Ed. here (again). I was just about to sign out for the day when this despatch came in on the mojo wire. Walt is a strong supporter of Marine Le Pen and will doubtless turn cartwheels when he reads this, but for the moment I'll just give you the basics, as reported by AP.
A European Parliament election that could reshape the political order across the continent drew toward a close Sunday with the anti-immigrant far right projected to win in France, and Germany's centrist governing party headed for heavy losses as well. The four days of balloting across the 28 European Union countries were seen as a test of the influence of the nationalist, populist and hard-right movements that have swept the continent. Exit polls in France indicated that Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party came out on top, in an astounding rebuke for French President Emmanuel Macron, who has made EU integration the heart of his presidency. Exit polls indicated the party of German Chancellor Angela Merkel also suffered major losses.
Ed. here. Walt has left the building, mumbling something about "Rocky Road". I took that to mean he was going to get some ice cream, but a message from Agent 78 says the two of them are going "off the grid, under deep cover, on assignment". Sounds like a vacation to me, but I know nothing more except that they are expected back on June 1st. If there is any of Ma Nifkins' Jellied Gin in the fridge, I may go off the grid too.
Whenever I watch Apocalypse Now -- and I've done so several times -- I am struck by the lack of intelligence, or even common sense, displayed by some of the "boys on the boat". I have the same thoughts when I read accounts of the behaviour of American troops during the invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Think Abu Ghraib. The average IQ of 1000s of the men... and women... who were chosen to implement US foreign policy seems to have been a degree or two above room temperature.
Why was that? In McNamara's Morons, Vietnam vet Hamilton Gregory argues that people of low intelligence -- "intellectually challenged", if you will -- were deliberately chosen in preference to better abled draftees and volunteers. In this video (running time 36:28) the author discusses the reasons for the deployment of "McNamara's Morons" -- troops of limited mental ability -- and the consequences of this deliberate choice on the part of those commanding the United States military.
Is it any wonder that, for the first time since 1814, the Paranoid States of America lost a foreign war. Sadly, Vietnam wasn't to be the last loss. This week President Trump has ordered another 10,000 troops sent to the Middle East sandpit. How many of them, I wonder, will be smart enough to throw a grenade in a high arc, rather than straight ahead? (Mr Gregory mentions this in his talk.) 100s of them will die as the result of their own stupidity. As for winning a war (even though the Islamist enemies aren't all that bright or brave either), good luck with that!
Incredible! For the second time in a week, a nominally Catholic nation has been consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on the initiative of a conservative political leader. Just yesterday, Walt was pleaed to report that Matteo Salvini, Italy's Deputy Premier, dedicated his country to the Immaculate Heart on May 18th, at a rally in Milan. See "Salvini commends Italy to the Blessed Virgin Mary - Pope displeased", WWW 24/5/19.
Sig. Salvini was criticized by hierarchs of the Church (Hello, Cardinal Parolin!) for his fervent expression of faith. At the rally, the crowd of 1000s responded with jeers and catcalls to the mention of the name of the alleged Pope. Francis has reportedly refused to meet the Italian leader because of the latter's policy of stopping by invasion of Italy by hordes of "refugees" and asylum-seekers.
Hard on the heels of last weeks week's stunning news comes this report from Planalto, the website of the Presidency of Brazil, that on Tuesday last, that country was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in a ceremony that included President Jair Bolsonaro and Bishop Fernando Areas Rifan.
The consecration was an initiative of national deputy Eros Biondini and Brazil's Catholic Parliamentary Front in reparation for sin and to ask for divine protection. Said Senhor Biondini, “We are doing this for Brazil, for our love for our nation." A statue of Our Lady of Fatima, revered in Brazil, which has more Catholics than any other country, graced the ceremony and will remain in a place of honour in the presidential palace.
Signing the proclamation of national consecration were President Bolsonaro, cabinet minister Floriano Peixoto, and Sr Biondini. The other signatories were Bishop Areas and Bishop Emeritus João Evangelista Martins Terra of Brasilia, the nation's capital. During the ceremony, participants prayed the Rosary and sang a Marian hymn, accompanied by a number of nuns.
Bishop Areas leads the Personal Apostolic Administration of St. Jean Marie Vianney, devoted exclusively to celebrating the pre-1965 Roman rite of the Mass. The prelate said that consecrating his country to the Immaculate Heart means that "Brazil recognizes the presence of God." Pro-life advocates, among them a priest, displayed banners emblazoned with the motto "Brazil is alive: no abortion.”
Sr Peixoto thanked President Bolsonaro for his participation in the event, saying, "This space and all our public buildings are places in which the Christian faith is professed.... May God illuminate everyone so that we can achieve our goals of lifting up fellow citizens and bringing to our children, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews and cousins, a better and more just condition for everyone."
On Tuesday, Walt told you about Italian Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini's speech on May 19th at a rally of populist leaders in Milan, in which he decried unchecked migration, pledging to close Europe's borders to migrants. He also attacked Islam, saying it mistreats women. He said Turkey would never be a part of Europe and rejected the label of extremists for the leaders with him.
"In this piazza, there are no extremists," said Sig. Salvini. "There are no racists. There are no fascists. If anything in Italy and in Europe, the difference is between who looks ahead, between who speaks of the future...instead of making trials of the past." The "piazza" to which he referred was the huge square in front of Milan's Duomo cathedral, in which 10s of 1000s had gathered to support the right-wing populist parties contesting the European Parliament elections, which are under way at this very moment.
In my earlier report, I concentrated on politics, but the fact is that the struggle to keep Europe European -- so to speak -- is not just political but religious, for European values, the values of civilization, are Christian values, and are under attack by both Islamists and secular humanists. Make no mistake! Europe is, at this very moment, a key battleground in the war against Christianity!
Sig. Salvini did not neglect to mention the religious struggle, and we are indebted to LifeSite News for reporting on this aspect of last Saturday's rally. In "Vatican leaders outraged as anti-immigration politician commends Italy to Mary", LS reveals that Sig. Salvini kissed a rosary as he commended his country, Italy, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to the cheers of the crowd.
He also appealed to the patron saints of Europe: Sts. Benedict of Norcia, Brigid of Sweden, Catherine of Siena, Cyril and Methodius. And he said, "I entrust Italy, my life, and your lives to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who I'm sure will bring us to victory."
