A Somali culture-enricher drove a vehicle loaded with gas canisters onto the sidewalk of a busy street in Melbourne, then got out and began attacking passers-by with a knife. The suspected perpetrator — known variously as Hassain Khalif Shire Ali or Mohamed Khalif, giving the incident a possible Mohammed Coefficient of 100% — attempted to detonate his vehicle, but only caused it to catch fire. He managed to kill one person and wound two others before he was shot dead by police.
The victim who was killed had his throat slit. However, all major media reports say he was “stabbed in the face”.
At first the Australian authorities said that there was no connection to terrorism. However, they eventually admitted that “terror” was a factor. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dean, DV, Insubria, JD, RA, Reader from Chicago, Salome, Samuel, SS, 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.
College Offers Safe-Space for Students to “Process, Stressful” Midterm Election Results
Students at an Illinois college received an email on Tuesday offering “extra support and resources” for those struggling to “process” the 2018 midterm election results.
Three Elmhurst College offices informed students that there would be increased support on campus during the “stressful time” of midterm elections, according to an email obtained by Campus Reform.
“Our staff will have open office hours to provide a space to process the outcomes of the elections,” Elmhurst’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion, Office of Student Involvement, and Office of the Chaplain said in the email.
“We will also have coffee, cider, hot chocolate, and some treats to offer you,” they continued.
“We hope that you will join us if you need some extra support and resources throughout the day.”
— Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Exclusive — NYC 9/11 Top Cop Bernard Kerik: FBI Must Classify Antifa as a ‘Domestic Terror Group’
Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik told Breitbart News Tonight Thursday evening that the FBI should classify Antifa as a “domestic terror group.” He offered his remarks in an interview with SiriusXM hosts Rebecca Mansour and Joel Pollak.
Kerik’s comments were made during a discussion of left-wing activists threatening and intimidating Tucker Carlson’s family on Wednesday night outside of the Carlson family’s home in Washington, D.C.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Judge to Broward County: Your Shoddy Vote Counting Operation Violated Open Records Laws
Well, Gov. Rick Scott’s legal action against the shoddy ballot counting antics in two of the most liberal counties in the state seems to have clinched its first win: A Florida judge ruled that Broward County, the largest Democratic county in the state, was in violation of state law, and that Brenda Snipes, the county’s elections supervisor, was in violation of open records act. Ms. Snipes was not giving regular updates on how many outstanding ballots were left. She was just dumping vote counts in the late hours, which has chipped away at Scott’s lead, but the secrecy and the timing was suspect. Why is Broward taking so long? Hurricane Michael-ravaged counties have been able to count their ballots on time. Now, she must comply with records inspections by 7 P.M.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Media Lies, Claims Acosta Video is “Doctored”
The mainstream media is attempting to distract from CNN’s Jim Acosta placing his hands on a woman during yesterday’s White House press conference by claiming a video of the incident tweeted by Sarah Sanders is “doctored”.
Acosta’s press access was revoked yesterday after he became embroiled in a verbal spat with President Trump and then appeared to overpower a White House staffer who tried to retrieve the microphone from him.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Hints at Federal Investigation as Dems Gain Ground in Arizona, Florida and Georgia
After Florida launched a state-wide investigation into the ongoing vote counting in Broward County following allegations that the heavily Democratic district may have acted to suppress Republican votes, President Trump on Friday suggested that he could order a federal investigation into the vote counting in the race between Republican Rick Scott and Democrat Bill Nelson.
When asked during a press briefing on Friday whether the federal government could become involved in the vote count, Trump didn’t rule out the possibility.
“Could be,” Trump said, before complaining that late vote counting like what’s happening in Florida “always seems to go the way of the Democrats,” per the Washington Examiner.
As of Friday morning, the margin between Scott and Nelson had shrunk to approximately 15,000 votes. More than 24,700 voted in Broward county for a gubernatorial candidate but not a US Senate candidate, which has led both Democrats and Republicans to suspect that the other side is up to something. But Florida isn’t the only state where closely watched vote tallying could flip the an election outcome. In Arizona, for the first time since the polls closed, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema has taken the lead over Republican Martha McSally in that state’s US senate race. After flipping 5 Democratic Senate seats on Tuesday, giving up the Arizona Seat to the Dems while losing the seat nominally won by Scott would erode Republicans’ gains in the Senate — but it wouldn’t totally cancel them out, according to the Daily Caller.
In Arizona, early voting led to more than 75% of ballots being cast by mail.
And as Trump highlighted in a tweet Friday morning, the fact that they’re still finding votes in Florida and Georgia suggests that something strange is going on.
Both Sen. Marco Rubio and former Trump aid Marc Caputo have shared evidence on twitter that could suggest that Broward County Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes, who was first appointed in 2003 by former Gov. Jeb Bush, may have tampered with the vote.
[Comment: Rabid dedication to communist ideology overrides ethics and fair play where Commicrats are concerned. Communists always make sure they are the ones counting the votes.]
— Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Edmonton: RCMP Identify Suspect in Sherwood Park Explosions as Kane Kosolowsky
“Out of character.”
