A Sudanese immigrant named Emanuel Kidega Samson entered a church this morning in Antioch, Tennessee, and opened fire with a gun, wounding six people. Mr. Samson had allegedly already shot and killed a woman in the parking lot before he entered the church. An usher at the church confronted him and struggled with him, and was pistol-whipped while they were grappling. The gunman accidentally shot himself during the struggle, whereupon the usher ran to his car, got his own gun, and held the wounded attacker at gunpoint until police arrived. The wounded members of the congregation are recovering in the hospital, as is Mr. Samson, albeit under police guard.
In other news, Catalan separatists defied the Spanish government and distributed ballots in advance of the planned independence referendum on October 1.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Charles Low, Dean, Fjordman, JD, Jerry Gordon, KS, Reader from Chicago, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, 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.
1 Killed, At Least 6 Injured at Antioch Church Shooting
One person has been killed and at least six others have been wounded in a shooting at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch.
Police have identified the shooter as Emmanuel Sampson, 25, of Murfreesboro.
Police said the shooting occurred as the church was dismissing at 11:15 a.m.
One woman was shot in the parking lot after she exited the building.
Police said the gunman, who was wearing a neoprene ski mask, entered the church through the back door and went into the sanctuary.
The shooter was a 26-year-old black male from Rutherford County, according to police. The blue SUV he was driving is located next to the church.
The gunman fired multiple rounds inside the church and six people were shot.
Police said an usher confronted the gunman and was pistol-whipped. During the confrontation, the gunman was shot in the left chest.
The usher, who has a handgun carry permit, went to his car and retrieved his gun.
All of the injured people were adults. Police do not believe any children were in the sanctuary at the time of the shooting.
Two people were critically injured and four suffered non-critical injuries.
Police said three women and three men, including the gunman, were taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The man who was pistol-whipped and another victim was transported to Skyline Medical Center.
The gunman is under heavy guard at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. His injuries are believed to be non-life threatening.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center confirmed two people were critically injured and four are in stable condition as of 1:30 p.m.
The two critical patients suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and torso. The other four patients there suffered gunshot wounds to their extremities.
Police said there were more than 30 people in the sanctuary at the time of the shooting.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Muslim Images on Personal Facebook Page Cost Maine Bank Executive Her Job
Kennebunk Savings became aware of the post shortly after announcing the woman had been promoted, and says in a written statement that ‘the themes portrayed … are unacceptable.’
Kennebunk Savings bank has parted ways with a high-ranking executive whose personal Facebook page contained anti-Muslim images.
The bank announced in a statement on its website and Facebook page Friday that it was no longer employing a staff member whose “personal Facebook page contained some disturbing and offensive images.” The bank did not identify the employee or say whether the employee resigned or was fired. But the Maine Beacon, a liberal website, named the employee and identified her as a high-ranking official, and also published the offending images that appeared on her Facebook page.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Before Antioch Church Shooting, Suspect Made Cryptic Facebook Posts
Emanuel Kidega Samson made several cryptic Facebook posts, one alluding to a sudden attack, on Sunday morning before police say he went on a shooting rampage at a church in Antioch where he used to attend.
Samson, who according to his Facebook page is originally from the Sudan, wrote just before 11 a.m., “Everything you’ve ever doubted or made to be believe as false, is real. & vice versa, B.”
Two photos posted this morning shows Samson flexing his muscles accompanied with the words “unrestricted paroxysm.” Paroxysm means a sudden attack or violent expression of emotion.
Police said Samson is a legal U.S. resident but not a citizen. He moved to the U.S. in the 1990s, police spokesman Don Aaron said.
Church members did not recognize Samson on Sunday because he was masked, but later told police he used to attend church services there.
“He actually had attended this church a year or two years ago,” Aaron said. “They said he hasn’t been there in quite a while. They couldn’t be more definitive on that, but they actually knew him…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Can You Hear This? Castro’s Intelligence Operation Inside the United States
The Castro brothers of Cuba have been running spy operations inside the United States for decades and only a few have been detected and caught. The FBI has a division devoted to tips, clues and investigations for tracking the evidence and bringing prosecutions. It is tedious work, after all, it is a clandestine craft on both sides.
Cuba has a revenue base of selling intelligence and the global buyers include Iran, Russia, China and even Syria.
In 1998, a group of ten Cuban spies were arrested.
Ten people were charged in the largest Cuban spy ring ever uncovered in the United States since Fidel Castro came to power nearly 40 years ago.
According to the FBI, the spy ring had been under surveillance in south Florida for three years.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Disrespectful NFL Teams Visiting London Kneel During National Anthem
The Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars teams took a knee in defiance of Donald Trump at Wembley Stadium today after he said sportsmen who ‘disrespect America’ should be ‘fired’.
DISRESPECTING OUR FLAG…FOR WHAT?
Players from both Jacksonville Jaguars and the Baltimore Ravens dropped to their knees as the national anthem was played prior to the match in London.
No players were kneeling during the playing of ‘God Save The Queen’, which followed the US national anthem.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Former Army Ranger is Only Steelers Player Who Shows for National Anthem [Video]
Former Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva was the only Pittsburgh Steelers player to appear on the field and stand for the national anthem today. Think about it…one player out of all of the players showed respect for what our flag stands for. They just don’t get it…Boycott the NFL!
Alejandro Villanueva, a West Point graduate and former Army Ranger who served three tours in Afghanistan, stood at the tunnel with his hand over his heart to salute the flag and honor the brave men and women who have served America. This is not a political stance but a “love of Country” stance. These players need to understand the difference and honor those who have fought and died for America.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Google poses a very unique threat. Anyone concerned about their health and food and their ability to obtain truthful information about both needs to understand the role Google plays, and whose side Google is really on.
Starting with the issue of health care, the company recently partnered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and is getting deeper into the drug promotion business with its launch of a depression self-assessment quiz.3,4 Just like WebMD before it, this test funnels you toward a drug solution. No matter how you answered WebMD’s questions, you were diagnosed as being at risk for major depression and urged to discuss treatment with your doctor.
That test, it turns out, was sponsored by drugmaker Eli Lilly, maker of the antidepressant Cymbalta. Now, any time you use the search term “clinical depression” in the Google mobile search engine, you will find a link to a page to “check if you’re clinically depressed.” The quiz is part of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHG-9), “a clinically validated screening questionnaire” according to MedicalXpress.5 Beware of ‘Patient’s Rights Groups’ Working on Behalf of Drug Makers
While it may seem like an altruistic ideal to raise awareness about mental illness, the “stop the stigma” campaign is actually funded and driven by the drug industry itself, under the guise of various front groups, of which NAMI is one. As noted by PsychCentral, nearly 75 percent of the organization’s funding comes from drug companies.6 Evidence also shows that drug companies have instructed NAMI to “resist state efforts to limit access to mental health drugs” and “how to advocate forcefully for issues that affect industry profits.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Has the Legal Authority of the United Nations Surpassed That of the United States Congress?
In March of 2012, Senator Jeff Sessions had a shocking exchange with Leon Panetta, Obama’s CIA Director. In the exchange caught on video, you can see General Kelly, the current White House Chief of Staff, sitting smugly behind Panetta. I find it very revealing that Kelly is present at this controversial time during the Obama administration, and now he is guarding President Donald Trump as White House Chief of Staff.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s declaration before the Senate Armed Services Committee that the President should not consult the Congress but look to the globalist power of NATO and the United Nations for direction when deciding to openly engage in foreign war went largely unnoticed. But it needs to be noticed now as a flashing alert. We are fighting for our sovereignty at this time, and we need to know what we are really up against.
Questioned by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) about what legal authority the Administration of Barack Obama has to intervene in Syria as it did it Libya, Panetta made one thing remarkably clear: The Administration answers not to the American people, the Congress or the Constitution, but to NATO and the U.N.
I have been searching for signs of the Deep State, and here we certainly have one. The Deep State tends to work behind the scenes to overthrow the power and sovereignty of the United States. It is very concerning how surrounded President Trump is by those who are rooted in the Deep State — namely General Kelly.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Here’s Why NSC Staffer Rich Higgins Says He Was Fired From the Trump Administration [Video]
Higgins explains that what America is experiencing is far beyond any normal politics. As a military strategic planner, the venom, vitriol and barrage of narratives directed by the media and cultural elites at a duly-elected president can be seen in an ideological light. Higgins explains that the “nature of the president’s election informed the reaction to his assumption of power.”
