Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/31/2018

The populist coalition between the 5-Star Movement and the Lega Nord in Italy has agreed to another attempt at forming a government. The proposed cabinet will be almost the same as the first one, except that Paolo Savona will not be economy minister — which is what prompted a presidential veto the first time — but will serve as minister for European affairs.

In other news, a Syrian man in the Dutch city of Schiedam brandished an axe and shouted “Allahu Akhbar” from his apartment balcony. The confused and mentally disturbed unfortunate attacked police when they entered his apartment. Police shot him after he stabbed a police dog to death. The alleged attacker is recovering in the hospital. The incident had nothing to do with Islam.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dean, DV, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, PJ, 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.

Financial Crisis
» Italy: Inflation Doubles to 1.1% in May, ISTAT
» Italy: Number in Employment Reached Record High in April — ISTAT
» U.S. Economy Continuing to Fire on All Cylinders
 
USA
» Candace Owens Admits Black Student’s Passionate Explanation of Why He Left the Democrat Plantation Made Her Cry
» Devin Nunes Calls for the Arrest of Shadow Government Official, John Kerry
» Leaked Military Report: UFO ‘Rendezvoused’ With Something Big Under Ocean
» Remember That 30-Year-Old Getting Evicted by His Parents? You’ll Never Guess What Finally Got Him to Leave
» Revealed: The Nine Questions Starbucks Asked US Employees About Race on the Day it Closed 8000 Stores for Anti-Racism Training
» Samantha Bee Apologizes for Vile, ‘C-Word’ Attack on Ivanka Trump
» Starbucks Quietly Walks Back “Homeless Shelter” Bathroom Policy in New “Color Brave” Employee Manual
» The Council on Foreign Relations Says Domestic Propaganda is Necessary
» The Permanent Adolescence of the American Left
» Trump Says He’s Considering Pardoning Martha Stewart, Rod Blagojevich
» Why Are So Many Concerned About the Potential Health Dangers of the 5g Cell Phone Network That is Going up Nationwide?
» WSJ Asks Why We Should Keep Listening to James Clapper’s “Disinformation Campaign”
 
Europe and the EU
» Adios Rajoy: It’s All Over for Spanish PM
» Belgian Justice Minister Rejects Calls to Quit Over Killings
» Belgium: Muslim Who Murdered Four Told Hostage He Wouldn’t Harm Her Since She Was Muslim and Observing Ramadan Fast
» Danish Parliament Passes Ban on Burqa and Niqab
» Dutch Police Shoot Syrian Man Waving Ax, Shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’
» EU on the Brink: Spanish Government Faces No Confidence Vote, Poised to Fall
» Extremely Large Telescope: The Biggest Eye on the Sky
» France: Muslim Seizes Cathedral Microphone During Pentecost Mass, Screams “Allahu Akbar, “ Bishop Denies it Happened
» France Risking British Security by ‘Blocking’ Access to Terror Data After Brexit
» German Populist Leader Tells Breitbart: Leaving the Euro is Italian Crisis Solution
» Helping Swedes Prepare for Crisis or War
» ‘I Know I’m Going to Get Killed’: The UK’s Stunning Punishment for a Man Who Protested Radical Islam
» Is it UK or USSR?
» Islamic State Claims Deadly Belgium Attack, Gunman a Convert to Islam
» Italy: Three Probed in 400-Mn Alitalia ‘Fradulent Bankruptcy’
» Italy Top in Europe for Robotic Surgery
» Italy: ‘We Will Withstand US Tariffs, ‘ Steel Chief Says
» Italy: Salvini, Di Maio Meet for Govt Talks
» Italy: Tria Lukewarm on Euro, Says Flat Tax After VAT Hike
» Italy: ‘Dangerous’ Rightist Populist Govt Says Martina
» It’s Back on: Italy’s Populists Agree Deal to Govern
» It’s Done! Italy Forms Strong Anti-Establishment and Anti-Migration Coalition
» Juncker Prompts Italian Ire With ‘More Work’ Jibe
» Man Shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ Stabs Police Dog to Death, Cops Say
» Megachirella Wachtleri: World’s Oldest Squamate Fossil Found
» Netherlands: ‘Allahu Akbar’ Axeman Shot After Killing Police Dog
» Pluto Has Dunes, But They’re Not Made of Sand
» ‘Rome Scroungers’ Not Spiegel’s View, Editor Tells ANSA
» ‘Save the Internet’ — EU Moves to Monitor Uploads, ‘Censor’ Memes, ‘Tax’ Website Links
» Stefan Molyneux: The War on Tommy Robinson
» Strong Majority of Brits Back Burqa Ban
» Sweden: Foreign Police Knew of Possible Stockholm Terror Attack
» Swedes ‘Least Likely in Western Europe’ To Go to Church
» Sweden: Criminal Muslim Gangs Threaten Stockholmers Into Silence
» Tommy Robinson: Trials, Protests, A Media Blackout, And Global Attention
» UK “Justice”: “Silencing the Silencing”
» UK: Hate Preacher Anjem Choudary Being Freed From Prison
» UK: Muslim Group Tells Tories to ‘Remove Islamophobia From Party’
» UK: Man Who Urged Prince George Attack Admits Terror Charges
» UK: Man Admits Prince George Plot After Changing Plea Mid-Trial
 
North Africa
» Tunisia: Terror Attack Foiled at Border With Algeria
 
Middle East
» Video Appears to Show Iran’s Foreign Minister Chanting ‘Death to America’
 
Russia
» Russian Journalist Used Swine Blood, Makeup Artist to Fake Death, Watched ‘Murder’ Coverage in Morgue
 
South Asia
» India: Muslim Youth Held in Agra for Vandalizing Hindu Idols to Stoke Communal Tension During Ramadan
» Taliban Officials ‘In Talks With Afghan Government’, US Says
 
Far East
» Japan, Vietnam Agree on Maritime Safety Cooperation
» Trump Expecting Letter From Kim Jong un After Pompeo Meets With Top North Korean Officials
» US Military Renames Pacific Command
 
Australia — Pacific
» Breaking News: Four-Year-Old Girl is ‘Sexually Assaulted’ In Troubled Tennant Creek Just Months After a Two-Year-Old Girl Was Attacked
» Swapping the Queen’s Birthday for Ramadan: Pepsi Allows Its Australian Staff to Switch Public Holidays So They Only Have Days Off When it is ‘More Culturally Relevant’
» Van Full of Angry Men ‘Pull a Truck Driver From His Vehicle and Beat Him With a Metal Pole Before Turning on Police’ In a Horrific Road Rage Attack on a Busy Melbourne Highway
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» South Africa: White Men’s Voices Still Dominate Public Science. Here’s How to Change This
 
Latin America
» ‘Church Couldn’t Ignore Pain in Chile, ‘ Says Pope
 
Immigration
» Foreign Activists on Trial in France for Helping Migrants Enter the Country
» France Struggling With Overwhelming Immigration
» Germany’s AfD Calls for Parliamentary Inquiry Into Merkel’s Migrant Policy
» German Teen Girl Needs Surgery After Being Violently Raped by a Syrian Refugee in a Cellar
» Germany’s Train Attacker, Who Stabbed Two People Yesterday, Is an African Migrant
» Greek Mayor: “Women Are Afraid to Go Out Alone, We Keep Our Children Inside Our Homes”
» Hungary Tells UNHCR: “Aiding Illegal Migration is Not an Act of Humanity But a Crime and Security Risk”
» Migrants: Slovenia Asks EU, Frontex to Boost Controls
» UK: Illegal Migrants Claim £120,000 Off Taxpayer for Luxury Hotel After Posing as Grenfell Victims
 
Culture Wars
» A Europe That Recognizes Itself as Christian and Approves Abortion and Gay Marriages
» Planned Parenthood Caught Doing Abortions on 12-Year-Old Sexual Assault Victims, Then Not Reporting Abuse
 
General
» Italy: Ammaniti Sued for Saying Weeping Madonna Case False
 

Italy: Inflation Doubles to 1.1% in May, ISTAT

Prices for food, house, personal products up 1.9% year-on-year

(ANSA) — Rome, May 31 — Inflation in May increased to 1.1% from 0.5% in April, national statistics bureau ISTAT said Thursday in a provisional estimate, explaining it is the highest level since last September.

