Monthly Archives: November 2016

Thanks for Mercies Past Received

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This post is a confluence between Thanksgiving Day and the wrap-up of our Autumn Fundraiser.

The red bench in the photo above has now been dusted with snow — an adumbration of things to come, since our next fundraiser will be Winter 2017, sometime in the frigid days after the beginning of the new year.

We have a lot to be thankful for at the moment. Perhaps the single biggest cause for gratitude is that we won’t have eight years of President Hillary (or more likely, a year or so of the Empress, followed by ten years of Kommie Kaine) to look forward to. I also thank the Lord for the soon-to-be-realized opportunity to use the phrase “former President Obama”. What a pleasure that will be! It was a long eight years, but we made it.

And our just-completed bleg gives us ample additional reason to be thankful: despite the fact that Dymphna’s travails kept us from doing a fresh post every day, donors showed up with heartening regularity. It seems that the compact format of this fundraiser didn’t inhibit donations all that much, if at all.

So thank you all for showing up. And thank you also for contributing to the comments — that was another unexpected side effect of the unitary fundraiser: a far larger response than usual in the comments.

Below is the final list of places from which donations came (giving me the opportunity to show off my new software for breaking out Australian states and Canadian provinces).

Update Nov. 25 1:30pm: Alaska just sent in a gift, thereby adding another state to the list:

Stateside: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming

Near Abroad: Mexico

Far Abroad: Croatia, Germany, India, Israel, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Thailand, and the UK

Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan

Australia: Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

The most apt description of the kind of fundraising we do here came up in the comments on a different post, a translated op-ed from Switzerland about the recent American presidential election. The comment in question was a response to another commenter named scherado, who had been addressing the author of the op-ed, Markus Somm:

Mr Somm, I appreciate your perspective.

I, the non-journalist, perceive that government by the people — parliamentary, constitutional, representative republic, and so on— can NOT function properly WITHOUT a proper press. You have stated very well the illness.

Will someone suggest the remedy, any remedy?

Our Israeli correspondent MC weighed in with a reply:

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Final Day: A Unitary Autumn Fundraiser 2016

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Final update: Wednesday’s locations have been added to the bottom of this post.

This was the “sticky” autumn fundraiser post. It was originally published on November 17 and was on top for a week.

Scroll down to see items that have been posted since this post went up. So far today it’s been Geert Wilders’ magnificent final statement in his trial. I hope that one goes viral.

Also, Bazzam came back this evening, but this time he spelled his name “Bassam”. Y’all may want to have discussions with him in the comments, but please be civil. He says he’s not a troll.

Tuesday’s update

(Last update before bedtime — the list of Tuesday’s locations is now at the bottom of this post.)

I’m posting tonight’s update a little early in order to share the words of a commenter named Bazzam, who said:

Sounds all bull to get more tips in the jar.

We all have health issues. You use it to milk your readers.

Ducks an hens

If you’re interested, Dymphna’s response is here.

Dymphna and I want to take a quick poll: Do you think we’re using her health issues to milk our readers? Please let us know. And don’t hesitate to give us your unvarnished opinion — we’re grownups; we can take it.

Also: does anyone know what “Ducks an hens” means? It looks like Cockney or Strine rhyming slang to me. Remember: if it’s slang for something obscene, don’t give us the exact meaning — be creative in your euphemism.

Also: Many thanks to WRSA for sending readers over here. Welcome, firearms enthusiasts!

There will be another update after midnight.

Tuesday’s update from Dymphna

The Baron neglected to tell you the story of that picture. It’s our driveway, about a third of a mile from there to the state road. It was originally a horse-and-cart or mule-and-cart road leading up from the creek, which is another half-mile in the other direction. That part of the road (behind our house. This photo shows where it resumes in front of us) is overgrown now. But they both have existed since at least the end of the Civil War, when freed blacks had a small gathering of houses around the creek. As people prospered and moved on, the cabins they left behind gradually returned to the soil. You can see shallow, hand-dug wells here and there in the woods which grew up to cover the remains.

