Monday, April 30, 2018

Links To End April

It's the end of the month, but definitely not the end of things going on:

From Philly(dot)com, taxpayers payed over $15 million for "bridgegate".

From The Federalist, yes, journalists should call out lies - from everyone.

From the Daily Mail, according to one juror, Bill Cosby's own words convicted him.

From UAWire, Chancellor Merkel invites President Trump to visit his ancestral town in Germany.

From Voice Of Europe, Merkel has imported a dangerous form of intolerance into Germany.

From Fox News, according to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Iran lied after signing the nuclear deal.

From CNBC, Iran had a secret project to produce nuclear warheads.

From Gizmodo, the first person convicted under Malaysia's "fake news" law gets a month in prison.  (via The Verge)

From Hürriyet Daily News, an E.U. delegation will visit Turkey over visa waivers.

From The Local CH and the "oops" department, a woman accidentally gives a Swiss kebab shop a huge tip.

From The Local IT, a former Italian prime minister calls the Five-Star Movement coalition "absurd".

From The Local ES, Spanish women launch their own version of #MeToo.

From Sputnik International, according to a AfD member of the German Bundestag, E.U. sanctions had been "disastrous" for Syrian civilians.

From the NL Times, the mayor of The Hague wants a law against "suspicious" mosque financing.

From Russia Today, "Venice is not a theme park", say the city's residents.

From Breitbart London, British journalist Piers Morgan just can't get a straight answer out of Labour MP Diane Abbott.

From Deutsche Welle, Germany's Economy Minister advises the E.U. against a trade war with the U.S.

From SBS News, in southern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber kills 11 children.

From Business Insider India, Saudi Arabia's crown prince reportedly tells the Palestinians to either accept peace or "shut up".

From The Christian Post, President Trump will meet with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.

From Gatestone Institute, Turkey's foreign minister calls on E.U. governments to criminalize "Islamophobia", and does so hypocritically.

From National Review, Michelle Wolf's act at the WHCA was so bad even liberals had problems with it.

From Townhall, three big accomplishments by President Trump.

From the New York Post, the pizza rat is back.

And from USA Today, BYU bans the "man bun".

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Sunday Stories

Another week starts and another bunch of things keep going on:

From The Herald, President Trump has an interesting idea about the E.U.'s origin.

From ITV, the leader of Britain's UKIP party calls the post-Brexit immigration system "racist" for preferring people from the E.U.

From the Hungary Journal, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Szijjarto calls an E.U. report on Hungary "a bunch of patent lies which disregards facts and reality".

From Voice Of Europe, Szijjarto asks a European Parliament member "who voted for you?"

From Deutsche Welle, more than half of migrants in Germany fail the German language exam.

From The Guardian, Greece reinforces their land border with Turkey.

From Russia Today, the mayor of a town called "French Molenbeek" calls upon the state for help dealing with the "radicalized Muslim community".

From France24, last night, power was temporarily cut from Amsterdam's Schipol airport.  (This was the same airport I flew into last year, which was not without its problems.)

From the Sunday Express, U.K. Home Secretary Amber Rudd resigns.

From The Weekin Mali,suspected jihadists kill 40 Tuaregs.

From Gatestone Institute, "has Pope Francis read the Quran?"

From Townhall, Pope Francis comes up with the most unrealistic proposal ever.

From AhlulBayt News Agency, Rohingya Muslims stage a protest rally in a refugee camp in Bangla Desh.

From The Sun, Britain's oldest parents lose their child when social services takes him away.

From ABC News, the Waffle House hero's actions didn't stop with tackling the shooter.  (via HotAir)

From Legal Insurrection, contrary to some media reports, the NRA is not banning guns at its convention.

From Fox News, the caravan of illegal aliens asylum-seekers might not be able to enter the U.S. today.

From Variety, the WriteGirl event tries to gather support for young female writers.

From the New York Post, a tree planted by Presidents Trump and Macron has vanished.

From the Telegram, what a weird home looks like.

And from The Star, a Chinese farmer finds a good use for cockroaches.

