Author Archives: Baron Bodissey

Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/29/2015

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A disturbed young man (identified by the Grauniad as “Dutch-speaking”) forced his way into the broadcasting studios of the state TV network in the Netherlands. Brandishing a fake handgun, he took a security guard hostage (was the guard perhaps unarmed?) and entered a studio, demanding that he be given airtime so that he could make an important national address to a live TV audience. He said he was part of a hackers’ collective, and that he had co-conspirators ready to blow up dirty bombs all over the Netherlands if he were harmed. He never got the airtime he demanded, although the incident was recorded and the tape later made public. After a few minutes police confronted the man, disarmed him, and arrested him.

In other news, Cuban President Raul Castro demanded that the United States end the embargo and return the base at Guantanamo Bay to his country.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Diana West, Fjordman, Gaia, Insubria, Jerry Gordon, MFK, Papa Whiskey, Phyllis Chesler, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

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

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

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The Mark of Evil

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The following essay by Nick McAvelly was originally published at Patriot’s Corner in a slightly different form.

The Mark of Evil
by Nick McAvelly

“One belief, more than any other, is responsible for the slaughter of individuals on the altars of the great historical ideals — justice or progress or the happiness of future generations, or the sacred mission or emancipation of a nation or race or class, or even liberty itself, which demands the sacrifice of individuals for the freedom of society. This is the belief that somewhere, in the past or in the future, in divine revelation or in the mind of an individual thinker, in the pronouncements of history or science, or in the simple heart of an uncorrupted good man, there is a final solution.”

Berlin, Isaiah (2012-12-31). The Proper Study Of Mankind: An Anthology of Essays (p. 237). Random House. Kindle Edition.

Politicians have spent years telling us that multiculturalism is the final solution to the question of how human beings ought to live. Not one of them has the decency to acknowledge the murders that have been committed in its name. History teaches us that when an elite group believe they have discovered a final solution, they will sacrifice anyone in an attempt to make their final solution a reality. The social engineers who have inflicted the poison of multiculturalism upon us are no different in this regard. The French Jews and cartoonists who died at the hands of the Kouachi brothers in Paris on 7th January 2015 are the latest people to die in the name of that evil doctrine.

One of the foundational premises of multiculturalism is the claim that all cultures and values are compatible. Obviously, this is false. As the political philosopher Isaiah Berlin once said:

“… it seems to me that the belief that some single formula can in principle be found whereby all the diverse ends of men can be harmoniously realised is demonstrably false. If, as I believe, the ends of men are many, and not all of them are in principle compatible with each other, then the possibility of conflict — and of tragedy — can never wholly be eliminated from human life, either personal or social. The necessity of choosing between absolute claims is then an inescapable characteristic of the human condition.”

Berlin, Isaiah (2012-12-31). The Proper Study Of Mankind: An Anthology of Essays (p. 239). Random House. Kindle Edition.

The traitor class have decided that Britain must be culturally enriched and turned into a multicultural paradise. So all criticism of Islamic doctrines and practices has been declared verboten. This has allowed the traitor class to use the religion of Islam as a targeting system so they can identify individuals with the moral backbone and intellectual integrity to defend Britain’s traditional Judeo-Christian values. In Great Britain today, if you speak up and state the most obvious and inescapable facts: Britain is a Christian country, our traditional values are based not on Islam but on Judeo-Christianity, Britain is not and has never been an Islamic country, and Islamic doctrines and practices are incompatible with British values and with human rights legislation (just read the USCIRF reports on the human rights abuses that happen year in and year out in the Islamic world), then you have the potential to threaten the legitimacy of the traitor class. And once you have spoken up, they know who you are.

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The West is Abolishing Itself

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Below is Rembrandt Clancy’s translation of an essay by Alexander Kissler that was published last week in Cicero Online, a German magazine of culture.

The West is Abolishing Itself

by Alexander Kissler, 22 January 2015

Source: Cicero
Translation: Rembrandt Clancy

Pork disappears from school books, mosques from soap packages. Self-censorship of the West sprouts strange blossoms.

