Gates of Vienna News Feed 10/2/2018

The Pentagon intercepted a number of envelopes and packages that tested positive for the deadly poison ricin. The packages had been addressed to several top military officials. Meanwhile, two staff members were rushed to the hospital after a package containing white powder was sent to the Houston campaign office for Sen. Ted Cruz. Fortunately, the package later tested negative for toxins.

In other news, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán praised President Trump’s speech at the UN, and strongly criticized Hillary Clinton for her actions as Secretary of State.

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

Thanks to AF, Dean, Insubria, JD, Reader from Chicago, 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
» Greece, Spain and Italy Have EU’s Highest Unemployment
» Italy: Deficit ‘Prejudice’ Against us — Di Maio
 
USA
» A Breach by Unknown Attackers? No! Government Reach… into Your Data
» CNN Worried About Kanye’s Health Because He Doesn’t Hate Trump Like They’ve Decided He Should
» DA on Allentown Car Explosion: ‘We Don’t Know What the Intention of the Person Responsible Was’
» Flake: Not Exactly Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
» Go Fund Me for Kavanaugh Exceeds $500,000
» Lay Group Steps Forward to Investigate Cardinals’ Role in Clerical Sex Abuse
» Pentagon Intercepts Envelopes Containing Lethal Toxin Addressed to Top Officials
» Ranchers Face Wolves at the Gate
» Sister: Family Member of Man Who Died in Allentown Car Explosion Speak Out
» ‘The Story’ Exclusive: Woman Who Worked on Kavanaugh Investigations Provides Insight Into the Background Checks.
» This is What Donald Trump Must do to Battle the Deep State and Win
» Two People Hospitalized After White Powder Sent to Ted Cruz’s Houston Campaign Office
 
Canada
» Francois Legault’s CAQ Wins Majority in Quebec Election, Ends Nearly 50 Years of Two-Party Rule
» Talk Radio Conservatives Silenced Before Toronto Election
 
Europe and the EU
» Basic Income Should be Spent in Italy — Di Maio
» British Man Called Racist and Bigot for Refusing to Let Daughter Write Letter About ‘Converting to Islam’ At School
» Central European Countries Eye to Build High-Speed Railway From Budapest to Warsaw
» CERN Suspends Male Physicist Who Alleged Sex Discrimination
» Every Day Hundreds of Dutch School Children Are Forced to Bow to Islam
» Finland: Brainwashed School Children Say the Future is ‘The Left’ And ‘The Right’ Means Death
» Four Cases of Mishandled Abuse in Italy — ECA Global
» France Points Finger at Iran Over Bomb Plot, Seizes Assets
» I Talk to Sober People Says Salvini on Juncker
» Italian Minister Tells EU: ‘We Won’t Go Back a Millimetre’
» Italy: League MPs Want Muslim Veil Ban for Picking Up Kids
» Italy Needs Own Currency — Borghi
» Massive Support for Hungarian PM Viktor Orban in Coming European Election
» Orban Praises Trump, Slams Clinton, Rebukes EU Migration Commissioner: ‘This Man is Our Employee’
» Sweden Election: ‘It’s Looking Dark’ Far-Right Party Gains Influence in Election Disaster
» UK: BoJo Calls for Return of ‘Systematic Stop and Search’, End ‘Politically Correct Nonsense’ Policing
 
Middle East
» Turkey: Building Mosques, Erasing Christianity
 
Far East
» Pompeo to Meet Kim Jong Un in Fresh Visit
» Secret China-Vatican Deal Raises Alarms for Christians
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Namibia’s President Wants to Expropriate Land From Whites
 
Latin America
» 100,000 Home Routers Recruited to Spread Brazilian Hacking Scam
» Brazil Investors Cheer as Support Rises for Bolsonaro
 
Immigration
» Already 20% of Driving Lessons in Sweden Are in Arabic as Migrants Fail Them in Swedish
» Angela Merkel Allows Illegal Migrants to Stay in Germany
» Canada to Admit Nearly 1 Million Immigrants Over Next 3 Years
» Germany: 75 Percent of Pre-Trial Prisoners in Berlin Are Foreigners
» ICE Removes Pakistani Man Convicted, Ordered to Pay $71 Million in Laundering Scheme
» Italian MEP Furious Outburst: Why Wasn’t France Punished — Why Don’t the Same Rules Apply
» Italy Arrests Mayor for Allegedly Aiding Illegal Immigration
» Migrant Related Violence Forces Swedish Schools to Close
» Nearly 700 Migrants Rescued Off the Coast of Spain
» Riace Mayor Arrested for Aiding Illegal Immigration
» Slovak Prime Minister: We Can Take Syrian Orphans From Greece
 
Culture Wars
» California Becomes First State to Mandate Female Board Directors
» CERN Suspends Scientist Over ‘Offensive’ Address on Women and Science
 

Greece, Spain and Italy Have EU’s Highest Unemployment

Ten years after Greece was hit by financial crisis, the country still has the highest unemployment rate in the European Union, at 19.1 percent in June 2018, according to figures from Eurostat. Spain had the second-highest unemployment level, 15.2 percent, followed by Italy at 9.7 percent. The lowest unemployment rates in August 2018 were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.5 percent), Germany and Poland (both 3.4 percent).

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

Italy: Deficit ‘Prejudice’ Against us — Di Maio

Threats won0’t stop us says deputy PM

(ANSA) — Rome, October 2 — Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday that EU officials were “prejudiced” against a budget with a 2.4% deficit when other countries had gone even higher. “This 2.4% is scandalous while others before us did everything they wanted: now they’re criticising our budget without even having read it, I have to think there’s a prejudice”, he said.

“Threats will not stop us,” he added.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

A Breach by Unknown Attackers? No! Government Reach… into Your Data

An article was released by the Daily Mail on 9/29/18 entitled Facebook investigating ‘worst ever’security breach affecting 50 MILLION users that could have let hackers take over user accounts — including Mark Zuckerberg’s.