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Some Saturday Stuff

Yeah, I keep using the word "stuff" in the title of posts published on Saturdays.  But it's another weekend, so here's another slate of things going on:






From Sputnik International, the U.K. Labour Party reportedly wants to "weaponize" a leaked memo about migrant removals.


From France24, tens of thousands of people in Spain protest the acquittal of accused gang rapists.




From the Greek Reporter, the president of Greek Forum for Refugees admits paying a trafficker to bring in his wife.  (Like I keep saying, the refugees are not merely migrating, but are being trafficked.)




Friday, April 27, 2018

NFL Draft, Two Koreas Meet, And Other Stories

First up, please allow me to let my Hokie pride shine through.  In yesterday's first round of the NFL draft, for the first time ever, two brothers were drafted.  Tremaine (linebacker) and Terrell (safety) Edmunds, both of Virginia Tech, received the 16th and 28th selections, respectively.  Their older brother Trey, a running back who played his college ball at VT and Maryland, played last year for the New Orleans Saints.  Their father is Ferrell Edmunds, who played tight end for the Miami Dolphins and the Seattle Seahawks.

Read more at SB Nation, Draftwire, ESPN, Sporting News and WRIC.
****
In a historical rarity, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un drove across the border to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.  The last time leaders of the two Koreas meet was in 2000.  The last time a North Korean leader visited South Korea was in 1951.

Read more at BBC News, Vox, The Telegraph, Time and the Daily Nation.
****
In other news:

From Fox News, a teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is under fire for allegedly calling pro-Second Amendment student Kyle Kashuv "Hitler".

From The Federalist, why single-payer denies treatment to sick children like Alfie Evans.

From the Daily Mail, the parents of Charlie Gard send their sympathy to those of Alfie Evans.  (via LifeNews)

From The Daily Signal, congress needs to address the threat posed by drones.

From Philly(dot)com, Representative Pat Meehan (R-PA) resigns and will pay back taxpayer money used to settle a sexual harassment accusation.

From Birmingham Live, a car allegedly plows into two pedestrians near a mosque in Birmingham, England.  (via Sputnik International)

From the NL Times, the Dutch king celebrates King's Day in Groningen.

From Deutsche Welle, "how Germany's anti-Semitism minister plans to fight hatred".

From the Express, Ireland threatens to veto Brexit over the issue of the Ireland-U.K. border.

From Breitbart London, rightwing speakers declare a "day for freedom".

From Voice Of Europe, only seven percent of the refugees in the Moria camp on Lesbos are women and children.

From Radio Poland, the Polish economy is expected to expand by 4.2 percent this year.  (via Voice Of Europe)

From ANSA, the Italian economy is improving, but poverty is still pretty common.

From Reuters, Bulgaria will be the next country to adopt the Euro.

From Hürriyet Daily News, Greece releases a Turkish soldier.

From the Greek Reporter, the Greek region of Evros faces an "untenable" migrant situation.

From the Ecologist, "to stop migrants hiding", Belgian authorities cut down trees.

From the Herald Malaysia Online, Christians in Jayapura, Papua are concerned about growing Islamic influence.

From the New Telegraph, Saudi Arabia prohibits pregnant women and drug peddlers from the upcoming Hajj.

From Russia Today, the president of the Belgian Islam party defends their proposal to sexually segregate passengers on public transport.

From Free Malaysia Today, the U.S. Commission on International Freedom of Religions calls for asset freezing for Malaysian officials who violate the right of freedom of religion.

From The American Spectator, "only in America" can Islamists call themselves "counter-extremists".

From American Thinker, "politics as a weapon in the cause of Islam".

From the New York Post, President Trump cheers the "end" of the Korean War, but cautions that "only time will tell".

From Page Six, Bill Cosby's spokespeople liken his trial to the lynching of Emmett Till.

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginia Tech assistant football coach Galen Scott abruptly resigns.

And from CityLab, "Nashville's transit fight just got weird".

Thursday, April 26, 2018

A Sasquatch's Dozen

Besides the conviction of Bill Cosby, here are twelve other things going on:

From France24, five migrants die in the Mediterranean near Spain.

