Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/18/2019

Police have surrounded Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, one of the centers of ongoing protests against the government, preventing students from leaving. However, a number of students managed to escape by abseiling from a bridge and riding off on motorbikes.

In other news, Chick-fil-A has acceded to pressure from LGBTQ activists, and will no longer give donations to two major Christian charities.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Caroline Glick, Insubria, JD, Reader from Chicago, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

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

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. 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
» Brazil Economists See 2020 Key Rate Cut Even as Growth Picks Up
» Dow, Nasdaq Hit Record Highs Despite China News; Disney Rebounds
 
USA
» “Only Black Person” In Restaurant Boasts About Making White People Uncomfortable, Faces Twitter Backlash
» 3 Indiana Judges Suspended Without Pay After White Castle Shooting Incident
» Arrest Warrant Issued for State Rep. Poncho Nevarez After He Was Caught on Tape Dropping Envelope With Cocaine
» Bill Maher Vows to Tone Down Anti-Trump Wisecracks Because He Fears New Civil War
» Breaking: Gunman Dead After Shootout With Armed Citizen at U.S. Walmart
» Exposed: Pete Buttigieg Touted Fake Black Endorsements
» Glenn Beck Explains the Ukraine Scandal and Impeachment
» Indiana Mayor Dennis Tyler Arrested by FBI in City Hall Corruption Probe
» Mental Health, Bullying, Career Uncertainty
» Missouri Man Gets 8 Years in Prison for Aiding ISIS Leader
» Navy UFO Mystery Deepens Amid Disclosure That ‘Unknown Individuals’ Told Officers to Erase Evidence
» Prehistoric 91-Million-Year-Old Shark Discovered in Kansas Was Size of a Great White and Had Cannibal Babies
» South Dakota Spends Nearly $500,000 on Anti-Meth Ad Campaign With Tagline “Meth — We’re on it”
» Students Demand Ability to Select Roommate Based on Race During Days-Long Sit-in
» Ukraine — It is Bigger Than Burisma and the Bidens, Trump Knows
» University of Florida Prof Hails Caliphate as ‘Historic Institution’ That ISIS is ‘Hijacking’
» Watch: Dem. Politician Appears to Rip Loud Fart on MSNBC
» White House Source: Trump Made Unexpected Hospital Visit to Test for Poisoning
 
Canada
» Breaking: Don Cherry Returns With Show ‘The Grapevine’ With New Co-Hosts
» Captain Kirk Achieves Order of Canada ‘Officer’ Rank
 
Europe and the EU
» Caroline Glick: Our European “Friends”
» Germany: Returning ISIS Women to Walk Streets Without Consequence
» Italy: Former Sicilian Governor Crocetta Indicted
» Italy: Venetian Flooding: Past Sea Levels Were Feet Higher Under Much Lower CO2 Levels
» Norway: Video: Muslims Vault Fence to Attack Anti-Islam Activist for Burning Koran
» Pakistani Migrant Male Gets 10 Years for Terror Plot to Kill Geert Wilders Over Mohammed Cartoons
» Paris Soloist — Macron Plays Fox in the EU Hen House
» Pics: Pope Eliminates Pork From Banquet Out of Respect for Muslims
» Prince Harry Exalts Climate Guru Greta Thunberg at Awards Show
» Sweden: Man Attacked With Machete in Stockholm
» UK: Boris Cancels Promised Tax Cuts After General Election Spending Spree to Woo Voters From Labour
» UK: Election Tracker: Corbyn Takes Huge Blow as Boris’ Tories Storm Ahead in the Latest Polls
» UK: Ex-MPs Caught Stealing Historic, Antique Furniture From Parliament, But Authorities Won’t Release Names
» UK: Photos of ‘Sweaty’ Prince Andrew Confound Claims Made by Royal Over Epstein Links
» Yellow Vests: The French Insurrection One Year Later
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Caroline Glick: A Diplomatic Turning Point
 
Middle East
» Anti-Government Protests Cripple Major Iraqi Port, Oil Field
» Jordan: Husband Blinds Wife, Protests in Amman
 
Caucasus
» Anti-Government Protests in Georgia After Electoral Reform Fails
 
South Asia
» Over 30 Scammers Arrested at Indian Call Centre That Targeted Canadians
 
Far East
» Australia Suspends Human Rights Partnership With China Over Mass Detention of Muslims and Banning of Politicians Critical of Beijing
» Campus Under Siege as Hong Kong Police Battle Protesters
» China’s March Through the South Pacific: How the Communist Superpower is Quietly ‘Invading’ Australia’s Cash-Strapped Neighbours — and Why You Should be Worried
» Hong Kong Polytechnic University: Protesters Flee Campus on Motorcycles
 
Australia — Pacific
» ‘Militant’ Vegan Protestors Lose Charity Status After Publishing Map of Australian Farms
» ‘This is What Australia Should Look Like’: Muslim Group is Praised for Driving Six Hours From Sydney’s West to Cook Up a Free BBQ for Bushfire Victims
» Woman Who Was Called an ‘Aussie Pig’ And Begged to be Killed as She Was Pack Raped by the Vile Lebanese Skaf Gang Reveals the Heartbreaking Reason She’s Bravely Speaking Out 20 Years Later
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Italy: Hostage Silvia Romano in Hands of Somali Islamists
 
Latin America
» Chile Protests: President Piñera Condemns Police ‘Abuses’
 
Immigration
» Belgium: African Migrant Attacks Three People With Wooden Weapon
» ISIS Leader Accused of Killing Women & Children Arrived in Europe as a Refugee
» Left-Wing Journalist on Sweden’s Migrant Suburbs: “Everyone Knew it Would End in Disaster”
 
