Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has been elected by the CDU to succeed Angela Merkel as leader of the party. Mrs. Merkel had announced that she would step down from her position after her coalition partners suffered serious losses in regional elections.
In other news, at a fundraising event the chairman of the Democratic National Committee introduced Barack Obama as America’s “real president”.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to AF, Dora, Insubria, MB, 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.
Eurozone Slowdown: Economy Expands at Slowest Pace in 4 Years During Third Quarter of 2018
The GDP of the euro area grew by just 0.2 per cent from July until September of this year. The data, released today by Eurostat, reveals growth levels in the 19-country bloc are at its lowest since the second quarter of 2014.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Risks Recession, Must Act — Savona
EU able to create financial stability, not development
(ANSA) — Rome, December 5 — The government must act given the risk of a recession, European Affairs Minister Paolo Savona said Wednesday. Italy “cannot wait for” the slow transition that will lead to a new European Parliament, a new European Commission and a new European Central Bank in 2019, he said, “because (Italy) must face the risks of a recession”.
Therefore, he said, “it is our duty to act”.
Savona stressed the “undoubted capacity of the European organisation to create financial and monetary stability but not to create development”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
“The Creepy Line” — A New Documentary on the Immense Power of Tech Giants
Authored by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute
The Creepy Line, a new documentary by director M.A. Taylor, is now streaming at Amazon Prime. It provides an interesting and revealing look at how Google and Facebook influence their users’ view of the world, and how the users we often presume to be the customers of these companies aren’t really the customers. The users are, in fact, the product being sold to third parties.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
229 New Species Described by the California Academy of Sciences in 2018
In 2018, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added 229 new plant and animal species to our family tree, enriching our understanding of Earth’s complex web of life and strengthening our ability to make informed conservation decisions. The new species include 120 wasps, 34 sea slugs, 28 ants, 19 fish, seven flowering plants, seven spiders, four eels, three sharks, two water bears, one frog, one snake, one seahorse, one moss, and one liverwort plant. More than a dozen Academy scientists—along with several dozen international collaborators—described the new species discoveries.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Clinton Foundation ‘Pay to Play’ Model Under Investigation [Infographic]
[…]
The pattern of payments to the Clintons reveals how intertwined money and power are. When the Clintons had the power to grant political favors, their income and donations skyrocketed. Bill Clinton’s speaking fees tripled during Hillary Clinton’s tenure at the State Department.
Almost immediately after Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election, donations by foreign governments sharply dropped. According to the Clinton Foundation’s 2014 IRS filing, total contributions amounted to $217,832,954. The foundation’s 2017 filing revealed contributions amounting to just $22,843,211. This means support for the Clintons’ global charitable enterprise fell by nearly 90 percent.
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
DNC Chair: Obama is America’s ‘Real President’ — Not Trump
Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman Tom Perez introduced former President Barack Obama as America’s “real president” at a DNC fundraiser Thursday night.
“Let’s give it up for the real president of the United States,” Perez said at Thursday’s fundraiser, Politico reported.
Obama reportedly then told the crowd of Democratic donors that they are “right to be concerned” about Trump’s presidency.
Perez’s false descriptor for Obama is just the latest instance of prominent Democrats abandoning political norms in order to undermine President Trump.
Obama has sharply broken with precedent by repeatedly attacking Trump. When Obama left office, the existing standard was for presidents to refrain from publicly criticizing their successor.
Obama and his wife have slammed Trump more than a dozen times since leaving the White House.
| — Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
Federal Judge: Hillary E-Mail Dodge “One of the Gravest Modern Offenses to Government Transparency”
Yes, Virginia, there actually is a corruption scandal in Hillary Clinton’s e-mail choices — or at least that’s what Judge Royce Lamberth thinks. In allowing a lawsuit by Judicial Watch to continue, Lamberth blasted Clinton, the State Department, and the Department of Justice for having “colluded” to stymie the Freedom of Information Act and oversight by Congress and the courts. By hiding her emails on a secret and private server and allowing State to slough off demands to see her communications, the group committed “one of the gravest modern offenses to government transparency.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A relaxed-looking juvenile Hawaiian monk seal lounges near a sandy white beach on some green foliage. Its eyes are half-closed and it has a serene expression on its face. But the seal’s calm demeanor is surprising.
