Gates of Vienna News Feed 6/21/2019

NOTE: Tonight’s news feed, as I mentioned in the previous post, is taken from tips sent in last Sunday and Monday, so it is not current.

There are some interesting items in tonight’s feed — notably reports about the Brexit Party and the Tories in the UK — but there is nothing about the more recent news of the downing of a US drone in Iran.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Insubria, JD, Reader from Chicago, Srdja Trifkovic, 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
» Dayton Man Convicted on Trying to Join ISIS Sentenced to 15 Years
» ET to Advance the Cause of Global Warming?
» Florida Man Thought He Bought a Villa for $9k in an Online Auction But it Turned Out to be a Foot-Wide Strip of Grass Worth $50 — and Officials Are Refusing to Give Him a Refund
» Hero Cop Saves Lives of Seven People in One Day… Media Ignores… Pushes Memphis Anti-Cop Riots Instead
» How Poland is Driving a Wedge Between Putin and Trump
» Judge Tosses Lawsuit of Former Campaign Staffer Alva Johnson Who Accused Candidate Trump of Kissing Her
» Man Secretly Living in Attic Above Teen Girl’s Bedroom Arrested Inside Home
» Mark Levin: Bernie Sanders’ ‘Economic Bill of Rights’ Taken Nearly Verbatim From Stalin’s 1936 Soviet Constitution
» New Hampshire Woman, 66, Is Charged With Animal Cruelty ‘After Pushing Her 11-Year-Old Golden Retriever Into a Lake and Watching Him Drown’
» New York Times Busted for Fake News Story on Harriet Tubman $20 Bill
» Oct 1 Eyewitnesses Confirm: Five Middle Eastern Men Dressed in Black, Single File Line, AR-15 Assault Rifle With Shoulder Strap
» Radiowaves From Wireless Earbuds May Carcinogenic, Scientists Warn
» Robert Mueller: A Scary and Mendacious Man
» Route 91 Massacre Survivor, Avid Hunter, Tells FBI “.50 Caliber Rifle” Was Likely Used in Attack After Witnessing “Large Holes” Being “Blown Through” Victims Bodies
» South Carolina Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Trying to Help ISIS
» Washington Senior Center Bans Pledge of Allegiance… Forces Elderly Citizens to Huddle in Corner for Pledge
» Watch Out 8Chan; FBI Search Warrant Issued for Anyone Who Commented on Poway Synagogue Shooting
 
Canada
» Justin Trudeau’s Postnationalism
 
Europe and the EU
» Europe’s Largest Mural in Paris… But You Can’t See it
» Fatima Relics of Sts. Francisco & Jacinta Marto Stolen From Italian Church
» France’s Yellow Vests Are ‘Putting Their Gilets Back in the Glove Compartment’ As Only 7,000 Turn Out for Latest Round of Protests With Only 950 of Them in Paris
» German Court Overturns Ban on Islamic ‘Burkini’ Swimwear at Swimming Pools
» Hungary: “Next EU Agenda Must Address Migration, Sovereignty and Christianity”
» Italy: Lotti Suspends Self From PD in CSM Case
» Sweden: Strong Explosion in Vicinity of Church
» Sweden to Deport Five Imams Because They Are a Security Threat
» Sweden to Hire Hundreds of New Police Officers Amidst Rising Sexual Violence
» The Silent Empire of UK
» The Significant Implications of a Swiss-EU Trade Deal
» Time Running Out on Climate Crisis Says Pope
» UK: Farage’s Brexit Party Leads Third National Election Poll in a Row
» UK: Gang of More Than 100 Youths Bombard Police With Bottles and Missiles in Lawless London ‘Riot’ Near Westfield Stratford City Shopping Centre
» UK: Jeremy Corbyn Hits Back at ‘Absolutely Awful’ Trump
» UK: Mass Brawl Erupts at a Lawn Bowls Match as Teens Armed With Chairs Invade the Green, Hurl Stones at Terrified Pensioners and Punch an Elderly Man in the Face
» UK: Prince Harry and Meghan Hire a Social Media Expert to Boost Their Popularity as They Trail Just 700,000 Followers Behind Wills and Kate
» UK: Pictured: Teenagers, 18 and 19, Shot and Stabbed to Death Within 12 Minutes of Each Other on the Streets of London
» UK: Primary School Unwittingly Hired a Convicted Child Murderer Who Stabbed a Teenage Girl to Death
» UK: Report: Theresa May Vows to Block No Deal Brexit by Aligning With Tory Remainers
» UK: Tory Leadership Contest: Dominic Raab Gets Tough on Foreign Criminals
» UK: Tory Donors in Secret Talks With Nigel Farage Over General Election Pact to Save Brexit
» We’ll be Responsible But Not Stupid With EU — Di Maio
 
North Africa
» Mohamed Morsi: The Score
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Fatah Official Sacked After Jews Show Up at Son’s Wedding
 
Middle East
» Iran Admits to Bombing Ships, Vows More Terror Attacks
» US Account of Iran Tanker Attacks “Not Enough” For Some European Allies
 
Far East
» Canada, China, the US. Huawei and a Fearsome Geopolitical Triangle
» Chinese Workers Unpopular in the South East Asia
» Dissident Chinese Prisoners Have Organs Harvested, “Horrified” Insider Blows Whistle
» Hollywood’s Shocking New Ally
» The Voice of Beijing
» Two Million Protesters Flood Hong Kong Streets, Demand Lam Resign
 
Australia — Pacific
» Centrelink Conman and Crook, 80, Who Scammed Australian Taxpayers for 30 Years Loses Deportation Appeal After Arguing it Was an ‘Unreasonably Harsh’ Penalty
» Footy Fans ‘Are Being Spied on’ In the Stands at AFL Matches — After the League’s Boss Was Forced to Deny a Crackdown on Crowd Behaviour
» ‘I’ve Gone From Hero to Zero’: Bizarre Reason an Angry Volunteer, 78, ‘Cut the Penis Off a Maori Carving’
» Mother’s Horror After Washing Machine Explodes — As it’s Revealed There Are Still 14,000 Ticking Time Bombs Across Australia
» Muslim Extremist’s Half-Hearted Apology to Soldier He Tortured in Jail — Saying He’s Sorry for Carving Him Up But Hopes ‘Allah Will Reward Him’ For the Brutal Bashing
» Violent Gang of Up to 30 Youths Bash a Teenage Boy After Crashing a House Party — Leaving the Youngster Needing Surgery to Breathe Properly Again
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» The Dangerous Warlord Now Set to Rule Sudan
 
Latin America
» “This Has Never Happened Before”: Millions Without Electricity After Massive Blackout Cripples Argentina and Uruguay
 
Immigration
» Gov. DeSantis Signs Bill Banning Sanctuary Cities in Florida
» Mexico: 791 Migrants Found Packed in 4 Tractor-Trailers
» Senate Democrats: Americans ‘Have Obligation’ To Give Amnesty to Foreigners
» ‘Summer of Chaos’ Predicted After More Migrants Intercepted in English Channel
» UK: Two Boats Carrying 40 Migrants From Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan Are Intercepted Off the Coast of Kent
» Who’s Paying African Migrants at Our Border? Swiss Journalist Asks the Questions Our Media Won’t [Video]
 
Culture Wars
» Archbishop: Voting for a Pro-Abortion Candidate is ‘Mortal Sin’
» College Tries to Destroy “White Privilege” Family — Instead Loses $44 Million Judgment
» Concerted Psyop Introduces Adolecent Children to Transgender Crossdressers on National Scale
» Covering Up Our Culture to ‘Avoid Giving Offense’
» Drag Queen Story Hour Supporters Sexually Assault InfoWars Reporter
» F1 Grid Girl Ban Infuriates Dutch MP: ‘Only an Idiot’ Sees Beautiful Women as Problematic
» How the Trump Administration Can Beat Planned Parenthood
» June is LGBTQ Pride Month: So What Are They Proud of?
» Liberal Movie Critics Slam ‘Secret Life of Pets’ For Praising Marriage
» Publisher Delays Feminist Author’s Book After UK Radio Host Destroys Premise Live on Air
» Taxpayers Will Pay for Sex-Change Surgery for Minors in Vermont
 
General
» Modernity
 

Dayton Man Convicted on Trying to Join ISIS Sentenced to 15 Years

DAYTON — The man convicted in the first terrorism-related trial in the Southern District of Ohio was sentenced to 15 years in prison, a judge ruled Thursday.

Laith W. Alebbini, 28, was found guilty last year by U.S. District Court Judge Walter Rice, who held a bench trial in Dayton’s U.S. District Court.

