Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister with an, ahem, eye for a well-turned ankle, has made a comeback in local elections in Sicily as the leader of Forza Italia. He and Matteo Salvini, the leader of the Northern League and a fellow Euro-skeptic, came out on top in the vote, giving them a boost ahead of next year’s general election.
In other news, 750,000 people took to the streets of Barcelona to protest the imprisonment of ten Catalan separatist leaders.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Charles Low, Dean, Insubria, JD, Reader from Chicago, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
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Italy: Fund to Compensate Veneto Bank Savers Mooted
Bipartisan motion
(ANSA) — Rome, November 10 — A fund to compensate shareholders bilked in the failure of two bailed-out Veneto banks, Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare di Vicenza, was proposed in a bipartisan parliamentary motion Friday.
Bank of Italy oversight chief Carmelo Barbagallo told a parliamentary commission on the banks crisis last week that inadequate management, not poor surveillance, was to blame for the failure of the two banks.
In July the Senate on Thursday gave final approval to the government’s decree to rescue the two medium-sized Veneto lenders.
The legislation passed a confidence vote with 148 votes in favour and 91 against.
In June Italy’s biggest bank by market capitalisation Intesa Sanpaolo took over the ‘good’ assets of the two insolvent lenders for a symbolic price of one euro with the help of a multi-billion euro government intervention to protect deposits and jobs and avert the risk of them requiring a bail-in.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Alert: Mainstream Media Now Promoting “Gun Confiscation Orders” As Solution to Mass Shootings
In the first paragraph of this online news articles: In what many saw coming a mile away in the aftermath of both the Las Vegas Massacre and the Texas Church mass shooting, liberals in the government, with the help of their mainstream media allies, are now pushing what amounts to plans for gun confiscation, outside of normal law, for Americans across the country.
| — Hat tip: Charles Low | [Return to headlines] |
Driver Arrested in Boyle Heights Wreck That Kills 11-Year-Old Girl
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A 21-year-old man was charged with vehicular manslaughter Saturday after he crashed his speeding Ford Mustang in front of a taco stand in Boyle Heights on Friday, killing an 11-year-old girl and injuring four others, according to Los Angeles police.
Police say the suspect, Louis Perez, crashed into parked vehicles that went onto the sidewalk at 7:05 p.m. Friday and slammed into the taco stand in the 900 block of South Marietta Street.
Perez was arrested on vehicular manslaughter charges. His passenger, a 16-year-old, was arrested on possession of nitric oxide.
The victims were transported to a hospital, and it was later confirmed the 11-year-old girl, identified as Electra Yepez, had died. A 45-year-old woman suffered a fractured leg and wrist. A 53-year-old woman suffered a head bruise and a 31-year-old woman was complaining of pain. A 15-month-old child was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons after possibly being thrown as a result of the crash.
All the victims were pedestrians, said Officer Tony Im of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Division.
Police said Perez was driving a 2015 Ford Mustang westbound on Marietta Street when it veered into the eastbound lanes and struck a Nissan. The impact pushed the Nissan onto the sidewalk, where it collided into the pedestrians.
The Mustang also struck a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado. The occupants of the Nissan and the Silverado were not hurt.
Investigators believe the Mustang was going between 60 and 70 miles per hour. There were no skid marks at the scene, and no evidence that the driver made an attempt to stop. Drugs are being investigated as a possible contributor to the crash.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
First Inauguration Rioting Trial Could Send Independent Journalist, Six Other to Prison
Seven people mass-arrested during President Trump’s inauguration in January stand trial next week in a major test for prosecutors who charged more than 200 people with felonies that could carry decades in prison.
The first group of inauguration defendants includes independent journalist Alexei Wood, who broadcast to Facebook the anti-capitalism march that police chased through city streets north of the inaugural parade route.
More than 230 activists, journalists, and observers were arrested after marchers smashed coffee-shop, restaurant, hotel, vehicle, bus stop, and bank windows. Almost 200 still face charges that carry a maximum of 61 years in prison.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tourists Say They Contracted Hepatitis A on Trip to San Diego
SAN DIEGO — Two tourists from Utah who visited San Diego this summer say they believe they contracted hepatitis A on their trip.
