A man named Robert Lewis Dear took cover in a building near a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs and held police at bay for five hours with a rifle, shooting at passersby and police officers. Three people were killed, one of them a policeman, and nine others were wounded. The shooter eventually gave himself up and was taken into custody.
In other news, a minister for the Dutch government says that internal spending on refugees is seriously depleting her country’s foreign aid funds, eating up €836 million, or 27% of the aid budget, so far this year.
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Nicolaus Fest is an independent German journalist. He was previously employed by the tabloid Bild am Sonntag, but drew negative attention to himself by publicly expressing his Islam-critical opinions. After an editorial disagreement, he eventually left the paper, and now works as a freelance writer.
The following excerpt from a recent post by Nicolaus Fest is taken from the author’s website. Many thanks to JLH for the translation:
Are we at war? After the attacks in Paris that was the opinion not just of the French president, but also of [German president] Joachim Gauck and of Pope Francis. Disagreement came above all from the German media, according to whom, talk of war was excessive and hysterical. For example, according to Ulrich Kienzle and the ARD correspondent von Haaren [interviewed] on Maischberger, the attack was not a war, but a terrorist attack.
Many journalists’ fear of the idea of war is understandable. First, pacifism is part of the media consensus in this country. While the use of the national military for solely humanitarian purposes seems legitimate, while the public has been lied to for years about the true character of the Afghanistan deployment, the perception that we are at war is as surprising as it is unpleasant, not least for [its impact on] the credibility of the media.
Second, the idea of war suggests that the opponent has more troops than a few mixed-up murderers. Assaults are the modus operandi of small groups like the RAF [Red Army Faction], the Red Brigade and the IRA. War is the battle of thousands.
And the idea of war prompts a third question: With whom are we at war? With manageable units of ISIS, Al Qaida, Boko Haram? Or perhaps much larger communities, like all those who advertise their jubilant support in Muslim networks after every assault? Those like the Turkish fans four days after the attack, who saw off the moment of silence for the victims with shrill whistling.
But — fourth — it is precisely this thought that runs counter to another tenet of the leftist media’s faith — the idea of multicultural Villa Diversity. Here too, the idea of being in quasi-military confrontations with several co-habitants of the house is not helpful. That the killing of more than one hundred persons on foreign territory with military-style weapons could definitely qualify as an act of war — nobody wants to see that. So: simply an assault.
Below is the speech given in the European Parliament by Marine Le Pen, the leader of the Front National in France, in the wake of the jihad massacre in Paris on November 13.
Many thanks to Oz-Rita for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:
Every time Geert Wilders is persecuted by the Dutch ruling elite, our readers, used to the West’s strong foundation of the Rule of Law, express their (understandable) indignation at the treatment of parliamentarian Geert Wilders by those in charge. They [Wilders’ persecutors] can’t be serious, surely?
Ah, but they are: the House of Orange and their henchmen and ubermen are dead serious. Deadly earnest that he be shut up by whatever means.
Usually I leave a link in the comments to a lengthy but most enlightening essay by a Dutch historian. His explanation, published in 2008, is one I re-read often because Mr. Legger took the trouble to crawl behind the shaky stage scenery to let us see what happens backstage. He did this in order to allow a necessary loss of our innocence to begin. Without someone’s willingness to speak up, how else might we outsiders understand what appears to be some kind of surreal kabuki theatre being played out in the Hague?
Every country ought to have an Arthur Legger, someone willing to speak up in the name of Truth, to explain to outsiders the sotto voce whisperings of the main players, murmurs in a language we don’t speak about a culture that is not ours. The intention of those in power is twofold: to leave outsiders in the dark while sending a clear message to the Dutch about what happens to those who step out of line. Legger’s revelations of a choreographed brutality by politicians, the legal system, and the police force working in tandem lay bare the “limited tolerance” that passes for an ersatz freedom of speech in the Netherlands.
To use another metaphor, Legger’s essay makes comprehensible those mysteriously churning waters swirling around Mr. Wilders. Legger takes you under to watch the sharks who swim so freely in the cultural waters of the Netherlands. These enforcers have scary sharp teeth but they never bite directly. Instead they rip holes in the safety nets, allowing a momentary break so that the necessary warnings to others can occur. Thus the murders of Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh. Or the slow wearing down, impoverishment, and social shaming of Gregorious Nekschot, a satirical cartoonist who was drawing disrespect for Islam before it became a popular sport in other places. If only he’d stayed within the boundaries of mocking Christians. But he had the temerity to ridicule Islam… and now he’s gone from the scene. No Dutchman is in the least surprised.