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

ET to Advance the Cause of Global Warming?

n answer to yesterday’s Fox News headlined question: “Why is the government finally admitting UFOs are real, and why should we pay attention”?

Because in the Time of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal, it’s a perfect way to advance the cause of the hoax called Global Warming/Climate Change.

According to AOC, without intervention, the world in which we live will end within 12 years.

But there’s no need to panic if we let ET step in to save us

The Green New Deal was first swiped from the United Nation’s Agenda 21/Agenda 2030 and then rejuvenated by AOC.

Long before Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders delivered her to Congress from a casting call of 10,000 applicants, liberals of the day were already making claims that our governments are holding out on us with a store of secret alien technologies obtained in alleged UFO crashes that could be put to good use in stemming global warming.

You can’t make this bunk up:…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Florida Man Thought He Bought a Villa for $9k in an Online Auction But it Turned Out to be a Foot-Wide Strip of Grass Worth $50 — and Officials Are Refusing to Give Him a Refund

A Florida man thought he made a steal purchase when he bid on a $9,100 Florida villa in an online auction but ended up buying a strip of grass running in between two homes — and officials say there’s nothing he can do about a refund.

Kerville Holness thought he purchased the Tamarac villa, worth $177,000, during a Broward online auction of properties that defaulted on their taxes.

But it turned out he had purchased a one-foot-wide, 100-foot-long strip of grass on Northwest 100th Way in Spring Lake — a measly piece of land worth just $50.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Hero Cop Saves Lives of Seven People in One Day… Media Ignores… Pushes Memphis Anti-Cop Riots Instead

A Massillon officer who saved six teens from a storm drain Monday also saved a driver from a suspected overdose.

After a harrowing rescue involving six teens from the rushing waters of Sippo Creek, Officer Aaron Franklin, of the Massilion Police Department, rescued another person from a near-death experience.

Watch:…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

How Poland is Driving a Wedge Between Putin and Trump

by Matt Snape

When asked in an interview for his views on relations between the US and Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said ‘relations between Moscow and Washington are getting worse and worse.’ Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump told reporters during his visit to Poland this week: ‘I hope that Poland is going to have a great relationship with Russia. I hope that we’re going to have a great relationship with Russia.’ But he failed to explain how he was going to improve the relationship between the two global powers and his actions in Poland this week speak louder than his words.

Warsaw asked the US for help in deterring Russian aggression, and in response, Trump announced during his visit to Poland that he will be deploying 1,000 troops in the possible event that Moscow invades Eastern Europe. He made this announcement during a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda at the Polish White House Rose Garden after the pair signed a cooperation agreement.

Duda said the agreement ‘helps solidify Poland’s ties to the West’, thereby making it clear he would prefer for his country to be tied to NATO, not Russia. In a further blow to the Russian President, Poland’s leader said Russia is ‘showing its unkind, unfriendly imperial face. Russia is always looking to take our territory.’ NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the news and called America’s response ‘measured, defensive and proportionate.’

Trump’s actions have angered Moscow. Although the Russian leader has not yet directly responded to the US’s actions, Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy head of the Duma’s international affairs committee, informed the Moscow Times Poland ‘could become the target of a retaliatory strike.’

Relations between the two nations have soured since the days George W. Bush claimed he could ‘get a sense of Putin’s soul.’ Trump and the Russian leader forged a positive relationship following their first meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg in July 2017. But they worsened following the poisoning of former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, during a nerve-agent attack in the UK allegedly approved by the Russian state. In response, the Trump administration expelled 60 Russian diplomats. Moscow retaliated by expelling 60 American diplomats.

Although both leaders enjoyed a successful summit in Helsinki in July 2018, which reaffirmed both countries’ commitments to the new START and the INF Treaty, Trump later ignored Putin at the G20 summit in Argentina in November 2018, citing Russia’s capture of Ukrainian ships in the Crimea. Furthermore, both leaders suspended their involvement in the INF Treaty, with America accusing Russia of failing to fulfill its obligations to the agreement.

Poland has now driven a further wedge between the US and Russia. It seems Trump is no different to his predecessors in his approach towards Putin. As long as the Russian leader proceeds with his aggressive actions, NATO must be prepared for any move Moscow makes to invade its neighbours. The US President has been right to suspend his country’s involvement in the INF Treaty and deploy American troops to Poland, whilst Russia refuses to abandon its expansionist aims.

Putin’s and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s snub towards the D-Day celebrations last week legitimises Trump’s National Security Strategy, which warns that Russia and China ‘challenge American power, influence and interests.’ With the Russian leader in office until 2024, Moscow will use this time to exert its global influence. Putin’s actions indicate he has no interest in forging an alliance with the US. Russia has ruined the hopes of anyone praying Trump would rebuild relations with Moscow after they were tarnished during the Bush and Obama years. The world could be on the verge of another Cold War, this time with Russia and China. Trump must not waiver, or the rest of the world will suffer the consequences.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Judge Tosses Lawsuit of Former Campaign Staffer Alva Johnson Who Accused Candidate Trump of Kissing Her

In February Alva Johnson, 43, a former staffer to Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign claimed candidate Trump kissed her without consent at a small gathering just before a Florida rally, an encounter she says still haunts her and causes her anguish.

And she wanted money.

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

Man Secretly Living in Attic Above Teen Girl’s Bedroom Arrested Inside Home

There are endless stories about teenage girls sneaking out of their homes to be with a boyfriend. Fortunately, there aren’t many stories about a full-grown man living above a teenage girls’ bedroom in the attic, for easy access to her room.

The New York Post reports — A man was secretly living in a Tennessee family’s attic and often sneaked downstairs to visit a 14-year-old girl — whose mom knew nothing about it.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Mark Levin: Bernie Sanders’ ‘Economic Bill of Rights’ Taken Nearly Verbatim From Stalin’s 1936 Soviet Constitution

There’s something deeply disturbing about Bernie Sanders’ ‘Economic Bill of Rights’ proposal. In an appearance on Hannity, political commentator and historian Mark Levin points out that Sanders has “stolen his agenda from the 1936 Soviet Constitution.”

Red State reports on 2020 hopeful Bernie Sanders’ speech about Democratic Socialism.

Sanders knows Americans view socialism in a bad light so he’s on a mission to sell socialism as the greatest thing since sliced bread…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

New Hampshire Woman, 66, Is Charged With Animal Cruelty ‘After Pushing Her 11-Year-Old Golden Retriever Into a Lake and Watching Him Drown’

A New Hampshire woman has been arrested after she allegedly pushed her Golden Retriever into a lake and watched him drown.

Nancy Bucciarelli, 66, was charged Friday with animal cruelty pertaining to the horrific incident which occurred on June 8.

Police say Bucciarelli was with her 11-year-old dog, Bailey, at Naticook Lake when she launched him off a dock into three feet of water.

The incident was witnessed by several bystanders, who claim that the woman watched as the elderly canine struggled to swim.

He eventually drowned in the shallow water.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

New York Times Busted for Fake News Story on Harriet Tubman $20 Bill

The U.S. Treasury is denying a piece from the New York Times which accused the Trump administration of delaying the release of the $20 Harriet Tubman bill and doing so for political reasons.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Oct 1 Eyewitnesses Confirm: Five Middle Eastern Men Dressed in Black, Single File Line, AR-15 Assault Rifle With Shoulder Strap

LAS VEGAS (INTELLIHUB) — Official FBI documents obtained by Intellihub reveal that several eyewitnesses spotted a group of four or five Middle Eastern men between the ages 20-30 dressed in all black traveling in single file formation heading eastbound on Reno Ave just east of Las Vegas Blvd at around 11:15 pm on the night of the October 1, 2017 massacre in which 58 people were reportedly killed by a crazed lone gunman named Stephen Paddock.

One eyewitness to the clandestine group told federal investigators that he was near the south side of the Excalibur around 11:15 pm when he and others “saw 5 foreign guys heading eastbound on Reno Dr, just west of Vegas Blvd.”

In the report, the eyewitness describes how all of the men were wearing “black” clothing and were “walking in a single file line, about 5 feet between each person.”

“The 5th and final guy had what appeared to be a black assault rifle and shoulder strap across his chest,” he explained.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Radiowaves From Wireless Earbuds May Carcinogenic, Scientists Warn

Apple and other tech companies have sold tens of millions of pairs of wireless earbuds over the past few years which a group of 250 scientists from over 40 countries is now warning may cause cancer.

Wireless technologies are appealing to consumers but may not be safe, experts warn.

