Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/18/2019

The French government replaced the Paris police chief after the weekend’s violent Yellow Vest demonstrations. Meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron is considering banning the Yellow Vests.

In other news, in the wake of the Christchurch massacre, protesters in Turkey demand that the Hagia Sophia — now a museum — be converted back to a mosque.

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

Thanks to Dean, Dora, Insubria, Reader from Chicago, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

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

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. 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.

USA
» AP Pushes New Leftwing Conspiracy Theory: “Puzzling” Number of Activists Connected to Ferguson Are Dying (Usually by Suicide or Drug Overdose), and That Suggests They’re Being Secretly Murdered by an Unidentified But Obviously White Cabal
» Christopher Steele’s Former MI6 Boss Slams Trump Dossier as ‘Overrated’
» Fox News Signs Former DNC Chair Donna Brazile as a Contributor
» Nunes Sues Twitter, Some Users, Seeks Over $250m Alleging Anti-Conservative ‘Shadow Bans, ‘ Smears
» Public Opinion Turning Against Mueller, Impeachment
» Socialism: An Old Dogma With No New Tricks
 
Europe and the EU
» Back-to-Back Explosions in Sweden
» Bulgaria Probing NZ Shooter’s Balkan Visit
» Dutch Shooting: Utrecht Police Arrest Suspect After Three Killed
» Eurocrat: Farage Working With Italy’s Salvini to Block Brexit Delay
» French President Macron Considers Banning Protests on Champs Elysees: Official
» French Cardinal Convicted of Abuse Cover-Up Tenders Resignation to Pope
» Italy: Moroccan Tries to Run Over ‘Western’ Daughter
» No One Raised ‘Perplexity’ In EU on China — Moavero
» Possible Terror Attack in the Netherlands, At Least One Gunman on the Run
» Trump Ambassador’s Message of Goodwill to Britain Ahead of Brexit Crunch Week
» UK Dad Attacked for Opposing 12-Year-Old Daughter’s Assignment to Write Letter About Converting to Islam
» UK Speaker Rules Out New Vote on Brexit Deal Unless Changes Made
» UK: Boris: May’s Deal Does Not Deliver Brexit, ‘We Simply Become Non-Voting Members’ Of EU
» UK: Manchester Police Arrest Four for Comments About New Zealand Attack
» UK: May Humiliated as Poll Finds More Than Two-Thirds of Brexit Rebels Do Not Support Deal
» UK: Stepfather Explains Why He Complained When School Asked His Girl, 12, To Write a Letter for Homework About Becoming a Muslim
» ‘Yellow Vest’ Protests: French Govt Replaces Paris Police Chief After Weekend Violence
 
Middle East
» Christians Living in a Muslim Country ‘143 Times More Likely’ To be Killed by a Muslim Than Vice Versa
» ISIS Kills Italian Fighter Orsetti in Syria
» Protesters Want Hagia Sophia Turned Into Mosque in Response to Christchurch Attack
» Turkish Prez Showing Christchurch Footage at Rallies, NZ Fears He is Endangering Kiwis
 
Russia
» A Meteor Exploded Over Earth With 10 Times the Energy of Hiroshima’s Atomic Bomb
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» British MP Criticises MSM for Ignoring ‘Slaughter’ of African Christians
 
Latin America
» 1,000 Venezuelan Security Forces Crossed Border Since February, Columbian Authorities Say
» US: Russia to Meet on Venezuela in Rome Tuesday
 
Immigration
» Italy: 35 Probed for Migrant ‘Slavery’ Ring
 
Culture Wars
» Guardian Writer Suggests White People Aren’t Human in Bizarre Tweet
» Houston Public Library Allowed Convicted Sex Offender to Read to Kids at ‘Drag Queen Storytime’
» Matteo Salvini Blasts Surrogacy: Womb for Rent ‘Makes Me Sick’
» Scientists Call for Ban on Genetic Engineering of Unborn Babies and “Designer Babies”
 

AP Pushes New Leftwing Conspiracy Theory: “Puzzling” Number of Activists Connected to Ferguson Are Dying (Usually by Suicide or Drug Overdose), and That Suggests They’re Being Secretly Murdered by an Unidentified But Obviously White Cabal

The left pushes no conspiracy theories, according to the left and their kissing, under-the-shirt-but-over-the-bra cousins the NeverTrumpers.

Before getting into this article, let me just postulate that perhaps the “activists” tend to be people living on the fringes of society, able to get time off their “jobs” to go to a city to “protest” at a moment’s notice, and therefore might be poor and have the generally poor health of the poor — including mental health.

Marginal employment and chronic unemployment correlate with bad health outcomes and increased mortality.

And they might maybe indulge in the drugs a bit.

