Gates of Vienna News Feed 10/20/2019

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday that multiculturalism in Germany has “utterly failed”. Mrs. Merkel made her remarks at an event in Potsdam.

In other news, topless female Extinction Rebellion protesters had themselves covered with fake oil on the floor of the National Portrait Gallery in London as a protest against climate change, or something similar.

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

Thanks to Caroline Glick, JD, Reader from Chicago, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

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

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I 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.

Financial Crisis
» Blue-Collar Employment Thriving Under Trump — Hits 50-Year High
 
USA
» Another Chinese ‘Propaganda’ Center Shutters Amid US-China Tensions
» CIA Analysts Lawyer Up as Brennan, Clapper Ensnared in Expanding Russiagate Probe
» Corrupt Widow of Elijah Cummings Expected to Run for His Congressional Seat
» Durham to Interview Clapper and Dirty John Brennan
» Larry C. Johnson: FBI-DOJ Likely to Throw the CIA and Clapper Under the Bus
» Mossad Asset Jeffrey Epstein Made Sex-Tapes to Blackmail Powerful Americans
» Only Andrew Yang and Marianne Williamson Defend Tulsi Gabbard From Hillary’s Wacky ‘Russian Asset’ Charges — Rest of 2020 Democrats Are Silent!
» Perfect. Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Rally a Stone’s Throw From Where AOC Killed Off the Amazon New York Headquarters (Video)
» Portland High School Coach Keanon Lowe Subdues Student Gunman, Disarms Him, Then Hugs Him Until Police Arrive
» Rand Paul Confronted by Unhinged Leftist in California Restaurant
» Sea-Tac Airport Limits Access as Precaution to Antifa Protest
» Soros/Deep State-Backed Antifa Publicly Announces Plan to Drive Trump From Office
» Tax-Funded Muslims Seek to End “Christian Privilege” At School
» Tucker Carlson Warns Mark Zuckerberg
 
Canada
» Trudeau’s New “Fake News” Election Law Can Land You 5 Years in Prison
 
Europe and the EU
» Dramatic Footage Shows National Spanish Police in Brutal Catalonia Protest Crackdown
» European Cocaine Use Hits Record Highs, Khan’s London Worst City
» Mifsud’s Phones Obtained by Durham Have UK Sim Cards Tying Them to the UK — and Back to John Brennan
» Salvini: Being Called a Populist ‘Is a Compliment’
» Spain: Barcelona Mayhem: Clashes With Police as ‘Half a Million’ Pro-Independence Supporters Rally Amid General Strike
» Sweden: The Church That Spreads Hate
» UK Police Tell Public: Report ‘Hateful’ Behaviour ‘Even if it Isn’t a Crime’, ‘You Don’t Even Need Evidence’
» UK: 20-Strong Gang Target ‘White Bastards’, Cut Off Teenager’s Hand With Axe
» UK: Extinction Rebellion Took £200K From Tycoon Who Part Owns Heathrow and Luton Airports While Lecturing US Not to Fly
» UK: Ezra Levant: You Won’t Believe What Happened at Tommy Robinson’s Court Hearing Today
» UK: Police vs Public: London Commuters Who Stopped Tube Protesters Investigated
» UK: Topless Extinction Rebellion Protesters Cover Themselves in Fake Oil to Demonstrate Against National Portrait Gallery’s BP Sponsorship Deal
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Caroline Glick: Netanyahu: The Media and the Fate of Israeli Democracy
 
Middle East
» Female Islamic State Member on Trial in Germany Kept Three Slaves
» Lebanon Protests: Mass Revolt Continues as PM ‘Agrees Reforms’
» Major Blaze at Iran Oil Refinery Raises Suspicions of Saudi Revenge Attack
» Obama Holdover and “Syrian Expert” Brett McGurk Lectures Trump on Decision to Pull Troops From Syria — Same Doofus Who Gave Iran Pallets of US Cash for Obama
 
Far East
» Hong Kong Descends Into Chaos Again as Protesters Defy Ban
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» African Nations Moving to Close Their Own Borders
 
Latin America
» Chile Protests: Clashes in Santiago as Unrest Continues
 
Immigration
» Cal Poly Investigates Instagram Photo ‘Mocking’ Illegal Immigrants
» California Governor Gavin Newsom Pardons Three Convicted Immigrants to Protect Them From Deportation
» Channel Migrants: Boat Containing 13 People Intercepted
» Greek Island Samos at ‘Breaking Point’ After Migrant Camp Blaze
» Hungary Hosts International Military Drills Aimed at Handling a Second Migrant Crisis
» Illegal Border-Crossing Terrorist is on Trial. Not a First: Media Bury Story
» Merkel Says German Multiculturalism Has Failed
» Salvini: Migrant Drownings Caused by ‘Do-Gooders’ Re-Opening Ports, Encouraging Smugglers
» U.N. ‘Refugee Resettlement’ Flights From Africa Begin Landing in Germany
 
