The Swiss government says that it supports continuing the “temporary” border checks that have been implemented in the Schengen Area, which would otherwise expire next month. Meanwhile, enough signatures have been gathered on a petition so that a ban on the burka in Switzerland will be put to a national vote.
In other news, a former Islamic State commander warns that ISIS is recruiting more operatives over the Internet to carry out terrorist attacks in the UK.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to AF, Charles Low, Insubria, JD, Reader from Chicago, Seneca III, Yokel, 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.
19 GOP Congressmen Call for Closer Look Into Mueller’s Team of Political Hack Lawyers
All we can say about this development is that it’s about time the GOP Congressman did something about the wild goose chase Mueller and his team have been going on.
Nineteen Republican congressmen signed on to a letter (see a screenshot of the letter at the bottom of this article) sent out Friday requesting congressional hearings to keep special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of lawyers accountable.
“This team has sweeping authority and an open-ended mission, yet they are allowed to operate largely in secret, selected by and ultimately accountable to only one person: Mr. Mueller himself,” the letter sent to House Judiciary Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte and Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley states.
Texas Republican Rep. Brian Babin started asking his colleagues to sign the letter in August. The congressmen who signed on include: Iowa Rep. Steve King, Arizona Rep. Trent Franks, California Rep. Duncan Hunter, and Virginia Rep. Dave Brat.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
AMD Platform Security Processor (PSP)
This is basically AMD’s own version of the Intel Management Engine. It has all of the same basic security and freedom issues, although the implementation is wildly different.
The Platform Security Processor (PSP) is built in on all Family 16h + systems (basically anything post-2013), and controls the main x86 core startup. PSP firmware is cryptographically signed with a strong key similar to the Intel ME. If the PSP firmware is not present, or if the AMD signing key is not present, the x86 cores will not be released from reset, rendering the system inoperable.
The PSP is an ARM core with TrustZone technology, built onto the main CPU die. As such, it has the ability to hide its own program code, scratch RAM, and any data it may have taken and stored from the lesser-privileged x86 system RAM (kernel encryption keys, login data, browsing history, keystrokes, who knows!). To make matters worse, the PSP theoretically has access to the entire system memory space (AMD either will not or cannot deny this, and it would seem to be required to allow the DRM “features” to work as intended), which means that it has at minimum MMIO-based access to the network controllers and any other PCI/PCIe peripherals installed on the system.
[Comment: Athlon was the last processor free of this “cpu inside the cpu”]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Disabling the Intel Management Engine
The Intel Management Engine (‘IME’ or ‘ME’) is an out-of-band co-processor integrated in all post-2006 Intel-CPU-based PCs. It has full network and memory access and runs proprietary, signed, closed-source software at ring —3, independently of the BIOS, main CPU and platform operating system — a fact which many regard as an unacceptable security risk (particularly given that at least one remotely exploitable security hole has already been reported).
In this mini-guide, I’ll run through the process of disabling the IME on your target PC. To do so, we will use Nicola Corna’s me_cleaner. This software operates on the firmware stored in your PC’s BIOS chip (where the bulk of the ME’s code resides), and does two things:…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
End the ATF, Not the 2nd Amendment
The establishment is pushing gun control heavily after the Vegas shooting
Larry Pratt of Gunowners of America joins David Knight to look at gun control measures being pushed by Democrats, Republicans & the NRA who are begging the ATF to expand its regulations rather than fight infringement legislation in Congress.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
In yet another astonishing eyewitness report that contradicts the official story surrounding the worst mass shooting in American history, a married couple who were celebrating their 10th anniversary in Las Vegas at the time of the shooting have come forward to reveal that there was an active shooter inside the Bellagio Hotel around the same time that supposed lone gunman Stephen Paddock was found dead.
During the confessional, a Canadian man by the name of Jeff detailed the fact that he and his wife were in the Bellagio Resort and Casino around 11:20pm on the night of the shooting when panic broke out in the hotels lobby.
Jeff begins the interview by making clear his belief that there were multiple active shooters targeting different places in Las Vegas on the night of the attack.
“First of all, I think what needs to be said is that, from my perspective, there were multiple events that occurred around Las Vegas, up and down the Strip that night. It wasn’ t just centralized around the Mandalay Hotel,” the witness claimed.
The eyewitness then goes on to directly say that he and his wife were involved in an active shooter situation at a different hotel that authorities have so far done everything in their power to cover-up.
“My wife and I were in Las Vegas celebrating our 10th anniversary and on October 1st we were involved in an incident with an active shooter at the Bellagio. There is no mistake in my mind about it,” he continued.
Jeff then describes a scene in which he and his wife were walking through the main lobby when screams and gunfire erupted. Keep in mind, this is all information that the police and the FBI has hidden from the American people.
“All of a sudden there was just a crescendo of screams that started behind us in the lobby,” he claimed. “Then I heard somebody yell ‘there’s a shooter! There’s a shooter!’ And then I heard like five or six pops, like unmistakable gunfire, unmistakably.”
