Gates of Vienna News Feed 4/16/2017

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed victory in today’s referendum, which would greatly expand his presidential powers and essentially make him Il Duce of the Turks. However, members of the opposition who are still unjailed are demanding a recount.

In other news, a Cleveland man named Steve Stephens murdered a stranger on the street in cold blood while streaming the crime live on Facebook. Rumors that Mr. Stephens is in fact a Muslim convert are so far confined to Twitter and other social media. We await additional data; the perp is still at large.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dean, DV, Fjordman, Insubria, Jerry Gordon, MC, Reader from Chicago, SS, Steen, 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.

Financial Crisis
» Italy: Public Debt Falls to 2.24 tn in Feb
 
USA
» 9 People Shot at Ohio Party Hall
» Cleveland Man Broadcasts Murder on Facebook Live
» Easter Weekend Sees 34 Shot in Chicago
» Woman Targeted by Facebook Live Killer is Cooperating With Police, Source Says
 
Europe and the EU
» Europe Sacrifices the Victims to Avoid Fighting the Executioners
» France: Masked Protestors Throw Flares, Smoke Bombs at Demo Ahead of Le Pen Rally in Paris
» Greece Completes Airport Transfer to German-Led Consortium
» ‘Islamic’ Kindergartens Cause a Stir in Austria
» ‘Islamic’ Kindergartens: Vienna’s Muslim Preschools Cause a Stir in Austria
» Italy: Man Tries to Rape Woman in Abandoned Holiday Camp
» Italy: Genoa Tax Office Chief Stays in Jail
» Italy: ‘Take Kids Away From Thieving Gypsies’ — Tosi
» Italy: 2 Members of Kidnap-Abortion Gang Caught
» Italy: Top Lawyer Declared No Income
» Italy: Court Upholds Uber Bid to Get Ban Suspended
» Italy: Policemen Buy Chocolate Eggs for Mother Caught Stealing
» Manchester United at the Center of a Huge Security Operation in Brussels
» Poland Welcomed 1,000 NATO-US Led Troops Near Kaliningrad
» Silence in Paris
» Spain: This White Hood Carries Many Meanings
» Sweden: Over One Hundred Cars Damaged After Double Garage Fire in Malmö
» Switzerland’s Controversial Islamic Leaders
 
Balkans
» Bosnia: Foreign Minister, We Are Aiming to Get EU Membership
 
North Africa
» Christians Most Persecuted Group in the World as Vicious Attacks Grow
» UN Chief Warns That Libya Risks a Return to Wide Conflict
 
Middle East
» Christianity’s Prospects of Surviving in Its Birthplace Are Grim
» Turkey: Muslim Cleric Says Giving Erdogan Dictatorial Powers is Islamic Obligation, “No” Voters Are Foes of Islam
» Turkey Referendum: Erdogan Hails ‘Clear’ Win in Vote on New Powers
» Turkey Referendum: Erdogan Supporters Claim Victory, Opposition to Demand Recount
» Turks Approve Referendum Strengthening Presidential Powers
 
Russia
» Russia is Teaching a Space Robot How to Shoot a Gun
 
Far East
» Mammoth Tusk Haul Seized by Chinese Customs
» McFarland ‘No Comment’ on Reports US Sabotaged North Korea Missile Launch, Calls Launch a ‘Fizzle’
» North Korea Nuclear: US ‘Working With China’ On Response
» Pence Says North Korea’s Latest ‘Provocation’ Shows the Risk to Military
» S. Korea’s Nuclear Power Reactors Not Designed to Deal With Military Attacks
» What Are Trump’s Options for Dealing With the Nuclear ICBM Threat of North Korea?
 
Australia — Pacific
» Gang of Six Thugs ‘Armed With an Axe and Machetes Stab Resident in the Face in Horror Break-in’
» Islamic Leader Living in Hiding Because He Fears Reprisals Says Halal-Certification ‘Threatens Australia’s Way of Life’ And is an Insult to Non-Muslims at Easter
» Violent Brawl Erupts Over ‘Racism’ On a Melbourne Train After an African Passenger ‘Told Three Arabic Men They Bring All the Crime Here’
 
Immigration
» Czech Republic: We’d Rather Risk EU Penalties Then be Forced to Take Migrants
» Hungary: Orban Easter Speech: ‘Battlefield Europe…stop Mass Migration. The Future of Europe is at Stake’
» Italy: Neighborhood Gang Terrorizes Bolzano
» Italy’s Coastguard: 3,000 People Rescued on Saturday
» Migrant Boats: Thousands Saved Off Libyan Coast Over Easter
» The Latest: Migrants Held Hostage Spur Arrests in Greece
» Turkish Politician: Three Million Migrants on Their Way to Europe
» ‘Unprecedented’ Migrant Situation in the Mediterranean
 
Culture Wars
» The Urinal That Changed How We Think
» Why is Harvard Ditching the Puritans?
 

