The number of migrants arriving in Italy decreased by 62% in August compared with the same period last year. However, the difference was more than made up by arrivals in Spain and Greece, with more than 70,000 crossing the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year.
In other news, 50,000 natives emigrated from Romania in the first seven months of 2018.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Andy Bostom, Dora, 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.
Finland Retains Standard & Poor’s AA+ Rating, Stable Outlook
The credit rating agency said Finland still needs to implement reforms to address “the growth challenges posed by a decreasing and aging workforce.”
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s announced Friday that it is affirming Finland’s credit rating at AA+, citing a stable outlook for the country. AA+ is the agency’s second-highest rating. S&P said that it expected the Finnish economy to maintain its current growth trend, but projected that it would slow down in 2019.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Tsipras: We’ll Not Repeat Mistakes That Caused Crisis
‘Our reformist effort will continue’
(ANSA) — STRASBOURG, SEPTEMBER 11 — “We are determined not to repeat the mistakes that led us to a crisis”. This is what Greece’s prime minister Alexis Tsipras said, speaking at the plenary session of the European Parliament today in Strasbourg.
“Our reformist effort will continue — the premier added — and we will continue on the path to a balanced budget”.
Tsipras recalled that “three years later we are now a different country, and this is a success of the Greek people, but also a success of Europe that has shown how a spirit of solidarity and cooperation is able to overcome crises”. And then: “Today we look to the future with optimism, thanks to the sacrifices of the pagan Greek people”. Tsipras,we will not repeat mistakes that caused Greek crisis
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
“No More, Papi”: Taco Bell Employee Kicks Customer Out for Ordering in English
A couple attempting to order food at a Taco Bell in the Miami suburb of Hialeah, FL were refused service and kicked out by an employee for ordering in English on Wednesday night at approximately 10:30 p.m., reports the Miami Herald.
In the video, which was posted Thursday night, Montgomery asked the annoyed woman, “Do you have a manager here?”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“They Just Evacuated Us”: Conspiracy Theories Run Wild After FBI Shuts Down Solar Observatory
The National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico was raided and shut down by the FBI on September 6 over an undisclosed national security issue, stirring up a wide array of conspiracy theories on YouTube, social media and tabloids.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Climate Change Czar: U.N. Pacts Are ‘Changing the Weather’
Patricia Espinosa, the executive secretary of U.N. Climate Change, made the astonishing claim Wednesday that nations are effectively “changing the weather” by following the measures established by the Paris climate accord.
“By raising our ambition to address climate change. We are doing more than just changing the weather; we are building a better future, a future that is cleaner, greener, and more prosperous for all,” Espinosa said at a meeting with climate leaders at the Fairmont San Francisco hotel.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florence May be Costliest Storm in US History at $170 Billion in Damage
Hurricane Florence may become the costliest storm in US history, according to analytics firm CoreLogic, which says that damages may exceed $170 billion and affect 759,000 homes and businesses, reports CBS Chicago.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Google Partners With Federal Education Department to Mine Private Student Data
A video recorded by Google and sent to Breitbart News revealed the tech giant will continue to push its Chromebooks and other products into schools as they collect personal student data — all with the blessing of the federal education department.
In the video released Wednesday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai responded to an employee’s question about whether the company is willing to “invest in grassroots, hyper-local efforts to bring tools and services and understanding of Google products and knowledge” so that people can “make informed decisions that are best for themselves.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Google is Losing “Don’t be Evil” In Its Code of Conduct, And What’s Left is Corporate Jargon
When it comes to corporate slogans, Google’s “Don’t be evil” has always been refreshingly clear. The three simple words mesh an irreverent tone with a sense of morality and justice—regardless of whether the company actually lived up to it.
Yet the search giant is minimizing “Don’t be evil,” at least in its official code of conduct. According to Gizmodo and archives from the Wayback machine, some time between late April and early May, references to the slogan in the document have been removed except for one brief mention, at the end.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
GOP Gives Up on Repealing ObamaCare
Republican lawmakers have made it clear they have no intention of repealing Obamacare in the current Congress.
Republicans in the nation’s top lawmaking body have never really wanted to get rid of Obamacare. They would prefer to present the program, which David Horowitz correctly describes as “the greatest assault on individual freedom and individual choice in our lifetimes,” as a villain and whip up sentiment against it and run against it every election. They view Obamacare as good for the business of politics. They may chip away at it from time to time or tinker with it at the margins, but make no mistake: these creatures of Washington want to keep it in place. This is the Republicans’ dirty secret…
It’s the same old same old. And it’s not going to change unless reliable hardcore conservatives take over Congress.
[Comment: They would if they were forced to use it like everyone else and did not have a special health plan for congress critters.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Gravitational Waves Provide Dose of Reality About Extra Dimensions
While last year’s discovery of gravitational waves from colliding neutron stars was earth-shaking, it won’t add extra dimensions to our understanding of the universe—not literal ones, at least.
University of Chicago astronomers found no evidence for extra spatial dimensions to the universe based on the gravitational wave data. Their research, published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, is one of many papers in the wake of the extraordinary announcement last year that LIGO had detected a neutron star collision.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Here’s What Kavanaugh Supposely ‘Did’ According to the Feinstein Letter; It’s a…
However, if you want to know what was in the possibly-real missive, The Guardian has you covered. They claim to know the contents of “the letter” and, as you might expect, it’s pretty underwhelming.
