President Trump refused to sign a spending bill that did not include funding for the border wall, so the House hastily passed a new version that contained such funding. The bill is expected to be voted down by the Senate, which will cause a partial shutdown of the government.
In other news, Austrian Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache is proposing a halt to the granting of citizenship to Turks, after a court decision denying the government the right to strip citizenship from dual nationals.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dora, DV, LP, MM, 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.
Antifa Lady’s Attorney Confused That Court Isn’t Treating Her Like a WWII Hero
Antifa activist Yvette Felarca has gone from violently roughing people up on the streets — and getting caught on video while doing so — to getting figuratively roughed up in the courtroom.
Now, according to attorneys, it’s concerning that her fight against fascism isn’t getting the same recognition as the heroes who fought Nazis during World War II.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Defense Secretary James Mattis to Retire at the End of February, Trump Says
President Trump said Thursday evening that Defense Secretary James Mattis will be retiring in February, in a shock announcement adding to the list of the president’s outgoing Cabinet members after his second year in office.
Mattis will step down “with distinction” after serving in his role for two years, the president said on Twitter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democrats Posing as Russians Executed “Elaborate ‘False Flag’ Operation” Against Roy Moore
A group of tech experts working as Democratic operatives were paid $100,000 to orchestrate an elaborate “false flag” disinformation campaign during the hotly contested 2017 special election between Roy Moore and Democratic Sen. Doug Jones.
The group, funded by liberal billionaire Reid Hoffman, created over 1,000 Russian-language Twitter accounts that followed Roy Moore overnight in order to link the embattled Republican candidate to Russian influence campaigns, according to a Wednesday report in the New York Times.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Der Spiegel Journalist Messed With the Wrong Small Town
In February 2017, my husband and I attended a concert at our local theater, and were sipping some wine in the lobby before the show started. Several people came up to us at separate times excitedly, and asked, “did you meet the German guy yet?!”
I hadn’t, but my spider senses perked up when I heard that he worked for Der Spiegel, a magazine based in Hamburg, and that he was writing about the state of rural America in the wake of Trump’s presidency.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former Elkhart Woman Charged With Aiding ISIS to Remain in Custody
HAMMOND — Former Elkhart resident Samantha Elhassani says she was tricked by her late husband into moving to Syria to join ISIS and held there by him against her will. But the U.S. attorney argues she was aiding the organization well before the move and showed no “moral issues” when filming her 9-year-old son talking about blowing up “American pigs” with a suicide belt to become a martyr.
The 32-year-old, accused of aiding the ISIS terrorist organization and charged with conspiracy, was in court Thursday for a custody hearing, saying she needs to be released from the Porter County Jail because she is in desperate need of mental health treatment. The Northern Indiana District judge of the U.S. Court in Hammond denied the motion for release and ordered Elhassani to remain in jail until her trial in January 2020.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House Passes Stopgap Funding Bill With $5 Billion for Wall
Update 5: The U.S. House passes a stopgap govt funding bill that includes $5b for a wall on the border with Mexico after President Trump said he wouldn’t sign a bill that didn’t have the extra money, setting up a conflict with the Senate.
The vote on the amended House version of H.R. 695 is 217-185.
Of course this now hits a brick wall — as Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says Trump’s wall funding can’t pass the Senate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has accused the Catholic Church of withholding the names of hundreds of priests accused of sexual abuse, a claim challenged by a prominent watchdog group.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Showtime host Sacha Baron Cohen revealed Wednesday that he stumbled upon what he thought could be a possible pedophile ring while taping his controversial summer series “Who is America?”
During a classic Baron Cohen-style fake interview, the comedian plays a character named Gio who eventually asks a Las Vegas concierge to get him an underaged boy as a “date.” After this concierge offered to put “Gio” in touch with a person who apparently procures such boys, Baron Cohen turned the troubling footage over to the FBI.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Soros Drops $1.35 Million on “Nonpartisan” Watchdog Group Hitting Trump With Lawsuits
A government watchdog group claiming to be “nonpartisan” — while sharing employees with Democratic activist group Media Matters, accepted $1.35 million from billionaire George Soros.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Will Not Sign Spending Bill Without Wall Funding, After Conservatives Fought
Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said Thursday that now is the time to fight for President Donald Trump’s border wall, even if that means shutting down the government.