You would have thought that the leader of the world's billion-plus Catholics, the man who calls himself "pope" and professes his devotion to the Blessed Virgin, would applaud the Deputy Premier's action. You would be wrong. Francis (whose name was greeted with boos and catcalls) immediately sent out his henchmen to denounce Sig. Salvini's action.
Among them was the Jesuit editor Antonio Spadaro, a close confidant of Pope Bergoglio. Fr Spadaro is notorious among true Catholics for opposing an Italian law mandating that crucifixes be placed in all Italian public buildings. Further rebukes were added by the President of the European Bishops' Conference, and the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin (aka The Man Who Would Be Pope - see "'Peter the Roman' ready to take over from Pope Francis", WWW 14/1/18).
Dear Catholic readers, the teaching of the true Catholic Church is: De Maria nunquam satis (Of Mary, never enough). Those like Pope Bergoglio and his Modernist acolytes and sycophants place themselves outside the True Faith on this as on so many other teachings. It is the Pope (if such he be) himself who should be publicly calling upon the Blessed Virgin Mary to turn him and his Modernist minions away from their heresies and back to the Catholic Faith. For that, let us pray.
Ed. here. We've had quite enough, this week, of stories about perversion and degeneracy. It's time for something a little more uplifting. I know when I say "clog dancing" you'll be thinking of the kind of joyful, down-home dances performed by young folks from the hills of the near south, like the Cole Mountain Cloggers, whom you can see by clicking here. And I know that's what is meant by "clog dancing" in places like Virginia and North Carolina. But in other parts of the world, it would be called "step dancing", or maybe "Irish dancing", although in proper Irish dancing you keep your arms and hands straight down your sides.
Anyway, this video comes not from the auld sod or the USA, but from... wait for it... England. This kind of clog dance originated in the early 19th century, with the Industrial Revolution. The clog dancers tap (or stomp!) their feet to mimic the sounds of the spinning and weaving looms in the north of England. This group, performing in Lancashire, are wearing are of the time. Amazing choreography, skillfully executed. Enjoy.
Earlier today Walt posted an article about a zoophile who, after a short stay in the hoosegow, was released into the community by officials of the sanctuary state of Oregon, only to be picked up by ICE, since the animal lover is also an illegal alien. See "Dog lover to be deported from Oregon... eventually", WWW 21/3/19. I have been criticized by one of the usual suspects for running that piece, thereby suggesting that illegal immigrants are prone to senseless and disgusting acts of violence involving animals, as if native-born Americans are not.
Walt is very sorry that telling a true tale offended some SJW. To even the score, here's a report picked up by a Postmedia scribe from Virginia TV station WKTR. It involves two native-born American wimmin -- one white and one non-white, by the way -- a native-born American male, also non-white, and the man's best friend, i.e. his dog. Alas, we don't have video, but here's a pic of the alleged humans involved.
Jermaine Gaye, the one in the middle, has been a guest of the Commonwealth of Virginia since being arrested for slamming into a police cruiser and then fleeing the scene. First he was incarcerated in Norfolk County jail, but then he was moved to a jail in Virginia Beach after allegedly trying to seduce an employee at the first jail.
While not so occupied, police say Mr Gaye was being entertained by his salt-and-pepper girlfriends, Denise Kearney (left) and Ashley Pinkett, who did a cam show for their man, allegedly performing "a variety of sexual acts" with each other and with a dog as their boyfriend watched and encouraged them. WKTR says the on-line sex happened "at least six times", with the authorities reportedly monitoring every minute, building a blow-by-blow record, as it were.
Guess it took the cops a while to figure out what charges should be laid. Ms Pinkett is charged with 20 counts including bestiality, animal cruelty, and tampering with a witness. Ms Kearney faces seven charges including bestiality and animal cruelty. Tickets for the trials will doubtless be scalped for considerable sums.
George Soros, his puppets and minions, are much disturbed this week by results (actual and anticipated) of elections in India, Australia and the European Union. Around the world, nationalism -- not "white nationalism", but nationalism pure and simple -- is on the rise, along with anti-immigrant backlash and pushback against the globalists' one world, "new world order" agenda.
In India, the world's largest democracy (TM), exit polls suggest that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on course to win the general election which has been in progress for the last two months. The official results will be announced on Thursday, but expectations are that the BJP will emerge even stronger than after its 2014 landslide, with a majority in the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) a possibility.
Why does this bother the gliberals? Who cares what happens in India? To find the answer, look up "Hindutva" in the dictionary. It means "Hinduness", thus "Hindu nationalism", not "Indian nationalism". (There can be no such thing as "nationalism" in a state with such a diversity of languages, races and religions!) For Mr Modi and his people (Walt uses the term advisedly) it's not "India first!" but "HINDUS first!", to the exclusion of Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and even Sikhs. The spectre of more sectarian strife, and even another shooting war with Muslim Pakistan, looms. The prospects for peaceful coexistence in south Asia are just about nil.
Meanwhile, a couple of thousand miles to the southeast, Australia's ruling conservative coalition won a "miracle" victory in last week's general election, stunning Antipodean pollsters, the (((controlled media))) and the opposition Labour party, which, like Hellery Clinton's Democrats, had been seen as certain to win. Apparently Aussie voters didn't buy into Labour's progressive plans to fight climate change and "inequality".
And there was the immigration issue, which proved to be a ballot question for the "quiet Australians" who fear being called "racist" but fear even more Labour's proposed "humanitarian" relaxation of strict border controls which have kept boatloads of bogus refugees on islands off the Australian coast. The Financial Times quotes Duncan McDonnell, a professor of politics at Griffith University in Queensland, as saying, "The heart of Australian politics beats on the right. It's a conservative country and I think there was a trend in this election in which voters asked 'if it isn't broke, why fix it?'"
And now we come to Europe, where opinion polls show populist forces set to make major gains in the European Parliament election to be held later this week. All of Europe's mainstream, pro-EU political alliances are expected to lose seats, with the big winners likely to be the Europe of Nations and Freedom group, anchored by Matteo Salvini's League in Italy and Marine Le Pen's National Rally in France.
Take note of the name "Europe of Nations and Freedom". The group rejects absolute the idea of a "post-national" Europe run by a supra-national government at Brussels which would have the power to override the wishes of the different peoples of the different nations which comprise the EU. As the sign says, their ideas of "power to the people" and "a Europe of free nations" are spreading everywhere in Europe.
Last Saturday, Matteo Salvini led a rally of right-wing populist leaders in Milan, as they campaign for the transformation of European politics. Sig. Salvini, Minister of the Interior and head of the League party, is at the forefront of a growing movement of nationalist leaders seeking to free the 28 nations of the EU from what he calls the "illegal occupation" of Brussels.