The inflation rate doubled in a month with rising food and gasoline prices, ISTAT said. The price increase registered on a monthly basis was 0.4%, it said.

Overall in May prices for food, house and personal products went up 0.8% on a monthly basis and 1.9% on an annual basis, up on the 1.2% increase reported in April, to the highest level since March 2017, ISTAT said.

Prices of products that are frequently bought by consumers, including fuel, went up 0.8% month-on-month and 2.1% on an annual basis (from a 1.4% increase in April).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Number in Employment Reached Record High in April — ISTAT

23,2 million people in work, above pre-crisis level

(ANSA) — Rome, May 31 — The number of people in employment in Italy reached a record high of 23.2 million in April, ISTAT said on Thursday. The national statistics agency said this beat the previous record hit in April 2008, at the start of the economic crisis, by 23,000. It is the highest level since the start of the statistical series in 1977. The composition of the people in work has changed significantly though — now there are more women and elderly people in work and the percentage of workers in temporary contracts is much higher, ISTAT said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

U.S. Economy Continuing to Fire on All Cylinders

Polls, surveys, and other economic and financial indicators just released confirm that the U.S. economy continues to generate goods and services at a torrid pace. Following a report by the government that the gross domestic product (GDP) came in slightly under forecast for the first quarter of 2018 at 2.2 percent annual growth, the New York Federal Reserve’s Nowcast is at three percent for the second quarter, while the St. Louis Fed’s Eco News index is predicting 3.6 percent growth and the Atlanta Fed’s Nowcast comes in at four percent.

Following ADP’s jobs report on Wednesday that the economy added 178,000 new jobs in April, forecasters are predicting that the jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday should come in close to 200,000.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Candace Owens Admits Black Student’s Passionate Explanation of Why He Left the Democrat Plantation Made Her Cry

Today, Owens posted a now-viral video from a recent college visit where a black student stood up and proudly proclaimed that he is leaving the Democrat plantation. The brave student also told the crowd that Black Lives Matter doesn’t represent the black community. In fact, he told the crowd that Black Lives Matter was founded by 3 black lesbians and that the group doesn’t do anything to promote traditional black families or family values.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Devin Nunes Calls for the Arrest of Shadow Government Official, John Kerry

Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, isn’t all that happy with deep state puppet John Kerry meddling in foreign policy. Nunes has now called for the arrest of Kerry on charges of treason.

According to US law, (laws these same politicians write with no attempt to obey) no private citizen may meet with a foreign power to negotiate a deal. Since Kerry was working directly against US policy and is and trying to sabotage the elected government the charge of treason would apply, according to Steadfast and Loyal.

Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA) made his demand to imprison the former Massachusetts Democrat under the Logan Act, which could theoretically result in three years in federal prison. The allegations followed a new Boston Globe report on former Secretary of State Kerry is quietly working with to save the Iran nuclear deal which he helped draft.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Leaked Military Report: UFO ‘Rendezvoused’ With Something Big Under Ocean

An in-depth government report “prepared by and for the military” and obtained by a Nevada newsroom, details a 2004 incident involving an alleged “UFO” sighting recorded by the US military off California’s coast 14 years ago. Dubbed the “Tic Tac” incident, the unidentified flying object “rendezvouses” with a huge underwater object.

So named for the white, fast-moving, mint-shaped object that was involved, the video’s release made waves last year when it was first revealed by the New York Times. Over the course of two weeks in 2004, a 13.7-meter-long (45-foot-long) Anomalous Aerial Vehicle (AAV) defined as “aerodynamic” with “no visible means to generate lift” was detected by US naval ships in short glimpses.

According to IFLScience, based on the recently leaked report, the undated document suggests there may have been something in the water as well. F-18 aircraft were called into the area after the USS Princeton wasn’t able to lock on to the AAV (Anomalous Ariel Vehicle.) The report details the moment a pilot noticed a disturbance under the surface of the water resembling a “barely submerged reef or island”. As the pilot flew away, the object reportedly disturbed the water underneath it in “frothy waves and foam” resembling water that was “boiling.” The unidentified flying “Tic Tac” object was potentially rendezvousing with the massive underwater one, according to the report.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Remember That 30-Year-Old Getting Evicted by His Parents? You’ll Never Guess What Finally Got Him to Leave

The man who was taken to court by his parents so they could legally evict him from their house earlier this month is actually leaving.

Michael Rotondo, a 30-year-old man from upstate New York, reportedly refused to pay rent or help out with chores while he squatted at his parents’ house for eight years. His parents had enough and took him to court in an effort to force him out.

And his parents’ efforts apparently proved fruitful, since Rotondo is reportedly in the process of moving out.

But not everything went according to plan, as one might expect.

While he was moving out, Rotondo allegedly called the police on his father, who refused to hand over all of his toys as he was leaving.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Revealed: The Nine Questions Starbucks Asked US Employees About Race on the Day it Closed 8000 Stores for Anti-Racism Training

Some of the questions Starbucks asked its employees as part of its nationwide anti-bias training have emerged.

Up to 180,000 employees at Starbucks locations and headquarters were trained from a ‘tool kit’ hoping to ‘focus on understanding prejudice and the history of public accommodations in the United States.’

The training took place weeks after two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia store after one asked to use the bathroom before he had made a purchase.

The questionnaire, which was revealed by TMZ, began by asking participants to ‘recall when you first experienced you racial identity’ and went on to ask other questions about race.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Samantha Bee Apologizes for Vile, ‘C-Word’ Attack on Ivanka Trump

“Full Frontal” host Samantha Bee apologized Thursday after she used an extreme vulgarity to slam Ivanka Trump in her monologue on Wednesday over a photograph the first daughter shared on social media, calling her a “feckless c***.

The apology came a day after Bee used the slur on her TBS show, shocking viewers and critics alike.

“I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers for using an expletive on my show to describe her last night,” Bee said in a statment. “It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Starbucks Quietly Walks Back “Homeless Shelter” Bathroom Policy in New “Color Brave” Employee Manual

Starbucks has quietly walked back their “all inclusive” bathroom policy, perhaps after realizing that their employees and customers alike weren’t responding well to the prospect of vagrants using their stores as a homeless shelter.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

The Council on Foreign Relations Says Domestic Propaganda is Necessary

One year ago, a State Department press event included quite possibly the most epic “deer in the headlights” moment in all of government press briefing history.