Culture Wars
» A Bestselling Trans Author’s Tweet Thread About Abuse Goes Viral, Then Came the Allegations of Her Own Abuse
» Chick-Fil-a No Longer Donates to Controversial Christian Charities After LGBTQ Protests
» Creepy New Sprite Commercial Sells Transgenderism and Breast Binding, Not Soda
» ‘Frankenstein Hack Job’: 19-Year-Old Regrets His Transgender Surgery
» How Teachers in Washington State Are Told to Teach Science
» Kanye: ‘Protect Your Kids From Being Indoctrinated by Hollywood & the Media’
» Report: Google Influences Search Results by Blacklisting Sites, Curating Autocomplete
 
General
» Italy: Cut VAT on Contraceptives — M5S
 

Brazil Economists See 2020 Key Rate Cut Even as Growth Picks Up

(Bloomberg) — Brazil economists raised their 2020 growth forecasts for the second straight week and lowered their key rate estimate for next year to a record low as tame inflation allows the central bank to ease monetary policy.

Latin America’s largest economy will expand by 2.17%, up from the previous forecast of 2.08%, according to a central bank survey published on Monday. Analysts see the benchmark Selic falling to 4.25% by December next year, down from 4.50% before.

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

Dow, Nasdaq Hit Record Highs Despite China News; Disney Rebounds

Stocks turned positive in afternoon trading, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the key indexes to new record highs in the stock market today. Disney boosted the Dow with a big rebound.

The Dow Jones industrials and Nasdaq climbed 0.1% each, while the S&P 500 was fractionally higher. But small caps tracked by the Russell 2000 gave up 0.3%. Volume was tracking lower on both exchanges vs. the same time Friday

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

“Only Black Person” In Restaurant Boasts About Making White People Uncomfortable, Faces Twitter Backlash

A man claiming to be the “only black person” in a restaurant boasted about making white people uncomfortable before facing a Twitter backlash.

The man, whose Twitter handle is @HoodProfett, posted a video of himself smiling while sat at a table.

“I was the only black person at this boujee ass restaurant and the whites were so uncomfortable. The power we have,” he tweeted.

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

3 Indiana Judges Suspended Without Pay After White Castle Shooting Incident

FOX News — An alcohol-fueled evening in May that resulted in two Indiana county-level judges being shot in a White Castle parking lot has resulted in the two male judges, plus a female judge, being suspended without pay, according to reports.

Judge Andrew Adams was suspended for 60 days, while judges Bradley Jacobs and Sabrina Bell were suspended for 30 days. All three judges will be reinstated to their respective positions when their suspensions end, FOX 59 of Indianapolis reported.

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

Arrest Warrant Issued for State Rep. Poncho Nevarez After He Was Caught on Tape Dropping Envelope With Cocaine

Authorities issued a warrant Thursday for the arrest of state Rep. Poncho Nevarez, an Eagle Pass Democrat, on felony drug possession charges. A state special investigator claims in the warrant, which was obtained by The Texas Tribune, that Nevarez was caught on surveillance footage in September dropping an envelope with cocaine as he was leaving the Austin airport.

A magistrate judge in Travis County signed the warrant Thursday afternoon. Nevarez faces a charge of third-degree felony possession of a controlled substance, which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison.

Neither Nevarez’s office nor the Travis County District Attorney’s Office immediately responded to a request for comment.

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

Bill Maher Vows to Tone Down Anti-Trump Wisecracks Because He Fears New Civil War

‘When both sides believe the other guy taking over means the end of the world, yes, you can have a civil war,’ he says.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Breaking: Gunman Dead After Shootout With Armed Citizen at U.S. Walmart

Three people are dead after being shot Monday in a Walmart parking lot in Duncan Oklahoma. Authorities have confirmed the shooter is among those dead.

Duncan police say a man and a woman were shot and killed by the gunman. KSWO Lawton has confirmed the shooter is among those dead.

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

Exposed: Pete Buttigieg Touted Fake Black Endorsements

Pete Buttigieg is having a moment atop of the polls in the early-voting state of Iowa. But this success won’t easily carry over to other more diverse states, because Buttigieg is still struggling with black voters. In a frantic effort to fill that gap in his support, Buttigieg appears to have falsely touted black endorsements for his “Douglass Plan” for racial justice.

Here’s what happened. The South Bend, Indiana, mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate polls abysmally with black voters, and he knows it. So, Buttigieg put out a comprehensive “Douglass Plan” to try to win over black voters by touting his support for criminal justice reform and other laudable policies. However, the plan contained elements that were both possibly illegal and extreme. As I wrote at the time of its release, “The Douglass Plan is a microcosm of Buttigieg’s entire campaign: It’s got some good intentions, but it’s lacking in courage and steeped in tired, bad ideas.”

Now, though, the Buttigieg’s rollout of the Douglass Plan has once again shown the painful whiteness, and tone-deafness of his wannabe woke campaign. Buttigieg touted the fact that, supposedly, 400 South Carolinians endorsed his plan, and an open letter was released that highlighted prominent black leaders among the 400. By implication at times, and explicitly at others, the campaign presented the list as if it contained 400 black supporters.

Turns out, many of the names listed as “endorsements” were neither black nor even Buttigieg supporters.

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

Glenn Beck Explains the Ukraine Scandal and Impeachment

[AW]: These Glenn Beck videos do a masterful and essential job of presenting the evidence of the broader and deeper workings of the Deep State and Shadow Government in our overall “#SpyGate,” “#UkraineGate,” and “#TrumpImpeachment” crisis. They come not merely recommended; they are must see, especially the third, “The Democrats’ Hydra,” net-cast November 13.

