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December 2018

It’s Full-Out War Between Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson By Bruce Bawer

https://pjmedia.com/trending/its-full-out-war-between-nigel-farage-and-tommy-robinson/

“It feels like Westminster is tumbling towards a political crisis without modern precedent,” wrote the BBC’s Ben Wright on November 27. On July 23, 2016, British subjects voted to leave the EU; on December 11, the House of Commons will decide whether or not to approve the horrible deal that Prime Minister Theresa May has struck with the EU honchos and that, her claims to the contrary, comes nowhere close to returning full independence to the UK. If, as seems likely at the moment, the MPs turn down May’s deal, it’s not clear what will happen next, even though, one way or the other, Britain’s EU membership is scheduled to expire on March 29 of next year.

The most important thing at stake in all of this is Britain’s ability to control its own borders, formulate its own immigration policies, and expel certain individuals from the country without having to ask permission from some court in Brussels. These things are important, in turn, because the only hope for Britain’s long-term survival as a Western democracy lies in a radical change in its approach to, in a word, Islam.

To be sure, it may be too late to rescue the UK. The Muslim population may already be too large and the demographic trends irreversible. Certainly a divorce from Brussels won’t be enough by itself to save the day. The two main parties refuse to talk honestly about Islam, as do the mainstream media. Authorities would rather ban Islam critics from the country than deport preachers of terror. Even Mr. Brexit himself, Nigel Farage, has consistently taken a see-no-evil approach to the Religion of Peace. In recent months, however, his successor as head of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Gerard Batten, has started speaking the truth about Islam – and has even taken on Tommy Robinson as a personal advisor – and has thereby made that party even more of a ray of hope for Britain than it was before.

Unsurprisingly, these actions on Batten’s part have outraged Farage, resulting in some very unpleasant conflict in the top ranks of the pro-Brexit crowd. In recent days, Farage has repeatedly called Tommy a racist – an allegation that anyone familiar with Tommy’s record knows to be untrue. By associating with the likes of Robinson, Farage complained on his December 2 radio/TV program on LBC, “UKIP becomes the BNP,” i.e., the British National Party, a genuinely racist group that Robinson joined in his youth and quit shortly thereafter as soon as he realized that it was racist.

On that same show, Farage also labeled Robinson a “thug,” citing his prison record without acknowledging that British authorities have been going after Robinson for years in much the same way that Robert Mueller is going after Trump, desperately looking for crimes to pin on him. Robinson’s most recent incarceration, of course, was the result of a shamefully irregular courtroom exercise that was later condemned in the sternest terms by the nation’s highest judge, but Farage made no mention whatsoever of that farcical miscarriage of justice. Farage further maintained that participants in the pro-Tommy rallies that took place across Britain this summer had committed acts of violence on a large scale. This, too, was untrue.

“I am disgusted,” Farage said about Robinson’s newfound ties to UKIP, charging that thanks to this connection, and thanks to Batten’s public comments about Islam, UKIP now looks like a party that is “fighting a religious crusade against Islam.” Noting that Robinson is scheduled to speak at a pro-Brexit rally on December 9, Farage fretted that his presence would draw the wrong sort of people and result in widespread acts of public disorder: “I don’t want Gerard Batten and Tommy Robinson to be seen to lead something that is violent, nasty, and unpleasant and that will be used…to say ‘this is what Brexit represents.’”

On his show, Farage takes phone calls from listeners and also answers questions apparently sent in by text message. Some of his listeners on December 2 shared his concern about the changes in UKIP. Others did not. They pushed back at his characterization of Tommy’s followers and his claims of violence at Tommy’s rallies. “You are insulting a lot of decent people,” one listener told Farage. “You are demonizing Tommy Robinson.” Another listener pointed out that Farage, too, had long been smeared as a racist and Islamophobe. “Yes,” Farage replied, “but in my case it was unfair.”

Several listeners felt, as I did, that Farage’s remarks about Tommy and Tommy’s “background” (as Farage put it) and Tommy’s followers (whom Farage actually dismissed as “convicts and thugs”) reeked of class condescension. CONTINUE AT SITE

One-Eyed-Jack Law By Victor Davis Hanson

https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/12/mueller-probe-fisa-warrants-fbi-informants/

Criminals and partisans, accusing others of criminality and partisanship

R obert Mueller’s legal team may write a damning report on Trump’s ethics, based mostly on flipping minor former business associates of Trump’s and transient campaign officials by threatening them with long prison sentences.