Those were the words a grieving family used Thursday to describe the actions of Kane Kosolowsky, the suspect linked to a pair of explosions in a Sherwood Park parkade earlier this week.
Even the family says it has no idea what drove the 21-year-old to do what he did Tuesday night in the multi-level parking area of the Strathcona County Community Centre.
At this stage, nor do the RCMP.
“We … are shocked and devastated by the unfortunate incident,” said a statement issued by the RCMP on behalf of unnamed family members.
“We are thankful that there were no other persons harmed in this unexpected incident.
“The events that occurred are totally out of character for Kane and we trust that the authorities will continue a thorough investigation to provide the answers we are all seeking.”
Officers found a severely injured Kosolowsky in the community centre parkade at around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, not long after reports of an explosion and a fire.
He was rushed to hospital where he later died.
Autopsy results released Thursday revealed he died from a gunshot wound. Police say they are not looking for any further suspects…
— Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
EU Commission Rejects Italian Government Budget, Demands a New ‘Compliant’ One for Tuesday
The European Commission has demanded a new budget from the Italian populist government that complies with EU rules with the deadline approaching on Tuesday.
The Commission made the demand late last month after rejecting the Italian budget following weeks of disputes between the populist Italian coalition government and Brussels.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
European Court Orders “Italy to Recover Property Tax Not Paid by the Church”
A Rome’s Elementary School wins landmark appeal against the Church’s exemption from paying ICI tax for its non-commercial bodies. Italy to get 4 — or 5 — billion back
anna martinelli Italy must recover the ICI property tax not paid by the Church: this is what the judges of the European Court of Justice have established, crushing the previous decision of the Commission (2012) and the judgment of the EU Court of Justice (2016) which had ruled “the impossibility of recovering the aid due to organizational difficulties” for non-commercial bodies, such as schools, clinics and hotels. Yet 2 years later, the European court judges said that those circumstances constituted mere “internal difficulties” for Italy.
The appeal accepted by the Court of Justice was filed by the Montessori primary school in Rome (150 students) against the 2016 EU Court’s ruling, which at first instance had found legitimate the decision of the European Commission to exempt the church’s non-commercial bodies from paying the ICI property tax, a figure that, according to estimates is around 4-5 billion…
— Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
France: Macron Could Lose All Support He Has
French President Emmanuel Macron, amidst his already rock bottom approval ratings, is going for broke, trying to lose every last ounce of support he has.
He paid homage to WWI hero turned Nazi collaborator, Marshal Philippe Pétain. “I consider it entirely legitimate that we pay homage to the marshals who led our army to victory. Marshal Philippe Pétain was a great soldier in World War One,” Macron said.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany, Austria, Slovakia at Top for Robot Density
Slovenia also above the Europe average of units installed
(ANSA) — BELGRADE, NOVEMBER 6 — After South Korea, with 710 units per 10,000 employees and Singapore (658 units), Germany (322 units) was the third country in the world with the highest density of installed industrial robots in the manufacturing industry in 2017, according to data from the latest “World Robotics Report”, made recently public by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).
IFR data show that the robot density average was 85 in the entire world and 106 per 10,000 employees in Europe in 2017, with a higher percentage registered also in Austria (167 units), and in some countries in Central Europe, including Slovakia (151), Slovenia (144) and the Czech Republic (119). Japan recorded a robot density of 308, slightly lower than Germany, followed by Sweden (240), Denmark (230), the United States (200), Taiwan (197), Belgium (192) and Italy (190). China registered a robot density of 97 units per 10,000 employees, IFR said.
“The car industry plays a strong part” in the robotization process, the specialized portal Emerging Europe noted, adding that “Slovenia ranks 7th in the world when it comes to share of robots in the auto industry.” Moreover, Slovenia is increasingly playing a role in the European robotics scene, with “all the major players in global robotics”, including Fanuc, Yaskawa, ABB and Kuka, already “active on the Slovenian market, despite its relatively small size,” Emerging Europe said, quoting Invest Slovenia. According to a recent study of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), “33% of all jobs in Slovakia are at high risk and so are 25% of the jobs in Slovenia” due to automation.
— Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The government’s enhanced support for families will “benefit the whole nation, including young people” in the long run, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told public Kossuth Radio on Friday.
“Young people often plan a family … and then face financial difficulties,” Orban said, adding that he wanted to build a Hungary in which young people are not forced to change their plans due to money worries.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary’s Government Rules Out Concessions for Soros-Founded University
BUDAPEST (Reuters) — Hungary’s government said it would not make concessions to the Central European University, the legal status of which has been in limbo for more than a year due to changes in the law from a government hostile to its founder, financier George Soros.
“In Hungary the law applies to all, including the Soros university,” government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs was quoted as saying in an interview published by the daily Magyar Hirlap on Thursday.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Deal Struck on Statute of Limitations, In Force in Jan 2020
After reform of penal process
(ANSA) — Rome, November 8 — A deal has been struck between government partners the 5-Star Movement (M5) and League on reforming the statute of limitations to stop so many trials timing out, Deputy Premier and League leader Matteo Salvini said after a government summit on the issue Thursday.
