Gates of Vienna News Feed 2/20/2020

An inflatable rubber dinghy that set out from Libya has disappeared somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. 91 migrants are thought to have been on board the missing craft.

In other news, George Soros says that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg should be removed from his position for helping to re-elect Donald Trump.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, 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
» GM Tries to Shrink Itself Out of Trouble. And it Shrinks Where it Wants to Grow. But When Will it Stop Before Hitting Zero?
 
USA
» 2nd Avenue Reopens After Downtown Protest Ends Peacefully
» Based on Tax Filings, Bill Kristol’s Been a Democrat for Years
» Breaking: New York Times Publishes Op-Ed by Taliban Leader
» Florida Man Victim of Red Flag Laws in Case of Mistaken Identity
» Former DOJ Prosecutor: President Trump Could Pardon or Commute Roger Stone’s Sentence at Any Time
» George Soros Calls for Removal of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for ‘Helping Trump Get Re-Elected’
» Judge Amy Berman Jackson Enters Letters in Roger Stone Sentencing Case File That Praise Judge, Attack Trump and Barr; One Letter Bragged of Burning US Flag When Trump Elected
» Schweizer Explains How Bernie Sanders ‘Turned Socialism Into a Profession’ That Has Profited His Family
» South Dakota Considers First State Bill to Outlaw All Vaccine and Medical Mandates
» Steve Scalise Owns Keith Ellison After Bizarre Claim He’s Never Seen a “Bernie Bro Being Bad”
» Study Finds Most Journalists Are Further Left Politically Than Bernie Sanders
» They Were Charged With Abusing Their Child. Then Doctors Discovered a Rare Bone Disease.
» Trump Slams Roger Stone Jury Forewoman as “Anti-Trump Activist”
» Trump Average Approval Rating Equals All Time High
» Trump’s Chances of Re-Election Soar After Shambolic Dem Debate
» Twitter Rejects Bernie’s Suggestion Russian Bots Could be Behind Attacks That Appear to be From His Supporters
» ‘Window of Life’ Live Streamer Faces Hate Crime Allegations
» Wow! Actual Title at Washington Post: “to Fix the Primaries, Let the Elites Decide”
 
Canada
» #TrudeauIsNotFitForOffice trends Nationally on Twitter
» CN Rail Obtains Injunction to Remove Blockade in Quebec
» Conservative MP Aims to Protect Canadian Farmers From Radical Animal Activists
» Trudeau’s Offer to Swap RCMP for Indigenous Cops is Turned Down by Wet’suwet’en Chief
 
Europe and the EU
» British Govt Challenges EU ‘Posturing’ On Trade Deal, Baits Bloc on Twitter
» Carl Benjamin Sues Akilah Hughes to Reclaim Legal Fees, Accusing Hughes of Weaponizing Copyright Law
» France: Macron Vows to Fight ‘Islamist Separatism’ With New Reforms
» French Authorities Concerned Over Upcoming Release of 148 Jihadists
» Full Transcript: Viktor Orban’s 2020 State of the Nation Speech
» German Authorities Investigate Possible Extreme-Right ‘Child Abuse’ Conspiracy Rationale Behind Shooting That Killed 11
» Germany Passes Online Hate-Speech Bill
» Lawyers for Julian Assange Seeking French Asylum
» New Swedish Video: Gang Stomp Girl on the Head While Photographer Yells “Kill Her Wallah”
» The Intolerance of the “Tolerant” Left: The End of Liberal Democracy?
 
North Africa
» Italy in Talks to Sell Frigates to Egypt
 
Russia
» Giuliani Drops Bombshells Revealing Huge Money Laundering Operation Involving Bidens, Burisma — Records Show Prosecutor Investigating Burisma Was Poisoned
 
Far East
» Compared to SARS, This New Coronavirus “Is Up to 20 Times More Likely to Bind to Human Cell Receptors”
» How China is Working to Quarantine the Truth About the Coronavirus
 
Australia — Pacific
» Global Crop Failures Continue: In Australia This is Going to be the Worst Harvest Ever Recorded
» Revealed: How an Australian University is Getting Around the Coronavirus Travel Ban by Paying Chinese Students to Exploit Loophole
 
Immigration
» Belgian Court Sentences Turkish Migrant Who Pretended to be an Imam to Six Years for Sexually Abusing Children
» Boat With 91 Migrants Onboard Goes Missing in Mediterranean
» Bosnian Security Minister: 100,000 Migrants May be Headed North From Greece Toward Western Europe
» Due to Trump’s Immigration Crackdown, Immigrants Flock to Canada Instead of the United States
» Greek Islanders Want Their Life Back
» Joe Biden’s Closing Debate Remarks Interrupted by Immigrant-Rights Protesters
» Netherlands: Migrants Kick Elderly Dutchman Off His Bicycle, Film it and Laugh Hysterically
» UK: Farage: Govt Must Make Controlling Immigration Its Top Priority
 
Culture Wars
» College Fires Professor for His Political Speech. Professor Group Declines to Defend Him.
» Dwyane Wade Says Son Knew He Was Transgender at the Age of 3-Years-Old
» Female Prisoner Claims She Was Raped by Transgender Inmate, Sues Prison
» Library to Host “LGBTQIA Diversity Program” After Residents Defeat Drag Queen Story Hour
» New ‘Purity Test’ Tool to Scan Hollywood Scripts for ‘Diversity Bias’
» Police Scotland Logs Offensive Jokes as ‘Non-Crime Hate Incidents’: Report
» Rapper Boosie Accused of Going on “Transphobic Tirade” For Saying Dwyane Wade Shouldn’t Allow His 12-Year-Old Son to “Cut His D*ck Off”
» Twitter Tests Social Credit Style Fact-Checking System for Politicians and Public Figures
» UK: Classics Faculty Proposes Removal of Homer and Virgil From Mods Syllabus
» Vegan Society Tells Bosses to Police Jokes, Give Vegans Own Fridge Shelf at Work
 

GM Tries to Shrink Itself Out of Trouble. And it Shrinks Where it Wants to Grow. But When Will it Stop Before Hitting Zero?