During the final press briefing in May of 2017, the State Department put high level official Stuart Jones at the podium to give the daily briefing, and he was asked how the US could call for democracy in Iran while ignoring the fact that one of Washington’s closest Middle East allies is an oppressive autocratic state with an opaque legal system run by strict Islamic sharia courts.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

The Permanent Adolescence of the American Left

Among the traits of those in their adolescent years is the conviction that they are always right and the rest of the world is wrong — that they are, in fact, much smarter than those silly and inane adults around them. However, being part of the in crowd is really, really important, thus they must look for guidance to the cool guys to establish what they are supposed to believe in. And, as in the fairy tales relayed to them while in childhood as well as their current enthrallment with movies based on comic book heroes, there will always be some monolithic entity to rescue them and ensure joy and happiness. Therein are the basic personality parameters of the rank and file of the modern American left.

Membership in the American left is, thus, easily attained. All one needs to do is believe and accept the following:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Trump Says He’s Considering Pardoning Martha Stewart, Rod Blagojevich

President Trump said Thursday he was considering pardoning or commuting the sentences of Martha Stewart and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, following his announcement earlier in the day of a full pardon for conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Why Are So Many Concerned About the Potential Health Dangers of the 5g Cell Phone Network That is Going up Nationwide?

The new 5G cell phone network that is being rolled out across the nation is going to make communicating by cell phone super smooth and super fast. It will basically revolutionize the entire cell phone industry, and for multitudes of phone users this new era cannot get here fast enough. But will there be a great price to pay for this amazing technology? Right now, U.S. wireless companies are installing hundreds of thousands of new antennas, and each one of these new antennas is a microwave transmitter. If you live or work near one of these antennas, that means that you are literally being bombarded by microwave radiation on a constant basis, and once this entire network goes up nationwide it will be extremely difficult for anyone to get away from this radiation completely. Some experts are warning us to consider the health implications before it is too late to do anything about it. When we went from 3G to 4G, it didn’t seem like that big of a deal, and so many people are wondering what the big fuss is over 5G.

But this isn’t just another step up in technology.

This is a completely different ballgame.

According to CBS News, this new network is supposed to be “up to 100 times faster”, but it will also require that antennas be installed “closer to users than before”…

Some have compared the coming 5G network to being locked in a low level microwave oven 24 hours a day.

If you don’t like the idea of that, unfortunately you don’t have a choice. The 5G network is being rolled out nationwide right now, and the big phone companies have vastly more money and power than you and I do.

[Comment: Russians have known for decades the harmful effects (even low levels) of microwaves on the human body.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

WSJ Asks Why We Should Keep Listening to James Clapper’s “Disinformation Campaign”

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper — a central figure in the “Russiagate” spy scandal, has earned quite the reputation for various misstatements, lies and even perjury.

Clapper appeared before the Senate to discuss surveillance programs in the midst of a controversy over warrantless surveillance of the American public. He was asked directly, “Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions, or hundreds of millions of Americans?”

There was no ambiguity or confusion and Clapper responded, “No, sir. … Not wittingly.” That was a lie and Clapper knew it when he said it. —John Turley

Since the 2016 election, Clapper has landed a job as a paid CNN commentator while peddling a new book, Facts and Fears — all while trying to shift the narrative on the FBI spying on the Trump campaign and pushing unfounded Russian conspiracy theories.

To that end, the Wall Street Journal‘s Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. asks: Why does a former intelligence chief make claims he can’t back up?

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Adios Rajoy: It’s All Over for Spanish PM

The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) announced that it will support Pedro Sanchez (PSOE) in his vote of no confidence against Mariano Rajoy (PP).

Aitor Esteban, the PNV parliamentary spokesman formally announced the decision during the afternoon session in the chamber.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Belgian Justice Minister Rejects Calls to Quit Over Killings

Belgium’s justice minister says he will stay in his job despite calls for his resignation after a prison inmate killed four people while on furlough.

Minister Koen Geens told parliament on Thursday that “to persevere when the going is tough is sometimes tougher that to simply give up.”

The attacker used his two-day furlough to kill two policewomen and a bystander in Liege and an old friend outside the eastern industrial city.

The government acknowledged that the man, Benjamin Herman, had been indirectly mentioned in two radicalization reports for his links with extremist inmates.

During his rampage, he yelled “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” several times.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Belgium: Muslim Who Murdered Four Told Hostage He Wouldn’t Harm Her Since She Was Muslim and Observing Ramadan Fast

by Robert Spencer

This is reminiscent of other incidents, including when the Muslim in Minnesota who asked mall shoppers if they were Muslim and then stabbed non-Muslims. In Mali, Muslims screaming “Allahu akbar” took hostages, freeing those who could recite the Qur’an. In September 2013 at Nairobi’s Westgate Mall, Muslims murdered people who couldn’t answer questions about Islam. In June 2014, Muslims murdered people who could not pass an Islam quiz. In November 2014, Muslims murdered 28 non-Muslims who couldn’t recite Qur’an verses. In April 2015, Muslims screaming “Allahu akbar” stormed Garissa University College, and only shot those who couldn’t recite Qur’an. In a Bangladesh restaurant in July 2016, the jihadis spared those who could recite from the Qur’an. In July 2017 in Kenya, Muslims asked Christians to “recite Islamic dogmas” and murdered them when they couldn’t do so.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Danish Parliament Passes Ban on Burqa and Niqab

A majority in Denmark’s parliament has voted in favour of a ban on certain types of face-covering clothing in public, effectively banning the Islamic burqa and niqab from August 1st.

The Liberal, Conservative and Danish People’s parties all voted in favour of the bill, as did the opposition Social Democrats with the exception of MP Mette Gjerskov, thereby securing the majority.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Dutch Police Shoot Syrian Man Waving Ax, Shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’

Dutch police shot and wounded a Syrian man Wednesday who attacked officers trying to arrest him after alarmed neighbors reported that he was standing on an apartment balcony waving an ax and shouting “Allahu akbar.”

In a statement, police said the shooting happened in Schiedam near the port city of Rotterdam when police tried unsuccessfully to calm the 26-year-old man. When an arrest team entered the apartment, the man attacked them and stabbed a police dog, which later died of its injuries.

Schiedam Mayor Cor Lamers issued a statement saying that the suspect was a Syrian who had been living with his father in Schiedam since last year.

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

EU on the Brink: Spanish Government Faces No Confidence Vote, Poised to Fall

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s conservative government on Thursday appeared doomed to lose a no-confidence vote in parliament, with the centre-left Socialist party poised to take power.

A Basque nationalist party’s decisive announcement that it would vote in favour of the motion spelt the almost certain end of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s mandate and foretold the stunning collapse of his minority government in a parliamentary vote Friday, when it will be short of support to survive.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Extremely Large Telescope: The Biggest Eye on the Sky

In the mountains of Chile sits the site of what will become the largest optical telescope in the world. The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will have a primary mirror made up of almost 800 individual segments and will be capable of collecting more light than all of the existing 8-to-10-meter telescopes on the planet, combined.

Originally dubbed the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), the name of the ELT was changed in 2017. Its new moniker, the Extremely Large Telescope, reflects the growing number of the European Southern Observatory (ESO)’s international partners and the instrument’s location in Chile.

“The ELT will produce discoveries that we simply cannot imagine today, and it will inspire people around the world to think about science, technology and our place in the universe,” Tim de Zeeuw, ESO’s Director General, said in a statement.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

France: Muslim Seizes Cathedral Microphone During Pentecost Mass, Screams “Allahu Akbar, “ Bishop Denies it Happened

Ramadan in France, followed by yet more dhimmitude and willful ignorance from a Catholic bishop.

