German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Hungary against interfering with George Soros’ Central European University. She said that any action against CEU would create a danger to democracy.
In other Soros news, the Hungarian financial magnate has poured massive amounts of money into Florida’s elections, in particular the campaign of the Democrat gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum.
In other news, Geert Wilders’ PVV party plans to stand 60 candidates for local councils in next year’s elections.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, Insubria, Reader from Chicago, Srdja Trifkovic, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
European Union, Greece Seek Bailout Deal by Friday
ATHENS/BRUSSELS: Greece and its international lenders remained at odds in talks to release fresh bailout loans to Athens on Wednesday as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said a deal was needed this week and accused creditors of ‘playing games’ and causing delays.
Talks between Greece, the European Union and International Monetary Fund have stuttered for months due to differences over Greece’s fiscal progress, labour and energy market reforms, rekindling worries of a new crisis in Europe.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: CDP Returns to Profit, 1.1 Bn
‘Strong growth’ says govt investment bank
(ANSA) — Rome, March 31 — Government banking group Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) ended 2016 with a return to profit of 1.1 billion euros after a runof losses, sources said Friday.
The 1.7-billion-euro profit of the group leader mitigated the losses offuels giant ENI, of which CDP has a 25.76% stake.
A CDP statement said the firt year of the 2016-2020 business plan had ended “with strong growth and in line with forecasts.
The year had been marked by a “major change of pace” in CDP’s operational capacity, the statement said. CDP is an investment bank 80% controlled by the economy ministry.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Stagnation in 2018 Says Confcommercio
Small businesses in credit crunch say retailers
(ANSA) — Rome, March 31 — The Italian economy will show “stagnation” next year, retailers’ group Confcommercio said Friday, revising a previous estimate showing slight growth.
It said growth would slow from 1% this year to 0.8% next year.
Very small businesses in Italy, those with less than nine workers, are experiencing a “credit crunch”, Confcommercio said.
It said only 11% of them had access to adequate financing. After the financial crisis the relationship with the banks has not resumed, it said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Job Numbers Come in Higher Once Again, Supporting Trump’s Policies
Reporters used adjectives such as “torrid,” “solid,” “unexpected,” and “strong” to characterize March jobs growth of 263,000, as reported by ADP/Moody’s on Wednesday, which far exceeded professional economists’ estimates of 170,000 new jobs for the month.
Last month Mark Zandi was uncharacteristically buoyant when commenting on February’s jobs numbers: “February was a very good month for workers. Powering job growth were the construction, mining and manufacturing industries.… Near record high job openings and record low layoffs underpin the entire market.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
George Soros Pumps Big Bucks to Wield Influence in Florida Governor’s Race and Beyond
Democratic megadonor George Soros is digging his hands deep into Florida politics, pumping millions of dollars into liberal causes and candidates’ campaign accounts, all while setting the stage to go all in for gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum next year.
On Wednesday, Gillum announced a whopping $765,000 in campaign contributions. The strong fundraising numbers are undoubtedly a boon to Gillum’s aspirations to leave the Tallahassee Mayor’s Office behind and kick up his heels in the governor’s mansion next year.
The biggest of the 3,500 online contributors: George Soros and his son, Alex, who donated a combined $150,000 to Gillum’s run for Florida governor.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pittsburg School Board Accepts Newly Hired Principal’s Resignation
Less than a month after she was hired to begin leading Pittsburg High School in August, Amy Robertson is out of a job.
On a unanimous vote Tuesday, members of the Pittsburg Unified School District 250 board accepted Robertson’s resignation after a group of Pittsburg High School journalism students published a story that questioned her education credentials and work as an education consultant.
“I’m so incredibly proud of them,” said Eric Thomas, executive director of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association. “They were told so many times there was nothing to see here. It took incredible courage to do that. These kids stood up for the truth. When you’re right, you shouldn’t back down.”
Thomas had advised the students while they were working on the story given that Emily Smith had to recuse herself as the students’ adviser because she was on the committee that hired Robertson. Robertson had claimed she is currently CEO of Atticus I S Consultants LLC, an educational company based in Dubai. An online search on Monday found no website for the company.
Smith said Tuesday that she was proud of how her students conducted themselves throughout the investigation of Robertson’s statements she had made about her qualifications and experience while the students were interviewing Robertson for an introductory article for their school’s newspaper.
