A Pakistani immigrant who is on trial in Berlin for multiple sex crimes, including rape, defended himself by saying, “It’s hard for a refugee to get a girlfriend.”
In possibly unrelated news, a German policeman is facing criminal charges for calling Chancellor Angela Merkel insane.
In other news, by its abstention from voting, the United States allowed a UN Security Council resolution to pass demanding that Israel end the building of “settlements” in the West Bank.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Caroline Glick, Dean, JD, LP, Nick, Reader from Chicago, Seneca III, Upananda Brahmachari, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
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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.
Big Banks Agree to Pay $12.5 Billion Just Before Christmas to Settle Crisis Era Toxic Debt Probes
Germany’s largest lender Deutsche Bank and Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse have agreed to pay a collective $12.5 billion to settle litigation stemming from their bundling of risky subprime and Alt-a mortgages during the mid-2000s credit bubble, which resulted in a severe housing collapse, billions of dollars of investor losses and widespread claims of deception.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Greek Parl’t Speaker: EU Hypocritical to Force Austerity on Greece, Ignore Own Refugee Rulings
Greece is once again at odds with its Eurozone lenders, after Athens’ decision to hand out Christmas bonuses to its people caused Brussels to scrap short term debt relief measures. European creditors demand more austerity, while public anger over continued cuts keeps growing.
The refugee crisis is putting extra strain on the Greek economy. As more migrants arrive at its shores, Greece is demanding the EU’s help to deal with a growing number of asylum-seekers. Can Greece contain the escalating tensions at home? And does it risk a new economic meltdown? We ask the Speaker of the Greek Parliament, former Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Star Wars” actress Carrie Fisher was in critical condition Friday after suffering a “cardiac episode” during a flight from London to Los Angeles, according to emergency officials.
Fisher, 60, was rushed to the hospital by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics shortly after noon, after her 11-hour flight touched down at LAX.
A source who was not authorized to discuss the incident said the actress was “in a lot of distress on the flight.”
A statement released by United Airlines said that medical personnel met Flight 935 from London on arrival after the crew reported a passenger was unresponsive.
“Our thoughts are with our customer at this time,” the statement read.
Just prior to arrival, a pilot told the control tower that passengers who were nurses were attending to another “unresponsive” passenger. “So they’re working on her right now,” the pilot said in a public recording of the conversation on liveatc.net….
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
The man accused of fatally shooting 3-year-old Acen King in what police call a “road-rage” incident was upset that the car Acen was riding in was following him too closely, court records said.
Gary Holmes Sr., 33, pleaded not guilty Friday morning, refusing to appear before Little Rock District Court Judge Alice Lightle. He’s being held without bail at the Pulaski County jail, facing one count of capital murder and two counts of committing a terroristic act.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Holmes was driving his girlfriend’s 2007 black Chevrolet Impala shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday on Warren Drive with his girlfriend and another person in the vehicle. Holmes had a semi-automatic pistol resting in his lap, police said.
While driving, Holmes got upset when he thought the car behind him was following too closely, his girlfriend told police. He pulled over and let the car, a maroon Dodge Charger driven by Kim Macon-King, Acen’s grandmother, go past, the affidavit said.
King-Macon, with Acen King and a 1-year-old riding in the backseat, stopped at a stop sign and “sat there for a few minutes,” the affidavit said. Holmes honked for several seconds.
The affidavit said he then got out of the Impala and shot once at the Charger. King-Macon then turned left onto Mabelvale Cutoff while Holmes went right.
When he got back into the car, Holmes said, “That’s what you get for following me around,” police wrote in the affidavit.
The girlfriend, who was unnamed in the affidavit, said they didn’t realize anyone had been shot until Sunday…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Investigations Into Alleged Trump Voter Hate Crimes Stall
Two investigations involving minority women who accused Donald Trump supporters of attacking them last month — one in California and another in Oregon — have stalled because of lack of cooperation or lack of evidence, investigators tell The Daily Caller.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Sympathizer in Phoenix Was Plotting a Lone Wolf Attack
PHOENIX — Investigators say a Phoenix man was plotting a lone wolf attack in support of ISIS.
Derrick Thompson, who also goes by the name Abu Talib Al-Amriki, was arrested by the Arizona Joint Terrorism Taskforce earlier this week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Team Seeks Names of Officials Working to Counter Violent Extremism
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has asked two Cabinet departments for the names of government officials working on programs to counter violent extremism, according to a document seen by Reuters and U.S. officials.
The requests to the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security involve a set of programs that seek to prevent violence by extremists of any stripe, including recruitment by militant Islamist groups within the United States and abroad.
Reuters could not determine why the Trump team asked for these names. The Trump team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump has frequently criticized President Barack Obama for not doing enough to battle Islamic militants and for his refusal to use the term “radical Islam” to describe Islamic State and other militant groups.
