Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/19/2019

The Gates of Vienna website was down for several hours tonight, and is still experiencing some technical issues. I don’t know what the problem was (and is), except that it’s not any kind of attack.

Email went down, too, and some emails may have been permanently lost. If you emailed us today and didn’t get a reply, that may be why.

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

Thanks to Dora, Insubria, Reader from Chicago, Srdja Trifkovic, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

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

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

USA
» The Uses of Socialism
 
Europe and the EU
» “Big Other” — In New Foreword to Camp of the Saints, Jean Raspail Names Those Wringing France’s Neck
» 1,000 Days After the Brexit Vote, Democracy is ‘All But Dead’ In UK, Says Donald Trump Jr.
» Abused Baby Boy is Fitted With Artificial Anus ‘After His Parents Inflicted Horrific Injuries on the Six-Week-Old Child for Sexual Gratification’, German Prosecutors Claim
» Brussels Globalists Rush to Stop UK Participation in EU Elections in Case of Brexit Delay
» ‘Finalise Preparations for No Deal, ‘ Barnier Tells UK, As May Asks for Brexit Delay
» France’s Nicolas Bay Believes the EU Can be Reformed From Within
» French PM Announces New Measures on Protest Violence
» Islamist Arrested at French Post Office Trying to Collect Sub-Machine Gun
» Italian Govt’s Brexit Decree Ready
» Italy: Zingaretti Says Faith in Justice, M5S Doesn’t Scare
» Italy: Macedonian Gets 8 Yrs for Trying to Join ISIS
» Italy: FCA Shares Surge on PSA Merger Rumours
» Italy: Matteo Salvini’s League Party Doubles Popularity
» Majority of Britons Don’t Trust Politicians to ‘Do the Right Thing by the Country Over Brexit’
» Number of UK People in Work at Highest Ever Level, Wages Rising
» Polish Ruling Party Seeks Probe of Soros-Backed Bid for Radio Broadcaster
» Pope Francis Doesn’t Accept Barbarin Resignation, He Retires
» Pope Francis Rejects Resignation of French Cardinal Convicted of Abuse Cover-Up
» UK: Lord Ahmed and Brothers Appear in Court Over Historic Child Sex Offences
 
Middle East
» Orsetti’s Last Wish to be Buried in Syria
» Scott Morrison Says He’s ‘Deeply Offended’ By Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s Gallipoli Comments After He Warned Anti-Muslim Australians Would be Sent Home ‘In Coffins Like Their Grandfathers’
 
South Asia
» Mentally Disabled Christian Beaten by Muslim Mob in Pakistan
» Ruling Awami League Leader Shot Dead in Rangamati in Islamic Bangladesh
 
Australia — Pacific
» Christchurch Shooter Could Avoid Terror Charges Amid Fears a Drawn-Out Trial Could Provide a Platform for Him to Tout His Extremist Views and Traumatise Victims’ Families
» Facebook is Ordered to Turn in Anyone Who Illegally Shared Christchurch Massacre Footage — as Teenager, 18, Faces Huge Jail Sentence for ‘Distributing the Graphic Clip Online’
» ‘I Call it as I See it’: NSW Labor Leader Michael Daley Stands by Call That Young People Are Forced to ‘Flee’ Sydney Because Jobs Were Being Taken by Asians
» I’ll Kill as Many Invaders as I Can’: Christchurch ‘Copycat’ Threatens to Murder Muslim Worshippers at an Australian Mosque
» ‘It Was an Ambush’: Furious Pauline Hanson Takes Aim at ‘Bully’ Sunrise Host David Koch for Blaming the Christchurch Terrorist Attack on Her One Nation Party
» Muslim Brothers Plotted Poison Gas Terror Attack When Plan to Bring Down an Etihad Flight Out of Sydney Failed
» Neo-Nazis Doing Hitler Salutes Delivered Boxes of Pig Heads to One of the Mosques Targeted in Christchurch Massacre
» One of Australia’s Most Senior Muslim Clerics is Refused Entry to New Zealand After the Christchurch Mosque Massacre
» Teenager Becomes the Fifth Indigenous Youth to Kill Themselves in Just a Week — as Community Leaders Say Suicide is Now ‘Normal’ For Aboriginal Children
» ‘We’re the Sleeping Dragon and We Have Awoken’: Right-Wing Thug Who Took Down Egg Boy Posts a Sickening Rant Claiming the Christchurch Mosque Massacre Was ‘Karma’ And Says Muslims Can’t ‘Play the Victim’
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Islamists Burn Houses, Murder Nine More Christians in Nigeria
 
