In a surprising move, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the downing of a Russian military jet over Turkey last year. Mr. Erdogan seems to have felt the pinch of Russian sanctions and the increasing international isolation of Turkey, because he has also mended fences with Israel.
In other news, the South African treasury ordered President Jacob Zuma to repay more than half a million dollars of government funds that he used for improvements on his private residence.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, JD, LP, MM, Nick, The Observer, Upananda Brahmachari, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. 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.
Bankster Operative Responsible for Financial Meltdown Backs Hillary Clinton
Hank Paulson says Clinton more likely to implement globalist agenda
On Friday the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson endorsed Hillary Clinton.
“I’ll be voting for Hillary Clinton with the hope that she can bring Americans together to do the things necessary to strengthen our economy, our environment and our place in the world,” Paulson wrote for The Washington Post. “To my Republican friends: I know I’m not alone.”
He characterized a Donald Trump presidency as “unthinkable.”…
Paulson is directly responsible for the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression. He oversaw the subprime bubble that imploded and triggered the crisis, irremediably damaging the economy.
At Goldman Sachs, he specialized repackaging shady subprime mortgages as securities. He was at the helm of the Treasury when Goldman unloaded over $30 million in risky residential mortgage securities to pension funds and later made billions secretly on the fall of home mortgage securities. Goldman, along with Citigroup and other Wall Street investment houses with stakes in the subprime scam, awarded their CEOs more than $180 million in salaries and bonuses in 2006 and 2007, according to SEC disclosures.
“No one was better positioned . . . than Mr. Paulson to understand exactly what the implications of his moving against the (housing) bubble would have been for Goldman Sachs, because he knew what the Goldman Sachs positions were,” William Black, a former senior thrift regulator and a leading expert on the subprime meltdown, told McClatchy.
[Comment: Bankster puppet and policy implementer supporting the bankster preferred Hillary. ]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Disgraced U.N. Leader John Ashe Died in Weightlifting Accident
A former United Nations big who was awaiting trial on fraud charges died in a freak weightlifting accident, officials said Thursday.
John Ashe died Wednesday from “traumatic asphyxia with laryngeal cartilage fractures” after dropping a barbell on his neck, a rep for the Westchester County Medical Examiner’s office told the Daily News.
Ashe, 61, was working out on a bench in his Dobbs Ferry home when the deadly accident happened.
The weight of the barbell was unclear, and it was not immediately known if anyone was with Ashe at the time.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Hawaii OKs Fed Database for Lawful Gun Owners’ Names
‘Rap Back’red flags FBI on state residents’ arrests nationwide
Hawaii’s Democrat-controlled state government passed and signed into law a provision that places the names of all lawful firearms’ owners into a federal database, under the watchful eye of the FBI.
The database, called “Rap Back,” red flags when a lawful gun owner who’s a Hawaii resident is arrested for a crime anywhere in the United States.
As Fox 59 reported, Gov. David Ige, who signed the measure into law just recently, said: “This will allow county police departments in Hawaii to evaluate whether the firearm owner may continue to legally possess and own firearms.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Leftist Radicals Attack Media in Sacramento
Promise riots and more attacks in response to popularity of Donald Trump
In addition to attacking and assaulting permitted demonstrators in Sacramento on Sunday, leftist thugs from BAMN and Antifa targeted the media.
The Washington Post reported a “KCRA-TV reporter and his cameraman were caught in an altercation with protesters who shouted ‘no cameras’ as they tried to grab their equipment and shove them away from the crowd.”
Preventing the media from exercising the First Amendment is now a routine tactic. Radical “direct action” groups do not want people to see their unprovoked attacks and the violence used to shut down political enemies. The attackers wear balaclavas and ski masks in order to remain anonymous and avoid being identified and arrested for assault.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Obama Feasts on Ignorance to Devour Property Rights
President Obama is successfully executing the most dangerous seizure of individual choice in our history because Americans are growing blind to the bond between property rights and human rights.
While farm owners surrender their land development rights to governments, federal agencies relocate affordable housing next to million dollar homes, and declare entire neighborhoods discriminatory.
