Remember That Guy, Eric Swalwell?

"U.S. intelligence officials believe that Fang had a sexual relationship with Eric Swalwell. We asked Swalwell’s office about that directly today. His staff replied by saying they couldn’t comment on whether or not Swalwell had a sexual relationship with Fang because that information might be, quote, “classified.” They did not elaborate or explain what they meant by that."

-PJ Media

"Who farted?"

You all remember that California congressman Eric Swalwell, don't you? He's the guy who was running for the Democrat nomination for president. He's the guy who sits on the House Intelligence Committee. He's the guy who told us he had proof that Trump was a Russian agent.

You remember him, right?

"Uhhhhh.....yeaaaaah."

 

Well, Eric is back in the news this week for the first time since he farted on MSNBC during an interview. Axios.com has broken a story that ties Eric to a Chinese spy named Fang Fang, aka Christine Fang. Apparently, she used her feminine charms to get close to a couple of mayors-and- had some sort of a relationship with Mr Swalwell, who, for his part, is refusing to answer the big question.

 https://www.axios.com/china-spy-california-politicians-9d2dfb99-f839-4e00-8bd8-59dec0daf589.html

-Axios

And why should he? After all, Nancy Pelosi has his back. She sees no problem with Swalwell being on the House Intel Committee.

According to the NY Post, the FBI warned Swalwell about Ms. Fang back in 2015.

But it's all Trump's fault, you see? According to Swalwell, Trump and his followers are picking on him because of his criticism of the President.

So unless Eric clears this up, he is a leading candidate for Hypocrite of the Year. So I urge Swalwell to state definitively where he had sex with that woman, Miss Lewin...... Fang, so he can get back to work for the American people.......on the House Intel Committee.

Netherlands: Green-Left Parliamentary Candidate Has to Explain Nazi Flags

Hat tip Dagelijkse Standaard. Translation by Fousesquawk.

Kauthar Bouchallikht (circle) at 2014 demonstration. Photo courtesy of the Dutch site, Geen Stijl.

We have recently reported on the political candidacy of Kauthar Bouchallikht, who is a candidate for the Green-Left party for the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament. Not only is she linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, she now has to explain her presence at a 2014 rally in which swastikas were displayed. The below article is by Tim Engelbart in the Dagelijkse Standaard. Translation by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.dagelijksestandaard.nl/2020/12/kauthar-poseert-met-nazi-vlag-kauthar-zegt-sorry-en-voila-kauthar-mag-blijven-als-groenlinks-kandidate/

Kauthar poses with Nazi flag, Kauthar says sorry, and....voila! Kauthar can stay as Green-Left candidate

- by Tim Engelbart December 9, 2020

Yesterday another row came up around Green-Left candidate for the Second Chamber, Kauthar Bouchallikht.  Photos surfaced of the Muslim Brotherhood youth administrator with a swastika flag. But whoever thought that meant that Green-Left would finally say good-bye to the young woman is mistaken: Green-Left and Kauthar are married, and do not want to divorce. 

The candidate commission of the Green-Left, which drew up the list for the upcoming (Parliament) election, is confronted with the facts every week: It was an unbelievably stupid thing to put Kauthar Bouchallikht (on the 9th spot, therefore eligible) on the election list. Not only because she was a youth administrator for the Islamist infiltration movement, Muslim Brotherhood, but also because in the past, she marched in very unsavory demonstrations, in which swastikas were waved to indicate that Israel is a kind of reincarnation of the Third Reich, or something like that.

End of Kauthar's political career? No, she may stay because she so sincerely said, "sorry".

"The Green-Left candidate went to the demonstration to stand up against injustice and violence in the Gaza Strip. But also present were flags with swastikas, which were removed before the demonstration could begin on orders from the mayor. Bouchallikht calls that a correct decision. She says that the photo of herself is "unbelievably painful".

"The comparison between Israel and Nazi Germany is disgusting. I loathe anti-Semitism. It goes against everything I stand for."

A spokesperson for Green-Left announced that now that Bouchallikht has so "unambiguously distanced herself, there are no further consequences for her position as number 9 on the list for the Second Chamber election list."

Party all around, of course, because everyone again falls sobbing into each other's arms- Nazi flags or not. And Green-Left can go back to the order of the day: Promise children 10,000 euros, and then take it away.  Always a nice pastime in the high Klaverian (Jesse Klaver-head of Green-Left party) sphere, right?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fousesquawk comment: It is not clear to me whether Bouchallikht was also carrying the flag in question. According to the photo she was not.

In fairness, I should note that there is a difference between carrying a Nazi flag itself as opposed to one that includes a swastika indicating that Israel is a  Nazi-type state (which it is clearly not). According to our own State Department definition of anti-Semitism and that of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, equating Israel with Nazi Germany constitutes an element of anti-Semitism. To use the swastika as a propaganda tool to condemn Israel is clearly a red flag-like waving a red flag in front of a bull- or in this case in front of Jewish people who don't need to be reminded of the Holocaust.

CAIR Goes After French President Emmanuel Macron

Hat tip Rèsistance Rèpublicaine

The US-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim Brotherhood front group, is taking issue with French President Emmanuel Macron's efforts to rein in Islamist violence. More specifically, CAIR is protesting the dissolution of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (Collectif Contre Islamophobie en France-CCIF). In fact, they are offering office space to the French organization in their Washington hqs. To be accurate, the CCIF announced that they were self-dissolving in the face of the government's threat to shut it down. Here is their own statement to that effect in both French and English. Below is CAIR's offer to provide office space to CCIF.

 https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-offers-office-space-to-french-muslim-civil-rights-group-closed-in-islamophobic-crackdown/

At the same time, CAIR is tweeting out a message that Macron is taking France into a "very dark turn". CAIR, quoting an op-ed in the Washington Post by someone named Karen Attiah, whoever she is. I would link the article, but it is only accessible to Washington Post subscribers. 

https://twitter.com/CAIRNational/status/1335606416476815363

Of course, lost in the background of all this, if mentioned at all, is the sheer bloodshed that has swept over France in recent years in the form of terror attacks, murders, beheadings and assaults upon Christian churches and French Jews by Islamists in France including the most recent beheading of French teacher Samuel Paty and the attack on a church in Nice. It is clear that CAIR could care less about French lives. It should also be noted that like CAIR, the CCIF has been linked to the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt.