“That was about 11:20 when we heard the shots and the screams… at that point you could hear and see the screams and see hundreds of people coming towards us.”
Amazingly, as Shepard Ambellas noted, “The man’s claims match up to actual events captured in police audio recordings from the night of the shooting which confirms that between 11:15 and 11:18 p.m. on the night of Oct. 1 there was, in fact, something going on at the Bellagio.”
This testimony also backs up claims by another eyewitness, Rene Downs, who has spent the past few days doing interviews about a shooter inside the Bellagio Hotel.
Slowly but surely we are starting to see the official narrative regarding the Las Vegas Massacre be completely destroyed. At this point it is strikingly obvious that authorities have lied to the American people about the worst mass shooting in our countries history.
One can only speculate as to what the reasons for these lies actually are?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Sheriff Joseph Lombardo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department appeared to be visibly shaken when told reporters Friday that he wasn’t attempting to be “subversive” in previous statements he made surrounding details of the October 1 massacre at the Route 91 Music Festival where 58 people lost their lives…
The sheriff stuck to his guns on Friday when he told reporters that he still ‘stands by’ his latest timeline which lists Campos’s encounter with Paddock at 9:59 p.m., 6 minutes prior Paddock’s first known volley of fully-automatic gunfire.
The visibly nervous sheriff also made clear that “there is no conspiracy between the FBI, LVMPD, or the MGM” and that “nobody is attempting to hide anything” in reference to the investigation and noted his solidarity with the FBI.
“We are standing hand-in-hand with the FBI in the continuance of this investigation,” the sheriff explained.
“I feel confident that there are no other individuals that are intending to cause harm to our community associated with the 1 October event.”
[Comment: Reminds me of a quote in the first episode of the British comedy show “Yes, Primeminister” : “never believe anything until it is officially denied.” ]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Six years ago, former child star Corey Feldman admitted that he and fellow child actor Corey Haim, who died from a 2010 overdose, were sexually molested by adult males throughout Hollywood during their time in the limelight. Haim is said to have received far more brutal abuse — raped at age 11 by a producer, while Feldman was groomed and abused by a man employed by his father at the age of 15.
In a 2011 interview with ABC, Feldman said Pedophilia was the Number 1 problem for child stars, saying “I was surrounded by [pedophiles] when I was 14 years old. … Didn’t even know it. It wasn’t until I was old enough to realize what they were and what they wanted … till I went, Oh, my God. They were everywhere.”
And in a 2016 interview — days after actor Elijah Wood gave an interview in which he said “Hollywood has a Pedophilia Problem,” Feldman revealed that he was ‘molested and passed around’ by men in the industry. The former child actor has refused to name his abusers, citing legal reasons.
Feldman has also written about Corey Haim’s time with Hollywood child-actor manager Martin Weiss, an agent primarily for children who appeared on Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel — who enjoyed sleepovers and road trips with his clients. Weiss was arrested in 2011 and plead no contest to eight felony counts of molesting young actors — sentenced to a year in jail but released for time served.
Weiss raped a child actor 30 to 40 times until the age of 15, according to the police report. In an affidavit obtained by the Los Angeles Times, the victim told police that Weiss said what they were doing was ‘common practice in the entertainment industry.’
Weiss was caught when the 15 year old victim went to his apartment in November of 2011 and recorded a conversation in which Weiss admitted to the abuse.
Barbara’s Genuine Outrage — at Feldman…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
For Deep Security, Use ARM, Avoid Intel & AMD Processors
IF your biggest risk is someone will find out you dye your hair or are a biker who actually likes Opera and Ballet when not doing the weekend warrior thing, you don’t really care about this level of security.
IF you are worried about the PRISM program compromising equipment makers and embedding spy facilities so that the government of the USA can suck in every drop of information from everywhere, then you DO care.
Since I’ve been employed for “Industrial Strength” computer security in many companies over the decades, I care.
With that preamble:
It seems that Intel and AMD have decided to put a “computer inside your computer” that only they know how to operate, doing only what they tell it to do, and where nobody but them can see the programs running in it. IMHO, this is a security hole you could drive an entire Three Letter Agency through.
But worse, us “Hacker Types” being very cleaver folks, have figured out how to exploit it… Which means other Governments around the world will also know how to exploit it… Which means you are at risk for Chinese, Russian, Iranian, and who knows what all else TLA’s crawling into your Intel or AMD run box and doing it in such a way that you can not see them, nor ferret them out. Since ARM chips are not subject to this class of exploit, that’s why I’m so focused on making my home systems out of them…
The Active Management Technology (AMT) application, part of the Intel “vPro” brand, is a Web server and application code that enables remote users to power on, power off, view information about, and otherwise manage the PC. It can be used remotely even while the PC is powered off (via Wake-on-Lan)…
The Intel Management Engine with its proprietary firmware has complete access to and control over the PC: it can power on or shut down the PC, read all open files, examine all running applications, track all keys pressed and mouse movements, and even capture or display images on the screen. And it has a network interface that is demonstrably insecure, which can allow an attacker on the network to inject rootkits that completely compromise the PC and can report to the attacker all activities performed on the PC. It is a threat to freedom, security, and privacy that can’t be ignored.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Hollywood’s Dark Secret the Media Won’t Talk About
The American film industry has been totally corrupted
Actor Terry Crews admits one of Hollywood’s biggest secrets and reveals what few stars would ever say about the business.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Since the moment that the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke open multiple other high-profile Hollywood players have been implicated in some sort of sexual crime, with new allegations coming out on a daily basis.