From Reuters, the E.U. budget plan could bring about a "fortress Europe".

From the NL Times, Amsterdam prepares for King's Day.  (I was in the Netherlands for last year's King's Day.  If you're in the country, be sure to wear orange.)

From Voice Of Europe, left-wingnuts want to disrupt the Dutch Remembrance Day celebration.  (If you read Dutch, read the story at De Telegraaf.)

From the Express, the French ambassador to the E.U. didn't like being told to speak English.

From El País, Spain's Popular party faces "fallout" after their Madrid regional premier quits.

From ZeroHedge, Germany's "migrant crisis delusions".

From National Review, Alfie Evans could happen here in the United States.

From The Times Of Israel, Iran's supreme leader faults Arab states for befriending Israel.

From Modern Ghana, a Nigerian Muslim boy faces the death penalty for blasphemy, for singing a song.  (The last two links were found at The Religion Of Peace, which has lots more.)

From Parade, four weird frogs for the upcoming Save The Frogs Day.

And from Creative Loafing Charlotte, "news of the weird".

Bill Cosby Found Guilty

Former actor Bill Cosby has been found guilty of all three counts of indecent aggravated assault, for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He faces a maximum of 10 years for each count, which could be served concurrently.  Cosby is now 80 years old.  This was a retrial, since his first trial ended in a hung jury.  After the verdict, the prosecutor argued that Cosby's bail should be revoked, to which Cosby's response included a synonym for "anus".

Read more at Philly(dot)com, CNN, TMZ, NBC News and CBS News.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Wednesday Links

In the middle of the week, here are some things going on:



From Independent Balkan News Agency, Turkey is urged to deliver on their Syria promises.








From The Brussels Times, the international community has pledged about $4.4 billion toward humanitarian aid for Syrian and its refugees.

From the NL Times, according to an anti-monarchy group, the Dutch royal family costs a lot more than is reported.

From Dutch News, the Dutch prime minister faces a "stormy debate" over memos about abolishing the tax on dividends.

From Ekathimerini, the Greek migration minister drafts plans to deal with the increasing migrant influx.



From the New Straits Times, Malaysia bans six books.

From The Guardian, an eighth-century manuscript of the Koran appears to have been written over text from the Bible.

From the Egypt Independent, calls to delete verses from the Koran are denounced.  (Asking any religion to change its scriptures is very unrealistic.)


From FrontpageMag, Facebook's anti-right bias.


From the New York Post, how to deal with intestinal gas.


Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Tuesday Links

Some things going on out there:

From The Daily Caller, the Supreme Court rules that foreign citizens cannot sue foreign corporations in American courts.

From Fox News, Puerto Ricans are getting angry over the lack of basic services.

From LifeNews, British doctors express horror at the "medical tyranny" inflicted on young patient Alfie Evans.

From Philly(dot)com, Amazon will now deliver to your car, but there is a drawback.

From The Federalist, according to FEC records, Hillary Clinton's campaign laundered $84 million.

From Voice Of Europe, Alice Weidel of the AfD points out how German retirees live in poverty while migrants receive generous benefits.

From the Express, a Polish MP tells Europe to stop ruling them like babies.

From Breitbart London, the government of Bavaria orders crosses on its buildings.

From The Old Continent, the European Parliament publishes a sheet on "online disinformation", which is "as useless as you expected".

From the Daily Mail, Italy's highest court refuses to release a boat confiscated from a NGO.

From China Plus, China has developed a ducted fan drone.

From Euractiv, France's new asylum laws could clash with E.U. law.

From the NL Times, most of the Poles in the Netherlands work for less money than the Dutch, but still want to stay.

From Russia Today, the U.K. is faulted for its silence after a Saudi Arabian forces strike a wedding.

From Deutsche Welle, the European Court of Justice rules that torture victims may claim asylum.

From ANSA, an Italian woman originally from Pakistan returns there, and is killed for refusing an arranged marriage.

From Sputnik International, dozens of "radicalized individuals" have been identified in Finnish prisons.

From RTÉ, the E.U. and U.N. hold a conference on Syria in Brussels.

