Gates of Vienna News Feed 8/16/2018

A small bomb exploded outside the door of the offices of the Lega Nord, Matteo Salvini’s party, near Venice. The explosion caused minor structural damage to the building, but there were no injuries. A far-left anarchist group claimed responsibility for the attack.

In other news, the NGO migrant “rescue” ship Aquarius finally landed in Malta carrying 141 migrants, after a deal was struck to distribute the migrants among various EU countries.

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

Thanks to Dora, JD, Reader from Chicago, Srdja Trifkovic, SS, Vlad Tepes, 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
» Europe Watches as Turkey Burns
» The Looming Economic Collapse: The $250 Trillion Dollar Worldwide Debt Crisis
 
USA
» “Trump@War”: A Peek Inside Steve Bannon’s New Film
» AP Exclusive: Google Tracks Your Movements, Like it or Not
» Blumenthal: Trump Revoking Brennan’s Security Clearance an ‘Illegal’ Violation of Constitution
» Elizabeth Warren Pretty Proud of Her Bill That Would Put Large Corporations Under Federal Control
» Far Left Attacks Vox for Reporting That ANTIFA Attacked Journalists
» Feds Take Custody of New Mexico Muslim Cult Leader After Judge Orders Release on Bond
» Gov Cuomo Shocks “We Are Not Going to Make America Great Again…it Was Never That Great” [Video]
» In Frantic Text to DOJ’s Bruce OHR, Christopher Steele Hopes “Important Firewalls Will Hold”
» John Brennan: Revoking Security Clearance an Attack on ‘Free Speech’
» Mark Levin Warns “Communist” Brennan and “Phony” Media on Security Clearance [Video]
» Media Danger
» Minds.com’s Bill Ottman: People Are Abandoning Big Tech
» New Mexico Jihad Compound Mysteriously Destroyed by Authorities
» Nolte: Vatican ‘No Comment’ About Hundreds of Predator Priests Abusing 1,000 Children
» Oh Good: Hundreds of Newspapers Ran Editorials Today in a Planned, Coordinated Attack on Trump
» Paul Suggests Granting Assange Immunity in Exchange for Congressional Testimony: Report
» President Trump Revokes Security Clearance for Obama’s Former CIA Director John Brennan [Video]
» Prosecutors Mulling Charges for Teen Who Pushed Friend Off Bridge
» Remains of Child Found at New Mexico ‘Jihadi’ Compound Are Confirmed to be Missing Boy From Georgia
» Scientists Warn That Millions of Sea Creatures Are “In Real Peril” As Pacific Ocean Temperatures Rise to Dangerous New Records
» The Unsavory Rot Uncovered in Catholic Dioceses
» Tom Fitton: Strzok’s Firing Proves That Mueller’s Investigation is Compromised
» Tom Fitton: Peter Strzok Should be Criminally Investigated
 
Europe and the EU
» EU Judicial Body to Suspend Poland for Flouting Freedom of Courts
» Eyes on the Prize-Fighters
» Far-Left Anarchist Extremists Take Credit for Bombing Italian Populist Party Office
» France: The Rise and Fall of Emmanuel Macron
» French ‘Antifascist’ Writer Attacked by Muslims
» Six Left-Wing Extremists Seized at Norway Politics Festival
» Soros Foundation to Quit Hungary by End-August
» Swedes Overseas Start Voting in the September Election
» The Dark History of the European Union
» UK: London 2.0? Crime Soars in Birmingham as White British Become Minority
» UK: Manchester Mosque Sermon ‘Called for Armed Jihad’, Say Scholars
» UK: NHS Doc Suspended for Negligently Killing Child Allowed to Practice Again After Racism Accusations
 
Middle East
» Is it Time to Consider Yanking Turkey’s NATO Membership?
» Qatar Pledges $15 Billion to Invest in Turkey
» The Emerging Moscow-Ankara Axis
 
Far East
» Chinese Diners Flock to North Korea on Seafood Day Trips
» Google Employees Blast Company for Involvement in Dragonfly, The Censored Chinese Search Engine
 
Australia — Pacific
» Six Chinese Family Members Accused of Smuggling Millions of Cigarettes Into Australia by Hiding Them in Tiles Are Charged With Laundering $11 Million in Organised Crime Money
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» South African Farmers Panic After List of Apparent Expropriation Targets Published
 
Latin America
» Hyperinflation Has Destroyed Venezuela
 
Immigration
» Aquarius Ship Arrives in Malta After Migrant-Sharing Deal
» Asylum Seeker Terror Suspect Granted British Citizenship Just Weeks Before Failed Attack
» Democrat Somali Immigrant Wins Primary for MN State House Seat Vacated by Somali Muslim Who Allegedly Married Her Brother… Gives Acceptance Speech in Somali Language
» Yazidi Teenager Meets ISIS Captor Who Enslaved Her; He’s Now a “Refugee” in Germany
 
Culture Wars
» Colleges Offer Courses on “Queering” Children & the Bible
» Colorado is Going After Jack Phillips Again, This Time Because He Won’t Bake a Transgender Cake
» New Face of Democrats!! Transgender Running for Governor Admits on CNN They Don’t Even Know What Socialism is!! [Video]
 

Europe Watches as Turkey Burns

[…]

Turkey’s middle class, which voted for Erdogan in droves, also accounts for much of the country’s savings, holdings that are evaporating amid the surge in inflation. If Turks have not yet felt the pain of the currency crisis, they will soon.