Latin America
» 1 Point of Disagreement With Italy on Venezuela — US
» Nicolas Maduro Used Venezuela Oil to Buy Political Loyalty as Citizens Left to Starve
 
Immigration
» Germany: Chemnitz: Trial of Alleged Killer Migrant Begins
» Illegal Immigrant With Criminal History Arrested in California Woman’s Murder
» Mare Ionio Migrants Disembark at Lampedusa
» NSW Labor Leader Michael Daley Says Asian Immigrants Are ‘Taking the Jobs’ From Young Australians in a ‘Politics in the Pub’ Session Caught on Camera
» Scott Morrison is Set to Slash Australia’s Immigration Intake by 30,000 People a Year
» The Wall: Moral and Good
 
Culture Wars
» Salvini Pro-Family Congress Attendance Sparks Italy Coalition Conflict
 

The Uses of Socialism

When it comes to the creation of wealth, socialism is worse than worthless. It is a great destroyer. For the promotion of equality by immiseration of the people who suffer under it, socialism is a powerful tool. But as a means of social control by the ruling elite, it is unparalleled.

Yesterday’s long New York Times story by Nicholas Casey — “‘It Is Unspeakable’: How Maduro Used Cuban Doctors to Coerce Venezuela Voters” — can serve as a case study in social control. This being the New York Times, the word “socialism” does not appear in the article, but you get the drift:

“To maintain their hold over Venezuela, Mr. Maduro and his supporters have often used the nation’s economic collapse to their advantage, dangling food before hungry voters, promising extra subsidies if he won, and demanding that people present identification cards tied to government rations when they came to the polls.

But participants in the schemes say Mr. Maduro and his supporters have deployed another tool as well: Cuba’s international medical corps.

In interviews, 16 members of Cuba’s medical missions to Venezuela — a signature element of relations between the two countries — described a system of deliberate political manipulation in which their services were wielded to secure votes for the governing Socialist Party, often through coercion.

Many tactics were used, they said, from simple reminders to vote for the for the governing Socialist Party, often through coercion.

Many tactics were used, they said, from simple reminders to vote for the government to denying treatment for opposition supporters with life-threatening ailments.

The Cuban doctors said they were ordered to go door-to-door in impoverished neighborhoods, offering medicine and warning residents that they would be cut off from medical services if they did not vote for Mr. Maduro or his candidates.

Many said their superiors directed them to issue the same threats during closed-door consultations with patients seeking treatment for chronic diseases.”[…]

[Ah, the frangance of socialism. Has anyone made a perfume yet? Oh wait: that would be capitalism…]

           — Hat tip: Dora [Return to headlines]
 

“Big Other” — In New Foreword to Camp of the Saints, Jean Raspail Names Those Wringing France’s Neck

The Social Contract Press has just brought out a sixth edition of Jean Raspail’s prophetic novel Camp Of The Saints, including for the first time an English-language translation of the substantial foreword that the author added to the 2011 French edition. He’s not backing down.

Raspail describes the original inspiration for the novel. One day in 1971, he looked out his window on France’s Mediterranean coast and a thought occurred to him: “What if they came?”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

1,000 Days After the Brexit Vote, Democracy is ‘All But Dead’ In UK, Says Donald Trump Jr.

President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Junior, has said British Prime Minister Theresa May should have listened to his father’s advice on how to conduct Brexit negotiations as the process to extricate the United Kingdom from the European Union bounces from one crisis to the next.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Abused Baby Boy is Fitted With Artificial Anus ‘After His Parents Inflicted Horrific Injuries on the Six-Week-Old Child for Sexual Gratification’, German Prosecutors Claim

The parents, named as Ismail S., 23, and Nina R., 26, allegedly abused the tot at their home in the city of Ludwigshafen in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Brussels Globalists Rush to Stop UK Participation in EU Elections in Case of Brexit Delay

Globalist officials in Brussels are reportedly moving to try and halt British participation in European Parliament elections in the event of a delayed Brexit, fearing UK voters would boost an already anticipated populist surge.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

‘Finalise Preparations for No Deal, ‘ Barnier Tells UK, As May Asks for Brexit Delay

The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has told the UK to “finalise preparations for no deal” after Prime Minister Theresa May announced that she is set to ask the bloc to delay Brexit.