“They worked hard to verify every fact,” Smith said. “It was not easy for them. They were just very professional, and I could not be more proud of them for that.”
The school’s newspaper, The Booster Redux, discovered that Corllins University, where Robertson received a master’s degree and doctorate, is considered a diploma mill and isn’t accredited with the U.S. Department of Education.
The Better Business Bureau’s website says Corllins’ physical address is unknown and the school isn’t a BBB-accredited institution.
Robertson said she attended Corllins before it lost accreditation, The Booster Redux reported.
USD 250 voted to hire Robertson at a March 6 board meeting for $93,000 a year…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Bulgaria’s Minister Charged With Misuse of Power
Prosecutors, Semerdzhilev threatened director of Drug agency
(ANSA) — TRIESTE — Bulgarian prosecutors have charged the country’s interimhealth minister with misuse of power for threatening the head of a state health agency because she would not hire his protege, Reuters said. Ilko Semerdzhilev, who is also Bulgaria’s interim deputy prime minister, threatenedto sack the executive director of the country’s drug agency for refusing the favoured candidate, citing potential conflict of interest, prosecutors affirmed.
The interim government was appointed by President Rumen Radev in late January and will stay in office until a new government is formed following snap elections held on March 26.
Last year, prosecutors charged former health minister and three former energy ministers over mismanagement. Their cases have yet to come to a court and all have denied wrongdoing, Reuters said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Geert Wilders’ PVV Plans to Stand in 60 Local Council Areas Next Year
The anti-Islam PVV plans to field candidates in 60 of the Netherlands 390 local authority areas at next year’s local elections, party leader Geert Wilders says in Wednesday’s AD. The PVV will concentrate its efforts in areas where it has considerable support, such as Spijkenisse and Schiedam near Rotterdam, Edam-Volendam and cities like Dordrecht, Arnhem, Rotterdam and Den Bosch.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Approves Bill Curbing Online Hate Crime, Fake News
Justice Minister, “just like on the streets”
(ANSA) — BERLIN — Germany’s Cabinet has approved a new bill on curbing hatecomments and fake news on social media, AP reports.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet on Wednesday agreed on rules that would impose fines of up to 50 million euros on social networking sites that failto swiftly remove illegal content, such as hate speech or defamatory “fakenews.” German Justice Minister Heiko Maas said that companies offering such online platforms are responsible for removing hateful content. Maas said:”Just like on the streets, there is also no room for criminal incitement on social networks.” The minister added that measures to combat hate speech and so-called fake news will ultimately have to be taken at the European level to be effective.
The bill still needs parliamentary approval.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Germany to Fine Social Media Giants Up to €50 Million for Hate Speech
The German government on Wednesday approved fines of up to €50 million against online giants that fail to remove hate speech and fake news reported by users within a week.
Executives of social media groups like Twitter and Facebook also risk individual fines up to five million euros in case of non-compliance, said the government in a statement.
“Hate crimes that are not effectively combatted and prosecuted pose a great danger for the peaceful cohesion of a free, open and democratic society,” said Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: New CSM Case Against Puglia Governor Emiliano
Procedure regards bid to become PD
(ANSA) — Rome, April 3 — A supreme court prosecutor said Monday that he haspresented a new disciplinary procedure against Puglia Governor Michele Emiliano to the Italian judiciary’s self-governing body, the CSM, over his bidto become the leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD). Emiliano, who is also the former mayor of Bari, is a magistrate who is on leave of absence. He is accused of breaching the ban on magistrates becoming members ofpolitical parties. He faces the same accusation for being secretary and president of the PD in Puglia.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: 2 Nabbed for Beating Up Stable Man Who Exposed Mistreatment
‘Got rid of horse bodies’
(ANSA) — Turin, April 4 — The two owners of a horse-riding school near Turin were arrested Tuesday for allegedly beating up a stable manager and riding instructor who exposed the alleged mistreatment of horses at the school.
The co-habiting pair, aged 63 and 29, are suspected of getting rid of “numerous” horse bodies, police said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Exor Set for Sme Shopping Spree
Elkann cites Eataly, Moncler, Technogym
(ANSA) — Rome, April 4 — Agnelli holding company Exor is aiming to buy stakes in Italian small and medium-sized businesses, Chairman John Elkann told the Financial Times Tuesday.