[…]

Another worry is oil. Turkey is a net importer of oil, which is traded in dollars.

“This is going to have significant economic impact,” Leuchtmann predicted.

In a rare rebuke of Erdogan, Turkish business groups urged the government on Tuesday to take the necessary steps to begin resolving the crisis, including ending the dispute with Washington and raising interest rates.

Given such pressure and Turkey’s dire outlook, some observers believe it’s only a matter of time before Erdogan reverses course. They predict he will eventually seek help from the International Monetary Fund.

[…]

Accepting an IMF bailout would force him to abandon his claims that Turkey can go it alone and would amount to an admission of incompetence.

That’s not an easy step for an authoritarian leader to take. Consider Venezuela, another country whose leadership has railed against the IMF and accused the West of waging an “economic war” on it.

Despite its deepening economic depression, the Latin American country has steadfastly refused to seek an international bailout and the IMF predicts the country’s hyperinflation will hit 1,000,000 percent this year.

If Erdogan follows Venezuela’s example, it may well take an act of God to fix Turkey.

           — Hat tip: Dora [Return to headlines]
 

The Looming Economic Collapse: The $250 Trillion Dollar Worldwide Debt Crisis

As governments raise taxes to cope with their unending spending habits, people are increasingly being forced to supplement their own income with loans. And according to most financial experts, this debt problem is so big that it will usher in a global economic collapse of epic proportions.

According to the Institute of International Finance’s latest Global Debt Monitor, the amount of debt held in the world rose by the biggest amount in two years during the first quarter of 2018. It grew by $8 trillion to hit a new all-time high of $247 trillion, up from $238 trillion as of December 31, 2017. And that’s up by $30 trillion from the end of 2016.

Global debt is staggering to the point most of it will never be repaid and as governments continue their spending sprees and the debts keep mounting, the future of the economy looks bleak. There is more than enough economic data out there to show there could be an economic collapse and stock market crash in 2018. Bill Gross stated in 2017 that “our highly levered financial system is like a truckload of nitroglycerin on a bumpy road”. One wrong move and the whole thing could blow sky high, wrote the Epic Economist. Once this bubble pops, it will fling the globe into a financial crisis of epic proportions never before seen.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

“Trump@War”: A Peek Inside Steve Bannon’s New Film

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has got all hands on deck for the upcoming midterms; launching Citizens for the American Republic (COAR) — an outside political group which will advise surrogates, generate talking points and assist with media campaigns for candidates.

As part of his new campaign, Bannon — a former Hollywood producer with several films under his belt — will release a new documentary on September 9, “Trump@War,” the two year anniversary of then-candidate Hillary Clinton calling Trump voters “deplorables.”

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

AP Exclusive: Google Tracks Your Movements, Like it or Not

Google wants to know where you go so badly that it records your movements even when you explicitly tell it not to.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Blumenthal: Trump Revoking Brennan’s Security Clearance an ‘Illegal’ Violation of Constitution

Wednesday on CNN’s “The Situation Room,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said President Donald Trump revoking former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance is an “illegal” violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution of United States of America.

[Comment: Liar.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Elizabeth Warren Pretty Proud of Her Bill That Would Put Large Corporations Under Federal Control

Democrats vs. the Free Market: If you need a “federal charter” to do business, then the manner in which you do business will ultimately be determined by the federal government.

Kudos to the Wall Street Journal for publishing this, not because it’s a good idea, but because the American public in general and the business community in particular should understand the thinking of some of the people who are trying to worm their way into the White House.

Elizabeth Warren hates the corporations, and for the most part hates the entire private sector except to the extent it hands over money to the government and to left-wing causes. She hates the fact that they seek prosperity via the free market and don’t answer to politicians, preferring to make their customers the bosses.

And she wants you to know that if she has her way, any corporation over $1 billion in annual sales will have to completely change its governance structure to please liberals like her in Washington:…

Needless to say, this is a recipe for political and bureaucratic control over corporations. By mandating the 40 percent of a company’s board has to be elected by employees, you take considerable authority out of the hands of those who actually own the company and put their capital at risk to see it operate. By mandating that 75 percent of directors and shareholders approve of political expenditures, you achieve a sneaky little way of neutering Citizens United and make it virtually impossible for large corporations to have a say in the political process.

And by opening up companies for lawsuits whenever some so-called stakeholder doesn’t think the company is considering its interests, you put the courts and regulatory bodies in charge of a corporation’s day-to-day decisions. And that’s of course the idea. It drives Democrats crazy that corporate executives can make decisions without checking with them, and Warren’s bill seeks to end that.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Far Left Attacks Vox for Reporting That ANTIFA Attacked Journalists

HuffPost’s “hate and extremism” reporter Christopher Mathias took to Twitter to attack news outlet Vox for covering Antifa violence against journalists and police officers over the weekend.

Responding to the article titled, “Antifa clashes with police and journalists in Charlottesville and DC,” Mathias replied, “This is a bad article & is a good example of how not to cover white supremacy.”

