A man named Jarrod Ramos entered the offices of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland and opened fire with a gun. He killed five people and gravely wounded an unspecified number of others. Mr. Jarrod allegedly held a grudge against the paper because it had reported on a criminal conviction against him.
In other news, the “Bucks County Bomber” has been caught. Federal and local authorities took a man named David Surman Jr. into custody on suspicion of preparing and detonating the explosives that have terrorized the Pennsylvania county for weeks. Mr. Surman allegedly held a grudge against the zoning authority.
Also, read the articles on Matteo Salvini, the Italian government, and the emergency EU migration summit. There are too many to summarize here.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Charles Low, Dean, Dora, DV, Insubria, JD, Reader from Chicago, Seneca III, 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.
Hungary: Unemployment Drops to Record-Lows in March-May
Companies may face issues in finding labour force
(ANSA) — BELGRADE, 28 GIU — The unemployment rate in Hungary dropped to a record-low of 3.7 per cent in the period March-May 2018, 0.7 percentage points less than a year earlier or 32,000 unemployed persons less, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) said in a note today.
The KSH said in a separate release that also 64,000 more people were employed than a year earlier in the period March-May 2018, bringing the employment rate of people aged 15-64 to 69.1%, +1.5% year-on-year.
Analysts from ING underlined that the drop in unemployment in Hungary reached “an all-time low” in March-May 2018 with 170,000 unemployed, -6,300 only between April and May.
ING said that the low level could create problems for business in finding employees. “Despite the companies’ complaints, they are still able to find labour force. However, we see this becoming a challenging situation quite soon,” ING said in a note.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
India Central Bank Intervenes as Rupee Crashes to Record Low
The Indian rupee slumped to an all-time low as a resurgence in crude prices and the emerging-market selloff took a toll on the currency of the world’s third-biggest oil consumer.
As Bloomberg reports, Brent crude’s sustained gains since the middle of 2017 has led to a widening of the nation’s current-account and fiscal deficits at a time when global funds have become selective about their emerging-market investments.
The latest bout of weakness has been put down to Indian oil importer buying US dollars to pay for crude cargoes.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Inflation Up to 1.4% in June
From 1% in May
(ANSA) — Rome, June 28 — Inflation rose to 1.4% in June from 1% in May, ISTAT said in its preliminary estimates Thursday. The prices of daily purchases were up more than others, the statistics agency said. These prices, ISTAT said, “registered an increase of prices on an annual basis more than double the general one”, at 2.9%.
Energy prices also played a large part, rising 9.4%.
The prices of the most frequently bought items in Italy’s inflation ‘trolley’ jumped 2.6% on an annual basis in June from 1.7% in May, ISTAT said. The prices of food, household and personal items were up 0.2% on a monthly basis, the statistics agency said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Q1 GDP Revised Lower to 2.0% as Q2 GDP Surge Awaits
Two months after the first take of Q1 GDP surprised to the upside, printing at 2.3%, more than the 2.0% consensus estimate, and one month after the second estimate of 2.2%, missed expectations of 2.3%, moments ago the BEA reported its third and final Q1 GDP estimate, which declined again to 2.0%, and below the estimate 2.2%.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Venezuela Hyperinflation Index Reaches the One Million Mark
A cup of coffee now costs one million bolivars in Caracas.
It’s an astonishing sum of money.
Consider that just two years ago, when we launched the Bloomberg Cafe Con Leche Index, a coffee cost 450 bolivars. Or that today’s price is the equivalent of almost one-fifth of the monthly minimum wage. Or that to buy a cup with the most common bill in circulation — the 100-bolivar note — you’d need to gather up a stack of 10,000 of them.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Annapolis Shooting Suspect Identified as 38-Year-Old Jarrod Ramos
Update 2: The suspect in the deadly shooting at a Maryland newspaper on Thursday has been identified as 38-year-old Jarrod Ramos of Laurel, Maryland according to CBS News. He was reportedly carrying fake grenades, smoke bombs and flash bang devices in his backpack.
Krampf said officials discovered what they thought was an explosive device in the building, which has been “taken care of.” He said he didn’t expect to recover more devices.
Police said they have evacuated and cleared the building but are still continuing to process it for evidence. Over 170 people were safely escorted out of the building, Krampf said. They were brought to a re-unification center that had been set up at a nearby mall. —CBS News
Ramos had a long-running feud with the Annapolis Capital newspaper, according to the Baltimore Sun, citing law enforcement sources.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Authorities Identified Maryland Shooting Suspect Using Facial Recognition Software
Law enforcement officials used facial recognition software to identify the suspect in Thursday’s shooting at an newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, after the suspect’s fingerprints were found to be damaged or altered beyond use.
CNN reported that the suspect, a 39-year-old male who has yet to be identified publicly by police, had damaged or altered his fingertips in a way to prevent identification through traditional means, and had refused to give his name during interrogations.
A CNN source said that facial recognition software had been used to identify the suspect instead…
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Brooklyn Ivy League Student and ISIS Recruit Repents, Gets Probation
A former Ivy League student from Brooklyn who joined the Islamic State in Syria in 2014, then repented, was given a probationary sentence Thursday in Brooklyn federal court after telling the judge his time with the terror group was a big mistake.