Speaking to media on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Barnier acknowledged that while last week the House of Commons had voted to take no deal off the table, “Voting against no deal does not prevent it from happening.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

France’s Nicolas Bay Believes the EU Can be Reformed From Within

Not all “populist” politicians in Europe necessarily believe that a Brexit-style departure from the European Union would be the right move for their nation.

Recently I spoke to Nicolas Bay, the General Secretary of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally Party in France.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

French PM Announces New Measures on Protest Violence

Five new strict measures on protests in France have been announced by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, in the wake of renewed violence during gilets jaunes demonstrations on Saturday March 16.

The response comes after a meeting between Mr Philippe and President Emmanuel Macron. Also present were justice minister Nicole Belloubet, interior minister Christophe Castaner, and his secretary of State, Laurent Nuñez.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Islamist Arrested at French Post Office Trying to Collect Sub-Machine Gun

A French former prisoner who had converted to Islam while incarcerated was arrested after trying to have a sub-machine gun delivered to him by post.

The 30-year-old, who was not identified by name, was arrested last week in the city of Angers in Western France at a local post office while attempting to pick up the firearm that had originally come from the United States, Le Parisien reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Italian Govt’s Brexit Decree Ready

Conte says citizens rights will be protected even if no deal

(ANSA) — Rome, March 19 — The economy ministry has prepared a decree featuring a series of measures aiming to “guarantee the stability and integrity of the financial system” in the case of a no-deal Brexit. ANSA has seen a draft of the decree which introduces a transitional regime for British financial operators in Italy and Italian operators in the United Kingdom, among other things. Premier Giuseppe Conte told the Lower House on Tuesday that the rights of Italians in Britain will be protected even if the UK leaves the EU without an agreement.

“In situation in which there continues to be strong elements of uncertainty, the Italian government will continue to work to guarantee the rights of citizens and of our firms and to guarantee financial stability even in the not-to-be-hoped-for hypothesis of an exit without an agreement on March 29, 2019”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Zingaretti Says Faith in Justice, M5S Doesn’t Scare

Funding probe reported by Espresso

(ANSA) — Rome, March 19 — New Democratic Party (PD) leader Nicola Zingaretti said Tuesday he had faith in justice over a reported probe into illicit party funding and was not afraid of the “petty tricks” of the 5-Star Movement (M5S).

“Regarding the Espresso article on my joining the list of those probed by Rome prosecutors over an alleged illicit funding, I want to state I am extremely tranquil because I’m sure I have nothing to do with the allegations which, besides, have been reported as mere gossip without any evidence, as the weekly’s article itself said,” said the Lazio governor.

Zingaretti voiced total faith in justice and said he would not be “intimidated by the M5S’s petty tricks”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Macedonian Gets 8 Yrs for Trying to Join ISIS

Supreme court gives final verdict

(ANSA) — Rome, March 19 — The supreme Court of Cassation on Tuesday upheld an eight-year sentence for Karlitos Brigande, a 44-year-old Macedonian arrested in Italy in 2016 on charges of wanting to travel to Iraq to fight for iSIS.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: FCA Shares Surge on PSA Merger Rumours

Analyss don’t expect merger soon

(ANSA) — Milan, March 19 — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles shares surged on the Milan stock exchange Tuesday amid rumours the Italo-American carmaker may merge with PSA of France.

By early afternoon FCA was 5.54% up in Milan.

Equita analysts said, however, that they did not see a merger in the short term.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Matteo Salvini’s League Party Doubles Popularity

Italy’s Lega (League) party has doubled in popularity since its election victory a year ago, according to a nationwide poll Monday.