The close proximity of the wireless earbuds to the brain may cause significant risk of cancer, as the Daily Mail reports.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Robert Mueller: A Scary and Mendacious Man

Robert Mueller’s troublesome, unethical, and corrupt FBI career prior to his appointment as the special counsel on the Trump-Russia Collusion investigation deserves a serious vetting. I provide here two points of reference: a monograph by sitting congressman and former Texas State Court judge Louie Gohmert titled “Robert Mueller: Unmasked” and a book by Louisiana attorney and sitting Louisiana state senator John Milkovich titled Robert Mueller: Errand Boy for the New World Order.

Congressman Gohmert’s 48-page monograph is a discussion of a “long and sordid history of illicitly targeting innocent people that is a stain upon the legacy of American jurisprudence. He lacks the judgment and credibility to lead the prosecution of anyone.” Gohmert focuses on 18 examples, including:

Collusion with Boston mobster Whitey Bulger in criminality and framing innocent men for murder that resulted eventually in the release of innocent parties and 100 million dollars in compensation for for DOJ Boston Office misconduct. The FBI with Mueller as director harassed and hounded Congressman Curt Weldon in revenge for criticizing FBI failures related to 9-11. Dishonest prosecutions of Senator Ted Stevens. Prosecutorial abuses in the anthrax murder investigations post 9-11, producing one suicide and one award of 6.8 million dollars to the other innocent target. Mueller’s unethical acceptance of the special prosecutor position when he was conflicted by his longtime personal and professional relationship with James Comey. Mueller hired extremely partisan, biased, and conflicted attorneys for his special counsel team. Mueller’s investigation ignored that FISA applications evidence presented to justify warrants to surveil Trump associates were not verified and thus a fraud on the court and illegal.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Route 91 Massacre Survivor, Avid Hunter, Tells FBI “.50 Caliber Rifle” Was Likely Used in Attack After Witnessing “Large Holes” Being “Blown Through” Victims Bodies

LAS VEGAS (INTELLIHUB) — A survivor and eyewitness to the October 2017 Route 91 Harvest Music Festival attack told agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation via telephone how he feels the official story is “B.S.” and that it’s all “a big cover-up by law enforcement” after witnessing “large holes being blown through” victims bodies, according to an official FBI lead obtained by Intellihub.

The eyewitness and “avid hunter” told the FBI in a statement that he believes a “large caliber weapon,” possibly a “.50 caliber rifle,” may have been used in the attack.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

South Carolina Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Trying to Help ISIS

A South Carolina man convicted on charges of trying to provide material support to ISIS has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Zakaryia Abdin, 20, of Ladson, SC, pleaded guilty in August 2018 and has remained in federal custody since his arrest in March 2017. He was sentenced Monday.

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

Washington Senior Center Bans Pledge of Allegiance… Forces Elderly Citizens to Huddle in Corner for Pledge

Imagine, telling men and women who fought for our nation or whose sons and daughters gave their lives and limbs for our great country, that saying the pledge of allegiance is like saluting Hitler. One senior center in Washington state just pulled such a shenanigan, until the commander of a local American Legion post stepped in to defend their right to salute the American flag—and then he was arrested.

According to the American Mirror — Officials at the Mullis Community Senior Center on San Juan Island in Washington state recently banned members from saying their traditional prayer and Pledge of Allegiance before lunch, forcing them to huddle in the corner around their own flag to pay tribute to American freedom.

But a subsequent crackdown to enforce the ban has reportedly resulted in members of the local American Legion arrested for trespassing with American flags, as well as reports of senior center staff roughing up elderly members who insist on reciting the pledge.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Watch Out 8Chan; FBI Search Warrant Issued for Anyone Who Commented on Poway Synagogue Shooting

Certain users of online forum 8chan may want to lawyer up, after a recently unsealed affidavit reveals that the FBI served the website with a search warrant in April for the IP addresses and metadata information on Chabad of Poway shooter John Earnst, along with “all of the individuals who responded to his posts on the forum.

On April 27, 19-year-old John Earnest opened fire on the Chabad of Poway, located in a suburb of San Diego, killing one and injuring three others. Earlier in the day, an 8chan user believed to be Earnest posted “It’s been real dudes. From the bottom of my heart thank you for everything. Keep up the infographic redpill threads,” along with a link to a livestream of the attack broadcast over Facebook and an “open letter” manifesto.

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

Justin Trudeau’s Postnationalism

Recent media coverage of a demographic study in Canada appears to show globalism’s acceleration north of the border. The elite in Canada are arguably ahead of America’s in their trajectory towards mass rootlessness, perhaps most notably observed when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proclaimed that the country was a “postnational” nation, one that had “no core identity” anymore — something never so explicitly stated by Barack Obama or the Democratic leadership since he left office. Alarmingly for Canada, we’re now seeing evidence that Trudeau’s declaration is becoming broadly and deeply internalized among that country’s elite. Although Canada is generally an afterthought in American politics, spreading globalism up north cannot portend well for the U.S.

A few weeks ago, major Canadian media outlets the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the Globe And Mail, BNN Bloomberg, and the Financial Post all ran headlines stating a variation of the following: “Think millennials are leaving Canada’s big cities? Think again” (this one taken from the CBC). Each were reporting on a research note from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; the country’s Citigroup, basically) in which senior economist Robert Hogue concluded that millennials are apparently not leaving the cities of Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal, as had been feared following years of sky-high property prices — Similar to the U.S., immigrants to Canada tend to go to the major cities, pushing up rents and home prices in the process. As these outlets reported, Hogue’s research found that more millennials are actually moving to those cities than leaving them.

But just by looking at the media’s headlines, you wouldn’t have picked up that Hogue’s report did indeed say that Canadian millennials are leaving these cities en masse and that the net gain in new urban millennials is actually only due to immigrant millennials coming in from abroad e.g. foreigners between 20 and 34 who were either student-visa holders, temporary foreign workers or new permanent immigrants.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Europe’s Largest Mural in Paris… But You Can’t See it

Paris is the site of Europe’s largest mural painting, but it is impossible to see from the ground, it has been revealed — in the same weekend as a 600m mural has been unveiled in front of the Eiffel Tower.

The largest mural is the size of four football fields — 2.5 hectares — but is painted on part of the roof of exhibition centre, le Parc des Exhibitions, meaning that it can only be seen from a higher vantage point.

It was painted around two weeks ago by the French duo Ella & Pitr, and is a black, white, red and blue design of an older woman.

In practical terms, it is intended to be seen from the air, meaning viewers either have to use a drone camera to see it, or go to the roof terrace of the Pavillon 7 at the Parc at the Porte de Versailles, near the périphérique Paris ring road, which offers a partially-raised view.

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

Fatima Relics of Sts. Francisco & Jacinta Marto Stolen From Italian Church

This is so heartbreaking!

Relics of Sts. Francisco and Jacinta Marto were stolen from a Catholic Church in Italy while they were on a pilgrimage tour. The theft occurred Wed., May 29. Police are looking for two suspects.

Parish priest Fr. Father Andrea Ronconi of Jesus Christ Divine Worker Catholic Church said he is “heartbroken and mortified.”

Fr. Ronconi also said the theft included copies of the crown and rosary of the Our Lady of Fatima statue.

Pope Francis canonized the Marto children May 13, 2017 in Portugal. Let us pray that they find these precious relics of the two shepherd children!

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

France’s Yellow Vests Are ‘Putting Their Gilets Back in the Glove Compartment’ As Only 7,000 Turn Out for Latest Round of Protests With Only 950 of Them in Paris

Only 7,000 French yellow vest protesters turned out for the latest round of demonstrations — and only 950 in Paris — in a sign that the movement is fizzling out.

At the height of their momentum in late 2018, the ‘gilets jaunes’ gathered 250,000 people to voice their rage against President Macron and the high cost of living in France.

The mass protests often brought violence and fiery carnage to the centre of Paris, piling huge pressure on Macron.

But the movement has been beset by division, and its candidates collected just 0.5 per cent of the vote at last month’s European Parliament elections.

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

German Court Overturns Ban on Islamic ‘Burkini’ Swimwear at Swimming Pools

The ban on the sharia-compliant swimwear known as the “burkini” has been overturned by the higher administrative court in the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate after a judge decided the ban violated the constitution.

The ban originated in the city of Koblenz and began on the 1st of January but was challenged by a Syrian asylum seeker who claimed that she required the swimwear for religious reasons and also needed to use the swimming pool because she suffers from back problems, Austrian tabloid Kronen Zeitung reports.

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

Hungary: “Next EU Agenda Must Address Migration, Sovereignty and Christianity”

The European Union’s strategic agenda for the next five years should address national competencies concerning the issue of migration, respect for sovereignty and the protection of Christian culture, said the Hungarian state secretary for international communications and relations.