“Deal found on the reform of the statute of limitations, but only with certain timeframes, he said.
Salvini said the reform would come into force in January 2020.
“The deal was made in half an hour. I want short times for trials. The guilty in jail, freedom for the innocent. The norm will be in the anti-corruption bill but it will come into force in January 2020 when the reform of the penal process will have been approved.
“The enabling law, which will end in December 2019, will be examined by the Senate next week.
Justice Minister Alfonso Bonafede confirmed that the reform will come into force in a year’s time.
He said it would be “part of an epoch-making reform of penal procedures”.
Bonafede said the government would ask to be able to use a special enabling bill to make the reform.
He said, however, that the reform would stay in an amendment to the government’s anti-corruption bill “which will hit parliament next week”. Civil Service Minister Giulia Bongiorno said after the summit that the statute of limitations would be linked to the duration of trials.
A League appointee, she said there was “full harmony” on the issue with the 5-Star Movement (M5S), their government partner.
She said work would start “immediately” on reforming the penal process to quicken Italy’s snail-paced justice system. Earlier, 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio said that ruling partner the League must do a deal on a reform to the statute of limitations or else their government contract would be annulled.
The M5S wanted the statute of limitations to be stopped after first-instance trials to stop so many people seeing their trials timed out and the guilty getting off.
League leader Matteo Salvini said he is amenable to a reform, but not such a drastic one, which he says will lead to “infinite trials” both for the innocent and the guilty.
Di Maio and Salvini, the two deputy premiers, held the government summit to settle the disagreement on Thursday morning.
Also present were Premier Giuseppe Conte and Justice Minister Alfonso Bonafede.
Meanwhile in parliament there was chaos on the anti-corruption bill with the opposition centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party occupying the government benches.
— Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Cars With Foreign Plates to be Banned After 60 Days
Measure in security decree to prevent misuse
(ANSA) — Rome, November 8 — Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said Thursday that a measure has been inserted into the government’s security decree banning people who have been residing in Italy from over 60 days from driving vehicles with foreign license plates. He noted that, though the measure features some exceptions, it seeks to stop people using cars with foreign license plates to avoid paying taxes, insurance and fines. “Those that violate the ban will have to pay a high fine and, if they do not register the vehicle here, their cars may be confiscated,” he said in a statement.
He added that he was “very proud of this measure, which tries to curb an unfair practice that is unfortunately very common and that hurts us all by not paying taxes”.
— Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Verdini Gets 4 Yrs 4 Mts for Bankruptcy
For failure of building firms
07 November 201818:29 News
(ANSA) — Florence, November 7 — A Florence court on Wednesday sentenced former Berlusconi ally Denis Verdini to four years and four months in prison for the bankruptcy of several building companies.
Verdini, now leader of a small centrist group, was convicted along with businessmen Ignazio Arnone, who got three years and four months, and his son Marco Arnone who got two years and four months.
The trial regarded transactions between Verdini’s former CCF bank and the Arnones’ firms.
— Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy-France Tensions Rise as Macron and Merkel Skip Palermo Conference
With Libyan officials confirmed, two key European leaders are likely to be absent in Sicily on November 12-13.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte repeats this mantra-like statement in front the cameras and the journalists: the first success in Italian diplomacy is the presence of the “main Libyan actors” at the Palermo conference on Libya on November 12 and 13. Earlier in October, the Head of the Presidential Council (PC) Fayez Al-Sarraj and Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar, the head of the Libyan National Army, were invited to attend the summit. Both are key figures in the play that makes up Libya’s rival, ruling factions: The eastern part of the country is governed by the parliament, backed by the LNA and located in Tobruk. The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, operates in the country’s west and is headquartered in Tripoli.
Four days ahead of the Palermo conference, this significant Libyan participation does not fill the European void. Yesterday evening, with meetings at Palazzo Chigi underway, sources of the executive and the foreign ministry confirmed that Macron will not be there and that “most likely” Merkel will also be absent. Add to that the news that France—who was offended of the meeting with Libyan powers—would have invited the Tunisian president to Paris on Monday. It’s no doubt a coincidence given the historical relations between the two countries, but still didn’t go unnoticed by our diplomacy…
— Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Khan’s London: Romanian Family Leaves Britain After Gang Murders Son, Capital ‘Too Dangerous’
A family from Romania have left Britain after one of them was murdered in Sadiq Khan’s London, saying the city is “too dangerous”.
Beniamin Pieknyi, 21, and a friend were targeted randomly by a multi-racial gang led by Ukrainian migrant Valdyslav Yakymchuk — who had been in the country for only two years — in the Stratford Centre.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Leader of Spanish Populist Party Aims to Become ‘New Trump’
As we’ve reported earlier, something is happening in Spain, a country with a mostly socialist tradition. The VOX political movement, a populist right-wing party, is gaining momentum and has seen rapid growth in Spain.