Speaking on Fox News, Meadows said that the American people believe that President Trump is receiving “bad advice” to sign a continuing resolution to fund the government through February without funding the wall. He urged Trump to veto any spending bill that doesn’t fund the wall.
“They know that he’s promised not once, not twice, but three different times that he would get border wall funding, and here we are about to punt,” Meadows said. “And I would argue it’s not a punt. A punt actually helps improve the field advantage. This is a fumble, and we need to make sure that the president stays firm.”
Meadows said that Congress failed in the first two years of Trump’s presidency to keep Republican promises on border security and the wall. He added that House conservatives want to vote on a bill appropriating $5 billion for the down payment on a border wall, but that House leadership has not moved on passing wall funding out of the House.
He dismissed concerns over a government shutdown, noting that the vast majority of the government’s essential functions will remain operational.
“If we’re not going to fight now, when are we going to fight?” Meadows said. “Are we suggesting that when the Democrats have control in February that somehow our position is going to improve? There’s no one in the West Wing that believes that. There’s no one on main street that believes that, and quite frankly now is the time to fight.”
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian Vice Chancellor Proposes Full Halt on Granting Turks Citizenship
Austrian Vice Chancellor and leader of the populist Freedom Party (FPÖ) Heinz-Christian Strache has proposed halting all citizenship applications for Turks after a court ruling refused to let the government strip the citizenship of dual nationals.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
British Yellow Vest Movement Picks up Steam and Spreads North
After recent events in London over the past week The British Yellow Vest Movement has spread to the north of England.
Patriots in Manchester reacted over the weekend, coming together and setting up a Facebook page, later embarking on the BBC, Media City in Salford Quays sending the security guards into a frenzy claiming they were not allowed to be on public property outside of the Beeb’s premises.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Completely Unacceptable’ Italian MEP Blasts Brussels ‘Two Standards’ For Italy and France
ITALIAN MEP Ignazio Corrao condemned Brussels “two standards” towards Italy and France over their respective budget measures claiming the obsolete European Commission no longer represents the European electorate of 2014.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France to Hike Police Wages in Bid to Quell Growing Crisis
The French government has agreed to hike police wages and pay the 23 million hours in overtime they are owed after officers held talks with ministers after a day of protest to fight for better pay and working conditions.
After several hours of negotiations between France’s Interior Minister Christophe Castaner and France’s three main police unions, an agreement was finally reached regarding officers’ salaries.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Lawmakers Meet Julian Assange in London
Two German parliamentarians have become Julian Assange’s first visitors in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since March. The Left party members say the WikiLeaks founder must be protected from extradition to the US.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lost the Way? Macron in Crisis Turns to Former French President Sarkozy
The beleaguered French President Emmanuel Macron has been having a rough go of it lately. Since mid-November there have been weekly Yellow Vest protests blazing throughout the country and now, even the police are talking of their own potentially upcoming Blue Vest protests.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Muslims in Europe Becoming Less Secular, More Radical
Professor emeritus of the University of Louvain, Felice Dassetto, has claimed the number of secular Muslims in Europe is in steep decline and more are becoming radicalised.
Professor Dassetto said the secular world and its values are becoming less attractive to contemporary Islam and that Muslims are turning toward more reactionary forms of the faith, Il Giornale reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Species of Large Predator Dinosaur Found in Marble Quarry in Italy
In life, it was the biggest, most ferocious dinosaur of its era. In death, it was ripped to pieces by ancient sharks as they fought over its remains on the seabed.
Scientists have announced the discovery of a new species of carnivorous dinosaur that roamed Italy nearly 200 million years ago.
Saltriovenator zanellai was a 25ft-long, hulking beast that weighed at least a tonne, meaning that when it lived in the early Jurassic Period, it was the largest-known carnivorous dinosaur that had ever existed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nigel Farage: Trump Supports Brexit Because it Will Upend ‘Global Bureaucracy’
Brexit campaign leader Nigel Farage has told Breitbart News that Donald Trump is a believer in Brexit, that the EU is starting a new Cold War with America, and that he is rebuilding his People’s Army to fight another Brexit referendum.
