Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/22/2019

A priest was stabbed early this morning during Mass at St. Joseph’s Oratory church in Montreal. The attacker knocked the priest down behind the altar and then stabbed him, before being subdued by congregants. The priest stood up shortly after the attack and was not severely wounded. The identity of the assailant has not yet been released.

In other news, Special Counsel Robert Mueller delivered his long-awaited report to the Attorney General on the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians during the 2016 election campaign. Mr. Mueller is reportedly not recommending any additional indictments.

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

Thanks to AF, Dean, Dora, DV, Insubria, 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.

USA
» Deerfield Assault Weapons Ban Blocked by Lake County Judge
» Ignorance is Strength, Dissent is Stalinist
» Julian Assange Refuses House Request as WikiLeaks Colleague Slams ‘Pathetic’ Hunt for Collusion
» Massive Coalition Backs Trump’s Climate Science Committee
» Mueller Submits Long-Awaited Russia Probe Report to Justice Department
» Southern Poverty Law Center Chief Richard Cohen Announces Resignation Amid Internal Upheaval
 
Canada
» At Trudeau’s Behest, Gould Instructed Google News to Limit Canadian Access to Foreign Press
» Calgary University Cancels Event by Ex-Muslim, Citing Sensitivity After New Zealand Attacks
» Judge Rejects Refugee Claimaint’s Testimony His Child Pornography Belonged to Abu Dhabi Police
» Montreal Priest Expected to Survive Stabbing at St. Joseph’s Oratory
» Priest Stabbed at Saint Joseph’s Oratory
 
Europe and the EU
» 10 Held in Germany Over Suspected Islamist Attack Plan to Use Car & Guns to Kill as Many as Possible
» Europeans Say Brussels is ‘Intrusive, Inefficient, And Out of Touch’
» France to Use Military Forces During Next ‘Yellow Vest’ Protest
» France: 89 Percent of Jewish Students Experience Antisemitism
» French Cinema Legend Brigitte Bardot to be Charged With Hate Speech
» Have No Criticism on Silk Road Says Merkel
» Italy: Di Maio Urges US-Style Security Strategy, Salvini Demurs
» Italy: 20 Searches in Al-Nusra Terror Funding Probe
» Italy: Imane Fadil Had High Presence of Cadmium-Antimony in Blood
» Italy: Woman Cited for Forcing Daughter to Starvation Diet
» Nigel Farage to Stand as Brexit Party Leader After May Brexit Betrayal
» Salvini’s League Party Doubles Its Support While 5Star’s Popularity Plummets
» Scotland: Govan Flat Explosion Treated as Murder Bid
» Switzerland to Deport Terrorists Even if They Risk Death
» UK: ‘Revoke Article 50’ Petition Creator Threatened May, Discuss How to Buy and Modify “Legal” Guns
» UK: Chief Secretary to Treasury: ‘No Deal Better Than Long Extension, I Don’t Believe the Plague of Locusts Stuff’
» UK: Next CEO: ‘No Evidence’ Of Brexit Hit to Spending, Customers Will Save Money in No Deal
» UK: Remainer Ministers in New Bid to Stop No-Deal Brexit, Force Longer Delay
» UK: Report: MPs to Get Vote on Stopping Brexit if May Deal Rejected Again
» UK: Sledgehammer Thugs Attack Five Mosques in Birmingham
 
North Africa
» Hundreds of Thousands of Algerians Rally to Demand Bouteflika’s Resignation
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» UNHRC Says Israel Used ‘Excessive Force’ In Gaza
 
Far East
» Muslims Are Forced to Eat Pork and Speak Mandarin in China’s Re-Education Camps, Former Detainee Reveals
 
Australia — Pacific
» “Allahu Akbar”: New Zealand Recognizes Muslim Call to Prayer as News Anchors Wear Hijabs
» Notorious Mongrel Mob Gang Performs a Stirring Haka Outside a New Zealand Mosque in a Moving Display of Solidarity — Before Standing Guard Out Front to Protect Muslims Praying Inside
» Pictured: New Zealander, 20, Accused of Carjacking a Heavily-Pregnant Woman’s Mercedes With Her Two Children in the Back Seat
» The Looming Tradie Crisis: Fears Slashing Immigration Could Leave Thousands of Construction Workers Struggling to Find Jobs
 
Immigration
» EU Orders Member States to End ‘Racist’ Migrant Underachievement in Jobs Market
» Italy: Casarini Probed in Mare Jonio Case
» Sophia Will End Unless Positive News — Mogherini
» UK Denies Asylum to Christian Convert From Iran Because “Christianity is Not Peaceful”
 