In fact, France has been going down a very dark road for years now with too many bloody Islamist attacks to list here. The list is so long and so horrific, it would make even Robespierre blush.

Finally, I am cross-posting a current article by the French blog, Rèsistance Rèpublicaine, concerning the CCIF. (Translation by Fousesquawk.) The article reports an interview by the French news outlet, Figaro Vox, with French attorney Richard Malka. Mr Malka is a lawyer representing Isabelle Kersimon, a French journalist who had been dragged into court by CCIF for criticizing the organization and stating that they had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Mr Malka also represents Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine that had published caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad and was the victim of a terrorist attack in 2015, in which 12 people lost their lives.

* Note that Rèsistance Rèpublicaine  occasionally interjects "editor notes" during the interview to comment on Mr Malko's statements.

https://resistancerepublicaine.com/2019/06/26/le-ccif-perd-son-proces-il-est-bien-lie-aux-freres-musulmans-et-ses-stats-sont-bidons/

The CCIF loses its case: It is well-linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and its stats are bogus!

- 26 June 2019

The tribunal recognizes these "two pans attached to the tail" of CCIF, and yet, the same CCIF is still allowed into the courts to make complaints against patriots and try to manipulate the judges.....Look for the error.

-Christine Tasin

Richard Malka: "The statistics of the CCIF on Islamophobia are not trustworthy!"

-Figarovox/Entretien-

In a judgment rendered 18 June, the tribunal rules that the remarks of Isabelle Kursimon about the CCIF were not defamatory. In 2015, the journalist had denounced the CCIF (statistical) numbers of Islamophobic acts. Her lawyer, Richard Malka, responds to FigaroVox.

Richard Malka is a lawyer in the Paris bar. He represents, notably, Charlie Hebdo magazine.

FigaroVox: -The tribunal ruled that your client, Isabelle Kersimon, had made no defamatory remarks in regard to CCIF.

So it is not prohibited to affirm that this group (CCIF) is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood?

Richard Malka

-That point, in effect, has been judged not defamatory, and (is) relevant to freedom of opinion and analysis.

As it happens, the closeness of the CCIF with the Muslim Brotherhood, and in particular with Tariq Ramadan and Hani Ramadan, grandsons of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, seemed to me indisputable.

Isabelle Kersimon made reference to it, and the tribunal ruled that it had nothing to reproach her for.

Indeed, the CCIF representatives were embarrassed when these questions were raised during the hearing.

But in the end, the Muslim Brotherhood is not banned in France.

The CCIF  may participate in a large number of discussions in common with them and maintain a friendship and intellectual complicity.

-Editor note: A little short in my opinion. The Muslim Brotherhood " is an organization of fascist inspiration connected to foreign nations. The laws of the Republic are widely sufficient to ban and expel people who complain about it.

You simply have to assume it.

The remarks made by the journalist were made during a broadcast where she criticized the CCIF for having published "bogus" statistics on Islamophobia.

It is from these numbers, the CCIF constructs a discussion of permanent victimization.

In effect, the CCIF published its own numbers on Islamophobia in 2015, and these seemed clearly exaggerated compared to those of the Interior Ministry, but also compared to those of the CFCM (French Council of the Muslim Faith), which, moreover, questioned the trustworthiness of the CCIF.

What Isabelle Kersimon criticized about the Collective Against Islamophobia in France, which since 2012, no longer publishes the list of cases it considers as being Islamophobic, is their making a "catch all", in which they tabulated the expulsions of imams who called for jihad, prosecutions against imams who called for the rape of women who wear skirts, or those making anti-Semitic remarks.....

It is ubiquitous!

The demonstration by Isabelle Kersiom was remarkably done, with the judge finding nothing wrong with it, which means that the statistics of the CCIF are not trustworthy-to use a euphemism.

That is very important to say because it is beginning with these numbers that CCIF builds its discourse of permanent victimization, which then leads to a feeling of humiliation and violence.

It is there that the decision of the tribunal is extremely interesting.

One cannot trust the CCIF.

And if one wants to know with precision the number of racist acts (a term I prefer to "Islamophobes"), it is better to consult the numbers from Beauveau or the CFCM, which, moreover, are quite close (to each other).

-You have also been the lawyer for Charlie (Hebdo). How do you explain the large number of lawsuits against newspapers or journalists brought by representatives of the Muslim community?

-I frequently see the offensives because I regularly defend journalists, intellectuals or writers, sometimes, Muslims, by the way.

The judicial offensive, fortunately, doesn't come from authorities of Islam (with the regrettable exception of the lawsuit against the caricatures published by Charlie (Hebdo), rather from community associations who try to muzzle freedom of expression. 

-Editor note: A totally inoperative distinction. That is all "white hat and hat white". They are the expressions of the Muslim colonization of our land. This colonization must cease!

-They simply want to prevent a critical discourse against them from being expressed.

The criticism of Islam remains a complicated fight, while, on the other hand, one can say everything about the Christian religion. 

-Is Islam still a taboo subject today?

-It is, in any case, a difficult subject.

I believe that everything should be able to be said about Islam, and that includes the most vehement critiques in regards to all religions. 

That's what part of the left doesn't understand: Criticizing religions is to defend people against fanaticism.

But it is, in effect, very complicated because accusations of Islamophobia rain down, and certain media are very sensitive to this argument.

Criticism of Islam remains a complicated fight, while one can say everything about the Christian religion. There exists within Islam an institution of guilt, and I am fighting that at the side of Muslims themselves. 

-Editor note: I would be curious to know these Muslims at Malka's side ready to fight the fanaticism of their sect!

-The word "Islamophobia" continues to bother you....

-Yes, and practically speaking, we have lost the fight since the word is now in our everyday language.

I continue, in spite of everything, to think that one has the right to have fear of Islam and of any religion in general.

-NDLR: "Of religions"? For my part, I only know of one that is populating our prisons and carries out attacks on our soil. 

-For me, there are forms of racism, which are exercised against people, sometimes by reason of their religion, but there should not be a crime when one criticizes a religion, in which case, blasphemy would be prohibited. 

Criticism against religions must be totally allowed, without disrespecting people.