Sig. Salvini was joined by ten other nationalist leaders, including Marine Le Pen of France’s National Rally and Joerg Meuthen of the Alternativ für Deutschland. The event was a major tour de force for the expanding movement ahead of the vote that will take place in all 28 EU nations on May 23rd-26th.
In his speech, Sig. Salvini decried unchecked migration, pledging to close Europe's borders to migrants. He also attacked Islam, saying it mistreats women. He said Turkey would never be a part of Europe and rejected the label of extremists for the leaders with him. "In this piazza, there are no extremists," he said. "There are no racists. There are no fascists. If anything in Italy and in Europe, the difference is between who looks ahead, between who speaks of the future...instead of making trials of the past."
Over the years, Walt has occasionally posted stories about zoophilia -- sexual attraction to animals -- described over a century ago by Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing in his seminal work [Careful! Ed.]Psychopathia Sexualis. [Ed., have you seen my copy? It's not in its proper place in the library!]
Bestiality -- having sex with an animal -- is one of the few perversions still considered a crime, maybe not in the Middle East but in the rest of the world. Examples posted on WWW include horses, goats, and, from Egypt, a story about a woman who molested a monkey. Just this past March, Walt passed on a report of an illegal alien who was arrested for boffing a cow. WWW 27/3/19.
Sadly, such shockingly deviant behaviour is being reported more often than was the case before hordes of illegal immigrants started streaming across the Rio Grande to take up residence in America's stupid "sanctuary cities". This week we have a report from Breitbart News of the release from detention of Fidel Lopez -- that's him in the picture -- an illegal alien convicted of raping a dog to death. Mr Lopez, aged 52, was turned loose by the sanctuary state of Oregon after being sentenced to just 60 days in prison, for killing his girlfriend's small Lhasa Apso with kindness, so to speak. The judge in the case said he would have given the perv a longer sentence, but that 60 days is the max under Oregon law.
Mr Lopez was able to walk, after hearing his sentence, because he'd already done the time while waiting to stand trial. But what about his illegal alien status, Walt hears you ask. ICE (the Immigration and Customs Enforcement folks) had requested that Mr Lopez be turned over to them for deportation should he be released from prison, but officials in Multnomah County ignored the request and released the illegal alien into the community.
But there's a happyish ending. ICE arrested the miscreant and expect he will be deported from the US of A one of these days... unless sympathetic Democrats and SJWs intervene on his behalf.
Thanks to Agent 6 for the link to this tale of depravity, which Walt would otherwise have missed since, as is well known, he doesn't pay attention to such things!
This is a holiday weekend in parts of the Great No-longer-white North. On Monday locals in the more British parts (i.e. not Québec) will celebrate the Queen's Birthday. Not Her Britannic Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, but the very late Queen Victoria. That shows you how up-to-date Canadians are.
In Niagara Falls -- the clean one on the Canuck side of the river -- the Niagara Parks Commission begins its nightly fireworks showed, intended to make clear to those stuck on the shabbier side of the river that people on the western side are having lots more fun. Not just two casinos instead of one, and a lower drinking age, but fireworks too!
The nightly pyrotechnic display is pretty spectacular, to be sure. And it used to be pretty noisy too. Depending on the wind, you could hear the explosions echoing through and above the Niagara Gorge, up to ten miles away -- especially those ones that explode in a small circle of white light followed by an almighty BANG! Why, they sounded just like bombs, or cannon fire. You know, the kind of noises you'd hear if you were in a war zone. And that, gentle readers, turned out to be a problem.
To understand the dilemma faced by the NPC, you need to know that (according to Agent 78, who does know), white Canadians don't visit Niagara Falls. The whities you see oohing and awing are mostly Americans, who haven't heard about Canada's changing demographics. (Merci, Justin Trudeau, et mange d'la merde!) Canadian visitor are mostly immigrants, including hordes of Middle Eastern and south Asian "refugees" and asylum-seekers. And they, poor things, have a tendency to be "triggered" by the sound of explosions. At least, that's what the SJWs told Niagara Parks.
As a result, in a display of sensitivity and political correctness unusual even by Canadian standards, the NPC has sourced some new "low sound" fireworks for the nightly show. Instead of going "BOOM", these ones just explode with an inoffensive "pop". Less bang for the beaverbuck! And so the "accommodation" of "newcomers" reaches another high... or low... depending on how you look at it.
Footnote: The same argument was used last summer to dissuade the organizers of the CNE Airshow, the largest in Canada, to cancel the show entirely because the noise of the "warplanes" could "trigger" the poor downtrodden "refugees", yada yada yada. Fortunately the CNE has more guts than the NPC. Or at least they did last year.
And now (as John Cleese would say) for something completely different...
This video has been on YouTube since November of 2011, but only came to Walt's attention today. [It's been a slow news day, thank goodness... Ed.] There are lots of videos of military drill teams, but I don't remember ever having seen a company of civilians. The differences seem to be that (a) they're not marching but walking and (b) not carrying weapons or flags, and thank goodness for that too. Amazing choreography -- that's certainly the right word -- here, including, near the end, a backwards crossover, which I'd have thought all but impossible.
I am not very knowledgeable about the ways of the inscrutable Orientals, and am left wondering... Are these people professionals? Is it possible to be a professional walker? Or are they merely talented amateurs? Do the Japanese have clubs or societies for this kind of thing? How often do they meet to practise? You couldn't get this good just getting together every couple of months for a bit of walking and some ice-cold Asahi... could you? Is there money involved? Do they have a yen for fancy walking? [Couldn't resist, could you? Ed.] Ah, the mysterious East...
What follows is a fuzzy-minded utopian vision reduced by John Lennon to a simple song. Yes, folks, all you have to do is "Imagine" and everything will be just fine, in spite of the Islamic extremists. Bullshit! But this video is worth seeing, just for the technical skill involved in putting it together.
Thanks and a tip of the turban to Agent 6 for sending this along.
Tim Conway, the second banana who quickly became the star of the Carol Burnett Show (IMHO) passed away yesterday, at age 85. In memoriam, we're reposting the long version of the outtakes of the sketch in which Mr Tudball and Mrs Wiggins meet for the first time. There's a shorter version on YouTube, but the long version disappeared some time ago. Fortunately, Ed. downloaded it for the WWW archives. You need to see the first couple of minutes, before the entrance of Mrs Wiggins, to understand what follows. Enjoy.