Despite working as HuffPost’s reporter on “hate and extremism,” Mathias frequently ignores acts of violence and extremism from left-wing groups and protesters, and has repeatedly defended and attempted to downplay violence from registered domestic terrorist group Antifa.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Feds Take Custody of New Mexico Muslim Cult Leader After Judge Orders Release on Bond

Jany Leveille, wife of Siraj Wahhaj and evidently the spiritual leader of his cult, was taken into custody by federal authorities on Tuesday just hours after a New Mexico judge controversially ordered all five members of the Muslim extremist group released on bond despite allegations of kidnapping, child abuse, and very likely killing a sick three-year-old child by withholding his medication.

Leveille, Wahhaj, and three other adults were arrested on August 4 during a raid on their compound in New Mexico, a police action prompted by a message from within the compound pleading for help because the 11 children held there were starving. Children rescued from the compound said they were being trained to conduct gun massacres at schools.

They also said Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, the kidnapped three-year-old son of Siraj Wahhaj, died at the compound during a Muslim “prayer ritual” that has been compared to an exorcism, and his remains are those recovered from tunnels dug beneath the site.

Testimony and documents introduced by prosecutors indicated that Leveille believed Abdul-Ghani was a militant reincarnation of Jesus, reborn as prophesied in the Koran, who would eventually provide the cult with a list of targets to attack in righteous fury, including schools.

Judge Sarah Backus ordered the suspects released on $20,000 bond Tuesday, provided they promised to wear ankle monitors and attend future court hearings. Backus said she found the facts of the case “troubling” but ruled the extremists were not an imminent danger to the community.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Gov Cuomo Shocks “We Are Not Going to Make America Great Again…it Was Never That Great” [Video]

Who says this? Democrats who hate America say this! Anti-Trump New York Governor Cuomo played to his liberal base when he said that “we are not going to make America great again…it was never that great” The lefty America haters swooned…

New York Governor Cuomo is going after the NRA and isn’t even trying to deny it. We reported on this outrageous effort (see our previous report below) to drain the coffers of the gun rights organization and people didn’t believe it…Well, listen to what he says he’s going to do to bankrupt the NRA:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

In Frantic Text to DOJ’s Bruce OHR, Christopher Steele Hopes “Important Firewalls Will Hold”

Authored by Sara Carter via SaraCarter.com

Newly released text messages between Steele and Ohr before Comey’s congressional testimony raise questions.

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

John Brennan: Revoking Security Clearance an Attack on ‘Free Speech’

Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director John Brennan called President Donald Trump’s decision Wednesday to revoke his security clearance an “attempt to suppress freedom of speech” and to “punish critics.”

[Comment: Traitor.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Mark Levin Warns “Communist” Brennan and “Phony” Media on Security Clearance [Video]

If you’ve never heard one of Mark Levin’s rants, this one is a great one because it goes through all of the players in the WITCH HUNT against President Trump. We think it encompasses all that’s been going on with the intel community, Obama administration and the phony media. In a nutshell, the epic rant below calls out all three entities on their effort to destroy President Trump and asks why these dirty cops deserve a security clearance at all. Who’s next?

“When they had power they didn’t stop the Russians, the Chinese, the North Koreans, they funded the Iranians & are responsible for the greatest scandal in American history by interfering with our election & trying to undermine the Trump Campaign and Trump Presidency.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Media Danger

It was perplexing to read a recent column by my friend Juan Williams where he hammered President Trump for attacking the media as the enemy of the people.

Said Juan: “Trump doesn’t want his followers to trust the press. By tarnishing news reporters, he is telling his fans to ignore reporting on possible collusion and his possible obstruction of justice.”

While it is true that the President does not want Americans to trust the press, isn’t it also true that he has a good reason for that?

Any rational person knows that the national media has been supremely hostile to Donald Trump from the very beginning of his political journey. That is way beyond any doubt.

And on a personal note, why would Juan Williams trust the leftist press after what members of it did to him?

The year was 2010, Juan was on The O’Reilly Factor and said he became nervous when some Muslims boarded his plane after what occurred on 9/11.

A few hours later, Juan Williams was fired from his position as a news analyst for [NPR].

After the firing, Juan said this about NPR: “I don’t fit into their box. I’m not a predictable black liberal.”

Also after Juan’s sacking, Fox News gave him a new contract. He remains there today.

So Juan Williams should be very conversant on the biased media, and surely he has seen the statistics that show more than 90 percent of nightly network news coverage is against Donald Trump. It would be impossible for Juan Williams not to know that.

Therefore, Juan’s outrage over the President’s anti-media screeds, doesn’t quite stack.

What is Mr. Trump supposed to do? Not fight back against a media that actively seeks to destroy him?

Juan fought back with words against the same liberal media, did he not?…

           — Hat tip: Dora [Return to headlines]
 

Minds.com’s Bill Ottman: People Are Abandoning Big Tech

Minds.com CEO Ottman lays out solutions to the Big Tech censorship purge.

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

New Mexico Jihad Compound Mysteriously Destroyed by Authorities

New Mexico authorities have executed a court order to destroy an encampment where the son of a famous New York Imamritualistically murdered his three-year-old son and trained nearly a dozen other children to commit school shootings, according to Taos, NM prosecutors.