Culture Wars
» Atheists Call for Establishing Atheism as the National Religion
» Corporate Wokeness Continues: Kellogg’s Launches LGBT Cereal
» Court Strikes Down Obama Rule Forcing Doctors to Perform Transgender Surgery
» Ocasio-Cortez: We Need a ‘Multigendered, Multigeographic’ United States
» Planned Parenthood vs. CMP Reveals Horror
» Transgender Lobby Forces Sanitary Towel-Maker Always to Ditch Venus Logo From Its Products
» Twitter Bans Gay Man for Telling Inconvenient Truths About Transgender People
» UK Police Investigate Transgender Being Turned Down for Porn Role as a “Hate Crime”
 

Blue-Collar Employment Thriving Under Trump — Hits 50-Year High

Recent news articles reinforce reports that have been carried by major-media outlets for over a year: Employment levels in blue-collar jobs have been growing at their fastest rate in more than 30 years, with most of the growth taking place since Donald Trump took office.

The Investment Watch blog ran a report on October 12 that was headlined “Under Trump, employment for the non-college-educated is the best it’s been in 50 years.” The article noted: “Blue-collar professionals such as plumbers and mechanics are earning more than the average salary for white-collar jobs — and they don’t require a traditional college degree, according to a recent Bloomberg report.”

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

Another Chinese ‘Propaganda’ Center Shutters Amid US-China Tensions

The University of Delaware’s Chinese-funded Confucius Institute is closing amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China.

Student newspaper The Review reveals that the University of Delaware’s institute will shutter in February 2020, following more than 15 other universities that have closed their Confucius Institutes after U.S. intelligence agencies raised concerns that the entities were spreading propaganda for the Chinese Communist Party under the guise of educating students on Chinese language and culture.

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

CIA Analysts Lawyer Up as Brennan, Clapper Ensnared in Expanding Russiagate Probe

Attorney General William Barr is expanding his investigation into the origins of the Russia probe, led by US Attorney John Durham.

[Comment: Look forward to the perp walk for these traitors.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Corrupt Widow of Elijah Cummings Expected to Run for His Congressional Seat

In July the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust asked the Maryland attorney general to investigate whether Rep. Elijah Cummings and his wife used a charity for improper self-enrichment.

This came after previous reports that a charity run by Maya Rockeymoore, the wife of Rep. Elijah Cummings, received millions from special interest groups and corporations that had business before her husband’s committee.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Durham to Interview Clapper and Dirty John Brennan

So what will the fake news mainstream media do when it is revealed that EVERYTHING they’ve been reporting for three years is complete horses***? Inspector General Horowitz is set to release his report on FISA Court abuses this coming week.

And Attorney General Bill Barr and US Prosecutor John Durham are expanding their investigation on the origin of the Russia-collusion hoax.

Better yet — Obama lackeys former DNI James Clapper and former CIA Chief John Brennan are getting ready to testify before John Durham.

The Deep State and their fake news media are very worried.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Larry C. Johnson: FBI-DOJ Likely to Throw the CIA and Clapper Under the Bus

Law Enforcement versus the Intel Community. That’s the battle we will likely see unleashed when the Horowitz report comes out next week. The New York Times came out Saturday with info clearly leaked from DOJ that can be summarized simply—the FBI was relying on the intel community (products from the CIA and NSA) under the leadership of Jim Clapper. If they relied on bad, unverified information it ain’t their fault. They trusted the spies.

Let us start with a reminder of how da*n corrupt the NY Times and its reporters are. Consider this paragraph penned by Adam Goldman and William Rashbaum:…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Mossad Asset Jeffrey Epstein Made Sex-Tapes to Blackmail Powerful Americans

I have long argued that pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was clearly an intelligence agent and that he was most likely working for the Israeli external service Mossad. My belief was based on the nature of his activity, which suggested that he was able to blackmail important Americans using the sex tapes that he had been able to make at his Manhattan mansion. Put that together with the existence of his fake Austrian passport, as well as former Miami federal attorney Alexander Acosta’s comments and it would seem that an intelligence connection is a sine qua non.

Acosta was particularly damning. When asked “Is the Epstein case going to cause a problem [for confirmation hearings]?” he replied “…that I had just one meeting on the Epstein case.” He’d cut the non-prosecution deal with one of Epstein’s attorneys because he had “been told to back off,” that Epstein was above his pay grade. “I was told Epstein belonged to intelligence and to leave it alone.”

