Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.
This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.
So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.
This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.
The moderator at Promed observed:
“[I]f you treat each state as a country and insert them in descending cumulative case counts, New York state would be number 1, followed by Spain, Italy, UK, Russia, France, Germany, Brazil, New Jersey, and Turkey as number 10. Number 11 would be Iran, 12 China, 13 Massachusetts, 14 Illinois, 15 Canada, 16 California, 17 Peru, 18 India, 19 Pennsylvania, and 20 Belgium.
“Six US states are in the top 20 in terms of cumulative case counts (concept from – Mod.LXL). Even more sobering is that New York City itself would be between France and Russia (it would be number 6).”
https://promedmail.org/promed-post/?id=7319806
https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2020/05/a-bcg-chart-can-tell-you-whats-safe-and-whats-not/
viral load chart based on a cited article (which lacks references, but is well-thought out)
[The error in that chart that I see is that choir practice can be 2 hours, as in the Washington state cluster.]
Inside that article is a link to a more complete picture:
https://www.erinbromage.com/post/the-risks-know-them-avoid-them
There was a picture of PT meeting with the Joint Chiefs on Saturday. A large seminar table, every other seat empty. They were together in that closed room, talking. Breathing. ………….No masks………….
Sec. Pompeo is obese, elevated BP. Others there are clearly in that “vulnerable” category.
They say they all get tested daily. False negatives are at about 30%. What if viral load doesn’t show for three days?
Friendly Fire? Iranian Frigate Reportedly Sinks Fellow Ship by Accident (sputniknews, May 11, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202005111079266343-friendly-fire-iranian-frigate-accidentally-sinks-fellow-ship—report/
“The two vessels were conducting live military exercises in the area of Jask, in the Sea of Oman. According to reports, there may be dozens of casualties among naval personnel from the sunken vessel.
The Iranian Moudge-class frigate ‘Jamaran’ accidentally shot at the friendly general-purpose ship ‘Konarak’ during live-fire exercises near Jask, Naval News reported, citing local sources.
The C-802 Noor anti-ship missile sank the Konarak, with many casualties, according to Al Jazeera. At least 40 naval personnel are said to be missing in the incident, Daily Mail, citing local media.
No official statement from the Iranian Navy has followed, while the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps reportedly labeled the incident “human error”, occurring due to an incorrect drill maneuver.
Several videos allegedly show the evacuation of surviving sailors to hospitals after the incident.
#BREAKING: Another video leaked now is showing wounded sailors of #Konarak General Purpose Tender being rushed to hospital of #Chabahar. Jamaran Moudge-Class frigate mistakenly fired a C-802 anti-ship missile at Konarak supply vessel during the exercise near #Jask this evening…”
Introduced on January 24, 2019?
H. R.748 – CARES Act
Sponsor: Rep. Courtney [D-CT-2] (Introduced 01/24/2019)
Shown Here:
Public Law No: 116-136 (03/27/2020)
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or the CARES Act
This bill responds to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak and its impact on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/748/committees
pdf
https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hr748/BILLS-116hr748enr.pdf
Nothing to see here.
The bill started as a “Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2019”
https://www.c-span.org/congress/bills/bill/?116/hr748
From Martin Sellner;
it goes about the Study from a employee of German Interior Ministry that was blocked by the Government and eventually leaked out of frustration.
“Millionen Lebensjahre vernichtet”? Humane “Kollateralschäden” des Shutdowns
“Millions of years of life destroyed”? Human “collateral damage” of the shutdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PBAfhvszCc
I’m pretty sure that the same is going on in our Countries.
This is about what Martin Sellner is referring to in his video.
Das Corona-Papier: Wie das Deutsche Innenministerium das Risiko heraufbeschwor
The Corona Paper: How the German Ministry of the Interior Invoked the Risk
Dear readers, what I am writing to you today, if we still have reasonably functioning institutions, authorities, courts and the media, should bring the lockdown to an immediate end. Because now follows a story in which you feel reminded of Watergate and Whistleblowing, only now, today and in the middle. Since I am a doctor and I am mainly interested in people, I will tell you from this perspective.
Liebe Leser und Leserinnen, was ich Ihnen heute schreibe, müsste, wenn wir noch einigermaßen funktionierende Institutionen, Behörden, Gerichte und Medien haben, den Lockdown zu einem unverzüglichen Ende bringen. Denn nun folgt eine Geschichte, in der man sich an Watergate und Whistleblowing erinnert fühlt, nur jetzt, heute und mittendrin. Da ich Arzt bin, und mich vor allem Menschen interessieren, werde ich sie Ihnen auch genau aus dieser Perspektive erzählen.
https://www.achgut.com/artikel/das_corona_papierl_wie_das_innenministerium_das_risiko_heraufbeschwor
The web-site has a function to translate the article in a variety of Languages.
There’s even a function for Audio
Iranian Navy Hits Own Warship With Missile In Fatal Accident
https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutton/2020/05/11/iranian-navy-sinks-own-warship-with-missile-in-fatal-accident/
The Iranian Navy has confirmed that 19 people died when an Iranian warship was hit by a missile during a training exercise. 15 more are reported to have been injured. The events took place off the Iranian port of Jask in the Sea of Oman on May 10. Jask is strategically located outside the Straits of Hormuz, and is regularly used by Iranian warships and submarines.
The incident occurred close to the coast near Jask and Chabahar. Rescuers rushed to the scene but the boat’s superstructure was completely destroyed and the hull began to sink. It appears that they were able to tow it back to port.
Training with live missiles is inherently dangerous and accidents can occur in any Navy. The missiles can lock on to the wrong target. Strict procedures and effective command normally mitigate the risks however. So such incidents are rare, and this event stands out in terms of scale and misfortune. In July 2016 a Taiwanese warship accidentally fired an anti-ship missile which homed in on a fishing vessel, killing its captain and injuring the crew.
The sunk warship, Kenarak (A-1403), was a Hendijan-class auxiliary support vessel. She can be armed with 20mm cannon and anti-ship missiles but is used was a general purpose vessel. Her core crew is only 15 people, many fewer than the reported dead and injured.
The missile was reportedly fired from the frigate Jamaran. It has not yet been confirmed which type of weapon was involved. However the 1500 ton warship is armed with C-802 Noor anti-ship missiles. These are an Iranian development of a Chinese weapon, and are broadly equivalent to the U.S. Navy’s Harpoon missile. The frigate, termed a destroyer in Iranian parlance, is also armed with radar guided anti-aircraft missiles which can also be used against ships. These are derived from the U.S. Navy’s legacy Standard SM-1 type. They have a smaller warhead than the Noor missile.
Jamaran is the first Moudge class ship and entered service in 2010. 3 Moudge Class ships have been built and more are under construction. It is not the first accident involving this class of ship however. Her sister-ship Damavand was sunk in a navigation error on January 10 2018.
Iran regularly exercises its forces to attack ships in the Straits of Hormuz as well as the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman. Jamaran is one of its newer and most capable warships, but there are reports that it is building even larger destroyers, and even large submarines.
The Iranian version of this story:
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990222000265
[..]
The circumstances of the incident are currently undergoing technical examinations.
Gay couple attacked for second time on Amsterdam street
https://nltimes.nl/2020/05/11/gay-couple-attacked-second-time-amsterdam-street
A gay couple was harassed and assaulted by a group of people in Amsterdam Oost, their lawyer Sebas Diekstra said on Twitter on Monday. This was the second time that this couple was attacked in Amsterdam – they were also harassed over Easter weekend. According to the lawyer, the attack was again prompted by them walking hand-in-hand.
The group first shouted remarks at the couple and then assaulted one of the men, the lawyer said. They attacked him from behind, kicking him to the ground. “The police were quickly at the scene, breaking up off the attack and the group fled,” Diekstra said. One person was held by the police, according to the lawyer.
The couple immediately wanted to press assault charges, but the police told them that this could not happen at the scene because they were too busy, the lawyer said. The couple was told to go to a police station on Thursday.