Fifty million users’ Facebook accounts have been breached? Ridiculous. That kind of a scale points a finger toward one possible “actor” (as they label themselves, now), and that actor is a government. A “State Actor.” This is the deal. US laws can be easily circumvented by a foreign power that is given the authority to act on behalf of the United States. Many in-depth articles have been circulating regarding the “Five Eyes.” These are the five nations of the U.S., Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. See the “common ground?”

Yes, check the path of the hack…the “cord” is probably plugged into GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) of Britain…and they share info with their “partner,” the U.S.’s own NSA (National Security Agency). The same National Security Agency responsible for such interesting programs as XKeyscore, PRISM, and a plethora of others as revealed to the world by Edward Snowden. This recent “hack” comes on the heels of the Cambridge Analytica fiasco that stole data from almost 90 million people.

Also quite hard to believe is Zuckerberg’s company…already deep in bed with the NSA and the Department of Defense…a high-tech firm with an army of techno’s…and these guys get “hacked” and their data stolen? Zuckerberg has been a fawning submissive from the beginning…a “big-hitting” oligarch determined to push globalism and global governance.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

CNN Worried About Kanye’s Health Because He Doesn’t Hate Trump Like They’ve Decided He Should

Thanks for proving Kanye’s point, CNN. Well done

Over the weekend, Kanye West appeared on Saturday Night Live. I haven’t watched SNL since they abandoned the idea of being a comedy show in favor of being a left-wing propaganda machine so, no, I didn’t see it live. However, you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting the clips that appeared on Youtube.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

DA on Allentown Car Explosion: ‘We Don’t Know What the Intention of the Person Responsible Was’

As the investigation into what caused the deadly Allentown car explosion that killed a man, his 2-year-old son and the man’s friend continues, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin cautioned that he has not said what the motive behind the incident was.

“I said, overstating the obvious, that it was a criminal incident,” Martin said Tuesday, referring to comments he made over the weekend. “We don’t know what the intention of the person responsible was.”

The criminal incident could have been anything, from risking catastrophe to more, he said.

Because of the limited release of information into the explosion, relatives of Schmoyer have become increasingly angry over social media speculation that he caused it.

On Sunday, a day after the 9:30 p.m. blast in the 700 block of Turner Street, Martin characterized the incident as a “criminal incident” in which the likely “perpetrator” had died.

At a news conference Monday, Don Robinson, the special agent in charge with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is leading the investigation, said the explosion “could be anything from an accident to an explosive device.”

Robinson could not say whether the explosion was an accident or deliberate. He said that will be determined through the investigation at the scene and interviews with people who knew the victims. Lab results on the explosive material are expected back later this week, an ATF spokeswoman said Tuesday…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Flake: Not Exactly Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of President Trump has been to expose the deep state swamp creatures behind the curtain who have been pulling the levers of power for decades and have in the past two years have been trying to pull the rug out from under the Trump administration. Witness the Kavanaugh inquisition, which could have been made more farcical only if Peter Strzok and Lisa Page had been the agents assigned to do the umpteenth FBI background check of Judge Kavanaugh.

At least the likes of Mazie Hirano, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris et all have the honesty to put a “D” next to their names. Whether that D stands for Democrat, demagogue, demented, or merely delusional is up to the reader. Not so honest has been the likes of RINO poster child Sen. Jeff Flake, who found he couldn’t be elected the proverbial dogcatcher in his home state of Arizona and decided to leave the Senate, but not before he had his “Benedict Arnold moment” in a Senate elevator.

Jeff Flake has not exactly been Mr. Smith goes to Washington, but rather been a profile in porridge who cannot claim to be risking his political career, because he has none. It evaporated the moment Arizona voters realized Jeff Flake is a political chameleon with no backbone and no color palate. He is quite simply a grandstanding political coward whose true nature has been revealed by the Trump revolution and the Kavanaugh nomination.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Go Fund Me for Kavanaugh Exceeds $500,000

Despite outward appearances, U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is not one of Washington, D.C.’s millionaire elites.

His financial disclosure depicts man of relatively modest means, unlike other justices who bankrolled millions in the private sector before landing on the high court.

But Kavanaugh, it appears, will get a shot in the arm: A GoFundMe account set up for the benefit of Kavanaugh and his family has exceeded $500,000.

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

Lay Group Steps Forward to Investigate Cardinals’ Role in Clerical Sex Abuse

In the face of Rome’s refusal to open an investigation into Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s serial homosexual abuse, a group of lay Catholics has announced that it is launching its own full inquiry into all the cardinals of the Catholic Church and their relationship with abuse.

The Better Church Governance Group (BCG) held its inaugural meeting on the campus of the Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, DC, Sunday evening and announced its intention to investigate each of the 124 cardinals eligible to participate in a papal conclave to elect the next pope.

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

Pentagon Intercepts Envelopes Containing Lethal Toxin Addressed to Top Officials

THE SECRET SERVICE has intercepted numerous packages which were suspected on containing ricin, a highly toxic poison made from castor beans, a US Defence Department spokesman confirmed.

The packages were located at the Pentagon mail facility on Monday, and were put under quarantine following screening.

The contents of the packages have since been handed to the FBI for further investigation.

A Defence Department official stated that two packages were addressed to Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Admiral John Richardson, the chief of naval operations.

The Secret Service also received a “suspicious envelope” addressed to President Donald Trump on Monday, but noted it was “not received at the White House, nor did it even enter the White House”.

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

Ranchers Face Wolves at the Gate

The Diamond M ranch sits on the Kettle River in northeast Washington State, close enough to the Canadian border that a well-thrown rock might hit a range-riding Mountie and cause an international incident. It is a frontiersman’s dream: acres of prairie surrounded by wooded areas with the pristine Kettle River flowing through the middle of it. It’s an idyllic rural place where rough-hewn cowboys, who love the land as if it were family, gently tend their cattle. It hardly seems the place for a thing as dirty as a political battle.

But a bloody political battle — complete with actual death threats — is exactly what the McIrvin and Hedrick families who ranch the land are embroiled in. They are engaged with people who care little for truth and care even less for freedom. Environmentalist mobsters have targeted the family business because, sometimes, necessary action entails thinning the wolf pack in a lethal manner. And when even a single wolf is killed, environmentalists go predictably insane.