In last month’s European Parliament election, Hungarians entrusted the ruling alliance with three objectives: to stop illegal immigration, to protect national sovereignty and to protect Christian culture in Europe, Zoltan Kovacs told a press conference.

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

Italy: Lotti Suspends Self From PD in CSM Case

‘Nothing to fear’ says ex cabinet secretary

(ANSA) — Rome, June 14 — Democratic Party (PD) bigwig and former cabinet secretary Luca Lotti on Friday suspended himself from the party after triggering a row after apparently accusing President Sergio Mattarella of influencing appointments at the judiciary’s self-governing body, the CSM, which has been hit by a cronyism scandal.

Lotti told PD leader Nicola Zingaretti he would be suspended “until this affair is cleared up”.

Lotti, an ally of former leader and ex-premier Matteo Renzi, said he had “nothing to hide and no fear of awaiting the truth”.

Earlier Fiday another CSM member involved in a meeting on appointments between Lotti and magistrates union ANM former chief Luca Palamara resigned, Corrado Cartoni.

Four members of the CSM, the Supreme Council of Magistrates, have now resigned in the case.

The case has roiled Italy’s politicised judiciary.

In calling elections to replace CSM members who have resigned, Mattarella said Thursday the rules would have to be changed.

The head of State is titular head of the CSM.

Zingaretti said “I thank Luca Lotti for a gesture…I consider of great responsibility towards politics, institutions and the PD”.

He voiced confidence that Lotti would clear up the affair.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Strong Explosion in Vicinity of Church

Södertälje is the latest city in Sweden to see yet another explosion, with police describing the blast as being strong enough to be heard 100 yards away.

Police say that they are still uncertain as to the nature of the explosion, which occurred at around 3am on Friday in Geneta, a neighbourhood in the Västertälje district of the Södertälje municipality. Peter Asp, the officer in charge of Stockholm Police’s management centre, told Swedish broadcaster SVT: “We are trying to sort out what has happened, but before the technicians have investigated, we do not know exactly what has happened.”

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

Sweden to Deport Five Imams Because They Are a Security Threat

Swedish Security Police have done a crackdown on Muslim leaders. It started with Imam Abo Raad and his 34 year old son in Gävle who were taken in custody in late April. Both of them will now be deported. Another Imam, Hussein Al Jibury, will also be deported.

Now Imam Fekri Hamad, in Västerås, who was taken into custody in early May, will also be forced to leave the country, according to Aftonbladet.

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

Sweden to Hire Hundreds of New Police Officers Amidst Rising Sexual Violence

Sweden will employ hundreds of new police officers in an effort to tackle a growing trend of sexual offences against vulnerable people and children.

Mats Löfving, head of the police’s national operational department, Noa, commented on the new policy saying: “For me, this is incredibly big, I think it is the biggest and most important investment I have had in my time in the police. It is perhaps the most vulnerable group that we are helping, women and children, who are exposed to violent and sexual offences,” Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Radio reports.

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

The Silent Empire of UK

by Lorenzo Vita

Those who think the United Kingdom has disappeared from the international scene are mistaken. London is more than present in the various crisis zones, from North Africa to the Middle East, from the Sahel to the South China Sea. And appears to have no intention of withdrawing. The recent moves of the British government appear to indicate a basic truth, albeit perhaps less apparently than in preceding decades: despite its fragility, the UK is present, out there, and, even if as a ghost of its old self, ready to maintain its role as inheritor of Empire.

Let’s begin with one of the crisis zones nearest to Italy and which affect Italy most: Libya. There is another actor, silent yet with a greater presence than one might think, in the conflict in this North African country, a conflict which it has followed for some time and which it itself contributed to instigating — London. The UK is present in the local, regional and international war taking place in Africa, and its activities must not be underestimated. In recent months Britain has more or less assumed the role of spokesperson for the Western Alliance and, in particular, for the special relationship with the US. The documents of the UN Security Council all originate from drafts drawn-up by London. And British Special Forces have been involved for years in Libyan territory, while totally below-the-radar. And over these years, the UK has many times spoken of Libya as a potential happy hunting ground for Russia, witness how almost all the accusations towards Moscow concerning the presence of its contractors there have emanated from Great Britain. Furthermore, let’s not forget how a few days ago it was precisely British Intelligence which sounded the alarm on the possible presence of ABU BAKR AL BAGHDADI in Libya, so confirming also the presence of British aerial spies overflying many areas of the North African country. Thus London is in Libya. And it is fundamental not to forget it, especially because further south, in the Sahel, British forces are present, albeit in agreement with the French, Germans and Americans, and especially in Niger, the true nucleus of that Saharan belt.

But Libya is not the sole crisis zone where the UK is present. British diplomatic moves in recent weeks have been very interesting since they regard Syria also, a conflict forgotten but not finished for all that — a conflict which threatens to flare-up again with the Iran-US crisis. An escalation, this, which, among other things, marks an explicit parting-of-the-ways between the aims of London and Washington. The British are opposed to a mounting of the tensions in the Persian Gulf, and have already expressed that view at the Pentagon and the White House. However, meanwhile, in Syria, they continue to develop their mission. UK Special Forces have formally left Syria, but this does not mean that the UK has lost interest in a war where its fighter-planes and élite troops have intervened a number of times. Further, in the international coalition led by the USA, British forces play a fundamental role. A role obviously important also in Iraq, where ex-President of Kurdistan Massoud Barzani has received in Erbil the British Ambassador to Iraq, Jon Wilks. Their discussions covered ISIS and the refugee Yazidis, while stressing the necessity to continue the struggle against Islamic terrorism…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

The Significant Implications of a Swiss-EU Trade Deal

by Matt Snape

For those who believe the EU are being inflexible in its negotiations with the UK over a post-Brexit trade deal, Switzerland is no exception. Since 1973, the Swiss have entered into a series of bilateral treaties designed to ensure the Swiss Confederation adopts a series of EU provisions into law in order to participate in the Single Market, without signing up as a member state. From 1992 onwards, when the Alpine state rejected joining the European Economic Area, 120 separate bilateral accords have been agreed between Brussels and Bern. However, that arrangement has reached a crossroads and the outcome is likely to have significant implications on the EU’s ability to trade.

Following a public consultation, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis declared that the Swiss Government will not sign a framework agreement designed to simplify future ties with the EU, as it wants certain points clarified. This statement was reinforced by Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, who said the Confederation expected Brussels to renew Switzerland’s access to the EU stock market. The right-wing Swiss People’s Party called this process a partial success and credited themselves for causing the Government to deliberate on the treaty’s signing.

The Confederation’s three concerns include maintaining the current level of wage and worker protection, state subsidies and citizens’ rights. Swissinfo.ch reported the Government sent a letter to the European Commission, declaring its readiness to “engage in dialogue” with the EU on these issues before it can sign the deal and present it to the Swiss Parliament. The letter also stressed that Brussels must “respect internal procedures” and ensure that there is “strong support for an agreement”, thereby asking the public to ratify the treaty through a referendum…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Time Running Out on Climate Crisis Says Pope

‘Emergency’ must be reversed, Francis tells summit

(ANSA) — Vatican City, June 14 — Time is running out to try to stop climate change, Pope Francis said Friday.

Francis met with participants attending a summit entitled, “The Vatican Dialogues: The Energy Transition and Care for our Common Home”, according to Vatican News. In comments to the group, he warned that today’s ecological crisis, especially climate change, “threatens the very future of the human family” and asked oil CEOs for a “radical energy transition”.

Greeting those attending the summit, which included multinational oil companies, the Pope spoke on an issue very close to his heart: The Care for our Common Home.

Pope Francis told those gathered that this second year of Dialogue in the Vatican was taking place at a “critical moment.” Today’s ecological crisis, especially climate change, he said, “threatens the very future of the human family”.

The Pontiff noted that a significant development in this past year was the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which warns that effects on climate will be catastrophic if the threshold of 1.5ºC outlined in the Paris Agreement goal is crossed. “The Report warns, moreover, that only one decade or so remains in order to achieve this confinement of global warming.” Faced with a climate emergency, the Pope underlined, “we must take action accordingly, in order to avoid perpetrating a brutal act of injustice towards the poor and future generations.” In effect, he went on to say, “it is the poor who suffer the worst impacts of the climate crisis.” What was required, stressed Pope Francis, was courage in responding to “the increasingly desperate cries of the earth and its poor”. During his address, the Pope focused on the three points that were being discussed during the meeting, which are, a just transition; carbon pricing; and transparency in reporting climate risk. Pope Francis remarked that a just transition to cleaner energy, which is called for in the Preamble to the Paris Agreement, can if managed well, generate new jobs, reduce inequality and improve the quality of life for those affected by climate change.