“These partnerships represent an investment opportunity for us,” he said, citing mid-sized businesses like Eataly, Moncler and Technogym.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Le Pen Vows to “Bring Islamist Fundamentalism to Its Knees”
At a rural town hall meeting in La Bazoche-Gouet, French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen criticised her globalist rival Emmanuel Macron for “insulting the people and France”.
She promised her supporters they would “never get used to terrorism” saying she would bring “Islamist fundamentalism to its knees”.
Reaching out to what the Front National leader calls “forgotten France”, Le Pen spoke at a rally in an open-sided barn to nearly 1,000 people in the small Eure-et-Loir town, which has a population of just 1,200, on Monday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lefebvrian Marriages Can be Recognised — Pope
After confessions were OK’d
(ANSA) — Vatican City, April 4 — Pope Francis said Tuesday that marriages celebrated by the followers of the late schismatic bishop Marcel Lefebvre could be recognised. The pope’s new dispensation, which follows another affirming the validity of confessions taken by Lefebvrians, was contained in a letter from the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei to the bishops’ conferences concerned. The Vatican has been working on improving ties with the ultra-traditionalist Lefebvrist breakaway group, whose official name is the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX).
The Vatican forged a draft with the SSPX five years ago that aims to formally reunite the group with the Catholic Church.
SSPX broke away from the Church over theological differences stemming from the changes it adopted with the Second Vatican Council of some 50 yearsago.
In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication imposed on four SSPX bishops which he said “could have prejudiced the opening of a door for dialogue” with the leaders of the society.
The move came just days after one of the four, British Bishop Richard Williamson, was shown in an interview with Swedish television claiming that the facts were “hugely against six million Jews having been deliberately gassed” during the Holocaust, sparking a wave of controversy and strong protests from Jewish communities across the world.
The excommunications were imposed when the four bishops were consecrated in 1988 in defiance of Rome by the SSPX’s late founder, French ArchbishopLefebvre.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Merkel’s Government Warns Hungary in Clash Over Soros University
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government warned Hungary against obstructing democracy with a law that threatens to shutter a university founded by George Soros, renewing tension between the two European Union allies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pew: Christianity Dying Out in Europe, Islam Expanding
Christianity is dying out in Europe.
That’s according to a new Pew Research study showing that deaths among Christians outnumbered births in Europe by almost six million between 2010 and 2015. “In Germany alone, there were an estimated 1.4 million more Christian deaths than births from 2010 to 2015,” the Pew report states.
While Christianity dies out in Europe, Islam is rapidly expanding. During that same time period, births among Muslims in Europe outnumbered deaths by more than two million.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Romania: 1,000 Police Officers Protest to Demand Higher Pay
Some 38,000 of them are paid less than 320 euro
(ANSA) — TRIESTE, 16 MAR — Some 1,000 Romanian police officers protested inBucharest to demand higher salaries, Ap reported. The policemen say tens of thousands of officers are earning the minimum wage or less. Last month, some 38,000 police officers and interior ministry employees had monthly salaries between 1,250 lei and 1,450 lei: the minimum wage or less.
Marius Barbulescu, leader of the Mihai Viteazul police union, declared thatofficers should be paid a minimum monthly salary of 1,450 lei (320 euro), and on top of that should receive other benefits in line with other public servants. Officers from various areas of Romania gathered outside the interior ministry, yelling “You thieves!”, blewing whistles or vuvuzelas and waving Romanian flags. Barbulescu told the Agerpres national news agency: “We are dealing with humiliation that is hard to describe in words”. Union leaders met with Interior Minister Carmen Dan to discuss their demands.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Kosovo: Gen.Fungo (KFOR): Stable Situation Despite Tension
‘Nato new task if regular Army’
(ANSA) — BELGRADE, 2 APR — The situation in Kosovo is stable despite recenttension, and Kfor contingent is active for a pacific, stable, multiethnic Kosovo, as expected by UN Security Council resolution 1244, as told by Kforchief, Italian general Giovanni Fungo, interviewed by Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti.