“We get a lot of death threats. My wife had to stop answering the phone,” said Len McIrvin, the patriarch of the family that runs the Diamond M. “They say it would be better if you were dead than a wolf…. Another call comes in that said, ‘If you’d like your kids to come home on the school bus, you’d better leave the wolves alone.’“

But the McIrvin-Hedrick clan has never shot a wolf. In Washington State, shooting a wolf, even to protect your livelihood, comes with a one-year prison sentence and a five-thousand dollar fine. Any lethal removal must be done under the auspices of the state’s fish and wildlife department, an agency with a well-documented history of avoiding such aggressive action.

[…]

In 1995, the Clinton-era U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service re-introduced the gray wolf into Yellowstone National Park and a portion of central Idaho where the elk population was considered out of control and a threat to the delicate balance of the ecosystem. By that time, wolves had also re-introduced themselves from Canada to a remote area in northwestern Montana.

Wolves were trapped, captured, and removed from their natural habitat, where they were surviving quite nicely. They were then tranquilized, tagged, and set free in Yellowstone and central Idaho. The wolves were welcomed with open arms in Yellowstone. Idaho, however, was another story.

Yellowstone ecologists were soon giving glowing reports about the natural thinning of the elk herd due to wolf predation. New growth vegetation such as aspen and willow trees, upon which the elk had previously fed at an unsustainable rate, began to re-emerge. Other species, such as the beaver and the red fox, began to re-emerge due to the fact that the wolves now kept the unruly coyote population under control.

But in Idaho, the situation was different. Idaho’s state government had opposed the reintroduction of wolves into the state but was overruled by federal authorities. Initially, the Idaho state government refused to participate in the wolf management plan because of its objection to having wolves released there in the first place. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nez Perce tribe managed the wolf population at first, with the 35 wolves released there in 1995-96 quickly expanding, the government estimates, to over 700 wolves by 2007.

[Comment: The Canadian grey wolf was introduced into areas of the US that the Canadian grey wolf has never historically populated. Those areas used to be dominated by the Idaho grey wolf and red wolf — much smaller and less agressive. Those are the species the EPA should have re-introduced to the area.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Sister: Family Member of Man Who Died in Allentown Car Explosion Speak Out

Family members of a man killed in an Allentown car explosion with his 2-year-old son said they don’t know what happened but don’t believe he caused the blast and are increasingly angry over social media speculation suggesting otherwise.

Tina Schmoyer, the younger sister of 26-year-old Jacob Schmoyer, spoke Tuesday about her brother and his 2-year-old son, Jonathan, who both died in the fiery explosion Saturday night on Turner Street. A third person, 66-year-old David Hallman, also died.

“My brother was never the kind of person everyone is making him out to be,” Schmoyer said. “Never, ever, ever in a million years would he hurt his son and he certainly wouldn’t do this to anyone else.”

She said her brother was a “wonderful father, son and brother,” who would show up at any hour whenever anyone needed his help.

For the past two days, Schmoyer said she’s barely eaten and lost sleep, wondering about what exactly happened that caused her brother’s death and becoming increasingly angry over speculation on Facebook and elsewhere that her brother somehow triggered the blast.

Schmoyer said her brother worked cleaning carpets in homes and also as a mechanic…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

‘The Story’ Exclusive: Woman Who Worked on Kavanaugh Investigations Provides Insight Into the Background Checks.

In a letter released Tuesday, an ex-boyfriend of Christine Blasey Ford, the California professor accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, seemingly contradicted her testimony under oath last week that she had never helped anyone prepare for a polygraph examination.

The former boyfriend, whose name was redacted, also said Ford neither mentioned Kavanaugh nor said she was a victim of sexual misconduct during the time they were dating from about 1992 to 1998. He said he saw Ford helping a woman he believed was her “life-long best friend” prepare for a potential polygraph test. He added that the woman had been interviewing for jobs with the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office.

He also claimed Ford never voiced any fear of flying and seemingly had no problem living in a small apartment with one door — apparently contradicting her claims that she could not testify promptly in D.C. due to a fear of flying, as well as her suggestion that her memories of Kavanuagh’s alleged assault prompted her to feel unsafe living anywhere without a second front door…

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]
 

This is What Donald Trump Must do to Battle the Deep State and Win

The below essay by long-time political operative Roger Stone is the most important essay I have come across detailing how the Deep State has run counter-operations against Donald Trump, before he was elected president and since. In the essay, Stone also provides suggestions on how Trump should battle the DS.

The lesson here for libertarians is how government Deep State operatives often use laws created “to protect us” to instead protect sectors of central power. The only way to stop these power plays is to eliminate the power centers by shrinking government.

—RW

By Roger Stone

During the Presidential Campaign for the 2016 election, then Candidate Trump responded to the anguished cries of The People when he promised to “Drain the Swamp”. While Donald J. Trump knew instinctively that there was rampant corruption in Washington, D.C., it is entirely possible that he was surprised by the levels of vindictiveness and wrath he would eventually encounter.

In a prescient and possibly complicit statement, on January 3, 2017, mere days from Trump’s inauguration, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned the soon-to-be sworn-in President Elect. Schumer said that Donald Trump was being “really dumb” to question US intelligence agency officials in their handling of the alleged “Russian Hacking” fabrications. Schumer warned: “Let me tell you: You take on the intelligence community — they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you,”. With the benefit of hindsight, we see that the Obama corrupted FBI with assistance from the Obama corrupted CIA tried more than six different ways, and are still trying even now.

The Russian Collusion Delusion is a fairly complicated bit of political machinery. That was by design. It doesn’t take very much complexity to make most people’s eyes glaze over, which is why we have specialists for almost all complicated endeavors. Engineers, programmers, chemists, doctors, and a multitude of others makes the fabric of our complex society. It simply isn’t possible for anyone to become an expert in everything, and this is the principle upon which the Deep State’s coup d’état relies upon. In order to comprehend what they have done, how they did it, and who they brought in to help them one has to consider so many variables that it forces any who choose to fully understand it to become experts themselves. Most people don’t have the time or energy to become experts in political machinations and International intrigue, leaving the culprits free to continue exploiting the system.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Two People Hospitalized After White Powder Sent to Ted Cruz’s Houston Campaign Office

Two people were rushed to hospital Tuesday following a white powder scare at Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign headquarters in Houston, Texas.

