British counter-terrorism police have announced that they are investigating yesterday’s “Allahu Akhbar” knife attack in Manchester as “terrorism-related”. Meanwhile, in the early hours of this morning Britons celebrated the new year with shootings and stabbings, sending the murder tally for 2019 surging ahead.
In other news, the Chinese government has closed three mosques in the Hui Muslim region of western China.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dora, Reader from Chicago, RRN, 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.
“Pay the F**k Up”: Hackers Threaten to Dump Secret 9/11 Attack Files if Bitcoin Ransom Not Met
A hacking collective known as The Dark Overlord announced on New Year’s Eve that it had broken into the computer systems of a law firm and obtained files related to the September 11 attacks — threatening to publicly release a large cache of internal files unless a hefty ransom was paid, according to Motherboard.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Antifa Exposed: “Angry White People With Money”
The National Review sent journalist Kevin D. Williamson deep into Portland for an on-the-ground report on the local Antifa scene, several months after the black-clad social justice warriors squared off with conservatives from the Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer groups after Antifa crashed several permitted rallies.
And while Williamson’s original story is a fascinating read, perhaps even more interesting is the post-article interview with the National Review’s Madeline Kearns.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago: 11 Wounded — 2 Fatally — in New Year’s Eve Shootings
At least two people were killed and nine others were wounded in citywide shootings over a 24-hour period on the last day of 2018.
The latest murder happened during the afternoon in the Princeton Park neighborhood on the Far South Side. Xavier Gatson, 25, was walking at 2:43 p.m. in the 200 block of West 95th Street when someone got out of a vehicle and started shooting at him, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The shooter took off in the vehicle.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kanye West Reaffirms His Support of Trump in His First Tweets of 2019
Kanye West took to Twitter on New Year’s Day to make it clear where he stands politically in 2019.
“Trump all day,” he wrote, followed by dragon emojis — likely calling back to tweets from April in which he said he and Donald Trump share “dragon energy,” which he defined as “natural born leaders,” “very instinctive” and “great foresight.”
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kathy Griffin revealed on Monday that she attempted to get herself back on the airwaves this New Year’s Eve with a new co-host.
The comedian said on Twitter that she had pitched ‘New Year’s Eve live with Kathy Griffin and Stormy Daniels’ but ‘all of the Hollywood check signers were too scared’ to greenlight the telecast.
Griffin, 58, and Daniels, 39, became friends after meeting for the first time earlier this year.
[Comment: Kathy Griffin is an unfunny comedian. That is why the TV networks did not want her to do a telecast.]
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Stephen Moore: Follow the (Climate Change) Money
Shortly after the latest “Chicken Little” climate change report was published last month, I noted on CNN that one reason so many hundreds of scientists are persuaded that the sky is falling is that they are paid handsomely to do so.
I said, “In America and around the globe governments have created a multibillion-dollar climate change industrial complex.” And then I added: “A lot of people are getting really, really rich off of the climate change industry.” According to a recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Federal funding for climate change research, technology, international assistance, and adaptation has increased from $2.4 billion in 1993 to $11.6 billion in 2014, with an additional $26.1 billion for climate change programs and activities provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009.”
Tidal Wave Of Money
This doesn’t mean that the planet isn’t warming. But the tidal wave of funding does reveal a powerful financial motive for scientists to conclude that the apocalypse is upon us. No one hires a fireman if there are no fires. No one hires a climate scientist (there are thousands of them now) if there is no catastrophic change in the weather. Why doesn’t anyone in the media ever mention this?
But when I lifted this hood, it incited more hate mail than from anything I’ve said on TV or written. Could it be that this rhetorical missile hit way too close to home?
How dare I impugn the integrity of scientists and left-wing think tanks by suggesting that their findings are perverted by hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer handouts. The irony of this indignation is that any academic whose research dares question the “settled science” of the climate change complex is instantly accused of being a shill for the oil and gas industry or the Koch brothers.