The two men were also verbally attacked, threatened and spat on outside a Lidl store on April 18th. A 15-year-old boy later turned himself in at a police station.
Despite U.S. government-financing (88%) Freedom House, while still regarding itself as an NGO independent of a sprawling American bureaucracy rife with radical leftists, “downgrades” Hungary to undemocratic. Meanwhile, it ignores Islam consolidating in the Balkans, and mother-arresting police actions in Canada and the U.S. It also ignores the U.S. attempted deep-state coup as if it never happened, ignores increased German police aggression, ignores Hungarian outreach to Jewish and Christian minorities, Orban’s super-majority election victory, western msm globalist propaganda, and multiple Justin Trudeau power grabs in Canada via media bribery and removal of gun ownership rights.
Gee-whiz, Freedom House, even if your heart is in the right place, maybe the world is just too complex for your Neo-Marxist sensibilities:
https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/freedom-house-warns-democratic-breakdown-central-eastern-europe
Grooming Gang Rapists Remain Free in Rochdale Two Years After Facing Deportation (breitbart, May 11, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/05/11/grooming-gang-rapists-remain-in-rochdale-two-years-losing-citizenship/
“Three Pakistani men convicted in the Rochdale child grooming scandal are free on the streets of the city, despite losing their legal right to remain in the country two years ago.
Qari Abdul Rauf, Abdul Aziz and Adil Khan were convicted in 2012 on a series of charges relating to the sexual abuse of children as young as 12. The men were all released after early from prison, with all just serving four years or less behind bars.
The three rapists held dual citizenship in Pakistan and the United Kingdom and faced deportation to Pakistan after the government announced that it would be revoking their British citizenship.
In 2016, then-home secretary Theresa May ruled it would be ‘conducive to the public good’ to revoke their right to remain in the country. The group mounted a tax-payer funded challenge to the ruling, claiming that the decision had violated their human rights. The appeal was rejected in July of 2018.
Despite this, there are no indications that any deportation proceedings are taking place against the three men, leaving them free to roam the same streets of Rochdale, where they abused young girls.
A victim of Qari Abdul Rauf, told The Mirror, that she had seen images of him on social media in Rochdale, saying: “I thought Theresa May had organised his deportation, so how come he’s still here?”
“I feel violated to know he’s living near me – in the same area where he hunted for girls like me,” she said, adding: “It’s a total betrayal of grooming victims that he’s allowed to stay.”
Rauf, a taxi driver and former teacher at a mosque, used his taxi to drive his 15-year-old victim into deserted areas of the city to have sex with her. He was released from prison after serving just two years and six months of his six-year prison sentence.
Boris Johnson’s government has so far refused to release a long-promised report on the ethnic backgrounds of convicted grooming gang members, even after over 120,000 people signed a petition demanding the paper be made public.
Calling on the government to release the findings of the report, Tom Hunt MP said: “This is a live issue and represents a form of evil that needs to be stamped out fully.”
“Bearing in mind the seriousness of this issue it’s only right and proper than any Government review on the issue is robust and no holds barred, and is published fully with no redactions so the public at large can gain an understanding of what happened and how it was allowed to happen,” Hunt added.
A 2017 report conducted by Quilliam, a London based counter-extremism think tank, found that 84 per cent of the people convicted of grooming gang crimes in Britain were Muslim men of South Asian heritage.
The study, which was authored by two Pakistani-heritage men, found that the grooming gangs would specifically target young white girls because they were seen as “easy targets” compared to girls from their own communities, whom they felt should be “protected”.
“We began thinking we would debunk the media narrative that Asians are overrepresented in this specific crime,” said author Muna Adil.
“But, when the final numbers came in we were alarmed and dismayed. For both of us being of Pakistani heritage, this issue is deeply personal and deeply disturbing,” Adil remarked.
Police throughout the country have been accused of covering up the true scale of the grooming gang epidemic, as well as its racial component.
A report commissioned by the Mayor of Greater Manchester found that police in the city systematically overlooked crimes being committed Asian grooming gangs, out of fear of being a labelled racist.
“What had a massive input was the offending target group were predominantly Asian males and we were told to try and get other ethnicities,” said an unnamed GMP detective constable.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found that police in Rotherham had also consistently ignored the sexual violence committed by Asian grooming gangs for fear of sparking “racial tensions“.
The IOPC report claimed that a chief inspector in Rotherham had told a father of a missing girl that the town “would erupt” if the public were made aware that the gangs were targeting young white girls.”
Pakistani police say armed men damage church in land dispute (abcnews, May 11, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pakistani-police-armed-men-damage-church-land-dispute-70611532
“A group of armed men vandalized a church in eastern Pakistan before fleeing the scene, a local police official said Monday.
The incident in the village of Kala Shahkaku in Punjab province took place on Saturday and was apparently not sectarian but connected to a land dispute involving the church, according to police official Shahid Akram.
An image from the attack, broadcast on social media showed a cross, which had originally hung above the entrance door of the church, lying atop a pile of rubble. However, the extent of damage to the church could not be determined from the photograph.
Akram said police have detained two suspects and were still conducting searches for the main culprits.
“Our initial investigation shows that some local Muslims orchestrated this attack over a lingering land dispute,” he said, adding that “all those who are linked to this sad incident will be arrested.”
Human rights activists and local Christian leaders condemned the vandalism and urged the Punjab government to arrest all those linked to the attack.
Pakistan’s minority Christians have faced such attacks in the past. Last month, Pakistan’s independent Human Rights Commission in its annual report gave the authorities a failing grade, saying too little was being done to protect the country’s minorities and other vulnerable segments of the population, including women and children.”
Asylum seekers fly from Greece to UK for relocation (abcnews, May 11, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/asylum-seekers-fly-greece-uk-relocation-70612336
“A group of 16 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and 34 adults left Greece Monday morning on a flight to the United Kingdom, where they will be reunited with family members who are already there.
The move is part of a program to relocate about 1,600 unaccompanied refugee children to European countries. So far, Luxembourg has taken 12 children and Germany nearly 50, while Finland is to take about 100 later this month. Government spokesman Stelios Petsas said Monday that a further 22 people are to be relocated to Switzerland.
Tens of thousands of refugees and migrants, including thousands of unaccompanied children, are living in squalid conditions in overcrowded camps on several Greek islands after arriving from the nearby Turkish coast. Many more are housed in camps, apartments and other shelters across the mainland.
The flight heading to the UK will return to Greece with 130 Greeks who had been stranded in Britain due to the travel restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Migration and Asylum Ministry said.
“It is proof and confirmation that modern challenges that go beyond the borders and capabilities of each country individually, are dealt with only with international cooperation and the joining of forces,” Alternate Migration and Asylum Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos said.”
Greece: Dozens of migrants fly to UK on family reunification flight
Around 16 unaccompanied minor and 34 adult migrants from overcrowded camps in Greece left Athens for the UK on a family reunification flight on Monday.
The refugees were seen embarking in the presence of officials from both countries.
“[We] have noticed the happiness on the faces of these people [the refugees]. Even if we could only see their eyes [referring to women wearing burqa], because they travel to reunify with their families,” said Deputy Asylum and Immigration Minister George Koumoutsakos.
UK Ambassador Kate Smith expressed her happiness “to see the first results of the action plan we signed two weeks ago,” and ensured that her government “would like to continue the cooperation with the Greek Government, in the context of the Dublin agreement,” to “continue the families re- unification and relocation program of children who have families in UK.”
Cooperative efforts between the Greek and UK governments have allowed the flight to take place, despite the general suspension of family reunification procedures and the closure of borders due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
So what is the advantage for the ENGLISH people,more crime and third world ignorance?
France’s No-Go Zones: The Riots Return
by Guy Millière
May 10, 2020 at 10:30 am
A few months ago, a police officer, Noam Anouar, who infiltrated Islamist circles… stated that no-go zones in France are now foreign enclaves on French territory. “The gangs operating there,” he wrote, “have formed a parallel economy based on drug trafficking. They consider themselves at war with France and with Western civilization. They act in cooperation with Islamist organizations, and define acts of predation and rampage as raids against infidels”. He noted that reclaiming these areas today would be complicated, costly, and involve calling in the army.