Mike Johnson and Josh Oviatt told the San Diego Union Tribune that they were in San Diego in August. They both were diagnosed with the liver-damaging virus a month later. Oviatt, 44, was hospitalized for four days. Johnson, 43, told the newspaper his eyes and skin turned yellow and doctors told him he was nearing liver failure. A third friend traveling with them had been vaccinated and did not get sick.
San Diego County is battling the worst hepatitis A outbreak seen in the United States in decades. So far, 20 people — most of whom were homeless — have died in the past year and hundreds of cases have been confirmed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jordan Peterson Wants to Warn Students About Radical Left Classes
Professor Jordan Peterson, the University of Toronto instructor who won’t use “gender neutral” pronouns, says students should know what they’re getting into when taking courses from hard-core leftist faculty. That’s not sitting well with some of Peterson’s colleagues who say identifying their politics amounts to harassment.
Peterson told the Toronto Star on Friday that he has discussed the idea of creating an “information website” that would forewarn students that a course they’ve selected has an ideological axe to grind with “radical left social justice-oriented courses.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Muslim Terrorist Jailed for Forcing Girlfriend to Wear Hijab, Threatening to Kill Her
A Gatineau man convicted of terror-related offences will serve nine months in jail for threatening his former girlfriend.
| — Hat tip: Charles Low | [Return to headlines] |
Barcelona Streets Filled With 750,000 Independence Supporters
THREE-QUARTERS of a million protesters took to the streets of Barcelona on Saturday to demand the release of ten imprisoned Catalan leaders.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Under Threat as Eurosceptic Parties Soar in Polls After Sicily Victory
ITALY’S centre-right are seeing a resurgence in the polls ahead of next year’s general election, plunging the country’s continued membership of the European Union into doubt.
Former prime minister Matteo Renzi, leader of the ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD), has admitted there is a lot of work to do after local elections in Sicily revealed a rapid decline in popularity.
The centre-right, led by former prime minister and Forza Italia boss Silvio Berlusconi as well as the head of the Northern League, Matteo Salvini, saw victory in Sicily as a great result ahead of next year’s election and the populist 5-Star Movement’s (MS5) second place finish suggests Euroscepticism remains rife in southern Italy.
Meanwhile, an IPSOS poll held after the Sicilian election put the populist 5-Star Movement (MS5) in pole position with 29.3 per cent of the vote, compared with just 24.3 per cent for the ruling PD party.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France Charges 8 Suspects After Counterterrorism Sweep
PARIS — The Paris prosecutor’s office says preliminary terrorism charges have been handed to eight suspects in a French-Swiss counterterrorism sweep earlier this week.
A judicial official, who spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity as he was not allowed to comment publicly on the arrests, said the eight were charged for association with a terrorist network. Seven are in custody and one is under judicial supervision.
Ten people suspected of using encrypted social networks to prepare a possible attack were arrested Tuesday during operations in France and Switzerland aimed at clarifying details of an alleged plot.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Row After Grasso Says PD ‘No Longer Exists’
Martina, Franceschini chide Senate Speaker, Renzi thanks him
(ANSA) — Rome, November 10 — A row ensued Friday after Senate Speaker Pietro Grasso said Thursday the ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD) “no longer exists”, in explaining his recent decision to leave the party.
Senior PD members chided Grasso but leader Matteo Renzi thanked him. “I don’t know if it was I who left the PD or the PD that no longer exists,” Grasso said. He said the “real PD” was that of former leader Pier Luigi Bersani. Responding Friday, deputy PD head Mauruzio Martina, the agriculture minister, said “we respect Grasso and we ask for respect in turn”. He said Grasso should respect the PD, “made up of thousands of women and men who every day, everywhere do politics with passion and generosity for the common good”.
Another PD bigwig, Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, said Grasso’s opinions on the PD “could not be shared”.
He said “I esteem and respect him but I’m sorry for what he said.” Grasso’s words, Franceschini stressed, were “absolutely not to be shared”.