On the issue of carbon pricing, the Pope said, this was “essential if humanity is to use the resources of creation wisely.” Speaking on the third point, transparency in reporting climate risk, Pope Francis commented that, “open, transparent, science-based and standardized reporting is in the common interests of all.” In conclusion, the Pope warned that “time is running out!” Deliberations, he emphasized, “must go beyond mere exploration of what can be done, and concentrate on what needs to be done.” In our meeting last year, Pope Francis said, “I expressed the concern that ‘civilization requires energy, but energy use must not destroy civilization’. Today a radical energy transition is needed to save our common home.” He continued by saying that, “the climate crisis requires ‘our decisive action, here and now’ and the Church is fully committed to playing her part.” However, the Pope did strike a note of optimism, “there is still hope and there remains time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change”, he said, “provided there is prompt and resolute action…” The summit was organised by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Farage’s Brexit Party Leads Third National Election Poll in a Row

Still less that three months old, The Brexit Party has taken a comfortable lead over the establishment parties for Westminster voting intentions in three consecutive YouGov polls.

The latest poll published by The Times placed the pro-Brexit party in first place, with 24 per cent, followed by the Conservative Party and Labour Party on joint second with 21 per cent, with the pro-Remain Liberal Democrats on 19 per cent. Fieldwork was conducted between the 13th and 14th of June, with 1,672 adults being asked who they would vote for in the next General Election.

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

UK: Gang of More Than 100 Youths Bombard Police With Bottles and Missiles in Lawless London ‘Riot’ Near Westfield Stratford City Shopping Centre

A gang of more than 100 young people bombarded police with bottles and missiles in Lawless London last night.

The crowd threw the projectiles at officers outside the bus station, near Westfield shopping centre, in Stratford, East London.

In the video, a number of police cars can be seen outside the popular shopping centre.

Four officers were injured during the turmoil. It is not clear what sparked the incident, but police were thought to be responding to reports of a robbery.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Jeremy Corbyn Hits Back at ‘Absolutely Awful’ Trump

Jeremy Corbyn has defended his Labour colleague Sadiq Khan against the latest angry criticism from Donald Trump, after the President reignited his long-running feud with the London Mayor last night.

The Labour leader said it was ‘absolutely awful’ for Trump to use the latest wave of London violence — in which three people were killed in separate attacks in 24 hours — to take aim at Mr Khan.

Mr Corbyn accused the President, who had called Mr Khan a ‘national disgrace’, of ‘trying to divide at a time we need to come together’.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Mass Brawl Erupts at a Lawn Bowls Match as Teens Armed With Chairs Invade the Green, Hurl Stones at Terrified Pensioners and Punch an Elderly Man in the Face

A mass brawl erupted at an lawn bowls match after a group of teens launched an attack on terrified pensioners.

The youths invaded the bowling green in Teignmouth, Devon armed with stones and chairs before singling out one of the elderly players who was reportedly then punched in the face.

A 69-year-old man needed hospital treatment for cuts to his face and is now recovering at home.

Shocked witnesses said they had never seen anything like it as the elderly bowls players were left cowering for cover from the vicious and sustained attacks.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Prince Harry and Meghan Hire a Social Media Expert to Boost Their Popularity as They Trail Just 700,000 Followers Behind Wills and Kate

The couple, who are establishing their own household after splitting with Prince William and Kate, have parked their ‘social media tanks’ on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s lawn.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Pictured: Teenagers, 18 and 19, Shot and Stabbed to Death Within 12 Minutes of Each Other on the Streets of London

An 18-year-old student and a 19-year-old man were shot and stabbed to death within 12 minutes of each other in separate attacks in London as the city’s murder toll rose to 59 this year.

Cheyon Evans, 18, was stabbed to death in Tooting, south west London, at 4.42pm on Friday.

Witnesses told the Times that he was set upon by a gang of teenagers and was stabbed up to 17 times.

Just 12 minutes after Cheyon was attacked, Eniola Aluko, 19, was shot to death in Plumstead, south east London.

Scotland Yard have arrested five people in connection with the shooting, including four men aged between 16 and 18 and a 17-year-old girl.

The police have also charged Mohammed Nadir Dafallah, 18, and a 17-year-old boy with murder after the stabbing of Cheyon.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Primary School Unwittingly Hired a Convicted Child Murderer Who Stabbed a Teenage Girl to Death

Gonzalez and her accomplice stabbed the young victim to discover ‘what it would feel like to kill someone’.

A notorious Spanish child murderer worked as a teaching assistant in a British primary school for ten months, it has shockingly emerged.

Iria Suarez Gonzalez, 35, and a friend sliced the throat of a teenage schoolgirl and stabbed her 32 times in 2000.

But despite her horrific crime, the cold-blooded killer was hired by West Oxford Primary School after exploiting a legal loophole meaning she did not have to reveal her dark past.

Under Spanish law, any conviction committed by a minor is wiped from their record after 10 years.

This allowed Gonzalez, who knifed her victim to death when she was 16, to apply to the British school in 2016 with a clean slate.

From September that year to July 2017, the convicted child killer worked in the classrooms with the primary pupils and teachers who knew nothing of her evil history.

According to media reports from the time of her atrocity, Gonzalez and her accomplice stabbed the young victim to discover ‘what it would feel like to kill someone’.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Report: Theresa May Vows to Block No Deal Brexit by Aligning With Tory Remainers

Outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to stop the UK leaving the EU without a deal by aligning with Remainers in the Tory Party including Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Amber Rudd and Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond.

Sources close to Mrs May told The Mail on Sunday that despite her failure to pass the EU-approved withdrawal treaty, she has “not budged” from her position that UK should not leave the bloc unless it has an exit deal.

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

UK: Tory Leadership Contest: Dominic Raab Gets Tough on Foreign Criminals

DOMINIC Raab has pledged to throw foreign criminals out of Britain if he becomes the next prime minister.

The former Brexit secretary said that there needs to be “more debate on policies” in the Tory leadership contest and he has unveiled plans to control immigration. This includes any foreign national convicted of a crime and sent to prison for a period of 12 months or more, who will be automatically deported.

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

UK: Tory Donors in Secret Talks With Nigel Farage Over General Election Pact to Save Brexit

CONSERVATIVE Party donors have opened secret talks with Nigel Farage which could see the party not stand candidates against the Brexit Party if a snap election is called by the next leader.

As reported by The Daily Telegraph, the suggestion is the Brexit Party would not stand against Tory Brexiteers and the Tories would not contest seats in traditional Labour seats in the north, where the Brexit Party has polled strongly. Some supporters hope an agreement could prevent any defections if MPs are unhappy with the new leader. Several high profile Tories contested the European elections after defecting to the Brexit Party, such as former Cabinet member Ann Widdecombe.

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

We’ll be Responsible But Not Stupid With EU — Di Maio

Brussels won’t dictate election date says deputy PM

(ANSA) — Sassari, June 14 — Italy will be responsible but not stupid in talks with the European Commission aimed at averting an infringement procedure for high debt, Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio said Friday.

“We must face this infringement procedure in order to safeguard Italy’s accounts, but also to cut taxes,” he said.

“We will be responsible but not stupid, let it be clear, because if people are thinking of wanting to cut services, pensions, resources for schools and universities, they will find a reinforced concrete wall in the government.

“So responsibility but also loyalty towards the Italians,” he said on an electoral tour ahead of municipal elections on Sunday.

Di Maio also said Brussels could not dictate the date of a general election in Italy.

“It would be a mistake to decide to go to early elections on the basis of what Europe says,” he said.

Di Maio said the government still had much to do.

“We must cut MP’s salaries, introduce prison terms for major tax dodgers and act in the interests of citizens.

“I don’t want to stay in government to get by or to quarrel, but to do determined things”.

Eurogroup President Mario Centeno on Friday called on Italy to come in line with the EU’s budget rules after a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Luxembourg. The European Commission said last week that an infringement procedure would be justified for Italy’s failure to comply with the debt rule, while stressing that the proceedings have not been opened yet and it is open to talks. “The Eurogroup listened to the Commission’s proposals on Italy and supports the request to take the necessary measures to respect the budget rules,” Centeno said.

European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici thanked Centeno for his support of the EU executive’s stance on Italy.

“There is clear support for our analysis and our approach,” Moscovici said.

“Now we’ll continue with the preparatory work that could lead to the procedure, while remaining ready to evaluate every element that Italy may bring.

