A 26-year-old “Islamist” in Germany has been arrested for building a bomb in his home. The alleged radical extremist was allegedly planning to attack police and soldiers.
In other German news, Germany enjoyed a budget surplus last year that was higher than any since 1990.
In other news, Malaysian investigators have determined that Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, was murdered using the nerve agent VX.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Fjordman, JD, MC, 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.
American Gigolos (GOP Watch List, Part 2)
In Congress, the hate for Trump is personal. Not only did he throw a grenade into politicians’ little do-nothing club, but his very existence destroys their self-conception as people with a set of skills.
While Trump was making billions of dollars building skyscrapers, developing golf courses and starring on a hit reality TV show, members of Congress were slowly working their way up the political ladder — interning at think tanks and congressional offices, taking some small government job, then running for the House or Senate, and, hopefully, marrying a woman with a large inheritance.
A stunning number of senators and congressmen are supported by rich wives — Sens. John McCain, Mitch McConnell, Richard Blumenthal, John Kerry and Ron Wyden, and Reps. Michael McCaul, Scott Peters and Paul Ryan, to name a few. Is there any other profession with as high a percentage of men sponging off their wives’ inheritances?
Then a self-made billionaire came along, violated all the rules they had lived by, and swept aside more than a dozen experienced politicians just like themselves! Not only did Trump make his own money, but he beat them at the one thing they thought they knew how to do.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Brexit Leader Nigel Farage at CPAC: 2016 Was Only the Beginning for Populist ‘Revolution’
OXON HILL, Md. — Brexit leader Nigel Farage doesn’t see the political winds that fueled Britain’s break from the European Union and Donald Trump’s election in 2016 stopping anytime soon.
“My view is the revolution that happened in ‘16 will carry on to ‘17,” Farage told the Washington Examiner. He believes regardless of who wins France’s upcoming election that there has been a shift in “the center of gravity” in the debate over issues of individual liberty and holding leaders accountable.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CCW Holder Wrongly Convicted in 5 Minutes, For Defending His Life From BLM Thugs
In a nutshell for those of you may not be aware of Mike and his plight, here’s the “crib notes“ version. Mike is an independent journalist/videographer who was covering a progressive anarchist “demonstration“ in Portland, Oregon when he became surrounded by a mob of radical, anarchists. You know the types, the one in masks that throw bottles and break things, otherwise known as peaceful Democrat “protestors“ supported by the former president “What’s His Face.“
As the mob continued to surround and outflank him, they chanted “get him” and other nasty garbage. Mike did what any expert would teach any student to do; he retreated as best he could before being surrounded and overwhelmed by the ever growing mob. Realizing he was now nearly surrounded and in fear for his life, Mike drew his lawfully concealed firearm and used it to keep the crowd at bay. He never fired a shot, and in fact, his finger never touched the trigger.
Law enforcement finally arrived, and after some investigation, Mike was charged (wrongly in my opinion) with misdemeanor menacing. Here’s some information from talk radio host, Victoria Taft:
“A witness in court testified there had been a conspiracy by anarchists to assault him and toss him out of the rally. Strickland was questioned and released the night of his attack and he was ordered to court on a misdemeanor count of menacing. When it was discovered who prosecutors had—the hated Laughing at Liberals guy—the 1 (sic) charge turned into 21 (sic) and the 1 (sic) misdemeanor turned into multiple felonies.”…
| — Hat tip: MC | [Return to headlines] |
Climate Skeptics Ask Trump to Withdraw From UN Agency
A group of scientists and others skeptical of global warming are asking President Trump to withdraw the United States from the United Nations’ climate change agency.
The group of 300, led by high-profile climate change skeptic Richard Lindzen, said in a Thursday letter to Trump and Vice President Pence that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are not as harmful as most climate scientists say.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CPAC 2017: Bannon Predicts Daily Fight With Media as Trump Pursues Agenda
White House chief strategist Steve Bannon lived up to his fiery reputation Thursday during a talk before the Conservative Political Action Conference, predicting a prolonged fight with the media, which he again branded “the opposition party.”