Italy: Public Debt Falls to 2.24 tn in Feb

GDP below EU average, 23% below Germany’s

(ANSA) — Rome, April 14 — Italy’s public debt fell to 2,24 trillion euros in February, the Bank of Italy said Friday.

It was a 10.7-billion-euro-drop compared to February, the central bank said. Italy’s public debt, at more than 133% of GDP, is the second-largest in GDP terms the eurozone after Greece’s.

Italy’s per capita GDP is 4.5% lower than the EU average and lower thanGermany’s by 23.6% and France’s by 9.2%, ISTAT said. But it is is 5% higher than Spain’s, the statistics office said. Successive governments have been trying to boost growth and have tried to steer the EU away from austeritypolicies and towards expansive policies. The present government, of Premier Paolo Gentiloni, has passed several budget measures aimed at stoking growth.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

9 People Shot at Ohio Party Hall

Nine people were shot and wounded at an Ohio party hall early Sunday morning and police don’t have any suspects in custody.

Some of the victims were transported to the hospital by ambulance, while others were able to drive themselves to emergency centers, FOX28 reported. One person is in critical condition and the other eight are stable and expected to recover.

The gunfire erupted after 3 a.m. at the J&R Party Hall in North Columbus.

Police believe there were multiple shooters; however, they have yet to release a description of any suspects or a motive for the shooting…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Cleveland Man Broadcasts Murder on Facebook Live

A 37-year-old Cleveland man murdered an elderly man in broad daylight on Sunday and posted a video of the killing on Facebook Live.

The gunman, Steve Stephens, referred to the murder as “the Easter Day slaughter.”

Stephens, who is still on the run, blamed gambling debts and a fight with his ex-girlfriend for the shooting.

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

Easter Weekend Sees 34 Shot in Chicago

Chicago saw 34 people wounded from gun injuries in a spate a violence over Easter weekend.

Twenty-three were shot during just a seven hour period between Saturday night and early Sunday morning, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

The lone death over the weekend happened early Sunday morning. One man shot at two other men, one of whom succumbed to wounds on the head and neck later at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to authorities.

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

Woman Targeted by Facebook Live Killer is Cooperating With Police, Source Says

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The girlfriend of a wanted man who police say broadcast a random gun killing on social media on Easter Sunday is cooperating with investigators, according to a senior law enforcement source.

The woman, who is the girlfriend of Steve Stephens, is in protective custody and is “fully cooperative” in the citywide manhunt for Steve Stephens, the source told cleveland.com Sunday.

Police say Stephens broadcast a video on Facebook Live that showed him get out of his car and shoot a random man walking along East 93rd Street about 2 p.m. Sunday.

Stephens told the victim, who police later identified as 74-year-old Robert Godwin Sr., to say a woman’s name, and told Godwin that she was the reason for what was about to happen to him, according to a recounting of the video in the Sun.

The video continued rolling as the man was then shot in the head.

Police launched a citywide manhunt for Stephens. Police released a photograph of the white Ford Fusion sedan with a temporary license plate that they believe Stephens may be driving…

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Europe Sacrifices the Victims to Avoid Fighting the Executioners

Berlin, London, Stockholm … Just three important terror attacks which took place on European soil in the last three months.

Europe feels that the price it is paying for Islamic terrorism is tolerable and that these crimes should not divert the continent from its lazy lifestyle. We must be passive in the face of ignominy. We light candles, bury the dead, we treat a terror attack like a car accident and we publish editorials to say “they will not change our lifestyle”.

European compassion has become totally debilitating. It is reflected in the astonishment that an entire society, France, reputed to be pluralistic and free, has silently accepted the fact that 40,000 of its Jews have packed and left for Israel in the last fifteen years.

In 1940, a French historian, Marc Bloch, published a book titled L’Étrange Défaite, (The Strange Defeat), in which he argued that the French élites failed to recognize the Nazi threat and blamed the ruling political and intellectual class for a weak defense against the German menace. Bloch was eventually tortured and shot by the Gestapo. His book’s main message couldn’t be more actual today.

Europe seems to have devised a new strategy in wartime: sacrificing the victims to avoid having to fight the executioners. It is as if we collectively accepted the sacrifice because we think we will not have the moral strength and the political firmness to fight the vicious Islamic killers. That is the meaning of the slogan “we must live with terrorism.” This is reflected in the legal concept of “state of emergency.”

That is why we are reacting like someone threatened by a hurricane, accumulating supplies, blocking doors and windows, waiting the worst to pass. But the Islamic hurricane will not pass. Instead, it will change Europe’s face forever.

