A young man named Jason Paul Schaefer lit an explosive device in his car after being pulled over by police in the town of Hillsboro, Oregon. The resulting explosion caused Mr. Schaefer to lose several fingers, and possibly his hand. The hearing of a deputy sheriff was damaged in the blast. Police had attempted to stop Mr. Schaefer’s car at the same time as the FBI was searching his apartment as part of an explosives investigation. The suspect led police on a brief chase before he was forced to stop in traffic. He is now under arrest in the hospital.
In other news, a number of people were wounded in a series of shootings in different locations in the Swedish town of Trelleborg.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to AF, Charles Low, Dean, Insubria, JD, Reader from Chicago, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Draghi Defends QE: Says Created 7 Mn Jobs in 4 Yrs
Rates will remain low for long says ECB chief
(ANSA) — New York, October 12 — European Central Bank President Mario Draghi defended quantitative easing at a conference with former Fed chief Ben Bernanke, saying the policy had helped create seven million jobs in four years. Bernanke chided the idea that QE distorted the markets, saying “it’s not clear what that means”. Draghi has faced criticism, especially in German banking circles, for his QE policy. Draghi also said that interest rates would remain low for a long time.
He said that looking at the labour market, pay levels were still unsatisfactory although some progress had been made.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Deputies: Suspect in Explosion Case May Lose Some Fingers, Possibly Hand
HILLSBORO, Ore. — The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect who was in a vehicle when an explosive device went off Wednesday could lose some fingers and possibly his hand.
Deputies say the suspect in the explosives investigation, Jason Schaefer, 26, has not been booked in the Washington County Jail yet because he’s still in the hospital.
Investigators believe he intentionally tried set off a handheld device inside a vehicle during a traffic stop on Northwest Rock Creek Boulevard.
“As the detectives approached the window, they were actually communicating with him at the window of the vehicle when he did detonate the device,” said Sgt. Bob Ray of the sheriff’s office.
The explosion also injured a deputy. The sheriff’s office says he’s taking a couple days off and he has some hearing loss. He was treated and released from a local hospital Wednesday.
“As far as the size and the intensity, it was a pretty significant blast, it did cause pretty significant injuries to him,” Ray said.
Initial reports say FBI agents were serving a search warrant in an apartment on Rock Creek Circle as part of an explosives case when just before 4 p.m. the sheriff’s detective spotted the suspect returning home.
Deputies and troopers tried to pull the suspect over. After a brief chase, the suspect stopped on Rock Creek Boulevard and appeared to detonate a device.
The suspect got out of the SUV and officers took him into custody on a probation violation. The FBI says he could face more charges, but at this time its investigation is part of a sealed federal search warrant.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
In case you haven’t heard about the nasty Eminem rap about President Trump, we bring you the diamond and silk version…We think it’s much better! Has-been rappers are so boring…diamond and silk spice it up a bit in the video below…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Investigators: Chase: Explosion Suspect Will Likely Lose Hand From Injuries
The man accused of fleeing authorities in Washington County and causing a small explosion Wednesday will likely lose his hand from his injuries, officials said.
Just before 4 p.m., FBI agents and local law enforcement attempted a traffic stop near Northwest 185th Avenue and Northwest Rock Creek Boulevard involving a suspect believed to live at a nearby apartment where authorities tried to serve a warrant for his arrest.
The suspect, identified as 26-year-old Jason Paul Schaefer, fled and led authorities on a chase. When his car stopped, a small explosion occurred and injured Schaefer and a responding deputy.
On Thursday morning, Investigators told FOX 12 Schaefer will likely lose his hand, most definitely several fingers due to his injuries in the explosion.
Schaefer will be in the hospital several more days before he’s booked into jail. He allegedly used an explosive device that “he had to light to make it go off.”
Authorities said additional charges against him will be very serious in nature.
Authorities also said the injured deputy is taking a few days off work to be with his family and he might have some hearing loss, but will be back on duty soon.
The deputy has not been identified.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Las Vegas mass shooting victim Rocky Palermo was shot in the pelvis during the horrific attack and is now speaking out about what he saw and believes happened, including the presence of multiple shooters as well as locked concert gates and police telling frantic civilians to go in the other direction.
| — Hat tip: Charles Low | [Return to headlines] |
Remember when Americans voted for candidates who they believed when they told voters they were serious about defending our borders and supporting Trump’s efforts to build a wall?