The argument of pain inflicted on believers should not be taken into account to justify banning this or that criticism.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fousesquawk comment: I don't normally come to the defense of Macron, and I view his latest efforts as too little and possibly too late. Nonetheless, when it comes to saving innocent French lives from radical Islamist forces, I will support whatever he does even if it is not sufficient. French authorities are of the opinion that the CCIF is engaged in subversive activities that have contributed to the carnage in France.  It is none of CAIR's business what Macron does to protect French lives. That CAIR would offer space to this bunch in Washington strikes me as a hostile act against an American ally. Of course, with Joe Biden coming into office, don't expect any punitive action to be taken against CAIR.

Election Fraud: Was There an Italian Connection?

Hat tip Vlad Tepes,  La Verita, and Dago Spia. Translation by Fousesquawk.

On December 1, the conservative Italian news outlet, La Verita, published an article by Daniele Capezzone, who is a journalist and former politician.  The full article is available online to subscribers only. It concerns an allegation that someone in the US Embassy in Rome, in concert with an Italian company with defense contracts, had used software to change votes in the November 3 election from President Trump to Joe Biden. This article has now been cross-posted by an Italian tabloid named Dago Spia. It is alleged that software possibly owned by the Dominion software company of Canada, whose electoral software is used by several US states, was used from outside the US (possibly Italy) to change votes.

Based on what I have read and heard thus far, it is too early for me to evaluate this story. Like so many aspects of the matter, we must wait and see what develops. As yet, the mainstream Italian media has not picked up on the story.  

Below is Mr Capezzone's article as translated by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.dagospia.com/rubrica-3/politica/ci-mancava-the-italian-job-avvocati-trump-non-hanno-dubbi-254491.htm

We missed "The Italian Job"- Trump's lawyers have no doubts: "There was an Italian hand in the pro-Biden fraud". Suspicions on alleged software manipulator of votes carried out by men in the US Embassy with a  defense company. It all is believed to have occurred what is called a "military encryption", meaning codes and military cryptography to protect certain operations and make them difficult to decode.

-Daniele Capezzone for “la Verità”

The news, if confirmed in its details, would be sensational. Even Rome and Italy would be involved in potentially the most serious and sensational spy story in recent years, and in the possible manipulation of the result of the last presidential election in the USA.  It is this that the Trump campaign legal team is investigating, in an inquiry which, after a very noisy scene in Germany (of which La Verita spoke yesterday), has seen another fundamental moment of investigation right in Rome.

It is even taken for granted to speculate that the Donald Trump detractors will say that it is another episode in the post-electoral show of the president, still in office, and they will invoke elements of proof that the Trump legal team maintains they can make public in the coming days.

Let us recall the starting point. Sidney Powell, the lawyer who, with Rudy Giuliani, is guiding the Trump legal team, and who also has to her credit, the defense of General Flynn, for days has been pointing her finger at a telematic instrumentation designed for the explicit scope of moving votes from one candidate to another, obviously to the detriment of Trump. This electoral software could possibly be used also from a distance, from other countries, to intervene in the tabulation of electoral ballots.

Just yesterday, we spoke about the company, Dominion Voting Systems, founded in Canada, whose machines and software are used in more than 20 American states. Also yesterday, we evoked the sensational mystery regarding the German city of Frankfurt, scene of a seizure of informatic material, according to a first hypothesis, to the detriment of Dominion (which they deny), second, another hypothesis to the detriment of the Spanish electoral software company, Scyti (which also denies), and finally, according to a third hypothesis, borne by a server farm managed by the CIA, and object of a sensational raid (involving heavy exchange of gunfire) on the part of men from the US Army Special Forces, according to statements made by  Lieutenant General Thomas McInerny.  

On the other hand, there is the last investigative lead in which the Trump campaign claims to be at an advanced stage in the investigation. A part of the alleged electoral switch, the mechanism for moving votes, manipulating the results, was reportedly conceived (perhaps, last spring) and then carried out also from Italy, via triangulation between a US official working in the US Embassy in Rome (a hypothesis which, if confirmed, would, obviously, not be without consequences), military figures at a very high level, and technical collaboration of an Italian company in the defense sector. 

All (this) would have occurred via what is called military encryption, meaning codes and military cryptography to protect certain operations and make them difficult to decipher.

Now, of course, it is necessary to point out that the burden of proof lies with the Trump campaign and his legal team. 

But there is more than just the feeling that Italy is other than a marginal reality in this story. Recalling the mission to Rome in 2019 of Attorney General William Barr, Prosecutor John Durham, and Gina Haspel, CIA Director. At the time, particularly at the time of the Barr visit (Minister of Justice, so a heavy political figure), what jumped out was the asymmetry of the status of the Italian interlocutors to whom (Prime Minister) Conte directed him, that is the top of our services and not political counterparts of equal grade in respect to the guest. Someone speculated that Conte, at the time, had wanted to move-politically speaking- on the quiet, silently, to give Trump the feeling (but maybe only that) of a very rapid and concrete collaboration. Others maintain, however, that there was no concrete Italian cooperation. 

The US investigative thesis had known, in respect to the Italian side of the so-called Russiagate: That in Rome, in 2016, some hands had contributed in fabricating fake evidence against then-candidate Trump, to invent a political relationship with Moscow, and make it the basis of a judicial attack (which then, once Trump was elected, materialized into a failed impeachment attempt).

For months, the Italian media was obstinate in keeping the matter down. Even following a joint conference with Sergio Mattarella, when Donald Trump personally evoked a chain of corruption that originated in the Obama administration and said in clear letters: "They tried to hide what was done in some countries, and one of these could be Italy," even then our mainstream media preferred to concentrate on talking about the grimaces and smiles of the Italian interpreter: Yet another mass distraction.

We will see if also this time, it will play out the same way. And we will also see, always assuming that the Trump campaign team (provides) details and particulars to the accusation, if a thread emerges, objective or subjective, to connect the events of 2016 to those of this 2020, also on the Italian side.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 "It is this that the Trump campaign legal team is investigating, in an inquiry which, after a very noisy scene in Germany (of which La Verita spoke yesterday), has seen another fundamental moment of investigation right in Rome."

The Italian website, Libero Pensare, has cross-posted the above-referenced Frankfurt article by Capezzone. It is in Italian but basically repeats the recent allegations made by General Thomas McInerney (retired). McInerney claims that US Forces in Frankfurt raided a CIA "server farm" in which 5 soldiers were killed.