A source who said they were briefed on the contents of the letter said it described an incident involving Kavanaugh and a woman that took place when both were 17 years old and at a party. According to the source, Kavanaugh and a male friend had locked her in a room against her will, making her feel threatened, but she was able to get out of the room. The Guardian has not verified the apparent claims in the letter. It is not yet clear who wrote it.
Huh. So….that’s it? I mean, if that’s all there is, this is….nothing. It’s less than nothing. It’s barely an anecdote. It’s the nothingburger to end all nothingburgers.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
“I hope Hurricane Florence washes away all the racists”
Racist leftists on Twitter are salivating at the prospect of white people and Trump supporters being killed by Hurricane Florence…
These individuals don’t seem to grasp that over 3 million people in the Carolinas voted for Hillary Clinton and that hurricanes don’t discriminate based on political preference.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Mattis’ Islam Denial: “Insider Killings” Are Counterinsurgency Killings
by Andrew Bostom
Secretary of Defense Mattis remains stubbornly and callously oblivious to the timeless wisdom of Saint-Exupéry, re-affirmed by more than a decade of identical bloody experiences with our Afghan Muslim “allies,” whose own “love of Allah takes precedence.” Simply put, “insider killings” are a direct consequence of Mattis’ failed, morally repugnant COIN doctrine…
| — Hat tip: Andy Bostom | [Return to headlines] |
Residents Line Up to Foster Shelter Animals During Hurricane Florence
Before Hurricane Florence hit the Carolinas, residents were lining up at local shelters to help keep the animals safe for the duration of the storm.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter CEO Admits Conservatives Working for Company “Don’t Feel Safe…”
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey admitted that the social media giant’s staffers who have right-leaning political views don’t feel comfortable to speak up because of the company’s ultra-liberal work environment.
“We have a lot of conservative-leaning folks in the company as well, and to be honest, they don’t feel safe to express their opinions at the company,” Dorsey told New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen in an interview published on Friday by Recode.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Becomes Top Oil Producer Globally
The United States this year became the largest crude oil producer, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia, according to preliminary estimates from the Energy Information Administration.
Although following the June 22 agreement between OPEC and Russia to up production to rein in prices Russia increased its output by more than 200,000 bpd, the average since the start of the year is higher for the United States, where drillers have evidently taken full advantage of higher prices and relatively low costs.
Earlier this week, in its Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA estimated that U.S. crude oil production at 10.9 million bpd in August, an increase of 120,000 bpd from June. Although this was lower than Russia’s 11.21 million bpd for the same month, on average, the U.S. production rate for 2018 so far has been higher, the EIA estimates.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Bishops Head Accused of Ignoring Sex Crimes
My mother is ‘embarassed’ to be Catholic says Cardinal Dolan
(ANSA) — New York, September 14 — The archbishop of Galverston-Houston, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, head of the US Bishops Conference, has been accused of protecting and promoting a priest arrested in recent days in Texas on charges of indecency with children. The cardinal who met with Pope Francis on Thursday to discuss the sex abuse crisis but allegedly knew about at least two episodes of child sexual abuse by Father Manuel La Rosa-Lopez.
La Rosa-Lopez served more than a decade as pastor of a Texas church and was appointed by Cardinal DiNardo to a leading role in the archdiocese. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York has meanwhile gained media attention after telling CNN that his mother was “embarrassed” to say that she is Catholic in public after all the child sex abuse cases that have come to light in recent times. He said that his mother had told him that “I’m not going out for lunch, I’m kind of embarrassed to be Catholic”, adding that “when your own mom is saying that… Last week, Dolan’s diocese was one of eight in New York to receive a subpoena from the state’s attorney general to hand over documents related to the child sex abuse scandal.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The Weather Channel went CNN on us with the fake news that the wind was about to blow a reporter over…This is classic!
This is hysterical! CNN anchor Brian Stelter tweeted out that grass vs cement was the difference…LOL!
The storm has been hyped like crazy by the media so when it was downgraded, the news channels were desperate to make it worse than it was. It’s still causing some flooding and is still a danger but the video above is a perfect example of the way the news tries to make itself sometimes.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Amidst Scandals, Pope’s Popularity Plunges to All-Time Low
Pope Francis’s approval rating has fallen to an all-time low, according to a new CNN poll showing that fewer than 50 percent of Americans now have a favorable opinion of the pontiff.
Fewer than half of Americans (48 percent) now say they have a favorable view of the pope, CNN reported, which represents a significant drop since January 2017, when the pontiff enjoyed a two-thirds approval rating. In December 2013, the year he was elected, Francis’spopularity was higher still, with 72 percent of Americans giving the pope a favorable rating.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ancient Sparta: The First Self-Conscious Ethnostate? Part 1: Educating Citizen Soldiers
If in Athens we have ethnopolitical aspects, insofar as the democracy was tempered by Hellenic virtue, in Sparta we have a State wholly dedicated to systematic organization of the society according to a biopolitical ideal. Sparta’s mixed system of government and fiercely communitarian and hierarchical customs were supposed to have been created by the semi-legendary lawgiver Lycurgus, who perhaps lived in the ninth century B.C. Virtually nothing can be said for certain about his life. Lycurgus was, in later ages, rumored to have traveled to Egypt, Ionia, Crete, and even India, where “he talked with the Gymnosophists,”[1] before establishing Sparta’s constitution. What is clear, in any case, is that the basic law and way of life attributed to Lycurgus, and credited for Sparta’s success, were emphatically biopolitical.