Every one of these acts, according to Washington State Justice Richard Saunders, “annihilates” the value of the property and “renders ownership barren.”
But land value is the beginning. By controlling their land, these governments now control the property owners’ behavior.
Here is an example…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Orlando Smoking Gun: Nobody Died Until the SWAT Team Entered
Judge Andrew Napolitano has appeared on national TV and said that the official FBI transcript summary of the Orlando shooting shows that nobody in the Pulse nightclub died until 5:13am, throwing the official narrative peddled by the mainstream media into disarray.
According to the official narrative, Omar Mateen entered the club around 02:00am and began his killing spree. However, as Judge Andrew Napolitano points out in the video below, that story doesnt tally with what the FBI have in their official transcript summary.
“Here’s what is news in the summary — nobody died until 05:13 in the morning, when the SWAT team entered. Prior to that no one had been killed. The 53 that were injured, and the 49 that were murdered all met their fates at the time of, and during, the police entry into the building,” Judge Napolitano said.
This could be the smoking gun which unravels this entire mystery. Why has the FBI issued gag orders to local police, fire, and emergency medical personnel? Why has the 911 audio and emergency scanner archives between the hours of 12:00am and 03:00am EST been erased or physically requisitioned by the FBI?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Political Correctness Puts Americans in Grave Danger
If Americans were shocked by the recent terrorist massacre in Orlando committed by Omar Mateen in the name of ISIS and other Islamist jihadis, they should be even more alarmed by the Obama administration’s response, which once again sought to obfuscate the role of Islamist ideology in motivating that terrorist attack — the largest on U.S. soil since 9/11
In spite of Islamists having established an unparalleled record of terrorism — some 20,000 assaults globally in the name of Islam since 9/11 — U.S. law enforcement, intelligence and national armed forces have for many years been operating partially blindfolded with one hand tied behind their backs under the heel of the politically correct posture of protecting Islam and Muslims.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Radical Leftists Stabbed During Attack on Anti-Globalist Protesters in California
FBI listed terrorist group shuts down permitted demo in Sacramento
Six militant leftists from By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) were stabbed today when they attacked members of the Traditionalist Worker Party during a permitted rally in Sacramento.
The Traditionalist Worker Party is described as white supremacist. Its political platform focuses on “ethnic consciousness,” religious freedom, usury, traditional values, national sovereignty, immigration and other issues. They had obtained a permit to protest against globalization outside the capitol.
The FBI has categorized BAMN as a terrorist group. It is known for advocating and practicing radical action and violence against its political opponents.
“BAMN seems to have planned recent demonstrations in a way that is calculated to cause violence,” Dianne Emmett writes for Berkeleyside. “They begin with an issue that draws a large number of supporters, in this case [a protest in Berkeley], equal justice for people of all races. Then they provoke violence in order to escalate the situation, hoping to radicalize these supporters and to draw more attention to their cause.”
This tactic failed in Sacramento on Sunday. After Trad members were attacked by baton-wielding BAMN activists, they apparently responded by stabbing their attackers (a Trad member was stabbed, indicating BAMN activists were also armed).
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Red Democrats: Meet the Communists and Socialists on the Dems Platform Drafting Committee
Several communists and radical anti-American socialists now serve on the influential Democratic Party Platform Drafting Committee.
None of them covertly infiltrated their way onto this important body. All were appointed at the request of Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton or at the discretion of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Many of those appointed have been involved with Democratic Socialists of America, which despite its name is a communist group based on the theories of Italian Communist party theoretician Antonio Gramsci — an advocate of revolution through infiltration. Others come from more traditionally communist groups.
These appointments prove that whether Bernie, or Hillary (or Joe Biden/Elizabeth Warren) prove victorious in the primary, Marxists will set the policy direction for the Democratic Party. No matter who wins, the fix is in for socialism.
Bernie Sanders supporters on the platform committee include:…
Most of these individuals could not pass an FBI background security check to sell you stamps at the Post Office. They would not be allowed to clean the toilets on any military base in this country. Yet they are drafting policies that will shape the lives of more than 300 million Americans.