During the winter the Baron gets his exercise by keeping the road in repair. He hauls wheelbarrow loads of gravel to the potholes left by the UPS truck and other heavy vehicles; or he digs out the drains he set up in the low places many years ago. Those channels allow water to escape down into the draw where the clearance for the electric line was made. The driveway looks like a dirt track but that path is Virginia clay underneath with decades of slate gravel laid over it. In various places on the road you can see large river rocks: someone from generations ago hauled the smoothed stones here to this plateau, coming up from the river a few miles away and steeply downhill from here.

That road is the place where I walk when I can. One year a red-tailed hawk used to fly ahead of me whenever I ventured out. Maybe he thought I could lead him to some voles or rabbits?

There is a stand of wood pears on the right, just past that bend. It didn’t fruit this year (an inopportune frost killed the peaches and the Bartletts, too), but when it does bear we are blessed with lots of spherical-shaped, medium-size “pears” – a bit gritty but with a wonderful flavor. I wonder if they’re Asian pears that escaped cultivation? Unlike real pears, you don’t pick them early and let them ripen in the house. Instead, they hang on the tree and fall when almost fully ripe, usually in late October. If you’re made of stern stuff and can hold off eating them, let them ripen in the refrigerator until they’re a deep golden color. Nectar on a stem!


Box turtle eating a wood pear

I love that road. Walking its length I contemplate those who came before, their immense (to me) labors in hauling river rock up here to fill some large declivities near where another path (now disused and barely discernable unless it snows) used to branch off. We are but two people in a long line of human beings who have walked here – and will continue to do so when we’re gone. I hope they tend it as carefully as the Baron has.

— D

NOTE:

We are nearing the end of the autumn fundraiser. This post has been “sticky” since last Thursday. Scroll down to see items that have been put up since then.

Tip jarLate this afternoon and this evening I neglected the work I really should have been doing while I read Trump-related news and watched Trump-related videos. I have to keep pinching myself — how could this stuff actually be happening?

Tonight Donald Trump told the elite effete nattering nabobs of the bicoastal MSM to f*** off and die!

This kind of news is not good for people of my advanced age. It’s too exciting — I might bust a gall bladder or something while reading it.

Mr. Trump has taken hold of the political establishment and is shaking it until its back teeth rattle.

I love it.

Concerning Dymphna’s condition since her fall a week ago: she woke up feeling much better this morning, and had a good day today (yesterday, really — Monday). The pain under her ribs is much reduced. She decided not to go to the doctor, but to have a phone consultation instead. She’ll let you know more about that later.

Yesterday’s donor locations have been appended to the bottom of this post. We got a gift from someone in Western Australia for the first time since I wrote my new software.

The response of our readers has been very encouraging. Many thanks to everyone who made the tip cup clink!

Monday’s update

Dymphna’s pains from her fall have been migrating in a disconcerting fashion. She says that the most painful area, which was originally associated with the place where her ribs impacted with the floor, has moved around several times, and has finally settled in its current spot, under her ribs in the upper right quadrant of her abdomen. The only way she can get comfortable is to lie down with a heating pad on that spot. Then she says she feels OK.

I’ll be taking her back to the doctor tomorrow, if she can get an appointment. She doesn’t want an X-ray, but she says she needs medical advice.

The fundraiser is still ticking along at a gratifying rate. Many thanks to all of you generous folks out there. I believe yesterday was the first time we’ve ever had a donor from Lithuania — scroll down to the bottom of this post for the full list of donor locations.

Sunday’s Update

A brief word about Melania Trump — I can’t remember whether there was an item in the news feed about it, but as you all know, one or more famous Paris couturiers have refused to design any clothes for First-Lady-in-waiting Melania Trump. They are calling for a boycott of Mrs. Trump by their fellow couturiers.

I think it’s safe to say that most American men would support this action. They’re willing to accept that Mrs. Trump may have to go unclothed for the sake of social justice.

Thank you all for your continuing support! The response to our drive for donations has been phenomenal, especially considering that we haven’t been able to do a full essay for each day of the fundraiser.

Dymphna is recovering from her recent misfortunes, but some of the painful areas seem to have become discontented with their surroundings and migrated to new locations. So she’s still hurting…

The breakdown of locations (for donors, not Dymphna’s pains) is at the bottom of this post. My newly-written software was able to recognize Newfoundland and add it to the list of donor locations coming from the Frozen North.