Spartan law and culture were obsessed with systematically ensuring good breeding, martial education, and group unity. Spartan ethics and law considered that what was good was whatever was good for the community. During a debate as to whether a commander had abused his authority, the Spartan king Agesilaus argued: “The point to be examined . . . is simply this: has this action been good or bad for Sparta?”[2] Kevin MacDonald has argued that the law instituted by Lycurgus — featuring in-group altruism, relative egalitarianism, separation from and unity in the face of out-groups, specialization in warfare, and communally-determined in-group eugenics — qualifies as a genuine “altruistic group evolutionary strategy.”[3]
Few forms of government have so drawn the admiration of both liberals and ‘totalitarians’ as that of Sparta. Many republicans, both ancient and modern, have been impressed by the Spartans’ ‘mixed’ system of government, with its combination of monarchic, aristocratic, and democratic elements, as conducive to social unity, stability, and the rule of law. The Founding Fathers of the United States sought to emulate the stability of Sparta’s constitution and saw in it a precursor to their own system of checks and balances. Thinkers of a more communitarian bent, such as Rousseau and Hitler, have for their part admired the city for its rigorous organization in service of the community.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Crime Wave UK: Govt Moves to Stop Knife Sales as Blade Crime Hits 7-Year High
Small businesses have warned against “knee-jerk” legislation as the latest government figures reveal knife crime at its highest level since 2010.
British courts dealt with more than 21,100 knife crime cases in the year to June, according to Ministry of Justice figures. The 36 percent of offences which resulted in a custodial sentence was the highest proportion on record.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Budget Proposal Inadequate — Moavero Tells Oettinger
Minister calls on Commission to be more ambitious
(ANSA) — Rome, September 13 — Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi on Thursday told European Budget Commissioner Gunther Oettinger that the Commission’s proposal for the EU’s new multiannual budget “appears inadequate”. Moavero said that the proposal “does not sufficiently respond to citizens’ concerns and expectations”, the foreign ministry said in a statement after a meeting in Rome. It said that Moavero hoped the Commission would be “more courageous in identifying additional sources for EU budget resources”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
‘EU is Like the Titanic!’ Top Economist Uses Brilliant Analogy to Describe Brexit
Brexit supporting economist Gerard Lyons compared the European Union to the “Titanic” and explained why he thought the UK needed to “jump ship” from the Brussels club.
Mr Lyons used the analogy before outlining the kind of relationship the UK should be seeking with the EU in negotiations. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Mr Lyons, co-author of Clean Brexit and Chief Economic Strategist at Netwealth Investments, claimed the euro was “fundamentally flawed”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Finland’s interior minister has proposed a greater police presence in migrant-populated suburbs in order to avoid the problems neighbouring Sweden has faced in recent years.
Interior Minister Kai Mykkänen has said that he wants to beef up the number of police in suburbs and have them work with social services to avoid the potential buildup of criminal gangs in areas with high populations of migrant-background residents, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Five Star Movement Proposes Stripping Mainstream Media’s Public Funding
The Italian anti-establishment Five Star Movement have set their sights on the mainstream media, proposing to cut public funding to various outlets and create a new Netflix-like subscription service to give Italians access to all newspapers.
The proposal is being championed by Five Star Movement politician Vito Crimi, who specifically targetted former Italian prime minister and media baron Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the Forza Italia party, declaring that “for Silvio Berlusconi, the easy ride is over,” Il Giornale reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Bataclan Terrorist Abdeslam Insults Prison Workers as ‘Dogs’, ‘Infidels’
Radical Islamic terrorist Salah Abdeslam, who took part in the 2015 Bataclan massacre in Paris, is said to regularly insult prison guards and refers to them as “infidels”.
Reports from the Fleury-Mérogis prison describe Abdeslam’s incredibly aggressive behaviour, with one noting: “ABDESLAM, Salah threatened the supervisor XXX during the distribution of the meal, in these terms: ‘Why are you looking at me loser? You’re a loser, come to my cell and I’ll explain. I am a Muslim and you are infidels, dogs; one day, it will change, you will kiss my feet’,” Le Figaro reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fury as it’s Revealed One Convicted Terrorist Released From Prison Every Week in UK
Home Office data indicates 46 prisoners who were arrested for terrorism offences were released between March 2017 and March 2018.
Chris Phillips, the former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, said: “These people are bloody dangerous.
“If you’re going to release hardened terrorists onto the streets then you have to expect chaos.
“How on earth can police and security services be expected to manage all this with the resources they’ve got?”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Goodbye EU? More and More Countries Stand With Hungary Against EU Sanctions
Several government officials oppose the European Parliament’s sanctions against Hungary. Besides Poland and Italy, the Czech Republic now said the sanctions against Viktor Orban’s government are unjust.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis called Viktor Orban an ally on Thursday and said the European Parliament was wrong to issue sanctions on Hungary and its government.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Railways: Friuli-Ljubljana Cross-Border Service Was Opened
‘Italy and Slovenia are even closer now’
(ANSA) — TRIESTE SEPTEMBER 9 — From today, Italy and Slovenia are even closer thanks to the reopening of the Udine-Trieste-Ljubljana railway line. The new cross-border service, established thanks to the co-operation between Friuli Venezia Giulia and Slovenia, was openend to the public this morning at Trieste central station, and the ceremony was attended, among others, by the EU Transport Commissioner, Violeta Bulc, Slovenia’s Infrastructure minister, Peter Gaspersic, Italy’s Undersecretary for Infrastructures and Transport, Armando Siri and the governor of the FVG Region, Massimiliano Fedriga. The service provides two daily connections per week: the Udine-Trieste-Ljubljana connection and the Trieste-Ljubljana connection, with 7 stops in Italy and 9 in Slovenia.