It is time for loyal Democrats to realize that their party is no longer the party of Harry Truman, or JFK. It has been hijacked at the highest levels by enemies of the US Constitution and American freedom.
[Comment: Democrat Party has benn infiltrated and subverted to such an extent that the Democrat Party = Communist Party aka Rabid Socialist Party.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
3M+ ‘Remain’ Petition Uses ‘Script’ To ‘Fake’ Signatures: 25,000 From North Korea
At least 6 per cent of the signatories, or nearly 200,000 are from foreign countries.
Questions are being raised as to the true number of UK citizens signing a petition to urge another European Union membership referendum as evidence emerged that activists are encouraging foreign signatories. Some critics claim that a “bot” or “script” is being used to automatically generate names and signatories.
As of early Sunday afternoon, over 3.1 million signatures had been registered on the petition named: “EU Referendum Rules triggering a 2nd EU Referendum” which calls for the “Government to implement a rule that if the remain or leave vote is less than 60% based a turnout less than 75% there should be another referendum.”
But an analysis of the data on the petition shows that at least 6 per cent of the signatories, or nearly 200,000 are from foreign countries. While foreign-based UK nationals are allowed to sign UK petitions, some believe that many of these are fraudulent given that Remain activists are handing out post codes online in order to elicit more signatures from abroad.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
French mayor has called for Brussels to ditch its use of the English language after Britain voted to leave the European Union.
English is one of 24 ‘official languages’ of the EU while it is also one of the ‘working languages’ used to conduct every day business.
But Robert Ménard, the mayor of the southern French town of Béziers, believes English now no longer has ‘any legitimacy’ in Brussels in the wake of the Brexit vote.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Brexit Bottom Line: EU Worked for the Elite, But Not for the British People
To listen to the howling and wailing from the political and media elites, you’d think the British people were forcing their government to close all the hospitals and burn all the schools down. The reaction to Britain’s exit from the European Union has been that over-the-top hysterical.
The British Empire survived for many centuries before anyone ever conceived of the EU — which was only established in 1993 — and I think it can probably do just fine once again not being a member of it. But you’d never know it to see the reaction to the Brexit vote. It’s as if no nation ever survived independently without being part of a massively bureaucratic international body that insisted on telling all its member states what policies they were and were not free to adopt.
Political and financial elites have a lot more faith in massive multinational institutions than I do. The EU gives them access to power and influence at very high levels, and they never like it when that influence is diminished — as it certainly is by Brexit’s passage. It’s not as if Lichtenstein pulled out. This is Great Britain. One of the real powers — economically, militarily and culturally — in that part of the world.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Donald Trump has once again spoken out in favour of Brexit, saying the decision to leave the EU will make Britain great again.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee discussed the referendum during a visit to his luxury golf resort in Aberdeenshire, over the weekend.
Hailing Friday’s out vote a success, Trump, 70, said he thought it would lead to the break up of the European Union, adding that continent will be ‘unrecognisable’ without curbs to mass migration.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Civil Uprising Escalates as 8th EU Nation Threatens Referendum
Even before the Brexit result, a poll by Ipsos Mori showed that the majority of people in France and Italy want to at least have a referendum on leaving.
It appears, just as we warned, that Brexit was indeed the first of many dominoes. Even before the Brexit result, a poll by Ipsos Mori showed that the majority of people in France and Italy want to at least have a referendum on leaving:
Meanwhile, over 40% of Swedes, Poles, and Belgians are in the same boat.
But now, as Martin Armstrong notes, Brussels simply went too far. They cross the line moving from an economic union to a political subordination of Europe. Now eight more countries want to hold referendums to exit the EU — France, Holland, Italy, Austria, Finland, Hungary, Portugal, and Slovakia all could leave.
With Hollande’s approval rating at about 11%, and Merkel lucky she is not tarred & feathered, the Front National leader Marine Le Pen has pledged to hold a French referendum. Hollande rejected Le Pen’s call for a refendum today during their meeting; prompting the following from the leader of France’s far-right National Front party:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Europe got another taste of the cultural enrichment it is currently importing when a Muslim man screaming “Allahu Akbar” smashed up a Christian church in Sweden, while the statue of a Saint in Italy was defaced with the same words scrawled in graffiti.