Bannon, who spoke on a panel alongside White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, also dismissed rumors of friction with his colleague.
The bare-knuckled Bannon — who is frequently covered by the media in often-sensational terms but rarely speaks to reporters — pulled no punches as he used the panel to outline how he saw the Trump presidency playing out. He predicted that as Trump continues to push his agenda, the media will oppose him every step of the way.
For much of the talk, Bannon labeled the media “the opposition party” as he has before. This view has been reflected in Trump’s own combative remarks with outlets he has branded “fake news.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Dalai Lama Faces Opposition at UC San Diego
By now you may have heard about the objections to the University of California, San Diego’s decision to invite the Dalai Lama as a commencement speaker.
The Dalai Lama, a Tibetan spiritual leader, has long been opposed by the Chinese government for his advocacy of self-rule in Tibet, which China views as an attack on its sovereignty. This view is apparently shared by some UC San Diego students, who took to social media to express anger at the invitation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Group Behind Town Hall Protests Has Ties to Clinton, Soros
A group that’s taking a stand against Republicans holding town hall meetings with their constituents was founded by a former Hillary Clinton staffer and has ties to liberal billionaire George Soros.
The Town Hall Project was started by Jimmy Dahman, who worked as field organizer in Iowa for Clinton during her failed presidential bid. According to The Washington Free Beacon, the company that owns the group — The Action Network — is in the same Washington, D.C. building as a Soros-funded organization.
There’s also a a labor organizing group at the address, the website reports.
Republican lawmakers have faced hostile crowds at town halls nationwide in recent weeks. Rep. Jason Chaffetz said recently he believed paid protesters were at one of his events.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
How the Southern Poverty Law Center Faked an Islamophobia Crisis
The Fake News media repeats a fake group’s lies.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
While teaching impressionable young minds at a pre-school in Arlington, Texas by day, a Muslim educator was openly involved in calling for infidels’ deaths in her off time. Since many of her students were non-Muslim white kids of faiths for which she expressed deep hate for, parents were rightfully terrified when they found out which led to a brutal surprise this horrific bigot never saw coming when she showed up to class.
Nancy Salem was likely hired on as a teacher at the Children’ s Courtyard during the Obama administration when liberals had everyone believing that Islam was a religion of peace and Muslims deserve the opportunity to assimilate into the American culture. Proving the fear of these people and the death cult ideology they follow with a passion wasn’ t without merit, Salem felt comfortable publicly putting the fruits of her religious beliefs out there on full display thinking anyone who didn’ t like what she had to say would be called an “ Islamaphobe,” and she was at no risk of being accused of a hate crime despite begging for another Holocaust-style cleansing whites, Jews, and Christians.
Salem had been abusing her social media platform on Twitter since 2012, plastering her profile with posts expressing her joy in the inevitable obliteration of people of other races and religions. Despite this going on for five years, parents whose little ones were being taught by her daily had no clue that she had been calling for the deaths of an entire race, including theirs while teaching kids who would fall into that group of people. When they finally found out, they began flooding the school with angry responses and calls for action to be taken against Salem immediately, but that wasn’ t enough.
Dallas News reports that when Salem showed up to school on Wednesday, she was met with her unexpected termination she didn’ t see coming since she apparently doesn’ t consider calling for more deaths of Jews, kissing the bloody Palestinian ground, etc, as actionable hate speech. Unfortunately for her, Barack Obama isn’ t leading this nation any longer and people are finally starting to wake up to the atrocities of her religion and aren’ t living in fear of taking action against Islam and being punished for it.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
New Hampshire the 12th State to Allow Constitutional Carry
Residents of New Hampshire are enjoying a long-awaited expansion of their Second Amendment rights with the signing into law on Wednesday of a bill allowing them to carry a firearm without first obtaining government permission. The third time “is a charm,” it is said, and this bill passed on the third attempt. The previous two attempts passed both state houses but were vetoed by previous Democrat governors.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
People Horrified When They See What Muslims in U.S. Were Secretly Celebrating in Neighborhood Mosque
The left is continually telling American’ s that Muslims are peaceful and loving people. Of course, evidence points to the contrary, but do not try to tell liberals that. If you personally need any more evidence that Muslims are far from tolerant let me present this “ lovely” story to you.