Farewell, Tim, and RIP. Hope you're looking down on us from above and laughing.
Jesus called on his followers to "turn the other cheek", and, predictably, nominally Christian and secular world leaders, up to and including Pope Francis, called on Lankan Christians (90% of whom are Catholic) to keep calm and carry on, be tolerant, and understand that it's the Muslim terrorists who are the real victims of racism, marginalization, yada yada yada. We mustn't provoke them any more!
So the apologists for Islamic terrorism tell us, but in Sri Lanka at least some Christians are getting up on their hind feet to counter the Islamic jihad. Despite a nationwide curfew, there have been dozens of attacks on mosques, Muslim-owned businesses and Muslim people. Muslims constitute some 10% of Sri Lanka's 22 million people; Christians make up around 7.5% of the population. The majority are Sinhalese Buddhists, and it should be noted that many Buddhists have joined in the riots. Here, then, is a thought for the day.
It's been a while since our legal beagle, Agent 3, sent us a good story, but today we have a titillating tale from the courts of Ontario, Canada. Crown prosecutors will ask the Ontario Court of Appeal tomorrow to overturn a lower court judge's finding that Claude Trachy, of Chatham ON, a former violin teacher, did not act "with a sexual purpose" when he measured more than 20 of his teen students' bare breasts while fitting them for shoulder rests. Rather, the trial judge found, M Trachy (not pictured) believed it was necessary to properly equip the students.
The Crown is now asking the appellate court to convict the ex-teacher on some of the charges, or at least order a new trial on all of them. In its appeal documents, filed today, the Crown says the complainants, who are now adults, testified they were asked to remove their shirt and bra on the left side so that Trachy could measure them from collarbone to nipple. They testified he touched their breast during this process and often would then have them play with their left breast exposed. Four complainants also alleged he took a plastic mould of their left breast.
M Trachy took the stand in his own defence, and swore he did indeed ask the girls to undo their blouses so he could measure them, but maintained he derived no sexual gratification from it. He also denied cupping or rubbing any of the complainants' breasts, as some of them alleged.
In its factum, the Crown notes that "no boys, notwithstanding their growth, size or shape, were touched in this fashion." Neither was M Trachy's daughter, who also played violin. It also says the perfesser didn't have a formula for how the measurement translated into shoulder rest adjustment, and had no rationale for how often the girls needed to be assessed.
The Crown alleges the trial judge made a number of errors, including oversimplified the allegations to focus exclusively on whether the accused acted with a sexual purpose. Prosecutors say sexual intention is only a necessary element of some of the charges, such as sexual interference, but does not need to be proven for others, such as sexual assault, which only requires that the touching be of a sexual nature. They argue as well that the trial judge failed to properly consider the evidence of an expert witness, who testified there was no justification for touching the students' breasts as part of a fitting, nor was it a known or documented practice.
As might be expected, counsel for the defence take the position that the appeal has no legal basis and the Crown is simply seeking a do-over of the trial. "Though framed in terms of legal error," their factum says, "the Crown's appeal amounts to a thinly disguised claim of 'unreasonable acquittal', a ground of appeal that does not exist in Canadian law." Their written submission continues, "Focusing primarily on the respondent's purpose for the touching was in no way improper because, in these circumstances, this was going to be the crucial issue determining proof of guilt."
Agent 3 discounts as an "inside joke" the rumour in legal circles that Donald Trump, Slick Willy Clinton and Creepy Joe Biden are seeking intervenor status in the case.
Ed. here. Some churl has e-mailed to say that WWW seems to be turning into the Max Bernier channel, or maybe the People's Party of Canada channel, because we've run several videos featuring Mad Max and Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson. Let me `splain. While most of our readers are in the Excited States of America, we do have a significant number from North of 49.
They tell us the lamestream media of Canuckistan seem to have agreed (or been directed by Justin's minions) to not give any airtime to, or even mention "Max Bernier's People's Party", as they call it disparagingly. The Sunday morning snorefests -- they have those in Canada too -- regularly feature Elizabeth May, "leader of the Green Party", which until Monday last was a party of one, i.e. Ms May. But do they ever invite M Bernier to weigh in with comments on such "non-issues" (as the meeja would have it) as immigration and climate change? Noooo.
So for those who are wondering where Max has been and if he's saying anything about the things that matter, here's a 49-minute conversation between M Bernier and David Menzies of TheRebel.media, in which they discuss everything from immigration and censorship to political correctness and the media conspiracy to demonize conservatives.
Footnote: At the 36 minute mark of the video, you'll here David Menzies mention (on the subject of free speech and the CBC) the name of Don Cherry, featured here on May 5th: "Don Cherry for NHL Hall of Fame!". Check it out.
British DJ Danny Baker is the latest quasi-celebrity to run afoul of the PC police, and in this case the boyz in blue as well. Inspector Knacker of the Yard is investigating a tweet sent out by the BBC Radio 5 Live personality making a joke about Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, the newly-born and newly-named son of Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, the Duchess.
The tweet said, simply, "Royal baby leaves hospital", followed by a photo which the lamestream media won't publish, but have labelled "racist". Here's what all right-thinking people are objecting to.
Mr Baker's tweet was posted on Wednesday, May 8th, the same day the Duke and Duchess introduced their firstborn son to the public. Mr Baker says his tweet was not "racially motivated", but merely an ill-chosen pic lampooning the news cycle. He was immediately fired by the Beeb anyway.
Ed. here. Occasionally, when Walt was feeling "blocked", we've reposted music (or other entertaining) videos scraped from YouTube. Most of these have been well received, judging from the number of click-throughs, so it may be that our faithful readers like the occasional break from Walt's rants about religion and politics.
With that in mind, I've found -- recommended by Agent 3, thank you -- a great Dixieland jazz band which I hadn't heard of before. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, and I dare say nobody expects an excellent jazz combo named the New Orleans Jazz Hounds to be an all-Japanese group! And who would expect a 7-piece band to include three -- count `em, 3! -- trombones. Here they are, with a terrific rendition of "Careless Love"
Recorded At The Hub Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. For more, search "New Orleans Jazz Hounds" on YouTube. You're welcome.
Note from Walt: Well done, Ed. I admire your self-control not to have gone for the cheap gag about the tune being called "Careress Rove". I couldn't resist it.
Just in case you were on another planet today, Walt relays herewith a too-true story from Mongolia, where a husband and wife ate... raw... the organs and flesh of one of these things, in the belief that doing so would be good for their health.