The answers to those remaining questions about Epstein are still lacking even though he is gone, but one fears that the authorities will be disinclined to further investigate a dead man. It appears that no one in the various investigative agencies or the mainstream media has been interested in what Acosta meant, even though it would be simple enough to ask him. Who told him to back off? And how did they explain it? And then there is Epstein’s Austrian passport. Was the document fake or real, with a real name and photo substitution or alternation of both picture and name? How did he get it? Austrian passports are highly desirable in intelligence circles because the country is neutral and its holders can travel just about everywhere without a visa.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Only Andrew Yang and Marianne Williamson Defend Tulsi Gabbard From Hillary’s Wacky ‘Russian Asset’ Charges — Rest of 2020 Democrats Are Silent!

Bitter twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has accused Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of being a “Russian asset” who is being “groomed” for a third-party run to help President Donald Trump win re-election. On Friday afternoon, Rep. Gabbard responded to the slander, referring to the former First Lady as “Queen of the Warmongers” and “embodiment of corruption.” She also challenged Clinton to join the race.

“Great! Thank you @HillaryClinton . You, the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long, have finally come out from behind the curtain. From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a concerted campaign to destroy my reputation. We wondered who was behind it and why. Now we know — it was always you, through your proxies and powerful allies in the corporate media and war machine, afraid of the threat I pose. It’s now clear that this primary is between you and me. Don’t cowardly hide behind your proxies. Join the race directly.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Perfect. Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Rally a Stone’s Throw From Where AOC Killed Off the Amazon New York Headquarters (Video)

Squad leader Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined Bernie Sanders on Saturday to endorse his campaign.

Ocasio Cortez pushed more government control for greater freedom… which is insane. The crowd of uneducated leftists loved it though.

The New York Daily News pointed out that the rally was held at a stone’s throw from where AOC killed the Amazon headquarters in New York City.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Portland High School Coach Keanon Lowe Subdues Student Gunman, Disarms Him, Then Hugs Him Until Police Arrive

Here is something you will not forget. In May student Angel Granados-Diaz entered Parkrose High School in Portland, Oregon with an illegal firearm.

Granados-Diaz was going to take his life and likely the lives of several students with him. Coach Keanon Lowe subdued the gunman. Initial reports said Keanon tackled the Angel Granados-Diaz.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Rand Paul Confronted by Unhinged Leftist in California Restaurant

‘We’re not putting up with your Republican bulls**t!’ says crazy lady.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Sea-Tac Airport Limits Access as Precaution to Antifa Protest

SeaTac, Wash. —Sea-Tac International Airport seriously ramped up its security Saturday.

On social media, a group called Emerald City Antifa announced members would protest at the United Airlines ticket counter Saturday afternoon because of the airline’s partnership with Turkish Airlines. Protesters say they are unhappy with Turkey’s recent military invasion of Rojava and northern Syria.

At the Sea-Tac LINK light rail station, King County Sheriff’s deputies were on standby. Inside the airport, uniformed officers were everywhere. Renton PD, Kent PD, and other nearby agencies offered extra support.

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

Soros/Deep State-Backed Antifa Publicly Announces Plan to Drive Trump From Office

Marines activated to repel any illegal attempts to remove President Trump.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Tax-Funded Muslims Seek to End “Christian Privilege” At School

From FreedomProject Media:

Muslim radicals funded by the U.S. government are working with officials in Michigan, Minnesota, and other states to put an end to what they describe as “Christian privilege” in public schools. Instead, they want government education to “infuse the curriculum” with Islamic “intellectual traditions.”

The real goals of the effort, though, have nothing to do with ending mythical “Christian privilege.” In fact, public schools in America have been successfully turning children against Christianity and the Bible for generations.

Instead, the goal of the Islamic effort is to indoctrinate students into being ashamed of their nation’s great Christian roots, while promoting Islam at taxpayer expense to children in government care.

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

Tucker Carlson Warns Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook supports ‘free expression’.

While Facebook simultaneously bans people for holding certain opinions or even posting photos of certain ‘dangerous’ people.

Tucker Carlson has a warning.

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

Trudeau’s New “Fake News” Election Law Can Land You 5 Years in Prison

On last night’s episode of The Ezra Levant Show, we covered a new law passed by the Trudeau Liberals concerning false statements to “affect election results.”

The law only protects the political class: Candidates, prospective candidates, and public figures “associated” with a political party.

And the penalty for breaching this “fake news” law? Five years in prison, or up to $50,000 in fines.

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

Dramatic Footage Shows National Spanish Police in Brutal Catalonia Protest Crackdown

Increasingly violent protests continue to rage in the Catalonia region of Spain, with unrest bringing Barcelona to a standstill for a second day, after some 500,000 pro-independence marchers converged on the city Friday from other towns and the countryside, following nearly a week of ongoing protests against Monday’s supreme court verdict sentencing at least nine Catalan independence leaders to between 9 and 13 years in prison.

