“The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious.” -Marcus Aurelius
The decision by a seven-judge panel came after an Austrian national identified as Mrs. S. held two seminars in 2009 in which she insulted the prophet. (Shutterstock)
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Thursday that insulting Islam’s Prophet Mohammed is not covered by freedom of expression.
From a reader of Gates of Vienna:
Israel is poised for attack, the tanks are in place, there were soldiers camping in the office car park this week. we are all just waiting for it.
The missiles during the week were an escalation, a grad to Beersheva destroyed a house, and one was fired up the coast towards TA but fell in the sea.
The government has not responded (yet) but the Egyptians are trying to defuse the situation. We are just waiting for the next war.
MC lives in the southern Israeli city of Sderot. For his previous essays, see the MC Archives: http://gatesofvienna.net/authors/mc/
Stock image of Grad missile:
The following is from our Portuguese speaking correspondent who has been following events in Brazil closely for some time.
Hi Vlad: Since our last communication, things took an interesting twist with evidences of Iran attempting to influence the presidential election in Brazil.
Two twitter messages from Walid Phares, Specialist in National Security and Foreign Policy at Fox News, mentions Iran’s interference in the presidential election in Brazil.
Hezbollah operates in the trafficking of heavy arms and drugs in South America and has spearheads in Venezuela and in the triple border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Hezbollah has connections with the PCC, a network of crime in Brazil.
Certainly, the election of Jair Bolsonaro election will reflect negatively on the criminal actions of this international terrorist group, which, as we are well aware, receives support from the Iranian government. It is also important to remember that Bolsonaro is pro-Israel, and he will modify Brazil’s foreign policy. Brazil will not be aligned with the likes of Iran any longer! Therefore, the worker’s Party (PT) candidate Fernando Haddad must be elected all cost. Brazil’s sovereignty is not in the interest of Iran.
Brazilian sources claim #IranRegime is meddling in Presidential elections especially the second round. #Tehran would lose influence if @jairbolsonaro would be elected. Pro #Iran #Beirut and #Damascus networks are mobilizing their communities in #Brazil 4 #Haddad #JairBolsonaro
— Walid Phares (@WalidPhares) October 13, 2018
The second message is appalling! It indicates that Middle-East Christians are being pressured to ask the powerful Catholic Council of Bishops of Brazil to persuade Catholics to vote against Bolsonaro.
MidEast Christian sources are warning that #Iran and its allies in Iraq, Syria & Lebanon, are putting pressure on Churches in these countries to influence the CNBB (National Council of Bishops in Brazil) 2 break neutrality in Brazil’s Pres election against #JairBolsonaro@FoxNews
— Walid Phares (@WalidPhares) October 13, 2018
A major concern in Brazil is the safety of the electronic vote. Several IT experts claim it can be hacked.
So far, Bolsonaro remains ahead in the pools with a wide margin. Datafolha indicates Bolsonaro with 58% of valid votes against 42% for Haddad.
José Atento
https://infielatento.blogspot.com/
A few days ago, I asked a friend of ours, José Atento, who is a speaker of Portuguese, and a watcher of the political situation in Brazil and Portugal, to write up something to help us all understand what happened in the election, and who is this “Tropical Trump” who was stabbed, but won anyway. The letter below is his answer:
(Bold is mine)
Hi Vlad. Here is a summary of the situation in Brazil after today’s election. The situation is very complex and dynamic and the summary does not cover all details. Only a broad vision is provided.
Brazilian right-wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro gestures after being stabbed in the stomach during a campaign rally in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais State, in southern Brazil, on September 6, 2018.
Frontrunner Bolsonaro was attacked with a knife while campaigning — but escaped with just minor injuries, his son said. / AFP PHOTO / Raysa LEITE / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO /RAYSA LEITE” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
The general elections in Brazil took place today (Sunday) and it is fair to say that it has been a tremendous victory for center-to-right parties, which will be majority in the two houses of Congress, and elected most state governors. The socialist Worker’s Party (PT), which have won all elections since 2002 has been relegated to a secondary plane, along with the other leftwing parties associated with it. The coveted and powerful position of president of the republic (remember, Brazil is a presidential system) has not been decided and it will require a second set of vote in three weeks.
Overall, the majority of the population is saying no to socialism.
Concerning the presidential election, Jair Bolsonaro, from the conservative Christian Social Party (PSC), has obtained 47% of the valid votes, whereas Fernando Haddad, from the Worker’s Party (PT), got 28%. Fernando Haddad tried to take advantage of the popularity that former president Luiz “Lula” da Silva still has. However, Lula is not as popular now. He is in jail, accused of bribery, condemned for 9 years behind bars. Lula faces many other judicial processes, and is accused of embezzlement.