Globalists and those who prefer international governance to constitutional are repelled by the notion of national sovereignty and American interests. Trump’s campaign refrain to “build a wall,” Higgins explains, was a clever boiling down of sovereignty to the natural need for a nation to enforce and have borders.
He says he was fired for remaining based in reality and not succumbing to the politically correct, multicultural self-delusion popular in the governing elite.
“There are a lot of external influences — whether that be oil wealth from the Middle East, our own ideologically incapable folks who, you know, because they exist in the post-modernist multi-culturalist worldview, they can’t believe that an enemy really would fight you and believe he has to kill you because of his religion,” Higgins said.
He also calls on Trump supporters to have “strategic patience” with Trump, who came in as a classic counter-revolutionary. It’s going to be a long fight, Higgins says, but he and others plan to continue it on the outside. Losses will be inevitable because of some internal weak links and other challenges, but he tells Trump supporters to “soldier up.”
Higgins encourages more people to read more about information campaigns, ideological battles and the long term efforts from the Frankfurt school and liberal intellectuals to use cultural Marxism subversion to subvert American exceptionalism via political turmoil and manipulation of public opinion.
For more on influence operations and ideological subversion, listen to Soviet defector Yuri Bezmenov, who discusses the demoralization of America that radically altered forms of government.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The worst error made by the leaders of the West between World War I and World War II was their failure to take Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” seriously. In that book, Hitler laid out everything he meant to do, and meant every word of it. The fact that most of what he wished to do was impossible was probably what prompted Western leaders to ignore it. But in trying to do those things, Hitler plunged the whole world into the worst disaster it had known since Noah’s Flood.
That was because he tried his level best to do all those things he dreamed of doing.
Leftids’ ideas, when they are candid enough to express them, seem equally impossible and profoundly asinine. That’s why we don’t take them seriously. But just because those things can’t be done doesn’t mean the Left won’t try to do them. We need to look past the craziness of their ideas and focus on the intent. These are the things that they intend to do, and it doesn’t matter whether they succeed or fail. Either way, it’ll be a costly mess with lots and lots of suffering involved-mostly by people who don’t deserve it.
Last week a law professor at William and Mary, James Dwyer, a man with long experience and still much influence in New York’s family court system, repeated his claim that parenthood is not a biological reality, not a fundamental part of being human, but only a creation of the state.
“The reason that parent-child relationship exists,” he babbled, “is because the state confers legal parenthood on people through its paternity and maternity laws.”
I didn’t know that! Did you? Here we were, thinking that being born to a mother and father was something that naturally happened without any help from bureaucrats, politicians, and lawyers. But then we’re not influential law professors, are we?
In 1994 Mr. Dwyer wrote a book, “Debunking the Doctrine of Parents’ Rights”-not self-published by some leftid loon, but by the California Law Review.
So we can be pretty sure we know where Mr. Dwyer’s coming from, and what kinds of things he’d like to do if he ever had the power.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Mind Hack — How Corporations Took Over Our Bodies and Brains
The science is in: Processed food is addictive, can make you extremely unhappy and will prematurely kill you. How did this happen? And how have food manufacturers been able to deceive the world about these facts? Dr. Robert Lustig has written a new book, “The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains,” in which he explains how and why this occurred.
He is perhaps most well-known for his brilliant research into sugar and obesity, and his previous book, “Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity and Disease,” was a New York Times Best Seller. Lustig is an emeritus professor of pediatrics in the division of endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco, and a member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies. Since the last time I interviewed him, he’s also completed a master’s in public health law.
The Genesis of ‘Hacking of the American Mind’
The motivation for “The Hacking of the American Mind” began some 30 years ago, while still a postdoctoral fellow in neuroscience at Rockefeller University. There, he learned about the interaction between dopamine and serotonin in the brain. At the time, only basic correlational data existed, but there appeared to be a very specific interaction going on between these two neurochemicals.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Pittsburgh Steelers to Skip National Anthem, Remain in Locker Room
Many NFL teams have been issuing statements voicing their displeasure after President Trump called for NFL owners to suspend or fire players who protested the national anthem.
But according to Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin the Steelers will just skip the national anthem altogether and remain in the locker room.
[Comment: The audience should do the same. Skip buying tickets to the NFL and stay at home. This whole thing is orchestrated to turn public against the NFL and kill the NFL as an American cultural sport, to make way for the “world” sport of soccer. Any owners who can’t see this are stupid and short sighted.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Social Security — The Second Government Socialist Trap
“The only reason that Democrats care for the poor, the downtrodden, the sick, the infirmed, the disabled, the Blacks, the Latinos, the LGBT crowd and other minority groups is for the votes they hope to garner by pandering to them, because political power is their only objective. The only reason they lobby for and pass unconstitutional socialist legislation is to buy these groups off for their votes. In their politically driven hearts they care not one whit for these groups. Sadly, they cannot help themselves because after five generations of liberal indoctrination, this Progressive genetic disease is firmly embedded in their gene pool.” —Ron Ewart
A few days ago, a columnist in the Washington Post wrote this:
“When Bernie Sanders launched his bid for the Democratic nomination, he was often asked whether he, a democratic socialist, would actually become a Democrat. Now, more than a year after he ignited a movement with his unsuccessful bid, that question is moot. The Democrats have become socialists.”
“This became official, more or less, Wednesday afternoon, when Sanders rolled out his socialized health-care plan, Medicare for All, and he was supported by 16 of his Senate Democratic colleagues who signed on as co-sponsors, including the party’s rising stars and potential presidential candidates in 2020: Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand.”
The Democrats have now finally come out of the closet and admitted that they are avowed socialists. For those of us with any intellect at all, who have been watching the Democrats for the last 60 years, have known for at least that time that Democrats were and are socialists.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Robert Chandler said in his book SHADOW WORLD, Resurgent Russia, the Global New Left and radical Islam says the American people, held like the prisoners in Plato’s cave, are being fed a constant psychological diet of images designed by Russia’s clandestine specialists doing all they can do to constraint the growth of America’s power and influence. At the same time, America’s home-grown and international cultural Marxists or progressives-socialists-marxists— in ideological solidarity with Russia — are centered on tearing down what they call “corporate America,” and Islamic militants are poised to crush what they see as the depravity of U.S. culture and enforce a status of dhimmitude before America’s toxic perversion can infect Muslim societies. (dhimmitude is the Muslim system of controlling non-Muslim populations conquered through Jihad.) The arsenal of political weapons chosen in the assault on America by one or more of the three antagonists include subversion, propaganda (open and covert), disinformation, direct action (agitation) and active measures, terrorism, agents of influence, immigration and a particular emphasis by all three groups on the life-blood of political warfare: denial and deception.
Since few in the United States are countering the images cast by these three hostile centers, Americans, when they are released from the dictatorship of the images cast inside Plato’s modern cave and having reached the sunlight of reality, do not perceive the dangers swirling around them. Therefore, it will be difficult to correct the pictures that deceive Americans. These perceptions have been keenly shaped by the propaganda and disinformation spewed from the Russians, cultural Marxists, and Salafists, Americans can be expected to resort to the human psychological process of cognitive dissonance, which will screen-out factors in the real world that do not fit the images so carefully fed to them…
Those with memories long enough and those who have studied 20th-century political history may recognize in the current tumult many familiar contours that are strikingly similar to the horrendous communist convulsion in China known as Mao Tse-tung’s “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.” This is not mere coincidence; there are direct, as well as ideological, ties connecting Red China’s Cultural Revolution and Mao’s murderous, fanatical Red Guards to the unfolding chaos that is enveloping our nation. The frenzied Antifa/BLM/LGBTQ/enviro-climate zealots are the vanguards of a Maoist culture that has taken root in academia, Hollywood, Big Labor, and Big Business, and if allowed to thrive unchallenged will undoubtedly result in now-unimaginable death and destruction, as did Mao’s “glorious experiment” in Orwellian social transformation. Don’t miss this 14 minutes YouTube! It’s happening today
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Antithesis of Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum
Back in early 2016, Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum was torn apart by Cruz supporters. After Phyllis Schlafly’s endorsement of Donald J. Trump, a rift started in her organization and family. The coup, which emerged, was over Phyllis’s endorsement of Donald Trump, and her battle against a Constitutional Convention.