“As stated and confirmed by the faithful present at this Mass of Pentecost in the cathedral of Nantes, the disrupter of the worship service said ‘Allahu akbar’ into the microphone…Father Benoît Bertrand, vicar general, who argues the contrary, is either deaf or is not telling the truth.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

France Risking British Security by ‘Blocking’ Access to Terror Data After Brexit

Sources claim the French are frustrating Britain’s offer to remain part of a European Union (EU) security agreement that helped identify terrorists involved in Islamic State attacks on Paris, despite France recently encouraging the British to join.

The British government wants assurances that, after Brexit, they will still have access to valuable fingerprints, DNA profiles, and vehicle details linked to investigations and foreign criminals. Ministers have said participation is in the “national interest” to keep the United Kingdom safe, as well as the EU.

However, the UK’s request to stay part of the so-called “Prüm Convention” is being pushed back, with France leading the resistance, The Times reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

German Populist Leader Tells Breitbart: Leaving the Euro is Italian Crisis Solution

BERLIN, Germany: Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alexander Gauland told Breitbart London that Italy’s solution to the ongoing political crisis is to leave the euro.

On Monday, Italian President Sergio Mattarella stopped the appointment of eurosceptic economist Paolo Savona, supported by the populist coalition of La Lega and the Five Star Movement (M5S) and ultimately denied the populists the opportunity to form a government earlier this week.

According to Mr. Gauland, the main issue in Italy is not the overreach of the European Union, but the euro currency.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Helping Swedes Prepare for Crisis or War

What would you do if you turned on the faucet and no water came out? If you went to the supermarket to buy food, but the payment machine didn’t work — or there was no food there to buy?

These are some of the questions that the government and the Civil Contingencies Agency want people to be thinking about during Emergency Preparedness Week, which runs through June 3rd.

In fact, you may have already seen something in your letterbox about this. The agency has sent a white and orange brochure (this links to the English version) to every household in Sweden with instructions for how to be better prepared for a serious accident, or extreme weather, or an IT attack, terrorism or a military conflict.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘I Know I’m Going to Get Killed’: The UK’s Stunning Punishment for a Man Who Protested Radical Islam

The arrest and imprisonment of Stephen Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, has set off protests around the world. Lennon is a British right-wing activist who’s been outspoken about the growing influence of Islam in that country. Some have compared him to a ‘whistleblower.’

After his arrest, the British media was not allowed to report about it for days, bringing comparisons to the Soviet Union and George Orwell’s 1984.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Is it UK or USSR?

The British court, in en expedited trial on Friday , sentenced Tommy Robinson, a journalist and activist, to thirteen months in prison.

The reason for the conviction, as “The Independent” informs, was alleged breach of peace and incitement in regards to the “illegal” reporting done by Tommy Robinson on the trial proceedings of a gang of Pakistani rapists. Paradoxically, now the British justice system, with its censorship of the press and speedy trials, is reminiscent of Soviet practices — “Show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime.”

Bureaucracy or freedom of speech?

Tommy Robinson is a founder and former activist of the English Defense League. Currently, he is a civil journalist running an independent information service. His reporting is often focused on Muslim grooming gangs and their victims who are frequently left without any help.

This time, the direct reason for Robinson’s conviction was the trial of grooming gangs in Leeds. The court has established a gag order prohibiting spread of any information concerning the trial. Robinson — despite being on parole for committing a similar act — broke the ban and attempted to report on the proceedings.

The law applied by the courts is specific to the British system because it allows to ban uncovering any records about the process even when they are true. In this situation, it is hard to resist the impression that the authorities are trying to close the mouth of an active citizen who, by breaking the taboo of political correctness is, on one hand, on the side of the raped and humiliated women, and on the other, a challenge for the British political scene due to the growing skepticism towards the British model of multiculturalism…

           — Hat tip: PJ [Return to headlines]
 

Islamic State Claims Deadly Belgium Attack, Gunman a Convert to Islam

BRUSSELS (AP) — A Belgian prison inmate who killed four people while on furlough committed “terrorist murder” and likely intended to cause more harm, prosecutors said Wednesday as authorities searched for possible accomplices and the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the bloodshed.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Three Probed in 400-Mn Alitalia ‘Fradulent Bankruptcy’

La Stampa reports Montezemolo, Cassano and Ball investigated

(ANSA) — Rome, May 30 — The Civitavecchia prosecutor’s office is investigating three people related to charges of fraudulent bankruptcy at Alitalia for over 400 million euros, Italian daily La Stampa said on Wednesday.

It said those under investigation are the three previous Alitalia chiefs — Silvano Cassano, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, and Cramer Ball — who were managing the company under Etihad before the Italian government appointed commissioners to run Alitalia last year.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy Top in Europe for Robotic Surgery

North-south gap closing

(ANSA) — Rome, May 30 — Italy is top in Europe for robotic surgery, level with France and ahead of Germany and the UK, a report said Wednesday.

The report also said the north-south gap in the use of the Da Vinci robot surgeons was closing.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: ‘We Will Withstand US Tariffs, ‘ Steel Chief Says

Italy competitive while American prices high, Gozi adds

(ANSA) — Rome, May 31 — US steel prices are so high that Italian exports can withstand even a 25% duty, Federation of steel manufacturers Federacciai president Antonio Gozi told ANSA on Thursday after the US announced it was imposing tariffs on imported steel and aluminium from the EU.

“There is a difference of approximately 200 dollars per tonne between US steel and similar Italian products,” Gozi explained.

“Of course we need to see how American prices evolve. If the differential falls there will be repercussions,” he added. “Today is not a good day, but we must keep a steady nerve and avoid greater damage,” Gozi said. The Federacciai chief fears a possible trade war between the US and the EU, with a negative impact on the automotive sector. “Tariffs on the car industry would be extremely dangerous for the European steel industry and for an exporting country such as Italy, which has relaunched growth,” he said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Salvini, Di Maio Meet for Govt Talks

Tria set for econ min, Savona EU affairs, Di Maio vetoes Meloni

(ANSA) — Rome, May 31 — Anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Luigi Di Maio and anti-migrant Euroskeptic League leader Matteo Salvini met in Rome Thursday for talks on a possible new government, 88 days after the inconclusive March 4 general election.

They were later joined by their potential premier pick, law professor Giuseppe Conte.

The talks were said to be focusing on a possible new post for anti-euro economist Paolo Savona, whose rejection as economy minister by President Sergio Mattarella led to the collapse of the first M5S-League government formation bid on Sunday.

There has been speculation as to who would take Savona’s place at the economy ministry.

Rome Tor Vergata University economics lecturer Giovanni Tria is now being touted as a possible economy minister, sources said.

Savona would move to European affairs and Enzo Moavero Milanesi, a former EU affairs minister, would be foreign minister, the sources said.

Salvini said he was engaged in the “last hours” of talks to form a government with the M5S. “Last hours of work for the government, we’re putting everything into it! Meanwhile the news takes us back to harsh reality, with an immigrant picking off the feathers of pigeons in broad daylight and in the middle of the street…Go home!” he wrote on Facebook.

Far-right nationalist Brothers of Italy (FdI) leader Giorgia Meloni met Salvini earlier amid speculation she might be a candidate for a ministry if the FdI joined the government majority.

But Meloni said Di Maio had ruled this out, and FdI would abstain in a confidence vote.

Di Maio was said to be wary about having another far-rightist as well as Salvini as his partner, since polls show the M5S has been bleeding voters it gained from the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) on March 4 because of the possible new government’s rightward drift.