Now, the latest shocking example is none other than Hollywood and liberal icon George Clooney, who has been accused of helping to blacklist an actress who complained about racial and sexual harassment during her time on the television show ER.
Former ER actress Vanessa Marquez took to Twitter Thursday to respond to news reports that Clooney was “speaking out” against Weinstein. Marquez had a decidedly different take on the situation.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Intel AMT Vulnerability Shows Intel’s Management Engine Can be Dangerous
Intel published a security advisory about a vulnerability that affects Active Management Technology (AMT), Intel Standard Manageability (ISM), and Intel Small Business Technology (SBT) software. The company also released detection and mitigation guides, but the firmware updates would have to come from OEMs. The vulnerability shows that Intel ME’s out-of-bound functionality, such as installing software remotely on PCs, could pose serious dangers to systems, as some free software activists have already warned.
Intel ME And AMT
Intel’s Management Engine (ME) is a separate computing environment working on Intel’s chips that comes with its own separate processor, whereas AMT is the software that provides the ME functionality to system administrators. According to some researchers, the ME has access to “everything,” including network, memory, and the cryptography engine. AMT and ME can also be accessed remotely, which Intel has argued that is a feature of its processors:…
All of this has led free software activists, such as those working on Libreboot (a free software alternative to UEFI), to brand it a “backdoor.” Even without considering it a backdoor, the Libreboot founder has argued that the capabilities of Intel ME can be exploited by others once vulnerabilities in it are found:
[Comment: NSA wet dream. total access even if you PC is off.]]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
(INTELLIHUB) — A woman by the name of Kymberley Suchomel, 28, who attended the Oct. 1 Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, passed away Monday at her Apple Valley home just days after she had survived the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history unscathed, according to multiple mainstream media reports.
Suchomel, who posted her eyewitness account of the Las Vegas massacre in astonishingly vivid detail to her Facebook page on Oct. 4, subsequently passed away in her home on Oct. 9 from what reports are claiming are ‘natural causes.’
Shockingly, just days before her death, Suchomel posted key details about the shooting to Facebook that contradicted the official narrative which claims that Stephen Paddock was the lone gunman.
“From about 50 feet in front of us, and a little to the right, fire crackers were set off. Let me repeat that… FIRE CRACKERS WERE SET OFF. I verbally stated “some asshole just shot of fire crackers in close proximity to so many people”. I was literally pissed off. You could see Jason Aldean look to his left kind of startled by it, but he was also clearly irritated. I would say about 15 seconds later, the first volley of gunfire was released,” the eyewitness wrote.
She went on…
It was a shorter volley than any of the others, and the gunfire was not as close together either. EVERYONE looked up, down, around. We thought it was more fire crackers at first, but then Ricky reached over, told us all to put our boots on, quickly. And the volley ended. Then people started to panic. The gentlemen behind me looked at me as I was putting on my boots, half laying down, and said “calm down crazy, its just fireworks, jeez”.
That is when the 2nd volley went off, Ricky yelled at us all to get down, flat, & we immediately knew there was someone shooting at us. I remember getting down, but I didn’t lay flat for some reason, thinking— oh my gosh, I need to get flatter than I am now, but my body just wouldn’t let me. That was the 2nd volley. At the end of that volley ( I am still struggling to get my boots on), we turned and tried to run, but the people behind us still weren’t moving. I yelled at the lady “RUN! ITS GUNFIRE! RUUUUUUUUUNNNNN!!!”
Third volley of gunfire hits astroturf
According to Suchomel the shooting was ‘close.”
“[When] the 3rd volley hit… and it was close. Very, very close to us. I could physically see the impact of the bullets on the astro-turf, I could feel the warmth & the passing of bullets. Once that 3rd volley was over, Casie linked her arm into mine, and we decided at that moment we weren’t stopping— we were getting the Hell out of there. And I do mean Hell. We were in literal Hell,” she claimed.
“The gentlemen that mocked me stating it was just fireworks fell to the ground, and he never got back up. The lady behind me (who was now in front of me) who was terrified as I told her to run, never got back up. I actually had to physically step over her body to run (something I am still struggling with, so please don’t attack me. I was absolutely in flight-or-fight mode). There was another person to my right who also wasn’t moving. We ran. I don’t know what direction we ran, I don’t know towards which landmark we ran. We just ran. It was at this time our group got split up. Casie & I were together. Ricky, Cassie & Mendy were together.”
Soon after, according to her account, Suchomel started to panic when she realized ‘100%’that there was more than one shooter and that multiple gunmen were in the crowd!