During a private meeting of the most senior Republican senators, GOP leaders “laughed out loud at the idea that Trump’s border wall would ever be built.”
The explosive revelation comes from Laura Ingraham’s new book, Billionaire at the Barricades: The Populist Revolution from Reagan to Trump.
Ingraham reports that her source “was there in the room” when it happened and that the sordid episode is “a reminder that the populist movement that delivered Trump into office must remain vigilant and keep the heat on the GOP Establishment.”
[Comment: American people need to boot out all RINO’s and replace them with real Rumpublicans.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
A Harrisburg man who pleaded guilty to aiding the terror group ISIS online deserves a tough punishment that could send him to prison for decades, federal prosecutors are contending.
And, they insist, Jalil Aziz should be forced to pay nearly $7,000 in restitution to 100 members of the U.S. military whose photos and home addresses were on an ISIS “kill list” he circulated on Twitter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mandalay Bay Owner: ‘What’s Being Expressed (By Police) May Not be Accurate’
The owners of the Mandalay Bay resort and casino are questioning Las Vegas police’s version of events, after law enforcement accounts of how a deadly mass shooting played out changed dramatically Monday. An MGM Resorts International spokeswoman divulged on Tuesday the company isn’t confident in the story being conveyed to the public, stating “what is currently being expressed may not be accurate.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
New Study Finds Democrats Moving Left, Driving Growing Partisan Gap
Think tank finds difference between parties greater than ever
A new study from the Pew Research Center shows a growing partisan gap in opinions on major issues, driven in part by Democrats’ leftward drift.
Pew found Democrats have moved substantially left on a variety of issues while Republicans’ views remain relatively constant. That was true across social and economic issues; Pew claimed that the split between Republicans and Democrats is more pronounced than any divides by race, gender, or socioeconomic status.
“This poll and some other recent ones show that Democrats are pulling more strongly to the left and Republicans are not pulling quite as strongly to the right as a general matter,” said Karlyn Bowman, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who specializes in American public opinion.
[Comment: Democrat party is a sock puppet run by Soros.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Northwestern Indiana Man Charged With Bombing Post Office
HAMMOND, Ind. — An unsuccessful candidate for local political office in northwestern Indiana man was arrested Thursday on federal charges in connection with a pipe bomb that exploded last month at a post office, U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch II announced.
Eric P. Krieg, 45, of Munster was charged with knowing possession of a destructive device and transporting explosive materials, Kirsch said. A complaint alleges Krieg mailed a package at the East Chicago post office that exploded and that he mailed a suspicious package to another individual on Sept. 29.
Kirsch says search warrants were executed Thursday on Krieg’s residence, place of employment and vehicle.
A postal worker suffered minor injuries in the explosion. The pipe bomb caused no damage to the post office about 20 miles (30 kilometers) southeast of Chicago, Postal Inspector Mary T. Johnson has said.
Lake County election records show Krieg ran unsuccessfully for county surveyor as a Republican in 2012. In a candidate profile published by The (Northwest Indiana) Times at the time, Krieg said he was licensed professional engineer whose political experience including losing two years earlier in the primary election for County Council in the strongly Democratic county.
The Times described him as an outspoken critic of the Lake County Democratic Party and the mayor of neighboring Hammond, Thomas McDermott Jr.
McDermott said last week that the pipe bomb was believed to have been intended for a city contractor. He said a city worker received a bulky package containing threats in a separate incident. McDermott said he had spoken to the FBI about the threats.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Krieg has an attorney.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
The wildfires that are roaring through northern California are already “among the most destructive fire events in U.S. history”, and by the time it is all said and done this could be the worst wildfire season in the history of the state. So far, fires have scorched more than 250 square miles, and more than 3,500 homes and businesses have already been destroyed. The official death toll has risen to 21, but that is expected to rise dramatically because over 600 missing persons reports have been filed with authorities. The worst damage has been done in Napa and Sonoma counties, and you can see some deeply troubling photos of the devastation here and here.
Unfortunately, this crisis is far from over. In fact, the National Weather Service has just issued a pair of “red flag warnings”…
The weather forecast is not looking good for those living in wine country, and for those firefighters trying to get a handle on the 22 wildfires raging through Northern California, which broke out Sunday and are barely contained more than three days later.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for the North and East bays starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday and midnight on Thursday respectively.
That means winds can gust from 20 mph to 50 mph in the higher elevation areas, fanning the flames down mountains and into the cities.