Why? Well, there’s a long, black-and-white eel dangling from its right nostril.
“It’s just so shocking,” Claire Simeone, a veterinarian and monk seal expert based in Hawaii, told The Washington Post on Thursday. “It’s an animal that has another animal stuck up its nose.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
By Diana West
[…]
During that same October 2008, I remember thinking extra-long and hard before one of my regular CNN appearances on the political roundtable of the old Lou Dobbs show about whether to use the word “socialist” on the air (I’d already used it in my syndicated newspaper column). While waiting for the camera to roll, I remember triple-checking already double-checked facts, re-evaluating the evidence, almost as though I didn’t trust myself. If no one else was talking about it, could it be true? If no one else was bringing it up, did it matter?
Such questions seemed unavoidable in the silence of a sound booth. What I was responding to was the force of taboo—the pressure of silence all around. No one in the mainstream media, liberal or conservative, wanted to talk about Obama’s socialist politics. I am happy to report that I broke the media juju and asked on CNN whether as president “Obama will lead the country in a socialist direction.” The next guest promptly accused me of “Red-baiting.”
While I got to respond, I never resumed regular appearances on the Dobbs show, and my contract wasn’t renewed.
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
Academic Stabbed to Death for ‘Insulting Mohammed’ During Lecture
An Irish lecturer was stabbed to death by a student outside the Paris university where he taught on Wednesday for allegedly insulting the prophet Mohammed by displaying a drawing of him during class.
John Dowling, 66, was speaking with a student, identified by authorities only as Ali R., following a lecture when the 37-year old student fatally stabbed him 13 times in the throat and chest.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Replaces Merkel as Germany’s CDU Party Leader
On Friday, the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) sees long-time leader Chancellor Angela Merkel step down as party leader and three candidates to compete for her job as party leader which could lead to major changes in party policy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Globalist Yellow Vests Movement ‘Conquers’ Europe and Spreads to Fifth Country
The yellow vests movement has spread to its fifth country, Sweden. Starting in France on 17 November, protests of the anti-globalist movement have been seen in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
Now yellow vest demonstrations against the UN Migration Agreement have been announced in Sweden on Saturday and Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Boris: May Deal Lets EU ‘Bully and Blackmail’ UK Into Fishing Surrender
Tory arch-Brexiteer Boris Johnson has warned that Theresa May’s “worst deal in history” with the European Union will empower Brussels to “bully and blackmail” Britain over fisheries, where EU control has already resulted in tens of thousands of job losses.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Danish Doctor Warns: Vegan Food May Lead to Mental Retardation
Chief physician Allan M. Lund at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen warns that vegan food can have severe consequences, such as epilepsy and ultimately developmental disorders.
In Denmark, there is now a debate about the suitability of an increasing number of families giving their children only vegan food. Critics are opposed to scrapping all animal products in small children’s diet.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fragile Society: UK Mobile Data Outage Causes ‘Panic’
The loss of one top-level mobile data supplier in the United Kingdom in the early hours of Thursday morning left millions of mobile subscribers unconnected and disrupted a wide variety of systems that rely on data to operate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: ‘Great Violence’ In Paris Anticipated as Police Staff Join Macron Protests
The French government expects the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) protests in Paris this weekend could be more violent than ever, despite President Emmanuel Macron buckling on fuel tax hikes.
The Élysée Palace, seat of President Emmanuel Macron, announced to French media they are expecting “great violence” on Saturday as Yellow Vest protestors have announced “Act IV” of their nearly four-week-long protest against the Macron regime that was initially sparked by a rise in fuel taxes, franceinfo reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Number of Firearms Licences More Than Doubles During the Migrant Crisis
Germany is seeing a large surge in the number of basic firearm licences, Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) reports.