For those who have not watched, I suggest starting there, then reading the new Gulag Bound entry, “It is Bigger than Burisma and the Bidens, Trump Knows,” then clicking on our “George Soros” and/or “Shadow Government” tabs, below this entry.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Indiana Mayor Dennis Tyler Arrested by FBI in City Hall Corruption Probe

Muncie, Ind., Mayor Dennis Tyler — a Democrat nearing the end of his second term in office — was arrested Monday by the FBI as part of a sprawling public corruption probe that has snared several officials in his administration.

The indictment charged Tyler, 76, with one count of theft of government funds, Fox 59 Indianapolis reported.

Prosecutors alleged he accepted $5,000 from a sanitation department official named Tracy Barton in exchange for using his influence in the awarding of contracts, according to the station.

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

Mental Health, Bullying, Career Uncertainty

More than a third of Ph.D. students have sought help for anxiety or depression caused by Ph.D. study, according to results of a global survey of 6,300 students from Nature.

Thirty-six percent is a very large share, considering that many students who suffer don’t reach out for help. Still, the figure parallels those found by other studies on the topic. A 2018 study of mostly Ph.D. students, for instance, found that 39 percent of respondents scored in the moderate-to-severe depression range. That’s compared to 6 percent of the general population measured with the same scale.

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

Missouri Man Gets 8 Years in Prison for Aiding ISIS Leader

A Missouri man accused of supplying cash and military equipment to a now-deceased ISIS leader in Syria has been sentenced to eight years behind bars — after which he will be deported to his native Bosnia.

Ramiz Zijad Hodzic, 45, of St. Louis County, was sentenced by a federal judge Thursday after pleading guilty in April to providing material support to terrorists and conspiring to do so.

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

Navy UFO Mystery Deepens Amid Disclosure That ‘Unknown Individuals’ Told Officers to Erase Evidence

The U.S. Navy’s acknowledgment that the 2004 videos of an encounter with a UFO were real has caused much consternation. Now, a new report says two “unknown individuals” told several Naval officers who witnessed the event, known as the USS Nimitz UFO incident, to delete evidence.

The report, published in Popular Mechanics, cites interviews with five Navy veterans who discussed what they experienced at the time while they were sailing on the USS Princeton on Nov. 14, 2004, off the coast of southern California.

One of the men, Gary Voorhis, said he was chatting with some of the radar techs on the USS Princeton when he heard them talking about “ghost tracks” and “clutter” on the radar system, a state-of-the-art Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) and AEGIS Combat System.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Prehistoric 91-Million-Year-Old Shark Discovered in Kansas Was Size of a Great White and Had Cannibal Babies

Researchers have identified the remains of an entirely new species of prehistoric shark in Kansas, which lived during the age of the dinosaurs and may have measured around 17 feet in length.

The 91-million-year-old remains were found in 2010 during excavations at a ranch near Tipton in the north of the state, according to a study published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

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

South Dakota Spends Nearly $500,000 on Anti-Meth Ad Campaign With Tagline “Meth — We’re on it”

South Dakota’s Department of Social Services has spent nearly half a million dollars on an anti-meth ad campaign with the tagline “Meth. We’re On It.”

No, this is not The Onion.

“The campaign’s motto features the phrase, “Meth. We’re on it,” over an outline of South Dakota, and the ad and posters feature people of differing in ages and races saying, “I’m on meth,” reports the Argus Leader.

A video shows Governor Kristi Noem telling the camera, “I’m on meth,” before she explains that “on it” means “on the case of meth.”

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

Students Demand Ability to Select Roommate Based on Race During Days-Long Sit-in

The Chancellor at Syracuse University has stated that he will actively work with a group of students who have issued several demands meant to address a racism issue at the school, including the institution of a new policy that would require students be offered an option to choose that their roommate share the same race.

The demand to allow “students of color” to elect not to room with students of other races was one of several such demands issued by a group of protesting students who aired their concerns about racism on campus during an ongoing sit-in. Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud spoke at the sit-in in a live-streamed exchange.

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

Ukraine — It is Bigger Than Burisma and the Bidens, Trump Knows

By: Denise Simon

Speaker Pelosi held a press conference after the first day of the open impeachment inquiry hearing declaring that she is the smartest when it comes to intelligence and she will defend and protect the whistle-blower with all her might. HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff said at least twice that he does not know nor has he spoken to the whistle-blower. Sheesh really? REALLY?

Pelosi and Schiff are for sure covering for something much larger and it is in Ukraine and likely at least a few other countries. There was a historic theft from PrivatBank a few years ago that was in excess of $5 BILLION. Then Ukraine was forced to nationalize the bank until such time the monies were tracked, found or recovered, which still has not happened. The country was financially suffering and the reputation of corruption in Ukraine continued to fester.

Seems our own U.S. State Department was enlisted to step up operations in Ukraine using several government agencies and non-government agencies known as NGO’s.

The matter of the whistle-blower is but one piece of all things Ukraine even while two State Department officials, George Kent and William Taylor provide testimony in the first round of the public hearing. (BTW, Kent’s wife is of Crimean-Tatar ancestry.) Kent and Taylor are in the thick of all things Ukraine and beyond even while responding in open testimony they were unaware of key political events stateside.

Our not so favorite nefarious operator George Soros is very much at the center of much of the chaos in Ukraine, the Hillary Clinton/John Kerry State Department and some of those NGO’s.