So as bad as things are at this moment, the truth is that they are going to get even worse over the next 24 hours.
And that is quite sobering to hear, because this is already one of “the most destructive fire events in U.S. history”…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Report: FBI Wipes Phones & Laptops of Las Vegas Massacre Eyewitnesses
Route 91 workers get devices back with videos, messages deleted
Workers at the Route 91 festival during which Stephen Paddock unleashed his massacre have reportedly been given back their phones and laptops by the FBI only to discover that all messages and videos from the night of the attack have been wiped clean.
According to a Las Vegas resident who posted a status update on Facebook, “A bunch of people that worked the Route 91 said they got their cell phones back today. They all said that all their phones are completely wiped clean! All messages and info from that weekend are completely gone. Anyone else experience this?”
“A few different people who were vendors there are all saying the same thing,” the woman later comments.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
States Use Stop Sign Cameras to Make Millions
States across the country are installing Reflex stop sign cameras to increase revenue.
According to a 2012 article in LA Weekly, California’s Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) has installed stop sign cameras in seven of their parks.
States are using stop sign cameras to make make millions of dollars.
A recent NBC Los Angeles article, revealed the MRCA uses seven stop sign cameras to make millions.
“According to data obtained by the NBC4 I-Team, more than 97,000 drivers have received a stop sign ticket from the MRCA since 2013. The program has generated almost $7 million dollars for the agency since 2012. The agency says most of the money goes to maintaining the park system.”
According to a 2012 MRCA ordinance, stop sign violators and bicyclists will be ticketed, fined and have a lien put on any property they own.
Bicyclists caught going faster than 15 MPH (Section 3.10) can be fined $100-$1000 dollars and could be jailed for six months.
The ordinance warns, that if a bicyclist or motorist fails to pay their speeding tickets their fines will be doubled and a lien could be placed on their property. (See Section 6.1.8)
A 2010 Road Show article warned, stop sign cameras are the new red light cameras.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Threat of Devastating ‘Supervolcano’ Eruption at Yellowstone is Greater Than Previously Thought
Scientists from the US Geological Survey who breezily informed the public that there’s “nothing to worry about” with regards to the Yellowstone caldera, a supervolcano that should it erupt could cause potentially hundreds of thousands of deaths, should be eating their words.
Since about mid-July, the earth beneath the volcano has been shifting in a sign that magma could be rushing into the caldera’s main chamber. Since then, there have been roughly 2,500 small-scale earthquakes recorded near the volcano, the largest stretch on record. Previous estimates had assumed that the process that led to the eruption took millenniums to occur.
The same estimates that USGS based their warning on.
As the New York Times explains, the Yellowstone caldera is a behemoth far more powerful than your average volcano. It has the ability to expel more than 1,000 cubic kilometers of rock and ash at once, 2,500 times more material than erupted from Mount St. Helens in 1980, which killed 57 people. That could blanket most of the United States in a thick layer of ash and even plunge the Earth into a volcanic winter.
As the Times points out, scientists expect a supervolcano eruption to scar the planet once every 100,000 years.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Pulls USA Out of UNESCO Money-Pit
PARIS — The United States plans to withdraw from UNESCO, the UN’s cultural and educational agency, diplomats said on Thursday, dealing a further blow to an organization hobbled by regional rivalries and a lack of funds.
The US Department of State announced in a press release that the US’s exit from the international body will be effective December 31, 2017.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Doubles Down: Network Licenses ‘Must be Challenged’
“Network news has become so partisan, distorted and fake.”
Following two tweets about fake news on Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump returned to that subject eleven hours later, tweeting: “Network news has become so partisan, distorted and fake that licenses must be challenged and, if appropriate, revoked. Not fair to public!”
Earlier in the day, Trump responded angrily to an NBC News exclusive report saying that he asked his military leaders for a big increase in the number of U.S. nuclear weapons during a July meeting at the Pentagon.
In two Wednesday morning tweets, Trump said:
“Fake @NBCNews made up a story that I wanted a ‘tenfold’ increase in our U.S. nuclear arsenal. Pure fiction, made up to demean. NBC = CNN!”