“We stand for the same law-and-order and social conservative causes as Trump,” Santiago Abascal, the leader of the movement says in an interview.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Marine Le Pen Will Visit Sofia on November 16
French Prime Minister Marine Le Pen will be on a working visit in Sofia on November 16 to meet nationalist and populist allies from Eastern Europe in connection with the forthcoming elections to the European Parliament next May.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Norway’s Mosques Are Multiplying, And Taxpayers Foot the Bill
Founded in 2001, Oslo-based Human Rights Service (HRS) has been instrumental in supplying useful and illuminating research about the scale, nature, and social and economic impact of immigration into Norway. Its recommendations have resulted in important policy changes, its website is very widely read by Norwegians who are skeptical about Islam, and the latest book by its information officer, Hege Storhaug (just out in English as Islam: Europe Invaded, America Warned), was a massive bestseller.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Optimism Over the Economic Impact of Brexit
The British public are optimistic about the long-term economic benefits of Brexit, a new poll by Hanbury Strategy on behalf of Politico finds.
More than 3,000 adult members of the British public were asked whether they thought Brexit would have a positive or negative impact in ten years.
Of the respondents polled between 29 October and 1 November 2018, 48 per cent said that independence would have a positive effect ten years later, whilst only 26 per cent felt that the UK leaving the European Union would have a negative effect.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish Prime Minister Loves Patriotism: “Only on This Foundation We Can Build Our Modern Identity”
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki very much values patriotism, saying that it helps his nation “build our modern identity”.
Reminding the people of Poland, and the world, of the importance of patriotism, Morawiecki said, “Thank you to all who water this tree, care for it, because only on this foundation, we can build — or rebuild — the memory of our great history and build our modern identity.”
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Foreign Minister Tells Jordan Peterson to ‘Crawl Back Under the Rock He Came From’
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström slammed Canadian professor Jordan Peterson’s recent visit to Stockholm saying the academic should “crawl back under the rock he came from.”
Earlier this week, Dr Peterson visited the Swedish capital as part of an ongoing speaking tour alongside U.S. political commentator Dave Rubin following the publication of Peterson’s book 12 Rules of Life: An Antidote to Chaos.
Commenting on the visit of Peterson to Sweden, Foreign Minister Wallström said, “I do not understand why people spend so much time on that man,” and though she agreed with Peterson’s call for young men to “clean their rooms” she added, “I think he should crawl back under the rock he came from.”
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
This Saturday I will be in Verdun, alongside Marine Le Pen and colleagues from the Europe of Nations and Freedom, to commemorate those who have fallen in the Great War.
The Battle of Verdun will forever be part of the French national consciousness, as it was at this strategic site that French soldiers bravely held their ground against the German onslaught.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Theresa May Poised to Betray Fishermen and Northern Ireland as EU Piles on Brexit Demands
The European Union is demanding it retain control of Britain’s ravaged fisheries as the price of approving Theresa May’s plan to keep the country in the EU Customs Union, according to reports.
The Prime Minister’s proposals for Britain to duplicate EU rules and regulations through a ‘common rulebook’ managed by EU judges and to remain within the bloc’s Customs Union — effectively preventing the country from reestablishing an independent trade policy — were originally seen as heavy concessions, but there is now a sense in Westminster that entering into such an arrangement would be some sort of victory, as Brussels has been resisting it.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tommy Robinson Brands PayPal Ban ‘Fascism’ After Tech Giant Stops Payments
Citizen journalist and activist Tommy Robinson has branded Paypal’s decision to stop processing his payments “fascism,” saying the company is trying to “silence” him.
Paypal confirmed that it had stopped handling payments for the founder and former member of the English Defence League, saying that while it could not comment on individual account holders, it says it regularly reviews accounts to check they are abiding by their ‘acceptable use’ policy.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘There’s a Nigel Farage in Every Country,’ Laments Eurocrat
The European Union is facing an existential crisis as there is now a populist, eurosceptic Nigel Farage-type figure in every country, warned the bloc’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.
The Frenchman told delegates at the European People’s Party (EPP) group conference in Helsinki on Thursday that the European Project is “under threat” from the forces of populism, and the bloc must band together ahead of May 2019’s European Parliament elections to defeat it.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Transport minister Jo Johnson has resigned from Theresa May’s government, claiming she has left Britain facing a choice between “vassalage and chaos”.
The MP for Orpington is brother to Boris Johnson, the Brexit-supporting former Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary — but, like sister Rachel, was himself a Remain supporter during Britain’s referendum on EU membership in 2016.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Local Labour Accused of Trying to ‘Dilute’ Scrutiny of Grooming Gang Inquiry
Conservative Party councillors in Kirklees have accused their Labour colleagues of attempting to “dilute” the terms of an inquiry into the Huddersfield grooming gang after 20 mostly Pakistani-Muslim men were jailed for the historic abuse of 15 vulnerable girls.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Uses Turkey as a Strategic Basis to Reorganize Itself
According to a report by the Dutch Intelligence, Islamic state cells are using Turkey as a strategic base in which to recover, rebuild and launch an underground war in Europe.
This assessment is contained in a report published Monday by the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service, known as AIVD. The document, available in Dutch on the AIVD website, is titled The Legacy of Syria: global jihadism remains a threat to Europe.