So it was that in the comment thread of our most recent post concerning yet another round of Dutch justice being meted out to troublemakers, our commenters were again puzzled about this heavy-handed attempt to shut up Geert Wilders once and for all. How could this be happening in a country famous for its tolerance? Ah, but if you’ve read the historian Legger, what is happening is so painfully clear, the transparency of the fix like so much glass you can see through — if you can bear to look.
This “court” in the Hague is free to persecute Geert Wilders to the full extent of their hearts’ desires. They don’t need no stinkin’ “judicial constraints”. The only thing that might constrain them is the possibility of a severe public backlash. Since the average Dutch person keeps his opinions close to his vest, those in power have no way of knowing for sure what the response would be were they do go past some unseen limit. Unrest over the “immigration problem” is growing… How hard do they dare to shove this freak of Dutch nature before they know they’ve gone too far? It’s a mystery to those in power, a mystery they created by their oppression.
I did leave the usual link in the comments to Mr. Legger, but after reading his essay yet again (it is fascinating) I decided that once my holiday cooking was over I’d do what I should have done long ago: put the information out here where everyone can see for themselves the realities and the pretenses of vultural history as written and performed by the House of Orange. To make a simple comparison/summary in American terms, the United States would resemble the Netherlands if it had taken absolutely to heart, soul, and spirit Calvin Coolidge’s idea that “the business of America is business” (given our own elites’ abhorrence of ‘business’ you can see how the problems attendant to either extreme are harmful).
As I’ve said many times, read Legger and you’ll never see the Netherlands in that same cozy light again. Further, you’ll realize even more forcefully than before the utter courage of Wilders in his willingness to swim in those shark-infested waters Mr. Wilders knows full well the evil arrayed in power against him.
My motive for writing this post is simple: I’m hoping you, the reader, will find Arthur Legger’s essay a clarifying experience. For me it created a paradigm shift, and I’ve had more than my share of those in the years since Gates of Vienna opened. Once a cherished paradigm falls, which is another way of explaining what happens to your thinking when the process of painfully moving yet another “unknown unknown” over to the “partially known” side of the ledger.
Since first coming across Legger’s shocking revelations, I’ve gone back to his essay any number of times; each encounter moves me anew to pity and to horror. Come to think of it, the silent but total and odious control described here prepared me a little for the methods Norway used against Fjordman after Anders Behring Breivik’s massacre. In both instances, and increasingly as one follows events in Europe, I am seeing varieties on a theme, i.e., the totalitarian democracy described in the decade after World War II by the historian J.L. Tolman: The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy (Peregrine Books)
Legger explains how this phenomenon pre-existed in the Netherlands, operating under a veneer of tolerance for all, while Tolman outlines the template moving forward from the French Revolution. Both writers have clarified my understanding even as the dynamic becomes more complex…
Mr. Legger’s style is high irony but distinctly Dutch — even in English. We have a Dutch expatriate correspondent who writes in this same tone, one I find engaging. You’ll catch on to it quickly and perhaps realize — as I did — how much of a cultural ‘self’ can be carried over into a second language. Observe how quickly you’ll catch on if you’re watching for it. I’ve come to see it as a sane method for dealing with horror. Otherwise what is left for you to do besides to run screaming from the room?
[The emphases in Mr. Legger’s material are mine. Obviously the editorial comments are also. Note that he was writing before the first trial. Mr. Legger thought the safety net would break and Geert Wilders would meet the same fate as the dissenters who went before him]
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told a German newspaper that EU countries have reached their limit in the number of “refugees” they can absorb, and cannot take any new arrivals. He said that the EU must impose tighter controls on its external borders.
In other news, masked men set fire to a Christian television station in the Pakistani city of Karachi, causing the building to collapse. The station had been repeatedly threatened, and had requested police protection, but none was provided.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, 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.
The following video is the second part of an Israeli documentary about the hijra — the migration of mujahideen from Europe to Syria, and then back again to Europe. The interviews with a father who went to Syria to try to find his son — a Flemish convert who joined the jihad — are particularly affecting.
