German Police Arrest Pirate Party Leader for Citing Anti-Erdogan Satire. Berlin chairman of the German Pirate Party Bruno Kramm was detained by police during a protest against the government’s decision to launch of an investigation against German comedian Jan Boehmermann over a controversial obscene poem that the satirist recited on German TV targeting the Turkish leader. See the streets have no jokes.

Germany is suppressing free speech to appease the Turkish leader, fearful he will drop more migrants into Germany. What brilliant German leadership, even while they try to wiggle out of Merkel’s deal to let 80 million  Turks into Europe. None of the other western countries are protesting this authoritarian turn in Germany.

UPDATE: Barack Obama has praised Angela Merkel for her handling of the escalating EU migrant crisis despite growing cracks in the German chancellor’s power base as her approval ratings plummet over her immigration stance. During a visit to Hannover, the US president said:

She is on the right side of history on this. In this globalised world, it is very difficult for us to simply build walls.

hat-tip Stephen Neil