Let me also suggest that people willing to throw molotov cocktails at police also generally live lives which occasionally intersect with violence and may die early for reasons having less to do with conspiracy than with statistical inevitability.

That said, let’s see what your leftwing media is cooking up to replace their Russiagate conspiracy theory.

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

Christopher Steele’s Former MI6 Boss Slams Trump Dossier as ‘Overrated’

The former boss of the ex-British spy who produced the uncorroborated, salacious dossier on President Donald Trump’s alleged Russian collusion says the document is “overrated,” and wouldn’t comment on the character of the man who wrote it.

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

Fox News Signs Former DNC Chair Donna Brazile as a Contributor

Fox News signed former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile as a contributor just two weeks after current DNC Chair Tom Perez announced he would ban the network from hosting Democratic primary debates.

Fox announced Monday that Brazile is joining the network as a contributor to offer political analysis, and Brazile preemptively scolded progressives who might criticize her decision.

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

Nunes Sues Twitter, Some Users, Seeks Over $250m Alleging Anti-Conservative ‘Shadow Bans, ‘ Smears

California GOP Rep. Devin Nunes filed a major lawsuit seeking $250 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages against Twitter and a handful of its users on Monday, accusing the social media site of “shadow-banning conservatives” including himself to influence the 2018 elections, systematically censoring opposing viewpoints and totally “ignoring” lawful complaints of repeated abusive behavior.

In a complaint filed in Virginia state court on Monday, obtained by Fox News, Nunes claimed Twitter wanted to derail his work on the House Intelligence Committee, which he chaired until 2019, as he looked into alleged and apparent surveillance abuses by the government. Nunes said Twitter was guilty of “knowingly hosting and monetizing content that is clearly abusive, hateful and defamatory — providing both a voice and financial incentive to the defamers — thereby facilitating defamation on its platform.”

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

Public Opinion Turning Against Mueller, Impeachment

Have President Trump’s uncompromising denunciations of Bob Mueller’s “witch hunt” been effective? It appears so, based on this USA Today/Suffolk University poll. Currently, 50% of Americans consider Mueller’s investigation to be a witch hunt, while 47% disagree. Independents believe Trump has been the victim of a witch hunt, by 54%/42%.

And that is before Mueller releases his findings. While the press will spin Mueller’s report in an anti-Trump direction, the one unavoidable conclusion will be that after searching high and low, Mueller and his team of Democratic Party partisans couldn’t find any evidence of collusion. That should increase the number of voters who think the two-year-long investigation was a witch hunt all along.

Support for impeachment is fading as well. The USA Today poll finds that currently, only 28% of respondents think the House should seriously consider impeaching the president. That is down ten points since October.

These trends put Democratic presidential candidates in a difficult position. Their party’s base demands ever more insane denunciations of President Trump, even as the larger public is growing more sympathetic to the view that attacks on the president have gone too far. Likewise, House Democrats’ intention to spend the next 20 months investigating the president’s family and businesses appears to be at odds with the public mood. […]

[See URL for links]

           — Hat tip: Dora [Return to headlines]
 

Socialism: An Old Dogma With No New Tricks

Donald Trump knows what he’s running against, even if its proponents are deaf and blind to what they’re running for.

When people like Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez extol the virtues of socialism it reminds me of Dorothy Parker’s pun, “You can’t teach an old dogma new tricks.” Parker’s quip had nothing to do with politics, of course. It was about religion. This, ironically, renders it uniquely applicable to the recent resurgence of public interest in this hoary collectivist doctrine. The belief that replacing free market capitalism with socialism would result in a more equitable society requires a leap of faith. Unlike belief in Christianity or Judaism, for example, it requires blind faith combined with illiteracy in history and economics.

Whereas the religions noted above thrive after two millennia of critical examination by civilization’s greatest minds, socialist dogma can’t survive a cursory perusal by a first-year economics student. This is why its increasing number of vocal advocates in Congress must camouflage its true implications with shopworn shibboleths — Sanders’ preferred method — or incoherent word salads — the strategy necessarily employed by the improbably obtuse AOC. But bromides and balderdash won’t cut it in 2020 if the Democrats offer socialism as an alternative to the successful capitalist policies deployed by President Trump.

Indeed, if the Democrats haven’t realized it yet, Trump is already running against socialism. It is not a coincidence that he has responded to the increasing visibility of proud socialists like Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders by explicitly stating in his SOTU address — and later at CPAC—that “America will never be a socialist country.” Trump knows that AOC, as Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez said last summer, is “the future of our party.” He also knows that Sanders, nominally an Independent, is essentially tied with Joe Biden for the lead among the herd of prospective Democratic presidential candidates.