PD leader Matteo Renzi said he would like to thank Grasso. “Let’s go forward, I won’t start any row and I deal with concrete things,” said the ex-premier. Renzi said “I reply to a controversy with a thank you without injecting further elements of tension”. Renzi thanked Grasso for “declaring admissible the amendment that makes it optional to accompany children to school”.
The PD is currently licking its wounds after a poor showing in Sicilian regional elections Sunday.
Grasso is widely expected to join the Progressive and Democratic Movement (MDP), a splinter group from the PD that is led by Bersani and others.
He has been touted to lead a leftwing alliance formed by the MDP and other small leftist parties into the next general election.
That election is expected in March or May next year.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Not Aiming at Draghi With Bank Probe Says PD
But at oversight flaws
(ANSA) — Rome, November 10 — The ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD) said Friday its criticism of allegedly lax oversight in Italy’s banking crisis was not aimed at European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi.
A top-ranking party member told ANSA the PD’s point in its efforts at a parliamentary commission of inquiry was to “show, after months in which the blame was put on politics and on the Renzi government, that there are responsibilities on the part of technocrats, on the part of oversight bodies”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Priest Says Doesn’t Feel Sorry for Raped Girl
‘If you swim with piranhas don’t moan abt missing limb’
(ANSA) — Bologna, November 9 — An Italian priest has said on Facebook that he doesn’t feel sorry for a girl raped in a train carriage after getting drunk.
“I’m sorry but if you swim in a piranha tank you can’t complain when you’re missing a limb when you get out,” said Father Lorenzo Guidotti, a parish priest in Bologna.
“Should I feel pity? No!!. I keep that for those who are really VICTIMS of a sh***ily run city, not for those who live like barbarians with barbarians and then complain when they discover they haven’t been treated civilly. Those who CHOOSE the GETWRECKED culture should let others ‘enjoy themselves too”.
The archdiocese of Bologna said Father Guidotti’s views did not reflect its thinking. Father Guidotti’s views “are personal opinions which do not in any way reflect the thinking and the assessment of the Church, which condemns all kinds of violence,” the archdiocese said in a statement. The diocese, led by Msgr Matteo Zuppi, also published a statement from Father Guidotti in which he apologised to the girl.
“I was wrong with my intervention, the terms, the ways, the corrections. I can only therefore apologise to her and her parents if my imprudent words may have added pain, which will happen in reading them,” said Father Guiditti. The priest said he recognised he had “expressed himself in an inappropriate way and intended to clarify his thinking”. He however appealed to the authorities and young people to combat what he called the ‘get high’ culture that he said was endangering young people.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Celebrates Independence Day
Commemorations marking the 99th anniversary of Poland’s independence are being held around the country with the main events taking place in Warsaw.
Ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said: “The 11th of November is the 99th anniversary of the day which is considered the day Poland regained its independence, a very important day in our history”.
On 11 November, 1918, Jozef Pilsudski was given authority over the Polish army and proclaimed Poland’s independence, while Germany signed an armistice which would mark the official end of World War One.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain Crisis Over Catalonia to Last Months Before Silent EU Steps in, Expert Warns
SPAIN faces months of unrest over the Catalonia independence referendum, with the crisis only becoming bigger as leaders try to suppress the democratic will of the people, according to an expert.
With elections looming in the region, Dr Sally-Ann Kitts said Spain will effectively re-run the votes in Catalonia until they get the “correct” result they want.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy took control of Catalonia in the wake of last month’s annulled independence referendum, removing pro-independence leaders and ordering for new elections.
But Dr Kitts doubts the validity of any vote, disputing them being “free and democratic” as Mr Rajoy said.
Given that many Catalan leaders are now in prison, with further arrests expected imminently, she did not see how this could truly be achieved.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spanish Government Blames Russian “Dezinformatsiya’ Campaign for Catalan Uprising
No, not The Onion…
In what is perhaps the least surprising tactic from the Spanish establishment, a government-backed research institute in Madrid has stated that Spain’s struggle to quash separatism in its Catalonia region was disrupted by Russian hackers agitating for a break-up, in a hallmark propaganda effort to fracture Europe.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Mosque is Belgium’s Biggest. Officials Says it’s a Hotbed for Extremism.