They were wrong. The animal pictured is a marmot. Marmots are rodents, like those cute squirrels nibbling on your spring flowers. Or like rats. As is well known, except maybe in Mongolia, rodents are susceptible to the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which causes plague. Plague is perhaps best known for killing millions of people in Europe in the 14th century during a pandemic called the Black Death.
The infection still occurs today, although it is relatively rare. Humans can catch the plague through flea bites or, as in this case, through contact with the tissue or bodily fluids of an infected animal. Shortly after dining on marmot meat, the unfortunate couple developed serious symptoms, including fever and, later, vomiting blood. They died on May Day.
The deaths prompted authorities to impose a quarantine in the area where the couple lived, a town in the Mongolian province of Bayan-Olgii, bordering China and Russia. The quarantine was lifted on May 6th after no additional plague cases had been reported.
So there's your warning, dear readers. Raw marmot meat can be dangerous to your health. Avoid eating it like... errr... the plague. You're welcome.
Walt is so pleased to find that Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson is still out there! You may remember her (and been impressed, as I was) as one of the first candidates of Max Bernier's People's Party of Canada, speaking the truth in videos posted here back in the winter. See "LLTT tells why she ran for the People's Party of Canada", WWW 26/2/19. Ms Tyler Thompson didn't get elected, but will likely have another go at it in October. Meanwhile, she's got a great YouTube channel, Laura-Lynn & Friends, which I recommend wholeheartedly.
I'm pleased to repost a brand new video in which LLTT interviews award-winning international journalist, educator, author and consultant, Alex Newman, who discusses the New World Order and the agenda of chaos. Also appearing is Tanya Gaw, co-founder of Action 4 Canada, who talks about the crisis in the education of our children, who are being indoctrinated in gender ideology in furtherance of that same One World agenda.
Speaking of liberal bias (see previous post), let us ask ourselves: What would it take to get the lamestream media to denounce the giving of a medal to an outstanding black athlete? You know the answer, right? If the medal is given by still-President Trump, then it's just so wrong on so many levels!
That's been the response of many in the (((controlled media))) to Monday's awarding by President Trump to Tiger Woods of America's highest civilian honour -- the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Mr Trump describing the 43-year-old black golfer as a "true legend" who transformed golf and then fought through years of injury to return to the sport's summit. Mr Woods is the fourth golfer to earn that distinction, and the youngest. He is one of the greatest to ever play his sport. To recover from multiple back surgeries and rehabs and knee surgeries and win as he did in Augusta is one of the truly amazing stories of this year. What could be wrong with that?
Well, lots, if you listen to or read the usual suspects in the lamestream media. One blogger writes that receiving a nation's highest civilian honour is supposed to be about the totality of a person. That goes to behaviour and contribution and impact outside of a sport. It goes to high moral character and comporting oneself with dignity and grace all the time. In his opinion, Mr Woods doesn't qualify because #MeToo, besides which he's just not a nice person. Nothing to do with being black of course.
If that's so, why did President Trump honour him? Isn't that obvious? It's just an example of Mr Trump's crass desire to take care of his friends! And for that reason, the award "diminishes what should be a grand, grand honour for others." Nothing to do with Mr Woods, really. It's all about Donald Trump.
Elsewhere, NBC Nightly News broadcast a clip of WaPo columnist Eugene Robinson suggesting that the award was diminished. (Apparently a memo has been circulated suggesting the use of that D-word.) "He gives this award, which was a hallow award, maybe someday it will be one again, to people he wants to associate himself with. And so, he likes golf," said Mr Robinson.
Over at the Clinton News Network, Jim Acosta told Wolf Blitzer, "The president’s company, the Trump Organization, hired Tiger Woods to design a golf course at the president's company's golf course in Dubai. That obviously shows that there are some business ties between these two men. And I suppose a critic could argue after watching all of this that there might be somewhat of an advertisement going on here, a TV ad going on here in handing out this Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tiger Woods. It is, in effect, publicizing one of the Trump golf courses there in Dubai that Tiger Woods had a hand in. Although we should point out that particular course has not opened yet." Oh. Yes. Only fair to point that out.
I'm running out of space here, and have room for only two more examples of Trump Derangement Syndrome. CBS News gave airtime to Armen Keteyian, who co-authored a biography about Woods, to say that, yes, Mr Woods deserved the award, but "there's no question there is a branding and a marketing opportunity through the eyes of the President."
And here's my favourite, from an editorial in the Baltimore Sun which managed to sideswipe both the President and Tiger Woods. "Mr Woods has made his choice," the Sun thundered, "and part of his legacy will be embracing a man who incited bigotry and racism," adding that the President "regularly demonizes minorities and emboldens those who hate."
Walt says... Tiger Woods is a great golfer and is still going strong. Donald Trump is still President and will still be President 18 months from now. (Lifetime pct .991.) Get over it!
Canada's Auditor General, responsible for oversight of the federal government's operations, released some reports today which shone some harsh light on the substandard performances and "challenges" faced by a number of government departments and agencies. Here are six of the AG's findings.
A — Half of the 16 million people who called federal call centres last year couldn't get through. Instead of giving callers the option of waiting, some centres sent them back to the automated phone system, directed them to a website or told them to call back later.
B — Even after having to pay a fine of C$550,000 (nearly $410,000 in real money) for a Labour Code conviction related to the death of three Mounties five years ago, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is unsure if all of its officers have access to the rifles and body armour needed to respond to an active shooter. Apparently Canada's national police force mismanaged the purchase, distribution and ongoing maintenance of semi-automatic rifles known as carbines.
C — Canada’s refugee-determination system is unable to process claims on time despite reforms introduced seven years ago. The "asylum-seeker" (= illegal border crosser) caseload faces a mounting backlog, with a processing system that has chronic delays and lax criminality checks. The AG projects that if the number of new asylum claimants remains steady at around 50,000 per year (!), by 2024 the wait time for decisions will increase to five years, more than double what it is now.
D — The Canadian sales-tax system failed to keep up with the rapidly evolving digital marketplace, with the result that C169 million of Goods and Service Tax on foreign products and services sold in Canada in 2017 went uncollected. In addition, the federal government could not assess and collect all sales taxes on e-commerce transactions.
E — Public funds might be supporting partisan advertising due to a lack of adequate controls. Only government advertising valued at $500,000 or more is reviewed by an independent body, even though less expensive campaigns could represent a risk of partisanship. [No kidding. Ed.]