With AOC as the face of the party and Sanders as a plausible Democratic presidential nominee, the electorate is likely to be responsive to Trump’s characterization of his opposition as socialist. And there’s more good news for the President. Just as the DNC chairman declared AOC the future of the Democratic Party, Gallup found that a solid majority of Americans favor capitalism over socialism. The survey showed that the public favors the former over the latter by 56 percent to 40 percent. Little has changed during the last six months. A Fox poll conducted in February found that registered voters favor capitalism by an even wider margin:

Capitalism is far more popular than socialism, according to a Fox News Poll of registered voters.… Fifty-seven percent of voters have a positive opinion of capitalism. That’s more than twice the number who feel the same about socialism (25 percent).… By a 25-point margin, more Republicans (72 percent) than Democrats (47 percent) have a positive view of capitalism.

In other words, despite the overwhelmingly positive press received by the nation’s two most prominent socialists, most voters aren’t sold on it. Even the Democrats favor capitalism over socialism by 47 percent to 38 percent. The left would respond to this inconvenient reality by pointing out the millennial trend toward a positive view of socialism. Recent surveys show that significant pluralities of Americans under the age of 30 have a positive view of socialism. But do these millennials really have any idea what socialism is about? Or are they simply virtue signaling? Lee Edwards at the Heritage Foundation points out the following:

A 2016 Gallup survey found that 55 percent of those 18-29 had a “positive image” of socialism. But 90 percent were favorable to “entrepreneurs” while 78 percent favored “free enterprise.” How can a group be 55 percent socialist and 78 per cent entrepreneurial?Either through cognitive dissonance or plain ignorance.

The answer is the latter, of course. They are told by their professors and the “news” media that blindingly obvious failures of socialism are the result of improper implementation and venal politicians. They are disingenuously encouraged to embrace the belief that socialism is a happy combination of our own welfare state and a nebulous form of “democratic socialism” as it is purportedly practiced in Scandinavian countries like Sweden and Denmark. But does this view of socialism or Scandinavia have any connection with reality? The answer, according to University of Georgia professor of economics Jeffrey Dorfman, is “No.”

Regardless of the perception, in reality the Nordic countries practice mostly free market economics paired with high taxes.… [A]s evidence of the lack of government interference in business affairs, there is the fact that none of these countries have minimum wage laws.… Workers are paid what they are worth, not based on government’s perception of what is fair.

The reality of socialism is that it has failed miserably everywhere it has been imposed. Poor implementation and venal politicians certainly accelerate these inevitable failures, but that is incidental. Socialism is the economic equivalent of the perpetual motion machine.[…]

           — Hat tip: Dora [Return to headlines]
 

Back-to-Back Explosions in Sweden

Malmö, Sweden, was rocked by multiple blasts overnight, according to local media.

A “heavy explosion” in central Malmö leveled the entrance to a nightclub and the surrounding area, and even blew out the windows of nearby buildings, police say.

“There is a reason to suspect that they have used something more powerful than fireworks,” police press officer Patric Fors told SVT Nyheter. “The extent of the damage gives little insight into what may have been used.”

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

Bulgaria Probing NZ Shooter’s Balkan Visit

Bulgarian authorities are investigating possible contacts the Australian man suspected of killing 49 people in two New Zealand mosques may have had when he recently visited the Balkans.

The shooter posted a video of the attack in which a Serb nationalist song from the Bosnian war in the 1990s can be heard. He also wrote the names of historical figures and places from Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro on his weapons.

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

Dutch Shooting: Utrecht Police Arrest Suspect After Three Killed

A man has been arrested following a shooting on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht which left three people dead, police say.

Five others were injured in the incident, and authorities say the attacker’s motive remains unclear.

Gokmen Tanis, a 37-year-old Turkish man, was detained several hours after the attack. It is not yet clear where he was arrested.

The incident sparked a city-wide manhunt and the closure of schools.

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Eurocrat: Farage Working With Italy’s Salvini to Block Brexit Delay

A hardline europhile lawmaker has said that Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage is working to persuade Italy’s right-populist Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini that his country should veto any delay to Britain leaving the European Union.

Longest-serving Member of European Parliament (MEP) Elmar Brok, who is also an influential figure in the European Parliament’s Brexit steering group, said that Mr Farage had “already agreed with Salvini… that he will refuse any extension” to Britain’s Article 50 negotiations with Brussels, to ensure the United Kingdom leaves the EU on March 29th as currently scheduled.

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

French President Macron Considers Banning Protests on Champs Elysees: Official

French President Emmanuel Macron is considering banning all demonstrations on the Champs Elysees after “yellow vest” rioters wrecked the iconic Parisian avenue last weekend, an official from the president’s office said on Monday.

On Saturday, protesters related with the “yellow vest” movement burned down the famous Fouquet’s restaurant on the Champs Elysees as well as several newspaper stands, a Longchamp luxury goods shop and vehicles.