This is a war not carried out from the aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean, but on Europe’s national soil and usually by European citizens, often by converts to Islam. It is precisely what is called a “civil war.”.But we call it “terrorism”, “radicalization” and “barbarism” to avoid mentioning the war of religion, the cultural clash and the civilization question. Meanwhile, misguidance, abandonment and anxiety dominate Europe’s landscape and people’s feelings. And one has the feeling of sinking into a slow agony.

           — Hat tip: MC [Return to headlines]
 

France: Masked Protestors Throw Flares, Smoke Bombs at Demo Ahead of Le Pen Rally in Paris

Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets of Paris to protest against right-wing presidential candidate Marine Le Pen.

Demonstrators are holding up banners and chanting slogans, while riot police have been deployed to the scene.

Protesters are shouting: “This is Paris! Paris is antifascist!”

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

Greece Completes Airport Transfer to German-Led Consortium

State revenues will reach 10 billion over 40-year concession

(ANSA) — TRIESTE, 12 APR — Greece has formally completed the transfer of 14regional airports to a consortium led by Germany’s Fraport AG, Ap said. The privatization is a key element of the country’s bailout program. The Greek state privatization agency declared that the consortium has paid a 1.23 billion-euro lump sum. It said additional state revenues from an annual lease and a share in airport earnings will reach a total 10 billion euros over the 40-year concession period.

The deal has already been cleared by the European Commission.

It had been initially due to come into effect last year. The 14 airports are Thessaloniki — Greece’s second largest city — Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes,Corfu, Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Kos, Lesbos, Skiathos, Samos, Chania, Kavala and Aktio.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

‘Islamic’ Kindergartens Cause a Stir in Austria

A debate is raging in Austria after a study suggested that Islamic kindergartens in Vienna were helping to create “parallel societies” or even produce the dangerous homegrown radicals of the future.

According to its author, Ednan Aslan, a Turkish-born Austrian professor at Vienna University, some 10,000 children aged two to six attend around 150 Muslim preschools, teaching the Koran much like Christian ones do with Bible studies.

At least a quarter are backed by groups propagating arch conservative strains of Islam like Salafism, or organisations that see religion not just as a private matter but integral to politics and society, Aslan believes.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘Islamic’ Kindergartens: Vienna’s Muslim Preschools Cause a Stir in Austria

A debate is raging in Austria after a study suggested that Islamic kindergartens in Vienna were helping to create “parallel societies” or even produce the dangerous homegrown radicals of the future.

According to its author, Ednan Aslan, a Turkish-born Austrian professor at Vienna University, some 10,000 children aged two to six attend around 150 Muslim preschools, teaching the Koran much like Christian ones do with Bible studies.

At least a quarter are backed by groups propagating arch conservative strains of Islam like Salafism, or organisations that see religion not just as a private matter but integral to politics and society, Aslan believes.

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

Italy: Man Tries to Rape Woman in Abandoned Holiday Camp

Near Rimini

(ANSA) — Rimini, April 14 — A 41-year-old Algerian man tried to rape a 48-year-old Italian woman in an abandoned holiday camp near Rimini Thursday night, police said Friday.

Police said the woman, who had been drinking with the man, managed to get away after refusing his advances.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Genoa Tax Office Chief Stays in Jail

Caught taking kickback

(ANSA) — Genoa, April 14 — The Genoa provincial director of Italy’s inland revenue service, the Agenzia delle Entrate, Walter Pardini, was ordered to stay in jail on suspicion of corruption Friday. A Genoa preliminary investigations judge said there was a risk of him tampering with evidence.

Pardini was arrested while taking a kickback, not for the first time, police said.

Also ordered to stay in jail were three advisors from the Secrupol Group, arrested with Pardini on Tuesday.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: ‘Take Kids Away From Thieving Gypsies’ — Tosi

Irked by Verona court letting 2 women go

(ANSA) — Verona, April 14 — Flavio Tosi, leader of the Fare movement, on Friday slammed a Verona court for acquitting two Roma women arrested for attempted robbery. The women were set free despite numerous previous crimes because one is heavily pregnant and the other has a newborn child. “It’s absurd that two thieving gypsies should go scot free and their children not be taken from them,” said Tosi, formerly a high-up in the rightwing populist Northern League. Tosi has frequently campaigned on law-and-order issues.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: 2 Members of Kidnap-Abortion Gang Caught

In Pavia, Barcelona

(ANSA) — Rome, Italian police on Friday caught in Italy and Spain two members of a gang that abducted an escort in order to abort her child by a Deutsche Bank manager in 2011.

Giuseppe Gerasolo, 57, was caught in Pavia and Dominican Antonio Salvador Dominici Hernandez, 47, was nabbed in Barcelona.

A Milan court of appeals in February 2016 stiffened a prison sentence against former Deutsche Bank manager Marco Pracca, who was found guilty of ordering the 2011 kidnapping of the escort who was pregnant with his child in order to force her to abort.