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

Nolte: Vatican ‘No Comment’ About Hundreds of Predator Priests Abusing 1,000 Children

The Vatican had “no comment” when asked about hundreds of Pennsylvania priests sexually abusing a thousand children.

Where is Pope Francis?

Where is the moral leader of the Catholic Church?

Where is the compassionate, accessible Wheelchair Pope, the Energizer Bunny Pope, the Cynicism-Busting Pope who has always been so eager to comment on every hot button issue, from Global Warming to immigration to homosexuality?

I know where Francis is not. He is not where he should be, in Pennsylvania overseeing a revolutionary and historic house cleaning of a satanic cancer that infects his Church, a 70-year-old cancer of priests and bishops and cardinals who are guilty of either engaging in an organized cabal to rape little boys and girls, or in covering up those unspeakable crimes.

Worse still, not only is Francis not in Pennsylvania personally disinfecting his Church, all we are hearing from the Vatican, the same Vatican that knew well in advance this utterly damning grand jury report was coming out, is “no comment.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Oh Good: Hundreds of Newspapers Ran Editorials Today in a Planned, Coordinated Attack on Trump

There is a difference between opinion writing and propaganda.

Opinion writing reflects the independent opinion of the individual or institution expressing itself. It’s for the purpose of persuading, but also of letting you know the bias of the writer. It’s designed to contribute the the larger discussion of ideas that takes place in a free society, and to be upfront about the thinking of the writer.

If you read it and it makes you think, then the writer did his or her job.

Propaganda looks the same but is actually a very different animal. Propaganda is typically organized and coordinated with a specific outcome in mind. Propaganda disguises itself as independent and honest, but it’s really driven an agenda of manipulation. If those reading aren’t persuaded to take the side of Party A over Party B, then the propaganda didn’t work.

Now, the news media would have you believe politicians are propagandists, whereas they are the honest straight-shooters with no agenda and no intent to manipulate. It upsets them very much when President Trump and others suggest that they, in fact, are propagandists and are engaged in the very thing they claim to check in others.

Yet today they ham-handedly proved him right:…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Paul Suggests Granting Assange Immunity in Exchange for Congressional Testimony: Report

Julian Assange should be let off the hook for releasing stolen material through his WikiLeaks website if he agrees to testify in person before lawmakers investigating his publication of Democratic Party documents, Sen. Rand Paul said in an interview published Wednesday.

“I think that he should be given immunity from prosecution in exchange for coming to the United States and testifying,” said Mr. Paul, Kentucky Republican.

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

President Trump Revokes Security Clearance for Obama’s Former CIA Director John Brennan [Video]

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders started her press conference today by announcing that President Trump has made the decision to revoke the security clearance of Barack Obama’s former CIA Director and radical leftist, John Brennan.

It’s about time…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Prosecutors Mulling Charges for Teen Who Pushed Friend Off Bridge

Authorities say prosecutors are considering criminal charges for a teenager accused of pushing a 16-year-old girl off a Washington state bridge.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit announced Tuesday that it finished its investigation and is handing over the case to the prosecutor’s office to recommend criminal charges for Taylor Smith, 18, who is accused of pushing Jordan Holgerson, 16, off a bridge in Moulton Falls on August 7, the Columbian reported.

The sheriff’s office said that Smith is cooperating with the authorities.

A video of the incident showed Holgerson plunging 60 feet into the Lewis River in Moulton Falls, causing her to suffer five broken ribs and other injuries from the fall. Holgerson was standing on the bridge when Smith allegedly came up from behind and pushed her.

Holgerson had been released from a local hospital Thursday and is recovering from her injuries at home, but a trauma surgeon at the hospital said it could take months for her to recover fully.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Remains of Child Found at New Mexico ‘Jihadi’ Compound Are Confirmed to be Missing Boy From Georgia

Authorities have confirmed on Thursday that the remains of a child found at a New Mexico “jihadi” compound are those of a missing Georgia boy.

The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator confirmed that the remains were those of Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, according to the Associated Press.

The FBI and Georgia police launched an investigation into Wahhaj, who was suspected of abducting his 4-year-old son, Abdul-Ghani, in December from Jonesboro, Georgia.

[Comment: Yet, there is a court order to destroy the compound!]

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

Scientists Warn That Millions of Sea Creatures Are “In Real Peril” As Pacific Ocean Temperatures Rise to Dangerous New Records

Ocean temperatures continue to rise, and scientists are extremely alarmed as a mass die-off of sea creatures appears to be imminent. This week, environmental experts were stunned when ocean water off of the San Diego coast hit an all-time record high of 81.3 degrees Fahrenheit. Daily measurements began all the way back in 1916, and since that time a higher ocean temperature has never been recorded off of the California coast. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Studies have shown that ocean temperatures have been rising rapidly all over the planet, and this has already had a devastating impact on many ecosystems. The oceans are the foundation of the food chain, and if sea life starts dying off on a massive scale it could mean unprecedented famine all over the planet.

So I hope that people out there are taking this very seriously. Our planet is going through dramatic changes, and the numbers don’t lie. The reading of 81.3 degrees off of the San Diego coast was confirmed by two separate buoys…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The Unsavory Rot Uncovered in Catholic Dioceses

Outside of the Catholic Church, high-risk, sexually violent and repeat sex offenders are required to register on sex offender registries for life, and in California are listed on the Megan’s Law public website. Within the Catholic Church, homosexual priests are offered rehabilitation. Pedophile priests are moved to another parish and avoid prosecution. Why should or would Catholic parents send their children into harms way to Catholic schools inside Catholic parishes run by corrupted Bishops?