Here is an interview with retired CIA official Brad Johnson on this story. The interview was conducted December 5, 2020 by Vlad Tepes Blog. Note that Johnson, while giving some credence to the Rome angle, discounts the veracity of the Frankfurt story. Here is an English-language article from American Military News on the McInerney claim.

Fousesquawk comment: I am treating this story very carefully until such time as it is confirmed. The story of a US Special Forces-CIA firefight in Frankfurt, Germany strikes me as absurd on its face. Brad Johnson describes it as a "smokescreen". 

 

France Under Islamic Attack

Hat tip Debbie and Gatestone Institute

I am cross-posting an article by French professor and writer Guy Milliere, a prominent critic of the Islamization of France. In this article for the Gatestone Insitute, Milliere recounts the horrific Islamist murders and terrorist attacks that have been occurring in France in recent years. According to Milliere, it is only getting worse. This is truly depressing reading.

 https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16818/france-under-attack

France has the largest Mulsim population in Europe, and largely due to its colonial history in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, millions of them are French citizens and/or born in France. No need to repeat Milliere's recounting of all the horrific murders that have occurred in France. Sweden may be the rape capital of Europe, thanks to its wave of young Muslim men arriving in that nation, but no European nation has matched the sheer bloodshed of France. Beheadings, attacks on churches, murderous attacks against Jews, the Bataclan massacre, and on and on.  

Macron, in spite of his recent reactions to the Paty and Nice attacks, has no clue. To this outsider, it seems that only  Marine Le Pen has the will to reverse this problem-if it isn't too late.

Al Jibberish and Mark LeVine

                                               The looming Götterdämmerung

The astute reader will quickly note that this article by Mark LeVine was written in Al Jazeera back in August, which makes it outdated, especially since it was about the US presidential election and was penned prior to said election. But then again, everything the above writer does is outdated as soon as it is written. 

I am referring, of course to Mark LeVine, UC Irvine Professor, part-time rocker, and multi-holder of Campus Watch's "Howler of the Month" award. 

In this Twilight of the Gods piece, LeVine bemoans the fact that he and his fellow progressives have nobody good to vote for in the still-to-be-held election. 

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/8/29/voting-for-your-enemy-in-the-us-elections/

In his "introduction", LeVine refers to one of the true Illuminati of American society-Ice Cube- to tell us what Mr. Cube thinks of all this.

"American rapper Ice Cube has never shied from offering blistering critiques of American racism and the political and economic system that it has fostered. From seminal hits like Straight Outta Compton (1988) and F*** Tha Police (1988) with hip-hop group NWA, to his solo efforts such as Black Korea (1991) and I Wanna Kill Sam (1991), where he literally predicted the LA Riots of 1992 in the song’s lyrics, while calling for the “ultimate drive-by” against a United States government that has rarely let up on its unremitting war against African Americans."

And what does "NWA" stand for, you ask? You don't wanna know.

LeVine continues by quoting the melodious prose of Mr Cube:

“What I didn’t hear [at the DNC] is, what’s in it for us? What’s in it for the Black community besides the same old thing we been getting from these parties? […] They just pulled $3 trillion out of they ass and gave it to their friends […] Where’s our f******* bailout?” […] Democrats don’t seem like they got a plan. Republicans don’t seem like they got a plan for us. So how the hell you gonna vote for them?”

Then LeVine gets to the point. To his way of thinking, there's not much difference between the Trump-Pence ticket and the Biden-Harris ticket. 

"For progressive Democrats – particularly supporters of former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders – and those on the front lines of social and racial justice struggles, the Biden-Harris ticket cannot but be a great disappointment. On so many of the most important issues, from judicial and penal reform and Medicare for All to the Green New Deal and foreign policy, a large number of Democratic voters are far closer to the Sanders wing than to the party’s neoliberal leadership."

The Green New Deal is one of the most important issues? Outside of the fairy tale world of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Mark LeVine, very few people take that seriously. Ditto for Medicare for All. As for judicial and penal reform, given the recent activities of groups like Antifa, I would suggest some behavioral reform is in order.

LeVine then follows up on his quotation of Ice Cube by shining the spotlight on noted "thinkers" like Bernie Sanders, Noam Chomsky, Angela Davis, and (perhaps, most powerfully), Michelle Obama.

"To forestall this possibility, Bernie Sanders used his DNC speech to warn his young followers that “the future of democracy is at stake […] The future of our planet is at stake. We must come together [to] defeat Donald Trump.”

Even further to the left, Noam Chomsky warned of the existential threat posed by four more years of Trump, urging people to vote for Biden-Harris and then “haunt his dreams”.

Angela Davis urged progressives to vote for Biden and Harris, arguing that they were the candidates who “could be most effectively pressured into allowing more space for the evolving anti-racist movement”. Perhaps most powerfully, former First Lady Michelle Obama warned Americans to “vote like your lives depend on it”.

But there is more.

"All these figures have painted Trump, rightly so, as a mortal threat to democracy and even the future of humankind. And most, if not, all believe, as Chomsky points out, that whatever their faults, the candidates and the Democratic platform, in fact, signal a progressive step forward beyond any tandem or policies that came before. But given how the last two Democratic administrations reinforced rather than transformed the very forces that have enabled the disasters of the Bush and now Trump presidencies, it is hard not to join Ice Cube’s sarcastic refrain and ask “What’s in it for the rest of us?” if the Democrats win, except a brief respite from more Republican Sturm und Drang?"

Donald Trump is many things, but he is not a mortal threat to democracy. You may not like his executive orders, but then again, I didn't like Obama's. You may not like his challenges to the election and refusal to concede, but at the end of the day, either his legal challenges will run out or massive electoral fraud will be proven. If it is the former, he will leave office. If it is the latter, that will be the real threat to our democracy. Trump's tenure has, like all other administrations, been limited by the balance of power and the Constitution/courts. At this moment the real threat to American democracy is the very real possibility that we have had a stolen election, centered in Atlanta, Detroit, Philadelphia and Milwaukee. That is what should concern us even more than who won or lost the election.

Nor is Trump a mortal threat to the future of humankind. He didn't invade Iraq, Libya or Syria. He didn't involve us in any new wars. What he did was beef up our military force to drive ISIS from its "caliphate" in large swaths of Syria and Iraq. That was a positive. ISIS, to be sure, is a threat, but more so now as a terrorist group as opposed to an army. Trump has also pushed Arab nations like the UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan to normalize relations with Israel. That is also a positive, but you won't hear any praise from the LeVines of the world. To answer Mr. Cube's "sarcastic refrain", more peace and security, that's what's in it for us-not more Sturm und Drang. 