From Crux, in Nigeria, 15 people are killed when gunmen attack a Catholic church.

From BBC News, German Jews are advised against wearing the kippah.

From the Daily Nation, the Islamic University in Uganda expels 23 students for allegedly engaging in sexual relationships.

From Pakistan Today, a transgender person is killed in Swabi, Pakistan.

From The Telegraph, an Afghan teenage girl is forced to live as a boy.  (This website is from India, and has the same name as a well-known British site.)

From Gatestone Institute, the jihad continues in Spain.

From the Greek Reporter, Greece's Minister for Migration expresses "deep concern" over the increasing migration into his country.

From CNS News, California enforces a "new sexual orthodoxy" in recent bill.

From the New York Post, Uranus (pun intended) smells like a fart.

From The Seattle Times, a weird view of Seattle's "breakneck" growth.

And from Treehugger, Vancouver's weird bike share system.

Monday, April 23, 2018

It's Another Prince, And Other Stories

Earlier today, Princess Kate, a.k.a. the Duchess of Cambridge, a.k.a. Kate Middleton gave birth to her third child, a boy, at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital.  His name has not yet been revealed to the public.  The princess and her husband Prince William stood outside the Lindo Wing for a while to show their new son to the public.  Some related stories:

From The Sun, Kate and William show off their new baby boy.

From the Daily Mail, William jokes "thrice worry now".

From Global News, a first look at the new prince.

From MacLean's, the new prince is fifth in line for the throne.

And from News(dot)com(dot)au, the Queen made an appearance, sort of.
****
In other news:

From Fox News, some information on President Trump's first state dinner.

From Philly(dot)com, youngsters drink less while baby boomers drink more.

From Lovin Malta, Maltese pro-lifers protest against embryo freezing.  (via LifeNews)

From PoliZette, RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel is "concerned" that Trump voters won't turn out for the midterm elections.

From CNS News, James Shaw Jr. recounts his confrontation with the Waffle House shooter.

From The Brussels Times, in Belgium, more than 600 underage refugees have gone missing.

From Flanders News, in Brussels, two defendants have been convicted of attempted terrorist murder.

From France24, France reinforces their border with Italy.

From Deutsche Welle, France passes new "sweeping" immigration law.

From Breitbart London, German Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble wants the E.U. to have a uniform asylum policy.  (If you read German, read the story at the Welt.)

From Euractiv, U.K. MPs warn that a "no-deal" Brexit for the food and drink industries.

From The Syrian Observer, refugees impose polygamy where it's banned.

From Voice Of Europe, locals and refugees clash in Mytilini square in Lesvos, Greece.  (If you read Greek, read the story at LesvosNews.)

From the Times Live, in Afghanistan, ISIS beheads three brothers who were all involved in the medical profession.

From Middle East Eye, ISIS promises to target voters in Iraq.

From Arutz Sheva, in Germany, Muslims shoot from their cars.

From Asia Times, "how Islamic does Brunei want to be?"

From ABC News (where "A" means "Australian"), some Islamists in Aceh, Indonesia oppose the decision to ban flogging in public.

From UCA News, Pakistan's highest judge will hear the appeal of Asia Bibi's conviction for blasphemy.

From Gatestone Institute, an interview with Somalian-Swedish activist Mona Walter.

From National Review, "maybe the British royal family isn't so silly after all".

From CTV News, a driver runs over people with a van in Toronto.  (The story comes via Townhall.  The story was also mentioned on Red Fox Blogger's BlogTalkRadio show while I was listening.)

From Townhall, by taking in refugees, Europe is reaping what they've sown.

From the New York Post, the suspected Waffle House shooter has been apprehended.

From The Austin Chronicle, a review of Al Yankovic's current tour.

And from The Babylon Bee, now that GQ has called the Bible "overrated", the nation "patiently awaits" the same for the Koran.

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Some Sunday Stories

As another weeks starts, more things keep going on:

From Voice Of Europe, Muslims in France riot because a woman is arrested for covering her face.

From The Spectator, "why should France tolerate Islamic intolerance?"