Also: I’m not sure, but I think this may be the first time we’ve ever had a gift from Singapore.

Saturday’s update

Dymphna is still on the mend. She says she appreciates all the prayers and good wishes that readers have been sending her ways.

As we move into Day Three, the fundraising is going well. A lot of our “old regulars” have showed up, and we really appreciate the repeated generosity.

Continue reading →

Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/23/2016

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The European Union has evacuated its immigrant services staff from the Greek islands, due to increasing unrest in the migrant camps. Migrants are now unable to cross to the mainland, and have taken to rioting and burning down the camps in protest.

In other news, Norbert Hofer, the FPÖ candidate in next month’s Austrian presidential election, says that he may push for a referendum on continued EU membership if Brussels decides to increase centralization in the wake of Brexit.

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

Thanks to AF, Insubria, JD, Reader from Chicago, 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.

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Tommy Robinson in Israel

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As mentioned here several times last week, Tommy Robinson recent spent ten days in Israel exploring different areas of the Jewish State. Brian of London of London was his guide and driver during the trip, and wrote the following report.

There are also several videos of Tommy in Israel that I haven’t got to yet; I hope to post them later.

Tommy Robinson in Israel
by Brian of London

Tommy Robinson flew back to Luton from Israel: he was immediately asked by the UK Border Agency how he came to be pictured standing on an Israeli Merkava IV tank, holding a loaded M16 automatic rifle in the Israeli Golan heights. There’s pretty much nothing Tommy can do without the UK authorities taking an interest.

I wanted to give Tommy an understanding of what Israel means for Jews. It’s personal. When I moved to Israel eight years ago from the UK, it immediately felt like my home. I wanted him to get a taste for the strength of the Jewish indigenous connection to the land. How the land has shaped Jewish culture and how Jews have brought this land back to vibrant life. I also wanted to give him a view of the real borders of living Zionism.

Tommy has a history of both facing up to militant Islam in his home town of Luton and adamantly rejecting the far-right. This rejection sends the far-right into a rage, who feel he should be their ally in a fight against Islam at home. But Tommy is clearly not anti-immigration (and the EDL in his time never made a big issue of it). He’s against un-assimilating Islamic immigration, and he’s completely colour blind.

Israel is poorly understood by so many. Tommy has been fighting against Islamisation in the UK for so long he already knew hatred of Israel — which almost always included hatred of Jews — was an absolute bedrock feature of the Islamic ideology he sees in Britain today. Anti-Israel demonstrations, including expressions of support for terrorist organisations who deliberately target Israeli citizens, is common and open on British streets. Expressions of support for Palestinians seem more often than not to be straight denunciations of Jewish Israel’s right to exist.

From the other side far-right notions of a global “Zionist control” infect white nationalist groups (and parts of the alt-right). These berate Jews for having returned home, fought against Arabs and the British and displaced what they wrongly see as the “indigenous Palestinians” in 1948 and again in 1967. Even while these groups show intense dislike for Islam and lurch into anti-Muslim bigotry in their own countries, they still align themselves with the Islamic mythology which places Muslim Arabs as indigenous people of Israel despite almost no concrete ties to the land of Israel. In contrast, Jewish ties to the land are to be found at every turn in Israel.

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Geert Wilders: “I Had to Give up my Freedom to do This, and I Will Continue”

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Below is Geert Wilders’ final statement in court today, subtitled in English. The full English transcript is available here.

News about Mr. Wilders’ words will be suppressed in the Netherlands. It will most likely be reported minimally, if at all. Most Dutch people will not hear the full speech or read the entire text unless they follow the alternative media.

For that reason, I recommend that everyone propagate this English-language version. Mirror the video; post the text on blogs and forums. This will ricochet back into the Netherlands eventually — almost all the Dutch understand English — and help awaken Mr. Wilders’ countrymen to what is being done to him, and to them.