The child’s birth would have endangered his inheritance and this made it a kidnapping for purposes of extortion, the judges wrote in June in an explanation of their February ruling raising the original four-year sentence to seven years four months in prison.

A court of first instance handed down the lighter sentence for simple kidnapping.

The appeals court also handed prison sentences to five co-defendants, ranging from three to 12 years.

Pracca, 61, was found guilty of hiring others to kidnap the seven-months pregnant victim, 29, after being in a relationship with her for a year and a half.

She was abducted on March 6, 2011, and held in a secluded country housefor two days.

She was freed after agreeing to abort her baby.

However she gave birth and now lives with Pracca, who recognized the child as his own.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Top Lawyer Declared No Income

Luxury apartments, villa, three UK companies

(ANSA) — Turin, April 14 — An internationally known lawyer from Turin declared no taxable income despite owning a fleet of powerful cars, luxury apartments in famed resorts and a villa in the hills above his native city, police said Friday.

The lawyer, who has been cited or fraud and tax evasion, was also the CEO of three British companies with HQs in tax havens, police said.

The man, who some years ago was involved in arms trafficking with Iran,was officially resident in London, they said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Court Upholds Uber Bid to Get Ban Suspended

App will continue to be used

(ANSA) — Rome, April 14 — A Rome court on Friday upheld Uber’s bid to temporarily suspend a ban on its services in Italy from April 17, the US multinational ride-hailing app company said. “We are very happy to be able to tellall Uber drivers and users in Italy that they will be able to continue to use the application pending the court’s ruling on our appeal”, it said. On April 7 a Rome court ordered the suspension within 10 days of the Uber Black app, or chauffeur-driven black saloon services operating in the capital and Milan, as well as the Uber-Lux, Uber-SUV, Uber-X, Uber-XL, UberSelect and Uber-Van services.

The court upheld a suit by taxi drivers claiming the apps constituted unfair competition.

Italy’s taxi drivers have staged a series of strikes, some violent, against the multinational’s ride-hailing apps.

Uber Italia said it would appeal the decision, which was based “on a 25-year-old law that no longer reflects the times, so thousands of professional drivers can continue to work thanks to the Uber app and enables people to have greater choice”.

It said “now the government cannot waste more time but must decide whether it wants to remains anchored in the past, safeguarding rentier positions, or to allow Italians to benefit from new technologies like Uber”.

The US multinational said it was “stunned” at a ruling that “goes against the recent Milleproroghe decree and European Union norms”.

In its ruling, the court found that Uber had claimed an “undue advantage” over taxi drivers.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Policemen Buy Chocolate Eggs for Mother Caught Stealing

Six policemen were called to intervene in a supermarket in Cagliari, Italy,where a woman had stolen chocolate eggs for her children, but they decidedto donate the sweets to the mother and let her go. The woman, a 37-year-old mother of six, told the agents that she couldn’t afford to buy the eggs. Police officers paid the Easter eggs and the supermarket managers did not press charges.

“Someone accuses us of failing in our duty, but policemen must not just stop people from committing crimes. Our job is also to help people in need, especially if they are children”, one of the policemen explained…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Manchester United at the Center of a Huge Security Operation in Brussels

Manchester United were at the centre of a huge security operation on Thursday night as the Belgian police and authorities, already on a heightened state of alert following last year’s terrorists attacks in Brussels, took no chances before their game against Anderlecht in the wake of the Borussia Dortmund bus bombing.

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

Poland Welcomed 1,000 NATO-US Led Troops Near Kaliningrad

4,500 soldiers deployed in 2017, Duda hails “historic moment”

(ANSA) — TRIESTE — Polish leaders welcomed a new multinational NATO battalion, with the president calling it “a historic moment for my country”, AP reported.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said the deployment stands to Poles as a symbol of liberation and inclusion in the Western democratic world. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that generations of Poles have waited for this momentsince the end of the Second World War”, Duda said in the northeastern townof Orzysz as he addressed the troops and the US and British ambassadors. Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz added the presence guarantees the security of NATO’s eastern flank.

The battalion of about 1,000 troops is led by the United States, but includes troops from Britain and Romania. Croatian troops are expected to join later. Their base of operations, Orzysz, is 60 kilometers from the border with Kaliningrad, a Russian territory on the Baltic Sea separated from the Russian mainland. The NATO deployment is separate from a US battalion of 3,500troops that arrived in Poland earlier this year and which is headquarteredin southwestern Poland, near German border.