Listed below are some bullet items for reference. It is difficult to piece together the whole mess but the facts below may help the reader with the long game plot against President Trump because his handful of phone calls with Ukraine President Zelensky regarding investigations into corruption(s) has struck a nerve that the power-brokers in DC are driven to stop and protect.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

University of Florida Prof Hails Caliphate as ‘Historic Institution’ That ISIS is ‘Hijacking’

University of Florida professor Ken Chitwood wrote Wednesday in the Associated Press’ commentary section, “The Conversation,” that “the Islamic State tries to boost its legitimacy by hijacking a historic institution.” He then provided a drive-by overview of the history of various Islamic caliphates, so whitewashed as to rival the Washington Post’s famous characterization of Islamic State (ISIS) caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in misleading duplicity. Even worse, Chitwood tells us that “as a scholar of global Islam, every time I teach my ‘Introduction to Islam’ class,” he teaches this nonsense to his hapless University of Florida students. No surprise there, given the fact that most universities today are little more than Antifa recruitment centers.

“Under Umar,” Chitwood writes blandly, “the caliphate expanded to include many regions of the world such as the lands of the former Byzantine and Sassanian empires in Asia Minor, Persia and Central Asia.”

Yeah, uh, Professor Chitwood, how exactly did that “expansion” occur? In reality, beyond the pseudo-academic whitewash and fantasy that Chitwood purveys, the caliphates always behaved much like the Islamic State, because they were all working from the same playbook. The true, bloody history of the caliphates can be found, detailed from Islamic sources, in the only complete history of 1,400 years of jihad violence, The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS.

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

Watch: Dem. Politician Appears to Rip Loud Fart on MSNBC

U.S. Representative for California Eric Swalwell (Dem) appeared on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews Monday, and apparently decided he would rip a loud toot mid-sentence, thinking that no one would hear it.

Though it looks doctored, the video is no hoax. The clip can also be seen as originally aired on MSNBC’s website, with Swalwell’s bomb clearly audible.

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

White House Source: Trump Made Unexpected Hospital Visit to Test for Poisoning

Food tester was first rushed to hospital, and doctors believe there was exposure to time-delayed poison

An inside source says President Trump’s food taster became ill after ingesting an unnamed substance, which is why the president made a surprise hospital visit on Saturday.

In an official statement, the White House said President Trump visited the Walter Reed Military Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, for a “quick exam and labs.”

The hospital visit was not listed on the president’s public schedule, according to media outlets which indicated that the visit was not a routine physical exam.

Additionally, the inside source said his food taster was rushed to the facility after becoming extremely ill.

Doctors and staff reportedly found the byproduct of a type of toxin that’s very hard to detect and has a time-delayed onset of symptoms.

The president was later taken to the same facility where a battery of tests were performed to assess whether he had ingested the same toxin.

There’s an ongoing investigation into the matter.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Breaking: Don Cherry Returns With Show ‘The Grapevine’ With New Co-Hosts

Well, that certainly didn’t take long, but surely we all knew Don Cherry wouldn’t be down for the count, even at 85.

Don Cherry has announced that he will still be giving his famous insight into the sport of hockey, but this time, in the form of a podcast with a familiar title—Grapevine.

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

Captain Kirk Achieves Order of Canada ‘Officer’ Rank

Starship Enterprise commander and entertainment icon William Shatner is among 39 Canadians scheduled to receive commendation for their contributions to Canadian life and culture.

This Thursday Nov. 21, Governor General of Canada Julie Payette “will invest three Companions, five Officers and 31 Members into the Order of Canada during a ceremony at Rideau Hall.”

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

Caroline Glick: Our European “Friends”

Tuesday morning, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) released an anti-Semitic bombshell. It decreed that all EU member states must affix special labels to Jewish-made Israeli “foodstuffs” produced beyond Israel’s 1949 armistice and exported to EU member states. The ruling was made in response to a lawsuit brought before a French court by Psagot winery, located north of Jerusalem.

Psagot’s manager Yaakov Berg was represented by a consortium of attorneys led by Brooke Goldstein, the founder and executive director of the Lawfare Project in New York. The focus of the Lawfare Project’s work is defending Israel and Jews from discrimination.

Israeli political leaders and American Jewish leaders roundly and rightly condemned the court ruling as anti-Israel, biased and anti-Semitic.

Psagot brought suit before a French administrative court to appeal a 2016 French regulation requiring the special labeling of Jewish-made Israeli foods produced beyond the 1949 armistice lines. Psagot and its attorneys argued before the French court that the French regulation contradicted European law by imposing illegal trade barriers. The French court referred the issue to the ECJ in the form of two questions: does EU law require EU states to impose discriminatory labeling requirements on Jewish-made products from the disputed territories, and, if it doesn’t, does EU law still permit member states to adopt such labeling requirements on their own…

           — Hat tip: Caroline Glick [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Returning ISIS Women to Walk Streets Without Consequence

Two female ISIS supporters will be permitted to walk the streets of Germany after they’re returned from Syria by the Turkish government.

Former Islamic State members Heida R. and Nasim A. are set to be deported by the Turkish government back to Germany, but neither woman is expected to be arrested upon their arrival despite having been involved with the murderous terror organization for years in Syria, German national newspaper Die Welt reports.

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

Italy: Former Sicilian Governor Crocetta Indicted

Case stems from probe into ship owner Morace

(ANSA) — Palermo, November 18 — A Palermo judge on Monday sent former Sicilian governor Rosario Crocetta to trial in a corruption probe. The case stems from an investigation into Trapani-based ship owner Vittorio Morace.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Venetian Flooding: Past Sea Levels Were Feet Higher Under Much Lower CO2 Levels

Paleoclimate evidence shows there is little to no link between atmospheric CO2 concentration and relative sea level.