Geert Wilders: “My Voice is the Voice of Many”

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Geert Wilders made his final statement at his trial for “hate speech” in a high-security courtroom at Schiphol in the Netherlands today. His words remind me of these lines by Walt Whitman:

I do not say these things for a dollar,
                or to fill up the time while I wait for a boat;
It is you talking just as much as myself — I act as the tongue of you;
Tied in your mouth, in mine it begins to be loosen’d.

Below is the English translation of Mr. Wilders’ statement.

Final Statement of Geert Wilders at his Trial, 23 Nov. 2016

Mr. President, Members of the Court,

When I decided to address you here today, by making a final statement in this trial against freedom of speech, many people reacted by telling me it is useless. That you, the court, have already written the sentencing verdict a while ago. That everything indicates that you have already convicted me. And perhaps that is true. Nevertheless, here I am. Because I never give up. And I have a message for you and The Netherlands.

For centuries, The Netherlands has been a symbol of freedom.
Who one says “Netherlands”, one says “freedom”. And that is also true, perhaps especially, for those who have a different opinion than the establishment, the opposition.
And our most important freedom is freedom of speech.
We Dutch say whatever is close to our hearts.
And that is precisely what makes our country great.
Freedom of speech is our pride.
And that, precisely that, is at stake here today.

I refuse to believe that we are simply giving this freedom up.
Because we are Dutch. That is why we never mince our words.
And I, too, will never do that. And I am proud of that. No-one will be able to silence me.

Moreover, members of the court, for me personally, freedom of speech is the only freedom I still have. Every day, I am reminded of that. This morning, for example. I woke up in a safe house. I got into an armored car and was driven in a convoy to this high security courtroom at Schiphol. The bodyguards, the blue flashing lights, the sirens. Every day again. It is hell. But I am also intensely grateful for it.

Because they protect me, they literally keep me alive, they guarantee the last bit of freedom left to me: my freedom of speech. The freedom to go somewhere and speak about my ideals, my ideas to make The Netherlands — our country — stronger and safer. After twelve years without freedom, after having lived for safety reasons, together with my wife, in barracks, prisons and safe houses, I know what lack of freedom means.

I sincerely hope that this will never happen to you, members of the court.
That, unlike me, you will never have to be protected because Islamic terror organizations, such as Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and ISIS — and who knows how many individual Muslims — want to murder you. That you will no longer be allowed to empty your own mailbox, need to carry a bulletproof vest at meetings, and that there are police officers guarding the door whenever you use the bathroom. I hope you will be spared this.

However, if you had experienced it — no matter how much you disagree with my views — you might perhaps understand that I cannot remain silent. That I should not remain silent. That I must speak. Not just for myself, but for The Netherlands, our country. That I need to use the only freedom that I still have to protect our country. Against Islam and against terrorism. Against immigration from Islamic countries. Against the huge problem with Moroccans in The Netherlands. I cannot remain silent about it; I have to speak out. That is my duty, I have to address it, I must warn about it, I have to propose solutions for it.

I had to give up my freedom to do this and I will continue. Always. People who want to stop me will have to murder me first.

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Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/22/2016

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A German court has ruled that Muslim zealots who patrol the streets wearing “Sharia Patrol” vests are not violating any laws. The case grew out of the actions of the notorious convert Sven Lau and his supporters, who patrolled the streets of Wuppertal watching for sharia violations.

In other news, Donald Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said in a television interview that when her boss becomes president, he will not pursue legal charges against Hillary Clinton for her handling of classified emails.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, 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.

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Journalism Abolishes Itself

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This excellent Swiss take on the American presidential election was published last week in the Basler Zeitung. The author examines the reasons why virtually every media outlet, every pundit, every journalist, every expert — on both sides of the Atlantic — got it so wrong in the weeks leading up to the election.

Many thanks to JLH for the translation:

A Profession Abolishes Itself

by Markus Somm
November 12, 2016

Trump and the consequences. Why didn’t the journalists see it coming?

As it is in a cult — The reporters didn’t detect it, because they didn’t want to.

If there are losers from this insane election in America, who do not live in America, but in London, Paris, Zurich, Berlin or Munich, and who populate the appropriate cafés, where the familiar vintage scent can be savored, where bearded young men usually sit and are busy searching their I-Phones, although they really have nothing to do, where there are no books to be seen — just laptops — If there are losers, it is these people (predominantly men) of whom I am speaking, who are also sitting here — mostly without beards, in suits but no tie, pursuing the same profession as I: the international community of journalists. Seldom have the interpreters and opinion-makers suffered such a defeat as in the election of Donald J. Trump to be president of the United States — the man who from the start refused to be afraid of the media.