At the time of national elections on March 4, 2018, fewer than one in five (17 percent) voters said they favored the League over any other party, whereas that figure today has nearly exactly doubled to 33.9 percent, making the League Italy’s favorite party by a significant margin.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Majority of Britons Don’t Trust Politicians to ‘Do the Right Thing by the Country Over Brexit’

A poll has found that Britons are more comfortable with the “brief uncertainty” of a clean-break Brexit than are happy with a Brexit extension, and a clear majority think the European Union is punishing the United Kingdom for wanting to leave.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Number of UK People in Work at Highest Ever Level, Wages Rising

The number of people in the United Kingdom who are working has risen to historic highs in absolute terms, while the linked statistic of unemployment has also fallen to a low not seen in decades.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Polish Ruling Party Seeks Probe of Soros-Backed Bid for Radio Broadcaster

Lawmakers from Poland’s ruling party asked the government to investigate whether a deal by Polish media group Agora SA and a fund backed by billionaire George Soros to buy the country’s second-largest radio station doesn’t circumvent competition rules.

Last month Agora agreed to buy 40 percent of Eurozet sp. z o.o. for 131 million zloty ($35 million) from Prague-based Czech Media Invest AS, with Soros’ SFS Ventures taking 60 percent. The deal included a call option for Agora to buy out the fund within 36 months.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Pope Francis Doesn’t Accept Barbarin Resignation, He Retires

Lyon archbishop found guilty of covering up sex abuse

(ANSA) — Rome, March 19 — Pope Francis has not accepted the resignation of Lyon Archbishop Philippe Barbarin, found guilty earlier this month of failing to report sexual abuse of minors in the 1970s and ‘80s at the scout camps of Father Bernard Preyna, and sentenced to six months in jail, Vatican Spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said Tuesday.

But “the Holy Father has left Cardinal Barbarin free to take the best decision for the Diocese and Cardinal Barbarin has decided to retire for a period of time,” Gisotti said.

Vicar General Yves Baumgarten will take over the diocese, Gisotti said.

Barbarin, 68, was sentenced to six months in jail by a Lyon court on March 7.

It was a conditional sentence.

Barbarin tenders his resignation as archbishop after the sentence.

The Catholic Church has been roiled by abuse scandals and last month a Vatican summit of world bishops vowed zero tolerance on the issue.

Also last month, former Vatican No.3 George Pell became the top Catholic Church figure to be convicted of sex abuse of minors, in his native Australia.

He was found guilty of raping two choirboys in 1996 and will was sentenced to six years in jail.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Pope Francis Rejects Resignation of French Cardinal Convicted of Abuse Cover-Up

The Vatican announced Tuesday that Pope Francis had rejected the resignation of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin from his post as archbishop of Lyon, after a French court convicted Barbarin of failing to report an abusive priest.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Lord Ahmed and Brothers Appear in Court Over Historic Child Sex Offences

Former Labour Party politician and House of Lords peer Lord Ahmed of Rotherham has appeared in court with two of his brothers on historic child sex abuse charges.

The 61-year-old appeared at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court charged with two counts of attempted rape of a girl under the age of 16 and one count of indecent assault against a boy under the age of 14, the incidently alleged to have taken place between 1971 and 1974 when Lord Ahmed was aged 14 to 17 years old, reports the BBC.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Orsetti’s Last Wish to be Buried in Syria

Family set to grant wish

(ANSA) — Rome, March 19 — The last wish of Lorenzo Orsetti, a 32-year-old Italian fighter with Kurdish forces killed by ISIS in Syria Monday, was to be buried there, his father said Monday night.

His family is said to be in favour of respecting those wishes.

Orsetti said in his final letter that he could not have wished for more than to fight for the Kurdish cause.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Scott Morrison Says He’s ‘Deeply Offended’ By Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s Gallipoli Comments After He Warned Anti-Muslim Australians Would be Sent Home ‘In Coffins Like Their Grandfathers’

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Australians coming to Turkey with anti-Muslim views would be sent back in coffins, in a reference to Gallipoli following the Christchurch mosque massacre.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Mentally Disabled Christian Beaten by Muslim Mob in Pakistan

A Pentecostal Christian with a mental disability was beaten up by a Muslim crowd in Pakistan last week, after a neighbor accused him of blasphemy against the prophet Muhammad.