From Deutsche Welle, the IMF wants to crack down on corruption.

From Sputnik International, French President Emmanuel Macron wants France, the U.K. and the U.S. to stay in Syria.

From the Sunday Express, two U.K. politicians are accused of "risking Brexit".

From Greek Reporter, Turkish President Erdoğan wants to make a deal.

From Russia TodayErdoğan faults the U.S. and NATO countries for helping the Syrian Kurds.

From Politico, the "loving embrace" from the E.U. is actually hurting the hopes of Balkan countries which want to join.

From France24, Mont-Saint-Michel in France is evacuated after a man threatens to attack police.

From Breitbart Jerusalem, 300 French celebrities sign a petition against anti-Semitism.

From Gatestone Institute, will Belgium become Europe's first Islamic state?

From Space War, Iran is ready to resume their nuclear program if the U.S. backs out of the 2015 deal.

From SAYS, four facts about the Palestinian lecturer who was gunned down in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

From the Vanguard, two teenage suicide bombers attack a mosque.

From CNN, a suicide bomber kills 57 people at a voter registration center in Kabul, Afghanistan.

From National Review, Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch strikes a blow against the administrative state by agreeing with the court's liberal justices.

From AOL, an almost naked gunman kills four people at a Waffle House.

From Twitchy, the Waffle House shooter was previously arrested near the White House.

From the Tennessean, meet the man who disarmed the Waffle House shooter.  (via Townhall)

From Fox News, some congresspeople call North Korea's denuclearization announcement a "publicity stunt".

From the New York Post, beware the knife-wielding baby seal.

From Page Six, Michael Jackson's moonwalk shoes are going up for auction.

From The Guardian, unusual animals are making their way up to Alaska.

And from The Roanoke Times, several Virginia Tech football players await the NFL draft.

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Saturday Stuff

Whether I take a break or not, the things keep going on.  Here are some of them:



From Bizpac Review, a former federal prosecutor calls James Comey's memos a "suicide note".


From Bloomberg, while ditching his nuclear tests, Rocket Man shifts his attention to the economy.  (The story comes via HotAir and was written by someone with the last name Kim.)

From Shy Society, the owners of a mosque in South Reading, England have breached the planning laws.

From France24, students evicted from Tolbiac University in Paris say that their protest is "far from over".

From Deutsche Welle, anti-nuke activists file charges against the operators of two power plants.

From Voice Of Europe, the Polish government forms a group to deal with unequal treatment of right-wingers on social media.  (Being on the right and having some Polish descent, I couldn't agree more with this development.)

From the Evening Standard, accord to a leading British trauma surgeon, London could face "carnage" this summer.

From the Daily Star, two men are stabbed just outside an Underground station.  (The "carnage" isn't waiting for summer to arrive, it would seem.)



From the Express, the United Kingdom and Australia are working on what could be an "epic" trade agreement.

From The Local FR, Generation Identity activists block an Alpine pass against use by illegal migrants.

From Pakistan Today, a Christian woman is set on fire for refusing a Muslim man's marriage proposal.

From The National, accused rapist Tariq Ramadan admits a relationship with one of his accusers.

From The Express Tribune, a fitness center in Saudi Arabia is closed over an "indecent" workout video.

From the Daily Mail, according to a propaganda video, al Qaeda uses Google Maps to plan their attacks.





From CNN, at the request of Sylvester Stallone, President Trump is considering pardoning boxer Jack Johnson.


Music Break

Taking time out from the normal things going on, here's some music, starting with Elton John and Elderberry Wine, which was the B-side of his hit Crocodile Rock and included on his 1973 album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player.  John (piano and vocals) and his regular bandmates Davey Johnstone (guitar), Dee Murray (bass) and Nigel Olson (drums) are joined by French musicians Jacques Bolognesi (trombone), Ivan Jullien (trumpet), Alain Hatot (sax) and Jean-Louis Chautemps (sax), the brass arranged by the album's producer Gus Dudgeon.