A Maryland mosque that is located about 50 miles outside of Washington D.C. did something truly disturbing last Sunday. This particular mosque in Pikesville, Maryland actually had the balls to honor an Islamist assassin as part of a ceremony that celebrates the death anniversaries of noted saints.
Yes, you read that right. These people are honoring a man who murdered someone as a saint.
This Islamist extreme Mumtaz Qadri was hung last year in Pakistan for shooting the governor of the Punjab province 28 times in 2011 for speaking out against his country’s revolting heresy laws. During the event, an unidentified speaker said, “Whoever disrespects the Holy Prophet Muhammad is worthy of death, and even if disrespects indirectly he is still worthy of death, even if someone asks for forgiveness it is not acceptable.”
So, libs do you still think that this religion is peaceful?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Sick Thing Just Found on John McCain’s Computer Will Destroy Him: He is Done!
The biggest traitor in Washington D.C. might be none other than John McCain. While making it his personal mission to destroy President Trump, this clown is constantly spearheading attacks against our president, while frequently spewing the leftist talking points that Trump and the Russians worked together to steal the election from Hillary. But as McCain continues to be blinded by his childish jealousy and hatred for Trump, what was just found on his computer is so sick, it will not only end his political career, but will destroy his reputation in D.C. forever.
Ever since Trump won the election, McCain has been leading a vicious campaign not only against our president, but against the Russian government suggesting that their “ hacking” of the election was an “ act of war.” Also remember this traitor was behind the fake Russian hooker story, producing the bogus dossier that claimed Trump hired prostitutes to pee on Obama’ s bed. While McCain continues to lead the hysteria of Trump’ s intimate ties with the Russians, GUESS WHAT WAS JUST FOUND ON HIS FREAKING COMPUTER?!
Thanks to WikiLeaks, we just learned that Mr. anti-Russia himself was BEGGING the Russians back in 2008 for DONATIONS to HIS presidential campaign! Following the sudden death of Russian UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin several days ago, Wikileaks decided to drop the bombshell about McCain, proving once and for all who is TRULY the one sucking up with a buddy-buddy relationship with the Russians. Check out the letter below where McCain was practically on his hands and knees begging Putin’ s main guy Vitaly Churkin for money:
Right after McCain sent his letter to the Russians asking for cash, they responded back, stating they do not finance political activity in foreign countries.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Adviser Hails ‘New Political Order’
The chief strategist to President Donald Trump has said that his election victory has ushered in a “new political order”.
Steve Bannon vowed at a conservative conference to bring together those of “wide and sometimes divergent opinions” in support of “economic nationalism”.
“We are a nation with a culture and a reason for being,” the normally behind-the-scenes adviser told the audience.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Woman Charged With Making False Rape Accusations
An 18-year-old New York woman has been charged with two criminal counts after allegedly making false rape accusations that led to two men leaving Sacred Heart University.
Nikki Yovino, in an attempt to get empathy from a guy she liked, reportedly made up a rape hoax against two Sacred Heart football players she had sex with last October.
She was charged on Wednesday with “second-degree false reporting of an incident and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence,” CTPost reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rania El-Allou had to get her car back. Her son was caught driving the car illegally and the car was taken. Skip ahead to a court date in Montreal, Canada, and El-Allou stands before the honorable Judge Eliana Marengo. Keep in mind, El-Allou is Muslim and was wearing a head scarf, however the court room is not religious and nothing is permitted to be worn on the heads of people entering it. No sunglasses, hats, or decorations of any kind.
That’ s where it went downhill for El-Allou and her hijab. Judge Marengo instructed her that it was not permitted or suitable attire for court and stated the courtroom is a “secular” place which does not have religious symbols on walls or persons.
El-Allou did not agree and would not remove her hijab. The judge did not give one single rat’ s butt about this woman’ s religion. They’ re here to talk about getting an illegally driven car back, not discuss religion. You can’ t demand to keep your hijab on if it’ s against the rules of the court. What was she thinking!?