“The door is still open. We are in listening mode”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Mohamed Morsi: The Score

by Srdja Trifkovic

Judging by the corporate media obituaries, “Egypt’s first democratically elected president”—who died while on trial in a Cairo courtroom on June 17—was a well-meaning but inept leader who “governed clumsily” before being overthrown by the military. In reality Mohamed Morsi was an Islamist supremacist. He tried to use his narrow electoral victory in 2012 to smash Egypt’s budding democratic institutions and transform the country into a Muslim Brotherhood-ruled theocracy.

THE MEDIA TAKE— The tone was set by The New York Times. It devoted four-fifths of a 1500-word obituary, published on the same day, to the alleged mistreatment of Morsi in jail while he endured a series of “politicized trials.”

The Times’s two obituarists glossed over his year-long rule with a bland summary worthy of Walter Duranty. Morsi’s election was “the apex of the Arab Spring uprising… a high point for the Muslim Brotherhood, a 91-year-old Islamist movement founded in Egypt and whose influence extends across the Arab world.” Not a word about the Brotherhood’s objectives, or about the record of its nine decades of often violent activity. No mention of Morsi’s disputed 51.73 percent victory over his secularist opponent, Ahmad Shafik (whom the Morsi government tried to arrest and put on trial just three months later); or the claim that the true results were in favor of Shafik, but the military gave the presidency to Morsi because it feared Islamist unrest.

“For many Egyptians,” the obituary claimed, “Mr. Morsi’s election was their greatest hope for a definitive break with the country’s long history of autocracy.” On the other hand, “some Egyptians worried that he might impose strict Islamic moral codes.” No hint that a little over three percentage points separated “many Egyptians” from “some Egyptians.”

The article did mention that “critics in Washington and around the region raised alarms that he might even seek to establish a form of theocratic rule”— even!—but apparently they were in for a pleasant surprise: Morsi sought “cordial relations” with the US, kept diplomatic relations with Israel, and even developed “a warm working relationship with President Barack Obama…”

           — Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic [Return to headlines]
 

Fatah Official Sacked After Jews Show Up at Son’s Wedding

Fatah booted the council chief of the West Bank village of Deir Kadis Friday after four Israelis showed up at his son’s wedding celebration.

Radi Nasser was also removed from his job at the Palestinian Authority education ministry after videos emerged showing the Jewish men at the Thursday event, Haaretz reported.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Iran Admits to Bombing Ships, Vows More Terror Attacks

Retaliation for US designating Iranian Guard as terrorist group

Evidence pointing to Iran as the perpetrators behind the attack on an oil tanker is now overwhelming. Alex reveals the leaders of Iran may have openly admitted to plotting to close the Strait of Hormuz by sinking ships and other events.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

US Account of Iran Tanker Attacks “Not Enough” For Some European Allies

Just a couple of days after two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman, some U.S. allies in Europe have been reluctant to join the U.S. government in blaming Iran outright.

Following the attacks, the Pentagon released a video which they claim depicts an Iranian patrol boat full of Revolutionary Guard soldiers removing a mine from the side of one of the targeted boats in last week’s tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman.

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

Canada, China, the US. Huawei and a Fearsome Geopolitical Triangle

by Chiedza Hamadziripi

When Meng Wanzhou, Chief Financial Officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei, and the eldest daughter of its founder, Ren Zhengfei was arrested by Canadian authorities in the Vancouver airport while changing flights, she suddenly became one of the world’s most famous detainees.

Her December arrest — made at the United States’ request for her extradition on fraud charges — provoked a storm of recriminations from China, which put Meng in legal limbo, and put Canada in the middle of a tussle between two world powers that are both rivals and trading partners. Meng has been awaiting her extradition hearing under house arrest in Vancouver, where she and her husband own two expensive homes.

In January, the United States unveiled a sweeping indictment that, among other things, accused Meng of fraudulently deceiving four banks so that Huawei could evade American sanctions against Iran.

Just over a year ago, the U.S. pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, unofficially known as the ‘Iran Deal’ or the ‘Iran Nuclear Deal’. That deal lifted sanctions on Iran but set limits on its nuclear program. By pulling out, the U.S. effectively restored those sanctions. The U.S. alleges that Meng mislead banks about Huawei’s relationship with an unofficial subsidiary in Iran called Skycom in order to get banking services.

Interestingly enough, Canada is still part of the Iran nuclear deal. Therefore, even if what Meng allegedly did was illegal in the U.S., it may not be in Canada. At the hearing, the judge will examine whether the fraud that Meng is charged with in the United States is also a crime in Canada. The judge cannot refuse to extradite her on the grounds that the case will not succeed at trial.

The case is taking place against the backdrop of an ongoing U.S.-China trade war, and has looked increasingly political in nature. Washington perceives Huawei as a national security threat, alleging its networking equipment could be used for espionage by Beijing. Huawei fervently denies the implied association between itself and Beijing; while Beijing has cast Meng’s arrest as a politically motivated foreign plot to contain China.

Ottawa, caught between two superpowers, has valiantly maintained that Meng’s arrest was a routine law enforcement matter, stressing that Canada was adhering to the terms of its extradition treaty with the United States and that Meng will be treated “just like anyone else” — an argument it expected to be echoed by the United States.

Instead, President Trump shocked both Canadian and U.S. officials by tweeting that he would consider intervening in Meng’s case if it could help him secure a favorable deal on trade with China.

Ultimately, legal experts say Meng is likely to be extradited, though it could take months for the courts to reach a final decision. Canada has a track record of granting about 90 percent of extradition requests. Also, Canada usually grants extradition requests from it’s democratic allies like the United States.

Geopolitical relations

From the day of Meng’s arrest, Canada has maintained that it was legally bound to detain her at the request of its ally. Beijing sees it differently.

Shortly after her arrest, the Chinese authorities arrested two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, a former diplomat and a businessman respectively. Just days after Canada approved Meng’s extradition hearing, the Chinese government accused them of espionage. A third Canadian, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, was sentenced to death in January for drug smuggling.

As China punishes Canada for fulfilling the U.S.’ request, there has been little help from the White House which presently, appears to be occupied waging other wars, and at the same time cutting a trade deal with China. An exasperated Canada, meanwhile, will be bracing for further political or economic retaliation from Beijing — and no longer expecting much help from Washington.

The Canadian conundrum raises a question intrinsic to small countries that have found themselves in China’s bad books: How do you stand up to a soon-to-be superpower, particularly without clear, consistent U.S. support? So far, Canada has struggled.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Chinese Workers Unpopular in the South East Asia

by Joshua Rasia

At the moment we are traveling throughout Vietnam and we can see, continuously small shops with the Chinese sign and this is as the history taught us the remaining immigrants who came from the Chinese cities in the last century, following the upheaval conditions present in back then.

Nowadays most of the people you find in the areas where they have moved, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos aren’t talking highly about them and instead are becoming increasingly unpopular.

Some of the Chinese immigrants who moved here opened shops and restaurants while others became the workforce for those places. But recently the Filipino people become stressed due to the uprising prices of the properties which is also influenced by the immigrants, especially Chinese who are getting recruited by online casinos in Manila and this due to the fact that the biggest customers are the Chinese…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Dissident Chinese Prisoners Have Organs Harvested, “Horrified” Insider Blows Whistle

Via SharylAttkisson.com

A horrifying practice is happening in China: dissidents in prison are being killed for their organs. That’s according to Steven W. Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, who writes about the practice in an article published the New York Post.

Mosher documents a graphic and terrifying account from Zheng Qiaozhi, once an intern at China’s Shenyang Army General Hospital.

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

Hollywood’s Shocking New Ally

Hollywood is working more and more closely with a new ally, and American movie-ticket buyers might not be pleased to find out who that is.

That’s the conclusion of a report from the Family Research Council, which reveals that in “today’s Hollywood, there’s one director — and that’s China.”

“It’s the biggest partnership no one knows about, and according to some experts, the most dangerous. The majority of Americans probably have no idea when they buy a ticket to the latest blockbuster that the film they’re about to see was either partially financed by China or altered because of it. In the last several years, there hasn’t been a more powerful influence over Hollywood than the communist regime — and with Chinese ticket sales set to overtake the U.S., the situation is only going to get worse,” the FRC reported.

“There’s a sinister side to all of this, which is that the more Hollywood relies on China’s market to make movies, the more those movies are going to cater to the country’s demands. The Heritage Foundation’s Mike Gonzalez has been tracking the major revolution in filmmaking because of the Chinese market and thinks more Americans need to be paying attention,” FRC reported.