Some career officials said they feared the incoming administration may be looking to undo the work that the Obama administration has done on countering violent extremism.
“They’re picking a few issues to ask for people’s names,” said one government official who spoke on condition of anonymity, reflecting wider fears that those who worked on such issues could be marginalized by the new administration…
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Berlin Market Attack Suspect Killed in Shootout in Northern Italy
The suspect in the Berlin Christmas market truck attack was killed in a pre-dawn shoot-out with police in a suburb of the northern Italian city of Milan on Friday, Italy’s interior minister said.
“The man killed was without a shadow of doubt Anis Amri,” Marco Minniti said, referring to the 24-year-old Tunisian who is suspected of driving the truck that smashed through a Berlin market on Monday killing 12 people.
Minniti told reporters that Amri was stopped by two policemen at around 3 a.m. (2200 EDT) in front of the Sesto San Giovanni train station, north of Milan.
When he was asked for his identification papers, Amri pulled a gun and shot one of the two policemen, lightly wounding him in the shoulder. He in turn was then shot dead by the police.
“These two extraordinary, extremely young men, simply by doing their duty, have done an extraordinary service to our community,” Minniti said. One of the two policemen had only just started service and was on his trial period.
A judicial source told Reuters that police had a tip off that Amri might be in the Milan area and that additional patrols had been sent out to look for him.
A rail ticket found on Amri’s body indicated he had traveled by high speed train from France to the northern Italian city of Turin, the source said. Amri then caught a regional train to the Milan suburbs.
Minniti gave very few details of the police operation, saying investigations were still in progress. He added that there could be “future developments”…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Berlin Truck Attack Suspect Shot Dead by Police in Italy
Italian police shot dead the man believed responsible for this week’s Berlin Christmas market truck attack, killing him after he pulled a gun on them during a routine check in the early hours of Friday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Berlin Attack Suspect’s Movements Show Open Borders Must Go: Le Pen and Farage
Leading euroskeptics were quick on Friday to blame open European borders under the Schengen pact for allowing the fugitive sought for the Berlin Christmas market attack to travel into France and on to Italy, where he was stopped and shot dead.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
February Trial Set for Ex-Catalan Chief Artur Mas
The trial of Catalonia’s former separatist chief Artur Mas has been set for February over his role in staging a symbolic independence referendum in 2014, a Spanish court said on Friday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France to Deploy Nearly 100,000 Police and Soldiers Over Christmas Weekend
The French government has confirmed that some 91,000 police, military police, and soldiers will be on duty over the Christmas weekend due to the heightened threat from terrorism.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Cop Faces Criminal Charges for Calling Angela Merkel ‘Insane’
The officer, from the western city of Solingen, could be fined three months’ wages if found guilty of slander.
He is said to have made the comments at an event held by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party earlier this month.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spanish Court Allows Catalonia to Carry Out Foreign Action But Not Establish Bilateral Relations
Barcelona (CNA).- The Catalan Government will be able to continue carrying out foreign action, according to this Friday’s Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) decision. However, the magistrates have warned that establishing bilateral relations is out of Catalonia’s competences and belongs to the Spanish state alone.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Support for Germany’s Far Right AfD Party Soars to One-Year High After Berlin Attack
Support for Germany’s anti-migration AfD party soared to a one-year high of more than 15 percent in the wake of the Berlin truck attack.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Terror Attacks Spur Elevated Public Security in Hungary
Following the attacks in Berlin and Ankara, the Hungarian police are operating an enhanced, and highly visible, presence around the whole country, with a special focus on well-frequented places, such as fairs, markets and malls, according to a press statement issued by the police.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Slams Germany Terrorists in Tweets
President-elect Donald Trump fired off a pair of tweets on Friday targeting the individual who police killed after a manhunt in connection to the Berlin terror attack earlier this week where 12 people were killed when a truck plowed through a Christmas market.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
At least 12 were killed and many more injured, more than a dozen critically, when a truck was driven into crowds of people at a Christmas market in the German capital. Islamic State have claimed responsibility for the act of terror, with police chiefs warning that the country can expect “further significant attacks”.
Following the attack officers, both mounted and on foot, and Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) have been patrolling the Bristol Christmas market in Broadmead, England.
Area commander for Bristol, Chief Superintendent Jon Reilly, confirmed that extra officers have been deployed to prevent ‘hate crime’.
“Following previous terror attacks across mainland Europe we have seen an increase in the number of reported Islamophobic hate crimes in the Avon and Somerset area.
“We have subsequently increased patrols in areas of Bristol which have high footfall in order to provide additional reassurance and to act as a visible deterrent. We also hope it will aid and encourage reporting of any hate crimes or incidents should they occur.