While in 2014 there were 261,332 basic firearm licences, this number has grown to 600,000 this year. This equals an increase of 130 per cent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Antitrust Fines Facebook 10 MN
Social media site allegedly breached consumer code
(ANSA) — Rome, December 7 — Italy’s anti-trust authority said Friday that it had handed Facebook two fines adding up to 10 million euros for alleged breaches of the consumer code. The authority said that uses deception to get users to register with the platform as it does adequately and immediately inform users about the collection of data provided for commercial purposes, putting the emphasis on the free nature of the service.
It also said Facebook uses unfair practices over the transmission of users’ data to third apps and sites.
Facebook said that its users have full control of their data. “We are examining the antitrust’s decision and we hope to be able to work with them to clarify the accusations,” a company spokesperson said. “People have possession and control of their personal information on Facebook”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Woman’s Call From Grenfell Tower Fire Part of Probe
Hung up to prevent us from hearing that she was dying, says mom
(ANSA) — Rome, December 5 — The last telephone call made by an Italian woman in the Grenfell Tower fire before her death lasted 22 minutes and ended with the woman hanging up to prevent her parents from hearing her die. The June 14, 2017 fire in the housing complex killed Gloria Trevisan, a 26-year-old from the Veneto region, along with her boyfriend Marco. The woman’s mother, Emanuela Disaro, has written about the call in a witness statement sent to the British investigative commission looking into the incident.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Pamela Anderson Attacks Salvini, Warns of New Fascism
Actress says current trends remind her of 1930s
(ANSA) — Rome, December 6 — Actress Pamela Anderson attacked Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini via Twitter on Thursday and warned about the danger of a new form of fascism in Italy.
“Italy is a beautiful country and I love it so much, from its food to its fashion, from its history to it’s arts, but I am very worried about the current trends which are reminding me of the 1930s,” the Baywatch star said.
“The fear and insecurity in all segments of society, the daily attacks on refugees and migrants, the deepening economic crisis…
“Mr. Salvini recently said that “Macron is a problem for the French”, meaning what is happening currently in France with the Gilets Jaunes protests is something that concerns only the French. This is wrong.
“What is happening in France these days is a European problem, in the same way that the anti-immigrant measures and slide towards a new form of fascism in Italy is a European problem.
“The solution is not more Macron or more Salvini, the actually need each other and reinforce each other, the solution can only be a Pan-European awakening across borders and nationalities, which would be able to tackle the deep economic, social and ecological crisis of Europe today”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Risks Having to Pay Back TAV Funds — EC
Commission warns of consequences if deadlines not met
(ANSA) — Brussels, December 6 — The European Commission said Thursday that Italy may end up having to pay back EU funding for the TAV Turin-Lyon high-speed rail line. “The European Commission cannot rule out asking Italy to repay the contributions it has had so far if the funds cannot reasonably by spent in line with the financing agreement, in appliance of the principle to ‘use or lose the funds’,” a spokesperson said following a decision to delay decisions on the project until 2019. “A figure cannot be given at the moment. “Let’s hope that this does not happen because we think the Turin-Lyon is an important project”. The 5-Star Movement-League government has said it will decide whether to press ahead with the TAV after a new cost-benefit analysis.
Many M5S members are strongly opposed to the project.
“It is important that all the parties maintain their efforts to complete the TAV on time and in line with the financing agreement,” the spokesperson added. “It’s an important project not just for France and Italy, but also for the whole EU. “As with any other Connecting Europe Facility project, delays in implementation could led to a reduction in the EU funding allocated”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Pirelli’s the Cal: Women’s Dreams, Ambitions in 2019
Albert Watson goes back to roots with graphics and cinema
(ANSA) — Milan, December 5 — In the era of #MeToo and as higher levels of attention are granted to how widespread violence against women is across the world, the 2019 Pirelli calendar attempts to show women’s challenges and successes.
In the 46th edition of the calendar, shot by photographer Albert Watson in April between Miami and New York, 40 photos in black and white and color tell of the lives of women trying to achieve their goals, dreams and passions with commitment, courage and foresight. The photos are part of 4 small “docu-films” starring model Gigi Hadid with designer Alexander Wang, actress Julia Garner, ballet dancer Misty Copeland, Calvin Royal III, Laetitia Casta and Sergei Polunin. The calendar seems to be far from the transgressive images seen in the calendar by Steve Meisel in 2015.