The world is becoming purer with each passing day. Now even “Aldi” [a global supermarket] has shown some understanding and is no longer asking us to buy soap with packaging showing a mosque. Questions by committed Moslems were enough to purify the range of products. Gone are the cupola and minaret. “This meaningful illustration placed on some sort of consumer product” was truly inappropriate, wrote a man of Turkish origin from Buxtehude. “Aldi” obeyed and went on record as saying that the liquid soap “will soon be unavailable in our branches”. They will be more sensitive in the future, according to the statement.[1]

So it goes in the mad days of early 2015. On Sundays freedom of the press and freedom of speech are invoked, the state invites itself to trip the ring-formed dance of the intrepid,[2]; from Monday to Saturday, the West shreds its values and a terror triumphs, its threats having long since flash-frozen our heads. Whereas the intrepid may still whistle loudly to themselves in the forest, outside, in the wild where creeds are formulated, the programme is known as appeasement. With many Muslims, the best policy is not to tangle with them; therefore, the idea is to deal with all Muslim demands in the spirit of submission. Out of the state of being held hostage, a condition into which the terrorists are taking the peaceful majority, comes the winning of social territory belonging to this very majority, all as a result of the terrorism of the few. That is no secret delight; it is a classical windfall profit.

For instance, those who have been getting worked up for some time over the blasphemous caricatures of the homosexual illustrator Ralf König, are now experiencing satisfaction after the Paris attacks. König removed from his homepage a cartoon which showed representatives of the West kowtowing to a bearded Muslim, to an imam perhaps. König explained that he is not proud of this step; he is not well and he is anxious about “lone, sick lunatics”. And another leaf falls to the ground from the tree of freedom, it becomes dung and then it is as if it never existed.

At the cost of Artistic Freedom

Or take the Parisian private theatre Ciné 13. There the play “Stoned” by Jean Chollet was cancelled two days after the premiere. And why? Was it because it turned out that the theme of the play, the stoning of a woman in the name of Islam, is too far-fetched and that there is no such stoning at all? No. The play was off because the Prefect felt he could not guarantee the security of the theatregoers against fanatical Muslims. According to reports from news correspondents, not one single theatregoer raised his hand; not one rose to speak in favour of artistic freedom, when the artistic director announced her decision to the public. Our brains are flash-frozen, and our hearts as well.

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Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/28/2015

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The English-language news section of Al Jazeera has banned the use of the words “terrorist”, “Islamist”, and “jihad” in its reporting. No JIM for Al Jaz! Meanwhile, Facebook has censored an image of the prophet Mohammed.

In other news, a White House spokesman said that the Taliban are not a terrorist organization.

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

Thanks to Diana West, Fjordman, Insubria, Nick, Papa Whiskey, Phyllis Chesler, Srdja Trifkovic, Steen, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

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

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

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An Israeli Addresses PEGIDA

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On Monday January 26 the first PEGIDA demonstration in Frankfurt Heidi Mund, “the brave German”, was one of the featured speakers.

Another speaker at the event was Dr. Rotem Avituv, a psychologist from Israel. The video below features his impassioned speech to the demonstrators (in English):

There’s an article about the event in Haaretz (in Hebrew), and more (in German) at Politically Incorrect, here and here.

For links to previous articles about PEGIDA (Patriotische Europäer Gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes, Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West) and related movements, see the PEGIDA Archives.

Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/27/2015

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Upon her arrival at the airport in Saudi Arabia, First Lady Michelle Obama exited Air Force One alongside her husband, but without being clad in hijab. To make certain that devout Muslim viewers did not expose themselves to the sight of a filthy uncovered infidel whore, Saudi state TV blurred out her image in the news coverage of the momentous event.

In other news, Five foreigners were killed by armed attackers in a luxury hotel in Tripoli, Libya. The activists who committed the crime are thought to be affiliated with the Islamic State. An ISIS-related group claimed responsibility, and said they were targeting foreign diplomats. The surviving guests at the hotel were relieved to learn that the incident had nothing to do with Islam.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Gaia, Insubria, Nick, Papa Whiskey, Phyllis Chesler, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

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

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

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Islamization and Hijacked Patriotism

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If you appreciate this essay by Fjordman, please consider making a donation to him, using the button at the bottom of this post.

Islamization and Hijacked Patriotism
by Fjordman

I have just seen the film American Sniper, directed by Clint Eastwood, about Chris Kyle and his experiences as a very efficient sniper in Iraq. I was not initially planning to see it, but then I heard that it had been denounced by left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore. That is a recommendation in my book.