Rightwing policy points in the “contract for a government of change” the League and the M5S drew up include a ‘flat tax’ with two rates, 15% and 20%, which would allegedly disproportionately benefit the better off, and a huge crackdown on migrants, with Salvini vowing to eject over half a million of them and set up detention centres across Italy.

Salvini, for his part, is said to be looking at criticism from his voters about his perceived unwillingness to join a government and instead bank on benefitting from a surge in support in fresh elections.

Meanwhile law professor Conte left his post as lecturer in Florence to travel down to Rome on Thursday afternoon. Conte was to be the premier of the M5S-League executive that self-destructed after Mattarella vetoed Savona, citing the threat to Italians’ savings because of market turbulence that would ensure from having an economy minister who was openly against the euro and Germany.

Since then, both Di Maio and Salvini have repeatedly stressed they do not want to leave the euro.

Meanwhile ex-IMF official Carlo Cottarelli is waiting in the wings as a possible stopgap technocrat premier to lead Italy to new elections at the end of this year.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Tria Lukewarm on Euro, Says Flat Tax After VAT Hike

Head of Tor Vergata economic faculty

(ANSA) — Rome, May 31 — Giovanni Tria, the touted new Italian economy minister, is lukewarm on the euro but is against leaving it, according to an interview he gave to financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore last year written with former Berlusconi finance minister Renato Brunetta, another economist.

“Those who evoke leaving the euro without ifs and buts as a panacea for all out ills are nor right,” said Tria, 70, dean of the economics faculty of Rome’s Tor Vergata University.

But those who say the euro is irreversible are not right either, he said.

Tria said shared solutions have to be sought because leaving the euro on your own “means paying only costs without benefits”.

This position, analysts said, would make him more acceptable to President Sergio Mattarella than the Euroskeptic economist the presdient rejected as economy minister on Sunday, Paolo Savona.

Tria is also in favour of a flat tax, one of the key policies of the possible new government, but only after raising VAT rates first.

The Roman-born economist has said he is skeptical about the boost to the economy a flat tax theoretically makes, so alternative sources of revenue would be needed to make up for the shortfall. Tria has had posts in academe and the public and private sector since graduating in law from Rome’s la Sapienza University in 1971, according to a long CV. Among other things, he has been head of the national school of administration, member of the Italian economics society, member of the American Economic Association, Italian government delegate on the Board of directors of the International Labour Office.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: ‘Dangerous’ Rightist Populist Govt Says Martina

Will build strong, popular alternative

(ANSA) — Rome, May 31 — The new government formed by the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the anti-migrant Euroskeptic League is “rightwing, populist and dangerous,” centre-left Democratic Party (PD) caretaker leader Maurizio Martyina said Thursday. “The populist rightist government that is about to be born has a programme that is dangerous for our country and the last few days have sadly confirmed our longstanding concerns,” he said. “Their actions so far have been a mix of extremism, anti-Europeanism and inequity. We will work immediately from the opposition to build with seriousness and determination a strong and popular alternative that the country needs. We will do so with the many that aren’t resigned to the risks that the Salvini-Di Maio government brings with it”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

It’s Back on: Italy’s Populists Agree Deal to Govern

Italy’s populist parties on Thursday reached a last-ditch deal to form a coalition government, in the eurozone’s third largest economy.

The anti-establishment Five Star Movement and far-right League party agreed to restart coalition negotiations after their initial bid to deliver Italy an anti-austerity, nationalist government collapsed over the weekend.

Italy has been in the throes of political turmoil for almost three months after a March general election failed to deliver a clear winner.

“All the conditions have been met for a M5S-League government,” said the party leaders in a joint statement sent by the Five Star Movement.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

It’s Done! Italy Forms Strong Anti-Establishment and Anti-Migration Coalition

Italy’s anti-establishment political leaders Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio have agreed to form a coalition government between Lega and the Five Star Movement.

In a joint statement from Di Maio and Salvini, they said: “The conditions for a political government have been found.” Lega leader Salvini and M5S leader Di Maio have agreed on a list of ministers which have been sent to President Sergio Mattarella.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Juncker Prompts Italian Ire With ‘More Work’ Jibe

Antonio Tajani says the comments, if genuine, are ‘unacceptable.’

The European Parliament’s Italian president demanded on Thursday that Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker deny or retract remarks that Italians should do “more work.”

“Italians have to take care of the poor regions of Italy. That means more work; less corruption; seriousness,” Juncker was quoted as saying by The Guardian newspaper, among others, at a question-and-answer session in Brussels.

The Commission president, a former prime minister of Luxembourg, was also critical of some Italian politicians’ insistence on blaming Brussels and the European Union for Italy’s problems. This includes some Euroskeptic leaders of the populist League-5Star Movement alliance poised to take power in Italy…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Man Shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ Stabs Police Dog to Death, Cops Say

A Syrian man was shot in the Netherlands on Wednesday after he allegedly shouted “Allahu akbar” from a balcony and killed a K-9 officer.

Police tried to calm the man, who was in Schiedam, near the port city of Rotterdam, but were unsuccessful. Law enforcement agents entered the apartment and the 26-year-old man attacked them, police said.

The man also stabbed the police dog, which later died of its injuries.

Schiedam Mayor Co Lamers didn’t identify the man, but said he was a Syrian who had been living with his father in the city since last year.

“The man was known to several help organizations but this was an escalation we had not seen coming,” Lamers said.

The man, according to Dutch media outlet Nederlandse Omroep Stichting, underwent surgery and is now in stable condition.

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Megachirella Wachtleri: World’s Oldest Squamate Fossil Found

Paleontologists have unearthed the world’s oldest squamate fossil — 240-million-year-old specimen of a species called Megachirella wachtleri — from a site in the Dolomite Mountains, Italy.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Netherlands: ‘Allahu Akbar’ Axeman Shot After Killing Police Dog

A Syrian man shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ has been shot after fatally stabbing a police dog and attacking police officers with an axe in the Dutch city of Schiedam.

The attack took place after police attended the 26-year-old’s apartment following reports he was waving the axe while yelling the Arabic phrase from his balcony, Dutch outlet NOS reports.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Pluto Has Dunes, But They’re Not Made of Sand

NASA’s New Horizons mission, which flew by the dwarf planet in July 2015, found that Pluto has towering mountains, but of water ice rather than rock; vast plains of frozen nitrogen and other exotic materials; and blue skies provided by a wispy atmosphere that contains no appreciable oxygen.

And now, a new study reveals another alien parallel: Pluto has an extensive dune system, but the grains that make up the wind-blown mounds are certainly not sand. [Destination Pluto: NASA’s New Horizons Mission in Pictures]

The new discovery “shows us that Pluto’s atmosphere and surface are interacting in a way that geologically/geomorphologically alters the surface,” said study lead author Matt Telfer, a lecturer in physical geography at the University of Plymouth in England.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘Rome Scroungers’ Not Spiegel’s View, Editor Tells ANSA

Mattarella said ‘unacceptable and grotesque’

(ANSA) — Berlin, May 31 — A Der Spiegel columnist’s piece on “Rome scroungers” does not reflect the German weekly’s official view, online editor Barbara Hans told ANSA Thursday after President Sergio Mattarella spoke of “unacceptable and grotesque” comments.

Hans said the column written by Jan Fleischhauer was “provocatory and conservative” as a rule.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

‘Save the Internet’ — EU Moves to Monitor Uploads, ‘Censor’ Memes, ‘Tax’ Website Links

The European Union (EU) is less than a month away from voting to introduce aggressive new online copyright laws and “widespread censorship” measures, which critics say could strangle new media websites and stifle satire and online meme culture.