For years, successive French governments have chosen a policy of “willful blindness”: they simply behave as if they do not see what is going on. They do not even try to find solutions.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15977/france-no-go-zones-riots
French police vs mob of peace
https://www.dumpert.nl/item/7909671_4599c5d5
WATCH: Turkish IS supporter commits attack on Turkish grocery store in Waldkraiburg, Germany
When in the early morning hours of April 27th the window panes of a grocery store in Waldkraiburg burst and the shop was burst into flames, many residents of the Bavarian town no longer believed in coincidence. The fire developed quickly, the residents could no longer escape through the main entrance of the building, six residents were injured. Only the alarm of a resident and the quick action of the fire brigade prevented something worse. Only a ruin remains of the store, and the damage is amounting to millions.
The arson attack, which as it turns out later was preceded by an explosion, is part of a series of attacks: within ten days, in addition to the attack on the fruit and vegetable shop, there were stone throwing attacks against a hairdresser’s shop, a pizzeria and finally a kebab shop in Waldkraiburg. All the victims are of Turkish origin. The local criminal investigation department founded the fifty-member special commission “Prager”, and the Central Office for Combating Extremism and Terrorism of the Munich Attorney General’s Office took over the case management.
In the meantime, a 25-year-old man was arrested who confessed to all four crimes and a warrant was issued against him. According to the investigators on Sunday noon, he called himself a follower of the “Islamic State” and had committed crimes out of hatred against Turks. No other country has suffered so many attacks and deaths by the so-called “Islamic State”. Turkey is therefore taking strong action against the Islamic terrorist militia. Just in the past few months there have been raids against the IS in Turkey, money has been confiscated and possible accounts of the Islamists have been blocked. In its publications, the IS repeatedly threatened to conquer the Turkish metropolis Istanbul. The Turkish state is seen as an enemy of the Islamists. The suspect is a German citizen born near Waldkraiburg, whose parents are from Turkey. Investigators have expressly denied that he had acted on the basis of the Kurdish-Turkish conflict. He had been unemployed for several months. Witnesses questioned by the investigators reported an Islamic-religious radicalization of the man in recent years, which had led to quarrels with his family. Apart from violations of the narcotics law, he had not previously committed any criminal offences.The man had attracted attention at the train station in Mühldorf am Inn because he did not have a valid ticket. He was carrying a trolley and a sports bag containing ten ignitable pipe bombs and 20 kilograms of chemical materials for the production of explosives. The station was therefore cleared and closed off for safety reasons.After the man’s arrest, investigators of the State Criminal Police Office searched the offender’s apartment in Waldkraiburg as well as a vehicle in an underground garage in Garching an der Alz. According to the investigators, the vehicle contained 13 additional functional bombs as well as ten kilograms of materials suitable as explosives. In addition, a weapon with ammunition, black powder and other explosive materials were found in the perpetrator’s apartment. The man had made the bombs himself and had stated that he had planned further attacks. He did not have any concrete targets, but his plans were directed against Turkish institutions. Investigators are currently investigating whether there are accomplices or confidants and where he got his weapons and materials from.Contrary to various speculations in the social media, no “foreigners get out” graffiti was sprayed on the façade of the grocery store before the fire, and hatred against citizens of Waldkraiburg with a migration background is quite rare.
https://medforthblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/10/watch-turkish-is-supporter-commits-attack-on-turkish-grocery-store-in-waldkraiburg-germany/
Please click through for a good cartoon
https://www.daybydaycartoon.com/comic/he-nose/
Compare Prez-Nixon to the Manchurian Prez?
Never!
MUST WATCH: Debunking the Narrative (With Prof. Dolores Cahill)
Singapore Zoo’s coatimundis roam freely during the COVID-19 circuit breaker
Coatimundis- looked like a rat, but it isn’t. Between racoon and bear, cute little guys!
https://www.costarica.com/wildlife/coatimundis
Watch the most shocking ‘social distancing’ arrests
Covid-19 Update: Karnataka Makes 14-Day Quarantine Mandatory For All Returnees
Mumbai Hospital Horror: New Video Of Mumbai’s Sion And KEM Hospital Show Patients Sharing Beds
One thing’s sure – Freedom of the press is alive and well in India.
Special Report: The Coronavirus Pandemic’s Wall Street Connection | China in Focus
***UK COLUMN NEWS
video – 61 minutes
Broadcast: Monday – Wednesday – Friday
‘Qui tacet consentire videtur’ – ‘Who is silent seems to agree’
To contact: https://www.ukcolumn.org/contact
Please follow link for content
https://www.ukcolumn.org/ukcolumn-news/uk-column-news-11th-may-2020
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MINDSPACE INFLUENCING BEHAVIOUR THROUGH PUBLIC POLICY
To print/read – 96 pages – https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/MINDSPACE.pdf
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SIR ROBERT PEEL’S 9 POLICING PRINCIPLES – https://lawenforcementactionpartnership.org/peel-policing-principles/
President Trump calls out leaked audio as ‘Obamagate’
President Trump has sounded the alarm on what he’s referred to as “Obamagate.” The matter unraveled Sunday in a string of tweets re-posted by the president, which accuse former President Barack Obama of speaking against him.
The allegations stem from leaked audio files circulated online, which allegedly capture Obama during a private phone call with former White House staffers.
In the audio you can hear what’s believed to be Obama criticizing the Trump administration and then vowing to rally behind Joe Biden.
https://www.oann.com/president-trump-calls-out-leaked-audio-as-obamagate/
He got caught, OBAMAGATE! https://t.co/oV6fum0zIS
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2020
Rotterdam, the Netherlands now has over a 100 shootings a year. No prizes for guessing who’s doing the shooting.:
Man gunned down in Rotterdam had flown home from Morocco days earlier
https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2020/05/man-gunned-down-in-rotterdam-had-flown-home-from-morocco-days-earlier/
Police have identified a 25-year-old man who was shot dead in the street in Rotterdam late on Sunday evening. The shooting happened in Bergselaan, in the city’s northern district, at about 10pm. Witnesses said they heard rapid gunfire for around half a minute, suggesting the killers used automatic weapons. Brahim Bourzik, editor of the Moslimkrant newspaper, said he had been told by sources that the victim had travelled back to Rotterdam from Morocco on a repatriation flight a few days earlier. The man’s identity has not been officially disclosed but he is believed to live locally. A woman entered the police cordon in her socks soon after the incident crying out: ‘my brother, my brother.’ The killers are thought to have fled the scene in an Audi sports car. A similar vehicle was set on fire under the Spaansbrug bridge shortly afterwards. Vincent Karremans, leader of the Liberal party (VVD) group on Rotterdam city council, said the shooting took place close to his home. ‘It was half a minute of shots and loud bangs. The noise was rapid and extremely loud. ‘I ran to the scene but there was a woman already trying to resuscitate him. When a policeman arrived on a motorbike to help, it was clear that it was too late.’ Karremans said the shooting was likely to be drugs-related. ‘I’ve seen so much crap since I’ve been on the council. All because of drugs, or at least that’s how it looks, although it’s only speculation.’
Also here:
https://nltimes.nl/2020/05/11/man-shot-dead-rotterdam-street
[..]
In a separate incident, a 21-year-old man was also shot outside an Amsterdam-Noord coffeeshop on Saturday. Nobody was arrested in the shooting despite a heavy police presence quickly after the shooting took place.
The victim was taken to an area hospital, where his condition was stabilized. Police asked for witnesses to come forward with any information that might help them in the investigation.
Just before midnight on Sunday, one bullet was fired at a home on Dalsteindreef in Amsterdam Zuidoost. There were no injuries.