Judges don’ t take demands from citizens!
“The same rules need to be applied to everyone. I will therefore not hear you if you are wearing a scarf on your head, just as I would not allow a person to appear before me wearing a hat or sunglasses on his or her head, or any other garment not suitable for a court proceeding,” she added.
When El-Allou continued to refuse to remove it, Marengo said that she in turn would refuse to hear her case. Panicking, El-Allou then played the welfare card, saying that she lives on welfare and has three children, and she needs her car back, but the judge wasn’t having any of it. Marengo eventually dismissed El-Allou from her courtroom.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Brexit: EU Backs Dublin on Open Northern Ireland Border
The European Commission president has said he agrees with the Irish government that Brexit should not bring back a “hard” Northern Ireland border.
“We don’t want to have hard borders between Northern Ireland and the Republic,” said Jean-Claude Juncker.
He was speaking after talks in Brussels with Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Enda Kenny. The UK is expected to trigger the Brexit process next month.
Border controls were removed under the 1998 Good Friday peace deal.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Danish Man Who Videoed Himself Burning the Quran Charged With Blasphemy
A Danish man who posed a video of himself setting fire to the Quran on Facebook has been charged with blasphemy in the first such prosecution for 46 years.
The 42-year-old suspect put the clip, entitled “Consider your neighbour: it stinks when it burns” to a group called “YES TO FREEDOM — NO TO ISLAM” in December 2015.
Jan Reckendorff, from the public prosecutor’s office in Viborg, said: “It is the prosecution’s view that circumstances involving the burning of holy books such as the Bible and the Quran can in some cases be a violation of the blasphemy clause, which covers public scorn or mockery of religion.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France: Paris Teens Block Schools to Protest Alleged Police Rape
Paris teenagers blockaded high schools with burning garbage cans and skirmished with riot officers at an unauthorized protest Thursday, angered by the alleged rape of a young black man with a police baton and other police abuse.
Police fired tear gas on small groups of protesters and detained 11 people after a crowd of about 1,000 youth marched on the Place de la Nation, according to a police spokesman. The plaza in eastern Paris is associated with the French revolution.
Some protesters wore masks and lit flares. One group carried a banner reading “Vengeance for Theo,” the name of the alleged rape victim.
Students blocked 16 of the region’s 103 high schools with makeshift barricades and disrupted 12 others, a Paris school district spokesman said. Extra security measures were put in place at the affected schools.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Islamist Arrested for Planning Attack on Security Forces
German police have arrested a 26-year-old Islamist who was planning an attack against police officers or soldiers using a homemade explosive device, authorities said Thursday.
The German national was arrested Wednesday and stands accused of “preparing a serious act of violence threatening state security”, prosecutors in the northern city of Celle said.
“During interrogation, he admitted that he planned to lure police officers or soldiers into a trap and kill them with a homemade explosive,” they said in a statement.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Islamist Arrested Over Plot to Kill Soldiers and Police — ‘I Wanted to Slay Them’
GERMAN police have arrested a 26-year-old radical Islamist who was building a bomb in his home to target either police or soldiers.
The man was seized Wednesday in a raid in the Lower Saxony town of Northeim.
He is a German national said to be active in the radical Salfist scene.
The allegedly told police after his arrest: “I wanted to slay them with it.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Budget Surplus Highest Since 1990
Germany’s budget surplus hit a post-reunification high of nearly 24bn euros (£20bn) in 2016 boosted by a higher tax take and increased employment.
This is the third year running that German government revenue has outstripped expenditure.
However, there was an increase in spending on housing and integrating refugees.
Under budget law, some of the surplus money will go into a fund to support the refugees.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Le Pen Extends Lead in French Presidential Polls
Front National leader Marine Le Pen has extended her lead in polling for the French Presidential elections, and is now comfortably placed to win the first round of voting.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Profits to Surge as Britain Ditches the European Union, Exporters Predict
BRITISH exporters are confident of the outlook for their business and expect to see a surge in sales as the country gears up for Brexit, a survey has showed.