Besides, Lula and his team controlled the largest corruption scheme in Brazil’s history, with several other PT officials and parliamentarians either in jail or facing justice. Other important elements of the private sector are also in jail, some of them owners of the largest engineering companies in Brazil. They would go overseas to friendly countries, such as Cuba and Venezuela, and build harbours, subway systems bridges, and a portion of the money would be donated back to PT to finance electoral campaigns. Add to that the disastrous government of PT’s Dilma Roussef. It left the country in recession, with high unemployment and rampant crime.
The attempts to impose gender ideology in the primary and secondary school systems angered the parents in this overwhelmingly Christian country.
Jair Bolsonaro, on the other hand, has been fighting the left, which has controlled Brazil and dragged the country to the gutter. His motto “Brazil above everything, God above all” and his vigorous opposition to socialism and communism has ignited a population tired of the socialist failures of the Worker’s Party government. He wants to open the economy, fight crime and respect the family. He is a nationalist who defends Brazil for the Brazilians. He remains the favourite to win the second round of presidential election.
One should keep in mind that Bolsonaro was stabbed by a left-wing sympathizer early during the campaign and had to undergo two surgeries. He is still convalescing and the only contact with his supporters started last week via short video clips, which cannot be longer than 15 minutes due to medical recommendation.
Today’s election was plagued with the accusation that 16,000 ballot boxes have been tampered with, favoring Haddad. We have to remember that Brazil uses a paperless electronic ballot box, which does not allow recount. Surprise, surprise, it is the same system used in Venezuela. This is cause of worry for the second round and PSC has even notified the Organization of the American States
One important thing for us is that Bolsonaro, if elected, will have majority in the Congress. His future minister of foreign affairs was one of the most tough critics of the Law of Immigration (a subject discussed on VladTepes ), which basically opened Brazil borders in a way that only Justin Trudeau would dream of and fits very well under the UN’s Global Compact for Immigration.
We hope that under Bolsonaro Brazil will modify this law and refuse to be part of the UN’s attempt to destroy our sovereignty. I believe that Eastern European countries have already expressed their intention to leave the agreement.
Brazil has a big problem with drug trafficking exacerbated by the operation of Hezbollah, in the triple border with Paraguay and Argentina and in Venezuela. Bolsonaro promises to be tough on crime.
Bolsonaro is also pro-Israel and very critical to the hate campaign that the Palestinian Authority and Hamas perform to indoctrinate their own people. He promises to move Brazil’s embassy to Jerusalem.
It is not surprising to see Bolsonaro under attack by the globalist media. A series of articles published by the likes of BBC, Foreign Policy, El País have blasted him to the point of calling him a deplorable (sexist, racist, xenophobe, homophobe, misogynist, etc.). Most of the media in Brazil is also against Bolsonaro but the more they beat him, the more he grows. Bolsonaro is the anti-establishment candidate, and, if elected, will be a proud member of the “deplorables international”, ranking shoulder-to-shoulder with the Easter European leaders and with the current US administration.
José Atento
In the image, Bolsonaro puts his hands on the injury, moments after being stabbed by a left-wing radical
1/ To my American followers- you’ve heard your @POTUS say he did like Canada’s lead Trade negotiator— it’s our Minister @cafreeland
This is her.
She was a low level journalist before winning election pic.twitter.com/TUEjNXyiGj
— Manny_Ottawa (@manny_ottawa) September 27, 2018
We managed to get twenty minutes with Brad while he was nearby at a security conference.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Southwest Airlines says passengers on four flights between Dallas, Houston and Harlingen may have been exposed to the measles.
The airline says it has contacted travelers with help from the CDC who shared a plane two weeks ago with a passenger later diagnosed with the highly contagious virus.
These flights include:
Flight No. 5, between Dallas and Houston on Aug. 21, 2018
Flight No. 9, between Houston and Harlingen on Aug. 21, 2018
Flight No. 665, between Harlingen and Houston on Aug. 22, 2018
Flight No. 44, between Houston and Dallas on Aug. 22, 2018
Here is yesterday’s post with two of the flights
And now:
Several plane passengers who landed at Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday from international flights were reported to have flu-like symptoms, an airport spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek. Twelve passengers, on American Airlines flights from Paris and Munich, Germany, were experiencing symptoms.
“As a precaution, all passengers on the two flights—totaling about 250 plus crew—were held for a medical review and the CDC was notified,” the spokesperson told Newsweek. “CDC, the Philadelphia Health Department and Philadelphia Fire Department personnel performed medical evaluations and assessments. The passengers—except for the 12 affected—are in the process of being released.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Newsweek it would provide further information as it becomes available. It was not immediately clear whether the passengers were suffering from the flu.