Chris Kyle had flaws just like the rest of us. He was not a saint. However, I do not doubt that he considered himself a true patriot. What my strongest impression was after seeing this film is how much the genuine patriotism of Western citizens is abused by the rotten Western ruling elites.

In one scene in the film, the character of Kyle, played by Bradley Cooper, explains why he is in Iraq. He wants to fight them (militant Muslims) in the Middle East, so that he will not have to fight them in New York or San Diego. That is an admirable sentiment. I understand his will to fight enemies who had attacked his country.

What Chris Kyle did not understand is that the natural patriotism of many Americans after the Jihadist attacks of September 11, 2001 was quickly hijacked. A decade and a half later, the number of radical Muslims in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, Sydney, Paris, Berlin or Rome is higher than ever. That is because Muslim immigration continues unabated. After the deadly attacks in New York, Madrid, London and Paris, Western leaders publicly declared that Islam is a religion of peace. Muslim immigration continued as before.

What did the USA and the rest of the Western world really achieve in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2001 to 2015? I have seen claims that the USA alone has spent more than 1,000 billion dollars since September 2001 on fighting “terror.” Others suggest even higher figures. What was the result of spending all that money? Sponsoring the ethnic cleansing of Christians and other non-Muslims in Iraq? Making Afghanistan safe for opium production?

I have enjoyed a lifelong interest in astronomy and space exploration. I cannot help but wonder what we could have achieved if that money had been spent on something else. Let us say we spent a quarter of this sum on space exploration. For that money, we could now have had orbiters around all of the major planets in our Solar System, including Uranus and Neptune. We could have funded a new generation of robotic probes investigating some of the most interesting moons in our Solar System, such as Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Enceladus and Titan. We could have had many large new ground-based observatories, combined with a brand new fleet of space observatories in all electromagnetic wavelengths. We might even have had some money left over for a manned mission to Mars. Not just a one-way trip, but perhaps a return trip.

These opportunities have been wasted because Western political elites decided that they wanted to spend our money on trying to make Muslims less Islamic, while importing large numbers of them to the West.

Move forward nearly fourteen years, this time to France. On January 10-11 2015, millions of people across France marched to honor the victims of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris. The problem was that the real outrage of many normal citizens was once more quickly hijacked by the political elites and the mass media. As Robert Spencer aptly remarked: “Millions in Paris rally against nothing in particular.”

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Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/26/2015

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Tarik Kafala, a senior executive at the BBC, says that the word “terrorist” should not be used to describe the mujahideen who killed seventeen people in Paris earlier this month. According to him, the word is loaded and undefined. He says reporters should simply describe what happened, and avoid the value judgments.

In other news, the Department of Defense has announced an essay contest to honor the memory of Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the late king of Saudi Arabia. The competition will be hosted at the National Defense University in Washington D.C.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Diana West, ESW, Fjordman, Insubria, Jerry Gordon, KGS, Nick, Papa Whiskey, Phyllis Chesler, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

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

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

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A Window into the Parlors of Heaven

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As you all know, we just finished our Winter Fundraiser. Dymphna and I are grateful for all the people who took the trouble to hit the tip cup and keep us going for another quarter.

(By the way — winter is here with a vengeance, at least in the Northeast. As I write this, New York is expecting to get slammed with up to two feet of snow. We’re just getting a little snow here, but the ground is white tonight.)

The remarkable thing about last week’s fundraiser was the variety of locations that our donors came from. So many states and countries, a lot of them places that we hear from only rarely. So many small donations, people just giving what they can, but adding up to enough to maintain Gates of Vienna.

It’s inspiring in a way that I find hard to describe. It’s good to know that what we do here means that much to that many people.

Over the past couple of days I exchanged several emails with one of our British donors who happens to be an afficianado of Johann Sebastian Bach. Long-time readers know that I am devoted to Bach’s organ music. From time to time I go off-topic and post videos of performances of Bach’s music on various pipe organs (and sometimes the choral works, too).

Our reader sent a link to a YouTube of one of the six Trio Sonatas, the first movement of BWV 529. He referred to it as an example of the way Bach takes the listener to what seems to be the climax, the resolution of the theme. But then he carries the music further, into something even more sublime, as if to say: “You thought that was all, but there is always more.”