Hafiz Mudassir, a Muslim cleric, reportedly burst into the home of 42-year-old Stephen Masih on the morning of March 11 in the Sialkot District, north of Lahore, accusing the mentally disabled man of blasphemy.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Ruling Awami League Leader Shot Dead in Rangamati in Islamic Bangladesh

The AL Leader Suresh Kanti Tanchangya of Minority Buddhist community was killed in front of family members in broad daylight by suspected Jihadi groups.

Ramen Sarkar | HENB | Rangamati | March 19, 2019:: An upazila Awami League chief was gunned down and killed right before his family in Rangamati yesterday, hours after seven people were shot dead in another upazila of the district.

Unknown assailants opened fire on Bilaichhari AL President Suresh Kanti Tanchangya while he along with his family members was traveling in a boat from Farua union to the upazila town, Alamgir Kabir, superintendent of police in the district, told The HENB.

The attack around 9:30am left Suresh dead on the spot. Others in the boat were unhurt, police said. The relatives with Suresh Kanti suspected some terror group linked with Jihad Rohingya root behind the attack.

The law enforcers were trying to identify the attackers and know their motive, the SP said.

Talking to journalists, the victim’s son Nirupom Tanchangya said three to four men intercepted the boat and shot his father at close range…

           — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari [Return to headlines]
 

Christchurch Shooter Could Avoid Terror Charges Amid Fears a Drawn-Out Trial Could Provide a Platform for Him to Tout His Extremist Views and Traumatise Victims’ Families

Accused gunman Brenton Tarrant, 28, could avoid terror charges amid fears trial will allow him to ‘espouse’ his ideological views while having unintended consequences on the victims’ families.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Facebook is Ordered to Turn in Anyone Who Illegally Shared Christchurch Massacre Footage — as Teenager, 18, Faces Huge Jail Sentence for ‘Distributing the Graphic Clip Online’

New Zealand’s Privacy Commissioner has called on Facebook to report the names of anyone who has shared the chilling footage of the Christchurch terrorist attack which claimed 50 lives.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

‘I Call it as I See it’: NSW Labor Leader Michael Daley Stands by Call That Young People Are Forced to ‘Flee’ Sydney Because Jobs Were Being Taken by Asians

Politician Michael Daley has refused to issue an unconditional apology for controversial comments he made at a public function in September last year.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

I’ll Kill as Many Invaders as I Can’: Christchurch ‘Copycat’ Threatens to Murder Muslim Worshippers at an Australian Mosque

Victoria Police are investigating after a Geelong mosque became the target of a Christchurch ‘copycat’ who made a post on social media threatening to kill worshippers.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

‘It Was an Ambush’: Furious Pauline Hanson Takes Aim at ‘Bully’ Sunrise Host David Koch for Blaming the Christchurch Terrorist Attack on Her One Nation Party

Pauline Hanson has returned fire at David Koch after she was ambushed by the Sunrise host in an explosive interview. The One Nation Senator took to Facebook following the heated on-air exchange.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Muslim Brothers Plotted Poison Gas Terror Attack When Plan to Bring Down an Etihad Flight Out of Sydney Failed

Two Muslim brothers plotted to bring down an Etihad flight out of Sydney with a bomb hidden in a meat grinder, a jury has been told. When this failed it is alleged they then planned a gas attack.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Neo-Nazis Doing Hitler Salutes Delivered Boxes of Pig Heads to One of the Mosques Targeted in Christchurch Massacre

Neo-Nazis chanting ‘bring on the cull’ and doing Hitler salutes delivered boxes of pig heads to a mosque three years before it was targeted in the Christchurch massacre.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

One of Australia’s Most Senior Muslim Clerics is Refused Entry to New Zealand After the Christchurch Mosque Massacre

Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman was set to fly to Christchurch on Monday to help with the burial of the 50 victims from Friday’s mass shooting.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Teenager Becomes the Fifth Indigenous Youth to Kill Themselves in Just a Week — as Community Leaders Say Suicide is Now ‘Normal’ For Aboriginal Children

The Townsville teen travelled to Brisbane to visit family at the weekend before killing himself on Sunday. His death comes after four indigenous youths who took their own lives just says ago..

