Grateful, Too, for Sunlight on the Garden

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

The future Baron is home for the holiday, and we’re going to dig into a feast a little later on in the day. But for moment I’m catching up on some work up here in the Eyrie — there are no real holidays in the Counterjihad.

Having to deal with nasty stuff all day long — and this is increasingly true of most news that comes out of Western Europe — should have made me crabbed and embittered by now. But that hasn’t happened yet: I’m sitting here in a warm, well-lit house, looking out the window at a yard covered with fallen oak leaves. There’s a dogwood by the trunk of the big oak with just a few red leaves still hanging on, lit by watery autumnal sunlight. It all induces an inexplicable sense of calm gratitude.

Thank you, Lord, for putting me here at this time and place to do this unpleasant but necessary work.

Thank you also for the many generous donors whose modest gifts keep Gates of Vienna going. (As a matter of fact, we’re a couple of weeks overdue for our Autumn Fundraiser. It should have happened by now, but circumstances — including my visit to D.C. — intervened to delay it. It will be a LATE Autumn fundraiser by the time it gets going.)

Thank you also for sending us all the tipsters, contributors, and translators who allow us to pack this blog with a cornucopia of useful information. And especially for the translators — they’re all volunteers, and they do a difficult job with cheerful aplomb and astonishing productivity.

And thank you for our readers, who pass our stuff around the Web and leave interesting additional information in our comments section.

During my last trip to D.C. I was once again surprised by the reaction of people I was meeting for the first time. I’d introduce myself and say I was in charge of the Gates of Vienna website, and they’d look surprised, and say, “Wow, so you’re the one who does all that — good to meet you.” That’s a gratifying response.

Thank you, Lord, for giving our work the breadth and reach that it has achieved.

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I’ve posted the following poem before on Thanksgiving, but that was a number of years ago, so here it is again. It was written in the late 1930s; hence its atmosphere of grim foreboding. It seems appropriate for our own time, even though the prodromal period before the 1939 cataclysm was considerably shorter than our own: our clock has been ticking for more than ten years, and we’re still counting down.

This is about gratitude in dire circumstances:

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Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/21/2018

The Metropolitan Police have launched a terrorism investigation after two IEDs were found in a London flat. The residence where the devices were found is not currently occupied.

In other news, a university in Michigan has cancelled its production of “The Vagina Monologues” because “not all women have vaginas.”

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

Thanks to AF, Andy Bostom, C. Cantoni, Dean, Insubria, JD, John, MB, Reader from Chicago, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

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Mexican Protester: I Support Trump — Send Them Back!

The following video features an interview with a Mexican woman who was among the demonstrators protesting the presence of the migrant “caravan” in Tijuana. Those future undocumented Americans are now camped there near the border, awaiting their chance to get into the USA.

Many thanks to FouseSquawk for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Video transcript:

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Achille Demagbo: “No More Social Romanticism or Handouts!”

Achille Demagbo (born 1980 or 1981 in Benin) is a German politician (AfD) and interpreter of origin. He is a long-time immigrant to Germany from West Africa, and is at pains to emphasize that he entered the country legal, on a visa, to continue his university education.

Mr. Demagbo is also a founding member and chairman of the Kiel district association for the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland, Alternative for Germany), and was a member of the state board of AfD Schleswig-Holstein. He now works for the AfD parliamentary group in Berlin. As a politician of African origin with dark skin in the AfD, he receives nationwide media attention.

One presumes that the Left deals with this fact the same way they deal with the political philosophy of Clarence Thomas: by labeling the offending “right-wing extremist” as a “traitor to his race”.

This video is from a recent the AfD party conference on the European elections in Magdeburg on November 19, 2018. Many thanks to MissPiggy for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Video transcript:

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A Modern Multicultural Christmas in Berlin

The city of Berlin has come up with a way to prevent Islamic terrorist attacks: Put native Germans in compounds surrounded by barbed wire.

OK, so I’m exaggerating — they don’t really use barbed wire. But still, based on the photo above, it’s pretty darned close to it.

Many thanks to MissPiggy for translating this report from NTV:

Christmas market is sealed off — Berlin is building “unique” terror protection

November 20, 2018

Two years ago the Islamist Anis Amri raced with a truck into the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin. Twelve people were killed in the attack. Now the Christmas market opens again — and becomes a high security zone.