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

French Cardinal Convicted of Abuse Cover-Up Tenders Resignation to Pope

French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin met with Pope Francis in the Vatican Monday, tendering his resignation as archbishop of Lyon after being convicted of failing to denounce an abusive priest.

Two weeks ago, a French court found Cardinal Barbarin guilty of having failed to report Father Bernard Preynat, a priest who was accused by numerous victims of having carried out dozens of acts of sexual abuse of minors in boy scout camps between 1986 and 1991. The priest has admitted at least some of these crimes to police.

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

Italy: Moroccan Tries to Run Over ‘Western’ Daughter

Near Vercelli

(ANSA) — Vercelli, Varch 18 — A 53-year-old Moroccan man who tried to run over his 22-year-old daughter near Vercelli because she lived ‘western-style’ on Monday said “I’ve never laid hands on my daughter, I’m strict but I do it for my children’s good.” El Mustafa Hayan was arrested on charges of attempted murder.

He said Friday’s incident was a “tragic fatality” and his intention “was not to kill her”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

No One Raised ‘Perplexity’ In EU on China — Moavero

Each has own ties pending joint strategy

(ANSA) — Brussels, march 18 — Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi said no EU foreign ministers on Monday had raised “perplexities on the memorandum we are about to sign” with China on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), or ‘new Silk Road’.

“In the debate during the Council (of foreign ministers) it emerged that the EU could-should have a better joint strategy, but pending that happening, each State keeps its bilateral relations”.

He said “we are certainly not the first to enter into a relationship with China: we must close quite a large gap, both in trade and in the overall relationship. No one raised questions on the Silk Road.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Possible Terror Attack in the Netherlands, At Least One Gunman on the Run

A possible terror attack took place in a tram in Utrecht (The Netherlands). Several passengers were heavily injured and one has died. At least one gunman is on the run.

The police takes a possible terrorist motive into account. The National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV) has decided to raise the threat level to level 5 exclusively for the province of Utrecht until at least 6 p.m.

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

Trump Ambassador’s Message of Goodwill to Britain Ahead of Brexit Crunch Week

While another week of uncertainty dawns as the United Kingdom government remains unable or unwilling to execute the democratically expressed will of the British people to leave the European Union, the Trump administration has sent a message of goodwill.

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

UK Dad Attacked for Opposing 12-Year-Old Daughter’s Assignment to Write Letter About Converting to Islam

A stepfather who slammed his daughter’s school for making her write a letter about “converting to Islam” has been called a “racist bigot” and is terrified of violent repercussions.

Mark McLachlan, 43, complained to Kepier School in Houghton-le-Spring, Sunderland when he found the homework task in his stepdaughter’s planner.

He refused to let her finish the “letter to my family about converting to Islam”, claiming it was “brainwashing” her about the religion and did not see what it would achieve.

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

UK Speaker Rules Out New Vote on Brexit Deal Unless Changes Made

Britain’s government cannot submit its Brexit deal for another vote in parliament if it is “the same” or “substantially the same” as the one already rejected by MPs, the House of Commons speaker said on Monday.

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

UK: Boris: May’s Deal Does Not Deliver Brexit, ‘We Simply Become Non-Voting Members’ Of EU

Backbench heavyweight Boris Johnson has all but confirmed he will vote against Theresa May’s proposed Withdrawal Agreement again if she puts it to MPs for a third time — with ministers signalling she may abandon “Meaningful Vote 3” if it looks certain she cannot win it.

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

UK: Manchester Police Arrest Four for Comments About New Zealand Attack

Greater Manchester Police have arrested four people for comments made in person and online about the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The first reported arrest was of a 24-year-old man from the Oldham area for “malicious communications” on social media, with police alleging he was “making reference and support for the terrible events” and taking him into custody on March 16th.

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

UK: May Humiliated as Poll Finds More Than Two-Thirds of Brexit Rebels Do Not Support Deal

THERESA MAY suffered fresh humiliation after a poll found more than two-thirds of Tory rebels won’t back her if another vote is held on her Brexit deal.

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

UK: Stepfather Explains Why He Complained When School Asked His Girl, 12, To Write a Letter for Homework About Becoming a Muslim

A stepfather who slammed his 12-year-old’s school for making her write a letter about ‘converting to Islam’ has been called a ‘racist bigot’ and is terrified of violent repercussions.

Mark McLachlan, 43, complained to Kepier School in Houghton-le-Spring, Sunderland when he found the homework task in his stepdaughter’s planner.

He refused to let her finish the ‘letter to my family about converting to Islam’, claiming it was ‘brainwashing’ her about the religion and did not see what it would achieve.

But since posting about it on social media he says he has received a lot of abuse.

He told MailOnline: ‘My wife and I are terrified of the repercussions.

