A homeowner in Maine was killed when a home-made explosive blew up in his basement. He had been experimenting with explosive mixtures because he wanted to be able to remove tree stumps from his property. He was killed instantly, but his house sustained very little damage.
In other news, the French interior minister said that the terror threat level in France can’t be reduced, because 690 ISIS mujahideen are expected to return “home” soon.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Charles Low, Dean, Dora, DV, Insubria, JD, Reader from Chicago, SS, 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.
Are the ‘Toxic’ Democrats Destined to Become a Permanent Minority Party?
It has become exceedingly clear that the Democratic Party is in deep trouble. Close to 55 million dollars was spent on the race in Georgia’s sixth congressional district, and that shattered all kinds of records. Democrat Jon Ossoff was able to raise and spend six times as much money as Karen Handel and yet he still lost. This was supposed to be the race that would show the American people that the Democrats could take back control of Congress in 2018, and so for the Democrats this was a bitter failure. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee actually injected almost 5 million dollars into the race themselves, and Planned Parenthood threw in another $700,000. But after all of the time, effort and energy that was expended, Handel still won fairly comfortably.
The Democrats are trying to spin this result as some sort of “moral victory”, but as Dan Balz of the Washington Post has pointed out, there are “no moral victories in politics”…
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why Jon Ossoff lost.
All of the anger and violence that we have seen lately has greatly tainted the Democratic Party.
The Democrats have become the party of Kathy Griffin. The Democrats have become the party of Antifa and mock Trump assassinations.
And the Democrats have become the party of James Hodgkinson.
U.S. Representative Tim Ryan was right on the ball when he admitted that his party’s brand has now become “toxic” in much of the nation…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
“There are too many officials from the previous administration in the DOJ.”
Texas Republican Rep Louie Gohmert said the FBI’s refusal to label James Hodgkinson’s attempted mass assassination of Republican congressman as terrorism indicates “there are too many officials from the previous administration in the DOJ,” The Daily Caller reports.
– From The Daily Caller:…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Hard Evidence the Left Are Violent Extremists
The MSM is assisting the violent left by pushing their agenda. The left are becoming more and more violent as the mainstream media pushes their violent rhetoric to new levels.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Illinois Man Arrested for Threatening to Assassinate Trump
In the wake of last week’s shooting at a practice session for members of the House Republicans’ baseball team, federal authorities announced that they’ve arrested an Illinois man for threatening President Donald Trump. In a Facebook post published June 15, Joseph Lynn Pickett of Edwardsville Ill. said planned to assassinate the president, according to the Belville News-Democrat.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Indiana Guard Investigates Projectile Landing Outside Base
The Indiana National Guard is investigating how a projectile landed near a home outside its Camp Atterbury training base.
Gayland Roach tells the (Franklin) Daily Journal ( http://bit.ly/2sFu0VJ ) he was watching TV during the evening of June 10 when he heard a sound like a dynamite explosion, shaking his house. He found a large dent in his satellite dish and an eight-inch silver projectile on the ground near his home of more than 40 years.
Camp Atterbury spokeswoman Capt. Jessica Cates says the projectile appears to be a signal flare. She says an investigator is reviewing who was on the base and how the flare was fired.
Cates says the military will reimburse Roach for any repairs at his home near Edinburgh about 25 miles south of Indianapolis.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Lone Star Tick That Gives People Meat Allergies May Be Spreading
First comes the unscratchable itching, and the angry blossoming of hives. Then stomach cramping, and—for the unluckiest few—difficulty breathing, passing out, and even death. In the last decade and a half, thousands of previously protein-loving Americans have developed a dangerous allergy to meat. And they all have one thing in common: the lone star tick.
Red meat, you might be surprised to know, isn’t totally sugar-free. It contains a few protein-linked saccharides, including one called galactose- alpha-1,3-galactose, or alpha-gal, for short. More and more people are learning this the hard way, when they suddenly develop a life-threatening allergy to that pesky sugar molecule after a tick bite.
Yep, one bite from the lone star tick—which gets its name from the Texas-shaped splash of white on its back—is enough to reprogram your immune system to forever reject even the smallest nibble of perfectly crisped bacon. For years, physicians and researchers only reported the allergy in places the lone star tick calls home, namely the southeastern United States. But recently it’s started to spread. The newest hot spots? Duluth, Minnesota, Hanover, New Hampshire, and the eastern tip of Long Island, where at least 100 cases have been reported in the last year. Scientists are racing to trace its spread, to understand if the lone star tick is expanding into new territories, or if other species of ticks are now causing the allergy.