Watson asked his models to show off their dreams, following in the path trailblazed by Annie Leibovitz in 2016 and then continued by Peter Lindbergh (2017) and Tim Walker (2018). The Scottish fashion photographer studied graphic design and film before trying his hand at photography in 1971.
Watson said that the initial idea was to make a four-part documentary film, adding that he usually focuses on fashion, ads and film posters. However, he thought that a combination of graphic design and cinema would help to create a new trend, both in the combinations — an engaged couple, two female friends and a single woman and her male friend — and in the stories. He said that since the sexually explicit ‘pin-up’ sort of calendar had been explored many times in the past, now exploring cinema would be interesting. But the concept, he said, aimed to “explore women”, after which the idea of their dreams and incorporating the meaning behind reflecting on the future.
The ballet star Misty Copeland said that the message was a symbolic one, expressing the idea that women are making themselves heard and that they have important things to say.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Jewish Leader Asks Hungarian Prime Minister to “Limit Freedom of the Press”
Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in a letter to Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, expressed his “surprise” that the WJC leader had asked him “to limit freedom of speech and the freedom of the press” by calling on him to condemn an image that recently appeared on the cover of business weekly Figyelo, which Lauder had called anti-Semitic.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Macron Could be Replaced by French Army General, According to Former MEP
Amid tensions between the French government and the ‘yellow vests’, former MEP Daniel Cohn-Bendit has suggested that French President Emmanuel Macron could be replaced by a French Army General.
Speaking to Euronews, the former Green MEP suggested that the violent protests occurring across the country’s capital city will have a knock-on effect on the European elections, due to take place in May 2019, in favour of the far-right.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Merkel Told EU Leaders to Not Move Embassies to Jerusalem
German Chancellor Angela Merkel allegedly urged European Union member states to not move their Israel embassies to Jerusalem to save the Iran deal.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Over 1 in 4 in Italy Risk Poverty
According to the latest reports, there is both bad news and good news to be had, from the stats agency ISTAT.
Thursday’s estimates from the statistics agency who that over one in four Italians were at risk of poverty or social exclusion during the year 2017.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Physical and Sexual Violence Soared in France in 2017
A report released by the French National Observatory of Delinquency and Criminal Responses (ONDRP) has said that in 2017, France saw a huge increase in both sexual and violent crime.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Replacing Members of the European Parliament Will Improve Democracy — Hungarian PM
In an interview with public radio Kossuth, the Hungarian Prime Minister said that replacing members of the European Parliament will lead to more democracy.
Talking about the Parliament members Viktor Orban said:
“I can see the signs of end-of-term fatigue on them, but there will be new MEPs after the EP elections and I believe the quality of democracy will improve.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: A Mum Accidentally Bought an Inflatable Sheep Sex Doll for Her Child’s Nativity Play
A mortified mum sent her five year old to his school nativity with a ‘shepherd’ costume she bought online — before she realised it came with a blow up sheep sex doll. Helen Cox bought son, Alfie, the £16.99 fancy dress costume on Amazon for his school nativity play and he was delighted it came with the free inflatable animal. But Helen was puzzled when a teacher told Alfie to take the sheep home — until she blew it up and found it had a huge hole in its bottom — as well as red lips and eyelashes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Senior UK Lawmaker: Trump Election Proves Democracy is in Good Health
Discussing a recent report which claimed that the United States had become a “flawed democracy”, the British Foreign Secretary rejected the finding and said the fact disaffected voters in the U.S. were able to elect President Trump proves democracy is in good shape.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Senior Eurocrat Applauds Spanish Warship ‘Invading’ Gibraltar Waters
The Vice President of the European Parliament has offered “strong applause” to a Spanish warship which “invaded” the territorial waters of Gibraltar, and branded its British residents “laughing monkeys”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Stay Out of Paris This Weekend, French Broadcaster Warns
According to France 24, if you have plans to visit Paris this weekend, perhaps you want to find alternate places to visit as the Yellow Vests could “wreak havoc on your plans”.