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Neutralizing Intel’s Management Engine
Five or so years ago, Intel rolled out something horrible. Intel’s Management Engine (ME) is a completely separate computing environment running on Intel chipsets that has access to everything. The ME has network access, access to the host operating system, memory, and cryptography engine. The ME can be used remotely even if the PC is powered off. If that sounds scary, it gets even worse: no one knows what the ME is doing, and we can’t even look at the code. When — not ‘if’ — the ME is finally cracked open, every computer running on a recent Intel chip will have a huge security and privacy issue. Intel’s Management Engine is the single most dangerous piece of computer hardware ever created.
Researchers are continuing work on deciphering the inner workings of the ME, and we sincerely hope this Pandora’s Box remains closed. Until then, there’s now a new way to disable Intel’s Management Engine.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Newsweek Uses Accused Pedophile Dennis Hastert to Attack Trump
Federal judge in Chicago described Hastert as a serial “child molester” during sentencing last year
Media organization Newsweek used accused pedophile and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert to criticize President Donald Trump this week.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Philadelphia: Terror-Linked CAIR Gives Public School Teachers “Islamophobia” Training
Philadelphia’s public school system allowed the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) to conduct sensitivity training for its teachers last year, CAIR press releases and school district documents obtained by the Investigative Project on Terrorism show.
| — Hat tip: Charles Low | [Return to headlines] |
Reporter Doorstops Vegas Security Guard’s House: “I Can Confirm His Family Has a Gag Order”
Over the last few days Las Vegas law enforcement officials have significantly altered the timeline of the mass shooting that left 59 dead and hundreds injured. Adding further intrigue is the fact that the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino now says that they have their own timeline of events, which diverge from the official story.
On top of that, mystery still surrounds Mandalay Bay security guard Jose Campos, who was shot in the leg when Stephen Paddock opened fire and unleashed some 200 rounds through the door of his hotel room. Campos, who is reportedly not registered to work in the State of Nevada, was scheduled to do an interview with Sean Hannity Thursday night. But just minutes before the interview was to take place, Campos was said to have abruptly cancelled his appearance:…
According to Loomer, Jesus Campos and his family members have been told not to discuss the incident. Further, when Loomer was confronted by an armed security guard outside of Campos’ home she noted that the firm the security guard supposedly works for is not registered to operate in Nevada, to which she asks the guard:
You said that you worked for OnScene, a security company. We did a background check… and the business license expired in January 2017 and has a virtual address… so the company that you work for… is it a real company? Or is it just some type of a shill company that the FBI or DHS is using?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Social justice, the UNESCO Marxist, ideology is now taught in the American classroom. Social justice supports equality and solidarity in a society based on the group to which you belong. Groups are then divided, told they must fight for their rights. Sadly this division is used to destroy conversation, create class warfare, and keep the populace divided. Divided groups will never realize they are all fighting for the same thing which already had been guaranteed by the constitution. So why the fight? MONEY. Nothing brings in more cash than racism.
So we are all on the same page, Social justice is based on the concept of human rights and equality and involves a great degree of economic affairs in which equality of outcome means all people having the same wealth. If wealth is not equal then the government has the right to take from one and give to another. The government has no problems making demands and mandates with penalties if you do not comply — Imagine if every policy was mandated like Obamacare?
Social Justice is a founding principle of various forms of socialism, communism progressivism, Marxism , etc. and cooperative economic organization, through progressive taxation, income redistribution or even property redistribution. Our American founders realized that division will destroy the society, so in the constitution they used words like ALL, We the People. Unfortunately “ALL” is no longer taught so each individual group feels, their group is special and they must have… These groups usually represent less than 5% of the population, but they are backed up by the media and Hollywood. The noise of unfairness is loud. Facts are omitted and groups are pitted against each other. If schools taught the facts, students would learn that in America ALL means ALL. Unfortunately, that can never happen because if “All was All”, people like Sharpton would be without a job and donors…
Jack Chambless, Economics Professor, Valencia College, Orlando wrote to the The Orlando Sentinel, on The American Dream. His students had to write an essay explaining their definition of the American Dream and what they expected the federal government to do to help them achieve their version of this dream.
“When contemplating the role of Washington, D.C., in helping them achieve their goals in life, my students — most of whom were educated in America’s public schools — wrote that they wanted government to “pay for my tuition,” “provide me with a job,” “give me money for a house,” “make sure I get free health care,” “pay for my retirement,” “raise taxes on rich people so that I can have more money” and so forth.
One student who thought her American Dream could be best achieved with more government regulations went so far as to say, “We all know that there are many bad side effects when regulations take place, but as human beings, we are not really responsible for our own acts, and so we need government to control those who don’t care about others. It makes sense that our freedom is reduced every day with the new regulations.” Sadly this has gotten worse. Today students are not being able to process any information they deem as derogatory. They need special safe spaces to feel secure. So sad. America’s youth become victims of everything because the theme “we are not really responsible for our own acts.” is played from K-16. They are taught, “to apologize is weakness”. To show wrongdoing is weakness. Therefore blame everyone else. With Hillary as their example, how could they lose?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Less We Believe Them About Las Vegas, The More They Want Our Guns
Once again, there has been a mass shooting in the United States and the usual script is in play.