The University of Virginia is deep in the heart of lone star tick country. It’s also home to a world-class allergy research division, headed up by immunologist Thomas Platts-Mills. He’d been hearing tales of the meat allergy since the ‘90s—people waking up in the middle of the night after a big meal, sweating and breaking out in hives. But he didn’t give it much thought until 2004, when he heard about another group of patients all suffering from the same symptoms.
This time, it wasn’t a plate of pork chops they shared; it was a new cancer drug called cetuximab. The drug worked, but curiously, patients that lived in the southeast were 10 times as likely to report side effects of itching, swelling, and a dangerous drop in blood pressure.
Platts-Mills teamed up with cetuximab’s distributor, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and began comparing patient blood samples. He discovered that all the patients who experienced an allergic reaction had pre-existing antibodies to alpha-gal, and cetuximab was full of the stuff, thanks to the genetically modified mice from which it was derived. With that mystery solved, Platts-Mills turned to figuring out what made patients so sensitive to alpha-gal.
The best hint he had was the geographic overlap between the cetuximab patients and previously reported meat allergies. The area perfectly matched where people came down with Rocky Mountain spotted fever—a disease carried by the lone star tick. But it wasn’t until Platts-Mills and two of his lab members came down with tick-induced meat allergies of their own that they made the connection.
| — Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
Man Convicted of Deadly Stabbing After SpongeBob Dispute
LEWISBURG, PA. — A Pennsylvania man accused of stabbing someone after a confrontation a witness said was sparked by a comparison to SpongeBob SquarePants has been convicted of murder.
Prosecutors say 39-year-old Robert S. Lee stabbed Jamal Britton last July at a Lewisburg apartment complex.
PennLive.com reports witness Qaisha Jacobs told the jury Britton was angry after Lee told him he looked like the anthropomorphic cartoon sponge. Britton was the father of Jacobs’ son.
Lee acknowledged swinging a knife at Britton but said he was unsure if he struck him. He said he was afraid the angry, advancing Britton might have had a gun.
Lee drove away and threw his knife into a river. Britton walked to a nearby playground and eventually was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Lee was convicted Wednesday. He remains in jail pending sentencing.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Minneapolis Installs Shariah Hotline for ‘Hate Speech’ Snitches
City official indicates Trump supporters will be targeted
The city of Minneapolis has set up a hotline for residents to report suspected hate crimes, including “speech and actions,” according to statements on the city’s website.
The city, which will operate the “service” through its 3-1-1 helpline, is targeting any “harassing behaviors motivated by prejudice,” according to a press release. Those wishing to report a hate crime from outside the city may dial 612-673-3000.
According to the local newspaper, the Star-Tribune, “the announcement comes amid signs of a recent surge of such incidents affecting Muslims and Jews across the country, many of which go unreported.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Officials: Man Killed While Mixing up Explosives at Home
LINCOLN, Maine — Maine investigators say a homeowner died in an explosion in his basement where he was experimenting with explosives.
The State Fire Marshal’s office says 67-year-old Robert Stuart was killed instantly Wednesday night while mixing up explosives at his home in Lincoln.
A State Police bomb team found five IEDs in the basement and exploded them in Stuart’s backyard.
Stuart’s wife told investigators her husband had been making devices to blow up tree stumps.
Stuart’s body was found in the basement where the explosion occurred. Officials say there was little damage to the house.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Princeton’s President Reiterates Support for Free Expression, Peaceful Protest
The June 7 issue of Princeton Alumni Weekly included an article from the president of Princeton University, Christopher L. Eisgruber, titled “Free Speech at Princeton.” The article articulates and reiterates Princeton’s commitment to the values of free speech and free inquiry, a commitment that led the institution to adopt the University of Chicago’s “Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression.”
President Eisgruber’s article rightly emphasizes the importance of peaceful protest and more speech as a response to speech that offends, while condemning the “heckler’s veto”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter Blasts CNN for Saying Flint Stabber ‘Said Something in Arabic’
Reports indicated that witnesses heard the stabber shout “Allahu Akbar” before he attacked, but CNN chose to write “something in Arabic” instead
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Saying ‘Radical Islam’ Is ‘Definitely Wrong, ‘ Students Say
“The term radical Islam isn’t often assigned to any other religion; it’s only used with Islam.”
Curious to know where college students would come down on the matter, Campus Reform headed to Washington, D.C. to ask students at George Washington University a simple question: “Should we use the phrase ‘Radical Islam,’ or is it too offensive?”