According to the report, the Turkish government does not see Sunni Islamic groups, al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS), as a pressing threat to national security. Instead, the Turkish security services are much more concerned about the Kurdish ethnic rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) present in Turkey and the Syrian People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Therefore, although the Turkish authorities sometimes take action to combat al-Qaeda and ISIS, “Turkish interests do not always correspond to European priorities in the field of counter-terrorism,” the report said.
For this reason, Turkey has been a major transit center for tens of thousands of foreign fighters who have flocked to Syria to fight for Sunni Islamic groups during the height of the Syrian civil war.
According to the report, today Turkey hosts tens of thousands of al-Qaeda and ISIS sympathizers — two organizations that maintain an active presence throughout the country. The Turkish government’s “hands-off” approach is giving these groups “ sufficient space for breathing and freedom of movement “to operate relatively freely on Turkish soil. In addition, members of al-Qaeda and ISIS take advantage of the relative peace and stability of Turkey to model and direct its pending underground war on the European continent.
— Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
A Blood-Red, Snake-Like Burrowing Fish From Meghalaya
Scientists have discovered a new species of swamp eel in northeastern India called Monopterus rongsaw.
Swamp eels belong to the family Synbrachidae, a family of unique bony fishes that lack eyes, fins and ribs and sport an elongated body. There are about 25 species of swamp eels across the world, found in all continents except Antarctica.
The uniqueness of northeast India and the Eastern Himalayas in general, is becoming apparent with increased research. Because of a fascinating geological past, the area has evolutionary connections to three very different biogeographic realms: peninsular India, Indo-China and Southeast Asia.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Asia Bibi Requested Asylum in Netherlands — Lawyer
Woman’s husband had appealed to Italy for help
(ANSA) — Rome, November 8 — Asia Bibi’s lawyer, Saif ul-Malook, told CNN on Thursday that a request for asylum has been presented in the Netherlands for the woman, her husband and her children. Bibi is a Pakistani Christian woman who was condemned to death by hanging for blasphemy eight years ago but was recently acquitted by the Supreme Court.
She has been unable to leave the country because of fundamentalist Islamic protests.
Bibi’s husband on Tuesday appealed to Italy for help in getting out of Pakistan.
— Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
New Species of Parasitic Wasp Spotted in Kannur
Kannur: Researchers from Zoological Survey of India have discovered a new species of parasitic wasp from Kannapuram in the district, and it has been named Megachalcis Kannapuramensis, to mark the locality where it was spotted.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Golden Age Begins: Robot Reporters Are Here
To cleanse the palate. On the one hand, this is every inch as creepy and dehumanizing an “innovation” as you’d expect from Chinese state media.
On the other hand, in due time it might automate the American cable-news industry into obsolescent oblivion.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Norwegian Reporter Apologizes Over ‘Racist’ Question for Korean Actress
A Norwegian reporter has apologized for a “racist question” she asked Korean actress Kim Soo-hyun, also known as Claudia Kim, during a recent interview.
Kjersti Flaa, who is based in Los Angeles, apologized on Instagram Thursday after her “offensive and ignorant” question enraged many of Kim’s Korean fans.
“Since I posted my interview with her and Ezra Miller I have realized that something I asked her came off in a way that was never intentionally meant as being anything else but curiosity, but it has later been brought to my attention that it sounded ignorant,” Flaa wrote.
“I am a Norwegian myself and English is not my first language and I was really impressed that Claudia could read Harry Potter in English at a very young age (since she grew up in Korea and I know that English is not her first language).”
This came a week after Flaa had an interview with stars in the film, “Fantastic Beasts 2.”
In an interview video released on Nov. 7, the reporter asked Kim and Miller about their first encounters with the Harry Potter books.
After Kim responded that she read the books when she was a middle school student, Flaa had a surprised look on her face and asked whether she was able to speak English at that age.
“Ooh, but you read it in English, then? So you did speak English? That’s cool,” Flaa said.
Kim looked slightly taken aback by her reaction, and Miller chimed in and said she is fluent in English.
Flaa’s remarks, which many thought came from an assumption that Kim, as a Korean, wasn’t good at English, angered her fans. Many demanded her apology; some fiercely attacked her on social media, calling her “racist.”
On Friday, Flaa apologized again to Kim.
— Hat tip: Samuel | [Return to headlines] |
Australia Police: Melbourne Attacker Also Planned Explosion
Police say a man who fatally stabbed another and injured two in central Melbourne had also planned to set off an explosion.
SYDNEY (AP) — Australia police said Saturday a man who fatally stabbed another and injured two in what they described as a terrorist attack in central Melbourne had also planned to set off an explosion.
Hassain Khalif Shire Ali, 30, got out of a pickup vehicle, which then caught fire, and stabbed three men, one of whom died at the scene on Friday. The attack horrified hundreds of onlookers during the afternoon rush hour in Australia’s second-biggest city.
Victoria state Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said that Shire Ali, who was shot by police and died in a hospital, had also planned for his vehicle to explode, but barbecue gas cylinders in the back of his pickup failed to ignite.
