Free Republic

In the early years, when he was still a secessionist who believed northern Italy should break off and become an independent state called Padania, Matteo Salvini held his fellow countrymen in such contempt that he even supported Germany over Italy in the 2006 World Cup. “Italy ... is the worst of the worst,” he said at the time. “My support goes to anyone who is more serious.” Today, the 45-year-old has adopted “Italians first” as a political ideology and is in many ways the European leader who most resembles Donald Trump, from his embrace of impulsive and often racist rhetoric,...

The newly emboldened populist wave sweeping Europe has begun to clash with establishment EU "open border" advocates, as governments opposed to illegal mass migration dig their heels in and resist the influx of mostly North African migrants. Europe has been sharply divided over asylum seekers - however words turned to action in early June when Italy's brand new Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini, closed Italian ports to Non-Government Organizations (NGO) ferrying migrants into the country. The rest of Italy's populist coalition government supported the move, fending off condemnation from "hypocritical" French President Emmanuel Macron and other EU leaders. Perfectly capturing the...

The reign in Spain of virtue-signaling on mass migration ended abruptly yesterday, after less than two weeks.  Even the socialists in Europe are starting to realize that their populace does not want millions more impoverished "migrants" from cultures and religions that shun assimilation and consider generous welfare subsidies as tribute from the infidels, a signal of weakness and submission.  Dramatic evidence is provided by Spain, which just this month installed the secretary-general of the Spanish Socialist Workers' party, Pedro Sánchez, as prime minister. When Italy's new populist government refused to allow the M.S. Aquarius, jammed with 629 North Africans, to land, and turned...

ANSA) - Rome, June 25 - The Democratic Party (PD) is again reflecting on how to turn around its fortunes after suffering another debacle in a round of runoff ballots for local elections in many Italian cities on Sunday. The centre-left lost traditional strongholds such as Massa, Pisa, Siena and Terni, as well as Ivrea, near Turin, which it had governed continuously since the Second World War. The PD slumped to its worst-ever showing in March's general election. The big winner on Sunday was the centre right, with hardline Interior Minister Matteo Salvini's League again the driving force. The anti-establishment...

Italy’s far-right government told aid ships in the Mediterranean Sea not to rescue thousands of refugees in peril on Sunday – despite receiving six separate distress calls from unseaworthy boats. Officials said the vessels – carrying people from North Africa to Europe – were all in Libyan waters and, therefore, Libyan responsibility. The Spanish aid group, Proactiva Open Arms, which had ships in the area, said it had been specifically told not to help. Matteo Salvini, Italy’s interior minister, said in a tweet: "It's right that the Libyan authorities intervene, as they've been doing for days, without having the NGOs...

"Left, right, populism....all are meaningless concepts. Unintelligible for the new generations. Artificial intelligence is destroying the traditional world of work. Old nation-states have been emptied from within, and we are going back to the age of city-states" Beppe Grillo-founder and first leader of Italy's Five Star Movement, partner party of Italy's new government with the League-"Newsweek" interview 5/14/2018 "I was lost in a fantasy that blinded me....." "Your Love Broke Through"-as sung by Phil Keaggy To see Rachel Maddow resort to tears on television this week reminded me of why she's there shedding the tears. The purpose of MSNBC is...

PARIS (Reuters) - Italy on Saturday said “arrogant” France risked becoming its “No.1 enemy” on migration issues, a day before European leaders convene in Brussels for a hastily arranged meeting on the divisive topic. In answer to comments by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said migration flows toward Europe had reduced compared with a few years ago, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said Macron’s words showed he was out of touch. “Italy indeed faces a migration emergency and it’s partly because France keeps pushing back people at the border. Macron risks making his country Italy’s No.1 enemy on...

"We may be leper populists, but I take the lessons from those who open their own ports. Welcome thousands of migrants and then we can talk" Italian Deputy Prime Minister-Interior Minister-League Party leader Matteo Salvini "One day he said he doesn't want to offend Italy, the next he talks about leprosy" Italian Deputy Prime Minister-Labor Minister-Five Star Movement leader Luigi DiMaio Speaking in France Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of a "leprosy" of anti-EU feelings spreading in "neighboring countries", an apparent jibe at the new government in Italy. Italy is taking active measures to stop migrant boats including plans...

Italy says it will seize two migrant rescue ships in the Mediterranean, amid a deepening row over migrants. Two German NGO ships carrying migrants "will be seized" to determine their legal status. The move comes as French President Emmanuel Macron attacked the "leprosy" of anti-EU feeling, angering Italy's new populist government. Italy sparked the fresh row earlier this month when it refused to take in the Aquarius rescue ship.... Leaders from the 10 EU member states will meet in Brussels on Sunday to discuss how best to stem the flow of migrants into the bloc. The Italian government earlier said...