Quickly, it became clear that students found the phrase abrasive and unnecessary.
“No, that’s definitely wrong,” one student asserted emphatically.
Another student objected that “the term radical Islam isn’t often assigned to any other religion; it’s only used with Islam,” but when pressed to name any terrorist attacks committed in the name of other religions, the student conceded that “I can’t name any off the top of my head, actually.”
Rather than employing condemnatory language in reference to terrorism, another student opined that politicians should “focus more on an acceptance and rehabilitation of extremist groups.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
White House Shows No Sign of Reopening Paris Climate Talks
Trump is destroying the cult of climate change
Three weeks after President Donald Trump pledged to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement and negotiate a better deal, foreign allies and U.S. officials alike remain perplexed about the White House’s plans going forward.
Two U.S. officials told POLITICO that senior White House aides, who are prioritizing health care legislation and increasingly preoccupied by the expanding Russia probe, have had very few internal conversations about the administration’s Paris strategy since Trump’s announcement. One official said the administration likely won’t begin mapping out its next moves until after the July G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.
Interviews with a half-dozen foreign officials and veteran climate negotiators show the international community is deeply uncertain in the meantime about how to interpret Trump’s June 1 Rose Garden speech, in which he vowed to “begin negotiations to re-enter either the Paris accord or an entirely new transaction, on terms that are fair to the United States.”
[Comment: Good. Stop the globalist communist transfer of billions via carbon scam out of the west.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Windows 10 Tip: Stop Using the Horribly Insecure SMBv1 Protocol
For years, Microsoft has been recommending that you disable the vulnerable SMBv1 protocol. The recent WannaCry ransomware outbreak underscores the need to take this important step. Here’s how.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Wisconsin Lawmakers Advance Bill to Suspend or Expel Students Who Disrupt Campus Speakers
Conservative media commentator Ben Shapiro was just a few minutes into a lecture at the University of Wisconsin last fall when more than a dozen student protesters rose from the audience and began chanting “shame!” and “safety!” in hopes of drowning him out.
Some of the protesters made their way to the front of the room and stood in front of Shapiro, a former Breitbart News editor who was giving a speech titled “Dismantling Safe Spaces,” as the university’s independent student newspaperreported at the time. Eventually, campus police arrived and the group exited, allowing Shapiro to carry on.
Under a new bill approved Wednesday night by the Wisconsin State Assembly, such student protesters in the UW system could be suspended or even expelled if they repeatedly disrupt campus speakers they disagree with.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Brexit Costs: EU Commissioner Proposes EU-Wide Climate Tax
As a result of Brexit and because of many new tasks the EU budget will be missing € 25 Billion. EU Budget Commissioner Gunther Oettinger, therefore, want to introduce new revenues for the EU in the form of a climate tax.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘European Army is Inevitable’ — German Defense Commissioner
Germany’s parliamentary defense commissioner, Hans-Peter Bartels, has renewed calls for a joint EU army amid concerns about the reliability of the NATO alliance and disorganization and fragmentation of national defense structures.
Speaking to the German Press Agency on Monday, Hans-Peter Bartels, the Germany Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, called on the 28-nation bloc’s militaries to unite into a single armed force.
“We are currently disorganized, technically fragmented and duplicate structures unnecessarily,” Bartels said, as quoted by the Telegraph. “We do not want to go down the solitary national path anymore. Not in Germany, not in the Netherlands, not in the Czech Republic and not in Italy.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France Terror Threat Can’t be Reduced as 690 French ISIS Soldiers ‘Coming Home Soon’
FRENCH interior minister Gérard Collomb said on Tuesday the French domestic terror threat level could not be reduced and that the risk of an attack remained a case of when, not if.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Germany for the Germans’: Explosive WhatsApp Leaks Pile Pressure on AfD
A leaked WhatsApp chat in which the Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) state leader in Saxony-Anhalt used a neo-Nazi slogan has forced the party to defend itself against renewed accusations of extremism.
For the past two years, the national leadership of the AfD — a fringe political party which rose to prominence on the back of its rejection of Germany’s open-border refugee policy — have fought off accusations that they are extremist.
Speaking to The Local in May, AfD leader Alice Weidel said that “there are no racists in the AfD.”
“I cannot see the right-wing populism in our party programme. I wouldn’t engage myself for such a party,” she insisted.
But on Wednesday a new scandal broke, adding to the long list of evidence that senior AfD members of the party at least sympathize with extremist right-wing movements.