F — The National Museum of Science and Technology houses a large portion of its collection in leased storage facilities, along with many objects that have yet to be assessed or catalogued. Poor conditions in these spaces pose risks of deterioration, damage and theft.
Walt has not attempted to rank these items in order of importance, but readers will certainly guess which one I think is most significant. I think most Canadians would agree that Canada's porous border -- 50,000 illegals crossing every year, with the RCMP able to do no more than carry their bags and direct them towards the welfare office -- is the problem most in need of immediate attention.
My question for today: Which two (only) did Canada's CTV News think worthy of inclusion in its midday TV newscast? Answer: A & B. Maybe there wasn't enough time for the others, although nearly five minutes was devoted to the latest baby produced by the British royals. Funny though. Item C was mentioned prominently in other lamestream media, even the state-owned Canadian Broadcorping Castration (CBC).
In at least two cases, the problems are less a matter of neglect than the direct consequence of weak and wrong-headed decisions. Let's take the report in order of egregiousness — from clown-car policy to the merely careless. It will come as no surprise that the Liberal government's inept handling of the asylum seeker issue has had an effect similar to closing Highway 401 in rush-hour: system gridlock.... While there is clearly a bureaucratic logjam, the real blame lies in government policy. The Liberals created the problem because getting tough with refugees was not on-brand — even when it became clear that the lax Canadian system was being played by economic migrants flying into the U.S. from countries like Nigeria.
John Ivison was once a regular panelist on CTV's Sunday morning Question Period snorefest. No more. Comments like Mr Ivison's clearly do not fit the liberal narrative. And liberal bias is just as much the foundation of CTV's editorial policies as those of the CBC. The difference is that the CBC gets paid directly by the Liberal government, whereas CTV does not. But wait... The recent federal budget set aside some C$650 million for subsidies to Canada's struggling "independent" media. Guess which media will be at the head of the line.
Poor Len here with a recommendation for all hockey fans, especially now that we're getting to the late stages of the NHL playoffs. This season I started watching Shannon Skanes, The Hockey Guy, on YouTube. He's also on Instagram, Twitter (follow the link) and Spotify. He's getting close to 100,000 subscribers (one being moi) on his YouTube channel, because he talks sensibly and independently (not a shill for the NHL) about the best of all sports.
As I was watching THG's review of last night's Columbus vs Boston game (Boston won, 3-0 and goes on to the NHL Eastern Conference final vs the Carolina Hurricanes), I got to thinking about where I've seen that face before. Using sophisticated facial recognition software, I came up with the answer, which you see at right. Shannon's nose isn't quite that bulbous -- guess he's not a drinker -- but if you picture W.C. Fields in a baseball/hockey cap, the resemblance would be striking!
As nearly as I can figure out, Mr Skanes is a Canuck, based somewhere near Vancouver. He likes the Vancouver Canucks, but also the Dallas Stars and Boston Bruins, whom he will be cheering for (he says today) to beat the Bunch of Jerks, as Don Cherry famously called the Hurricanes. THG doesn't like the Canadiens so much, but he does pay attention to them, as indeed he does with every other team in the NHL. That's why I like his videos. (I'm also impressed that he puts up three or four videos every day, 24/7 -- an output that Walt can only dream of!)
To explain why I like THG, even though he doesn't like "Canada's Team" so much, I'm reposting his video of April 24th in which he explains "How the Canadiens Missed the 2019 Playoffs". Quote: "Honestly, they are the best team that missed the playoffs. They are trending up."
Footnote: If you can't figure out how come I think Shannon looks like W.C. Fields, hit "pause" immediately after starting to play. I should also point out that Shannon and his other half love cats; one of the beasts is featured for about three minutes. And he has an amazing collection of hockey sweaters -- not "jerseys" but "hockey sweaters"!
Poor Len `ere. Last night I was watching the Boston v Columbus game on Hockey Night in Canada, and I got to thinking about that Don Cherry (aka Donless Cherry -- that's what Ron Maclean calls him), who was all dressed up for May the 4th (geddit?) and talking about "When I had the Bruins and Bobby Orr..." And I got to thinking, why isn't Don Cherry in the National Hockey League Hall of Fame?!
Wikipedia calls Donald Stewart Cherry (born 5 February 1934) "a Canadian ice hockey commentator". He is more than that. He is THE Canadian ice hockey commentator. Along with Ron Maclean, he co-hosts the "Coach's Corner" intermission segment on Hockey Night in Canada, the longest-running show on Canadian TV. He is a Canadian icon, known for his outspoken manner, his nationalistic opinions [How does he get away with it, nowadays? Ed.] and his flamboyant dress (see pic). Those Edwardian shirt collars must be damn uncomfortable.
Don toiled for years with the AHL Rochester Americans, and was called up for one (1) game with the Boston Bruins, the only game he ever played in the NHL. He went on to coach the big bad Bruins for five seasons, during which he had the good fortune to have on the team Bobby Orr, one of othe greatest -- Don says THE greatest -- defencemen ever to play the game. He never lets us forget it (see above).
Mr Cherry was voted the seventh greatest Canadian on a CBC television special called, errr, The Greatest Canadian (duh). In March 2010, his life was dramatized in a two-part made-for-TV movie, Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story, based on a script written by his son, Timothy Cherry. In March 2012, CBC aired a sequel, The Wrath of Grapes: The Don Cherry Story II. And yet the selectors for the NHL Hall of Fame keep passing over him. I can't understand it. Don Cherry IS famous, for:
- coaching Bobby Orr (see above)
- being a Canadian nationalist
- disliking European-born players, especially "chicken Swedes"
- loving Canadian guys in uniform: soldiers, cops and hockey player
- owning a succession of white bull terriers, all named "Blue"
- turning down an offer of appointment to the Canadian Senate
- other stuff
But what Don is most famous for, IMHO, is something that happened forty years and five days ago, on the evening of 10 May 1979. The Bruins were playing in the seventh game of the NHL Stanley Cup semi-finals against arch-enemies, the Montréal Canadiens. The series was tied 3 games each, and the winner of the 7th game would go on to play for Lord Stanley's silverware. Boston was ahead 3-1 going into the third period and looked to be on the verge of victory. The Habs responded with goals from Mark Napier and Guy Lapointe to tie the game. With just under four minutes to play, Rick Middleton managed to bounce a puck off the arm of goaltender Ken Dryden and into the net to take a 4-3 lead. Here's what happened next.