Unelected European Commission bureaucrats have drafted legislation which detractors say could force online platforms to monitor and control all uploads to some platforms with “content recognition technologies”. They are also said to have proposed what has been termed a ‘link tax’, which could compel blogs and other websites to pay just to reference content.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Stefan Molyneux: The War on Tommy Robinson

Authored by Stefan Molyneux via Quadrant Online

The rule of law is fragile, and relies on the self-restraint of the majority. In a just society, the majority obey the law because they believe it represents universal values — moral absolutes. They obey the law not for fear of punishment, but for fear of the self-contempt that comes from doing wrong.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Strong Majority of Brits Back Burqa Ban

Most Brits back a ban on Islamic burqas and niqabs, a survey has found, and a significant portion said Islam, in general, is not compatible with the British way of life.

The findings are part of an extensive study by Pew into the views of Christians and non-religious people in Europe, which identified a link between religiosity and opposition to mass immigration and multiculturalism.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Foreign Police Knew of Possible Stockholm Terror Attack

Police in another EU country had information that a terrorist attack was being planned for downtown Stockholm — just days before a man drove a stolen truck down a crowded pedestrian street in the capital.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Swedes ‘Least Likely in Western Europe’ To Go to Church

If you’re looking to find church-attending Christians, don’t look in Sweden.

When it comes to Europe, Sweden is the country where you’re least likely to find church-attending Christians. Yes, just 9 percent of respondents to a European survey said they went to church, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Criminal Muslim Gangs Threaten Stockholmers Into Silence

One third are experiencing major drug trafficking issues. More than half are experiencing major problems with shooting. More than half are seeing problems with automobile crashes, traffic, and car fires in their daily lives.

By Brünnhilde

These are just a few of the startling new statistics revealed by a new report from the Swedish Crime organization investigating the growing discontent and chaos of crime occurring in vulnerable areas.

The Crime Prevention Council in Sweden, most commonly known as Brå, has conducted a survey on the relationship between residents with the judiciary in socially vulnerable areas of Sweden.

The report is based, inter alia, on questionnaire responses and interviews with residents in socially no go zone areas. The residents explain, among other things, the extent to which they:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Tommy Robinson: Trials, Protests, A Media Blackout, And Global Attention

The imprisonment last week of citizen journalist and right-wing activist Tommy Robinson came to worldwide attention and resulted in protests outside 10 Downing Street, with half a million people signing a petition for his release.

However, a temporary media ban, which was lifted after legal challenges by the left-wing Independent website and local news outlet Leeds Live on Tuesday, prevented details of his arrest and sentencing hearing from being reported in the United Kingdom.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK “Justice”: “Silencing the Silencing”

The charge against Robinson declared by the police at the time of arrest, “breach of peace,” was changed to “contempt of court.” Apparently, the former offense would not constitute a violation of the terms of Robinson’s suspended sentence from last year and thereby justify immediate imprisonment. But by declaring Robinson guilty of “contempt of court,” the judge was able to ship him straightaway to prison.

In fact, it is clear to people all over Britain what is really going on here. Their country is being steadily Islamized, and their government is abetting this process. Muslims commit outrageous crimes, and police treat them respectfully — then turn around and arrest ordinary British citizens for daring to complain.

“Judicial power never been used before to silence a journalist in Britain and then to silence the silencing… This lie came directly from Theresa May’s government… and it was planned to the last detail. A courtroom and a judge were waiting to immediately sentence him. A prison cell was booked in his name… This combined is the action of a totalitarian state, in all its brutal horror.” — Paul Weston, Pegida UK.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Hate Preacher Anjem Choudary Being Freed From Prison

Anjem Choudary, the most famous radical Muslim hate preacher in the UK, is being released from prison just two years into a five-year sentence.

He was convicted under the Terrorism Act for encouraging people to support ISIS, and yet he is somehow being considered safe enough to be let back into the public.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Muslim Group Tells Tories to ‘Remove Islamophobia From Party’

The Muslim Council of Britain has reiterated a call for the Conservatives to launch an independent inquiry into alleged Islamophobia within the party.

The MCB has repeatedly demanded an investigation, and says there are now “more than weekly incidents” involving Tory candidates and representatives.

In an open letter, it tells chairman Brandon Lewis he must “ensure racists and bigots have no place” in the party.

A Tory spokesman said it took all incidents of Islamophobia seriously.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Man Who Urged Prince George Attack Admits Terror Charges

An Islamic State supporter who called for jihadis to attack Prince George has admitted a string of terror charges.

Husnain Rashid, 32, of Leonard Street in Nelson, Lancashire, brought his trial at Woolwich Crown Court to a halt with a dramatic change of plea.

Nearly two weeks into his trial Rashid was re-indicted and pleaded guilty to three counts of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts.

He also admitted one count of encouraging terrorism.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Man Admits Prince George Plot After Changing Plea Mid-Trial

An Islamic State supporter has changed his plea mid-trial to admit encouraging terrorism by calling for an attack on Prince George.

Husnain Rashid had maintained his innocence throughout proceedings at Woolwich Crown Court, but has now unexpectedly admitted a number of terror offences.

The 32-year-old, of Nelson, Lancashire, used a Telegram group on 13 October last year to call on supporters to target the four-year-old prince, who is third in line to the throne.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Tunisia: Terror Attack Foiled at Border With Algeria

In governorate Kasserine

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, MAY 31 — Tunisian national guard units in the night between Wednesday and Thursday foiled an attack at the border crossing of Haidra with Algeria, in the governorate of Kasserine, carried out by a commando of armed jihadists divided into two groups, the Tunisian interior ministry said on Thursday.

The ministry said that national guards forced the terrorists to flee along the Tunisian-Algerian border to mountains in the region.

Additional military units were deployed to the region in cooperation with Algerian authorities, the statement said. The interior ministry added that the border crossing of Haidra has been previously targeted but Tunisian security forces managed to foil the attacks.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Video Appears to Show Iran’s Foreign Minister Chanting ‘Death to America’

A video published Thursday appeared to show Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif chanting “Death to America,” “Death to Britain,” and “Death to Israel” during an address by the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran.

The crowd of people, which appeared to be absent of “moderates,” also called for “death to those who oppose the rule of the Islamic jurist” and “death to Muslims who don’t support us,” which includes nearly half, if not more, of Iran’s population.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Russian Journalist Used Swine Blood, Makeup Artist to Fake Death, Watched ‘Murder’ Coverage in Morgue

The fierce anti-Kremlin Russian journalist who worked with authorities in Ukraine to fake his own death revealed Thursday he watched reports of his “murder” while at the morgue.

Arkady Babchenko, 41, told reporters at a news conference in Kiev he used a makeup artist and pig blood to make it look like he had been shot, and was taken to a morgue in an ambulance. He then changed clothes and watched reports of his “violent” death on television, according to Sky News.

Babchenko said that he could have refused when Ukrainian officials approached him with the idea for the ruse about a month ago, but he acted on his own volition.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

India: Muslim Youth Held in Agra for Vandalizing Hindu Idols to Stoke Communal Tension During Ramadan

In Ramadan time, a Muslim man named Sanu khan caught red handed while breaking Hanuman and Durga idol in a Hindu Temple in Agra. Public thrashed him.

Atul Saxena | HENB | Agra | May 30, 2018:: The trails for idol vandalism inspired by Muhammad himself and his uncles and Sahabis are still in force and Ramadan may be the ideal time for them.