Manufacturing and service-based firms believe turnover will continue to improve in the coming year, according to sentiment measured by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
The firms also expect profits to increase or remain steady in the near future.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Court: Man Tried to Raise Cash on Facebook to Fund ISIS
A Swedish citizen has been jailed for urging people to finance Isis through Facebook, a landmark case for the country.
In a Facebook account linked to Ahmad Qadan, 34, a post written in Swedish and published on August 21st, 2013, said: “Help us supply our brothers at the front with weapons so they can avenge their brothers and sisters.”
He was sentenced to six months in jail by Malmö District Court on Thursday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Journalist Attacked After Gang of Youths Ignite Inferno
JOURNALIST has been injured and a huge fire has engulfed a Swedish estate agents after a gang of rioters hurled a burning box into one of its local offices.
Flames began to engulf the OBO housing company, situated within the central Swedish city of Örebro at 10pm GMT (9pm local time), according to SVT.
A local reporter from the Swedish newspaper, Nerikes Allehanda received major head injuries after an arsonist threw a large block of ice at his head when he arrived at the scene.
Officials have not yet reported any other injuries or fatalities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq Christians Erect Large Cross in Area Liberated From ISIS
Mosul, Iraq, Feb 23, 2017 / 04:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After years of darkness, hope has returned to Telekuf-Tesqopa. Located just 17 miles from Mosul, the village is rebuilding after being liberated from ISIS.
As a visible sign of the rebuilding, a giant cross was erected on a hill, marking the victory of the Christian faith against the darkness of the jihadists.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS ‘Poised to Go Broke in Iraq, Syria’
ISIS is on the path to poverty, according to a new joint study, “Caliphate in Decline: An Estimate of Islamic State’s Financial Fortunes,” from the London-based International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Ernst & Young.
The terror group is apparently suffering from financial difficulties, to put it mildly. Facts and figures show that over the last two years, revenues for ISIS have fallen by more than 50 percent.
Still, study authors have concluded that it’s not yet time to breathe easy about the group’s dismantling.
“The decline in revenues may not have an immediate effect on the group’s ability to carry out terrorist attacks outside its territory,” the study said, Breitbart reported. “While hurting Islamic State finances puts pressure on the organization and its state-building project, wider efforts will continue to be necessary to ultimately defeat it.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Mullahs Ruling Iran Are Not Iranians
Being Iranian is defined by a state of mind, not by a place of residence. The barbaric Islamist mullahs and their mercenaries presently ruling Iran are not Iranians. They are Islamofascists who have betrayed their magnificent heritage and have enlisted themselves in the service of a most oppressive, discriminating, and demeaning ideology.
Iranians are proud spiritual descendants of King Cyrus the Great, the author of the first charter of human rights. Some of Cyrus’ children live in the patch of land called Iran. The overwhelming majority-free humans with human beliefs-live in every country, city, and village of the earth.
These world-wide people, one and all, irrespective of nationality, color, or creed are Iranians because they all adhere to the Cyrus Charter; they practice and defend its lofty tenets; and, transfer this precious humanity’s treasure to the next generation.
Unequivocal genetic findings have clearly established that biologically there is only one human race; that the genetic variation within a single troop of chimpanzees, for instance, is greater than that of any two human groupings, no matter how different they may appear physically.
What makes people different is not their biology, but the “software” that runs them. There is ample proof to support the above assertion. A case in point is the present menace posed by the people whose life is programmed by the software of Islam: an ideology anathema to the Cyrus Charter. And the results are self-evident. Hate, superstition, violence, and a raft of other inhuman beliefs drives these religious fascists. These captive followers of the primitive Islamic Charter are both the perpetrators and the victims of much suffering. The result is backward Islamic societies that are intent at dragging the rest of the world into the same sorry state. Misery likes company, it is said.
We recognize that the dysfunctional Islamic software is deeply engrained in the minds of many Muslims who opt to remain in mental bondage rather than purge their minds of the Islamic software and join the rest of the human family with a new emancipating program for life-liberty.