Two years after the Islamist terrorist attack that caused twelve deaths, Berlin’s Christmas market at the Gedächtniskirche is reopening with an extensive security perimeter. Since Monday workers have been building more than a hundred square metal baskets along the perimeter the Breitscheidplatz and screwing them into a long row. The baskets come with plastic bags filled with sand. Extra bollards block the length of the perimeter and near pedestrian accesses.

In addition, the Tauentzinstraße in the direction of Charlottenburg and the Budapester Straße direction Schöneberg have been turned into one-way streets. Only buses, bicycles and delivery traffic may use the lane that travels against oncoming traffic.

According to the Senate, this combination of different barriers is supposed to offer a “unique access protection” in Germany to prevent terrorist attacks using trucks weighing up to forty tons.

The Berliner Kurier called it the “Mulled Wine Fortress”. The barrier elements and their construction and dismantling cost the country more than €2.5 million. The metal bollards and concrete bases are to be reused in the future.

The city’s security officers developed new protection concepts specifically for the Breitscheidplatz after the attack. Other Christmas markets in Berlin have to pay for the security of their markets themselves.

On December 19, the second anniversary of the Islamist terrorist attack with a truck on Breitscheidplatz, a memorial service with a wreath-laying ceremony is planned. In addition there will be a minute of silence for the twelve killed and more than 70 victims injured by the terrorist attack.

Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/20/2018

A man shouting “Allahu Akhbar” approached policemen in Brussels and stabbed at least one of them in the neck. He was then shot and wounded by the police. Belgian authorities have not yet determined a motive for the attack, but say the incident had nothing to do with terrorism.

In other news, Australia, Poland, and Israel have joined the ranks of nations that will decline to sign the UN’s migration pact.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dean, Insubria, JD, Law and Freedom Foundation, Reader from Chicago, 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.

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The Voices of Français de Souche

Hundreds of thousands of French people took to the streets over the weekend to protest the rising cost of living, and in particular the rise in diesel prices that resulted from a fuel tax increase. The protesters are known as “Yellow Vests”, based on the characteristic brightly-colored traffic safety vests they wear as a symbol of their movement.

Politicians and the media have denounced the Yellow Vests as “fascists”. In the following video, ordinary people among the street demonstrators are interviewed and asked their opinions about this derogatory characterization.

Many thanks to Ava Lon for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Note: This video is a composite of four separate clips, and the transcript reflects the times in the original footage.

Video transcript:

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A New Form of Censorship is Spooking Through Europe

Many thanks to JLH for translating this op-ed from Die Presse about the ECHR’s decision on the “hate speech” case against Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff:

A New Form of Censorship is Spooking Through Europe

Guest Commentary: Critique of a problematic decision by the European Court of Human Rights

By Ralph Schöllhammer
November 19,2018

Much has been reported in the past few days on the decision by the European Court of Human Rights that the designation of the Prophet Mohammed as “pedophilic” in the context of a 2009 seminar led by the Austrian Islam-critic Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff is not legally covered by the right of free expression of opinion. The waves caused by this decision were detectable even in the USA, where the popular Fox show, “Tucker Carlson” dedicated a full segment to the case.

Independent of whether this was a “scandalous decision,” it indicates a disturbing trend: a re-clericalization of public space in which — under cover of religion — discussions of broad interest are strangled in the cradle. The decision weighs the right to freedom of expression against the right to protection of religious feelings, to decide whether the latter must prevail in order to preserve religious peace in Austria.

Intention is Problematic

The statement designating Mohammed’s behavior as pedophilic is thus moved to the neighborhood of biased persecution, and a new legal situation is created. According to the European Court, it is not the statement as such that is the problem, but the intent with which it was made. That is, not to state an objective, debatable point, but to be contemptuous of Mohammed as an object of religious veneration.

Strictly speaking, “pedophilia” is not an expletive, but the description of a sexual interest in pre-pubescent children. That this practice is so widely condemned bespeaks progress. But this situation is not so long-standing as one might think. In the first half of the 19th century, the average age of European prostitutes was 16, and it was not unusual to encounter 14-year-olds in bordellos. On the streets of 1790 London, it was possible to walk by an eleven-year-old prostitute without experiencing a moral qualm.