The explosive news Tuesday that the long-awaited state grand jury report into sexual abuse in six Pennsylvania dioceses has finally been released, with horrifying abuses exposed over many decades.

“The report cites 301 priests, clergy and lay teachers with credible allegations against them,”KDKA-TV Pittsburg reported. “There are 99 in the Diocese of Pittsburgh alone. Of those 99, a group of four groomed and violently sexually assaulted young boys,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Tom Fitton: Strzok’s Firing Proves That Mueller’s Investigation is Compromised

JW President Tom Fitton appeared on “After the Bell” on the Fox Business Network to discuss how the firing of former FBI agent Peter Strzok proves that special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation is flawed.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Tom Fitton: Peter Strzok Should be Criminally Investigated

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton appeared “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on the Fox Business Network to discuss the firing of former FBI agent Peter Strzok and the Russia probe.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

EU Judicial Body to Suspend Poland for Flouting Freedom of Courts

BRUSSELS — An organization made up of the judiciaries of European Union states said Thursday that it planned to suspend Poland, contending that political interference had rendered its legal system no longer independent of the government.

The European Network of Councils for the Judiciary’s (ENCJ) announcement added to widespread criticism of the nationalist government’s changes to the courts since coming to power in late 2015.

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

Eyes on the Prize-Fighters

A random guy on Twitter with a few thousand followers, Landon Simms, tweeted on Sunday night:

“My grandfather is a 96-yr-old German. When seeing Antifa videos, he shakes his head and says; ‘We didn’t think it could happen in Germany either. These people (Antifa) act and sound like the NAZI party’s Sturmabteilung. Stop them now or you’ll regret it.’“

In short order, Simms’ tweet had gotten a Kardashian-level number of retweets, well surpassing CNN’s average viewership. (And you wonder why the left is fixated on ending free speech on the Internet.)

[Comment: this 96 yr old German confirms the truth…and provides sage advice.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Far-Left Anarchist Extremists Take Credit for Bombing Italian Populist Party Office

Italian far left extremists have taken credit for the bombing of an office of the populist Lega party, with police finding and disarming a second explosive device.

The office, located in the city of Treviso near Venice, was targetted by a rudimentary explosive device on Sunday which did some damage to the door at the entrance of the building but failed to harm anyone, Corriere Della Sera reports.

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

France: The Rise and Fall of Emmanuel Macron

When Emmanuel Macron was elected president of France in May 2017, he was portrayed as a reformer who was going to change everything in France and beyond.

Fourteen months later, illusions are gone. The reforms carried out have been essentially cosmetic and failed to slow France’s sclerotic decline. Economic growth is close to zero: 0.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2018. Unemployment, at around 8.9%, remains high. French public spending as a percent of GDP is, at 56.4%, still the highest in Europe. The country is still frequently paralyzed by public transportation strikes. No-go zones continue to spread, and Macron himself recently admitted his helplessness by asking for a “general mobilization” of the population. Riots are frequent; large-scale public events lead to looting and arson. The night after the French team’s victory at the soccer World Cup, hundreds of thugs mingling with the crowds broke windows, vandalized banks and ATMs, destroyed street signs and torched cars.

As most economic activity in France stops in July and August, Macron might have thought he could enjoy a summer break. He could not.

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

French ‘Antifascist’ Writer Attacked by Muslims

Schadenfreude, anyone?

Breitbart reports:

Writer Ghislain Gilberti and his son were savagely attacked on Saturday by a group of men shouting “filthy white”, seemingly Islamists enraged by one of his novels, police in France have heard.

Mr Gilbert and his 12-year-old son were attacked in Belfort, France on Saturday following harassment and attempted break-ins. Though an active antifascist, the writer and his family have received death threats from Salafists displeased that the prologue title of the novelist’s bestseller is “jihad”.

Police are investigating after Mr Gilberti was taken to hospital with a broken arm by firemen, following a reported street attack by Salafist Muslims.

Mr Gilberti said he received blows to his back before being called a “filthy white” by four men aged between 20 and 30 years, who held him down while attacking.

I imagine that this “active antifascist” was rather surprised when he was attacked by a gang of non-Whites.

Do you think he shouted “But I’m not a racist!” while being beaten?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Six Left-Wing Extremists Seized at Norway Politics Festival

Six left-wing extremists have been arrested at the Arendalsuka political festival accused of plotting attacks on two populist parties, Stop Islamisation of Norway (SIAN) and Alliance.

Police said some of those arrested had been in possession of pepper spray, and had been actively discussing causing violent acts at the festival online.

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

Soros Foundation to Quit Hungary by End-August

Budapest (AFP) — The foundation run by US billionaire George Soros said Thursday that the last of its operations in Hungary would cease by August 31, with its activities being transferred to Berlin.

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

Swedes Overseas Start Voting in the September Election

Sweden’s general election is fast approaching, with party campaign posters appearing on the country’s streets and political promises making headlines. But while there are still more than three weeks to go until most Swedes head to the polls, voting began on Thursday for those living overseas.