Friday, April 20, 2018

Stories for 4/20

Today is April 20, or 4/20.  This date has become known as a day for smoking marijuana, is the birthday of an infamous Austrian who became the leader of Germany, and is the anniversary of the high school shootings in Columbine, Colorado.  This year, it's also the date of the latest gun-control protests.  Starting with such anti-civil-rights protests, here are some things going on:

From Vox, students kick off "the next wave of gun control activism", thus marching against the civil right of gun ownership.

From CBS News, the DNC can't stop being sore losers.

From Fox News, "Barbara Bush's passion for education and family lives on".

From Politico, President Trump will not attend Barbara Bush's funeral.

From Philly(dot)com, in Philadelphia's Center City, blacks are disproportionately stopped indoors by police.

From The Federalist, memos from former FBI director James Comey indicate that a briefing in early 2017 was a set-up.

From RFI, the French parliament votes on President Macron's proposed immigration laws.

From WestMonster, 56,000 people have signed a petition for a referendum on abolishing the U.K. House of Lords.

From UAWire, Germany gives Ukraine €9 million to help house displaced persons.

From Turkish Minute, Turkey accuses Greece of protecting alleged coup plotters.

From ANSA Med, the number of migrants arriving in Italy has decreased since last year.

From the International Organization For Migration, a look at this year's statistics.

From Deutsche Welle, Bavaria plans to bring back its border police.

From Voice Of Europe, Hungary leads the world in wage growth.

From Sputnik International, how much the U.K. will have to pay the E.U. is still not settled.

From The Intercept, an Italian court decision could stop rescue boats from picking up migrants in the Mediterranean.

From Handelsblatt, in a plan to thwart smugglers, Germany will accept 10,200 new refugees.

From Reuters, an outpost leader of the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees is under investigation for allegedly wrongly approving asylum requests.

From the Express, a pedophile rape grooming gang treated their victims "like trophies".

From Ekathimerini, Cyprus granted asylum to 1,300 people last year.

From Euractiv, Turkey's ambassador to the E.U. wants cooperation to bring refugees back to Afrin.  (This is the part of Syria now being invaded by Turkey.)

From The Sun, in Indonesia's Aceh province, unmarried couples are publicly whipped for "flirtatious behavior".

From the Prague Daily Monitor, bishops criticize a play in which Jesus commits rape.

From France24, France deports a controversial Salafist imam.

From National Review, "today's sad feminism - and two breaths of fresh air".

From FrontpageMag, if you're white and own a gun, the left hates you.

From Townhall, another anti-Semitic rant from Louis Farrakhan has been unearthed.

From the New York Post, MS-13 tells its members to "take out a cop".

From BBC News, a woman on trial for allegedly killing her mother read "weird stuff" online.

From The Spoon, some "weird & wonderful" Instagram feeds.

And from Edgy Labs, five "weird and wonderful stoner inventions" for 4/20.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Thursday Things

Another Thursday, another list of things going on (with a bit of my own commentary):

From Voice Of Europe, migrants beat up a German boy for eating pork.

From The Brussels Times, the Belgian Secretary of State tells Albanians to visit, spend money, work and study, but don't seek asylum.

From Russia Today, Hungary says "no" to illegal migrants.

From Sputnik International, some refugees have reportedly sold their E.U. IDs online.

From the Express, Saudi Arabia and Qatar launch joint military drills.  (You could call this your gasoline money at work.)

From the Daily Mail, a Greek court rules that asylum seekers cannot be held while their claims are being assessed.

From EuroNews, the E.U. granted about 500,000 asylum claims in 2017.

From Quartz, 60 percent of approved E.U. asylum requests were by one country.

From the NL Times, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg criticizes the Netherlands for not spending more on defense.

From Dutch News, unemployment in the Netherlands falls below 4 percent.

From Total Croatia News, Austria passes a law facilitating deportation of migrants to Croatia.

From Newsweek, Kurdish forces claim to have captured a German Islamic terrorist connected to the 9/11 hijackers.

From Reuters, according to E.U. officials, time for reforms is running out.

From Flanders News, at the Aalst, Belgium railroad station, thug brings knife, cops bring guns.

From ANSA, Italian Senate Speaker Maria Elisabetta Casellati starts a second round of talks between parties trying to form a government.