Overnight Friday police used riot control measures, including water cannons and rubber bullets in attempts to disperse the large crowds, which according to the Associated Press were “throwing cobblestones and flammable bottles, building barricades and setting dozens of bonfires in large garbage bins.”…

Home to about 7.5 million people, the wealthy and linguistically distinct Catalonia region has its own parliament, flag, and distinct history; however, Catalan nationalists have long complained Madrid over-taxes the region for the sake of Spain’s poorer regions and cities.

The region is responsible for up to a fifth of Spain’s gross domestic product, by far the biggest share, which has translated into its leaders long seeking greater autonomy from Madrid.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

European Cocaine Use Hits Record Highs, Khan’s London Worst City

Cocaine consumption has hit an all-time high within Europe according to a report that states London’s use alone involves over a billion euros per year.

The new figures come from the European Drug Report, which also notes that the number of seizures, 140.4 tonnes, is at the highest level ever recorded in the European Union, Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung reports.

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

Mifsud’s Phones Obtained by Durham Have UK Sim Cards Tying Them to the UK — and Back to John Brennan

We were the first to report in May 2018 that the UK had more to do with the Spygate sham than Russia ever did. This appears more and more accurate by the day. George Papadopoulos was set up in the UK by Stefan Halper, Joseph Mifsud, Alexander Downer and others. Christopher Steele, is a former MI6 and he is behind the bogus Steele Dossier. And of course, now General Flynn was set up in the UK in an attempt to tie him to Russia. Downer, Halper and Mifsud are all connected to Hakluyt —

HAKLUYT is a British PRIVATE spy Agency, with Headquarters in Mayfair, London.

the most EXCLUSIVE and the most expensive part of London. between Bond Street and Hyde Park.

Hakluyt does the dirty jobs that MI5, MI6, GCHQ are not allowed to do.

— Greg Rubini (@GregRubini) October 19, 2019

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Salvini: Being Called a Populist ‘Is a Compliment’

As his party continues to dominate Italian national polls, League leader Matteo Salvini rejected allegations of fascist allusions, saying that fascism is dead — and that to be called a populist “is a compliment”.

The former Italian Interior Minister was asked in an interview with French magazine Le Point about his upcoming rally on the 19th of October in Rome, with some comparing it to former fascist leader Benito Mussolini’s 1922 march on Rome, which occurred in the same month.

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

Spain: Barcelona Mayhem: Clashes With Police as ‘Half a Million’ Pro-Independence Supporters Rally Amid General Strike

A huge crowd with Catalan flags has paralyzed central Barcelona as people from all across the region protested the harsh prison sentences for pro-independence leaders by the Spanish court and called for parting ways with Madrid, RT.com writes.

The police estimated that at least 525,000 turned up in the center of Barcelona, local media cited law enforcement. “Independence,”“The streets will be ours” and “Freedom to political prisoners” were among the chants heard at the massive gathering.

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

Sweden: The Church That Spreads Hate

Although Good Shepherd’s Swedish School is marketed by the Swedish Jerusalem Society as a school that promotes peace, Tobias Petersson, Director of the think tank Perspective on Israel, has revealed that the textbooks used by Good Shepherd’s Swedish school have jihadi content that encourages holy war against the State of Israel. Also, in those textbooks, Jews are described as liars and corrupt.

Maps in the schoolbooks and on the walls of Good Shepherd’s Swedish School do not show the State of Israel; instead the outline of Israel had been displaced by the identical outline of the “State of Palestine”.

That such a large institution as the Church of Sweden gathers church collections throughout the country to support a school that spreads hatred and warmongering should doubtless be seen as enormously problematic.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK Police Tell Public: Report ‘Hateful’ Behaviour ‘Even if it Isn’t a Crime’, ‘You Don’t Even Need Evidence’

British police have marked “Hate Crime Awareness Week” with a series of childish online cartoons urging the public to report “hateful” behaviour “even if it isn’t a crime”, offering assurances that “you don’t even need evidence”.

The cartoons, featuring exclusively white racists targeting non-white people, women in hijabs, and so on, were shared over the course of the week by Devon and Cornwall Police— which was recently exposed as having had to sack a number of constables, special constables, community support officers, and support staff for sexual misconduct.

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

UK: 20-Strong Gang Target ‘White Bastards’, Cut Off Teenager’s Hand With Axe

A 20-strong gang set upon four tree surgeons in Rochdale, England, calling them “white bastards” and cutting off a teenage worker’s hand with an axe. 27-year-old Habibur Rahman, of Milnrow Road, Rochdale, gathered the mob after the workers had stopped him from abusing an elderly woman, the Manchester Evening News reports.

Rahman, incensed that he had been “disrespected” on his “territory”, tracked the four workers to the property they were working on in the rape gang blighted city, blocking them in by parking his car across the driveway while the mob approached armed with weapons including a claw hammer, knives, machetes, a knuckle-duster — and the fateful axe.