Six directors of Eagle Forum (the gang of six) have a hidden agenda, and most refused to return phone calls personally made to them by Phyllis to ask what their concerns were. Phyllis eventually asked these six to resign and they refused. They were led by her youngest child Anne Cori, and included Eunie Smith, Carolyn McLarty, Rosina Kovar, Shirley Curry, and Cathie Adams.
Phyllis was always loyal, actually loyal to a fault because she forgave, a true Christian. She didn’t know how to give up on people, and her sense of humor carried her through even in troubling times. She believed the good in those she loved. It wasn’t until she was walked on so many times, that she had no choice but to let go of those who burned holes in her heart, including her very own daughter. That’s when she asked these traitorous women to resign and they refused.
The gang of six wants control, and their goals are anathema to those of Phyllis Schlafly, who championed pro-life, fought the calls for a Constitutional Convention and upheld the sovereignty of America. They are led by Phyllis’s youngest daughter, Anne Cori. Anne’s husband is Tom Cori, a former corporate raider and member of the Carnegie Institute for Science, founded in 1895 by Pilgrims Society member, Andrew Carnegie.
It is this latter Institute for Science which is of interest. Tom Cori, husband of Anne Cori, is a Trustee. If you scroll to page 21 in the Carnegie Institute website, you will see Tom and Anne Cori listed as individuals who have made lifetime contributions of between $100,000 and $999,999. This Institute promotes many freedom destroying programs, including common core and climate change.
These goals are anathema to Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum…
Senator Lee now favors using Article V to amend the Constitution. Initially he was against it, but has changed his mind after reading Mark Levin’s book and having several discussions with him. Both these men are lawyers, and obviously neither worry one iota about the 1787 precedents and how our Constitution, once opened, will be thoroughly destroyed and replaced with the Ford and Rockefeller written New States Constitution, which first appeared in Rexford Tugwell’s book, The Emerging Constitution.
Last year, the RNC Rules Committee members from Utah were Senator Mike Lee and his wife, Sharon Lee. Both were Cruz supporters who hoped to derail Trump.
Lee also supports legislation that will bring more Muslims into America. In January of 2015, a handful of Senators quietly introduced new legislation in Congress that would allow for virtually unlimited Muslim immigration into the United States — lifting caps entirely on several categories of visas favored by immigrants from Muslim countries. The Mark Zuckerberg-backed legislation, S.153, is called the Immigration Innovation Act (or I-Squared). Link
[Comment: Phyllis Schlafly (passed away recently) was a first class American patriot. A classy lady.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
If you believe a war is being waged against President Donald Trump and the American people who supported him, it is imperative you understand the roots of that war. When Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States, he made a revealing speech in the presence of his predecessors — George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Trump spoke straightforwardly to the establishment/Deep State in a bold manner no one had heard before.
QUOTE:
“Today’s ceremony,” he began, “has very special meaning. Because today we are not merely transferring power from one Administration to another, or from one party to another — but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People.
For too long, a small group in our nation’s Capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.
Washington flourished — but the people did not share in its wealth.
Politicians prospered — but the jobs left, and the factories closed.
The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country.
Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while they celebrated in our nation’s Capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.
That all changes — starting right here, and right now, because this moment is your moment: it belongs to you.
It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America.
This is your day. This is your celebration.” END OF QUOTE
I think “We the People” need to appreciate what Donald Trump said on that day in January of 2017. It was a ground breaking day for Trump and for those who voted for him. In fact, it was a revelation for all Americans, as we were being forewarned of the battle ahead. It was the beginning of a war that was to be waged by the Deep State against President Trump and those who voted for him.
Presently as we witness the assault on President Trump by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team, we ask ourselves how could this be happening. How could those who blatantly broke the law without being charged by the Judicial system be prosecuting the President of the United States?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Killer robots of the future will need more powerful chips to allow them to process vast amounts of data.
The US military has now announced it is investing $900 million (£665 million) on advanced materials and technologies to make these processors a reality.
It hope its efforts will enable the 50 years of growth in micro-processing power to continue over the coming century.
This will allow for the creation of advanced AI systems, ranging from killing machines to cars, planes and other autonomous technology.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Why States Can’t Prevent a Runaway Convention
The danger of an Article V convention (which made James Madison “tremble”, caused Alexander Hamilton “dread”, and Chief Justice John Jay to say that another convention would impose an “extravagant risque”) is this: the delegates to the convention can run away: instead of proposing amendments to our existing Constitution, they can write a completely new Constitution with a new — and easier — mode of ratification…
If delegates to a convention today vote to make the proceedings secret, the States won’t know what is going on — and can’t stop it. And if delegates vote by secret ballot, the States would NEVER know who did what.
You might think that with cell phones & cameras, it’s impossible to have a secret meeting. But the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which “induces” State Legislators to push the COS application for an Article V convention, is experienced in conducting secret meetings with State Legislators. WATCH this 6.5 minute video of a Georgia TV crew which attempted to get into a meeting held at a Georgia hotel of ALEC and Georgia Legislators.
ALEC, which supports the COS application for an Article V convention, is funded by the Koch Brothers and other mega-corporations. The Koch Brothers spend vast sums on State politicians (e.g., Texas), to get their support for the COS application. Do the Kochs want an Article V convention so they can get a new Constitution which transforms us from a sovereign nation to a member state of the North American Union? And if there is a convention, will armed guards keep the press out? If delegates have been bought by the Kochs, will they tweet & text to the world what they are up to behind closed doors?…
Americans have forgotten a Principle which is the basis of free government: That political power originates with The People. The People create governments by means of constitutions. Since a government is the “creature” of its constitution, it can’t be superior to its Creator, The People.
This is why at the federal convention of 1787, where our present federal Constitution was drafted, our Framers understood that only The People were competent to ratify the new Constitution. George Mason said on July 23, 1787,
“…The [State] Legislatures have no power to ratify it. They are the mere creatures of the State Constitutions, and cannot be greater than their creators…”
Keeping that Principle firmly in mind, let’s look at Article V, US Constitution.
It provides that when two thirds of the State Legislatures (“mere creatures”) apply for it, Congress is to call a convention. At that point, it is out of the State Legislatures’ hands — the bell has tolled, and State Legislatures can’t un-ring it. Congress “calls” the convention (sets it up); but when it assembles, the delegates, as Sovereign Representatives of the People, are not answerable to State Legislatures (which are “mere creatures” of the State Constitution) or to Congress (which is a “mere creature” of the federal Constitution). The delegates actually have the power to eliminate the federal and state governments — and that is precisely what the proposed Constitution for the Newstates of America does.
[Comment: Read it all. The elimination of the US constitution is the next goal for the globalists — to replace it with a communist “Newstates of America” tyrannical document which has ALREADY been written.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Why the Left Hated Trump’s U.N. Speech
by Marc A. Thiessen
When Donald Trump ran for president, he criticized the interventionist policies of his Republican and Democratic predecessors, sparking fears that he would usher in a new era of American isolationism. But at the U.N. this week, Trump laid out a clear conservative vision for vigorous American global leadership based on the principle of state sovereignty.
Judging from their hysterical reaction, critics on the left now seem to fear he’s the second coming of George W. Bush. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called his address “bombastic.” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said it represented an “abdication of values.” And Hillary Clinton said it was “very dark” and “dangerous.” This is all the standard liberal critique of conservative internationalism. The left said much the same about President Ronald Reagan…
| — Hat tip: KS | [Return to headlines] |
Will the Deep State’s War on Trump Lead to an Actual Civil War?
There have been over a dozen high-level and much-publicized personnel shifts in the Trump Administration in the past 9 months, but they shouldn’t be interpreted as signaling that the President himself will be leaving anytime soon. These are all just casualties of Trump’s war with the “deep state” (permanent military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies), whereby the vested power interests in the US are fighting to defeat the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement. Throughout the course of this conflict, Trump has clearly been thrown on the defensive as he’s had to compromise on his promised foreign policy platforms in order to retain a chance at succeeding on the domestic front, but even that looks uncertain right now in some respects as the “deep state”, aided by the RINOs (Republicans In Name Only), relentlessly continues to chip away at MAGA in order to retain their power and influence.