Islamic clergy, the parasitic prime beneficiaries of Islam, are master practitioners of the carrot and stick strategy. By drawing heavily from the Quran and the Hadith, the conniving mullahs and imams have assembled a potent arsenal of threats and promises to keep the faithful in line. They had little trouble in so doing, since Islamic scripture is replete with graphic horrific punishment awaiting the wayward and the unbelievers, while the rewards for the obedient docile, if he is male, are described as endless variety of sensual pleasures. Anyone daring to leave the corral of Islam is apostate and automatically condemned to death. And that’s just for starters. The punishment awaiting the ungrateful deserter of the one and only true path, Islam threatens, is a raft of horrific eternal torment in Allah’s hell.
And for the true faithful-the mindless robot-the promised rewards, all physical pleasures, are infinite and eternal.
In spite of these horrid threats and empty promises, more and more people are beginning to recognize Islam for what it is. It is difficult, but not impossible to leave the fraudulent Islam’s captivity. Hundreds of thousands have done so successfully and have enjoyed the blessings of liberty.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Kim Jong-Nam ‘Killed by VX Nerve Agent Found on His Face’
Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, was killed by a highly toxic nerve agent, says Malaysia.
Mr Kim died last week after two women wiped a substance over his face in a check-in hall at Kuala Lumpur airport.
Malaysian toxicology reports have identified the chemical as “VX nerve agent”, classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations.
Malaysia has not blamed the North Korean state for the death, but says North Koreans were clearly behind it.
Mr Kim died on the way to hospital shortly after the 13 February airport encounter. His body remains in a hospital mortuary, amid a diplomatic dispute over who should claim it.
North Korea responded furiously to Malaysia’s insistence on conducting a post-mortem examination and has accused Malaysia of having “sinister” purposes.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Nerve Agent Found on Kim Jong UN’s Brother, Police Say
The half brother of North Korea’s leader who was killed in a Kuala Lumpur airport more than a week ago had a nerve agent on his eye and his face, according to Malaysian police.
In a statement released Friday from the inspector general of police, a preliminary analysis from the Chemistry Department of Malaysia identified the agent at “VX NERVE AGENT.”
Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, died Feb. 13 shortly after two women put a substance on his face while he was checking in for a flight.
Police have not said how the women were able to apply the nerve agent to Kim’s face and also avoid becoming ill themselves. It has also not been made public if they were wearing some sort of thin gloves or if washing their hands quickly removed the danger.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Tortured Elephant Cried Real Tears When Rescued
This latest story tells of an elephant in India named, Raju, orphaned as a baby after his parents were killed by poachers. The baby was kept, immediately put into captivity and shackled in spiked chains that dug into his body and his legs. And that is how he lived for almost 50 years of his life. Every move he made was painful, indeed, agonizing. This very same thing recently happened to a big bear that was used in a roadside wild animal attraction.
If that was not bad enough, Raju was bought and sold several times, forced to become a ‘riding’ elephant for tourists from daylight to sundown, with every step he took being torturous because of the spiked chains that bound and punctured his legs. Plus his cruel owners would beat him.
Raju was in those chains 24 hours a day. Not even a moment of comfort was afforded him. Every time he was sold, the new handler would beat Raju for no reason but to show him who was ‘boss.” This is what this gentle giant endured for 50 years, a creature that had done no wrong to anyone.
When discovered, Raju was in pathetic condition. He hadn’t been fed properly for months. He had started eating scraps of plastic and paper in a desperate bid to survive. The word properly got out and a daring nighttime raid by a team of rescuers from Wildlife SOS along with 20 Forestry Commission officers and two policemen, swooped in to release Raju from his confinement and found him so tightly bound by those spiked chains that he could hardly move.
A team of 10 veterinarians also were with the group. The rescue was completed on July 4th, which marks America’s Independence Day, which had special significance for this particular rescue.
The owner of Raju, who lived in the Uttar Pradesh region of India, tried to stop the raid by attempting a standoff. The team secured the property and began to free Raju from the painful spike chains. Any activity in the area of the chain wounds was painful to the slightest touch. Raju made little beeping sounds, not from any pain, but in gratitude. This elephant knew he was being rescued and would be set free for the first time.