Ugly Charts of GM’s Global Vehicle Sales, By Region.

GM announced this weekend that it would pull out of Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand, in line with its strategy to exit one market after another to shrink itself to higher profits, which has led to a stupendous downward spiral in vehicle sales.

It already pulled out of Europe, once its second-largest market, by selling Opel and Vauxhall, and its vehicle sales there have collapsed to zero. And while it was at it, it shut down its operations in Russia, India, and South Africa, all in 2017. Its vehicle sales in China, its largest and once booming market, have plunged by 23% since 2017. Its vehicle sales in the US have dropped 6.2% since 2015. And according to GM’s 10-K SEC filings, its global sales have plunged 23% over the past three years, from 10 million vehicles in 2016, to 7.7 million vehicles in 2019, and are now just a tad higher than during its infamous bankruptcy-year 2009:

GM is winding down its engineering, design, and sales operations in Australia and will “retire” its Holden brand by 2021, it said in the announcement. GM had already stopped manufacturing Holdens in Australia in 2017 and switched to selling imports.

Upon the news of the pending demise of Holden, Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison lashed out at GM for allowing Holden “to just wither away,” while, in perfect corporate-welfare-queen manner, grabbing “more than $2 billion” in taxpayer subsidies. [Yes Sir, Mr. Prime Minister Sir, that’s how it works in the USA].

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

2nd Avenue Reopens After Downtown Protest Ends Peacefully

SEATTLE — An estimated 200 protesters blocked 2nd Avenue in downtown Seattle Tuesday, triggering traffic backups and congestion, police say.

The demonstration, which included three large tripod structures with protesters locked at the tops, blocked all lanes at Union Street late Tuesday morning through early in the afternoon.

The protest was aimed at JPMorgan Chase and its investment in fossil fuels, protest leaders said in a prepared statement.

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

Based on Tax Filings, Bill Kristol’s Been a Democrat for Years

Bill Kristol—son of the “godfather of neoconservatism” Irving Kristol, and founder and editor-at-large of The Weekly Standard, a now-defunct outlet—confirmed the suspicions of many observers recently when he tweeted that he (and maybe all conservatives?) is now a Democrat.

“Not presumably forever; not perhaps for a day after Nov. 3, 2020; not on every issue or in every way until then. But for the time being one has to say: We are all Democrats now,” Kristol wrote.

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

Breaking: New York Times Publishes Op-Ed by Taliban Leader

The New York Times has just published an opinion piece by deputy leader of the Taliban Sirajuddin Haqqani, a man currently wanted by the US government at a $10 million bounty.

Titled “What the Taliban Want”, Haqqani argues that the Taliban has been a force for peace and open-negotiation in the Middle East, while other nations have stifled those efforts.

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

Florida Man Victim of Red Flag Laws in Case of Mistaken Identity

A Veteran in Tampa Florida had to battle the courts to reinstate his firearm license after he was falsely identified as another man who had threatened an elderly couple.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Former DOJ Prosecutor: President Trump Could Pardon or Commute Roger Stone’s Sentence at Any Time

Following the Roger Stone verdict, former federal prosecutor James Trusty said on Thursday that President Trump could pardon or commute the 67-year-old’s sentence at any time.

“He can pardon him anytime or he could commute the sentence, which is a different animal — it’s just saying that jail time is eliminated but the conviction still stands. Pardon wipes the slate entirely clean,” Trusty explained on “Outnumbered Overtime,” after host Harris Faulkner asked if Trump could pardon Stone even as sentencing Judge Amy Berman Jackson decides whether Stone should get a new trial.

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

George Soros Calls for Removal of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for ‘Helping Trump Get Re-Elected’

Billionaire George Soros has once again taken shots at Facebook, this time calling for the removal of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg. According to Soros, Zuckerberg and Sandberg are “helping Trump get re-elected.”

The Daily Mail reports that leftist billionaire George Soros has called for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg to be removed from their positions at the company as he believes they are “helping Trump get re-elected” by refusing to fact check political ads.

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

Judge Amy Berman Jackson Enters Letters in Roger Stone Sentencing Case File That Praise Judge, Attack Trump and Barr; One Letter Bragged of Burning US Flag When Trump Elected

Judge Amy Berman Jackson has entered letters in the sentencing case file for Roger Stone by seemingly random Trump-haters who write in praise of the judge while also spinning Trump-Barr conspiracy theories likely picked up by non-stop watching of MSNBC. One letter writer bragged they burned an American flag given to them by a veteran when Trump was elected.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Schweizer Explains How Bernie Sanders ‘Turned Socialism Into a Profession’ That Has Profited His Family

In a recent discussion with Glenn Beck, bestselling author and investigative journalist Peter Schweizer described democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) successful, decades-long attempt to turn socialism “into a profession” that has ultimately “generated a lot of money” for his family.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

South Dakota Considers First State Bill to Outlaw All Vaccine and Medical Mandates

Who owns your body? A growing number of legislators in South Dakota believe you do.