From the ABC News (where "A" means "Australian), Australia's first female Muslim member of Parliament says that her husband used sharia to keep her in an abusive marriage.  (via the Daily Mail)

From Feminism And Religion, a look at toxic masculinity.

From AhlulBayt News Agency, hundreds of displaced Syrians return home from Lebanon.

From Gatestone Institute, Turkish President Erdoğan threatens France.

From FrontpageMag, jihadis and drug smugglers are at our southern border.  (In other words, two more reasons why building a wall is perfectly non-racist.)

From National Review, the proper response to the Fresno State University professor who said some horrid things about Barbara Bush is indifference.

From the Washington Examiner, President Trump backs current Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) as she runs for Senator.

From The Hill, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has told Trump that he is not a target of Special Counsel Mueller's investigation.

From the New York Post, thieves steal $800,000 worth of Disneyworld tickets from a youth group.

And from Hudson Valley One, the sun is acting weird.

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Wednesday Links

As I settle back into my normal life in Maryland, here are some things going on:

From the Wheaton Patch, a Maryland man faces animal cruelty charges for allegedly stuffing his SUV with chihuahuas.







From the Express, the U.K. House Of Lords votes to keep the country in the E.U. customs union.

From Breitbart London, Germany's E.U. Minister wants to keep the door open for Turkey.

From Reuters, the CEO of Facebook, after facing the U.S. Senate, is invited to Europe.




From Voice Of Europe, migrants fight each other in Athens.


From Russia Today, Italian Foreign Ministry officials and a subsidiary of the German company Rheinmetall are sued over arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

From the Manchester Evening News, hundreds of people were evacuated after "unstable chemicals" were found at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology.


From the NL Times, according to police, Albanians play a major part in Amsterdam's underworld.

From The Old Continent, Belgian M.E.P. Guy Vanhofstadt calls for an E.U. military capable of launching missile strikes.

From France24, Austria forces asylum seekers to hand over their mobile phones and pay a fee.

From the Daily Sabah, according to the U.N., the refugee deal between the E.U. and Turkey has made a "huge impact".


From National Review, a tribute to Barbara Bush.

From BizPac Review, a professor at Fresno State has a very different attitude toward Mrs. Bush.

From the Daily Observer, a Liberian legislator proposes to allow non-blacks to become citizens.

From Pakistan Today, Saudi women wear sports abayas, making a "rebellious fashion statement".

From Gatestone Institute, let the Turkish scholars speak.

From the New York Post, the Coachella festival sucks.

Virginia Tech And The Spring Football Game

This past Saturday, I was in Blacksburg, Virginia to watch the Virginia Tech spring football game.  The weather was warm and sunny, which allowed me to walk around the campus.  In the center of campus is a large open area known as the Drill Field.  At its eastern end is the War Memorial Chapel, which includes pylons that are engraved with the names of alumni who died while in military service.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Barbara Bush 1925-2018

Barbara Bush, the wife of one president and mother to another, died today at her home in Houston, Texas at the age of 92.  She had recently decided to discontinue her medical treatment.

Barbara Pierce was born in the New York borough of Manhattan and raised in the suburb of Rye, New York.  Her parents were Marvin Pierce and the former Pauline Robinson.  She attended Ashley Hall, a girls boarding school in Charleston, South Carolina.  At age 16, while on Christmas vacation, she met a student from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts named George H.W. Bush at a school dance.  They were engaged 18 months later, just before he went to fight in World War II as a Navy pilot.  They were married on January 6, 1945 in her home town of Rye.