And then: “With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Vegas Hotel Worker Warned Police of Shooter Before Massacre Began
“As soon as I started to go to a door to my left the rounds started coming down the hallway”
In one of the most shocking developments to emerge in the week-and-a-half since Stephen Paddock killed 59 people and wounded more than 500 others during the worst mass shooting in US history, NBC is reporting that a maintenance worker said Wednesday he told hotel dispatchers to call police and report a gunman had opened fire with a rifle inside Mandalay Bay before Paddock began firing on the Harvest country music festival below.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian Parties in Election TV Clash
Austrian party leaders took part in a final TV debate on Thursday, with conservative hardliners on immigration tipped to win an election on Sunday.
The spotlight was on Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, just 31 years old, whose People’s Party has a strong lead in opinion polls.
The nationalist Freedom Party and centre-left Social Democrats are neck-and-neck behind it, polls say.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Catalonia Latest: Spain National Day Violence in Barcelona as Protestors Throw Chairs
VIOLENCE broke out in Spain today as independence campaigners clashed with pro-unity protesters during the country’s National Day.
The groups were seen hurling metal chairs and tables at one another in Barcelona before police moved in to break up the violence.
Families with Spanish flags were seen fleeing as chairs were used as missiles when the two camps faced off.
Nationalists were heard chanting “Viva Espana” with others performing Nazi salutes as the violence raged.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CNN Claims Alex Jones Fabricated Soros’ Nazi Ties
“He even helped with the inventory,” Soros’ father wrote in 1965 autobiography
CNN’s Anderson Cooper accused Infowars founder Alex Jones this week of fabricating a connection between billionaire investor George Soros and Nazis.
In a segment discussing comments from two-term Republican Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar, who suggested Soros may have funded white supremacists at the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville last August, Cooper claimed the ties between Soros and Nazis originated from Jones.
“These conspiracy theories were first spread by radio talk show host Alex Jones,” Cooper said.
The Soros Foundation, providing comment to Vice News, likewise denied any ties whatsoever between Soros and Nazis.
“George Soros survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary, and he has spent his life supporting efforts to ensure that such terrifying authoritarianism never takes root again,” a spokeswoman said. “He was 14 years old when the war ended. He did not collaborate with the Nazis. He did not help round up people. He did not confiscate anybody’s property.”
Despite claims from the Soros Foundation, Cooper and Vice, allegations of Soros’ involvement with Nazis did not originate from Alex Jones, but from Soros himself.
In a December 20, 1998 broadcast of 60 Minutes, Soros detailed his experience while in Nazi-occupied Hungary, describing a “protector” who confiscated property from Jews…
While Soros appears to back peddle in his final comment — and although he may not have been willfully involved — Soros’ remarks make clear his role in joining a Hungarian bureaucrat named Baumbach as he confiscated property.
According to Soros’ father, as stated in his 1965 autobiography, “Masquerade: Dancing Around Death in Nazi Occupied Hungary,” Soros at one point “even helped with the inventory.”
“George also met several other ministry officials, who immediately took a liking to the young man, the alleged godson of Mr Baufluss (Baumbach),” he wrote. “He even helped with the inventory. Surrounded by good company, he quickly regained his spirits. On Saturday he returned to Budapest.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Czech Prez Calls for a European ‘Second Amendment’ For Self-Defence Against Terrorists
Czech president MiloS Zeman has said Europeans should “have the courage to invest in our own guns” in order to guard against international terrorism, like millions of U.S. citizens have.
The elder statesman — a veteran of the Prague Spring uprising against the old Communist regime as well as the Velvet Revolution which finally brought it down — made his comments in an address to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, an intergovernmental forum which predates the quasi-federal European Union by several years.
“The level of international crime is growing because of Islamic terrorism,” he said, in response to a question from an Armenian politician.
“I am open and frank, and I do not use the phrase ‘Islamic terrorism’ lightly but, in the overwhelming majority of cases, it has Islamic origin. It is connected with genocide in Armenia.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Eerie Reminder of Baltic Maritime Disaster Washes Ashore
More than two decades after the sinking of MS Estonia, which claimed the lives of 852 people, a life buoy believed to be from the shipwreck has been found.
| — Hat tip: Charles Low | [Return to headlines] |
France Extends Anti-Terror Border Controls
France will extend checks at borders with fellow Schengen members until April 30, the interior ministry said Thursday, citing the “persistent” terror threat to prolong controls in place since the November 2015 Paris attacks.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
I ARRIVED AT the polling station on the night before Catalonia was set to vote in a contested referendum on the region’s independence from Spain. A Spanish court had declared the referendum illegal, and Madrid had sent thousands of riot police to Catalonia to shut down the vote. By midnight, workers at the polling station closed the building’s corrugated metal gate and sealed us in until morning, or until the police arrived. Inside, we waited for whichever came first.