Both missions are responses to calls for greater US and NATO protection by a region fearful of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and its support for a rebel insurgency in eastern Ukraine. The near-permanent deployment of a NATO battalion under Us command marks the first time NATO troops have been placed so close to Russian territory, a step the Kremlin denounces as a threat to its own security.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Silence in Paris

What does it mean when no one talks about a brutal murder?

by Theodore Dalrymple

As every married person knows, silences can be pregnant with meaning, even if the meaning is not immediately clear. The silence in the French press about a recent startling event in Paris is surely pregnant with meaning. On Monday, April 3, an Orthodox Jewish woman, Sarah Halimi, a doctor aged 66, was thrown out of a window to her death by an African man aged 27. He was her neighbor in the flats where she lived. According to witnesses, whose testimony has yet to be confirmed, the man, who had been harassing her with insults for several days, shouted “Allahu akbar!” as he threw her.

Also, according to unconfirmed reports, neighbors had called the police because of the young man’s behavior. Three policemen came but did nothing, deciding that it was up to other authorities, presumably psychiatric, to act. At any rate, the young man was transferred to a psychiatric clinic almost immediately after his arrest.

He had a history of delinquency and in all probability had taken drugs. It seems likely that he was in a state of psychotic excitement, whether drug-induced, drug-exacerbated or purely endogenous, at the time of his crime…

           — Hat tip: Steen [Return to headlines]
 

Spain: This White Hood Carries Many Meanings

The pointy garb worn in Spain in the run-up to Easter will horrify many who see it. But this strange costume can mean many different things, writes Kelly Grovier.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Over One Hundred Cars Damaged After Double Garage Fire in Malmö

More than a hundred cars have been destroyed or damaged after two garages in Malmö were set ablaze on consecutive nights.

At least five cars were damaged in a fire on Easter Saturday night, after more than a hundred cars had been damaged by flames and soot in a separate garage blaze the night before.

Both fires took place on the same road in the Rosengård district of the southern city.

The incident is being treated as arson, but police have no evidence yet as to who might be responsible.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Switzerland’s Controversial Islamic Leaders

The recent expulsion of Swiss Imam Hani Ramadan from France is a reminder that Switzerland is home to several controversial Muslims — some with a reach far beyond Swiss borders. Following are four examples.

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

Bosnia: Foreign Minister, We Are Aiming to Get EU Membership

In 2016 no fighter left for the Middle East

(ANSA) — BRUSSELS, APR. 11 — Bosnia is “determined” in its commitment to becoming an EU member country, and is hoping to get the status of candidatecountry as soon as possible, even “later this year”. This is the messagedelivered by Bosnian Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the EU Parliament. The minister reiterated that “about 80% ofthe population supports the path of European integration”, and the country is working to respond as soon as possible to the EU questionnaire sent toSarajevo last December. Crnadak declared as “not optimal” the current parliamentary situation in his country and complained about the failure to establish a commission for relations with the EU, but hopefully a solution will be found “in the coming weeks, because we’ve got no more time to waste”. The minister also reassured the Parliament on his country’s commitment to security. “In 2016, for the first time no Bosnian has left the country to go and fight in the Middle East”, while “out of the 46 who returned last year, 26 are already accused and awaiting trial while others are under strict control”. Crnadak also said he was “in favour of any joint initiative with other countries”, such as the customs union in the Western Balkans,provided that “this does not become a substitute for accession, but only an aid to get there”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Christians Most Persecuted Group in the World as Vicious Attacks Grow

The recent Palm Sunday bombings at two Egyptian churches that killed 44 worshippers and wounded more than 100 others are the latest in a spate of deadly attacks targeting the world’s Christians.

Nearly 90,000 of the faithful were killed for their beliefs in violent and gruesome attacks last year, according to a report by the Center for Studies on New Religions, making Christians the most persecuted group in the world. While some were killed as part of state-sanctioned persecution, as in places like North Korea, nearly one-third of the Christians who died in 2016 were executed at the hands of Islamic extremists like ISIS.

The study also found that as many as 600 million Christians were prevented from practicing their faith in 2016.

“There are many places on Earth where being a Christian is the most dangerous thing you can be,” Robert Nicholson of the Philos Project told Fox News in January.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UN Chief Warns That Libya Risks a Return to Wide Conflict

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is warning that Libya risks a return to widespread conflict, citing the volatile security situation in Tripoli and fighting in the oil-rich east and elsewhere.

Libya sank into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed dictator Moammar Gadhafi, and has remained split between rival parliaments and governments in the east and west, each backed by a set of militias, tribes and political factions.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Christianity’s Prospects of Surviving in Its Birthplace Are Grim

Prospects of Christianity surviving in its birthplace, the Middle East, appear as grim this Holy Week as they have at any time in the last two millennia.

Persecution of the world’s largest religion has intensified throughout the 20th century and that trajectory has only intensified in recent years, especially in Muslim-dominated countries. Jihadists appear to have repeatedly carried out one of their oft-stated goals of erasing any trace of Christianity in some regions, while in others persecution against Christians and other religious minorities are being held at bay — for now.