“This is a very important day not only for Italy and Slovenia”, said the EU Commissioner. As for transport, she added, “the EU aims to invest in the development of railway networks, in order to support not only economic growth but also social and economic interconnection”. The Udine-Trieste-Ljubliana connection, that was operational until March 2008, represents “a very important project that is part of strengthening relations between Italy and Slovenia”, undersecretary for Infrastructure Siri underlined, and after the restoration of the Udine-Ljubljana link, the Region Friuli Venezia Giulia aims to go even further: “I hope — said President Fedriga — that from next year we will be able to connect FVG with Austria and Vienna”. This link — dating back to the Habsburg empire — is part of the CrossMoby project, within the Interreg Italy-Slovenia cross-border cooperation program, coordinated by the FVG Region, which plays the role of management authority and guarantor of the co-financing of the European Regional Development Funding.
We are now hoping, said Slovenia’s Infrastructure Minister Gaspersic, “to have soon an extension of the network to Venice”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: We’ll Force Papers to Publish Financiers — Toninelli
Vows to make media funding transparent
(ANSA) — Rome, September 14 — Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said Friday the government would force newspapers to divulge the names of all those who fund them.
Toninelli is a leading figure in the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) which has vowed to make media funding transparent and uncover allegedly biased interests.
On Monday Deputy Premier and Labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio, the M5S leader, blasted Italian newspapers’ coverage of the government and said legislation is on the way to ensure media organs are not seeking to further hidden economic interests.
“The operation to discredit this government continues without rest,” Di Maio said on Facebook.
“The newspaper publishers have their hands in the pasta everywhere in State concessions: motorways, telecommunications, energy, water.
“The order to attack the M5S with any type of falsehood and conjecture came from the owners.
“This is no longer free journalism.
“It is necessary to have a law to ensure the publishers are pure (of other economic interests) and the journalists are free to do investigations”.
The M5S has frequently claimed that interests close to the centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) are behind many newspapers.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Saved From ‘Paris Hilton Prosecco’ Says Farm Minister
Up fight agst Italian-sounding foreign clones
(ANSA) — Verona, September 14 — Italy has been “saved” from 30 million cans of knock-off prosecco produced by Paris Hilton, Farm Minister Gian Marco Centinaio said Friday.
“She says she loves Italy but then she makes prosecco that isn’t prosecco,” he said, vowing to up the fight against Italian-sounding foreign clones of national-treasure food and drink.
“More controls are needed,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Verdini Gets 5 1/2 Yrs for STE Bankruptcy
Parisi gets 5 yrs
(ANSA) — Florence, September 13 — Controversial former Berlusconi ally Denis Verdini on Thursday got five and a half years in jail for the fraudulent bankruptcy of publishing company Società Toscana di Edizioni (STE).
Massimo Parisi, a former MP in Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (FI) party, got five years.
Both men have been banned from holding office in perpetuity.
Three STE managers got three years each.
Verdini is a former FI heavyweight who broke off to form his own centrist party.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Still Set to Veto EU Budget — Di Maio to Oettinger
‘Very concerned’ says deputy PM
(ANSA) — Rome, September 13 — Italy is still set to veto the European Union budget in a row over funds and migrants, Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio said after talking to European Budget Commissioner Guenther Oettinger in Rome Thursday.
“Our position on the planning of the European budget has not changed for the moment,” said Di Maio, who is also labour and industry minister.
“The discussion on the next budget sees us very concerned for now,” he added.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Norway Police Find Missing WikiLeaks Associate’s Kayak
Norwegian police on Thursday said they have found a kayak they believe belonged to a missing WikiLeaks associate who disappeared in mysterious circumstances three weeks ago.
The police released a photo of a white foldable kayak they believe Dutch cyber security expert Arjen Kamphuis bought just before going on a holiday in Norway.
Kamphuis, 47, has not been seen since leaving his hotel in the northern Norwegian town of Bodø on August 20th.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Paragliding “Troll” Has Allegedly Been Terrorizing English Town by Flying Low and Shouting Insults
For the past couple of years, the people of Bexhill-on-Sea, in the UK, have had to put up with the antics of an “evil” paraglider who likes nothing more than to intimidate them by flying super low over their heads and shouting all kinds of obscenities.
Last week, Sussex Police and the Civil Aviation Authority launched a joint investigation into the behavior of the so-called “Bexhill Birdman”, who many have described as a social nuisance. Police have received more than a dozen complaints regarding his behavior in the past two years, and have urged the public to come forth with any information they may have on this issue. The paragliding man is suspected of acting hostile to members of the public, flying really low over their heads to intimidate them and shouting insults and obscenities from the air. Some locals have become so wary of him that they avoid going up Galley Hill, where he usually takes off from.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Romania: 50,000 Inhabitants Lost in Just Seven Months
Demographic crisis accelerates in 2018
(ANSA) — BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 11 — The demographic crisis in Romania is accelerating. According to new data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS), quoted by local media, Romania has lost 48,850 inhabitants in the first seven months of 2018.