That made me think of one of the other Trio Sonatas (which I happened to be listening to in the car every time I went out last week), so I wrote him back to cite it as another example of what he was describing. I had to struggle to put into words my experience of the music. The section below is adapted from what I said in my email.

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

I love the Trio Sonatas. In fact, it was a CD of Marie-Claire Alain playing the Trio Sonatas (l’orgue Schwenkedel de la collégiale à Saint-Donat, 1981) that really hooked me on listening to Bach’s organ music. That and the St. Anne’s Prelude and Fugue. That was about 27 years ago, and I’ve been exploring the organ works ever since. I listen to them over and over again, and never grow tired of them. And I can always find something new, something I never noticed before, particularly if I acquire a new rendition.

When Dymphna gave me the complete Bach organ works played by Marie-Claire Alain, I heard some new versions of very familiar pieces, and picked up on things I hadn’t noticed. That was even true of the Trio Sonatas — in the new CDs, Ms. Alain was playing them on a different organ, and probably years or decades apart from the version I had acquired earlier, and — wow! I hear new things!

I know exactly what you mean about the crescendo to an apparent resolution, followed by a new crescendo to an even greater resolution. I’ve noticed that in other works, such as the Dorian Toccata and Fugue, or the Passacaglia and Fugue. And there’s another example from the Trio Sonatas, the third movement (Allegro) from BWV 525.

This version was performed by Kay Johannsen (location and organ not listed):

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No Mosques in Slovakia!

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[Updated 1/27/15 2:42pm to fill in the missing word “thousand” in “300 or 400 thousand arriving Muslims”]

Our Czech correspondent Gemini sends his translation of an
online article that quotes Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, during his recent appearance on a TV talk show. The translator includes this introductory note:

PM Fico is a former member of the Communist party of Czechoslovakia, and currently a devoted socialist. I guess his fascination with the state and its power is too obvious, even from this article. He surprised everyone, though, with those remarks about Islam.

The translated article:

Prime Minister Fico: We cannot tolerate the arrival of Muslims and the building of mosques!

When it comes to the fight against terrorism, countries ought to be passing laws, enabling them to get private information of dangerous persons. This results from the statements Prime Minister Robert Fico made while taking part on the Saturday talk show called Sobotné dialógy broadcast nationally. The prime minister pointed out that some countries in the world are passing special laws concerning the fight against terrorism which give more leeway to police. “Maybe the world or events would (eventually) press on us to set different rules for some group when it comes to privacy, telephones or bank accounts,” said Fico. He emphasized that it would relate only to an obvious state of national emergency. “If the danger in Europe increases, I thnik that this would be the simplest way to react. I’m not in favour of any torture, though. I opt for the access to information,” the prime minister added. Meanwhile, unless proved guilty, presumption of innocence should apply to everyone, and offices in charge of criminal prosecution should treat everyone equally.

Terrorism relates also to us

Concerning terror attacks in Europe he said that Slovakia cannot act as if this problem is not our concern. Also this is why nowadays dangerous persons are monitored much more carefully. “There are groups, foreigners, but also sometimes maybe even our citizens on our territory that act irrationaly, oddly, acting in a way that suspicions arise that in the future they might do something harmful to the country. In case anything like that happened, we put everything together in order to make Slovakia more prepared,” Fico stated. Nowadays, the Slovak intelligence service focuses much more on effective international cooperation, information exchange mostly.

Failed project of multiculturalism

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Try on a Hijab!

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The University of Alberta believes that a woman should have freedom of choice. She may choose the jilbab, the niqab, the abaya, the kerudung, the paranja, or the chador. If she wants to be really daring, she can even choose the burqa!

There are so many exciting possibilities!

That’s why the University of Alberta has made certain that its female students have access to complete information about all the sartorial modes available to them, so that they can enjoy their liberated undergraduate experience while still adhering to the enlightened code of modesty prescribed by the sharia:


Try on a hijab at the University of Alberta! (Click to enlarge)

The above photo was sent to us by a student at the Modern Multicultural University of Alberta, along with this note:

I was blown away by something I saw on campus. Today in the students’ union building there was a table offering people the chance to ‘Try on a Hijab’. Unbelievable.

I immediately snapped a picture of it.