[…]
How big is the climate change industrial complex today? Surprisingly, no one seems to be keeping track of all the channels of funding. A few years ago, Forbes magazine went through the federal budget and estimated about $150 billion in spending on climate change and green energy subsidies during President Obama’s first term.
That didn’t include the tax subsidies that provide a 30% tax credit for wind and solar power — so add to those numbers about $8 billion to $10 billion a year. Then add billions more in costs attributable to the 29 states with renewable energy mandates that require utilities to buy expensive “green” energy.
Worldwide the numbers are gargantuan. Five years ago, a leftist group called the Climate Policy Initiative issued a study that found that “global investment in climate change” reached $359 billion that year. Then, to give you a sense of how money-hungry these planet-saviors are, the CPI moaned that this spending “falls far short of what’s needed” — a number estimated at $5 trillion.
For $5 trillion we could feed everyone on the planet, end malaria, and provide clean water and reliable electricity to every remote village in Africa. And we would probably have enough money left over to find a cure for cancer and Alzheimer’s.
The entire Apollo project to put a man on the moon cost less than $200 billion. We are spending twice that much every year on climate change.
This tsunami of government money distorts science in hidden ways that even the scientists who are corrupted often don’t appreciate. If you are a young eager-beaver researcher who decides to devote your life to the study of global warming, you’re probably not going to do your career any good or get famous by publishing research that the crisis isn’t happening.
But if you’ve built bogus models that predict the crisis is getting worse by the day, then step right up and get a multimillion-dollar grant.
Now here’s the real scandal of the near trillion dollars that governments have stolen from taxpayers to fund climate change hysteria and research. By the industry’s own admission, there has been almost no progress worldwide in combating climate change. The latest reports by the U.S. government and the United Nations say the problem is getting worse, and we have not delayed the apocalypse by a single day.
Has there ever been such a massive government expenditure that has had such minuscule returns on investment? After three decades of “research” the only “solution” is for the world to stop using fossil fuels, which is like saying that we should stop growing food.
Really? The greatest minds of the world entrusted with hundreds of billions of dollars can only come up with a solution that would entail the largest government power grab in world history, shutting down industrial production (just look at the catastrophe in Germany when they went all in for green energy), and throwing perhaps billions of human beings into poverty? If that’s the remedy, I will take my chances on a warming planet.
[Yeah, just look at Germany…]
— Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
Fatah: Coming Soon, Believe it or Not — Islamic Party of Ontario
As people around the globe celebrate the New Year, for me 2019 is beginning just the way 2018 did — with a threat against me.
Leading up to 2018, the threats against me were quite blatant, leading last year to the arrest of two would-be assassins in India.
Even in Toronto, a Muslim cab driver pointed his fist at me in pistol fashion saying, “I have a special gun for you,” as he sped away.
Yet towards the end of 2018, a much more subtler death threat was addressed to me, this time by the head of Canada’s newest aspiring political party, the Islamic Party of Ontario.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Fire Tornadoes” And “Rain of Fire” After 150 Feet Dutch Bonfire Escalates During NYE
A bonfire competition in the Dutch city of Schevingen escalated as the 150 feet high beach fire caused chaos in the nearby town centre.
With a strong wind blowing from the sea, a dangerous situation was created, whirlwinds of fire approached the centre of Scheveningen.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Firefighters Battle ‘Firenadoes’ At New Year Celebration
Dutch firefighters batted several “firenadoes” sweeping through the seaside resort of Scheveningen after an annual New Year’s Eve bonfire competition got out of hand.
Made of wooden pallets, the bonfire is lit as part of a yearly tradition pitting Scheveningen, situated near The Hague, against the neighboring district of Duindorp, according to Euronews.
However, this year’s fire was hijacked by strong winds, turning flames into miniature tornadoes across the sand dunes and sent copies ash and embers raining down on the area. Local reports state rooftops of nearby structures caught on fire due to the downpour. Firefighters put out the blaze at 5:00 am local time, reports the NL Times.