And like in a Wagnerian opera, the storm clouds gather over LeVine's pen and paper.

"On the one side, we have a ruthless narcissistic authoritarian with no checks on his executive power and a Supreme Court almost entirely his who is permanently enshrining a feudal oligarchy that disenfranchises and disinherits the majority of Americans, and blowing past any survivable CO2 limit, thereby threatening the survival of humanity and a million more species within a few decades. Trump 2.0 will unleash the full weight of the federal government, including white nationalist-infiltrated federal security forces, and tens of millions of heavily armed, fanatical and increasingly apocalyptic followers onto the streets violently to crush any remaining opposition to the quest, quite literally, to usher in the End of Days."

                          Gee golly, willickers, Lois. Not even Superman can save us now."

Imagine having a president with dementia with Kamala Harris waiting in the wings. That's what I call the End of Days.

And a salute to "The Squad".

"And this enemy has already been infiltrated by upwards of 100 agents of change through the Congressional Progressive Caucus, at least half a dozen of whom are among the most well-known and powerful young politicians in America. While it will take at least a decade for the “Squad” and other young progressives to achieve institutional power, if their numbers grow by even a dozen members, the Democratic Party will have been conquered from within by progressives in the same way Republicans were conquered by the Tea Party."

And as the Fat Lady waddles out onto the stage, Mark builds up to his crescendo of a conclusion. 

"Just as clear is what will happen if this opportunity is not taken. As a Facebook friend from a Midwestern battleground state described his Trump-loving neighbours after Jacob Blake’s shooting: “You can feel it building, they hate you and they are going to vote.”

If those votes are not matched by a similarly motivated Democratic electorate, the End of Days might arrive a lot sooner than we think."

LeVine has been writing this jibberish for the Qatar-based Al Jazeera for years. You wonder why the Arab world has such a confused take on America. But then again, Al Jazeera is a propaganda arm of the anti-Israel, anti-West world view. They are always happy to give a platform to American bellyachers like LeVine.

Of course, I remind the reader that all this was written before the election on November 3. One can only wonder what LeVine thinks about the shenanigans in Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania. I am hoping that in the end, we will learn that the result was actually honest even though I didn't vote for Biden. We have survived mediocre and bad presidents before. If it turns out, however, that our elections are no longer honest, that is the real Sturm und Drang because our democracy cannot survive that. 

It is also unfortunate that this is the kind of drivel that our kids are being exposed to in our universities. No, it's not all LeVine's doing. After all, he is just another dime a dozen fish in the vast sea of academia. There is nothing exceptionable about LeVine. You can stumble drunk into most any classroom on any university campus in America and hear this gloom and doom about our country.

Which, while far from perfect, just happens to be the freest, richest, and greatest country on the planet-notwithstanding the sarcastic refrains of Mr Cube.

The Muslim Brotherhood in Europe

 Hat tip Carel Brendel.NL

This is the latest in our series of European articles translated from the original regarding the presence and the activity of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in Europe. This article (mostly in Dutch) is by the Dutch journalist Carel Brendel, who has written numerous articles on the MB. Translation (of the Dutch)  by Fousesquawk.

http://www.carelbrendel.nl/2020/11/26/organisatie-europese-moslimbroeders-noemt-femyso-als-eigen-instelling-in-document-uit-2020/

Organization of European Muslim Brothers mentions FEMYSO as its own institution in 2020 document

-Carel Brendel, 26 November 2020

In the beginning of this year, a report (pdf) was posted on the Facebook page of the Council of European Muslims (CEM), since last year, the new name of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), giving an oversight on the most important institutions of the European Muslim Brothers. The Arabic-language report on the origin, history, and aims of the organization is dated 31 January 2020. It mentions, among others, the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organizations (FEMYSO), where Green-Left Parliamentary candidate Kauthar Bouchallikht functioned as vice-chair-person until December 1, as one of the FIOE/CEM institutions.

On 14 April 2020, I copied the report on the following link. On 17 April, I posted a  "Twitterwire" on the Facebook report, which confirmed earlier conclusions by investigators regarding the Muslim Brothers. At the end of April 2020, the info-document disappeared from the Facebook page of the Council of European Muslims.

Researchers and intelligence services, including the AIVD, consider the FIOE (now CEM) as the umbrella organization of the Muslim Brothers in Europe (Muslim Brotherhood). Institutions created by the FIOE/CEM are:

European Institute for Human Sciences, established in 1990,  theological education, with branches in France, Germany and Great Britain.

FEMYSO, established in 1996.

European Council for Fatwa and Research, (established in 1997), a council of clergy, for a long time under leadership of Yusuf al-Qaradawi, spiritual leader of the MB. Most members come from the circle of the MB, as well as in recent years, clergy from Milli Görus and the Turkish government organ, Diyanet.

Europe Trust (established in 1997), the real estate branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The European Forum of Muslim Women (established in 2006), which like FEMYSO, has good access to European institutions, but they do not advertise their connections with FIOE/CEM.

The European Assembly of Muslim Imams and Spiritual Guides (established in 2012). In 2019 this institution was revived under the name European Council of Imams.

In April, I based my tweets on Google Translate. Due to the question surrounding the candidacy of Green-Left Kauthar Bouchalliikht, I asked a (certified) translator of Arabic to look over the text again. He confirmed that the CEM considers itself as a continuation of the FIOE. According to him, my list of institutions created by FIOE is correct.

Below is the translation in English of the relevant paragraphs.

(Note: The below two paragraphs are from Brendel's article in English and not translated by Fousesquawk.)

After appreciated efforts of coordination and communication for five years, the “Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe” (with this name at the time) was established, as it was officially registered in November 1989, and with the establishment the features of the idea of gradual settlement (inburgering, red) started to become clear to the leaders of Islamic action, whether at the central level or in European countries. And with it emerged the challenge of the European identity of Muslims in Europe. After the establishment, these leaderships were actively seeking to formulate the directions, policies and goals from which to serve their vision of European Islam and direct various efforts and energies to consolidate this idea and spread it among Muslims in Europe in general and among those working in Islamic institutions and to define it at all levels.