The bill repeals ALL vaccine mandates in the State.

South Dakota would be the first US state to have no vaccine mandates at all, joining other governments like the UK, Japan and Canada, in uncoerced vaccine decision making.

But the bill goes even further. IT ENDS MEDICAL MANDATES ALL TOGETHER. It adds new law that reads:

“Section 5. That a NEW SECTION be added:

334-22-6.1. Discrimination-Immunization

Every person has the inalienable right to bodily integrity, free from any threat or compulsion that the person accepts any medical intervention, including immunization. No person may be discriminated against for refusal to accept an unwanted medical intervention, including immunization.”

The State of South Dakota would function under the truth that YOU OWN YOUR BODY, and codifies into law that YOU make our own medical decisions. And no one can coerce your choices or discriminate against you because of them.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Steve Scalise Owns Keith Ellison After Bizarre Claim He’s Never Seen a “Bernie Bro Being Bad”

Congressman Steve Scalise responded to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s claim that he had never seen a “Bernie Bro being bad” by tweeting, “I can think of an example.”

Ellison tweeted, “I have never seen @BernieSanders supporters being unusually mean or rude. Can someone send me an example of a “Bernie Bro” being bad. Also, are we holding all candidates responsible for the behavior of some of their supporters? Waiting to hear.”

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

Study Finds Most Journalists Are Further Left Politically Than Bernie Sanders

Anyone who has watched their coverage of Trump over the last few years knows this. They are not even trying to hide it anymore. But the truth is more shocking than you know.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

They Were Charged With Abusing Their Child. Then Doctors Discovered a Rare Bone Disease.

Crystal and Jarvis Bryant were typical first-time parents, doting on their child and panicking over every hint of distress. To add to their stress, their baby boy, Jace, had several medical issues that resulted in repeated trips to the emergency room and doctors.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Trump Slams Roger Stone Jury Forewoman as “Anti-Trump Activist”

President Trump reacted to the sentencing of Roger Stone by slamming jury forewoman Tomeka Hart as an “anti-Trump activist.”

Stone was sentenced to three and a half years in prison earlier today on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.

However, President Trump asserted that Stone didn’t get a fair trial because the jury was not independent.

“It’s my strong opinion that the forewoman of the jury, the woman that was in charge of the jury is totally tainted…she was a anti-Trump activist,” said Trump.

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

Trump Average Approval Rating Equals All Time High

President Trump’s approval rating has equaled its all time high, which was just after his inauguration, according to Real Clear Politics’ average of polls.

“RCP Average has Trump at 46.0 which is tied for his all time highest approval which was just after his inauguration,” tweeted Tim Pool.

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

Trump’s Chances of Re-Election Soar After Shambolic Dem Debate

The winner of last night’s Democratic debate was a man who didn’t even appear on stage; President Donald Trump.

Mike Bloomberg saw his odds collapse as the other candidates took it in turns to see who could make the self-funded billionaire squirm the most.

“I’d like to talk about who we’re running against, a billionaire who calls women ‘fat broads’ and ‘horse-faced lesbians,’“ said Senator Elizabeth Warren.

“And, no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg,” she added.

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

Twitter Rejects Bernie’s Suggestion Russian Bots Could be Behind Attacks That Appear to be From His Supporters

Sen. Bernie Sanders, in a recent Democratic debate this Wednesday, suggested that Russians might be using Twitter to spread negativity and hate under the disguise of being his followers.

“All of us remember 2016, and what we remember is efforts by Russians and others try to interfere in our election and divide us up. I’m not saying that’s happening, but it would not shock me,” said Sanders.

When moderators asked Sanders if his Twitter supporters were “making it harder for Democrats to unify in November”, he defended them saying that “99%” of them were “decent human beings”.

He however stated that outside actors, and in this case Russians, might be falsely pretending to be his followers and spreading havoc.

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

‘Window of Life’ Live Streamer Faces Hate Crime Allegations

An Austin man who set up a live streaming webcam/speaker outside his apartment that allows people who pay $5 to broadcast audio onto a crack alley is now facing “hate crime” allegations.

The live streaming channel, called ‘Window of Life’, allows YouTube users to play 30 or 60 second clips to an audience primarily made up of homeless people and drug dealers who frequent the alley.

Much of the audio being broadcast is random songs and other innocuous clips but a lot of it also includes racial slurs, insults and the sound of gunfire.

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

Wow! Actual Title at Washington Post: “to Fix the Primaries, Let the Elites Decide”

This is what they think of you. This is what Democrat elites think of the voters. They hate you. They despise you. And they demand they make all of the decisions for you. On Wednesday the Washington Post ran an oped by Julia Azari. The article was titled: To fix the primaries, let the elites decide.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

#TrudeauIsNotFitForOffice trends Nationally on Twitter

Amidst the constant inaction over the railway blockades which have stunted Canada’s economy, a new hashtag has emerged displaying the frustration of Canadians.

In recent hours, thousands of tweets have flooded in with the hashtag #TrudeauIsNotFitForOffice, with the slogan trending at number five nationally.