“Hollywood does all kinds of things to make sure they have a slice of the Chinese pie,” he recently explained

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The Voice of Beijing

China’s Expanding Media Dominance in Africa

Chinese state television is gaining influence in Africa. But while the media outlets involved officially claim their journalism is independent, those who work for the companies tell a different story.

By Bartholomäus Grill

An interview? Or perhaps just a discussion on background? “We have no interest in speaking with you,” Liao Liang writes in an email. And, thank you for understanding, but a visit to his television broadcaster in Nairobi isn’t possible either, he writes. Indeed, the rejection is so complete, it’s as though he is protecting a state secret.

Yet Liao Liang’s mission in the Kenyan capital is hardly confidential: As a senior editor of the China Global Television Network (CGTN), a subsidiary of Chinese state television, his task is that of shining a positive light on his country’s ambitious activities — particularly those in Africa, where China’s reputation has suffered as its footprint has grown.

The broadcaster occupies three floors in the K-Rep Centre, a mirrored-glass high-rise in the upscale neighborhood of Kilimani. The first security check comes right at the building entrance, including a pat-down and questions from the suspicious receptionist. After that, though, there’s no getting by the next receptionist on the third floor. “To be honest,” she says with fake regret, “there is no chance you’ll be allowed to see Mr. Liao.”

Liao Liang is top dog at the broadcaster. He was allegedly an army officer in a previous life, but little else is known about him. CGTN employs around 150 people, including journalists from China, South Africa, Britain, Nigeria and Kenya, yet even when promised anonymity, nobody initially agreed to speak with DER SPIEGEL. “They’re afraid of Liao,” an employee would later say.

“Tell China’s story well,” instructed Chinese President Xi Jinping three years ago when he visited the broadcaster’s headquarters in Beijing. CGTN journalists aren’t just there to ward off criticism of China’s expansion in Africa but also to break the West’s media dominance. The broadcaster has a similar mission in Africa as Russia’s state broadcaster RT does in Europe….

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Two Million Protesters Flood Hong Kong Streets, Demand Lam Resign

Despite City Executive Carrie Lam’s major concession to the protest movement — that is, the (not really) ‘indefinite’ suspension of the extradition bill that catalyzed the protests — a planned protest march went ahead as scheduled on Sunday, marking the second consecutive Sunday of street protests in Hong Kong.

Though they celebrated the defeat of the extradition bill, many believe Lam was too slow to apologize for siding with Beijing and fast-trafficking legislation that, according Congress, would jeopardize Hong Kong’s independence. Now, millions are demanding that she resign, and have vowed to continue marching until she is gone.

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

Centrelink Conman and Crook, 80, Who Scammed Australian Taxpayers for 30 Years Loses Deportation Appeal After Arguing it Was an ‘Unreasonably Harsh’ Penalty

A notorious conman who cheated Australian taxpayers out of almost $90,000 has lost his fight against deportation — despite arguing it was an ‘unreasonably harsh’ penalty.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Footy Fans ‘Are Being Spied on’ In the Stands at AFL Matches — After the League’s Boss Was Forced to Deny a Crackdown on Crowd Behaviour

Cheer squads at Friday’s game between Essendon and Hawthorn at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium said they felt uncomfortable and awkward.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

‘I’ve Gone From Hero to Zero’: Bizarre Reason an Angry Volunteer, 78, ‘Cut the Penis Off a Maori Carving’

A 78-year-old volunteer allegedly chopped off the phallus of a Maori carving in New Zealand with a chainsaw after the devout Christian deemed it immoral.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Mother’s Horror After Washing Machine Explodes — As it’s Revealed There Are Still 14,000 Ticking Time Bombs Across Australia

A mother-of-six has been left homeless after her faulty Samsung washing machine blew up inside of her laundry.

Samantha Murphy turned on the washing machine, which she said she was unaware had been recalled in 2013, before she left her rental home in the New South Wales Hunter Region on Saturday morning.

Ten minutes later she returned and found the machine had exploded and destroyed her laundry.

Firefighters who extinguished the fire told her the washing machine was one of six models that had been recalled in 2013.

She took to Facebook to urge others to check their washing machines.

‘Please check that your Samsung wasn’t one of these ones that were recalled, as I was unaware that my one was until the firefighters told me,’ she wrote in a post, according to Yahoo Australia.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Muslim Extremist’s Half-Hearted Apology to Soldier He Tortured in Jail — Saying He’s Sorry for Carving Him Up But Hopes ‘Allah Will Reward Him’ For the Brutal Bashing

An Islamic State supporter who carved ‘e4e’ into the head of his Australian Army reservist cellmate says he regrets ‘mutilating and waterboarding’ his fellow prisoner.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Violent Gang of Up to 30 Youths Bash a Teenage Boy After Crashing a House Party — Leaving the Youngster Needing Surgery to Breathe Properly Again

One of the teenage boys at the party, Connor, 16, suffered fractures after the beating and was sent to hospital where he might need surgery to help him breathe.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

The Dangerous Warlord Now Set to Rule Sudan

by J.S. von Dacre

On April 11, after three decades of authoritarian rule in Sudan, President Omar al-Bashir was usurped following mass protests. After years of being dominated by the ironclad fist of a regime that promoted rampant war crimes and human rights violations, the people of Sudan wanted a democratic government. An uprising of voices chanted for change and for the guilty to be held accountable.

Yet, the man who has since claimed leadership of Sudan may be emblematic of everything protesters have fought against.

Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, cuts a figure that imperils egalitarianism. Many attest that Hemedti, who was al-Bashir’s right-hand man, should have also been arrested alongside al-Bashir. As leader of the infamous Rapid Security Forces (RSF), Hemedti has been instrumental in a host of human rights violations — most notably, the genocide and ordered rapes of thousands in Darfur…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

“This Has Never Happened Before”: Millions Without Electricity After Massive Blackout Cripples Argentina and Uruguay

Millions of people and entire cities descended into darkness as a massive, unprecedented power failure kept Argentina and Uruguay in the dark on Sunday morning, the same day as provincial elections were to be held in parts of Argentina. Parts of Brazil and Paraguay also were affected, according to the BBC.

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

Gov. DeSantis Signs Bill Banning Sanctuary Cities in Florida

Will prohibit ‘sanctuary’ policies that protect illegal aliens from deportation

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill on Friday to ban “sanctuary cities” in the state.

The controversial bill, sponsored by state Rep. Cord Byrd (R), will prohibit “sanctuary” policies that protect undocumented immigrants from deportation. It will also require state and local law enforcement agencies to work with federal immigration officials to identify immigrants in Florida who don’t have legal status.

The law mandates that law enforcement detain someone if there’s probable cause that they’re “removable” under federal immigration laws, The Miami Herald reports.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Mexico: 791 Migrants Found Packed in 4 Tractor-Trailers

Mexican officials detained nearly 800 undocumented migrants on Saturday, the government said, in one of the biggest swoops against illegal immigration in recent months, as members of the National Guard began patrolling the southern border.

Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) said in a statement late on Saturday that 791 foreign nationals were found in four trucks stopped in the eastern state of Veracruz, confirming earlier reports about a mass detention.

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

Senate Democrats: Americans ‘Have Obligation’ To Give Amnesty to Foreigners

A group of Senate Democrats say American citizens “have an obligation” to give amnesty to potentially millions of foreign nationals living in the United States who they say have “earned the right” to be in the country.

After House Democrats and seven House Republicans passed an expansive amnesty to any illegal alien claiming to have arrived in the U.S. as a child, Senate Democrats are now demanding the Senate do the same.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

‘Summer of Chaos’ Predicted After More Migrants Intercepted in English Channel

More boat migrants have been intercepted in the English Channel in the first six months of 2019 than in the whole of last year.

The number of illegal migrants intercepted by authorities at Britain’s sea ports has risen to 511, with 152 of those arriving since the start of June alone, according to The Telegraph, while 312 people reached the UK in dinghies and other small boats in the whole of 2018.

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

UK: Two Boats Carrying 40 Migrants From Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan Are Intercepted Off the Coast of Kent

Border Force intercepted two boats carrying 40 migrants from Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan off the coast of Kent — making it 152 since the start of June.

The Home Office confirmed men, women and children were brought ashore near St Margaret’s Bay, Kent, and medically assessed this morning.

Charlie Elphicke, the Tory MP for Dover, urged action to ‘prevent a summer of chaos in the English Channel.’

The news comes after 38 were intercepted at Dungeness, Kent, on Wednesday, and another 74 were captured off East Sussex on June 1.

[Comment: Article dated June 15, 2019.]