Eyewitness and news sites shared stunning footage of the “firenadoes” as they moved through the beach.
[Be sure to click on URL to see phone videos of the fires. Looked like California…]
— Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
EU Hands Sweden Cash to Tackle ‘Hate Crime’ As Violence Remains High
Sweden is set to receive 7.5 million Swedish Kronor (738,248 euros) from the European Union for victims of “hate crimes” after the country saw a record number of fatal shootings in 2018.
The programme is aimed at providing better support for those who are victims of hate crimes across the country while their cases are being investigated or prosecuted, Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Radio reports.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Unapologetic After Bruising Year, Macron Slams Yellow Vests as a ‘Hateful Crowd’
French President Emmanuel Macron used his New Year’s televised address to lash out at the populist Yellow Vest protestors who have taken to the streets through November and December to oppose his globalist policies, accusing them of anti-Semitism and other defects.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French President Macron Ridiculed Over “National Cohesion” Tweet
Twitter can be most unforgiving, as the embattled President of France, Emmanuel Macron is seeing today.
A tweet of his has resurfaced one year on of his where he states that he believes “2018 will be the year of national cohesion”.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Minister Salvini Has Trust in His Government for 2019
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini does not see any danger to the government in the coming months.
On New Year’s Eve the Interior Minister stated that they will turn their focus to new reforms now that the budget has been agreed for next year.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Chiara Ferragni Launches ‘Beauty Bites’ Masterclass With Makeup Artist Manuele Mameli
Thousands of fans queue online to purchase tickets for the course on makeup and hair tips
Emanuela Grigliè “You’ll see, there are 1,400 people in front of me! I’ll never get it!” writes Alessia on Instagram after registering Tuesday, December 18 at 4 pm to buy tickets for Beauty Bites, a beauty masterclass organized by the influencer Chiara Ferragni (31-year-old fashion entrepreneur, wife of Italian rapper Fedez, Leone’s mother, and 15.7 million followers on Instagram). The course in question is a partnership with Lancôme and Sephora called Beauty Bites, which will last about four hours on February 9th at the Vetra theater in Milan to learn all about hair and makeup tips from Ferragni’s trusted makeup stylist, Manuele Mameli.
In the short time since the Beauty Bites Masterclass website made its 700 tickets available, a queue of 37,000 people had registered to make a purchase a online. For the program of the masterclass, Ferragni has divided tickets into three tiers, each with their own benefits. A regular ticket (350 euros) includes a Beauty Bites makeup bag with items worth of 150 euros, a certificate of participation in the masterclass, and seat assignments in the third row of the theatre. On the other hand, a VIP ticket (650 euros), comes with all the bells and whistles. It includes a meet and greet, photo opportunity with Ferragni and Malemi, and a goodie bag with items worth 500 euros. VIP ticket holders will also get priority entrance, extended stay (until 8pm), prime seating, and the ability to customize their own makeup look with Sephora professionals and Lancôme products. Given that a master beauty class with Kim Kardashian’s makeup artist Mario (Dedivanovic)-and that of many other celebrity artists-can cost up to thousands of euros, some might argue that Ferragni’s prices aren’t that exaggerated…
— Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
New Year’s Celebrations Across Europe Marred by Violence
Celebrations of the new year across several European countries were marred with violence including attacks on police and emergency services, car burnings along with other forms of violence.
In Sweden, several incidents occurred across the country over the new year, including an attempted murder in Haninge Municipality near Stockholm Swedish broadcaster SVT reports.
[Comment: Further down in the article is it reported that 99 cars were set on fire in the migrant-populated Seine-Saint-Denis area outside Paris.]
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Francis: ‘The Human Family is Built Upon Mothers’
Pope Francis focused on the importance of motherhood in his New Year’s Day homily, insisting that humanity cannot move forward without rediscovering the gift of maternity.