“I am not going to let them leave,” Rahman said from his car, abusing the workers as “white bastards” who were in his “country”, the court heard.

“They’re going to get what they deserve. They’re going to get stabbed.”…

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Extinction Rebellion Took £200K From Tycoon Who Part Owns Heathrow and Luton Airports While Lecturing US Not to Fly

EXTINCTION Rebellion took £200k from a billionaire tycoon who part owns Heathrow and Luton airports.

Sir Chrisopher Hohn has built up a four per cent stake in Heathrow parent company Ferrovial worth £630m, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

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

UK: Ezra Levant: You Won’t Believe What Happened at Tommy Robinson’s Court Hearing Today

I just got out of Tommy Robinson’s court hearing in Luton today, and I’m on my way back to Canada. But I had to send you a quick note to tell you about the most infuriating thing happened.

Just to recap — Tommy is being prosecuted by the government, again. They’re seeking to ban him from all football games in the UK. It’s lawfare, designed to wear Tommy down. It’s outrageous that police and prosecutors are spending their time on this, instead of solving the UK’s crime wave.

But back to today’s hearing. So there I was in the court, along with four other journalists. It was just a brief hearing to set up the ground rules for the trial ahead.

[Comment: Article dated October 18, 2019. The prosecution of Tommy Robinson is happening under Conservative governments. Shame on Theresa May and Boris Johnson.]

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

UK: Police vs Public: London Commuters Who Stopped Tube Protesters Investigated

British police are investigating the have-a-go-heroes who stopped Extinction Rebellion climate protesters on the London Underground, branding their actions “unacceptable”.

Viral footage of commuters at the Canning Town subway stop in London putting an end to a dangerous protest by Extinction Rebellion activists by dragging them off the trains they had climbed on top of receiving an overwhelmingly positive response from the general public and even some Members of Parliament, including former government minister Tobias Ellwood.

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

UK: Topless Extinction Rebellion Protesters Cover Themselves in Fake Oil to Demonstrate Against National Portrait Gallery’s BP Sponsorship Deal

Topless Extinction Rebellion activists have covered themselves in fake oil at the National Portrait Gallery in London during a protest against its sponsorship by BP.

Demonstrators from the eco-warrior group teamed up with BP or Not BP? and Culture Unstained as they laid down plastic sheets and had a black liquid poured on them in the Ondaatje Wing at 4.15pm.

Three protesters curled up in the foetal position as others coated them in the ‘oil’ in front of a BP-sponsored art display.

The unauthorised stunt capped a two-week wave of actions by the civil disobedience movement, which has led to more than 3,300 arrests in London and cities around the world, the group said.

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

Caroline Glick: Netanyahu: The Media and the Fate of Israeli Democracy

The ongoing criminal probes against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhahu are reaching their climax. After conducting a marathon four-day pre-indictment hearing for Netanyahu earlier this month, Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit reportedly intends to complete his review of the state prosecution’s cases and decide whether to indict Israel’s longest-serving prime minister by the end of next month. The main charges against Netanyahu relate to his associations with media owners.

For three years, illegal leaks from the investigations have dominated the news. The key question — indeed, just about the only question — that has been endlessly discussed is whether or not Mandelblit will end Netanyahu’s political career by indicting him on corruption charges.

The importance of this question is self-evident. On the one hand we have a democratically elected leader. On the other hand, we have unelected state prosecutors who wish to oust him from power by indicting him.

For nearly a year, Israeli politics have been in a state of chaos because of the criminal probes. The probes played a central role in the April Knesset elections and arguably were the primary reason that Netanyahu failed to form a coalition despite his electoral victory. Today the probes and Mandelblit’s deliberations are the primary reason that no one can form a government in the wake of last month’s repeat elections. If Israel holds a third election in the coming months, the probes will again be the central issue determining both the result and the ability of whoever wins to form a government. The center-left Blue and White party is using the probes as an excuse to refuse to join a coalition government with Netanyahu.

While the probes’ impact on Netanyahu’s political future is a key question, and on the composition of the next government is certainly a big deal, neither of these issues is the central matter than hangs in the balance as Mandelblit holds his deliberations.

If Israel’s Attorney General relies on these probes as a means to end Netanyahu’s career, he will do far more than overthrow a political leader. He will embrace a legal doctrine that rejects the very essence of democracy.

This truth has been largely ignored in both the popular and the legal discourse regarding the Netanyahu investigations. It was only sounded in a significant way during the final half hour of Netanyahu’s four-day, 15-hour a day hearing two weeks ago…

           — Hat tip: Caroline Glick [Return to headlines]
 

Female Islamic State Member on Trial in Germany Kept Three Slaves

A female Islamic State member on trial in Germany is accused of keeping two women and a young girl as slaves while living with her jihadi husband in Syria.