A case of idol vandalism in a Hindu temple has been reported from the Shahganj region of Agra in Uttar Pradesh, as reported by Patrika. As per the report, the accused is reported to have vandalised a Hanuman and Durga idol to try and instigate communal tension. The report also claims that such vandalism of the temple has also been reported in the past.

As reported by Jansatta, on Monday morning when devotees went to the temple, which is situated in an area inhabited by a mixed population of Hindus and Muslims, they noticed the vandalized idols disgustingly…

           — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari [Return to headlines]
 

Taliban Officials ‘In Talks With Afghan Government’, US Says

The Taliban have held secret meetings with Afghan officials to discuss a ceasefire, the US military says.

The US commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Nicholson, said the talks also involved foreign governments and international organisations.

However, the Taliban has rejected this as a “false claim”.

The Taliban have generally refused to negotiate with the Afghan government, insisting instead on discussions with the US.

In recent months, violence has continued with mounting casualties on both sides.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Japan, Vietnam Agree on Maritime Safety Cooperation

Leaders of Japan and Vietnam have agreed to bolster cooperation in maritime safety and defense as they expressed shared concern over China’s growing activity in the South China Sea.

Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang (CHAN DIE KWANG) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed Thursday to strengthen defense cooperation in areas including military training, equipment and technology.

In a statement after their talks, the two called for non-militarization in the South China Sea and warned against any unilateral actions changing the status quo. Vietnam is especially concerned about Chinese efforts to establish sovereignty over islands that both countries claim.

The two leaders also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the economy, trade and energy.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Trump Expecting Letter From Kim Jong un After Pompeo Meets With Top North Korean Officials

President Trump is expecting a Friday delegation from North Korea to deliver a letter from leader Kim Jong Un, two days after Kim’s right-hand man, Kim Yong-chol, met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for two days of discussions as the two nations attempt to salvage their planned nuclear summit.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

US Military Renames Pacific Command

The US is renaming its largest military command to reflect the growing importance of the Indian Ocean in America’s strategic thinking.

Defence Secretary James Mattis said the US Pacific Command would now be called the US Indo-Pacific Command.

The command oversees US operations in Asia. It has about 375,000 military and civilian personnel.

The name change comes amid tensions with China, which has been expanding its military activity in the region.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Breaking News: Four-Year-Old Girl is ‘Sexually Assaulted’ In Troubled Tennant Creek Just Months After a Two-Year-Old Girl Was Attacked

A four-year-old girl has been ‘sexually assaulted’ at Tennant Creek just months after another young girl was attacked.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Swapping the Queen’s Birthday for Ramadan: Pepsi Allows Its Australian Staff to Switch Public Holidays So They Only Have Days Off When it is ‘More Culturally Relevant’

The American soft drink giant’s Sydney-based senior human resources manager Shiona Watson said it wanted to let employees take days off that were ‘culturally relevant’ to them.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Van Full of Angry Men ‘Pull a Truck Driver From His Vehicle and Beat Him With a Metal Pole Before Turning on Police’ In a Horrific Road Rage Attack on a Busy Melbourne Highway

Witnesses said the alleged attackers turned on police when they rushed to the scene in Port Melbourne on Thursday morning after the man was pulled from his truck and attacked.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

South Africa: White Men’s Voices Still Dominate Public Science. Here’s How to Change This

In South Africa, too, there are major racial, gender and institutional imbalances in terms of which scientists are publicly visible. Although only 8% of South Africans are white, nearly 80% of the country’s visible scientists are white. And 63% of this group of visible scientists are men. Black women made up only 8% of the group. This is according to a 2017 study which I co-authored and which was published in the South African Journal of Science.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘Church Couldn’t Ignore Pain in Chile, ‘ Says Pope

‘Today we are called to look ahead,’ Francis adds

(ANSA) — Rome, May 31 — The Church could no longer “ignore the pain of (its) Chilean brothers”, Pope Francis said on Thursday in relation to the child sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Church in the South American country. “There have been situations that we didn’t know how to see and feel. As a Church we couldn’t keep on going while ignoring the pain of our brothers,” Francis wrote in a letter to the Chilen people. “Today we are called to look ahead, accept and suffer the conflict, in order that we can resolve it and transform it into a new path,” he added. Earlier in the day the Vatican press office said sex-abuse sleuth Msgr Charles Scicluna was to be sent back to Chile. This time Scicluna will go to Osorno diocese, where Bishop Juan Barros is accused of covering up for notorious abuser Ferando Karadima. The pope will also shortly meet Chilean priests who were victims of sex abuse, the office said. Earlier this month Chile’s bishops resigned en masse over the abuse scandal that has roiled their country.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Foreign Activists on Trial in France for Helping Migrants Enter the Country

Three days after a Malian migrant was acclaimed as a hero for his daring rescue of a child in Paris, three foreign activists went on trial Thursday in southern France on charges for helping migrants enter the country.

The case of the activists has sparked protests and seen President Emmanuel Macron who lavished praise and a promise of French citizenship on an undocumented migrant who saved a four-year-old boy in a high-rise rescue accused of inconsistency.

It is the latest in a series of trials involving activists trying to help migrants on the move through Europe as France prepares a new immigration law that would speed up deportations of failed asylum-seekers…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

France Struggling With Overwhelming Immigration

The continued surge of immigration into France, largely from Middle Eastern Muslim-majority countries such as Eritrea, Somalia, and Sudan, is creating intense political disputes inside the country. On Wednesday, riot police began clearing one of the larger camps in Paris of homeless migrants and refugees at about 6:00 a.m.

It is the 35th evacuation of a homeless migrant camp in just the past three years. Eighteen months ago, a camp of about 8,000 was cleared around Calais.

But after police forcibly dismantle the camps, and destroy their tents, the homeless migrants and refugees simply set up camp elsewhere in Paris. Those living inside the camps are said to experiencing “catastrophic sanitary conditions.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Germany’s AfD Calls for Parliamentary Inquiry Into Merkel’s Migrant Policy

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party called on Thursday for a parliamentary inquiry into Chancellor Angela Merkel’s migrant policy amid a scandal over irregular asylum rulings during an influx of more than 1.6 million migrants.

The wave of migrants, many of them Muslims fleeing conflict in the Middle East, raised concerns about security and integration and helped to push the anti-immigrant AfD into the national parliament for the first time in September’s election.

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) is engulfed in uproar after an internal review of 4,568 asylum rulings found the Bremen branch had knowingly and regularly disregarded legal regulations and internal rules.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

German Teen Girl Needs Surgery After Being Violently Raped by a Syrian Refugee in a Cellar

A brutal rape of a German teen has shocked the city of Chemnitz. A Syrian refugee attacked and raped a 15-year-old German girl in a cellar. The young girl was so badly injured that she needed surgery, tabloid Bild reports.

The contact started on Facebook and after a while the two met in the city centre of Chemnitz, where the 18-year-old lives in an apartment. In the cellar, the young man is said to have attacked the girl at around 1:30 pm, raping her and severely injuring her. He then fled.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Germany’s Train Attacker, Who Stabbed Two People Yesterday, Is an African Migrant

The man, who attacked two people on a train that was heading for Flensburg, is a migrant from Eritrea, German media say.