Germany surge sounds coronavirus alarm as world takes steps to reopen
BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) – Germany reported on Monday that new coronavirus infections were accelerating exponentially after early steps to ease its lockdown, news that sounded a global alarm even as businesses opened from Paris hair salons to Shanghai Disneyland.
Germany’s Robert Koch Institute reported that the “reproduction rate” – the number of people each person infected with the coronavirus goes on to infect – had risen to 1.1. Any rate above 1 means the virus is spreading exponentially.
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German authorities had taken early steps to ease lockdown measures just days earlier, a stark illustration that progress can swiftly be reversed even in a country with one of the best records in Europe of containing the virus so far.
It follows a new outbreak in night clubs in South Korea, another country that had succeeded in limiting infections.
Governments around the world are struggling with the question of how to reopen their economies while still containing the coronavirus. In Europe, the world’s worst-hit continent, Spain and France began major steps to ease lockdowns, while Britain announced more cautious moves.
Traffic flowed along the Champs Elysees in Paris, a giant tricolore flag billowing under the Arc de Triomphe, as workers cleaned shop-front windows to reopen.
https://www.oann.com/germany-surge-sounds-coronavirus-alarm-as-world-takes-steps-to-reopen/
Coronavirus cases surge in Russia, tally now third highest globally
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A new surge in coronavirus cases took Russia’s tally past those in Italy and Britain on Monday, making it the third highest in the world just hours before President Vladimir Putin was due to issue an update on the situation.
The number of new cases of the novel coronavirus rose by a record daily amount to 11,656 in the previous 24 hours, making the official tally 221,344. Only Spain and the United States have recorded more cases than the world’s biggest country.
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More than half of all cases and deaths are in Moscow, the epicentre of Russia’s outbreak. The Russian capital on Monday reported an overnight increase of 6,169 new cases, bringing its official total to 115,909.
The country’s coronavirus response centre also reported 94 new deaths, taking the overall death toll to 2,009. The official death toll remains far lower than in many countries, something Kremlin critics have queried.
Official data published on Sunday showed Moscow reported 18% more deaths in April this year than the same month in 2019, raising the possibility that the official death toll from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, seriously understates the spread of the virus.
Government officials attribute the lower death toll and the rising and large number of cases to a vast testing programme, under which they say 5.6 million tests have been conducted.
https://www.oann.com/russia-reports-record-rise-in-number-of-new-coronavirus-cases/
Hong Kong police arrest more than 200 as pro-democracy protests return
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong authorities said on Monday they arrested 230 people during pro-democracy protests on the weekend after a sing-along demonstration at a shopping mall spilled out on to the streets of the Chinese-ruled city.
Hundreds of riot police were deployed to disperse the protesters on Sunday, with some members of the media caught up in the chaos that evoked memories of the sometimes violent unrest that rocked the global financial hub last year.
Police said the arrested were aged between 12 and 65 and their offences included unlawful assembly, assaulting a police officer and failing to produce proof of identity.
https://www.oann.com/hong-kong-police-arrest-more-than-200-as-pro-democracy-protests-return/
Malta Ambassador Says Merkel Has ‘Fulfilled Hitler’s Dream to Control Europe’ (breitbart, May 11, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/05/11/malta-ambassador-says-merkel-has-fulfilled-hitlers-dream-to-control-europe/
“Malta’s ambassador to Finland has had to resign his post after saying that Germany’s Angela Merkel had “fulfilled Hitler’s dream” to “control Europe” on social media.
“75 years ago we stopped Hitler,” wrote Michael Zammit Tabona in a Facebook post commemorating Victory in Europe Day.
“Who will stop Angela Merkel? She has fulfilled Hitler’s dream! To control Europe,” he added.
Malta, as a former Crown Colony of the British Empire, was the lynchpin of the Allied presence in the Mediterranean for much of the war, and its population was bestowed with a collective George Cross — which still adorns the national flag today — for the long siege it suffered at the hands of the Axis powers.
The modern-day ambassador’s remarks, however, were not well received either in Berlin or the Maltese capital of Valetta, with foreign minister Evarist Bartolo telling the Times of Malta that he had been told to take down the post and promising the Germans would receive an apology for its “insensitive” nature.
Despite the florid terms in which they were expressed, the sentiments of the ambassador — now confirmed to have stepped down — are not unique in Europe, with commentators such as Britain’s Peter Hitchens having suggested that the European Union, in particular, is “the continuation of Germany by other means”.
Germany does indeed appear to have an outsize influence within the EU, with Chancellor Merkel — currently enjoying her fourth consecutive term in office, albeit with her party forced into a so-called “grand coalition” with its traditional Social Democratic Party rivals — having made a particularly large impact on the bloc with her unilateral decision to let in an unlimited number of supposed refugees in 2015.
While her invitation was, technically speaking, only to Germany, the move had an enormous impact on the EU’s border states and the states standing between them and Germany — many of which ended up stuck with large numbers of illegal migrants when the crisis grew out of control and Berlin closed the floodgates somewhat.
Merkel’s proposed solution to this crisis was to force compulsory migrant redistribution quotas on other EU member-states at the European Council, even if they had completely opposed her decision to open the borders in the first place — a move which is still being fought out in the EU courts to this day.”
And meanwhile in South Africa the Lockdown Terror continues.
South African Lockdown: armed thugs arresting child without warrant
Child being arrested for being near the beach in Ballito.
What the fuck is going on in South Africa?? This is in Chakas Rock. Is all of this pathetic behaviour from the police really necessary?? Come on Ramaphosa, wake the ? up!!!”
Update: These men are said to be Kwaduguza municipal cops. Municipal cops are usually responsible for the non-enforcement of traffic regulations and bylaws (e.g. noise control). This is not the South African Police (SAPS).
LANGUAGE!
Venezuela: Military capture 8 more alleged failed invasion participants *STILLS*
Stills published on Monday by the Strategic Operational Command of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) show 8 people detained in the Petaquirito area, in La Guaira state.
The images depict the alleged “mercenary terrorists” captured on Sunday night on their knees and with face masks, while armed FANB soldiers remain standing behind them.
According to government sources, these people reportedly participated in the failed attempt of incursion into Venezuela on May 3, when a subversive group attempted to enter Venezuelan territory aboard speedboats, before being were intercepted and repelled by security forces.
Brazil: Bolsonaro supporters demand resignation of Sao Paulo’s governor in anti-lockdown protest
Dozens of supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro rallied in Sao Paulo on Saturday to demand the resignation of the state’s governor whose COVID-19 lockdown measures they oppose.
The group of demonstrators were seen blocking traffic on Sao Paulo’s Paulista Avenue, displaying banners and holding a mock coffin of Joao Doria, the state’s governor.
“We are here today on Paulista avenue demanding the impeachment of governor Doria. He does not represent us anymore,” explained Falconi, a protester.
According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, Brazil has registered 149,000 cases of the coronavirus with more than 10,000 virus-related deaths. Sao Paulo remains one of the hardest-hit states in the country.
Rep Zeldin calls on Adam Schiff to resign
Obama slams DOJ over decision to drop Flynn case in leaked audio
Sidney Powell slams FBI, Obama: This was ‘orchestrated’
Scalise on Flynn case: Questions are being raised about Obama, Biden involvement
Channel pr4vd4 -Explained: What is the Wuhan lab coronavirus theory?
Germany: Govt condemns violence against police and journalists at protests
A German government spokesperson condemned recent violence committed against police and journalists by protesters, while speaking at a press conference in Berlin on Monday.
“The great aggressiveness against both policemen and also journalists, up to and including attacks on both, regardless of which political or ideological tendency it comes from it is to be severely and harshly condemned,” said spokesperson Steffen Seibert.
“Both, namely police officers like journalists, are doing their job,” he added.
Seibert also defended the right to peaceful protest saying it was “important in this time to in order to publicly show the variety of opinion.”
Protests held in major German cities, including Berlin, resulted in violent clashes between police and protesters rallying against restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus.
Multiple film crews covering the protests have also been attacked, including on Wednesday in Berlin, in recent weeks.