According to Fria Tider, the man broke into St. Paul’s Church in central Malmö Sunday night and smashed window panes.
Police received a call at 3am from locals to report the crime and when they arrived the man immediately tried to attack the officers with a stick, before police were forced to use pepper spray to overpower him.
“Police suspect that the man went to the attack on the church because it is a symbol of the Christian faith,” states the report, noting that there some reports the man also shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the crime.
Skåne police say they are investigating the incident as a “hate crime,” although given Sweden’s ultra-liberal treatment of its Muslim population, don’t expect the culprit to receive a very harsh punishment.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Jean-Claude Juncker Told He Must Now Quit as He is Blamed for Brexit Vote
Former Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker has been blamed by some within Europe for the result of the UK’s EU referendum as was branded a ‘negative symbol’ of federalism.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon Says Sorry for Fraud Letter
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s deputy first minister, has performed a U-turn and publicly apologised for lobbying a sheriff not to imprison a serial benefits fraudster.
Alex Salmond’s number two tried to draw a line under the deepest political crisis of her career by admitting “I did get things wrong and for that I am sorry”.
Opposition leaders welcomed her public act of contrition, but said it contradicted Mr Salmond’s insistence when the scandal broke a fortnight ago that she had done nothing wrong.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: The Truth Behind SNP “Cult’ Leader Nicola Sturgeon
She won last week’s election debate, despite 90 per cent of viewers being unable to vote for her party.
Now Nicola Sturgeon, described by Tory Michael Gove as “the most dangerous woman in Britain”, stands just a few seats away from determining the shape of the country’s government for the next five years.
Come May 8, a strong showing by the SNP could see the nationalists team up with a Labour government, “locking out” the Tories they loathe and leaving them perfectly positioned to make demands of Ed Miliband.
As party chief, Sturgeon, 44, will be the one drawing up those demands, which are likely to include major concessions on the nuclear deterrent and more spending on Scotland.
In front of the camera she has so far shown her softer side. Viewers, particularly women, have warmed to her.
Like her predecessor Alex Salmond she has impressed with her polished debating skills. However, her opponents warn that beneath the coiffured hair and make-up, the real Nicola is a fiercely ambitious street fi ghter who will stop at nothing to realise her dream of breaking up the union.
Independence has long been her dream…
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Traffic Warden Abandoned Her Car in Illegal Parking Space to Ticket Broken Down Driver
Lauretta Wright, 40, was so angry after witnessing the incident in Orpington, south east London, that she photographed the attendant who was pulled over on double yellow lines.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
France Opens Manslaughter Inquiry Into Egyptair Crash
PARIS — French authorities opened a manslaughter inquiry Monday into the May crash of an EgyptAir plane that killed 66 people, saying there is no evidence so far to link it to terrorism.
Prosecutor’s office spokesman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre said the inquiry was launched as an accident investigation, not a terrorism investigation. She said French authorities are “not at all” favoring the theory that the plane was downed deliberately, though the status of the inquiry could eventually change if evidence emerges to that effect.
Investigators decided to start the probe before waiting to analyze the plane’s flight data and voice recorders, based on evidence gathered so far, she said, without elaborating.
EgyptAir Flight 804, an Airbus A320 en route from Paris to Cairo, slammed into the Mediterranean on May 19. The reason for the crash remains unclear. The pilots made no distress call and no group has claimed to have brought down the aircraft.
An Egyptian official at the ministry of civil aviation said Egyptian authorities haven’t been notified of the French prosecutor’s decision and that all scenarios remain on the table.
“There is no evidence that backs up or rules out any of the possible scenarios of what caused the crash, including whether it is a terrorist act or technical problems,” he said.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Blow up Journalists by Packing Their Cameras and Laptops With Explosives
Horrific footage shows the first of five journalists handcuffed to metal railings, in Deir Ezzor, Syria, with a camera hanging around his neck before a device is apparently detonated.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey Mends Fences With Israel, Russia in Foreign Policy Reset
Turkey announced the restoration of diplomatic ties with Israel on Monday after a six-year rupture and expressed regret to Russia over the downing of a warplane, seeking to mend strained alliances and ease a sense of isolation on the world stage.