“A world that looks to the future without a mother’s gaze is shortsighted,” the pope toldthe thousands gathered in Saint Peter’s Basilica for the Mass commemorating the Catholic feast of Mary, Mother of God.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Report: Greek Population in Dangerous Decline
The population of Greece is dropping at a rate that has analysts worried about the country’s future as the fertility rate is well below replacement levels and significant brain drain exists.
The National Center of Social Research (EKKE) and a special parliamentary committee on demographics and social affairs released demographic data this week, along with projections of the mid— to long-term effects of present trends.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Stabbings, A Shooting, A Sword Attack: How Parts of the UK Welcomed 2019
A number of violent attacks took place at New Year’s Eve parties across the UK, including a shooting, several stabbings, and even a sword attack.
A nightclub doorman was killed in Mayfair, London, and three other people stabbed as a “mob” attempted to gain access to a private party in the early hours of New Year’s Day. A woman was stabbed to death in a separate incident earlier in the morning in Camberwell, reports the Evening Standard, meaning the running tally of murders in the British capital is sadly already off to a strong start in 2019.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The European Union: An Authoritarian Body With a Humanitarian Face
The Treaty of Lisbon — drafted as a replacement to the 2005 Constitutional Treaty and signed in 2007 by the leaders of the 27 European Union member states — describes itself as an agreement to “reform the functioning of the European Union… [it] sets out humanitarian assistance as a specific Commission competence.”
What the Lisbon Treaty actually created, however, was an authoritarian political system that infringes on human and political rights.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Today’s Europe Needs a Man Like Viktor Orban’
Czech Senator Jitka Chalankova has praised Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban for his uncompromising defence and protection of Christian culture and marriage as a bond between a man and a woman.
Jitka said, “I see Orban as a positive figure because of his uncompromising defence of basic conservative value,” saying that every European leader should maintain such a position if we want to save our civilisation. “Today’s Europe needs a man like Orban”.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: London Mayor Blasted: He Should Focus on Preventing Crime, Not on Politicising Fireworks
I don’t know how many Londoners were surprised that Sadiq Khan would use the New Year’s Eve fireworks display in London as a way to cause controversy.
At a time when Leave voters are already feeling betrayed by their government, Sadiq seems to be pandering to the minority with his Pro-EU fireworks message last night.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The suspect arrested over the stabbings at Manchester Victoria Station on New Year’s Eve has been detained under the Mental Health Act, police have confirmed.
Greater Manchester Police said the 25-year-old man from Cheetham Hill, Manchester had been assessed by medical staff on Tuesday afternoon after being taken into custody yesterday evening.
The man, who has yet to be identified, stabbed three people including a police officer in Manchester Victoria station on New Year’s Eve while screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: New Year’s Eve ‘Allah!’ Stabbing Attack Being Treated as ‘Terror Related’
Counter terrorism police are leading the investigation into a stabbing at Manchester Victoria railway station on New Year’s Eve where the suspect is alleged to have shouted “Allah!”
UPDATE: 12pm — Police confirm incident “terror related”
Manchester police have revealed they are treating the Manchester Victoria train station stabbing attack, where three people were injured, as “terror related.”
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Three people, including a police officer, have been stabbed in Manchester in what increasingly looks like an Islamist terrorist attack.
Two members of the public, a man and a woman, were taken to hospital with knife injuries. A British Transport Police officer also received treatment after being stabbed in the shoulder.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
4 New Species of Mollusca Found in Gujarat
AHMEDABAD: Mollusca species are not only used for food, but also find use in cosmetic products and pharmaceutical drugs. Research in Gujarat has revealed 22 species of Mollusca documented for the first time in India. Of these 22 species, 4 were previously unknown to the world.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hindu Hardliners Reject Celebration of ‘Christian’ New Year
A prominent radical Hindu group has told followers to reject the celebration of the New Year on January 1, which signals an acceptance of Jesus, urging them to move the feast to April instead.