The vote was organized in secret. The organizers spoke and texted in code: In this polling station — a community center in Barcelona, called Foment Martinenc — and others in the area, ballot boxes were called pizzas and the ballots, napkins. The government representative who officially opened the voting center was called “la pizzera” — the pizza maker. The organizers who drove from polling station to polling station, to make sure each center had enough pizza and napkins, were called Telepizzas, after a cheap pizza delivery chain. Central Barcelona was divided among five Telepizzas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary’s Orban: Protect Middle East Christians or Anti-Christian Persecution Will Come to Europe
The Prime Minister of Hungary has urged EU leaders to protect Christianity in Africa and the Middle East, or risk its destruction in Europe.
Fidesz leader Viktor Orbán said his country was taking the lead on extending aid to Christian minorities, and, in particular, on supporting programmes to help them return to their homelands in safety.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: FN’s ‘March on Rome’ Won’t be Allowed — Minniti
Already told Rome police chief
(ANSA) — Rome, October 12 — Interior Minister Marco Minniti said Thursday the far-right extraparliamentary New Force (FN) group will not be allowed to stage a ‘march on Rome’ or any other demonstration on October 28, the anniversary of the March on Rome that swept Benito Mussolini into power in 1922. He said he had “already told Rome’s police chief not to grant authorisation for the event promoted by Forza Nuova in Rome on October 28”.
FN leader Roberto Fiore said that the far-right group would go ahead with the march despite Minniti’s statement. “We’ll be in the square anyhow on October 28. All the Italians who really love their homeland will demonstrate,” said Fiore, accusing Minniti of not following the rules which dictate that the Rome police chief must respond to FN’s application to hold its march.
FN earlier on Thursday insisted it will go ahead with a “march of patriots” in Rome October 28 despite it having no official permission. On social networks, FN told marchers to gather for a 16:00 start in the Fascist-era EUR district’s Piazzale Pier Luigi Nervi.
FN leader Fiore said on Facebook he had handed in an application to stage the march “not in central Rome but along a very Roman circuit”.
He said “the theme of the march might be described as Constitutional: to meet the concerns of many who see the freedoms of Italians being restricted ever more, I’m referring to the right to criticise the invasion (of migrants) and the continuous anti-Italian discriminations”. Fiore said there had been “many requests” to join the march “from all over Italy”.
The head of the Rome chapter of the National Partisans’ Association ANPI, Fabrizio De Sanctis, said “the anti-Fascist State must intervene to block the March on Rome”. He said “it’s no longer just a joke but a subversive plan that must be defeated”. De Sanctis said: “this State should be fully anti-Fascist, held up by an anti-Fascist Constitution. We as ANPI have met various associations and parties to organise a series of initiatives but the State must intervene.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Lufthansa Would be Interested in ‘New’ Alitalia
Not an issue as things are today — CEO Carsten Sporhr
(ANSA) — Berlin, October 12 — Lufthansa CEO Carsten Sporhr said Thursday that the German airline would be interested in taking over Alitalia only if it were possible to make a fresh start with it. “It there were a chance of creating a new Alitalia, as Europe’s number one (carrier) Lufthansa would certainly be interested in the talks,” Sporhr was quoted as saying by German media.
“Italy is an important market for us. (But) Alitalia as it is today is not an issue”. Former Italian flag carrier Alitalia is currently in emergency administration and its commissioners are looking for a new buyer willing to acquire the whole airline. Lufthansa is buying parts of failed German carrier Air Berlin.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
MEPs to Mull ‘Nuclear Option’ Against Hungary
MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties will assess in the coming months whether Hungary is at risk of a serious breach of EU values. If this is the case, Parliament could ask the Council to act, potentially triggering Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union to enforce compliance.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
No Extradition Request or Trial for Capella — Vatican
Burke denies ‘false’ reports
(ANSA) — Vatican City, October 12 — The Vatican has received no Canadian extradition request for former Washington nunciature staffer Msgr Carlo Alberto Capella, nor has the Vatican set a trial for him on charges of posessing child pornography, Vatican Spokesman Greg Burke said Thursday, denying “false” reports.
“The investigation requires international collaboration and is not yet over,” Burke said. Well-informed sources told ANSA earlier that Capella, who is wanted by Canadian authorities for possessing and distributing kiddy porn, won’t be extradited to Canada but will instead be tried in the Vatican. Capella is currently being held in the Vatican.