Many thanks to D@rLin|{ for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:
As successive European countries impose strict border controls, it’s like a series of watertight doors closing along the route that “Syrian” “refugees” take to get to Germany. When one state blocks the flow and slows it to a trickle, the migrants back up at that border, forcing the host country to follow the same strategy.
The following report shows the backup at the border between Greece and Macedonia. The latter has recently tightened up its border, so that crowds of migrants are now encamped at the crossing, angrily waiting to be allowed to proceed onwards towards their destination. This video is a skillful combination of drone and ground-level footage, with no voice-over or commentary:
And also to anyone anywhere else who happens to feel thankful today.
Dymphna and I are particularly thankful for the success of our quarterly fundraising appeal, which began a month ago today. We’ve finally wrapped up all the thank-you notes — boy, did that take a while — just in time to be thankful over today’s dinner.
All the notes except for one, that is. During the fundraiser someone sent us a cash donation by snail-mail. The envelope was blank except for our address and a postmark (California, if I recall correctly), and the cash was wrapped up in a photocopy of a famous picture of George Washington at Valley Forge. No note, no signature — nothing else. We’ve misplaced the paper, but I believe it was a version of the image shown at the top of this post.
So, to our mystery donor, whoever you are: Like General Washington, I bend the knee to you in gratitude on this Thanksgiving Day of 2015.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
DYMPHNA HERE: Anyone who donated to Gates of Vienna but did not receive an acknowledgment, please let us know. It’s bad karma to fail to thank someone who has gone through the trouble to help the cause.
A side note: As you all know, this blog has a strong European focus. We cover American and Canadian issues (and even Australian or Indian issues from time to time), but the bulk of our material concerns Europe. The last time I investigated the origins of our traffic, the total number of European readers was about the same as the number of American readers.
For some reason, however, our financial support comes predominantly from readers in the United States. European and Canadian readers are also gratifyingly generous, and the Australians are magnificent. But American donations form the bulk of what we receive.
Does anyone have an opinion to why this is? Are Americans better off? Or is it that the USA still has a philanthropic culture, which social-democratic Europe has largely lost? Or is there some other reason?
I don’t know the answer, but I’m very grateful to everyone who decides to support our efforts financially. Godspeed to you all — even those who don’t believe in God!
According to the latest Quinnipiac University poll, Iowa Democrats are in favor of accepting more Syrian immigrants by 81% to 13%. The opinions of Iowa voters are considered crucial in shaping the early stages of a presidential election campaign.
In other news, during a visit to Kenya Pope Frances asserted that terrorism arises out of poverty, and called for greater social justice and environmental protection to help prevent it.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Diana West, Insubria, JD, 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.
Below is another electrifying speech by Björn Höcke, a rising star in the new AfD party in Germany. The eloquence of his words shines through even for those who don’t understand German. Anyone who lives in the formerly free (and now multicultural) West can identify with the national sentiment that Mr. Höcke evokes, and wish that the same sort of voice could be heard speaking out in his or her native tongue.
The love of one’s own people has long been cultural anathema in Germany. If Björn Höcke is any indication, that unofficial prohibition is now melting away as a result of the Great Refugee Crisis.
Many thanks to Rembrandt Clancy for the translation, introduction, and subtitling.
Wir sind Wir! We are our own people!
We must protect our country, we must protect our state and we must protect our Volk against the policies of the old-parties. And this task suits AfD considerably…. the AfD is the last peaceful chance which our country has, dear friends.
Björn Höcke 18 November 2015 AfD Demonstration in Erfurt, Thuringia
Introduction by Rembrandt Clancy
On 7 November, Gates of Viennaintroduced a new personality in the German peoples’ resistance to her own abolition, as Thilo Sarrazin called it. He is Björn Höcke, parliamentary faction leader for the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in the state legislature of Thuringia and spokesman for the AfD in that state. Since September, Mr. Höcke and the Thuringian AfD have been organising demonstrations against the German government’s asylum policy.
The video shows Björn Höcke’s speech of 18 November 2015, the last of the almost weekly AfD demonstrations to take place before Christmas in Erfurt. The usual environment for these events has been the darkness of Cathedral Square, where the neo-Catholic Bishop, Dr. Ulrich Neymeyr, turns out the Cathedral’s lights. This time, however, due to another event, the demonstration was displaced to the grounds of the Thuringian state legislature.