“It looks like he’s attempted to ignite a fire in the car, we believe at this stage with a view to igniting those canisters with some sort of explosion, but that didn’t eventuate,” Ashton told Australia’s Channel 9 TV network.
Ashton said Shire Ali, who moved to Australia from Somalia in the 1990s, was known to police and the federal intelligence authority ASIO partly because his brother Ali Khalif Shire Ali faced court this year in Melbourne accused of plotting another attack.
“He’s someone that was known to us,” Ashton said. “But he wasn’t someone we were actively monitoring to that level.”
Ashton said Shire Ali had a criminal history for cannabis use, theft and driving offences.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released through its Aamaq media arm, but provided no evidence. It said the man was an Islamic State fighter and had responded to IS calls for attacks in countries that are part of the international coalition fighting the militants in Syria and Iraq…
— Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Bourke Street Attack: Terrorist Incident in Melbourne CBD, As it Happened
The attacker shot dead by police was known to intelligence authorities before he crashed his car loaded with gas bottles in the Melbourne CBD and stabbed three people.
See how events unfolded as it happened.
— Hat tip: RA | [Return to headlines] |
A man shot by police after stabbing three people in Melbourne’s Bourke Street has died in hospital.
One of the stabbing victims died of his injuries at the scene, while two others, a 59-year-old man and a 26-year-old man, are in hospital being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Police shot the man in the chest after he charged at them with the knife.
He was taken to hospital in a critical condition and kept under guard before succumbing to his injuries.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton told a press conference tonight the attack was being treated as an act of terrorism.
“From what we know of that individual, we are treating this as a terrorism incident.”
He said the attacker, 31, was known to “federal intelligence authorities” as well as to Victoria Police.
“He’s known to police mainly in respect to relatives he has that are certainly persons of interest to us.
“For operational matters we now have the counter-terrorism command and the homicide squad dealing with this matter, and there are ongoing investigations being conducted by the counter-terrorism command,” he said.
Mr Ashton said the attacker had a criminal history of cannabis use, theft and driving offences…
— Hat tip: Salome | [Return to headlines] |
Melbourne cafe legend Sisto Malaspina was stabbed to death during a terrorist’s knife rampage through Bourke Street just blocks from his iconic Pellegrini’s coffee shop.
— Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A witness has described the moment he stood over a stab victim who was lying in a pool of blood during the Bourke Street terror attack on Friday.
— Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Mohamed Khalif crashed his car on Melbourne’s Bourke Street before setting it on fire, knifing bystanders and slashing at police officers who tried to stop him at around 4.20pm on Friday.
— Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Islamic State Claims ‘Known Wolf’ Terror Attack in Australia
Australian officials are calling an incident in downtown Melbourne today a terror attack, and the Islamic State has already taken credit, calling the suspect one of its “fighters.”
According to reports, the man attempted to ram his vehicle packed with gas cylinders into a tram, which he missed. He then exited the vehicle and threw a device into the car, setting it on fire.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A house linked to the Somali terrorist who stabbed a man to death and injured two others in Melbourne’ Bourke Street before being shot by police has been raided by counter-terrorism officers.
— Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Melbourne’s city has been plunged into lockdown after a knife-wielding man chased police, pedestrians and shoppers, leaving many requiring treatment for stab wounds, witnesses say.
— Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A knife-wielding man has crashed a car on Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall then set it on fire, allegedly stabbed three shoppers, killing one, before being shot by police.
— Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Can This Finance Star Pull Brazil’s Economy Out of the Dumps?
It’s been some 40 years since a small group of Milton Friedman disciples returned from the University of Chicago to their native Chile and, under the watchful eye of the repressive dictator Augusto Pinochet, unleashed a wave of free-market reforms that turned their country into the economic envy of Latin America. Friedman beamed with pride as Chile posted one spectacular economic growth figure after another—7 and 9 and 11 percent. He called it the “Miracle of Chile.” His protége’s quickly became known as the Chicago Boys.
Taking all this in was another young Friedman pupil—a Brazilian by the name of Paulo Guedes. Fascinated by the transformation, Guedes moved to Santiago, and while he didn’t stay long—Pinochet’s henchmen put a scare into him one day—the lessons stuck with him. In an interview with Bloomberg Newsin March, he said Brazil “should’ve done what the Chicago Boys instructed.”
Now Guedes, 69, gray-haired, and brimming with self-confidence, will get his chance to do just that in the incoming administration of the far-right nationalist Jair Bolsonaro. With the newly minted title of economy minister, Guedes will likely assume the powers of the ministers of finance, planning, and industry. The Brazilian press has dubbed him the superminister.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Caravan Reports Update: Despair in the Air as Migrants Struggle to Hitch a Ride
It’s a sweltering hot day in Sayula, Mexico and the migrants are scrambling to find any transport to take them further north on their journey towards the U.S. border.
Pick-up trucks are being loaded up with human cargo, cramming as many people as they can possibly fit into any available space.
One can only imagine what the ride will be like to their next destination of Pablo, which is about five or six hours away.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Deportation Orders Hit Record High, Immigration Courts Clogged
If numbers are to be believed, the Trump administration is trying to keep its promise to deport illegal aliens, a report from Syracuse University says.