The team came with fruit and spoke softly to the pachyderm to put him at ease and to let him know they were there to free him. As the last chains were cut off him, Raju, began to cry…yes…cry with big tears rolling from his eyes. It was a very emotional moment for all involved. They gave him a sedative so they could load him into a truck to take him to a sanctuary.
And yes, animals do cry with big tears. I remember an elephant that had a little dog as his best friend for years. When that dog died, the elephant trumpeted in grief and yes, this columnist saw the tears come from his eyes. I have seen dogs cry with tears running down their faces when their owner died. I would often be called when someone dies and then prepare to do the funeral. That is when I saw this as fact, that yes, animals grieve like we do.
Raju was taken 350 miles to an elephant compound; The Wildlife SOS’s Elephant Conservation and Care Center Refuge in Mathura. Five female pachyderms excitedly flapped their ears, trumpeted greetings and touched Raju with their trunks, all signs of joy. Raju is experiencing happiness and comfort for the first time in his life. Elephants live to 70 or 80 years.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
A BRITISH woman was murdered and her husband left for dead after they were subjected to “hateful and pointless” torture using blowtorches at their farm in South Africa.
They were asleep in bed at home in Dullstroom in Mpualanga province when three black males broke in through a window at 2am and tied the terrified couple up.
The gang refused to believe Sue Howarth, 64, and husband Robert Lynn, 66, did not have a safe and burned their bodies with a blowtorch as they screamed for help on their remote farm 150 miles from Pretoria.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ecuador President Blasts Plans to Kick Out Wikileaks’ Julian Assange
THE outgoing President of Ecuador has waded in to a row over the future of Julian Assange after saying plans to kick the Wikileaks founder out of its embassy is just a way to butter up America.
The Australian hacker has been living at the Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge, London, for nearly five years in an attempt to avoid being deported to Sweden over allegations of rape and sexual assault, allegations he has denied.
But the 45-year-old could find himself being booted out should the right-wing candidate Guillermo Lasso, 61, get elected in the country’s presidential election, when the second round of voting takes place on April 2.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago Public School Officials Promise to Obstruct the Enforcement of Trump’s Immigration Law
The Chicago public school system has decided to openly defy the president of the United States. More than 392,000 students attend public schools in Chicago, and on Tuesday a letter was sent home with each of those students telling their parents that Chicago schools will not “assist in the enforcement of federal civil immigration law”. In fact, the letter actually says that federal officials will not even be allowed “to access CPS facilities”. In essence, every Chicago public school has now officially been declared to be a “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants. If you would like to see the original document, you can do so right here. This is just another example of how deeply divided we are as a nation. The entire public school system of one of our largest cities is now in open rebellion against the president, and that is a very dangerous sign.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
GAO: New Border Fences Stop Illegals, Boost Safety
In the latest sign of the immigration crisis along the southern border, the border patrol “recorded” 2.1 million illegal entries over just two years, according to a new GAO report on the problems of old fencing and benefits of new walls.
“In fiscal years 2013 through 2015, U.S. Border Patrol, within the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection, recorded a total of 2.1 million estimated known illegal entries between ports of entry along the southwest border,” said the new report from the Government Accountability Office.
The GAO said the numbers included illegals caught, and some returned to Mexico, and an estimate of those who got across undetected.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy’s Coast Guard Rescues Another 700 People Off Libyan Coast
About 730 migrants were rescued off the Libyan coast on Wednesday after seven rescue operations mounted by the Italian coast guard and the SOS Mediterranee aid group. The migrants were mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, said the coast guard, which is coordinating rescue operations in the central Mediterranean.
In the absence of an army or a regular police force in Libya, several militias act as coast guards but are often accused themselves of complicity or even involvement in the people-smuggling business.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Migrant ‘Who Killed EU Official’s Daughter’ To be Tried as an Adult
AN AFGHAN asylum seeker accused of the rape and murder of a medical student in Germany will be charged as an adult.