The Goa-based Hindu Janajagruti Samiti exhorted the nation of India to refrain from celebrating the traditional New Year because it creates “perversion” among young people and in its place urged Indians to move the festivities to April for the Hindu feast of “Chaitra Shukla Pratipada” or “Gudi Padwa.”
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Crackdown Against Muslims: China Closes Three Mosques
On Saturday, December 30, Chinese authorities closed three mosques in southwestern where the Hui Muslims live.
— Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Was Low-Dose Radiation From the Atomic Bombs Beneficial?
In August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The unprecedented explosions and resulting radioactive fallout resulted in the tragic deaths of roughly 200,000 people.
High levels of ionizing radiation spawned by the detonations sentenced individuals who survived the initial blasts to various cancers. Strangely, however, survivors subjected to lower doses of radiation may actually have had elongated lifespans and reduced cancer mortality. Such is the finding of an article recently published to the journal Genes and Environment.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
South Africa: Guests Evacuated at KZN Resort After Mob Numbering Hundreds Attacks
Guests at a holiday resort in northern KwaZulu-Natal had to be evacuated after an armed mob stormed the grounds and vandalised facilities on Friday morning.
It is understood that the people, numbering in the hundreds and many of whom were armed with pangas, had pulled down a perimeter fence before swarming the Natal Spa resort near Vryheid.
Police sources said the mob had threatened staff members, warning them to vacate their posts or face violence.
Guests were transported from the resort under guard while police negotiated with the mob.
Manager Henk Barnard told TimesLIVE that an employment dispute was at the heart of the attack.
“It’s a long story, but we are hearing rumours that the crowd was unhappy about the dismissal of certain staff [and] others were unhappy that they are not employed,” he said.
“They want some of the managers to leave the resort and they had a list of demands that they had compiled on December 14. We obviously were unable to meet these demands and that is why they raided us.”
Barnard said the guests had not been in danger but had been evacuated as a precaution.
“The crowd didn’t do anything inside the resort and they didn’t threaten the guests, but we evacuated them anyway.
“Police came from Ulundi and dispersed the crowd and made arrests. Things are quiet now but we’re afraid about what is going to happen tonight,” he added…
— Hat tip: RRN | [Return to headlines] |
Bolsonaro Says Brazil ‘Liberated From Socialism’ At Inaugural Ceremony
Brazil’s newly inaugurated far-right President Jair Bolsonaro said in his address to the nation on Tuesday that Latin America’s most populous country has now been “liberated from Socialism and political correctness”.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
After record numbers of murders and robberies in Brazil, the country has stepped up the fight against criminal gangs.
The police force shall shoot to kill, and unpunished citizens will be allowed to carry weapons, Samhällsnytt reports.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: 99 Vehicles Set on Fire in Migrant-Heavy Paris Suburb on New Year’s Eve
99 vehicles were set on fire in the migrant-heavy Paris suburb of Saint Denis last night while clashes with police were also reported.
The Intelligence Fusion Twitter account posted a map which stated that, “In addition to 99 cars being set on fire, nine bonfires were also identified.”
Setting cars on fire has become a “tradition” for migrant youths who routinely set vehicles ablaze on New Year’s Eve.
[Comment: This is one of only two English language news articles that I found that reported on the car torching in France this past New Year’s Eve. The other is from Breitbart. I’m wondering if the lame stream media is covering for Macron.]
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Town in Shock After Refugees Hospitalised 9 People During ‘Orgy of Violence’
After a violent attack of four refugees, the German town of Amberg is still in shock, news outlet Focus reports.
As Voice of Europe reported earlier, the refugees chose victims in the town centre then kicked and beat them with serious consequences, as nine people were hospitalised.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Multiculturalism and the Transformation of Britain in 2018: Part I
The Muslim population of Britain surpassed 4.2 million in 2018 to become around 6.3% of the overall population of 64 million, according to data extrapolated from a recent study on the growth of the Muslim population in Europe. In real terms, Britain has the third-largest Muslim population in the European Union, after France, then Germany.