‘Any time anybody says anything negative about Islam they are torn to shreds.

‘I’ve been called a racist and a bigot, but I’m just terrified for my children and for the way this country is going.[…]

           — Hat tip: Dora [Return to headlines]
 

‘Yellow Vest’ Protests: French Govt Replaces Paris Police Chief After Weekend Violence

The French government sacked the top police official in Paris on Monday following another weekend of rioting in the capital during “yellow vest” protests which have put President Emmanuel Macron on the defensive.

The police’s failure to keep the Paris protests from spiralling out of controlover the weekend again cast a harsh spotlight on their tactics.

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

Christians Living in a Muslim Country ‘143 Times More Likely’ To be Killed by a Muslim Than Vice Versa

Terrorist attacks against Muslims in the Western world, like the one that took place in Christchurch, are extremely rare.

Friday’s carnage in two mosques in New Zealand, with the death toll currently at 50, is the first major event of its kind since the Quebec City mosque shooting over two years ago — which killed six persons, conservative writer Srdja Trifkovic states in Chronicles Magazine.

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

ISIS Kills Italian Fighter Orsetti in Syria

33-year-old Florentine was fighting with Kurdish militias

(ANSA) — Beirut, March 18 — ISIS on Monday published photos showing that it has killed an Italian in a battle at Baghuz, eastern Syria, according to the SITE website that monitors jihad-related activity on the Internet. Italian security forces confirmed the report regarding Lorenzo Orsetti, a 33-year-old Florence native who was fighting with the Kurdish YPG militia, who are linked to the Turkish PKK.

Orsetti was killed in a fire fight that ensued after an ambush by the jihadis. ISIS released a photo of the corpse, saying it was of “the Italian crusader Lorenzo Orsetti”. The image was published by Aamaq, a social media new platform linked to ISIS. It shows the face and part of the chest of the victim. There are the tips of two military boots next to the face.

Orsetti died in an ISIS counterattack while fighting with Kurdish forces in Syria, his father confirmed.

“His Kurdish commander telephoned me and told me that Lorenzo died together with all his group in an ISIS counterattack this morning,” Alessandro Orsetti said.

“It appears that his group was surrounded, it was with an Arab unit, but I don’t know exactly what that means from a military standpoint. They killed them all”.

Orsetti’s letter-testament says “Ciao, if you’re reading this message it means that I’m no longer in the world. Despite this premature departure, my life still remains a success and I’m almost certain that I’ve left with a smile on my face. I couldn’t have asked for more”.

“I have no regrets. I died doing what I believed best, defending the weak and remaining faithful to my ideals of justice, equality and freedom.

“I insist on the need to give one’s life for your fellow man, because that is the only way to change the world.” The letter is signed “Orso, Tekoser, Lorenzo”, referring respectively to his surname Orsetti, his Kurdish nom de guerre and his first name.

It ends with an exhortation: “Remember that ‘every storm begins with a single drop’. Try to be that drop”. Orsetti was one of six Italians, including two women, who were fighting with YPG, according to a report in February by Fausto Biloslavo for the ‘Occhi della Guerra’ (Eye of War) website.

“I don’t intend to come back at the moment,” Orsetti, who had been given the nom de guerre ‘Heval Tekosher’, the fighter, said in an interview for the report.

“If I were to be accused of something, I would say that I’m proud of what I’m doing in Syria. I’m ready to accept any consequences. “A couple of times they almost managed to surround us. “In the desert they counter-attacked and overwhelmed our positions.

“When your companions beside you start to die, especially because of mines and snipers, you don’t forget it…

“The Islamic State is absolute evil. This is a battle for civilization”. Orsetti’s mother said she has not had official confirmation of his death, while adding that she had not been able to contact him via telephone for over a day. “He’s a good lad. He’s only 33,” she said.

“He has always wanted to help other people.

“We were against him going. I can no longer sleep at night.

“But he wanted to help this oppressed people”.

Orsetti’s father Alessandro Orsetti went on: “we are proud of him, of the choice he made, but we are destroyed by grief.

“For a year and a half, that is since he left, we have been anxious, happier when we heard from him on the phone, anxious when time went by without hearing from him.

“When he decided to go and fight for the Kurds, my son told us he wanted to do something for them, he didn’t want to do nothing, he wanted to help them in their cause.

“He hadn’t been in Florence for a year and a half. We used to tell him ‘come away, come home, because you’ve done your bit and it was important’.

“We asked him when he was coming back but he answered that the situation was very delicate for the Kurds and he wanted to keep helping them in their cause”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Protesters Want Hagia Sophia Turned Into Mosque in Response to Christchurch Attack

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — A few hundred demonstrators have protested the New Zealand mosque shootings outside Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia — a Byzantine-era cathedral that was turned into a mosque and now serves as a museum.