If they can force Trump into submission and turn him into their puppet, as they’re trying to do, then there would be no need to attempt to remove him from office; likewise, if he continues to resist in some capacities, as he’s doing on domestic issues, then this scenario because more possible. Even so, it’s unlikely to succeed except in the event that Trump’s enemies can pull off turning him into the “fascist dictator” that they’ve fear mongered he’d become even before he was elected.
The only conceivable way for this to happen is if the domestic unrest in the US between the Alt-Left and Alt-Right becomes so uncontrollable that Trump is forced to implement limited martial law, and if (or likely when) a racial minority or group thereof is killed during this time, regardless of the circumstances, this would be used to swiftly bring about attempted impeachment charges on whatever trumped-up pretext can be made. It’s not being implied that this will succeed, but just that if one talks about the impeachment scenario, then this is the only one out of the wide array that are being bandied about which has any realistic chance of succeeding, though the odds are nevertheless still slim.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Trudeau’s Popularity Dropping as Conservatives Surge in Poll
A Forum Research poll released Sunday has the Conservative Party of Canada on the cusp of forming a majority government if an election were held today.
After a summer of outrage over giving $10.5 million to former terrorist Omar Khadr and growing anger over a proposed income tax grab, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a 47 percent disapproval rating, the new poll indicates.
The random sampling has the Conservatives with 39 percent support followed by the Liberals at 35 percent. The quasi-socialist New Democratic Party is way behind at 15 percent with splinter parties taking up the remainder of popular support.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Go Out & Vote” — Catalan Separatists Defy Spain, Distribute 1 Million Ballots Ahead of Referendum
Following the confiscation of millions of ballots in recent days, and the Spanish governments’ pressure on local mayors to deter the October 1st independence referendum, AP reports that the grassroots groups driving Catalonia’s separatist movement defied Spanish authorities on Sunday by distributing one million ballots for the vote that Madrid has called illegal and vowed to halt.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-AfD Protests Break Out in Berlin After German Election
After the Alternative for Germany’s historic election result, opponents of the far-right populist party have taken to the streets in protest. The police have secured the area, but protesters keep arriving.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on Berlin’s Alexanderplatz on Sunday evening, bearing umbrellas to keep dry and waving anti-AfD signs to protest the far-right populist party’s election result.
Just hours before, the Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) earned an estimated 13.1 percent of votes in the German national election, ensuring that the young party would enter the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament.
The crowd was continuing to grow outside the building where the AfD was celebrating their historic election result. Protestors chanted slogans such as, “Racism is not an alternative,” “AfD is a bunch of racists,” and “Nazis out!”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Fascist Protests Break Out in Germany
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Germany following the country’s election on Sunday night, angry that a far-right party had gained seats in parliament for the first time.
Angela Merkel won a fourth term as Chancellor after her party gained the largest share of the votes, but she was left seriously damaged as she hemorrhaged millions of votes to fringe parties including the far-right AfD.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Di Maio: The Face of Populists Eyeing Power in Italy
To his admirers, Luigi Di Maio, the man anointed Saturday as the 5-Star Movement’s candidate for prime minister, is the reassuring face of Italy’s populist political insurgency.
Detractors portray him as a lightweight opportunist ready to say whatever it takes to secure the keys to the Palazzo Chigi, the Italian premier’s Renaissance residence in central Rome.
A sharp-suited 31-year-old who whizzes around the capital in an LPG-powered Mini, Di Maio comes across like the ideal son-in-law, a camera-friendly combination of impeccable grooming and manners.
Unmarried, he boasts a glamorous girlfriend, Silvia Virgulti, a party spin doctor ten years his senior…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Far-Right AfD Marches Into Parliament With Strong Election Result
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) Sunday became the first hard-right, openly anti-immigration party to enter parliament with so many seats since World War II, breaking a taboo despite calls to halt “the Nazis” in their tracks.
Exit polls credited the AfD with around 13 percent of the vote, making it the third biggest political force in Germany — a stunning result for a party that was founded just four years ago.
“We will change this country,” vowed Alexander Gauland, one of the party’s top candidates, pledging to “go after” Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government.
The results mean at least 60 AfD lawmakers will sit on the opposition benches and be able to spread their views, including challenging Germany’s culture of atonement over World War II and the massacre of six million Jews and others in the Holocaust.
The International Auschwitz Committee warned that the “conglomerate of anti-Semites, enemies of democracy and nationalistic agitators” will bring “an inhuman coldness” to the glass-domed chamber of the Reichstag building.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Far-Right Leaders in France, Netherlands Salute German Hard Right Advance
PARIS (AFP) — Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s National Front (FN), and Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders saluted the advance of Germany’s hard right AfD after the nationalists on Sunday became the third-largest party in parliament.
“Bravo to our AfD allies for this historic score,” tweeted Le Pen, defeated by Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential election run-off four months ago.
Le Pen hailed the AfD after its breakthrough score of 13 percent, enough for close on 90 seats, saying the party was a “new symbol of (the) reawakening of European peoples.” Wilders, head of the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), also tweeted his congratulations.
“I congratulate @FraukePetry (joint-chair of the AfD) and @AfD,” said Wilders, publishing a picture of himself alongside both Le Pen and Petry.
“The PVV is number two in the Netherlands, the FN is number two in France, the (far right) FPOe is second in Austria, AfD is third in Germany. The message is clear. We are not Islamic nations,” wrote Wilders, whose party captured 20 seats in a March election.
One AfD (Alternative for Germany) Euro MP already sits alongside five FN lawmakers and four PVV colleagues in the European Parliament.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Labor Reform Protests May Escalate, Turn Into Acute Issue for Macron
The ongoing protests of the French citizens against the reform of the country’s labor code may escalate in the future and become a “monstrous problem” for French President Emmanuel Macron, experts told Sputnik.
PARIS (Sputnik) — On Friday, Macron signed five decrees on labor reform aimed at introducing fundamental changes to the country’s labor market.
The reform of the labor code has already triggered large-scale protests across the country as French trade unions consider that it will deprive workers of their rights, because it will be easier for enterprises to fire their employees under the new labor code.
About 400,000 people took to streets in France in a strike called by several labor unions against the reform of the labor market on September 12. A range of manifestations is planned for the next week, including a potentially long-lasting strike of the road workers, who promise to block the refineries, which can result in massive fuel shortages across France similar to those in 2016 during the tenure of former President Francois Hollande.
According to Daniel Boy, a senior researcher at the Sciences Po, the rallies pose a certain threat to France and could become a monstrous problem for Macron, but the protests are not the same as the rallies that hit the country during Hollande’s rule.
“I tend to say that with the manifestations you can never know… there is a possibility that the things will start boiling, Macron’s popularity dropped very fast, so we don’t know yet where these manifestation will lead to. They can accelerate very fast. But it’s not the manifestations themselves that are a problem. It’s the blocking of the country. And this is much more difficult to resolve. Politically it’s much more annoying to have the road workers blocking the refineries, or go on a strike, that can become a monstrous problem,” Boy told Sputnik.
At the same time, he added that in contrast to Hollande, Macron had certain discussions of the labor reform with the representatives of trade unions and several of them had supported Paris.
“We have to always be cautious of manifestations. Macron already started saying that it was not the street that had a say, what we always hear from those in power. There are two major differences between the reforms of Macron and Hollande. Macron announced them before he was elected, and when Hollande started reforming the labor code nothing in his program indicated that. Also there were serious consultations taking place with the labor unions. It doesn’t mean that they agree to everything, CGT does not agree. But other labor unions like CFDT, FO etc let it pass,” the researcher said.
The scholar from the French university added that during Hollande’s tenure the protests against the labor reforms started before the discussion of the bill by the parliament, but the recent protests took place after the law had already been discussed.
Alain Policar, professor at the University of Limoges, also told Sputnik that the outcome of manifestations is hard to predict, however Macron had made a number of mistakes on his own.
“Political elite should always beware of manifestations. You can never know how far it can reach. One minor event can make things explode. The French are very attentive to any changes in the labor code,” Policar, who is also a researcher at the Cevipof research center, said.
He added that there could be manifestations able to paralyze the country and it could create troubles for Macron.
“We can have manifestations that can really paralyze the country. Politically they can seem less important, but they are much more troubling for those in power. It gives an impression of a chaos, that the state is misruled. That is something that can play against Macron, who is much more afraid of these kind of manifestations than of those called by the labor unions against the labor code,” the professor said.