The rapid growth of Britain’s Muslim population can be attributed to immigration, high birth rates and conversions to Islam.
Islam and Islam-related issues, omnipresent in Britain during 2018, can be categorized into several broad themes: 1) Islamic extremism and the security implications of British jihadists; 2) The continuing spread of Islamic Sharia law in Britain; 3) The sexual exploitation of British children by Muslim gangs; 4) Muslim integration into British society; and 5) The failures of British multiculturalism.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Proposes ‘Slightly Larger’ Obama ‘Mansion’ Wall for U.S.
President Donald Trump pointed to a 10-foot security wall around the Obama’s “mansion/compound” as he called for a wall along the U.S. border Sunday.
“President and Mrs. Obama built/has a ten foot Wall around their D.C. mansion/compound,” Trump wrote. “I agree, totally necessary for their safety and security. The U.S. needs the same thing, slightly larger version!”
The federal government is in the midst of a partial government shutdown as Congressional Republicans and Democrats have failed to produce a funding bill that would include monies for building a southern border wall and border security. The partial shutdown officially began after midnight the Friday before Christmas, but the first several days of it included weekend and already schedule holiday days off including Christmas Day.
President Trump made clear that he will not sign a bill that fails to include border wall funding that he said Congressional Republicans promised him before he signed a $1.3 trillion omnibus funding bill earlier this year. He has called for a compromised $5 billion in border wall and border security funding that Trump requires in order to sign a bill to end the partial government shutdown…
— Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
UK Buckles, Sends More Border Force Boats Despite Migrant ‘Magnet’ Warnings
Home Secretary Sajid Javid has buckled to political pressure and will send more border force cutters to the English Channel, despite critics warning the boats will act as “magnets” to illegal aliens and increase the number of crossings.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Migrants in Court for Trying to Hijack Thames Ship, Smearing Faeces on Bridge Windows
Four illegal migrants who tried to commandeer a ship in the Thames estuary have appeared in court.
Samuel Jolumi, 26, Ishola Sunday, 27, Toheeb Popoola, 26, and Joberto McGee, 20, are thought to have stowed away on the Grimaldi cargo ship Grande Tema in Lagos, Nigeria.
They were discovered by the ship’s crew partway into the journey — but escaped once it reached the iconic Thames Estuary which wends its way into London.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Two Large Ships Return to English Channel Over Illegal Migrant Crisis
The UK home secretary Sajid Javid announced: “I have made a decision today to redeploy two of the Border Force’s largest vessels, known as cutters, from abroad back to the UK, to south-east England, and they will be joining a cutter that is already there and two other coastal patrol vessels”.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Under Juncker Migrants Flooded Europe and the Brits Left the EU — Hungarian FM
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s “lecturing” others about Christian Democracy “is a bad joke”, the Hungarian foreign minister said on Sunday.
Peter Szijjarto insisted that Juncker “has not been a Christian Democrat for a long time and he is in fact a liberal, pro-migration politician”.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Climate Doom Ahead? Think Twice.
It’s one word — but it could change the course of the world for decades to come.
Discussion at the UN climate change talks held in Katowice, Poland recently reached a stalemate. The issue? A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released earlier this year, entitled “Special Report 15” (SR-15). Most of the nations at the conference want to “welcome” this report, but the U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait want simply to “note” its publication.
It might sound like a silly squabble over semantics, but it’s far from that. SR-15 claims that we have only twelve years to avert climate catastrophe and calls for a fundamental transformation of society and end to the use of fossil fuels. Endorsing it is a critical step towards adopting it, and adopting it would change virtually every element of civil society as we know it today.
Unsurprisingly, the U.S. has taken a good deal of heat in the press for its refusal to endorse the report. Critics characterize the move as political and motivated by willful ignorance. But the fact of the matter is there’s good reason for skepticism. Environmentalists have been known to hastily embrace faulty data in the name of a political agenda — and SR15 is no exception.