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

‘We’re the Sleeping Dragon and We Have Awoken’: Right-Wing Thug Who Took Down Egg Boy Posts a Sickening Rant Claiming the Christchurch Mosque Massacre Was ‘Karma’ And Says Muslims Can’t ‘Play the Victim’

Neil Erikson released the rant online, in which he described the mass-murder that killed 50 people and left dozens more in hospital, as ‘karma’.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Islamists Burn Houses, Murder Nine More Christians in Nigeria

Muslim Fulani militants killed nine more Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt over the weekend, the latest strike in a string of lethal, religiously motivated attacks.

The governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, confirmed that the assault in the Sanga local government area had claimed at least nine lives, adding to the death toll of 120 Christians massacred in central Nigeria since February.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

1 Point of Disagreement With Italy on Venezuela — US

But agree on many others

(ANSA) — Rome, March 19 — US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliot Abrams said after two days of talks with a Russian delegation in Rome that “we have only one point of disagreement with Italy on Venezuela”, referring to the failure to recognise Juan Guaidò as interim president.

“But on many other points we agree”, Abrams said.

Yesterday in Rome Abrams also saw Premier Giuseppe Conte’s diplomatic advisor Pietro Benassi.

Abrams described his Rome talks as “positive, serious and substantive”.

He said the US and Russia agreed that a peaceful solution was needed.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Nicolas Maduro Used Venezuela Oil to Buy Political Loyalty as Citizens Left to Starve

Venezuela’s socialist regime used the nation’s state-run oil industry as a protection racket in a yearslong, systematic scheme to buy political loyalty across the hemisphere while shortchanging its own citizens, according to a major study that shines a fresh light on corrupt dealings in Caracas.

The sweeping report, a collaboration among numerous journalists, was released Tuesday by the Washington-based think tank Inter-American Dialogue as President Trump and allies across the region increase their diplomatic and economic pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s regime. Mr. Trump told reporters once again Tuesday that “all options are open” to remove Mr. Maduro and install opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s rightful president, although he avoided a question about how long the U.S. government expects Mr. Maduro to hold out.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Chemnitz: Trial of Alleged Killer Migrant Begins

The trial of a 23-year-old asylum seeker who allegedly stabbed a local Chemnitz man to death, the incident provoking protests and riots, is underway in Dresden.

The defendant’s lawyers have called for a termination in the proceedings claiming that there is not sufficient evidence against 23-year-old Alaa S. who is accused of killing 35-year-old Daniel Hillig in August, Die Welt reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Illegal Immigrant With Criminal History Arrested in California Woman’s Murder

Police in California have arrested an illegal immigrant with known gang ties and an extensive criminal history in the February killing of a San Jose woman.

Carlos Eduardo Arevalo Carranza, 24, was arrested Monday night in connection with the murder of 59-year-old Bambi Larson; police say he stalked her before stabbing her to death.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Mare Ionio Migrants Disembark at Lampedusa

Those who do wrong will pay says Salvini

(ANSA) — Lampedusa, March 19 — The 49 migrants on board the NGO rescue ship Mare Ionio will shortly disembark at Lampedusa’s port on the orders of Guardia di Finanza tax police, sources said Tuesday.

The spokesperson of NGO Mediterranea, which runs the ship, Alessandra Scìiurba, told ANSA the order had been given to the police to disembark the migrants.

The migrants shouted after the ship docked: “Liberté, liberté”.

Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the Mare Ionio had been seized and those who “do wrong will pay”.

“The ship of the anarchist squats has been seized, excellent,” he said.

“Now in Italy there is a government that defends borders and makes laws respected, above all by the people traffickers. Those who do wrong pay”.

Salvini said earlier that the 49 asylum seekers rescued in the Mediterranean by the ship flying the Italian flag would not be allowed to enter Italy. “They can be treated, dressed and fed,” League leader Salvini told SkyTg24. “We can give them any kind of comfort but they will not set foot in Italy with my permission”. The ship, the Mare Ionio, entered the port of the island of Lampedusa on Tuesday evening after saving the asylum seekers, including 12 minors, in waters off the coast of Libya on Monday.

One migrant suffering from pneumonia was taken to the island’s medical facility.

On Monday the Mediterranea NGO that runs the vessel asked the Italian authorities to assign a port of safety before heading towards Lampedusa.

But Salvini has said the government’s policy of closing Italy’s ports to NGO-run search-and-rescue ships stands.

“This was not a rescue operation,” Salvini added.