“We want those who are victims of hate crime to feel confident in the belief that we’ll take their reports seriously, protect them and make sure they get all the support they need.
“We’d also like to reassure everyone that we, along with the security and intelligence services, are tirelessly working together to keep you safe.”…
| — Hat tip: Seneca III | [Return to headlines] |
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
Berlin truck terrorist Anis Amri has been shot dead after a gunfight with police in Milan in the early hours of this morning, Italian police have said.
The Tunisian pulled a gun from his backpack, screamed ‘Allahu Akbar’ and opened fire on two officers — hitting one in the shoulder — before being shot dead moments after getting off a train from France.
Amri had been on the run for four days after ploughing a lorry into crowds of revellers enjoying a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday night, killing 12 and maiming dozens of others. ISIS later claimed one of its ‘soldiers’ carried out the atrocity.
The 24-year-old was stopped by a routine police patrol in the suburb of Sesto San Giovanni in the northern Italian city of Milan at about 3am local time.
Two officers asked him for ID documents, at which point Amri ‘immediately’ pulled a gun from his backpack and shot one of the policemen in the shoulder.
A firefight ensued with Amri cowering behind a car as he tried to flee, but the suspect was shot and killed by the other officer — a trainee who had only been in the job a few months.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Caroline Glick: Israel and the Rising New West
US President Barack Obama has but a month left in office. But he has a month left. And he is using it. In the days remaining, Obama is using the full authority of his office to advance his policies with the hope of rendering permanent his mark on American policy.
Domestically, Obama is working to undercut the capacity of his successor, President-elect Donald Trump, to implement his plans of expanding domestic oil and gas exploration and development.
On Tuesday, Obama banned offshore drilling in large swathes of the Artic and Atlantic oceans.
In foreign affairs, Obama has Israel in his crosshairs.
It is now apparent that the lame duck president, bereft of any partisan restraints, intends to make good on his eight years of promises to use his last month in office to stick it to Israel at the UN.
The opening act of Obama’s onslaught on Israel came on Wednesday, with State Department Spokesman John Kirby’s fatuous and unprecedented claim that Israeli communities built beyond the 1949 armistice line — the so-called settlements — are illegal…
| — Hat tip: Caroline Glick | [Return to headlines] |
UN Demands End to Israeli Settlements After US Abstains
United Nations (United States) (AFP) — The UN Security Council demanded that Israel halt settlements in Palestinian territory, after the United States refrained from vetoing a resolution condemning its closest Middle East ally.
In a rare and momentous step, the United States instead abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.
Applause broke out in the chamber after the text was passed with support from all remaining members of the 15-member council.
The landmark move by the Security Council came despite an effort led by Israel and backed by US President-elect Donald Trump to block the text.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately rejected the UN resolution and slammed the outgoing administration of President Barack Obama for refusing to veto it.
“Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.
“The Obama administration not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN, it colluded with it behind the scenes,” it said.
“Israel looks forward to working with President-elect Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution.”
Trump reacted after the vote by promising change at the world body after he takes office next month…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Dalit Minority Girls Are Victim of Modern Slavery Through Every Persecution in Islamic Pakistan
‘They always choose the prettiest’: How Hindu and Christian girls are enslaved for debt payment in Pakistan under Islamic persecution.
AP | Mirpur Khas (Pakistan) | Dec 23, 2016:: The girl called Jeevti was just 14 when she taken from her family in the night to be married off to a man who says her family owed him $1,000.
Her mother, Ameri Kashi Kohli, is sure that her daughter paid the price for a never-ending debt.
Ameri says she and her husband borrowed roughly $500 when they first began to work on the land, but she throws up her hands and says the debt was repaid.
It’s a familiar story here in southern Pakistan: Small loans balloon into impossible debts, bills multiply, payments are never deducted.
In this world, women like Ameri and her young daughter are treated as property: taken as payment for a debt, to settle disputes, or as revenge if a landowner wants to punish his worker. Sometimes parents, burdened by an unforgiving debt, even offer their daughters as payment.
The women are like trophies to the men. They choose the prettiest, the young and pliable. Sometimes they take them as second wives to look after their homes. Sometimes they use them as prostitutes to earn money. Sometimes they take them simply because they can.
“I went to the police and to the court. But no one is listening to us,” says Ameri, who is Hindu. She says the land manager made her daughter convert to Islam and took the girl as his second wife. “They told us, ‘Your daughter has committed to Islam and you can’t get her back.”…’
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
Germany to Speed Up Repatriation of Failed Tunisian Asylum Seekers — Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that her cabinet wants to accelerate the repatriation procedures for failed asylum seekers from Tunisia. Her statement follows the Berlin Christmas market attack allegedly carried out by a Tunisian national
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Migrant Rapist Case in Berlin — ‘It’s Hard for a Refugee to Get a Girlfriend’
A PAKISTANI migrant who travelled across Europe to get to Germany has defended himself against five counts of sex assault by declaring “it’s hard to get a girlfriend if you are a refugee”.