Sarah O., who travelled to Syria to join the radical Islamist movement when she was 15, is now on trial at the Higher Regional Court in Dusseldorf, charged with being a member of a terrorist group, German tabloid Bild reports.

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

Lebanon Protests: Mass Revolt Continues as PM ‘Agrees Reforms’

Lebanon’s coalition government has reportedly agreed to a package of economic reforms as it attempts to quell the biggest protests in years.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators flooded the streets on Sunday for a fourth day of anti-government protests.

The protests were triggered in part by a plan to tax calls on WhatsApp and other messaging services.

The government quickly dropped the tax, but the protests have morphed into wider demands for reform.

The Lebanese economy is struggling with low growth and high debt. Austerity measures have sparked anger and deteriorating infrastructure has made power cuts and piles of uncollected rubbish part of daily life.

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

Major Blaze at Iran Oil Refinery Raises Suspicions of Saudi Revenge Attack

A section of Iran’s sprawling Abadan oil refinery in the southwest of the country went up in flames Saturday, and state media sources reported the emergency was under control as of Sunday morning.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Obama Holdover and “Syrian Expert” Brett McGurk Lectures Trump on Decision to Pull Troops From Syria — Same Doofus Who Gave Iran Pallets of US Cash for Obama

Brett McGurk was out lecturing President Trump again this week on his decision to remove US troops from the Syrian cesspool.

McGurk went on with conspiracy theorist Rachel Maddow to whine about President Trump…

For all of the sympathizers out there of Brett McGurk remember, he was the Obama appointee who was responsible for loading up airplanes with 1.8 Billion Dollars in CASH & sending it to Iran as part of the horrific Iran Nuclear Deal (now terminated) approved by Little Bob Corker.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2018

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Hong Kong Descends Into Chaos Again as Protesters Defy Ban

HONG KONG — Hong Kong streets descended into chaotic scenes following an unauthorized pro-democracy rally Sunday, as protesters set up roadblocks and torched businesses, and police responded with tear gas and a water cannon.

Protesters tossed firebombs and took their anger out on shops with mainland Chinese ties as they skirmished late into the evening with riot police, who unleashed numerous tear gas rounds on short notice, angering residents and passers-by.

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

African Nations Moving to Close Their Own Borders

A number of African nations including Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, and Sudan have closed their borders in recent months just as Europe is relaxing its own external borders.

Last Monday, Nigeria’s customs agency confirmed that it had closed its land borders indefinitely, preventing any movement of goods in an attempt to limit smuggling. “The export and import of goods across land borders is forbidden to ensure total control over what arrives,” said Abuja Hameed Ali, general controller of the Nigerian customs service.

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

Chile Protests: Clashes in Santiago as Unrest Continues

Protesters have clashed with security forces in Chile’s capital Santiago as violent demonstrations continued for a third day across the country.

At least eight people have died in the unrest, sparked by a now suspended metro fare hike. Residents are now venting their discontent over the high cost of living and inequality in one of Latin America’s most stable countries.

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

Cal Poly Investigates Instagram Photo ‘Mocking’ Illegal Immigrants

Officials at California Polytechnic State University are investigating a photo posted to Instagram which allegedly depicts four students mocking illegal immigrants.

The picture features two male Cal Poly students and a pair of females (unaffiliated with the school) dressed in bandanas and making hand gestures, and includes the caption “Cowboys vs (Illegal) Aliens,” according to Mustang News.

It was taken at a campus party whose theme was based on the 2011 movie Cowboys and Aliens.

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

California Governor Gavin Newsom Pardons Three Convicted Immigrants to Protect Them From Deportation

Why do so many Democrats seem to care more about immigrants than the safety of American citizens?

California’s Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom has just pardoned three convicted immigrant criminals.

Just to protect them from being deported.

FOX News reports:

California governor pardons 3 convicted immigrants to help block deportations

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday he’s pardoning three immigrants who’ve been convicted of crimes as part of an effort to protect them from deportation to their home countries.

The three men — originally from El Salvador, Iran and Cambodia — broke the law as teens or young adults, served their sentences and have taken steps to rehabilitate themselves, the governor’s office said.

But Newsom’s pardons do not completely shield the men from deportation. The move instead erases the mens’ criminal records to prevent past offenses from being considered in their deportation cases. All three men live in Los Angeles County and were brought to the U.S. legally as children, the governor’s office said.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Channel Migrants: Boat Containing 13 People Intercepted

A group of migrants, including children, have been brought ashore after being spotted in an inflatable boat about four miles off Kent.

A Border Force vessel was deployed to intercept the boat after it had crossed the Channel, the Home Office said.

Thirteen men, women and children were transferred to the cutter and taken to St Margaret’s Bay.

They presented themselves as Iranian, Egyptian and Iraqi and were transferred to immigration officials.