America’s ‘gun culture’ is to blame!
Before the blood was dry gun control advocates had trotted out their standard list of remedial measures, none of which would have prevented what had just taken place.
Since the Las Vegas massacre we have been regaled about evil guns by factually ignorant buffoons like Bill Maher, Colin Jost, Michael Che, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, and John Oliver — the last two not even Americans. Anyone who disagrees is just wrong and callous about the loss of innocent life. We now import foreigners to insult us and our institutions and pay them outrageous salaries to do it.
Las Vegas was a bit different from previous mass shooting in at least two glaring respects.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Assange Clashes With Ecuador’s President Over Catalan Independence
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has clashed with Ecuador’s president by speaking in support of Catalonian separatists, bringing the fugitive into direct conflict with the government shielding him.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Catalan Government Allies Say Talks With Madrid ‘Impossible’
The far-left allies of Catalonia’s separatist government said on Saturday talks with Madrid were “impossible” and called on regional leader Carles Puigdemont to push ahead with immediate independence.
“Dialogue is impossible, mediation is impossible,” said Nuria Gibert, a spokeswoman for the far-left CUP party, which has consistently called for swift secession from the rest of Spain.
The CUP is a key ally of the Catalan government, as it has 10 lawmakers in the regional parliament without which the ruling separatist coalition would not have an absolute majority.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘EU Will Fail Unless They Learn From Brexit’ Says Czech PM Candidate Andrej Babis
THE EU must learn from Brexit or fail, the man tipped to be the next Czech Prime Minister has warned.
And billionaire Andrej Babis accused EU bosses of pursuing a federalist agenda which was against most members wishes.
The leader of the Czech Republic’s anti-establishment ANO party, also told Brussels that Europeans do not want further integration.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Forget Catalonia, Flanders is the Real Test Case of EU Separatism!
Catalonia’s separatist campaign has dominated European headlines for the past couple of weeks, but it’s really the northern Belgian region of Flanders which will serve as a barometer over whether large chunks of the EU will fall apart into a collection of identity-centric statelets prior to the bloc’s reconstitution into a “federation of regions”.
What’s going on in Catalonia is of paramount importance to the geopolitical future of Europe, since it could very well serve as the catalyst for fracturing the EU if copycat movements elsewhere are emboldened by the Spanish region’s possible separatist success. This was explained in detail in the author’s recent analysis about “The Catalan Chain Reaction”, which readers should familiarize themselves with if they’re not already acquainted with the thesis put forth in that work. To concisely summarize, there’s a very distinct possibility that the EU’s liberal-globalist elite have been planning to divide and rule the continent along identity-based lines in order to further their ultimate goal of creating a “federation of regions”.
Catalonia is the spark that could set off this entire process, but it could also just be a flash in the pan that might end up being contained no matter what its final result may be. Flanders, however, is much different because of the heightened symbolism that Belgium holds in terms of EU identity, and the dissolution of this somewhat artificially created state would be the clearest sign yet that the EU’s ruling elite intend to take the bloc down the direction of manufactured fragmentation.Bearing this in mind, the spread of the “Catalan Chain Reaction” to Belgium and the inspiration that this could give to Flanders to break off from the rest of the country should be seen as the true barometer over whether or not the EU’s “nation-states” will disintegrate into a constellation of “Balkanized” ones.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Hosts First Ever Government Hosted Conference for Persecuted Christians
It is time for Europe to free itself from the shackles of political correctness, speak the truth, and face the facts about the violent persecution of Christians, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Thursday.
In a hard-hitting speech delivered at the opening of the first major conference ever held by a government in support of persecuted Christians, Orbán said that the “forced expulsion” of Christians from parts of the Middle East and Africa are “crimes” against the people and communities concerned that also “threaten our European values.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Defector Warns UK Faces More Terror Attacks
A former Islamic State commander has warned ISIS are using the internet to recruit potentially deadly ISIS sleeper cells in the UK.
ISIS leaders are sending propaganda over the internet to further radicalise potential recruits and ‘encourage jihad’, according to Emir Abu Abboud al-Raqqawi — who held several high-ranking positions within the Islamic religious police force.
In an interview, he has revealed the chilling details of how multi-lingual and sophisticate terrorist recruiters are helping to establish sleeper cells in western Europe.
‘Migrants inside the caliphate are in touch with their friends in the Western world. Their friends and family in Sweden, in Germany, in France, in the UK, in Turkey, in Azerbaijan or in other parts of the world,’ al-Raqqaqi toldexpressen.se.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Hotel Stays Up 2.9% for Jan-Sept Period — TTG Incontri
Federalberghi says figures up for Italians and foreigners
(ANSA) — Rimini, October 12 — The number of nights guests spent at Italian hotels in the first nine months of this year was up 2.9% with respect to the same period in 2016, according to figures presented Thursday by hoteliers’ association Federalberghi at the TTG Incontri event in Rimini. It said Italian guests were up 2.2% and foreign visitors had risen by 3.5%. “It has been an exceptional year for Italian tourism,” Federalberghi President Bernabò Bocca told ANSA.