The city of love should still be safe, though, with the nationwide deployment of 89,000 security forces — 8,000 of which will be in Paris alone, along with a dozen armoured vehicles.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tommy Robinson and UKIP to Organise “Brexit Means Exit — Dump the Deal” March This Sunday
This Sunday in London is the ‘Brexit Means Exit — Dump the Deal’ march.
In Tommy’s latest video on Facebook, he explains that “the possibility could be” there will be “extreme provocation” and has asked that those coming out for the march to keep that in mind and that their behaviour needs to be “impeccable”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Sadiq Khan Calls on May to Stop Brexit
Sadiq Khan, possibly to distract from the embarrassing revelation that he knew about the delay to the Queen Elizabeth line a whole month before he announced it, has called on Theresa May to revoke Article 50 and stop Brexit.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lu Guang’s photos have exposed the sides of China that its government isn’t keen on talking about: drug addicts, HIV patients, environmental problems, and so on. This time, however, the award-winning photographer has himself become the center of a story. His wife Xu Xiaoli claims she hasn’t heard from her husband since the 3rd of November.
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
The Flinders Street attacker who mowed down shoppers in central Melbourne has pleaded guilty to committing the murderous rampage.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A mum-of-nine has asked Centrelink for even more cash because her friend is getting a better deal than her. She has demanded an extra $750 per fortnight for her and her large family.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Man is Savagely ‘Bashed by Two African Men’ He Met While Trying to Sell His iPhone on Gumtree
Akhal Allamkonda had listed his iPhone XS Max on popular buy, swap and sell website Gumtree, only to be bashed by two men at his Adelaide home.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A Sydney woman found guilty of plotting a terrorist attack with her husband says she has abandoned extremist Islamic views and is following him into Christianity.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
The Price of a Cup of Coffee in Venezuela is Up 285,614% in a Year
Instead of celebrating minimum wage hikes in hyperinflation-pummeled Venezuela, consumers now run as fast as they can to buy goods before the inevitable price increases.
In other words, higher wages are as much bad news as good news as they simply mean the printing press will run faster at the central bank and businesses will react accordingly.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Finland: Crackdown on Criminal Migrants After Children Gang Raped
Finland is set to speed up the deportation of criminal aliens after it emerged a 10-year-old girl was repeatedly raped and abused by migrant predators.
Commenting on the “shocking inhumanity” of the cases, President Sauli Niinistö said the country must “show strength” in punishing the rapists in order to “stigmatise the evil” of their actions so that Finland “can continue to have a just, safe society”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France and Germany Tell EU States ‘To Take Refugees or Pay’
A new German-Franco document that was presented on Thursday, states that EU countries that refuse to take refugees should pay to escape their responsibility, Reuters reports.
The measure is seen as a form of “alternative solidarity” in which EU member states pay into the EU’s budget for developmental projects in Africa.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gerald Butts Tries Demonizing Canadians Who Oppose the Dangerous UN Global Migration Compact
The Trudeau Liberals won’t listen to Canadians, they’ll just attack those who want to protect our Canadian sovereignty.
The top adviser to the Prime Minister is now attacking and demonizing Canadians who want to protect Canada’s sovereignty.
| — Hat tip: MB | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Most Prolific at Attempting to Send Migrants to Other EU Countries
Germany, whose Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a call for unlimited numbers of migrants to travel to Europe in 2015, has also made the highest number of attempts to return migrants to other EU countries.
Dublin asylum regulations permit member states to attempt to return asylum seekers to the first European Union country the migrants arrived in.
According to figures released by Eurostat Thursday, Germany topped the list of attempted returns with 63,326 in 2017, followed by France (41,243), Austria (10,482), and Greece (9,559).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Marine Le Pen Calls Signing the UN Migration Pact “An Act of Betrayal”
The leader of French political party, the National Rally has lashed out against President Macron for signing the UN Migration Pact.