The deal with Israel after years of negotiation was a rare rapprochement in the divided Middle East, driven by the prospect of lucrative Mediterranean gas deals as well as mutual fears over growing security risks.
“With this agreement, economic relations will start to improve,” Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said of the deal with Israel, echoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said it would have “immense implications” for Israel’s economy.
In his comments following a dinner to break the fast in the holy month of Ramadan, Erdogan also said Turkey aimed for a quick normalisation of ties with Moscow.
“I believe we will normalise our relations with Russia rapidly by ending the existing situation which is not in the interest of both sides,” he said.
The Kremlin earlier said Erdogan had apologised to Vladimir Putin over last year’s shooting down of a Russian air force jet by Turkey’s military, opening the way for Russia to lift economic sanctions…
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Weapons Shipped to Syrian ‘Rebels’ By the CIA and Saudi Arabia Were Used to Kill Americans
Weapons shipped into Jordan for Syrian rebels by the Central Intelligence Agency and Saudi Arabia were stolen by Jordanian intelligence operatives and sold to arms merchants on the black market, the New York Times reported, citing American and Jordanian officials.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Wounded ISIS Fighters Brought to Turkey Hospitals in ‘Pick-Up Trucks’ — Doctors, Eyewitnesses to Rt
Islamic State militants are frequently transported across the Syrian border to Turkish hospitals for treatment, according to eyewitness accounts collected by RT on the ground. Their crossing was allegedly ensured by Turkish officials.
Both Islamic State (IS, previously ISIS/ISIL) and Free Syrian Army fighters were able to cross the border from Syria into Turkey en masse and receive medical help — only to then be allowed to go back to resume fighting in Syria, the head of a local doctors’ association told RT’s Lizzie Phelan.
The injured men were apparently driven right from a “war zone” and doctors often had to deal with things like “grenades falling out of their pockets,” Agca added.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Another Hindu Hacked to Death Again in Roujan, Chittagong During Ramadan in Bangladesh
Now, Hindu Ayurvedic practitioner chopped in Roujan, Chittagong during. Killing the Hindus is now a very easy thing in Islamic Bangladesh!
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
An Australian Islamic State militant involved in a plot to behead a person in Sydney sobbed on the phone to a fellow recruiter as he described the moment he watched his commander die in battle.
A private phone call between IS fighter Mohammad Ali Baryalei, from western Sydney, and Hamdi Al Qudsi were played during the alleged recruiter’s trial in Parramatta District Court on Monday.
Baryalei, who defected to Syria in 2013, said he was desperate to return to Australia and explained to Al Qudsi that he was ‘over’ watching his comrades die in battle, the Daily Telegraph reported…
| — Hat tip: The Observer | [Return to headlines] |
Sydney Lindt Cafe Siege: Police Detail How Man Haron Monis Was Killed
Police shot Lindt cafe gunman Man Haron Monis two to three times in the head but his “massive” injuries make an exact count impossible, an inquest has heard.
Ballistics expert Lucas van der Walt attended a two-day autopsy of Monis’ body, inspecting his internal and external injuries.
Accounting for those injuries and the fact police fired 22 bullets in total, Mr van der Walt said most likely two, but possibly three, intact rounds hit Monis’ head…
| — Hat tip: The Observer | [Return to headlines] |
South African Treasury: Zuma Should Repay $510,000 for Upgrades to Private Residence
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma should pay 7.8 million rand ($510,074) for non-security upgrades to his private Nkandla home, the National Treasury said on Monday.
In a stinging rebuke that hit the scandal-plagued leader financially and politically, the top court in Africa’s most industrialised country in March ordered Zuma to pay back some of the $16 million of state money spent upgrading his private home.
Record unemployment and a looming recession have exacerbated discontent with Zuma’s leadership, ahead of local elections in August. Zuma has managed to hold on to his post with backing from the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which has been in power since the end of white-minority rule in 1994.