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

CN Rail Obtains Injunction to Remove Blockade in Quebec

CN Rail has acquired an injunction to remove a blockade on the rails of Montreal’s South Shore according to CBC News.

A statement released by the company says, “We’ve obtained the injunction and are hoping for a swift resolution of this incident so that passenger commuter rail service can resume.”

On Thursday, François Legault, the Premier of Quebec said, “Once the injunction is granted, we will dismantle the blockade.”

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

Conservative MP Aims to Protect Canadian Farmers From Radical Animal Activists

The Conservative Shadow Minister for Agriculture John Barlow has launched a private member’s bill, intending to protect farmers from animal activists who have plagued Canada’s agricultural industry.

Over recent years, farmers have often complained of animal rights groups trespassing on their private property—leading to their equipment and livestock being harmed.

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

Trudeau’s Offer to Swap RCMP for Indigenous Cops is Turned Down by Wet’suwet’en Chief

Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs are sticking to their demands of the withdrawal of the RCMP and construction workers from their land before they will meet with government leaders to bring a two-week rail stoppage to an end according to the Star.

No deadline or outlined plan has been publicly announced by the Trudeau government to lift the blockades. But on Wednesday, while talking with the BC government, he considered the idea of replacing the RCMP that are on Wet’suwet’en land with an Indigenous police force.

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

British Govt Challenges EU ‘Posturing’ On Trade Deal, Baits Bloc on Twitter

The British government is challenging the European Union’s “posturing” on a potential trade deal at the end of the 2020 Brexit “transition” and baited its chief negotiator on Twitter.

Michel Barnier, the EU’s lead negotiator, had claimed that a Canada-style trade deal is not available to Britain, with the bloc insisting its former member-state will have to submit to so-called “dynamic alignment” with EU rules — i.e. continuing to adopt all of its regulations, enforced by EU judges — due to its great “proximity” to Continental Europe.

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

Carl Benjamin Sues Akilah Hughes to Reclaim Legal Fees, Accusing Hughes of Weaponizing Copyright Law

YouTuber Carl Benjamin, of the channel Sargon of Akkad, is asking to be awarded attorney’s fees in a case resulting from a lawsuit brought on by fellow YouTuber Akilah Hughes, that he has in the meantime won.

Previously, Hughes lost her copyright infringement lawsuit filed in the US against Benjamin, a UK-based creator.

The two fall on the opposite sides of the liberal vs. conservative divide, and the online and legal row between them erupted in the aftermath of the 2016 US presidential election.

But after a US judge recently ruled to dismiss Hughes’ allegations, Benjamin decided to sue for legal costs, asking to be awarded a total of some $39,000.

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

France: Macron Vows to Fight ‘Islamist Separatism’ With New Reforms

French President Emmanuel Macron has declared his government will fight against “Islamist separatism” with reforms including ending residency for foreign imams.

The French leader made his proposals at a speech in the city of Mulhouse this week saying that he wanted to see an end to “detached imams” sent by other countries like Algeria, Turkey, and elsewhere to French mosques.

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

French Authorities Concerned Over Upcoming Release of 148 Jihadists

French law enforcement officials and intelligence agencies have expressed concern over the expected release of at least 148 radical Islamic extremists by the end of 2022.

The jihadists were described as “very dangerous individuals” by National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor (PNAT) Jean-François Ricard during a recent parliamentary committee, with 45 terrorism convicts set to be released by the end of this year alone.

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

Full Transcript: Viktor Orban’s 2020 State of the Nation Speech

Courtesy of Remix News

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am extremely fortunate not to be delivering a state of the nation address in the Hungary of one hundred years ago. I say this because this year is the centenary of the Trianon peace diktat. One hundred years ago the Hungarian prime minister’s name was Karoly Huszar. If he had given a state of the nation address, he would have had to say that we had suffered tremendous loss of life in the Great War, in which not a single family was spared. Together with our allies, we came out of the hostilities on the losing side.

The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy — which provided the state framework for our lives — had been destroyed. He would have had to say that peace in society had come to an end and that the life-force of the Hungarians was being consumed by a state of civil war. The communist putsch delivered the coup de grce. There were all kinds of experiments here: a constitutional monarchy, a people’s republic and a communist Soviet republic.

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

German Authorities Investigate Possible Extreme-Right ‘Child Abuse’ Conspiracy Rationale Behind Shooting That Killed 11

HANAU, Germany (AP) — A 43-year-old German man shot and killed nine people at several locations in a Frankfurt suburb overnight in attacks that appear to have been motivated by far-right beliefs, officials said Thursday.

The gunman first attacked a hookah bar in central Hanau at about 10 p.m. Wednesday, killing several people before heading about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) west and opening fire again, claiming more victims.

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

Germany Passes Online Hate-Speech Bill

Germany on Wednesday passed a bill that will require social media giants like Facebook and YouTube to report certain forms of hate speech to the police and to provide users’ IP addresses. “In the future, those who make threats or spread hate online will be prosecuted more toughly and more effectively,” justice minister Christine Lambrecht said on her ministry’s website.

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

Lawyers for Julian Assange Seeking French Asylum

A defense team for Julian Assange said Thursday they will seek asylum in France for the WikiLeaks founder, who is facing extradition to the United States and 175 years in prison for espionage charges.

French lawyer Eric Dupont-Moretti, among several of Assange’s lawyers who spoke at a news conference in Paris, explained why they view the case against their client as unfair.