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

Who’s Paying African Migrants at Our Border? Swiss Journalist Asks the Questions Our Media Won’t [Video]

How did they get here? Who helped them get here?…

Hundreds of Congolese illegal aliens have come to the U.S. border seeking asylum. You would think our media would be asking questions about how they got here and who helped them but our media ignores the border invasion.

It took a Swiss investigative journalist to look into this curious flow of Congolese.

Urs Gehriger came all the way to the U.S. to interview the Congolese illegals:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Archbishop: Voting for a Pro-Abortion Candidate is ‘Mortal Sin’

An Argentinean archbishop has urged the faithful not to vote for candidates or parties that support abortion, insisting that voting for them would be a “mortal sin.”

In choosing whom to vote for in Argentina’s upcoming elections, “the abortion issue is one of the chief topics to consider,” said Archbishop Hector Aguer in the television program Keys to a Better World on Saturday. “Opting for a pro-abortion candidate or for a party that includes abortion in its platform is a mortal sin.”

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

College Tries to Destroy “White Privilege” Family — Instead Loses $44 Million Judgment

Chalk one up for the deplorables. Imagine you’re victimized by a criminal who shoplifts from your store and who then, when you intervene, beats you with the help of two other men. Now imagine that though they end up pleading guilty and admitting you did no wrong, you’re targeted by their nearby college with defamation and for destruction. This is precisely what befell the owners of Gibson’s Bakery in Oberlin, Ohio. Yet this story has a happy ending (well, almost an ending): A jury has just awarded the Gibsons $44 million, to be paid by their tormentor, Oberlin College. (Five Gibsons are shown here with their attorney in the foreground.)

Gibson’s Bakery is a fifth-generation business established in 1885 and had long had contracts with the college. But this didn’t stop the institution of “higher learning” from taking the low road after the owner wouldn’t allow himself to be victimized by one of its students. American Greatness relates some background:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Concerted Psyop Introduces Adolecent Children to Transgender Crossdressers on National Scale

(INTELLIHUB) — Transgender drag queens who can proficiently read propaganda-laced books to adolescent crowds are in high demand in the month of June as the New York-based organization Drag Queen Story Time tours nationwide.

Don’t get me wrong — there is nothing wrong with being transgender or gay for that matter but why is this LGBT agenda being pushed onto children at such a young age? I mean after all, who is really behind this? Who is funding this organization? What message are the group’s funders ultimately peddling to these youngsters?

Moreover, the psychological operations (PSYOPs) continued in the Pacific Northwest last Saturday as “Drag Queen Story Time” played out at the South Portland Libray in what appears to be a concerted effort to indoctrinate the masses at a very young age.

Residents in Rhode Island were not having any part of Drag Queen Story Hour. The show was canceled from the Bristol Free Library’s event roster after threats of violence flooded in.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Covering Up Our Culture to ‘Avoid Giving Offense’

Recently, some major conservative intellectuals have been sacked in the UK. One is the peerless philosopher Roger Scruton, who was fired from a governmental committee…

Then it was the turn of the great Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, whose visiting fellowship at Cambridge University was rescinded…

By refusing to confront the speech police, or to support freedom of expression for Salman Rushdie, Roger Scruton, Jordan Peterson, Charlie Hebdo, and Jyllands-Posten — just the tip of a huge iceberg — we have started down the road of submission to sharia law and to tyranny. We all have been covering up our supposedly “blasphemous” culture with burqas to avoid offending people who do not seem to mind offending us.

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

Drag Queen Story Hour Supporters Sexually Assault InfoWars Reporter

Far-left thugs determined to hide truth of event from outside scrutiny.

While covering Drag Queen Story Time at a public library in Leander, Texas, Infowars reporter Owen Shroyer was sexually assaulted by a mob of far-left fanatics determined to indoctrinate children into their warped transgender agenda.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

F1 Grid Girl Ban Infuriates Dutch MP: ‘Only an Idiot’ Sees Beautiful Women as Problematic

A Dutch MP is still fuming over Formula One’s 2018 decision to remove grid girls from the sport due to “female patronizing.”

“Grid girls belong in Formula 1 as much as the cars do,” exclaimed Roy van Alast — a member of the Party for Freedom in the house of representatives.

“Only an idiot sees a beautiful woman as a problem. The rest of the people love it.”

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

How the Trump Administration Can Beat Planned Parenthood

President Trump has proven himself to be a man of his word on a whole host of important issues, not least of which is his outstanding record on pro-life matters. He can now achieve a great pro-life milestone by putting additional substantial limits on federal funds intended for Planned Parenthood and other abortion-providers in a manner that would likely stand up to judicial scrutiny.

President Trump’s pro-life accomplishments include redirecting Title X family planning funds away from abortion-providers, effectively depriving Planned Parenthood of up to $60 million annually. He also reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy, effectively protecting over $8.8 billion in overseas aid from funding abortion. Among his other accomplishments are his appointments of pro-life federal judges and allowing states to defund Planned Parenthood of Medicaid money.

The time is now ripe to redirect remaining non-Medicaid federal funds from Planned Parenthood and others who offer elective abortions. Perhaps some of these funds can be diverted to further support and expand the myriad of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) located throughout the country.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

June is LGBTQ Pride Month: So What Are They Proud of?

Seeing what is happening today there are new questions that the LGBTQ community must answer.

Are gays proud of what they have done to the Catholic Church? Are gays proud of what they have done to the Boy Scouts? Are gays proud of what they have done to a baker who didn’t bake them a wedding cake? Are gays proud of the annual march in Boston dressed in revealing clothing and performing sexual acts in public, in front of children?

Given what has happened since 1969, the question: What are gays proud of?, is still relevant.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Liberal Movie Critics Slam ‘Secret Life of Pets’ For Praising Marriage

Had a same-sex pet couple existed, it might not have pushed enough social justice points to truly qualify as progressive

Film critics once served audiences by telling them if a movie was worth their hard-earned cash. Some critics still cling to that approach.

Others use their forums to promote their ideological agendas. And, since the vast majority of film critics lean left, the results are predictably woke.

That’s less of a problem for critics who work for progressive sites like The Nation or Mother Jones. Their audiences expect a hard-left look at film. The same holds true for conservative National Review readers checking out the latest from Kyle Smith.

Other critics toil for allegedly neutral sites but heap their political baggage onto the readers’ laps. Which brings us to TheWrap.com.

The site’s review of The Secret Life of Pets 2 must be read to be fully believed.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Publisher Delays Feminist Author’s Book After UK Radio Host Destroys Premise Live on Air

Progressive feminist author Naomi Wolf’s new book has been delayed by the publisher after a BBC radio host destroyed a major part of the book’s premise during a live interview in May.

In the course of her research for the book Outrages: Sex, Censorship, and the Criminalization of Love — which deals with the British government’s criminalization of same-sex relationships in the 19th century — Wolf misinterpreted the ancient UK legal term “death recorded” to mean that homosexuals were executed.

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

Taxpayers Will Pay for Sex-Change Surgery for Minors in Vermont

The same state that nearly sent a man who says he’s a woman to the governor’s mansion has just upped the ante. Vermont’s health insurance managers will now require taxpayers, via Medicaid, to pay for “sex reassignment surgery” for minors.

“Sex reassignment” is impossible of course, but that scientific fact won’t stop the state’s Dr. Frankensteins who would experiment on mentally-ill children.

So if a 10-year-old boy on Medicaid in the “Green Mountain State” says he is a girl trapped in a boy’s body, if he wants to have the reassignment surgery, and if his parents support having him mutilated, then Vermont will be there, scalpel in hand.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Modernity

VICE said my distaste for modernity is borne out of me being a “deeply bitter bully” who “derives no pleasure whatsoever from his life”.

Here’s my response.

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

4 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 6/21/2019

  1. I feel confident that I can speak for all of us GOVers and say, welcome back.

  2. Welcome Home by Peters & Lee

    I’m so alone, my love without you
    You’re part of everything I do
    When you come back, and you’re beside me
    These are the words I’ll say to you

    Welcome home, welcome
    Come on in, and close the door
    You’ve been gone, too long
    Welcome, you’re home once more

    I thought of all the things I’d say to you
    When you come back to me someday
    When you are here and we’re together
    With all my heart you’ll hear me say

    Welcome home, welcome
    Come on in, and close the door
    You’ve been gone, too long
    Welcome, you’re home once more

    There are so many lonely people
    Why must they ever be apart
    I hope someday you’ll be together
    Singing these words with all your heart

    Welcome home, welcome
    Come on in, and close the door
    You’ve been gone, too long
    Welcome, you’re home once more
    (Welcome home)

Comments are closed.