It comes as after a month-long investigation into his age confirmed he was at least 22 years old when he committed the crime — not 17, as he had claimed.
Maria Ladenburger’s body was found in a river on October 16 last year near the southwestern German city of Freiburg, where she volunteered helping migrants in various shelters and homes.
On the night of the 19-year-old’s death, she was ambushed, raped and drowned as she cycled home from a party.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Minister Blasts Sweden Democrats’ Wall Street Journal Op-Ed: ‘They’Re Lying About Sweden’
Sweden’s justice and migration minister has accused anti-immigration party leaders of lying about Sweden after they wrote in the Wall Street Journal that Donald Trump was right in his comments about immigration.
He spoke hours after Sweden Democrat bosses Jimmie Åkesson and Mattias Karlsson wrote in an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday that “Mr Trump did not exaggerate Sweden’s current problems” when he falsely suggested that immigration had sparked a rising crime wave in the country.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Stockholm suburb that was hit by violent riots on Monday is a police no-go zone where cars are torched almost every day, gangs rule the streets and fire engines have to be fitted with bulletproof glass.
Residents of rundown Rinkeby, where nine out of ten residents are immigrants, have spoken out about how they live in fear, as Swedish politicians and police officers admitted that ‘Trump was right’.
‘The situation is here is terrible,’ one resident said. ‘I am scared most of the time when I leave my apartment. I have been assaulted twice and robbed once since I moved to Rinkeby. The criminal gangs can do what they want.
‘What happened on Monday night is just the tip of the iceberg. Gangs control this whole area. There are riots every evening and the police can do nothing to contain the situation.’
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Syrian Migrant Convicted for Terrorism in Austria
A Syrian refugee has been convicted of terrorism in Austria after boasting about shocking crimes he committed while fighting for ISIS, including killing prisoners by injecting them with diesel.
The Muslim extremist was sentenced to three years in prison by a regional court in the north-central Austrian city of Salzburg for joining a terrorist militia.
The 23-year-old, who has not been publicly named, strongly denied that he had been an ISIS fighter but witnesses convinced the judges otherwise in a trial that was held in private under strict security measures.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
University of Washington Writing Guru Declares American Grammar ‘Racist’
The chief writing instructor at the University of Washington, Tacoma, is trying to dismantle the rules of grammar because he believes they are racist—and the college has given its endorsement to his campaign.
Posters that appeared this week in the college’s writing center are part of a new effort to teach students that the conventional rules on how to structure sentences and form ideas in written language are perpetuating inequality and “white supremacy.”
“Racism is the normal condition of things. Racism is pervasive. It is in the systems, structures, rules, languages, expectations and guidelines that make up our classes, school, and society,” the poster claims. It goes on to say that critiquing a student’s use of language, or implying that there is any one grammatical standard within the English language, is inherently discriminatory.
The writing center director, Dr. Asao Inoue, is the brains behind the operation to up-end students’ regressive notions of language.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
McCain letter to Russia looked like a letter for a mass mailing list to residents.
US (and Global) mainstream media’s hypocrisy on Sweden
In his latest program Fox News TV host Bill O’Reilly talks about the hypocrisy of the US-media in connection with Donald Trump’s statement about Sweden. First gloating about the fact that no terrorist attack had occurred – something Trump never claimed – and then become totally silent when riots in Rinkeby erupted only a few days later.
http://youtu.be/xCfhbstByU8
The news says that all the witches in the U.S. will gather together to cast a spell on President Trump. I wonder if they use Harry Potter’s Spell Check? 🙂
Sweden has died – murdered by its power elite. Do not allow your country to be next….
https://youtu.be/vZ-nw0ijTpQ
** 730 migrants were rescued off the Libyan coast **
Bring them to Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Macedonia, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Lapland, Isle of Man, Isle of Woman, Bulgaria, or Austria? MAIS OUI!!!
Bring them to Libya? JAMAIS!!!!!!!!
**The Muslim extremist was sentenced to three years in prison by a regional court in the north-central Austrian city of Salzburg **
Don’t mess with Salzburg. Inject someone with diesel and you can expect to be crucified.