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

New Swedish Video: Gang Stomp Girl on the Head While Photographer Yells “Kill Her Wallah”

The Swedish news site Samhällsnytt published a video clip on Wednesday which showed a Swedish girl being severely abused and beaten by a group of people.

It is currently unclear where the brutal beating took place. According to reports, the video was filmed in early February and uploaded by a “Hussein” on the popular social media platform Snapchat.

The video shows several people stomping on and beating a lone girl all over her body. While the beating is taking place, the person who is most likely filming yells “kill her wallah” (wallah is Arabic for I swear to Allah).

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

The Intolerance of the “Tolerant” Left: The End of Liberal Democracy?

Currently, there is growing concern on both sides of the Atlantic that the ability of many on the political “left” to accept the democratic process and the rights of those with whom one disagrees is becoming increasingly rare. According to Andreas Unterberger, Austria’s most widely read political blogger:

“The left exhibits mocking scorn or even aggressive violence. If a relevant part of the population is unwilling to respect democracy and those with dissenting opinions, then the constitutional state will necessarily implode.”

Sometimes it seems as if the underlying intention is actually to dismantle democratic norms and replace them with authoritarian ones. The thinking seems to be: If you vote any way other than for what we want, the result is automatically illegitimate and need not be accepted. In the US, this view had been evident in the three-year refusal to accept the election of President Trump by the “wrong” people”, as well as a refusal by many last year to accept the vindication of US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in yet another show trial devoid of evidence , and most recently warnings about a refusal to accept President Trump’s acquittal. The title of the latest book by the noted defense Attorney Alan M. Dershowitz, Guilt by Accusation, seems to be fast becoming the norm.

In Germany, the media establishment as well as Chancellor Angela Merkel were shocked to the point of demanding the reversal of the vote for the “wrong” premier of the state of Thuringia because the election came as a result of the “wrong” votes, namely those from the Alternative for Germany party (AfD). Baron Bodissey of the blog Gates of Vienna provided background information:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Italy in Talks to Sell Frigates to Egypt

By Tom Kington

ROME — Italy is negotiating to sell two FREMM frigates to Egypt as local conflicts, rivalries over natural gas and shifting alliances ratchet up naval competition in the Mediterranean.

The talks by Italy’s Fincantieri to sell the two vessels to Egypt were confirmed this month by Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio and Fincantieri CEO Giuseppe Bono following days of press speculation a deal was on the cards.

What makes Italy’s offer particularly appealing to Egypt is that the vessels are almost ready. Fincantieri is proposing to sell Cairo the final two of ten frigates now being built for the Italian navy…

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

Giuliani Drops Bombshells Revealing Huge Money Laundering Operation Involving Bidens, Burisma — Records Show Prosecutor Investigating Burisma Was Poisoned

Mr. Giuliani revealed last Monday morning on Steve Bannon’s radio show “The War Room: Impeachment” that he was working to release a report on his findings from his latest trip to Europe to Attorney General Bill Barr and GOP lawmakers in Congress.

A few hours after his initial tweet on Sunday, Rudy began dropping bombshells one tweet at at time.

Rudy said Victor Shokin, the Ukrainian prosecutor general investigating Burisma was not only fired after Biden threatened to withhold aid from Ukraine, but that he was poisoned and barely survived the poisoning.

“Shokin holds documents proving money laundering by Burisma & Biden’s,” Giuliani said. “He was fired due to VP Joe Biden’s threat not to release $1 billion in vital US aid.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Compared to SARS, This New Coronavirus “Is Up to 20 Times More Likely to Bind to Human Cell Receptors”

The more scientists study this new coronavirus, the more alarming it becomes. When this outbreak first emerged, officials told us that it was very unlikely that it could be transmitted from human to human. When that was shown to be obviously wrong, officials started claiming that human to human transmission would be “limited” like we saw during the SARS epidemic. Of course that was completely wrong too, and now we know that this new coronavirus actually spreads like wildfire among human populations, and that is because it is much different from the SARS virus. In fact, brand new research conducted by scientists at the University of Texas at Austin has discovered that this coronavirus “is up to 20 times more likely to bind to human cell receptors”…

The deadly new coronavirus is up to 20 times more likely to bind to human cell receptors and cause infection than severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), a new study by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin has found.

The novel coronavirus and Sars share the same functional host-cell receptor, called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

According to this new study, the “high affinity of 2019-nCoV S for human ACE2 may contribute to the apparent ease with which 2019-nCoV can spread from human to human”, and that statement should definitely send a chill down your spine.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

How China is Working to Quarantine the Truth About the Coronavirus

The authoritarian playbook — censor, distract, lie — is on full display.

In its battle to contain the coronavirus, the Chinese government has undertaken a wide range of measures, from shutting down cities to using drones to monitor and compel public compliance with public health edicts. But the regime is also waging a second battle: a campaign to control the world’s discussions of the first.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Global Crop Failures Continue: In Australia This is Going to be the Worst Harvest Ever Recorded

Never before in the modern era have we seen so many major threats to global food production emerge simultaneously.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Revealed: How an Australian University is Getting Around the Coronavirus Travel Ban by Paying Chinese Students to Exploit Loophole

Western Sydney University told its international students on Wednesday it would subside the cost of airfares and accommodation to allow them to reach Australia ‘through a third country’.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Belgian Court Sentences Turkish Migrant Who Pretended to be an Imam to Six Years for Sexually Abusing Children

A Turkish migrant who posed as an imam who claimed to “purify” young girls by sexually abusing them has been sentenced to six years in prison by a Belgian court for the abuse.