Venice, the treasure of Italy, is a city built on a mud swamp. Consequently, in the last 100 years, it has sunk about 25 cm, or 2.5 millimeters per year (Munaretto et al., 2012).

The lagoon city had its worst flooding event ever recorded in 1966 when CO2 concentrations were still about 320 ppm.

Last week Venice flooded again, and, as expected, journalists blamed climate change and rising atmospheric CO2.

However, when we consider sea-level rise rates for Venice averaged 2.6 mm/yr during 1872-1969, but then decelerated to 0.7 mm/yr for 1970-2000 (Munaretto et al., 2012), these trends are the opposite of what would be expected if CO2 emissions were driving sea-level rise.

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

Norway: Video: Muslims Vault Fence to Attack Anti-Islam Activist for Burning Koran

A video out of Norway shows Muslims vaulting fences to try to attack an anti-Islam activist who burned a Koran.

The incident took place in Oslo on Saturday.

A group called ‘Stop Islamization of Norway’ held a demonstration and were faced by a counter-protest of left-wing activists.

“We wanted to burn the Koran but police don’t allow it…so we toss it,” one of the speakers says.

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

Pakistani Migrant Male Gets 10 Years for Terror Plot to Kill Geert Wilders Over Mohammed Cartoons

A Pakistani migrant male has been jailed for ten years in the Netherlands for his plot to launch a terror attack against Dutch firebrand Geert Wilders in revenge for his organising a ‘draw Mohammad’ free speech event.

The ten-year sentence for the Pakistani male — identified in the trial only as ‘Junaid I.’ due to Dutch privacy laws — is significantly higher than the six years requested by the public prosecutor, the judges in the case noting a longer period of incarceration was required because of the seriousness of the crime.

The court had previously heard how Junaid had repeatedly said he wanted to kill Geert Wilders, whose Party for Freedom is the second largest in the Netherlands, that he beleived the death of Mr Wilders would be a good thing, and that the attention he was gaining from the trial was improving his public standing back home in Pakistan. For these reasons and because he believed Junaid still presented a terrorism risk, the judges in the case said a longer sentence was in order.

Junaid I. argued throughout the trial that he had not wanted to kill Mr Wilders, but rather had travelled to the Netherlands from Pakistan to protest against the lawmaker, reports Algemeen Dagblad. Despite the claims, the court had previously found the 27-year-old guilty of

The apparent flashpoint for Junaid was a draw Mohammed cartoon competition being organised by Mr Wilders in the Netherlands in 2018, which was cancelled for security reasons around the time of the arrest of the Pakistani migrant. The Pakistani government issued a statement celebrating the cancellation at the time, the nation’s senate having already passed a resolution to condemn the event.

Mr Wilders praised the court Monday afternoon after the judgement was read out…

[Return to headlines]
 

Paris Soloist — Macron Plays Fox in the EU Hen House

French President Emmanuel Macron has a grand foreign policy vision for Europe and he has been energetically pushing it forward. In the process, though, he has angered Germany and other European Union allies.

By Christiane Hoffmann, Peter Müller, Britta Sandberg and Christoph Schult

With a microphone in his right hand, his left shoved casually into his pocket, French President Emmanuel Macron was standing on the stage inside a former slaughterhouse in Paris, turning from side to side to address his entire audience. And it was quite an audience. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was there, as was future European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other leading politicians.

It was Tuesday morning of this week and Macron was holding the opening address at the Paris Peace Forum, a two-day event aiming to bring together some of the major actors on the world stage. It’s an invention of the French government, a typically ambitious Macron project.

Macron spoke for 22 minutes about hegemony and colonialism, about World War I and the fall of the Berlin Wall. In closing, he quoted the recently deceased Hungarian philosopher Ágnes Heller, who said, in Macron’s telling, that more than ever, a certain amount of heroism is needed to provide answers to the present. Looking away in cowardice, remaining stuck in old habits and doing nothing, Macron continued, is not an option for all those who have been handed a political mandate by the electorate.

The message Macron was trying to send by quoting the Hungarian intellectual was relatively clear. I, Emmanuel Macron, he seemed to be saying, did nothing more in my widely criticized interview with the Economist than take a fresh look at our crisis-ridden present and draw my own conclusions. Part of that exercise was casting doubt on NATO’s functionality and on the readiness of the Germans to work toward establishing a strong, sovereign Europe.

Rarely has an interview triggered as much consternation in Europe as Macron’s sit-down with the Economist, which hit the newsstands last Thursday. In the piece, the French president posited that NATO has suffered from “brain death,” questioned whether NATO’s Article Five is still functional and warned of a possibly apocalyptic future for Europe…

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

Pics: Pope Eliminates Pork From Banquet Out of Respect for Muslims

ROME — Pope Francis invited 1,500 mostly poor people to lunch this weekend to celebrate the World Day for the Poor and requested that all pork be removed from the menu so as not to give offense to Muslim guests.

This Sunday marked the third annual celebration of the World Day of the Poor, a Catholic commemoration established by Pope Francis in November 2016 to celebrate the end of the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

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

Prince Harry Exalts Climate Guru Greta Thunberg at Awards Show

Prince Harry lavished praise and affection on climate activist Greta Thunberg late Sunday night, saying “every family needs their Greta” as he claimed “the whole world is paying attention” to her efforts.

Harry took to the stage at the OnSide Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London to make his gushing tribute.

It was his final public appearance before he and wife Meghan take a break from their Royal duties and fly across the Atlantic for an extended six-week holiday in America.

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

Sweden: Man Attacked With Machete in Stockholm

Passers-by have found a man lying on the ground bleeding with injuries to various parts of his body, allegedly from a machete attack, in Vasastaden, Sweden shortly after 7 am on Monday morning.