Fungo talks about Pristina Authorities’ project to transform Kosovo security force in regular regular forces explaining that it is a political issue and that Nato forces in Kosovo are not involved in. Anyway, if “security forces mandate should change without political decision, Nato would compelled to examine once more its task” in Kosovo.
Serbia, Nato and Usa are contraries to the constitution of regular Kosovo armed forces, then Fungo has highlitghs the importance to continue Pristina-Belgrade talks to search for a normalized relationship. “We need more and more intense dialogue”, said gen. Fungo.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia: EU: People Fully Endorse the European Path
Juncker-Tusk to Vucic, vote will lead to EU membership
(ANSA) — TRIESTE — “We would like to congratulate you on your election as President of Serbia, confirming the strong support you enjoy among the population of your country”, said EU Commission and Council of Europe Presidents, Jean Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk, in a letter to Aleksandar Vucic on his election as President of Serbia.
“This vote of confidence shows that the people of Serbia fully endorse the European path you have chosen and which will lead to EU membership”, added Tusk and Juncker. “We wish you success in further pursuing this path by promoting the reforms associated with the ongoing accession process which willbring a better life to all citizens”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Moroccan Girl: 14: ‘Whipped by Parents’
Punished for acting too ‘Western’
(ANSA) — Milan, April 5 — A Milan children’s court on Wednesday temporarilyremoved a 14-year-old Moroccan girl from her family which had whipped her because she dressed and acted “too Western”.
The girl, whose family said they disciplined her because of unacceptable behaviour, was placed in a children’s home.
Her mother, father and brother are under investigation for mistreatment. “It’s an unfortunately ordinary story, like many we see, where there isa cultural factor, and a conflict between a girl born in Italy who wants to live like her friends and a traditionalist family that tries to impose her upbringing with physical and above all moral violence,” the court’s prosecutor, Ciro Cascone, told ANSA. “The religious factor is just an aspect of the cultural one,” he said.
The local mayor said “unfortunately it’s not the first or last case of this kind, among girls who want to Westernise themselves”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
6 Arrested for Terrorism in Wake of St. Petersburg Bombing
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — As the residents of Russia’s second-largest city try to regain their nerve in the wake of a fatal subway bombing, officials announced Wednesday that six people have been arrested on suspicion of recruiting others to commit extremist crimes.
Wednesday’s statement from the Investigative Committee gave few details, but said those arrested came from Central Asian countries that once were part of the Soviet Union. Officials have said the suicide attacker behind Monday’s blast in St. Petersburg that killed 13 others was a native of the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Letter From Russia (II): Gloomy Economic Picture
by Srdja Trifkovic
This year’s Moscow Economic Forum (MEF) opened last Thursday at the Lomonosov State University under the slogan A New Strategy for Russia. The panelists—prominent academics, businessmen and senior managers—were brutally blunt in their diagnosis of the causes of Russia’s economic woes, and especially critical of the country’s Central Bank for continuing to follow a neoliberal strategy. There is a general consensus that Russia’s economic and financial problems are systemic, and only in small part due to Western sanctions.
Ruslan Grinberg, head of the Institute of Economics and the Forum’s moderator, noted that in the 1990’s everyone was intoxicated by the dogma of the free market: you should privatize, deregulate and stabilize. The results were disastrous, but Russia’s economic decision-making community is still not free of neoliberal blinkers. This applies not only to the Central Bank, but also to the economic departments of the Medvedev government. According to Grinberg, “market fundamentalism is dead, but its cause still lives on in key segments of Russia’s ruling elite.”
Economist Vladislav Zhukovsky noted that the economy is supposedly growing, but the country’s human potential has declined. Current spending on education is only 4.1%, instead of 7% of GDP, and health care accounts for under 5%. The overall state of the Russian economy can be described as degradation and compression. It is accompanied by bureaucratization, monopolization, and dollarization. On the other hand, says Zhukovsky, “our officials have discovered a new art form—ever more sophisticated forms of statistical manipulation to draw a beautiful reality in contrast to the deteriorating crisis situation.” According to the latest revised data, in 2015 the downturn officially amounted to only 2.8%, and to a mere 0.2% in 2016, while the real economy was actually growing. Zhukovsky is adamant that this is “statistical alchemy,” and that all key macroeconomic indicators were overrated. In reality, he says, Russia has experienced 26 months of continuous fall of real incomes, by about 17.5% overall…
| — Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic | [Return to headlines] |
Venezuela’s Opposition Censures Judges; 18 Held After Protests
Venezuela’s opposition lawmakers, some carrying injuries from this week’s protests, on Wednesday sought the dismissal of Supreme Court judges whom they accuse of propping up a socialist dictatorship.