BRUSSELS — The Grand Mosque of Brussels is Belgium’s biggest and oldest site of Muslim worship. Officials in Belgium say it is also a hotbed for Saudi-backed Islamist extremism.
Now the Parliament wants the country’s leaders to take over the sprawling complex that is just steps from the gleaming core of the European Union. It is the latest attempt to tighten security after radicalized Belgians emerged at the heart of terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels in the past three years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Washington Post is promoting accusations the Hungarian government is “hatemongering” against billionaire open borders activist George Soros — accusations made by a group Soros is funding.
In an article titled, “Hungary Accused of ‘Hatemongering’ in National Survey Targeting George Soros”, the left-wing media outlet reports that the government in Budapest “has come under fire from human rights groups and European Union officials who say they are engaging in ‘hatemongering’ propaganda”.
Not until roughly halfway through the article does the WaPo writer confess that the source of this accusation is a non-governmental organisation “which is partly funded by Soros’s Open Society Foundations” — and this is the only so-called civil society organisation which the article cites as complaining about the national consultation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bahrain Calls Pipeline Blast ‘Terrorism’ Linked to Iran
KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) — Bahrain said an explosion which caused a fire at its main oil pipeline on Friday was caused by “terrorist” sabotage, linking the unprecedented attack to its arch-foe Iran, which denies any role in the Gulf island kingdom’s unrest.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Resident Charged With Murder in Russian Building Collapse
MOSCOW — A resident of a nine-story Russian apartment building that partially collapsed in a gas explosion, killing seven people, has been charged with murder.
The suspect in Thursday’s collapse in the city of Izhevsk appeared in court on Saturday and did not deny criminal responsibility, state news agency Tass reported.
The collapse originally was believed to be due to an accident. But investigators later arrested a man who had lived in an apartment with his mother in the ruined section of the building. Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement that a dispute with neighbors is believed to be the motive in the collapse, but did not give details on how it was allegedly carried out.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Jihad Against Yoga. Muslim Yoga Teacher Rafia Naaz’s House Attacked in Ranchi by Islamists
Branded as a ‘stooge of Hindu Kaffirs’, young Muslim Yoga teacher Rafia Naaz threatened by Maulanas and her house attacked in Ranchi by fanatic Islamist hooligans.
Preeti Jalan | HENB | Ranchi | Nov 10, 2017:: As if an ‘alleged’ fatwa+ was not enough, a group of Islamist hooligans today created ruckus outside the residence of a Muslim Yoga teacher from Jharkhand. Rafia Naaz, against whom a fatwa was issued by an extremist faction as believed, while she was giving live interview to various media houses.
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
Muslim activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied has taken to Twitter to post about Remembrance Day — in an almost identical post to her Anzac tribute which was labelled as ‘disrespectful’.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Tony Abbott has come to the defense of his sister Christine Forster after she was attacked by protesters on Friday afternoon. The former Australian prime minister said protesters were ‘disgraceful.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Plague Fears Grow as New Virus With No Cure Appears: ‘This is Worse Than the Black Death’
Malawi is bracing itself for an outbreak of the plague after the Daily Mail reports that deadly disease continues to spread across the island nation of Madagascar. At least 143 people have died and more than 2,000 others have been infected in Madagascar since an outbreak in early August this year which has now spread to its 10th African nation.
Malawi’s health secretary confirmed the country is ready for any reported cases of the disease amid mounting concerns of Africa’s ‘porous borders’.
He said: ‘We have infection prevention materials ready and groups and teams ready to be activated if there is a trigger.’
South Africa, Mauritius, Seychelles, Tanzania, La Réunion, Mozambique, Kenya, Ethiopia and Comoros have all been warned they could be at risk from a possible outbreak as well.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Venezuela Sets High-Profile Location for Monday Debt Talks
CARACAS (Reuters) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government has set a high-profile location near the presidential palace in Caracas for Monday’s hotly awaited meeting with investors to discuss renegotiating $60 billion in foreign debt.