The idea of specialization emerged as a working tool and a necessary and effective approach to achieving the goal of settlement, so the contribution and initiative was to establish a group of specialized institutions, the most important of which are: the European Institute for Human Sciences (1990), then the Federation of European Institutes for Islamic and Human Sciences (2007), and the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organizations (1996) The European Council for Fatwa and Research (1997), Europe Trust (1997), the European Forum Of Muslim Women (2006), the European Assembly of Muslim Imams and Spiritual Guides (2008), which in 2019 became the European Council of Imams…”

According to the Arabic translator I engaged, the (meaning) did not go well after that, but it finished the list of institutions with the European Center for Research and Leadership Qualification (established in 2012), a lesser-known established institution in Switzerland.

Below follows the Arabic text.

مجلس مسلمي أوروبا – Council of European Muslims

@eumuslims.org

مجلس مسلمي أوروبا… في سطور…
مجلس مسلمي أوروبا – Council of European Muslims·Vrijdag 31 januari 2020·
في البداية…
”مجلس مسلمي أوروبا“ (سابقا “اتحاد المنظمات الإسلامية في أوروبا”) هو مؤسسة إسلامية أوروبية مستقلّة جامعة، تضمّ في عضويتها مؤسسات في أنحاء القارّة الأوروبية، وهو منظمة مدنية من منظمات مسلمي أوروبا تسعى للمشاركة في الشؤون المجتمعية على تعدّدها، وتعتمد أسلوب التعاون مع غيرها قدر الإمكان.
إنّ ”المجلس“ وإن كان يطمح إلى المساهمة في بلورة وقيام منظومة مشتركة للعمل الإسلامي الأوروبي قوامها تعدّد المسارات والتفاعل الايجابي مع المجتمع وفضاءاته والتحرّك ضمن الحريات المتاحة فإنّه لا يقدّم نفسه ناطقا باسم الإسلام، كما لا يقدّم نفسه بأيّة حال خصما لأي مقاربة أخرى يختلف معها في قراءة تجربة العمل الإسلامي الأوروبي أو في استشراف مستقبله.
في السياق التاريخي:
بدأ العمل الاسلامي في أوروبا الغربية على وجه الخصوص في بداية الخمسينات من القرن الماضي من خلال بعض الطلاب والعمال الوافدين من مختلف الدول العربية والاسلامية والذين استقر بهم المقام في بلاد الغرب. ولقد تصدّر هؤلاء، وخصوصا الطلاب منهم، تنظيم العمل الاسلامي في أوروبا من خلال عدة تشكيلات وجمعيات على مستوى البلدان الأوروبية مثل فرنسا، ألمانيا، اسبانيا، بريطانيا وهولندا وغيرها، حتى سنة 1984 حيث تداعى عدد منهم الى عقد ندوة في العاصمة الاسبانية مدريد، كانت منطلقا الى تأسيس عمل إسلامي أوروبي ينطلق من فكرة استقرار الوجود الإسلامي ويبني على استحقاقتها ومقتضياتها. وبعد جهود مقدّرة من التنسيق والتواصل طوال خمس سنوات كان تأسيس “اتحاد المنظمات الإسلامية في أوروبا” (بهذا الإسم أنذاك) حيث سُجــّـل رسميا في نوفمبر 1989، ومع التأسيس بدأت تتضح معالم فكرة التوطين تدريجيا لدى قيادات العمل الاسلامي سواء على المستوى المركزي أو في الدول الأوروبية المختلفة وبرز معها تحدي الهوية الأوروبية للمسلمين في أوروبا. بعد التأسيس كان سعي هذه القيادات حثيثا لصياغة التوجهات والسياسات والأهداف التي تنطلق منها لخدمة رؤيتها لإسلام أوروبي وتوجيه مختلف الجهود والطاقات لترسيخ هذه الفكرة ونشرها بين المسلمين في أوروبا عموما وبين العاملين في المؤسسات الإسلامية والتعريف بها على كافة المستويات. كما برزت فكرة التخصص كأداة عمل ومنهج ضروري وفعال لتحقيق هدف التوطين فكانت المساهمة والمبادرة الى إنشاء مجموعة من المؤسسات التخصصية أهمها: المعهد الاوروبي للعلوم الانسانية (1990) ثم اتحاد المعاهد الأوروبية للعلوم الاسلامية والانسانية (2007)، منتدى المنظمات الشبابية والطلابية الأوروبية الاسلامية (1996)، المجلس الأوروبي للإفتاء والبحوث (1997)، الوقف الأوروبي (1997)، المنتدى الأوروبي للمرأة المسلمة (2006)، التجمع الأوروبي للأئمة والمرشدين (2008) وأصبح سنة 2019 المجلس الأوروبي للأئمة، المركز الأوروبي للابحاث والتأهيل القيادي (2012)، إضافة إلى العديد من المؤسسات والجمعيات الاجتماعية والثقافية والمراكز والمساجد المنتشرة في ربوع أوروبا. وقد ساعد بروز هذه المؤسسات في مختلف الدول الأوروبية في انتشار فكرة الهوية الأوروبية لدى العاملين في الحقل الإسلامي واتساعها بين أبناء المسلمين في أوروبا. ولقد تتالت الخطوات في هذا الاتجاه إلى أن جاءت ندوة إسطنبول في شهر سبتمبر 1995 لتضيف إلى هذه التجربة وتجعلها أكثر عمقا وتساهم بدورها في تمتين الأسس التي يقوم عليها ”المجلس“ سواء على المستوى الفكري أو الاداري، وقد أعطى ذلك دفعة قوية للعمل الاسلامي الأوروبي الذي اتسعت رقعته لتصل إلى 20 دولة أوروبية بما فيها دول شرق أوروبا عام1998 ، وتصل بعد ذلك إلى 28 دولة خلال العشرية الأولى من القرن الحالي.
في السياق الثقافي والتوجه الفكري:
يتحرك ”المجلس مسلمي أوروبا“ ضمن تيار الوسطية والاعتدال في أوروبا المنبثق عن المنطلقات والتوجيهات والمقاصد الإسلامية بما تقتضيه من الالتزام بالقيم والمبادئ الأخلاقية، وبما يُنشئ آصرةً جماعية منفتحة على المجتمع والعصر، قوامها روح الأخوّة في السعي إلى العمل الصالح المشترك، وروح التعارف التي تحترم خصائص التنوّع والتعددية في الواقع الإنساني وتستثمرها.
كما يمثل ”المجلس“ اليوم بما يحمله من مبادئ تجسد البعد الإنساني في الإسلام، رصيدا لا يستهان به على الساحة الأوروبية، ليمثل إضافة نوعية لهذه الحضارة التي طالما نهلت من معين الحضارة الإسلامية واستفادت من علومها لتتبلغ بها عصر النور الأوروبي. وفي سياق التنظم وضع ”المجلس“ دستورا صاغ فيه منهجه كمؤسسة إسلامية أوروبية تتوق لخدمة المجتمع الأوروبي بما يحقق له الأمن والرفاه، عبر التعاون مع بقية مكونات المجتمع لترسيخ مبادئ العدالة الاجتماعية، وترسيخ مبادئ التعايش. ولم تتوقف جهود ”المجلس“ باعتباره أكبر منظمة إسلامية على مستوى أوروبا، في السعي لكسر حاجز الخوف من الوجود الإسلامي في الغرب، الذي يغذيه جانب من الإعلام، وبعض القوى السياسية التي تعتمد خطابا عدائيا ضد الأقلية المسلمة، بل تجاوزتها الى وضع مشاريع وبرامج من خلال مؤسساته تخدم الصالح العام وتبشر بثقافة التعايش. وقد توجت هذه الجهود بإعلان ”ميثاق مسلمي أوروبا“ في العاشر من شهر يناير 2008 بالعاصمة الأوروبية بروكسل، الذي جاء ليؤكد أن الوجود الإسلامي يمثل إضافة نوعية، وثراء ثقافيا لأوروبا.
رؤية الاتحاد ورسالته
يتخذ ”المجلس“ من شعار “مسلمون أوروبيون” رؤية له. وهذه الرؤية تستبطن الانتماء الديني وما يتأسس عليه من خلفية فكرية وثقافية والتزام أخلاقي وقيمي، والانتماء الجغرافي وما يرتبط به من التزام بعقد المواطنة واحترام لمقتضياتها في التعايش المشترك وخدمة الصالح العام. ويحدد ”المجلس“ رسالته في “التعريف بالإسلام وتشجيع مسلمي اوروبا ومساعدتهم على ممارسة شعائرهم الدينية والإسهام الفاعل في مختلف جوانب الحياة في إطار من الفهم الوسطي وضمن منهج إصلاحي تجديدي”
ولتمثل هذه الرؤية وتحقيق هذه الرسالة حدد ”المجلس“ الاهداف الاستراتيجية التالية:
1) العمل على مساعدة المسلمين في ممارسة شعائرهم الدينية وحفظ هويتهم الدينية ورعاية شؤونهم الاجتماعية والدينية وإقامة المؤسسات التي تساعدهم على ذلك
2) تعزيز التعارف والتعاون مع المؤسسات والهيئات الإسلامية الرسمية والمجتمعية على الصعيد الأوروبي والعالمي في إطار من المصالح المشتركة
3) دعم أعمال التعريف بالإسلام وقيمه وفقاً لمقتضيات وخصوصيات الواقع الأوروبي
4) دعم وتوسيع الحوار بين المسلمين وأصحاب الأديان والعقائد والأفكار الأخرى للتفاعل الإيجابي وتوطيد السلام والعدل الاجتماعي
5) المساهمة في الجهود الرامية لحماية الحريات والدفاع عن حقوق الانسان وكرامته ونبذ كافة أشكال الميز