The situation has improved since then, because segments of the (often religiously inspired) civilian society found these conditions intolerable and were able to bring the majority of society to their point of view. The same thing was true of the abolition of slavery — an institution whose existence had been viewed as more or less God-given until the beginning of the Enlightenment.

Anyone who reads the works of 19th century social reformers, from William Wilberforce to Harriet Beecher Stowe, will conclude that their intent, too, was to be contemptuous of contemptible situations — and fortunately this was already covered by the right of freedom expression.

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Let’s Even the Odds

In this episode, Dr. Turley covers the American petition to get White House press credentials for Alex Jones so he can sit next to CNN’s infamously rude microphone hog, Jim Acosta. Frankly, I don’t understand why Alex Jones has to have special permission to gain press access nor why a sitting president isn’t allowed to rein in the perfervid jornolistos appearing at the White House on his time.

Here’s a link to the book Turley mentions and the (edited) introductory blurb from Amazon:

Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars From 4Chan And Tumblr To Trump And The Alt-Right

Recent years have seen a revival of the heated culture wars of the 1990s, but this time its battleground is the internet. On one side the alt-right ranges from the once obscure neo-reactionary and white separatist movements to geeky subcultures like 4chan, to more mainstream manifestations such as the Trump-supporting gay libertarian, Milo Yiannopolous. On the other side, a culture of struggle sessions and virtue signaling lurks behind a therapeutic language of trigger warnings and safe spaces. The feminist side of the online culture wars has its equally geeky subcultures right through to its mainstream expression. Kill All Normies explores some of the cultural genealogies and past parallels of these styles and subcultures, drawing from transgressive styles of 60s libertinism and conservative movements, to make the case for a rejection of the perpetual cultural turn.

For Americans, here’s the petition you can sign. They need a hundred thousand signatures by mid-December to have any impact.

Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/19/2018

A gunman entered a Catholic Supply store in western St. Louis County and terrorized the store’s employees. He ordered all the women to take off their clothes at gunpoint, sexually assaulted several of them, and then shot one woman in the head. The alleged assailant remains at large.

In other news, the “yellow vest” protests in France have continued into a third day.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dean, Insubria, JD, MB, Reader from Chicago, 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.

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Immigration into Germany: Myths vs. Facts

The following video begins with a typical German propaganda clip in which the virtues of mass immigration are extolled — all those doctors and engineers (and their wives, children, uncles, and cousins) who will enrich Germany.

An economics professor then takes a look at the facts of immigration. He doesn’t discuss the social and law-enforcement disadvantages of migrants, but concentrates solely on the financial downside — and that’s bad enough.

Here’s some background on the professor and his data:

Hans-Werner Sinn, a professor of economics at the IFO Institute (Leibniz Institute for Economic Research) at the University of Munich.

He mentions a study by Ludger Wößmann, who is a professor of economics at the University of Munich and Director of the IFO Center for the Economics of Education. His main research interests are the determinants of long-run prosperity, and of student achievement. He uses micro-econometric methods to answer applied policy-relevant questions on the empirical economics of education, often using international student achievement tests. His special focuses is to address the importance of education for economic prosperity — individual and societal, historical and modern — and the importance of educational institutions for efficiency and equity. Further research topics cover aspects of economic history, the economics of religion, and the Internet.

Many thanks to MissPiggy for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Video transcript:

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Somali Culture-Enricher Experiences a Sexual Emergency in Ortona

A Somali youngster in a small coastal town in Abruzzo found himself in urgent need of intimate companionship. Unlike some of his fellow culture-enrichers in Austria in Germany — who seem to prefer pre-pubescent children of both sexes — his taste ran towards older women, and he acted accordingly.

Many thanks to FouseSquawk for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Below is an article about the incident from ANSA:

Man Strips Naked in Street, Rapes Old Woman

In Ortona

(ANSA) — Ortona, November 15 — A 20-year-old Somali man stripped naked in the street and raped an elderly woman who was sunning herself on a beach in the Abruzzo town of Ortona on Thursday, local sources said.

The man was said to be have a protected status as immigrant.