The Vatican has cited his diplomatic immunity against the Canadian warrant, the sources said. Earlier this month Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Piero Parolin said Capella’s case was a “very painful affair, a great trial for all those who are involved”. He said “we are treating the case with the utmost commitment, the utmost seriousness”. It is “premature”, he said, to say more on the case, which is protected by confidentiality to “protect the truth and justice”.
Canada last month issued the arrest warrant for Capella, who is in the Vatican having been recalled from Washington at the beginning of September. Police in the Canadian town of Windsor have accused him of possessing and distributing kiddy porn he allegedly downloaded during a trip to Canada on December 24-27.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Pipe Bombs, Car Attacks and UK Targets: RT Investigates Spread of ISIS Online Chat Groups
Bomb-making manuals are being circulated inside terrorist groups on the internet, alongside footage of British landmarks, even as the government claims it is clamping down on the sharing of jihadist material. RT looked inside an Islamic State chat group.
Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) followers have been widely sharing terrorism manuals which explain how to make bombs with household products.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Populists Set for Big Election in Austria
Polls suggest that Austria’s populist Freedom Party will be part of the country’s next government after Sunday’s general election.
The Freedom Party is currently second in polls with around 25 percent support. The conservative People’s Party leads with 33 percent, and the two are expected to join forces after the election.
[Comment: About 58 percent of the electorate would be voting for a right-of-center party, according to polls.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Shooting: Several Injured in Trelleborg
Police said multiple people were injured at several locations in the heart of Trelleborg, Sweden.
Armed police have rushed to the scene after witnesses reported hearing a loud “bang”.
A police spokesman said: “We have received several reports of a shooting in Trelleborg.
“We were quickly on the spot and found that, within a fairly limited area, we find more people with suspected gunshot injuries.
“We are blocking certain areas and will conduct an investigation.
“I do not have any more information at this time. But we are at the scene and investigating.”
They said several people were injured at different locations.
The spokesman said: “A major police operation is underway.”
Police said they did not believe there was “a danger to third parties”.
One nearby resident said: “There were many shots. We saw someone running outside. It’s packed with police cars in the street.”
Another said: “I was at home at my computer when I heard a loud bang.”
The condition of the victims is unknown.
Police did not specify whether the suspect was in custody.
Four men have reportedly been taken to hospitals in Malmö and Lund.
The crime scene has been cordoned off.
Forensic investigators and police dogs are working in the area.
At least eight ambulances have been called to the area.
Trelleborg is a town of around 40,000 people in the far-south of Sweden.
The incident is not believed to be terror-related.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Transport Agencies Targeted in Cyber Attack
Swedish transport authorities were hit by a cyber attack on Thursday morning, a day after trains were delayed as a result of another attack on IT systems monitoring rail traffic.
| — Hat tip: Charles Low | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Extremely Selective Free Speech
Another recent government response to terrorism has been to outlaw two far-right groups: Scottish Dawn and NS131, which are aliases for the group National Action, a fringe neo-Nazi group, banned in 2016. Being a member of these groups or merely supporting them is now a criminal offense that carries a sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment. Amber Rudd said in September:
“National Action is a vile racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic group which glorifies violence and stirs up hatred… Our priority as Government will always be to maintain the safety and security of families and communities… we will continue to identify and ban any terrorist group which threatens this, whatever their ideology”.
Apparently, however, to paraphrase George Orwell, some terrorist groups “are more equal than others.” Amber Rudd recently refused to ban the political wing of Hezbollah, an equally racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic group that has actually committed terror attacks all over the world, as opposed to the banned neo-Nazi groups. Banning Hezbollah’s political wing would have closed a legal loophole that allows demonstrations in support of the political wing of Hezbollah, while its military wing is banned in the UK. Hezbollah itself, obviously, does not distinguish between its ‘political’ and ‘military’ wings.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, had written to Amber Rudd asking her to close the legal loophole after Jewish groups pleaded with him to stop a large Al Quds day march, which nevertheless took place in London in June 2017 and featured Hezbollah flags. While the British government decided that supporters of fringe neo-Nazi groups should be jailed for up to 10 years, it apparently thought that supporting Hezbollah is just fine. In response to Khan, Amber Rudd wrote :
“The group that reportedly organised the parade, the Islamic Human Rights Commission, is not a proscribed terrorist organisation. This means they can express their views and demonstrate, provided that they do so within the law. The flag for the organisation’s military wing is the same as the flag for its political wing. Therefore, for it to be an offence under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000, for an individual to display the Hizballah flag, the context and manner in which the flag is displayed must demonstrate that it is specifically in support of the proscribed elements of the group”,
In other words, you can go ahead and support Hezbollah in the UK, no problem. Support the far right and you can end up in jail for a decade. Evidently, free speech in the UK has become extremely selective.