“The sector is already, and will continue to be, a lead player in the recovery and job rises because it cannot be externalised or mechanised.
“But there must be no resting on our laurels. Italy must live off tourism and I hope the argument that helping the sector is a good thing prevails”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Top in EU for Waste Recycling
76.9%, compared to average of 34%
(ANSA) — Rome, October 9. Italy is top in the European Union for waste recycling at 76.9% of urban, industrial and other waste recycled, Eurostat said Monday. This compared with an EU average of 37%, it said.
France is on 54%, the UK at 44% and Germany on 43%, it said.
Italy recycles 56.4 million tonnes of waste a year, only behind Germany on 72.4 million, Eurostat said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Follows Poland’s Lead, Prays ‘Rosary on the Border’
ITALY (ChurchMilitant.com) — Faithful Catholics in Italy are fasting on bread and water and praying the Rosary together throughout the country.
On Friday, the 100th anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima, the Italian Association Accompanying Marian Sanctuaries (Associazione Italiana Accompagnatori Santuari Mariani, or AIASM) sponsored a nationwide day of fasting, as well as a Rosary.
Organizers called it “Rosary at the Border” and praised the Rosary as “the most powerful peace initiative” for their country and the world.
The event’s inspiration came from the “Rosary to the Borders” rally in Poland on October 7. Poland’s Rosary to the Borders drew well over 1 million participants, making it the largest prayer event in Europe since the 2016 World Youth Day in Kraków, Poland.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Populists Poised to Shift Austria Toward Right in Upcoming Election
Austria looks likely to move to the right in Sunday’s elections. Conservative Sebastian Kurz is predicted to become prime minister, while the nationalist Freedom Party is expected to come second and could become part of the next coalition government.
“All polls show that Kurz will be the winner,” Reinhold Gärtner, professor of political science at Austria’s Innsbruck University, told FRANCE 24. Polls have consistently put Kurz’s conservative People’s Party (OVP) at first place with over 30 percent of the vote.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland Supports Prolonging EU Border Checks
Citing increased threat of terror attacks, countries with external European Union borders are calling for the extension of temporary border controls — a change supported by Swiss justice minister Simonetta Sommaruga.
Sommaruga, who spoke just before the EU interior ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg on Friday, said that as some countries — including France and Germany — had already announced their intention to retain border checks past the initial deadline of November 2017, it was necessary to agree on common regulations “to which everyone must adhere”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland to Hold Referendum on Nationwide Burka Ban
GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss government says voters will decide whether to ban face-covering garments like masks or Muslim burqas and niqabs.
The government said Friday a vote on the ban, championed by right wing groups, will take place. That comes after advocates gathered over 100,000 signatures to put the initiative on the ballot under Switzerland’s system of direct democracy, which lets voters decide major policy issues.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Footage has emerged showing two Asian men accusing refuse collectors of racism for not collecting rubbish in the bin which was allegedly ‘on the floor’.
The workers argued that they were merely following Bradford Council’s policy.
But the furious residents claimed that it was a ‘matter of colour of skin’ and filmed themselves launching a tirade of foul-mouthed abuse at the binmen.
At one point, the binman decides to take the men’s rubbish anyway but the cameraman continues to berate him.
The binmen take her bin, but the video does not show if they do ‘take everything’ as the voice-over predicts they will.
The other binman then interjects, denying it’s a matter of colour, and points out that the rule does not come from them but from ‘council bosses’.
Information on Bradford Metropolitan District Council’s website says the policy came into force nearly four weeks ago.
It states: ‘After Monday, 18 September, any extra waste left at the side of bins will not be collected across the Bradford district.
| — Hat tip: Seneca III | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Lloyds Bank Drops Overdraft Fee on Islamic Accounts, Charges Non-Muslims
Lloyds Bank has been accused of religious discrimination after offering free overdraft accounts to Muslims.
| — Hat tip: Charles Low | [Return to headlines] |
A report by a group of London academics calls on the government to nationalise many of the things average citizens will encounter on a typical day — and that radically higher taxes should be levied to pay for the change.
A development of the idea of a universal basic income — based on the idea of a certain amount of money being paid to every citizen regardless of their means or needs — the report by University College London’s Institute for Global Prosperity calls for “Universal Basic Services” to be provided by the government.
Under the plan, “massive” numbers of new council houses would be built and offered for free, whilst a National Food Service would, like the NHS, provide meals free at point of use to those suffering “food insecurity”. The report describes the initiative as an extension of free school meals into the home.
The plan would also cover free at point of use public transport for all, as well as a telephone, internet access, and television, all funded by taxpayers.
Whilst the report suggests the giveaways could reduce some “cash benefit” payments, overall it would cost some £42 billion a year, to begin with — representing over two per cent of the United Kingdom’s whole GDP. To pay for the increase, the paper calls for “changes to tax system” — which it later reveals would mean reducing the personal allowance — the tax-free sum that all employed people enjoy before income tax kicks in.