“I wanted good and I saw nothing but evil,” the man, identified in court papers as “John Doe,” now in his late 20s, told U.S. District Judge Jack B. Weinstein.
The man came from Bangladesh as a 1-year-old. Prosecutors credited him with making his way out of Syria, surrendering to American authorities and providing valuable cooperation against the terror group, as well as working to persuade other potential recruits to change course.
He served 21 months in prison after surrendering and more jail time would run the risk of leaving him “embittered,” the judge said, imposing a 10-year term of probation instead, in line with a recommendation for leniency from prosecutors who praised his conversion.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bucks County Explosions: Chemical Company Owner Charged After Morning Raids — the Morning Call
Following a predawn raid Thursday that netted bombs, guns and a childish drawing of people fleeing a mushroom cloud, Bucks County authorities say they’ve arrested the man suspected in a series of overnight explosions that rattled nerves in Milford Township and beyond.
David Surman Jr., the 30-year-old owner of a home-based chemical sales company in the township, is charged with possessing weapons of mass destruction and other crimes.
More charges may follow, said District Attorney Matt Weintraub, once FBI investigators complete tests on evidence collected from the sites of at least four explosions, including one set off by a lawnmower. Residents reported hearing 30 overnight explosions since early April.
“This day has been a long time in coming,” Weintraub said at a Thursday afternoon news conference announcing the charges.
Surman, of 2470 Old Bethlehem Pike, was taken into custody around 3:45 a.m. after authorities served search warrants at that address and at 2240 Spinnerstown Road, the office for his business, Consolidated Chemical & Solvents.
The raid turned up “multiple explosive devices” at Surman’s residence, including a “large bomb” capable of mass destruction, Weintraub said.
“This sucker right here, from stem to stern, was over 18 inches in length, had four fuses all twirled together and was ready to be detonated,” he said, pointing to a photo of the device…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Deep State Agenda and Schemes Exposed at Red Pill Expo
SPOKANE — The agenda and many of the schemes of the now-infamous “Deep State” were exposed to a wide audience over the weekend at the Red Pill Expo in Spokane, Washington. Among other presentations, leading experts from across the country highlighted the hidden dangers of vaccines, the assault on gun rights, the climate-change fraud, the plan to undermine private property, the infiltration of Congress by communists, the indoctrination of America’s youth at universities, the Deep State’s stoking of racial division, the catastrophe facing South African minorities, the destruction of the U.S. Constitution, and much more. Obviously, far-left groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center were not happy.
At the conference, which brought together dozens of experts across multiple fields, about 500 attendees from all over America and beyond enjoyed a packed two-day schedule offering all sorts of “red pills.” The term “red pill” comes from the hit 1999 movie The Matrix. “This is your last chance. After this there is no turning back,” explains Morpheus, one of the main characters, while speaking to Neo, another star in the film. “You take the blue pill: the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill: you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” Since the film, the term “red pill” has become a phrase indicating something that wakes a person up from their ignorance.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
At least five people were killed and several others were “gravely injured” in a shooting Thursday afternoon at the Capital Gazette in Anne Arundel County, authorities said.
A shooter is in custody, police said. Police would not name the suspect or say what type of weapon was used.
Anne Arundel County Police initially confirmed about 3:15 p.m. that they were responding to an “active shooter” at 888 Bestgate Road, where the newspaper’s offices are located. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to the scene.
The Capital Gazette is owned by The Baltimore Sun.
Police said a “long gun” was used in the incident. They said officers did not exchange gunfire with the suspect, who was now being interrogated. They said officers had recovered what appeared to be an “explosive device,” and had “tactically secured” the building. About 170 people were inside at the time of the shooting, police said.
Phil Davis, a Capital Gazette crime reporter who was in the building at the time of the shooting, said multiple people were shot, as others — himself included — hid under their desks. He said there was a lone male gunman.
“Gunman shot through the glass door to the office and opened fire on multiple employees. Can’t say much more and don’t want to declare anyone dead, but it’s bad,” Davis wrote on Twitter as he waited to be interviewed by police.
“There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you’re under your desk and then hear the gunman reload.”
In a subsequent interview, Davis said it “was like a war zone” inside the newspaper’s offices — a situation that would be “hard to describe for a while.”
A shooting has occurred at the Capital Gazette in Anne Arundel County, a paper that is owned by The Baltimore Sun, according to reports from Gazette staff.
“I’m a police reporter. I write about this stuff — not necessarily to this extent, but shootings and death — all the time,” he said. “But as much as I’m going to try to articulate how traumatizing it is to be hiding under your desk, you don’t know until you’re there and you feel helpless.”
Davis said he and others were still hiding under their desks when the shooter stopped firing.
“I don’t know why. I don’t know why he stopped,” he said.
Police arrived and surrounded the shooter, Davis said. He declined to elaborate…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
In Its Anti-Trump Hysteria, The Democratic Party Has Become the Party of Violence
Violence against Republicans and conservatives is on the rise. And Democrats and their mainstream media allies are encouraging it.
The toxic rhetoric isn’t limited to crazed tweets and rambling columns. It’s resulting in real-world confrontations. A recent string of incidents should make every American pause and reflect on the direction that the Democratic Party is pushing this country.
Last week, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was chased out of a restaurant by an angry activist mob.