In a leaked WhatsApp chat between party members, Saxony-Anhalt party leader André Poggenburg used the termDeutschland den Deutschen (Germany belongs to Germans), a parole often heard at marches organized by the neo-Nazi NPD party…
| — Hat tip: Charles Low | [Return to headlines] |
Macron Says Eastern Europe ‘Betrayed’ EU, Polish FM Wants Explanation
Poland’s foreign minister has said he hopes the French president will explain himself to Poles over comments that Eastern European countries “betrayed” the European Union.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Dutch Are More Eurosceptic Than the British: Netherlands MP Thierry Baudet
Thierry Baudet, a Dutch member of the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) who leads the Forum for Democracy party (Forum voor Democratie or FvD), spoke to the PanAm Post during last month’s launch of the Conservatives International movement in Florida.
Baudet, a journalist, author, and legal scholar who entered the Tweede Kamer for the first time after the March, 2017 Dutch general election, in which his eurosceptic party won two seats in the lower chamber, stated that he decided to move from academia and the think-tank world into politics because “something really had to change and we needed more than just academic publications and debates; we needed a change at the political level as well.”
Baudet said that, at the European level and in the Netherlands in particular, there are “uncontrolled immigration problems and a political elite that is unwilling to do something about it.” Another problem, he added, is “an ever expanding European Union that takes away from the nation states more and more sovereign power.” The combination of mass immigration and the dilution of national sovereignty, he affirms, “is a very dangerous development and we have to change it.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
If the U.S. Continues to Creep Toward World War 3, Eventually it is Going to Happen
After a bit of a lull for the past couple of months, the march toward war appears to be accelerating once again. On Monday the U.S. military shot down yet another Syrian aircraft, and it appears that President Trump’s patience with North Korea’s nuclear program may have run out. Unlike our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the situations in Syria and North Korea both have the potential of sparking a much wider conflict. If we end up in a war with Syria, it is very likely that we will ultimately be fighting the Russians and the Iranians as well. On the other side of the globe, a war with North Korea could also potentially draw in China. This happened in the first Korean War, and it could easily happen again. It is understandable that the Trump administration wants to be tough with both Syria and North Korea, but we need to be extremely careful about the use of military force because one wrong move could potentially spark World War 3. For the last couple of months, the Trump administration has been relying on China to put pressure on North Korea to end their nuclear weapons program. But now it appears that Trump has given up on that. On Monday, he posted the following message on his Twitter account…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Is the escalating conflict in Syria setting the stage for World War III with Russia? On Sunday, a U.S. Navy F-18 shot down a Syrian Army SU-22 near Raqqa. This represents a major escalation by U.S. forces, because this is the very first time that the U.S. military has shot down a Syrian warplane since the civil war began back in 2011. Needless to say, the Russians were not pleased by this at all. In fact, according to the Independent the Russians have just announced that all U.S. warplanes flying over Syria will now be treated as “targets” by the Russian military…
Russia has said it will treat US warplanes operating in parts of Syria where its air forces are also present as “targets” amid a diplomatic row caused by the downing of a Syrian jet.
The country’s defence ministry said it would track US-led coalition aircraft with missile systems and military aircraft, but stopped short of saying it would shoot them down.
A hotline set up between Russia and the US to prevent mid-air collisions will also be suspended.
The Russians have some of the very best anti-aircraft systems on the entire planet, and they would be more than capable of shooting down our jets.
So let us hope that the Russians don’t cross that line, because the anti-Russian hysteria in Washington would go to an entirely new level if footage of U.S. jets being blown out of the sky started running 24 hours a day on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News.
But if U.S. forces keep striking the Syrian military, at some point the Russians are not going to hold back any longer. According to the Washington Post, Sunday’s incident was “the fourth time within a month that the U.S. military has attacked pro-Syrian government forces”…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Bangladesh: Gaibandha: Muslims Attempt to Rape a Catholic Tribal
The young woman is 20 years old and belongs to the parish of Mariampur. Family is being pressured to withdraw the complaint. Last year, the local Christian community was attacked by police and Muslims for expropriation of land. Parish priest: “We want justice and security.”
Gaibandha (AsiaNews) — A young Catholic tribal tribe has been raped by three Muslim men, and now lives in fear. The violent attack occurred in the village of Madarpur, in Gaibandha, in the diocese of Dinajpur.
On June 18, the 20-year-old girl was attacked by three criminals — including a security guard — but with her cries she was able to attract the attention of other tribals who managed to save her. After the attempted rape, the three men fled and are still at large. The young woman’s family filed a complaint, but now denounces it is being threatened by criminals, who want the case to be dropped.