The natural decrease of population accelerated by 16 percent in a comparison with the same period of 2017, with the country registering 104,724 births and 153,574 deaths in the first seven months of 2018. One year earlier, Romania recorded 114,214 births and 156,350 deaths between January and July 2017.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Steve Bannon Drafting Curriculum for Right-Wing Catholic Institute in Italy
(Reuters) — Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon is helping to craft the curriculum for a leadership course at a right-wing Roman Catholic institute in Italy, stepping up his efforts to influence conservative thinking in the church.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Refuses to Deport Palestinian Who Firebombed a Synagogue for Fear He Will be Israeli Target
A court in Sweden ruled that a Palestinian man found guilty of throwing a Molotov cocktail at a synagogue cannot be deported to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, prompting a sharp rebuke from Israel.
The Court of Appeal for Western Sweden ruled that Feras Alnadim’s “fundamental human rights” would be threatened because he would be at risk of reprisals.
The court cited Israel’s “potential interest in the case” and “the insecure situation at the border and in the territory”.
Alnadim, 22, was sentenced to two years in prison in June, as one of three men, two Palestinian and one Syrian, found guilty of firebombing a synagogue in Gothenburg on December 9.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
There’s a Leftist Cultural War Against Our Nation and Identity — Swedish Patriotic Leader
Jimmie Åkesson, leader of the right-wing Sweden Democrats (SD) said that the country is in a polarised climate and that a cultural war is underway.
Åkesson, was interviewed, along with his partner, on a popular Swedish chat show called Skavlan. Among other things, the leader of the SD was asked to respond to a Facebook post by one of his party members.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘Racism’ — Senior London Cop Could be Sacked for Using ‘Whiter Than White’ Phrase
A senior Metropolitan Police officer could be sacked for alleged racism after telling colleagues they need to be “whiter than white” while carrying out inquiries.
The detective superintendent, who works in anti-corruption, has been suspended from some duties and faces the possibility of an internal police investigation for gross misconduct.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Hate Crime Officer Wins National Award
Northamptonshire Police’s hate crime officer has won a national award.
Rukhsana Bashir was a joint winner of the Law Enforcement Upstander Award at the No2H8 Crime Awards, held in London last night (September 13).
The award was presented by Met Commissioner Cressida Dick and is given to an individual or organisation that has proactively re-enforced the need for members of the public to report hate crimes and incidents, and has shown significant commitment and dedication while investigating hate crimes.
On being presented with the award, Rukhsana said: “I was in shock at being given the award, especially as I was the only regional person to receive it. It was nice to meet Cressida Dick who was great.”
Met police officer Anthony Forsyth also received the award.
As part of her role Rukhsana spends time with colleagues across the force and with partner organisations providing training so they have a better understanding of hate crime and the action that can be taken to tackle it.
She also organises events for the annual hate crime awareness week, which takes place each October.
| — Hat tip: Seneca III | [Return to headlines] |
Vienna Knife Attacker Gets Life Sentence
A man who stabbed four people in two knife attacks in the Austrian capital Vienna on March 7 was sentenced to life in jail on Thursday.
The 23-year-old Afghan national was found guilty by jurors on four counts of attempted murder.
The attacker did not claim any political motivation for his actions.
A couple and their 17-year-old daughter sustained severe injuries in the first attack near Nestroyplatz metro station, surviving thanks only to a quick response from emergency services.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
White British Girl Held Prisoner by Muslim Grooming Gang for 12 Years and Forced to Have 8 Abortions
Sarah was abducted as a teen from her local Tesco’s car park and held prisoner for 12 YEARS. Repeatedly raped, beaten, forced into marriage and EIGHT forced abortions whilst police did nothing.
Sarah is a white English girl and as a shy 15-year-old was studying at college hoping to train as a midwife. Never even having had a boyfriend, she was forced to marry and was raped minutes later by a man she’d only met a half hour earlier.
Sarah was held captive and abused for 12 years whilst her family pleaded for help from police to find her.
House of Lords cross bencher Baroness Caroline Cox has taken up Sarah’s case. The Baroness describes her case as the most serious example of sex grooming yet to emerge in this country.
“I know Sarah and her family,” explains Baroness Cox. “Every sex grooming case is terrible. But the length and cruelty of her abduction make it the worst I have known.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Why Didn’t Sweden Democrats Do Better?
Let’s not mince words. Last Sunday, in Sweden’s general election, the Sweden Democrats got a disappointing result compared to expectations. Much of the MSM were convinced that there’d surely be a “shy Sweden Democrat effect.” If the opinion polls put the party on 20% and in second place, then they were bound to do even better, maybe even come first [Sweden election polls 2018: Who are the Sweden Democrats? Could anti-EU party WIN?, By Amalie Hendon, Daily Express, September 6, 2018] But, although Sweden Democrats did increase their vote from 12.8% to 17.6%, they remained in third place. What went wrong?
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Faults France for Gaddafi’s Downfall and Migrant Crisis
Since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has turned into a transit point, through which 650,000 refugees have already reached Italy from Africa.
Sputnik political observer Sergei Gashkov takes a look at the situation in the conflict-ridden North African nation and its impact on Europe.
In Rome, the responsibility for the influx of migrants is laid on France, which persuaded NATO countries to get rid of Gaddafi. As a result, Libya is now torn apart by rival factions and an ongoing conflict between its two governments.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium Ends Funding for Palestinian Schools Over Honoring of Terrorist
Belgium has broken its relations with the Palestinian Authority’s education ministry over its honoring of terrorists and will no longer fund the construction of its schools, a government spokesperson said.