Culture Wars
» Italy: Govt Strips Families Conference of Sponsorship
» Pope and President Unite in Support for Persons With Down Syndrome
» Republican-Democrat Rift Widens Over Abortion
» UK: University of Cambridge Cancels Jordan Peterson’s Visiting Fellowship Because He is Not ‘Inclusive’
 
General
» New Statesman: Rich People Plan to Flee the Earth to Escape Climate Catastrophe
» Poll: Persecution of Christians a ‘Very Severe’ Global Concern
» Socialism: Be Careful What You Wish for
 

Deerfield Assault Weapons Ban Blocked by Lake County Judge

DEERFIELD (WLS) — A Lake County judge blocked north suburban Deerfield’s ban on assault weapons with a ruling on Friday.

Last April, the Deerfield Village Board voted unanimously to ban some semi-automatic firearms. The amendment to the village’s gun ordinance would restrict firearms that village leaders define as assault weapons, such as AR-15s. The ordinance would also prohibits high-capacity magazines.

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

Ignorance is Strength, Dissent is Stalinist

In an op-ed published Wednesday in the UK Guardian, Michael Mann and Bob Ward warn Americans not to be “fooled by the Stalinist tactics being used by the White House to try to discredit the findings of mainstream climate science.”

Mann and Ward are upset that “a group of hardcore climate change deniers and contrarians linked to the administration is organizing a petition in support of a new panel being set up by the National Security Council to promote an alternative official explanation for climate change.”

The chief organizer of said petition is my Competitive Enterprise Institute colleague Myron Ebell. Mann and Ward describe CEI as “a lobby group for ‘free market’ fanatics which has become infamous for championing climate change denial.”

Let’s sift through their mud-slinging…

           — Hat tip: AF [Return to headlines]
 

Julian Assange Refuses House Request as WikiLeaks Colleague Slams ‘Pathetic’ Hunt for Collusion

WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson denied ties Friday to President Trump’s election campaign on the heels of his predecessor, Julian Assange, defying requests for related material from the House Judiciary Committee.

“It’s rather pathetic how people are trying to connect the dots about some kind of collaboration,” said Mr. Hrafnsson, an Icelandic journalist who previously served as the spokesperson for WikiLeaks prior to succeeding Mr. Assange as the website’s editorial lead last September.

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

Massive Coalition Backs Trump’s Climate Science Committee

A massive coalition of environmental organizations, activists, and think-tank leaders signed a letter to President Donald Trump supporting the proposed Presidential Commission on Climate Security (PCCS), as well as the work of Trump climate and national security adviser Dr. William Happer of Princeton University. The campaign, which comes amid fierce establishment resistance to re-examining government “climate science,” also backs an independent scientific review of the increasingly dubious claims made in federal climate reports. Analysts say this battle will be crucial in establishing the credibility of government climate science — or the lack thereof.

[See also: https://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/environment/item/31677-trump-climate-panel-could-expose-huge-fraud-hence-the-hysteria ]

           — Hat tip: AF [Return to headlines]
 

Mueller Submits Long-Awaited Russia Probe Report to Justice Department

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has submitted to Attorney General Bill Barr his long-awaited report on the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race and possible collusion with Trump associates — marking the end of the politically explosive probe and the beginning of a new battle over its contents and implications.

Mueller is “not recommending any further indictments,” a senior DOJ official told Fox News.

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

Southern Poverty Law Center Chief Richard Cohen Announces Resignation Amid Internal Upheaval

The president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Richard Cohen, announced his resignation Friday, the latest in a series of high-profile departures at the anti-hate organization that have come amid allegations of misconduct and workplace discrimination.

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

At Trudeau’s Behest, Gould Instructed Google News to Limit Canadian Access to Foreign Press

In the days approaching former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould’s testimony to the House of Commons’ Justice Committee on February 27, at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s behest, Karina Gould, the Minister of Democratic Institutions, reached out to social media giant Google to pressure the firm to curtail political criticism of the Trudeau government on its platform.

Gould placed a call to a senior government relations executive at Google, during which she complained about ‘hate speech’ and ‘toxic rhetoric’, referring multiple times to specific criticisms of the Trudeau government that she found objectionable. She then threatened sweeping regulations that would require unprecedented disclosures of advertising sponsors.

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

Calgary University Cancels Event by Ex-Muslim, Citing Sensitivity After New Zealand Attacks

Citing the recent anti-Muslim attacks in New Zealand, a Calgary university suddenly cancelled an event by Armin Navabi, an Iranian-Canadian atheist activist who was scheduled to deliver a talk critical of Islam.