So far, we know that the U.S. government decided to intervene in a political campaign to help one candidate and to smear the other — under the pretext of Russian “collusion.” And so it hired or made use of spies and informants including Hank Greenberg, Stefan Halper, Felix Sater, and others to contact Trump campaign officials to catch them in supposed collusion traps. It enlisted the help of foreign intelligence agencies, specifically the British and Australians. It misled FISA courts into granting warrants to spy on Americans and, post factum, threatened long prisons sentences with those surveilled and interviewed. And as a result, it has so far found no collusion but may well find some misleading statements in hundreds of hours of testimonies from the likes of Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, George Papadopoulos, and perhaps Jerome Corsi and Roger Stone.

Mueller cannot fulfill the hype of the past 18 months, which forecast that the “all-stars,” the “dream-team,” and the Mueller “army” would make short work of the supposedly buffoonish Trump by proving that he colluded with Russia to swing an election. Collusion, remember, was hyped as doing what the Logan Act, the emoluments clause, the 25th Amendment, impeachment, media frenzy, and assassination-chic rhetoric had not.

By indicting a number of minor characters on charges that so far have nothing to do with collusion — for purported crimes mostly committed after the special-counsel appointment — Mueller has emphasized the quantity rather than the quality of indictments.

Mueller was tasked to find collusion (itself not a crime) committed during 2015 and 2016, not to prompt more purported crimes by setting perjury traps, and purported obstruction-of-justice liabilities. If in May 2017 the frenzied media had known that 18 months later Mueller would end up targeting the provocateur Roger Stone and Inforwars’ Jerome Corsi, it would have been sorely humiliated.

Emmanuel Macron has united France against him The French leader is politically tone-deaf Jonathan Miller

https://spectator.us/emmanuel-macron-united-france/

I would say we’ll always have Paris. But maybe not. It was only a few weeks ago that French president Emmanuel Macron promised a red carpet for bankers fleeing Brexit Britain. As matters have unfolded, the carpet has become one of broken glass.

On the Avenue Kléber, one of the toniest streets in Paris and heart of the district where Macron will have been expecting to resettle his beloved bankers, fleeing London like the sans culottes, every bank has been attacked, every shop window broken, upscale apartments have been attacked and every Porsche and Mercedes within blocks set on fire. Invest in France?

Emmanuel Macron is undoubtedly brilliant. He won all the glittering academic prizes. He had a supersonic ascent into the stratosphere of the French civil service. He even did a spell as a courtier with David de Rothschild’s investment bank, before ascending to minister of the economy under François Hollande, and then winning the most glittering prize of all, the presidency of the republic, aged 39 ¾.

But his hubris, arrogance and almost autistic detachment from the French in the street is in a class with Marie Antoinette. Except that this time around, the courtier whispers, ‘Mr President, the people cannot afford diesel.’ To which the cloth-eared Macron has, in effect replied: ‘Let them buy Teslas.’

Making climate predictions by S.Fred Singer

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/nov/28/why-the-supreme-courts-2007-decision-labeling-carb/

I have always been reluctant to make any predictions, “especially about the future;” however, I want to make two exceptions.

I predict that the global warming pause of the last 40 years (“hiatus”), the growing “gap” between models and observed temperatures will continue to grow to the year 2100, and likely, beyond.

I also predict that increases in global Sea Level Rise (SLR) will reach about 6 inches by 2100, and contrary to the U.N-Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-2013), I expect there will be no discernible acceleration in this rate of rise.

During the only sure climate warming, 1910-40, the Sea Level Rise increased steadily at 1-2mm/year, as measured by most tidal gauges, with respect to their local shorelines, which did not have enough time to rise or fall.

But we know that water expands when heated. However, the Sea Level Rise did not accelerate during 1910-40.

Something must be offsetting that expansion, which increases rapidly. I believe the offset comes from evaporation, into the atmosphere, with subsequent precipitation turning into ice over the Antarctic. (The area-ratio oceans/Antarctic is 58.)

Following 1910-40, the climate cooled during 1945-75, according to our best data. Again, SLR does not react, but continues to rise at the same steady rate.

This lack of Sea Level Rise acceleration proves that ocean temperature change does not affect SLR — and neither does the steady increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) — contrary to what former Vice President Al Gore and James Hansen, a retired NASA scientist, say. It means that human activity, such as burning fossil fuels, has negligible influence on Sea Level Rise.

Gaza: There Is A Third Choice by Gerald A. Honigman

http://q4j-middle-east.com

Given that leopards don’t change their spots, and Hamas and Co. will never recognize the rights of Jews to a resurrected state in Israel, regardless of size, we’re now ready to proceed…

Ever since Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza more than a decade ago, tens of thousands of rockets, mortars, incendiary kites, and other forms of Arab terror have been the response it has received. Israel has maintained a naval blockade to try to prevent large quantities of heavy armaments from arriving from abroad. Indeed, Iranian ships have been intercepted with such cargo aboard. And too many weapons and materials used to kill Jews are still coming in via sophisticated tunnels built with the millions of dollars coming in that were supposed to be spent on improving the lives of Gaza’s people instead.