Syracuse University’s TRAC Immigration sitehas crunched the data from fiscal 2018 and shown that the administration has issued orders to deport nearly 300,000 border jumpers.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Rome Readies for Protests Against ‘Salvini Decree’ And ‘Racism’
The U.S. State Department has warned Americans abroad of demonstrations against the populist Italian government to be held in Rome on Saturday, in protest of recent legislation aimed at reining in illegal immigration.
“There will be a large march/demonstration between 2 PM and approximately 8 PM, sponsored by various organizations and committees against the Italian Government, the “Salvini Decree” and racism,” said a State Department email alert.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polls: Populist Anti-Mass Migration Parties Leading in France, Hungary, And Italy
Fresh polling show a massive surge in support for anti-mass migration populist parties in France, Italy, and Hungary with the pro-sovereignty parties now leading their rivals going into next year’s European Parliament election.
A Hungarian national poll released earlier this week, conducted by Median, shows Fidesz, the party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, along with their Christian Democratic People’s Party allies, to have increased their already huge lead over their rivals to a total score of 63 per cent, with the second most popular party Jobbik at a mere 11 per cent.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sex Attacks Up 70% in Just One German City — “You Can’t Really Do Anything Alone Anymore”
Freiburg is a city that has been rocked by migrant related incidents. On 14 October this year, a teen girl was raped by seven Syrians and two years ago teenager Maria Ladenburger was raped and murdered by an Afghan migrant.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Parliament Considers Extending Full Voting Rights to Refugees, Foreigners
The Swedish Left Party has introduced a parliamentary motion that would allow foreign nationals, as well as refugees, to vote in both national and European Parliament elections.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The United Nations Migration Pact is a Bad Pact, We Won’t Accommodate Migrants — Hungarian PM
In his interview with Kossuth Radio on Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban referred to the United Nations’ migration pact.
Orban called for it to be ditched because “governments should side with the people and protect them from illegal migration, terrorism, crime, and economic difficulties”.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
69-Year-Old Dutchman Suing to Change His Legal Age to 49
From a purely chronological standpoint, Dutch entrepreneur Emile Ratelband is 69 years old. But, taking the saying “You’re only as old as you feel” to heart, he is asking a court to allow him to knock 20 years off his legal age, arguing that it’s no different from allowing someone to change his gender to correspond with his feelings.
Ratelband wants his hometown of Arnheim, southeast of Amsterdam, to change his official birthdate from March 11, 1949, to March 11, 1969.
“Because nowadays, in Europe and in the United States, we are free people,” Ratelband told the Washington Post. “We can make our own decisions if we want to change our name, or if we want to change our gender. So I want to change my age. My feeling about my body and about my mind is that I’m about 40 or 45.”
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Banned: Iceland’s Christmas Advert Deemed ‘Too Political’
The advertising clearance body responsible for screening broadcast adverts, Clearcast, has banned the ad, made with Greenpeace and featuring an animated Orangutang which highlights the destruction of the rainforest by palm oil growers, saying that it breaks rules banning political advertising laid down by the 2003 Communications Act.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dutchman, 69, Seeks Age Change to 49
Self-styled positivity guru Emile Ratelband thinks age is just a number. And his is a number the Dutchman wants changed.
The 69-year-old TV personality has asked a court in the Netherlands to approve his request for a new birthday that officially would make him 49.
Ratelband says his legal appeal is consistent with other forms of personal transformation that are gaining acceptance and government recognition in the Netherlands and around the world.
“With this free(dom) of choice, choice of name, freeness of gender, I want to have my own age. I want to control myself,” he said Thursday.
Ratelband says he wants to avoid age discrimination in society _ especially on dating websites.
“So when I ask for a mortgage, for example, they say it’s impossible,” he told The Associated Press. “If I go on Tinder, then I get women from 68, 69 when women are there.”
How about just being economical with the truth about his age?
“I don’t want to lie,” he said. “I want to be myself, so don’t force me to lie.”
Marjolein van den Brink, who specializes in human rights and gender issues at Utrecht University’s law school, said age discrimination is a problem but is different than the issues involved in reassigning gender…
— Hat tip: Samuel | [Return to headlines] |
EU Resolution Demands Critics of LGBT and Islam be Prosecuted
DUBROVNIK, Croatia — As awareness of the dangerous globalist agenda to subvert freedom and self-government grows across the Western world, totalitarians within the European Union are in such a panic that they are now openly demanding censorship of the Internet, the press, and free speech. They are also dictating to national governments that organizations they disagree with must be totally banned. And they called for governments and companies to actively propagandize the public. Critics of homosexuality, gender confusion, Islam, open borders, and more are all in the EU’s crosshairs. And ironically, the EU bigwigs are making all these totalitarian and intolerant demands in the name of “democracy” and “tolerance.” Welcome to the Orwellian world of globalist EU double speak.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Far-Left Greek PM to Attempt to Remove Christianity as State Religion
In what will likely not be a popular decision, Greece’s extreme-left PM Alexis Tsipras, has announced that the 10,000 Orthodox Church employees will be taken off the public payrollas he attempts to remove Christianity as the state religion.