The victim, a famous convicted murder who recently left prison, was transported to a nearby hospital where his injuries were treated. According to the information provided by the medical service to the police, the man is not in life-threatening condition, Swedish broadcaster SVT reports.

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

UK: Boris Cancels Promised Tax Cuts After General Election Spending Spree to Woo Voters From Labour

Boris Johnson has distanced himself from promised tax cuts during a speech to business leaders Monday, dropping a key element of the Conservative election manifesto, in which tax cuts frequently feature.

The imbalance between pre-election giveaways and new spending rules have left UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson unable to deliver promised tax cuts, he revealed Monday, during an address to the Confederation of British Industry.

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

UK: Election Tracker: Corbyn Takes Huge Blow as Boris’ Tories Storm Ahead in the Latest Polls

BORIS JOHNSON has continued to enjoy a substantial lead over Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, extending his lead to ten points, according to the latest ICM opinion poll.

The Conservatives have risen by three points to 42 percent — their highest poll rating in published ICM voting intention polls since September 2018. Labour have only gained a pitiful one point, taking them to 32 percent. In a major blow to Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrats fell two percentage points to 13 percent.

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

UK: Ex-MPs Caught Stealing Historic, Antique Furniture From Parliament, But Authorities Won’t Release Names

Two former Members of Parliament have been caught trying to steal valuable items from the Palace of Westminster, where the Houses of Parliament are based.

“Security have stopped two MPs removing antique furniture this week. One even had a chaise lounge,” a security official revealed to The Sun.

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

UK: Photos of ‘Sweaty’ Prince Andrew Confound Claims Made by Royal Over Epstein Links

Photos of a ‘sweaty’ Prince Andrew appear to contradict claims made by the royal during a BBC interview that was roundly condemned as a PR disaster.

The Duke of York was attempting to rebut allegations that his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein included the provision of trafficked underage girls, including Virginia Roberts-Giuffre who was 17 at the time she alleges Prince Andrew had sex with her.

The royal attempted to debunk one of Roberts-Giuffre’s claims, that he was sweating profusely during a dance between the two at a London nightclub, by claiming that he had suffered a medical condition which prevented him from sweating.

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

Yellow Vests: The French Insurrection One Year Later

One year ago, 288,000 protesters took to the streets in over 2,000 locations across France.

Dressed in their unmistakable hi-vis jackets, the gilets jaunes(yellow vests) blockaded highways and petrol stations, occupied roundabouts and toll booths, and marched through town centers.

The protests were initially sparked by a hike in fuel tax but they quickly came to embody a wider resentment towards the status quo.

This weekend will be the yellow vests’ acte 53 — the 53rd consecutive week of protest to mark the anniversary of the movement.

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

Caroline Glick: A Diplomatic Turning Point

Monday will long be remembered as a turning point in Middle East history.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statement Monday that Israeli settlements are not illegal per se is the most significant shift in U.S. Middle East policy in the past generation. Jerusalem’s status as Israel’s capital has been a matter of U.S. law since 1996. There was little interest in Washington in recent years in pressuring Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights. But the issue of the legality of Israeli settlements has been the defining issue of much of the international discourse on Israel for a generation.

In the vast majority of cases, the discourse has revolved around the widely held allegation — with no basis in actual law — that Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria are illegal. This allegation has served as the justification for a continuous barrage of condemnations of Israel in international arena and for anti-Israel legal verdicts in international courts including the International Court of Justice at the Hague in 2004 and the European Court of Justice last week. The unsupported allegation that Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria are illegal was also the basis for UN Security Council Resolution 2234 from 2016 and is a basis of the International Criminal Court’s ongoing probes of Israelis.

Pompeo made two revolutionary assertions in his statement. First, he said that “after carefully studying all sides of the legal debate,” like the Reagan administration before it, the Trump administration has concluded, “The establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se inconsistent with international law.”

Second, Pompeo noted, the near ubiquitousness of the false assertion that settlements are illegal has not advanced the prospects for peace. To the contrary, it has harmed the chances of getting to peace.

In his words, “calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace.”…

           — Hat tip: Caroline Glick [Return to headlines]
 

Anti-Government Protests Cripple Major Iraqi Port, Oil Field

BAGHDAD (AP) — Anti-government demonstrations in southern Iraq blocked roads leading to the country’s main port and an oil field on Monday, while the Iraqi central bank reduced working hours because of the ongoing unrest, security officials said.

Protesters burned tires, blocking the roads to the Umm Qasr port, responsible for the bulk of the country’s commodities imports, a security official said in the city of Basra. Protesters also cut roads leading to a major oil field in the southern province of Basra.

Demonstrators used the same tactics to cut access to roads leading to the airport in the holy city of Najaf.

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

Jordan: Husband Blinds Wife, Protests in Amman

Harsher laws urged for domestic violence

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, NOVEMBER 18 — A domestic abuse case in the Jordanian city of Jerash, where a mother of three children was blinded by her husband during a fight, has sparked outrage.

The Jordanian Times reported that on Saturday, thanks to an initiative by the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW), hundreds of people protested in front of the office of the prime minister, calling for harsher laws in domestic abuse cases.

“Justice for Fatmeh” chanted demonstrators, referring to the abuse victim. “We want harsher laws to defend victims of domestic abuse. No to weddings with minors”, said protesters.

Images published online showed demonstrators blindfolded with black cloth: “This is for your eyes, Fatmeh”. Jordan Times reported that the woman’s husband risks to be indicted for attempted murder.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Anti-Government Protests in Georgia After Electoral Reform Fails

Anti-government protests broke out in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia over a failed electoral reform. At least 20,000 people took to the streets of Tbilisi on Sunday to denounce the growing influence of the Russian government in their country.

