB9ZGGpQ
So I was wondering what expertise Ms. Jolie has in the area of immigration and world affairs, then I noted her title: “Ms. Jolie Pitt, the United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Refugee Issues”. The UN is behind efforts to move to one-world government (Agenda 2030). So they hire spokespersons to push their propaganda. The news media and many of our politicians are being manipulated to get rid of nation states. Britain beware if you choose to stay in the EU. You will soon not recognize your country.
She is cast in the same mould as George Clueless, sorry that should read Clooney.
They should both cease their left wing drivel, get off their moral high horses and return to what they do best, making really bad movies.