“This is abetting illegal immigration”.

On Monday Interior Ministry Undersecretary Nicola Molteni told Mediaset television that the rescue should have been coordinated by the Libyan authorities as it took place in Libyan waters and argued the migrants should be taken back to Libya.

Salvini said Tuesday he was “counting” on the arrest of “those responsible for” the Mare Ionio.

Salvini on Tuesday created a new working group made up of experts and officials from Italy’s police forces to evaluate the situation regarding migrant arrivals after he issued a new directive on this issue on Monday.

The directive regards the procedures in dealing with rescues in the Mediterranean following what Salvini has described as an illegal intervention by the Mare Ionio.

It says that anyone who helps undocumented migrants in waters that are not Italian in an operation not coordinated by Rome and then enters Italian territorial waters damages the “order and security of the State”.

The directive said Italy was not obliged to assign a ‘place of safety’ under international law if a vessel “deliberately and autonomously” heads toward Italy.

It also stressed Italy’s coast is not the only place ships can head to after a rescue, saying ports in Libya, Tunisia and Malta are often nearer. Mediterranea, the NGO behind Monday’s migrant rescue, said it was not concerned by Salvini’s move.

“Minister Salvini’s directive does not have much value,” said Mediterranea spokesperson Alessandra Sciurba.

“As far as we are concerned, there are the rights of people, international law, human rights, international conventions.

“We have asked for a port of safety. We are Italians on an Italian ship that saved people in danger of losing their lives at sea.

“We confidently wait to enter the port”.

Libyan Navy Spokesman Admiral Ayob Amr Ghasem on Tuesday confirmed that the Mare Ionio “acted improperly” in rescuing the migrants from a sinking dinghy.

He said they contacted the Libyan coast guard only after picking up the migrants, and not before as they should have.

He also said the dinghy was “intact”. Premier Giuseppe Conte said that “we will resolve this too”.

He said “no to indiscriminate landings like in the past and said that Italy was “providing assistance and rights as always”.

Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said he was “closely” monitoring the situation.

Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio said that the Mare Ionio acted against Libyan orders.

“I have just spoken to Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. We are verifying the respect of legality. We have found several irregularities: the NGO which is Italian acted without listening to the orders of the Libyan Coast Guard, going against those orders,” he said.

Di Maio added: “I confirm that there will not be another Diciotti case, and there will be a solution shortly”, referring to a 10-day standoff with the EU last August over 177 migrants rescued by Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti, who were eventually taken in by Albania, Ireland and the Italian Catholic Church.

Prosecutors in Agrigento on Tuesday opened a probe into favouring clandestine immigration by the Mare Ionio.

The probe is as yet against person or persons unknown.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

NSW Labor Leader Michael Daley Says Asian Immigrants Are ‘Taking the Jobs’ From Young Australians in a ‘Politics in the Pub’ Session Caught on Camera

NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley has been caught on video making outrageous claims that young Australian workers are being replaced by Asian immigrants.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Scott Morrison is Set to Slash Australia’s Immigration Intake by 30,000 People a Year

A regional settlement policy — which will require people in the general skilled migrant scheme to live in cities other than Sydney and Melbourne for at least five years — has also been approved.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

The Wall: Moral and Good

by Srdja Trifkovic

President Donald Trump’s predecessors have circumvented Congress before on issues the legislative branch had tried to stop. They have redirected resources appropriated by lawmakers. They have resorted to the same National Emergencies Act that Trump is invoking in order to build the Wall along the country’s southern border. None of their actions triggered a reaction as immediate and as virulent, however, as Trump’s announcement on February 15.

The declaration was immediately attacked by Democrats and in the media as an abuse of presidential power that violated both the Constitution and the authority of Congress, a cynical move not warranted by events. On February 22 House Democrats introduced a joint resolution, just one page long, which declares that the national emergency “is hereby terminated.” Even if four Republicans subsequently support the resolution in the Senate, Trump will kill it with his first veto.

The courts present a more serious challenge. Trump acknowledged that the administration expected to be sued, that it was prepared for “a bad ruling . . . and then we’ll end up in the Supreme Court.” Indeed, by the last week of February his decision had already drawn five lawsuits, including one from a coalition of 16 Democratic states led by California and another from the Sierra Club and ACLU. All of them made the same key points: There is no real border emergency, immigrants are not disproportionately responsible for crime, and no barrier will stop the influx of drugs. Regardless of the reality of an emergency, they claim that Congress, not the President, should decide how to spend federal dollars.