This weekend, Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave the Red Hen restaurant by its owner — who then allegedly proceeded to stalk her dinner party as they went to another restaurant.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was accosted outside of a movie theater where she was harassed and spat on.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Leftist Meltdown at Trump SCOTUS Pick
Leftists are in total meltdown at the prospect of President Trump being able to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court.
Appearing on MSNBC, Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) declared that “we’re looking at the destruction of the Constitution of the United States” over the next 30 years if Trump gets his way.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Professor Claims “Civility” Is a Euphemism for “White Supremacy”
Authored by Celine Ryan via Campus Reform
A New York University educator recently asserted that current “calls for civility are just a power play by those who feel that white supremacy is under threat.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Southern Poverty Law Center has finally overstepped its bounds and mislabeled the wrong organization as a “hate group,” and in doing so has completely destroyed whatever credibility it had left.
“After years of smearing good people with false charges of bigotry, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has finally been held to account,” Marc Thiessen wrote in his latest Washington Post column.
The column is in response to the SPLC’s $3.375 million settlement and public mea culpa to Maajid Nawaz, a former radical Islamist who has become a Muslim reformer whom the organization included in its “Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists.”
The columnist went onto claim that the “once-storied organization that did important work filing civil rights lawsuits against the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s” has lapsed into a cartoonish hate factory by “labeling virtually anyone who does not fall in line with its left-wing ideology an ‘extremist’ or ‘hate group.’“…
Unhinged Leftists are making all kinds of threats against Trump supporters and even members of his government. They are threatening ICE agents. They are calling for more “confrontations” and violence.
They are, in effect, recreating the conditions for a second civil war in America, and what’s more, they don’t care one whit about the violence they are inciting.
Groups like the SPLC have been a part of that incitement to violence. Read LIES.news for more coverage of the insidious lies of Left-wing groups.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Survey: 72% of Americans Say News Outlets Intentionally Run Fake News
A new survey shows 72% of Americans believe “traditional major news sources report news they know to be fake, false, or purposely misleading.”
In the survey by Axios/SurveyMonkey, respondents were asked “How often do you think traditional major news sources report news they know to be fake. False, or purposely misleading?”
The survey also showed on the political side that 92% of Republicans said that traditional news sources report news they know to be fake, along with 54% of Democrats. Additionally, the survey showed 79% of Independents said that traditional news sources report news they know to be fake.
While 69% of Republicans said news sources report news they know be fake “A lot,” another 23% said news sources “sometimes do.”
Among Democrats, 21% said that news sources report news they know to be fake “A lot,” while 32% of said they “sometimes do.” For Independents, 42% said news sources report news they know be fake “A lot,” while 37% of Independents said news sources “sometimes do.”
Among those who think traditional news outlets report false news, about two-thirds think they do so intentionally to advance “an agenda.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Suspect in Capital Gazette Shooting Identified as Jarrod Ramos
The suspect in the fatal shooting attack on an Annapolis, Maryland, newspaper has been identified by NBC News as 38-year-old Jarrod Ramos.
Citing “three senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter,” the network reported that Mr. Ramos had a personal grudge against the Capital Gazette.
Mr. Ramos sued the paper in 2012 for defamation but the case was dismissed by a judge.
It had been reported by the Capital Gazette in 2011 that Ramos had pleaded guilty to criminal harassment and he sued the paper for defamation.
Prince George’s Circuit Court Judge Maureen M. Lamasney dismissed the claim, at which Mr. Ramos represented himself, saying that the article was entirely based on public records…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Liberals’ Carbon Tax Racket is Coming to an End
It looks like the game is up and the Liberal carbon tax racket is coming apart at the seams.
As recently as early 2018, it seemed like a forgone conclusion that the Liberals would impose their carbon tax from coast to coast. The Trudeau government mandated the tax hike but ordered the provinces to impose and administer the tax.
It’s crafty politics, since the provincial governments, not Trudeau and his team of climate zealots, would carry the burden of imposing the largest tax increase in a generation.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Catalonia Will Ask Spain to Agree to a New Independence Referendum
Catalonia is set to ask Spain to grant it permission to hold another independence referendum, 9 months after the previous government held one which was ruled illegal by the Spanish government.
Catalan President Quim Torra told reporters a fresh referendum will be his “first request” to Spain’s new Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Council Cancels Summit Press Conference After Italy Threat to Veto
Well Day 1 did not go according to plan…
The EU Council has cancelled the press conference at the end of Day 1 of the summit and in a very diplomatic statement, make it clear, it’s Italy’s fault…
The European Council this afternoon had an exchange of views with EP President Tajani and NATO Secretary-General as well as discussions on security and defence, jobs, growth and competitiveness, innovation and digital and other issues such as enlargement, MH-17 and MFF.
As one Member reserved their position on the entire conclusions, no conclusions have been agreed at this stage.
For this reason, the press conference by the EU institutional representatives has been cancelled and will instead take place tomorrow after the end of the Euro Summit.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘EU Will Collapse if Merkel Goes’ Malta Foreign Minister Gives Stark Warning on Newsnight
ANGELA Merkel is integral not just for the survival of the Eurozone but if she is removed from power then the instability created could bring down the whole European Union, Malta Foreign Minister Abela Carmelo suggested on BBC Newsnight.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Members of the House of Lords have mocked the suggestion that the government should monitor mosques and Islamic madrassas “hate speech”, calling for the UKIP Peer who asked the question to be monitored instead.