“We ask the president of the Republic, who is on the verge of signing the Marrakesh compact with a glorious disregard for consequences to renounce this act of betrayal…”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UN Envoy Slams Opposition to Migrant Pact as Latvia is Latest to Pull Out
The UN slammed “xenophobic” terms like “illegal immigrant” which it said was behind “negative reactions” to the migration pact, as Latvia revealed it would be the latest nation to withdraw from the controversial agreement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Loss of Traditions: Scottish Shopping Mall Bars Nativity Scene to Stay ‘Religiously Neutral’
Scottish Mall, The Thistles Shopping Centre, losing business due to religious oppression. Twitter users mourned the “loss of traditions” in response to a Stirling mall’s rejecting to host a Christian display over Christmas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Article: “Germany: Number of Firearms Licences More Than Doubles During the Migrant Crisis”
This is highly misleading/sensationalist.
As one can see from the German press and even the article in English by DW to which Voice of Europe links, the firearms quoted are (tear) gas pistols only, see the Wikipedia entry if interested.
VoE commits a mistranslation by using the phrase “basic licence” for “kleiner Waffenschein”: anybody in Germany knows that “klein” meaning “small” refers to a
licence for guns that usually fire only blanks (cf. starting pistols); pyrotechnics (with an addition to the barrel) or tear gas,this being CS.
Pepper gas is legal in Germany only for use on animals if attacked.
VoE compounds that in the story by using a photo of a lady pulling out what looks a like a lethal semiautomatic. But that is the point of gas pistols, they are usually copies of the real thing.
For the number of genuine gun licences to have doubled since 2015 would have required fundamental change to German gun law. Because self-defence is not accepted as a reason when applying for a “Grosser Waffenschein” (big gun licence: the “big” here does not refer to the size of the weapon but to its lethality, i.e it fires not gas but lead)
Barack Obama as America’s “real president”.
Everything and everywhere : Good is bad and bad is good. Fake is real and real is fake (CNN).
Democracies have brought strange concepts and ideas.
The voter, across the dying West, is the dumbest in all of history. The universal franchise is the greatest mistake in history, too. The end will be horrible.
Agree.
The older I get the more I believe that Universal sufferage was a mistake.
I would gladly give up my own right to vote if I knew that those who would vote would do so with intelligence, reason, patriotism and plenty of research.
I would gladly give up my own right to vote if I knew that those who would vote would do so with intelligence, reason, patriotism and plenty of research.
Human beings inherently aren’t that virtuous. You might read the novels of Anthony Trollope to see how votes were bought and sold in the 19th century. Here is one of his several crowning achievements,
“The Way We Live Now”
https://amzn.to/2L54rXE
He is still widely read today by those who appreciate the lessons good fiction has to offer.
BTW, Trollope worked as a civil servant for the Post Office and is credited with creating the red pillar box emblematic of Britain’s mail service. On the other hand, his attempts at political office failed but they taught him the painful lessons of endemic political corruption.
While less prolific than Trollope, Canada’s Robertson Davies is his literary equal.
Davies is wonderful; I was introduced to him by family in Canada before he became known in the UK.
IIRC, his book “Muthering Spirits” has a long-ish account of the Loyalists leaving
New AmsterdamNew York to live in Canada. Very skillfully crafted.And here is a list of Stephen Leacock quotes. Which every Canadian ought to know:
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stephen_Leacock
“Gertrude the Governess”, Nonsense Novels (1911)
I used to read him aloud to my mother, but I had her read the plummy vowels parts since I couldn’t do them and she could. My accent, a hybrid of Dublin Irish and Florida cracker, sounded (to me mither’s ear) like Cockney sans the vocabulary.
Yes, vote buying of the then limited electorate was a problem.
Sometimes just a shot of whiskey or a bottle of beer was payment enough.
We used to laugh about just how pathetic that was. How useless and gullible some of those voters were.
Now I see Baby Trudeau was voted in by many who were merely taken by his cute smile.
At least my ancestors got a little liquor for their vote and were able to meet the politician in person and shake their hand.
Now people will sell their vote for a cheap digital image of a man living 1000 miles away.
I agree Universal sufferage is still better than other systems; I guess I’m increasingly frustrated over the low price many people place on their vote.
Be careful what you wish for, leCanadien; who would decide who gets a vote? Many who post here, along with (or indeed including) Hillary’s “deplorables” and supporters of, say, Tommy Robinson, could be excluded.
The best argument for democracy (besides “no taxation without representation”) is that superior intellect or education is no guarantee of higher morality; consider how many of our “betters” support marxism or its neo- derivatives.