The Belgian Education Ministry announced the move — the first of its kind by any European country — this week, the Joods Actueel Jewish newspaper reported Friday.
“As long as school names are used to glorify terrorism, Belgium can no longer cooperate with the Palestinian Education Ministry and will not give out budgets for the construction of schools,” a statement from the ministry said.
Last year, Belgium froze $3.8 million in funding for the construction of two Palestinian schools after a West Bank school that it helped fund was renamed for a terrorist who killed Jewish civilians. Numerous appeals by the Belgian government to have the school renamed have gone unheeded, leading to the end of cooperation, the statement said.
Sometime after 2013, a school built in Hebron with Belgian money was renamed for Dalal Mughrabi, a Palestinian terrorist who was part of a 1978 attack that killed 38 civilians, including 13 children. The school was inaugurated as the Beit Awwa Elementary School for Girls in 2013.
Michael Freilich, editor in chief of Joods Actueel, which has followed the affair closely, congratulated Education Minister Alexander De Croo for his “courageous decision.” Freilich said he hoped other European governments would follow suit, “so that fewer Palestinian children will be educated to hate — at least not with European money.” […]
| — Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
John Kerry in Hot Water With State Department Over Rogue Negotiations With Iran [Video]
Former Secretary of State John Kerry is in hot water with the State Department over his secret meetings with Iran. His “shadow diplomacy” was called out by President Trump in a tweet yesterday:…
The Logan Act:
“Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States” is guilty of a federal offense.
If this isn’t a clear cut case of a federal offense then they need to just get rid of the Logan Act altogether…It’s a joke.
[Comment: State Dept. Trying to cover up for Kerry and try to minimize that this was a blatant breach of Logan Act and is punishable by jail time.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Hizbul Mujahideen Plans ‘Terror Attacks on Hindu Festivals’, Arrested Operative Confirms
Rohit K Singh | HT OnLine | Lucknow | Sept 13, 2018:: An alleged member of Hizbul Mujahideen who planned to attack a temple during Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in Kanpur was arrested on Thursday by the anti-terrorism squad of Uttar Pradesh police, a senior official said.
Director general of police OP Singh said Qamar-uz-Zama alias Dr Huraira confessed during an interrogation that he had conducted a reconnaissance of the Siddhi Vinayak temple in Collectorganj after his handlers ordered him to attack it.
Singh said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was tracking Zama since April this year after he posted his photograph holding an AK-47 assault rifle on social media. “It was then that he came on the radar of intelligence and security agencies,” Singh said during a press conference.
The central agency was tracking the 38-year-old’s movement since then and tipped off the state’s anti-terrorism squad about his location in Shivnagar locality of the city’s Chakeri area after spotting him there, Singh said.
The senior official said Zama, a resident of Jamunamukh in Assam’s Hojai district, lived in different locations in the state and country in the past few months. He was living in a rented accommodation in Kanpur for the last ten days before he was arrested.
He said the ATS has recovered a mobile phone with pictures and approach routes of the temple.
The officer said Zama told the police he is an active member of Hizbul Mujahideen since April last year when he underwent a training in Kishtwar of Jammu and Kashmir. Zama said a person named Osama roped him in the terror group and organised his training before assigning any task.
Singh added Zama, a diploma holder in a computer course, was trained to carry out any kind of terrorist activity and was pursuing graduation from a college in Assam. Zama will be questioned by NIA, ATS, the Intelligence Bureau as well as other agencies, he said.
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
Imagine if the U.S. government was able to freely access your search history and use it against you. That’s what may end up happening in China, thanks to a censored search engine built for the country by Google.
The Intercept reports that: “The search engine, codenamed Dragonfly, was designed for Android devices, and would remove content deemed sensitive by China’s ruling Communist Party regime, such as information about political dissidents, free speech, democracy, human rights, and peaceful protest.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Prosecutor Margaret Cunneen, who helped jail members of a gang who raped a teenage girl 40 times, has now said one of the men, Mohammed Skaf, deserves to be freed.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
China Gives South Africa $25 Billion in Stimulus Loans
The government of South Africa announced on Friday that President Cyril Ramaphosa secured another $10 billion in Chinese loans during his trip to Beijing last week, bring South Africa’s total economic stimulus and infrastructure financing from China up to $25 billion.
Ramaphosa traveled to Beijing with other African leaders for a summit at which China pledged $60 billion in additional spending on Africa over the next three years, roughly doubling the amount China pledged in African financing in 2015. $15 billion of the new money will go to South Africa.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
1-in-7 US Residents Are Immigrants, 44.5 Million, Most Ever
The percentage of the U.S population that is immigrant has reached the highest level in 107 years, with nearly one-in-seven being foreign born, according to new data from the Census Bureau.
An analysis of the data by the Center for Immigration Studies said that there are 44.5 million legal and illegal immigrants in the country, the highest ever in U.S. history, with the most from Latin America.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Adult Syrian Refugee Accused of Murdering 13-Year-Old Canadian Girl in Court
28-year-old Syrian national Ibrahim Ali, who came to Canada as a refugee, has been accused of murdering a 13-year-old girl in Burnaby, British Colombia, whose body was found last year.