On this form it is an even bet that Trump will prevail. Let us paraphrase the Supreme Court’s June 2018 ruling upholding his travel ban. The statutory basis for the Wall “exudes deference to the president in every clause,” and “the admission and exclusion of foreign nationals [is] a ‘fundamental sovereign attribute exercised by the Government’s political departments largely immune from judicial control.’“…

           — Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic [Return to headlines]
 

Salvini Pro-Family Congress Attendance Sparks Italy Coalition Conflict

Italian populist Interior Minister Matteo Salvini’s upcoming attendance at a pro-family congress has provoked criticism from members of the Five Star Movement and potential conflict in their ruling coalition.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

9 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/19/2019

  1. Some seek power and control of any discussion.

    An Auckland doctor has been stood down after a complaint about his posts on the Whaleoil blog
    Another doctor who wanted to remain anonymous, complained to the Royal New Zealand College of Urgent Care. He said McVeagh was making comments in a public form that were inappropriate for a medical professional. …
    ….comments highlighted were made a couple of years ago.

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/111424717/comments-by-gp-on-whaleoil-blog-spark-complaint

    Yet the complainant wants to keep anonymity.
    I have read Mac Dr. in the past, and he makes some very intelligent points on a wide range of views.

  2. I’m surprised nobody shared Czechia’s current muslim problem. They elected a new head of the Prague community, some Ukrainian guy previously involved in some shady businesses. And right after the Christchurch shooting he posted a video telling all muslims, especially men, to get a gun and be prepared to fight.
    Serious backlash followed from us and, to be fair, the whole community (there are aparently roughly 2000 muslims in all of Czechia) distanced themselves from his words, saying he’s only further aggravating their already complicated situation over here. His election might’ve been a fraud too, so aparently they’re looking into the thing as a whole now.
    FYI as a rule Czechs don’t mind individuals of a certain group, but they might be opposed to the group or movement as a whole. For example someone might consider homosexuality unnatural, but nobody is going to abuse their gay colleague, they might even become good friends. It’s the same case with muslims. People in general are against immigration and even more against muslim immigration, but if they end up with a muslim colleague or classmate, once he or she prooves they’re a normal, reliable human being, nobody is going to harass them because of their religion. That’s why sometimes you hear we are homophobic, racist or xenophobic, but in reality there’s barely anyone that would attack another person just based on their looks or whatever. We just think Czechia can stay Czechia only as long as it’s full of Czechs.

  3. “Pope Francis Doesn’t Accept Barbarin Resignation, He Retires” from the way it’s worded, for a moment I got my hopes up it’s Francis that’s retiring, what a shame…

  4. “Neo-Nazis Doing Hitler Salutes Delivered Boxes of Pig Heads to One of the Mosques Targeted in Christchurch Massacre” and ten years ago a dog peed on their doorstep, this all must be connected! Ridiculous…

  5. ‘We’re the Sleeping Dragon and We Have Awoken’: Right-Wing Thug Who Took Down Egg Boy Posts a Sickening Rant Claiming the Christchurch Mosque Massacre Was ‘Karma’ And Says Muslims Can’t ‘Play the Victim’ he just said what everybody’s thinking…

    • A quote by someone I follow:

      “A war begins when one group of people begins to systematically attack another group, encroach on its territory, and either seek the original peoples’ submission or eradication. Attacks from the other side are a component of that war. The solution is not taking a stand against hitting back; the solution is stopping the war.”

      • “Stopping the war” as in “hit back strong enough to force the attacker to stop”?

  6. I wish The Baron (or maybe Vlad or maybe even both) would do a good essay on “Social Order.” After all, that is basically the point of much of these discussions.

    The problems are not fundamentally “religious.” The Ten Commandments, including their extension, Christianity, and the watered-down governmental versions of those are a social order and a pretty good one. Islam is also a social order. And, there are probably a number of other less known ones both past and present.

    Years ago, when travel and communications were difficult, “followers” tended to be in their own little worlds, even side by side so conflict was minimal.

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