Yes, totally agree.
In the last provincial election in which ‘Northern Trump’ Doug Ford won, the biggest pockets of NDP (aka socialists) support were the white collar university towns such as London Ontario.
A friend of mine, a university prof., remarked how great it was that so many highly educated people voted NDP since they were educated enough to realise that we need to create a ‘new world’ and how pathetic that many of the rest voted Conservative.
I countered that perhaps the highly educated, esp. the educated youth, tend to live in areas without large and troublesome migrant groups and are too young to understand life with high taxes. These educated bums are just ‘Limousine Liberals’ while the rest of us ‘dummies’ have to live with the consequences of open immigration and runaway social spending.
A blank stare was the reply.
One thing I have noticed from extensive research of history of the past 200 years: in general, the average man and woman, though lacking education, were wiser and more discriminating with politics. They attended political meetings, listened carefully to the speeches and debated fully with politicians and their neighbours.
The speeches and debates were often very lively and there was absolutely no political correctness: if difficult topics had to be debated, they were and very openly with ‘colourful’ language.
A famous Canadian politician, walking on the debating platform in the 1800’s, was hung-over from a night of fun with his mates. He threw up on the stage, pointed to the mess and stated “That’s what I think of the Grits !!”. The crowd erupted with applause.
As Churchill once quipped:
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”
What, however, this election court – the ECHR!
ECHR did not review the case of Pussy Riot against Russia
https://ria.ru/20181204/1543464456.html
================
Previously:
he European Court of Human Rights awarded € 37 thousand to three Pussy Riot participants.
The court ordered Russia to pay compensation for moral damage to Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich
“The ECHR in the criminal case on the Pussy Riot action in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior acknowledged violations under articles 3, 5, 6, 10 of the Human Rights Convention,” said lawyer Irina Khrunova, noting that the violation of Art. 6 (“The right to a fair trial”) entails annulment and review of the case.
https://tass.ru/proisshestviya/5380225
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I do not like the Orthodox Church, I do not consider the plastic Cathedral of Christ the Savior the home of God.
I do not like the Punk band Pussy Riot and its cheap provocations. (After their antics, Law 148 on blasphemy “On the Protection of Believers’ Feelings” was passed).
I do not like it when society is divided by scandals.
But why does the ECHR have double standards, such as in the case of Mrs Sabadich-Wolf?
The book of the Czech military reporter Petra Prokhazkovoy about the war in Chechnya should be read by a Pole who attacked a Muslim woman in Warsaw. This ruling was issued by the Warsaw District Court this week. The court also sentenced the attacker to four months in prison on probation with a probation period of one year.
Kamil B. attacked a young woman in traditional Muslim clothing last September for allegedly watching him.
The woman testified in court that, passing by her, Kamil B. told her that the Prophet Mohammed “was a pedophile.” After that, the woman tried to take a picture of a man to send the picture to the police. Kamil B. then pushed her from the pavement to the lawn and kicked her. Witnesses of the incident said that the attacker also had a row with a young orthodox Jew who was going to the synagogue.
The court found the man guilty of insulting a Muslim’s religious feelings, violating her personal integrity on the basis of her beliefs and disturbing public order.
Within six months after the decision becomes final, Kamil. B. should present to the court curator the analysis of the book by Petra Prokhazkovaya “The Aluminium Queen: The Russian-Chechen War Through the Eyes of Women”
https://www.kavkazr.com/a/29644667.html
This women (Kramp-Karrenbauer) is mini Merkel, she thinks exactly like Her , so Germany is continuing to suicidal road , good luck with this traitor…
“John Dowling, 66, was speaking with a student, identified by authorities only as Ali R., following a lecture when the 37-year old student fatally stabbed him 13 times in the throat and chest.” Why is a man of 37 years age still allowed to study?
“Finland: Crackdown on Criminal Migrants After Children Gang Raped”
Good news in the article and nice to see Finland actually cares about its children. Shame they bother with lawsuits against deportation though, they should just deport the criminals anyway. It shouldn’t be even possible to attack the deportation decision when it’s because of a criminal act.