The atheist Prime Minister appeared in a joint televised address in Athens with the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop Ieronymos, stated that priests and bishops will remain on the state payroll but no longer will they be civil servants.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack”
Does it make a difference whether they claimed responsibility or not?
That is good for camouflaging the blatant truth: If Islamic State takes responsibility then those who invited the muslims /jihadis to Aussie bear no responsibility. You see slitting throats will end if Islamic State disappear. But We created it to stay. As the saying repeated ad nauseam: “Muslims are here to stay”.
All problems are solved by elections no common sense is needed.
Completely agree. Muslims has existed for longer than a thousand years. But it is only now that the international freemasonry financial institutions and organizations keep saying we shall live together and that diversity is our strength.
Please change the record, Robyt- it seems to be stuck in the same groove (if you’re old enough to know what that means).
My late father and my brother-in-law were Masons, and they were not part of any global conspiracy.
That’s true of our Masons here, also. That ‘free’ masonry isn’t a variety I know. Our Masons here, long past their youth, are faithful attendees at every Eagle Scout award ceremony, where they give each boy a plaque.
IIRC, many of our American Founders were Masons.
I just look what they are standing for…
Why all these organizations (which are all within the boundaries of the masonic ideology) are supporting things like these?
http://members.lionsclubs.org/EN/serve/other-ways-to-serve/global-outreach/refugee-crisis-response/index.php
https://www.rotary.org/en/rotarian-helps-refugees-germany
https://www.rotary.org/en/rotarians-nova-scotia-embrace-syrian-refugee-family
https://blogs.imf.org/category/migration/
https://www.iom.int/
https://migrationdataportal.org/themes/migrant-rights
It is not a conspiracy, it is well and clearly written into their organization principles: the advancement of human kind, and all the rest of humanitarian ideology (which is fundamentally anti Christian because no salvation is possible in this world and death is the only end, salvation of the body is even useless). This is why they also sent all those NGOs to “rescue” migrant boats? What is this kind of philanthropy useful for them?
Thanks to the elite, it was an isolated incident, because islam is religion of peace, as we all know… sarc:off
There will be at the same time, at different addresses on the same street isolated incidents. Many. The truth is, stupidity hit back. The only bad part is there will be hit also the ones who fight stupidity.
“10,000 Orthodox Church employees will be taken off the public payrollas (sic) …”
Three lines later in the same article:
“stated that priests and bishops will remain on the state payroll”
Obviously a carefully written article! So which is it, Mr. Journalist? (sorry, Mr. or Ms. Journalist).
I’m hoping that Australian law enforcement revamps their training ASAP to have officers respond to a deadly force threat with immediate gunfire as opposed to flailing away ineffectually with a baton. That religious Moslem man should have been shot dead much sooner than he was. There’s no reasoning with the Koran.
Perhaps this will be a much needed wake up call to
The ethnomasochistic libtard Australian politicians who just recently voted against a motion that “it is OK to be white”
Are they hanging their heads in shame?
Probably not, more likely preening their right on
Politically correct, open borders, diversity feathers
Whilst this carnage goes on.
First Europe, then the USA under siege, don’t follow
Suit Australia.
Multi cultural enrichment and diversity. How long will continue this scam ? As long as the Christ is not put back where it belongs. As long as free masonry and humanitarian ideology is mainstream considered as the moral standard.
Ref Melbourne killing, why do the authorities continue to hide the truth, do they suppose that we shall all fall down on the ground and wail helplessly-if this filth attacked with a knife and slit the victims throat, then say so do not pretend otherwise-the continued attack on Non-Muslim people will continue, as directed by Islam to carry out the word of their Islamic teachings, we cannot undo this fact, we should recognise that their culture, the ideology are completely alien to the Christian in particular.
A Blood-Red, Snake-Like Burrowing Fish From Meghalaya
‘Snake-Like, burrowing Swamp-Eels’? Why bring politicians into a discussion about the natural world?
LOL.
The Prime Minister said that, while all religious extremism is dangerous and all religions have their issues (REALLY?), Islamic extremism represents the greatest danger to Australia of all of them. He has been criticised by a prominent Muslim member of Parliament, who reminds him that terrorism is greatly outranked in numbers of victims by domestic violence.
** Swedish Parliament Considers Extending Full Voting Rights to Refugees, Foreigners **
If you are intent on suicide, why be satisfied with half measures?
What milestone indicating assimilation and acceptance of Swedish culture was passed for this to be proposed? Or is this proposed as a gift to foreigners who have no intention of assimilating and hate everything about Sweden except the welfare payments and its moronic politicians?
https://twitter.com/DineshDSouza
Dinesh explains why the Democratic party and the media support Antifa
more blood on the hands of Australia’s liberal politicians. this guy just did what those politicians brought him to Australia to do.
“A police officer says sexual offences have dramatically increased in Freiburg and adds that Germans are perpetrators as well.” that’s the thing, if Germans see nothing happens to the foreign criminals, some will think “I can do it too”.