Newly militant opposition leaders also announced another round of demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro for Thursday, despite chaos and violence in Caracas on Tuesday that left 20 injured and 18 arrested.
The opposition, which won control of the National Assembly in late 2015, accuses Maduro of wrecking the South American nation’s economy and squashing democracy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Austria Must Take Migrants From Italy, Greece — Juncker
Must fulfill obligations says EC chief
(ANSA) — Brussels, April 5 — Austria must start taking in asylum seekers relocated from Italy and Greece, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday, saying that Vienna was not fulfilling its EU obligations. “The Commission is ready to discuss how to assist the Austrian authorities, so that they gradually fulfill their obligations,” Juncker said. “Naturally we will take into account the solidarity which Austria showed in thepast”. Austrian Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said he would comply “immediately” but other Austrian officials stressed the process could be gradual as Juncker had said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Euro Commission Chief Says ‘No’ To Austria’s Plea to Quit Refugee Quota Scheme
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has rejected Austria’s request to allow it to withdraw from the mandatory EU refugee resettlement program that obliges it to accept more asylum seekers under the quota assigned to it by Brussels.
“Austria is legally bound to [participate] in the relocation [program] and I personally expect that Austria fulfills its obligations,” Junker wrote in an official answer to Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern’s letter sent to the European Commission in late March, in which Kern outlined Austria’s reasons for quitting the relocation program.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Interior Minister and Libyan Tribal Chiefs Sign Migrant Pact
ROME — Interior Minister Marco Minniti has signed an agreement with Libya’smain tribal leaders in support of the project to boost control of the Libyan coast in order to stem the departure of migrants and refugees to Italy, media sources reported.
Minniti summoned the tribal leaders from the southern Fezzan area responsible for controlling 5,000 km of Libya’s land border in order to promote peace in the area as a precondition for stemming migrant trafficking.
The meeting came on the heels of the memorandum signed by Premier Paolo Gentiloni and his Libyan counterpart Fayez Mustafaal-Sarraj on February 2 committing Italy to forming a new Libyan coast guard.
The 10 motorboats that Italy is renovating for Libya should be ready at theend of this month.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Hits Back at EU Bullying, ‘Not Possible’ To Punish Poland Over Migrants
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski has rejected threats that the European Union could penalise Poland for refusing to participate in the forced redistribution of Middle Eastern asylum seekers, saying the migrant issue is not connected to funding.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Quarter of a Million Syrians Allowed to Bring Families to Germany: Report
Slightly over a quarter million Syrian refugees have permission to bring their families from the war-torn country to Germany, a report in Bild claims.
The report published on Tuesday is based on a leaked official document looking into the effects of the refugee influx on Germany.
It states that 268,000 Syrian refugees currently have the right to bring their families to Germany.
Asylum seekers who are given full refugee status have the right to bring their families to Germany immediately. The families must not make asylum requests and are not included in official asylum figures, Die Welt reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Merkel must be in George Soros’s pocket to attack Hungary for placing restrictions on this criminal’s college. Did he graduate her old school, Karl Marx University?
They are definitely singing from the same music sheets.
Homesick Islamic trail-breaking pioneer colonizers could heal themselves by returning home. This not a public health issue. I am without sympathy.
Quarter of a Million Syrians Allowed to Bring Families to Germany: Report
So how many new “migrants” does this mean in reality?
Will multiple wives be allowed?
Records from most of these ares are dubious, at best. How harshly will proof of family links be sought (i.e., DNA tests for children)?
Here’s a guess: by the time this is all over, another million+ will be let in just via these 268,000.
This will, of course, set the precedent for the rest.
Expect another 5 million or so to arrive in Germany via family reunification in the next 5 years, if nothing drastic is done.
4/5 will probably be under 35. Compare to the demographics of Germany under 35, and that’s the real future that it leads to.