Speaking to Breitbart editor Jerome Hudson, the veteran campaigner explained why the U.S. leader has gotten behind Brexit Britain.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Norway Allows Cleric to Face Court in Italy
An Iraqi-born cleric suspected of enticing recruits to fight in Iraq and Syria has been given travel documents to travel to Italy where he faces trial, Norway’s justice minister said Tuesday.
Justice Minister Tor Mikkel Wara said the Norway-based cleric known as Mullah Krekar will be escorted by Norwegian police to Italy for his trial.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish PM Warns EU’s ‘Unfortunate Behaviour’ Risks No Deal Brexit
The Prime Minister of Poland has warned that the European Union’s “unfortunate behaviour” in negotiations with the United Kingdom risks landing the bloc with a No Deal Brexit.
“Sadly, the Brexit case has brought to light rather unfortunate behaviour,” said Mateusz Morawiecki, of the Law and Justice Party (PiS), ahead of a one-on-one meeting with Theresa May.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Salvini MP: If EU Had Pushed Sanctions Italy Would Have Debated Leaving
Following the European Union’s climbdown on the Italian budget, populist League MP Claudio Borghi has revealed that if sanctions had not been dropped Italians would have begun a debate on leaving the EU entirely.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Showy Orchids and Hedgehog Mushrooms Among New Species Found in 2018
A new bug-eating pitcher plant, an edible “hedgehog” mushroom and a weird species living in a waterfall are among the new plants and fungi found this year.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is highlighting some of its top discoveries for 2018, from among the scores of species of plants and fungi found in places ranging from the mountainsides of the Andes to Asian black markets.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spanish Right-Wing Party Breaks All-Time Record Gaining 50 Times More Support
Spain’s socialist government could be in trouble as a populist party is storming the polls in the country.
The right-wing VOX (ECR) party in Spain has been gaining strength and every poll they seem to rank higher. Yesterday it was revealed that VOX have reached an all-time record high in Metroscopia’s poll.
They are now at 11.5 per cent which would mean they could form a government if there was a vote today. The last election, they garnered 0.2 per cent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Terror Charges Issued in France’s Christmas Market Attack
A man suspected of supplying the gun used in the Christmas market shooting attack that killed five people in Strasbourg has been handed preliminary terror charges, according to a French judicial official close to the investigation.
The official, who could not be named with the case ongoing, said the individual appeared Monday before a judge and was charged with criminal association with terrorists, as well as possessing and supplying arms in connection with a terrorist enterprise.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘The Audience Thought the Shooting Was Part of the Play’
The Lyric Theatre has seen a few things in its 50 years on the banks of the Lagan in Belfast.
It began as a new arts space that allowed its founder, Mary O’Malley, to take productions out of her attic and onto a much bigger stage.
Adrian Dunbar, one of the famous faces to develop at the Lyric, recalled performing Graham Reid’s play The Hidden Curriculum in 1982.
“While we were on stage, you could hear the report of rifles hitting the back wall, because there was a fire fight happening on the Ormeau Road. The audience thought it was part of the play.”
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
The Guardian: ‘Doxxing’ Is ‘Effective’ Tactic Against ‘Far Right’
In an article for the Guardian, Wednesday, writer Jason Wilson claimed that though doxing is a “tactic” that has been “sneered at by some,” it has “proven to be effective” against ideological opponents and in “dismantling the far right.” Ironically, the same writer called doxing a “danger facing US journalists” in June.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Mafia Will be Wiped Off the Face of This Splendid Country — Italy’s Salvini
On Tuesday Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini was in Lima (Parma) to deliver 12 flats confiscated at ‘Ndrangheta and assigned as housing to the finance guard.
Speaking in Sorbolo at a ceremony for the handover, Salvini said that Italy’s various Mafia syndicates are soon over. “We are the ones who are stronger”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Gatwick Airport: Drones Ground Flights
Tens of thousands of passengers have been disrupted by drones flying over one of the UK’s busiest airports.
Gatwick’s runway has been shut since Wednesday night, as devices have been repeatedly flying over the airfield.
Sussex Police said it was not terror-related but a “deliberate act” of disruption, using “industrial specification” drones.
About 110,000 passengers on 760 flights were due to fly on Thursday. Disruption could last “several days”.