“I’ve been deplatformed again,” wrote Navabi in a Wednesday tweet.

The event, scheduled for Thursday afternoon, was entitled The Case Against Islamic Reform. Hosted as part of a speaker series organized by the Atheist Society of Calgary, it was to be held at Mount Royal University.

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

Judge Rejects Refugee Claimaint’s Testimony His Child Pornography Belonged to Abu Dhabi Police

Calling his story at times “baffling,” “practically incomprehensible,” and “gibberish,” a Calgary judge has rejected a United Arab Emirates refugee claimant’s evidence on how he came to smuggle child pornography into Canada.

Justice Earl Wilson on Friday convicted Hani Al Askari on charges of importation and possession of illicit material found on his electronic devices when he tried to enter Canada on April 12, 2015, at the Coutts border crossing.

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

Montreal Priest Expected to Survive Stabbing at St. Joseph’s Oratory

Montreal’s famed Saint Joseph’s Oratory says a priest who was stabbed during morning mass is expected to survive the attack.

In a tweet just before noon on Friday, the oratory said Father Claude Grou’s life is “not in danger” following the stabbing.

Montreal police say a 26-year-old suspect has been arrested. He was taken to the station for questioning.

Police said the man is known to police, CTV Montreal’s Rob Lurie reported.

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

Priest Stabbed at Saint Joseph’s Oratory

A man armed with a large knife walked into Saint Joseph’s Oratory during mass Friday and attacked a priest.

The mass was being recorded for Sel+Lumiere TV, which streams the religious ceremony daily, but the video was quickly removed from the website.

The video showed that at 8:40 a.m. a man wearing a dark winter coat and a light-coloured baseball cap pulled out a large knife as he walked in front of the altar, then ran up the steps toward a priest.

The priest, who was identified by the Diocese of Quebec as Reverend Claude Grou, tried to run off as the attacker knocked over a candle but the man quickly caught up and pushed Grou to the ground and stabbed him once.

The man then dropped his knife and worshippers ran forward as he stood up. Three men grabbed the assailant by the arms while others went to the aid of the injured priest.

Security agents at the church then detained the man and held him until police officers arrived. Those officers arrested the suspect and brought him to a police station for questioning.

Paramedics treated Grou at the scene and brought him to Montreal General Hospital for treatment.

The Diocese of Quebec said that Father Grou is not seriously injured.

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

10 Held in Germany Over Suspected Islamist Attack Plan to Use Car & Guns to Kill as Many as Possible

German prosecutors say 10 people have been detained on suspicion of plotting an Islamist attack using a car and guns, with the aim of killing as many “infidels” as possible, RT.com writes.

The arrests were made following an “anti-terror” raid in the central Frankfurt Rhine-Main region on Friday, according to Welt, who cite the state criminal police office and the prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt.

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

Europeans Say Brussels is ‘Intrusive, Inefficient, And Out of Touch’

The majority of Europeans say that European Union (EU) leadership is “out of touch” with the real needs of citizens, according to a survey released this week by the Pew Research Center.

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

France to Use Military Forces During Next ‘Yellow Vest’ Protest

French soldiers will be on duty on Saturday for the next “Yellow Vest” protest in order to free up police officers to concentrate on crowd control.

The troops will be deployed to help guard public buildings, allowing police to focus on dealing with “Yellow Vest” demonstrators in case of renewed violence in Paris and other cities, the government said.

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

France: 89 Percent of Jewish Students Experience Antisemitism

A poll has revealed that 89 per cent of Jewish students in France have experienced some form of antisemitism, while nearly half (45 per cent) of non-Jewish students say they have witnessed an antisemitic act.

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

French Cinema Legend Brigitte Bardot to be Charged With Hate Speech

The French star of classic cinema faces charges of hate speech and inciting racial hatred following comments she had previously made about islanders on the French-ruled island of Réunion.

The charges came after Ms Bardot labelled the natives on Réunion, “aboriginals who have kept the genes of savages,” and slammed their treatment of animals for religious purposes which includes the sacrifice of goats, dogs, and cats which are killed and beheaded, Il Giornale reports.

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

Have No Criticism on Silk Road Says Merkel

We’ll take closer look at memorandum

(ANSA) — Brussels, March 22 — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday Premier Giuseppe Conte had updated his colleagues at an EU summit on Rome’s memorandum of understanding with Beijing on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) or ‘new Silk Road.

“As far as he explained to us I found no criticism to make,” she said.

Merkel noted that “not all member States have signd the memorandum of understanding but we will take a close look at it and perhaps we will find new aspects”.