An egg-shaped ceramic jar covered with ceramic "rope" once held a prize delicacy: the oldest olive oil on record in Italy... Researchers made the discovery after analyzing residue of the so-called liquid gold on the beautiful jar and two other vessels uncovered at Castelluccio, an archaeological site in Sicily. "It had the signature of Sicilian tableware dated to the end of the third and beginning of the second millennium B.C., [during the] Early Bronze Age," Davide Tanasi, an assistant professor of history at the University of South Florida, said in a statement. "We wanted to learn how it was used,...

Former British spy Christopher Steele visited the State Department in October 2016 and briefed officials there about his work on the infamous anti-Trump dossier, it was revealed on Wednesday. “Based upon our review of the visitor logs at the State Department, Mr. Steele visited the State Department, briefing officials on the dossier in October 2016,” Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr said during a hearing held to review the U.S. government’s response to Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Steele’s visit to Foggy Bottom in Washington, D.C., prior to the election has not been previously reported. Burr revealed...

Italy’s Matteo Salvini warned Saturday that no NGO-operated ships carrying migrants would be allowed to dock at Italian ports. “Italy no longer wants to be an accomplice of human traffickers and contribute to the business of illegal immigration,” Matteo Salvini, who leads the far-right League, said in a Facebook post on Saturday. More than 600 migrants are expected to reach Italian shores on Saturday on board Italian, British and U.S. military ships, according to a statement by the Italian interior ministry cited by La Repubblica. Salvini’s post specifically targeted NGO-operated two ships flying Dutch flags — which he described as...

Salvini said on his Facebook page: “Two more ships with the flag of the Netherlands, Lifeline and Seefuchs, have arrived off the coast of Libya, waiting for their load of human beings abandoned by the smugglers. These gentlemen know that Italy no longer wants to be complicit in the business of illegal immigration, and therefore will have to look for other ports [not Italian]where to go.” About the Islamisation of Italy the leader of the Lega party said: “We are under attack. Our culture, society, traditions and way of life are at risk. The colour of one’s skin has nothing...

Spain's new socialist government promised on Friday it would restore free healthcare for undocumented migrants, a right removed by the former administration as part of cost-cutting. The move is the latest migrant-friendly initiative by the government of Pedro Sanchez, who offered on Monday to take in a rescue ship that was drifting in the Mediterranean sea with 629 migrants on board. Italy and Malta had refused to let it dock. The government will draw up a draft law with the proposal, it said, which must be approved by parliament. Although the Socialists have a minority of 84 seats in the...

Space impact 'saved Christianity'By Dr David Whitehouse BBC News Online science editor Did a meteor over central Italy in AD 312 change the course of Roman and Christian history? About the size of a football field: The impact crater left behind A team of geologists believes it has found the incoming space rock's impact crater, and dating suggests its formation coincided with the celestial vision said to have converted a future Roman emperor to Christianity. It was just before a decisive battle for control of Rome and the empire that Constantine saw a blazing light cross the sky and attributed...

Italy’s interior minister has sparked a new migration crisis in the Mediterranean by barring two rescue boats from bringing refugees to shore, a week . “Two other ships with the flag of Netherlands, Lifeline and Seefuchs, have arrived off the coast of Libya, waiting for their load of human beings abandoned by the smugglers,” Matteo Salvini, the leader of the anti-immigrant party the League, wrote on his Facebook page. “These gentlemen know that Italy no longer wants to be complicit in the business of illegal immigration, and therefore will have to look for other ports [not Italian] where to go.”...

But not everyone in Spain is happy about their new socialist government’s eagerness to allow masses of Muslim welfare migrants into the country. They haven’t forgotten the disaster that Muslim rule in Spain for 700 years caused. And just as Libya’s assassinated leader, Muammar Gaddafi, predicted if he were to be ousted, Europe would turn black and Muslim within 50 years.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Saturday added foreign-funded NGOs to those banned from docking in Italy's ports. "Italy no longer wants to be an accomplice in the business of illegal immigration," ...

GENEVA (Reuters) - Talks with the United States over how to reform the main U.N. rights body have failed to meet Washington’s demands, activists and diplomats say, suggesting that the Trump administration will quit the Geneva forum whose session opens on Monday. A U.S. source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the withdrawal appeared to be “imminent” but had no details. Diplomatic sources said it was not a question of if but of when the United States retreats from the Human Rights Council, which is holding a three-week session through July 6. A separate U.S. official in Geneva had...

Current International & Domestic Affairs from an Intelligence Perspective! An Evening with Wallace Bruschweiler Renowned Counterterroism & Intelligence Expert Thursday, June 21st, 2018! @ 122 E 83rd Street, New York, NY 10028 Doors Open: 6:30pm / Program Begins 7:00pm Members: $10 /// Nonmembers: $20 RSVP: mail@MetClubNYC.org Including the Following: The Trump Backed Middle East Peace Plan and How Iran is trying to Destroy it. President Trump’s Grand Strategy in Korea – Dealing with Pyongyang’s Rocket man. How our International Allies are colluding with the Deep State against the President. How Italy’s Future could determine the Fate of the European Union....