The three accused are Halim Shak, 28, a security guard at a sugar factory; Wear Amin, 35, and Abdul Latif, 35. The Catholic Tribal is a member of the Mariampur Parish. Last year her family was involved in a land dispute. The violence — a premeditated attack — was also witnessed by the police, deployed by the Muslims who wanted to expropriate the land. The young woman, along with her parents, were forced to leave the house and live in a slum.
Father Samson Marandy, parish priest of Mariampur, reports to AsiaNews that the victim “is already in a state of weakness because persecuted for their land. She lives like a refugee and has also had to suffer sexual assault by Muslims. “ “Christians here — he adds — are the minority and remain victims of the Islamic majority. We as church leaders are on the part of our people. We want justice and security. “
In Bangladesh more than 90% of the population (over a total of more than 160 million inhabitants) profess Islam. Christians are just 600,000, of which about 350,000 Catholics. In October 2016, Pope Francis (who could go to the country next November) created the first cardinal, the archbishop of Dhaka Patrick D’Rozario. In an exclusive interview with AsiaNews he said: “The merit of my nomination goes to the people of Bangladesh, to their cultural traditions and to being a small flock. It is also a call to witness Christianity more and more among the Islamic and Hindu majority. “
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Sydney’s ‘millionaire’ Muslim convicted of fraud after posing as a ‘single struggling mother’ to obtain welfare benefits and subsidised housing is still living in her government-owned flat four months on.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Controversial Muslim youth activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied told a Canberra forum that Australian democracy doesn’t represent her because she’s a black woman.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A hardline Sydney Muslim imam says it is sinful for someone to cry when a loved one dies. Sunni preacher Mustafa Arja said displays of emotion were forbidden in Islam.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Kenyan-born Senator Lucy Gichuhi, who grew up without shoes, is worried about Australia’s welfare dependency and has declared citizenship to be a right not a privilege.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Migrant Who Visited Kindergarten May Have Given Children Tuberculosis
An asylum seeker diagnosed with tuberculosis who visited a kindergarten several times in Bünsdorf, Germany, may have infected as many as 18 children and four adults with the disease.
The migrant, originally from Yemen, spent five months from January to May in the community, meeting families and spending time at a local kindergarten. Brought to Bünsdorf by the local church, the man is said to have had an infectious case of tuberculosis and children aged three to six may be affected, leaving parents outraged, Eckernförderung Zeitung reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary: Trial Starts in Case of 71 Migrants Killed in Truck
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The trial of 11 men indicted in the case of 71 migrants who died in the back of a refrigerated truck in 2015 started in Hungary on Wednesday.
Prosecutors have asked for life sentences for the four alleged human smugglers who are facing murder charges. The other defendants are facing shorter prison terms and expulsion from Hungary.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: EU Must Do More on Migrants — Gentiloni
Premier has bilateral with Juncker
(ANSA) — Rome, June 22 — Premier Paolo Gentiloni reiterated Thursday that the European Union must do more to help Italy cope with the Mediterranean asylum-seeker crisis after a bilateral meeting with European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker. “Greater commitment is needed both in economic terms and in terms of political decisions,” Gentiloni said as he went into a meeting of the Party of European Socialists before the start of the European Summit. “It is necessary to recognise that the Commission and Jean-Claude Juncker are aware of this commitment”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
‘We Will Have Millions of Migrants’ EU Chief Warns Brussels
Antonio Tajani was speaking ahead of a two-day EU summit with immigration, security and the economy expected to dominate the agenda.
Speaking outside the summit, Mr Tajani said: “We need a solution on immigration. For the European Parliament it is a priority. We are working on reform and we will vote before the end of the summer.
“For us it is important to work a lot in Africa, we need a solution for Africa, because without a solution in Africa we will have more migrants, millions and millions of migrants coming from this region. We need investment on this.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Oregon Adds Third Gender Option to Driver’s Licenses, State IDs
Oregonians can now declare themselves non-binary.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The World is on the Edge of WWIII, Top Experts Agree
The world is moving closer and closer to world war three thanks to the ongoing attempts of the globalists to destroy humanity.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The EU planning an effective military? Now, that’s funny. Thoughts of Peter Sellers in “The Grand Duchy of Fenwick” come to mind. A great movie with a keen message.
You mean “The Mouse that Roared.” He played 3 roles in that movie, as he did in “Dr. Strangelove” aka the funniest movie of all time.
However, Malachy, point well taken.