Italy is the first G7 member to join the vast infrastructure project.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Di Maio Urges US-Style Security Strategy, Salvini Demurs

‘I hold dear the Italian model’ says interior minister

(ANSA) — Rome, March 22 — Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio on Friday called for the government to adopt a US-style national security strategy, prompting his government partner and other Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini to demur and say he would “hold dear the Italian system”.

Di Maio said that “we need to start moving on prevention, and not only repression.

“Italy needs to start giving itself a National Security Strategy on the US model.

He said Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta was “already working on it, guided by the premier’s office.

“We must proceed in an interconnected way between the defence ministry, the interior ministry, the transport and infrastructure ministry and other ministries, with the premier’s office and with the coordination of the security intelligence department (DIs).” Salvini reacted by saying “when I hear talk of an American model, I say that I hold dear the Italian model of security: the work of our intelligence services and of our security forces can give lessons to all.

“Then, of course, you never stop learning”.

Salvini said he did not feel he had been “told off” by Di Maio.

Hew said there had been “great” results on the mafia, drugs, rackets and human trafficking.

The interior ministry issued a statement saying “the Italian system works, as shown by the police response to a bus hijack terror ordeal on Wednesday.

Trenta said “Salvini says our (intelligence services) are the best in the world? But of course, we also think our intelligence apparatus, our soldiers and our police forces are the best in the world.

“But be careful about taking their merits, because it is a thing on which politics has often slipped up.

“Politics gives a vision”.

Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said his ministry was working with the interior and defence ministries and the government “is working in synergy on the National Security Strategy model”.

Toninelli stressed the importance of protecting strategic infrastructures from “fresh threats”

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: 20 Searches in Al-Nusra Terror Funding Probe

In Abruzzo, Turin, Milan and province of Ascoli Piceno

(ANSA) — Rome, March 22 — Italian police on Friday searched the homes of more than 20 Tunisian-Italians suspected of funding Islamist terrorist movement al-Nusra, judicial sources said.

The searches were carried out in Abruzzo, Turin, Milan and the province of Ascoli Piceno in what police called “a complex probe” into the funding of international terrorism.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Imane Fadil Had High Presence of Cadmium-Antimony in Blood

Bunga bunga witness said she had been poisoned

(ANSA) — Milan, March 18 — A Moroccan model and key prosecution witness in a Ruby-Berlusconi witness tampering trial had a high concentration of cadmium and antimony in her blood when she died after saying she had been poisoned, Milan prosecutor Francesco Greco told a press conference Monday. Imane Fadil, 34, was set to testify in the alleged bunga bunga bribery case when she fell ill at the end of January.

She died March 1.

Greco said that tests on biological liquids had shown above-normal levels of antimony and cadmium, and the prosecutors were awaiting definitive autopsy results.

The antimony levels were almost three times normal and the cadmium was almost seven times higher than the normal range, Greco said. Partial results from a test have also confirmed the presence of radioactive elements in her body.

Silvio Berlusconi was convicted but eventually acquitted of having paid for sex with teen Moroccan runaway exotic dancer and underage prostitute Ruby the Heartstealer after judges ruled he could not have known she was a minor.

He has since been indicted more than once on suspicion of bribing witnesses to lie about the nature of his sex parties.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Woman Cited for Forcing Daughter to Starvation Diet

‘You’re fat, you have to get thin’ mother told girl

(ANSA) — Como, March 18 — A 46-year-old woman from Como has been cited for forcing her 16-year-old daughter to go on starvation diets to keep her weight under 50 kg, Il Giorno reported Monday.

“You’re fat, you have to get thin,” the woman constantly rebuked her, subjecting her to “continual controls, threats and vexations”, the daily said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Nigel Farage to Stand as Brexit Party Leader After May Brexit Betrayal

Nigel Farage has announced that he will be standing as leader of the Brexit Party, after Prime Minister Theresa May succeeded in cancelling Brexit Day.

The Member of the European Parliament made the announcement on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme in response to the news that Brexit day has been cancelled and the European Union had granted Theresa May an extension of Article 50 negotiations to April 12th, to give her time to pass her controversial Withdrawal Agreement.

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

Salvini’s League Party Doubles Its Support While 5Star’s Popularity Plummets

According to the results of a nationwide poll popular support for Matteo Salvini’s League party has doubled since the party’s electoral victory one year ago.

When Italy held its national elections on March 4th last year, the League party garnered about 17 percent of the nation’s vote. Today, that figure has almost doubled to 33.9 percent of Italian voters who express that they favor the League party over any other. This makes Salvini’s League party Italy’s preferred party by a noteworthy margin.