The office was evacuated and a hazmat crew from the Houston Fire Department dispatched after a package addressed to Cruz’s team containing “a white powdery substance” was opened in the building’s lobby.

Houston Fire Department later tweeted that the evacuation order had been lifted and “all tests were negative” for any hazardous material.

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

Francois Legault’s CAQ Wins Majority in Quebec Election, Ends Nearly 50 Years of Two-Party Rule

In a historic election that marked a departure from Quebec’s longstanding debate over independence, the centre-right Coalition Avenir Québec swept to power for the first time in the province as the incumbent Liberals delivered their worst showing in decades and the sovereigntist Parti Québécois were all but decimated.

Though opinion polls had shown the CAQ in nearly a dead heat with the Liberals heading into election day, they emerged with a majority government. As of 11 p.m. ET, the CAQ led or were elected in 74 ridings, easily outstripping the 63 needed to form a majority, with 38 per cent of the popular vote. The Liberals were leading or elected in 32 seats with 25 per cent of the vote, down from the 68 they held in the province’s national assembly under outgoing premier Philippe Couillard.

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

Talk Radio Conservatives Silenced Before Toronto Election

On last night’s episode of The Ezra Levant Show, Toronto Sunjournalist Sue-Ann Levy joined me to discuss the removal of conservatives from talk radio during the Toronto municipal election.

Sue-Ann was a regular guest on The John Oakley Show on AM 640, but recently her, conservative pundit Mark Steyn, and Cam Stewart were all cut from the show.

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

Basic Income Should be Spent in Italy — Di Maio

For Italian citizens resident for at least 10 yrs

(ANSA) — Rome, October 2 — The government’s planned basic income of 780 euros a month for job seekers “must stay in Italy, with spending in Italian shops,” Deputy Premier and Labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday.

He recalled that the measure “regards Italian citizens resident in Italy for at least 10 years who accept training and retraining courses by making commitments with the government”.

He said the government was “doing its utmost” to make sure the income is distributed via an electronic card, probably the existing health card.

The basic income is the flagship policy pledge of Di Maio’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), one of the two government partners along with Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini’s anti-migrant Euroskeptic League party.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

British Man Called Racist and Bigot for Refusing to Let Daughter Write Letter About ‘Converting to Islam’ At School

Stepfather’s 12-year-old daughter asked to write a letter about becoming a Muslim. When he complained, he was called racist and bigot.

Mark McLachlan’s stepdaughter brought home a homework assignment asking her to ‘write about converting to Islam’. He refused to let her finish the ‘letter to my family about converting to Islam’, claiming it was ‘brainwashing’ her about the religion and did not see what it would achieve.

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

Central European Countries Eye to Build High-Speed Railway From Budapest to Warsaw

The Visegrad Group countries have decided to jointly build a high-speed railway connecting Budapest, Bratislava, Brno and Warsaw, the Hungarian foreign minister said after talks with the transport ministers of the other three members in northern Slovakia on Monday.

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

CERN Suspends Male Physicist Who Alleged Sex Discrimination

Alessandro Strumia said science now biased in favour of women

(ANSA) — Rome, October 2 — Gender politics has warped hirings and promotions in the world of physics to such an extent that women less deserving than their male counterparts have got jobs they are less qualified for, an Italian physicist claimed Friday in a presentation that got him suspended by the CERN particle physics lab in Geneva on Monday.

Pisa University lecturer Alessandro Strumia sought to explode the myth that physics was biased in favour of men, but CERN said it thought the presentation, with its attacks on individuals, was unacceptable in any professional context and was contrary to the CERN Code of Conduct. It, therefore, decided to remove the relevant slides from the online repository.

Strumia said he himself had been a victim, allegedly rejected by the National Nuclear Physics Institute (INFN) which allegedly hired two female researchers instead of him with fewer research papers to their name.

He also said Oxford University extended the duration of exams in favour of women and Italy gave preferential treatment to them in its grants for scientific subjects.

CERN said these claims were “highly offensive” and suspended Strumia with immediate effect.

In a statement, CERN said: “CERN is a culturally diverse organisation bringing together people of many different nationalities. “It is a place where everyone is welcome, and all have the same opportunities, regardless of ethnicity, beliefs, gender or sexual orientation. “Indeed, diversity is one of the core values underpinning our Code of Conduct and the Organization is fully committed to promoting diversity and equality at all levels.

“CERN always strives to carry out its scientific mission in a peaceful and inclusive environment.

On Tuesday the INFN also suspended Strumia with immediate effect.

It said the measure had been taken “pending the results of inquiries into the case”.

The INFN said it had “decided to proceed with the immediate suspension because Prof Strumia made, in an international public context, statements injurious to the image of the institute and, even worse, discriminatory and openly damaging to the reputation of female and male researchers at the INFN, in violation of its ethical code and the code of conduct aimed at safeguarding the dignity of the institute’s people”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Every Day Hundreds of Dutch School Children Are Forced to Bow to Islam

Shocking video footage and a report from the Dutch organisation “Klap uit de school”, show that numerous Dutch children are forced to bow to Islam.

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

Finland: Brainwashed School Children Say the Future is ‘The Left’ And ‘The Right’ Means Death

A project at a school in Finland resulted in a poster that relates right-wing politics with death and left-wing politics with the future of their country.

The main subject of the ‘hate campaign’ are members of the right-wing Finns party, Laura Huhtasaari and leader Jussi Halla-aho. Both politicians’ pictures were placed beneath the description of death.