An airline source told the BBC flights were currently cancelled until at least 19:00 GMT.
The airport advised that the runway would not open “until it was safe to do so”.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has confirmed the Army has been called in to support Sussex Police…
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Khan’s London: Elderly Woman Among Victims of ‘Machete’ Attack
Three people were rushed to hospital after a reported “machete” attack at a health centre in Tower Hamlets, the London Metropolitan Police have confirmed.
Officers were called to St Stephen’s Road on Wednesday morning at just after 11 a.m., following reports of a knife attack at a GP surgery, with one man was arrested at the scene.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: May Cabinet Creaks: Remainers Break for Second Referendum, Brexiteers for No Deal
Cabinet Brexiteer Andrea Leadsom has attacked suggestions by Cabinet Remainer Amber Rudd that there could be a “plausible argument” for a second referendum if the Withdrawal Agreement is voted down in Parliament.
Speaking on ITV’s Peston Wednesday night, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Amber Rudd said: “I have said I don’t want a ‘People’s Vote’, or a referendum in general, but if Parliament absolutely failed to reach a consensus, I could see there would be a plausible argument for it.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Nigel Farage: ‘Brexit Would Not Have Happened Without Breitbart’
Brexit campaign leader Nigel Farage has said that Britain’s historic vote to Leave the European Union would not have happened without Breitbart, and warned that the next “great battle” is against Facebook Google, and the other tech giants attempting to stifle alternative voices.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Tommy Robinson: More Death Threats — Merry Christmas From Bedfordshire Police
Tommy Robinson has received a new threat in the mail, this time through his local Bedfordshire police. In the letter, the police refuse to admit that Tommy is being targeted for his political beliefs.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: The Rebranded Ambush for a Second Brexit Referendum
Same old, same old, just this time after too many failed attempts, a last desperate outcry under a different name.
The whole concept of holding a second referendum is a dishonest attempt by the Remain campaigners who delusionally argue that those who voted Leave don’t really count. Far better to listen to Alastair Campbell, Chuka Umunna, Anna Soubry and Tony Blair, whose opinions outweigh others.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Under Fire for Funding Palestinian Textbooks Promoting Terrorism
TEL AVIV — Germany has come under fire for funding Palestinian Authority textbooks that glorify violence and incite hatred towards Jews and Israelis as well as omit any mention of the existence of Israel, the Jerusalem Post reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish F16 Jets Step Up Greek Airspace Incursions
A few hours after Turkish fighter jets flew over the small island of Kastelorizo in the eastern Mediterranean, a second pair was recorded over the islet of Oinousses, according to defense officials on Thursday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Teams Up With Orban’s Hungary to Aid Persecuted Middle East Christians
Hungary and the United States have partnered in an alliance to assist Christians in the Middle East, helping them “recover from genocide and persecution by the Islamic State”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Orders Major Afghan Drawdown: 7,000 Troops to Return Home in Coming Weeks
CNN warns “officials brace for Trump announcement on Afghanistan” after Trump’s Wednesday bombshell Syria troop pullout announcement. He’s now initiated “a major drawdown” of forces in Afghanistan too, and while inside the beltway neocon heads might continue to explode, the broader public for which the seventeen year long Afghan war is deeply unpopular will no doubt cheer the move. And already NBC reports Thursday evening based on defense sources the White House has asked the Pentagon to draw up plans presenting “multiple options” including a “complete withdrawal”. Following the “options” order it now appears Trump has pulled the trigger and “ordered the start of a reduction of American forces in Afghanistan” according to a breaking WSJ report.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US, Allies to Condemn China for Espionage
The U.S. and more than a dozen of its allies are expected to condemn China’s alleged espionage efforts on Thursday, intensifying pressure against Beijing over allegations that Chinese hackers are violating international law by stealing trade secrets.
Western officials told The Washington Post that Britain, Germany, Japan, Australia and Canada are expected to join the U.S. in an unprecedented mass condemnation on Thursday. Leaders in these countries reportedly conferred with their cabinets before they agreed to sign onto the effort.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: House Passes Stopgap Spending Bill That Includes $5.7 Billion to Fund Border Wall
The House of Representatives has approved a spending package that includes $5.7 billion to help fund a wall along the southern border and keep the government open until February 8th.