On Tuesday, the Hainaut Court of Appeal convicted the Turkish migrant of rape and attempted rape and as a result handed the fake holy man a six-year prison term, Sudinfo reports.

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

Boat With 91 Migrants Onboard Goes Missing in Mediterranean

A rubber dinghy packed with 91 migrants that set out from Libyan shores in hopes of reaching Europe has apparently gone missing in the Mediterranean, the U.N. refugee agency said Thursday. The inflatable boat carrying mostly African migrants departed from al-Qarbouli, 30 miles east of the capital Tripoli on February 8, said Osman Haroun, whose cousin was on board. He hasn’t heard from the 27-year-old Mohamed Idris, or his 10 other friends also on the boat, since.

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

Bosnian Security Minister: 100,000 Migrants May be Headed North From Greece Toward Western Europe

Fahrudin Radoncic, the security minister for Bosnia & Herzegovina, has warned European officials that close to 100,000 illegal migrants may be headed towards Western Europe from Greece in the next few weeks.

The Bosnian security minister then went on to say that personnel in charge of securing the Bosnian border would be ill equipped to handle the vast wave of migrants that could be headed up the Balkan peninsula, Kronen Zeitung reports.

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

Due to Trump’s Immigration Crackdown, Immigrants Flock to Canada Instead of the United States

President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has foreigners flooding to Canada instead of the United States, according to an analysis from Forbes.

Recent data shows that the number of foreigners immigrating to Canada rose a remarkable 26 percent from 2015-2019 while the number of legal immigrants coming into the U.S. fell by 7 percent from fiscal year 2016 and fiscal year 2018. This number is expected to decrease further as Trump continues to enact his agenda, with a potential second term just around the corner. Meanwhile, Canada is getting ready to open its floodgates for even more immigrants under the far-left rule of chronically blackfaced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau’s bureaucrats more-or-less boast that the immigrants will be coming in to replace the native population.

“To further ease the challenges of a shrinking labor force and an aging population, our new multi-year immigration levels plan sets out the highest levels of permanent residents that Canada will welcome in recent history,” said Ahmed Hussen, Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

“Canada is benefiting from a diversion of young Indian tech workers from U.S. destinations, largely because of the challenges of obtaining and renewing H-1B visas and finding a reliable route to U.S. permanent residence,” said Peter Rekai, who founded the Toronto-based immigration law firm Rekai LLP.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Greek Islanders Want Their Life Back

Locals are angry. So are the migrants. Tens of thousands of migrants have illegally landed here, on the islands of Greece, since 2015. Some leave, some stay but most wait to be “processed’ in the hope of finding their ways into Europe’s richer countries, such as Germany.

Theloume piso ta nisia mas…, Theloume piso ti zoi mas!!!“ echo poster slogans across Greece’s northeast Aegean islands, inviting locals to debate the poisoning refugee catastrophe: “We want our islands back… We want our lives back!!!” Lesbos, an island situated on the easternmost corner of Europe and neighboring Turkey, is one of the victims that once was a paradise.

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

Joe Biden’s Closing Debate Remarks Interrupted by Immigrant-Rights Protesters

Protesters shouting “You deported three million people,” interrupted former Vice President Joe Biden’s closing remarks during the Democratic debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.

RAICES Action, an immigrant rights group, took credit for the protest in a Twitter post that referenced the Obama administration’s deportation record.

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

Netherlands: Migrants Kick Elderly Dutchman Off His Bicycle, Film it and Laugh Hysterically

A disturbing video clip that shows a pair of migrants kicking an elderly Dutchman off of his bicycle as they ride by on their motorbike has sparked widespread outrage on social media.

The cowardly crime took place last Sunday in IJdoornlaan in the north Amsterdam metropolitan area. The video footage depicts the two migrants coming from behind the unsuspecting elderly man as he rides his bicycle along the path before they kick him off, sending him plummeting to the pavement, local Amsterdam television station AT5 reports.

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

UK: Farage: Govt Must Make Controlling Immigration Its Top Priority

Nigel Farage has said that the Conservative government must use its new immigration policy to reduce migration or it will fail to live up to its Brexit pledge of ‘taking back control’.

On Wednesday, the government announced its new immigration policy which will be used equally for visa applicants from all over the world — including the EU — from January 1st, 2021.

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

College Fires Professor for His Political Speech. Professor Group Declines to Defend Him.

Scrubbed website of all mentions of him as faculty

Two private colleges are refusing to engage with criticisms of their decisions to censor or punish political speech, though one of them appears to have escaped scrutiny by a group that defends faculty rights.

The American Association of University Professors backed off its threat to investigate Babson College for firing an adjunct professor after he joked about Iran bombing American “cultural sites” such as the Mall of America and a “Kardashian residence.”

A spokesperson for the group told The College Fix that the incident didn’t concern academic freedom, accepting Babson’s claim that Asheen Phansey (above) was a staff member, not a professor.

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

Dwyane Wade Says Son Knew He Was Transgender at the Age of 3-Years-Old

Former NBA star Dwyane Wade says that his son (who know identifies as a female) knew he was transgender at the age of 3-years-old.