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

Four Cases of Mishandled Abuse in Italy — ECA Global

Network chief compares cases to Viganò allegations

(ANSA) — Rome, October 2 — A network of victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy said Tuesday that it has evidence of four major cases of abuse in Italy that the Catholic Church failed to properly address. Francesco Zanardi of the ECA Global network compared the cases to allegations by the Vatican’s former ambassador to the United States, Carlo Maria Viganò, that Pope Francis and other Church officials mishandled accusations of sexual misconduct by retired American cardinal Theodore McCarrick. “There are four Viganò cases in Italy,” Zanardi told a news conference at the foreign press association in Rome. He said the cases concerned the St. Pius X Pre-Seminary inside the Vatican, the Istituto Antonio Provolo for the deaf in Verona and alleged abuse by priests Mauro Galli and Silverio Mura in the dioceses of Milan and Naples respectively. “We have one case here in the room with us, one of the pope’s altar boys,” Zanardi said.

“He was abused indirectly because it was his roommate being abused inside the Vatican (at the Pius X Pre-Seminary).

“This case was covered up twice by the Vatican and the alleged abuser is currently a priest in Como who has never been punished.

“Pope Francis pledges to resolve the problem around the world and he was not able to resolve it in his tiny State”. Zanardi said that a delegation of former students of the Istituto Provolo met Pope Francis in 2014 and handed him a list of 25 alleged pedophiles, including priest Nicola Corradi, who is currently under arrest in Argentina. “He was not stopped by the Vatican or the pope on the basis of this report,” said Zanardi.

“He was left in South America by the Istituto Antonio Provolo until the Argentine judiciary arrested him”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

France Points Finger at Iran Over Bomb Plot, Seizes Assets

PARIS (Reuters) — France said on Tuesday there was no doubt Iran’s intelligence ministry was behind a June plot to attack an exiled opposition group’s rally outside Paris and it seized assets belonging to Tehran’s intelligence services and two Iranian nationals.

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

I Talk to Sober People Says Salvini on Juncker

Who don’t make comparisons that aren’t here nor there

(ANSA) — Rome, October 2 — Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini said Tuesday “I talk to sober people who don’t make comparisons that aren’t here nor there” when asked abut European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s suggestion Italy might pose a Greece-like threat to the euro.

Salvini also said Juncker should drink two glasses of water before talking about Italy’s debt risks.

Juncker has “sent the spread crazy” by likening Italy to Greece and “could have spared us the comparison”, Salvini, leader of the anti-migrant Euroskeptic League party, said Tuesday.

“The European Commission President Juncker, by equating Italy with Greece, sends the spread crazy. He could have spared us that,” Salvini said at a meeting of Naples’ public order and security committee.

“He should drink two glasses of water before opening his mouth, and stop spreading non-existent threats.

“Or we’ll ask him for damages”.

Salvini insisted that the Italian government will ask for damages from “those who wish Italy ill” like Juncker and “other European bureaucrats” whose “threats continue to drive up the spread”.

“The words and threats of Juncker and other European bureaucrats continue to make the spread rise, with the aim of attacking the government and the Italian economy,” said the deputy premier.

“We are ready to ask damages from those who wish Italy ill,” said Salvini. The other deputy premier, Luigi Di Maio, said it is now “clear to everyone that Juncker is unfit to play his role as European Commission President.”

Di Maio wondered “why everyone feels entitled to preach to us, who have set a deficit/GDP ratio of 2.4%, but not countries that have a ratio of 2.8% (like France).”

He added: “the continual violations of German exports which for years and years have violated the common rules.

“Also in that case only silence form the Commission”. Financial markets remained nervous about Italy’s budget Tuesday as the EU took a tough stance — but the Italian government said it wasn’t going to budge “one millimetre” on a 2.4% deficit-to-GDP ratio for thr next three years.

The Milan bourse closed 0.23% down with the FTSE-Mib index dropping to 20,562 points. The spread between Italian and German 10-year bonds rose to 303.7 before closing on 302.5 points with a BTP yield of 3.45% which then dipped to 3.44% by the close but was still a new post-2014 high.

Juncker said Monday night the EC had to apply the rules on the Italian budget or else it might spell “the end of the euro”, according to Brussels sources.

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Tuesday that Italy could face EU sanctions if it goes through with plans to have a budget deficit of 2.4%. “The Commission introduced a communication on the use of flexibility and Italy is the country that has most benefited,” Dombrovskis said when asked to clarify Juncker’s comments on Rome’s budget plans.

“Now the problem is that the discussions on the draft budget are going in a direction that substantially goes beyond this flexibility and Juncker said that we must apply the rules of the (Stability and Growth) Pact.

“And that is what the Commission is ready to do”.

Labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio said that “we won’t go back a millimetre” when asked about the rise in Italy’s bond spread since the government announced it intends to let the deficit rise to 2.4%. “If necessary we’ll explain the budget on the streets,” the 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader told RTL 102.5 , adding the government was “united”. He said that he did not think the European Commission’s criticism of the budget plans was part of a “plot” to bring down the M5S-League government. He added, however, that they “must not give blows below the belt”, saying Juncker and other Commissioners commented when Italy’s bond spread had started to drop.

Di Maio said that EU officials were “prejudiced” against a budget with a 2.4% deficit when other countries had gone even higher. “This 2.4% is scandalous while others before us did everything they wanted: now they’re criticising our budget without even having read it, I have to think there’s a prejudice”, he said.

“Threats will not stop us,” he added.

Di Maio said Juncker and European commissioners had “made statements to create tension and markets are sensitive to the words of EU commissioners”.

“But at least they should read the DEF (economic blueprint) first.

“Yesterday someone was unhappy the spread hadn’t risen to 350 so the commissioners made their statements”.

He said the market reaction was “much more due to these gentlemen than to the action of the government”.

Di Maio said “we’ll give the deficit back next year, because with cuts and growth we’ll lower debt”.

He said “we’ll have a bit of deficit for once, not to save banks, but so as not to kill citizens and entrepreneurs.”

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italian Minister Tells EU: ‘We Won’t Go Back a Millimetre’

Deputy Premier and Labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday that “we won’t go back a millimetre” when asked about the rise in Italy’s bond spread since the government announced it intends to let the deficit rise to 2.4%.

“If necessary we’ll explain the budget on the streets,” the 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader told RTL 102.5 , adding the government was “united”.