The actual prospects facing Christianity in three of its longest-standing strongholds, Syria, Egypt and Iraq, vary significantly. But a blind eye is often turned by the mainstream media and others when it comes to anti-Christian atrocities, which have become an all-too-common way of life for many in the Mideast.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Turkey: Muslim Cleric Says Giving Erdogan Dictatorial Powers is Islamic Obligation, “No” Voters Are Foes of Islam

Hayrettin Karaman, a leading theologian and issuer of fatwas, or religious edicts, for ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) circles and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, wrote in a column on Thursday that casting a “yes” vote in a referendum on April 16 is a fard, the Islamic term for a religious obligation.

Karaman had also said that the “no” voters in the April 16 referendum are opponents of Islam.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Turkey Referendum: Erdogan Hails ‘Clear’ Win in Vote on New Powers

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed victory in the referendum on granting him sweeping new powers, saying it was won by a clear majority.

He was speaking in Istanbul as the count neared completion. With more than 99% of ballots counted, “Yes” was on 51.36% and “No” on 48.64%.

Erdogan supporters say replacing the parliamentary system with an executive presidency will modernise the country.

The two main opposition parties are challenging the results.

As jubilant Erdogan supporters rallied in the big cities, pots and pans were banged in Istanbul by opponents of the referendum, in a traditional form of protest.

If confirmed, the “Yes” vote could also see Mr Erdogan remain in office until 2029.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Turkey Referendum: Erdogan Supporters Claim Victory, Opposition to Demand Recount

Turkish voters appeared Sunday to have approved constitutional changes that would greatly expand the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, though the country’s main opposition party said it would call for a recount in up to 60 percent of the votes.

State-run Anadolu news agency said votes in favor of allowing 18 constitutional changes stood at 51.3 percent with 98 percent of ballots counted.

The changes would replace Turkey’s parliamentary system of government with a presidential one and could see Erdogan remain in office until at least 2029.

Erdogan told reporters late Sunday that the “yes” side was ahead by approximately 1.3 million votes. The president struck a conciliatory tone, thanking all voters regardless of how they cast their ballots and calling the referendum a “historic decision”

Opinion polls had shown a narrow lead for a “yes” vote before Sunday’s ballot, but the country’s three largest cities — Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir — and the mainly Kurdish southeast looked set to vote “no”.

The referendum has bitterly divided Turkey, and will affect the country’s strained relations with the European Union.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Turks Approve Referendum Strengthening Presidential Powers

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s ruling party has claimed victory in a referendum granting broad new powers to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, authorities announced late Sunday.

With 99 percent of the ballots counted, official Turkish media placed the “yes” vote at more than 51 percent, and the “no” vote at just under 49 percent. The head of Turkey’s electoral board later confirmed those results and said official tallies would be released within the next 12 days.

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

Russia is Teaching a Space Robot How to Shoot a Gun

It turns out that the Terminator series may have been an accurate prediction of our future. The only thing missing is a stereotypical, diabolical Russian accent.

Scientists in Russia are working on a robot, named Fedor, to use with the International Space Station for space walks. For several years, NASA has done the same with their Robotnaut platform.

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

Mammoth Tusk Haul Seized by Chinese Customs

Chinese customs officers have seized more than a tonne of tusks from animals that have been extinct for thousands of years — mammoths.

State media are reporting that the massive haul came from Russia and was seized in north-east China in February.

The stockpile is part of a booming trade between Russia and China in ivory taken from the skeletons of mammoths found in the Siberian tundra. The effects of global warming in the Arctic has made it easier to collect tusks preserved in ice for thousands of years, researchers say.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

McFarland ‘No Comment’ on Reports US Sabotaged North Korea Missile Launch, Calls Launch a ‘Fizzle’

Deputy National Security Adviser K.T. McFarland on Sunday declined to say whether the U.S. cyber-sabotaged North Korea’s failed missile launch, saying only that it was “a fizzle.”

“You know we can’t talk about secret intelligence and things that might have been done, covert operations,” McFarland told “Fox News Sunday.” “I really have no comment.”

Still, McFarland, a former Fox News contributor, said the failed non-nuclear missile test Sunday by the rogue nation was one of about 30 failed attempts and that cyberwar is now a big part of the geo-political landscape.

“I do think we are entering a whole new era, not just with North Korea but with everybody,” she said, amid speculation the U.S. foiled the launch with a cyber-attack.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

North Korea Nuclear: US ‘Working With China’ On Response

The US and China are working on a “range of options” on North Korea, the US top security adviser has said, as tensions mount over the country’s nuclear and missile programmes.

Lt Gen HR McMaster told ABC News there was consensus with China that this was a situation that “could not continue”.

The comments come after a failed missile test launch by North Korea and a massive military parade.

President Trump had earlier said China was “working with us” on the issue.