Do-gooders who realise where this will lie should at least try to concentrate on bringing in more PARENTS as a priority. While they’re a huge drain on healthcare resources, they pose no demographic threat and are the ones actually most likely in need of help… plus the drain on health resources is likely to turn voters anti-“migrant” a lot faster than with the younger ones… 🙂
Accepted UN figures for family reunification from these origin areas are 8 – yes 8 – per 1 Euro based ‘refugee’.
Have fun with that – and all will registered for benefits on arrival.
Why is it assumed that eight family members in Country X can only “reunify” with one family member in European Country Y?
If Abdul in Y misses his dear family so much, why doesn’t he go back to X?
Answer: Because it’s not about reunification. That would be a lost opportunity to add eight more parasites to European welfare rolls and further undermine a great but horribly debased civilization.
Wow, is Soros a Stazi too?
I guess he likes everything totalitarian.
You know former members of the Stasi work as cab drivers? You tell them your name, they know where you live.
Closing a university is a threat to democracy but importing millions upon millions of people who believe democracy is a sin is somehow OK. I guess one has to be an idiot to be chancellor these days.
That’s the first requirement of politics; being a shameless liar helps, but having the IQ of a large rabbit will send you straight to the top…
But at least bunnies are cute.
And they breed like muslims…
Excellent comment.
Re “George Soros Pumps Big Bucks…”
The US is in some ways an exemplary democracy; I know of no other nation which elects, say, fire chiefs. Why do Americans, of whatever political stripe, not unite to impose limits on electoral spending, and especially ban contributions from non-citizens? Just asking…
Mark Twain observed that the only thing Americans have in common is a fondness for ice water. Seventy percent are crazy about sports Facebook, and TV.
In my personal life experience fewer than ten Americans have had any interest in the Constitution let alone any passion about it. If we were a nation before the Civil War, or even before the income tax amendment and the New Socialist Deal, we are not now. The US is just a cool place to live and work and in many places not even that is true.
Trump’s win was just a death throe. He has no cultural or political understanding. We’re just drifting rudderless to the final progressive victory. We are low-bottom drunks. Incapable of outrage.
The problem is not so much the spending by outsiders or even spending in general; it is the brain-dead electorate who keeps voting for the same gallery of rogues every election.
** Germany Approves Bill Curbing Online Hate Crime, Fake News **
Europeans used to smash each other’s flesh and Bones with bullets and shrapnel. Germans withstood temperatures of -40 degrees outside Moscow in 1941. And that was just in August.
Now Merkel thinks Germans will be like the proverbial Hausfrau standing on a chair confronted by a mouse when the simple facts of human existence in a country are discussed. Germans must be preserved from such stressful realities under the firm and benevolent guidance of the Party. “Who we are” apparently are “children.”
In Germany it appears that saying “I don’t know about that Islam, seems like they have a lot of kooks” is a hate crime, but being a Muslim preaching that “All infidels must be killed!” is OK to multiculturals. Geez! Why do we fight so hard against cancer and heart disease if we are just going to surrender to a bunch of blood-thirsty jackals?
I can’t make sense out of absurdity so have no answer.
I do not understand the absence of outrage. The people in the Soviet Union at least rebeled by means of their samizdat. Now I see nothing but meek compliance by the mass of Europeans. Le Pen seems to understand how not to alarm the bunnies.
The prime directive seems to be “Don’t be mean.” To which should be added, “or we’ll crucify you.”
Well, by now everyone has seen the news about the airstrikes on Syria.
The Deep State has neutered Trump, and Goldman Sachs are the real winners.
My contention that ballots are simply comment cards for slaves is now confirmed.
Hey, he hasn’t even been in office the full hundred days. This is like turning the Queen Mary – it will take a while.
I’ll give him at least a year, maybe two, for this turn-around. However, I will note that the indefatigable Ann Corcoran, she of Refugee Resettlement Watch has a new category in her archives. She stumped for Trump endlessly but some of the immigration mis-steps have finally gotten to her. She’s established a “Trump Watch” archive.
https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/?s=Trump+Watch
Scroll down to see her report on the State Department’s dalliance with the Muslim Brotherhood. Sigh.
https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2017/03/31/trump-department-of-state-supports-the-muslim-brotherhood-white-house-caves/
Ann announced on her site the other day that she’s taking a break. I don’t blame her -this is bad news, I fear Trump is being played like a tuba.