“This is our peaceful, nonviolent demonstration against this regime,” stated opposition party member Giorgi Baramidze. “We are sure no government, no regime, can win against the people.”

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

Over 30 Scammers Arrested at Indian Call Centre That Targeted Canadians

A call centre that had dozens of employees attempting to dupe Canadians into handing over money via various types of phone scams has been shut down by Indian authorities, according to a statement from a New Delhi police deputy.

According to Sameer Sharma, the “swanky international scam call centre” targeted Canadian citizens, with the call centre coming to police attention on Friday.

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

Australia Suspends Human Rights Partnership With China Over Mass Detention of Muslims and Banning of Politicians Critical of Beijing

The prime minister has labelled China’s decision to ban two members of the Australian government from visiting the country ‘very disappointing’.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Campus Under Siege as Hong Kong Police Battle Protesters

HONG KONG (AP) — Police tightened their siege of a university campus where hundreds of protesters remained trapped overnight Tuesday in the latest dramatic episode in months of protests against growing Chinese control over the semi-autonomous city.

In yet another escalation for the movement, protests raged across other parts of the city, fueled by palpable public anger over the police blockade of Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the desire to help the students stuck inside.

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

China’s March Through the South Pacific: How the Communist Superpower is Quietly ‘Invading’ Australia’s Cash-Strapped Neighbours — and Why You Should be Worried

China’s increasing invasion of South Pacific neighbours Solomon Island and Vanuatu could lead to a takeover of Australia, a former US Navy intelligence commander has warned.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Hong Kong Polytechnic University: Protesters Flee Campus on Motorcycles

Several protesters have escaped from a Hong Kong university campus surrounded by police by abseiling from a bridge and fleeing on the back of motorbikes.

Around 100 others who tried to leave the Polytechnic University were met with tear gas and rubber bullets. Some were arrested.

Authorities say 116 people were injured in the violence on Monday.

In the past week, the campus has become the latest battleground for long-running anti-government protests.

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

‘Militant’ Vegan Protestors Lose Charity Status After Publishing Map of Australian Farms

An Aussie organisation has lost its charity status after it published a map of farms and slaughter houses around the country.

Animal Farms Inc sparked controversy when it uploaded the map, which included contact details for each property.

The group registered as a charity last year however the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission has revoked that right as of yesterday.

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

‘This is What Australia Should Look Like’: Muslim Group is Praised for Driving Six Hours From Sydney’s West to Cook Up a Free BBQ for Bushfire Victims

The unnamed men travelled six hours from their homes in Lakemba, western Sydney, to the Willawarrin Hotel, inland of Port Macquarie, to help boost locals’ spirits.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Woman Who Was Called an ‘Aussie Pig’ And Begged to be Killed as She Was Pack Raped by the Vile Lebanese Skaf Gang Reveals the Heartbreaking Reason She’s Bravely Speaking Out 20 Years Later

Jessica said she was gang-raped in the months before Bilal Skaf went on a 20-day rampage across Sydney ahead of the 2000 Olympics.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Hostage Silvia Romano in Hands of Somali Islamists

Group linked to Al-Shabaab say Rome prosecutors

(ANSA) — Rome, November 18 — Silvia Romano, a Milanese aid worker kidnapped in Kenya on November 20 2018 and then moved to Somalian territory, is in the hands of an Islamist group linked to the jihadists of Al-Shabaab, Rome prosecutors and ROS security police said Monday.

Investigators are weighing whether to make a request for permission to investigate to Somalian authorities, sources said.

A special investigation group is being led by assistant prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco, who visited Kenya last August.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Chile Protests: President Piñera Condemns Police ‘Abuses’

Chile’s President Sebastian Piñera has acknowledged that the police committed “abuses” when dealing with protests which have been rocking the country for the past month.

He said “there was excessive use of force” in the police response to mass protests against inequality.

There would be “no impunity” for those who committed excesses and abuses, he added.

Twenty-two people have been killed and more than 2,300 injured.

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

Belgium: African Migrant Attacks Three People With Wooden Weapon

A man from Africa attacked three passers-by in the city center of Kortrijk on Friday evening, leaving two of the victims in serious condition.

The attacker, a 30-year-old migrant from Ghana, randomly smacked passers-by on the head with some sort of wooden weapon, a beam or a stick, leaving three people injured, Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reports.

“Two of those injured are in serious condition”, said Hanne Demedts, the public prosecutor of West Flanders Province.

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

ISIS Leader Accused of Killing Women & Children Arrived in Europe as a Refugee

An alleged ISIS leader who is accused of beheading an imam and killing women and children was given refugee status after he entered Europe, it has been revealed.

27-year-old F Hassan joined ISIS in 2014 after deserting the Syrian army, according to prosecutors.

He then recruited other jihadists to go door to door and kill dozens of people near the city of Homs in 2015. The victims included six women and a child who were all knifed or gunned down.

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

Left-Wing Journalist on Sweden’s Migrant Suburbs: “Everyone Knew it Would End in Disaster”

A left-wing journalist in Sweden who vehemently supported mass immigration has changed her tune, admitting that when it came to Sweden’s crime-ridden no-go areas, “everyone knew it would end in disaster.”

Aftonbladet’s Lena Mellin now acknowledges that Sweden’s attempt to integrate huge numbers of migrants from Africa and the Middle East has failed.

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

A Bestselling Trans Author’s Tweet Thread About Abuse Goes Viral, Then Came the Allegations of Her Own Abuse

On Nov. 10, a celebrated trans author wrote a viral tweet thread that received over 100,000 likes. The thread complained about the discrepancy between successful, beautiful women, and their often abusive and unkempt male partners.