The court gave the Treasury 60 days to work out a “reasonable cost”. Zuma has said he would pay back some of the money used to refurbish the Nkandla residence, which is in KwaZulu-Natal province.
On Monday Zuma’s office said it would comment on the Treasury report after studying it.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Number of Refugees Arrested for Terror Higher Than Reported
New data from the Senate Judiciary Committee reveals that 40 refugees have been arrested on terrorism-related charges since 9/11; a number far higher than the State Department’s previous estimate of a dozen.
Clarion Project reported in November 2015 that a little-noticed poll showed that 13% of Syrian refugees express favorable feelings towards the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). The Obama Administration plans to resettle between 8,000 and 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of this year. It is about half way towards that goal, having resettled about 4,000.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The US Military is Coming Apart at the Seams
The idea of allowing transgenders to serve in the military is another catastrophic social engineering concept courtesy of the Marxinist-Leninists in the White House and their dutiful minions in the DoD.
As US Defense Watch has reported before, Gender Identity Disorder is labeled as a mental illness, no matter what left wing advocates believe. Dr. Paul R. McHugh, the former psychiatrist-in-chief for Johns Hopkins Hospital and its current Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry, said that transgenderism is a “mental disorder” that merits treatment, that sex change is “biologically impossible,” and that people who promote sexual reassignment surgery are collaborating with and promoting a mental disorder.
The Pentagon is therefore authorizing personnel with mental disorders to remain on active duty and it is inviting civilians with the illness to enlist as well! Furthermore, the military is going to waste millions in gender reassignment surgeries, when the military is drowning in budgetary and readiness quandaries.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
“In a surprising move, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the downing of a Russian military jet over Turkey last year.”
Erdee has had to eat a big serving of Humble Pie, The Turkish economy has taken a big hit in lost tourism revenue both due to the Russian sanctions and Brits and others staying away due to increased risk of terror attacks from ISIS & PKK.
Tourism, yeah.
I knew a guy at work who is very gay. I’m not even sure how closeted he is, he’s half way open about it. He doesn’t admit it but it only takes a minute for anyone with functioning gaydar to figure him out. Big guy though, he’s a bit of a body builder. Shaved head and dresses like a rodeo clown.
I could care less, more power to him…but…he took a vacation in Turkey a couple or three years ago. He made it back alive with no incident. I wonder if, in his uninformed addled liberal mind he knew how closely he was courting death by Muslim.
Turkey, the former Eastern seat of Christendom. So sad how much has been lost to Islamic expansion, perhaps Constantinople among the greatest of losses. I’m sure it was a nice place once.
Egypt is another example of a popular tourist attraction that is no longer safe due to Muslim extremism. Israel should have just held on to the Sinai. I don’t think Turkey or Egypt have any oil to speak of so they are strangling themselves by this, though Egypt still maintains a reasonable government. Still, being the birthplace of the Muslim Brotherhood is a bit of a detriment. How long before ISIS begins destroying the antiquities of Egypt? The Sphinx is an obvious target. There may come the day one has to go to Las Vegas to see the Sphinx.
Similar concerns have, quite seriously, been raised about Pope Francis.
“Scotland: The Truth Behind SNP “Cult’ Leader Nicola Sturgeon”
Yeah yeah. All very well, except there will be no Labour government, it is in meltdown as I write, and a huge majority of Leave voters were disenfranchised Labour voters who will never vote for them again without a return to their pre identity politics stance. They forgot the workers and are paying the price.
Those are stories about Sturgeon’s background which are well known to some people. And which show you what she is really all about. As you say, there are a lot of former Labour voters who feel betrayed, and who were betrayed, and it cannot just be assumed that those people will vote Labour next time around – or indeed, ever again.
A Fish Called Nicola…
Sturgeon’s performance post Brexit vote has been one of the more interesting. She is racing around calling for new referendums and meetings with EU officials but she may not have the leverage she believes. The chances of the EU even accepting an independent Scotland as a member are not at all clear. Several EU countries with separatist sub populations (Spain for example) would not like that precedent being established. Also the Scots would have to take the Euro currency, which no one seems to be talking about.