I will be filing a complaint later today.

“You Are Part of Something Huge”

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Yesterday we published an English translation of the prepared text for a message sent by Geert Wilders to the organizers of the PEGIDA demonstration in Dresden. The following video clip shows the reading of Mr. Wilders’ message late yesterday afternoon in central Dresden.

Many thanks to Rembrandt Clancy and Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff for their work on the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

German video source (19 minutes long)

Rembrandt Clancy sends this background information on the speaker featured in the above video:

About the Speaker

The speaker goes by the name of Ed from Utrecht, and is also known as Ed the Dutchman (Ed der Holländer). In a speech in Dresden on 22 December 2014, he says that the first demonstration in his life was in Dresden on Monday November 3. He had never participated in a political party or other political organisations. He is just a father, a man who is anxious about the political direction in Germany.

In the introduction to an interview by Die Freie Welt (19 December 2014), Ed from Utrecht gives a short description of how he became acquainted with PEGIDA. He had been on the sidelines of a HoGeSa demonstration in Hanover and was interviewed by a number of camera teams. One of these interviews was posted on the Internet causing him to become well-known, and that led to his being one of the main speakers at the PEGIDA demonstrations; for example, on 8 December 2014. Also after his initial HoGeSa exposure, he acquired the epithet “The Courageous Dutchman” (Der mutige Holländer).

Also in the interview with Die Freie Welt, he says his wife is German, he has three children and he lives in the vicinity of the Ruhr. He prefers to use only his first name; he uses the last name of “Utrecht”, because he was born there.

Transcript:

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A PEGIDA Triptych

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JLH sends this PEGIDA Triptych, consisting of three (translated) parts:

1.   a sad note,
2.   an angry note, and
3.   a sour note.
 

1. This is the sad note, where a leader steps down, but other leaders are already in place. And we learn that the Past is not Prologue — Facebook is.

“Movement Damaged” — Bachmann Resigns and Apologizes

The initiator of the PEGIDA movement is resigning because of derogatory remarks about foreigners. Bachmann apologizes and says that he would not use expressions like “dumb animals” and “dirtbag” today. A photo of him with Hitler-style mustache and hair over the forehead, he says, was meant to be a joke.

After heavy criticism of photos in a “Hitler pose” and comments on the internet, the founder of the Islam-critical movement Pegida, Lutz Bachmann, has stepped down from his role in the organization. “I am sorry that I have damaged the interests of our movement and accept the consequences,” Bachmann said on Facebook.

Bachmann was severely criticized for the photos in Hitler pose — indeed also from within his own movement. Deputy leader Rene Jahn declared in BILD: “There have to be consequences.” The internet photos show Bachmann with a “Hitler mustache.”

Pressure on the Islam critic rose during the course of the day, because the Dresden city attorney’s office began an investigation on suspicion of hate speech. This was triggered by press reports on alleged Facebook entries and commentaries by Bachmann, berating and insulting refugees and asylum seekers.

“I apologize sincerely to all citizens who are offended by my posts,” Bachmann declared. “They were thoughtless comments which I would no longer make today.” The Pegida movement is losing its best-known — and most controversial — representative. This Monday’s demonstration has been called off because of, among other things, death threats against Bachmann.

Herbst Contradicts Bachmann

Apparently Bachmann’s loss of support inside Pegida’s leadership was because of the remarks and not the “Hitler selfies,” which were satire, and that is allowed to any citizen, explained Pegida spokeswoman Kathrin Oertel.

Bachmann himself confirmed the genuineness of the photos in BILD and classified them as a joke. “While getting my hair cut, I took the picture for the audiobook “He’s Back” and posted it on the bulletin board for Christoph Maria Herbst,” said the 41-year-old. “Sometimes you also have to make fun of yourself.”

The actor Herbst let it be known through his lawyer that he has no page on Facebook and has never “liked” the photo or anything similar, as Bachmann maintains. Bachmann had told BILD that Herbst liked it.

Oertel: Universal Derogation Will Not Do

Oertel said that the photos were one thing, and private. “General insults of foreigners, however, are not.” Pegida rejects Bachmann’s familiar Facebook posts “in the strongest possible terms,” Oertel added. Things like “dumb animal,” dirtbag” and “trash” have no place “in political discourse.”

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