The Syrian refugee, who came to Canada through a private sponsorship programme, was arrested last week by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) after a large-scale investigation into the death of the 13-year-old, who was found in Burnaby’s Central Park in July 2017.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Cork Man Accused of Helping Migrants Into Greece Detained for ‘At Least’ Another 40 Days
A MAN FROM Cork who was arrested in Greece three weeks ago is now facing at least another 40 days in jail after his appeal to lift his temporary detention was denied on Monday.
Sean Binder, who grew up in Togher Co Cork, is facing up to 20 years in prison after police arrested him on suspicion of human trafficking, money laundering, espionage and being a member of a criminal organisation.
The 24-year-old had been working as a volunteer with Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI) in Greece when he was detained along with four other volunteers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Failed Asylum-Seekers Set Fire to Cell in Vienna
Six failed asylum-seekers set fire to their detention centre cell in Vienna overnight and had to be hospitalised, Austrian police said Saturday.
Asylum claims filed by the five Afghans and one Iranian man had been rejected and they were awaiting deportation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former Illegal Alien Wins Primary for NY Assembly in District Where Nearly Half Are Foreign-Born
A woman who came to the United States as an illegal alien has won the Democratic primary for New York’s District 39 in the State Assembly.
Catalina Cruz, 35-years-old of Colombia, beat out her opponent for the Democratic nomination for the assembly seat, which encompasses Jackson Heights, Corona, and Elmhurst — three neighborhoods in Queens, New York.
Cruz came to the U.S. as an illegal alien with her mother from Colombia in 1992 and eventually was able to obtain a Green Card in 2005. In 2009, Cruz became a U.S. naturalized citizen.
New York’s 39th Assembly district is made up of a population that is nearly half foreign-born. Cruz ran her state assembly campaign on an agenda to use taxpayer dollars to fully fund the legal services of illegal aliens, a ban on federal immigration agents from being allowed in state courts, giving driver’s licenses to all illegal aliens in the state, and passing a statewide amnesty for all illegal aliens in the state.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: “Humanitarian Aid” Organization’s People-Smuggling
On August 28, thirty members of the Greek NGO Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI) were arrested for their involvement in a people-smuggling network that has been operating on the island of Lesbos since 2015. According to a statement released by Greek police, as a result of the investigation that led to the arrests, “The activities of an organised criminal network that systematically facilitated the illegal entry of foreigners were fully exposed.”
Among the activities uncovered were forgery, espionage and the illegal monitoring of both the Greek coastguard and the EU border agency, Frontex, for the purpose of gleaning confidential information about Turkish refugee flows. The investigation also led to the discovery of an additional six Greeks and 24 foreign nationals implicated in the case.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: No More Receiving Migrants Indiscriminately — Conte
Premier reports to Senate on Diciotti case
(ANSA) — Rome, September 12 — Premier Giuseppe Conte said Wednesday that his government has stopped the “indiscriminate” entry of migrants into Italy as he reported to the Senate on the case of the asylum seekers saved by the Diciotti coast guard ship. Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini is under investigation for alleged aggravated kidnapping after he refused to allow over 100 migrants to disembark the Diciotti during a 10-day stand of with the EU. In the end Catholic bishops agreed to take 100 while Ireland and Albania said they would take 20 each.
“What has changed with respect to the past is that Italy is no longer willing to receive migrants indiscriminately, contributing, albeit involuntarily, to increasing the traffic of human beings,” Conte said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Needs More Children, Not More Africans — Interior Minister
“I believe that I’m in government in order to see that our young people have the number of children that they used to a few years ago, and not to transplant the best of Africa’s youth to Europe.”
Italy’s deputy prime minister and minister of the interior, Matteo Salvini made his statements at a conference in Vienna on the European migrant crisis, to Jean Asselborn, the EU’s longest-serving foreign minister’s, chagrin.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Labour’s Abbott to Announce Party Would Scrap Migration Targets
Labour’s Diane Abbott is to use a speech today to confirm that under a Jeremy Corbyn government there wouldn’t be any targets to cut migration by, with Abbott set to describe the popular Conservative push for a ‘tens of thousands’ net per year target as “meaningless and arbitrary targets”.
[Comment: Leftist parties in all western countries are traitors to their respective countries, opting for more destabilization, balkanization and ultimately disintegration — as their globalist puppet masters have ordered.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Mediterranean Migrant Influx Cracks 70,000 for 2018, Approaching Size of British Army
Illegal immigration to Europe via the Mediterranean has cracked 70,000, as a surge in migrants to Spain partly offsets the effect of tighter border controls in Greece and especially Italy.
While the number is significantly down on recent years — particularly the peak year of 2015, when hundreds of thousands of migrants surged into Europe largely via Greece and the ‘Eastern Mediterranean Route’ at the invitation of Germany’s Angela Merkel — it is still far from insignificant, with the numbers being not far off the total manpower of the British Army.
Moreover, the official UN Migration Agency/International Organization for Migration figures may significantly underestimate the true scale of the influx, as they do not account for migrants whose arrival goes undetected.
The Dutch government has previously suggested that some two-thirds of the migrant arriving in the Netherlands have not previously been registered in another EU member-state — although the great majority arrive from one — and hinted this may be deliberate.