According to a study by the Center for Public Integrity — an independent think-tank, American journalists donated $396,000 in the presidential election. $382,000 or 96% went to Hillary Clinton. Almost all of the newspapers and news websites in America declared for the Democratic candidate. Almost all television sources followed suit even if not officially, and even conservative Fox News was split. And of course in Europe, where the media are even more in agreement on almost every subject, Hillary was the choice.

If only that were all. A mistake was made, someone was wrong. You’re allowed to make a mistake. Harsher and more unpleasant is the admission no journalist can make. We have no influence — or rather, we do have influence — everybody hears us, but no one believes what we say.

In the Cult

The international cult of journalists could console themselves that it was just about opinions that did not apply; that opinions were less important than facts and reports. But the media also distorted, ignored, suppressed, invented or falsely presented the facts. For example, the polls, which most journalists did not merely believe, but bore aloft before them like a monstrance. Anyone who doubted these prognoses was regarded as a member of the Flat Earth Society. There was a memorable exchange between Brianna Keilar, a CNN reporter, and Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s lawyer.

Keilar said, almost cheerfully: “You guys are down.”

“Says who?” answered Cohen, and his face was as readable as a steel plate — as only American lawyers can do it.

“Polls. Most of them. All of them!”

Cohen was quiet for a long time, then: “Says who?”

“Polls. I just answered your question,” and now she sounded a little desperate.

“Which polls?”

“All of them.”

This sequence spread like lightning in the internet. Countless variations popped up, making fun of Cohen — the supposed idiot. But who was right? Who is laughing best? The same is true of the fact-checkers — a new profession in America, in which people claim to be testing facts for their truth content. A closer look reveals that these people, too, are not neutral or objective, Many of their judgments — delivered with the serious mien of a physicist — are based on their preferences, and these are almost always in favor of Hillary Clinton.

The Normative Power of the Factual?

If this election has made anything clear, it is the undependability of the media. It happened to me, too. Often, when some statement of Trump had brought every editorial office on the East Coast into vibration, the only thing I could do was to listen to the original interview. Almost invariably, Trump’s words had been repeated inexactly, if not incorrectly, or exaggerated maliciously. When there was any doubt, the most negative possible interpretation was chosen. In short, whatever it took to stop this man — no holds barred. Editorials, opinions, pictures, quotations, reports, facts — much too much was bent, manipulated, twisted and squeezed, until reality appeared as it was predicted that it should be. The normative power of the factual? Rather, it was the factual effect of the normative. Not what is, but what ought to be, had become what was.

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Geert Wilders May Be Docked €5,000

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As most of you already know, Geert Wilders is currently on trial in the Netherlands for “hate speech”. The case against him (and the near-certainty of a conviction) is a farrago of justice. Calling it a kangaroo court actually insults the marsupial community.

Our Dutch correspondent H. Numan has the latest on the Wilders trial.

Geert Wilders may be docked €5,000

by H. Numan

Thursday 17 November was a day that won’t live in infamy. Why? Because hardly a soul know what happened, nor will they ever. The media blockade of the current Wilders trial is almost total. Yes, they do report about it. In as miserly a fashion as they can get away with. They report that the prosecutor presented his demand for a €5,000 fine. And that the maximum fine is €20,500. So the prosecutor could have demanded a lot more.

What you don’t hear about is really disturbing. If Wilders is convicted, anyone can be charged for whatever reason the politically correct establishment fancies at that particular moment. Today Moroccans are a race, tomorrow mohammedans, and next week anyone who doubts global warming.

Prosecutor Wouter Bos (no relation to the former PvdA leader) contorted the definition of ‘race’ to fit his needs. According to his very elaborate (190 pages) charge he came up with the construction that Moroccans are to be seen as a race. Therefore, he considers Wilders guilty of inciting racial hatred. His demand is a fine of €5,000. The next day, mr.* Knoops, the lawyer representing Geert Wilders made mincemeat of his charge.