Baroness Warsi, a former Conservative minister who was made a life Peer after her government career ended, replied to his question in the house by asking if it would instead be prudent to monitor Lord Pearson’s words in the chamber for “Islamophobia and hatred towards Muslims.”
Speaking after the debate to Breitbart London, the UKIP Peer said “the real hatred” was with the “silly” members of the House of Lords who had shouted him down.
Responding to Lord Pearson’s question on behalf of the government, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth said they “have no plans to require monitoring of preaching in mosques” before speaking at length about tackling “Islamophobia” rather than radical Islam.
In a recent written reply to a question seen by Breitbart London, Lord Bourne, the secretary of state for communities, also admitted the government does “not hold any data on the number of madrassas” in the UK.
“They don’t even know how many there are. Isn’t that fascinating,” Lord Pearson said…
| — Hat tip: Seneca III | [Return to headlines] |
Facebook, Google ‘Manipulate’ Users to Share Data Despite EU Law: Norwegian Study
Facebook and Google are pushing users to share private information by offering “invasive” and limited default options despite new EU data protection laws aimed at giving users more control and choice, a Norwegian government study said Wednesday.
| — Hat tip: Charles Low | [Return to headlines] |
Facebook, Google Manipulate Users to Share Data Despite EU Law: Norwegian Study
Facebook and Google are pushing users to share private information by offering “invasive” and limited default options despite new EU data protection laws aimed at giving users more control and choice, a Norwegian government study said Wednesday.
The Norwegian Consumer Council found that the US tech giants’ privacy updates clash with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which forces companies to clarify what choices people have when sharing private information.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungarian Prime Minister Meets Israel’s National Security Advisor in Budapest
Prime Minister Viktor Orban held talks with Israel’s National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat in Parliament on Wednesday, the prime minister’s press chief said.
Ben Shabbat is in Budapest to attend a meeting of security advisors from the Visegrad Group and Israel, Bertalan Havasi said.
The talks focused on security challenges in Europe and the Middle East, and an upcoming visit by Orban to Israel in July, he added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Gun Ownership on the Rise as Populist Salvini Offers Stronger Self-Defence Laws
Firearms licences in Italy have increased by 13.8 percent in a single year and the populist Interior Minister Matteo Salvini is looking to liberalise home self-defence laws to allow Italians to confront intruders.
New figures show that 4.5 million homes across the country have access to firearms as recently released studies show that Italians feel less secure in their homes, Il Giornale reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Five Star Movement Founder Grillo Backs Populist Salvini as a Man Who Gets Things Done
Beppe Grillo, the founder and former leader of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) has praised the recent anti-mass migration policies of Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, marking a shift from his prior stance.
Previously, Grillo saw Salvini and the League as political opponents but this week at a performance at the Anfiteatro dell’Anima theatre, the comedian and politician expressed admiration for the party leader, saying he was a man who “does things for real”, Il Giornale reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Close European Court of Human Rights: Salvini
Interior minister blasts Punta Perotti ruling
(ANSA) — Rome, June 28 — Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini said Thursday that the European Court of Human Rights’s ruling condemning Italy for confiscating several illegal construction sites without convicting those responsible showed the court should be shut down. The Strasbourg court’s ruling regarded the Punta Perotti site in Puglia, Golfo Aranci near Olbia in Sardinia, and two sites near Reggio Calabria, Testa di Cane and Fiumarella di Pellaro.
The ECHR said Italian authorities breached the right to respect private property.
“The Strasbourg court condemns Italy and defends eyesores and the unregulated cementification,” League leader Salvini said. “It is the umpteenth proof that certain institutions should be closed down”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Vitalizi Not Right But Stolen Privilege — Di Maio
Fraccaro says hopes to see parl’ry pensions cut for Senate too
(ANSA) — Rome, June 28 — Labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio said via Twitter on Thursday that ‘vitalizi’ parliamentary pensions “are not an acquired right but stolen privileges”. “Stolen privileges cannot exist in our government,” added Di Maio, who is also deputy premier and leader of the 5-Star Movement (M5S). Vitalizi have more favourable conditions than ordinary State pensions.
They have been abolished for new lawmakers, who now get pensions on the basis of the contributions paid into the pension system, but former parliamentarians still get them. Lower House Speaker Roberto Fico, an M5S member, has presented plans for former MPs’ vitalizi to be cut so that they are in line with the relative contributions from November, saying this will save around 40 million euros in public money a year. But Senate Speaker Elisabetta Casellati appears reluctant to follow suit with former Senators, saying “common solutions are needed”.
A group of former MPs has said they intend to present a class-action lawsuit against Fico. Relations with Parliament Minister Riccardo Fraccaro said Thursday that he hoped the Senate takes action on the vitalizi too.
“I respect the autonomy of the two branches of parliament.
Next week the House will vote (on the vitalizi plan) and something historic will happen,” Fraccaro told Sky television.