After passing in the House, the bill will now head to the U.S. Senate, where it appears Democrat support will be needed.
[It remains to be seen whether or not The Wall will be funded. The “new” Congress may be faced with a shut-down in February]
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
DHS to Make Asylum-Seekers Wait in Mexico in Attempt to End ‘Catch-and-Release’
Mexican government cooperating with new policy, Nielsen says
Asylum-seekers who crossed Mexico to reach the U.S. will be shipped back to Mexico to wait while their cases are being processed, the Trump administration announced Thursday, taking a bold and controversial step to try to head off new waves of illegal immigration.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Mexico is on board, and will offer humanitarian visas and work permits so the migrants can live while they wait for a decision from American authorities.
The administration’s goal is to keep people from abusing the U.S. asylum system by making bogus requests then, after being admitted to wait for a ruling, slipping into the shadows with other illegal immigrants where they are not able to be found and deported after their cases are denied.
“Aliens trying to game the system to get into our country illegally will no longer be able to disappear into the United States, where many skip their court dates. Instead, they will wait for an immigration court decision while they are in Mexico,” she said in a statement.
She said that should help end the catch-and-release practice that’s enticed a new wave of migrants to make the dangerous trip north, confident of gaining a foothold in the U.S. as their reward.[…]
[Congress isn’t on board with this action, though.]
| — Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
Finland to Imprison Illegal Migrants From January 2019
Yesterday, the Finnish Ministry of Justice announced in a press release that violation of entry bans may lead to imprisonment from the beginning of 2019.
The President of the Republic confirmed amendments to the law by which a new provision on breaches of entry bans was added to the Criminal Code.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nine EU Members Steer Clear of the UN Global Compact for Migration
The UN General Assembly formally ratified the UN deal on migration on Wednesday 19 December. Of the EU members, three voted against, five abstained and one didn’t vote. The United States and several other countries also did not support it.
It was ratified with the support of 152 countries in favour, five nations — the United States, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Israel voted against it. There was a total of twelve who abstained, Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, Latvia and Romania and Slovakia did not vote.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Parts of France Are Unliveable Because of Migrants, We Don’t Want That in Brazil — Jair Bolsonaro
Brazil’s president-elect has lashed out at France and its migration policy, the Daily Mailreports.
Jair Bolsonaro said on Facebook:
“Everybody knows what is happening in France. Some parts of France are simply unliveable.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Peaceful’ Syrian Refugee Tests Bomb in His Back Garden in Belgium
A 20-year-old Syrian refugee has been charged for terrorist activities and by the correctional court in Charleroi, Belgium.
Newspaper HLN reports that the man, named Ahmed A., tested a bomb in his back garden in Mouscron.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Six Migrants Convicted in Sweden’s Biggest Ever Human-Trafficking Case
Six Bulgarian nationals have been convicted by Swedish courts for smuggling in migrants and forcing them to beg on the streets in what has become the country’s biggest ever human-trafficking case.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
5 Most Politically Biased Courses of 2018
In 2018, students at college and universities across the country had thousands of courses from which to choose. A handful of those classes, though, caught the attention of Campus Reform because of their politically biased nature.
In continuation of our 2018 Year In Review roundups, here are the five most politically biased courses of 2018.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The world’s developing nations are defying the Paris climate agreement with continued and growing use of cost effective and reliable fossil fuels including coal, natural gas and oil while making little progress in use of high cost unreliable renewables as demonstrated by the graph from a recent Wall Street Journal article.
The data demonstrates the emissions of both the U.S. and EU are and have been declining over the past 10 years but the levels of emissions of these developed nations are insignificant relative to the huge growth of emissions for the rest of the world’s developing nations. The politically contrived Paris Climate Agreement has no provisions that have any impact on controlling developing nation emissions increases.
Furthermore this data shows that even if the U.S. and EU had zero emissions at some future point this outcome has little impact on global emissions that are clearly controlled by the world’s developing nations.
The Journal article further notes that:
“As negotiators at United Nations climate talks in Poland this week hammer out a rulebook to curb greenhouse-gas emissions, some of the biggest boosters of the 2015 Paris accord are undermining efforts back home to curb global warming.