Germany: People should keep to “basic rules” as pandemic enters “new phase” – Merkel
“It’s very important for me to draw attention to the fact that it will be necessary, with the easing of the measures, to be sure that people continue to adhere to basic rules such as keeping their distance, wearing mouth and nose protection and showing consideration towards each other,” she said in a brief statement.
the independent – George Soros: Coronavirus endangers our civilisation
The billionaire investor and philanthropist explains in an wide-ranging new interview how the Covid-19 pandemic puts everything about capitalism up for grabs, how Donald Trump is destroying himself and how the recent German constitutional court ruling could result in ‘the end of the European Union as we know it’
GREGOR PETER SCHMITZ (INTERVIEWER): You have seen many crises. Is the Covid-19 pandemic comparable to any previous one?
GEORGE SOROS: No. This is the crisis of my lifetime. Even before the pandemic hit, I realised that we were in a revolutionary moment where what would be impossible or even inconceivable in normal times had become not only possible, but probably absolutely necessary. And then came Covid-19, which has totally disrupted people’s lives and required very different behaviour. It is an unprecedented event that probably has never occurred in this combination. And it really endangers the survival of our civilisation.
Could this crisis have been prevented if governments had been better prepared?
SOROS: We have had infectious disease pandemics ever since the bubonic plague. They were quite frequent in the 19th century, and then we had the Spanish flu at the end of the First World War, which actually occurred in three waves, with the second wave being the deadliest. Millions of people died. And we have had other serious outbreaks, such as the swine flu just a decade ago. So it’s amazing how unprepared countries were for something like this.
Is that the biggest problem of the current situation – this lack of certainty about how to deal with this virus and how to proceed in the coming months or years?
SOROS: It is certainly a very big one. We are learning very fast, and we now know a lot more about the virus than we did when it emerged, but we are shooting at a moving target because the virus itself changes rapidly. It will take a long time to develop a vaccine. And even after we have developed one, we will have to learn how to change it every year, because the virus will most likely change. That’s what we do with the flu shot every year.
Will this crisis change the nature of capitalism? Even before Covid-19 led to the current catastrophic recession, the downsides of globalisation and free trade were attracting greater attention.
SOROS: We will not go back to where we were when the pandemic started. That is pretty certain. But that is the only thing that is certain. Everything else is up for grabs. I do not think anybody knows how capitalism will evolve.
Could this crisis bring people – and nation states – closer together?
SOROS: In the long run, yes. At the present time, people are dominated by fear. And fear very often makes people hurt themselves. That is true of individuals as well as institutions, nations, and humanity itself.
Are we witnessing that in the current blame game between the United States and China over the origins of the virus?
SOROS: The continuing conflict between the US and China complicates matters, because we ought to work together on climate change and on developing a vaccine against Covid-19. But, apparently, we cannot work together because we are already competing over who will develop – and use – the vaccine. The fact that we have got two very different systems of government, democratic and …
Autocratic?
SOROS: Right. That makes everything much harder. There are a lot of people who say that we should be working very closely with China, but I am not in favour of doing that. We must protect our democratic open society. At the same time, we must find a way to cooperate on fighting climate change and the novel coronavirus. That won’t be easy. I sympathise with the Chinese people, because they are under the domination of a dictator, President Xi Jinping. I think a lot of educated Chinese are very resentful of that, and the general public is still very angry with him for keeping Covid-19 a secret until after the Chinese new year.
Could Xi’s grip on power weaken as the Chinese come to recognise that the handling of the crisis was sub-optimal?
SOROS: Very much so. When Xi abolished term limits and named himself, in essence, president for life, he destroyed the political future of the most important and ambitious men in a very narrow and competitive elite. It was a big mistake on his part. So, yes, he is very strong in a way, but at the same time extremely weak, and now perhaps vulnerable. The struggle within the Chinese leadership is something that I follow very closely because I am on the side of those who believe in an open society. And there are many people in China who are very much in favour of an open society too.
Then again, the current US president does not really represent the values of an open and free society…
SOROS: Well, that is a weakness that I hope will not last very long. Donald Trump would like to be a dictator. But he cannot be one because there is a constitution in the United States that people still respect. And it will prevent him from doing certain things. That does not mean that he will not try, because he is literally fighting for his life. I will also say that I have put my faith in Trump to destroy himself, and he has exceeded my wildest expectations.
What role does the European Union – your home that you care about so much – play in this power struggle?
SOROS: I am particularly concerned about the survival of the EU because it is an incomplete union. It was in the process of being created. But the process was never completed and that makes Europe exceptionally vulnerable – more vulnerable than the US not just because it is an incomplete union but also because it is based on the rule of law. And the wheels of justice move very slowly, while threats such as the Covid-19 virus move very fast. That creates a particular problem for the European Union.
Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court exploded a bombshell last week with its latest ruling on the European Central Bank. How seriously do you take it?
SOROS: I take it extremely seriously. The ruling poses a threat that could destroy the European Union as an institution based on the rule of law, precisely because it was delivered by the German constitutional court, which is the most highly respected institution in Germany. Before it delivered its verdict, it had consulted with the European Court of Justice and then decided to challenge it. So you now have a conflict between the German Constitutional Court and the European Court of Justice. Which court has precedence?
Technically, the European Treaties give the ECJ supremacy in this area. That is very clear.
SOROS: Right. When Germany joined the EU, it committed itself to abide by European law. But the ruling raises an even bigger issue: if the German court can question the decisions of the European Court of Justice, can other countries follow its example? Can Hungary and Poland decide whether they follow European law or their own courts – whose legitimacy the EU has questioned? That question goes to the very heart of the EU, which is built on the rule of law. Poland has immediately risen to the occasion and asserted the supremacy of its government-controlled courts over European law. In Hungary, Viktor Orban has already used the Covid-19 emergency and a captured parliament to appoint himself dictator. The parliament is kept in session to rubber-stamp his decrees, which clearly violate European law. If the German court’s verdict prevents the EU from resisting these developments, it will be the end of the EU as we know it.
Will the ECB need to change its policies after this ruling?
SOROS: Not necessarily. This ruling only requires the ECB to justify its current monetary policies. It has been given three months to justify the actions it has taken. That will consume a lot of the ECB’s attention when it is the only really functioning institution in Europe that can provide the financial resources needed to combat the pandemic. Therefore, it should focus its attention on helping Europe to establish a Recovery Fund.
Do you have any suggestions where these resources could come from?
SOROS: I have proposed that the EU should issue perpetual bonds, although I now think that they should be called “Consols”, because perpetual bonds have been successfully used under that name by Britain since 1751 and the United States since the 1870s.
Perpetual bonds have become confused with “Coronabonds,” which have been rejected by the European Council – and with good reason, because they imply a mutualisation of accumulated debts that the member states are unwilling to accept. That has poisoned the debate about perpetual bonds. I believe that the current predicament strengthens my case for Consols. The German court said that the ECB’s actions were legal because they adhered to the requirement that its bond purchases were proportional to the member states’ shareholding in the ECB. But the clear implication was that any ECB purchases that were not proportional to the ECB “capital key” could be challenged and deemed ultra vires by the court.
The kind of bonds that I have proposed would sidestep this problem, because they would be issued by the EU as a whole, would automatically be proportional, and would remain so eternally. The member states would have to pay only the annual interest, which is so minimal – at, say, 0.5 per cent – that the bonds could be easily subscribed by the member states, either unanimously or by a coalition of the willing.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, says that Europe needs about €1 trillion to fight this pandemic, and she should have added another €1 trillion for climate change. Consols could provide those amounts if the EU’s member states authorised them.
Unfortunately, Germany and the “Hanseatic League” states led by the Netherlands are adamantly opposed. They should think again. The EU is now considering doubling its budget, which would provide only about €100bn and yield only one-tenth of the benefit that perpetual bonds could provide. Those who want to keep their EU budget contribution to a minimum ought to support Consols. They would have to authorise certain taxes, like a financial transaction tax, that would provide the EU with its own resources, assuring its AAA rating, but the taxes would not have to be imposed – their place would be taken by Consols. Both these parties and the rest of Europe would be much better off. Annual payments of €5bn, whose present value would continuously decline, would give the EU €1 trillion that the continent urgently needs – an amazing cost-benefit ratio.