The French researcher said that Macron had already made a number of mistakes citing his pledges to implement both right and left policy, however, no one sees “anything from the ideology of the left” in his current policy.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
French Tourist Saves Bus From Plunging Into Ravine in Austrian Alps
The quick reflexes of a French tourist saved a coach carrying 22 people from plunging into a ravine in the Austrian Alps, police said on Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Charles Low | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Election: Merkel Wins Fourth Term, Exit Polls Say
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been re-elected for a fourth term while nationalists have made a historic breakthrough in federal elections, exit polls suggest.
Her conservative CDU/CSU alliance is set to remain the largest party in the parliament, with 32.5% of the vote.
Its outgoing coalition partner, the social democratic SPD, says it will go into opposition after winning 20%.
The nationalist AfD is on track to become the third party, with 13.5%.
The performance, better than forecast in opinion polls, means the right-wing party will have seats in the Bundestag for the first time.
Dozens of protesters have gathered outside the party’s headquarters in Berlin, some with placards saying “Refugees are welcome”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The first sellside comments on today’s German elections — which as a reminder was a disaster for the German establishment, following the worst showing for the CDU/CSU since 1949 and the worst result for the SPD since 1945 with support for both parties tumbling since the 2013 elections…
[…] have started to trickle, in and according to SEB, the result is ‘less market-friendly’ than expected.
Quoted by Bloomberg, SEB cross-asset strategist Thomas Thygesen said that the result is a victory for Angela Merkel as expected, but her mandate going into negotiations about deeper euro integration does not look quite as strong.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Update: FX markets just opened and as expected there is some Euro-selling pressure in the early going…
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Macron’s Labour Reforms Spark Huge Demonstration in Paris
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Paris in protest at President Emmanuel Macron’s overhaul of France’s labour laws.
The demonstration was organised by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the far left leader who has emerged as the president’s principal political opponent.
It comes a day after Mr Macron signed a new law aimed at making it easier for businesses to hire and fire staff.
It is the third such protest to take place in France this month.
On Thursday, some 132,000 people took part in nationwide protests condemning the reforms, while more than 220,000 turned out for demonstrations on 12 September.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Man Raped After Leaving Glasgow Nightclub
A 22-year-old man was raped in a lane after leaving a Glasgow nightclub in the early hours of Sunday.
The serious sexual assault took place between Parnie Street and Trongate at about 03:40.
The male suspect was described as black. No further description has been given. Police said the victim met the man after leaving the venue.
Police have been examining CCTV footage and conducting door-to-door inquiries. They have appealed for witnesses.
Det Insp David Reilly said: “The victim has been left extremely distressed by what happened and it is vital that we trace the individual responsible.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Merkel Wins Fourth Term as Far-Right Enters German Parliament
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party beat its rivals on Sunday to garner a plurality of the vote, but a far-right party will also enter the country’s parliament for the first time in more than 60 years, according to exit polls.
Merkel’s conservative bloc won 32.5 percent of the vote, making them the largest parliamentary group, an exit poll for broadcaster ARD indicated, reports Reuters. However, that was down from 41.5 percent in the last election, in 2013.
The exit polls also show that the far-right Alternative for Germany has gotten some 13.5 percent of the vote, a significant showing of voter anger over immigration and inequality.
Support for their closest rivals, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) which are currently junior partners in a coalition with Merkel, slumped to 20.0 percent, according to exit polls.
Leaders of Germany’s Social Democratic Party say they plan to go into the opposition after their disappointing second-place finish in Germany’s election.
Their decision complicates things for Merkel, who will have to look to other parties to form a new government coalition.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Muslim Rapist Gets Swedish Citizenship in the Detention Center
A 17-year-old rapist Somalier has been granted Swedish citizenship while he was in prison. He is now charged with his involvement in a group violence in Järfälla during the summer. The denial was first made by “Review Sweden”.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Social Democrats in Turmoil After Historic Election Loss
The defeat Sunday of German Social Democrat Martin Schulz at the hands of Chancellor Angela Merkel is his party’s worst loss since World War II and another blow for Europe’s centre-left.
The SPD, Germany’s traditional working class party, won just 20-21 percent in its fourth loss in a row against Merkel’s conservative bloc, which scored 32-33 percent, according to exit polls.
The SPD immediately announced it would head into opposition rather than serve another humiliating term as junior partner to Merkel, after what Schulz called “a difficult and bitter day”.
For the past four years, the SPD served as junior partner to the popular Merkel — a thankless task in which it failed to earn much credit despite policy successes from a minimum wage to gay marriage.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘Acid Attack’ In East London Injures Six
Six people were believed to have been injured on Saturday after a group of males reportedly sprayed a noxious substance in a number of attacks in an area around a shopping centre in east London, police said.
The incident was not being treated as terror-related, a police spokesman said.
The attacks occurred near the Stratford Centre, in Stratford, police said. Earlier they had said the incident took place around the bigger Westfield shopping centre which is nearby after an ‘altercation’ between two groups of men.
‘A number of people have been reported injured at different locations — believed to be six people. We await further details,’ London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
One male was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm, the statement said.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Home-Schooling and Segregation Foster Islamist Extremism, Warns Counter-Terrorism Expert
Home-schooling and social segregation in the UK is fostering the rise of extremist Islam, the national police counterterrorism co-ordinator has warned.
‘Segregated, isolated communities, unregulated education and home schooling are a breeding ground for extremists and future terrorists,’ warned Neil Basu, deputy assistant commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, according to The Times.
[comment: The “marketed” goal is to stop islamic indoctrination. But the law may be so broad that it includes Christians. This is the globalists real goal — — to prevent Christians and others from passing on biblical and or traditional valuse to their kids.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Police Have Thwarted Seven Attacks Since March: London Mayor
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said police had thwarted seven attacks by militants since March this year, describing the increase in the number as a shift rather than a spike.
Speaking at the annual conference of his opposition Labour Party, Khan also said the police needed more spending to help them counter such attacks and that Internet companies must do more to crackdown on extremist content.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
US Drone Strike on ISIS Camp in Libya Kills 17 Militants, Military Says
American forces on Friday conducted six precision airstrikes in Libya against an ISIS camp, killing 17 militants and destroying three vehicles, the military said in a statement.
The camp, located about 150 miles southeast of Sirte, was used by ISIS to move fighters in and out of the country; stockpile weapons and equipment; and to plot and conduct attacks.
ISIS and Al Qaeda have taken advantage of ungoverned spaces in Libya to establish sanctuaries for plotting, inspiring and directing terror attacks; recruiting and facilitating the movement of foreign terrorist fighters; and raising and moving funds to support their operations.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iran Displays S-300 Air Defense Missile System to Public
Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard has displayed the country’s sophisticated Russian-made S-300 air defense system in central Tehran. This is the first time that the S-300 air defense system has been displayed in public.
The IRGC prepared the show for the annual Defense Week, marking the 37th anniversary of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed in August a bill imposing mandatory penalties on those involved in Iran’s controversial ballistic missile program and anyone who does business with them.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Kurdish President Says Partnership With Iraq is Over
The president of Iraq’s Kurdish region says the controversial vote on independence will go ahead as planned on Monday, despite mounting pressures from within the region and beyond.
Speaking at a press conference in Irbil Sunday, Masoud Barzani said that while the vote will be the first step in a long process to negotiate independence, the region’s “partnership” with the Iraqi central government in Baghdad is over.
Baghdad, the United States and the United Nations have all voiced strong opposition to the vote set for Monday, warning it could further destabilize the region as Iraqi and Kurdish forces continue to battle the Islamic State group.
Earlier Sunday, Iran closed its airspace to flights taking off from Iraq’s Kurdish region following a request from Baghdad.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Communism Never Died, It Was Cleverly Repackaged for the Historically Impaired and Useful Idiots
“For us in Russia, communism is a dead dog. For many people in the West, it is still a living lion.” — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
In 1950 Congress passed the Internal Security Act and, four years later, the Communist Control Act. It condemned communism and the Communist Party of the United States. Today a sizeable portion of Congress actually belongs to the Communist Party U.S.A. or is sympathetic to it. In a recent poll, 40 percent of Americans prefer communism to capitalism.