“We hope this is done for the Senate too but the Senate is autonomous”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Whistleblowing Boom in 2018 — ANAC
Rate of reporting doubles in first five months of year
(ANSA) — Rome, June 28 — There has been a boom in whistleblowing in the public and private sector in 2018, anti-corruption authority ANAC said Thursday. With an average of over two reports to the agency a day, the rate of whistleblowing has doubled in the first five months of the year compared to last year, ANAC said. From January to May 2018, ANAC said, it had opened 334 cases while in the whole of 2017 they were 364, compared to 174 in 2016 and 125 in 2015.
More than 90% of the cases of whistleblowing occur in the public sector, ANAC said.
“The reports could rise further if there was a minimum of certainty about the fact that the whistleblowers would be safeguarded,” said ANAC chief Raffaele Cantone.
He said he was “comforted” by Rome Chief Prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone’s assertion that in some cases new regulations on informants who have turned State’s evidence could be applied.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Minister Considering Change to Time-Out Law — ANM
Minisci proposes stopping clock after first-instance ruling
(ANSA) — Rome, June 28 — Francesco Minisci, the head of Italian magistrates union ANM, said Thursday that Justice Minister Alfonso Bonafede is considering changing Italy’s statute-of-limitations legislation to prevent guilty people getting off purely because their cases have timed out. “Today with the minister we agreed that it is necessary to intervene on the statute of limitations,” Minisci said after a meeting with the minister. He said that the ANM proposed stopping the clock on cases getting timed out after the first-instance ruling.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy’s Giuseppe Conte to Visit Donald Trump on July 30
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will pay his first visit to the White House on July 30th, US President Donald Trump’s office announced on Wednesday.
“Italy is an important NATO ally, a leading partner in Afghanistan and Iraq, and key in bringing stability to the Mediterranean region,” the White House said in a statement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Make or Break Time for Merkel: What to Look for in Today’s EU Summit
Migration, trade, Brexit and the EU budget — but mostly migration — will be the big talking points at today’s EU summit which kicks off in Brussels shortly and continues into Friday.
As DB notes, there’s a laundry list of agenda points to get through for EU leaders with the not so insignificant talking points like Brexit, migration policy, the EU budget, security and the economic and monetary union amongst the big topics. The summit will be of particular significance for Merkel given domestic political tensions of late however yesterday the CDU and Social Democrats confirmed that no headway was made on migration talks in a meeting in Berlin which will only heighten the pressure on Merkel. Notably, the CSU Party leader Seehofer did reaffirm on ARD TV that “I know of nobody in my party who either wants to endanger the government…or bring down the Chancellor”.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
President Most Trusted, Opposition Leader Most Distrusted in Poland: Survey
President Andrzej Duda remains Poland’s most trusted politician, with 69 percent of respondents to a new survey saying they have confidence in him.
Pollster CBOS said trust in the president had increased by one percentage point compared with a similar survey a month earlier. At the same time, 20 percent of respondents said they did not trust Duda.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Some 23 Mn in Work in Italy, Like in 2008 — Report
But number of people employed on temp contracts has soared
(ANSA) — Milan, June 28 — A report by the observatory of Italian employment consultants said Thursday that around 23 million people were in work in Italy in 2017, roughly the same as in 2008. But if the quantity of the jobs is the same, the quality of the posts has changed significantly, the report said. It said the number of self-employed people dropped by 535,000 (-9.1%) between 2008 and 2017, while those working on temporary contracts leaped by 438,000 (up 19.2%). The number of part-time workers went from 2.5 million in 2008 to 3.5 million in 2017.
It said the number of people working with steady open-ended contracts was substantially steady (up 0.2%).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Study: Number of Muslim Extremists in Sweden Increases Tenfold Via Mosques and Social Media
A new report by the Swedish Defence University has found that the number of Salafists in the country has increased tenfold over the past decade. The study shows how this has contributed to forming Islamist groups and carrying out terrorist attacks such as the 2010 and 2017 Stockholm attacks.
The report, which follows a number of known Islamists across the country, has revealed how Salafist movements across the country have spread their ideology through mosques, social media, and more.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: London Bloodbath: Teen Critical After Tulse Hill Stabbing as Violent Crimewave Continues
A teenager is fighting for his life after being stabbed multiple times at a housing estate in Tulse Hill, south London.
The 19-year-old victim is in a critical contain after the attack on Leander Road in the early hours of this morning. Police, paramedics and the London Fire Brigade rushed to the scene shortly before 1am after receiving reports of a car on fire and gangs youths gathering.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: NHS Voodoo Nurse Found Guilty of Trafficking Prostitutes
The NHS Nigerian nurse used voodoo magic to force Nigerian women to work as prostitutes in European brothels while living a double life in the first case of its kind, TheDaily Mail reports.
The NHS nurse lived between a south London estate and a mansion, including servants’ quarters, in Nigeria. She forced the vulnerable village girls to undergo trafficking in horrific conditions, including gang rapes and life threatening travel abroad by convincing them in ‘juju’ ceremonies that they were under a spell, before putting them to work in Germany. These rituals exercised a control ‘tighter than chains.’
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UKIP’s Lord Pearson Exclusive: Tackling Radical Islam Next ‘Big One’ For Party After Brexit
UKIP should focus on securing cultural integration and tackling radical Islam after Brexit is achieved to revive the movement and pressure the government into action, party Peer Lord Pearson has said.