During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Wade revealed that his 12-year-old son Zaire was now transgender, going by the name Zaya and using she/her pronouns.

However, according to the former Miami Heat man, his son knew he was transgender when he was a toddler.

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

Female Prisoner Claims She Was Raped by Transgender Inmate, Sues Prison

A female inmate at the Logan Correctional Centre in Illinois is suing the prison after alleging they attempted to cover up her sexual assault by a transgender inmate that was housed with her.

The proceedings were covered by Public Broadcasting Service station WTTW, who reported the victim, referred to as Jane Doe, was sexually assaulted in June 2019. Doe alleges she was then coerced by a correctional officer into withdrawing her claim, which led to her being punished for having filed a false report under the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

Doe’s alleged assailant is named as Janiah Monroe, a transgender inmate who identifies as female but has male genitalia. According to WTTW, Monroe and another transgender inmate recently sued the Illinois Department of Corrections, demanding transfers to women’s facilities. Monroe, formerly known as Andre Patterson, had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the attempted murder of a government employee, before receiving an additional 20 years for murdering a cellmate after being imprisoned.

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

Library to Host “LGBTQIA Diversity Program” After Residents Defeat Drag Queen Story Hour

“Are families likely to bring their young children to a program that uses drag queens to focus on inclusivity? Why are we foisting conversations on inclusivity on children that young? Are we replacing bedtime stories, which take children out of themselves and out into other, far more interesting worlds, with discussions of sexual differences when they are innocent sponges?”

In our experience, the answer is yes, mind-numbed parents do march their children right into these events thinking that they will instill them with the cherished “woke” value of “inclusivity.”

These “conversations” are being foisted on such young children for myriad superficial reasons, such as promoting literacy, but we know that a sinister program of sexual grooming and the promotion of perverted sexual behavior is at the heart of Drag Queen Story Hour.

And, yes, the actual books chosen for these events are typically radically pro-LGBT children’s books such as “I Am Jazz” and “Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress.”…

Sources have told us that the “sponsor” of the event is rumored to be an employee of globalist shadow oligarch George Soros. As we’ve recently reported, we know there is big money propping up these pro-LGBT onslaughts on American communities.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

New ‘Purity Test’ Tool to Scan Hollywood Scripts for ‘Diversity Bias’

Major Hollywood studios are set to use a new tool that scans movie & TV scripts and flags up any examples where “diversity” is not portrayed positively in a chilling new development that has echoes of Soviet realism.

Called ‘Spellcheck for Bias’, the tool was developed by the Davis’ Institute on Gender in Media and USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering. It is set to be implemented by Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, Focus Features and NBC Entertainment within the near future.

“The tool supposedly breaks down diversity in material such as scripts and advertising briefs by scanning for mentions of LGBTQ, race, and disabilities, and then identifying how positively such things are portrayed,” writes Zachary Leeman.

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

Police Scotland Logs Offensive Jokes as ‘Non-Crime Hate Incidents’: Report

Police Scotland has logged more than 3,300 “hate incidents” in the past five years which were “non-crimes” including telling jokes that some people may have found offensive.

That number, however, is eclipsed by the near 120,000 non-criminal hate incidents recorded by 34 police units across England and Wales over the same time frame (2014 to 2019).

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

Rapper Boosie Accused of Going on “Transphobic Tirade” For Saying Dwyane Wade Shouldn’t Allow His 12-Year-Old Son to “Cut His D*ck Off”

Rapper Boosie Badazz was accused of going on a “transphobic tirade” after telling Dwyane Wade he shouldn’t allow his son to “cut his d*ck off.”

During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, basketball player Wade recently revealed that his 12-year-old son Zaire was now transgender, going by the name Zaya and using she/her pronouns.

Boosie reacted with a video rant in which he asserted that both Wade and his son would regret the decision.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Twitter Tests Social Credit Style Fact-Checking System for Politicians and Public Figures

Leaked documents have revealed that Twitter is testing a China-social credit style community-based points system that encourages users to fact-check “harmfully misleading” tweets in exchange for “points.”

In the leaked demo, this feature is titled “Community Notes” and asks users to “contribute in good faith and act like a good neighbor.”

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

UK: Classics Faculty Proposes Removal of Homer and Virgil From Mods Syllabus

The Oxford Student has been notified about a proposal by the Classics faculty to remove the study of Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneid from the Mods syllabus, a decision which has surprised many across the faculty.

This proposal forms part of a series of reforms aimed to modernise the first stage of the Classics degree, known as Moderations (Mods), which take place during Hilary term of second year for all students taking Classics courses across the university.

The Mods course, which is assessed by a set of ten exams at the end of Hilary, has been increasingly criticised in recent years, due to the attainment gaps found between male and female candidates, as well as between candidates who have studied Latin and/or Greek to A-Level (Course I) and those who have not (Course II).

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

Vegan Society Tells Bosses to Police Jokes, Give Vegans Own Fridge Shelf at Work

The Vegan Society has said that vegans should be given their own shelf in refrigerators at work and employers should protect them from offensive jokes about their dietary choices.

The recommendations come in the group’s guidance Supporting Veganism in the Workplace published this week. The document was written following a judge in an employment tribunal declaring last month that ethical veganism is a “philosophical belief”, like a religion, which should be protected against discrimination by workplace law.