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

Scotland: Govan Flat Explosion Treated as Murder Bid

A man is critically ill with burns after a deliberate explosion in a block of flats in Glasgow.

Police, paramedics and firefighters were called to Kennedar Drive in Elderpark, Govan, following reports of the blast at about 07:05.

Detectives are treating the incident as attempted murder.

Supt Craig Smith said: “Inquiries carried out so far have revealed that the explosion was as a result of a deliberate act within the flat.”

A 26-year-old man was taken to the city’s Royal Infirmary with burns and staff have described his condition as critical.

A 30-year-old woman was admitted to the nearby Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for treatment but has been discharged.

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Switzerland to Deport Terrorists Even if They Risk Death

The Swiss Council of States voted for the expulsion of terrorists to their country of origin, even if they risk torture or the death penalty, reported the Tribune de Genève.

Many on the left who were against the decision argued such a plan was against Switzerland’s Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions.

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

UK: ‘Revoke Article 50’ Petition Creator Threatened May, Discuss How to Buy and Modify “Legal” Guns

Remainers and Leavers alike have been getting a little too excited about the Revoke Article 50 Petition. Yes, you can sign it as many times as you like with made up email addresses and whatever name and country you care to put in. Yes, there are videos online explaining in detail how to use bots to hijack Parliamentary petitions — exactly what happened with the second referendum petition immediately after the referendum. Is it actually going to stop Brexit? No, that will be MPs…

The creator of the petition is a certain Margaret Anne Georgiadou, who went on LBC to discuss the petition this afternoon. Now Guido can reveal a series of shocking posts from her on Facebook where she makes repeated death threats against Theresa May. She even discusses in detail with fellow Remainers how to purchase “legal” guns and go to the House of Commons.

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

UK: Chief Secretary to Treasury: ‘No Deal Better Than Long Extension, I Don’t Believe the Plague of Locusts Stuff’

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Lizz Truss MP has backed a No Deal Brexit over a long extension to the Article 50 negotiations with the European Union — pushing Brexit day far into the future, and possibly preparing the way for its ultimate cancellation — indicating she does not believe the more lurid scare stories peddled by Project Fear.

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

UK: Next CEO: ‘No Evidence’ Of Brexit Hit to Spending, Customers Will Save Money in No Deal

The chief executive of major British fashion retailer Next has said there is “no evidence” the Brexit vote has hit consumer spending, and even indicated that the company will be able to make savings which is can pass on to customers in the event of No Deal.

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

UK: Remainer Ministers in New Bid to Stop No-Deal Brexit, Force Longer Delay

Remainer Tory ministers are threatening to resign over a vote that could force the UK into a long Brexit delay and possibly into a second referendum.

Eight europhile Tory ministers are said to have met with the party’s Chief Whip Julian Smith on Thursday to demand a free vote next week on a backbench amendment which would force a longer Brexit delay if the House of Commons rejects the Withdrawal Agreement for a third time, according to sources speaking to The Telegraph.

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

UK: Report: MPs to Get Vote on Stopping Brexit if May Deal Rejected Again

Theresa May is considering giving MPs a vote on seven Brexit options, including revoking Article 50, over fears her Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union will not pass in the House of Commons, according to Sky News sources.

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

UK: Sledgehammer Thugs Attack Five Mosques in Birmingham

Hammer attacks on five mosques have left Muslims in Birmingham fearing a New Zealand-style terror attack.

CCTV from two of the five mosques shows thugs smashing windows — less than a week after an eco-fascist gunman shot 50 worshippers dead at two Mosques in Christchurch.

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

Hundreds of Thousands of Algerians Rally to Demand Bouteflika’s Resignation

Hundreds of thousands of Algerians rallied on Friday to demand the immediate resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who is fighting for his political survival in the face of relentless protests and the desertion of long-time allies.

In heavy rain, protesters brandished Algerian flags and pamphlets. Police trucks were deployed but there were no reports of clashes between security forces and crowds that packed downtown Algiers.

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

UNHRC Says Israel Used ‘Excessive Force’ In Gaza

Israeli ambassador says resolution manipulation by Hamas

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, MARCH 22 — The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Friday condemned Israel for “excessive use of force in Gaza” during weekly demonstrations along the border.

Israel called the resolution hypocritical and said it intends to cooperate with UNHCR.

The Council approved (with 23 votes in favour, nine against, and 14 abstentions) a report that said Israeli soldiers may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity when they opened fire against Palestinian protesters.

It also called for those responsible to face justice.