Because of George Bush's military assignments and later involvement in the oil business, the couple moved frequently.  They had six children:  George W., Pauline "Robin" (who died of leukemia at age 3), John E. (known as "Jeb"), Neil, Marvin and Dorothy.  They even spent some time in China when George Bush was appointed head of the U.S. Liaison Office in the P.R.C.  He was later appointed to direct the CIA, and was elected Vice President and President.  Two of Mrs. Bush's children also became successful politicians, as George W. was elected Governor of Texas and President, and Jeb was elected Governor of Florida.  During her time in Washington, she took up the cause of literacy, after her son Neil was diagnosed with dyslexia, founding the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

After leaving Washington, the Bushes resided in Houston and at their family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine.  Starting in 2008, Mrs. Bush suffered a number of ailments including pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and Grave's disease.  She was preceded in death by her daughter Pauline, her brother James Pierce, and her sister Martha Rafferty; and is survived by her husband, her brother Scott Pierce, her five remaining children, her 17 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

Read more at ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, the New York Post and People.

A Few Things For Tuesday

Now that I'm back from my trip to Virginia, let me share a few things in the news:

From Fox29, the Pennsylvania House votes to ban abortions for which Down syndrome is the only reason.  (via LifeNews)

From Voice Of Europe, almost 90 percent of refugees who got their residency papers in 2014 in the Netherlands are unemployed.  (So much for the idea that Europe needs immigrants to fill their work force.  If you read Dutch, read the story at De Telegraaf.)

From The Old Continent, German cities are plagued by "Lebanese gangs".

From News(dot)com(dot)au, an Italian seat manufacturer introduces an airplane seat that would probably give yours truly some discomfort.  (via the New York Post)

From Live Science, scientists still haven't quite figured out the "weird pit of magma" beneath Yellowstone.

From Breitbart London, Nelson's column will not be demolished.

From Fox News, Greek authorities detain hundreds of illegal aliens migrants who had entered from Turkey.

From France24, the IMF predicts 3.9 percent economic growth for the next year.

From the Express, Morrissey slams Mayor Sadiq Khan for the violence in London.

From Turkish Minute, from an opinion column, Turkish President Erdoğan urges Muslim minorities to dominate non-Muslim majorities.

From Khaama Press, ISIS executes a 14-year-old boy for helping Afghan security forces.

From The Nation, ISIS targets Christians in Pakistan.

From Gatestone Institute, is mass migration in Germany a no-win situation?

And from The Loop, this year's Boston Marathon "was weird even by marathon standards".

Monday, April 16, 2018

A Marathon, A Sad Observance, And Monday Links

As the Boston Marathon gets underway, and Virginia Tech observes the 11th anniversary of the on-campus shootings, here are some things going on:

From WDBJ, Virginia Tech honors the victims of the 2007 shootings.

From the Washington Examiner, more smugglers trying to bring cocaine and heroin into the U.S. are going through Puerto Rico.

From Philly(dot)com,  the Starbucks where two black men were arrested last week is still dealing with the fallout.  (I understand that they were arrested for using the bathroom without buying anything, in other words, while not being customers.)



From Fox News, after a renegade driver loses the police, he calls them to say that his car was stolen.

From Russia Today, in a propaganda poster, ISIS threatens to bomb the New York subway.

From The Washington Times, the wife of imprisoned former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is disappointed that the Supreme Court won't hear his appeal.

From The Daily Caller, Dick's Sporting Goods will destroy their remaining inventory of guns.

From Deutsche Welle, while President Trump wants a quick withdrawal from Syria, President Macron wants France and the U.S. to stay longer.


From the Express, the Eurozone heads into an economic downturn.  (I thought that Brexit was supposed to hurt Britain's economy, not the E.U.'s.)

From Voice Of Europe, Swedish feminists want to ban organizations critical of migration.

From Politico, Swedish violence has come to belie its peaceful image.  (Much of it comes from migrants, whom the above-mentioned feminists think should not be criticized.)

From the NL Times, in the Netherlands, a motorist runs an ambulance off the road.

From The Local FR, police and "anti-capitalists" again clash in Notre-Dames-des-Landes as the latter try to re-establish their camp.




From National Review, "striking Syria was the right call".

From FrontpageMag, Trump enforces the red line.

From Sputnik International, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says that the missile attacks "won't be left unanswered".

From the New York Post, for the first time since 1985, the women's winner in the Boston Marathon is an American.

From Science News, the book Weird Math tries to explain the connection between math and reality.

And from The Babylon Bee, King David requests that we stop comparing him to Donald Trump.