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

Italy: League MPs Want Muslim Veil Ban for Picking Up Kids

In province of Bergamo

(ANSA) — Milan, October 2 — Two MPs with the anti-migrant League have called for a ban on the Muslim full-face veil when mothers pick up their kids at school in the province of Bergamo.

Simona Pergreffi and Daniele Belotti said this would enable staff to identify the people picking the children up, in line with a recent high court ruling.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy Needs Own Currency — Borghi

Would resolve problems says House budget committee president

(ANSA) — Rome, October 2 — Claudio Borghi, the president of the Lower House’s budget committee, on Tuesday said he thought Italy would be better off if it had its own currency.

“I’m totally convinced that Italy would resolve most of its problems with its own currency,” Borghi, a member of Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini’s League party, told RAI radio.

“Having control of one’s own means in monetary policy is a necessary condition — although not sufficient — to carry out the ambitious and enormous project of renewal.

“But it is necessary to have the awareness and agreement of the citizens to be able to take this step.

“If we had objectively wanted to clash with the European Union to get this outcome, we would have declared a 3.1% deficit, not a 2.4% one.

“In reality, we simply want to carry out the policies that, at the moment, are the minimum necessary to enable the economy to be a little better”.

Borghi said later: “I’m for leaving the euro but it’s not in the government contract”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Massive Support for Hungarian PM Viktor Orban in Coming European Election

Viktor Orban’s ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance is more popular than the opposition parties combined, and would win more than 60 percent of Hungary’s European parliamentary seats if the elections were held this Sunday, a fresh poll by the Nezopont Institute shows.

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

Orban Praises Trump, Slams Clinton, Rebukes EU Migration Commissioner: ‘This Man is Our Employee’

Hungarian leader Viktor Orban has praised Donald Trump’s anti-globalist UN address, criticised Hillary Clinton’s actions as Secretary of State, and slammed EU Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos for propagandising for mass migration.

In an interview transcript seen by Breitbart London, the conservative-populist prime minister told Kossuth Radio that he could not begin to say how much his country “suffered during the term in office of Secretary of State [Hillary] Clinton”.

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

Sweden Election: ‘It’s Looking Dark’ Far-Right Party Gains Influence in Election Disaster

Sweden’s eight main party leaders met with the Speaker of the Riksdag for the second round of talks today, in a bid to break the almost one-month long political deadlock.

The first round of talks on September 25 did not find Sweden a new Prime Minister after none of the parties arrived at a compromise and saw current Prime Minister Stefan Löfven losing a vote of confidence.

The dramatic vote sparked further confusion about who will form the next Government.

Tuesday’s talk was led by newly-elected parliamentary speaker Andreas Norlén who has given Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderate party and the centre-right bloc a go-ahead to start negotiations of forming a new Government.

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

UK: BoJo Calls for Return of ‘Systematic Stop and Search’, End ‘Politically Correct Nonsense’ Policing

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson has called for London police to resume the “systematic stop and search” of those suspected of carrying weapons after the practice was curtailed by then-Home Secretary Theresa May.

During a robust alternative Tory Party conference speech in Birmingham on Tuesday where he defended conservatism and wealth creation, the former Mayor of London addressed “making the streets safer”.

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

Turkey: Building Mosques, Erasing Christianity

While Turkey’s latest mosque is being inaugurated in Germany, the greatest Christian Orthodox theological school has remained closed for almost 50 years by the order of the Turkish government. Moreover, less than a kilometer away from the shuttered Christian seminary, a major new center of Islamic studies spanning a total area of 200 acres is scheduled to be built.

The Greeks of Turkey — the remnants of the once great Byzantine Empire — are a severely persecuted and even almost completely exterminated people. They have been exposed, among other crimes against humanity, to a genocide, pogroms and forced deportations at the hands of multiple Turkish governments. As a result, there are only around 1,300 Greeks left in Istanbul. But in spite of its tiny size, the dying Greek community still suffers from discrimination and violations of its rights.

The Turkish government, which keeps the country’s greatest Christian theological school closed, is spending a large portion of its annual budget on the worldwide construction of mosques.

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

Pompeo to Meet Kim Jong Un in Fresh Visit

Washington (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will pay a fresh visit to North Korea on Sunday and meet leader Kim Jong Un as the administration’s hopes rise of a denuclearization deal, the State Department said.

The rare advance announcement of a meeting with the young strongman came hours after North Korea raised the stakes in negotiations, saying it would not give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for a peace treaty.

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

Secret China-Vatican Deal Raises Alarms for Christians

A ministry that serves persecuted Christians around the globe is raising alarms about a new deal between China and the Vatican.

At least partly because the deal still is secret.

It is Christian Solidarity Worldwide, or CSW, that pointed out that a “provisional agreement” signed between China and the Vatican apparently concerns the appointment of bishops in China.

The organization, which has advocates in more than 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin American and the Middle East to work to protect freedom of religion, envisions a world in which everyone can practice the religion of their choice.

It’s concern with the agreement is that it comes “amid a crackdown on religious communities across the country, including the detention of Catholic clergy and restrictions on their religious practices.”

“The agreement was signed on 22 September 2018. Details of the deal remain unknown, but it is believed that under the agreement the Chinese authorities will submit a candidate for bishop to the Vatican, with the pope having final veto power,” the report said.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Namibia’s President Wants to Expropriate Land From Whites

Namibian President Hage Geingob on Monday said he will push forward with expropriating land and redistributing it to the majority black population in the country.

“Many Namibians were driven off their productive land,” said Geingob during his opening speech at a national land policy conference in the capital Windhoek. During his speech, he pointed to similar proposals made by South Africa’s government.

“We also share a burning land issue and a racialized distribution of land resources with South Africa,” Geingob said. “This comes from a common history of colonial dispossession. What we also agree to is that the status quo will not be allowed to continue.”

The Namibian government is hoping to transfer nearly half of its arable agricultural land, about 15 million hectares (58,000 square miles), to disadvantaged blacks in the country.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

100,000 Home Routers Recruited to Spread Brazilian Hacking Scam

The shell DNSChanger module works on 21 router models, the post said; the JavaScript module can infect six models; and the Python version has been installed on 100 servers, mostly on Google’s cloud.