“I do think our membership of the EU was the last ‘big one’, and UKIP does still have a job to do there,” Lord Pearson told Breitbart London this week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump-Putin Summit to Take Place on July 16 in Helsinki
Update: And now we know the date:
Trump-Putin Summit to Be on July 16 in Helsinki, U.S. Says
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Upendra Bharti | HENB | Lucknow | June 28, 2018:: Days after he called Mughal emperor Akbar ‘not a great ruler’, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday claimed that Aurangzeb, the fifth Mughal emperor who ruled between 1658 and 1707, had forced Kashmiri Hindu pandits to change their religion. Speaking at a gathering of Banjaras in Lucknow, the CM said that Aurangzeb tortured Kashmiri pandits and forced them to embrace Islam.
He said that a group of Kashmiri Hindu pandits had then met Ninth Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji in Delhi to tell him how they are being forced by the cruelest Mughal emperor to change their religion into Islam.
“When Aurangzeb began torturing Kashmiri pandits, then to free themselves, a group of Kashmiri Pandits met Guru Tegh Bahadur in Delhi and told him about their suffering and how they were being forcefully converted,” UP CM said,
The CM said that Guru Tegh Bahadur had then come to the rescue of Kashmir pandits and asked them not to be afraid of Aurangzeb. “Guru Tegh Bahadur asked them to tell him (Aurangzeb) that they would accept his religion only if their Guru accepts it.”
Guru told the Pundits, “Go and tell the Emperor that you will agree to embrace Islam if he can persuade your Guru Tegh Bahadur to be converted to the Muslim faith”.
History tells, on conveying the message to Aurangzeb, he gave orders to arrest Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib ji. On not agreeing with Aurangzeb, Guru Ji and his followers were tortured badly. Bhai Mati Das, the devoted Sikh, was tied between two pillars and his body split in two by being sawn alive. Bhai Dyala was boiled alive in a cauldron of boiling water and Bhai Sati Das was wrapped in cotton wool and burnt alive. Guru Ji was even prepared to give up his life. By seeing this Aurangzeb became furious and ordered that Guru Tegh Bahadur ji be executed publicly in Chandi Chowk…
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
A French citizen who stabbed two British backpackers to death is set to be sent home, a court has heard. Smail Ayad appeared via video link in Brisbane’s Mental Health Court on Thursday.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Pence Pressed Ecuadorian President on Country’s Protection of Julian Assange
Vice President Mike Pence discussed the asylum status of Julian Assange during a meeting with Ecuador’s leader on Thursday, following pressure from Senate Democrats who have voiced concerns over the country’s protection of the WikiLeaks founder.
“The vice president raised the issue of Mr. Assange. It was a constructive conversation. They agreed to remain in close coordination on potential next steps going forward,” a White House official said in a statement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Removes Another 2 Chile Bishops Over Abuse
Rancagua and Talca bishops make it five
(ANSA) — Vatican City, June 28 — Pope Francis on Thursday removed another two Chilean bishops over the clerical sex abuse scandal that has rocked the South American country. Francis accepted the resignation of Rancagua Bishop Alejandro Goic Karmelic and Talca Bishop Horacio del Carmen Valenzuela Abarca.
They will be replaced, respectively, by Msgr Luis Fernando Ramos Perez and Msgr Galo Fernandez Villaseca.
The move followed the removal on June 11 of three Chilean bishops including Osorno Bishop Juan Barros, at the centre of the scandal for covering up the sex abuse committed by his mentor Father Fernando Karadima.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian Leading Politician: “Adapt or Go Home!”
Upper Austria’s Deputy Governor, Manfred Haimbuchner, has handed over an advisory report on integration to the national government’s Integration Minister, tabloid Wochenblick reports.
Haimbuchner’s message for the minister is that migrants should adapt, learn the language and respect Austria’s Christian values, or leave the country.
“If you want to live in Austria, you have to adapt. If you do not like it, you are welcome to return to your home country,” he advises.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Capitol Police Arrest 575 People Protesting Trump Immigration Policies at Senate Building
The Capitol Police charged approximately 575 people with unlawfully demonstrating in the atrium of the Hart Senate Building. They are being processed on the scene and then released.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Coalition of Willing if No Migrant Deal Says Merkel
‘Can’t leave on their own countries with majority of arrivals’
(ANSA) — Berlin, June 28 — A “coalition of the willing” will proceed with migrant policy reform if there is no all-EU deal at today’s migrant summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday. “We can’t leave on their own the countries in which the majority of arrivals happens,” she said.
“This is the nub of the Dublin 3 regulation.
“Those who ask for asylum can’t choose the country in which they apply for it.
“Until there is a consensus among the 28 on all this we will go forward with a coalition of the willing”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed the need Thursday for a European approach to dealing with the influx of asylum seekers, as she sought to fend off critics from within her own conservative bloc while defending her 2015 decision to keep Germany’s borders open during the refugee crisis.
Speaking to Parliament before heading to a European Union summit in Brussels, she described the move to lawmakers as an exceptional gesture to help relieve pressure on nearby Austria and Hungary, whose leaders had personally appealed for assistance as migrants streamed into their countries.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ex-Clinton Aide: 84 Percent of Americans Support Turning Undocumented Immigrants Over to Authorities
Prominent Democratic pollster Mark Penn said on Thursday that a vast majority of Americans don’t really support so-called sanctuary cities that shield immigrants in the country illegally from deportation.