More than half a million Swedes live outside the country and around 165,000 of them are eligible to vote, making up 2.2. percent of the country’s total eligible voters.

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

The Dark History of the European Union

Look up the European Union in any textbook and it will say that its origins stem from the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951.

That is correct but limited. The roots of the European Union are far deeper.

The EU’s true origins include centuries-old history that connects the dreams of kaisers, the ambitions of Adolf Hitler, and a vision for Europe that refuses to die.

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

UK: London 2.0? Crime Soars in Birmingham as White British Become Minority

The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in central England. It has a population of around 2.8 million people, making it the second largest populous county in England after Greater London. The West Midlands is currently made up of seven districts including: Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Sandwell, Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry. The largest of these districts is Birmingham, a city with a population of around 1.1 million people.

It is likely that White British people are now a minority population within Birmingham. The last official figures that we can reference are from 2011, when 53.14% of the population were classified as White British. If this is the case, then Birmingham will join London, Leicester, Luton and Slough as cities where the native population make up less than 50%.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Manchester Mosque Sermon ‘Called for Armed Jihad’, Say Scholars

A sermon at the mosque where the Manchester bomber worshipped called for the support of armed jihadist fighters, according to two Muslim scholars.

An imam at Didsbury Mosque in December 2016 was recorded praying for “victory” for “our brothers and sisters right now in Aleppo and Syria and Iraq”.

Scholars Usama Hasan and Shaykh Rehan said it referred to “military jihad”.

The imam, Mustafa Graf, says his sermon did not call for armed jihad and he has never preached radical Islam.

The recording the BBC obtained is of Friday prayers at the mosque six months before Salman Abedi detonated a suicide bomb following an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in May 2017.

Abedi and his family regularly attended the mosque and his father sometimes led the call to prayer…

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]
 

UK: NHS Doc Suspended for Negligently Killing Child Allowed to Practice Again After Racism Accusations

An NHS doctor of Nigerian origin convicted of gross negligence manslaughter in the death of a six-year-old boy has been given permission to return to work after critics said she never would have been suspended if she “was white.”

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

Is it Time to Consider Yanking Turkey’s NATO Membership?

The latest attempt to secure the release of American Pastor Andrew Brunson through normal court procedures has failed. (Though to their credit, the Turks did release the Amnesty International representative and two Greek soldiers they’ve been holding hostage.) An escalating series of sanctions and tariffs between our two nations continue to ratchet up. To date, none of this has been effective and Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains defiant. Is there anything that can be done?

[…]

Turkey has gone from being one of the more promising democracies in the Muslim world only a couple of decades ago to something indistinguishable from any other totalitarian state today. Democratic principles have been erased and to call the Turks unreliable allies at this point is a tragic understatement. More severe measures may be required, and there have been renewed suggestions that perhaps it’s time to expel Turkey from NATO.

This isn’t the first time the idea has been proposed. There were officials suggesting this drastic course of action back in July of 2016, shortly after the failed coup attempt. Nothing came of it then and, despite how satisfying such a course of action might be, it’s unlikely that anything will come of it now.

[…]

Turkey’s geographic position is critical in a number of ways, not least of which is the fact that they are the southern “gateway” to NATO territory. The alliance would have a much larger southern border to defend without them. Also, they have the most formidable military (besides the United States) in the alliance. As far as European military resources go, NATO would be left relying on Germany (whose military is seriously broken at the moment), France and Britain. Most of the rest of the member nations are comparatively defenseless.

In the end, Erdogan as a NATO member is probably less dangerous than as an incensed enemy who has been kicked out. It’s the old saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.[…]

[NOTE: Read the whole thing. Geopolitics *does* count]

           — Hat tip: Dora [Return to headlines]
 

Qatar Pledges $15 Billion to Invest in Turkey

The flailing Turkish lira rebounded slightly on Thursday, on the heels of Qatar’s announcement that it would earmark $15 billion for deposits and investment projects to be made in Turkey.

The massive pledge came during a visit by Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Ankara on Wednesday, where he met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Qatar & Turkey’s relationship goes beyond strategic partnerships,” Qatar’s interior minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani tweeted in the wake of the announcement.

“We have stood together and will continue to do so,” he said, making clear the high-level meeting was meant to communicate unequivocal support for Turkey at a critical juncture.

The leaders engaged in three hours of talks on Wednesday, according to Erdogan’s press office, discussing bilateral relations and regional developments.

Turkey has proven a key ally for Qatar over the past year, helping the tiny Gulf nation ride out a more than 14-month blockade by its powerful neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, with which it shares its only land border…

           — Hat tip: Dora [Return to headlines]
 

The Emerging Moscow-Ankara Axis

by Srdja Trifkovic

The United States has created “chaos” in its management of foreign affairs, Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu said on August 13. “There is confusion in the U.S. administration, and no one knows who is doing what,” Çavusoglu said after meeting his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Ankara. “We are at a turning point in the world . . . to multipolarity,” Lavrov responded at a joint news conference. He called new U.S. sanctions, including those targeting Russian and Turkish economy, an “unlawful and illegitimate” policy which will ultimately undermine the dollar as a settlement currency.