Israel said it doesn’t feel bound by “an absurd, pro-Hamas and pro-terrorism report” that it said was voted on by “dictatorships and hypocrites”.

“The moral majority, on the other hand, didn’t support it,” it said.

Israeli Ambassador to Italy Ofer Sachs said the resolution was the “umpteenth occasion in which the UN Council of Human Rights has betrayed its mandate, giving in to the manipulation of Hamas”.

In a statement, Sachs expressed “bitterness with respect to Italy’s abstention” alongside that of other member states in the Council vote.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Muslims Are Forced to Eat Pork and Speak Mandarin in China’s Re-Education Camps, Former Detainee Reveals

Indoctrination starts with early morning patriotic songs and sessions of self-criticism, and often ends with a meal of only pork, according to Omir Bekali, an exiled former detainee.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

“Allahu Akbar”: New Zealand Recognizes Muslim Call to Prayer as News Anchors Wear Hijabs

New Zealanders across the country stopped to recognize the Muslim call to prayer as news anchors and armed police officers wore hijabs in solidarity one week after the Christchurch mosque massacre.

The call to prayer preceded a two minutes silence. The video below appears to show the event at a shopping mall.

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

Notorious Mongrel Mob Gang Performs a Stirring Haka Outside a New Zealand Mosque in a Moving Display of Solidarity — Before Standing Guard Out Front to Protect Muslims Praying Inside

Members of the Mongrel Mob, one of the country’s largest gangs with more than 1,000 associates, also performed a haka outside the Jamia Masjid mosque in Hamilton on the North Island.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Pictured: New Zealander, 20, Accused of Carjacking a Heavily-Pregnant Woman’s Mercedes With Her Two Children in the Back Seat

LJ Savea Wright, 20, appeared at Campbelltown Local Court in Sydney’s west, on Friday, and faces spending 48 years in prison for his alleged role in a car-jacking.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

The Looming Tradie Crisis: Fears Slashing Immigration Could Leave Thousands of Construction Workers Struggling to Find Jobs

The Prime Minister on Tuesday announced plans to set a limit of 160,000 permanent migrants per year. This would slow the housing industry and affect jobs, according to one economist.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

EU Orders Member States to End ‘Racist’ Migrant Underachievement in Jobs Market

EU nations have been told to bring in measures promoting ethnic minorities in the workplace, to ensure the bloc has “the diversity Europe needs to remain relevant” in a global economy.

Institutions including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), stressed the importance of engineering equality of outcome between migrant populations and natives in the continent’s jobs market.

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

Italy: Casarini Probed in Mare Jonio Case

Same offences as ship captain

(ANSA) — Lampedusa, march 22 — Activist Luca Casarini, mission chief of the migrant rescue NGO Mediterraneo, has been placed under investigation for his part in the rescue of 50 migrants by the Mare Jonio ship off Libya earlier this week, sources said Friday.

Casarini has been accused of complicity in suspected crimes already posited against the ship’s commander.

The captain was placed under investigation for favouring illegal immigration and refusing to obey an order from a warship.

Captain Pietro Marrone is accused of disobeying a command not to bring the migrants into Italian territorial waters.

“I would do it all again, to save people’s lives” Marrone said.

“What was I supposed to do, let them die?”.

The ship, run by the Rome-based NGO Mediterranea, which is also under investigation, said it rescued the migrants from a sinking boat off Libya.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Sophia Will End Unless Positive News — Mogherini

Hope deal is reached but see no moves in this direction

(ANSA) — Brussels, March 18 — EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini said Monday the EU’s anti-migrant smuggling Sophia operation would end “in the absence of an accord”.

She said “I hope an accord is found, but I see no moves in this direction.

“If there are no positive developments, the operation will sadly be closed at the end of the month with all the consequences that this will entail”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

UK Denies Asylum to Christian Convert From Iran Because “Christianity is Not Peaceful”

The UK has denied asylum to an Iranian man because he said on his application that he converted from Islam to the “peaceful” religion of Christianity, according to The Independent.

The Home Office quoted excerpts from the bible in the man’s rejection letter — saying the book of Revelations is “filled with imagery of revenge, destruction, death and violence,” and concluded that “These examples are inconsistent with your claim that you converted to Christianity after discovering it is a ‘peaceful’ religion, as opposed to Islam which contains violence, rage and revenge.”

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

Italy: Govt Strips Families Conference of Sponsorship

‘Fontana took decision without consulting us’ says Conte

(ANSA) — Rome, March 21 — The government has stripped a controversial conference of families of sponsorship amid a row over its an anti-gay, anti-abortion and anti-feminism agenda.