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

11 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 2/20/2020

  1. “The Swedish news site Samhällsnytt published a video clip on Wednesday which showed a Swedish girl being severely abused and beaten by a group of people.” No, no, no, I really don’t think those savages are what you could call “people”, that wording should definitely be corrected.

  2. “Doe’s alleged assailant is named as Janiah Monroe, a transgender inmate who identifies as female but has male genitalia. According to WTTW, Monroe and another transgender inmate recently sued the Illinois Department of Corrections, demanding transfers to women’s facilities. Monroe, formerly known as Andre Patterson, had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the attempted murder of a government employee, before receiving an additional 20 years for murdering a cellmate after being imprisoned.” If they have several transgender-claiming men why don’t they just put them together? Furthermore, if an inmate has killed a cellmate before, shouldn’t he or she be put in isolation? I really don’t know who’s going down the drain faster: America or Germany?

  3. “New ‘Purity Test’ Tool to Scan Hollywood Scripts for ‘Diversity Bias’” Now I know why the upcomming Call of the Wild movie looks so bad! (Aside from having cartoonish CGI animals instead of a well trained dog.)

  4. “Full Transcript: Viktor Orban’s 2020 State of the Nation Speech

    Courtesy of Remix News

    Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am extremely fortunate not to be delivering a state of the nation address in the Hungary of one hundred years ago. I say this because this year is the centenary of the Trianon peace diktat. One hundred years ago the Hungarian prime minister’s name was Karoly Huszar. If he had given a state of the nation address, he would have had to say that we had suffered tremendous loss of life in the Great War, in which not a single family was spared. Together with our allies, we came out of the hostilities on the losing side.”
    Oh, this part is rich!
    Typically of Hungarians, he forgets to mention that it was they themselves that set Austria-Hungary on the path of destruction. Namely because Czechs aimed for fair citizens right at the same time as Hungarians did (around 1867) and Franz Joseph I had no problems with it whatsoever. Remember, Austria itself wasn’t very capable of taking care of the empire, but thanks to Hungary it had enough food (especially meat) and thanks to Czechia it had plenty of modern industry. Then Hungarian aristocrats step in and threaten Franz Joseph to disobey the empire if he gives someone else the same status aus Austrians and Hungarians had. Because of Hungary’s military power, Franz Joseph steps back and stops the negotiations with Czechs. This point made it clear that, unless we want to stay second class citizens, we need to fight for separation.
    In 1916 emperor Charles I. proposed for us to become proper citizens of the empire, but by that point we had achieved the support of Britain and other countries to push for freedom, and hence his proposition was declined.
    The Central Powers lost and Hungary lost territories it had invaded in the previous decades (sometimes centuries, aside from Slovakia, which has been a part of Hungary for nearly a millenium). But all of this only due to it’s own arrogance 50 years prior.

    • Hungary invaded TRANSILVANIA and is still creating hate there even now
      Orban is a nationalist that would steal TRANSILVANIA again.
      Not anymore , never ever

  5. Hiding all over the Republic of Ireland. There doesn’t seem to be any resistance – especially from the females. At the current rate Mo should be able to have “things” under his control within no time at all. At least get some serious foundations set for separate territory or better. In the
    Northern part of the country Mo seems to be making no progress st all. I wonder why?

  6. Comrade Professor will be airbrushed from all photos and his name shall not be uttered again.
    Hollywood and the NBA should just drop the façade and play the Chinese national anthem before movies and sportsball games.
    Remember Gaddafi warning of the immigrant crisis if Libya was destroyed?
    Why it is almost as if certain groups and power players wanted the crisis.
    Hmm…so Hmm.

  7. .
    Swede-hatred has reached such heights that almost everyone is talking about it now, specially the two latest [urinating]-in-the-mouth-of-others gentlemen of colour who GoV supposedly will write more about. No one can deny anymore that a certain kind of immigrant youth is completely destroying Sweden – either because of resentment or because they were raised in the stupid & violent retarded men’s ideology of islam.

  8. Total madness is practiced by SWEDEN INC.

    Instead of selling them to other countries for several billion SEK, the government parties have decided that 11.7 million emission units should be canceled. According to Environment and Climate Minister Isabella Lövin (MP), this means that Sweden “takes the lead”.

    Trading in emission allowances in the EU aims to reduce the EU countries’ total greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2057. Companies and industries that reduce their emissions receive financial benefits through the system as they do not have to pay for the right to emit.

    At present, Swedish companies and industries benefit most from the system, since no other EU country receives as many emission allowances as you do away with. This is because so many production units in Sweden have made investments to change production.

    But instead of selling the almost 12 million emission units that remain, the government has decided to scrap them.

    “Moral responsibility”

    – The Swedish people should know that all joint climate efforts make a difference. The decision means that we do not sell our emission reductions so that someone else can put out more anticlimate gases, says Isabella Lövin.

    – We have a moral responsibility to support the transition in the countries most affected by climate change. But we must at the same time reduce emissions at home in Sweden. Our policy reduces emissions both locally and globally, says Minister of the Environment and Climate, Isabella Lövin.

    When asked if it would not be better to sell the surplus so that Sweden can invest even more in green technology development, Lövin replies that it would mean “unfair competition”.

    – When Sweden goes ahead with the transition, it would rather mean unfair competition. It would not be good for the Swedish economy if other countries tcould benefit from our emission reductions, by selling these emission rights cheaply, says Isabella Lövin to TT.

    In mid-2019, an emission unit costs about 25 euros each.

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