The two ministers further said that Russia and Turkey would take steps to “enhance their strategic partnership.” They agreed to continue talks for the full implementation of Astana agreement, which envisages creation of de-escalation zones in Syria and includes Iran (much to U.S. chagrin) as a key signatory. The “strategic partnership” also has a major economic and military dimension. Turkey is enthusiastic about the TurkStream natural gas pipeline from Russia, which is under construction. It has started major work on a $20 billion, 1,200 MW Russian-built nuclear power plant at Akkuyu. It has paid $2.5 billion for Russia’s state-of-the-art S-400 anti-aircraft missile system. Trade, tourism, investment, arms sales and military-to-military ties have reached unprecedented levels, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies…

           — Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic [Return to headlines]
 

Chinese Diners Flock to North Korea on Seafood Day Trips

Voracious Chinese gourmands from the northeastern Liaoning and Jilin provinces are joining one-day trips to hop across the border to gorge themselves on North Korean seafood. The numbers of visitors involved are so significant that this could become a valued source of foreign exchange revenue for a benighted Communist nation hit by embargoes and sanctions.

Chinese foodies are flocking to markets across the border in North Hamgyong and North Pyongan provinces to partake of fresh crab, shellfish, shrimp and oysters, according to a saleswoman from a Jilin-based travel agency operating such day trips, and cited by Global Times, a Beijing publication.

North Korea’s Rason Special Economic Zone was established in 1992 by Kim Il-sung to promote foreign investment. But it is now better-known among Chinese tourists for fresh, cook-to-order seafood that commands a fraction of the prices back home. And conveniently, seafood stall owners are more than happy to accept payments in Chinese yuan.

[…]

There are, however, some restrictions. Chinese diners can visit only designated seafood markets and are not allowed to go elsewhere. No sightseeing is included in the tours.

The only risk? Sometimes Chinese customs officials do not allow compatriots to bring back raw seafood they bought at the markets.

But the rumored upcoming state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pyongyang may spell ill for northern seafood venders and their Chinese patrons.

Reports in Jilin and Liaoning say that, to ensure absolute border security and to make Xi’s trip a smooth one, travel agencies have been ordered to cancel all cross-border seafood tours until further notice.

           — Hat tip: Dora [Return to headlines]
 

Google Employees Blast Company for Involvement in Dragonfly, The Censored Chinese Search Engine

Google employees blasted their employer in an open letter for its part in creating a censored search engine in China, citing the company’s unofficial “Don’t be evil” motto.

“Google’s mission statement literally says, ‘Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible.’ Censorship directly contradicts making information accessible. … It’s like Google capitulating to an oppressive organization. … First it was the military industrial complex, now it’s China,” an anonymous Google employee told BuzzFeed News.

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

Six Chinese Family Members Accused of Smuggling Millions of Cigarettes Into Australia by Hiding Them in Tiles Are Charged With Laundering $11 Million in Organised Crime Money

A Chinese family has been charged with smuggling tobacco into Australia and dealing with the proceeds of a crime.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

South African Farmers Panic After List of Apparent Expropriation Targets Published

A list of white farmers whose lands are to be seized without compensation in South Africa has been published by the local minority rights group AfriForum. The government denies the accuracy of the list.

The group has uploaded the list of the next land-expropriation victims on its website. AfriForum said it obtained the list through the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform ministry, which has denied its veracity.

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

Hyperinflation Has Destroyed Venezuela

Authored by Alex Deluce via GoldTelegraph.com

Has coffee become an unattainable luxury? It is if you live in Venezuela’s capital of Caracas.

In July, the price of a cup of coffee was 2 million bolivars. In a country where the minimum wage has been raised to 3 million bolivars, coffee has become as unaffordable as food, housing, clothing, and medicine.

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

Aquarius Ship Arrives in Malta After Migrant-Sharing Deal

The Aquarius rescue ship arrived in Malta on Wednesday after EU countries thrashed out a deal to take in the 141 migrants onboard, defusing another diplomatic standoff in the Mediterranean.

Loud cheers could be heard from the ship as it pulled into the Grand Harbour in Valletta, five days after the migrants, most of them Somalis and Eritreans, were rescued off Libya. Some flashed peace signs and waved from the deck.

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

Asylum Seeker Terror Suspect Granted British Citizenship Just Weeks Before Failed Attack

The man being held by counter-terror police in relation to an apparent attempted attack against the Palace of Westminster was granted British citizenship just weeks before his arrest.

Salih Khater, the 29-year-old Birmingham resident who was pulled out of his crashed silver Ford Fiesta car early on Tuesday morning after it was driven through a crowd of cyclists and smashed into a security barrier at speed, came to the United Kingdom in 2010 as an asylum seeker…

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]
 

Democrat Somali Immigrant Wins Primary for MN State House Seat Vacated by Somali Muslim Who Allegedly Married Her Brother… Gives Acceptance Speech in Somali Language

Independent investigative journalist, Amy Mek, who has been tweeting about radical Muslims, and the threat they pose to America just released a very interesting development in Minnesota politics. Mek was recently the target of a doxing (releasing her identity, address, and names of family members) campaign by Huffington Post writer Luke O’Brien, who was eventually suspended from Twitter after his unprofessional behavior caused Amy Mek and her family members concern for their safety.