Penn, who served as chief strategist for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, revealed that 84 percent of Americans favor turning undocumented immigrants over to federal agents.
“I asked them, ‘Do you think notifying ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] would in fact increase crime because it would inhibit people from reporting crimes or does it decrease crimes because it takes criminals off the street,’ and they overwhelming said ‘decrease,’ “ Penn told Hill.TV’s “Rising.”
Penn said the response was strikingly “out of sync” with what the public might think about sanctuary cities. The broad term refers to cities that don’t fully cooperate with federal authorities when it comes to turning over people in the country illegally to immigration enforcement.
“When someone’s arrested, they expect someone will notify federal immigration authorities just as they would expect someone who violates state tax law will find out that they notified the IRS,” the pollster said.
President Trump has made sanctuary cities a frequent target during his administration, arguing that they make the U.S. less safe. In January, Trump signed an executive order in an effort to withhold money from sanctuary cities, though some of that money did still go to those cities.
Some cities protested Trump’s crackdown. Mayors, including New York’s Bill de Blasio and then-New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, boycotted a meeting with Trump following his executive order. De Blasio called the order a “racist assault” on sanctuary cities.
But it looks like Trump has achieved a victory — at least for now.
A federal appeals court on Tuesday temporarily narrowed the scope of a nationwide injunction against the Trump administration’s attempt to withhold grants from sanctuary cities. […]
| — Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
Exclusive: German MPs to Bring Criminal Human Trafficking Charges Against Migrant Transport NGOs
Forty-two MPs of the anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) have put their names behind an initiative to bring criminal charges of people trafficking against German migrant transport NGOs which they say “must be stopped”.
The move to bring criminal charges was organised by AfD foreign policy committee spokesman Petr Bystron, and will see the party file the charges in Augsburg this weekend, according to a statement seen by Breitbart London.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Federal officers wearing tactical gear dismantled a makeshift tent camp in Portland on Thursday which was blocking the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters during a second week of protests over President Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration enforcement policy.
Protest coordinator Lillith Sinclair told local news station KGW8 that Homeland Security officers “have been playing mind games” for several days — placing cardboard cutouts of officers in the ICE building to make it appear as though their presence was larger, blaring Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” to keep protesters awake, while one officer walked around the encampment with an eagle mask on his head.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German President Requests Tolerance From Citizens Terrorised by Migrants
Cottbus is a hot bed for refugee crime, which has resulted in repeated violent clashesbetween foreigners and locals. After several incidents, Germany’s Minister of the Interior even imposed a ban on immigration for refugees and intensified police controls in the city.
Recently, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier came to Cottbus to attend the 20 years of “Tolerant Brandenburg” ceremony and to listen to people’s fears. The President gave a passionate plea for tolerance in Cottbus.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Half of Dusseldorf Asylum Decisions May be Wrong
Around half of the asylum decisions made by the Dusseldorf Migration and Refugee office (BAMF) could be incorrect, according to documents seen by German media.
The German Express reports that the serious mishandling of cases may be due to the fact that many of the centre’s employees are related, meaning the level of quality control in decision making could be way off.
According to reports, at least 16 employees, including interpreters and decision makers are related.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Greek leader of the municipality of Moria on the island of Lesbos, Mr Trakelis, started a hunger strike protesting outside of the Aegean and Island Policy General Secretariat, Protothema reports.
The reason for this were the severe hygiene and security problems that the locals are facing for the past three years, living next to the largest refugee camp in Greece.
A few days ago, migrants started a fire, burning down 10 acres of olive trees. This was the last straw for the residents of Moria. That incident made the head of the community start his hunger strike.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Insane Sweden: Migrant Will Not be Deported for Raping 92-Year-Old Woman on Christmas Eve
The 28-year-old African, repeat sex offender will not face deportation for a spate of sex crimes in Sweden. As the man received a Swedish passport, according to current law, cannot be sent back, Fria Tider reports.
The man, who moved from Kenya to Sweden in 1998 is a serial sex offender. In June 2014 he was sentenced to six years in prison by the court of appeal for two rapes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Holds ‘Mother of All’ EU Summits Hostage Over Migrant Row
Italy’s prime minister refused to approve an EU summit statement on Thursday, telling fellow leaders that they must first meet his demands on migration, in an unusual showdown that underscored deep divisions over the sensitive issue.
The move by Giuseppe Conte, who is attending his first European Union summit, surprised other leaders and forced summit chairman Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to cancel a news conference planned for Thursday evening.
“As one member reserved their position on the entire conclusions, no conclusions have been agreed at this stage,” a spokesman for Tusk said.
Conte, the head of a new eurosceptic government that includes the anti-establishment 5-Star movement and the far-right League, is demanding that other EU states share the costs and burden of handling migrants that are rescued in the Mediterranean.
His move came after leaders held talks on a range of issues from security and defence, to jobs, growth and competitiveness. Normally, they would issue pre-prepared conclusions once that discussion was over.
But Conte’s intervention, ahead of a dinner where the controversial migration issue is due to be discussed, prevented that.
“We are still hoping that Conte felt compelled to stir up a mess and at the end of the day he will get back in line, but it’s far from certain,” an EU diplomat said…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
It’s Time for Celebrities to Take in Migrant Kids
The news that Alyssa Milano has actually put her money where her mouth is and offered to take in migrant kids made me think about all the other celebrities railing against Trump.
