Monthly Archives: December 2020

Subservient in Serbia

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A refugee-welcoming official (female, of course) in Serbia caused a ruction and got herself into hot water at a migrant camp when she accidentally trod on one of Allah’s sacred prayer rugs.

Many thanks to László for translating this article from the Hungarian-language Serbian media outlet delhir.info:

Rampage of invaders: migrants go wild and humiliate a Serbian woman into the dust at the immigration center

December 27, 2020

Migrants (young men only) housed in the Bogovađa reception center near Lajkovac in western Serbia recently caused a serious incident.

After a 34-year-old female official of the Serbian High Commissioner for Refugees, who supports unstoppable migration and provides comfort and privileges for immigrants, accidentally stepped on an Islamic doormat (or, to be polite: a Muslim prayer rug), the immigrants began to rage.

To calm the mood, the woman agreed to the humiliation of kissing the “desecrated” piece of cloth.

The satisfied migrants began to “Allahu Akhbar”.

After many people were able to see what happened via social media, the Serbian regime could no longer take it lightly.

The police arrested (for the sake of appearance?) two underage Afghans, although it is clear that many (perhaps the complete “population” of the reception center) were involved in the incident, and therefore mass deportation would probably be the only logical solution.

However, it is likely that the two arrested perpetrators will be released soon. Unfortunately, it is also possible that the humiliated woman will continue her activities.

One of the attached videos shows the incident and the other one reflects the atmosphere in the Lajkovac reception center.

See the original article for the videos. Without knowing the language or detailed context of the situation, however, I wasn’t able to get much out of them.

Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/26/2020

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A man named Anthony Quinn Warner has been identified as a person of interest in yesterday’s vehicular bombing in Nashville. FBI agents have been searching the suspect’s home in the town of Antioch, south of Nashville. Some sources theorize that it was a suicide bombing, and that the human remains found yesterday belong to Mr. Warner. DNA results are not yet available.

In other news, authorities cracked down on illegal Christmas parties in Quebec and Spain.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dean, JD, Reader from Chicago, 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.

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The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

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The following video discusses the last totally controlled election in communist East Germany, which took place in 1989. Nash Montana, who translated the clip for subtitles, includes this introduction:

This video is an excerpt from a ten-part German documentary television series entitled “Damals in der DDR”. It was produced by MDR, WDR, and LOOKSfilm, and was released in 2004. The series uses contemporary accounts to report on life in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany, Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR) from 1945 to 1990. The short (three-minute) clip from the documentary that I translated shows how elections were held in the DDR.

It was simple: ballots were pre-printed with one candidate per position. No pen was needed to mark a candidate since there was no choice. Voting was mandatory. Repeated refusal to vote ended in prison sentences of up to ten years.

West German television showed instructions on how the ballot had to be folded and dropped in the box. It explains that write-in candidates or crossed-out candidates, were still counted as a yes vote for the original candidate listed on the ballot. There were no clear rules on when, or how, a ballot was counted or discarded as invalid. That is how the DDR accomplished a 99% voter turnout for the SED (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, Socialist Unity Party of Germany) candidates.

Many thanks to Vlad Tepes and RAIR Foundation for the subtitling:


Video link

An afterword from the translator:

The SED was the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The DDR was a one-party regime. A few other institutional popular-front parties were permitted to exist in alliance with the SED, for example the Christian Democratic Union, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Farmers’ Party, and the National Democratic Party.

(You know, kind of like the DNC here, which reigns supreme over the other front party in alliance with it, the GOP.)

It is often said that in order to imagine what the future might bring, one should look to the past. Certainly this is now more true than ever. That’s why we have to hurry and burn every book, censor every opposing opinion, alter every Wikipedia entry, and keep children from learning history, so that they may immediately repeat it. Because it was so good the first few times around.

After all, “A generation that is not taught to recognize the irreconcilable differences represented by the Declaration of Independence and the Communist Manifesto, between Madison and Marx, the Federalist Papers and Rules for Radicals is doomed to be ruled, not to rule. Individual liberty will not survive in a republic of civic dunces.” (SFExaminer, 2011)

There is one looming question in my mind that I haven’t quite yet been able to wrap my head around: Just how did the USA become the most highly prized, biggest buck with the greatest number of points on his rack, to be slain? How did the old make the connection to the new? When and how did the Comrades of the Old World decide to infiltrate our country, and who were all the figures in the shadows? …all that stuff.

But here we are.

All I know is that if the USA falls into Communism, then Brave New World meets 1984 meets Fahrenheit 451 meets Minority Report meets Sci-fi futuristic technology and surveillance pre-cog totalitarianism. Then the rest of the globe will fall, too, and Global Totalitarianism will become our future.