At present, the basic allowance is £11,500 a year per person earning less than £100,000, up from £10,000 in 2014.
Making the argument for cutting the allowance to just £4,300 to pay for these services, a change that would hit the lowest-paid hardest, the report states that in return for the huge expense the policy would at least be “highly progressive”. Elsewhere, the report states that “71 per cent of students are stressed and anxious about money” as justification for the taxpayer picking up the bill.
[Yokel comment: Of course it is all Free at the Point of Use. Can someone who knows about these things tell me how this will differ from the way the Soviet Union was run? Surely someone at UCL must be aware of modern history, please?
Given the Tory party beginning to implode, we are likely to see a Labour (with Hard Left Communists in charge) after the next election. They have already said that this “report” (read propaganda) will form part of their preparation for government.
If you reckon that Britain is already done, she will be seriously overdone if this programme ever gets implemented.]
| — Hat tip: Yokel | [Return to headlines] |
Zurich Named Tenth Safest City in the World
Zurich is the tenth safest place to live in the world and the third safest in Europe, according to a ranking published by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
| — Hat tip: Charles Low | [Return to headlines] |
Muslims Target Egyptian Christians Through Abductions, Forced Marriages and Conversions
It’s an atrocity of epic concern — the radical Islamic targeting and trafficking of Christians.
The latest target of Islamic jihadist human trafficking is women and girls — and the latest reports from Egypt are appalling.
Muslim men are kidnapping Egyptian Christian women and girls, forcing them to marry, and in so doing, convert them to Islam. The abducted are also subjected to physical and sexual abuse, drugging, domestic servitude, and prostitution.
In Egypt, networks of abductors work as Islamic mercenary kidnappers-for-hire. Whether the abductors get involved in these networks for ideology or economy or both remains to be seen. However, either way, vast sums of money and material benefits can be attained every time they steal a girl from her family and forcibly convert her to Islam in preparation for marriage to the highest bidder.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Why There is No Peace in the Middle East
[…] Peace is not possible in the Middle East because values and goals other than peace are more important to Middle Easterners. Most important to Middle Easterners are loyalty to kin, clan, and cult, and the honour which is won by such loyalty. These are the cultural imperatives, the primary values, held and celebrated. When conflict arises and conflict-parties form based on loyal allegiance, the conflict is regarded as appropriate and proper. …
Relations between descent groups were always oppositional in principle, with tribes as a whole seeing themselves in opposition to other tribes. The main structural relation between groups at the same genealogical and demographic level could be said to be balanced opposition. The strongest political norm among tribesmen was loyalty to, and active support of, one’s kin group, small or large. One must always support closer kin against more distant kin. Loyalty was rewarded with honour. Not supporting your kin was dishonourable. The systemic result was often a stand-off, the threat of full scale conflict with another group of the same size and determination acting as deterrence against frivolous adventures. That there were not more conflicts than the many making up tribal history, is due to that deterrence.
There was no group and no loyalty above the tribe or tribal confederation until the rise of Islam. With Islam, a new, higher, more encompassing level of loyalty was defined. All people were divided between Muslims and infidels, and the world was divided between the Dar al-Islam, the land of believers and peace, and Dar al-harb, the land of unbelievers and war. Following the tribal ideology of loyalty, Muslims should unite against infidels, and would receive not only honour, but heavenly rewards.
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
How Ukraine Turned Into an Arms Dealer? Supplying Weapons to Al Qaeda and ISIS-Daesh
There is no secret that the U.S. provides the so-called moderate opposition and Kurdish militia in Syria with arms and ammunition most of which are the weapons remained after the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact disbanded.
The U.S. DOD, through U.S. SOCOM, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, as well as Picatinny Arsenal, American military research, and manufacturing facility located in Dover, New Jersey, acquired arms in some Eastern European countries including Ukraine for their further sending to Syria. The procurement volume has already exceeded $700 billion.
Kiev used the logistical scheme elaborated by Washington to export arms and weapons from the Ukrainian armed forces weapons depots. The deal is estimated at $110 billion.
Between June 5 and September 15, the United States sent 1,421 trucks loaded with weaponry to the “moderate” opposition, including 596 trucks (more than 40 %) from Ukraine. Most of them ended up in ISIS’ hands.
The General Staff of Ukraine took advantage of Oktyabrsk seaport located 25 kilometers southeast to Mykolaiv and Kiev air transport hub to supply weapons to the Middle East.
The transportation of weapons by air was the most effective procedure in terms of delivery speed. The weapons were transferred from ammunition depot No. 48 of Central Missile and Artillery Directorate situated in the Ukrainian town of Vinnytsia to Gavrishovka Airport and then delivered by 456 brigade jets to Kiev’s Boryspil International Airport.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Canadian Hostage Joshua Boyle Says Taliban Killed Daughter
He of course is blameless… still hasn’t sheared off that Muslim style beard
A Canadian held hostage by the Taliban has spoken of the group’s “stupidity and evil”, revealing they murdered his daughter and raped his wife.