Asif M, 26, appeared in Berlin Regional Court, where he read out a statement trying to explain the attacks.
The prosecution accuses him of having raped a young woman and committed five more sexual assaults. Asif M confirms most of the attacks between April 29 and July 25.
Prosecutors say he approached lone women in the street and told them it was his birthday.
When the women rejected him he pounced, it is alleged.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland: Syrian Asylum Seeker Who Escaped Jail With Guard Lover Caged Again
Hassan Kiko was found guilty of rape and sexual coercion of a 15-year-old girl by Switzerland’s supreme court after being sentenced to four years behind bars a year ago.
But the vile sex attacker was not given extra time for escaping the confines of prison with his prison guard partner.
Kiko broke free with the help of Angela Magdicic in early February after the two are believed to have fallen in love from opposing sides of his cell door.
The two escaped to Italy where they posted videos confessing their love for one another before being arrested just two months after their great escape.
But Kiko will not face any extra time after it was revealed Ms Magdicic was the mastermind behind the escape…
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland Should Build Trump-Style Wall on Italian Border Says MP
SWITZERLAND should build a huge wall along its border with Italy to keep out “refugees and criminal tourists”, an MP has said.
Heinz Brand of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) proposed the plans for a Donald Trump-style wall on Wednesday.
He called on the Swiss government to immediately establish a legal basis for setting up “border-tightening systems”.
Mr Brand said the wall would be intended to stop refugees “first and foremost”, but added: “It could also stop criminal tourists.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“A Pakistani immigrant who is on trial in Berlin for multiple sex crimes, including rape, defended himself by saying, “It’s hard for a refugee to get a girlfriend.”
I understand. Back in Pakistan things were so much simpler. Just kidnap that Christian or Hindu 12 year old girl, problem solved.
He is probably well aware by now that he is dealing with a new irrational kufar type who are very accommodating depending on how stupid the story you make up is.
You have one of the best nics I’ve run across in a while. Bim Beau, indeed! Or should it be “Bim Belle”?
Lol. Thank you. Either one. Or, hows about “Bim Belle” and her beau “El Beau”? “Belle” and “Beau”. “Elle et El the air hostess. Gotta go!
A happy, peaceful Christmas (and Hannukah) to all here.
From me, too.
And me!
A PAKISTANI migrant who travelled across Europe to get to Germany has defended himself against five counts of sex assault by declaring “it’s hard to get a girlfriend if you are a refugee”.
Are there no goats in Germany?
I doubt any real goat would allow one of these Muslim savages get close enough to get ally ak barred”. The long night of the soul has nothing on the self made demons rising from the western spiritual void. What happened to lucid living? No wait – don’t answer that.
Ever seen the movie ‘Munich’? Obama ought to watch it. Mossad will know where to find him.
‘During a press conference on Tuesday, Mrs Merkel said she was “shocked and very saddened” by the events in the German capital.’
Really? Merkel’s New World Order, where victims (Muslims) will overturn their oppressors (white populists) is being to look a bit shaky.
Your days are numbered Merkel and your end might be the biggest surprise of all!
What is the difference a kaffir and an onion?A muslim cries when he cuts an onionMERRY CHISTMASS
I can hardly wait to see Merkel leave the world stage. She has been a disaster in so many ways and yet the Germans voted her in twice if I remember correctly.
Stupid in Hitler’s day and stupid today. Not all of them, of course. But enough to wreak havoc on their country.
“Mysterious guardian man standing first and always with his Muslim brethren and Creator of ISIS” was voted in twice.
Prophecy was fulfilled by the UN vote, or at least the two-minute warning of it. Israel has been totally deserted by the world and is for all intents and purposes, all alone.
I wouldn’t hold my breath about Trump being any help, he is facing calls for impeachment due to non-divestiture of business holdings even before he is inaugurated.
Merry Christmas and God bless us, everyone.
“A masked man parading an ISIS flag has filmed himself walking straight across the German border as he taunts officials over the non-existent security checks.
The uploader, calling himself Vlad Tapes, said he published the video ‘to show how pathetic the border is’ between the two countries.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4064256/Stupid-dangerous-Masked-man-parading-SIS-flag-films-walking-straight-German-border-taunts-officials-non-existent-security-checks.html#ixzz4ToJvk8yx
Vlad Tapes
Note the spelling, as opposed to Vlad Tepes
Actually, Vlad Tepes does have the link about the man testing the German border from the Danish side.
However, since the EU is supposed to have no borders, well, how would the German border be controlled?