More than 1,300 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year.

[Comment: Article dated October 20, 2019.]

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

Greek Island Samos at ‘Breaking Point’ After Migrant Camp Blaze

Following the fire at an overcrowded migrant camp on the Greek Island of Samos which left hundreds without shelter, the local mayor has said the island has reached a breaking point.

The mayor has said that hundreds of migrants are now having to sleep in the streets and public squares as a result of Monday’s fire which destroyed several housing units at the Vathy migrant processing center, Ekathimerini reports.

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

Hungary Hosts International Military Drills Aimed at Handling a Second Migrant Crisis

Hungary hosted the Central European Defense Cooperation’s international military drills aimed at handling another migrant crisis.

Defense Minister Tibor Benko declared that illegal immigration continues to be one of the largest threats facing Europe.

“This is proven by the number of countries taking part in the Cooperative Security 19 (COOPSEC19) exercise,” Benko said.

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

Illegal Border-Crossing Terrorist is on Trial. Not a First: Media Bury Story

“We have terrorists coming through the southern border,” said President Trump early this year. Days later, the New York Times contradicted this, writing that “counterterrorism officials and experts said there had never been a case of a known terrorist sneaking into the country through open areas of the southwest border.” It was a strange assertion since at that very moment a jihadist, who’d illegally crossed our southern border, was facing terrorism charges up in Canada.

In fairness, though, perhaps the Times doesn’t follow the news.

The man’s name is Abdulahi Hasan Sharif (shown), and he likely won’t be getting his 15 minutes of infamy from the mainstream media.

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

Merkel Says German Multiculturalism Has Failed

POTSDAM, Germany (Reuters) — Germany’s attempt to create a multicultural society has “utterly failed,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, adding fuel to a debate over immigration and Islam polarizing her conservative camp.

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

Salvini: Migrant Drownings Caused by ‘Do-Gooders’ Re-Opening Ports, Encouraging Smugglers

The bodies of a child and six others have been recovered from the Mediterranean Sea after an overcrowded wooden migrant transport capsized and sank off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa.

The head of Italy’s League party, Matteo Salvini, has attributed the recent deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean to the open-door policies of Italy’s new left-wing coalition government.

“These deaths are the results of do-gooders, of ‘there is room for everyone’, of open ports, of renewed enthusiasm for the smugglers,” Salvini said.

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

U.N. ‘Refugee Resettlement’ Flights From Africa Begin Landing in Germany

The United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) has announced the ‘first-ever’ charter flight that will transport African migrants directly into Germany, with additional flights already scheduled.

On Tuesday, IOM Ethiopia’s twitter account gleefully posted a video clip showing 154 Somali ‘refugees’ arriving at Kassel airport in the federal state of Hesse.

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

Atheists Call for Establishing Atheism as the National Religion

The reality is that atheism is based on pure blind faith and hence is a faith-based belief system just like every other religion.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Corporate Wokeness Continues: Kellogg’s Launches LGBT Cereal

Social justice now invading children’s breakfast.

[Comment: And public is free to boycott Kellogs. These are the brands they own: www.investopedia.com/articles/company-insights/081716/top-8-companies-owned-kelloggs-k.asp]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Court Strikes Down Obama Rule Forcing Doctors to Perform Transgender Surgery

On Tuesday, a district court judge struck down the Obama administration’s since defunct mandate forcing doctors to perform transgender surgery regardless of their religious convictions or conscientious objections. The mandate, handed down by Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), ironically did not apply to Medicare and Medicaid or to military doctors because the government’s own research showed that transgender hormones and surgeries can be harmful.

Under Trump, the HHS finalized rules protecting religious freedom, but the Obama mandate remained on the books.

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

Ocasio-Cortez: We Need a ‘Multigendered, Multigeographic’ United States

“We operate in a context where slavery evolved into Jim Crow, evolved into mass incarceration, [and] evolved into the realities we have today.”

[Comment: NY, vote her out.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Planned Parenthood vs. CMP Reveals Horror

Center for Medical Progress fighting uphill battle after exposing PP’s trafficking of baby parts.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Transgender Lobby Forces Sanitary Towel-Maker Always to Ditch Venus Logo From Its Products

The maker of Always sanitary pads has given in to claims of discrimination by transgender men and removed the ‘Venus’ symbol of the female sex from the wrapping.

Outraged women are now boycotting the leading brand after the decision by makers Procter & Gamble (P&G) to kowtow to trans activists who were born female and still use sanitary products.

Last night, feminists warned that the concession is a chilling move towards the ‘elimination of women’s biology’.

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

Twitter Bans Gay Man for Telling Inconvenient Truths About Transgender People

Mikey Harlow, outspoken gay writer and model, has been banned from Twitter permanently for dubious reasons. It all started when he posted these few tweets about inconvenient truths that Twitter must not want you to see.