When the EU relaxed its rules against state aid, Germany submitted more than half of the requests. Some people argue that this undermines the principles of a single market because it gives Germany an unfair advantage. What do you think?
SOROS: I agree with their argument. It is particularly unfair to Italy, which was already the sick man of Europe and then the hardest hit by Covid-19. Lega party leader Matteo Salvini is agitating for Italy to leave the euro and also the European Union. Fortunately, his personal popularity has declined since he left the government, but his advocacy is gaining followers. This is another existential threat for the EU. What would be left of Europe without Italy, which used to be the most pro-European country? Italians trusted Europe more than their own governments. But they were badly treated during the refugee crisis of 2015. That’s when they turned to Salvini’s far-right Lega and the populist Five Star Movement.
You sound very pessimistic.
SOROS: Far from it. I recognise that Europe is facing several existential dangers. That is not a figure of speech; it is the reality. The verdict of Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court is only the most recent challenge. Once we recognise this, we may be able to rise to the occasion. We can take exceptional measures that are appropriate to the exceptional circumstances we’re in. That certainly applies to Consols, which should never be issued in normal times, but are ideal right now. As long as I can propose measures like issuing Consols, I won’t give up hope.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/george-soros-coronavirus-interview-trump-eu-pandemic-a9508186.html
CBC – Italian aid worker abducted in Kenya returns home on special flight
Italian PM greets Silvia Romano at airport after 18-month ordeal ends
Silvia Romano, an Italian aid worker kidnapped 18 months ago in East Africa, landed in Rome on Sunday a day after being freed.
Gunmen seized Romano, who was working for an Italian charity called Africa Milele, in northern Kenya in November 2018.
She was found in Somalia, some 30 kilometres outside the capital of Mogadishu, and was released thanks to efforts by the external intelligence agency, Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said.
Romano touched down at Rome’s Ciampino airport aboard a special flight around 2 p.m. local time.
Escorted by masked men from the intelligence service, she temporarily removed her protective mask to wave as descended the steps from the jet before hugging relatives waiting for her at the airport.
She was greeted by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Di Maio.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/italian-aid-worker-kidnapped-in-africa-returns-1.5563615
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Anadolu Agency – Conversion to Islam not forced, says rescued Italian
25-year-old aid worker released after joint operation by Italian, Turkish and Somali intelligence
Rescued Italian aid worker Silvia Constanza Romano, who has embraced Islam, says she converted on her own will and not by force.
Romano, 25, was abducted from Kenya’s southeastern coastal town of Chakama in November 2018.
She was rescued on Sunday through joint efforts by Turkish, Somali and Italian intelligence services.
“They assured me that I would not be killed, and so it was,” Romano told Italian news agency ANSA.
On her conversion to Islam, Silvia said it happened mid-captivity.
“It was spontaneous and not forced. In these months I was given a Koran and thanks to my captors I also learned some Arabic,” she said. “They explained their reasons and culture to me. My conversion process has been slow in recent months. There was no marriage or relationship, only respect.”
Italy’s deputy foreign minister acknowledged Turkish cooperation during the rescue operation.
“There had been cooperation with the Turkish intelligence service to locate her and take action at the right time,” Marina Sereni told LA7 TV channel.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/conversion-to-islam-not-forced-says-rescued-italian/1836712
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Italian hate campaign targets Silvia Romano after she was released by kidnappers
The kidnap victim converted to Islam during her captivity and arrived home in modest wear
Italian kidnap victim Silvia Romano has been subjected to a wave of abusive criticism by the country’s far-right after her return home from captivity was broadcast on national television.
The Italian aid worker was kidnapped by gunmen 18 months ago while working for charity Africa Milele in southeastern Kenya.
After months of negotiations, the 25-year-old’s release was negotiated by Italian intelligence services working with their Turkish counterparts and, on Sunday, she arrived in Rome.
Images showing her clothing and appearance as she left the airport triggered criticism by right-wingers who claimed Ms Romano had Stockholm syndrome, where a hostages comes to an affiliation with their captor.
The campaign has been fanned by the Italian press, which has accused Turkish intelligence of directing an Italian ransom payment to terrorists.
Director of right-wing newspaper Libero, Vittorio Feltri, tweeted that by allegedly paying for her release, the Italian government was funding her “friends” and financing terrorists.
Turkish security sources said Ms Romano was rescued after a joint effort by Turkey’s MIT intelligence agency and Italian and Somalian government authorities.
“The MIT began work in the region on determining Silvia Romano’s condition in December 2019 upon a request from Italian authorities,” the sources said.
They added that Ms Romano was delivered to Italian authorities in Somalia on Saturday after the joint efforts.
“Paying the ransom for Silvia means financing Islamic terrorists. Who are friends of the girl who became Muslim. Nice operation,” Feltri tweeted.
He further tweeted that he was “annoyed” that the state spent money on bringing Islam to Italy.
His comments were mirrored by director of newspaper Il Giornale, Alessandro Sallusti.
“Silvia is back, well but it was like seeing a concentration camp prisoner proudly dressed as a Nazi. I don’t understand, I will never understand,” he tweeted.
Ms Romano had told news site Open that her conversion to Islam had been “spontaneous” and without coercion.
“I converted to Islam. But it was my free choice, there was no compulsion on the part of the kidnappers who always treated me with humanity,” she said.
“It happened in mid-captivity, when I asked to be able to read the Koran and I was satisfied.
“It is not true, however, that I was forced to marry, I had no physical constraints or violence. ”
Ms Romano was found in Somalia, some 30km outside the capital, Mogadishu, and was released thanks to efforts by the external intelligence agency, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said.
She was greeted at Rome’s Ciampino airport by Mr Di Maio and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Sunday.
“I was strong and resisted,” Ms Romano said after her release.
“We are so glad to welcome Silvia back in such a delicate moment for the country. The state is always there, and will always be there,” Mr Conte said.
He thanked the intelligence services, the judiciary and the defence and foreign ministries, all involved in the release of the aid worker.
https://www.thenational.ae/world/italian-hate-campaign-targets-silvia-romano-after-she-was-released-by-kidnappers-1.1017868
Sgarbi duro con Silvia Romano: “Si è convertita? Va arrestata”
Il politico e critico d’arte commenta la liberazione della giovane cooperante milanese e la notizia della sua conversione all’Islam: “Va arrestata per concorso esterno in associazione terroristica. O si pente o è complice dei terroristi”
Il caso di Silvia Romano, la giovane cooperante milanese rapita in Kenya il 20 novembre 2018 e liberata lo scorso venerdì dopo il pagamento di un riscatto da parte dello Stato Italiano, continua a far discutere e sulla vicenda è intervenuto anche Vittorio Sgarbi.
Il noto opinioninista e critico d’arte non ha deluso chi è da sempre abituato alle sue uscite schiette e talvolta fin troppo sferzanti.
Andando completamente controcorrente e prendendo le distanze da chi in questo momento sta festeggiando il ritorno della ragazza, ora convertita all’islam, il politico ha espresso la propria opinione su Facebook.“Se mafia e terrorismo sono analoghi, e rappresentano la guerra allo Stato, e se Silvia Romano è radicalmente convertita all’Islam, va arrestata (in Italia è comunque agli arresti domiciliari) per concorso esterno in associazione terroristica”, commenta Sgarbi, che aggiunge: “O si pente o è complice dei terroristi”.