In 1954 Congress delineated penalties for anyone belonging to a party or a group calling for the violent overthrow of the United States. Just being a member, however, was not enough reason for arrest or penalty. Today members of Congress, public citizens, and illegals call for the overthrow of our government without any penalties.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
King’s ‘Historic’ Russia Visit Will Reflect Strong Ties — Saudi Foreign Minister
In an interview with Sputnik, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir spoke about the forthcoming visit of Saudi King Salman Al Saud to Russia.
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) — The visit of Saudi King Salman Al Saud to Russia will be historic, since it will demonstrate the scale of the dialogue between the two states, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir told Sputnik on Sunday. Moreover, the Minister stressed that the Russian and Saudi leaders have focused over the last few years on deepening and strengthening relations in numerous areas.
“His Majesty’s visit to Russia will be historic because it will symbolize the extent of the relationship and consultations that take place between the two countries… Our two countries are much more closely allied than some of the analysts, I would say, try to portray it. We are both oil producers, we [have an] interest in a stable oil market.. We have enhanced Russian investments in Saudi Arabia, Saudi investments in Russia. We have cultural, educational, scientific relations that we are developing. We are also working very closely in the area of security to counter extremism, to counter terrorism,” the Minister said, adding that the two countries had the same stance on the situation in the region.
On Thursday, an informed source told Sputnik that the Saudi King would visit Moscow on October 4-7 for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the preparation for the visit was underway.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
‘Taking it Apart Won’t Help’: Why S-400’s Secrets Safe Despite Sale to Turkey
Amid US hysteria over Turkey’s purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile system, and concerns among some Russian observers that the sale will mean having Moscow’s latest air defense technology falling into NATO’s hands, RIA Novosti military analyst Andrei Stanavov outlined why armchair experts really have nothing to worry about.
Last week, Ankara reportedly made the first payment on the delivery of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missiles to Turkey. The deal provoked a furor in Washington, prompting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to respond by saying that his country was free to make independent decisions about its national security. US Senator Ben Cardin even proposed ‘automatic sanctions’ against Ankara over the deal.
Meanwhile, among some US military observers, the planned sale of the advanced weapons system to the NATO country has been met with barely concealed excitement. The National Interest magazine concluded that S-400s in Turkish hands “would afford NATO a valuable up close look at the system’s operational capabilities and limitations,” and the opportunity to “devise a means to neutralize it.”
Similar arguments have been made in Russia, although the tone has been more apprehensive, naturally. Armchair observers warned that the S-400’s sale to a NATO state essentially gives the alliance the keys to defeating Russia’s most powerful air defenses.
In an article for RIA Novosti, military observer Andrei Stanavov allayed those fears, outlining why Russian observers should rest easy, and why the S-400’s secrets will remain safe inside Russia.
For starters, the journalist admitted that the S-400 Triumf truly is the pride of the Russian military industry. “Adopted into service in 2007, the system is able to effectively take down from the skies all modern and prospective means of aerospace attack, including objects flying at speeds up to five km per second….Aircraft and cruise missiles are easily liquidated at a range of up to 250 km, ballistic missiles at a range of up to 60 km.”
“From stowed position, the system can deploy for firing in three minutes flat. The Triumf can simultaneously target up to 300 targets and aim at them with up to 72 missiles. Despite the fact that military specialists often compare the S-400 to the US Patriot system, the latter is hopelessly behind in a multitude of indicators.
With these facts in mind, Stanavov noted that it was only natural that the S-400’s export, “especially to a NATO country,” would provoke concerns about the possible leak of defense technology secrets, even if the exported version is a “degraded” version of the system, as NI has put it.
However, speaking to Stanavov, Viktor Murakshovsky, a retired army colonel and editor in chief of ‘Arsenal of the Fatherland’ magazine, allayed such fears, calling them “incompetent gossip.”
In fact, Murakshovsky said, the combat characteristics of the S-400’s export models are significantly inferior to those found in Russia’s arsenal, and lack the latest technologies protected as state secrets by the Defense Ministry.
“The drafting of the passport of the export profile is controlled by a structure subordinated to the Defense Ministry — the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation. Without a visa from the Defense Ministry, no item can go abroad in a configuration that poses a threat to Russia’s national security. The same applies to the S-400,” the retired officer explained.
The expert also suggested that the apprehensions surrounding Turkey are especially misguided since other NATO members have already possessed (and presumably studied) advanced Russian air defense systems over the course of many years. This includes Greece, which has used S-300 and Buk air defense systems without any complications since 1999.
‘Disassembling It Won’t Help’
As far as the S-400s go, their supply to Turkey will indeed be something of a first. The only other nation with which a deal has been reached on delivery of the system is China. Beijing intends to purchase up to six divisions, or 48 launchers total. Deliveries in that deal ware expected to begin as soon as later this year. Negotiations are also underway with India, with Delhi seeking ten divisions, or 80 launchers. The two countries are still discussing the details of the contract.
Nevertheless, notwithstanding the advanced nature of the S-400’s technology, Mikhail Khodarenko, a veteran military observer and editor-in-chief of Aerospace Defense magazine, said that even if Turkey were to hand an S-400 system over to the US, it would do little to help them crack its secrets.
“All the fears about the leak of technology are greatly exaggerated, especially so far as anti-aircraft missiles are concerned,” Khodarenko said. “Even if they were to disassemble the system down to the last bolt to try to pull out some military secrets, they would still be left with nothing. Besides, this system will be delivered to China, and we can be sure that they will disassemble it.”
Still, the analyst stressed that it was important to note that although some of its capabilities will be scaled back, the export version of the S-400 will nevertheless retain most of its combat capability, meaning that Turkey is acquiring one of the most modern defensive system in the world, capable of closing its airspace under a dependable umbrella.
Today, Turkey lacks a long-range anti-aircraft missile capability entirely. The military is equipped with medium-range MIM-14 Nike Hercules and MIM-23 Hawk missiles, US and NATO designs which were first introduced in the 50s and 60s. Its forces are also outfitted with short-range Rapier missiles, produced in the UK since the 1970s. These weapons are also considered obsolete.
In the final analysis, it can be said that the S-400 deal will transform the country’s air defenses virtually beyond recognition, but in a way that doesn’t negatively affect Russia’s national security.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
A beer festival held every year in Malaysia has been scrapped following complaints by Islamist groups who called it ‘western’ and ‘un-Islamic’, it has emerged.
The event, called ‘Better Beer Festival 2017’, had been planned for the first weekend in the country’s capital Kuala Lumpur.
But an application by organisers was rejected amid warnings it would turn the city into ‘the biggest centre of vice in Asia’.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Christian Sentenced to Death in Pakistan Over Blasphemy Charge by Muslim “Friend”
A Christian man has been sentenced to death on blasphemy chrages by a court in eastern Pakistan after a close friend accused him of sharing anti-Islamic material, the defendant’s lawyer said.
| — Hat tip: Charles Low | [Return to headlines] |
Fighter Jets: Drones on Table as Mattis Visits Key Ally India
Fighter jets, drone deals and shared concerns over Afghanistan’s security look set to dominate the agenda when US Defense Secretary James Mattis visits India this week.
Mattis is scheduled to arrive late Monday and is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his new defence minister, in the first visit by a top US official since Donald Trump became president in January.
“The United States views India as a valued and influential partner, with broad mutual interests extending well beyond South Asia,” a Pentagon statement said.
Trump and Modi met in June in Washington and the visit by Mattis is a sign “the political leadership in both countries place defence cooperation as a top priority”, Mukesh Aghi, president of the US India Strategic Partnership Forum, told AFP…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Kerala Woman Who Left Home & Converted to Islam, ‘Returns’ To Hinduism With ‘Horrific Experience’
Kerala woman who converted to Islam ‘Returns’ to Hindu Roots, Saying ‘was scared by Islamic idea of hell, hate preaching and injustice to women’.
Susmitha Nambudiri | HENB | Thiruvananthapuram | Sept 23, 2017:: A 23-year-old Hindu woman who had converted to Islam in Kasargode district of Kerala has said she is ‘returning’ to Hindu roots, alleging that her Muslim friends had “misguided” her into changing her faith. She added that she was scared by the description of “hell” in certain Islamic books her Muslim friends had given her.
Athira Nambiar, 23, had moved out of her parents’ home at Udma in Kasargode in July, leaving behind a 15-page letter which said she was going to study Islam.