Previous demonstrations in Erfurt have thematised “asylum chaos” and betrayal by the elites; but for this one, the organisers changed the theme under the shadow of the co-ordinated Islamic attacks in Paris on the previous Friday; in this speech, Mr. Höcke draws a direct connection between the attacks in Paris and the uncontrolled influx of “asylum” seekers, precisely defying the “urgent plea” of the interior minister, Thomas de Maizière (NDTV English). Mr. Höcke also makes public a series of five basic principles, which he worked out jointly with Dr. Alexander Gauland, the faction chairman of the AfD for Brandenburg, who presented them at a simultaneous demonstration in Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt where 2,000 participants are reported to have attended. The first basic principle is “Germany is not negotiable”.
According to MDR-Thüringen, which presents a fairly objective report of the event, the police estimated the number of participants in the demonstration at 3,500 and the number of counter-demonstrators at between 350 to 500 people. An impression of the atmosphere at the event may be viewed in the video provided by MDR-Thüringen.
“Wir sind Wir” (lit. We are We”, but here translated as “We are our own people”) is an expression Mr. Höcke uses at the outset of his speech to express his emphasis on restoring Germans’ confidence in themselves as a people, whom he deliberately addresses using the word the politically incorrect term, “Volk”. MDR-Thüringen shows Mr Höcke singing along as the song is played over the speakers at the demonstration. Wir sind Wir was released by Paul van Dyk in 2004 and it is sung by Peter Heppner. Not without interest are the lyrics, which contain paradox and images of transformation and resurrection related to German post-war experience, but fixed in a materialistic setting. These are not fully expressible in English translation.
A few select lines from Mr. Höcke’s speech have been widely quoted in the German media, including a lampoon on them by the state broadcaster ZDF. The quote concerns Mr. Höcke’s remarks on the loss of German and European masculinity:
The big problem is that Germany, that Europe, have lost their masculinity. I say: we must rediscover our masculinity, for only when we rediscover our masculinity will we be resolute, and only when we are resolute, will we be able to mount a defence, dear friends.
From being isolated to being together; From ‘I’ to ‘we’; Wir sind wir! [We are our own people] dear Friends. Ich liebe mein Volk!
Dear friends, you know what the big problem is? The big problem is that Germany, that Europe, have lost their masculinity. I say: we must rediscover our masculinity, for only when we rediscover our masculinity will we be resolute, and only when we are resolute, will we be able to mount a defence. And we must be able to mount a defence, dear friends.
Dear friends, Paris has become the European capital of terrorism. And like me, you too are horrified. I know that. But at the same time, I also wonder whether the tears shed by the German and European old-party politicians could really be genuine tears. Genuine tears can only be shed, by the one who has done everything to prevent a misfortune. Dear friends, there was the murder of Theo van Gogh 2004 in the Netherlands; this year already dozens of hand grenades were detonated in Malmö in Sweden; and most recently, the terrible terrorist attacks in Paris. These are the consequences of a decades-long, failed immigration and asylum policy, dear friends. More than ever is our demand justified, — and the previous speakers also substantiated that in all clarity — the influx to Europe must come to an end immediately.
And precisely because of the background of the terror attacks in Paris; and because of the policies which might now be expected from the old-party politicians; more than ever, dear friends, I must warn: we Germans must not allow ourselves — through the actions of manipulated people incapable of independent and responsible decision — to be drawn into wars, which are not our wars.
Our Germany is facing a national emergency, for our Germany is already a failed state.
It is the small events, it is the everyday events of the past weeks which have happened everywhere and in every location of our republic. Small events, which the media hardly notices at all, but which are still a clear indication that we are in the middle of the failed-state phase.
Geert Wilders is facing yet another “hate speech” trial, this time for asking his supporters: “Do you want more Moroccans in the Netherlands, or fewer?”
To highlight the political nature of this trial, consider the fact that Mr. Wilders’ political party, the Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid, PVV), is currently the most popular party in the Netherlands.
Below is the declaration made today by Mr. Wilders before the court in The Hague.
Declaration of Geert Wilders before the Court sitting in Chambers, Tribunal The Hague, November 25, 2015 at 3:00 pm
Mr. President, members of the Chamber,
I have the right to a fair trial. That is why I am here. Not to ask you a favor. But to ask you what I am entitled to. A fair trial. And the right to defend myself in the best possible way. If you do not give me that chance, then this trial will be a farce.