A week earlier prof. Paul Cliteur was asked by the defense as a witness. I don’t know what prof. Paul Cliteur said because when he was giving his testimony it wasn’t on TV. Why? Apparently, they guy who had the key to the media box (with the transmission equipment) was too late. Something like that. Sorry folks, just a technical hiccup. These things happen. Especially when a prominent lawyer who is not a fan of Wilders is going to say why this trial is a political farce. The NPO broadcasts the whole trial live, but only the parts they like.

Paul Cliteur was the only person who dared to testify. More people were asked to testify, and they all declined. They fear for their jobs, positions, media and outright terrorism. Not from the mohammedans, but rather from left-wing activists. Having your car torched and your family harassed is the least they can expect.

That both prof. Cliteur and mr. Knoops made mincemeat of the proceeding is irrelevant. The court decides. That court is highly biased against Wilders. The chair of the court is mr. Elianne van Rens. She is the only judge in The Netherlands who openly and on TV supported the prosecution in the previous trial, and didn’t agree with the outcome. She was removed from an earlier trial, as she was too biased to judge. She, as well as the two other judges, are card-carrying members of D66. That party is by far the most outspoken and vocal against Wilders and the PVV. Mr. Knoops asked mr. Elianne to be removed from this trial, as she is very much biased against Wilders.

Especially after she clearly dismissed the testimony of Prof. Paul Cliteur. He is a professor of law, lecturing at Leiden University. He was asked by the defense to elaborate on the legal consequences of prosecuting Geert Wilders. During his testimony Mr. Elianne made it as obvious as possible that she didn’t agree with him at all. Which is a definite no-no for any judge in any court. The request was — of course — denied. After all, this is a political trial. Wilders must be convicted. No matter how flimsy the arguments are.

And flimsy it is, not to say ironic. With almost sadistic pleasure I notice that the most virulent anti racists have changed into the most revolting racists. There are no different human “races”. There is only one: the human race. No white, black, blue or whatever race. Racial theories are not scientific, but pseudo-scientific. Science established that fact long time ago. But now all of a sudden we do have a race: the Moroccan race. Why? Because Wilders must be convicted. I’m no scholar in law, but Mr. Bos made a beginner’s mistake: he uses nationality as if it were a race. That will only work in a kangaroo court, which this is. The argumentation is wafer thin. In a real court of law — this is not — a judge would have cautioned the prosecution not to continue on this line. For two reasons: first of all, a real judge does not want to be embarrassed like that, and second: it will almost certainly be rejected on appeal.

What worries me most of all is the silence around this trial. It’s the most important trial of this century. Why? Because freedom of speech is on trial, and it looks very much it’s going to lose. The €5,000 doesn’t worry me. Wilders can withdraw that easily from an ATM machine. He makes a lot more than that (well deserved!). It’s not the fine that matters. It’s the precedent. When Wilders is convicted, we have no longer freedom of speech. The Netherlands will then join the not-so-illustrious ranks of Cuba, North Korea and Zimbabwe.

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Viktor Orbán: “We Do Not Accept the Diktat of Brussels”

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán paid a visit to Serbia yesterday for an intergovernmental summit with his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vučić.

The following video contains brief excerpts from the joint press conference held after the meeting by the two prime ministers, at which Mr. Orbán made some notable remarks about mass immigration.

Many thanks to CrossWare for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Below is an article from ANSAMed about Mr. Orbán’s visit to Serbia:

Orbán Says Won’t Accept Brussels ‘Diktat’ On Migrant Policy

Says can’t allow migrant influx to change face of Hungary

(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, NOVEMBER 21 – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said his country doesn’t agree with EU migrant policy and won’t accept the ‘diktat’ of Brussels on migrants, during a joint press conference on Monday with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.

Orbán said he can’t let the influx of migrants and refugees change the life and face of a country.

He was in Nis, in southern Serbia, for an intergovernmental summit between the two countries.

Orbán said Hungary is open to all Serbian citizens who “come to work, invest, and visit the country”.