Premier Giuseppe Conte said the endorsement of the World Congress of Families had come personally from Family Minister Lorenzo Fontana without consulting Conte or the rest of the government.

“It was his own spontaneous initiative and neither myself not the rest of the cabinet, collegially, were consulted,” Conte said Thursday night.

The conference is set to take place in Verona on March 29-31.

Organisers said later Friday they had received the premier’s office order not to use the office’s logo for the event.

They said they were proud to be able to announce the sponsorship of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.

Fontana, who has courted controversy with extreme conservative stances, said earlier this week that the government still intended to sponsor the controversial gathering.

“As a minister of this government, it was (my decision) to grant the event sponsorship,” Fontana, a member of Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini’s League party, told a question-time session in parliament.

“I still intend to confirm that position, as I intend to confirm my decision to participate”.

Fellow Deputy Premier and Labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio, the leader of the League’s coalition partner, the 5-Star Movement (M5S), blasted the conference as something from the Middle Ages and said M5S members will not be going.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Pope and President Unite in Support for Persons With Down Syndrome

Both President Trump and Pope Francis tweeted out support for persons with Down syndrome Wednesday, while also condemning the practice of aborting them before they are born.

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

Republican-Democrat Rift Widens Over Abortion

The abortion issue has now become a political litmus test in America, as Democrats eliminate opponents of abortion rights and Republicans unite in a nearly unanimous pro-life position.

An article Thursday in the Wall Street Journal underscored the growing political polarization over the abortion question as the House Republican caucus no longer has a single lawmaker who supports abortion. For their part, the Democrats have systematically excluded candidates embracing a pro-life stance.

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

UK: University of Cambridge Cancels Jordan Peterson’s Visiting Fellowship Because He is Not ‘Inclusive’

Jordan Peterson, the University of Toronto psychologist known for criticizing political correctness, announced Monday that he would be a visiting fellow at the University of Cambridge’s divinity school.

But on Wednesday, Cambridge’s administration announced that they had rescinded the invitation following a public outcry from students and professors.

“[Cambridge] is an inclusive environment and we expect all our staff and visitors to uphold our principles,” a Cambridge spokesperson told The Guardian. “There is no place here for anyone who cannot.”

Peterson holds some views that are considered offensive by progressives—he has objected, for instance, to the idea that anyone should be required to use a trans person’s preferred pronouns. The implication of Cambridge’s statement, then, is that anyone who disagrees with the university’s left-of-center commitments on these issues is unwelcome on campus.

This is a fairly warped idea of inclusion—dis-include those we label non-inclusive!—and one that imperils academic freedom and free-thinking. I disagree with many of Peterson’s views, but he wanted to come to campus to engage with, and learn from, other scholars. It’s possible he may have even learned something new from those conversations, or modified his views in some way.

Peterson will not get that opportunity, nor will Cambridge students and faculty get the chance to debate him or learn from him. So much for steel sharpening steel.

           — Hat tip: Dora [Return to headlines]
 

New Statesman: Rich People Plan to Flee the Earth to Escape Climate Catastrophe

New Statesman author Eleanor Penny believes she has worked out why rich people don’t appear to care about the imminent climate catastrophe. …

Elsewhere, the hyper rich make plans to flee the planet altogether. From Elon Musk’s SpaceX programme to the would-be citizens of space-based micro nation Asgardia, venture capitalist space exploration is being packaged as humanity’s pioneering attempt to save itself from destruction.

These are not anomalies. Private insurance companies like AIG and Chubb have boasted about their increased provisions against the rapidly increasing numbers of natural disasters like wildfires. Others are scrambling to offset their exposure to the gathering effects of climate chaos. As the waters rise, the rich are readying their arks — quietly preparing themselves for climate chaos. If history teaches us anything, it’s that elites build their castles high above the filth.

           — Hat tip: AF [Return to headlines]
 

Poll: Persecution of Christians a ‘Very Severe’ Global Concern

Appreciation for the grave plight of many Christians worldwide has increased by six percent during the course of just one year, a poll reveals.

An annual survey conducted by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN-USA) and McLaughlin & Associates among U.S. Catholics found that 46 percent believe that the persecution of Christians around the world is “ very severe,” up from just 40 percent last year.

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

Socialism: Be Careful What You Wish for

For so long, it appeared that socialism had definitively failed in practice and had lost its appeal as an economic ideology. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) had crashed; its Eastern European satellites had escaped in the 1990s; China had transitioned from socialism to state capitalism beginning with the economic reforms of 1978 and has carried on energetically ever since; communist Cuba had declined to an offshore holiday resort for Canadians and Europeans, and socialist Venezuela totally collapsed. In a 1989 essay entitled “The End of History?”, Francis Fukuyama argued that, in the events mentioned above, we were witnessing “an unabashed victory of economic and political liberalism.”