“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people want to be treated the same as everyone else. Radical alphabet people want to be treated differently. That is a key distinction. And that is why sane LGBT individuals take such exception to the latter category,” he wrote.

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

UK Police Investigate Transgender Being Turned Down for Porn Role as a “Hate Crime”

UK police are investigating the potential “hate crime” of a transgender woman being turned down for a porn role because she still has a penis…

The UK’s violent crime rate has risen by 19% in the last year. Fatal stabbings are becoming commonplace in major cities.

But thank God police resources are being wasted on the urgent issue of transgenders being offended over words.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

11 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 10/20/2019

  1. “Germany’s attempt to create a multicultural society has “utterly failed.”

    Frau Merkel has known this for quite some time, and was saying as much – 15 years ago. She is quite a political vampire who has preempted and sucked dry the platforms of the old political parties, left, right and center. Now she seeks new blood from the AfD? That would be very funny were it not for the great suffering she has caused and is causing.

      • It is a few years later, but thank you for catching that.

        The article was (re)posted “as is”. Does the same disclaimer extend to any and all replies? (I posed mine as a subjunctive question.) More seriously, it would not surprise me, some day, to hear Frau Merkel repeating AfD talking points.

  2. I was puzzled by the entry about Angela Merkel’s statement that multiculturalism has failed – only two days ago the IOM reported gleefully that the first chartered flight bringing migrants direct from Somalia to Germany had happened. I clicked on the link to the article from Reuters – to find that the report is dated October 17 2010.

    So apparently what was true for Her Highness 9 years ago is now completely false today?

    However, what kind of message does this new method of continuing the invasion of Europe send to the thousands of migrants on the Greek islands, the thousands on the mainland of Greece and strung out along the Mosque Route through Macedonia, Albania & Bosnia. They can, presumably, be left there, ignored by Germany & the EU while these ‘special others’ get into to Europe via the rescue boats landing them in Italy (with first class onward travel to various EU countries) or being flown in directly.

    A powder keg waiting to explode I fear.

  3. For goodness sake the British Courts have got to stop this nonsence in continually bringing Tommy Robinson to court for such trivial matters-let alone the outrageous costs involved and taking up valuable time in British Courts, this action also brings disrepute to the UK Judiciary and Police. The public are not impressed and are as can be seen time and time again in support of Tommy Robinson and in what he has to say, which of course the authorities cannot abide, especially in light of the Multicultural Propaganda swilling around its system-No we learn that The Chancellor Merkel sugests that Multiculturalism has failed inher country, as it will no doubt in other countries.

  4. Why when intercepting boats full of illegal immigrants do we (British patrol boats)keep bringing these poeple ashore instead of returning them back to the French Coast where no doubt they had been situated. This action helps nobody in the end, only adding to the irritation and frustration for the loacl authorities, who beingoverstreched already, have to find further accomodation-the pressure valve is ready to blow, take note British authorities.

  5. It is not joke
    ———————
    The refutation of the version about the attack of genies in the Chechen village caused distrust in the republic

    Residents of Chechnya and Instagram users were skeptical of the statement of a local theologian who publicly declared false the reports of a genie attack on the house of a resident of the village of Vashendara. Representatives of the clergy are trying to prevent panic, they suggested.

    On October 16, several WhatsApp users in Chechnya distributed several audio messages stating that the genies staged a pogrom in the house of a resident of the village of Vashtendary Shatoi District, setting fire to rooms and in the courtyard of the house.

    “They (genies) went into the village, even in fairy tales they didn’t hear such a thing … They put crosses out of the blue, on houses. They don’t allow people … No one really knows what happened,” the author of one of the messages said The Caucasian Knot correspondent translated into Russian.

    Another WhatsApp user, referring to other people’s stories, said that the genie attacked a local resident after he “destroyed their nest” while digging a trench under the sewers. The message was accompanied by a video shot in the house, on whose walls dark spots are visible. Also on the frames is a sofa with traces of fire.

    https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/341421/

  6. Well, as someone else already pointed out, the Merkel quote is from October 2010, but actually she could have said that yesterday as well. It simply makes no difference to her whether she contradicts herself or whether her actions make no sense at all. What she wants is to stay in power. And she does. That last part is the one that I don’t understand.

    Also I wouldn’t say that she has failed. It all depends on what her goals are.

    • How does Merkel stay in power? She is very careful not to decide or do anything for which she would have to take responsibility. It is hard to attack what she says, for example, because she does not, will not venture beyond now unavoidable observations and long accepted platitudes.

      The unwillingness to take responsibility extends to those who vote for her. It is easier and more pleasant to go along, to imagine the past continuing into the future, to to live in a bubble of hope and wishful thinking: if your chances of contacting the harsh reality are still quite small.

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