For Israel, it’s withdrawal from previously Egyptian-occupied Gaza—taken in the June ‘67 War, started by a succession of serious Egyptian and other Arab aggressive actions and existential threats which finally led to an Israeli preemptive strike—Gaza was a test, one the Arabs flunked badly.

Had Gaza responded with efforts at state-building, investments in infrastructure, education, and the overall welfare of its people instead of simply viewing Israel’s withdrawal as a sign of weakness which brought Arab rockets closer to Israeli civilian targets, life would be very different for all by now in very positive ways.

Whatever…Gaza is what it is.

“The Worst Deal in History”: Theresa May’s Surrender by David Brown

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13360/brexit-no-deal

This Brexit “deal” is anything but good for the nation.

This “deal” will cost the British taxpayer £60 billion; require that the British still comply with EU rules without having any say in what those will be, and worst of all, it permits the British to leave the EU only if the EU agrees. It commits the British effectively to subjugation by the EU in perpetuity, with no recourse should the British change their mind. It is a prison. It is also the first step of the EU toward its dream of global governance: unaccountable, untransparent, unelected by the public, and with no way out.

There is still a way out of this mess; an easy alternative. The solution is No Deal. Without any further action, the UK’s membership of the EU will lapse on March 29, 2019, and unless that majority can unite around a viable alternative, we will leave. Even better, according to a House of Lords report, there would be no legal obligation for the UK to make any payment as part of a financial settlement.

But, we have nearly left the EU haven’t we? After all, we keep hearing about this deal. We must be nearly there by now, surely?

Just because some of us are immersed in this stuff, many of us are not. Back in the real world where people are trying to find their bus passes, generally keep warm, or asking who will do the school pick-up, Brexit is not everyone’s first and overwhelming thought.

In the margins, there are the headlines on the six o’clock news telling you Theresa May has a “deal” agreed to by Brussels — and she is off to sell it to the nation.

Anti-Semitism: The Fast Track in Turkey to a Government Career? by Uzay Bulut

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13370/anti-semitism-turkey

“King Mohammed VI of Morocco made a breakthrough in the Muslim world and told the world press that ‘education has the power to fight ugly phenomena such as discrimination, racism and anti-Semitism.'” — Mois Gabay, Şalom.

“What about the fact that… an awakening about Israel and Jews is on the rise in many other majority-Muslim countries.” — Mois Gabay, Şalom.

“The government should immediately recognize anti-Semitism as a hate crime and impose penal sanctions on the perpetrators.” — Işıl Demirel, an anthropologist from Turkey; Avlaremoz.

Demirel’s suggestion would make perfect sense in a free and genuinely democratic society. But in a country where the president, his advisers and MPs regularly and proudly spit out hatred not only against Jews, but also against other minorities, how is anti-Semitism to be dealt with when demonizing Jews or Israel seems to serve as a fast track to a career in government?

As the Islamist government of Turkey grows increasingly authoritarian, religious minorities in the country seem to be the most targeted and affected group.

The concerns of Turkey’s Jewish community were addressed recently by Mois Gabay, a columnist for the country’s Jewish weekly, Şalom, in an article entitled, “What Kind of Turkey Are We Living In?”

In it, Gabay discussed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s establishing nine councils, the members of which he appointed, and who are responsible for “offering policy proposals, ideas and strategies to the president” on the economy, foreign policy, education and law.

Among those appointed to official positions within these councils, Gabay wrote, are well-known public figures who have made blatant anti-Semitic statements.

In an interview with the Turkish journal Yörünge in August, for instance, author Alev Alatlı, now a member of Erdogan’s culture and art council, said that the “anti-Erdogan forces of the world” are led by Jews and motivated by millennia-long Jewish teachings. “The real project [of the Jews] is to cleanse the universe of goyim,” she said, referring to “goyim” as those “for whom there is no place in the world unless they serve the Jews.”

Political Turmoil Grips Sweden The high stakes if new elections are called. Joseph Puder

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272105/political-turmoil-grips-sweden-joseph-puder

Political turmoil is gripping Sweden. Since the September 9th, 2018 elections in which the Swedish Democrats (the nationalists), an anti-immigrant party took 17.5% of the vote, gaining 62 seats in the 349 seat Swedish parliament or Riksdag, no new government has been formed. Nevertheless, the Swedish Democrats (SD) have become the king-makers.