The demonstrators — mostly members of Islamic civil society groups — on Saturday called for the symbolic edifice to be reconverted into a mosque. The demand was in response to a taunt by the gunman in Friday’s shooting rampage in a 74-page manifesto in which he reportedly said “Hagia Sophia will be free of minarets.”

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

Turkish Prez Showing Christchurch Footage at Rallies, NZ Fears He is Endangering Kiwis

Turkey’s Islamist president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been inflaming his supporters by showing footage of the suspected far-right terror attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, at political rallies — a move which potentially “imperils the future and safety of the New Zealand people and our people abroad”, according to the Pacific country’s foreign minister.

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

A Meteor Exploded Over Earth With 10 Times the Energy of Hiroshima’s Atomic Bomb

Nobody saw or was even aware of the fireball that exploded above the Bering Sea on December 18, 2018—until now. (The image above is a stock one.)

The scale: It’s the biggest blast since the meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk in Russia in 2015—and the second-biggest in 30 years, says the BBC. It was 10 meters across, and the energy released as it exploded in Earth’s atmosphere was equivalent to 173 kilotons of TNT. That’s about 10 times bigger than the atomic bomb used on Hiroshima in 1945.

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

British MP Criticises MSM for Ignoring ‘Slaughter’ of African Christians

British Labour MP Kate Hoey has condemned the mainstream media for ignoring the “slaughter” of over 100 Christians in Nigeria by Muslim militants over the past three weeks.

“Christians slaughtered in Nigeria — a Commonwealth country! Is MSM [mainstream media] reporting?” the Labour MP wrote on Sunday.

“The recent death toll of Christians in Nigeria has reached 120 with this week’s slaughter of more than 50 by Fulani Muslim militants in the Kaduna state of Nigeria, the Christian Post reported,” Ms Hoey continued, apparently quoting from Breitbart News’s coverage of the murders.

A Labour MP for Vauxhall in London since 1989, Ms Hoey comes from the working class, ‘Old Labour’ school of the party, backing Brexit, stricter immigration controls, and individual liberty.

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

1,000 Venezuelan Security Forces Crossed Border Since February, Columbian Authorities Say

CARACAS, Venezuela — About 1,000 members of the Venezuelan security forces have fled to Colombia since last month, giving up weapons and uniforms as they abandoned the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Colombian authorities said Monday.

Colombia’s foreign ministry released the updated number of Venezuelan police and military personnel who crossed the border, many around the time of a Feb. 23 attempt by opposition leader Juan Guaido to deliver U.S.-provided humanitarian aid to Venezuela. The attempt failed because Venezuelan forces blocked trucks trying to cross from Colombia into Venezuela.

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

US: Russia to Meet on Venezuela in Rome Tuesday

Will warn Abrams says Riabkov

(ANSA) — Moscow, March 18 — Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Serghiei Riabkov will meet Tuesday in Rome with US special representative for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, Riabkov told TASS Sunday.

“We will warn the US against military intervention and other forms of illegal influence against the legitimate authorities in Caracas,” he said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: 35 Probed for Migrant ‘Slavery’ Ring

Gang based in Salerno

(ANSA) — Salerno, march 18 — Thirty-five people were placed under investigating Monday for allegedly “enslaving” migrants were who forced to pay 5-12,0000 euros to get stay permits and were allegedly exploited in farm labour.

The gang, which allegedly earned over six million euros since 2012, was based in Salerno and had offshoots in Matera and Pistoia, police said.

Some 27 people were placed under house arrest and eight were ordered to report regularly to police.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Guardian Writer Suggests White People Aren’t Human in Bizarre Tweet

A writer for the Guardian and Rolling Stone received a backlash after appearing to suggest in a tweet that white people were not human.

In what was an apparent response to the terror attack on a mosque in New Zealand, Jamie Peck, a “regular Guardian contributor” who also writes for Rolling Stone and Broadly, tweeted, “We are in a war between those who choose to be human and those who choose to be white. In order to effectively stamp out fascism, we must take on all hierarchies at once. White supremacy cannot be disentangled from patriarchy and class oppression. Liberalism is not the answer.”

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

Houston Public Library Allowed Convicted Sex Offender to Read to Kids at ‘Drag Queen Storytime’

Remember, folks: if you disagree with having sex offenders dressed in drag read to your children on taxpayers’ dime you’re a hate-filled bigot.

From The Daily Mail:

It has emerged that a registered child sex offender has been reading to children at Houston Public Library as part of its Drag Queen Storytime.

A group called Mass Resistance, which has been trying to put an end to the program and contacted KHOU about the pedophile.

The action group claimed that it had been asking the City of Houston for months to disclose information about the drag queens but got no response.

It was only after the group did their own digging that the shocking link was revealed.