After converting to Islam, Athira changed her name to Ayesha and also reportedly tried to get her parents converted…
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
Trump: North Korean Leaders ‘Won’t be Around Much Longer’ if They Strike US
If North Korea’s foreign minister hoped to draw a response from U.S. President Donald Trump with his Saturday speech to the U.N. General Assembly, he succeeded.
“Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N.,” the president tweeted late Saturday. “If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won’t be around much longer!”
The president was referring to Ri Yong Ho, who on Saturday called Trump “a mentally deranged person full of megalomania,” and promised that a strike on the U.S. mainland was “inevitable.”
“Little Rocket Man” was Trump’s now-infamous label for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Fears of another riot in Sydney’s south are growing after a violent brawl erupted on North Cronulla beach on Saturday afternoon.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A 12-year-old girl has told police she was sexually assaulted by up to five teenage boys in bushland opposite Progress Park in Auburn, western Sydney, where Islamic Eid festival was in full swing.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A Perth mother with her seven-month-old baby strapped to her chest claims she was accused of buying baby formula to sell to the underground Chinese market by Big W staff.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Two teenage boys have been charged over a brawl involving 50 young men at Cronulla Beach on Saturday afternoon.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
President Bashir’s Genocide Continues With Massacre at Kalma IDP Camp in Darfur
Sudan President Bashir’s armed forces and Rapid Support Force/Janjaweed militias fired on crowds of protesting displaced Darfuri citizens at the Kalma Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp. The toll of the massacre was 5 dead and over 25 wounded. It was the grisly culmination of a week of protests by displaced Darfuri against the visits at IDP camps throughout Darfur by President Bashir. Behind the staged visits by Bashir was the sinister plot to further disperse these angry Darfuri protesters already displaced from their origin villages by the regime’s Rapid Support Force/Janjaweed militias that forced them into 65 Internally Displaced Persons camps and left virtually unprotected by impotent UNAMID forces.
Following the deferral by President Trump on July 11, 2017 of former President Obama’s Executive Order 13761 of January 13, 2017 partial lifting sanctions against the Sudan, President Bashir undertook false steps with the objective of deceiving the US government that its behavior warranted permanently lifting sanctions…
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
Ecuador Will Extend Assange’s Asylum Over Fears for His Life — President Moreno
Ecuador has decided to extend the political asylum granted to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange amid ongoing fears for his safety.
“Ecuador decided to provide political asylum to Assange because it thought that his life is in danger and Assange thought the same,” President Lenin Moreno said speaking to RT Español.
“There is no death penalty in Ecuador, so our country has the right to grant asylum to Assange. We will continue to give him patronage for as long as we assume that his life may be in danger.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
1 Dead, 7 Injured in Tennessee Church; “Clown Mask”-Wearing Shooter Identified as Sudanese Immigrant
Update (5:00 pm ET): Authorities have identified the shooter as Emanuel Kidega Samson, 25, of Murfreesboro. Little is known about Samson or his motivation — other than that he is a black male, and that he wore a clown mask during the assault, before turning his gun on himself. According to the Washington Times, Samson has been discharged from the hospital and will soon be charged with murder and attempting murder for the attack, police said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Asylum Seeker Who Tried to Kill Wife With Axe in Sweden Found in Austria
A 39-year-old Somalian asylum seeker who fled Sweden after attempting to kill his wife with an axe has been found and arrested in the Austrian capital of Vienna.
The 39-year-old Somalian had carried out the attack on his wife in June of last year in the remote municipality of Torpsbruk. He hit his wife with the axe repeatedly and only stopped after waking up their children and then fled, Kronen Zeitung reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democrat Marxist Congressmen Arrested Outside Trump Tower for Protesting DACA [Video]
Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) were arrested today sitting in the street outside of Trump Tower in Manhattan. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) was also taken into custody. All three are die-hard Marxists and as racist as they come. They were busted for civil disobedience.
Why would communist Democratic Congressmen make fools of themselves like this? Because of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals that was brought into being unconstitutionally by Barack Obama. Which is just hysterical because as far as I can tell and as much as I hate to say it, it looks like President Trump is in favor of cementing DACA. He discontinued it with a six-month rider, telling Congress to fix it, not do away with it. Unless of course, they are demanding all 11 million illegal aliens get to stay and are granted Amnesty. That’ s what the Democrats really want. That and chain migration.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Asylum Seeker Faces Life Sentences for Killing ‘Refugee Helper’
A 27-year-old Nigerian migrant in on trial for killing refugee helper Soopika P. earlier this year and prosecutors in the case have demanded life imprisonment for the failed asylum seeker.
The prosecutor in the case has argued that the murder was “not a spontaneous act, it was planned long ago”. If the request accepted by the judge, it would mean the 27-year-old would face a minimum of 15 years behind bars before he would be eligible for any type of release, local newspaper Münsterland Zeitung reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Less Than 1 Out of Every 4 Republicans in Congress Support a Border
It is time to flush the toilet in Washington D.C., because the professional politicians that we have been sending there just keep betraying us over and over again. On Wednesday, I was absolutely stunned when I came across a brand new survey that was conducted by USA Today. They asked all of the members of Congress whether they support a border wall or not, and less than one out of every 4 Republicans said that they did. This is just another example of why the American people are so deeply frustrated with the Republican Party these days. Most Republicans are spineless jellyfish that have been compromising for so long that they don’t really stand for anything anymore.
If President Trump had not promised to build a wall, he never would have won the Republican nomination in 2016, and he sure wouldn’t be the president of the United States today. This is a point that Ann Coulter had made over and over again, and the fact that I strongly support building a wall is a big reason why she is supporting my campaign for Congress. Conservatives all over the country want a wall, and that is why it is so disturbing to hear that most Republicans in Congress do not support building one…
President Trump has been adamant that he needs Congress to approve funding to start building his border wall, but Republicans on Capitol Hill are far less adamant about supporting it. When asked by the USA TODAY Network whether they support the president’s initial $1.6 billion budget request to begin construction, only 69 of the 292 Republicans on Capitol Hill said “yes.” Among the rest, three Republicans said they oppose the money, several evaded a direct answer, and the rest simply refused to respond to the question.
The USA TODAY Network asked the 534 members of the House and Senate whether they support the $1.6 billion down payment approved by the House and found fewer than 25% of Republicans willing to stand up for the plan.
Building a wall seems like such a no-brainer to me. For decades we have had an immigration policy that is all mixed up. We have made it exceedingly difficult to come in through the front door, but meanwhile we have been keeping the back door completely wide open.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Police Say Dozens of Syrian Families Crossing Into Greece
Police say a total of 168 Syrian refugees have crossed into Greece over its land border with Turkey.
Police say that while border crossings, over land or sea, are everyday occurrences what is unusual in this case is that the refugees are all families and that traffickers are not involved.
Police also announced on Saturday three illegal border crossings by undocumented migrants over the Turkish land border, including the case of a Bulgarian truck driver that hid 10 migrants, most from Iraq, in his truck. [AP]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pope: In Europe “Signs of Rejection” of Migrants Also Among Catholics
Francis warning to the European national directors of pastoral care for migrants. “From a missiological point of view, contemporary migratory flows constitute a new missionary frontier, a privileged opportunity to announce Jesus.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) — Even in Europe and among Catholic communities, there is “repression and rejection of migrants”, “signs of intolerance, discrimination and xenophobia” in some parts of the continent. The warning comes from Pope Francis as he received the national directors of pastoral care for migrants, attending the meeting promoted by the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) being held in Rome.
Francis noted that this “unease” should be recognized and understood in the light of a historic moment marked by the economic crisis, which has left deep wounds. This unease has also been exacerbated by the scale and composition of migratory flows, the substantial inadequacy of host societies and often inadequate national and community policies. But the discomfort is also indicative of the limits of the processes of European unification, of the obstacles that confront the concrete application of the universality of human rights and of the walls against which integral humanism, one of the most beautiful fruits of civilization European, is shattering.”