The newly created debt renegotiation committee will meet with creditors at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT) at the government’s ‘White Palace’ opposite the presidential building, Finance Minister Simon Zerpa said on Saturday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
America a Captured Nation: Diversity, Multi-Culturalism and Political Correctness
A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within… An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.
“For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.” — Cicero (106-43 BC)
A coup has taken place in America. Our nation is no longer controlled by “the people.” Our domestic enemies are now officially in power. We are no longer free, we just think we are — and it has happened on our watch.
What we have failed to realize is that the Spiritual War and the Cultural War were one and the same. Because of our ignorance, the Church has engaged in the former but has ignored the latter. We did not understand that the “war in the heavenlies” manifests in the world. Our failure to fight for Truth has given us a nation ruled by liars.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
While everyone focuses on college, let’s focus on the real problem, K-12. Every coup d’etat has roots in school. The progressive/communist/globalists/socialist (POGS) agenda calls for rewriting history. The children must be indoctrinated. The children must be coerced. The children must be trained to give up individual choice. They must think the same, get the same grades and have the same future outcome. One problem… if everyone is the same, what makes individuals different? The only identifier left is visual. RACE becomes the tool of choice. Children trained in social justice (which is Anti-American) become racist adults, dividing people into groups demanding results from those groups…
Why the children? Once children are indoctrinated, “Group Think” takes over and going against the crowd is intolerable. Actually anyone not a believer is evil and should not be tolerated. If I said NFL, you should understand why continuing this communist education will destroy America. America’s children ARE BEING TAUGHT TO HATE AMERICA. “American social engineers have systematically gone about destroying the intellect of millions of American children for the purpose of leading the American people into a socialist world government controlled by behavioral and social scientists…” Charlotte Iserbyt, The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America. http://deliberatedumbingdown.com/
As I review some of the texts the students use, I find the biggest error is omission. If a child is not taught the constitution, they have no idea what it means. How can they fight for something they have no clue exists? Aside from spitting in America’s face, the students are fighting a cause that has no merit.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
America’s children ARE BEING TAUGHT TO HATE AMERICA.
Yes, and the Brittish children are taught to hate Britain as well… I was stunned a few years back when University educated young girls from Manchaster started to talk about how Great Britain enslaved the whole world, and how all riches in Britain had been stolen from the noble Africans and Indians and so on…
Those girls were elementary school teachers, mind you…
I would argue that only children of European heritage are being taught to hate themselves, hate their heritage, and hate their history.
This is basic power psychology. Other groups will not respect a group that does not respect itself. They will see the self-loathing group as something to be exploited and destroyed.
I was taught to be proud of being an American when my family gained citizenship, after arriving as post-WWII refugees. I taught my children the same.
No matter how battered she is, America is still the shining light of the world. Take it from me. There is no better country on earth and I have visited a few other countries on the other side of the pond, including the one that birthed me. Lovely country, lovely people, but not as much freedom as we enjoy in the USA.
Count your blessings, America — and quit your kvetching (complaining) already. We have it good and if you need proof, then do some travelling to educate yourselves.
There is always room for improvement, and many people work on that so I still think we have it far better than literally any country on earth. Rejoice, dammit!
And if you still don’t like it here, go elsewhere and compare — you’ll be back sooner than you think. Some of the food is better in Hungary, but the police are not. You’ve been warned.
Agreed, even though there are tremendous issues in the US, America is still leagues ahead of other countries in terms of the quality of life for middle class people.
Also agree the complainers should be shipped out pronto. Especially these NFL millionaire types. Send them to Chad or Burkina Faso and let them write blog posts about how amazing it is there….if they can get stable Internet access…heh heh…
P.S.
Georgi Soros is a disgrace to Hungary and we all know it (we Hungarian descendants that know about him in the first place). He is pure evil and I’m sorry I have to say it but I’ve investigated enough to know what he is up to and I find it very wrong indeed.