EU member-states cannot deport illegal migrants to the last EU country they were in, and must instead determine the first EU country they arrived in or keep them. Naturally, this serves to disincentivise border countries such as Greece, Italy, and Spain from registered migrants at all.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Migrant Arrivals to Italy Down 62% in August — Frontex
Spain arrivals more than double, 2nd month as main port of entry
(ANSA) — Brussels, September 14 — Italy saw a 62% drop in migrant arrivals in August compared to the same month in 2017, with 1,500 arrivals through the Central Mediterranean route, according to figures from EU border agency Frontex. There were 12,500 arrivals to the EU overall. Frontex said Spain was the main EU port of arrival for migrants for the second month running, with 6,500 arrivals through the Western Mediterranean route, more than double that of August 2017.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
South Koreans Begin Protesting as They Don’t Want Muslim Refugees in Their Country
Refugees who expected to be welcomed with open arms, were in for a rude awakening. The arrival of hundreds of Yemenis has fostered a wave of opposition giving birth to what is considered South Korea’s first organised anti-migrant movement.
“Let’s kick out fake refugees!” shouts heard during a 30 June rally on the island which is part of the anti-immigration sentiment overtaking the country.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Syrian Refugee Main Suspect in Murder of Romanian Woman — Her Body Was Found Burned
A Syrian refugee is the main suspect in the Bucharest murder case, Observator reports. The man is suspected to have killed the woman, who worked as a housekeeper for some business people from the city in the Militari villa, most likely as revenge on the homeowner’s daughter.
The Syrian, who had been released previously, although still being investigated on a rape charge, was caught last night but is refusing to talk to prosecutors.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Take a Look at the Illegal Migration of Hundreds of Migrants Over the Balkan Mountain Passes
Hundreds of migrants are trying to cross the Croatian border from Una-Sana Canton every day. According to the estimates, there are between 3,000 and 3,500 migrants in Bihac, and new groups from many countries of Asia and Africa arrive daily. Many of them try to cross the well-guarded border of the Republic of Croatia and continue their journey towards the countries of Western Europe, through the mountain of Pljesevica. Members of the Mountain Rescue Service Bihac registered columns of migrants in an attempt to illegally cross the state border near Bihac. Source krajina
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Thousands of Rejected Denmark Asylum Seekers Unaccounted for
Danish police are uncertain as to the whereabouts of many as 2,835 rejected asylum seekers, some of whom may still be in the country, according to a report.
A National Police document detailing the figure was seen and reported by Radio24syv.
The unaccounted-for persons could either be in Denmark, a second country or have travelled home.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter Reverses “Illegal Alien” Decision; Google E-Mail Leaked
The Tech Giants say left-wing bias on their platforms is a figment of the conservative imagination, but the figment appeared again this week.
First, Twitter attempted to censor the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) because it used the term “illegal alien.” Then a leaked e-mail from Google shows the tech behemoth’s effort to push the Latino vote toward Hillary Clinton, which might have been a in-kind contribution and campaign law violation.
Maybe, just maybe, President Trump is on to something in his frequent criticism of these unregulated information controllers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ACT for America Declares Culture War
“America is under attack. Our country is being transformed before our very eyes,” ACT for America founder Brigitte Gabriel stated on September 4 in a ballroom in Crystal City at Virginia’s Hyatt Regency hotel. ACT’s tenth-anniversary national security conference brought together over 200 ACT activists nationwide for a clarion call of political warfare to preserve American freedoms against myriad subversive Islamist and leftist threats.
Gabriel described how, since she founded ACT in 2002, “today the national security threat is no longer confined to radical Islamic terrorism.” ACT is not a one-trick pony; rather, the group must contend with numerous others like Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and MS-13 gangs. Against these criminal and totalitarian organizations, “ACT for America is today the largest grassroots national security organization in the country with one million members.”
Gabriel emphasized the stark polarization between the worldviews of freedom-loving conservative groups like ACT and their opponents. “Our enemy is dedicated to destroying us,” she said. “No matter what you do, they are going to call you a hater.” Accordingly, she dismissed appeals that “we need to convert the unconverted” with “don’t waste your time” and focused on the mobilization of committed allies.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Report: Catholic Church Suffers ‘Culture of Denial’ Of Homoclericalism
Catholics are “outraged” about reports of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s serial homosexual abuse, not so much because a churchman sinned as that he did so with impunity and protection, a new article asserts.
In a bracing October essay titled “Catholicism After 2018,” First Things editor Rusty Reno pinpoints an acceptance of a homosexual subculture in the Catholic clergy as the core issue underlying recent sex abuse scandals assailing the Catholic Church.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea…If you were deeply religious, you would be pro-life!
It’s the people like Chelsea Clinton who like to yammer on about why it’s ok to tear a baby from limb to limb without feeling or emotion. If you’ve seen the shocking videos of aborted baby parts, you know how wrong this is…Just ask the three abortion clinic employees below…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ha! A synagogue attacked by a non-rabbi for a change.
There are many west european companies recruiting directly in Romania for people, offering 2-3 times higher salaries than romanian companies. They noticed that in the last 5-6 years, not so many romanians are going by themselves to west in search for work. So they are coming after them. Most of them are contracted to work in agriculture, farming, health sectors. Most of them will return in the winter. This is happening every year. All west companies do need serious people to work, not to complain. Polish, bulgarian, romanian, hungarian, ukrainians are just perfect for them.
I am curious to find out, what will happen, when the new goat herder brain surgeons reach such saturation, that it will be dangerous for middle and eastern Europeans to work in the west and they go home…
They have millions of refugees. Most of them are brain surgeons, IT specialists, engineers. As Merkel said. They have people to do the work. And there are 200 mil. on their way to Europe. I read that until 2030 Europe must accept 200 mil more refugees.