With only 2:34 to go, the Bruins were caught on a sloppy line change -- too many men on the ice... two-minute penalty! Changing the lines is the coach's responsibility, so, as Don Cherry later told the Grope and Flail, "It was my fault. The guy couldn't have heard me yell. I grabbed two other guys trying to go over the boards. That would have made eight on the ice. Might as well have let them go."
Not wasting an opportunity, Montréal coach Scotty Bowman put out his elite power-play unit: Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Steve Shutt and Jacques Lemaire. Unlike Don Cherry, all five players are in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Lafleur scored the a beauty, beating Gilles Gilbert on the short side, to tie the game at 4-4. In the overtime that ensured, les Glorieux went on to win. They would then beat the New York Rangers to win yet another Stanley Cup.
Later that May, Bruins GM Harry Sinden fired Don Cherry. But here's the thing. To this day, a clip of Don responding to the derision of the Montréal crowd is still included in the intro to every "Coach's Corner". He's a classy guy, an asset to the game and to Canada, and should damn well be in the Hall of Fame, EH!
Let us take the weekend off from politics and religion. (Catholics, I don't have the power to give you a dispensation!) Here's some lovely music played by the Vienna Philharmonic during their New Year's Concert, 2016. Please pay attention to the message from the conductor, Mariss Jansons, at the beginning... or else!
Playlist: The Beautiful Blue Danube (waltz), Radetzky March (march -- duh).
An assiduous reader has asked why Walt has been focusing on the politics of Canada, Europe, even Africa, anywhere but the USA. The answer is simple. I am sick, sore and tired of what passes, these days, for politics in the Excited States of America. With Chuck and Nancy now the effective leaders of the opposition to Still-President Trump, the Democratic Party and (((controlled media))) are now in the terminal stages of Trump Derangement Syndrome.
In their efforts to obstruct and damage the President in any way possible, the Dems are now trying to accomplish through the criminal justice "system" what they have been unable to accomplish by political means. The latest example is their empty threat to issue a contempt citation if Attorney-General William Barr did not show up yesterday for a committee hearing on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report. Of course they didn't.
While the circus under the big dome goes on... and on... I ask myself, is anybody minding the store? The country's economy, foreign policy, and (most important) security seem to have been put on hold while the Democrats pursue their "agenda of resistance". If anything significant -- a war, for instance -- is done by or to the American government, Walt will write about it. In the meantime, I'll comment on events, good and bad, in parts of the world which are not all stupidly crazy, all the time.
Like Hungary, for instance, where sanity of the Christian nationalist variety has triumphed over the secular humanist, one-world madness of (((George Soros))). On May Day, the Voice of Europe reported that Hungary, which, under the firm leadership of Viktor Orbán, embraced both nationalism and Christian values, is thriving! Marriage rates are rising, the number of abortions is falling, and Christian Hungary is seeing the highest birthrates in two decades.
This demographic turnaround has not been an accident, but the fruit of deliberate programs to promote marriage and the family while defending Hungary's cultural identity and Christian roots. The article quotes Catalan Novak, the nation's Minister for the Family -- imagine the USA having one of those?! -- as saying, “After we won the election in 2010 with a two-thirds majority, we decided to build a family-friendly country and to strengthen families raising children."
A family-friendly country! Wow! What a concept! If we brought that idea into our country, we might even see a resurgence of family values! Standing firm in its position despite fierce opposition from the socialists and one-worlders (whose real goal is ethnic replacement) left, the Orbán government enacted legislation resulting in what Ms Novak calls "a comprehensive family-support system, a family-friendly tax system, a housing program, 800,000 new jobs, and many opportunities to create a balance between life and work."
"We are living in times when fewer and fewer children are being born throughout Europe. People in the West are responding to this with immigration", Prime Minister Orbán said in last February's State of the Nation address in Budapest. "Hungarians see this in a different light. We do not need numbers, but Hungarian children!"
Similarly, IMHO, what our AABC countries (America, Australia, Britain and Canada) need is not more immigrants, but more AABC children. Call that "white supremacy" if you like, but it's working in Hungary!
Just stumbled across a great video posted back in February by Frank Vaughan, a farmer (so he says) from somewhere in Canada. I'll have to check him out, see what else he's said, but in this video "Why I Was Wrong About Maxime Bernier And The PPC" he sounds as if he's got his head screwed on right... and I do mean RIGHT! Mr Vaughan talks about the People's Party of Canada, Mad Max Bernier and all the disinformation, lies and slurs that have been directed at him since he started making Canadian conservatives uncomfortable. Running time: 22:18.
Poor ole Ralph Goodale. The Canuck Minister of Public Safety (kind of like "Homeland Security" in the Paranoid States of America") has been a member of Liberal governments for donkey's years, and always seems to get stuck with the task of explaining and apologizing for the nonsensical policies and actions of the fuzzy-minded one-worlders whom stupid Canucks elected in 2015.
When you don't want to put a Sikh (Hon. Harjit Sajjan -- see yesterday's post) or a Muslim (Hon. Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Refugees) in front of the cameras, it's time to pin the tail on Ralph. Check out his grovelling, mealy-mouthed performance yesterday, in which he defended the removal of three "S-words" from a terror assessment report that is supposed to update Canadians on the major terrorist threats they face.
Since Hon. Ralph didn't actually name names (M-103!), Walt can reveal that the words excised from the report were "Sikh", "Sunni" and "Shia". Here's how the report looked before the PC police got to it.
While the report, first released in December, had initially identified attackers "inspired by violent Sunni Islamist ideology" as the main terrorist threat to Canada, that line has now been cut. All mentions of "Sunni" and "Shia" extremism were also taken out of the annual report, along with section headings on both types of terrorism. The government had already cut the term "Sikh extremism" from the report following complaints from unidentified quarters. A section heading on violence linked to the fight for an independent Sikh homeland (= Khalistan) is now gone. But see "Sikh soldiers from Canada ready to liberate Punjab?", WWW 1/5/19.
The change was announced on Twitter and Facebook by Liberal Member of Parliament Ruby Sahota, who happens to be a Sikh [Really? Ed.] who represents Brampton North, an Ontario riding where Sikhs are the very visible majority. Ms Sahota wrote that she had worked with Hon. Ralph to "remove language... The report no longer contains the terms 'Sikh', 'Shia', and 'Sunni'. Words matter. Our agencies and departments must never equate any one community or entire religions with extremism." M-103!