The attacker first slammed the woman’s head against some large rocks and then forced her to submit to sexual violence, the sources said.

The woman managed to wriggle free and flee while the Carabinieri arrived at the scene.

“I was afraid he wanted to kill me, but luckily I managed to break free,” said the 68-year-old at a hospital where she was treated for cuts and bruises and severe concussion.

Anti-migrant League leader and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini tweeted: “20-year-old Somali man, who arrived in Italy on a migrant boat, goes around NAKED and then attacks a 68-year-old woman, injuring her and using sexual violence on her. These are the thanks for getting protection from Italy! WORM!”

Video transcript:

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Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/18/2018

Mass “yellow vest” protests broke out again today in France. An estimated 46,000 people across the country took part, and there were more injuries during confrontations with police.

In other news, the Tories have fallen behind Labour in the polls as Prime Minister Theresa May’s “soft Brexit” makes her increasingly unpopular with voters.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Caroline Glick, Insubria, JD, Reader from Chicago, RR, 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.

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The Culture-Enriching News From Catalonia

Our Catalonian correspondent Pampasnasturtium sends a translated article with the latest cultural enrichment news from Barcelona, followed by an overview of the political context in Catalonia.

First, a translated article from La Vanguardia:

Sexual gang-assault on a young woman in Santa Coloma de Gramenet [suburb of Barcelona]

November 11, 2018

Local police arrested 14 young men, also accused of stabbing her partner

[Photo caption (not shown) : Two of the attackers harassed the young woman inside the subway premises, at Can Peixauet station.]

Today local police in Santa Coloma de Gramenet arrested 14 young men accused of sexually assaulting a young woman in the town and stabbing her partner, as announced by Cadena Ser radio station. The incident took place at about 6am. Two of the attackers harassed the young woman inside the subway premises, and apparently they and their gang-mates groped her within the elevator of the Can Peixauet metro station.

The attackers are young men formerly under the guardianship of the regional Catalan government [ex-”tutelados“]*, all of them of Maghrebi ethnicity. According to police sources, they’re the inhabitants of a squat house located on Santa Coloma’s Generalitat Avenue, where they were arrested yesterday in the morning. The house was sealed off.

The detainees had previously been arrested by Santa Coloma’s local police a couple of times during recent days, because of their alleged involvement in different violent thefts. Most of them are allegedly affected by scabies, which has led the police cars they were transported in, as well as the police station and its cells, to have to be disinfected. Santa Coloma’s Town Council stated that joint action by local police and Mossos d’Esquadra [regional Catalan police] has made it possible to arrest all of those involved in this sexual assault.

The young [female] victim’s [male] partner was taken to Esperit Sant hospital to be assisted, and his present medical condition is non-life-threatening.

*   Translator’s note: not mentioned in this particular report, they’re known as “mena”, that is, “menores extranjeros no acompañados”, unaccompanied foreign minors. The fact that now it is stated they’re no longer under such guardianship means they’re not legally minors anymore.
 

Aftermath of the tragicomedy, so far

by Pampasnasturtium

On Monday evening, a minor (one of two alleged minors out of the fifteen arrested, instead of the fourteen initially reported) escaped.

Instead of boarding (as he was supposed to do) the van that would take them both from court (where the attorney had just set them free) to one of the regional-government Infancy and Adolescence Affairs Department premises, he just ran away.

The other minor complied.

On Tuesday, the acting judge jailed without bail five of the (adult) attackers, all of them accused of sexual assault against the young woman, and three of them also stand accused of attempted murder, with a knife, against the victim’s partner.

(Source of the above)

On Tuesday some 500 persons marched against “all forms of” male/patriarchal violence (“violencia machista”), to show “solidarity” with the victims, to call for a harmonious living-together, AND against racism and against “stigmatizing the young”.

A façade of officialdom and institutional character was given by the openly stated support and organization of the march by Santa Coloma’s Town Council, the local Federation of Neighbors and Neighboresses (sic) Associations (“Federació d’Associacions de Veïns i Veïnes”), and the local Women’s Associations Council.

Such organizations denounced “the emerging signs of racism and xenophobia visible on social networks” against young immigrants, which are “an incendiary discourse and endanger the very coexistence and security of our male and female (sic) children”.

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