With mega-rich celebrities like John Legend and Anne Hathaway claiming the policy of separating children is so terrible — and claiming that Trump created the policy — why are so few actually putting their money to good use? Why aren’t they spending their millions helping the children they claim to care about?
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Malta Closes Ports to NGO Ship Operations
Vessels cannot leave or enter ports says govt statement
(ANSA) — Valletta, June 28 — The Maltese government said Thursday that it has closed its ports to NGO-run migrant-rescue ships after the case of the Lifeline. “Following recent events that brought to the fore information that was previously unknown, Malta needs to ascertain that operations being conducted by entities using its port services and operating within the area of Maltese responsibility are in accordance with national and international rules,” a statement said. “This includes, but is not solely limited to, the certification or registration of vessels involved. “Given that there are investigations being carried out by independent authorities, and until these issues are clarified, Malta cannot allow entities, whose structure might be similar to that being subject to investigations, to make use of Malta as their port of operations, and to enter or leave the said port. “This is also in view of judicial processes that might ensue, and in order for the Maltese authorities not to be considered to be approving of systems of operations that might eventually be found to be carried out in breach of their own and international rules”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Salvini: 12 Italian Naval Units to Patrol Libyan Waters to Combat Migrant Crisis
Italy will be donating a further 12 naval units to help patrol the sea off the coast of Libya to protect the country from relentlessly bearing the brunt of the migrant crisis.
Interior Minister Metteo Salvini said: “Defence of borders, from words to deeds. 12 naval units today donated by the Italian Government to the Libyan Coast Guard: to patrol, rescue, and protect.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spanish President Meets Open Borders Advocate George Soros in Secret
The president of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sanchez, has met in the Moncloa Palace with George Soros, one of the billionaires linked to the illegal Catalan referendum of October 2017. The meeting took place in secret this Wednesday afternoon and no stenographers were present.
The meeting, according to Spanish news outlet OKDiario, lasted about an hour and a half. Soros is one of the most powerful fortunes in the world, known for his opposition to Trump and Brexit, his fostering of the illegal immigration into Europe and his involvement in the illegal Catalan referendum last year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Stop Incendiary Talk on Migrants, Sanchez Tells Italy
Effective in electoral terms but not for response to emergency
(ANSA) — Paris, June 27 — Spanish Premier Pedro Sanchez told Le Monde ahead of today’s EU migrant summit that Italy should halt “incendiary” talk on the issue. Sanchez urged Italy “to ask itself if unilateral decisions can be an effective response to a global problem.
“Incendiary talk can be effective in electoral terms, but they are not (effective) as a response to these dramatic events”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The Swedish district court has released an African migrant after he showed his penis to a 6-year-old child, Fria Tider reports.
On 11 May 2017 a woman with her two children entered a café in Sollentuna. As she stood at the counter she saw the man who worked as a waiter, showing his penis to one of her children.
In the police interrogation, the affected child said that the African first pulled up his shirt and showed his stomach before clutching his trousers and exposing himself.
The man later defended himself saying he “only” showed parts of his penis to the child because the six-year-old “asked him” to do it by saying “pippi”.
“I thought the child was curious about my skin colour,” he explained. Attunda District Court released the African and based their judgement on his own story.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK Population 66 Million: Increase of 400,000 in One Year, 59% Due to Migration
New population stats demonstrate the huge effect the mass migration policy is having on Britain, with the population increasing by almost another 400,000 in one year, the majority of which is due to net migration
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Set to Open Nation’s First ‘LGBT-Certified’ Sports Stadium
Sweden is set to open the country’s first “LGBT-certified” sports stadium with dressing rooms and bathroom facilities specially adapted to be inclusive of everyone “regardless of gender identity”.
Teams and sports associations wishing to use the Studenternas stadium in Uppsala, which local media reports will be ready for the 2019 soccer season, will have to undergo training in LGBT legislation and ideology.
The ‘LGBT diploma’, for which the arena’s entire workforce will undertake months of education, also focuses on “norm-critical” thinking, which purports that “prevailing norms in society” such as “whiteness” and “the binary-gender norm” are a “problem” because they result in “discrimination”.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Trump needs to make Assange a US citizen and pardon him, all his “sins”…like revealing the treachery of the DNC and Rodham.
Yes. Treatment of Assange is a complete betrayal of justice. Trump should take this case on and do what he can to free Assange.
For UK migration there are some interesting trends :
Total yearly net migration has dropped a little since the 2016 figure in the gov link. The reason for this is less net migration from EU.
In short, in 2016 net EU migration to UK was @ 190 000
Net non-EU migration to the UK was also @ 190 000
In 2017 those figures read 90 000 and 205 000.
There is a steady flow of UK national leaving, somewhere over 50 000 yearly.
Main EU migrants are Romania and Poland ( Spain has a very large Romanian population now incidentally) , main non EU are India and Pakistan.
So when you read the 400 000 in the gov link, remember that that is net figure, the number of migrants is higher, offset by British leaving.
The above figures don’t tally the 400 000 net because it is using a slightly different ytd than in the gov link.
From
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/migrationstatisticsquarterlyreport/dec2016
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/migrationstatisticsquarterlyreport/february2018