Video transcript:

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Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/21/2016

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According to sources who were at the scene, guards hired by a subcontractor for the State Department turned on U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and participated in the jihad attack that killed him. The latest evidence shows that guards employed by a company known as Blue Mountain Group were associated with Al Qaeda and other “extremist” groups that attacked the American consulate in Benghazi on September 11, 2012.

In other news, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said that the handing out of Korans by Salafist groups should be banned in Austria.

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

Thanks to AF, C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Nick, Reader from Chicago, RR, Vlad Tepes, 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.

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Bypassing the MSM Meanies

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Earlier today Donald Trump had a meeting at Trump Tower with some of the top talking heads in the mainstream media. It was an off-the-record conference with about forty perps in attendance. In other words, there were plenty of leakers to let out the news that was supposed to be kept confidential. Given the chance, those perps in the MSM leak like sieves. No doubt Mr. Trump was depending on their lack of integrity. Good call.

The New York Post called it a “[redacted] firing squad” with Trump in charge of the microphone and the artillery. He probably let off the steam built up over the last year or more, a long march in which he endured their mockery, lies, and dissimulations.

But here’s another metaphor, a paraphrase from Clint Eastwood: those cynical, manipulative, overpaid and unlearned shell-game hucksters were forced to look on while Donald Trump ate their lunch, right down to the parsley garnish.

Of course, The New York Times, being royalty and all, is having its own private meeting with Mr. Trump tomorrow. I doubt he will be any kinder to NYT’s publisher than he was to the Clinton News Network and the rest of that gaggle.

Here’s his message to the American people, sans any media spin on his words:

What’s not to love? My only reservation is about the reality of being able to bring steel manufacturing back to American soil. I look forward to seeing how he plans to do it. I hope the nay-sayers who claim it’s too late to do it now are proved wrong. But the rest of it all sounds like music from the heavenly spheres.

Readers, line ’em up and choose your favorite promise. The first of mine is how he plans to reduce regulations. And if he was taking aim at the H-1B visa scam in his remarks, good on ’im. That particular thorn in our collective backside, the one which has deprived educated citizens of gainful employment, may be about to bite the dust. If that does transpire, then Trump has a special place reserved in the American pantheon.

Those proposals particularly aimed at draining the swamp are an excellent start. I wonder if he will accomplish them with his pen or do it more slowly and permanently via proposals presented to Congress. If they don’t vote for integrity… well, be sure to see which way your senators and your congressional representative vote on the swamp-draining. Either they are for the American people, or they’re in cahoots with the vested interests that keep them in power.

For a loss almost as stunning as Trump’s victory, see Eric Cantor’s fall from power in the 2014 elections. He was probably the most powerful man in Congress at the time, but due to his terminal hubris, Cantor lost to a nobody, a lowly economics professor. The very idea remained inconceivable to the Bubble People even after it was an accomplished fact.

Looking back, one could term Cantor’s so-called “stunning” defeat an adumbration of things to come in the following year, when Donald Trump began exploring the possibility of entering the race for president in 2016.

If you access the story of Cantor’s travail as seen through the eyes of the blind New York Times you’ll notice a related story on the sidebar entitled, “Why Did Cantor Lose? Not Easy to Explain”. Now there is a pluperfect example of those who have eyes and will not see. His defeat is/was a simple calculus: Cantor lost because he ignored what concerned his constituents — e.g., immigration — and treated his opponent with contempt. Only someone in The Bubble would have trouble parsing the reasons for Cantor’s ignominious defeat. It was a loss that induced such bitterness that he stomped out of Congress before his term was up, taking a big-time lobbying job making millions. Cantor’s trajectory represents everything Americans have come to loathe about Washington’s “power politics”.

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A Wannabe Marine Le Pen

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The following video is evidence of how much Marine Le Pen and the Front National have put the fear of God (or Moloch, or whatever it is the “center-right” politicians worship in France) into the party of Nicolas Sarkozy.

In the recent Republican Party primary, Mr. Sarkozy was pushed out of the running for next year’s presidential election by François Fillon. Some excerpts from Mr. Fillon’s remarks are below. Whether he can successfully rip off the energy of Marine Le Pen remains to be seen.

Many thanks to Ava Lon for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Transcript:

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