After a dispute, a 35-year-old male passenger was attacked and seriously injured by the man. A policewoman who was on the train and confronted the African was attacked as well. She shot and killed the assailant.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Greek Mayor: “Women Are Afraid to Go Out Alone, We Keep Our Children Inside Our Homes”

Spyros Galinis, the mayor of Mytilene, the capital of the island of Lesbos, told Greek news outlet Iefimerida, that the people in his city are increasingly concerned about migrants. Galinis said that “Women are afraid to go out of their homes, we keep our children in our houses”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Hungary Tells UNHCR: “Aiding Illegal Migration is Not an Act of Humanity But a Crime and Security Risk”

Responding to the UNHCR’s call on the Hungarian government to withdraw the “Stop Soros” bill, which was submitted on Tuesday, the foreign ministry said the top priority of the government was to ensure the security of the Hungarian people.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Migrants: Slovenia Asks EU, Frontex to Boost Controls

‘More regional supervision along barriers’

(ANSA) — LJUBLJANA — Slovenia is not satisfied about the situation of the migrant route in the Balkans and that is why it is necessary that all countries in the region, the European Commission and Frontex work to do more, the secretary of State of the interior ministry, Bostjan Sefic, told the STA news agency.

He stressed that the growing number of migrants were arriving from Turkey through Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia to reach western Europe. And a new route appears to have opened from Greece through Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia, a journey which European border agency Frontex should watch more closely, said Sefic. Although Slovenia is not the main country of destination, many migrants apply for asylum in the country, the first State in the Schengen area along the route. One of the problems is that Serbia has introduced the liberalization of visas with Iran and some African countries: “This means that these people are entering Serbia in a completely legal way”, continued Sefic. He believes that some 2,000 people did not travel back to Iran at the end of April. A similar journey is also possible from Turkey to Bosnia.

At the moment, Slovenia has registered 50 attempts to enter each day, a number that Sefic has criticized, announcing the construction of new “temporary technical barriers” in some border areas, mainly in the area of the Kolpa, the river along the natural border between Slovenia and Croatia, to dissuade migrants from crossing after a few died as they attempted to reach the country.

“We have boosted controls at border crossings because illegal migrants are found on trucks and trains and we give space to measures to compensate inside the country”, he said, in order to fight migrant smuggling networks. The secretary of State stressed that barriers alone can’t solve the problem, which requires joint supervision at a regional level.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Illegal Migrants Claim £120,000 Off Taxpayer for Luxury Hotel After Posing as Grenfell Victims

A pair of illegal immigrants lived in a luxury hotel for eight months at the taxpayers’ expense after fraudulently claiming to be victims of the Grenfell fire, a court heard.

The duo racked up a £104,000 accommodation bill, with one of them spending a further £11,000 on food whilst complaining about the menu’s quality, Court News reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

A Europe That Recognizes Itself as Christian and Approves Abortion and Gay Marriages

In the survey of the Pew Research Center, the data explaining what has happened in Ireland in recent days

“Western Europe, cradle of Protestantism and historical seat of Catholicism, has become one of the most secular regions in the world”. This was confirmed by a survey study promoted by the US Pew Research Center on religious faith and practice in Western European countries. The percentage of lapsed Christians is increasing and a look at the answers of the sample interviewed on abortion and same-sex marriage shows how much the culture in Europe has changed and how the result of the recent Irish referendum on abortion is not surprising.

The survey, conducted between April and August 2017 in 15 Western European countries, shows that 91% of the population is composed of baptized people, 81% of people who grew up as Christians, 71% of people who say they are currently Christians with a 22% who attend religious services at least once a month.

“In most cases, the adults interviewed consider themselves Christians, even if they rarely attend church. The survey shows that non-practicing Christians (people who identify themselves as Christians, but participate in religious services only a few times a year) represent the largest share of the population in the region concerned. In all countries except Italy, non-practicing Christians are more than practicing Christians (i.e. those who participate in religious services at least once a month). In the UK, for example, there are about three times as many lapsed, or non-practicing Christians (55%) as practicing Christians (18%), according to the definitions used in the survey…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Planned Parenthood Caught Doing Abortions on 12-Year-Old Sexual Assault Victims, Then Not Reporting Abuse

A new report from the pro-life group Live Action reveals that Planned Parenthood abortion clinics have performed numerous abortions on sexual abuse victims as young as 12 and 13 years old without notifying authorities of the abuse, then sending the victims back to where they were preyed on. The report is titled, “Aiding Abusers: Planned Parenthood’s Cover-Up of Child Sexual Abuse.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Ammaniti Sued for Saying Weeping Madonna Case False

Reference in his TV series, The Miracle

(ANSA) — Rome, May 30 — Writer and director Niccolò Ammaniti was sued Wednesday for saying that a 1995 case of a blood-weeping Madonna at Civitavecchia north of Rome was false.

Ammaniti said that in the case, which inspired his current TV series The Miracle, the statue’s alleged tears were made of chicken blood.

This has spurred the Gregori family, who owned the statue, to sue the writer-director for his “defamatory” statement that “it was all false”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

8 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/31/2018

  1. For Tommy Robinson I told so since a long time. They will put him in a position to be killed, then pretend nothing. They have done this before with the man who put bacon in the mosque. This is a crime carrying death penalty, whereas the rape of hundreds of thousands of White UK children is halal.

  2. but will serve as minister for European affairs. = Minister of importing muslims and dislodging natives.

  3. The 5G network seems to be mainly about making it so that no one can escape. Also, when you want to target individuals, track them and bombard them with some particular frequency, a lot of small transmitters along the path of the targeted individuals is just what tyou need.

    Microvaves can cause effects in the brain, like drugs or depressions, and the army knows the right frequencies, and the telecom radios are well capable of producing those particular frequencies.

    What if the plan is to control each individual electromagnetically?

    What would happen when some people start to destroy the telecom infrastructure? I am sure that the media would turn them into enemies of fast internet and the public would consider them crazy.

    • Well, Barn Swallow (quite a few swallows around here in SE London now, but not many barns!), it may be my age, but I’m happy with an eight-year-old mobile ‘phone that does calls and texts. I don’t want my emails following me around; I’ll deal with then when I get home!

      Of course the situation may be different for those still working for a living, but if your scenario came to pass, I suspect even the sleepy Brits woud protest.

  4. Annually female genital mutilation on the genitals in Dagestan are subjected to a minimum 1240 girls. As follows from the answers of men, they perceive the phenomenon as a given, do not see it as a problem and believe that it is “in the sphere of women’s attention”. The need to do the operation, they explained the requirements of religion (“according to Islam”) and custom (“it always seems to do”), as well as the importance of monitoring the behavior of women (“that women were not like prostitutes”). Respondents admitted that the operation to some extent affects the quality of their sexual life, however, the authors of the report write, accepted it and consider it a minor inconvenience.

    Most of the men interviewed said that they were not against the operation to their daughters, but stressed that they would not be told about it, because women do it. Also, almost no one spoke against the ban on this practice.
    https://meduza.io/feature/2018/06/01/vyshel-novyy-doklad-o-zhenskom-obrezanii-v-rossii-kalechaschey-praktike-podvergayutsya-bolshe-tysyachi-devochek-v-god

  5. Just now I learned that arrangements have been made to install 300,000 Middle Easterns in Albania. This in a population of 2.8 million Albanians. Boy are they diversifying us to extinction? I used to think that the saving grace of poverty is that they can’t diversify you. Wrong again.

      • That’s what you say. They’d fit with too many hitches. They’d change the demographic in favor of Islam. Their version of Islam is different from Albanians’. And they’d tip the demographic balance away from the homogeneous that it is today. This for a start.

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