The leftist Social-Democrats, although the largest vote getter with 100 seats, do not have enough partners to form a coalition government. On the center-right, Ulf Kristersson, 54, leader of the Moderate party (70 seats), cannot form a government with his opposition partners without having at least the silent support of the Swedish Democrats. The Center (31 seats), and Liberal (20 seats) parties, however, will not accept a situation in which the Swedish Democrats are silently backing the government. That leaves Kristersson with only his 70 seats in addition to the Christian Democrats 22 seats, to form a minority government of 92, and even with the Swedish Democrats backing, it would garner only 154 seats, less than the 175 seat majority. Similarly, the Social Democrats cannot form a coalition government with the Left party (28 seats) and the Greens (16 seats). Their total is even smaller with 144 seats. The third scenario is a coalition of the Moderate Party plus the Center party for a total of 143 seats, not enough to form a functional government.

Jimmie Akesson, 39, the new leader of the right-wing Swedish Democrats party, has reformed the image of the party. He has imposed a zero-tolerance on open expression of racism and xenophobia by its members. He also changed the party symbol, a flaming torch, into a friendly blue and yellow flower (blue and yellow are the colors of the Swedish flag). The Swedish Democrats under Akesson have captured 17.5% of the vote, or 62 seats in the Riksdag, up from 49 seats in 2014. The SD party gained the highest number of seats (13), whereas the Social Democrats lost 13. The SD party has capitalized on the limitless immigration policy that has characterized the Lofven government.

Muslim Migrants Terrorize a Sleepy German College Town One Syrian rapist, 29 crimes. Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272123/muslim-migrants-terrorize-sleepy-german-college-daniel-greenfield

29.

That’s how many crimes one single Syrian migrant had allegedly committed since entering Germany four years ago. He had already been wanted for drug trafficking and had been investigated for a rape last year. And then he struck again, this time in a case that has once again torn apart a sleepy college town.

Freiburg is a German city of 226,000 people. Foreigners make up 36,800 or 16% of the population. Of the foreigners in Freiburg, whose name means fortified city of free people, 18,750 or 8.5% are men.

Even though foreigners are only a small percentage of the population, they commit 42% of the crimes.

These days, Freiburg is mainly known as a college town. One site describes it as the “sunniest and warmest city in Germany” with a “progressive mindset” and “a remarkable commitment to the environment”. The University of Freiburg’s 30,000 college students make the area a magnet for parties, clubs and eateries catering to the booming student population. And for those who prey on the students.

The medieval cobblestone streets of Freiburg bulging with bars aimed at college students had come to host a very different population as a mass of Syrians, Afghans, Iraqis and others claiming to be refugees poured into Germany. Facilities catering to refugees quickly popped up all over the sleepy college town.

Unaccompanied minors, migrants, many of them claiming to be underage when their actual ages ranged into the twenties and even the thirties poured into Freiburg. By November 2016, 577 of these ‘minors’ had showed up in Freiburg. And crime, drugs, theft and sexual assaults came traveling along with them.

“From the River to the Sea”: A Guide to the Perplexed David Schraub:

https://dsadevil.blogspot.com/2018/12/from-river-to-sea-guide-to-perplexed.html
So we’re all talking about the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — which, after Temple Professor Marc Lamont Hill said it at a UN conference, reportedly caused his termination from CNN.

I don’t want to talk about Hill directly though. Quickly: He should face absolutely zero professional consequences at Temple — that’s a straightforward academic freedom issue. There is no academic freedom analogue to a sinecure at CNN, but I probably wouldn’t have fired him either — then again, I have a pretty high bar for firing people in cases like these. Certainly, the network that employs Rick Santorum doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on in this respect.

What I do want to do is give some context — hopefully helpful — to the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” I do not wish to directly challenge anyone’s substantive political commitments on the score. Much the opposite: my assumption is that there are a great many people for whom the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” sounds wholly innocuous if not laudatory — who doesn’t want freedom for all people living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea? — and are a bit baffled that such a statement could trigger such an intense backlash.

In particular, my target audience is someone I imagine thinking along roughly the following lines:

They support freedom for all people who happen to reside between the Jordan and Mediterranean;
They read “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as a pithy way of expressing the above commitment;
They’ve noted, with some confusion, that many Jews seemed to react extremely poorly to the use of this phrase; and
They assume that there’s at least a decent chance that the reason for this negative reaction is not that the Jews in question are opposed to all or some people between the Jordan and the Mediterranean being free, and accordingly wonder what the actual reason is.