Beijing, Pyongyang’s biggest ally, has come under pressure from Washington to exert more pressure on its neighbour.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Pence Says North Korea’s Latest ‘Provocation’ Shows the Risk to Military

Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday that North Korea’s latest “provocation” underscored the risks faced by American and South Korean service members just hours after the country conducted a failed missile launch shortly before his arrival.

While Pence was flying over the Bering Sea, a North Korean missile exploded during launch on Sunday, U.S. and South Korean officials said.

The latest failed missile test represents a high-profile failure that came as a powerful U.S. aircraft supercarrier approaches the Korean Peninsula.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

S. Korea’s Nuclear Power Reactors Not Designed to Deal With Military Attacks

South Korea’s nuclear power reactors have not been designed to deal with military attacks, a report submitted to a lawmaker by the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) showed Sunday.

The evaluation sent to Rep. Kim Jong-hoon of the conservative Liberty Korea Party revealed that the outer protective wall of local reactors were never meant to withstand a missile strike or other forms of concerted attacks.

The reinforced concrete walls are the last barrier built around reactors that can contain radioactive materials from being released into the surrounding area in the event of a serious accident.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

What Are Trump’s Options for Dealing With the Nuclear ICBM Threat of North Korea?

Trump National Security Adviser , US Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, had an interview with ABC’s Martha Raddatz on the network’s “This Week” program on Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017. The issue de jour was what to do about bellicose hermit state North Korea . On the 105th anniversary of the birth of the founder of the dynastic Communist regime , grandfather Kim Il Sung, a massive military parade was held in Pyongyang , Saturday April 15th. There with televised images of huge goose stepping marching formations and displays of both mobile Musdan intermediate range and submarine launched missiles. As if on cue, North Korea attempted another missile launch following the celebratory parade that blew up on the launching pad, prompting a muted response from the White House.

This followed demonstrations of force with a US Navy Tomahawk missile strike on an airbase in Syria, allegedly the site from which gas attacks were launched against civilians and opposition in Idlib province. That was followed this week by the dropping of a MOAB, so-called massive ordnance air burst bomb, from a USAF C-130 in Afghanistan. It allegedly aimed destroyed caves and tunnels used by ISIS, with conflicting reports as to casualties ranging from 36 to upwards of 100 casualties.

The parade in the vast Pyongyang square was held before hereditary leader Kim Jong-un and what passes for the North Korean Comintern leadership. McMaster speaking from Kabul, Afghanistan said in response to Raddatz’s question about the Trump Administration would do against this threat overarching that of ISIS and Syria in the Middle East:…

           — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon [Return to headlines]
 

Gang of Six Thugs ‘Armed With an Axe and Machetes Stab Resident in the Face in Horror Break-in’

A man has been taken to hospital after six young thugs armed with machetes and an axe stormed his home in Melbourne’s south east on Saturday afternoon.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Islamic Leader Living in Hiding Because He Fears Reprisals Says Halal-Certification ‘Threatens Australia’s Way of Life’ And is an Insult to Non-Muslims at Easter

Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi, who is already facing death threats, has weighed into the debate about Pauline Hanson’s call for Australians to boycott Cadbury chocolates this Easter.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Violent Brawl Erupts Over ‘Racism’ On a Melbourne Train After an African Passenger ‘Told Three Arabic Men They Bring All the Crime Here’

A brawl that broke out on a Sunbury line train in Melbourne between a group of four men, was reportedly started after a man yelled racist insults at a group of three men nearby.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Czech Republic: We’d Rather Risk EU Penalties Then be Forced to Take Migrants

The Czech Republic is not prepared to accept any more than the 12 migrants it has already taken under the quota scheme set up by the European Union (EU) even if that means facing sanctions, the nation’s interior minister has said.

“Ongoing security checks show that the country can no longer accept anyone else”, said Milan Chovanec, noting that the Czech Republic has so far received 12 of the 1,600 migrants it has been ordered to take in under the terms of the EU quota deal.

Vetting so-called refugees is “complicated”, the minister explained, adding that migrants “have not even been willing to remain in place [in Greek and Italian camps, while security checks take place”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Hungary: Orban Easter Speech: ‘Battlefield Europe…stop Mass Migration. The Future of Europe is at Stake’

Calling international politics a “battlefield”, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told newspaper Magyar Idok that Hungary’s sovereignty is under constant attack from foreign interests and the powerful left wing activist George Soros. Adding that mass migration threatens the future of Europe, he urged for the preservation of Christian civilisation.

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

Italy: Neighborhood Gang Terrorizes Bolzano

They don’t attend school and they sleep on the streets. These guys are immigrants’ born children in Italy between the ages of 11 to 16. Since last year, this so called baby-gang of 15 members have been terrifying Bolzano city. They have been beating up other guys their age, stealing and hating the police.