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Rashida Tlaib, "From the River to the Sea", and Anti-Semitism

Hat tip JNS and Times of Israel

"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free"

As is always the case with controversial people, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) has been in the news a lot lately. No, she didn't call President Trump a "motherf-----" (at least, not that I know of). Tlaib raised eyebrows just days ago when it was revealed that she was slated to appear December 15 on a virtual panel with three other controversial individuals-Israel haters all- to discuss the topic of anti-Semitism.

Julius Streicher and Hitler were unavailable. 

"From the Oder to the Rhine, Germany will be Judenrein"

https://www.jns.org/tlaib-and-others-peddling-anti-jewish-rhetoric-to-speak-on-panel-about-anti-semitism/

Of course, people like Tlaib and her ilk have their own slant on what anti-Semitism is all about. Tlaib, of course, denies that she is anti-Jewish; after all, being of Palestinian stock, how could she possibly be?

If Tlaib's inclusion on such a panel on anti-Semitism wasn't ironic enough, she managed to underline the hypocrisy when she re-tweeted a cute little jingle on the occasion of Palestinian-Something Day (November 29). The jingle goes like this:

"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free".

https://www.timesofisrael.com/democrat-tlaib-shares-tweet-alluding-to-israels-elimination/

If you haven't been on a college campus lately, the meaning is simple: From the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, Palestine will be free. Those are the borders of Israel. It means that there will be no more Israel and no more Jews. Only a state called Palestine made up of and run by Palestinians. Oh, people like Tlaib might tell you that such a state could also include Jews in a multi-ethnic society, but we all know that if they were not driven out or slaughtered, they would be forced to live as minority dhimmis under the thumb of the Palestinians. Tlaib knows exactly what it means.

In November, the voters of her district in Michigan, which includes parts of Detroit and Dearborn, had the chance to correct their mistake of 2018 and vote Tlaib out on her can. That they chose to re-elect her says tons about this district.

After Trier: Refugees, Concrete Barriers and Auto-Jihad

Hat tip Politically Incorrect-Translation by Fousesquawk

The conservative German blog, Politically Incorrect, has an interesting take on this week's carnage in Trier, where a 51-year-old man, whose name has not been released, drove a car at a high rate of speed through a pedestrian zone of the city, killing five, including a 9-week-old baby.  As is so often the case when these incidents occur in Europe, the authorities and the media do not release the name, at least the full name, of the perpetrator. At this stage, all we know about the driver is that he is 51 years old and was born in the Trier area. He is also described as being drunk at the time, and to have a chronic drinking problem. At one point, some German sources partially identified the man as Bernd W., apparently based upon the car registration. That name was later taken down when it was learned the driver was not the registered owner of the car involved. One source gave what might have been a hint when it reported that the driver was often seen drunk in a certain local kabob restaurant. No motive has been reported, and police state there is no known connection to terrorism.