During the first meeting the investigative judge told to me, “You should have a fair chance, the law will be interpreted broadly.” But the opposite has happened. All my 39 requests, all the requests from the defendant have been rejected.
Apparently, I am not allowed an adequate defense.
The investigative judge is uncritically following the Public Prosecutor. The Chamber agreed with the Public Prosecutor to reject the first twelve requests. Hopefully, that will not be the case for the 27 rejections that you must decide on now. Because if all reasonable requests are rejected, then I cannot defend myself, and I apparently have to be sentenced at all costs.
I am taken to court for what I have said. But I have said nothing wrong.
Fewer Moroccans, fewer Syrians, fewer Mexicans, fewer Russians, I do not see why stating that is punishable. However, when Turkish members of the Dutch parliament call me a tumor that must be fought and when they compare me to Hitler, then there is no consternation, no massive complaints on pre-printed forms, no prime minister who speaks shame of it and no Public Prosecutor to come into action.
The Austrian town of Spielfeld has been in the news a lot lately, due its location adjacent to the border crossing with Slovenia where thousands of “refugees” pass through every day on their way to Germany. Spielfeld is not the only entry point being used, however. Bad Radkersburg, somewhat to the east of Spielfeld along the River Mura, also has a border crossing where the migrants enter Austria.
Just across the river in Slovenia is the town of Gornja Radgona. Immigrants who do not immediately transit through to Austria are accommodated there overnight in a warehouse.
The media features about the “refugees” always show columns of migrants walking, as if they had walked all the way from the ferry terminal at Piraeus to the Austrian border. But the total distance walked by any given immigrant during his journey from Greece is very small, a few kilometers at most. The rest of the trip is spent on buses and trains, with the costs paid by someone else — no migrant ever has to purchase a ticket after his initial payout to the people-smugglers.
The following video will make clear how short a distance the “refugees” have to walk on the final leg of their journey to Austria. They get off the bus in Gornja Radgona, and if it is late in the day they are housed overnight in a heated warehouse — with food, water, clothing, and shoes provided at no cost to themselves. The next morning they walk 500-1,000 meters (450-900 yards) across the bridge to Bad Radkersburg in Austria. After being processed by Austrian border officials they board another bus — again, free of charge — for the trip to Germany, the Land of Milk and Welfare Benefits.
And, as the photo at the top of this post reminds us, it’s also the Land of Uncovered Meat for all those young sex-starved male culture-enrichers who make up the vast bulk of the migrating horde.
Last Thursday Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, reporting on behalf of Bürgerbewegung Pax Europa, visited the warehouse in Gornja Radgona where “refugees” are accommodated until they can cross the border into Austria. She interviewed the woman in charge of the facility, who was kind enough to show visitors around and answer a few questions.
Many thanks to R.K. for recording this video, and to Vlad Tepes for editing and uploading it:
Below are some more photos from the border area at Gornja Radgona.
According to Elisabeth, on the Austrian side donations such as these are actually provided by the government at taxpayers’ expense. But here in Slovenia, they truly are donated:
As Muslims frequently remind us, Islam is more than a religion; it is a complete way of life. All significant actions or activities — and many that have no significance at all — are regulated in minute detail by the sharia, or Islamic law. And that includes which hand is used for what.
The following video was originally in English, part of a larger documentary. This brief exchange with a British Muslim convert has been translated into German, and now back into English again.
Many thanks to Oz-Rita for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:
Schools and the metro will be open tomorrow in Brussels, after being closed for three days under the general lockdown. The Belgian interior minister guaranteed the security of the subway and schools, and there will be a heavy police presence to protect vulnerable locations. Meanwhile, the hostage situation at a gas station in northern France near the Belgian border is said to be the result of a robbery rather than terrorism.
In other news, kinetic activists in Tunisia blew up a bus carrying presidential guards. At least twelve people were killed in the blast. The president of Tunisia declared a state of emergency, and the U.S. embassy advised American citizens to avoid downtown Tunis. The incident had nothing to do with Islam.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dean, Fjordman, Green Infidel, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, RRN, Srdja Trifkovic, 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.
A man named Robert Lewis Dear took cover in a building near a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs and held police at bay for five hours with a rifle, shooting at passersby and police officers. Three people were killed, one of them a policeman, and nine others were wounded. The shooter eventually gave himself up and was taken into custody.