China is ramping up coal-fired electricity generation despite pledges to cut emissions, according to clean-energy advocates. Canadian provinces are challenging federal carbon-price rules and adopting local policies that go against national emissions goals. And the European Union is bickering over how much carbon dioxide cars should be allowed to emit and subsidies to coal-fired power plants that threaten its climate targets.”
“EU governments and the European Parliament on Monday failed for a fourth time to compromise on regulation to reduce car CO2 emissions. Negotiations have foundered over opposition from German auto makers, divisions among the bloc’s 28 members and a parliament push to more strenuously curb polluting vehicles.”
“EU members heavily reliant on coal-powered energy also oppose European Parliament efforts to end subsidies to the most polluting plants by 2025, seeking delay of one decade.
In a sign of how incendiary the issue has become, nationwide riots in France began as a protest against a carbon tax on fuel.”
[…]
Political chaos reigned at the U.N. COP24 Conference on Poland as climate alarmist conference attendees struggled unsuccessfully to achieve commitments for increased emissions reductions as described in a GWPF[Global Warming Policy Forum]article.
[…]
China’s CO2 emissions resumed their rise in 2015 after leveling off in 2013-2014, according to research by Climate Action Tracker, a website that follows efforts to curb global warming. Last year China accounted for one-quarter of global CO2 production.
Coal’s relatively low cost and difficulties transitioning to clean-energy sources have frustrated Beijing’s efforts, said Li Shou, Greenpeace’s senior global policy adviser in East Asia.
“The continued building up of coal-powered plants in the country is definitely not in line with China’s climate targets and ambitions,” he said.”
Europe is facing significant political upheaval and climate and energy policy turmoil which is resulting in back tracking in efforts by the EU to implement actions for more aggressive climate action political steps…
[…]
The article further noted the frustration with the lack of leadership by the EU to support the Paris agreement emissions reductions noting:
“The Dutch lawmaker said Cañete’s insisting on the rulebook, which is indeed important to establish the technical rules of the Paris Agreement was “a cheap trick”.
“With focusing on ‘ambition’ for the rule book, the EU Commissioner tries to avert attention from the total lack of ambition when it comes to the most important part of this COP: concrete commitment to stricter climate targets to fulfill the Paris Agreement and limit the global warming to well below 1.5 degrees,” he said.”
“And the political signals coming from Europe are currently negative, he said. Indeed, key EU member states such as France, Germany and the UK are currently grappling with domestic issues, which hinders the political momentum required to raise the EU’s ambition at the talks.”
These outcomes clearly reflect that the political realities of using lower cost and reliable fossil fuel energy resources are simply too powerful to be abandoned by the world’s developing nations based on politically contrived, speculative computer model driven and scientifically questionable UN climate alarmism schemes.
| — Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
re: Elkhart woman and ISIS
Another fallen idol in my idealistic world.
Elkhart was until fairly recently, the world epi-centre of brass musical instrument production.
I own several vintage cornets from this town and feel the patriotic and musical history of America in my hands when I play them.
“America the Beautiful” and countless other patriotic songs were played in every corner of America using instruments from Elkhart.
Now production has largely moved to China and Elkhart produces lesser things such as Islamic extremism I guess.
Dear God, how so many good things have fallen.
re: Yellow Vest Movement picks up steam in England
Good news indeed.
Wait until some of England’s roughest lads join the fray.
The fun will really begin.
I look forward to watching the Newcastle lads having it with the woodentops. A friend of mine worked as a bouncer in a Newcastle McDonald’s – that’s the sort of powder keg awaiting the British gov’t.
re: French gov’t to pay police overtime owed
Well, now they can get back to cracking the heads of the citizens, and this time be paid for it.
All in a day’s work.
re: Drones over Gatwick
I’m surprised we have not heard of this at least 10 years ago when high powered electric motor technology for small drones really began to become available.
I used to fly remote controlled airplanes and I would say that with the high powered liquid fuel and new electric motors available that it is fairly easy for a good pilot to fly a RC plane or drone into a passenger jet. The turbulence anywhere behind the wings would probably be too great but a plane or drone could be flown strait into the front intake of an engine. This could be catastrophic upon takeoff.
Let’s hope airports have installed or will install a detection system for this.