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

Matteo Salvini Blasts Surrogacy: Womb for Rent ‘Makes Me Sick’

Italy’s feisty Interior Minister Matteo Salvini came out swinging against surrogate motherhood Monday, insisting on every child’s right to a mother and a father.

“The State should not enter the bedroom and no one should be discriminated against for his affective choices,” Mr. Salvini tweeted, “but as long as I live I will defend the right of every child to have a mom and a dad.”

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

Scientists Call for Ban on Genetic Engineering of Unborn Babies and “Designer Babies”

A group of international scientists is calling for a global moratorium on the genetic engineering of human beings as fears about parents creating “designer babies” grow.

Their open letter, published in Nature on Wednesday, urges countries to ban the practice after reports surfaced late last year about a Chinese scientist who genetically altered the DNA of twin girls before they were born in November. The letter noted that the widely-condemned experiment highlighted the “growing interest in proposals for genetic enhancement of humans.”

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

19 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/18/2019

  1. “Protesters Want Hagia Sophia Turned Into Mosque in Response to Christchurch Attack”.

    Only muslims are brain-dead enough to demand that in response to something that happened on the other side of the world…

    • Yes, no logic here, but it is common enough in Turkey to hear calls for reparations or reciprocal actions to be taken for events that are totally unrelated. Remember that Erdogan threatened not to release Pastor Brunson until the US sent Fethullah Gulen back for trial.

      But, there is something strange about this article. The accompanying photo shows three men in keffiyehs (which we usually associate with the Arab Palestinian cause)- something not usually seen in Istanbul – yet the article states that the protesters represented civil society. Also, when I searched the Erdogan-controlled Hurriyet Daily News site, there is no mention of this demand. Usually Hurriyet is very quick to promote the Islamic aspirations of Turkey.

  2. “White supremacy cannot be disentangled from patriarchy and class oppression. Liberalism is not the answer.” sounds like he’s calling for genocide, hope he’s going to be prosecuted.

    • Why in heaven’s name would someone be “prosecuted” for what they say? One can certainly disagree with such ideas but why would anyone in charge, therefore, prosecute the speaker?

      What would be a reasonable penalty for talking?

  3. Major Australian Telcos have banned access to many websites where commenters have put up links to the Christchurch video YET I can find any number of [culture enrichers] cutting the heads of Christians.

    Australia’s biggest Telco has banned sites without letting its customers know. Some of these sites are predominantly business sites like ZeroHedge.

    I phoned Telstra to complain and asked for a bill reduction for lack of notification, loss of business due to lack of access to sources of information I use for my business and, [heck], I didn’t pay for access to sites determined by a TELCO!

    When I rang Telstra they claimed no knowledge of the situation. Rather Telstra tried to make out the problem was at my end!!!
    I then pointed out that their own website carried comments and complaints about the situation! Some comments from 12hours before! 10 minutes later all of those comments on the Telstra website disappeared!

    ( I would have sent this story into GOV but the e-mail system didn’t work for me.)

  4. Erdogan is playing video from Christchurch in front of his supporters during election campaign, stirring his “peaceful “ followers. In same time Jacinda covered with head scarf threatens anyone in possession of video with 10 years of prison. Wonder if she’s gonna prosecute Sultan. New Zealand farmers are surrendering their semi automatic weapons although they did nothing wrong. Next I expect French and German truck drivers to surrender their trucks so no truck attacks happen in their name like those in Nice and Berlin. How are we standing with knives? Is Jamie Oliver and every other British chef ready to do right thing and surrender knives since they stab people? Peak idiocracy ? I’m afraid so

    • So, Jacinda Ardern dons the Islamic headscarf as a show of … what, exactly? Does she even know?

      Her motivations must run deep and probably she herself is not entirely aware of why she is acting this way.

      Do people normally don the religious attire of victimized groups in solidarity with them? If so, then we should see many, many Muslims in Iraq, Nigeria, Egypt, and Pakistan wearing the Christian cross. But, we know that would never happen.

      Ardern is lacking in any understanding of the meaning of the female headscarf within Islam; does she not know that it is anathema to any thinking and free woman? Solidarity and sympathy can be shown in many ways not requiring one to sacrifice the values of female equality.

      Here we see once again that there’s a hierarchy of values, just as there is a hierarchy of rights. The value put on virtue signalling apparently trumps the value of female equality. Ardern is so eager to align herself personally with the Muslim victims that she carelessly tramples on a deeply held Western value. In the midst of the aftermath of a disturbing massacre, she herself exemplifies the disturbing trend of Western self-hate.

      • “The value put on virtue signalling apparently trumps the value of female equality.”

        +1

  5. Don’t know if this has already been posted, but here’s an excellent piece from the Gatestone Institute’s Soeren Kern. The title says it all: “Britain’s war on Christianity.”