To put it bluntly, there’s a lot less here than meets the eye. The report argues that the Paris Accord target of a 1.5C increase is better than a 2C target. But the farther one reads, the more it appears the IPCC’s report is not really about climate change. It’s less a scientific report and more a political platform, driven by ideology, not science.
This would seem a wild accusation, but for two things. First, SR15 doesn’t actually attempt to quantify either the possible costs of warming or how much it would cost to avert warming. In fact, there’s no serious attempt even to show the likely consequences of proposed actions; it’s simply assumed they will work and be desirable.
Second, SR15 clearly proposes radical, global transformation of society. It calls for “rapid and far-reaching transitions in energy, land, urban and infrastructure (including transport and buildings), and industrial systems…,” “unprecedented in terms of scale…,” “fundamental societal and systems transitions and transformations….” These are direct quotes from IPCC. What do they mean?
Looking closer, these fundamental transformations are less about global warming and more about promoting “social justice,” as embodied in the UN’s “Sustainable development Goals.” The report makes no attempt to conceal this; in the summary, it argues “Social justice and equity are core aspects of climate-resilient development pathways for transformational social change.”
It goes on to contend that we must “eradicate poverty” and reduce inequality across nations. As part of these efforts, governments must impose draconian carbon taxes and other measures to effectively shut down existing energy production, re-direct finance to alternative energy, and transfer wealth from developed countries to less developed countries. Individuals must change their diets and “lifestyle choices” to become “sustainable.” All of this in a decade or so. It’s a call for global central planning and income redistribution — a sort of “socialism lite” dressed up as sustainable development.
But the fact of the matter is that the IPCC, the UN, and national governments are not capable of eliminating poverty. They don’t know how. People are poor when they cannot produce wealth. Shutting down economic activity, subsidizing alternatives that can’t create enough value to succeed on their own, and transferring income will not make the world wealthier. And governments cannot effectively manage the economy. A century of consistent failures of socialism shows this.
[Remember the doomsday scenarios painted at the turn of the century. None of them happened.]
— Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
The Most Amazing Historical Discoveries of 2018
From a 13,000-year-old brewery to a long-lost ancient city supposedly built by Trojan War captives, it was an eventful year for historical discoveries. As the year comes to a close, take a look back at some of the ways history made news this year.
— Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0TBJOp75Aw
New Year in Moscow. Tajiks posted this video on their channel.
In other social sites, migrants laid out indignant posts, as they were caught on the approach to Red Square, loaded into paddy wagons and kept in police stations all night. 500 migrants had so much fun on New Year’s Eve.
In the video they say that the passage to Red Square is closed.
What an optimistic start to the new year in Sweden. Frankly, I did not expect this from the Swedes.
Shot fired at Malmö mosque on New Year’s Eve
https://www.thelocal.se/20190102/shots-fired-at-malmo-mosque
The people have not sobered up from meeting the new year, and the authorities are already burdening them with problems and fears.
FSB has developed a system of protection of temples from terrorist attacks
https://ria.ru/20190102/1548995325.html
… Religious objects of the first category will also be protected by anti-ramming devices. The project provides for annual exercises and planned anti-terrorism checks.
In the category “General,” re Climate Doom Ahead? Think Twice.
So the (U.N.’s) IPCC says, in its SR-15 Report, that we have only 12 years to avert climate catastrophe, and calls for a fundamental transformation of society …
and only a little while ago the U.N. said IT wants ‘world government within 12 years.”
Quelle surprise ! But as they say, there’s no such thing as ‘coincidence,’ especially in politics. Didn’t a former U.S. President once say “There’s no coincidence. If it happens at all (in politics), you can bet it was planned that way”?
The globalists are transparent … for those with eyes to see.
The globalists are transparent … for those with eyes to see.
Well, that’s why you can’t see them – they’re transparent.