Ms Sahota's treatment of M-103 as law rather than just an expression of the intent of Parliament is not helpful, according to a former staffer at Public Safety Canada, which produced the threat report. Phil Gurski, a former Canadian Security Intelligence Service analyst, likened the Liberal government's repeated second-guessing of the report to a comedy routine. "To my mind this is just political correctness and electioneering gone mad." Last night he tweeted, "Who is running the show at @Safety_Canada ?? The 2018 terrorist threat report keeps getting changed to appease lobby groups. Soon there will be no terrorist threat to Canada left."
Mr Gurski's opinion is not unanimous. There are lots of patriotic Canadians who agree with Ms Sahota. Here's an earlier video from Global News that presents correct thinking, as interpreted by Canada's lamestream politicians and media. [Why does Trudeau pronounce "Sikh" that way? Ed.] M-103 rules!
In the still-unanswered dubia (an expression of questioning or doubt), Cardinals Walter Brandmüller, Raymond Leo Burke, Carlo Caffarra and Joachim Meisner asked Pope Francis, in more formal language,"Are we still Catholic or not?!" They asked him to clarify five fundamental points of Catholic doctrine and sacramental discipline. Answer came there none.
This new letter takes up the same theme, and would thus be unremarkable were it not for the endorsement of Dominican Father Aidan Nichols, who Breitbart writer Thomas D. Williams calls "one of the most prominent Catholic theologians in the English-speaking world." A prolific author, Father Nichols has published over 50 books and, from 2006 through 2008, was the first John Paul II Memorial Visiting Lecturer at the University of Oxford, the first lectureship of Catholic theology at that university since the Protestant Reformation.
We are addressing this letter to you [the bishops of the Church] for two reasons: first, to accuse Pope Francis of the canonical delict of heresy, and second, to request that you take the steps necessary to deal with the grave situation of a heretical pope. We take this measure as a last resort to respond to the accumulating harm caused by Pope Francis's words and actions over several years, which have given rise to one of the worst crises in the history of the Catholic Church.
Much of the material offered as evidence of heresy comes from Amoris Laetitia, and deals with sexual ethics and sacramental theology. A large section of the letter is devoted to showing the Pope's misconduct in "praising clerics and laity who advance these heresies, or by naming them to influential posts, or by protecting clerics of this kind from punishment or demotion when they have committed gravely immoral and criminal acts." There follows a too-long list of the offending clerics, including American Cardinals Blase Cupich, Donald Wuerl and now infamous homosexual pederast and EX-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. These names appear in other posts on WWW; click on the tags below to find out why.
The question now is: will His Unholiness pay any attention? Answer: no. But if his fellow bishops will not judge him, God certainly will. Stay tuned.
VIDEO ADDED 2/5/19: While Walt was writing this, Michael Matt and his team at The Remnant newspaper were preparing "Pope Accused of Heresy (Francis Trolls His Own Church)". Here it is.
There was much tightening of sphincters across the Indian state of Punjab, and much soiling of shorts in New Delhi and Ottawa yesterday, when this photo, taken on Sunday, appeared on the Net.
WTF? Where was this? Who are those guys?! What was going on? The answer to the second question is that they were parading down Lakeshore Boulevard in Toronto -- the city that thinks it's world-class. The members of the Canadian Armed Forces (for that's why they are) are not (as some thought) Jagmeet Singh's personal bodyguards, nor are they (as rumoured) members of an elite squad of Indo-Canadians departing for a mission to liberate "Khalistan", aka the Punjab, homeland to Canada's million or so Sikhs.
They are Sikhs though, as is their ultimate commander, the Canadian Minister of Defence, Harjit Sajjan. Mr Sajjan claimed today that he did not authorized the appearance of this squad in the annual Khalsa Day parade, in which Sikhs anticipate the, errr, liberation of Khalistan. Mr Sajjan says (now) that there was nothing wrong with these turbaned heroes being in the parade, but that their commander should have ordered "No assault rifles!" Or "at least not 'at the ready' as if you're on combat patrol! That comes later..."
Both the commander who authorized the marching contingent to carry rifles (against government policy) and whoever told them how to carry the rifles (just plain stupid) definitely have some `splainin' to do! A spokesthingy for the CAF said the army's top commander in Ontario is following up with the unit and has issued additional orders prohibiting the carrying of weapons at similar events.
She could not, however, say whether a formal investigation or disciplinary action had been launched. Chances of that happening when those involved, including the Honourable Mr Sajjan, are Sikhs? Slim and none. Hey, there's an election coming in less than six months!
Hail, hail, the anti-Macron gang was all there! Populist "yellow vests" joined "black bloc" anarchists (aka "antifa"), members of the Front National, feminist activists and anti-climate change marchers, all joined the traditional union-organized May Day demonstrations in a show of solidarity against French president and darling of the progressive one-worlders, Emmanuel Macron.
Protests were held in 203 cities across France, drawing some 165,000 angry people. The main demonstration in Paris is said to have involved anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 in sometimes violent clashes with 7400 police and soldiers. There were clashes in the Montparnasse district of Paris where hundreds of anti-capitalist "black bloc" activists pushed to the front of the crowd. Bottles and other projectiles were reported to have been hurled at police with a parked police van set alight in the street. France's Minister of the Interior (the one responsible for what we call "homeland security") had warned that up to 2000 "radical activists" might try to hijack the Paris event and team up with "radicalized" protesters from within the yellow vest movement. (Not a word about "radicalized" followers of the Prophet though.)
The gendarmerie and other minions made liberal use (pun intended) of tear gas and rubber-pellet-spreading "sting" grenades in an effort to quell the minority of troublemakers who threw stones, overturned cars and erected flaming barricades in the streets. By early evening, authorities had detained more than 250 demonstrators who had "failed to respect our authoritie!", and carried out almost 13,000 "preventive searches" of people and cars. The show of strength comes on the heels of a recently enacted law that gives police the right to stop people and examine their bags and vehicles, and makes it a criminal offence for protesters to conceal their faces. (Muslims exempted, apparently.)
Last Thursday, M Macron took to the télé to make a surprise admission that the yellow vest movement, which began last November as a reaction to a new fuel tax and service cuts, had made some "just demands" and tapped into legitimate feelings of "anger and impatience for change." In response to their protests, he promised income tax cuts, a return to pension indexing, greater proportional representation and more referendums. Leaders of the gilets jaunes derided the plan of le Président as "too little, too late" and returned to the streets last Saturday, and again today.