    How is it even possible that this once great country has apparently become one of the world’s biggest persecutors of Christianity and Free Speech while officials go out of their way to protect Islamic hate preachers, rapists and murderers?

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13913/britain-war-on-christianity

    • Judas and the Zealots were not happy with the seemingly slow pace to the grabbing of power and control that they believed Christ was sent to accomplish.

      Elites and many leftists have not changed since then.

      They want power and control and will continue to attack Christ, His message and His followers to help trigger the total establishment of their own vision of a peaceful kingdom. The means to this end is of no concern to them. Who and what they must betray to achieve this also concerns them not.

      Supporting and allowing the advance of Islam helps provide them with a faster and seemingly more powerful method to achieve their ultimate goals.

      Christ still stands in the way, the ‘stumbling block’ as He called Himself. They must seek to remove the gentleness, compassion and engagment of morality, intelligence, reason and thoughtfulness that Christ commands. With these things out of the way, they believe they will be freer to advance their agendas with fewer barriers. Judas and his fellow Zealots believed they could achieve this acceleration toward their goals by betraying Christ, the one they once admired and supported; much the same admiration and support our leaders once held for Christianity. When Christ or His message seemed to no longer hold the power to achieve their lust for power and change, He was betrayed and left to be attacked by the state and by those citizens who wanted to advance their agenda in their own aggressive manner.

      We have not changed.

  6. Here we go, the censorship and criminalizing after the event has begun…

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12214083

    ” Chief Censor David Shanks has officially classified the full 17-minute video of the fatal Christchurch shootings which occurred on Friday 15 March, as “objectionable” – meaning it is banned.

    That raises the prospect of a fine of up to $10,000 or up to 14 years’ jail for anyone who shares the clip…”

    ” Earlier, Deputy Chief Censor Jared Mullen outlined the penalties for sharing banned material.

    “If you didn’t know the material was objectionable and you were found in possession of it, a maximum fine of $10,000 could apply,” ”

    So let’s get this straight. If on Friday you shared this clip it wasn’t an illegal act but as of today, the act that you did legally 3 days ago has been declared to be illegal even though it wasn’t at the time.

    This is total state control, whether the video should or should not be banned is not the point, the principle that you can be criminalised retrospectively is not something that New Zealanders and the world should accept.

    • I look forward to reading the results of the governments’ monitoring of NZ moslems for breach of this order.

  7. Internal Server Error
    The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

    “Please contact the server administrator at webmaster@gatesofvienna.net to inform them of the time this error occurred, and the actions you performed just before this error.

    More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

    Additionally, a 500 Internal Server Error error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.”

    Something is rocking the boat in NZ. 🙂 and it is a dam thing worse than the Christchurch earthquake.

  8. More reactive, retro-control.

    “At least one person has been fired for watching the video while other employees were around – while others have been let go for sharing it with workmates”. ……
    …. “Privacy Commissioner John Edwards has called on Facebook to hand names of those who shared the video to NZ police”. …..

    Edwards sees the video as an “egregious” abuse of the victims’ privacy.”
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12214455

    I recall 9/11 and maybe there was some censorship, but still there was the people making shocking decisions in how to escape from the top of that building.
    I knew that I did not want to see what that shooter did when I figured that it was going to be graphic.
    So now one can be retro actively and unwittingly criminalized as the bureaucracy and some politicians want to control the narrative.

    The unspoken fear is the apparatus of the state, may make things more difficult, and just being slow, like in obtaining licences, banking, identification, like passports, taxation issues etc…
    There certainly is enough controlling staff in bureaucracies, and administrations that can make life very difficult.
    ———————-

    Baron, I seem to have problems changing pages on this site, and to send the this comment.
    Sorry if this comment has been sent a number of times, but I just keep on trying. 🙂
    It may be incidental, or the freezing of other websites, and ‘unobtainable’ or error, seems to be the way of locking NZ down, as if there is still shootings, or people wondering around, ready to ambush ‘others’.
    I think you may have links on some posts that NZ government do not want kiwis to link to. :-), even the manifesto is sort of banned, and the way of things being done is sort of inferred or retro.

    • No, our site was down for a while. Some sort of technical error. I don’t know what caused it, except that it wasn’t a DoS attack or anything like that.

      • Thanks Baron,
        As I mention I have found that on other sites, to be closed off from kiwis, and things re-changed.
        Others have noted this also in NZ

        I have had a variety of types of errors, and not connecting reasons, so perhaps it is just a little paranoia, or some bigger force making adjustments. 🙂

        I have never been explicit, and more just questioning and passing on information and knowledge, but as with many others in NZ feel some concerns. Particularly in the way our media, politicians, bureaucracy may be leading, to make the most of an opportunity.

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