The obvious question given the rash of auto-jihad attacks in Europe is whether this incident is the latest case of auto-jihad. In other words, was the driver Muslim, and was his motive jihad? At this point, we don't know, and unfortunately, the public in Germany and the rest of Europe don't' know if they face an increased risk of this kind of attack. So we must speculate as to the driver's religion. True, that is hardly fair to decent European Muslims who have no thought of running down non-Muslims, but the public at large is being ill-served by hiding the identity of criminals and those who wish to do harm to innocent people.

That is why we are translating the article from PI. The writer, Manfred Black, doesn't know if the driver was Muslim or not, only speculating. It may not be fair, but it is natural that people in Germany are speculating.

http://www.pi-news.net/2020/12/welche-vorbilder-hatte-der-todesfahrer-von-trier/

Graffiti on concrete (barrier): "Thanks Merkel!"

What role models did the death driver from Trier have?

-Politically Incorrect

Caption below photo: In Heidelberg, unknown person(s) sprayed, "Thanks, Merkel" on a concrete barrier on Grossen Karlsplatz a few days ago.

-By Manfred W. Black 

After the deadly driving rampage in the inner city of Trier, the responsible court has issued an arrest warrant against the driver. This is for multiple-homicide, attempted homicide, and dangerous physical injury. The 51-year-old driver is said to have deliberately driven a high powered sport SUV into people in a pedestrian area while drunk on Tuesday. Five people died. In addition, 18 people were injured, six seriously.

Immediately there is talk of a German perpetrator

It is interesting that the media, right after the deadly driving attack became known, identified the perpetrator as "German". Also heard directly after the attack was, "the investigators assumed that the driver "had nothing to do with any organized background". That would mean no connection in this case with Islamic groups.

In other similar driving attacks or after bloody knife attacks, almost all media have attempted to conceal the nationality of the perpetrators as long as possible or completely when it concerns a Muslim attacker. Many of them (attackers)  scream unmistakably, "Allahu Akbar" (God is greater) during their deadly acts. That is also often concealed. 

The media likes to obscure the exact identity of violent criminals when it concerns people officially designated as refugees. Obviously, the leftist journalists want to prevent people who "have lived here a long time" (Angela Merkel) to think about borderless refugee migration, which goes on even in the more than serious Corona times for Germans.

In spite of Corona: The "Refugees" Migration goes on

In October 2020 alone, there were 6,499 "Protection-seekers"-with or without Corona- registered by the authorities. With that come thousands of migrants, who are brought into the country under "family re-unification" through "unaccompanied minor-age refugees", for example, 

It is also noticeable that after the deadly car attack in Trier, even national media reported that among the victims were migrants. Political secrecy no longer applies. The Hamburg Abendblatt specifically mentioned in its December 3 edition that among the dead victims were a father and his little daughter-both being of  "Greek origin".

Before mass migration there were no vehicular attacks

After the auto-murder in Trier, no newspaper in the country dared to write that up to now "refugees" and other people "with a migration background" had carried out similar vehicular attacks in Western Europe. No mainstream media had the courage to recall the deadly "role models" from Berlin, Stockholm, Nice, or Melbourne-with more than 100 dead. "Role models" which the Trier perpetrator unfortunately copied.

No journalist says that these inhuman attacks by Muslims have been, directly or indirectly, initiated by Muslim ISIS- propaganda magazines like "Dabiq". "Auto-jihad" did not exist prior to the "refugee " movement in Western Europe. The journalists of the left-green mass media refuse to admit this. Naturally, (it is the same) for the politicians from the ruling parties. The leftist journalists love and live political correctness. 

In addition, it cannot be mentioned anywhere that the present concrete barriers in front of large market places and around most of the Christmas market areas-as preventative measures- are a result of the murderous motor vehicle attacks by "migrants".

Graffiti expression on concrete block in Heidelberg: "Thanks, Merkel"

It is interesting that a few days ago, a person or persons unknown sprayed, "Thanks, Merkel!" on a concrete barrier on the Grossen Karlsplatz (Square) in Heidelberg,  That is a reference to the reigning chancellor, who through by-passing the democratic bodies of her party and the entire Parliament, opened the borders for several million migrants from abroad, who, while being called, "refugees", have mostly lost their identity papers.

After all, the regional "Rhein-Neckar Zeitung" (newspaper) acknowledged that the sprayer(s) wanted to point out a connection between the chancellor's refugee policy and the attacks upon the Christmas markets.

Joe Schwartz, from Heidelberg-Marketing, who is responsible for the square, had the lettering temporarily covered up with placards. Because the paint doesn't wash off. In the meantime, Schwartz commissioned a decorator to place the block in a wooden case re-covered with gold foil.

Are there reports about that in the national press? No, here there is only thunderous silence.

Concrete blocks: Nation-wide "certified barriers" with new safety standards

 Now, after the murders in Trier, local politicians have completely new ideas. The general business manager for the Association of Towns and Municipalities, Gerd Landsberg, spoke out for "certified barriers according to national, unified, and current technical safety standards". In addition to mobile blocks, city development-anchored barriers could be an option for protection of (city) squares, like retractable barriers or benches," he told the "Editorial Network, Germany". 

Landsberg admits that a complete blocking off of pedestrian zones, for example, is not possible. The costly security (measures) of large pedestrian zones will, thus, in the future, (require) more investment of money. Which potential killers do politicians fear today? That, naturally, the Town and Municipality Association doesn't say.

Germany: Car Attack in Trier: At Least Two Dead

Trier

Today, a 51-year-old man "with German citizenship" plowed his car at high speed through a pedestrian zone in the town of Trier, near the Luxembourg border. At least two have been killed, including a  small child, and several injured. The man, described by the German press simply as a 51-year-old man of German citizenship who resides in the area as being in custody. No motive is being given as yet. So, as yet, we don't know if this is terrorism. Translations are pending. In the meantime, the Daily Mail (UK) has details and photos.

Trier is the birthplace of Karl Marx.

*Update: The local Trier news describes the driver as a 51-year-old man from Trier who was known to often be drunk, and who often got drunk in a local kebab shop.

*Update (Sueddeutsche Zeitung)  The death toll now stands at four including a 9-month-old baby. (Correction: 9 1/2-week-old baby.).The driver was reportedly drunk. 

The lord mayor of Trier is calling this, "the blackest day in Trier since WW2". (Frankfurter Allgemeine)

*Update: Death toll now stands at five.