Because those books were warnings, not instruction manuals. But even the authors of these books didn’t quite comprehend the entire, gigantic beast that will rear its ugly head in the coming years (no predictions! Otherwise I’ll have to back it up with facts). How could they?

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Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/25/2020

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An 82-year-old COVID patient was beaten to death in a California hospital by his roommate, who was also a coronavirus patient. The killer was reportedly upset when his victim said his prayers out loud. There’s no word yet on whether the cause of death will be reported in statistics as COVID-19.

In other news, President Trump has been briefed on this morning’s vehicular explosion in Nashville.

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

Thanks to Caroline Glick, Dean, DV, JD, LP, 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.

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Curiouser and Curiouser

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The news about the exploding vehicle in Nashville has gotten a lot more interesting since I first posted about it this morning. While I was eating Christmas dinner with my extended family and socializing (maskless, closer than six feet, including hugs and sharing food), these interesting tidbits came in:

Item #1: According to multiple witnesses, the RV that eventually exploded had broadcast a robot voice warning people of the coming detonation. “Evacuate now” was repeated over and over again, accompanied by a countdown: “This vehicle will explode in 15 minutes… This vehicle will explode in 14 minutes… 13 minutes…”

Item #2: The possibility of human remains associated with the exploded vehicle:

Police believe the blast was intentional but don’t yet know a motive or target, and Drake noted that officials had not received any threats before the explosion.

The chief said investigators at the scene “have found tissue that we believe could be remains, but we’ll have that examined and let you know at that time.” Police could not say whether it potentially came from someone inside the RV.

Item #3: The blast appears to have done major damage to telecommunications over a widespread area of Tennessee and Kentucky:

…Buildings shook and windows shattered streets away from the explosion near a building owned by AT&T that lies one block from the company’s office tower, a landmark in downtown.

“We do not know if that was a coincidence, or if that was the intention,” police spokesman Don Aaron said. He said earlier that some people were taken to the department’s central precinct for questioning but declined to give details.

AT&T said the affected building is the central office of a telephone exchange, with network equipment in it. The blast interrupted service, but the company declined to say how widespread outages were.

The AT&T outages site showed service issues in middle Tennessee and Kentucky. Several police agencies reported that their 911 systems were down because of the outage, including Knox County, home to Knoxville about 180 miles (290 kilometers) east of Nashville.

AT&T said that it was bringing in portable cell sites and was working with law enforcement to get access to make repairs to its equipment. The company noted that “power is essential to restoring” service.

The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily halted flights out of Nashville International Airport because of telecommunications issues associated with the explosion.

A Car Bomb for Christmas in Nashville

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A car blew up in downtown Nashville early this morning, doing considerable damage to trees, other cars, and buildings, but fortunately only three people were wounded.

There’s still not much information available about the incident. And, with the FBI in charge of the investigation, it may be quite a while before we learn whether “terrorism” was involved. If we ever do.

Here’s a report from the AP:

Police: Explosion in Nashville Believed to be ‘Intentional’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — An explosion shook the largely deserted streets of downtown Nashville early Christmas morning, shattering windows, damaging buildings and wounding three people. Authorities said they believed the blast was intentional. The FBI is leading the investigation.

Metro Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said police responded to a call of shots fired just before 6 a.m. but found no immediate signs of a shooting, although officers noticed a suspicious vehicle and called for a hazardous unit. While they waited, the vehicle exploded.

Aaron said three people were taken to area hospitals for treatment, although none were in critical condition. He said some people were taken to the department’s central precinct for questioning but declined to give more details.

The FBI will be taking the lead in the investigation, said spokesman Joel Siskovic. Federal investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also on the scene. The FBI is the primary law enforcement agency responsible for investigating federal crimes, such as explosives violations and acts of terrorism.

Black smoke and flames were seen early Friday billowing from the area, which is packed with bars, restaurants and other retail establishments and is known as the heart of downtown Nashville’s tourist scene.

Buildings shook in the immediate area and beyond after a loud boom was heard.

Buck McCoy, who lives near the area, posted videos on Facebook that show water pouring down the ceiling of his home. Alarms blare in the background and cries of people in great distress ring in the background. A fire is visible in the street outside.

McCoy says he says he heard gun fire 15 minutes before the explosion rocked his building. McCoy said the windows of his home were entirely blown out.

“All my windows, every single one of them got blown into the next room. If I had been standing there it would have been horrible,” he said.