La questione conversione della Romano, la quale ha dichiarato di avere scelto spontamente di abbracciare il nuovo credo, è effettivamente motivo di discussione. Il tema, che verrà certamente trattato in molti salotti televisivi, sarà anche oggetto di indagini più serie. Proprio questa mattina, infatti, il Codacons ha annunciato il suo esposto presentato alla Corte dei Conti perché si faccia chiarezza sul riscatto versato ai rapitori della ragazza. Se Silvia, ora Aisha (nome attribuito ad una delle spose più importanti di Maometto),</b non avesse davvero subìto violenze durante il suo perido di prigionia, tanto da aver addirittura intrapreso liberamente un percorso di conversione, verrebbero a mancare le condizioni tali da giustificare il pagamento di un riscatto da parte del governo per ottenere la sua liberazione. "Sembrerebbe non sussistere la condizione che il codice penale richiede, ossia reale minaccia di morte imminente. Va accertato poi se la stessa potesse muoversi liberamente nei luoghi dove veniva portata senza che i servizi, pur informati, abbiano mai tentato come fatto altre volte di liberarla. Se inoltre la Romano abbia liberamente scelto di abbracciare la religione dei suoi rapitori convertendosi all'Islam, e se vi fossero i requisiti per il pagamento di un riscatto", dichiara infatti l'associazione.
Il post polemico di Vittorio Sgarbi ha provocato la reazione degli internauti, che hanno risposto al suo commento. "Certo che la situazione lascia sorgere dei legittimi dubbi… È stato pagato un cospicuo riscatto… presumibilmente ai suoi carcerieri… e considerato che tra questi vi era anche l'attuale marito credo che l'intera vicenda vada approfondita bene", replica un utente. "Pensavo che la libertà religiosa fosse prevista dalla Costituzione, devo proprio rimettermi a studiare", dichiara invece un donna. "Dopo un anno e mezzo di prigionia, mi sarei aspettata una persona fragile e sofferente ma tutt’altro.. mi ha fatto piacere vederla bene sia fisicamente che mentalmente ma qualcosa non torna", ammette un'altra utente. "Adesso si capisce perché i 600 euro e i soldi della cigd nn arrivano", ironizza un altro internauta.
https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/cronache/sgarbi-duro-su-caso-silvia-romano-si-convertita-va-arrestata-1862198.html
UK – ‘I’m not a Muslim but I will fast for one day’ back despite coronavirus
NON-MUSLIM community groups have come together once again despite the coronavirus pandemic to take part in fasting in Ramadan for one day.
Blackburn community charity One Voice invited non-Muslims to fast for a day in the sixth year of the ‘I’m not a Muslim but I will fast for one day’ challenge, which has seen nearly 1000 people take part since the start.
Ramadan is the holy Islamic month where Muslims forgo food and water between sunrise and sunset, with this year’s fasts as long as 17 and a half hours approximately.
Taking part this year so far have included, Lancashire Mind, Active Lancashire, BwD Healthy Living, Child Action North West, Secret Santa and BwD Carers Network.
Sarah Johns of BwD Healthy Living said: “My reason for choosing to fast for one day is because it really makes me appreciate what we take for granted.
“Delivering food parcels every day since the start of the pandemic has really brought home how people are struggling to access healthy nutritious food not only worldwide but also in our borough.
“I also feel that fasting alongside my Muslim colleagues is important, particularly at a time when they would otherwise be spending time with family and friends.”
Key messages promoted in the project include urging members of the community to ‘Stay at Home, Pray at home’.
Ronan McMahon of Active Lancashire said: “Now more than ever, it’s a time for understanding, empathy, sharing experiences and coming together as one.”
Although the pandemic means the programme this year has been reduced, the community spirit is even stronger.
Abrar Hussain, Chairman of One Voice said: “Ramadan is the time of year when the Muslim community take time to reflect on their lives and their spirituality.
“This project started with a few people fasting as non-Muslims.
“This year, despite the restrictions imposed due to Covid-19, a huge number of people are taking part from the safety of their home. This is a testament to the resounding unity in Blackburn and Darwen.”
Tommy McIlravey, Chief Executive of Lancashire Mind, said: “I’m fasting to understand what it’s like for Muslim friends but to be more mindful of what it’s like not to have instant access to food and water.”
Phil Boulding from Secret Santa added: “I’m extremely proud to participate. Simply by joining in with various religions and cultures, we can see there are more things that unite us than separate us.”
https://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/18432546.im-not-muslim-will-fast-one-day-back-despite-coronavirus/
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“I’m Not a Muslim, But I Will Fast for One Day”
In Blackburn, it is common to find non-Muslims fasting with their fellow Muslims during Ramadan to show support and solidarity.
This Ramadan, and despite the coronavirus pandemic, Blackburn community charity One Voice invited non-Muslims to fast for one day, for an annual challenge, themed “I’m not a Muslim but I will fast for one day”.
The challenge has attracted nearly 1000 people since it started six years ago.
“My reason for choosing to fast for one day is because it really makes me appreciate what we take for granted,” Sarah Johns of BwD Healthy Living told Lancashire Telegraph.
“Delivering food parcels every day since the start of the pandemic has really brought home how people are struggling to access healthy nutritious food not only worldwide but also in our borough.
“I also feel that fasting alongside my Muslim colleagues is important, particularly at a time when they would otherwise be spending time with family and friends.”
Abrar Hussain, Chairman of One Voice said: “Ramadan is the time of year when the Muslim community take time to reflect on their lives and their spirituality.
“This project started with a few people fasting as non-Muslims.
“This year, despite the restrictions imposed due to Covid-19, a huge number of people are taking part from the safety of their home. This is a testament to the resounding unity in Blackburn and Darwen.”
The initiative is not the first this Ramadan.
Liberal Democrats joined Muslims fasting Ramadan, on Saturday, April 25, seizing the opportunity to raise money for charities that tackle hunger in the UK.
The day of fasting was also suggested to support Muslims observing Ramadan in isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paul Bristow, a Conservative MP for Peterborough in Eastern England, also fasted the first week of Ramadan to better understand what this holy month and practice means to Muslims.
https://aboutislam.net/muslim-issues/europe/im-not-a-muslim-but-i-will-fast-for-one-day/
COVID-19 circuit breaker: Long queues as McDonald’s reopens after three weeks
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam vows to overhaul education system as police arrest 230 protesters
We should send Carrie Lam some of our teachers. More aligned with her politics.
Coronavirus fears spark surge in calls to Thailand’s mental health hotlines
COVID-19: Uncertainty for UK’s food and beverage industry as it mulls safe reopening
COVID-19: India’s PM Narendra Modi meeting chief ministers to discuss how to revive economy
https://vladtepesblog.com/2020/05/11/trudeau-govt-dialectically-negating-the-centre-us-food-supply-globalization-and-german-protests-grow-links-2-may-10-2020/
Jesuit Cardinal Calls for War on Twin Viruses of Coronavirus and ‘Nationalism’ (breitbart, May 11, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/health/2020/05/11/jesuit-cardinal-calls-for-war-on-twin-viruses-of-coronavirus-and-nationalism/
“The progressive leader of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) has called on Europeans to fight against the twin enemies of coronavirus and nationalism in order to preserve the European Union.
“Let us do battle with the coronavirus and do battle with the virus of nationalism and selfishness,” said the Jesuit Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich (pictured) in an interview this weekend with the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.
“We need to have more solidarity and more empathy,” said the cardinal, who is also the archbishop of Luxembourg. “It is so important to show the world that human society can live in solidarity, that such a global crisis, this pandemic, can only be fought on a global level, and that the European Union is an instrument for world peace.”
The cardinal gave the interview in the city of Schengen (Luxembourg), where the agreement opening borders between the signatory countries was signed in 1985, to celebrate “Europe Day” (May 9). There he lit a candle “to reiterate the need for solidarity, unity and peace, in this time when the covid-19 pandemic is plaguing the world,” the Vatican newspaper reported.
“We need another virus, the virus of solidarity and charity, to understand that man does not live alone,” the cardinal said, because “we can only be human together with others.”
“The European ideal is solidarity,” Hollerich said. “And solidarity does not stop at the borders of Europe. We have problems with borders: borders in Europe and borders of the European Union with other countries. There are people who die on the borders of the European Union and we cannot tolerate this.”