At this stage, the post said, the redirection campaign is heavily weighted towards Brazilian Websites, nearly 88 per cent of the compromised devices are also in Brazil, and the rogue DNS servers operated on Hostkey, Oracle, Multacom, Amazon, Google, Telefonica, Aruba, and OVH.

Compromised kit has also been spotted in Bolivia, Argentina, Saint Maarten, Mexico, Venezuela, the US, Russia and a few others.

OVH, Oracle and Google have kicked the attackers off their infrastructure, and the post said others are “working on it”.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Brazil Investors Cheer as Support Rises for Bolsonaro

BRASILIA, BRAZIL — Brazilian markets surged on Tuesday as a congressional farm caucus endorsement and stronger polling for far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro boosted expectations that he may block the leftist Workers Party from returning to power.

The benchmark Bovespa stock index jumped 3.6 percent, flirting with a four-month high, and Brazil’s currency, the real, strengthened 2.4 percent, on track to close below 4 per dollar for the first time in six weeks.

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

Already 20% of Driving Lessons in Sweden Are in Arabic as Migrants Fail Them in Swedish

The Swedish Transport Administration has serious plans to counter the number of migrants that fail driving tests, Swedish Radio reports.

At the moment migrants are overrepresented in failing their driving exams because of language problems.

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

Angela Merkel Allows Illegal Migrants to Stay in Germany

The SPD and CDU make it official rejected asylum seekers can stay. Their new proposal for “Specialist Workers” will further mix asylum and migration. In this rejected asylum seekers will be able to prevent their deportation if they have found employment. The proposal is set to be passed this Tuesday.

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

Canada to Admit Nearly 1 Million Immigrants Over Next 3 Years

Canada will welcome nearly one million immigrants over the next three years, according to the multi-year strategy tabled by the Liberal government today in what it calls “the most ambitious immigration levels in recent history.”

Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said that by 2036 100 per cent of Canada’s population growth will be as a result of immigration, it stands at about 75 per cent today.

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: 75 Percent of Pre-Trial Prisoners in Berlin Are Foreigners

The number of foreign-born prisoners in Berlin is increasing according to new figures that show 90 different countries are now represented in the German capital’s prison system.

Convicted criminals without a German passport are now a majority in the German prison system at 51 percent of the total population and according to new data, 75 percent of prisoners in pre-trial detention are foreigners as well, Berliner Morgenpost reports.

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

ICE Removes Pakistani Man Convicted, Ordered to Pay $71 Million in Laundering Scheme

PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) removed a citizen of Pakistan, yesterday, Sept 25, 2018, upon his release from the Moshannon Valley Correctional Center (MVCC) in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania.

Muhammad Sohail Qasmani, 50, was convicted on June 28, 2017, in federal court for the offense of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and sentenced to 48 months imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $70,960,070.73.

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

Italian MEP Furious Outburst: Why Wasn’t France Punished — Why Don’t the Same Rules Apply

FURIOUS Italian MEP Marco Valli has lashed out at the EU over the bloc’s migrant crisis, accusing Brussels of turning Italy into the “refugee camp of Europe” and playing favourites with France.

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

Italy Arrests Mayor for Allegedly Aiding Illegal Immigration

MILAN (AP) — The mayor of a small town in southern Italy that became a model for immigrant integration was placed under house arrest Tuesday for allegedly aiding illegal immigration, a move that brought a well-spring of support for the mayor.

Italian financial police arrested the mayor of Riace, Domenico Lucano, as part of an investigation into the allocation of a half-million euros in public funds to house refugees and asylum-seekers.

Authorities said the investigation also is examining allegations that fraudulent associations were set up so immigrants could take over trash disposal contracts and the arranging of marriages of convenience to help female immigrants remain in Italy.

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

Migrant Related Violence Forces Swedish Schools to Close

Over the last five years, violence among students in primary and secondary schools has more than doubled, Swedish news outlet Samhällsnytt reports.

A reverse in the trend is not in sight. On the contrary, violent incidents continue to increase. The violence varies from smashed up classrooms to robbery, stabbings and murder, and it is carried out by students against other students and teachers.

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

Nearly 700 Migrants Rescued Off the Coast of Spain

A total of 675 African migrants were rescued off the coast of Spain last weekend. This included, children, women and young males.

Spain has become the largest port for illegal African migrants to enter Europe. This has increased significantly into Spain since Italy is no longer allowing migrant boats to dock in their country.

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

Riace Mayor Arrested for Aiding Illegal Immigration

Lucano also probed over trash collection

(ANSA) — Riace, October 2 — Riace Mayor Domenico ‘Mimmo’ Lucano was put under house arrest on Tuesday in relation to allegations of aiding illegal immigration, prosecutors said. The arrest warrant, performed by finance police, also referred to alleged wrongdoing over the direct assignment of trash-collection services without a public tender. Lucano’s administration of the town in the southern region of Calabria has been frequently lauded by commentators for the way migrants were integrated into the local community and made a positive contribution to it. He was named among Fortune’s 50 greatest world leaders in 2016.

Lucano’s partner, Tesfahun Lemlem, is accused of the same charges and has been banned from living in the area.

Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the anti-migrant League party, said “ask (pro-migrant writer Robert) Saviano, (pro-migrant campaigner Laura) Boldrini, the champions of out-of-control immigration”.

Saviano replied: “this government is taking the first step towards the definitive transformation of Italy from a democracy into an authoritarian State.

In Mimmo’s actions there is never the goal of money, but civil disobedience”.

Deputy Premier and labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio, leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), said “Riace was not a model”, as it had been portrayed.

In the citation for its accolade, Fortune said “though his pro-refugee stance has pitted him against the mafia and the state, Lucano’s model is being studied and adopted as Europe’s refugee crisis crests”.

He placed 40th among the 50 greatest world leaders.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Slovak Prime Minister: We Can Take Syrian Orphans From Greece

Slovakia’s prime minister admitted that Slovakia could help Greece and Italy with refugees. The Foreign Affairs Ministry is now analysing the possibilities.

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

California Becomes First State to Mandate Female Board Directors

California became the first state to require companies based within its borders to put female directors on their boards, adding to pressure on boardrooms across the country to give more women a seat at the table.

California Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday signed a bill mandating that all publicly traded companies with headquarters in the state have at least one woman on their boards by the end of next year. By 2021, companies with at least five directors would need to have two or three female directors, depending on the size of the board, according to the new law. Those that don’t face financial penalties.

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

CERN Suspends Scientist Over ‘Offensive’ Address on Women and Science

Europe’s physics lab CERN on Monday suspended a scientist over a lecture that suggested physics was “built by men” and accused women of demanding specialist jobs without suitable qualifications.

The presentation by Alessandro Strumia of Pisa University was delivered Friday at the Geneva lab during a workshop on the relationship between high energy theory and gender.

The presentation—which includes various slides, charts and graphs—appears to claim that men face discrimination in the field of physics.

One pictorial series suggests that women line up to take gender studies and then later protest over a lack of jobs in stem fields, an umbrella term that covers areas like chemistry and engineering.

“Physics invented and built by men, it’s not by invitation,” one slide says.

“CERN considers the presentation delivered by an invited scientist during a workshop on High Energy Theory and Gender as highly offensive,” the lab said in a statement. …

The lab has said that despite efforts to close its own gender gap, women still account for less than 20 percent of staff.

The lab notes that it has backed initiatives aimed at boosting female participation in the sciences.

“Diversity is a strong reality at CERN, and is also one of the core values underpinning our Code of Conduct,” the statement said.

“The Organisation is fully committed to promoting diversity and equality at all levels.”

           — Hat tip: AF [Return to headlines]
 

7 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 10/2/2018

  1. I don’t know where else to post this, so please forgive me if that’s inappropriate, but I wanted to share my recent experience from travelling to Serbia.

    As you may know, Serbia took its share of migrant problems after Hungary closed its borders. I have traveled to Serbia the other day and was wondering what I’m going to find.

    Now, during the day you see nobody. There were only Serbs on the streets, even in Belgrade, I even felt like the only tourist far and wide until I reached the fort (which is a true highlight of the city).

    However, the scene changes once it’s dark. I have no idea where they stay during the day, but with night they begin to crawl out. Gangs of 5-7 Arab-looking men, wandering the streets and hanging out in parks. I have to say I didn’t feel particularly threatened, but it wasn’t particularly pleasant either. The most unpleasant moment was when I wasn’t sure where I was going, so I went through a park to check what street was on the other side and there was this group watching me. Sure enough, I made sure to use another path through the park (I spotted them early enough to make it look like I wasn’t going towards them at all) and made sure I didn’t go through that park again. In a nearby park there was also a lone “southern looking” male clearly patrolling it (I really don’t find a better word to describe what his behaviour looked like). That said, I didn’t witness any kind of drug dealing, harassing or misbehaving at all.

    I have to say though I’m a stern-looking bulky guy, a tender girl, a mother with children or even a slender guy would probably feel very different about the situation. And I wasn’t making rounds late at night, around midnight or so, so I don’t know how the situation looks then, when the pulsing of the day calms down. Sadly I’ve also seen several homeless elderly people, mostly women, sleeping on park benches tucked in blankets. If they have to deal with the migrant gangs or if the police presence is strong enough to keep them in check I really do not know and don’t want to guess, I’m just providing what I’ve seen.

    As for the border controls, I have to say both Hungary and Serbia are very thorough. Both sides, both in and out of each country check every person and luggage room (not the luggage itself, just the trunk of the vehicle). And one more thing that I found…good (for the lack of a better word), there was a black man at the border check before me and the officer there checked his passport more thoroughly. If I were to guess, I’d say he checked if he recently visited one of the “problematic” countries and would probably question the man if that was the case. The officer’s posture also straightened while he was dealing with the black man. He was clearly showing him who the boss is. He seemed more relaxed when dealing with me or other white people (don’t get me wrong though, he still looked stern and far from slacking). I’m sure liberals would have a problem with that, but as far as I’m concerned, it made me feel like they won’t let anyone problematic through easily.

    That’s just my take on what I’ve seen during my travels, take it as you will.

    • Serbia is a migrant route now and situation may get worse. Some 10 months ago there was a no-visa agreement between Serbia, Turkey and Iran. Fake or real passport holders can travel between three countries without prior request. Now many people from Iran go there and stay in parks waiting for the moment they can sneak into Germany. The number of those staying in camps was around 6,500 the last time I read about it in Deutsche Welle. However, a lot more might be wandering in jungles and elsewhere. Some Serbian lawyers are openly smuggling human.

      I haven’t been there but I have read about it several times. VOA and Deutsche Welle regularly report the situation in Persian to guide the possible migrants. But I doubt any news in English or German will ever be published.

  2. Let me put this in here somewhere just to be putting it somewhere….

    Cops know how to kill. So do military people and several occupational workers — the chemist that put together one’s favorite bug killer had a clear and decidedly firm intent to kill and not just once.

    The reason they don’t do something like run a car into a crowd of people is because if they kill it is a precision act for a substantial reason, like defense.

    Random shooting, etc., (as well as the car business) isn’t precise although it looks like it is.

    • You don’t need to be a chemist to aim a can of bug killer at someone. A repeat resident of the woman’s shelter nearby was attacked with a steady stream of roach killer by her husband who told her he was going to “exterminate” her. Blinded by the fluid, she managed to make it to his bedside stand and pull out the gun he kept. She shot him repeatedly since she was indeed firing blindly in his general direction. The district attorney charged her with murder and she was jailed without bail. When the case finally came to trial, the judge listened to the case against her and dismissed it before the defense could even begin, saying that her response was justified. He also upbraided the county attorneys for bringing any charges against her.

      [I was concerned in the aftermath that their children would suffer. Instead, they began to thrive physically, emotionally, and mentally – they excelled in school for the first time. So much for my worries.]

      • If “Evita” is a reliable guide, Che Guevara was a research chemist who invented a new insectiside, but it wasn’t taken up.

        Whether this explains his anger and frustration, not to mention his belief that black people were inferior (a good point to mention to conservative statue-demolishers), I couldn’t say.

Comments are closed.