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

9 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/22/2019

  1. Just what can I say?

    ….. Chief Censor David Shanks said others have referred to the publication as a “manifesto”, but he considers it a “crude booklet” which promotes murder and terrorism.

    Mr Shanks said this publication crosses the line to make it objectionable under New Zealand law.

    “There is an important distinction to be made between ‘hate speech’, which may be rejected by many right-thinking people but which is legal to express, and this type of publication, …..

    …. Those who have the publication for legitimate purposes, such as reporters, researchers and academics to analyse and educate can apply for an exception.

    Anyone who sees the material online is being asked to report it immediately.

    According to the Department of Internal Affairs, “knowingly” possessing or sharing objectionable material carries up to a 14 year jail term.

    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/385399/christchurch-mosque-shootings-manifesto-deemed-objectionable

    Only approved ways of thinking and talking to be allowed.

  2. Before I finish reading, I have to comment on some little detail that I have observed for some time. Pope and President Unite in Support for Persons With Down Syndrome. Notice something? The trend is, the globalists are in favor of aborting as many white babies as possible, but we must not abort the non-viable white babies with Down syndrome. They are costly, unproductive and sterile. But they must be kept because Nazis aborted them. Perfectly healthy white babies must be aborted, post-birth if necessary, because it is the human right of the mother to do so.

    • Not so long ago, Feminists/Liberals/Democrats called for aborting Down Syndrome Babies. That is how evil they are.

      • They still enthusiastically call for aborting Downs Syndrome babies, only now they’re a little further toward the gas ovens – i.e., it’s okay by them to kill such babies after they’re here for a year. That’s just in case you have trouble deciding.

  3. 1] Clinton, in newly revealed emails, discussed classified foreign policy matters, secretive ‘private’ comms channel with Israel. https://www.thewashingtoninsider.com/clinton-in-newly-revealed-emails-discussed-classified-foreign-policy-matters-secretive-private-comms-channel-with-israel/

    2] Oregon lawmakers consider raising own pay by 63 percent to boost diversity https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2019/03/oregon-lawmakers-consider-raising-own-pay-by-63-percent-to-boost-diversity.html

    3] Intersectionality and the Victimhood Olympics http://wsenmw.blogspot.com/2019/03/intersectionality-and-victimhood.html

    4] NJ Governor Signs “Rain Tax” Bill; Residents Can Now BE TAXED When It Rains On Their Property https://patch.com/new-jersey/across-nj/nj-gov-signs-rain-tax-18-other-bills-law

  4. “….people are attending ‘vocational education centres’ to rid them of any extremist thoughts in a region that was hit by deadly riots and attacks in recent years.”

    This sounds like a reincarnation of the old Laogai system against which Harry Wu campaigned while he was alive. Basically, these were glorified slave labour camps, many of which were given WTO accreditation at the end of the cold war.

    Harry Wu served 19 years in a Laogai before migrating to the USA, becoming a citizen and setting up the Laogai Foundation. He wrote two books about life in the Laogai. He also publicised the harvesting of organs by the Chinese Government from executed prisoners for commercial transplant.

    The Chinese government organised a series of smear campaigns agains Harry Wu after his death in order to discredit his message.

  5. Just what can I say?

    The world’s tallest building has been lit up with a giant image of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern embracing a woman at the Kilbirnie mosque in Wellington.
    The Burj Khalifa, an 829-metre-tall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. …..
    https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-shooting/111503420/worlds-tallest-building-lit-up-with-image-of-jacinda-ardern

    Only approved ways of thinking and talking will be allowed, as there can be consequences, and now that is true in NZ.

  6. A Russian programmer living in Germany writes:

    Islam
    remember, probably, after 2001, many comedians in the West, excelled in mocking Muslims, Islamists, jihadists, Magomed and others?

    So, here. No one else does not excel. Because you want to live, and the Muslims, here they are – just look out the window. Everywhere.

    And – always ready to make you a hole in your side. Like a rubber hedgehog. (this refers to the famous children’s song)

    Therefore, now it’s quiet here, the wits are not heard anymore. Although…

    It helps a little – in a nearby German city, Siguranza swept as much as 11 (eleven!) Individuals plotting the attack. This, now, Germany, hehe.

    https://i-senatov.livejournal.com/581699.html

    • Sharia is beginning to settle in nicely.

      The Germans are learning to control themselves and keep their distance and keep the peace with the moslems.

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