Earlier today, in a tweet, Mek revealed yet another Somali immigrant turned politician in Minnesota, is replacing the pro-Sharia candidate, Ilhan Omar, who allegedly married her brother and is now seeking the seat of Muslim US Congressman, Keith Ellison, who is also the Vice Chair of the DNC and is running for AG in Minnesota. Ellison is also under investigation by the DNC for allegedly beating and verbally abusing his former Democrat girlfriend, after his former girlfriend, Karen Monahan’s son revealed that he viewed a video of Ellison dragging his mother off the bed by her ankles and screaming,”Get the f*ck out of my house!” (No, we didn’t make any of this up!)

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Yazidi Teenager Meets ISIS Captor Who Enslaved Her; He’s Now a “Refugee” in Germany

A Yazidi teenager who was enslaved by the Islamic State has moved back to Iraq after she met her captor on the streets of an area near Stuttgart, Germany where he had registered as a refugee.

Ashwaq Ta’lo said she was walking home in February when she encountered Abu Humam, a former ISIS guard who had previously purchased her for $100.

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

Colleges Offer Courses on “Queering” Children & the Bible

Authored by Caroline Ryan via Campus Reform

This school year, students across the country will attend courses on “Queering the Bible,” “Queering Childhood,” “Queering Theology,” and similar topics.

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

Colorado is Going After Jack Phillips Again, This Time Because He Won’t Bake a Transgender Cake

Just in case you thought Colorado would stop attacking religious freedom because the Supreme Court told it to: Nope.

Mere weeks after being smacked down by the U.S. Supreme Court for its oppression of Christian baker Jack Phillips, the state is coming after Phillips again. The first time it was because he wouldn’t bake a gay wedding cake. This time it’s because, in an obvious setup, someone demanded that he bake a cake celebrating transgenderism.

When Phillips refused, as everyone knew he would, a lawyer for this individual filed a discrimination complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Now, you’d think that after being rebuked by SCOTUS for its first attempt to violate Phillips’s rights, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission would be a little more circumspect about going after him again.

You think that, but you’d be wrong. Phillips himself tells what’s going on:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

New Face of Democrats!! Transgender Running for Governor Admits on CNN They Don’t Even Know What Socialism is!! [Video]

It was a bizarre night in Vermont as Christine Hallquist became the first transgender to win a nomination for governor for a major party. Which party is that? The Democrats, of course! Hallquist, who’s deep voice doesn’t quite match the cute dress, was later being interviewed on CNN. If seeing the man walk around in women’s clothes wasn’t a bit out of the ordinary, then what you see on the video from CNN might be even more startling considering this person is running for governor and now Hallquist has openly admitted that he doesn’t even know what socialism is.

Is this who the Democrats want to become a governor? It’s one thing to not have any political experience, as Hallquist was a former energy company executive, but wouldn’t it be nice if the person who wins the primary can at least explain the basics of one of the most destructive political schemes to exist, one which has clearly ruined places like Venezuela?

Let’s watch the video which was posted on Twitter by CRTV’s account.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

7 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 8/16/2018

  1. Interesting that the DOJ’s Phr’s wife got a shortwave radio license circa March 2016, as the Hillary/DNC Russo-Brit election interference and subsequent ( and ongoing) coup against Trump took off. No records, no trail. Espionage?

  2. I can see where covering the real news can get depressing. It’s like the “privileged” class is bent on mutual mass suicide pacts.

    But one item did catch my eye:

    And on a personal note, why would Juan Williams trust the leftist press after what members of it did to him?

    The year was 2010, Juan was on The O’Reilly Factor and said he became nervous when some Muslims boarded his plane after what occurred on 9/11.

    A few hours later, Juan Williams was fired from his position as a news analyst for [NPR].

    After the firing, Juan said this about NPR: “I don’t fit into their box. I’m not a predictable black liberal.”

    Also after Juan’s sacking, Fox News gave him a new contract. He remains there today.

    So Juan Williams should be very conversant on the biased media, and surely he has seen the statistics that show more than 90 percent of nightly network news coverage is against Donald Trump. It would be impossible for Juan Williams not to know that.

    Therefore, Juan’s outrage over the President’s anti-media screeds, doesn’t quite stack.

    The case of Juan Williams is a textbook example of the dangers of assuming that refugees from a dangerous, deteriorated socialist failed state like Sweden can be assumed to oppose liberal policies after their experience. Quite the opposite: they cling to their socialist ideas, thinking that socialism was simply not implemented correctly, and can’t wait to have another go at it.

    Williams is an amiable dunce who takes his regular pummeling by Fox News commentators with good humor. But, even after his experience with NPR, he is an Obama supporter and a connoisseur of all ideas leftist.

    The lesson: refugees from failed states will bring the policies of their home country with them.

  3. It seems strange to me that the stories about Brennan’s revoked security clearance imply that he still had access to classified information after he left his job with the CIA. I had a security clearance when I was in the Army. I was taught that a security clearance alone did NOT allow one to have access to classified information. You must have both a security clearance and a “need to know” that specific information in order to perform the duties of your job. When Brennan left his post at the CIA, he no longer had a need to know any classified information in order to do his government job. Was he still allowed access to classified information, even without a “need to know”?

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