The cardinal has been an outspoken advocate for relaxing migration laws and last December chastised his fellow Europeans for failing to end the exploitation of migrants in Greece, urging member states to take in more migrants.
“This is not happening far from Luxembourg in some place where we cannot help,” he said. “This is happening in Greece — in Europe and in the European Union. We must be fiercely ashamed that we have not done anything to help.”
One week earlier, the cardinal said that the political inaction on the Mediterranean migrant crisis was due to “fear of right-wing parties.”
“I find it outrageous that we’re letting people drown in the Mediterranean; that our hearts have become so hard; that politics no longer dares to act for fear of right-wing parties,” Hollerich said.
In his interview Saturday, the cardinal said that the celebration of Europe Day furnishes “a moment of gratitude, because thanks to the European Union we have had peace.”
In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, he said, in which many Europeans have died, the European Union needs to give “strong signals, with empathy.”
“Not just theoretical solutions: aid must come soon because otherwise people will lose confidence in Europe,” he added.”
EuropeDay2020, Head of EU Bishops lights a candle for the future of Europe
On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, from the town of Schengen, H.Em. Card. Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, President of COMECE, participates in a ceremony reminding us all the need to fight against the viruses of Covid-19, nationalism and egoism.
Here he lights a candle for the future of Europe and its citizens.
Card. Hollerich: “we must go back to the ideals of the EU founding fathers”
Isn’t his “founding father” Jesus?
Now it’s Caesar? Soros?
CNN – Trump’s favorite news channel you’ve never heard of
CNN’s Brian Stelter introduces a little-known network that pushes far-right commentary and the occasional conspiracy theory. That network is One America News, a favorite of President Trump.
Secularists and Christians Align in Opposing Scottish ‘Hate Crime’ Bill (breitbart, May 11, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/faith/2020/05/11/secularists-and-christians-align-in-opposing-scottish-hate-crime-bill/
“Both secularists and Christians have come out against a proposed hate crime law in Scotland, insisting the loosely worded law poses a threat to free speech.
The proposed legislation introduced by the Scottish National Party’s Justice Minister Humza Yousaf would criminalise “stirring up hatred” based on “age, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and variations in sex characteristics.”
“Stirring up of hatred can contribute to a social atmosphere in which discrimination is accepted as normal,” Yousaf said. “Our legislation, if passed, would offer greater protection for those who experience this kind of behaviour.
After lobbying from feminist groups, instead of making a person’s gender a protected characteristic for everyone, the draft law — the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill — specifically makes misogyny a hate crime with no corresponding legal protections for men.
Scotland’s National Secular Society (NSS) came out against the law late last week, saying the proposed legislation creates “the risk that new offences relating to religious hatred will enact a de facto clampdown on freedom of expression.”
The title of the offence — “stirring up hatred” — is “vague and likely to be weaponised to restrict debate,” said NSS communications officer Chris Sloggett, since “accusations of ‘stirring up hatred’ are ten a penny on social media alone.”
“It also sends a confusing message about the reach of criminal law,” Mr. Sloggett noted. “It isn’t a crime to hate, so why should it be a crime to encourage others to hate?”
“Ministers would be better served ditching the idea of ‘stirring up hatred’ and relying on easily-defined, clear offences,” Sloggett declared. “Credibly inciting violence against a group of people should be off-limits. And if someone has been the victim of an existing offence – for example they’ve been harassed, attacked or threatened — on the basis of their religious identity, it should be an aggravating factor. Otherwise we should be wary.”
In a rare convergence of opinion, the UK-based Christian Institute has joined the National Secular Society in opposing the hate crime legislation, saying that it jeopardizes the exercise of free speech.
“Free speech clauses are included in relation to sexual orientation and religion, which will provide some protection for legitimate debate, but there are no such clauses surrounding transgenderism,” the group notes. “This raises the possibility that politically-motivated complainants might use the change to the criminal law to shut down critics of radical gender ideology.”
In a video recording, the Christian Institute’s Deputy Director for Communications, Ciarán Kelly, said the bill threatens both religious liberty and free speech.
“This is a very concerning Bill. If it becomes law it could have implications for many areas of life,” Mr. Kelly said. “In this day and age, certain groups are far too quick to find offence whenever someone disagrees with them.”
“Biblical truth is offensive to many,” he continued. “Sadly, it is not difficult to see how the broad language of the bill might be used to suppress free speech.”
“The draft includes some welcome free speech clauses, but they don’t protect the freedom to disagree in every area that’s necessary, such as transgenderism,” he said.
“Intent to stir up hatred is not required for an offence to be committed, meaning people may become criminals simply because they didn’t realize how their honestly expressed views might be misinterpreted,” he said.”
James Comey could be charged with treason after what Rudy Giuliani said
President Trump picked Rudy Giuliani as his personal lawyer for a reason.He is fiercely loyal, and is unafraid of telling it like it is.
And now James Comey could be charged with treason after what Rudy Giuliani said.
Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey has spent the last three years trying to take down President Trump.
Even before Trump was elected, he was orchestrating shady, and likely illegal activities to try to sink his campaign, and create the framework for the infamous Mueller investigation, which was the Deep State’s Plan B to take down Trump.
But in every attempt, Comey has failed
https://patriotpulse.net/james-comey-could-be-charged-with-treason-after-what-rudy-giuliani-said/
(Richard: I wonder how many of the Dems understand what is happening? The private militias are warning the Dems that enough is more then enough, stop throwing away the Constitution and the law books, return to the rule of law or face the wrath of the Free Citizens of the US)
Michigan militia members say they won’t allow police to arrest 77-year-old barber defying Democratic Gov. Whitmer’s shutdown order
‘We’re willing to stand in front of that door and block the entrance so the police will have no entry there today’
https://www.theblaze.com/news/michigan-militia-police-barber-defying-shutdown?utm_source=theblaze-breaking&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200511Trending-MilitiaHairCut-ABTest&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Breaking%20News
Colorado restaurant illegally reopens. Restaurant packs in hundreds of customers — with no social distancing in sight.
Caused quite a stir
A Castle Rock, Colorado, restaurant opened its doors on Sunday to celebrate Mother’s Day despite a statewide public order mandating the closure of such public places.
The company’s owner said that she would “go out of business” if she didn’t do something.
What are the details?
C&C Coffee and Kitchen drew hundreds of customers on Mother’s Day, and, according to The Denver Post, none of those customers were utilizing social distancing measures.
Obama’s General Flynn Problem
When the real message of ‘Dreams from My Father’ becomes clear.
That was former president Barack Obama last week after the DOJ dropped the case against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who had not been “charged with perjury,” or anything else. The FBI set up Flynn in a perjury trap, with threats against his family, and that violated both institutional norms and the rule of law. The 44th president set up the whole thing in a January 5, 2017 Oval Office meeting with FBI boss James Comey, vice president Joe Biden, CIA boss John Brennan, and other administration officials. This revelation created a stir, but it’s really old news.
“POTUS wants to know everything we are doing,” Lisa Page texted to Peter Strzok, the FBI factotum in the campaign against candidate and President Trump. To keep that operation going once Trump took office, POTUS needed to take down Flynn. The January 5 meeting was key but in May of 2017 a bigger bombshell would explode.
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/05/precedential-election-news-lloyd-billingsley
Obamagate: President Trump Goes After Obama
The treasonous investigators and their instigator become the investigated.
That’s when President Donald J. Trump tweeted the one word, all-caps, one exclamation mark, that changes everything. A day earlier, the president had also tweeted Jesse Watters’ video, titled ‘Obamagate’ – the scandal at the epicenter of American politics that has had many names: “Russiagate”, the “Russia Hoax”, “Spygate”, but it’s only fitting that it should end with its true name.
This was never about the Russians and the spies were cogs in a machine who were following orders.
One man, not some nebulous organization or unaccountable bureaucracy, pushed the lever and decided to use the machinery of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to suppress the political opposition.
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/05/obamagate-president-trump-goes-after-obama-daniel-greenfield
I’m loving it too much ~