As it turns out, she may have been projecting.

The author, who writes under the pen name “Meredith Russo,” is formerly known as Meredith Stroud and Travis Lee Stroud. Her 2016 novel If I Was Your Girl received multiple awards and near-endless commendations from literary elites. On the back of the book’s success, Stroud, 32, was invited to publish an article in The New York Times on the struggles of being a transwoman. Stroud’s subsequent book, Birthday, received awards from Refinery29, Bustle and Nylon.

However, some Twitter users brought attention to a blog post from 2016 where the author’s arrest record and past relationship history were detailed, prompting the author to use block lists to squelch criticism.

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

Chick-Fil-a No Longer Donates to Controversial Christian Charities After LGBTQ Protests

Chick-Fil-A said on Monday that it has stopped funding two Christian charities after coming under fire in recent weeks from LGBTQ activists.

The fast-food chain’s foundation has donated millions of dollars to The Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Both organizations have a history of opposing same-sex marriage.

Chick-fil-A said it no longer funds the organizations.

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

Creepy New Sprite Commercial Sells Transgenderism and Breast Binding, Not Soda

In an inexplicable move, Sprite has released a new commercial that has nothing to do with soda and everything to do with force-feeding the public transgender theology dressed up as love and acceptance. What this has to do with quenching thirst, I have no idea.

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

‘Frankenstein Hack Job’: 19-Year-Old Regrets His Transgender Surgery

Transgender ideology is destroying lives, and victims are speaking out. In 2016, two women spoke about how they were permanently scarred by taking male hormones and having “top surgery” — the removal of their breasts. Last month, another woman who once identified as a man went public about setting up a support network for de-transitioners in Britain. This week, de-transitioner Walt Heyer shared the harrowing story of a 19-year-old man who thought he was a woman and described his new “female” anatomy in revealing terms.

Less than a year after receiving “bottom surgery” — removing his male genitals and replacing them with a simulated female version — 19-year-old Nathaniel deeply regrets his decision.

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

How Teachers in Washington State Are Told to Teach Science

Quillette’s Claire Lehmann shared the following slide from “a conference for science teachers” in Washington state showing how they’re being told to teach “science”.

“If you conclude that outcomes differences by demographic subgroup are a result of anything other than a broken system, that is, by definition, bigotry,” the slide reads.

“There must be a lot of bigotry in the NBA,” commented social scientist Noah Carl, who was sacked by Cambridge earlier this year for conducting politically incorrect studies deemed “problematic.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Kanye: ‘Protect Your Kids From Being Indoctrinated by Hollywood & the Media’

Kanye West says that parents need to protect their children from being ‘indoctrinated’ into embracing lives of vapid meaninglessness by the media and the entertainment industry.

The music icon was speaking to an audience at Joel Osteen’s church in Houston during one of his Sunday Service events.

He began by pointing out that many famous people are in service to Satan and not God because they value money and power above all else.

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

Report: Google Influences Search Results by Blacklisting Sites, Curating Autocomplete

Although executives at Google have long maintained that the company takes a hands-off approach to its search engines, instead letting neutral algorithms respond to user searches, a recent report revealed a far higher degree of internal manipulation than the corporation has previously let on.

The Wall Street Journal discovered that Google has repeatedly implemented changes to its algorithm that favor big businesses over smaller ones. The company also keeps blacklists of certain sites, although it has publicly denied doing so in the past. Google has also exercised significant control over its “autocomplete” feature, weeding out auto-completes on controversial subjects like abortion and immigration.

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

Italy: Cut VAT on Contraceptives — M5S

Amendment wd cost 50 mn euros a yr

(ANSA) — Rome, November 18 — The 5-Star Movement (M5S) on Monday proposed cutting VAT on male and female contraceptives from 22% to 10%, in an amendment to the 2020 budget bill.

The estimated cost of the move is some 50 million euros a year.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

12 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/18/2019

  1. “Mr Finnane compared the Skaf gang’s depravity to outrages committed by invading armies in times of war and said their crimes were ‘worse than murder’.

    ‘These were not random attacks and, in my view, they were aimed at creating terror in the community,’ Judge Finnane said.

    ‘It seemed clear to me that these men were sending out a message to the community in Sydney. Skaf and the members of this gang clearly wanted public recognition for what they had done.'”
    Well they ARE an invading army, the judge’s words are spot on. What’s disturbing is that almost 20 years later nothing has changed…

  2. Muslims will have no respect for the Pope or the Catholic Religion because of taking Pork off the menu-completely daft, but typical of this weak leader of the Catholic Church.

  3. Battle has been joined against those who name the Name of the Lord. Chick-fil-A appears to be one of the first casualties. Roger Stone is another.
    The sort of planet that those who are responsible for this and actively support this agenda is not the sort of planet I would care to live on as it would be the cities of the Jordan Valley that were divinely destroyed on a planetary scale. Maranatha.

    • Actually, it would seem that Chick-fil-A has been under relentless pressure and with apparently little or no public support. As a result it decided that the battle was no longer worth it and apparently fell on its own sword.
      It would behoove us (cow pun intended) to take notice. The sounds we are hearing are reminiscent of the trumpets of the Mexican Army before the Battle of the Alamo was joined, “No quarter given, no quarter taken.”

  4. I am sorry that Chick-fil-A have given in to the leftists. All this will do is lose them the support of the people who agreed with them. It will not win over their enemies.

    It is sad that people still do not understand the basic futility of appeasement. You undermine your own supporters. Your enemies simply pocket your concessions and then continue to undermine you at every opportunity.

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