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
When Justice Fails, According to Assange
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has dismissed the capacity of judicial systems to deal with complex, politicised cases, based on his own experience with the Swedish courts.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In 2017, Kelli O’Brien, the aunt of Joshua Boyle spoke publicly about the kidnapping of her nephew and his wife Caitlan Boyle who expresses her disappointment over the lack of response from Prime Minister Trudeau. Interestingly enough, Trudeau was visiting President Trump when Trump announced that he would soon be announcing some very good news would be forthcoming regarding the captured family’s status.
An American woman, her Canadian husband, and their three children have been freed from captivity by Pakistani security forces, nearly five years after being taken hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The initial word came from a Pakistani Army statement and was confirmed by US officials.
The couple, American Caitlan Coleman, 31, and her American husband, Joshua Boyle, 33, were kidnapped by the Taliban in 2012 while they were traveling as tourists in Afghanistan and were held in captivity since.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Not Only Hindus, Christian Girls Too Are the Victim of Love Jihad…
In God’s own country, Islam is capturing Non Muslim Girls with the dangerous tool of ‘Love Jihad’. Top Indian Investigating body is Probing now 90 Forced Conversion and Marriages.
B Upendran | HENB | Kochi | Oct 12, 2017:: Two women named Athira, with different surnames recently appeared before the NIA (National Investigation Agency) office in Kochi recently and recorded their statements wherein they said they were induced into converting their faith from Hinduism to Islam. These Hindu girls, Athira Nambiar (alias Salma alias Ayisha) from Palakkad and another Athira Kaniyambadi (alias Ayesha) from Bekal in Kasargod, asserted that they were “lured” to embrace Islam and enter into a relationship with Muslim partners to “marry”.
In their statements before the NIA, the women said that they were provided literature and audio-video materials relating to hard-line interpretations of the religion made by Dr Zakir Naik and subsequently brainwashed to embrace Islam. The women, however, said that they were not married as yet even after conversion to Islam.
The agency has sought a list from the Kerala Police of the converts who switched their faith since 2015 and subsequently entered into marriage with Muslims. The police has till so far furnished a list of 90 such conversions wherein ‘gullible’ girls were allegedly converted to Islam and in most of the cases there was a pattern that points towards inducements and psychological brainwashing by certain radical groups, sources said…
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
Chinese Airline Transports Human Organs on a Large Scale, Raising Questions About Organ Harvesting
[…] This news of organ delivery via airlines, however, reveals there may be another channel for organ transplantation, said WOIPFG spokesperson Wang Zhiyuan. “The explosive growth of the transplant industry is still ongoing. The dark secrets of organ transplants have yet to be fully exposed,” he said.
While the regime seeks to show the world that China has a standard system for organ transplantation, the recent news only raises more questions.
“With the express lane, they want to guarantee that the organs get transported as quickly as possible. The purpose was to promote their achievements. But the important question is, where are these organs coming from? Is there transparency in how these organs were obtained?”, said Huang Shiwei, deputy director of the Taiwan Association for International Care of Organ Transplants. The organization seeks to raise awareness about forced organ harvesting and discourage medical tourism to China for transplant surgery.
State media have previously reported that airlines have transported organs to the frontiers of the country, to places like Kashgar and Ghulja in Xinjiang Province.
Ilshat Hassan, president of the Uyghur American Association, is concerned that forced organ harvesting is happening in Xinjiang, where the Uyghur ethnic group makes up the majority of the populace.
In recent months, Hassan has received accounts from parents, whose children study at Xinjiang University, that their loved ones have gone missing.
They fear that their children have become victims of organ harvesting. “The local police, the school cannot find them. Where have they gone? We can only associate it with large-scale organ harvesting,” he said.
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
Commission Seeks to Shine Spotlight on Deteriorating Human Rights in China
WASHINGTON—The news about human rights in China is not good, according to the just-released annual report by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC).