“It felt like a bomb. It was that big,” he told The Associated Press.

“There were about four cars on fire. I don’t know if it was so hot they just caught on fire, and the trees were all blown apart,” he said.

Have Yourself a Very SAFE Christmas

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Merry Socially Distanced Christmas!

All citizens are strongly advised to keep themselves safe by following approved COVID-19 preventive practices as recommended by the CDC:

  • Greet your guests at a distance using a hand salute. Avoid all personal contact.
  • Sit at least six feet apart from each other when opening presents around the tree.
  • Sanitize each gift and its packaging, and wear gloves and a face mask when opening it.
  • No candy or other treats should be passed back and forth — each stocking item should be individually packaged in a sterilized, sealed container, to be consumed only by the intended recipient.
  • Wear your masks between sips of eggnog.
  • Christmas carols may be played using Spotify, but should not be sung, hummed, or whistled by participants.

You may enjoy recordings of some of your favorite traditional seasonal music:

  • I’ll be Locked Down For Christmas
  • I Saw Mommy Fist-Bumping Santa Claus
  • While Shepherds Washed Their Hands by Night
  • Deck the Halls With Plexiglas Barriers
  • Police Drones We Have Heard on High
  • Fauci the Snowman

…and many others.

Or, if you want to listen to some real Christmas music…

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Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/24/2020

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A large number of maskless demonstrators gathered in a veterans’ memorial park in the Bay Area of California to sing Christmas carols and protest Governor Gavin Newsom’s strict COVID lockdown orders. Meanwhile, German police reported 297 incidents of politically-motivated crime connected with the Wuhan Coronavirus.

In other news, police in the Bosnian town of Bihac blame the residents of an asylum center for setting a fire that destroyed the facility and displaced 1,200 migrants.

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

Thanks to 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.

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Bringing It All Back Home

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The German government has chartered a private jet to fly German refugees home from Syria. And these are no ordinary refugees: the returnees are ISIS brides and their offspring. And some of them are actual Germans — converts to Islam, i.e. Islamic State groupies — and not just “Germans”. Check out the names.

Many thanks to Hellequin GB for translating this article from mmnews.de:

Secret operation by private jet: government takes ISIS prisoners back from northern Syria

For the first time, this weekend the federal government is bringing captured German ISIS members from northern Syria back to Germany.

The Federal Foreign Office chartered a plane for the long-planned return transport of three women and their children as well as several orphans from Kurdish camps. According to information from BILD, the three adults are Leonora M. (21) from Sangerhausen, Merve A. (24) from Hamburg and Yasmin A. from Bonn.

The federal government had previously refused to repatriate captured Germans with reference to the political situation in Syria, having only repatriated three orphans and one seriously ill toddler in the summer of 2019. A few weeks later, through American mediation, a German citizen and her children were handed over to the Foreign Office and brought back.

The current repatriation was actively pursued by the federal government and had been planned for a long time, but had been delayed due to the Corona pandemic and negotiations with the Kurdish side. According to information from BILD, there are still around seventy adult Germans in Kurdish captivity, plus 150 children of German parents.

Almost two dozen Germans have fled captivity in northern Syria since last year, and ten of them returned to Germany.

Hat tip: Ned Kelly.

Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/23/2020

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In order to mitigate the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus, authorities cracked down on illegal parties and other gatherings in Bradford, Staffordshire, and Chicago. Meanwhile, British scientists announced that they had discovered a new mutated version of the COVID-19 virus, in addition to the one reported last week.

In other news, Muslim activists affiliated with the Islamic State beheaded a young shepherd in Tunisia.

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

Thanks to 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.

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Eyeless in Gaza

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Actually, I still have both my eyes, and I’m not in Gaza. I just needed an eye-related title for this post.

I paid a visit to the retinal specialist this afternoon for a periodic injection to my left eye to treat my condition (wet macular degeneration). As a consequence, I’m dragging my feet a little bit this evening. However, there will be a news feed, and possibly another post or two.

I don’t have to go back for the next injection until two months from now, thank the Lord.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Also: Starting tomorrow, a gaggle of family members will be descending on Schloss Bodissey. Posting may be light on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and possibly Boxing Day as well. I’ll keep up with comment moderation to the best of my ability.

Joyeux Noël!

Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/22/2020

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The Welsh government has ordered supermarkets not to sell toys between now and Christmas in order to slow the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus. Meanwhile, a proposed French law would require passengers using public transportation to show proof that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

In other news, the crew of a Polish container ship fought off pirates who tried to hijack the vessel in the Gulf of Guinea.

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

Thanks to Dean, 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.

Continue reading →