“They have incredible anger inside them”, said Antonella Fava, head of the district attorney’s office for minors. “One time, they started jumping on top of three police cars, and they were screaming andmocking agents. It was difficult to ease the situation”…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Italy’s Coastguard: 3,000 People Rescued on Saturday

The Italian coastguard and other boats rescued some 3,000 migrants from unseaworthy boats off the Libyan coast on Saturday, as the good weather pushes the numbers up, a participating NGO said.

In all 35 rescue operations were launched during the day, with 15 of them still underway as night fell, the coastguard said.

German NGO Jugend Rettet, which took part in the rescue operations on Saturday, said 3,000 people had been plucked to safety during a particularly busy day due to the fine spring weather in the Mediterranean.

Jugend Rettet spokeswoman Pauline Schmidt told AFP that a further 1,000 people remained to be rescued from inflatable dinghies and other craft, with the rescue ships reaching capacity.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Migrant Boats: Thousands Saved Off Libyan Coast Over Easter

Thousands of migrants have been saved from the sea near Libya during one of the busiest weekends of the year for rescue workers.

More than 2,000 people were rescued on Friday and 3,000 on Saturday in dozens of separate rescues, the Italian Coast Guard said.

But at least seven people drowned as aid workers struggled to rescue more than 1,500 migrants in one operation.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The Latest: Migrants Held Hostage Spur Arrests in Greece

The Latest on Europe’s response to the unusually large number of migrants trying to reach the continent: (all times local):

10:50 p.m.

Police in Greece have arrested three Pakistani nationals for holding hostage 16 migrants without authorization to be in the country and demanding money for their release.

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

Turkish Politician: Three Million Migrants on Their Way to Europe

Turkish politician and former parliamentary deputy Ümit Özdag claims Europe could see three million migrants arrive on the continent as the EU-Turkey migrant agreement breaks down.

Özdag made the claim this week, according to Austrian politician and migration expert Efgani Dönmez. Dönmez told Austrian media that Turkey was looking to send three million migrants, mostly Afghan nationals, to Europe. He said that the migrants are already amassing on the borders of Turkey and they could arrive in Greece and other European Union countries as early as in the next few days, OE24 reports.

According to Dönmez, pressure put on the Turkish-Iranian border has made the Aegean route attractive for migrants again.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘Unprecedented’ Migrant Situation in the Mediterranean

A charity that rescues migrants has described the situation this weekend as “unprecedented” after going to the aid of people aboard nine boats in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) said the seven rubber and two wooden vessels contained an estimated 1,500-1,800 men, women and children.

It took 453 people on board its own ship, the Phoenix, while MOAS crew members supervised more than 1,000 others on “unseaworthy” vessels into the night, providing basic provisions and life jackets.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The Urinal That Changed How We Think

One hundred years ago this month, Marcel Duchamp’s controversial Fountain made its debut. It would change art forever, writes Kelly Grovier.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Why is Harvard Ditching the Puritans?

Harvard University has defended plans to remove a reference to “puritans” from its ceremonial song, as part of a project promoting “inclusion and belonging”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

6 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 4/16/2017

  1. What are the Greeks going to sell when the next bailout comes around – their Children? And I am being literal in my meaning because they have already sold their children’s future economically.

    Stupid, stupid, stupid! The time for biting the bullet and living by their means passed them by decades ago!

  2. On Orban’s Easter speech. He is coming very close to accusing the EU of doing what we who congregate here have known for some time – that mass Muslim immigration is a deliberate agenda to undermine what remains of the European nation states.

    It can’t be much longer until he chooses to do that.

  3. I too support “inclusion and belonging”.

    I submit that everyone subscribing to hostile doctrines of subjugation and murder are inclusioned amongst all the other undesirables who are belonging somewhere else.

    Harvard? Really?

  4. I am so angry I could spit…
    For the last several months I have been listening to Catholic mass on the radio from Fordham University. I actually plan my day around “going to church” between 11-12 EST. I turn the radio up on loud and do laundry, cook food or clean during the service. I call this multi-tasking.
    This week was no different and in fact I looked forward to the extended mass from 11-12:30.
    I love the music, songs, and the gospel readings. they make me feel peaceful.
    But then the homily started and the priest launched (forgive the pun) into the missiles blown off in Syria recently, that they were manufactured by Ratheon at $one million a copy to rain down on innocent Syrians. He then went on to say that these are the same people we won’t allow into our country…
    Well, for God’s sake, this is Easter Sunday. You had the full orchestra and choir on hand. You even had some guy telling us what was coming up next and, this is what you wanted to say? On Easter Sunday? Shame on you.
    I turned the broadcast off.
    Catholic Charities make big bucks off “refugees” to the US, huge bucks… They don’t want to shut the gravy train off and help these people in their native enclaves. Oh No!
    Why I am even a Catholic often amazes me.

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