The CECC is tasked with monitoring human rights and the development of the rule of law in China, which it does through an annual report, but also through hearings, roundtables, and special projects.
At over 300 pages, this year’s report is comprehensive and detailed, covering human rights under 12 separate categories, ranging from freedom of expression to the environment, and the rule of law under four more categories. The report also has separate chapters on Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong and Macau
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
Melbourne man Prabhdeep Singh, 31, has appeared in court accused of keeping a woman as a slave and possessing child pornography.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Sydney’s housing market boom has come to an end after the median house price fell 1.9 per cent to $1,167,516 in the first quarter of the current financial year, according to Domain Group.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Media commentator Peta Credlin forced a Sky News host to awkwardly cut to an ad break as she pointed at fellow panellists and described them all as ‘p*** and wind’.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Recording of Unknown Sound in Cuba is Out
An audio recording of the high-pitched sound that American intelligence officials believe caused U.S. diplomats in Cuba brain damage was released Thursday afternoon.
The Associated Press released the first publicly disseminated recording Thursday. The first of many audio recordings taken in Cuba has led U.S. intelligence operatives to believe the Cuban government is using an unknown sonic device to attack Americans and other foreigners on the island.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark Refuses to Lift EU Border Controls in Blow to EU Free Movement
The European Union’s member states in the so-called Schengen area are obligated to allow passport-free travel between bloc countries.
But the Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration announced yesterday that it would be extending its temporary border controls with Sweden and Germany.
The restrictions were first introduced in January last year to control migrant flows on Europe’s borders and as a counter-terror measure in the wake of a host of attacks across the continent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Europe Terror Threat: Germany Extends Passport Controls Amid Illegal Immigration Fears
The European Commission last month offered initial backing to a Franco-German proposal to allow more permanent border checks within the bloc’s Schengen free-travel zone.
Germany notified the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the President of the European Parliament and the interior ministers of the EU-Schengen states about its decision in a letter on Wednesday.
The commission allowed Germany to control its border with Austria in 2015 after a surge of refugees and migrants began arriving in western Europe. The temporary permission was due to expire on Nov. 11.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Extends Border Controls, Schengen Suspensions for Another Six Months
BERLIN (AP) — The German government says it will extend passport controls along some of its national borders for another six months starting in November.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said in a written statement Thursday that the authorities will continue controls along the German-Austrian border and on flights coming in from Greece.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lower Saxony in Germany Bans Migrants From Moving to Salzgitter
The government of Lower Saxony, in northwest Germany, has claimed that the imposed immigration restrictions on migrants in Salzgitter is due to the city’s “exceptionally high immigration” and “for reasons of integration”.
The mandate stated: “This is an exceptional measure aimed at preventing the social and societal exclusion of immigrant refugees.”
Germany has struggled to absorb more than a million migrants from the Middle East and Africa who have arrived in the country over the last few years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia Becoming Next Major Mass Migration Hub
In the last six weeks, Tunisia has become a focus for mass migration as authorities worry that now the Libyan route has been all but closed, many migrants are looking to get to Europe from the Tunisian coast instead.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bravo to the Trump Administration for finally recognizing that UNESCO is no longer abiding by its own charter and has become a hostage to the OIC (Organization of Islamic Council) that uses its financial influence to steer its political biases.
Next stop, a complete withdrawal of all funding to the United Nations?
From your keyboard…
Kudos to Peta Credlin, who on Sky News, called out all the talking heads.
This woman belongs in Conservative politics, and what a difference she could make!
‘An audio recording of the high-pitched sound that American intelligence officials believe caused U.S. diplomats in Cuba brain damage was released Thursday afternoon.’
I very much reccomend Richard D. Halls latest expose on child suicides and accidental deaths!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6owsiL9CpK8
I will just quickly recapitulate what’s being said aboud half way through the program:
Microwave weapons are real and can turn you into a hallucinogenic mushroom in 30 hours!
When there are statistically significant sudden increases in suicides, it is probably microwave weapon testing!
The case discussed in the program happened in Bridgend, UK. Funny how people facing multiple suicides of fine young people don’t even hint about sinister outside influence! Sherlock Holmes would say: If you rule out their insanity, then there is the last, although improbable, bus the only possible solution!
‘Today, about 40 countries in the world possess Microwave weapon technology.
Kingsmen too…
Corporate globalists hate European peoples so much that they are denying our existence:
http://www.unz.com/isteve/the-transcultural-mainstream/