Joshua Boyle spoke to reporters after landing in Canada with his wife Caitlan Coleman and children following almost five years in captivity.
They were captured while reportedly backpacking in Afghanistan in 2012.
Ms Coleman’s father has said the decision to visit the dangerous country was “unconscionable”.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Defector Warns UK Faces More Terror Attacks From Jihadi Migrants
A former Islamic State commander has warned ISIS are using the internet to recruit potentially deadly ISIS sleeper cells in the UK.
ISIS leaders are sending propaganda over the internet to further radicalise potential recruits and ‘encourage jihad’, according to Emir Abu Abboud al-Raqqawi — who held several high-ranking positions within the Islamic religious police force.
In an interview, he has revealed the chilling details of how multi-lingual and sophisticate terrorist recruiters are helping to establish sleeper cells in western Europe.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
FAO Partnership to Curb Unsustainable Wildlife Hunting
€45 million European Commission-funded programme
(ANSA) — Rome, October 12 — The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said a €45 million multi-partner programme has been launched to help African, Caribbean and Pacific countries halt unsustainable wildlife hunting.
The project also aims to help the nations conserve their natural heritage, including their biodiversity, and strengthen people’s livelihoods and food security. “Wildlife has ecological, social and economic value. It is important for rural development, land-use planning, food supply, tourism, scientific research and cultural heritage,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva. “This programme will protect wildlife species, conserve biodiversity, and maintain the essential ecological roles of wildlife. “It will also help to secure the stocks and ecosystems services that are essential to the livelihoods of the poorest communities on the planet”.
Funded by the European Commission, the seven-year programme is an initiative of the African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). Led by FAO, it will also rely on the expertise of the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The programme will contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife in forests, savannas and wetlands by regulating wildlife hunting, strengthening the management capacities of indigenous and rural communities and increasing the supply of sustainably produced meat products and farmed fish. This will help to avert a looming protein deficit for poor rural families and meet the growing rural and urban demand for food, the Rome-based UN agency said.
Participating countries in the project include Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guyana, Madagascar, Mali, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Congo, Senegal, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Please read this:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-3406_de.htm
Commission is proposing to coordinate and financially support pilot projects for legal migration with third countries (including economic migration). Commission also encourages Member States to set up private sponsorship schemes allowing private groups or civil society organisations (i.e. Soros) to organise and finance resettlements from third countries to EU.
The UN food agency talks about sustainable food sources by reducing hunting. Anytime any agency uses the word SUSTAINABLE, it actualy translates into SOMEONE WILL LOSE SOME RIGHTS. UN regardless of what branch can not be trusted.
Burka ban is useless, only to suppress the symptom and hide the disease, what is Islam. I believe most of these burka laws are created for the native population by the Elite to lull them back to sleep…
I don’t know, but burka or any kind of face cover are real security threat, when you look at it from the police point of view. Security services, I believe, are the true power demanding burka bans, and that is why it went through.
Barn Swallow makes a good point but you are correct on the larger issue. European elites – and millions of voters – would rather set their hair on fire than publicize the simplest facts of Islam.
Vigilante murder for apostasy or “blasphemy”? Never heard of it. Peripheral doctrine. Bring in more believers! We can’t solve our problems without the “help” of primitives who have no concept of the rule of law! More Arabs! More Somalis! More Egyptians! More Pakistanis! More Turks!
Oops. Never mind the “rule of law” deal. Western European and UK governments rely on AntiFa street thugs as their enforcers. And free speech is gone.
It may not be useless, at least if followed up by two other things. First, the enforcement. If it’s not enforced, the fear will not reduce. If it’s successfully enforced (yes, by violence if necessary because moslems will fight back), then non-moslems give message to moslems ‘don’t mess with us’. Second, after the successful enforcement, to talk about religious groups associated with burka. Point out that neither Christians, nor atheists, nor Hindus, nor Buddhists wear burkas. It’s only moslems. Bring the discourse to the public. If this is also successful (for whatever size of society, where moslems are still minority), then boast it as an example. I believe this success is useful.
Unbelievable:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-10-15/clinton-denies-we-just-elected-someone-who-admitted-sexual-assault-presidency
Apparently America’s favorite sociopath has forgotten she has spent most of her life enabling a SERIAL RAPIST.
‘The leader of the Czech Republic’s anti-establishment ANO party, also told Brussels that Europeans do not want further integration.’
Gates of Vienna, maybe you should know that the finance minister of this ‘anti establishment party’ of this Communist secret service bilionaire, potential Czech PM…
…announced that ‘we’ The Czech Republic, should accept 200,000 foreigners. We need cheap workers you know…
So much so for this anti-establishment party, which is in the parliament, and wants to import foreigners…
You see, in the Czech republic, the establishment is kind of ok, thank you 🙂
https://m.novinky.cz/articleDetails?aId=451947&sznu=vrP3gQ5AsMxivcES