“For Christians all this is to be interpreted beyond secular individualism, in the logic of the centrality of the human person created by God, unique and unrepeatable.” And from a missiological perspective, contemporary migratory flows constitute a new missionary frontier, a privileged opportunity to announce Jesus Christ and his Gospel without moving from his environment, to concretely testify the Christian faith in charity and in deep respect for other religious expressions. The meeting with migrants and refugees from other confessions and religions is a fertile ground for the development of a genuine and enriching ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. “
The Pope finally reaffirmed what he wrote in the message for the World Day for Migrants and Refugees of next year that “the pastoral response to contemporary migration challenges should be articulated around four verbs: welcome, protect, promote, integrate. The verb welcome then translates into other verbs such as expanding legal and safe entry routes, offering a first adequate and decent accommodation and securing personal security and access to basic services for everyone. The verb to protect is specified in providing reliable and certified information before leaving, defending the fundamental rights of migrants and refugees irrespective of their migratory status and watch over the most vulnerable, which are children and women. Promoting means essentially ensuring conditions for the integral human development of all, migrants and indigenous people. The integrating verb translates into p opening intercultural encounters, encouraging mutual enrichment, and promoting active paths towards citizenship. “
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Six Degrees of Sharia: Travel Ban Stands
Remember Abdul Razak Ali Artan? He was the Muslim who plowed into a crowd of students at Ohio State University, before being shot dead by a quick draw campus cop. Artan was admitted to the United States from Somalia-one of the countries included in the ban-as a refugee in 2013, despite the Department of Homeland Security being aware Artan was targeted for recruitment by terrorists.
It turns out, the Somali jihadist was one of 20 African migrants convicted of terrorism in the United States, but there’s more.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Migrant Ikea Killer Demands Permission to Leave Prison So He Can Visit McDonald’s
Failed Eritrean asylum seeker Abraham Ukbagabir, who murdered a woman and her son in an Ikea in Västerås, Sweden, is now demanding he be let out of prison temporarily so he can visit McDonald’s and do some shopping.
Mr. Ukbagabir is currently serving his life sentence for the double murder at a prison in Södertälje. He applied for a permit which allows prisoners to leave the prison on a temporary basis saying that he was interested in going shopping for new trainers and said he missed eating at McDonald’s and Burger King, but the hearing denied his request, Göteborgs-Posten reports.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Deadly Issue of Witchcraft to be Tackled at UN Human Rights Gathering
Experts on witchcraft are gathering under the banner of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva this week for discussions aimed at tackling the phenomenon, which is estimated to kill, maim and otherwise affect thousands of people every year.
The gathering will enable UN experts, states, academics and members of civil society to develop a greater understanding of witchcraft, which is believed to be on the increase.
‘In numerous countries around the world, harmful practices related to witchcraft result in serious human rights violations, such as various forms of torture and murder, discrimination and exclusion, including banishment from communities,’ said the UN independent expert on the human rights of persons with albinism, Ikponwosa Ero, who is one of the main organisers of the gathering.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Real Dangers of Electronic Devices and Emfs
Exposure to microwave radiation from cellphones, routers, cordless phones, smart meters, baby monitors and other wireless devices causes massive mitochondrial dysfunction due to free radical damage Excessive free radicals triggered by low-frequency microwave exposure from wireless technologies have been linked to cardiac arrhythmias, anxiety, depression, autism, Alzheimer’s, infertility and more
I recently interviewed Martin Pall, Ph.D., who has identified and published several papers describing the molecular mechanisms of how EMFs from cellphones and wireless technologies damage plants, animals and humans.2,3,4,5 Many studies have shown that when you’re exposed to EMFs, intracellular calcium increases. Pall also discovered a number of studies showing that you can block or greatly reduce the effects of EMFs using calcium channel blockers — medication commonly prescribed to patients with heart disease.
This turns out to be a crucial point, because it’s the excess calcium in the cell and the increased calcium signaling that are responsible for a vast majority of the biological effects of EMFs.
Pall has discovered no less than 26 papers showing that EMFs work by activating voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs), which are located in the outer membrane of your cells. Once activated, they allow a tremendous influx of calcium into the cell — about 1 million calcium ions per second per VGCC.
Importantly, the cellular membrane is 7 million times more sensitive to EMFs than the charged particles inside and outside of the cells, which are what safety standards are based on. In other words, the safety standards are off by a factor of 7 million!
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
“The [surviving] gunman accidentally shot himself during the struggle…”
Damn his lack of sufficient incompetence!
I hold this moron’s range instructor’s slovenly protocol responsible!
Harumph!
I have no sympathy for those who will not honor our hallowed dead.
I received my induction notice in the Fall of ’66. I didn’t like it. I was a junior in the graduating class of 1968, along with George Will and GW Bush. I didn’t quibble. My father, compulsive drinker and less than nice guy, had been at Okinawa. I went to the Recruiting Office at Sullivan Square and signed up for a burst of three in combat arms.
My Grandfather slipped out of military service because he was married with child by June, 1917.
My Great Grandfather served in the Grand Army of the Potomac.
And I have no sympathy for those who will not honor our hallowed dead.
Those who do not honor the fallen or the returned servicemen and women, are generally those who have no love for themselves.
I believe ISIS has asked it’s followers or sympathizers to attack Christian Churches in the West.We saw it in France and we are seeing it here.That would be true terror…not to be safe in your church on a Sunday morning.. Tell me who packs a gun at such a time and place? Luckily one person did here.But this is not usual.Will this be the new strategy of ISIS and other terrorist groups? It would demoralize church goers and spread true fear as people see that what they thought was the safest place is now a potential death trap. This is the worst ..most despicable sort of warfare.If this continues it would result in a war of religions …Islam vs Christianity.If ISIS wants this and it seems to be so…they will get it..and more than what they bargained for!
Actually, a lot of churchgoers pack in Tennessee. It’s different from most places. Reacting to the church shootings in recent years, some pastors even encourage concealed carry among their congregants during services. A gun in the pews can mean the difference between 1 dead church member and 30 when one of these lunatics and/or idologues throws open the church doors and starts shooting.
In the wake of the recent church shooting by a Somali, I’ve read a number of postings by people (mostly men, obviously, with CCW permits) who say they’re part of their congregations’ quiet security detail. They keep a low profile, but station themselves to be of use if the unthinkable should suddenly occur during services.
Is this the beginning of end for Pope Francis:
https://www.scribd.com/document/359632647/Correctio-Filialis-English
I think Pizzagate will bring down this heretic of a Pope, but the rumblings within the Church, as your link suggests, from those who strictly adhere to Church teachings and how this current Pope is subverting them, is growing louder by the day.
Let me guess. He had a history of mental problems.
May I refer to two stories under “USA”?
1) “Google Apocalypse looms Large”
2) “Social Security- the Second Government Socialist Trap”
Sitting here in the socialist paradise of the UK, I followed the links suggested in the first story. Google’s first suggestion was an NHS site; even its second did not promote any antidepressant drugs. Let’s hear it for socialised medicine!
By the way, Baron, why do you Capitalise All The Words In Your Headers? Could it be an inheritance from your Teutonic forbears? (Not to be confused with Goldilocks, who had only three!)
Capitalization is done automatically, by a VBA macro. It’s not all the words; it’s more or less the general capitalization rules I learned for titles when I was in Junior High (roughly 7th-8th year, more than 50 years ago). It’s not ideal, but I have to process them somehow — some of those headlines are in ALL CAPS, so they have to be adjusted.
I appreciate that clip about Trudeau’s popularity from Forum Research .No surprise Shiny Pony’s star is dimming. I’m still waiting for Angus Reid’s quarterly poll on the Prime Minister AND the Premiers popularity, which is usually released in late September. It might be even worse than FR’s report and AR (more leftist than the others) is taking it’s time finding the “right” words to spin the “bad” news.
50,000 evacuated in Bali due to looming volcanic eruption:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-09-25/50000-evacuated-bali-nation-faces-imminent-volcanic-eruption
This is very sad, Bali is a little Hindu paradise in the midst of Indonesia. A fantastic place if you enjoy diving, snorkeling, swimming, beaches, or any other water activity imaginable.
Looks like America’s Team, and the NFL just jumped the shark!
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-09-25/crowd-boos-entire-cowboys-team-owner-gm-take-knee-arizona
“A Sudanese immigrant named Emanuel Kidega Samson entered a church this morning in Antioch, Tennessee, and opened fire with a gun”
With his name you would have to assume he was born into a Christian family in Sudan, though he could be a recent convert to Islam. Strange Facebook posts evidently, into body building (named Samson, what going on here?)